After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World novel Chapter 307

If they—the refugees—still had the strength, no doubt quite a few would be approaching actively instead of running to hide like they usually did.

After seeing the direct threats to the people had been dealt with, Garan ordered everyone not to waste too much mana anymore. Hence, except for when the monsters got too close, the soldiers all used their weapons instead.

Anyway, none of them received any experience or copper because the monsters were over 5 levels below them, so it would be a pity to lose a lot of mana from it, not when their journey was probably still long.

They soon took down the dozen or so monsters left, with a few people kicking the monsters for good measure.

Silence passed by this part of the forest, with the two groups awkwardly staring at each other.

When the survivors saw that it was safe, they looked at the soldiers longingly, before dragging their weak feet to them.

Soon after, the soldiers were surrounded by about a hundred people, most eyes now filled with admiration and relief.

The soldiers naturally looked around for family, though to no avail, and they looked at each other in disappointment.

Of course, it would be impolite to show it so openly, so the more friendly soldiers like Luis, Jake, and Sam started to chat with the refugees.

However, as they did so, they couldn’t help but notice the extremely poor conditions the refugees were in.

None of them had a complete dress—there were men who only had pants filled with holes and nothing else. And, without exception, each one was covered in mud, blood, and grime.

They were also extremely thin, their complexion extremely wan and unhealthy.

Garan’s heart dropped.

What about the others?

What about Althea?!

….

While he was in a daze, in a dark mood, and with a very intimidating aura, the survivors were already approaching the others with various emotions.

"Thank you so much!" One sobbed, and another bowed.

Another kowtowed, partly because he lost the feeling in his legs, as well as to express his gratitude.

The soldiers were embarrassed, and they couldn’t help but wave it off. "We’re just doing what we can as fellow Terrans."

It was just that the confirmation that they were there as allies made a lot of tense shoulders slump in relief, and also even more passionate in interacting with them.

There was also a teenager who looked at them in awe. "Are you soldiers!?" He continued to chatter even before they even answered. "I knew you were going to save us! And what is that magic you did?"

The topic seemed to have triggered a flood of curious questions. "Oh, yes, that’s amazing!"

"Did you get superpowers?"

"Yes, how?"

However, before they could answer, the happy atmosphere was broken by a heart-wrenching wail.

"My son!!! My sooonnnnnn!!!"

It was a middle-aged woman hugging the corpse, letting out guttural cries of despair. Judging by her bloodied but unharmed arms, she had obviously just found his son after rummaging among several corpses.

Looking closer, they could see that it was the corpse of a teenager. They recognized him as the boy who had just been killed when they arrived.

The woman knew this and her head whipped in their direction, red eyes sending accusing glares. "Why did you arrive so late?!

"He didn’t have to die!!!

"What kind of soldiers are youuu!!!!!"

She screamed, but her hold on her son remained and she only buried her head on his face–the only remaining body part intact.

The soldiers—except Garan, who was still in his own world—looked down, ashamed.

If it were others, they wouldn’t feel as guilty. But they were soldiers living with a creed. They couldn’t help blaming themselves.

Had they been faster.

Some people couldn’t take it anymore and just patted the woman’s back in an attempt to calm her. "Come now, you know it’s not their fault…"

"Yes… we’re sorry for your loss. Let’s bury Junior together, okay?"

Of course, they also knew that if it was their relative who died like that, they would feel the same, so they couldn’t condemn the grieving woman for it either.