Bright Village.
The war was over and, as agreed upon, Micheal and those who wished to leave were allowed to leave the premises—if they wanted to—with their lives.
However, as they signed an agreement, Micheal and the others also had to sign an agreement wherein they would leave all their aggressive weapons in the territory—including the bomb.
They were also stripped of anything that could defend them outside the territory.
This was basically still killing them.
So it wasn't a surprise that not many people came with Micheal in their exile. At least they were much safer within the territory walls, compared to the outside filled with monsters, bugs, poison plants, and a hundred other dangers.
It had only been a few months since the Migration. Their experiences when they got transferred were still fresh in their minds.
They simply couldn't find the loyalties to risk their lives like that. This was just human nature and Micheal didn't blame them at all.
What's more, the ones who stayed just felt lucky enough they weren't like so many of the other survivors who were taken to the enemy territory to become slaves.
Slaves.
Slavery was such a distant concept they had only encountered in history books. But now it was so real and so very possible, like a branding iron hovering over them, ready to mark them as such at any time.
Their concept was a little abstract, but they had heard of its horrors. They would have to follow whatever was asked of them, to do whatever, to act however their owners wanted to.
If they were asked to eat shit, they would, if they were asked to throw themselves in front of sentries, they still would.
It felt like they gained a new life by retaining their freedom. How could they risk that?
They would rather stay with these men than lose their lives or become slaves. At least these people were strong, and the 'master' territory was stonger.
However, most of them were humans who had friendships with the people 'heading to their deaths'.
They felt sadness and guilt as they watched their former lord—who used to be so handsome and unattainable—drag himself out of the territory. There was a pitiful number of people who came with him, including Tom and little Lily. The only comfort was Juno was with them, at least.
It was amazing that an Aborigine followed the former lord when he was technically not hired by him anymore.
The other aborigines either left during the war or stayed behind to continue with their jobs. Anyway, to them, it didn't matter if the person at the helm changed—they just needed to continue with their jobs. An Aborigine like Juno was extremely rare, especially in villages where people were 'nothing'.
Eventually, the small group of people headed out, towards the dangerous forests without anything to defend themselves with.
The crowd of their former allies felt guilty, sad, and regretful—
But… they all had to live too right?
…
"Be careful, my Lord," The handsome Juno held Micheal's weak arm as they trudged through the paths.
"Thank you…" he said, "For everything."
Micheal was really touched beyond words for this man's protection. He didn't think Juno would gain anything by staying with the current him.
Juno was already in his late twenties. He had just turned Level 17 some time ago while defending the village from the strong mobs. It wasn't a bad level and he could find better jobs in towns, yet he remained loyal to him for some reason.
But how could Micheal know that Juno genuinely admired him?
In his former territories, the lords were all greedy and selfish, and he had witnessed a lot of evil during his time serving them. He had witnessed lords kill people because they crossed his path and he had met lords taking money from his people—increasing taxes—just so one of his mistresses could buy an expensive dress in a city.
He had met too many.
In fact, his family died in the hands of such a lord.
Seeing a lord like Micheal—kind at heart but difficult to bully—was too rare.
Juno stared at him before shaking his head, "It's my duty to protect you. It is what I signed up for."
Micheal stared at him. He knew that he could've gone away when they lost, but he didn't. Juno protected him with his own body—his high level being the only thing that protected his life.
Micheal smiled at this loyal Aborigine, and then looked at the others who were trudging along the dangerous forests with them. They were all very careful, lest they hit or get wounded by a poisonous plant—in which case, there would be no helping them.
The group comprised of about two dozen people. These two dozen people, who were among the lucky ones who weren't pulled back as slaves, went with him not because they were extremely loyal to him. Rather, it was because they would rather die than stay in there.
Some of them suffered too much during the war, and a lot of them lost loved ones. They left the safety of the walls due to the stark refusal to have anything to do with people who destroyed their homes and killed their families and friends.
Similarly, there were also some who simply refused to live in fear. These people would rather risk everything and head to Altera, even if they had to start from scratch.
Speaking of wealth, Micheal looked at his system wallet which had nothing at all. Not even a single silver or copper.
The Lord's wealth was tied to the territory. When they lost, he automatically lost half. Then Gingo threatened to kill his citizens in order to get his remaining money. The oath was very straightforward as well—just give them all his possessions—and even he couldn't utter a leeway.
Even if they arrived to Altera, they would have to take massive loans in order to survive.
No territory, lost allies and friends, and a head deep in debt…
Sigh.
Micheal Berti had certainly never been in such a low before.