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

A/N: An extra chapter will be posted later~!! Banzaii~ Thank you everyone for letting me get Top 2 Golden so far~!

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It wasn't like Alterra had shown all their cards! However, they still needed to time it well if they wanted to have decent effects. Whether they liked it or not, the enemy's average levels were at least twice—and their numbers at least thrice—as Alterra's.

Before making any more big moves, Alterra wanted to make sure the majority of the enemy forces had gotten through the array, and that they had already revealed much of their cards.

They didn't want to be caught off guard, after all.

Soon… the bell rang again, but this time, it rang three times. Since it was not even the second hour since the war began, and the extra bell was a signal.

While that was being mobilized, the strongmen—including (most of) the Golds—were spread out along the walls. They were the primary forces of defense against the hundreds of level 20s trying to get inside.

If they weren't there, it was estimated that hundreds of leaks had already managed to get inside.

Cringe

On the other hand, there were also two powerhouses roaming around, and—considering the bell had been rung—they should be returning by now.

A lot of people wondered how much chaos they'd bring in.

…

Fargo gritted his teeth as he glared at the distant wall. So far, there had only been a few leaks, including Vara's, but otherwise there had been no report of others.

Basset Town, as per his advice, did not hold back in this war. Almost the entire fighting population were mobilized this time, leaving skeletal forces as well as the people who could not go through the array back in Basset.

Their hundred thousand or so fighters divided into 'armies' that targetted different parts of the territory. Each one had a few hundred level 20s and tens of thousands of level 15s.

There would also be a handful of level 30s for each army. Among those, the strongest ones had very expensive aether letters.

It was given so that other teams would be informed where openings were created, and the rest would mob those places instead. This would've ensured that the small opening would become a gaping hole their people would go through.

However, so far, there was no such report yet—not even an update of a progress! Why?

"We're taking too long to get inside!" someone beside him yelled, obviously itching to go in and join. It wasn't that he was patriotic, he just believed things would be better if he joined in.

Fargo gave him a bad look. This was Teng, Vara's right hand man, and a man already past level 35. He was one of the people who mocked him a lot during his stay, but Fargo wanted some of the strongest people with him.

"No, we need powerhouses in this area. What if they used monster mobs? Didn't I orient everyone of the strategies they used to do?" he asked. "Even if they didn't use that—how many monsters had you defeated the past hour?"

What they had encountered were mobs naturally attracted by their numbers. However, because Fargo went here on foot with a few people, they had managed to clear out a few mobs around the array, preventing them from causing trouble.

The number of mobs was actually a lot smaller than what they were used to, and this was attributed to Alterra's clearing missions, which ended up advantaging Basset.

Anyway, the area around the array, in particular, must be operational at all times and must always be guarded.

First of all, this was their way home. Fargo could not use the array to head here due to the oaths, but going back 'home' was not a problem at all.

This was also the path of their reinforcements, and it was also the line their resources passed through.

This was why he insisted that Teng—as well as about a hundred level 20s— remained near the arrays to guard it. Considering they had cleared out a lot of beasts earlier on, this number should've been more than enough.

But why did he have a bad feeling?

Teng rolled his eyes. "Coward as a weakling that you are—as always," he said, sneering. "Even if they attract monsters to us, how many could that be?

"The monsters in towns aren't like those in villages—they'd probably get killed while trying to lure them in!"

Fargo frowned, not liking his tone, but at the same time, he understood his rationale.

Teng saw that he had no good response and felt even more arrogant. "You're too terrified of a new Town—your previous defeat must've traumatized you."

Fargo's frown deepened. "You—"

His voice died when the ground suddenly shook as if an earthquake was coming. This was followed by distant growls and rumbles and his heart dropped, knowing what it was—

ROARRRR!!

All this time, the mobs they had been encountering were standard mobs they—as people from fellow towns—were used to. These were typical mobs with a few level 15s to 20s, but the majority of the monsters were around level 10, which was manageable for level 30s.

However, the ground's movements back then could not compare to what they were experiencing now.

Fargo looked at Teng, whose arrogant expression had been wiped off. His jaw was clenched and his grasp of his weapon tightened.

Fargo—for once—hoped that this bastard was correct.

Unfortunately, this would prove false as—a second later—a large mob of monsters appeared where they were.

ROARRRR!!

There were not just an inordinate number of level 20 monsters—there were also level 25s!

One had to know that monsters past level 25 were considered monstrous at the Town Level! After all, a monster of this level would require at least a handful of level 30s just to contain it!

His peripheral vision saw Teng and his team attack a few monsters together. The other people—especially the slaves—joined in, while the rest of them panicked and rushed towards Alterra, breaking their ideal pacing and causing small stampedes in the area.

He turned and wanted to yell instructions at them but his instincts flared, barely avoiding the jaws of a fast monster—a Leapard!

Crack!

Fargo watched as his fake arm was crushed by a monster's powerful jaws, causing him to feel like blood drained out of his body.

He cursed, using his ability to create a shield around himself.

BANG!

BANG!

He gritted his teeth as he continuously reinforced the earth around him, feeling the monsters' continuous attacks on him, covering crack after crack, at the cost of precious mana.

He cursed. He knew that he would not be able to sustain this long enough until Teng dealt with the mobs.

His element might be good, but his current disability prevented him from being agile. He was no match for monsters specializing in speed and agility!

At this, he could only stomp his feet on the ground, causing a hole to appear. He dropped down a few meters underground, and the soil above him closed up.

He immediately covered his tracks and reinforced the soil above him with harder rocks, keeping just enough air space for him to last a while.

He sat on the soil, sweaty, messy, and lacking another limb again.

He was, once again, helpless.

As the nerves calmed down, it was quickly replaced with anger. He punched the ground in anger.

He prepared so much, and for so long—yet he was still reduced to hiding!

Damnit, Alterra!