Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

The situation was too critical, so Justin immediately called an emergency meeting. All the officers gathered wore serious expressions, understanding the gravity of the situation. As soon as everyone sat down, Justin voiced his confusion.

"What's going on? Why is the cult leader imprisoned? And what's this about a rescue request?"

"To be honest, we don't fully understand the situation either," replied Zachary, letting out a sigh. He seemed just as bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.

"All we know so far is that a rebellion broke out in the territory, the cult leader was imprisoned, and a request has been made for us to rescue him. Beyond that, we have no further details," he explained.

Justin frowned. "Didn't those pioneers from the cult come here? You've had almost ten days, and all you got was this?"

"We questioned them, but it was all useless babble. What can we do?" Zachary replied, clearly frustrated.

"Useless babble?" Justin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They won't give us any concrete information. All they talk about is their religion. They keep saying things like, 'The vice leader betrayed us out of greed,' or 'The vice leader was seduced by a demon's whispers.' How can we get anything meaningful out of that?" Zachary said, his voice edged with irritation.

The information they needed was simple: why had the rebellion started, what was the goal, why hadn't they killed the cult leader, and how long would they keep him alive? But every time they asked, the defectors from the cult gave irrelevant, nonsensical answers.

"The vice leader... no, that woman is no longer the vice leader. She fell to the whispers of a demon!""Of course! Otherwise, how could anyone betray the leader? It must be demonic possession.""Why didn't they kill the leader, you ask? Naturally, it's because of his divine protection.""You dare ask how long he'll live? How dare you insult the leader! He will never die!"

After hearing the interrogation results, everyone in the room was speechless. Justin included.

'How deluded do you have to be to give answers like that?' Justin thought.

Recalling the ridiculousness of the interrogation, Zachary's face twisted in frustration.

"With all their answers being this nonsensical, what else can I dig out of them? I felt like I was losing my mind just talking to them!" he complained.

"Well… good work, anyway," Justin offered sympathetically.

"I appreciate the understanding," Zachary replied, slumping back into his seat, visibly drained.

It was true, these were fanatics. There was no point in continuing the interrogation with them. The logical thing would be to abandon the questioning and march straight into the cult's territory.

But something about this situation didn't sit right with Justin.

'It's strange… why would fanatics flee here in the first place?' he pondered.

If they were true fanatics, wouldn't they have either fought to rescue their leader or sacrificed themselves in the name of their faith? Fleeing didn't add up.

'And yet, they ran away and sought help from outsiders?' Justin thought, narrowing his eyes.

There had to be someone among them who wasn't a true believer, someone clever enough to disguise their flight as a mission to save the cult leader. This was just a theory, of course. It was also possible that the cultists had collectively agreed to mask their escape as something more honorable.

'But there's no harm in finding out for sure,' Justin reasoned. Even if they had the upper hand in power, war was still war. Any additional information could be valuable.

Justin stood up from his seat.

"There were five defectors, right? Where are they now?"

"We've housed them in a temporary estate at the far end of the commoners' quarter. Of course, we've assigned guards to keep watch," Zachary replied.

"Take me there. I'll question them myself," Justin said.

"If you insist. But before you leave, you might want to change your robe and staff," Zachary suggested.

"What? Why?" Justin asked, puzzled.

"You're the only dark sorcerer in this territory. If you walk around like that, everyone will immediately recognize who you are," Zachary pointed out.

That was true, but Justin had been walking around openly up until now. What had changed? Still confused, Justin tilted his head.

"Why suggest this now?" he asked.

"With the situation being different from before, there are now far more people who would be shocked to see you," Zachary replied with a sly grin.

As Justin strolled through the territory, he understood why Zachary had made that suggestion.

"This… this is impressive. I see why you suggested the change," Justin muttered, astonished by the sight around him.

The streets, which had been nearly empty not long ago, were now bustling with people. When Justin had flown over the area earlier, he hadn't noticed, but now he saw that many of the previously vacant homes had been filled. There were still plenty of empty buildings, but compared to before, the transformation was remarkable.

Noticing Justin's surprise, Zachary smiled proudly.

"It's going to get even busier. We're taking our time with the reintegration process since there's no rush. So far, we've reabsorbed twenty territories. Only ten remain," he said.

"That's good to hear," Justin replied, looking around. In the noble districts, pioneers were engaging in lively conversations, and in the commoners' area, citizens were chatting and going about their day. The atmosphere was far from peaceful, thanks to the chaos caused by the second migration and the battles during the reclaims, but the sheer number of people alone was enough to bring Justin satisfaction.

And this was just the beginning—there were still more people to come.

"Not long ago, this place was practically a ghost town. Now it feels like a real city. This is exactly what I wanted," Justin remarked, his mood brightening.

"You should expect even more. Things are just going to keep getting better from here," Zachary said confidently, shrugging.

His tone suggested that he had more plans up his sleeve.

"The chaos will settle once life stabilizes, and the atmosphere will liven up. Especially with so many new pioneers, there'll be a lot more mana stones circulating in the market," Zachary explained.

"Right, you had that idea of hiring civilians as workers. How's that going? Is it working out well?" Justin asked, genuinely curious.

"It's going very well. Nowadays, it's rare to find a pioneer who hasn't hired at least one civilian. Some have even hired specialized workers, like barbers," Zachary said, explaining the recent trend of pioneers hiring civilians.

It wasn't just about exercising power through force anymore; it gave the pioneers a real sense of being part of the ruling class. Some pioneers even hired people to support their families, even if they didn't personally need the extra help.

"The civilians are aware of this and are trying to provide their own services to their employers. For now, it's all informal, but over time, it'll naturally become established as a formal occupation."

"Is the wage issue okay? If pioneers start exploiting their position and underpaying civilians, their motivation could drop."

"So far, it's fine. I set the initial hiring price quite high, and many other pioneers followed suit, which has kept the civilians motivated. But I doubt this will last forever," Zachary admitted.

When pioneers don't fully understand a system, they tend to follow the rules by the book. But once they figure things out, they'll inevitably find loopholes. With the population growing, and areas outside their immediate oversight expanding, it's only a matter of time before problems arise.

Zachary was already thinking about how to handle this. If they imposed too many restrictions on the hiring contracts, pioneers might lose interest in employing civilians. But if they were too lenient, civilians could lose motivation.

"Thankfully, we still have time to think it over. Laws are always a battle between those who enforce them and those trying to exploit them, but it's best to avoid frequent revisions."

"I agree. If laws change too often, they lose their weight," Justin replied as he continued looking around.

At that moment, a civilian walking nearby accidentally made eye contact with Justin. It seemed the man had been distracted and didn't notice Justin in time to avoid him, as most civilians did when encountering pioneers. Realizing his mistake, the man hurriedly bowed his head.

"G-Good day, my lord," the man stammered.

Judging by his hesitant tone and the way he addressed Justin as "my lord" , it was clear he was a newcomer, not yet accustomed to the ways of the territory.

Justin smiled faintly and nodded. "You're doing well."

"Pardon?" the man asked, confused.

"You're adjusting well to the territory for someone new. Keep following the laws here, and you'll live more comfortably than before. That goes for the other civilians too."

"Th-Thank you... I think?" The man bowed awkwardly, clearly unsure of what Justin meant.

After the man passed, Justin whispered to Zachary.

"I was trying to give him some encouragement, but he probably thought I was being sarcastic."

"It's likely half and half. He probably couldn't tell your intention. They've had a hard time dealing with pioneers from Earth," Zachary replied.

"Human distrust... or rather, distrust of pioneers."

"Still, their experiences on Earth have helped them adapt quickly. They've been quite accepting of the class system," Zachary added.

"That's a relief."

As time passed, the civilians would eventually understand more about their nature, and the blind fear would subside. Not that Justin planned on becoming overly familiar with them—clear distinctions between the classes were essential to maintaining the system. For the class hierarchy to function properly, there had to be a clear sense of superiority and inferiority between the two groups.

"We've arrived. This is the place," Zachary said, snapping Justin out of his thoughts as they approached a secluded house.

"Lord!"

"You're here!"

As they reached the entrance, a few pioneers, who were clearly acting as guards, quickly stood up upon seeing Justin. These were elite pioneers who frequently accompanied him, so despite his disguise, they easily recognized him.

Among them was a particular pioneer who caught Justin's attention.

"Welcome, Lord!" said Nina, a female dark sorcerer, greeting him with a bright smile. She had recently reached level 24 and was focused on leveling up further to achieve her second advancement. Justin considered her one of the promising pioneers who might succeed in reaching the second tier without his help. He had also heard that she was the one who brought in the defectors from the cult.

Feigning indifference, Justin nodded. "I'm here. Did you find out anything while I was gone?"

The guards fell silent, as if unsure what to say. It seemed they hadn't thought about investigating the defectors in his absence.

Justin sighed inwardly. It was better for them to do nothing than to make a mistake, but still…

"I have," Nina spoke up suddenly, catching Justin's attention.

Surprised, he turned to look at her. She smiled and nodded confidently.

"I went in and spoke with them a few times. While most of them didn't have much to say, one of them kept sending me signals."

"Signals?"

"He would wink at me or subtly point at himself, like he wanted to say something but couldn't because of the others," she explained.

"Who is it?" Justin asked.

"There's one man with a ponytail. He's the only one with that hairstyle, so he'll be easy to spot," Nina said.

This was valuable information. Justin had suspected there might be someone among the fanatics who wasn't entirely devoted to the cult, and now he had a clear lead. He nodded in satisfaction and turned to Zachary.

"From now on, give some of the busier tasks for the officers to Nina."

"Huh? You mean..."

"Treat Nina as a junior officer from now on. You know what that means, right?"

"…!"

Both Zachary and Nina, along with the others, widened their eyes in shock.