After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 1644

1644: Jonathan”™s Decision 1644: Jonathan”™s Decision A/N: Sorry guys!

Had an urgent meeting today.

Should resume 2chaps daily tomorrow.  … ___ Jonathan could still remember that day.

It started as usual, with a wonderful morning waking up next to the love of his life, Adreen.

The man would sweetly embrace him, utter good morning, and express his gratitude every day for meeting him.

Then he’d go around to check the status of the town, to see if there was anything he needed to know and improve.

He was also hands-on during events, and at the time, it so happened that one was happening in the following week, so a lot of preparation and logistics were needed.

This was something he learned from his father, who was a master in organizing big events and making them streamlined enough that all Jonathan had to do was maintain the current system.

In the afternoon, he’d also go out accompanied by dozens of guards with Adreen.

They would be training near the sentries to make sure their levels and skills wouldn’t grow stagnant.

Then… those people arrived.

They encountered them when they were hunting outside, a group of powerhouses.

That time, people from Valov-led by this man who had just turned Level 33 back then-arrived.

He was with two stronger people at Level 35, though it was obviously the Wazan person who led the team.

More than that, they were more numerous, and Jonathan’s team was tired from hunting not long before that, so they were able to surround them, stopping them from escaping into their territory.

They offered him a deal.

Rather, tried to force him into it.

It didn’t present him much good either.

He apparently had to take in several subsidiaries under his name and support them.

He also had to consolidate the tributes coming from them, and deliver it to their Town thousands of kilometers away.

The rationale?

They never said it, they just said it would be advantageous to him, too, because he’d receive a part of the tributes.

Later, he’d find out that it was because Ferrol was the nearest town to some resource-making territories they had just taken over.

They probably needed his mercenary hall and post office to ensure the smooth operations of those territories, as well as assist in deliveries.

However, while they did not present obvious disadvantages to him, there weren’t any advantages to him at all.

For one, Jonathan knew that the logistics alone could put them at a loss.

Another, that those villages would be his subsidiary in name, then their actions could also reflect Ferrol’s will.

Even if he explained, the reputation could be affected, and seeds of doubt planted.

In the end, he rejected them.  He was prideful and did not like their tone-as if he’d accept no matter what-especially since Valov was a mere Level 2 Town.

The next day, Adreen’s head was on his front door.

… /More heads will be delivered the longer you delay./ Jonathan almost went insane and wanted to capture the bastards regardless of what happened to him, but they had already left the territory.

He also wanted to go to war, but their levels were different, so he couldn’t even make a declaration.

Not to mention, Ferrol had focused a lot on its own land and actually had very few subsidiaries.  Still, how could he be reconciled?!

It was then that he received a letter from a City, which reminded him to be cooperative- or else they’d just take his land.

A City was a City, and they obviously had a vested interest in this deal.

They could continuously send territories their level to attack them, and it would only be a matter of time before they buckle.

How many of his people would die before that happened?

And how many would become slaves?!

For the sake of his people, he had no choice but to succumb, regardless of how he felt like he was burning from within every single day, especially every time he opened his eyes in the morning, staring at an empty bed.

…

At present, he still hasn’t recovered from the sight of his lover’s severed head.

He had always used a different gate, even until now, because he’d enter a panicked frenzy whenever he passed through that area.

His eyes were dark as he stared at the name in his panel.

It had been a long time since that bastard had been here… Learning from Alterra, he also implemented and invested in some specific rules to ensure peace in the territory.

Before, they only had a no-killing policy like most territories.

Not to mention money (which Ferrol had decent amounts of), there were too many people from different places, and a bit of scuffle was inevitable; their prison would be too saturated.

However, he learned from Alterra-which also had a great variety of people and even more races-that it was possible to do this, and very much worth the investment.

So now, unlike before, they could not just hurt his people without consequences.  He was not surprised when they arrived at his doorstep a few hours later.

They had probably investigated enough by this time.

Many things could not be kept secret, after all.

His servants let them in, but he had to tell them to choose the worst offerings for guests.

Traditionally, he would offer some Alterran sweets and tea, but these people didn’t deserve it.

For them, just the System Restaurant bread with low-quality gouji fruit jam was fine.

This hospitality was more than what they should have received.

They didn’t touch it, however, which was fine because he didn’t poison it.

He knew there was a magic tool that could detect it, though they probably wouldn’t have cared for it even if it was clean.

The enemies entered his palace’s yard as a group, trying to be intimidating.

Considering their average level was higher than his, it did make him shiver a bit, though his face did not show anything.

“Didn’t you receive our letter?” Wazan asked, looking straight at Jonathan’s eyes.

“I did,” Jonathan said, appearing unbothered, which made Wazan narrow his eyes at him.

“So what happened with Guia?

I heard it was taken over?” he asked.

“By your ally, no less.” System Alliances only limited attacks between two territories directly in alliance, including their satellites.

There was no such limit to fighting against an ally’s subsidiary or ally (that they did not share).

There was no such thing as a ‘system-enforced’ network of alliances.  Even if it was done, it was done manually, with an overarching City managing it.  However, generally speaking, allies tended not to attack an ally’s subsidiary.

“Hmn, I didn’t do anything to give out Guia if that’s what you’re implying.

I did not give any sensitive information about Guia, nor have I assisted them in the war.

“Guia was arrogant and bit more than he could chew; I simply didn’t want to destroy a good business opportunity just because they took down a nominal subsidiary.” The men looked annoyed-and in disbelief-at his response.

He had never talked back to them like this before, particularly after the City sent them a warning.

Wazan took a deep breath as he rested the back of his neck on his couch.

His eyes moved to stare at Jonathan, the atmosphere around him was dark.

He wasn’t even attacking, but his gaze was sharp.

“These 20 years have been good to you, it seems,” he said, though his tone was venomous and sarcastic.

“Thank you, I can’t say the same to you.” This made the rest of them flinch, about to attack, but Wazan raised his hand to stop them.

His jaw was clenched and his eyes were red, but he wasn’t stupid-he had seen the new rules, and there was no advantage in his men getting thrown into prison.

With a tense jaw, Wazan coolly looked at the damned Lord.

“Then… you don’t mind us looking more into it, yeah?

This ‘business partner’ of yours?” He shrugged.

“Do what you want,” he said.

“We are business partners, nothing more.”  … Jonathan heaved out a deep breath when they left.

Lady Althea had told him once that if there were threats like this, she preferred it went directly to Alterra.

It shocked him at first, as most people would want a buffer.

However, knowing them, they probably believed it was more efficient this way.

Jonathan heaved a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.

After calming himself down, after making sure his hands were no longer shaking-from fear, intimidation, and anger-he took out an aether letter.

His movements were being watched now, so he could not casually head to the Town Center and send her a message.

He was allied to Alterra so the Lords could send messages to each other through it, but he’d rather not let Wazan know that he cared.

Jonathan wrote to the Terran Mercenary Team instead, letting them send the post to Alterra in his stead.

“First of all, you might get some hostile visitors,” he wrote.

“I am not sure if they will go straight there, either to Alterra or to Limestone Valley.

He then enumerated their names and their levels to tell them who to watch out for.

To be honest, he seriously considered strongmen going after them.

However, he had seen how much stronger Wazan had gotten, and the people he surrounded himself with weren’t weak.

If he could arrogantly enter a territory like that, he definitely had some tools to protect himself.

Further, the network involved a City and was too deep.

Jonathan couldn’t put his territory at risk for his revenge.

He simply did not have the capability to get out of this unscathed.

Rather, if there was any place in their side of the globe that could unravel something this big while emerging victorious and with minimal losses…  …he had a feeling it could only be Alterra.  CREATORS’ THOUGHTS NispedanaSan Thank you for reading this far, Alterrans!