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

Later that night, Gill and Cassandra tucked the baby into his crib. The two of them watched the little bun just lying there in peace for a while.

This was disrupted when Gill wrapped his arms around his wife’s stomach.

He leaned down and kissed the side of her head and then her ears. ”Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Cassandra flinched a bit before her body relaxed, and she ended up just leaning on her husband’s shoulder. ”I received some news about Jacoba Town,” she said.

Since that happened, she had long stopped referring to Jacoba Town as ’home’. At the same time, she naturally remained concerned for it. She grew up there and did have people she knew.

Of course, as a woman, her friends weren’t that many. It was difficult to develop genuine friends in her situation. Women were generally expected to have value as a marriage target. Being too close to men could be looked at as scandalous, while it was difficult to have sincere connections with women of the same age.

Between women, there was a subtle competition for the good men and therefore—as if by automatic extension—the ’good life’. It was simply not conducive to sincere relationships.

The reason she and Veronica became friends was because of the latter’s innocence. Like how Cassandra dated Oslo to become closer to the Golds—whom she admired not because of their money, but because of their family dynamics—she befriended Veronica in the same way.

Then she genuinely fell in love and they had been best friends ever since.

She was also concerned for her maid, Cici, who had grown up with her. Due to the rush, they naturally couldn’t take her with them. Cici also had family in Jacoba, so she couldn’t be taken too easily either—not without compromising their own safety.

She had heard of some things brewing back when she was still pregnant, and then she avoided news of it entirely after giving birth. But recently, there had been major changes she couldn’t miss anymore.

Just the previous day, Veronica had received a letter from her family, and a part of it included news of Jacoba.

Jacoba Town was really attacked by Ester Town and was crushed by it.

They were both at level 2, and neither territory had experienced wars for a many years now. Both towns had their own forces and their own resources, and it had been a bloody war.

A portion of the wall had been destroyed as well. Ester had apparently secured some weapons of the dwarves, lent to them by another territory that had ’encounters’ with them.

Within a few hours, large sections of the walls gave way, and this was followed by the destruction of the various houses and stores the enemies had access to.

Of course, there were many mercenary teams based in Jacoba, and all of them were oath-bound to provide a certain number of forces in wars, which was their payment for receiving a base there.

Ester had similar cases, and it added to the destructiveness of wars, with strongmen fighting in the middle of the streets, not caring for the collateral damage.

Elementalists threw their attacks at whoever was in their way, having minimal concerns for the injured—or killed—innocents along the way

The Lord of Ester himself led the war, aiming to take revenge for his son’s. Her father had maintained that it was not them. Rather, it was the old lord’s family who had been publicly executed already.

However, the Lord of Ester was a stubborn man and refused to believe him. Either that, or the man was just looking for an excuse to attack.

Who knew. Who cared.

It took 12 hours for Jacoba Town to lose, with the Ester citizens entering through the holes in the wall they had created.

When it was over, all the slaves were called in and her half-siblings were included.

According to the witness reports, the Ester lord saw this and smiled, even trying to bargain to receive the Jacoba Lord Token in exchange for the lord’s two offsprings.

Unsurprisingly, her father did not give it. After all, exchanging the token also meant they would be defenseless and that wouldn’t help long term.

At least, this was his rationale.

Cassandra knew that her father simply didn’t want to let go of the token. That amount of power could not be let go. He could be callous to his own children.

Even if his level was high enough that it’d be difficult to have children again, it seemed like her father still preferred the token more.

Cassandra knew him well enough to have an idea of what he was thinking: What was the next generation if the current one was poor and weak?

The letter also said of how her siblings cried and begged for their father to help, and were shocked when he just apologized, promising to rescue them when he could.

Now, Jacoba Town was focused on rebuilding. They were also opening up a lot of land to attract more mercenary teams to protect the place, though at the expense of many citizens who were now homeless.

”Do you want to go and check?” This was happening hundreds and hundreds of kilometers South or Southeast, exactly the opposite of where Voumi and Valov were.

However, this was still her family in the end, and he’d understand if she wanted to check it out, even if he’d prefer she did not.

They were vile people, but the people of Xeno might have a different approach, and he wondered what Cassandra’s was.

Anyway, there were plenty of ways to do this safely. For one, they could wear disguises. Another, they could use the Mercenary Hall in Ferrol.

Their Mercenary Team had been strict in getting new members after the initial interview. Of course, every main team member was allowed to recruit a family member or two to the team, so that they would be able to use the Mercenary Hall to travel up to thousands of kilometers away.

For Gill’s slot, he might give it to Cassandra. Anyway, his mother would not be leaving the territory any time soon, though his sister might need it when she went on missions with her husband.

”No need.” Cassandra shook her head, her hand extending to touch the crib in front of her, and the other hand touching the strong, sinewy arms on her stomach.

She smiled. ”I have all the family I have right here.”