UNDYING WARLORD

Distributing the Ability crystals, equipment, and Magic Scrolls was not further difficult after everyone gathered around him.

Kathrine and the others had woken up before the sun rose, and it was still early in the morning when they finished the entire distribution process.

“Do you think it’s fine for us to focus on our own growth by taking the best abilities for ourselves?” Oliver suddenly asked.

Since the day before, his attitude toward Dilan had changed quite a bit. Oliver now knew that he should have trusted Dilan’s warning and that he should have backed their leader instead of questioning his decision to leave.

He was still hurt because Dilan had treated him coldly the day before but that was something Oliver had to live with.

“Most monsters were killed by us, so we deserve our fair share of equipment and ability crystals, to begin with.

We and the other Tier-1 Ascenders, who went out with us to hunt thousands of monsters should be rewarded.

This is not only to increase our strength but also to show everyone that hard-working people will be rewarded accordingly.

As for the remaining ability crystals, pieces of equipment, tools, and Magic Scrolls, we should hand them out to the most diligent Survivors and Ascenders. That would be the fairest and it would motivate everyone to work even harder.”

Sven revealed his opinion before he gave a tired smile to the others._-.

Those who were always around Dilan and quite close to him knew that he was quite worried about the possibility of death of his people.

He didn’t want anything to happen to them, which was also why he was quite bothered about his weakened state. Increasing the strength of the strongest Ascenders in their group would change this as well.

In this regard, it was not even important if they would always stay loyal to Dilan or not. In the end, what mattered was that all of them survived.

Dilan realized this as well, which was why he had chosen to ignore the stupid thought of questioning his people’s loyalty.

He would have to gain their unwavering trust and loyalty and couldn’t expect them to stay by his side just like that.

This was something Dilan knew from the beginning and it made things extremely difficult.

‘How did I even end up here?’ That was one of the many questions flashing through Dilan’s mind every now and then.

There was no proper answer to this but the fact that he didn’t want to let anyone die just like that was a bit closer to reality.

It would be a shame to abandon his race just because his life had been miserable.

Not everyone was like his parental figures if one could even call them that, to begin with.

His life might have been filled with physical pain, death, and mental torture but there had also been love, and the obligation to protect what was important to him.

The love of his step sisters had given him enough strength to keep protecting them, until the day all of them were freed from the gates of hell; from their family’s grasp.

Times might have changed, now that Milarn had become a whole different world that was overflowing with ferocious monsters that were strong enough to cause the destruction of an entire city with just a roar.

But even this world was filled with pain and death. Humans were cruel and everyone could now witness this with glaring clarity after the Primordial Ascension than ever before.

Righteousness, kindness, and selflessness were rare to find, and if someone exhibited such traits, the disgusting reality would kill them.

After all, all these attributes were not rewarded in a world where strength determined everything.

The strong and kind-hearted might even get backstabbed the moment they lowered their guard in front of the people they rescued, the people they trusted, and those they wanted to help in becoming stronger.

Dilan knew that he shouldn’t be too kind to others but that didn’t mean he should take away their hope, their beliefs, and everything else that made them feel even the slightest bit positive.

He could act nice when there didn’t seem to be any hope left, but he was also able to turn into a devil the moment someone dared to try playing around with him or his group.

Thus, he was both feared and respected.

But the most important was that he had gained the trust of the Survivors with everything he had done until now.

That was also why everyone listened to his orders without saying a single word the moment he made a short speech in front of everyone.

Dilan had observed his surroundings well, including the expressions, behavior, and condition of every single person in his group.

That was why he found it necessary to deliver his speech. He just hoped that everything he was about to say would be enough to lead his people in the direction he intended to lead them.

If they misunderstood his intentions, everything would be for naught. Despite his strength and everything he had done so far, it was not impossible for Dilan to lose his people’s trust.

However, Dilan knew that he had to do something, right now, otherwise, things would get worse!

Taking a deep breath, he stood on the roof of a bus before he began with his, hopefully, successful speech.

“I know that your lives have been turned upside down once again. The appearance of the Red Dragon and the destruction of Rian must have been imprinted into everyone’s minds by now.

Maybe some doubt if it’s even worth running away to find a new hideout to stay, a new place to live, and a place to start everything from scratch.

‘Will we have to run away again if another Dragon or a different being with equal powers will appear all of a sudden?’

‘Is it necessary for us to keep fleeing, to become nomads, and live every day in fear of dying?’

‘Would it have been better to die instead of struggling to stay alive in a place that feels like hell?’

A few of you have had thoughts similar to these, am I right?

I can tell that everyone wants answers, and I would love to reassure all of you, that everything will be alright, that everyone will survive and that life will get worthwhile as long as we keep striving for more.

However, I cannot give you such an answer.

I am only a single individual, and I won’t be able to change everything on my own. In fact, I cannot even protect all of you as much as I wish to.

Even if I were to fight with all my might, it would be impossible to defeat the Red Dragon.

Maybe, I will gain enough strength to defeat a Dragon in the future but until then…I will never know what will happen.

Life is unpredictable and I can only do my best to protect all of you. However, in return, I need everyone to give their utmost effort as well.

I can tell that many of you are desperate and afraid about the future. We don’t even have a home right now.

However, as long as we’re alive and able to walk, fight, and work, it’s possible for us to achieve everything.

What does it matter if we’ll have to abandon our next home once again? We will relocate and build a new place.

We will become stronger, pay attention not to repeat the mistakes we did before, and grow.

As long as we stay alive and fight for our future, nothing will be able to stop us!”