Chapter 68: Villilan, The Beginning of Trust Collapsing

There was only one walled city gate on the castle’s front side.

Because these doors were in a pair, they seemed exceptionally thick and heavy to operate. There was another smaller door beside the larger ones for easy access.

The small door was pushed open, and an army of Kobolds walked out.

Different from exploration teams, this team was formed of 12 kobolds, namely six warriors in the front, three mages in the middle, and then another three warriors at the back.

Su Mo used his binoculars to look at the kobolds and determine their motives through the look in their eyes.

They were walking in his direction!

However, the kobold squad was not marching forth at a particularly fast speed. They did not seem to be chasing after something but instead looked like they were going to take care of another matter somewhere else.

“Is this team going to the saltpeter mines?”

He made some guesses, and then looked at how there were around a thousand meters left between them.

Su Mo turned around and summoned his fine iron electronic spear from the storage space. Turning around to look at his captive kobold, Su Mo did not say another word as he deftly raised his spear and brought it down in a stab.

Although this spear did not have any electronic assistance, the amount of strength Su Mo wielded was beginning to get scary. He managed to crack open his captive’s skull.

When Su Mo noticed that both red and white substances would spill out and remain on the ground if he pulled out the tip of his spear, Su Mo got an idea and stored the corpse in the burial bucket he had crafted and stored in his storage space.

One had to be ruthless when the time called for it while they were out battling for survival.

Since the kobold’s mission had been accomplished, there was no need for any more nonsense. Sending him back to the arms of the kobold’s ancestors was the biggest mercy he could show.

“This gang cannot be killed for now. I’ll follow them from the back and see what they’re up to.”

The group was formed from twelve kobolds in total. Perhaps it might have been a problem if he continued hiding in the kobold saltpeter mine camp or keeping a watch on the kobold castle.

However, Su Mo had full confidence that he would be able to destroy all the kobolds in one go once they were in the wild.

After making several more observations, he noticed that the kobold team had not changed the direction they were traveling in even after another five hundred meters.

Su Mo squashed his thoughts and bent double to quickly retreat along the flanks.

Oreo, who was beside Su Mo, immediately understood what he was doing and ran alongside Su Mo in the wilderness.

Both human and dog had nothing to look back on as they came and went without showing even a shadow.

Su Mo sprawled on the grassy field nearby with Oreo and watched coldly as the kobold team walked right past without noticing he was sprawled out there.

The kobold team’s formation had become extremely loose during their journey.

Even more, the two Kobold Mages in the center who were closer to the back than they were to the front were whispering to each other. No one knew what they were talking about, but from time to time, they laughed loudly and threw their heads back to howl, a perfect display of happiness.

“Oreo, circle over to the front later and see if any kobolds are waiting to welcome them. If there are, hurry back and tell me. I’ll be following them from the back.”

Su Mo reached a combat-uniform-clad hand out and patted Oreo’s round head as he gave his orders in a low voice.

Oreo, who understood the human language, nodded and growled in a deep voice before dashing toward the front.

Compared to the slow-marching kobolds, Oreo, who used all four limbs to travel, moved astonishingly quickly.

It only took her the time of five or six breaths before she caught up to the kobold team and surpassed them through the sides to appear ahead of them.

“Alright!”

Su Mo stood and hurried over to the tall hill. After ensuring that there was no second team coming from the kobold castle, he jogged to catch up to them.

From the saltpeter mine camp to the kobold castle.

The two places were not too far away if you used a buggy to measure the distance.

However, on foot, it took more than an hour before Su Mo returned to the saltpeter mine camp along with the kobold team.

Some distance away, at an area that spanned less than five hundred meters, was a temporary defense camp that the kobolds had set up.

Several massive, sharpened wooden spikes were placed horizontally at the camp’s entrance.

Wooden barbs were stuck onto the fence surrounding the campgrounds in a pattern that would cause a trypophobia attack.

Two scout towers that seemed around ten meters tall were erected on both sides of the camp so that they could be used to scout out the surrounding terrain.

When Su Mo saw the layout, not only did he not feel confused, but a feeling of familiarity appeared within him.

“If I hadn’t seen these kobolds, I’m afraid I would have thought this was a shelter camp built by humans.”

Su Mo laughed at himself as he took out his binoculars and looked toward the saltpeter mountain mine.

Around two hours had passed since he had first observed these miners and then took a round trip.

However, the humans at the mines were still being forced to work hard and mine under the blazing sun.

Now that they were closing in, Su Mo could even see in greater detail the expression of numbed pain on the miners’ faces through his binoculars.

He could see the entirety of the mountain when he stood on the hill and noticed there were more than fifty miners present.

Now, sprawled on the side of the camp, he could only see one side of the mountain.

“Those that I can see clearly in my current line of sight… there are twelve Asians, seventeen blacks, and six whites.”

“Huh? Why don’t those two need to mine?”

An astonished expression appeared on Su Mo’s face as he gazed through his binoculars.

The rest of the people in his line of sight were hard at work mining. Sweat streaked down their faces and washed off the dirt, forming clearly visible marks.

However, amidst these miners were two people holding wooden spears. They walked in and back again; not seeming the slightest bit like a miner.

Su Mo put down his binoculars and rubbed his eyes, which were starting to become sore after an extended period of focus. Once they had adequate rest, Su Mo looked over again.

“One Asian, and one white…”

“These are supervisors?”

Hierarchy existed wherever humans were, even if they had become the kobold’s servants. It was natural that two so-called supervisors had come to exist.

Yet, Su Mo’s blood boiled when he moved the binoculars the next second.

He could see a man who looked like an islander at the large houses in the center of the camp, sitting in front of the kobolds and laughing as he talked to them.

The three Kobold Mages who had come over from the castle were now sitting in front of the man, gesturing with their hands as they talked about things he could not hear.

“D*mn it! This *sshole has better meals than I do and lives more comfortably than I do. Who knows how many people he must have oppressed to do so!”

Other people were mining and seating.

Yet, the man in the house was sitting in front of a grill and turning it with reckless abandon as he scattered what seemed like seasonings on top of it from time to time.

Even if he could not smell the scent that emaciated from the grill as the spices were scattered atop the meat.

Su Mo could still imagine the scent from his memories back on earth.

The minutes and seconds ticked by.

Su Mo kept staring until the man finished grilling the meat, divided it into portions using a knife, and placed the separate portions into the kobold’s bowls. When everyone finished eating, they walked out of the wooden house and conversed in the middle of the camp.

During this process, Su Mo did not feel any emotions, although Oreo seemed slightly agitated.

“D*mn it… I was wondering why that person seemed somewhat familiar.”

Finally, he managed to use his binoculars and look at the man in the center of the camp. The one who had betrayed humans and whose face was now synonymous with the word “villain”.

At the same time, it triggered a portion of Su Mo’s memories.

“If I recall correctly, this *sshole must be named… Kento Maeda.”

“I think I’ve seen this person talk in the World Channel after the first update…”

Bits and pieces of Su Mo’s memories began appearing as Su Mo tried his best to locate them.

“That person seemed to have been looking to form a team with a group of kind-hearted people with good morals so that they could take care of each other. Who would have thought that it was your standard example of phishing!”

The wasteland had always been a dangerous place.

And now, the occupation of “villain” had made a sudden appearance.

Suddenly, Su Mo felt that all sorts of malice could be found in the game’s chat panel if someone used it with that intention.

Perhaps in the start, the chat channel was a useful tool for everyone to use in communicating.

However, as time passed, it became harder to assess every person who spoke in the chat panel and ponder the goodness or badness of their character, and whether there were any malicious meanings hidden within.

When that happened, a person’s credibility would collapse, and everyone would not be familiar with anyone else.

Except for official shelters, all privately-built shelters would be filled with schemes and tricks.

The lone wolves left behind would have to spend their time during Doomsday alone.

“Perhaps the fact that Magoo is unwilling to go looking for friends even after spending 19 disasters alone is a realistic portrayal of the collapse of trust amidst humans.

The more Su Mo thought about it, the more he felt the intent to kill racing in him as he stared at Kento Maeda, who had not even wiped the oil from the corners of his mouth.

This man could not be allowed to remain here!