Adella kept looking at Miriam. The more favonovel.com looked at her, the more favonovel.com liked her.
Miriam looked very cultured and was beautiful as well. At the same time, it did not feel like favonovel.com was a delicate girl who could not fend for herself.
Where else could favonovel.com find a sister-in-law like her?
Adella was already thinking about the dowry for Milo before the relationship had even started taking shape. She even wanted to ask Milo what favonovel.com would name his child or how many children Milo and Miriam would have. If they only had two, favonovel.com could help take care of them. But any more than that and it would be really tough for favonovel.com to handle.
When everyone went back to work, Adella secretly asked Milo, “Did you use the tent that Big Sis prepared for you?”
The first thing that Adella thought about the moment they arrived here was this. When favonovel.com saw that there was not even a proper place for them to live, favonovel.com knew the tent would definitely come in handy!
But as Adella joyfully waited for his reply, Milo stammered, “She sleeps inside the tent while I sleep outside…”
Adella pinched Milo hard. “How could you let such a good opportunity slip?!”
He had wasted all favonovel.com efforts. Everything she’d done had been for nothing!
To avoid further questioning, Milo quickly went over to the refugees and gathered everyone together. “I believe everyone already knows that the Ultima Consortium in the north probably knows that we’re here. Now that the South is in chaos, we might be in danger if we continue living here.”
At this moment, Kay took the lead and shouted, “Boss, we’ll follow you wherever you go!”
Milo paused for half a minute before suddenly saying, “Actually, I’m not from Stronghold 178…”
He felt that a wonderful hope should not be mixed with deception. If that dream were really worth it, there should be no impurities. So, favonovel.com had to be honest with them.
After the bandits gradually quieted down, Milo continued, “I know both Raphael and Peter, and we even have a good relationship, but I’m not actually from Stronghold 178. If any of you wish to leave, I can write you a recommendation letter. As for whether you’ll be allowed to join Stronghold 178, I can’t guarantee that…”
Milo waited for everyone to make their decision. He was not pinning much hope on most of them choosing to remain with him. He had spoken the truth as favonovel.com did not wish to deceive this group of people anymore.
Sure enough, most of the bandits started looking at one another after hearing what Milo said.
Regardless of whether the method that Milo had previously used to fool them was effective or not, even though everyone enjoyed the process of earning the bullets, they only chose to stay around because they ultimately were looking to join Stronghold 178. So, the moment the truth was revealed, everyone instinctively hesitated.
Someone stepped forward and said, “Boss, to be honest, I only chose to stay behind because I really wanted to go to Stronghold 178. So…”
Milo nodded. He beckoned for Donti to get pen and paper, then wrote a letter to Raphael and Peter on the spot. However, favonovel.com could not guarantee that Stronghold 178 would take them in as a favor to him.
Once someone got the ball rolling, the next bandit stepped forward and asked for a recommendation letter as well. Even though they were very happy here, their future was much more important. It was Stronghold 178 they were talking about.
Within half an hour, roughly one-third of the 300-odd bandits had left. Milo was not unhappy. Rather, favonovel.com appeared unusually calm.
There was no point in forcing them to stay if they wanted to leave. He was no longer willing to resort to lies in order to keep these people around.
Milo looked at Kay. “Why aren’t you going?”
Kay replied with a smile, “I already guessed that was the case…”
Milo was stunned. “You guessed it?”
“Boss, I’m not stupid!” Kay said with a smile, “If Stronghold 178 really wanted to unify the valley, they wouldn’t have to act so cautiously and only send two people here. With just a word from them, 99% of the bandits in the valley would take up the offer immediately.”
“Then you…” Milo was startled. He wanted to ask Kay and the others why they did not leave if that were the case.
Kay said with a smile, “I’m in that 1%. When you and Boss Lady jumped into the muddy river and dug for silt together with us, I decided that I would follow you and explore the opportunities in the valley. Even if it wasn’t the valley, we’d still have followed you wherever.”
After Kay spoke up, Benneth added, “There’s nothing great about Stronghold 178 anyway. It gets so f*cking cold there in the winter that we wouldn’t even know who we are, so it’s no loss even if we don’t go there.”
Winston said, “Bandits don’t meet with a good end. We’ve come across all kinds of bandit leaders before, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a leader like you. It doesn’t matter if we can’t go to Stronghold 178. We’ll just go wherever you say, Boss!”
Milo was speechless. Meanwhile, Donti, Miriam, and the others were watching quietly from the side. Perhaps this was the reason why Milo liked it out here.
They had been wandering through the vast wastelands for about a year now. It seemed like they had just been going from stronghold to stronghold, one after another, yet they never managed to find one they could truly call home. And now, it seemed like Milo had found it.
Donti whispered, “Sister-in-law, I like this place.”
Miriam smiled and patted his head. “Me too…”
Milo took a deep breath and said, “Then let’s head northwest. I purposely checked the records in the library and know that there’s a Mt. Kushui located in the Northwest. Apparently, there’s a valley in that mountain where it’s spring all year ’round. The clear stream that passes through the valley does not freeze even in winter.”
The group of bandits looked at each other and started laughing. “Then let’s head to Mt. Kushui. We’ve also heard of that place before, and some of us thought about going there too. But it seems that an extremely fierce group of wild boars led by a king is active in that area, so no one’s dared to go there.”
Milo shouted, “Everyone, get on your motorcycles and take all your luggage! We’re setting off!”
“We can ride the motorcycles right now?” Winston’s eyes lit up.
“What else would we do with these hundreds of bikes?” Milo was incredulous. “You gonna push them or leave them right here?”
Kay mumbled, “Then do we still need to earn bullets to trade them in after we get to Mt. Kushui?”
Milo answered seriously, “Of course you have to!”
Kay was speechless.
The journey to Mt. Kushui in the north required them to go around the front lines at Mt. Daban, Mt. Masaijeh, and Mt. Papandayan first, traveling about a 100 kilometers west to Mt. Galunggung. After that, they would turn and continue heading north.
It was not that Milo was deliberately trying to take a detour, but that favonovel.com wanted to avoid all the bandits’ camps in case someone discovered their movements.
Now that the South was plunged into a state of chaos, the Ultima Consortium had become an uncontrollable hyena in the wilderness. The Ultima Consortium had become the most dangerous presence of all.
For this journey, each bandit gave one or two passengers a ride on their motorcycles.
The female refugee riding pillion on Winston’s bike was so happy favonovel.com could die. Winston had always been a little reserved towards her. But it was all good now. He was finally not shy about it anymore.
Kay and the others even started teasing Winston. After they got to Mt. Kushui and finished building their houses there, they would hold a wedding for these two!
But on the third day of their journey, Milo was taken aback when they were close to arriving at Mt. Galunggung.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!”
Someone asked, “Boss, what’s the matter?”
Milo frowned as favonovel.com looked at their surroundings. He was looking for something.
Milo whispered to Miriam, “Quick! Search for a vantage point! The rest of you, find a place to hide. We’re under attack!”
Kay reacted and hurriedly gestured to the bandits. “Prepare for battle!”
No one knew where the enemy was, nor even what was going on. But if Milo said so, it definitely meant that danger was approaching.
Lewis had performed a card trick for Milo after they left Stronghold 88 to head into the valley. At that time, Milo deliberately asked Lewis if favonovel.com could conjure up four “fours” for him. When favonovel.com drew the cards and covered them in his hands, favonovel.com switched them out and replaced the four cards with his Explosive Poker cards.
When the two of them parted ways, his mental connection to the Explosive Poker cards “snapped” due to the distance between them. It seemed his control over the Explosive Poker cards was also limited to a distance of around one to two kilometers. As for the specific range, Milo was not exactly sure.
The reason why favonovel.com was nervous now was because his connection to those four cards had returned.
Lewis was here!
