Back in Voumi Town, a certain Lord was feeling increasingly irksome.
"No news of them, still?" he asked his people, referring to the large group they sent to Alterra.
They shouldâve arrived in Alterra by now, and they had yet to receive a post. They knew Alterra was a Town and no Town would bypass the Post Office, so they should be getting news right now.
"Perhaps they are being careful," one of his advisors said. "After all, Alterra knows of us and might be reading letters directed to them.
Lords had the power to access the letters, but not block them. There was a chance that it was just delayed in sending. Perhaps they also made detours, sending to other places instead. However, the nearest town was so far away, so this was impractical.
He had also received word from the powerhousesâ families and organizations. They were expressing their concern for the lack of news.
Mafo frowned, unable to help himself, and went to look at his panel.
He looked at the Population List on the Lord Panel. The population list included people within the territory, but the Residency list included everyone who purchased residencies, temporary or not, including those outside of the territory.
His pupils constricted as he read through the list.
Gone. Their names were gone.
They wouldnât have switched territories. So this meantâthey were dead.
"AHHHHH!" he screamed, once again breaking another table, and slapping whoever was nearest to him.
BANG!
"THAT DAMNED ALTERRA!"
...
Putrid air, dirty streets, and arrogant people.
Atlas sighed as he walked past street after street, eventually reaching one of the few parks in the territory.
This area was surrounded by âbetterâ houses, so the people here were better off. There were also fewer drug addicts here because the people were generally stronger. Even if they were âusingâ, they wouldnât lose their minds, unlike the weaker commoners in other neighborhoods.
Anyway, he specifically dressed decently so the few guards making rounds wouldnât kick him out.
He had a large wooden box on hand and he found a place in the park to settle on. Such a large box naturally could not be low key and it attracted some attention.
Fortunately, some people who were around recognized him and immediately brightened up. "Itâs him!"
"Hey, you!"
"Let me buy!"
"Youâre not limiting our purchase again, will you?!"
Atlas didnât say anything. He simply opened the box up, revealing a few hundred slices of flavored dried meat.
These were marinated with Alterraâs sauces, and made with techniques he learned from terran, so it was naturally superior in taste, quality, and shelf life.
The houses near parks were naturally one of the higher-end houses, and a lot of these people were rich people or their servants, and he could price his products quite high after introducing them to the market a few weeks back.
He sat there and sold his items, limiting each person to a maximum of 5 jerkies at a time. They could line up again, though, but there was no guarantee the stocks would last.
While he sold things with a smile, he also listened to the gossip of people lining up or just observing them. People at his level wouldnât have a hard time eavesdropping on conversations a few meters away, especially when people werenât being too hush-hush about things.
...
The past month or two, many Alterrans had actually created their own Mercenary Teams. Of course, because Alterra did not have a Mercenary Hall yet, they had to go to Ferrol to register it.
This was something good and encouraged by Jonathan. Not only would he gain a portion of the registration payments, but itâd also tie him closer to Alterra.
That said, the formation of official mercenary teams wouldâve been sooner if not for the level requirements and, of course, the money requirement, which was at least a hundred gold.
This was the default price the Hall charged and the Lord didnât even have that much kickback from each transaction. Most territories kept the price this way. After all, having more mercenary teams in the territory was only good for it.
Other than the money, the team lead had to be at least Level 15 to be able to create their own Mercenary Team. Each member also had to be at least level 10 to join in.
This was also why Baronâwho had literally just upgraded to Level 10 the past weekâwould just be an assistant. It was actually his cousin Jesse, a guard, who was named Captain of the Mercenary Team. Finally, a person could only be part of one Mercenary Team.
Further, the Owner himself or herself must also be present and approved by the system during its creation, so all team captains had to go to Ferrol if they wanted to make an official mercenary team.
That said, there were big teams who had planned to make them, but had not yet done so.
The first one was the Alterran Official Mercenary Team. It wasnât that Garanâs Terran Mercenary wasnât official, but the former would be the first one the territory would create. All the guards above level 15 not part of the Terran Mercenary Team would have the option of joining this one.
In name, the Leader and the registrant of the team was Mathilda. They wanted her to form it as soon as possible, but level 15 was still ways to go for Mathilda.
Althea was not an option because se had already registered under the Terran Mercenary Teamâwhich was on its way on upgrading to Class C within a year or two. Sheâd accompany her husband and, if they would take missions someday, it was also so they could take missions together.
This left Mathilda, the highest-ranking official, at least in public, though she had to work hard to gain the necessary level to do so.
Of course, the old woman was willing to push herself, and she already scheduled hours every day to train with soldiers, hoping to upgrade as soon as possible.
It was tiring, but according to her, seeing her wrinkles go away bit by bit every time she leveled up was a joy in and of itself.

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