Chapter 56: The Arsonist!

[Emerald City outskirts, Smith Shelter]

On the other end, while Ethan was busy trying to break through to the second circle, Elena and the others had already met up with Christian and Alfred.

Though it wasn’t hard to find them, as Christian was in the middle of giving orders:

"Emilia! Go handle the people who have awakened abilities and register them down!"

"Spade mercenary group, I want you to join the Smith-established guards and survey the shelter surroundings!"

"Man the watchtowers and don’t come down for now!"

"Adrian, you make sure that the weapons supply is still in check, and Vivian, prepare to do an overall headcount!"

"Once everything is set, we can formally begin to allocate resources and start other things like farming."

"Also, Alfred, make a mental note that we need to set up a research department."

"With this red sky above our heads, I don’t think plants will grow the way they used to."

"Although my grandson said strength has now become the order of the day, for the overall good of the people, knowledge is also an important factor."

Holding a walkie-talkie in hand, and following Ethan’s plan, Christian began to issue order after order.

Not only that, but he did it with so much zeal that it made it hard for anyone to imagine that this was an old man in his seventies.

Looking at him now, with his face ruddy, it seemed that even if he hadn’t awakened any abilities, thanks to the apocalypse, his body was somewhat strengthened.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! We’re back!"

Waving her hand in joy, Elena, in an all-black turtleneck and joggers, called out to him.

Behind her, Victoria and Terry curiously scanned his surroundings.

’This is crazy~ just how much did they prepare ahead of time?!’

’Also, isn’t a civilian having access to firearms illegal? But then again, it’s the Smith family, so maybe their laws are different?’

Speaking inwardly, Terry could hardly believe his eyes.

From the moment he entered, he witnessed a giant concrete wall several meters high...

The four watchtowers with massive security lights that overlooked the fortress...

Or the amount of people in camouflage costumes with guns in hand patrolling the site...

Everything he saw made him understand just how powerful the Smiths were.

So much so that he couldn’t help but be glad he chose to follow them.

"Hey, if it isn’t my lovely granddaughter and Miss Victoria."

"At first I was worried where you guys were after we woke up, but who knew that grandson of mine left a letter in his pocket saying you three were going first."

"If you’re back now, I take it that means you’ve cleared the surrounding area of any threats?"

"In that case, you have my thanks," said Christian.

However, as if noticing something, he couldn’t help but raise his left eyebrow a bit.

"This is...?" he said, looking at the curly-haired teenager in front of him.

"This is Terry. We found him while we went out. He used to be a member of Victoria’s orphanage."

"Plus, he seems to have awakened an ability too. Because of that, we decided to bring him over to lend a hand."

"Isn’t that right, Terry? Hahaha!"

Slapping his shoulder, Elena spoke up for Terry, and Victoria on the side also nodded, expressing her thoughts.

As for Terry, he was still trying to take in everything, far too stunned to speak.

So seeing them like this, Christian could only agree.

"Well, if it’s what that grandson of mine agreed to, then who am I to say no? After all, he’s the patriarch now."

"Speaking of the patriarch, where is he? Isn’t he meant to be back with you guys?"

"Or don’t tell me he ran into some trouble?"

Saying this, Christian couldn’t help but feel silly.

Trouble? What trouble? He, more than anyone, knew what kind of absurd strength his grandson currently possessed.

It was to a level that ordinary humans could not conceive, added to that strange thing called magic.

He doubted if anything could really trouble Ethan.

However, after hearing Christian’s words, Elena and the others suddenly looked a bit complicated.

"Wait, what’s the meaning of that face? Don’t tell me something bad actually happened?" asked Christian, as he suddenly had a bad feeling.

And sure enough, Victoria’s next words confirmed his thoughts.

"Indeed, Grandpa Christian. On our way here, Ethan discovered what could only be some sort of giant monster’s footprint."

"We don’t know what it was, but when he saw it, his face turned gloomy."

"So much so that he has decided to break through to the second-circle mage to deal with whatever it was."

Remembering the size of that footprint, Victoria wondered if her current ice powers would be useful against such a monster.

However, considering just how much she struggled against those mana zombies and ran out of mana at the end...

She didn’t think so.

"I see. If that’s the case, then it makes sense he’s not here."

"Do you have any idea how long his breakthrough is going to be?"

asked Christian, his face completely calm at the news.

At his age, he knew that panic wouldn’t do anything but make things worse; the only thing he could do was help prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Unfortunately, none of them had an idea how long Ethan’s breakthrough would be.

"I see. In that case, you three go check for your aunt Vivian. She should soon be doing a headcount of the people in the shelter."

"Find all people like yourselves who have awakened abilities and form an ability team."

"Although I don’t know what kind of monster Ethan saw, I doubt guns would be of any help."

"In the worst-case scenario, Ethan hasn’t broken through and we get attacked."

"I’ll need you all with abilities to lure it away while we bomb it to death."

Thinking of all the bombs they had stocked up to the brim, Christian couldn’t help but sneer.

Whatever monster dared to invade, he would bomb it like there was no tomorrow.

’Don’t worry, grandson, break through in peace.’

’Grandpa is about to show that monster why, when he was younger, they called him the arsonist!’