192 Chapter 189 Sometime We Need A Happy Place (2/2)

Joseph nodded.

Behind Stella, the crowd had swelled to almost the entire village, and he could tell that they were very scared and cautious of him.

”Great one, we thank you for the generosity you have shown our people,” said the mayor, holding out a leather packet, with his head bowed as if in fear.

Joseph tilted his head, and blinked a couple of times, before he realized everyone was afraid of him. The parents were holding their children tight, and the few people he recognized as those he had rescued, were terrified to make eye contact with him. It had begun.

Taking the packet with a nod of thanks, he didn't acknowledge the mayor's scramble back into the crowd, behind the guards that now were obviously putting themselves between him and the townspeople. They had formed a line two deep, and the looks in their eyes told him that they knew they didn't have a chance if he chose to actually attack, but were willing to give their lives to try.

Turning his back on them, he walked away from them all, and Stella moved to follow him, curious about his actions. Taking her hand, Joseph teleported them to the north, to her orchard of fruit trees that could withstand the cold. She gave a squeal of delight, and moved among the trees gathering a few from here and there. He watched her for a moment, a small smile playing along his lips, before he opened the satchel. There were several rolled parchments in the bottom of it, and he pulled them out.

They were crudely drawn maps. Joseph sighed as he used mana to hold the maps up around him so he could see them all at the same time. None of them were very accurate, but he decided he had a rough idea of where this gnomish city should be.

'System, tell me about this Brago guy. How did he get the system?'

(HIS GRANDFATHER WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE HIM THE SYSTEM. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO HIS FATHER, BUT HIS FATHER SQUANDERED THE FAMILY FORTUNE IN ORDER TO REBUILD THE FAMILY NAME. HIS FATHER IS ALSO THE ONE WHO GAVE ME TO YOUR FATHER. HE WOULD BET HIS MOST VALUABLE POSSESSIONS IN DICE GAMES, THEN FORCE ME TO RIG THE GAMES SO THAT HE WOULDN'T DIE. I GOT TICKED AND LET HIM LOSE, WHICH COST HIM HIS LIFE. IN CONSOLATION TO THE GRANDFATHER, WHO WAS AN AWESOME GUY BY THE WAY, I ALLOWED HIM TO SHARE ME WITH BRAGO.)

'He was intending to have a coup and overthrow the central king?'

(YES, HE WAS DEVELOPING GUNS AND CANNONS.)

”That's so inefficient,' thought Joseph with a shake of his head.

Joseph was under so much pressure to prepare for NURKONG, that he felt overwhelmed. He knew that he wasn't invincible against this G.o.d and he was the only one who could protect his people. At least his own subjects still felt in awe of him, instead of just afraid of him. He knew that while he was powerful, he wasn't omnipotent. He needed to keep working on preparing for whatever shavist this G.o.d had planned for next.

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