Chapter 599

“Waaah! If you get caught, you’re dead!”

“Hehe! Try catching me if you can.”

Young children ran through the narrow alleys as if they were a playground.

Among the kids running around excitedly was Samuel, the third son of Urtian.

The children Samuel played with were the sons and daughters of the people who had recently entered the Steel Fortress.

In the meantime, many changes had taken place in the Steel Fortress.

As many new buildings had been constructed, just as many people had flowed in.

At first, many had thought of this place only as a forward base, but after seeing the Steel Fortress rapidly develop, quite a few decided to settle down for good.

The children of those who stayed became Samuel’s friends.

Samuel was happy to have friends.

His older brothers, Leodor and Daian, no longer played with him since they had joined monster hunts.

They had been running around and playing for a while when—

“Samuel! Why is that inner area left empty?”

One of his new friends pointed at a large vacant lot deeper inside the Steel Fortress.

Unlike the other areas, that place alone had been left empty, which he didn’t understand.

“Ah, there? My dad said people are going to move in there.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“What kind of people? From Neo Seoul? Or somewhere else?”

“You’ll find out when they arrive.”

Samuel held his tongue.

An ordinary child would have been itching to spill everything he knew, but Samuel was no ordinary child.

As the son of Urtian, the ruler of the Steel Fortress, he had experienced many things.

Because of that, he knew well what should be said and what should not.

Samuel walked with the other children toward the entrance of the Steel Fortress.

From the entrance located halfway up the sandstone mountain, one could clearly see the surrounding landscape.

There was nothing but an endless desert and a yellow sky, but Samuel liked the view from here.

“Waaah!”

“It feels nice!”

The blowing wind cooled the children’s heat.

At that moment, something strange caught Samuel’s eye.

“Hm?”

Something was moving on the horizon.

Born and raised in the desert, Samuel had eyesight far superior to that of ordinary people.

He could clearly see great distances and never missed even the slightest movement.

Because of that, Urtian believed Samuel could become an excellent monster hunter or scout.

This time as well, his keen eyesight proved its worth.

He shouted to the Awakened guarding the entrance.

“People! There are people coming from far away.”

“What?”

“What people?”

The Awakened at the entrance looked in the direction Samuel pointed. But they couldn’t see even the shadow of a monster, let alone people.

“Where are these people you’re talking about?”

“Near the horizon.”

“You can see that far?”

“Yes!”

“What incredible eyes. I’d like to trade mine for yours.”

The Awakened looked at Samuel in amazement.

At that moment, Urtian, having heard Samuel’s voice, approached.

“Samuel!”

“Dad?”

“You said there are people on the horizon?”

“Yeah!”

“How many?”

“A lot.”

“How many exactly?”

“So many I can’t count.”

“I see. Then I should go check.”

Urtian immediately led the Awakened and descended the Steel Fortress.

Now that several modern elevators had been installed, it no longer took as long as before to go down.

Urtian and the Awakened ran toward the direction Samuel had pointed.

After running for about an hour, they finally encountered those heading toward the Steel Fortress.

Just as Samuel had said, an uncountable number of people were walking toward them in ragged condition.

At a glance, there had to be at least tens of thousands.

It was an enormous group.

At the front of the group were people Urtian recognized.

“You came to greet us, Urtian!”

“You’ve finally arrived.”

The ones approaching him were none other than Riala and Hera.

Despite being covered in dust after walking through the desert for so long, their beauty had not faded in the slightest.

Urtian looked at the humans and elves behind them in shock.

“Don’t tell me you brought all of them?”

“Yes! We brought all the humans from El Harun.”

“Damn!”

Urtian cursed.

It wasn’t out of displeasure, but sheer shock that made the words slip out.

He had expected quite a number of humans to follow Riala, but he had never imagined all of them would come.

And it wasn’t just humans. There were also many elves brought by Hera.

Their faces were clearly worn with fatigue from the long journey.

“You must have encountered quite a few monsters on the way. What did you do?”

“We hunted the small ones and avoided the big ones. Still, many died.”

Riala’s expression darkened unconsciously.

It had been a migration of tens of thousands.

No matter how careful they were, there was no way to avoid casualties.

Monster attacks, the scorching sun, lack of water—every condition had been the worst.

Despite doing their best, many had perished in the desert.

Riala couldn’t help but feel guilt.

Both humans and elves had died in great numbers.

Urtian let out a sigh.

“Ha… You’ve worked hard. Let’s head to the Steel Fortress.”

“Thank you. It must be a burden, yet you’re accepting us.”

“It’s fine. I was prepared for this from the start. No need for thanks. Let’s move.”

Urtian and the Awakened turned and headed toward the Steel Fortress.

“So we’ve made it this far… Will there really be a place for all of us to stay?”

“We have nowhere else to go anyway. And Lady Riala and Lady Hera wouldn’t lie.”

“To start over in a place like this… it’s daunting.”

On the faces of the people from El Harun following Urtian, worry and hope coexisted.

Naturally, their steps toward the Steel Fortress were heavy.

They wondered if there truly was a safe fortress in the middle of such a desert.

Their curiosity was soon answered.

In the middle of the desert stood a massive sandstone mountain, with a large entrance halfway up.

“That’s the Steel Fortress?”

“There’s really space for people to live inside that?”

“At least it looks safe from monsters.”

As they drew closer, murmurs grew louder.

At the base of the Steel Fortress, many people had gathered.

There were natives, and also Awakened from Neo Seoul who had come through the portal.

Seeing their attire, the newcomers’ eyes trembled.

At a glance, their clothing was incomparably more refined.

With the inflow of Neo Seoul’s civilization, the standard of living in the Steel Fortress had risen dramatically.

Even the natives now wore clothes and used weapons imported from Neo Seoul.

Just by looking at them, one could tell Neo Seoul’s technology surpassed that of El Harun.

Feeling slightly intimidated, they were greeted by Deborah, the lady of the Steel Fortress.

Representing everyone, she welcomed those who had migrated from El Harun.

“Welcome. We sincerely welcome your migration.”

“Thank you, Deborah!”

“We appreciate the warm reception.”

Riala and Hera expressed their thanks on behalf of everyone.

Deborah smiled softly.

“Rather than standing here, let’s head inside the fortress.”

Inside, the women of the Steel Fortress had prepared to welcome the new residents.

The elevators moved busily, transporting the newcomers inside.

As they entered, the newcomers’ eyes widened.

“Wow! It’s huge.”

“It’s underground, but it’s not dark at all.”

“The buildings are big, and there are so many people.”

They were overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the interior.

Unlike before, the entrance area was now filled with tall buildings.

Each one was brightly lit, making the place look splendid.

Deborah led them further inside.

In the empty lot, many women were already preparing meals.

Since they had come a long way, food was the first priority.

Feeding tens of thousands was no small task, yet no one was worried.

They had already received supplies from Neo Seoul in preparation.

“Please sit in groups of ten. There’s plenty of space and food, so don’t rush.”

“Come this way.”

“Please keep order.”

The women of the Steel Fortress were all resilient.

Some had followed Deborah since their scavenger days, while others had originally lived in the fortress.

No matter the situation, they never panicked.

They prepared and served food with sincerity for those who had come such a long way.

That sincerity reached the people from El Harun as well.

“Mmm! It’s so good.”

“It’s not tough like monster meat.”

“Sniff…”

Some even shed tears while eating.

As warm food filled their stomachs, the hardships of the journey came rushing back.

When their companions had died to monster attacks, they had wondered if the migration was worth it.

But now, eating warm food in a safe place, such thoughts vanished completely.

After finishing their meal, smiles finally appeared on their faces.

Just then, as if on cue, people walked out from the portal.

They were Jin Geum-ho and Seo Taeran.

Upon hearing that people from El Harun had arrived, they had immediately come through the portal.

Only then did the newcomers notice the portal, their eyes widening.

“What is that?”

“A portal? Don’t tell me it allows spatial movement?”

“My god… Is teleportation really possible?”

It was a technology that did not even exist in El Harun, which they had considered the pinnacle.

They had never imagined such advanced technology existed in the Steel Fortress.

Jin Geum-ho muttered as he looked at them.

“They really did migrate from El Harun.”

“Then we can proceed.”

“Start right away.”

“Yes!”

Seo Taeran nodded and went back through the portal to Neo Seoul.

This was the advantage of having a portal.

If they wished, they could move between the two places instantly at any time.

When she reappeared, she was not alone.

A line of vehicles carrying enormous amounts of materials came through.

These were supplies prepared in advance for when the people from El Harun arrived.

“Hurry!”

“Unload the materials here!”

The materials unloaded from the vehicles were for building houses.

They had been modularized, so they only needed assembly.

They could have built houses in advance, but they hadn’t, as there was no certainty everyone would arrive safely.

So they had only prepared the materials and waited.

Watching the workers from Neo Seoul build houses, the people from El Harun began to move as well.

Even without being told, they realized those houses would be theirs.

“We’ll help too.”

“Just give us instructions.”

They couldn’t stand idly by while their homes were being built.

Everyone stepped forward to lend a hand.

Soon, the construction site was full of energy.

Urtian, Riala, and Hera approached Jin Geum-ho.

It was time for the leaders to begin their formal talks.

Everyone present instinctively knew—that this meeting would become the foundation for stepping into a new era.