"Are you telling me that they are still here?" The commander looked at the man in front of him narrowing his eyes.
This was Yahe, the leader of the main troop A, consisting of fifteen soldiers who had dealt with the centipedes.
There were also two other men standing beside him, who were the leaders of troop B and troop C.
These two groups were backup teams and were not as strong as the main team. They even had some civilians mixed in with them.
Apart from this, there was also the commander's person troop, who were at all times in the vicinity of the middle-aged man.
Surprisingly, even though these people did not head out to hunt often, their strength was comparable to the troop A, perhaps even stronger than them.
Yahe clenched his fists and filled the Commander in on everything that was happening around them. "Yes, sir. They have settled under the ground like rats."
"They are only alive because we are taking care of everything. Just this morning, we killed five goblins and two giant birds."
"If we don't take care of the beasts, they will be dead within an hour."
"They are leeching on us indirectly and yet they don't want to join our camp and contribute. I absolutely hate useless trash like this."
"Using shortcuts to get our protection but acting as if they don't need it when I openly offered it to them."
"It's because of that damned arrogant prick. I heard he joined our camp but left shortly saying that he needed more freedom."
"Just because he can do some parlor tricks and make ice cubes for drinks, the others are following him and blindly listening to his words."
"They are doing everything purposefully, sir." Yahe was extremely frustrated and humiliated after the last encounter he had with the said leeching group and his words did not hide his disgust.
He even forgot where he was standing at the moment and ended up venting out more than he intended to. The other two leaders looked at him anxiously, silently cursing him to stop talking.
But Yahe didn't seem to be on the same page as them and continued blabbering everything that came to his mouth.
The other two could only helplessly shake their heads. He was on a roll to his own doom and all they could do was just wait and watch the show.
Even they didn't know how the commander was going to react. No one except the three leaders and the commander's personal troops had seen him in person, at least up close.
So others might not realize just how scary or intimidating he was, but they knew it too well. The man had the aura of an Emperor or an undefeatable King.
In fact, some of them even believed that he would eventually end up as the ruler of this new world.
If that happens, then it was inevitable that they would also be in high enviable positions, which would undoubtedly put them at an advantage above the rest of the world.
They could potentially be rulers, nobles, and aristocrats of the new world. Their future growth and potential would be limitless.
This was why even though they were terrified of the Commander, they still obediently stuck with him and followed all his whims and wishes to a T.
However, stupid Yahe seemed to have forgotten whose presence he was standing in and continued spouting nonsense non-stop.
Even they couldn't bear to hear his whining after a few minutes. It sounded weak and annoying as if he was crying over a boy like a teenage girl.
And just as expected… the next instant...
"That's enough." The commander's sharp voice resounded in the huge hall, making everyone subconsciously shudder slightly.
Yahe quickly shut his mouth as if his two lips were suddenly dipped in glue. He began sweating profusely as he realized that he had crossed a line and cursed himself for getting carried away.
This was all because of that damned arrogant prick!
Yahe did not hesitate and quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing to the Commander. "Please forgive me for my unsightly behavior, sir. I was foolish." He gulped nervously in the uncomfortable silence that prevailed in the hall.
After several minutes, the Commander once again spoke. "Get up. Bring everyone here to me. You may all leave now."
Oh! The three leaders looked at each other and then quickly scrambled out of the room. The Commander had only spoken a few words but they already understood what he meant.
Now, that group of survivors no longer had any choice in the matter. They were going to be brought to the base along with the rest of the civilians by whatever means necessary.
Yahe and the other two leaders, all had excited expressions on their faces. With this last renegade group in line, they would have almost unified all the survivors in the city.
And at this rate, they were soon going to be the leaders of the entire district and then the state and then perhaps the country.
But even so, Yahe was still a bit disgruntled or acted like he was. "Damn it. We have to do everything. These idiots can't even do the courtesy of making things easy for us."
"Couldn't they have just agreed and walked in willingly? Why make things difficult? It's not like we are luring them here to torture them. We are only offering food, safety, and shelter."
"And now we have to put in all the extra work just so that we can bring them back safely. What an ungrateful bunch!"
The other leader, Zemin, who was standing beside Yahe also seemed to feel the same way. "Thankfully our Commander is merciful. These kinds of people deserve much less."
Unlike Yahe, he was an experienced old veteran. Having already seen blood and death in life, his views were a bit stronger and extreme for normal day-to-day life.
However, during the apocalypse, that kind of attitude only gave him an edge.