Wizard: I brought the wrong system...

Chapter 363 Post-War

The boys walked heavily, supporting each other, silently traversing the barren earth.

The worn-out straw boots left clear footprints on the semi-sandy ground.

Yellow sand hit our faces.

The howling wind carried a sense of sorrow.

"Leo, Elro, Little Nord..."

A buzzing sound, like a mosquito's hum, rang out from time to time, and tiny specks of light fell in mid-air, leaving small pits on both sides of the footprints.

They didn't realize it during the battle, but after the war ended and the boys had tended to their wounds, they wanted to find their friends to boast about their "heroism" in the battle. Only then did they realize that... their good friend was dead.

Old Charles walked alone at the end of the group, watching the boys' performance, his expression inexplicably somber.

But he said nothing, only silently observing his surroundings, keeping watch on the teenagers who were immersed in grief.

Soon after, a boy awoke from his grief, noticed old Charles's somber expression, and deliberately slowed his pace, retreating to his side.

"Old Man Charles, no one is blaming you. The Earl's orders were given too hastily, and we only had two days of intensive training..."

Hearing the boy's incessant complaints, old Charles glanced back warningly, but when he saw the boy's appearance, he couldn't help but be stunned.

The boy's eyes were slightly red, and his face was covered with a layer of grayish-white powder, whether it was dust or ashes, it was hard to tell. The powder on both sides of his cheeks had been wiped off, but some messy dirt stains still remained, which were dark brown, semi-moist, and muddy, distributed in an eccentric way, like cat whiskers.

"Hami..."

Old Charles hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He suddenly realized: the boy probably didn't want him to see him... or even his companions in such a disheveled state, so he wiped away his tears and came to him, so he... gave his companions such a ridiculous excuse.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Old Man Charles?" The boy asked with a forced nonchalance, completely unaware that the old man had already noticed his embarrassment.

Along the way, there were neither rivers nor wells.

Besides blood, only tears can wet the dust off your face.

Old Charles shook his head, abandoning his reprimand, and instead gently advised, "The outbreak of war will not allow you to be fully prepared. The soldiers of the territory, including your fathers, are all defending the border against foreign enemies."

"A disaster has struck our territory, and our soldiers are unable to return to our aid. If we don't fight back, are we supposed to beg those monsters to be kind enough to spare us?"

"Old Man Ciel, no, I can leave! Why do we have to stay here..."

Old Charles looked at the dejected youths in front of him and sighed deeply. "It's better to die in battle than to starve to death. You may not have heard how our generation escaped into the Earl's territory."

"You should know that such a good lord is very rare. Many things that you take for granted are actually very valuable."

"What do you mean?" Hami argued in a low voice, unconvinced. "The world is so big, can't people live in any corner?"

"Old Man Charles, do you know what lies beyond the Earl's territory?"

Before the old man could interrupt, Hami continued to ask:

"Do you know what lies beyond the Kingdom of Lanelli and the Empire of San Fernando?"

Do you know where the continent of Ans is?

Hami quickly explained, "The continent of Ans is right here! It's the land we're standing on!"

Do you know the name of the continent that is closest to us?

Do you even know how many continents there are in this world?

"Countless, with new continents being discovered almost every year!"

Hami's eyes lit up as he spoke of these things.

"You need to understand that only areas exceeding 'five million square kilometers' can be called continents. Those smaller than that are simply called islands and won't even be recorded!"

"The world is so big, where can't people live?"

Old Charles listened quietly, and only asked when the boy paused:

"Then what?

Is it to find a small, remote village, kill them all, and then take over the place?

You dare not fight these monsters that have seized our village and killed our fellow villagers, yet you only dare to invade other people's villages?

"Old Man Ciel, what are you saying?!"

Hami was getting angry. Even if it was an elder from the same village, they couldn't insult his ideals like that. "Can't we just find a secluded corner and cultivate the land ourselves in peace?"

"Just settle down and start cultivating? It's just the few of us. Should we bring your aunts? Or should we wait for your father to return? If you don't care, then take your aunts with you. That's still quite a few people. How should we arrange things for the journey?"

"What if bandits come to rob us? After all, according to you, we're leaving quietly. As long as we're not caught in the act, even if someone attacks us, it shouldn't cause us any trouble, right?"

"Let's not talk about what happened on the way, let's just talk about when we arrived at our destination."

"What if we run into other people?"

"Just like the current San Fernando Empire, they need to find a reason, saying that they are only targeting the Count, but they don't want to go to war directly with the Kingdom of Lanelli."

"If we go to a new place, and the locals or people in the vicinity want to target us, will they need to find an excuse?"

"besides……"

"Even if we find a place, just like here where monsters appear, other sparsely populated areas will definitely be teeming with jackals, tigers, leopards, and even all sorts of strange monsters, right?"

"What should we do now?"

"Should we try to find a way to deal with them, or continue running away and wait until we find the real 'paradise'?"

The boy spoke of ideals, but in reality, he was developing a desire to escape.

The old man seemed to be following the boy's words, but he was actually teaching him to recognize reality.

Running away is indeed an easy option, but it doesn't solve the problem and may even cause more serious issues.

"We haven't even gone there yet, how do you know there will be so much trouble?" Hami was clearly unconvinced. "Let's not even talk about a remote location; we can just find any corner of the jungle, who would be able to find us?"

Young people are always prone to thinking things through.

Or perhaps he's just being stubborn and unwilling to admit these things.

"Alright, alright," old Charles patted the boy's shoulder and didn't try to persuade him any further.

Some people won't turn back until they hit a brick wall.

Some people may not admit defeat verbally, but they have already taken it to heart.

"Hami, I'm getting ready to go back."

"Go back? Go back where?" Hami was lost in thought, his reaction noticeably slower.

(End of this chapter)