Last Ruler Of The Empty Throne-Chapter 47: Survivors

If there were two things the former lords possessed in excess, it was stubbornness and luck.

Stubborn to the extent they still clung to their desire for power even after defeat, refusing to relinquish their ambitions to rule over others. And luck to the extent of surviving death in quite a few ways.

Only the Speed and Beast lords had chosen a different path; the others, however, continued to scheme. The feeling of weakness fueled them to do more to survive.

In the cafeteria, these lords picked up bits of information from various survivors, whispering as they gathered allies. The allies they gathered were among those who resented the fact that they couldn’t use their skills the way they wanted, and instead used their skills to protect others.

They resented the fact that the ones they were protecting were people who weren’t confident enough to face the dangers, so why should they be protected?

So together, they formed groups, finding common ground in their shared resentment of protecting people who couldn’t even face danger themselves.

It was impressive how quickly they had organized, considering they’d been here only two or three days. But even with these alliances, they were powerless against Jon. The lords talked among their followers, proposing a joint attack against him, hoping that with greater numbers and their recent power gains, they might withstand his strength.

Yet, as they shared their plans, nearly all of their allies abandoned them.

Confused, the lords demanded explanations. Their theory was that Jon wouldn’t kill them anyway—after all, he hadn’t last time.

But then, someone spoke of the Krad massacre:

"He killed them all. He didn’t spare anyone." That was the highlight of the story, and it hit them differently. They still remembered vividly how Jon had immobilized them with just the release of his energy.

And even if they thought they would still be spared now, they had to rethink. But they were still curious, why hadn’t he killed them back then?

They couldn’t answer, but they noticed how the Beast lord now followed Jon closely, an ally rather than an adversary after that incident.

"And even if Jon weren’t here, there’s still Cynthia and Jenny. They both are also monsters in their own right," someone pointed out.

That was the second reason the followers rejected the plan to attack.

So, because of this, they were forced to take a step back and plan their movements again, and it was then that the idea of heading to separate destinations surfaced, a perfect plan for them to escape Jon’s influence.

So, they carefully chose buses away from Jon’s group, some even choosing to abandon their families to avoid his path. And with a considerable number of other survivors accompanying them, the lords and their newly formed group felt powerful once more.

As they were separating and going further in the distance, they couldn’t help but reveal their excitement. They were so excited that they could practically see Jon’s invisible protection fading with the distance.

Now, they were free to do what they always wanted to do—to be on top.

With the foundation of the new group, they formed as subordinates, and the survivors went with them as subjects to rule on; they were free to reclaim the title of "lords" again.

"Next time for sure, I’ll end you with my hands." The Blade lord clenched his hand so hard that he bled.

Jon watched as eleven buses veered off, leaving his group.

He gazed after them with his calm expression. I hope they survive.

He was so calm that if someone informed him of their plotting, he wouldn’t have bothered about it. Truly, he wasn’t the type to kill over mere intentions. And for the fact that they hadn’t attacked, they knew the result if they did.

As for the buses that stayed with him, they took the opposite road.

Along the way, they were met with ruined buildings that stood like ghosts, cars that lay abandoned, and zombies that wandered. The landscape looked like something out of an apocalypse. It even looked worse than how they found the female dormitories after leaving the stadium.

However, they had gotten used to the scenery a little. Luckily, the road was clearer than the jammed exit back at the school, sparing them from constant stops to clear obstacles.

BANG! BANG!

However, as they drove past the road, some occasional zombies struck the buses as they forged ahead, scraping against the fortified vehicles.

And thanks to the fortifier, their attempts were useless. However, with every hit from the zombies, it was a harsh reminder of the type of world they were now in.

Every few seconds, the sight of corpses and body parts lying outside on the road, and the destroyed buildings, was a sight they couldn’t get used to.

Then, suddenly, a low rumbling began to shake the ground.

THUD... THUD...

Heavy footsteps echoed from the distance. About thirty minutes had passed since they’d left the university, and now they were about to face a powerful enemy.

"I’ll handle this," Jenny said, stepping off the bus as it rolled to a stop. She formed her swords, preparing for battle as the monster approached.

And out of the shadows came an eight-foot-tall gorilla with dark purple skin, striding confidently down the road toward them. Jenny readied herself to strike.

THUD...THUD...

But then, the gorilla did something strange. It looked in their direction but continued walking, seemingly uninterested in them.

And the gorilla didn’t stop its movement even after it had passed them.

WHIRR

Cynthia suddenly burst out laughing after seeing the situation, while Jenny flushed in embarrassment.

"I’ll handle this." Cynthia mocked her over and over. But it was truly such an odd encounter; usually, monsters attacked on sight.

Formerly, any enemy was a target, providing opportunities for them to level up. But here was this creature ignoring them entirely. However, Jon, not trusting it, kept his gaze fixed on the gorilla even as it moved away, expanding his senses to monitor it.

But the gorilla showed no signs of circling back to ambush them; it just kept walking.

Unknown to them, this gorilla was no ordinary beast. Already quite intelligent before the fall of civilization, it had the intelligence of a 4–5-year-old child, and with the fall, it had grown even smarter, its skills enhancing its instincts to another level.

And it was because of that intelligence that it was now in the First Realm of power. It could sense the presence of others who rivaled its strength and avoided confrontation whenever possible. It had spotted Jon’s group long ago, assessing their numbers and deciding it was best to move on in search of weaker prey.

If there were only one of them, it would have attacked. Even if there were two, it would have been heavily considered, but with three? It wasn’t certain of victory.

Though it wasn’t intelligent enough to form its speech, one could say its intelligence saved it again.

And so, without a fight, the encounter passed.

Vroom!

An hour later, another set of buses split off down another road. Most of the buses that headed in a particular direction carried fighters among them, so their safety was assured.

Now, with the two major directions already taken, only five buses remained with Jon’s group.The journey was far from easy. Despite the open roads, they often had to stop to deal with clusters of zombies or rogue monsters, cats, bears, and others.

And after five hours of this repetitive work, something changed. As they neared a new area, they noticed that the cars had been moved aside. There weren’t monsters around, and it was like they had cleared the path.

The road was the smoothest they had encountered since leaving the university. Jon saw this and extended his senses forward to look for anything strange, and he saw something unusual.

About a kilometer ahead, he spotted wooden fences enclosing a sizable area, with figures in black camouflage shirts and trousers, with some designs attached to some corners of their clothes, patrolling the entrance.

’Police?’ he wondered, surprised. They certainly looked like it, armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry. They are the police.

Beyond the police, he spotted fighters, people who, like him, had gained skills and grown stronger. Some stood on raised wooden platforms, scanning the area. Peering further, he saw a crowd of people inside the enclosure.

Many looked tired, malnourished, and dejected, especially those closest to the fences. Why do they look like that?

He could see no more from this distance; he would have to get closer to see more. He then informed Jenny and Cynthia about what he had seen.

And they accepted it readily. After all, not everyone would fall or become a zombie; there had to be pockets of civilization left.

Soon, they were within range of the armed guards.

"HALT! STOP THE VEHICLES!" one of the officers barked, his voice booming as he approached.

And with a loud screech, the buses came to a stop.

Jon, Jenny, and Cynthia stepped down, raising their hands to show they meant no harm, but the officers and fighters still advanced cautiously.

One officer stopped ten meters away, his eyes scanning the treasures the three wore. Although they showed no signs of hostility, they were powerful. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"I am Julius Polik. Identify yourselves," the officer demanded, his voice slightly softened once he saw they were young people.

"My name is Jenny Stalwart," she replied, nodding toward her companions. "This is Jon Whyte, and Cynthia—" her voice trailed off toward the end, and she looked at Cynthia as if urging her to talk.

But Cynthia remained silent, keeping a neutral expression, as though she couldn’t hear the hint being given to disclose her full name.

Julius scrutinized them. He didn’t notice the situation, or rather, he was keeping himself together and holding back more questions.

"And where are you from?" he finally asked.

"We’re survivors from Palflic University," Jenny replied calmly.