Legendary Extraction: Kingdom Builder in a Ruined World-Chapter 37: Making Plans.

"What about your families? Your lives before you were enslaved?"

Elias couldn’t help but ask as he stared back at the group, stunned.

Yes, he had hoped for them to stay. He had even dreamed that at least half of them would choose to remain. But now that all thirty-one had agreed to stay behind, a new worry crept into his heart. Were they not concerned about the lives they once lived before Kael and Veran enslaved them? The homes they left behind? The people they might’ve loved? The lives they once had?

But the moment he asked, all thirty-one of them frowned at once. A wave of quiet sadness washed over their faces.

"We’ve got none," came the collective reply—soft, almost a whisper—as the air around them grew heavy.

Elias blinked, clearly taken aback. None? That couldn’t be true.

All thirty-one of them?

"How... how can that be?" he asked, his brows pulling together in confusion.

Surely, among thirty-one people, at least a few must’ve had families—parents, siblings, children, or someone waiting for them. The odds of all of them having no one seemed too small to be real.

But none of them spoke. None claimed to have anyone. That silence shocked Elias so deeply his mouth nearly fell open.

Seeing the confusion growing on Elias’s face, the man in his mid-thirties—the same one who had spoken earlier for the group—stepped forward once more. His face was calm but serious.

"It’s not that we never had families," the man began. "It’s just... we don’t know anymore. None of us can remember."

That hit Elias like a wave.

"You can’t... remember?" he asked, his voice lower now, filled with disbelief.

Had they all been brainwashed? Were their memories erased? Was it Veran and Kael who did it? A storm of questions filled Elias’s mind.

Almost like he had read Elias’s thoughts, the man continued, his voice heavy.

"As Lord Elias might already know, the slave imprint they used isn’t perfect. It has flaws. The biggest one is this—it can be broken if the person’s will is strong enough. It doesn’t hold well on those whose spirit is firm. It only works on the weak—on people who’ve already given up inside."

Elias nodded slowly, trying to understand.

"That’s why Kael and Veran wiped our memories before placing the imprint," the man added. "To stop that from happening."

A chill ran down Elias’s spine.

He hadn’t realized just how cruel it all was.

The thought of it made his chest tighten.

Freedom is a deep-rooted instinct in all living things. The smarter the creature, the more it desires it. And for humans, who were intelligent by nature, that desire was even stronger.

For some, the will to be free could even overpower the will to survive.

A father might endure pain and beatings, but knowing he had a child out there would keep his spirit alive. A mother taken from her home would have something to fight for—something that gave her strength.

Even if the slave imprint was strong, those raw, human feelings could fight back.

That was the flaw. ƒreewebɳovel.com

And so, Kael and Veran, in their twisted minds, chose to remove the cause instead of risking it.

They erased their victims’ memories—everything that might remind them of who they were, what they had, and what they could still fight for.

It worked.

And it was terrifying.

Elias felt his stomach twist. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and he found himself hating Kael and Veran even more than he had before.

To be alive... yet not even remember who you were.

To have possibly had a child, a lover, a family... and now, to feel empty inside.

He exhaled, his chest heavy, and looked at the thirty-one people standing in front of him. His heart ached for them.

"...I’m sorry," Elias said softly, his voice filled with genuine sorrow. "I’m sorry you had to go through that."

But the middle-aged man shook his head.

"There’s no need to apologize," he said. "You weren’t the one who did this to us. It was those monsters—Kael and Veran."

His voice was full of hatred, his tone sharp and unforgiving.

"You saved us, Lord Elias. You ended them. You gave us a second chance. And that’s more than any of us ever thought we’d get again."

The others nodded. Their expressions, once somber, now brightened with a quiet sense of resolution.

One of the women raised her voice and said firmly, "This is our new beginning."

The rest quickly echoed her words:

"To a new beginning!"

Elias felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips, his chest swelling with mixed emotions.

He was glad he had saved these people, but deep down he knew that out there, many others were still suffering the same fate—or even worse.

He didn’t see himself as a hero and felt no deep obligation to save everyone. But this moment revealed the true nature of the world—how twisted it was. If he didn’t grow stronger quickly, he feared he might one day end up just like them... or worse.

Still, for now, he pushed that thought aside and raised his voice to join them.

"To a new beginning."

---

The gathering didn’t last much longer after that.

Once the emotions calmed and the cheers faded, everyone turned their focus to more practical matters.

Now that they had all chosen to stay, they needed to start making real plans—plans for survival, and eventually, for progress.

Elias quickly began organizing them based on what skills they had and how they could be useful.

First, there was the blacksmith—a key person who would be very important moving forward.

Then, there were two men who were good with carpentry and woodworking. They would be valuable for building, repairs, and other essential work.

A few of the women had some skill in tailoring. They could help with making clothes and handling materials.

There were also a handful of men and women who had a decent understanding of farming. Though useful, Elias knew farming wouldn’t help them much right now.

The soil around Ashgrave Ruins was too poor. Dry and unfertile. Nothing grew naturally there anymore, apart from the strange Ashveil Grass. That alone said a lot. So for the moment, he didn’t place too much importance on the farming group—but he still noted them down. He’d definitely need them in the future.

No territory could last without a food source. That much he understood.

It would be a tough challenge—but one he’d face later.

For now, what weighed on him more was the harsh reality: he was broke.

There were so many things they still needed—tools for the blacksmith and carpenters, cloth and materials for the tailors, and better gear for the few who could fight. None of that would come free.

Still, Elias didn’t panic.

There were still plenty of Ashveil Grass patches growing deeper within the ruins, outside the safer parts of his territory. Though gathering it might be risky, he believed it could be done—with Vael, and perhaps a few of the new inhabitants who had decent combat ability

Besides, unlike before, he now had people and could afford to use better tools for collecting the grass. That would make things faster than when he used to do it alone with Vael.

Pushing that concern aside, they moved on to discuss how to develop the territory itself.

They agreed to build more housing—larger ones, to make space for future people who might join them later.

They also agreed to build proper workshops for the blacksmith and tailors, so everyone could work better and faster.

It was a solid start—a foundation for growth.

Once that was settled, Elias turned to the next problem: security.

Right now, they couldn’t rely on just him and Vael to defend the territory.

They needed more people capable of fighting.

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om