Getting On the Right Track

After extinguishing the fire, Caesar led his men back to the ranch as quickly as possible, choosing only remote paths.

For the next few days, no one went out of the ranch. Caesar had Colby and the other cowboys drive the cattle and sheep out to graze every day.

The ranch gradually got on track. With many people, there was great strength, and cabins soon began to be built around Caesar's stone house and cowboy hut.

The cabins were small and didn't require a foundation. They were surrounded by wood and had all the necessary tools, so several were quickly built.

Caesar then gave these small cabins to Morales, T-boy, and other combat personnel who had made great contributions.

To motivate the rest of the population, Caesar reserved two or three small cabins as a reward for the most efficient and hardworking families.

Once they move into the log cabin, they immediately feel a sense of belonging to this land.

Hearing their gratitude, Caesar smiled and nodded, saying, "This is all thanks to you."

Everyone on the ranch can find something to do, and the environment they see every day is a vast grassland.

Daryl still goes out hunting in the wild as usual, and often brings back some news.

He obtained this information by meeting other hunters and exchanging food with them while hunting.

Daryl encountered several dangers, but with his own strength and Carol's assistance, the two easily turned the situation around, and their relationship progressed rapidly.

That day, Daryl brought back news that made Caesar very happy.

Daryl had a silk thread wrapped around his waist with squirrels and a few rabbits hanging from it. They were all dirty, especially their hair, which was as messy as a chicken coop.

Several flies were swarming around him, making him look quite like a wild man.

Carol is much better than Daryl. She washes her face and brushes her teeth every day, and with her short white hair, she is easy to manage. She doesn't have much of a body odor.

"Oh my, who's back?" Moore, wearing a straw hat, lay on a chair, his fingers propping up the hat, looking at Daryl with a mocking gaze.

"Aren't these the Big Savage and the Little Savage? Why are they back?"

There was a hint of jealousy in Moore's words. He couldn't help it; Daryl used to go hunting with him, but now it was this woman instead.

"We've received some intelligence, open the door quickly."

Daryl ignored his brother's words and turned his head to look at the ground, as if studying the composition of the soil.

Carroll glanced at Daryl and had no choice but to step forward and speak.

The ranch gate is no longer the old iron fence that could only stop cattle and sheep but allowed people to pass through.

Under Caesar's arrangement, a wall and wooden gate, three or four meters high, had been built around the perimeter of wood.

The wooden door can be opened from both inside and out, and a heavy truck is usually parked behind it.

If a person or a zombie were to ram the door, Moore could give the order and the door would open, allowing a heavy truck equipped with spiked ramming horns to break through.

You'll come out the same way you went in, and you might even break into pieces.

Moore reclined in his chair, withdrew his fingers, his straw hat once again obscuring his eyes, and waved his hand: "Open the door for them!"

The person standing next to him was a member of Moore's squad.

With the territory so vast, Caesar could only temporarily have Mor and his men act as gatekeepers.

Caesar's territory is located in the center of Blackpine Valley, like a red beast that is constantly encroaching on the surrounding land.

Those with foresight from the surrounding ranches joined in, while Caesar had others help them maintain appearances for those who lacked it.

The bassist is often the one who issues the ultimatum.

Daryl and Carol arrived at Caesar's stone house, where Caesar was sitting in his study dealing with ranch affairs.

Caesar let out a long breath and waited quietly for Daryl and the other man to arrive.

He's been dealing with ranch affairs for the past few days, and he's completely exhausted.

The ranch doesn't have specific rules and regulations yet, so everything has to be handled by the higher-ups. The captain of the combat squad certainly can't handle it, and Amy is the only main force in logistics.

Carol went out to hunt in the wild, and Beth went out to conquer territory.

Naturally, the blame fell on Caesar and Amy. For example, an old man said that a young man was spying on his wife while she was taking a bath, saying that he came every day just to watch her bathe.

After Caesar arrested the young man, he questioned him and learned that the young man had not spied on the old woman while she was bathing.

The old man and woman liked to bathe together, and he wanted to see the old man bathe, with the old woman included.

After hearing this, Caesar closed his eyes, ordered his men to drag the young man out, and gave him a severe beating.

And let Moore teach this young man a lesson; he cannot, or at least should not.

Is it okay to have normal relationships with other men?

Other bizarre things have happened too many to count.

Caesar felt like a medieval lord, having to worry about everything.

If Daryl and the others come back, I can finally get some rest and get away from all this troublesome stuff for a while.

knock knock --

There was a knock on the door, and Caesar opened his eyes. "Come in."

Daryl and Carol entered the study. Caesar frowned, pointed at Daryl's weathered face, and asked, "Did you go hunting?"

"Why do I have the feeling you went out to scavenge?"

Daryl chose to ignore Caesar's question; he truly disliked cleanliness.

"I have a lot of information about Horus and Leon Ranch, and I have also gone to investigate them myself."

Caesar then sat up straight, his face serious: "Speak."

"In the two days after old man Leon and Horus died, the ranch people found that they were missing. They thought they had gone out on some business, and no one said anything."

"Two or three days later, the senior officers who remained at the ranch realized something was wrong and led people out to look for the leader, but they found nothing."

"And then it got to this point, the people on the ranch started wanting to leave, saying that the leader had run away, so what were they still doing here?"

"The ranch quickly descended into chaos. At night, some people tried to sneak into the warehouse to steal food. The higher-ups had anticipated this and killed them in advance, but what they didn't expect was that the chaos on the ranch would escalate even further."

"People keep leaving the two ranches, and the higher-ups can't find a leader. They've become leaderless."

"There are rumors on their ranch that the leaders are all dead, that we killed them, but no one has any evidence. Their higher-ups probably think so too, but no one is saying it openly in front of the residents."

Caesar tapped the table with his finger as was his habit, after listening to Daryl's report.

There are only three most powerful forces in Blackpine Valley: Horus, old man Leon, and himself.

The leaders of two of the factions are missing and most likely dead, leaving only himself alive.

In terms of the distribution of benefits, the biggest beneficiary of their deaths would be himself.

Caesar thought their guess was correct, because it was true, but he also knew that the high-ranking officials hadn't spoken to the residents about it in order to avoid a falling out with Caesar.

After all, if he were to surrender to Caesar later, wouldn't that narrow his own path?