Going around the rocky mountain range, Lyla confirmed that it was indeed a naturally formed hidden array.
A rocky mountain range hiding a paradise inside.
“I found it!” Lyla muttered excitedly, finding the entrance.
Going up a steep path and treading for about an hour, she finally saw what was inside.
A paradise in this world, with animals drinking at the lake, a roaring waterfall, and greenery covering the ground.
Lyla felt as if she was in a different world.
In about half a month in this world, Lyla had only seen cracked ground and dried trees.
Even the bit of greenery earlier was full of dried leaves, surviving only with some puddles of water.
Now in front of her was a complete ecosystem with everything needed for life to survive, from animals and plants to water.
Furthermore, it was so hidden that it took her an hour to get there, walking up a steep entrance.
“I should tell brother quickly!” Lyla muttered excitedly.
…
At night,
After Lyla told the group about what she found, they became excited.
If the place was really as Lyla described, then they could probably settle there for a few years.
“Let’s go,” seeing that other people were either resting or sleeping, the group began to walk carefully.
Seeing this, others thought that they were finding a place to stay for the night, so they didn’t bother much.
Some also thought that the Shadow Group had found something, so they followed silently.
After a few hours and kilometers of walking, they finally reached the rocky mountain ranges.
Around them was a desolate rockfield where you wouldn’t think there was a paradise inside.
As for the people following them, they were eliminated by Nathan.
They wouldn’t show mercy when it came to their safety, as they might stay there for a few years.
Even the traces left by them were erased or disguised.
“Where do we come in?” Liam asked Lyla.
“Follow me.”
Soon, they reached the hidden entrance that Lyla had found.
Seeing the tight and steep entrance, they frowned.
“I guess the carriage can only be disassembled,” Liam decided.
“Leave it to us, brother. You should come inside first,” Luke said.
“Alright, we’ll be back later to help you,” Liam nodded.
Packing out all their cargo in the carriage, they slowly walked toward the place.
Guiding the children so they didn’t slip or fall and heavy baggage, the journey took longer.
Finally coming inside, although it was dark, the moon’s reflection from the lake and the roaring waterfall still made them excited.
Even the tired children seemed to be energized as they looked around.
“Is this place real?!”
“Wow, so much water!”
“Did we finally find the promised land, told by Sister Lydia?!”
“Yes, this must be the promised land. Sister Lydia would not lie!”
“Does that mean we’ll never run out of food?”
“It should be! After all, it’s the promised land.”
The children talked happily as they walked around the place.
Liam and the others also scouted the place, looking for a spot to set up a temporary camp.
According to Lyla, there were no dangerous animals in the area, so they didn’t worry much about the children.
After setting up their camp, they came back to the entrance to help Luke and the others disassemble the carriage.
…
A few hours later, after all the work was done.
They set up tables of food to celebrate.
Eating until they were full, they couldn’t help but hiccup.
“So what do we do now?” Max asked.
“Wait until we grow up as we upgrade our arsenal,” Liam straightforwardly said.
They were still little kids with weak strength.
Even though they could control their strength very well, unleashing stronger power, they were still weak in the traditional sense.
In the Etherium realm, age wasn’t a problem as they had mana and everything.
Their bodies were impenetrable and invulnerable, and they could do anything they thought of.
Here, they only had normal, untrained bodies that were susceptible to all diseases.
Furthermore, a little physical exertion can send them to bed.
Even with their skill sets and knowledge, they couldn’t do much.
“Oh, then what do we do?”
“We develop the place…”
…
Half a year later,
The place they named the Promised Land underwent a world-shaking change.
First, the source of all life, water.
After assessing the source and quantity of water, they reinforced the place to prevent it from drying up.
With the sun blazing hot, if they weren’t careful, the water would quickly dry up.
The solution they came up with was to make the place cooler.
By tweaking the rocky mountain ranges natural formation, using natural alchemy and a bit of engineering.
The flow of air was processed by the rocky mountain range before entering the Promised Land.
Now the place became a few degrees cooler than the outside.
Then there was the source of food, the lifeblood that kept them alive.
With a lot of biodiversity in place Lily, Lydia, and Amara created a fast-growing crop they called “Promise Crop.”
This crop was not only delicious but also rich in protein and various nutrients.
The problem, however, was its growth conditions.
Besides needing a lot of water, it also required synthesized fertilizer.
Within a short time, that was all they could do.
The animals were also quickly domesticated, providing them with a stable source of meat, milk, eggs, and honey.
Earlier when they found that there were bees, they even celebrated for a few days.
As for the person responsible for food, it was Zoe with the help of a few older children.
It may seem easy, but with limited ingredients and cooking for such a large group, it was one of the hardest tasks.
Due to the deliciousness of the food, Zoe made, the other children sometimes call her Mommy Zoe.
Nathan, who was patrolling the Promised Land, was a little jealous.
Of course, he didn’t show it; he just let Zeo cook him special dinners from time to time.
As for Serene and Cyra, who had free time, they were teaching the orphanage children basic knowledge and fighting skills.
After all, they were still over ten years old without much physical strength; this was the best they could do.
As for Neo, well, he was sleeping while he looked into the sky from time to time.
Neo reasoned that he could also get information from nature, so the others didn’t bother.
As for Sam and Luke, a mechanic and a sub-mechanic.
After finding an iron and coal deposit in the rocky mountain range, they went wild and created a crude mechanical workshop.
With it, they were finally able to create a mechanical vehicle.
No need for manual labor like pushing, just heat and water were enough.
The mechanical vehicle was only their first-generation product; their goal was to create something that could run solely on the energy of the sun.
Unfortunately, Max, Lyla, and Ella, who were responsible for scouting, still hadn’t found enough materials.
For now, they could only create a few gadgets to play with, like the mechanical gun that Liam used for self-defense.
Liam already left the Promise Land, going to the nearest city within their base.
The famine in this world was just beginning to spread.
So there were still many functioning cities and kingdoms within a few hundred kilometers to thousand kilometers to the South.
Yurok City was the closest city to them that had the complete resources that they needed.
Liam left their base to collect information and various supplies.
They couldn’t just stay in one place and hope for everything to work.
They still needed to interact with society for various other needs.
Using the mechanical vehicle, Liam was able to travel back and forth regularly sending supplies.
…
In Yurok City, inside a newly opened tavern.
Liam read a book as he jotted down important information.
“Boss! Not good, Sylvester Family is causing trouble in the tavern!” a man said, interrupting him.
“Is that so? It seems that my previous warning was not enough,” Liam said coldly. 𝑜𝑣xt.𝐂𝔬𝐌
Coming to Yurok City a few months ago, he decided to open a tavern.
With specially brewed drinks by his sisters, his tavern quickly became popular.
However, this popularity came with danger.
Nobles and wealthy merchants began knocking at his door, collecting protection fees and demanding the formula for the drinks.
How could Liam agree to these ridiculous terms?
Using the mechanical gun created by his brothers, he silently assassinated some of these groups as a warning.
After that, it seemed like these people got the message and stopped bothering him.
Who knew that after just a few months, some Silverters family that he didn’t know of came knocking on his door?
Exiting his office, he saw the ones causing trouble were a group of muscular armored guards, along with a seductive witch.
As for why he called her a witch, it was because of her vulgar clothes and overwhelming perfume.
If it were not for his manners, he would have scolded this witch to immediately get out of his face.
“So, it’s you, the owner of this tavern,” the witch said.
“What do you need?” Liam said coldly.
“Hehe, my family, the Sylvester, have taken a liking to your tavern and would like to invest in it.”
“And then?”
“And then you can be a concubine of mine,” the witch said obsessively.
Such a handsome boy is rare, how can she resist it?
Just seeing Liam’s cold and frowning expression.
She immediately decided to adopt this pretty dog.