I Become a Landlady in the Game World

Pavel listened to Justin's forthright words and responded just as directly, "Yes, I want to defect to Hope Village. In this upcoming Territory War, I have already received orders from the Lord Mansion. I am to be in the first wave of the assault. In a Territory War, you know what it means to be in the first wave—the death rate of the entire team can reach a staggering sixty percent. We have given so much to the territory, but when it comes time to make sacrifices, they don't even bat an eye. Is there really any need for us to keep fighting for such a territory?"

Justin's face turned pale at once.

The assault squad!

After a moment, Justin said, "But will things be different in Hope Village? How will they treat us soldiers who have changed sides mid-way? Promises are easily made and just as easily broken."

"I don't know what the final outcome will be, but for now, defecting to Hope Village seems to be the best way for our team to survive longer," Pavel replied honestly.

He had heard a lot of good things about Hope Village from others.

But after serving as the Soldier Team Captain of Barnes Village for so long, he was not so naive as to think that the lord of a territory would be so charitable.

He would take people's word for it.

If Hope Village didn't treat them well, they could always switch to another territory.

For instance, Bengala Town. As an Intermediate Professional, he would have no problems getting by in such a town.

Hope Village had witnessed the internal strife of Barnes Village and would likely not want to repeat the same mistakes.

In a nutshell, his arrangement with Hope Village was one of mutual need—he needed Hope Village to escape Barnes Village, and Hope Village needed to deal with Barnes Village.

Justin looked at Pavel's expression, pursed his lips, and went straight to the point, "Will the captain take us away?"

Up until now, he hadn't received any news, and the clues he had were a product of his own deductions.

He wondered if the captain would not have told him had he not asked.

Upon hearing Justin's question, Pavel calmly said, "I am only choosing a few whom I really trust to leave. We cannot let this leak. But now that you know, would you be willing to come along?"

Justin felt complicated upon hearing this but still nodded his head.

Based on what he had observed, a Barnes Village set to lose a thousand or even two thousand people no longer had the qualifications to compete with other territories.

Add to that the impending Territory War—a failure would mean that Barnes Village's strength would decrease even further, making them less competitive against the famously strong Hope Village.

Given a choice, wasn't it very simple to decide who to pick?

"So, you wouldn't mind if I had someone follow you, would you?" Pavel spoke up.

Now that things had reached a crucial point, he really did not want any mishaps to occur.

"Mm-hmm," Justin nodded, not bothering to ask how many soldiers were involved in this plan.

After sorting things out with Justin, Pavel continued with the plan to escape.

With the cooperation of Pavel's soldiers, the residents also sold their Stone and wood resources with great success.

And after they had sold all their Stone and wood, the residents began to follow instructions, gradually moving toward the edge of the territory's boundary.

As long as they remained within the territory's range, the lord of their land would not realize that its residents were slipping away.

Brooke was in charge of these residents.

As the residents waited, many began to grow a little anxious.

Under cover of night, a few people quietly approached Brooke.

"When are we going to leave, and why are there so many people here? Will we be able to transport them in time?"

"What if the Lord's soldiers catch up to us?"

"Maybe we should head out first!"

"We're already here; why aren't we leaving?"

"..."

Questions bubbled from their mouths.

The closer they got to the key moment, the more nervous they became.

If the escape didn't succeed and they were caught and sent back to Barnes Village, life there would be unbearable.

Seeing the worry on their faces, Brooke patiently reassured them, "Don't worry. The preparations on Hope Village's side are very thorough; their transport capacity is unquestionably sufficient. Once the transport starts, you'll be among the first to go. We're staying here for your safety. Apart from you, there will be many Professionals leaving as well, and they will be escorting you at the rear."