CHAPTER 236: A TYRANNICAL LEADER?

The following day, Gabriel woke up very motivated because of his journey ahead. However, he couldn’t just leave like that, as there were still things he needed to take care of in the camp.

After taking his bath and having a succulent meal, he hurried to the surveillance room and went through some of the reports compiled by Bunny and Sophie.

Sophie had quickly integrated into the running of the camp. She didn’t like being overshadowed by Bunny and Anna, so she had made herself useful—not because she was seeking validation from Gabriel, but because she was a very proactive person in general.

The report was mostly about the current state of the camp. Everything she had detailed appeared logical until it reached the part about ration sharing.

Sophie had proposed handing out three square meals daily for every inhabitant of the camp. When he read this, a small frown appeared on his face.

Although he hadn’t spent that much time with Sophie, from the few times they had been together, he had come to learn that she was soft and kind-hearted. She had proposed this out of goodwill.

"However, doing this would deplete the storage far quicker and make them lazy and unwilling to work," he mumbled to himself.

Fortunately, this was simply a proposition—the final authority rested on Gabriel.

The next proposal that caught his attention was the building of temporary wooden houses around the camp. She noted that the current state of the buildings was terrible, and out here in the wilderness, to avoid mutated insects, there needed to be proper living conditions.

She stated that it didn’t have to be anything extravagant and even provided sketches of house outlines to back up her ideas.

Gabriel’s eyes gleamed in fascination and admiration; although she was soft-spoken, the veiled beauty had never struck him as someone very intelligent. He was impressed.

Naturally, Gabriel had plans to address some of these issues in the long run, but with his tight schedule of always moving and working, it was quite hard to pause and clean things up with a detailed plan such as this.

’When I return from this trip, I might dig her down and ask for more insight,’ Gabriel’s eyes flashed sharply.

She also suggested forming a hunting party that would go into the wilderness to hunt monsters—not for experience points or treasure farming, but to feed the slowly expanding refugees.

According to Gabriel’s past knowledge, mutant meat was very nutritious. In fact, there were certain types that even granted stats and improved one’s vitality.

But this wasn’t something many people knew, and even Gabriel himself had only come across such monsters a few times.

He spent the rest of the morning going through all the proposals, and later in the afternoon, he finally stopped and requested for Anna.

Moments later, the huntress appeared.

"Master." She bowed slightly. "You called me."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Gather all the refugees. I have an important announcement to give."

"Yes, milord." She nodded and quickly scurried off.

Moments later, every refugee, including children, was gathered in the camp square. They whispered among themselves, asking their neighbors if they had any idea about what was going to be announced.

But none could provide a clear answer.

The core members of Broken Dawn were just as clueless as the refugees. Sophie frowned; she had a feeling that this announcement concerned the proposal she had submitted earlier, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

"Want to guess what he’ll announce?" BrawlerX smirked, looking at Ragnarok99, who had somehow become the tank’s best friend.

It was something BrawlerX didn’t think would be possible in this lifetime because of Ragnarok99’s celebrity status, but thanks to Sir Broken, it was now his current reality.

"I don’t know. He just came back from the northern trade route. I doubt it’s another raid," replied Ragnarok99.

BrawlerX folded his arms and added with a chuckle, "If it’s another raid, I hope he carries us along this time."

Moments later, Gabriel finally stepped onto the wooden platform that overlooked the entire camp. The entire square went silent. Everyone could feel that cold, authoritative pressure he always carried.

His electric gaze swept through the crowd—men, women, and children. Refugees from every part of the camp were all staring up at him expectantly.

The cold morning wind blew gently. It didn’t help matters; it only made the refugees even more anxious.

Gabriel cleared his throat. He didn’t raise his voice, but his tone was too powerful for anyone to ignore.

"From today onward," he began, "only those who work will receive two meals a day."

A wave of silence followed, and puzzled expressions appeared on their faces.

Gabriel ignored the looks and continued, his face calm but expression unreadable. "Those who choose to sit idle will only get one meal. The only exceptions will be children and the elderly."

This time, the statement caused a ripple of murmurs to spread among the crowd. Some people gasped. Others exchanged glances, whispering.

Gabriel didn’t explain himself further; he wasn’t the type to repeat or justify his decisions. He simply added, "That’s all," before turning away and leaving the platform.

The core members exchanged looks. Bunny scratched her cheek awkwardly, while Anna simply smirked, already understanding his reasoning.

Sophie, however, frowned. It seemed harsh to her—too sudden, a complete opposite of what she had proposed. But as she watched the crowd, she slowly realized what Gabriel was doing.

He wasn’t trying to starve anyone. He was trying to push them—to make the refugees more active, more disciplined. After all, this wasn’t a kingdom yet; it was survival.

When Gabriel’s back disappeared into the command tent, the crowd began to buzz again, their voices suddenly louder.

"What does he mean by that?"

"So, we have to work for food now?"

"At least he excluded the elderly. My old bones are safe, hehehehehe!"

"Does carrying crates count as work?"

"Shhh! He’ll hear you!"

Sophie crossed her arms and sighed softly.

"He’s right," she muttered under her breath. "If they keep sitting around, they’ll only be a burden that would slow our growth."

The others nodded in agreement. They all knew Gabriel wasn’t being cruel—just realistic.

Now that that was done, it was time for him to leave the camp and meet up with a certain person.

***

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