23. Arrival

Gareth could feel the effects of the injection kick in, a side effect was that he needed lots of energy to fuel cell growth and repair. For the next few days Gareth would have to have 3-4 times the amount of meals than a regular person. Given that the food was unrefined, he would have to have even more meals a day.

Back when there were cooking appliances and shops around, the food had been scientifically altered and refined so that it would give more nutrients and energy per bite. This benefit had provided an increase in average height, lifespan and athletic ability. A casual human today could have 65-70% the stats of a top athlete in the past. Coupled with vastly improved genetic technology and various enhancements, it wasn't a far cry for a homeless to have a better physique than a well trained athlete.

As for meals one meal might sustain a person for 2 days (64 hours) before they even consider going for a snack.

Luckily Gareth had gathered lots of food from the bandit camp, so he needn't worry about lacking the energy needed.

Mikage was thrilled into having a few extra meals in a single day, and after seeing it eat without any signs of getting full or fatter, Gareth stopped worrying about overfeeding it.

In between meals he would take time to rest his body, he didn't know when the refugees would set off again but the sabotage against the bandits camp wouldn't delay when they had to leave. As he rested he could faintly feel his body fixing itself, the parasites in him had been successfully treated and his visible wounds had noticeably begin closing, as for the rest of his injuries it would still take a few weeks to fully recover.

On the other hand, if Gareth were able to use a healing pod, not only would recovery speed up, any issues regarding warped bones or amputated limps could be recovered. The time would only be a day by the quickest and a week and a half (15 days) if the situation was critical.

About 2 hours in Gareth heard the announcement to pack up indicating that even though the military had collected more supplies, everyone still had to pack up at the given time and continue heading towards the settlement.

A quarter of the entire military guard would stay behind and collect any remaining supplies when the beast tide had calmed down. There was nothing wrong with getting more supplies especially when they came from a wrecked bandit camp.

The freed prisoners had joined the refugee group and some had reunited with friends and family, there were also a few big family members who were also held captive. So for a time the Aristocrats had nothing but compliments towards the military, even if it didn't sound genuine, some officers even preferred hearing complaints than this airy flattery.

The military had kept the wildlife experts and botanists around as they would help provide deterrence strategies against incoming wildlife and identify any incoming wildlife attacks

Soon the refugees had departed continuing their travel towards their temporary home, however with the successful victory over the bandits many of the refugees were in positive spirits.

There were still casualties during the journey however it had reduced from a few hundred dying to a few dozens, this was in due part with having the various wildlife scientists and botanists aid the military.

By the fifth evening, the soldiers who stayed behind to look after the fallen bandit camp had returned, with vehicles in tow, they had gotten beast carcass's and some leftover supplies that hadn't been ruined by the stampede.

Having meat for dinner had considerably improved the mood of the refugees as they happily ate, some had tears staining their cheeks as they hadn't had meat to eat in weeks.

Gareth was also enjoying eating his share of meat, which was considerably bigger than the refugees, Mikage also noticed the change in food and it squeaked in happiness.

By noon on the 7th day marching, the scouts had reported that they were reaching the nearest settlement. News quickly spread and morale was sky high, within an hour everyone could see the silhouette of the large settlement in the distance and within 2 hours everyone had reached the gate to this base.

Hearing the cheering from everyone, the various leaders of the military group also couldn't help but crack a smile.

Gareth also had a smile on his face, his thinking was that his difficult days would finally be over in a few more days.