Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Anyway, except for the house, everything else is in the inventory, so we just need to hand over the leadership."

As Zachary mentioned handing over the leadership position, murmurs began to spread among the citizens. The leader's position held immense power, making it difficult to hand over. And now he was saying he'd give it up so easily?

"Wa-wait! You're handing over the leadership? To whom?" one of the citizens asked.

"Why do you care?" Zachary replied coldly.

"What?" the citizen stammered.

"You did nothing when I was the leader, so why do you care now if the leadership changes? Are you finally planning to do something?"

Zachary snorted, and the expressions of the citizens changed. It seemed they finally realized something was wrong.

Ignoring the citizens, Zachary approached Aaron.

"Aaron, you said the leadership can be handed over at any time, right?"

"Of course. If you wish, you can transfer it right now."

"Is it possible to transfer it after a certain period of time, rather than immediately? So that the authority will automatically transfer after that time?"

"That is also possible. Just specify the recipient and the time."

Justin was slightly impressed by this method, which he hadn't considered. It was indeed a good way to prevent the next leader from doing anything foolish. By the time the leadership authority was granted, those who wanted to leave would have already left.

Zachary felt reassured by Aaron's response and said, "Then, please transfer the leadership to Aaron in twenty minutes. I am stepping down as leader."

"…!"

Aaron's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe that Justin's words were true. The citizens were also bewildered and unable to grasp the situation.

Since they were leaving anyway, it would be best to explain everything before they departed.

"Alright, everyone quiet down! I bet you're all curious, so let me explain!"

Justin clapped his hands, and the crowd's attention focused on him instantly. He looked around calmly as he began to speak.

"To get straight to the point, we discovered a neighboring territory. The leader there challenged me, and I killed him."

"…!?"

"And then I became the new leader of that territory. For now, I've left it temporarily in the hands of someone else, but that's not what matters."

If that wasn't what mattered, then what was?

Seeing the questioning looks on their faces, Justin continued to explain the crucial point.

"The neighboring territory is actually quite decent. Thanks to the previous leader's work, the citizens there follow the pioneers' words well. So, I've decided we're going to move there. Zachary also said he was tired of being the leader and agreed to come along."

"Wa-wait a minute. So you're leaving for another territory?" one citizen asked, confused.

"Yes, all of us. My companions, Zachary, and his people. The only pioneers left here will be them."

Justin pointed towards Aaron's group, and the faces of the citizens turned pale. They finally understood what was happening.

"To leave, we have to hand over the leadership, which is why we're giving it to Aaron. Once we all leave, he'll be the only one in charge, right?"

In reality, Justin felt Aaron needed to be given the leadership so he could learn a lesson. The rest of his group wasn't much different from him, so it wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Wa-wait a minute! Why did you decide that on your own?"

"Because I can. Why should I ask for your opinion about us moving? It's not your concern."

"But still…!"

One of the citizens tried to argue but couldn't find the words to continue.

Exactly. They might know what would happen after they left, but they had no idea what they could do to stop it. Especially since they had never done anything to help before.

As people hesitated, Justin turned his gaze to Aaron.

"You're finally getting the leadership you dreamed of. Aren't you happy? That childish fight earlier was probably to get the leadership position, right? Well, you got your wish."

"…"

Aaron stayed silent, staring at the ground as if deep in thought. Justin quickly noticed what he was considering and spoke again.

"If you try to threaten or attack us, you will die."

"…!"

"I know you're worried. Once we leave, there will only be seven pioneers, including you. You're anxious about the lack of manpower, right? You want to force us to stay, use us as resources, and boss us around, don't you?"

Aaron flinched, clearly startled by how accurately Justin had read his thoughts. Justin couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Stop daydreaming, you bastard. You don't have the skills to even consider that kind of nonsense. If you don't want to die for nothing, get a grasp on the situation."

"You son of a…!"

"Do you want a war?"

At the word "war," Aaron, who had been about to swear, froze. He understood that if he made the wrong move, he could be killed right after becoming the leader.

Justin approached Aaron and patted him on the shoulder.

"Good, you're holding back well. Keep it up. You need to be careful since you only have seven fighters in this territory."

Aaron clenched his fists tightly, trembling, but he didn't dare to attack. Even if he did, the anti-violence feature was still active, so it wouldn't have had any effect.

When Justin turned away, he saw that everyone was ready to leave. Zachary and his group were prepared, and Nathan's family, though anxious, had gathered together as well.

With a cheerful smile, Justin shouted, "Alright, let's go! To a better place than this miserable territory!"

Meanwhile, Aaron watched Justin's group leave, grinding his teeth.

"I'll kill that bastard one day."

Seeing Aaron like this, one of his subordinates whispered, "Are you sure we should let them leave like this?"

"What do you suggest we do?" Aaron asked.

"Wouldn't it be better to hit them with magic from behind?" the subordinate suggested.

The idea was that with the overwhelming firepower of an elemental mage, they could win by attacking first. Aaron's face twisted in irritation.

"And what if they notice and counterattack? What if we suffer more losses than expected?"

"Still, with an elemental mage's power, we could…"

"Hey, are you joking right now!? Do you think we're the only ones with ranged attacks?"

Even if they could attack unilaterally, the other side also had enough ranged attackers. Both Justin's magic and Nathan's arrows were enough to kill with a single hit.

What would happen if, by chance, one of them survived after their initial attack?

"You know there's a cooldown of several seconds after I cast my spell, right? In that time, they could fire four attacks. Do you think no one would die during those four attacks?"

"Uh… that's…"

"If you can't say for sure, then shut up! You know we only have seven people, right? Even if we win, losing even one of us would make it pointless to fight."

It wasn't just about the numbers. More than anything, Aaron's instincts were warning him. No matter what, it felt like Justin would be the one to survive.

If that happened, Justin would likely blow Aaron's head off in his fury. The mere thought made Aaron shiver.

"Right, now's not the time. I'll get my revenge when the opportunity arises," Aaron thought, trying to rationalize the situation to himself.

He turned away, realizing that despite the temporary humiliation, the situation wasn't all bad. After all, he had finally become the leader he always wanted to be. Now, he was essentially the law in this territory.

"At the request of the previous leader, leadership authority is being transferred."

"Aaron has been selected as the new leader."

"Opening leadership authority and territory development options."

When the system message came through after twenty minutes, Aaron's lips curled into a smile. He opened his status window, and new functions available to the leader appeared.

Aaron looked at the citizens and said, "You've all had a good time until now, right? Thanks to Zachary, you were able to live quite comfortably. The pioneers couldn't even touch you."

"...."

"But now what? I have no intention of doing the same for you."

The citizens gaped, their faces pale. Some even collapsed in fear. Aaron watched them with a cold smile as he disabled the anti-violence feature.

"Let's have some fun now, you bastards."