Chapter 136: Request
The meeting concluded quickly. They finalized that before the walker horde arrived, they'd make thorough battle preparations and defensive fortifications.
After the walker horde's arrival, Black Pine Valley would maintain quietness as much as possible—no shooting or making large disturbances. Each day, patrols wearing robes covered in walker blood and flesh would be dispatched.
Waiting for the walkers' departure.
According to Dr. Jenner's estimate, barring unexpected circumstances, the walker horde would at most surround Black Pine Valley for a week before leaving.
The meeting ended. Caesar walked out of the meeting room.
He saw Daryl pulling Merle away. Merle's body was somewhat weak, supported by his brother as they left.
The two brothers weren't arguing at this time.
Caesar smiled slightly.
"Merle encountered a very dangerous situation on this outing, right?" A gentle female voice reached his ears.
A warm, soft little hand drilled into Caesar's palm. Caesar couldn't help but squeeze that small hand, saying with a smile:
"Right, he almost died."
"Daryl saw it, but felt embarrassed to directly express concern. Really stubborn."
Caesar turned his head to look at Amy standing beside him.
Amy held Caesar's arm, gently shaking it once, raising her head to look at Caesar:
"I hope our future children won't be like this."
"Mm, that's right."
Seeing Amy say this, Caesar naturally wouldn't evade.
"How many children do you think we should have in the future?" Caesar asked.
"Mm~" Amy raised her head, thought for a while, then said, "At least three."
"One older brother, one younger sister, then another younger brother."
"..."
Amy hugged Caesar's arm, swaying as they walked toward home.
Caesar spoke a sentence or two from time to time, making Amy laugh happily.
...
The next day, Buffalo Pass.
Caesar stood on the city wall, watching residents below digging trenches.
"Boss, one hundred meters in front of the gate, I'll dig a trench—depth about two to three meters, width two meters, the bottom filled with sharp stakes and iron rods."
"After walkers enter, it'll be very difficult to climb out intact."
"Mm, and after? These trenches can't stop tens of thousands of walkers." Caesar nodded, pressing the question.
Jacqui flipped through her notebook. "These trenches mainly aren't to block walkers—at least they increase difficulty for walkers."
"There are also those abandoned vehicles. Place abandoned vehicles behind the trenches, use wire mesh to fill gaps between abandoned vehicles—enough to stop many walkers."
"In front of the gate, pile a ramp so walkers coming from outside can only climb upward, and place some sharp stakes on the slope—walkers will crash into them themselves."
"These are mainly the three layers."
Jacqui finished reporting.
Caesar thought it over and didn't find any flaws in this arrangement, so he asked:
"Did you consult Daryl? He understands traps better than me."
"This is exactly what I planned together with Captain Daryl."
"Then that's fine."
After sending Jacqui away, Caesar quietly watched residents working.
The weather grew colder and colder. Strong winds blew in waves.
Caesar walked down from the city wall, took a shovel, and dug trenches together with residents.
Digging trenches wasn't as easy as imagined. The ground was very hard—one shovel down couldn't dig much.
Caesar buried his head in hard work. His efficiency alone matched ten people. At a speed visible to the naked eye, he dug the trench.
Not long into digging, Caesar was hot and sweating all over.
"Do you want water?" Beth stood prettily above the trench, passing over a cup. Inside the cup was warm water.
"Mm, thanks."
Caesar took the cup and drank it all in one gulp.
"Want more?"
"Another cup."
After drinking the water again, Caesar handed back the cup.
"Do you have something you want to discuss with me?"
Caesar glanced at Beth who held the water jug and cup without leaving, realizing she might have something.
Beth's foot ground the dirt. She asked quietly, "Can I join the training camp?"
The training camp was a place for training warriors. Both Andrea and Carol were training inside.
People who finished training could directly join combat squads.
Caesar leaned on the shovel, amused. "Can't you just directly register?"
Beth raised her head, saying anxiously, "I can't register. The registration people said they need my father's consent, but my father won't allow me to join the training camp."
Caesar recalled—if registrants were relatively young, they'd seek their parents' consent.
"You can't discuss this matter with me. You need to discuss it with your father."
Thinking about it, facing Beth's expectant gaze, Caesar still refused.
"Why?" Beth didn't quite understand. Her eyes reddened with anxiety.
Seeing Beth's emotions were agitated, Caesar handed the shovel to someone beside him and brought Beth to the rest area nearby.
Sitting in a camping chair, Caesar glanced at Beth once.
Beth stood stiffly upright, unwilling to sit—like a petulant child.
Caesar shook his head with a smile. He neither urged her to sit nor spoke.
The two thus—one sitting, one standing—remained at an impasse.
Standing and standing, Beth couldn't stand anymore. She glanced at Caesar, then hurriedly withdrew her gaze.
After waiting a while, Caesar seemed not to notice her look.
Beth could only cough lightly twice.
But no matter how Beth fussed, Caesar had no reaction—just looked at the scenery before him, appreciating it alone.
"Just tell me—what will make my father agree?"
Beth couldn't restrain herself. Finally she still spoke.
Caesar's mouth corners lifted. He patted the camping chair beside him. "You sit first."
"Oh." Beth obediently sat down, looking at Caesar seriously.
"First tell me why you want to join the training camp."
Caesar turned his head. The expression on his face was much more serious.
"I, I..." Beth's eyes turned, as if finding a suitable reason.
Caesar directly interrupted Beth. "You need to tell me the truth, otherwise I won't help you."
Caesar's pupils were very deep. Under such eyes' gaze, Beth lowered her head grievously. "I, I don't want to stay at home."
"Or do work like this. I want to learn combat, not die as powerlessly as Jimmy did."
The Jimmy Beth mentioned was her boyfriend, also the neighbor's child from Hershel's household—dead at the hands of Randall's group.
"At first, I even thought about suicide."
Tears accumulated in Beth's eyes.
"But I thought, I still have Maggie and Dad. I won't let them grieve over my death."
"I don't want to be immersed in the pain of losing family. I just wanted to do something. Only after helping with things did I discover."
"I need the ability to protect myself, to be as strong as Maggie."
Speaking of Maggie, Beth's eyes sparkled. Though tears still hung on her face, her smile was very bright.
Seeing Beth wasn't like in the original story, immersed in the pain of losing family, but rather had walked out of it—
Caesar smiled slightly. "Good. I agree to you joining the training camp. I'll go talk with your father."
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