There were at least hundreds of thousands of them.
The area occupied was much bigger too.
“Balu, there‘s a Buckeranian base in front of us. As the head of Planet Buck, it‘d be better for you to take the lead,” said David as he turned around.
“Yes! Mr. David!”
Balu took a few steps forward after that.
Then, Balu raised his voice, “Fellow Buckeranians, nice to meet you! I‘m Balu, son of Babu, previous head of Planet Buck. Three hundred years ago, Planet Buck encountered a disastrous event. My family and I were sent away from this planet. I finally made it back here today. This time, I‘ll lead all of you out of misery and live the peaceful life that we used to live. The Grim family, who brought disaster upon us, has been eliminated. God had mercy on us Buckeranians, and He gave us another chance to start a new life.”
After Balu finished talking, he kneeled on the ground. Then, both of his arms crossed and rested in front of his chest, with his forehead touching the ground. He made a special prayer gesture that only the Buckeranians would recognize.
Balu quietly kneeled on the ground.
Soon, there were noises in front of him.
There were pairs of bright eyes showing up in the dark.
Heads started popping out one after another on the top of the huge tree.
Slowly, not far ahead from them, a few thousand people started showing themselves. Young men and women were carrying different kinds of weapons in their hands.
These people were sizing David and the others up with curiosity.
They knew the three of them did not come here to take them away.
The Grim family would send many people here to take them away and make them their mining slaves every time they came here.
It was unlikely that they had only sent the three of them here.
other than that, the man who was kneeling on the ground performed the Buckeranians‘ ancient worship gesture.
This was the gesture the Buckeranians would only use when they worshiped their God every year.
However, these people did not ask any questions out loud.
It was as though they were waiting for someone to arrive. David and Mia did not say anything either.
After a while, the crowd in front of them dispersed and cleared a path.
A gray–haired old man leaning on his walking stick hobbled toward
them.
The old man had just shown up, and he asked impatiently, “Who? Who? Who‘s Balu?”
Balu heard the old man‘s voice.
Only then did he lift his head.
He looked at the old man and replied, “I‘m Balu!”
The old man saw the slave mark on Balu‘s forehead and immediately came forward to help Balu up. “Are… Are you really Balu? Babu‘s son?” The old man asked in a tone full of anticipation. “Yes! I‘m Balu. My father is Babu,” answered Balu.
“Little Balu! Do you still remember me? I’m Utopia,” The old man looked at him with his eyes welled with tears.
Utopia?
Balu tried recalling.
After all, three hundred years had passed since this.
Suddenly, it came to him.
He widened his eyes, and asked in a loud voice, “Uncle Utopia?”
“Yes! Yes! It‘s me!” The old man replied excitedly.
“Uncle Utopia, you… you‘re still alive? I thought everyone was dead. I didn‘t expect you‘d still be alive. That‘s great. Sobs…”
Balu got all emotional and suddenly started sobbing in front of everyone.
Utopia was his father‘s general officer back then.
He was also someone whom Balu was close with.
It was just that it had been a long time.
Utopia‘s appearance had changed a lot, and Balu did not recognize him.
It was hard for Balu to suppress his emotions when he could meet someone he knew after three hundred years.
However, it only took him a moment before he fell silent.
“I was supposed to be dead. Our people couldn‘t see any hope for the future. It truly upset me!” Utopia exclaimed. “Uncle Utopia, it must have been tough for you!”
“It‘s nothing! Little Balu, it must have been tougher for you all these years! Let‘s go! Let‘s head somewhere else and have a chat.”
Utopia was about to take Balu deeper into the forest after that.
“Okay!!!”
After Balu answered him, he turned around and looked at David, “Mr. David, please follow me.”
David smiled and nodded.
He felt happy for Balu to be able to reunite with someone he knew.
At the same time, it reminded David of the people who were waiting for him to return to Earth.
He had to get things done as soon as possible.
Then, he would return to the Earth.
That was the only place where David felt like home.
