Chapter 48 "Native"

Frostwood Village, the village chief's longhouse.

Jason's body was covered with a white cloth and placed in the middle of the room.

Baron and many hunters gathered, with the village chief, Griff, and others listening on the side. Outside, villagers stood in circles, whispering in shock.

After the hunters finished recounting the events, the room fell silent, with only the crackling of firewood in the fireplace.

"...That's what the lord said, and that's what we saw. When we arrived, he had already killed the lord's guard and was on the verge of death from serious injuries. We still don't know why Jason did such a thing."

Weiss's tone was puzzled.

This was also the confusion of all the hunters.

Baron was grieved by Jason's death. Upon hearing this, he immediately thought of something, his face twitching, and said in a deep voice:

"Two days ago, Jason and I stumbled upon a shady deal. The grain collection team came to the village, and one of them was the manager of the apothecary. He was trying to smuggle medicine from our village doctor back to White Plains City, replacing the apothecary's stock with inferior potions... We caught the two of them, and I sent Jason to the town to expose them to the lord..."

Everyone was stunned and immediately perked up.

"Could it be..." Weiss's eyes narrowed.

Bang!

Baron slammed the table, his face filled with anger. "Jason's death must be related to this!"

Upon discovering the corruption in the medicine, his first reaction was to expose it to the lord, feeling that only the lord could thoroughly investigate the matter, clean up the apothecary from top to bottom, and ensure that the hunter's potions supplied in the future would no longer be substandard.

But he didn't expect to send Jason into a fire pit.

Although he hadn't figured out the lord's deeper motives for doing so, he was certain that the lord couldn't escape responsibility!

The faces of Weiss, Webber, and other hunters also darkened.

This was the first time they had heard about this. The potions they bought at high prices were actually mixed with inferior products. Although most people hadn't bought them, some had indeed occasionally encountered potions with very poor effects, originally thinking it was a normal fluctuation in quality, but they didn't expect it to be a corrupt scheme.

Everyone couldn't help but feel angry.

"So, you think the lord was silencing him, and Jason attacked in retaliation?" Weiss frowned.

"I can't think of any other possibility." Baron's tone was heavy. "I know Jason's character very well. He wouldn't attack the lord for no reason."

Webber stroked his chin and said in a deep voice, "In that case, the lord's explanation that it was the guard's private action might just be an excuse, an overreaction..."

The group exchanged information and deduced the whole story. Although they lacked some information, which led to some deviations, they roughly understood the cause and effect.

After clarifying the whole story, the hunters' trust in Luther plummeted.

"I didn't expect Luther to be this kind of person. I used to think he was a good lord..."

"These people who hold power are truly corrupt."

The faces of the crowd were different, full of resentment.

If they didn't voluntarily protect people, who would listen to the lord's orders?

But now, the lord dared to turn against one of them, disregarding the identity of the beast hunters.

Beast hunters were the most respected group, but the lord dared to risk the world's disapproval and try to silence a hunter... If Luther could attack Jason today, he could attack them tomorrow.

"This matter can't be left like this!" Baron slammed the table and said angrily, "Luther must pay the price for Jason's death!"

"But what can we do? We can't just kill the lord like Jason did. The empire has laws. What would it be called if a group of beast hunters killed the town lord? What would others think?" Someone couldn't help but interject.

"Are we just going to ignore it?!"

"Of course not, calm down." Weiss held Baron's arm.

The crowd looked at each other.

They were angry about Jason's experience, but being willing to stand up for Jason was one thing. However, killing the lord would also put them on the wanted list. Perhaps there was another way to solve it.

Webber rubbed his knuckles, pondered for a moment, and opened his mouth:

"There's no need to confront the lord. He won't admit it, but it's not appropriate for us to directly avenge Jason... Perhaps we should expose the lord's affairs to the empire, expose the apothecary's problem, make a big deal out of it, let the people of the empire thoroughly investigate, find out all the inside information, and preferably appoint a new lord."

"...Will that work?"

Weiss expressed doubt.

Although the beast hunter group was highly valued by the Terra Empire, would the empire directly replace the lord of a region because of a hunter's report?

Webber said slowly:

"Let's try it and see... Anyway, if the lord isn't replaced, I will definitely leave. I won't serve under such a person. Although I am willing to eliminate the threat of alien beasts for White Plains City, I don't want to be attacked by the lord's people one day and die without knowing why."

"That's right." "Me too."

Many hunters echoed.

Even if they had to start over somewhere else, many hunters didn't want to continue operating near White Plains City.

"Do we have to use this roundabout way? I just want to chop Luther to death with an axe!" Baron looked ferocious.

"I want to too... But we are beast hunters, not just representing ourselves. Killing the lord has too much impact. Jason's approach was too extreme, it's really... Anyway, when there are other ways, let's not use the knife directly. Our blades are for the alien beasts, not for people."

Webber tightened the muscles on his face and pursed his lips.

Baron's bald head bulged with veins. He didn't like this method, feeling that a fire in his heart was difficult to vent.

According to him, rushing into the castle tonight and directly chopping the culprit to death would be the most enjoyable!

But the other hunters' concerns made sense. Besides, the others weren't as familiar with Jason, and their willingness to help was only because the matter was closely related to themselves, and they shared a common hatred. It was impossible to force them to take radical methods.

Compared to simple revenge, ensuring that this kind of thing doesn't happen again may be more important to other hunters.

"I understand." Baron responded in a muffled voice.

Weiss opened his mouth to persuade, "We have reason now, don't do anything stupid. Jason's matter will definitely be explained."

Baron shook his head, suddenly stood up, picked up Jason's body, and said in a low voice:

"I'll bury him first."

After saying that, he strode out.

Seeing this, everyone also stopped discussing and followed out.

The many villagers outside trailed behind, watching Jason's body with sad expressions.

The group came to the cemetery, dug a grave, and buried Jason's body next to Will's grave.

Baron took out a carving knife, paused for a while, and then carved an epitaph on the tombstone.

「Jason Wood's Grave」

「A genius hunter, a companion, a dear friend」

Everyone present looked at the tombstone in silence, feeling somewhat sentimental.

The villagers of Frostwood Village had deeper emotions. Having been together for half a year, Jason had eliminated the threat of the earth bone people for the village, and everyone remembered his kindness, feeling sad at this moment.

"Jason..."

Griff felt sympathetic.

The scene of their first meeting half a year ago seemed to be still vivid in his mind.

But now, he was still standing outside.

That heroic and generous man was lying in the grave.

Liner blinked his big eyes in the crowd, wondering what he was thinking.

Baron looked at the graves of Jason and Will, silently.

During these years as a hunter, although he was used to seeing life and death, he still found it difficult to let go of the death of his "beloved disciple".

"Your future shouldn't stop here..."

Baron stroked the tombstone, his mood uneasy.

...

Time passed day by day, and the rumors in White Plains City spread wider and wider.

Almost everyone in the city knew about what happened that night, knowing that a hunter named "Jason Wood" had publicly attacked the lord's longhouse and almost killed the lord.

A beast hunter chopping the lord was the first time in history!

Due to the lack of entertainment, this rumor quickly became the main topic of conversation after dinner for most residents in White Plains City, analyzing it in a well-organized manner.

Regarding the reasons for this, the hunters did not remain silent, claiming that the lord intended to silence him and cover up the inside story of the apothecary's replacement of the inventory.

This caused an uproar in the city.

Although the lord sent troops to seal up the apothecary at the first time, stating that he would investigate the matter, and posted notices throughout the process denying that he had instructed the guards to attack Jason, claiming that the guards had acted on their own.

However, the residents of the town were more likely to believe the hunters' claims.

For a time, rumors spread like wildfire. Luther's originally good reputation plummeted, and residents expressed strong distrust of the current lord.

After the conflict that night, Luther was frightened and had been bedridden ever since.

He didn't take any action, didn't show up again, and didn't even care about the citizens' petitions.

The lord's longhouse.

The damage caused by the battle that night was barely repaired, but some traces could still be seen.

The White Plains City Inspector walked up the stairs to the master bedroom, pushed the door open, and saw Luther, who was sitting listlessly on the head of the bed.

"You're here, please sit down." Luther said weakly.

The White Plains City Inspector ignored him and asked himself:

"Lord Luther, I need to understand the situation regarding the recent events and the rumors in the city."

The towns of the Terra Empire were ruled by lords, with a high degree of autonomy, but the Terra Empire would not ignore them.

A few years after the founding of the country, the Terra Empire established "sentinels", that is, local inspectors, in all towns.

They only had the duty of surveillance, responsible for transmitting information to the empire, such as what happened in the town, what systems the lord had formulated, etc. In addition, they basically did not interfere with the lord's rule over the local area.

On the surface, they were definitely safe and sound. Local inspectors would not bother the lord if nothing happened, and the lord would not care about the local inspectors.

As for private matters, there were basically frictions. Some inspectors might want to use their power to deter the lord and collect "protection fees", or the lord might bribe and deceive the inspectors. All kinds of operations existed.

Of course, the control of tribal lords and parachuted lords was not the same.

Faced with local snakes like tribal lords, local inspectors were generally sensible, acting as decorations and living day by day.

However, recently, Zhou Jing's attack on the lord had spread throughout the city, which was quite sensitive, and the White Plains City Inspector had to take care of it.

Luther was not surprised that the other party came to him, and said with a tired face: "What aspects do you want to know?"

"What exactly happened when that hunter attacked you? And you also have to give the empire an explanation for the so-called inside story of the apothecary!"

The White Plains City Inspector was not polite at all.

"I know..."

Luther coughed weakly twice and repeated it intermittently, still the set of rhetoric of shirking responsibility. Anyway, he didn't know, it was all the selfishness of his subordinates.

The White Plains City Inspector frowned slightly, obviously not believing it very much, but he couldn't do anything to Luther.

He suddenly changed the topic and warned:

"The incident this time is not small. You have angered the hunters in the entire area. I will truthfully pass it on to the imperial center. They may think that you are no longer capable of serving as the lord."

"...If I am to be replaced, the successor can only be selected from my tribal relatives."

Luther's face did not change.

The White Plains City Inspector found that Luther did not seem to be worried about this problem, and his brows could not help but frown even tighter.

"Okay, then I will report it truthfully."

After speaking, the White Plains City Inspector did not stay and left, turning his head.

Luther's face suddenly darkened, and his mood was very bad.

These days, he had been worried all the time, fearing that other hunters would attack.

Without the extraordinary guards around him, he could only mobilize most of the army to guard the castle day and night.

Fortunately, the other hunters maintained their sanity and did not recklessly attack the lord's mansion and start a massacre.

However, the truth claimed by the hunters stirred up rumors in the city, which also made him exhausted.

Dozens of hunters in White Plains City showed a strong rejection of him, and he could not suppress the rumors.

As long as he dared to be tough, the hunters would leave at any time. In that case, the residents of White Plains City would be even more dissatisfied with him. Even if he could still be the lord, White Plains City would become more and more depressed.

However, he still needed to hold on to the position of lord. Now, only this identity could protect his safety... After all, there were only a few hunters like Jason who chopped the lord regardless of the consequences.

He could see that the hunters wanted to prompt the empire to replace him.

However, he was not very worried.

The person who pulled him into that huge plan was a powerful figure in the imperial court, and also his backer in the court.

Luther believed that his backer would find a way to protect his position... Even to stabilize him and not expose everyone's plans, he had to do so.

"I don't have to worry about the imperial center. My most important task is to eliminate the clues and prevent the people of the empire from investigating..."

Luther's face was uncertain.

He could not let the empire discover the plan behind the scenes, otherwise the entire plan of his backer would be affected.

As for the bitter fruit of White Plains City becoming depressed, he could only swallow it temporarily.

However, as long as the day of calling for help comes, the current losses will definitely be made up for!

He was convinced of this.

...

Alien beast world, somewhere.

In a dark cave, people came and went, and materials piled up like mountains, like a stronghold.

Several people in various costumes sat around a stone table in a circle, talking in low voices.

"The person sent to White Plains City to protect the lord was killed."

"Who did it? The people of Red Earth, Hein, Dongluo, or the stowaway explorers of a giant consortium or illegal organization?"

"None of them. It seems that he was involved in a conflict between natives and died together with a native hunter."

"Are you sure the killer was a native?"

"It has been investigated. The killer is called Jason Wood. He was originally an ordinary person and lived in a village near White Plains City. He was only strengthened by alien blood a few months ago and transformed into a transcendent. I have already drawn a portrait based on the descriptions of others and prepared to take it back for comparison to confirm it again... In my judgment, this person is likely to be a real native."

"Tsk, to be killed by a native, it's embarrassing... What level of superpower was the dead one?"

"Level 1, an artificial superpower who took gene potions, practiced some martial arts, and was Marvin's assistant... Marvin went back in the first two batches and is not in this world at the moment."

"Okay, since it was done by a native, there is no need to interfere. Recover the body of the assistant and record it in the list of dead."

"Okay."

The few people discussed a few words and quickly ended the topic. Obviously, in their opinion, this was just a small matter.

At this time, a figure who looked like a leader knocked on the table and said in a deep voice:

"This convergence period is about to end. You can stop all the plans, withdraw all the people outside, return to the strongholds, and wait for the evacuation from this world. Don't go out anymore."

"Understood."

The others responded one after another.

Someone couldn't help but sigh:

"I don't know how long this gravitational tide will last. When the last convergence period ended, the Terra Empire had not yet been born... I don't know what this world will be like when the next convergence period returns."