Chapter 13 A Hunter Organization

Roman put down his cutlery and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhou Jing leaned close to Roman's ear, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Hunters need technical support from artisans, but the Empire and the various tribes are temporarily unable to spare the time. Because we don't get involved in the Empire's confrontation with the tribes, and we don't have to compete in military preparations, we have a lot of free manpower. Perhaps this is an opportunity.

"For example, as a neutral party, we could cultivate or absorb some artisans, focusing on providing hunters with workshop-like resource supplies and obtaining some income. We could also win over some hunters… maybe even strengthen our power?"

Roman looked at Zhou Jing in surprise, not expecting him to say such a thing.

There were too many people around, so Roman gestured for Zhou Jing to leave the inn. They crossed the street, and then he continued the conversation, shaking his head.

"This is indeed a way to expand our power, but the flaw is that it's too noticeable, which doesn't meet my expectations. Besides, even if we can organize artisans and establish a neutral workshop, the Empire and the tribes will try to recruit them, or even directly grab the artisans to work for them."

Zhou Jing's eyes darted around, and he said:

"Well, in this stalemate situation where the workshops are suspended, a neutral workshop might attract a group of hunters who would spontaneously protect the workshop.

"As long as we can maintain this mechanism unchanged, it can gradually spread. Although it can't replace the imperial workshops, it will slowly form a self-sustaining neutral force, right?

"We don't necessarily have to reveal our own origins. Maybe we can do it under the guise of something else, letting others think it's just a spontaneous civilian neutral volunteer organization."

As he spoke, he kept an eye on Roman's expression.

He was both offering advice and probing, trying to find out what Roman was planning.

This man instigated the tribes to seek independence, provoking a confrontation between the Empire and the tribes, but now he was no longer helping the tribes, instead hiding himself in a low profile. What benefits was he calculating?

It couldn't just be a desire to see the world in chaos, right?

Zhou Jing thought it over and over, and the most reliable guess was that he was using the opportunity of the war to expand his own power.

"Establish a neutral organization under the guise of something else?"

Roman's eyes flickered, and he shook his head.

"There is some feasibility, but the risks and costs far outweigh the benefits. Even if we can win over a group of hunters to spontaneously protect it, hunters are difficult to control. We are not the Empire with its authority; most hunters are just peripheral forces that we cannot command.

"Besides, the Empire and the tribes won't fight. The confrontation won't last too long. This amount of time is not enough to do anything… Just hide as I said, and don't do anything else superfluous."

Zhou Jing pretended to be puzzled. "Then, apart from spreading the new Exotic Blood Potion, we won't do anything else? I thought you wanted to seize the opportunity of the confrontation between the two sides to expand our power."

Roman casually explained.

"Your suggestion requires too many prerequisites, such as enough artisans, huge resources, stable transportation routes, long-term workshop shutdowns, the Empire and the tribes being unable to manage, and so on…

"Even if it is barely established, once the confrontation ends and the official workshops resume production, the neutral workshop will lose its purpose. In the end, it will still be divided up by the Empire and the tribes. After all, they are unwilling to see a new force with unknown origins absorbing a large number of hunters…"

Zhou Jing interrupted, "Unless this neutral force is mainly composed of hunter groups and is formed spontaneously."

Roman raised an eyebrow, as if in thought.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing continued, "Whether it's the Empire or the tribes, they need more hunters to deal with the threat of Exotic Beasts. If hunters spontaneously band together to form a neutral organization that specializes in dealing with Exotic Beasts, responsible for the operation and expansion of the organization themselves, providing convenience for their own hunting, and if most hunters recognize the existence of this neutral organization, then it shouldn't be targeted, right?"

Roman thought for a while, shook his head, and spoke slowly.

"The situation you described may indeed exist. If it is a hunter organization recognized by the majority of hunters, the Empire and the tribes should not interfere.

"But the problem is that the imperial workshops are doing just that. They were also established for this goal and have been operating for many years, having long become the first choice for hunters to rely on. The Empire and the tribes are only confronting each other for the first time, not truly breaking out into war. In the eyes of most people, the official workshops will recover, so hunters have no need to waste their energy banding together to establish their own workshops.

"In addition, hunters in various places are difficult to contact each other and cannot unify their opinions. Without the help of rulers, it is difficult to establish exclusive workshops everywhere. So what you proposed is just an almost impossible assumption… The actual problems to be faced when doing things are much more troublesome than a beautiful plan.

"Moreover, we have no reason to do this. Hunters banding together doesn't mean they will listen to orders. Even if it's under the guise of something else, we can't command the hunters. This is not something we can handle. If we simply establish it for the sake of establishing it, then it won't be of any benefit to me."

Roman was just short of saying that Zhou Jing was an armchair strategist, indulging in fantasy. He was still being a bit tactful.

"Okay, I was thinking too much… Then what exactly do you want to do?"

Zhou Jing pretended to sigh.

Even without him, Roman would still instigate the tribes to seek independence, so publicizing the new Exotic Blood Potion was just icing on the cake, not Roman's core motivation.

Although publicizing the potion formula was a way to benefit the masses, allowing more people to obtain extraordinary power and further reduce the threat of Exotic Beasts… it was also a double-edged sword.

If a civil war really broke out one day, the destructive power of the war would be even greater due to the existence of a large number of Exotic Blood Warriors.

It was hard to say whether it was good or bad.

Hearing the question, Roman smiled and remained silent, still not intending to answer.

He just looked at Zhou Jing, revealing an expression of satisfaction.

Although Bill's proposal seemed unreliable to Roman, he was quite pleased with this serious attitude of planning for the sake of the faction.

This precisely represented that the two had common interests. Bill regarded his faction as his own, so he would plan for the development of the faction, treating it as "family."

In his opinion, this was a signal that Bill had come around.

He had finally obtained the loyalty of this potion master!

Roman was secretly pleased. This wave of witchcraft was not in vain.

Ignoring the self-gratified Roman, Zhou Jing was still considering the plan to establish a neutral hunter organization, feeling that it had a certain feasibility.

First, it had to be able to summon a large number of hunters and promote banding together. Second, it had to be able to provide stable technical support. And then, it had to avoid being targeted…

As Roman said, ordinary people could not do this, but he could coordinate two Star Realm Apostles, and might not be unable to do it.

Zhou Jing's eyes rolled, and he muttered to himself.

After all, he had also started his career as a hunter. Doing so would both help the hunters and harvest more Information State Particles, opening up new channels.

If Roman was willing to do it, he wouldn't mind helping out and testing the feasibility. However, judging from Roman's meaning, he didn't seem to be interested.

However, the time was indeed not ripe yet. He still needed to wait for opportunities and for the two Star Realm Apostles to continue to grow… In the future, he might not be unable to try to go solo.

In the eyes of people who already have a camp, perhaps this kind of thing doesn't have much benefit. Even if the Empire and the tribes are willing to do this kind of thing, it is for the benefit of their own camp. The motivation is not pure, and they cannot achieve true neutrality.

But for a person who has no camp and no position, creating a neutral force led by hunters may be a good thing, and others will be more likely to recognize it…

Zhou Jing thought silently, temporarily suppressing this idea in his heart.

Ending the conversation, the two of them set off again.

Before leaving, Zhou Jing looked through the window again at Barron inside the inn.

Barron was chatting loudly with fellow hunters, as if he had already let go of his worries.

"It seems he's doing well."

Zhou Jing withdrew his gaze, not intending to interact with Barron, and turned to follow Roman on the road.

In the inn, Barron paused, subconsciously looking out the window at Bill's back, feeling a subtle feeling in his heart.

He had noticed earlier that this stranger had been sizing him up frequently, wondering what he was looking at.

'Forget it, I don't know him. It doesn't matter if he looks at me a few times.'

Barron touched his bald head, putting the matter behind him.

…

Leaving the village, Zhou Jing and Roman's next journey went smoothly. They returned to the base all the way without any accidents.

Having obtained the witchcraft, Zhou Jing also began to fulfill his duties, picking up the potion craftsmanship again, modifying and developing new potions in the base.

And with the help of cultivation acceleration, he spent a few hours every day practicing witchcraft, quickly increasing the development progress of the "Elemental Wizard".

He basically didn't ask about anything else, only burying himself in work and cultivation.

Roman, according to the previous plan, spread the new Exotic Blood Potion formula, giving it to many tribes.

A month or two later, the new Exotic Blood Potion products appeared one after another in the town workshops controlled by the various tribes.

The new Exotic Blood Potion used to be the exclusive supply of the Empire's direct line. Now it was available everywhere, breaking the royal family's monopoly at once.

The various tribes also claimed that unlike the royal family, who required joining them to obtain the new Exotic Blood Potion, they would supply it unconditionally like the original Exotic Blood Potion… However, the current workshop production capacity was all supplying the army, so it was temporarily out of stock.

This change caused an uproar among the people.

Originally, a large number of civilians thought that they had to work for the royal family to obtain a low-risk, mild Exotic Blood Potion. Unexpectedly, good fortune suddenly fell from the sky, and they could buy it anywhere.

The confrontation between the Empire and the tribes had originally caused panic, but after this incident, many people suddenly felt that tribal independence might not be entirely a bad thing, giving people more choices.

Connecting this with the news a few months ago that the developer of the new Exotic Blood Potion, the Empire's chief potion master, had run away, new rumors were born among the people, believing that Bill had noble sentiments, hoping that more people would use the new potion and unwilling to let the royal family monopolize it. That was why he decided to escape and ultimately stood on the side of the various tribes.

And King Becky, who was far away in the royal capital, was stunned after learning the news.

Those were all the Empire's research results! They were mastered by the enemy just like that?

Not just one or two, but all the enemies!

Bill, how cruel you are!

Becky was angered into bed once again.