Astral Apostle

The times were changing. He couldn't do anything.

Someone had once said these words to him, given him an outlook of the situation, and invited him to participate in an extremely wide-ranging plan…

Lutt had agreed.

Everything he was doing now was largely based on this plan.

He would accumulate strength and wait for the day that person would raise his arm and summon them.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but Lutt's face did not show any of his thoughts. He only slowly spoke,

"Other than this hunter named Jason, only Barong knows about this plan?"

"Yes, I only told the two of them… but I'm not sure if they told anyone else."

"Although your reason fooled them, they have already noticed the situation in the apothecary. In the future, we will also be restrained… especially Jason, who is suspected to be the Empire's secret envoy."

Lutt's tone faltered before he continued gravely.

"Regarding your tampering of the Hunter Potions, I'll deal with you after this. For now, let me think about how to deal with the current problem first."

With that, he turned to look at Gamma.

Gamma leaned against the corner, trembling, his face filled with despair.

From the beginning, he had wanted to shout, "Stop talking, I don't want to hear it!"

After knowing so much, would I still be allowed to live?

However, the two of them did not avoid talking in front of him at all. It was obvious that they were prepared to silence him.

"D-Don't kill me. I didn't hear anything. I…"

Before Gamma could finish, Lutt gestured behind him.

Swish!

A stone shot through the air, accurately piercing through Gamma's forehead.

A bloody hole appeared. Gamma's eyes widened as he fell to the ground, dead.

From the shadows of the dungeon, a man with a buzz cut slowly walked out. He rubbed his fingers together, wiping away the bits of lime that stained them.

Just now, he had flicked a stone and killed Gamma in one go.

Lutt looked at him and could not help himself. "How on earth did you do that with your hands? I had the other guards flick stones like you did and the stones shattered instead."

"It's a technique on exerting strength." The buzz-cut man was expressionless, not wanting to say more.

Lutt shook his head and did not dwell on it. He quickly found the jailer, who had been asked to step aside for a moment to deal with the matter here. He then left the dungeon and returned to his residence.

As soon as he entered, a servant came to report.

"My lord, Captain Maggi is looking for you. He seems to have been injured."

"Oh? I'll go take a look."

Lutt made his way to the Guest House. Maggi was already waiting there, his neck bandaged.

"What happened to you?" Lutt was surprised.

Maggi suddenly stood up and said indignantly, "My lord, you hired me previously and said that I had the right to use the Hunter's Workshop, but a Mutant Beast Hunter just snatched my things and cut me…"

He rattled off an explanation before Lutt understood what was going on.

So this person had come to complain. He had actually gotten into a conflict with Jason over the Hunter's Workshop resources.

Lutt's eyes narrowed as he considered this before looking at the indignant Maggi.

"This matter is indeed a little overbearing. My promise to you is still valid… How about this? Take my other guards with you. After Jason leaves the city, find a deserted place to stop him and snatch back the potion you want."

Maggi was startled, then his surprise turned to joy.

He was only here to complain and did not expect his lord to do anything to the group of domineering Mutant Beast Hunters. But he did not expect Lutt to show such unconditional support towards him!

He was lucky. The lord's brain is fried today, siding with me instead of the hunters! Or did the lord feel that his authority had been provoked?

Maggi got lost in a moment of his own fantasy.

At this moment, Lutt rubbed his chin and said, "Invite him back as well. I want to talk to him in person."

"How am I supposed to invite him back?" asked Maggi.

"Think about it yourself. Don't kill anyone. It's enough if you teach him a lesson. By the way, remember to avoid the eyes and ears of the other hunters when bringing Jason to me."

"Alright! Then I'll go gather the people."

Maggi left excitedly.

Seeing this, Lutt's eyes flashed.

He was originally still thinking about how to deal with Zhou Jing, who knew the truth. Even if he wanted to let his guards take action, it would be difficult to find a reason. It would be difficult for the lord to explain his motive for attacking a Mutant Beast Hunter, and it would easily anger the other hunters.

Just as he was thinking about what reason to create, Maggi came knocking on his door… He immediately had a reason to seek revenge.

Lutt planned to capture Jason and interrogate him about his origins. He wanted to see if he was part of the Empire's secret envoy before silencing him.

But they might hold back when they attack him. They might even end up killing Jason on the spot.

Whichever the case, his final statement would be that this was Maggi's personal revenge. It was not his intention to fake an order to mobilize the guards. He would then execute this person to appease the hunters' anger.

Although it was a pity to lose a Mutant Blood Warrior Guard, it was fine to kill a fellow who kept saying that he was a lord's guard and going around causing trouble for himself.

In any case, as long as there was a Mutant Blood Potion, a new Mutant Blood Warrior could always be born.

As for the other insider, Barong, Lutt had no intention of letting him go.

Although Barong seemed to believe the fabricated story, he could still spread the news everywhere. The more attention they received, the greater the risk.

Frostwood Village would have to be discussed at length. As long as Barong did not leak it, there was no need to worry about it. Lutt was not very willing to damage any villages under his rule. This was all free labor… However, this Gamma was the village's witch doctor. Now that he was gone, Barong should have to explain himself to the rest. It would be very troublesome.

If he wanted to attack, he couldn't just send troops. Soldiers could not be trusted. It was best to think of a way to get the mutated beasts to do it for him…

Lutt's mind spun with potential plans.

...

After Zhou Jing left the workshop, he went straight to the Hunter Tavern. As expected, he found Weiss here.

At this moment, there were many hunters in the tavern as well. When they saw Zhou Jing push open the door and enter, they raised their glasses in greeting.

"Yo, Jason's here."

"Let's go hunting together one day."

"Why don't I see Barong? Did you come out to have fun yourself?"

Zhou Jing smiled at everyone before sitting down opposite Weiss.

"Why did you come over so quickly?"

Weiss smiled and took a sip of wine, even as he took out a money bag and placed it on the table before pushing it towards Zhou Jing.

"This is the money from the last time the prey was sold. Your share and Barong's."

Zhou Jing opened the bag and counted only 150 silver coins inside.

"There's not much this time."

"It's only three low-risk beasts. How expensive can it be?" Weiss rolled his eyes.

Zhou Jing calculated that he now had a huge sum of around 1,400 silver coins.

The bulging money bag was currently being carried by Ross on his back, making him look like a thief who had successfully broken into a vault.

Weiss noticed it too and exclaimed, "D*mn, you're rich! Where did you get so much money?"

"It's just some easy gains I managed to stumble upon."

Zhou Jing shook his head in response.

Seeing this, Weiss didn't ask further.

After chatting with Weiss and the other hunters in the tavern for a while and looking at the recent report on the whereabouts of the mutant beasts, Zhou Jing left with Ross.

There was not much time left before his projection would end. He planned to quickly bring the money back to Frostwood Village and then use the Howling Wind Tiger Potion that he had just obtained to see if he could complete the second enhancement.

Although it had only been three months since the last enhancement, with the help of his accelerated cultivation speed, the results of his physical training were the same as that of ordinary people who had been doing so for several years.

After bidding farewell to Weiss and the other hunters, Zhou Jing did not delay. He immediately left the city and embarked on the journey back to Frostwood Village.

...

The paved road slowly narrowed and became a dirt road.

Just as he was passing through a forest on the road, Zhou Jing suddenly stopped in his tracks, sensing some hidden movements in the forest.

"Who?"

Zhou Jing scanned his surroundings.

As soon as he finished speaking, seven figures came out from behind the trees in all directions.

He recognized them immediately. Most of the seven were familiar, as they were Lutt's personal guards.

The person at the front was Maggi, his face full of ill intentions.

"Tsk."

Zhou Jing clicked his tongue and gently pressed his hands on the hilt of the saber.