Chapter 108: The Silence of Friendship
Chapter 108: The Silence of Friendship
As the Corrupt Venom Spider chose to retreat, Lin Sai opened the map once more, only relaxing after confirming that the Beastfolk had truly left.
"Now we're safe..."
Plop!
At that moment, a sound came from the ground beside them.
Lin Sai turned to see Dan had fallen to the ground, leaning against a cedar tree to avoid lying down completely.
She was exhausted.
Although she was also an Awakened, the female hunter's primary strength lay in hunting-related aspects.
Even with a constitution stronger than the average person, after a day of fleeing, physical fatigue was inevitable.
At this moment, she leaned against the tree, her eyes downcast.
Noticing Lin Sai looking at her, Dan closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.
"..."
Lin Sai remained silent, not disturbing her.
After a night of life-and-death racing, Dan indeed needed rest, not to mention the companions who had died during this far-ranging hunt.
"Sigh..."
Lin Sai heaved a sigh.
He stood guard by the resting hunters, checking his attribute panel.
【Rescue Hunter】
【Hunters returning to town encountered Beastfolk attacks on the road. Rescue them and ensure their safety.】
【Task Reward: A small amount of attribute/skill experience points.】
This was a simple task, and it was already marked as completed.
Lin Sai immediately chose to accept it, gaining an additional portion of freely allocable experience points for his attributes.
However, he didn't choose to enhance his attributes right away.
Instead, he went to the other hunters, caring for and comforting those who had reached their physical and mental limits.
A few minutes passed.
Lin Sai quickly tended to the hunters, and the support indicated on the map finally appeared before the hunters.
Two groups of people arrived from different directions.
One side was Somjin, leading a group of Awakeners, and the other was Andre with his Awakened followers.
In front of the hunting team, these two groups met unexpectedly.
The atmosphere instantly became somber.
"..."
Seeing this, Lin Sai understood the situation.
He didn't want Dan, who was resting, to be further burdened, so he stepped forward:
"Uncle Andre, Mr. Somjin, you're here."
Andre nodded first, taking the lead:
"The sentinel at the town sent word that there was unrest in this forest, so I brought people here."
"Lin Sai, what's going on here?"
The sentinel Andre mentioned.
After the Corrupt Venom Spider attacked the farm a few days ago, he specifically arranged for an Awakened to provide early warning.
Today's dangerous situation proved the value of this arrangement.
On the other side, Somjin also wanted to speak, and he quickly followed up:
"Why is Dan sitting on the ground, and what about them..."
The topic was about to shift to these exhausted hunters.
Lin Sai quickly interrupted:
"I understand the situation."
"They've just been attacked by Beastfolk, so let them rest for now."
Taking the lead in the conversation, Lin Sai naturally began to introduce the hunters' encounter, essentially reiterating what Dan had told him earlier:
"The far-ranging hunting team encountered Beastfolk attacks on their way back to town. What's worse, the Corrupt Venom Spider that previously attacked the farm was also nearby, and they stumbled upon it. Dan and Mr. Xisel fought valiantly, managing to save three hunters..."
Listening to Lin Sai's description, Andre and Somjin's expressions grew even more somber.
—Two hunters from the town had died!
This meant that during this harsh winter, the town had lost more of its essential food producers.
Moreover, the Corrupt Venom Spider, which had been repelled three times, had now returned and was hovering near the town.
This posed a serious threat to the safety of the Frontier Town as well.
Both pieces of news were equally terrible.
Andre and Somjin fell silent, and Lin Sai spoke up again:
"The situation is extremely troublesome now. But I think we should first bring the hunters back to town and let them rest well. It's already quite an achievement for them to return alive from this trip."
Naturally, Andre and Somjin had no objections to Lin Sai's suggestion.
However, their differences continued to surface regarding the method of escorting the hunters back.
As the town's lord, Andre was naturally responsible for the safety of his subjects and planned to escort them back himself. On the other hand, Somjin, who had brought along other Awakened individuals, also intended to take charge of transporting the hunters back.
Somjin was the first to speak up with a proposal:
"Lord Andre, you have a busy schedule and are responsible for the overall operation of the town. Let me handle such a minor matter."
As soon as he finished speaking, Somjin was about to take the hunters away with the other Awakened individuals.
But Andre promptly stopped him:
"Somjin, this is not a minor matter."
"As the lord of the Hidden Frontier, I cannot just leave them unattended after they've been attacked. I must escort them back."
Andre's intervention was expected by Somjin.
The merchant did not argue further with the lord but instead walked over to the female hunter and said to Dan, who was lying on the ground:
"Dan, get up quickly."
"That kid, Torch, is waiting for you to come home."
"..."
Dan sighed softly and stood up from the ground.
At this moment, the female hunter's gaze met Andre's, and the two exchanged no words.
Over a decade had passed.
Dan and Andre, as influential figures in the town, had a close personal relationship and a deep friendship.
However, it was precisely because of this relationship that they had differing attitudes towards the Black Mountain World, and both were well aware of each other's stance without openly discussing it.
At this moment, Somjin's actions were clearly intended to put the two at odds and further undermine Andre's reputation.
"..."
The female hunter and the lord locked eyes.
In this moment, the atmosphere in the forest seemed to freeze.
Dan said nothing and disappeared into the forest with a flash of her body.
With her abilities as a Fourth Stage Hunter and her presence in the forest, it was almost impossible for anyone to catch up to her.
This silence spoke volumes.
Somjin's face broke into a victorious smile, and he immediately pressed on, turning his attention to Andre beside him:
"Lord Andre, if I recall correctly, those spider magic beasts that attacked the hunters—weren't they the ones you provoked in the Black Mountain?"
Somjin thought this would be a successful interrogation.
But Andre immediately gave him a stern and authoritative response:
"Stop with your scheming, Somjin."
"In fact, just a few days ago, the mine suffered a small-scale magic beast attack. Our troubles are far more complex than what you see."
Upon hearing this, Somjin's eyes widened in surprise.
Only a small group of people at the lord's manor were aware of the mine's situation.
Somjin's lack of information was a significant problem for him.
On the other side, watching Somjin fall silent:
Andre continued, "This winter has just begun."
"Even if you want to do something, you should at least gather basic information first. Blindly acting without understanding reality will only lead others into despair!"
(End of Chapter)
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