Chapter 162: The Hunter's Plea

Chapter 162: The Hunter's Plea

The influx of a large number of Magic Pattern Knights significantly accelerated the Star Alliance's expansion. Almost every month, the explored areas on the military map in Su Nan's study expanded. The indigenous tribes encountered during these explorations either perished or surrendered, becoming slaves under the Star Alliance's overwhelming military might. However, Su Nan offered these tribes a glimmer of hope. Those who made significant contributions to the Star Alliance could rise from slavery to become citizens, enjoying equal rights and status with the humanoid lions and vampires.

While the Star Alliance's exploration strategy was proceeding at a rapid pace, Su Nan spent most of his days locked in his laboratory, diligently researching ways to improve his secret puppets. With Long Lin's Butler One, and the Star Alliance's apprentices like Carolina, Red Widow, and Sherman, Su Nan only needed to set the direction, leaving the implementation to his subordinates. He rarely had to personally craft magical items, acting more as a hands-off overseer. This was the hallmark of a mature organization. When he could be absent for decades, and the Star Alliance would still function smoothly, then it would truly be a mature force.

Deep into the night, the silver moon hung high in the sky. Moonlight streamed through the small window, illuminating the room. Su Nan sat at one end of the long table, quietly waiting for the other members to arrive. Since joining the Secret Cabin, he had never missed a single gathering. Even when he didn't buy anything, he always attended, knowing that valuable items could appear at any time. Missing out on a treasure, like the Traveler and Black Forest did, could be a regrettable mistake.

Perhaps the lessons from the Traveler and Black Forest had an impact, as most members, except for the Hunter, attended the subsequent gatherings. Even the Traveler and Black Forest, who were often absent, now had a higher attendance rate.

This gathering was no different. All eight members, except for the Hunter, were present. Just as the Owl announced the start of the transaction, a figure suddenly appeared in one of the seats. It was the Hunter, whom everyone thought had skipped the meeting.

"Everyone, I need your help!" the Hunter said immediately, his tone unusually grave.

The others exchanged glances. Finally, the Owl cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Hunter, what's going on?"

"I've been targeted by the Immortality Guild!" the Hunter said, his voice heavy. "They want the Key to the Star Tower in my possession and have sent their entire force after me. I've tried everything, but I can't shake them off. I need your help, everyone!"

"Do you want us to help you repel the Immortality Guild?" Red Heart asked quietly.

"No," the Hunter shook his head. "Those people are obsessed and will keep coming after me even if they are repelled once. I need you to help me eliminate the Immortality Guild members once and for all."

The room fell silent. Everyone was silent, contemplating the request. If it was just about repelling the Immortality Guild, a suitable reward might have convinced them. But killing the Immortality Guild's wizard apprentices? No way!

Any rational person knew the risks of battling wizard apprentices of the same level. Especially those from the Immortality Guild. They were not willing to risk their lives for a small reward.

—Unless the Hunter could offer something truly enticing.

The Hunter understood this. Seeing the silence, he gritted his teeth and said, "If we succeed, I will give each of you a Key to the Star Tower!"

At this, the eyes of everyone in the room lit up. Su Nan's eyebrows raised. It seemed his initial guess was correct; the Hunter had indeed collaborated with Evans. Only Evans held so many Keys to the Star Tower.

"Deal!" Skeleton said first. Ordinary rewards were not worth the risk, but a Key to the Star Tower was different. It represented the hope of advancing to a wizard. Even with the risk, it was worth a shot!

The others clearly shared similar thoughts. After a brief hesitation, the Owl, Red Heart, Traveler, Black Forest, and Rose agreed one by one.

Only the Staff and Su Nan remained. The Hunter looked at them with a complex expression. The Staff already had a Key to the Star Tower, so the reward was less appealing to him. The same went for the Player. Based on the intelligence he had gathered, the Hunter had already guessed the Player's true identity. Evans had mentioned that Su Nan already possessed a Key to the Star Tower, so this reward was likely of little interest to him.

In fact, neither of them seemed inclined to make a decision, likely waiting for a more attractive offer.

After a moment's hesitation, the hunter's hand swept over the table, and two bottles of potion appeared out of nowhere.

Under the moonlight, the liquid inside the bottles shifted from a deep blue to a light blue, glowing with a beautiful, ethereal light.

"This is the Dawn Elixir."

The hunter's gaze swept over Su Nan before settling on the others.

Among those present, only Su Nan had heard about the Dawn Elixir from Evans.

"Taking it can extend a person’s lifespan by about a third, but each person can only take one bottle; any more would be ineffective. And this elixir has minimal effect on wizard apprentices, adding only five to ten years to their lifespan."

The others, including Wraith, were visibly moved.

An elixir that extended lifespan was incredibly rare!

Even if it only added five to ten years, that was still significant.

A third-level wizard apprentice, with the fusion of bloodlines or physical enhancements, could only live for a little over two hundred years.

Scepter was immediately tempted. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "One Dawn Elixir isn't enough. Add gems worth twenty thousand gold coins!"

"Deal!"

The hunter agreed without a second thought. After all, the gold wasn't coming out of his pocket; the wealthy Holy Fist would foot the bill.

He then turned to Su Nan. "Player, what do you say?"

Su Nan fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "Two Dawn Elixirs, plus a key to the Tower of Stars."

Everyone was taken aback, the same thought crossing their minds.

What a greedy demand!

To everyone's surprise, the hunter only hesitated for a moment before nodding emphatically.

"Alright, it's a deal!"

"Wait!" Wraith protested, "Why should the player get so much more for the same effort?"

The others didn't voice their thoughts, but their gazes toward the hunter and Su Nan were filled with dissatisfaction or confusion.

Only the Traveler remained calm.

The hunter explained calmly, "Because the player is stronger than any of you."

The others might not know, but through Holy Fist's channels, he was aware of some of Su Nan's exploits in the underworld. He knew that Su Nan possessed far greater power than anyone at the Forest Cabin.

Even Night Owl couldn't match Su Nan.

Seeing that Wraith still wasn't convinced, the hunter looked at Su Nan.

The latter shrugged and, with a thought, a golden metal golem appeared beside him.

The sudden appearance of the golem startled everyone, and they wondered where Su Nan had hidden such a massive construct.

Their attention was quickly drawn to the gleaming surface of the golem.

"This is... mithril!"

Rosa, who had seen a mithril golem before, immediately recognized it, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"A mithril golem!"

The others were stunned for a moment before they stared in amazement, quickly confirming Rosa's words.

"It really is a mithril golem!"

"How is that possible?!"

Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

How could the player have a mithril golem?

Did he obtain it from a wizard's legacy?

No, that was impossible.

Even if a complete mithril golem remained in a wizard's legacy, an outsider couldn't gain control over it.

This wasn't a magical item that could be used by erasing the mental imprint.

Each puppet's soul core had a mental rune left by its creator, which could only be removed by the creator themselves. Destroying the soul core would also destroy the entire puppet, as the body and soul core were one.

But if he didn't get it from a wizard's legacy, it couldn't possibly be something the player crafted, right?

That was also unlikely.

Aside from where the player obtained the design and the vast amount of mithril needed, the skill required to craft a puppet was a significant hurdle.

The player was indeed skilled in puppet crafting, but had his skills reached such a level?

For a moment, everyone was filled with uncertainty.

Even the Traveler and the hunter, who were already aware of Su Nan's strength, were deeply shocked.

But regardless, it was clear that with a mithril golem at his disposal, Su Nan could play a far more crucial role in dealing with the Immortality Society than any of them.

Even Wraith, who had been the most dissatisfied, fell silent.

Seeing that no one had any further objections, the hunter said firmly, "It's settled, then."

"Let's sign a soul contract just in case."

Everyone agreed, recognizing that this would provide mutual assurance.

When it came to compensation, there was no need for discussion, but the group had a disagreement about dealing with the Immortal Society.

Night Owl and the others were unanimously against the Hunter’s demand to exterminate the Immortal Society.

It was simply unrealistic!

Third-tier Apprentice Wizards usually had their own means of self-preservation.

Especially those in the Immortal Society, who had many enemies and were widely despised.

The fact that they were still alive and free today, despite their numerous enemies, clearly indicated they had their own ways to stay alive.

Defeating a Third-tier Apprentice Wizard was one thing, but killing them was another, unless one had overwhelming power.

After some negotiation, they finally agreed to eliminate three members of the Immortal Society.

"From what I know, the Immortal Society’s Malignant Hand and Blood Mouth are already dead. Besides Saurol, the remaining members are Ember, Iro, and Stone Scorpion."

"Among these four, if you help me take out any three, the deal is done, and I will pay the agreed compensation."

The moment the Hunter finished speaking, Night Owl followed up with a question.

"Do you have a specific plan?"

The Hunter had clearly thought this through and replied without hesitation, "The Immortal Society is currently searching for me everywhere. If I show even a hint of my presence, they will all be drawn to me. We can set up an ambush in advance and take them all out in one go!"

Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

The plan was simple but practical.

"I will choose the location and inform you all in three days."

The Hunter turned to Night Owl.

"Could you open the Hidden Grove House again when the time comes?"

"No problem." Night Owl nodded in agreement.

At this point, Su Nan spoke up, "To have survived the Immortal Society’s pursuit until now, it’s hard to believe you did it alone. You must have other helpers, right?"

Hearing this, everyone else also realized it and fixed their gaze on the Hunter with keen interest.

The Hunter let out a bitter laugh. "Alright, I wasn’t planning to hide it. Yes, I do have help."

"Who?" Rose asked curiously.

"The Holy Fists."

"Ah, I see." Scepter nodded in realization.

"Don’t keep us in the dark." Black Forest urged, "Who are the Holy Fists?"

Scepter smiled and explained, "The Holy Fists aren’t a single individual but a secret organization of Legendary Knights. It was founded around three hundred years ago, and its members are primarily Legendary Knights from various countries in the southeastern region of the Starlight Continent. They are said to have over a dozen Second and Third Circle Legendary Knights, making them a formidable force."

"That was in the past." The Hunter’s tone turned bitter, "During the recent battles with the Immortal Society, the Holy Fists lost over twenty Legendary Knights, including their leader, Clarenz, who was their only Third Circle Legendary Knight."

Scepter shook his head but said nothing.

To ordinary people, an organization of Legendary Knights was a formidable entity.

However, compared to the Immortal Society, which consisted entirely of Third-tier Apprentice Wizards, the Holy Fists were somewhat lacking.

Their defeat was entirely expected.

What was surprising was that they dared to fight the Immortal Society to the last man.

It could only be said that the Starlight Tower was an irresistible temptation not just for Apprentice Wizards but also for Legendary Knights.

"When the operation begins, the Holy Fists will also provide assistance."

"But the Holy Fists have suffered heavy casualties, and only a few Legendary Knights remain. You shouldn’t have too high expectations."

The Hunter sighed.

Scepter shrugged. "It’s fine. When facing a formidable enemy like the Immortal Society, any additional help is welcome."

This statement was met with nods of agreement from the others.

After all, their opponent was the notorious Immortal Society. Even among Third-tier Apprentice Wizards, they all had some doubts deep down.

At this point, even a few First Circle Legendary Knights would be a significant boost, and in the worst case, they could serve as cannon fodder.

Among the group, only Su Nan remained calm and composed throughout.

A few months ago, he might have had some concerns about this mission.

But now, with the secret puppet in the cube, he felt a strong sense of confidence and assurance.

Even if he faced the Immortal Society alone, Su Nan had the confidence to take them down.

"For now, that’s settled."

"I will notify you all immediately once I choose the ambush location."

The Hunter’s gaze swept over the group, and he spoke with sincere earnestness, "I’m counting on you all!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end