Chapter 780: Negotiations and False Excuses

After hearing the Priest's question, Jier also asked: "Yes, who are they?"

Upon hearing Jier's words, the Priest felt it strange: "You engaged the enemy, yet you don't know who they are?"

Tightening the belt of his leather trousers at his waist, Jier turned around and smiled: "They were out for my life during the fight, so they didn't have the inclination to introduce themselves. It happened like this..."

And so, Jier explained to the two that he had seen people spying on them during the day, and at night, they had even run into the nearby Shulin, climbing trees to scout the Refugee Team illuminated by the campfire.

"I took two small demi-humans who are often active at night to go and take a look, but before we even reached the edge of the Shulin, those guys released strange arrows from within the woods, aiming to take the life of anyone who approached the Shulin one by one."

Saying this, Jier threw the several Refining Qi hunter arrows he had brought back from the Shulin in front of his two companions.

The special arrows, which were of different shapes but clearly different from ordinary arrows at a glance, made Xueya Siter click his tongue in wonder, while Bataer Jiaoshi picked one up to carefully examine its craftsmanship and unique features.

"Any discoveries?" Jier asked, squatting down; he was asking a question he already knew the answer to, but the words still had to be said.

"During combat, this kind of arrow has immense force; I estimate that ordinary iron armor wouldn't be able to block it. This kind of arrow flies through the air without a sound, while this other kind of arrow is even more bizarre; it's like a snake, capable of emitting a hissing sound after being shot, twisting left and right in the air to chase the target chosen by the archer."

Jier gave a brief introduction, which made Xueya Siter, who had picked up a tracking arrow, hurriedly drop it to the ground, wiping his hands on his trousers repeatedly. When traveling for trade or acting as a guard, what they feared most was encountering poisonous animals and monsters, and snakes were a major category; because they were poisonous, the unlucky ones who got bitten rarely survived in the wild long enough to reach a village or town with a church.

Fortunately, his hometown in the Western Province was mostly plains and grasslands, where the poisonous snakes were mostly cautious and timid, eating only Caoshu or Jumping Mouse-like rodents, and would usually slither away upon encountering people.

Bataer Jiaoshi, however, was not afraid of the strange arrows; he held one in his hand and examined it closely, a thoughtful look on his face—he must have remembered something.

"They first injured one of the Mao Mao who approached the Shulin. Fortunately, those little things are small and agile, so it was only injured rather than killed by an arrow, and it fled back in a hurry. Once I heard it return and tell me about this, I was unhappy, so I took the remaining seven Mao Mao and took advantage of the night to break into that Shulin again."

Xueya Siter sighed: "No matter who the enemy is, being able to shoot so accurately in the dark, it really wasn't a good idea to go into the Shulin to look for them at night."

Jier shrugged: "That's true, so the subsequent battle in the Shulin was really not easy for me; I couldn't see anything clearly at all, yet the enemy was the same as they were in the daytime."

At this moment, Bataer Jiaoshi put down the arrow in his hand and finally said: "Listening to Jier the Warrior say this, these people might be hunters belonging to the Hunting God Church."

Xueya Siter widened his eyes: "Church hunters? The Hunting God?"

He looked at the special arrows on the ground, then at the composed Jier, and said with some worry: "Doesn't that mean we've stirred up big trouble?"

Jier deliberately muttered in a voice everyone could hear: "Trouble is trouble; I killed them anyway. Heh, I can't even say it was me who killed them."

Bataer Jiaoshi immediately asked: "What do you mean? Could it be that they killed their own people? By the way, how many hunters from the Hunting God Church did you actually encounter in the Shulin?"

Jier thought for a moment and gestured with the number four.

"Four? That shouldn't be right; I've heard that hunters of the Hunting God Church are very formidable. Oh, it's not that I look down on you, Jier the Warrior, you are of course even more formidable—for instance, you are here before our eyes now, while they are mostly gone, right?"

Jier nodded: "They should all be dead. You all probably saw the fire that suddenly erupted in that Shulin; ordinary people have almost no chance of surviving that."

None of his companions asked how Jier had survived.

Jier's answer left the Priest unable to understand why there would be four hunters from the Hunting God Church monitoring and lingering around the team. In the knowledge taught to him by the Agricultural God Church, there was not much involving other churches; usually, it was just a general introduction for understanding. Unless the local church diocese had serious conflicts with other churches, the church rarely introduced knowledge about other churches.

Other churches were generally the same; the gods and churches that priests were familiar with, one was enough, no need for too many.

"The specific course of the battle."

Bataer Jiaoshi pressed for more, and only then did Jier pat his head and recount the story he had fabricated upon his return.

"I led the seven Mao Mao and killed my way into the woods. Although I couldn't see much in the woods in the middle of the night, those hired demi-humans were naturally suited for night activity. Thanks to them, I engaged in successive battles with those four hunters in the Shulin, and I actually managed to capture one of the brothers among the hunters."

Speaking of this, Jier paused, creating a little suspense: "However, this actually turned into trouble."

"How so?"

Xueya Siter asked hurriedly; he knew his own abilities, and he couldn't help with Jier's battle tonight in the slightest. Of course, he wasn't ashamed; as a small caravan guard, he had long since come to terms with everyone's individual skills and abilities.

Jier was not yet eighteen, yet he was already a young Knight with a wealth of skills, leading hundreds of people. Although he knew Jier was not a Knight and only called himself one so he could lead the people, even if he wasn't one now, he would be sooner or later.

Xueya Siter had not forgotten how much this young man, Jier, was liked and valued by the Nobles and Knights in the Kendall Army when they were following them.

And the equally young Bataer Jiaoshi beside him was just as formidable. Although Jier's trip was, to put it bluntly, to clean up the young Priest's previous mess, just watching the Priest hand-craft countless amounts of grain every day and look after and heal hundreds of wounded in the team alone made him feel that this twenty-something-year-old young Priest had limitless potential for development.

One had to know that in his hometown, the local Old Priest would treat a few farmers or Grooms for minor illnesses and pains, and every time he finished, he would look exhausted, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

"They were a pair of blood brothers, heh heh. I subdued the younger brother; wouldn't the older brother go crazy?"

Jier gave a self-deprecating smile. Thinking back now, if he had been more cautious and backed off a step at the time, he could have avoided the suffering he endured for dozens of days in his dreams.

The Priest's mind was sharper, and he guessed most of it upon hearing Jier's words: "So, that fire in the Shulin?"

Shrugging, Jier said: "That's right, it was caused by that older brother. At the time, I was holding his brother hostage and told these people to come out and surrender, or else I would kill the hostage in my hands. Don't call me despicable; the opponent held the geographical advantage. If I hadn't taken that risk, even with the help of the seven demi-humans, I wouldn't have been a match for those people."

"But the opponent was also very formidable; he pulled out a strange arrow with a red arrowhead and walked out, nocking the arrow onto the string of the bow in his hand, claiming this was some Demon Horn Magic Arrow."

"Demon Horn Magic Arrow?"

"Demon Horn Magic Arrow!"

Two exclamations of surprise; the former was from Xueya Siter. As a caravan guard who had traveled far and wide, he had naturally heard in taverns from Bards about the various magic arrows that heroes used in heroic stories to turn the tide and change unfavorable situations.

He was surprised, not expecting that he would be able to get so close to a legendary story in his lifetime and witness the powerful strength of such an item with his own eyes. Thinking back to the huge green fire that swallowed the entire Shulin earlier, it was indeed the power a magic arrow should have.

It should be, it should be; the special weapons that shine in stories are indeed full of power.

As for the latter exclamation of surprise, it was naturally from Bataer Jiaoshi. The young Priest was not surprised by any magic arrow or whatnot—he had even seen the Agricultural God descend in person not long ago. What surprised him was the name of this magic arrow—Demon Horn. What did it mean? Could it be that the Evil Flame he saw earlier was actually the power of a Demon?

But how could the power of a Demon have anything to do with the hunters of the Hunting God Church?

This series of questions left the Priest completely baffled.

"Yes, that's what the opponent said, and he also said that once this special magic arrow was shot, everyone, including the archer, would die."

Jier shrugged.

The two companions sitting on their sleeping bags looked at each other and asked in unison: "So, how did you respond?"

Jier gave a self-deprecating laugh: "I treated it like he was farting! He said everyone present would die, but could it really happen as he said? I didn't retreat a single step; I kept holding his brother and moved even closer to him, provoking him—either we all die together, or he comes out and surrenders."

The Priest rolled his eyes: "Couldn't you have found another way to communicate at the time? Anyway, the Warriors present had already stopped fighting, right? There was a chance for negotiation; why not talk it out properly?"

Jier pointed at his Priest companion with his hand and smiled without speaking, but the meaning was self-evident.

Xueya Siter, having experienced more, explained to the Priest: "I guess both sides were caught up in their emotions at the time? I've seen this a lot; in taverns, as long as everyone has had too much to drink, once a brawl starts, it can't be stopped. Because whoever stops first is at a disadvantage and has to take more punches from others."

He gave another example: "It's just like when a caravan runs into Bandits; neither side can take the other down. The situation is deadlocked, but neither can afford to show weakness. Whoever takes a step back can only gradually give up too many benefits under the other side's step-by-step pressure."

"But one can still maintain a bottom line," the Priest argued.

Xueya Siter shrugged; his status made it inappropriate to say anything more to the Priest.

Jier didn't mind: "How do you maintain a bottom line? Once it's reached this point, whoever retreats a step has to die. Victory or defeat sometimes represents life or death. Anyway, the opponent used everyone's life to pressure me, so I held my sword to his brother's neck—either give in, or we all die together. Of course, haha, I had my demi-human subordinates retreat beforehand and stood in a stalemate with them all by myself. And in the end, I was the only one who survived."

The two companions did not ask Jier again how he survived the erupting Demon Flame; the conversation ended right there.

Although he did not understand why the hunters of the Hunting God Church would target their group, the Priest still comforted his two companions at the end, explaining that the Hunting God Church was a loose organization, widely distributed and powerful, but they would not come looking for trouble even if they suffered a loss.

After all, according to the Hunting God Church's philosophy, a hunter being killed by their prey was also part of the hunt.

It was very normal to have losses during a battle.

"They might not come after us again. Probably." Priest Bataer said this, and Jier and Xueya Site pretended to believe him.

He did not know if the others believed it, but Jier knew that the other party would definitely come again, though they would not be looking for their group, but for him, and the ancient deity within the Wooden Pendant on his chest.

They agreed on the explanation for everyone in the group, which remained the same as before: Jier had unintentionally started a forest fire in the woods, igniting the forest, to calm the majority of the people in the group.

And for those with particularly strong curiosity, there was another set of excuses to appease them: that it was a fire accidentally caused by Knight Jier while practicing with his flame weapon.

These two sets of surface-level excuses could make the people in the group ignore what happened tonight; at least it would keep them from overthinking, and having a set of self-explanatory, self-persuasive excuses would allow the frightened people to calm their emotions and continue the journey properly.

"So, where are we heading next?"

Jier asked as he saw the two off from the camp tent.

It was mainly directed at Priest Bataer.

The Priest paused his steps, turned his head, and smiled: "Where else can we go? Just as everyone discussed before, first head southeast, then south, searching for a safe place along the way for the people in the group to settle down, and head straight for Changmai Village. To complete our mission."

Jier smiled: "Then what about Borisfa City? That could be considered your hometown, right? Are you just going to leave it be?"

The Priest's expression turned gloomy, but he still managed a forced smile: "I have asked the great deity, and He has made arrangements; if He does not let me go, then I will not go."

Jier nodded: "That's right, you are a Church Priest, you must trust your deity; what hasn't He seen before? This little matter will be settled soon."

"A little matter?"

Priest Bataer turned his head and walked away, muttering Jier's last words to himself.

Returning to the campfire full of Nongshen Believers, Priest Bataer first checked on the wounded resting in the grass inside the simple tent, and seeing that they were all sleeping quietly, he lay down in a good spot by the fire that the believers had specifically saved for him.

The campfire not far away was burning very brightly, and although the fresh wood cut from the forest had not been dried, causing the fire to produce a large amount of smoke rising into the sky, these small campfire fumes were nothing compared to the thick smoke that blotted out the sky after the entire forest nearby had burned.

In the middle of the night, there was no need to worry about people in the distance discovering the smoke from the large number of campfires.

The various thoughts churning in his mind at this moment were not as calm as he appeared.

"A little matter? Heh."

He muttered again, but there was no mockery of the warrior Jier in his words.

Because he knew that the warrior Jier was not only young, only in his teens, but also from the northwestern border region of the Kingdom; although the Agricultural God Church was everywhere, there were not many outsiders who understood the Agricultural God Church as well as the priests of the Agricultural God Church did.

Do not be fooled by the fact that the Agricultural God Church was everywhere and had many believers; the actual living standards of the various Agricultural God Churches and the believers they sheltered were not the same.

The matter of Borisfa City would, in all likelihood, end in tragedy.

The priest friends and priest teachers he was familiar with would likely only be able to meet everyone again in the Divine Kingdom after death.

The Agricultural God had no power.

This was a fact, and also an irreverent statement that an Agricultural God priest should never speak aloud.

In the chaotic and heavy historical volumes, one could find, in text as fine as ants on any page, short terms soaked in the blood of farmers and Agricultural God priests.

Every stroke written was generally composed of the corpses of hundreds or thousands of farmers.

During times of war, the Agricultural God priests who fell alongside the farmers in droves often did not even have names, and during times of famine, they were often the first to fall.

"Sigh, it's all a small matter."

Priest Bataer lay on the ground full of weeds, not entering the simple tent to rest; he needed to be alone for a while.

Just until tomorrow morning.

The next morning, Jier's group set off again.

After all, distant places would not grow legs and come to find you; to reach a certain place, or to accomplish a certain thing, one likely had to rely on one's own legs and hands to walk into it and complete it.

So the people in the group were all very curious about what the forest that burned last night looked like, but Jier had to shout and urge everyone to continue moving southeast along the road under their feet.

The terrain gradually became less flat, which meant that Jier and the others had moved away from the plain where Dorn Town was located.

It was common for the Southern Province to have many mountains and little land, and the people in the group understood this from their previous flight. Instead, Jier, riding on horseback, sighed in amazement as he looked at the undulating, high and low, and difficult-to-traverse land in the distance.

"It seems that the distance we walk every day in the future will not be the same as before. Even if we are still walking on trade routes or wide roads."

After all, in flat areas, roads were built in near-straight lines, at most taking a detour for a river, compromising a little, or if that failed, building a bridge.

But in mountainous areas, with the current social productivity, it was basically impossible to consider plans to dig through or move mountains; roads were built along the gentler sides of the mountains, or directly along the low parts of the valleys.

If blocked by a slightly higher mountain, one had to go around it, adding several times the distance for no reason.

Judging by the current speed of the group, Jier felt that if they could bypass the three small mountains ahead along the road in one full day, it would already be considered a fast pace.

But he did not know that the villages along the road between these few small mountains were not inhabited by villagers who had not yet fled, or people who were reluctant to leave their villages.

The original villages were now only occupied by some bandits who had come out of the mountains, and the various scoundrels they had coerced into joining them in recent days.