Chapter 803: The Gantnier Family, The Unlucky Hunter

"I come from the Southern Lianmeng Wangguo. I wonder if you know of that place?"

Weier looked up and asked.

The old Merchant nodded: "When I was young, I did go there a few times. Ah, it is a wealthy place where riches are everywhere! It's just that the place is too noisy, and people in each city or territory are quite conservative, often regarding outsiders from other cities as enemies."

After saying this, he shook his head, feeling that the people there really didn't need to be like that.

The youth Bobo, who was supporting the old Merchant, spoke up: "I've been there once! Following the large ships on the river, I arrived very quickly! It just took a long, long time to come back."

Jier coughed awkwardly: "I have only heard a song from the South in stories told by a Bard; I remember it being called something like 'Evening Birds' or something. Please understand, Kendall County is after all in the Northwest Province of the Kingdom, and this journey across the entire Kingdom from north to south is already the farthest I have ever traveled."

Everyone present understood this point, so Weier continued to explain.

"It is called a Kingdom, but in reality, the King of the Alliance does not manage affairs; it is a symbolic position. Most of the Kingdom's power is in the hands of thirty great families who control the towns, and everything is discussed in the council. And I come from one of those families."

Having said this, Weier let out a heavy sigh: "Now, I should be one of the few remaining members of my family."

The old Merchant and Jier both gasped; the implication was self-evident. As a survivor of an exterminated family, it was no wonder that merely knowing the news would bring danger.

Jier's eyes rolled, and he made a joke: "Ha, a fallen Noble son? Looking at your face, it does look quite like it. I think the Bards would be very excited if they knew this news, right? It's a pity there isn't a Bard in our group, otherwise your experience might just be the classic beginning of an adventure poem or a drama about a fallen Noble son!"

Weier, being teased like this, was no longer angry, and even self-deprecatingly whispered: "Who's to say it isn't? In the past, I never thought those classic dramas were interesting; they were mostly places for elders to build connections and tools for conversation. Only when I became deeply trapped in the drama myself did I realize the taste of fate within it."

He smacked his lips, his brows tightly furrowed; clearly, this taste was not easy to bear, and the pressure could completely drive a young man mad.

"Then what is your family called? Weier, how should we address you? Or, may we know your full name?" The old Merchant raised his hand and patted the shoulder of Weier, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground; of course, he was very careful not to touch the wound on Weier's shoulder.

"Weier-Gangtenier, that is my name. I am a member of the Gantnier Family, the ruling family of Stone Tower City and Purple Wheat City in the original Lianmeng Wangguo. Sigh, several years ago, I was studying advanced Sword Technique at the Kingdom's Swordsman Academy, waiting for the Academy and my family to train me into a Garrison Knight specialized in melee combat."

He paused: "Just like in the classic stories, a premeditated attack descended upon my family. I don't know how many enemies my family had, but at least five groups of people came to the Academy to attack me and my brothers and sisters. They first used a conspiracy, wanting to lure us out of the Academy, but it was seen through by the teachers."

"And then? How did it end up with only you?" Jier asked.

Weier pursed his lips, his right hand tightly clenched into a fist: "Later, in order to get rid of us young family members, they even obtained a document from the Kingdom's council to bring troops into the Swordsman Academy. To protect us and to uphold the dignity of the Academy, the teachers protected us and fled outward from the Academy. Everyone died, and many teachers were also defeated and captured. I was the one who, at the time, braved the danger and forcibly climbed onto a Far-travel Gryphon that was taking off, and thus escaped the pursuit."

"A Gryphon? I have seen a Gryphon; it is truly huge, and very fierce!" Jier praised.

Weier's face turned red, and after hesitating, he reluctantly explained: "It wasn't riding on the back of the Gryphon, but using a belt to hook onto the Gryphon's giant claws, secretly being carried away while flying. After flying for a day, the Knight who was controlling the Gryphon discovered me, frozen stiff. Fortunately, he didn't throw me directly from the sky. After interrogating me, he temporarily landed the Gryphon in the wilderness of the Kingdom, and he even gave me some money before letting me go."

The old Merchant nodded: "This is a Gryphon Knight who upholds a heart of justice. He could have completely handed you over to the other families who were dealing with your family in exchange for a large reward, but the other party did not. Even if doing so would cause that Knight to be suspected, and lead to a lot of trouble afterward."

Weier nodded; clearly, he understood the logic and the help from that Knight.

"So, you then fled all the way north and came to the Saint Hors Kingdom?" Jier added.

Weier sighed and complained: "Sir Knight, please don't use the word 'fled', can you? Although I was being continuously pursued at the time, as I said before, the Southern Lianmeng Wangguo is a place actually ruled by dozens of families. Although my enemies are powerful and insidious, their actual sphere of influence is mostly limited to one place. As long as I don't reveal my family name, there is no need to 'flee'."

Jier chuckled: "Then why didn't you hide your surname, gather strength in your family's territory or with other families on good terms with your family, and then try to fight back? Why run all the way here?"

"Because they shamelessly used large sums of money and promises to put a bounty on every last survivor of the family!"

Weier also let go of his reservations and said with his head held high: "My head can be exchanged for thousands of Gold Coins from there, or a hundred years of ruling rights over a village or town. Do you understand?"

"Aren't you afraid I'll take your head to exchange for money?" Jier joked happily.

Weier looked at Jier: "By saying these things, I believe you will not do that. You are a local Knight of the Saint Hors Kingdom; there is no need to take risks for a 'bounty' from a Kingdom so far away. After all, the distance between the two places is so great, and years have passed; no one knows if the former promises and 'bounties' will still be honored."

The old Merchant added: "And arriving at a distant, unfamiliar place, it is hard to say whether the other party will take the benefit and then give the full reward to an outsider as promised. You must know, those people only need to confirm whether Weier is dead; it is hard to say if they will honestly and readily fulfill their original promises after receiving news of his confirmed death."

He turned to the youth beside him and continued: "This is also a difficulty in conducting long-distance business and trade. When doing business, if the distance increases by the distance of one Noble territory, the risk increases exponentially, while the money earned does not increase exponentially. When you grow up, you must pay attention to choosing a balance point among them."

The youth nodded, indicating he had remembered.

Having said this, the conversation basically ended. Jier indicated that Weier should rest and recover from his injuries first, and later he would let him participate in the battle to protect the Refugee Team.

"Sir Knight." Weier looked at the old Merchant, and the old Merchant nodded encouragingly at him.

So he gathered his courage and continued: "Sir Knight, I will help protect the Refugee Team, but I would rather follow by your side and fight together."

Jier looked at the other party and immediately understood Weier's meaning. He smiled: "I am a Kendall man. Originally, I was following the Kendall Baron to participate in this border war in the Southern Province. Following me, is it possible you might die on the battlefield?"

"Then that means my skills are not good enough; dying on the battlefield is my own affair!" Weier also let go of his reservations. The opportunity was placed before him, and he did not want to miss it again. Just as the old Merchant told him last night, blindly hiding and running away would only result in eventually dying of old age, unknown, in a remote place far from home. To return home and take revenge with dignity, one must possess power—the power to take revenge.

Jier actually had slight misgivings. After all, his identity was not that of a young Knight from the North as claimed in the Refugee Team; in reality, he had only just stepped onto the path of a Knight not long ago. In terms of social status, he was actually just a Knight Attendant to Kela, learning Knight skills under Kela.

He himself was still a novice and had no ability to teach others anything.

If this Weier kept following him, perhaps when Jier returned to the Kendall Army, he would feel disappointed.

However, Jier thought again, perhaps the other party would not be disappointed, but instead would use Jier himself as a stepping stone? Thinking this way, Jier felt much more relaxed.

"Alright, then you are my companion now." Jier extended his right hand, clasped it with the right hand of Weier, who was sitting on the ground, and pulled him up.

Patting the other party's shoulder, Jier told Weier to rest and recover well, and if possible, to get closer to Bata'er Jiaoshi and let the Priest treat Weier's wounds more.

"Of course, you must eat more food; the healing of Divine Art is still very draining on the body's energy and physical strength."

Weier nodded: "I understand all of this. When I was studying Sword Technique at the Academy, injuries from practice were also treated using Divine Art."

Hearing this, Jier couldn't help but become curious about the Academy where Weier had studied Sword Technique many years ago.

The next day, before dawn, Jier got up early and urged the team in the Yingdi to prepare to set off.

Of course, dismantling the tents and everyone eating breakfast were indispensable. Even to speed up the pace of the people today, Jier also had Mr. Bafute notify the Cook that this morning's food needed to be made with more oil and substance.

Letting everyone in the team eat their fill was the only way to have better physical strength and endurance during today's journey to pass through this section of the Shanglu.

Although Jier felt that a confrontation with the so-called 'Hanging Ghost' Bandit Group, which was actually the 'Flesh Demon' cult force, was inevitable, the rapid movement of the team might still avoid the pursuing attacks, or even make it difficult for the attackers to set up an ambush in advance.

Not only did the people eat well, but all the livestock in the team were fed extra beans early in the morning, in the hope that all the livestock pulling the carts would work harder today.

Although Jier didn't say anything, some sensitive people in the team had already sensed something from these details.

Of course, no one ran to Jier to ask or verify any news. What everyone could actually do was to grip the knives and Dagger they had been issued, walk together with familiar friends, and agree that if they encountered an attack, they would run together and fight together.

Tianxuecao was also served by the Grooms early in the morning to put on a full set of new Armor. When Jier, fully armed, jumped onto the horse's back, it also felt its master's tension and excitement.

On the horse's back, in addition to the all-steel Double-edged Spear, a Two-handed Axe with a blue axe head was added. Jier was not sure if the humans parasitized by the 'Flesh Demon' counted as human enemies or Monster, so it was better to bring this axe, which was specialized in slaying beasts and Monster, in advance.

During the actual battle, let the axe itself distinguish the type of enemy.

"Set off!"

Jier shouted loudly, standing on his horse by the side of the Shanglu, and then the huge team, like a giant snake waking from hibernation, slowly stretched its body and began to crawl forward along the Shanglu.

The sparse Shulin not far from the Shanglu was quite lush, with tall trees blocking the sun, looking quite normal.

But after everyone had walked for a distance, some people saw that among the brown tree trunks, there were occasionally some tree trunks that were entirely red. Those who discovered it clicked their tongues in wonder, pointing it out to their companions beside them as they walked.

However, the Shanglu was, after all, dozens to hundreds of meters away from the nearest trees on either side in a straight line. Looking from that distance, the people could only see the deep red or even dark red tree trunks, but they could not see clearly at close range why those trunks were red.

In the team, it was actually the Lumberjacks, who were usually very arrogant and spoke louder than everyone else, whose expressions changed the moment they saw those red trunks. Yesterday, they had been repeatedly warned by Jier the Knight and Bata'er Jiaoshi not to speak of the truth about these trunks, so the usually big-mouthed Lumberjacks had all turned into mutes at this moment, their faces looking ugly as they buried their heads and walked on without a word.

Some of the people thought these fellows had changed their temperaments; otherwise, they would usually comment on everything they saw, but today they were quiet.

The sharp-minded people guessed something, estimating that when these fellows fled back to the Yingdi yesterday evening, something had indeed happened, and it was related to the red trunks seen on the road today.

Jier rode his horse, slowly patrolling the front and back of the team. His gaze was fixed on the depths of the Shulin, which had patches of red trunks, and he easily sensed a deep, evil gaze from that direction.

Therefore, he was also prepared for battle at any time.

However, the strange thing was that even though the whole team walked at a slightly faster pace than usual until noon, they did not encounter any attacks from the "Flesh Demon" team, which was composed of Humans who were ostensibly Bandits but were actually parasitized.

"Strange? Where did those guys go?"

"Damn it! What kind of ghosts are these things!"

In the mountain forest ahead of the Shanglu where the Refugee Team was walking, two sturdy figures were fleeing quickly, one after the other. The young figure fleeing in front complained as he ran.

He held a large Hunting Bow with a strung Bowstring in his hand, and the quiver at his waist was also nearly full of fine, self-made Arrow. His right hand even had several Arrow held between his gloved fingers.

"Less complaining, keep your breathing rhythm, don't get caught."

The old figure fleeing behind had a steady pace. Although he was lagging behind, it did not seem to be because he was running slowly, but to limit the speed of some things chasing them from behind.

A middle-aged Villager came flanking from the left side of the two, running with arms stretched straight. The person's palms were stretched straight forward, and on the palms and fingers, there were some thin plant roots that would be ignored if one did not look carefully. The movements were a bit strange, but it made the two Refining Qi Hunters feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Careful! On the left!" the young man in front shouted a warning.

The old Hunter behind let out a cold snort and retorted, "Kid, look after yourself!"

As soon as the words fell, the old Hunter took a special Arrow from the special quiver on his back with a backhand, aimed slightly to the left while running, and then drew the bow and shot the arrow with extremely fast movements.

Hum—

After the Arrow left the Hunting Bow, it trembled for a moment. The flight speed was not fast, but it abnormally twisted in the air, attacking the Villager who was flanking from the left of the two like a swimming fish.

With a squelch, the Arrow, carrying great force, cleverly drilled into the Villager's wide-open, breathing mouth, and the next moment it forcefully drilled out from the back of the person's head with bone fragments and flesh.

The flesh and blood on the arrow shaft seemed to have some fine plant roots, but after this Arrow shot through the Villager's head, it spun and shook vigorously in the air, like a pet dog that had been rained on, shaking the rainwater off its fur.

After it shook off all the flesh and blood it had stained, it spun again and flew back following a whistle from the old Hunter.

While running, the old Hunter only listened to the special sound made by his Arrow passing through the air, then reached out his right hand to catch and grab in the air beside him, and caught the flying Arrow back in his hand in mid-air.

Just as the old man wanted to be proud for a moment, the young Hunter running in front shouted, "It's no good! Your Returning Arrow blew up that person's head, but it still didn't kill him!!!!"

The last word was practically screamed by the young Hunter.

The old man turned his head and glanced to the left, and sure enough, he found that the Villager who had been shot through the mouth and back of the head had only fallen in the Shulin because of a sudden loss of control while running. After twitching all over, he got up and chased after them again.

It seemed that injuries fatal to ordinary people were of no use to these half-human, half-Monster Villagers.

But fortunately, because of the delay from falling, that Villager could not maintain the flanking momentum and could only follow the main force behind the two to pursue.

When it came to Running, the two partners, Refining Qi Hunters who had traveled north and south, had never feared anyone, so except for being unfamiliar with the local terrain, they were not worried about the crowd of figures chasing behind them.

"Hell! A bunch of Monsters wearing human flesh!"

The old man cursed, quickly judged the number of pursuers behind him, and had an idea in his heart.

"If shooting the head doesn't kill them, then shoot the knees! Ten people, five for you and five for me! Shoot and break the knee on one side of each person behind!"

The old Hunter immediately gave the order. As soon as the words fell, regardless of whether his partner agreed or not, his right hand extracted Arrow from the quiver at his waist twice, first biting two in his mouth, and then letting his right hand hold three Arrow.

While taking the arrows, he slid sideways against the ground to decelerate, a pair of leopard-skin Boot with leopard paws on the soles acting like a bulldozer, shoveling the fallen leaves and humus on the ground to slow down.

When he turned his whole body to face the pursuers behind him, the Arrow held in his right hand was already on the string.

Then his gaze swept over the right knee of the pursuers one by one, his hand movements not stopping at all: drawing the bow, shooting the arrow, then switching fingers to put the Arrow held between his fingertips onto the Bowstring, then drawing the bow and shooting the arrow again.

Repeating it once more, the third Arrow cut through the air and flew out.

His right hand was empty, but he loosened his mouth slightly, and with a flick of his tongue, one Arrow fell from his mouth to his right hand.

As smooth as if tempered a thousand times, the old Hunter drew the bow and shot the arrow again. The last Arrow also fell from his mouth, and the next moment it was shot at the fifth pursuer his gaze had swept over, following the movement of his body.

With all the Arrow shot, the old Hunter gasped, turned around, and ran forward without even looking.

At the same time, his young partner also shot five Arrow, which flew past the old Hunter's side with a swish, but the old Hunter didn't even glance at the arrows flying past his side.

"Hurry! I estimate that shooting and breaking the knees will only slow them down; let's shake them off as soon as possible!"

The young Hunter, who shot five arrows a moment later, nodded. Confident, he didn't look to see if the arrows hit, turned around, and ran forward.

Behind the two, following the sounds of Arrow piercing flesh, a total of ten strange Villagers chasing the two all fell to the ground in unison. Trying to crawl up to run and pursue, they fell down again instead.

This was because the right knee of every one of them had been shot through by the well-made Arrow, and the moving joints had been severely damaged and jammed. Even if these half-human, half-Monster Villagers were not afraid of pain, their mobility was still greatly reduced.

"Bad luck! What's going on in this place? Just going up a mountain to scout, and you can run into this kind of strange thing."

"Less nonsense, those people were just slowed down, but they are still chasing us."

"Then what do you say we do, old man?"

Facing the young Hunter's insolence, the old Hunter's mind turned, and he had an idea: "Lead them to that young Knight."

"That's not good, right? What if innocent people get hurt? These guys look strange no matter how you look at them. My intuition tells me that we must not be caught by these people! Otherwise, there will be bad results."

"They are just ten half-human, half-Monster Villagers with broken legs. That Knight should have no problem dealing with them. Let's go, let's turn back."

"Eh? Are we really going to do this?"

"Anyway, these guys keep chasing the two of us. It's fine to borrow that young Knight to clean them up."

After the discussion, the two Hunters changed direction and ran quickly toward the direction of the sparse Shulin and the Shanglu. And behind them, the ten Villagers with arrows in their knees were still persistently tracking the two Hunters who used bows.

These two Hunters had inadvertently seen the process of their Prophet baptizing and cultivating the people they had captured, so they had to be eliminated; this was a death order from the Prophet!