Chapter 84: Priest Clark's Choice

"Then, would you hunters please step outside for a moment? You may return in a while," Priest Clark said with a slight bow.

The hunters, belonging to different priests, rose consciously, patted the dust off their trousers, rubbed their legs which had gone numb from sitting all night, and slowly and orderly walked out of the treehouse located in the center of the village.

They did not go far, chatting just outside the treehouse, whispering about their respective archery skills and abilities, as well as their individual hunting records.

Seeing that everyone else had left the room, Priest Clark sat back down on the wooden chair in the middle of the room. While absentmindedly providing Hunting God Divine Power to the Old Priest, he spoke up: "Sigh, there is some trouble."

"Hmm?"

The young Priest Clark then waved the scroll in his hand: "This is the news sent back by the hunter I dispatched yesterday to deal with the Divine Dependency on the 'Little Crow'."

Beside him, Priest Fei-Jierkesi said with a mocking tone: "Something went wrong? Right."

Although he did not want to admit it, Priest Clark still nodded and said with difficulty: "It is not just that something went wrong."

The Old Priest said in a calm tone: "Speak, there are no outsiders here."

Although the middle-aged priest was always mocking, the three were actually quite familiar with each other, and this was not their first time working together. During the last Great Hunt, it was that Priest Fei-Jierkesi who had brought Priest Clark to participate in the Great Hunt activities.

That man just liked to mock things and was calculating about all sorts of matters. Although he did not seem easy to get along with, when it was time to lend a hand, the other party would also lend him a hand.

"I am truly sorry. This message was actually not written by my subordinate hunter, but written personally by the 'Little Crow' we speak of."

Priest Clark said helplessly.

"Impossible! Even if the prayer for activating the communication snake is known by others, how could it be useful if they are not a believer of our God? Oh, they were captured, is that it? Tsk tsk tsk, a hunter captured by the prey, this is truly something." Priest Fei-Jierkesi first retorted urgently, but then he realized and looked at the young priest on the other side with a teasing tone.

At this moment, the young Priest Clark's face had already flushed red, clearly aware that having his subordinate hunters captured was a very shameful matter.

Although they often told the hunters that when encountering monsters and Magic Beasts, they needed to fight to the death, and when encountering friction with other human groups, they should avoid it if possible; being captured was better than being killed.

But the fact that his subordinate was captured by the young Knight Jier, who was viewed as prey, still left Priest Clark looking embarrassed.

"What does the other party want by sending the message back? Ransom? Threats?"

The Old Priest's words remained steady, and his eyes had not even opened at this time. After all, compared to hunting an Alien Evil God this time, sacrificing a portion, or even half of the Church Hunters in the process, was acceptable in his view.

As for Clark sending someone out to deal with a young knight, only to be defeated and captured by the other party through a sneak attack, it could only be said that Priest Clark's subordinates were truly mediocre. For the next Great Hunt, the Old Priest did not intend to bring Priest Clark along again; it would be better to switch to a Church Priest from the Central Province.

It was a pity that the Hunting God Church in the Central Province of the Saint Hors Kingdom had originally developed the best, but many years ago, when they joined other organizations to crusade against the rampaging Conswell Worm, their manpower suffered heavy losses, forcing the entire Central Province church branch to start developing from scratch.

Although there were only a few people left now, by the time the next Great Hunt began, it would likely be able to redevelop.

"It is cooperation. Prelate, the letter was written by the young knight named Qiao-Jier, who is the third 'Little Crow' holding an ancient Divine Dependency. He said on the scroll that he knows our target this time and is willing to work with the local Baron Heir to fully assist us in hunting the Alien Evil God."

The young priest continued: "In the end, he said that the Black Bird-Shaped Wood Carving, which is the ancient Divine Dependency, has already been taken away by the ancient god. He hopes that through this cooperation, he will give his all in the process so that our church will let him go and postpone the matter of him and the ancient god until the next Great Hunt."

"He thinks too highly of himself! Cooperation? Who knows if letting an outsider knight join in will be a help to our hunt? Or if he will obstruct us at a critical moment! I do not agree with this!" Priest Fei-Jierkesi immediately spoke up.

The young priest looked at the Old Priest, who managed the affairs of the Hunting God Church for the entire Saint Hors Kingdom and was also the commander-in-chief of the recent Great Hunt operations. Therefore, at this critical moment, his decision basically represented everything.

"What do you think? Clark, should we agree to the other party's request for cooperation, or continue to dispatch hunters to eliminate this unexpected factor?" The Old Priest opened his eyes at this time, looking at Priest Clark's face and asking.

"Do we still need to ask for his opinion? Of course, we should continue to send people. If two people won't do, send five at once! To be safe, bring Magic Arrows. One person watches the one in front; if the other party attacks the first hunter who is discovered, the latter hunter will directly use the Magic Arrow to deal with both. This is the safest way, let me tell you. When I was in the Western Province dealing with those strange monsters running out of the Grass Sea, whenever I encountered particularly difficult monsters, I used this method of sacrificing one person to safely resolve the strange and difficult monsters."

Priest Fei-Jierkesi sighed: "Although it is very sad, many times you cannot be so merciful when handling things. The result of wanting everything is often not something one can accept. I once had a small team of ten Church Hunters die under a very strange monster because of my lack of experience. That guy could release large-scale hallucinations, the kind of hallucination domain that one could easily fall into without noticing, somewhat similar to powerful vengeful spirits."

This middle-aged priest rubbed his teeth, seemingly hating that monster in the Grass Sea to the core: "First, a pair of hunter partners died under the monster's mouthparts sucking them dry, then I sent another group of hunters, and they died too. I hardened my heart and sent out two groups, four hunters, but they still died quietly under the influence of the monster."

"Later, I couldn't hold back the last group of hunters, because among the hunters who died earlier were the relatives of the last group. Heh, those two died too."

The young priest had never heard Priest Fei-Jierkesi tell this story before. Clearly, such a major failure was not something the other party was embarrassed to tell other church priests. The hunters under the priest naturally would not spread such stories about their leader's major mistakes.

"So, how did you finally deal with that monster?" Clark asked curiously and hesitantly.

This question made the middle-aged priest's face turn pale, but the Old Priest sighed and said: "The monster was not solved. After that monster razed two fortresses on the edge of the Grass Sea, it retreated back into the Grass Sea itself. After checking the places where the hunters were killed, the hunters were all carrying various arrows and Magic Arrows with sufficient power, but not a single one showed signs of fighting."

"Therefore, when facing mistakes, one should directly use Magic Arrows to forcibly wipe out those enemies on a large scale!" Priest Fei-Jierkesi said through gritted teeth.

"Having heard the story, Clark, what do you think should be done?" The Old Priest asked again.

The young priest Clark-Wox, this young pastor who managed the affairs of the Hunting God Church in the Northwest Province and the Beibu Xingsheng of the Saint Hors Kingdom, a tall and sturdy young man known as the 'Northlander', hesitated for a long time. In the end, he could not harden his heart, especially to adopt his companion's suggestion of abandoning his captured subordinates while sacrificing an additional subordinate as bait to lure Jier into attacking, thereby eliminating him.

He thought, thinking of those hunter subordinates he was familiar with, thinking of this hunt, thinking of dealing with the Evil God later. He was startled, only then realizing that if he lost at least four hunters and at least one Magic Arrow in dealing with Jier's matter at this time, wouldn't he and his subordinates be naturally excluded from the main force dealing with the Evil God?

He dared not look at Priest Fei-Jierkesi sitting not far to his left, for fear that he was just overthinking.

However, if he did not adopt his companion's suggestion, he would still have to send a small number of hunters to save people and defeat Jier. But what if sending people this time resulted in more losses silently, just like the story his companion just told?

Sending more people naturally meant they were unwilling to cooperate, and those already captured would inevitably be killed, while also incurring the hatred of a young knight. Who knew how much trouble this young knight would cause when they were crusading against the Alien Evil God.

But if they cooperated with the other party and agreed to their request, it would be difficult to prove whether the other party was truly cooperating, or if they were using cooperation as a cover to turn against them at a critical moment, assisting the Evil God and killing them, the people of the Hunting God Church.

If they all died, naturally no one would bother the ancient god and Jier. By the time a new Hunting God Church of the Saint Hors Kingdom developed in a few decades, no one would remember this matter.

The god might be furious because of this, but the object of the fury might not necessarily be Jier and the ancient god behind him who caused this situation. Most likely, the god would go all out to hunt down the Alien Evil God, and after hundreds of years of hunting and counter-hunting, finally beat that Evil God into a crippled state and imprison it, leaving it as a target for some future Great Hunt.

Priest Clark thought a lot, and the other two priests present also waited for his decision. The Old Priest remained steady, eyes closed, crafting the Magic Arrow for the hunting god.

The middle-aged priest watched Priest Clark with rapid breathing, and only after the other party's expression became calm did he let out a breath, knowing his plan had failed.

"I choose to cooperate!"

The young priest said.

"Furthermore, I intend to go and see him in person. If this person is not right, I and the eight Church Hunters under my command have sufficient strength to deal with the other party face-to-face."

He continued: "If the other party is indeed expressing the sincere cooperation mentioned in the scroll, then I will also follow and monitor the other party during the subsequent cooperation process. I will be responsible for watching him. If the other party intends to cause trouble at a critical moment, then I will use the Magic Arrow I carry with me to explode with him! Using the result of both of us dying to make up for my lack of strict supervision. I hope the Prelate can look after my other hunters at that time and select a more suitable new priest for the church to take over my current position."

"You have this determination, very good."

The Old Priest said: "Let it be done."

"You will set off in the afternoon. By noon, the production of the Magic Arrow will be basically completed, and all that remains is to stabilize its structure. This Duel Arrow, once fired, will forcibly pull the Evil God hiding in the depths of the Altar out and designate a life-and-death duel between Him and one of our side. You need not worry about anything; if that young knight is strong enough, then I will choose him as one of the parties for this Duel Arrow. And he will need to engage in a life-and-death duel with that Alien Evil God."

"That is good! In this way, that 'Little Crow' must choose between his own death and the death of the Alien Evil God! The Alien Evil God is an existence hostile to humanity; how could a clear-headed human knight choose to let the other party live and die himself?" The middle-aged priest said happily.

The young priest Clark also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, exploding with someone was easy to say, but not everyone could actually do it.

Especially for church priests like them, who generally lived to be about a hundred years old, their strength and power increased with age, and after death, they could enter the god's Divine Kingdom to serve as managers.

Some powerful gods could even allow reliable subordinate priests whose souls were about to dissipate in the Divine Kingdom to be reincarnated into the newly born infants of mortal believers. Although the reborn self was no longer the former self, this was also a relatively widespread way of rebirth in the circle of priests.

Therefore, dying young in the process of crusading against an Alien Evil God, and not even dying because of the crusade against the Evil God, was not a very good way to die. Whether his soul could be recovered and preserved by the Old Prelate after death was still an unknown.

Thinking of this, the young priest felt that if he had to choose a Magic Arrow to self-detonate, he must choose a high-power Magic Arrow that would not harm the soul. One must be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

On Jier's side, he led the three Church Hunters who had been disarmed, had no bowstrings or arrows, and only held the bow bodies of hunting bows, together with dozens of warriors and seven church priests, to continue the operation of investigating the monster's lair.

The messenger had also long since departed, carrying Jier's letter explaining the situation to inform Bell about the intelligence regarding the third-party force here. Especially regarding the matter of the Hunting God Church helping Bell's side resolve a group of parasitized wild boars.

"If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have even known that Bell's side had actually been troubled by a group of wild boars."

Jier carried the Blue Axe on his shoulder, discussing these matters while swinging the axe to chop down a large tree in front of him with a single blow.

The large tree should have fallen in Jier's direction, but Jier exerted force to push the tree as it was about to fall, and the large tree crashed down forward with a rumble.

Along this journey, this was how Jier chopped down the trees along the way, forming a reliable route that started from the edge of the mountain forest and extended all the way to this point.

Scattered around him were the Mao Mao responsible for the outermost Scout duties, followed by the dispersed Warrior subordinates. Warriors who lacked sufficient strength and the unreliable hired guards who had joined temporarily were all ordered by Jier to be responsible for transporting logistical supplies.

The longer the route of movement through the mountain forest, the more Warriors were needed to be responsible for logistical supplies.

It was also fortunate that Jier's caravan had enough Pack Horses, otherwise, just the drinking water needed by every Warrior at the front in this hot weather would have been very difficult to manage.

It was not that it couldn't be solved; there were still occasional rainfalls in the mountain forest, and clear water often seeped out from the crevices of protruding rocks on the mountains.

Although the water in places like these stagnant pools and small streams mostly had issues, it was not impossible to solve.

For instance, along places with small streams, there were mostly green water-storing vines growing on nearby large trees. As long as one identified the species correctly and avoided choosing unfamiliar vines, one could drink their fill of thirst-quenching plant sap from these vines with high water storage.

Although this type of water-storing vine was very similar to some vine tissues inside the bodies of the Monster, and the smell was somewhat similar, making everyone feel uneasy, once they truly tasted it, there would definitely be people who fell in love with this thirst-quenching plant sap.

Additionally, in the low-lying areas of the depressions along the mountain terrain, if one could find damp soil, then by digging down a few meters along this damp soil, one could excavate a "shallow well."

Or, next to a Shitan where animals drank, one could dig an additional deep pit, and by relying on the soil's filtration, one could also obtain turbid, muddy water that could be used temporarily and safely.

However, the Priest of the Agriculture God accompanying the team had once whispered to Jier that they were carrying some melon and fruit seeds this time; if they truly could not find a water source or if logistical supplies were blocked, they could also cast Divine Art to rapidly grow the melon and fruit seeds in their hands, allowing everyone in the team to have a full meal of water-rich melons and fruits.

Although this type of Divine Art consumed a great deal of Divine Power, the two young Priests accompanying the team could only cast this Divine Art a few times.

Jier did not let them waste their precious Divine Power in such places. There would be a great battle in the coming days; by then, the Warriors, Soldiers, and Armed Civilian—as long as they were participants in the battle—would likely have many people injured or even killed.

By then, the Priests' Divine Power would be desperately needed to save lives, so they should not consume Divine Power in these unimportant areas.

After all, even letting everyone drink the bitter spring water in the mountain forest that animals drank was far better than being injured or dying later.

?? Welcome everyone to subscribe to this book, follow this book, and bookmark this book. Thank you.