Chapter 162: Hunter's Plea for Help
The large influx of Rune Knights significantly accelerated the Star Alliance's external expansion.
Almost every month, the explored area on the military map on Su Nan's desk grew larger.
The indigenous tribes discovered during exploration faced with the Star Alliance's powerful military forces either faced destruction or were forced to surrender and become slaves.
However, Su Nan also offered these indigenous peoples a glimmer of hope.
Those who made significant contributions to the Star Alliance could earn their freedom from slavery, becoming citizens with equal status and power alongside the Sphinx and Vampire.
As the Star Alliance's exploration strategy progressed vigorously, Su Nan sequestered himself in the laboratory, dedicated to researching ways to enhance the Secret Puppet.
With Long Lin now possessing Butler Number 1 and a group of apprentices like Karolina, Red Widow, and Xie Man at the Star Alliance's disposal, he only needed to define the overall direction; the implementation could be left to his subordinates.
Apart from occasionally refining magic items — tasks that only he could perform — he predominantly acted as a hands-off manager.
This was the manner in which a mature power should evolve.
Late at night, the Silver Moon hung high in the sky.
Moonlight streamed through the small window, illuminating everything in the room.
Su Nan sat at a corner of a long table, quietly waiting for the other members to arrive.
Since joining the Secret Forest Hut, he hadn't missed a single gathering.
Even though he sometimes left without purchasing anything, he attended every time without fail.
After all, no one could predict which items might appear at the gathering; missing out on treasures — as both Traveler and Black Forest had previously experienced — would lead to immeasurable regret.
Perhaps due to the lessons learned from Traveler and Black Forest, everyone except Hunter attended the subsequent gatherings.
Even Traveler and Black Forest, who had often been absent in the past, showed significantly improved attendance now.
This gathering was no exception; all eight members, except for Hunter, were present.
Just as Night Owl announced the start of the transactions, a figure suddenly appeared in their midst.
It was Hunter, someone everyone had assumed would be absent.
“Everyone, I need your help!”
The moment he appeared, Hunter spoke immediately, his tone more serious than ever before.
The others exchanged glances.
Finally, Night Owl cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Hunter, tell us what's going on?"
"The Eternal Life Society is after me!" Hunter said gravely. "They’re after the Star Tower Key I possess and have come out in full force to hunt me down. I've tried many methods to evade them, and I need the help of everyone here!"
"You want us to help you repel the Eternal Life Society's people?" Red Heart asked in a low voice.
"No." Hunter shook his head. "Those fanatics are obsessive; even if we beat them back once, they'll still come after me. I want you all to help me eliminate the Eternal Life Society's members once and for all."
Silence filled the room.
Everyone was quiet.
If it were just a matter of repelling the Eternal Life Society, they might have considered it, provided Hunter offered suitable compensation.
But to kill an Other: Wizard Apprentice from the Eternal Life Society?
Sorry, that's impossible!
Anyone with a shred of sense understood the risks of facing an Other: Wizard Apprentice of the same level.
Not to mention that they were members of the Eternal Life Society.
They had no intention of risking their lives for a little profit.
Unless Hunter could offer a reward enticing enough!
Hunter understood this. Noticing everyone’s silence, he gritted his teeth and declared, "After this is over, I will give each participant a Key of the Star Tower!"
As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes lit up.
Su Nan raised an eyebrow; it seemed his earlier suspicion was correct—Hunter was indeed colluding with Evans.
Only Evans would possess so many Keys to the Star Tower.
"Deal!" Undead said immediately.
Ordinary profits weren’t worth risking his life for, but a Key to the Star Tower was different.
It represented the hope of advancing to the Wizard realm.
Even with the risks involved, he would take the gamble!
The others clearly shared similar thoughts.
After some hesitation, Night Owl, Red Heart, Traveler, Black Forest, and Rose agreed one after another.
Finally, only Scepter and Su Nan remained.
Hunter's gaze turned to them, complex emotions swirling in his eyes.
Scepter already possessed the Star Tower Key, so the reward he was offering wouldn’t be very appealing to the other party.
The Player was in the same situation.
With the information he had gathered, Hunter had already deduced the Player's true identity.
Evans had once mentioned that Su Nan had the Star Tower Key in his possession, so this reward likely wouldn’t be very enticing for him either.
In fact, neither of them had shown any intention of agreeing, possibly waiting for Hunter to present an even more attractive offer.
After a brief hesitation, Hunter waved his hand across the table, and two bottles of potion materialized before him.
Under the moonlight, the liquid inside the potion bottles gradually shifted from a deep blue to a pale blue, shimmering with a beautiful, ethereal light.
"This is Dawn Potion," Hunter announced, his gaze sweeping past Su Nan to the others.
Among those present, Su Nan was likely the only one who had heard of Dawn Potion from Evans.
"After consumption, it can extend a person’s lifespan by approximately three years. However, each individual can only benefit from one bottle, as consuming more will have no additional effect. Furthermore, this potion has little effect on other wizard apprentices, only increasing their lifespan by five to ten years."
Undead and the others were visibly moved.
A potion that could extend one’s lifespan was extremely rare!
Even if this potion only increased lifespan by five to ten years, that was still significant.
A Level Three wizard apprentice had a lifespan of just over two hundred years, even after merging with a bloodline or undergoing physical modifications.
Scepter was immediately tempted. After a moment's thought, he said, "One bottle of Dawn Potion isn’t sufficient. Add a gem worth 20,000 gold coins!"
"Deal!"
Hunter agreed without hesitation, knowing that the wealthy Holy Fist would cover the gold coins.
He then turned to Su Nan. "Player, what do you think?"
Su Nan remained silent for a moment, then slowly replied, “Two bottles of Dawn Potion, plus the Key of the Star Tower.”
At his words, everyone was stunned, and the same thought echoed in their minds.
He was asking for an exorbitant price!
But to everyone’s surprise, Hunter only hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Okay, it's a deal!"
"Wait a minute!" Undead interjected, clearly dissatisfied. "Why is the Player's reward so much higher than ours when we’re all putting in the same effort?"
The others, though not voicing it openly, looked at Hunter and Su Nan with expressions of dissatisfaction and confusion. Only Traveler remained perfectly calm.
Hunter explained in a steady tone, "It's because Player is stronger than all of you."
The others were oblivious to the fact that through Holy Fist's channels, Hunter had learned of some of Su Nan's exploits in the Underworld, and he was acutely aware that Su Nan wielded power far beyond anyone in the Secret Forest Hut. Even Night Owl couldn't compare to him.
Noticing that Undead still couldn't fully accept his explanation, Hunter turned his gaze to Su Nan. The latter shrugged and, with a thought, summoned a Mithril Golem that materialized out of thin air beside him.
The sudden appearance of the Golem startled everyone, and they wondered where Su Nan had conjured this behemoth from. Almost immediately, their attention was drawn to the lustrous body of the Golem.
"That's... a Fine Gold!"
Rose, having seen a Mithril Golem before, instantly recognized its type, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Mithril Golem!"
The others were taken aback by his words, staring wide-eyed as they quickly confirmed Rose's statement.
"It really is a Mithril Golem!"
"How is this possible?!"
Everyone's faces were filled with astonishment. How could Player possess a Mithril Golem? Did he acquire it from some Wizard Inheritance? No, that was impossible. Even if a complete Mithril Golem existed in a Wizard Inheritance, outsiders would be unable to control it.
This wasn't like a Magic Item, where one could erase the Spirit mark to use it. Each Puppet's soul core bore the Spirit Sigil left by its creator; unless the creator actively erased it, outsiders would never be able to eliminate it. Even destroying the soul core was futile. The Puppet's body and soul core were an integrated whole; destroying the soul core meant annihilating the entire Puppet.
But if it hadn’t been obtained from a Wizard Inheritance, could Player have forged it himself? That seemed unlikely. Setting aside how Player acquired the design blueprint or the vast amounts of Fine Gold needed to refine a Mithril Golem, the challenge of Puppet Refining technique alone was enough to baffle most people.
For a moment, doubt and uncertainty washed over everyone.
Even Traveler and Hunter, who had long acknowledged Su Nan's strength, were profoundly shocked.
However, one thing was clear: with a Mithril Golem at his disposal, Su Nan could undoubtedly be more effective against the Eternal Life Society than any of those present.
Even Undead, who had been the most dissatisfied, fell silent at this moment.
Seeing that no one raised further objections, Hunter spoke in a deep voice, "Then it's settled."
"Just to be safe, we should sign a Soul Contract."
Everyone agreed unanimously, as this would provide security for both parties.
While the reward didn’t need discussion, a disagreement soon arose regarding their approach to the Eternal Life Society.
Night Owl and the others were resolutely against Hunter's demand to eliminate the Eternal Life Society entirely.
That was simply unrealistic!
Most of the Level Three Wizard Apprentices had their own means of survival.
Especially the group from the Eternal Life Society, who had so many enemies that everyone wished for their demise.
If they had managed to survive until now, no one could believe they didn't have some life-saving trick up their sleeve.
Repelling the Level Three Wizard Apprentices might be feasible, but exterminating them would prove extremely difficult unless they possessed overwhelming power.
After some negotiation, it was finally agreed upon that they would kill three members of the Eternal Life Society.
"As far as I know, the Magic Hand and Bloodmaw from the Eternal Life Society have already perished. Currently, aside from Saulo, there are only three members remaining: Ember, Iro, and Stone Scorpion."
"Among these four, if you assist me in eliminating any three, the deal will be considered fulfilled, and I will provide the corresponding reward."
As soon as Hunter finished speaking, Night Owl immediately inquired, "What is your specific plan?"
Hunter clearly had a strategy prepared, responding without hesitation, "The members of the Eternal Life Society are searching frantically for me. If I reveal just a hint of my whereabouts, I can lure them all in. We can set an ambush in advance and take them out in one fell swoop!"
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Although the plan was straightforward, it was highly practical.
"I'll choose the location and inform you all in three days," Hunter said, turning to look at Night Owl.
"When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you to open the Secret Forest Hut once more.”
“Night Owl, no problem,” he nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Su Nan suddenly spoke up, “Surviving this long while being hunted by the Eternal Life Society is hard to imagine you could have done it alone. You must have had other helpers, right?”
Hearing this, the others also realized and turned their gazes expectantly towards Hunter.
Hunter gave a wry smile and said, “Alright, I wasn’t planning on hiding it anyway. I do indeed have helpers.”
“Who?” Rose asked curiously.
“Holy Fist.”
“So it was them,” Scepter replied with a knowing look.
“Don’t speak in riddles,” Black Forest interjected quickly. “Who are Holy Fist?”
Scepter chuckled and explained, “Holy Fist isn’t just one person; it’s a secret organization formed by Legendary Knights. It was established around three hundred years ago, and its members are mainly Legendary Knights from various regions, including the Starlight Continent and Southeast Region. It’s said they have a couple dozen second-circle members and one Third Circle Legendary Knight. Their strength shouldn't be underestimated.”
“That was in the past,” Hunter said bitterly. “During our time fighting the Eternal Life Society, Holy Fist lost a full twenty Legendary Knights. Even their leader, Clarence, was killed by Ember. He was the only Third Circle Legendary Knight in Holy Fist.”
Scepter shook his head slightly, saying nothing.
To ordinary people, an organization composed of Legendary Knights seemed like a behemoth.
But compared to the Eternal Life Society, which was filled with Level Three Wizard Apprentices, they were outmatched.
The collapse of Holy Fist was entirely expected.
If anything, the fact that they even dared to fight back against the Eternal Life Society was quite surprising.
It could only be said that the Star Tower was a tremendous temptation, not just for Wizard Apprentices, but for Legendary Knights as well.
“When the operation starts, the people of Holy Fist will also come to assist.”
“Holy Fist has suffered heavy losses, and there aren't many surviving Legendary Knights left, so it's best not to have overly high expectations,” Hunter sighed.
Scepter shrugged and said, “That’s fine; when dealing with a powerful enemy like the Eternal Life Society, any extra help is appreciated.”
This comment drew nods of agreement from the others.
After all, the enemy was the notoriously ferocious Eternal Life Society. Even those who were also Level Three Wizard Apprentices felt a hint of apprehension in their hearts.
"At this moment, even having a few more First Ring Legendary Knight cultivators would be beneficial; at the very least, they could serve as cannon fodder in a critical situation.
Among the crowd, only Su Nan maintained a calm and composed demeanor from beginning to end.
A few months ago, he might have had concerns about this operation.
But now, the Secret Puppet stored within his Magic Cube provided him with a solid foundation and confidence.
Not to mention, he had the support of the Secret Forest Hut people. Even if he had to face the Eternal Life Society alone, Su Nan was quite sure he could take them down.
"Let's leave it at that for now."
"Once we've chosen an ambush location, I'll notify everyone immediately."
Hunter, his gaze serious, surveyed the group and said earnestly,
"I'm counting on all of you!"
Comments