Chapter 45 Suspicion and Estrangement

"What happened here!"

Many hunters looked at the chaotic castle hall, their faces full of shock.

Everyone saw Zhou Jing standing on the corpse of the buzz-cut man, pulling out his longsword.

"Jason!"

Weiss exclaimed.

The others also recognized Zhou Jing, covered in blood, and their hearts trembled.

During the day, Jason had been drinking and chatting with them in the tavern. How could he be on a killing spree in the lord's castle at night, suffering a mutual defeat with someone else!

What had happened in the past half-day!

Because they couldn't figure out the situation, many hunters didn't know what to do. They stopped at the wide-open door, watching Zhou Jing dragging his bloodied body, moving step by step.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhou Jing staggered toward the stairs leading to the second floor.

His vision was already blurred, his chin was shattered, and his nerves were in agonizing pain.

His chest and abdomen had suffered a heavy blow from the buzz-cut man's dying attack. He didn't know how many ribs were broken, and his internal organs were equally damaged. If it weren't for the [Tenacity] talent, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand up.

Having suffered such a heavy blow, on top of his existing injuries, he was already at the end of his rope. Earlier, he had been holding his breath to maintain Thunder Assault, squeezing the last bit of strength from his bones. Only then, by taking advantage of the only chance to revive his companion, had he managed to kill the buzz-cut man in an exchange of injuries.

Now that he had succeeded, Zhou Jing couldn't maintain that breath any longer. His strength was rapidly draining away, and he was bleeding from all over his body. He couldn't even lift his sword anymore.

This body's injuries were fatal, and with the collapsing genes, it couldn't survive...

Life was like a flickering candle in the wind, death was imminent, and the remaining lifespan was probably measured in seconds.

Zhou Jing knew that his death was approaching. He dragged his broken, heavy body toward the lord's location.

Dozens of guards were crowding in front of the stairs. Seeing Zhou Jing staggering closer, they retreated up the steps in a panic, crowding in the corridor on the second floor.

With each step Zhou Jing took, the guards retreated two steps in a flurry.

Having witnessed the previous battle, they were all terrified, and now they only felt fear toward Zhou Jing.

Even though he was severely injured and on the verge of death, looking like anyone could knock him down, still not a single guard dared to step forward and deliver the final blow, constantly shrinking back.

At the end of the corridor behind the crowd, Lute's face was pale, his teeth chattering.

He wanted to turn around and escape upstairs, but his legs wouldn't obey him.

Before, the buzz-cut man had been steadily gaining the upper hand, so Lute had been watching the battle calmly, not afraid that Zhou Jing would threaten him.

But he didn't expect the favorable situation to take a sudden turn for the worse. His greatest reliance was actually killed on the spot!

His entire attention had been focused on Zhou Jing and the buzz-cut man. After Ross was easily killed, he hadn't paid attention to the corpse lying on the battlefield. He only thought it was a cannon fodder who had come to die.

So when Ross revived and quietly attacked the buzz-cut man, Lute didn't understand what was happening at all. He also didn't notice how Ross's head had grown back. His first reaction was that he was hallucinating, or that the buzz-cut man had been careless and hadn't killed Ross, which allowed him to get up.

At this moment, there was no one around him who could stop Zhou Jing!

Lute finally panicked.

Although there were still thirty or so guards separating him and Zhou Jing...

Although Zhou Jing only had one breath left...

But as Zhou Jing, with his murderous aura and ghostly appearance, slowly approached, Lute still felt suffocating fear!

He seemed to see Zhou Jing passing through the crowd, nailing him to the wall with a single blow!

If he had to say what his mood was now...

Regret, considerable regret!

All seven Ichor Guards were dead, and even the buzz-cut man had died with regret!

Who knew this guy could fight so well!

"Save...save..."

Lute stammered, suddenly seeing the many hunters gathered downstairs. His eyes lit up, and he felt hope, as if he had found a life-saving straw.

He shouted loudly at the dazed hunters:

"Hunters, hurry up and stop him! He wants to kill me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several hunters took a step forward, about to rush up to the second floor to stop Zhou Jing.

But the next moment, Weiss suddenly raised his hand and stopped them.

The others turned back, their voices surprised.

"What's wrong? Aren't we stopping Jason?"

"He's going after the lord. We can't just stand by and watch, can we?"

Weiss didn't respond immediately. He looked at the dying Zhou Jing, his face twitching.

With his eye, he could also see that Zhou Jing's injuries meant he wouldn't live long.

After all, he was a companion who had taught them for three months and fought alongside them. Seeing Zhou Jing in such a tragic state, Weiss was both shocked and angry.

These traces of a bloody battle were unmistakable.

He really wanted to know what Zhou Jing had encountered in the half-day after saying goodbye to him.

Since Jason had killed his way to the lord's castle, there must be a reason, and it must be related to the lord!

"We don't know what's going on. Don't do anything," Weiss said in a deep voice.

Someone hesitated and said, "How can we not do anything? That's the lord, after all. We can't just watch Jason kill him, can we?"

Hearing this, many hunters looked at each other.

They didn't know why Zhou Jing had fought with the lord's people, but something must have happened.

But Lute was the lord, and the others didn't know what to do.

Logically, they should protect the lord, but from the hunters' point of view, they should also protect their own people.

They couldn't possibly help Jason kill the city lord without knowing anything.

After all, there had never been a precedent for an exotic beast hunter to kill the city lord!

Seeing that many hunters were hesitant and didn't intervene, Lute became anxious and shouted:

"I don't know what's going on at all. He inexplicably killed my guards and suddenly stormed into the castle wanting my life. I don't even understand what's happening! If you have any questions, stop him first and then ask!"

Hearing this, several hunters felt it made sense, and without further hesitation, they rushed up to the second floor to stop Zhou Jing.

The other hunters had no choice but to follow.

One of the hunters caught up with Zhou Jing in a few steps and immediately pressed down on Zhou Jing's shoulder.

"Stop first. What's going on?"

Zhou Jing stopped and glanced at him.

The hunter's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he subconsciously let go of his hand.

Zhou Jing ignored him. His gaze passed over dozens of trembling guards, his increasingly blurred vision looking at the nervous Lute in the back.

His body no longer had the strength to move forward.

This was the last strike...

He struggled to raise his sword, lifting his hand and throwing it, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

Whoosh...

The blade spun, flying over the crowd.

But halfway there, it lost its power and fell from the air.

Clang!

The bloodstained longsword fell in front of Lute.

Thump!

Lute collapsed to the ground, looking in horror at the longsword on the ground, trembling with fear.

At the same time, Zhou Jing's body also fell down, crashing to the ground with a thud.

The hunters were startled.

Weiss quickly squatted down, supporting Zhou Jing, and checked his breath, saying in a pained voice, "He's dead."

Hearing this, the hunters' faces changed, unsure what expression to make.

They felt sadness and anger at the death of a fellow hunter, but they also felt unstoppable confusion.

"He... he's dead?"

Lute heard from afar, and the heart that had been hanging suddenly dropped.

His mood rose and fell sharply, and he almost collapsed.

His underwear was damp, and he had unknowingly been scared into a cold sweat.

Lute felt lingering fear.

Fortunately, the buzz-cut man and this hunter had fought to a mutual defeat, practically dying together. If this person had still had combat power, it looked like he wouldn't have rested until he had killed him today.

Seeing that Jason was dead, Lute's sense of regret faded a lot, turning into relief and fear.

It seemed that his fate hadn't ended, and luck was still on his side...

He had escaped a disaster!

At this moment, Weber suddenly strode closer, pushed away all the guards, and stood in front of Lute.

"What exactly happened?"

Weber's tone was stern.

The hunters silently followed, passed through the guards who didn't dare to move, and surrounded Lute.

Lute's breathing hitched, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Because of Zhou Jing, these hunters he usually trusted suddenly made him feel dangerous, bringing a strong sense of oppression.

He suddenly realized that the trouble was far from over.

If he had closed the door, caught Zhou Jing, and quietly dealt with him, then this matter would have been much easier. But now that it had been witnessed by many hunters, it was not good.

However, with Jason's death, no one would know that Magji had accepted his order to intercept him. It seemed that there was still a chance to get rid of responsibility...

Lute quickly suppressed the tension in his heart, braced himself, and stood up, pretending to be puzzled:

"I don't know either. Jason suddenly came to my door, carrying the heads of my Ichor Guards, saying that he wanted me to give him an explanation. But I don't know what happened at all. I saw that he had killed my guards, so I planned to capture him first, but I didn't expect it to develop into this..."

"Magji?" Weber frowned.

"I'm not too sure either. It seems that Magji and Jason had some kind of conflict. Maybe he did something behind my back, so Jason came to me... I will investigate."

Lute barely maintained his composure, speaking half-truths, only wanting to stabilize the hunters.

Even if he wanted to smear Zhou Jing, he didn't dare to do it now.

The crowd was silent, half believing and half doubting.

In the past, their cooperation with the lord had been quite pleasant, and everyone had a foundation of trust.

But Zhou Jing's behavior today, which was so determined to kill the lord, shook everyone's thoughts.

Although they didn't know what had happened, Zhou Jing was one of them, and there must be a reason for doing so. The lord must have done something.

Moreover, aside from all the reasons, Jason had died at the hands of the lord's people... The lord's subordinate had killed an exotic beast hunter, and everyone couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.

Jason was the most talented person among them, and everyone thought he had a promising future and a chance to become a legendary exotic beast hunter.

But they didn't expect such a genius to die like this, not on the battlefield fighting exotic beasts, but in the lord's castle.

What a pity!

Looking at the silent hunters, Lute became increasingly nervous, not daring to reveal any signs of guilt.

After a long time, Weber slowly opened his mouth:

"We are waiting for you to give us an explanation for this matter. If you can't satisfy us..."

There was no need to say the rest of the words. The meaning was already very clear.

Lute didn't dare to say anything. He could only meekly agree, not daring to put on the airs of a lord like he used to.

After Weber finished speaking, he turned around and left, returning to Jason's side and picking up Jason's body.

The hunters followed, crowding around him.

Seeing this, Lute couldn't help but ask:

"Where... where are you planning to take him?"

"That's none of your business."

Weiss coldly left a sentence.

They couldn't sit idly by and watch a fellow hunter's body just lying here.

They now had only one thought, which was to take Jason back to Frostwood Village.

The hunters took Jason's body and left.

Lute opened his mouth, but didn't dare to say any words of persuasion.

He guessed that everyone would probably take the body to Frostwood Village.

However, there was also a Baron in Frostwood Village who was partially aware of the situation. If the hunters met with him and combined the information, they would learn about the corruption of the medicine, and would be even more suspicious of Jason's situation, and would feel that it was related to this, and then suspect him.

But Lute had no way to stop it.

The power he could use had almost been cut off by Zhou Jing alone, and now he couldn't do anything to Baron at all.

The people of the tribe were too far away and couldn't be mobilized so quickly... and he didn't dare to go against so many hunters.

If Baron died again, these hunters would probably understand the situation soon and definitely hold him accountable... Lute didn't dare to act rashly anymore.

He had to hide the goatee or kill him directly. He absolutely couldn't let Baron see this person in the city...

Lute's face was uncertain, and he could only try to remedy the situation as much as possible.

He had been working hard to maintain a good relationship with most of the hunters, but now the changes brought about by Zhou Jing had created a gap between the hunters and him, almost undoing all his previous efforts, and had also buried many hidden dangers.

However, although the subsequent situation was terrible, he was still relieved.

'In any case, it wasn't me who died. At least I'm still alive.'

Lute covered his heart, his heart pounding, full of relief after surviving a disaster.

On the other side, many town residents were also attracted by the noise. Ignoring the curfew, they came to the lord's longhouse one after another, surprised to see the chaos here.

The residents whispered to each other, and it was noisy.

In the crowd of onlookers, an inconspicuous man saw the corpse of the buzz-cut man on the ground, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he immediately slipped out of the crowd and left quietly.

...

After Jason Wood, the Star Realm Apostle, died in battle, Zhou Jing's consciousness returned directly.

Passing through the streamer tunnel, Zhou Jing quickly returned to the cross-space preparation space.

As soon as he came back, he received a waterfall of panel information:

[This projection has ended!]

[Actual stay time: 9 days]

[Resource collection: 980 Star Points, 12 Information State Particles]

[Experience log has been archived, and relevant exploration results have been recorded in the encyclopedia]

[Detected that "Jason Wood" (Number 002) has died]

[The Apostle's constant standard progress: 140/110]

[Progress has been achieved!]

[The current Star Realm Apostle is being constantized... Constantization complete!]

[File updated!]

["Jason Wood" (Number 002) - Transformed into [Eternal Apostle]!]

[[Eternal Apostle]: The file is retained after death and can be re-projected!]