Chapter 187: Chapter 166: Three Sentences That Made Everyone Willingly Hand Over Ash
“Everyone, don’t be afraid.”
Goblin Kibot looked at the agitated crowd, having anticipated their reaction. He cleared his throat gently, and the entire camp fell silent instantly, leaving only his voice to echo clearly.
All Mages with intentions in politics generally master the Sound Technique Faction. Voice symbolizes the right to speak. Even if there’s no interest in silencing political foes, the capacity to defend one’s own voice is imperative.
“I know your worries,” he said bluntly. “If we took all the adventurers here out for target practice, there would definitely be innocents among them. But if we execute every other one, there are bound to be fish that slip through the net.”
Kibot gazed down at the frightened adventurers with increasing disdain, as if they were nothing but stray dogs.
The mayor was right; dogs can be used but not collaborated with, since at any moment another’s bone could lure them away. Only by working with wolves, sucking the marrow from these dogs, filling the wolves’ bellies and sharpening their claws, will they naturally go and bite their master’s flesh.
In the Kingdom of Blood Moon, there were too many dogs and too few wolves.
Therefore, the combat competition had to be promoted…
Recalling the mayor’s teachings, Kibot’s expression grew colder as he continued, “But rest assured, this festival is of great importance, and compared to the offerings needed by the Extreme Master of Blood Moon, your crimes are trivial. Even if Captain Blood Frenzy suddenly goes mad, I won’t allow him to harm the valuable combat power here.”
“Don’t worry, Secretary Clerk Kibot,” Gerard, with his arms crossed over his chest, surveyed the adventurers with interest. “I take this festival more seriously than anyone here.”
The crowd exhaled in relief—yes, Crime Hunting Hall and the war zone always kept to their own waters. Plus, with this being a festival related to the Foreign Domain invasion, how could Gerard possibly come here to arrest people?
But many were still uneasy. What exactly was Gerard doing here if the festival had nothing to do with Crime Hunting Hall? Was he unable to sleep and decided to take a walk?
“However, Captain Blood Frenzy indeed came here to pursue fugitives,” Kibot stated. “But this has nothing to do with the vast majority here, even with the adventurers. He is only searching for a fugitive who has disguised themselves as an adventurer.”
Ash and his team felt an ill foreboding.
“‘Corpse Lover’ Archibald Harvey, ‘Carrion Crow’ Ronald Wade, ‘Swindler’ Igula Bokin, ‘Death Cultist’ Lanna Chios, and ‘Evil Demon Saint’ Ash Heath.”
Gerard announced loudly, “I am here to pursue these five individuals. They have just escaped from Shattered Lake Prison and have removed their Miracle Chips from the back of their necks; hence, they do not belong to the war zone adventurers. I am not overstepping my boundaries by handling this case.”
Not only were the five fugitives unrelated to them, but more importantly, they weren’t ‘adventurers.’ This meant that Gerard had not broken the tacit agreement between the war zone and Crime Hunting Hall by indiscriminately arresting criminals who sought refuge in the war zone, and that was the reassurance the adventurers needed.
If Gerard had embarked on arresting criminals among the adventurers, the adventurers certainly wouldn’t resist, but they would soon flee the Lakeview War Zone in search of livelihoods elsewhere. After all, if even the war zone couldn’t protect them, why stay and wait to become a feather in Crime Hunting Hall’s cap?
Ash and his team exchanged silent glances, nodding to each other. Without a word, they knew they had to sincerely cooperate, or they would never escape the pursuit of the Holy Sanctuary Mages of the Three-winged Holy Realm.
Good, it was time to ignite the flame—
“Incidentally,” Gerard said, “although theoretically I am pursuing five individuals, I take a particular interest in Ash. Apart from the official bounty offered by Crime Hunting Hall, I have a personal bounty. Whoever provides concrete information on Ash Heath, I am willing to pay a reward of 100 Gold Coins. And if the other four fugitives are willing to hand over Ash, I can represent Crime Hunting Hall and call off the pursuit, granting you three days to flee.”
Ash turned to look at the others, who also looked back at him.
“…You guys aren’t seriously considering betraying a friend for your own survival, are you?”
Harvey scratched his head, “Are we friends…?”
Ronald spread his hands, “What’s wrong with living to fight another day?”
Igula said coldly, “If it weren’t for you leaving that recording and enraging Gerard, why would he be chasing us relentlessly? Whoever pollutes, cleans up. What’s the problem with that?”
With just three sentences, Gerard had managed to fracture this teetering little team—it was no wonder he was a Blood Frenzy Hunter who excelled at understanding human nature.
Just when Ash was contemplating distancing himself from these clowns, Lanna spoke calmly, “We don’t have the chips, so one way or another, we must find a way to leave Blood Moon. Unless Gerard is willing to clear the way for us, selling out Ash would be of no benefit—after all, even with three days to run, there’s no place for us in Blood Moon anymore.”
Ash couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up, “Listen to how reasonable Lanna is. You guys fell for the enemy’s trick so easily, you should learn from Lanna—”
“But if we really can’t find any opportunity to take advantage of, we’ll have to hand over Ash to buy some breathing time,” Lanna continued. “Better for one to die than for all five.”
Igula wrapped an arm around Ash’s neck, “Thanks, Ash. I didn’t expect you’d be willing to sacrifice your own interests to protect everyone—You’re going to fulfill my wish, right?”