Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

"So you're telling me that you're the one who was spreading the news about the Giant Purple Lindens?" Mo Fan asked the stubborn Tong Shang.

"That's right, I did spread the news! Of course, I didn't expect the Hillmen to show up. I was just telling the truth. Everyone knows how valuable these Giant Purple Lindens are. The Hunters should bear the risks themselves," Tong Shang declared. He did not bother keeping it a secret.

"Screw you!" Mo Fan lifted his leg and kicked Tong Zhuang right in the stomach.

Tong Shang was a government official. He believed he was perfectly safe with Nie Lengshan and a few captains standing around him. To his surprise, Mo Fan was still bold enough to kick him right in the guts!

Tong Shang went flying. His chin slammed heavily onto the firm root of the tree nearby. His mouth was full of blood after he broke one of his incisors!

Wang Dakuo was enraged. He pointed his finger at Mo Fan for some time before uttering, "You! What do you think you're doing!?"

The other captains immediately surrounded Mo Fan and glared at him. The Mages that were working for the government quickly went over to Tong Shang and helped him up.

Tong Shang wiped the blood on his face with a dark face and a fierce look in his eyes. He shoved the people away and returned to the same spot. He said coldly, "Mo Fan, I will accept the kick, since I've neglected my duty for making a wrong decision that led to unnecessary deaths. However, I won't go easy on you if you insist on stopping me. Even if you came in first in the World College Tournament, even if you are the savior of the Ancient Capital, I will not show any mercy!"

Tong Shang waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to back away.

"As expected of a government official! Your mistake has caused so many deaths, yet you still think you can just get over it with a single 'sorry'!" Shao Ru was utterly displeased by Tong Shang's attitude too.

"Humph, who do you think you are to dare point your fingers at Mr. Tong!?" Wang Hua snapped. He turned to Wang Dakuo and said, "Uncle, you are on Mr. Tong's side, right?"

"Well, I'll have to discuss it with the Elders of the Magic Association first," Wang Dakuo deferred.

Wang Dakuo was a representative of Yantai's Magic Association. He was actually quite interested in lending a hand. As the saying went, "The boat floats high as the tide rises." If the city was able to grow, it would attract more talents, thus benefiting the Magic Association, too. The Penglai Magic Association was only at the scale of a local Magic Association. Their influence was still too weak.

Even though Nie Lengshan was a representative of the military, he was only placed in charge of the operation. He did not have a say in the safety and development of the city.

If Tong Shang insisted on proceeding with his plan, it was likely that the person in charge of the military in Yantai would agree too!

The Giant Purple Lindens in the outer Mount Kunyu were already attractive to them, let alone this Giant Purple Sacred Linden that was like a blessing from Heavens. They could easily claim the resources now that the ruler of the outer Mount Kunyu had died!

"This battle is only the beginning. For the sake of Yantai, for the sake of the people and the growth of the city, we shall not be afraid of bleeding or sacrificing ourselves. I believe many people would be proud that they had fought to their death under the Giant Purple Sacred Linden," Tong Shang stated pompously.

The Captains were obviously following Tong Shang's lead. They were willing to risk their lives for his proposal.

Nie Lengshan did not say a word. If the authorities decided to make Outer Mount Kunyu a part of the safe zone to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, he would have no choice but to continue fighting.

There was nothing Mo Fan could do to a government official like Tong Shang. Even if he asked Councilman Zhu Meng or Chairman Shao Zheng for help, it was unlikely they could convince the authorities to give up on the potentially bright future of the city with the small risks they were taking. Even though many Hunters had died, they had all come willingly. They were responsible for their own lives. Besides, Tong Shang had not done anything wrong. He had gathered a strong army to eliminate the Hillmen as soon as he was alerted to their existence. He had managed to save the Hunters that were in the danger of being wiped out.

The surviving Hunters were actually grateful for what he had done!

As a matter of fact, some other Hunters had alerted the government about the Bronze-Fang Hillmen before Mo Fan asked Mr. Gao to relay the information on his behalf. Therefore, apart from killing the Bronze-Fang Hillman who was the second leader of the Hillmen, Mo Fan had not contributed much, so he did not really have a say in the decision, either!

The power was still in the hands of the authorities. The only thing that Mo Fan could do was give the man a kick, knowing that he could not do anything to him in return!

"Mo Fan, forget it, it's their own business," Zhao Manyan advised him.

"Nie Lengshan, can you do me a favor? Can you take a picture if you happen to see a pattern like this when you're exploring the tree?" Mo Fan did not forget about the Totem Beast. He showed Nie Lengshan the Seal of the Totem Beast that they had derived.

"Not a problem," Nie Lengshan gladly promised.

"By the way, please be careful when you're exploring the tree. It's not as simple as it looks," Mo Fan said firmly.

"Do you have any evidence to back up your claim? If you do, I believe the Councilmen will reject the proposal to claim the tree." Nie Lengshan had a feeling that Mo Fan's worries were on point.

"I don't," Mo Fan said.

Perhaps they might find something interesting if they went higher up the tree, but their strength and condition prevented them from going any further. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was already their limit.

Nie Lengshan fell silent.

He believed they should treat Mo Fan's instincts more seriously. Unfortunately, it was not enough to convince the authorities and officials of Yantai, who seemed to have foreseen a bright future for the city...

------

"Mr. Tong, we are having some difficulties retrieving the corpses of our soldiers," the Captain with a rough face said.

"We must retrieve them, even if it's difficult. We shouldn't abandon them just because their remains are all over the place!" Tong Shang was not an idiot. He knew how to earn people's respect. If he did not retrieve those who had died in the battle, it would dishearten the people!

"Well, that's not really the problem..." the Captain was about to explain when they suddenly heard loud noises from the tree above.

The low-level demon sparrows had left their territory. They started to utter piercing screech while flying above the humans who were standing below the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

"What do these demon sparrows want? Are they trying to drive us away?" Tong Shang let out a hollow laugh, looking at the low-level demon sparrows.

The demon sparrows were the weakest species on the tree. They were a little stronger than ordinary Servant-class creatures. They only had an advantage in numbers. It would be annoying if they attacked in huge groups, but the army would not have much trouble eliminating them.

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were the real threat to the army. Their strength was comparable to the Hillmen's. They resided in the layer above the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger, at an altitude of around four thousand meters. There were lots of Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows at that height. They were like nobles when compared to the low-level demon sparrows!

"Just ignore them as long as they don't attack us… oh, the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows have returned. I didn't expect them to have such a strong hatred toward the Hillmen. They actually chased the Hillmen so far away," Tong Shang murmured.

"Yeah, I bet they killed every Hillman that managed to escape. It did save us lots of time and trouble. Unfortunately, we will be fighting them fairly soon," Captain Sun said.

"They are quite friendly to humans. It's good that they have returned. They can keep an eye on these demon sparrows for us. Their cries are so annoying!" Tong Shang said impatiently.

Tong Shang was planning to assign a troop to Nie Lengshan and let him scout the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. It would be great if they could find out all the species that were living on the tree, so they could figure out how much manpower they would need to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

---

Fresh blood was dripping into the soil under the tree. Some fell onto the shoulder of a Maga in her thirties. A hand suddenly reached over to prevent the blood from falling onto the girl's shoulder, just so she would not be soaked in blood.

The female Hunter turned around with a smile and said to the caring man, "We might be able to earn a fortune this time. We can live a comfortable life, even if we stop working for a year or two. I'm missing Xiao Dongxia a little. We should really spend more time with her."

"Mm, you're right. We'll rest for a year and focus on improving our cultivation, to see if we can reach the Advanced Level, even if it's only one of us. We won't have to risk our lives in the wild just to make a living anymore. I've already contacted the people of the Lu Clan. It's better to be working for a renowned clan since we're planning to settle down. That way, Xiao Dongxia will have a bright future ahead too. She won't have to risk her life like us..." Dong Jia said with a smile.

The woman nodded heavily. She was about to speak when she heard a chirp nearby.

She was instantly wary and looked around. She let out a relieved sigh when she discovered that it was the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows who had returned from their hunt.

"It's them, they have done us a great favor this time," the female Hunter, Qing Shu said with a smile. "I remember Xiao Dongxia has a pet sparrow too. They really are our mascots."

Qing Shu saw the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow descending slowly. She reached her hand out, holding a piece of biscuit to express her friendliness to the demon sparrow.

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow was less than two meters away from Qing Shu. It suddenly beat its wings and produced a gust of wind that cut at Qing Shu murderously!

"Look out!" Dong Jia immediately cast a Light Barrier to protect Qing Shu as soon as he sensed the approaching danger.

Qing Shu took a few steps back in fear. Luckily, the Light Barrier had appeared in time, or the gust of wind would have stabbed right through her! Qing Shu was utterly confused. Why was the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow attacking her, when they had always been friendly toward them? Did she do something that had enraged the demon sparrows?