Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

The captain was jolted back to reality by the sharp pain that struck his chin.

Several bloody teeth fell to the ground.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"

The pain rendered the man unable to speak; he could only cover his mouth and roll back and forth on the ground, seemingly breaking many teeth in the process. His stomach was spasming uncontrollably, making him look utterly miserable.

He kicked the remote control off the ground and then crushed it in mid-air.

Okay, that's all.

Sodium chloride coldly watched the hunter leader struggling on the ground, then, losing interest, surveyed the surrounding crowd.

Big Bob had already dealt with the vast majority of bounty hunters. Those machetes, which were like toys, didn't even qualify to leave a mark on his thick armor. They would be smashed away by his thick fists or sliced ​​into a bloody mist by his spinning chainsaw.

Those bounty hunters were as fragile and powerless as toy soldiers in a child's hands in front of Big Bob.

"Damn it, what's going on?!"

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Finally, unable to withstand the combined attack, the bounty hunters lost the will to continue fighting.

Such a fragile employment relationship means that when morale is lost, everything will be lost.

The scattered individuals dropped their weapons or equipment and fled into the darkness for their lives.

Unfortunately, the villagers of Dishui Village were exhausted and had no strength left to chase after the escaped guys.

Grani finally had a chance to catch his breath after pinning the last bounty hunter who couldn't escape to the ground with a single shot.

To minimize casualties among the villagers, Grani practically charged in and out of the bounty hunters' territory seven times. If she hadn't been constantly drawing fire, the villagers would have had a hard time defeating these bloodthirsty bounty hunters in a direct confrontation.

While their courage was commendable, this simple enthusiasm and sense of justice could not compensate for the villagers' enormous disadvantage in combat.

Having a large number of people can sometimes be a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the hunters' morale had collapsed.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. He had run out of throwing knives at his waist, and his gun was covered in blood and scratches.

However, there are more important things now.

Grani looked at the big white man who was turning off the chainsaw, and the silver-haired girl beside him.

The race of the two is not discernible.

The woman was likely an Agorian, or some other rare race, because she didn't have animal ears or any other obvious racial characteristics.

However, that woman's aura...

very dangerous.

Meanwhile, Chlor was calming down the remaining villagers.

There was no joy after the victory in this battle; only a sorrow permeated the air.

The hunters' crossbow bolts were reaping the lives of the villagers. Although this had severely damaged the bounty hunters, the villagers of Drip Village were essentially just ordinary people, not soldiers or mercenaries.

After the initial excitement subsided, what followed was lingering fear and dread.

Many people are treating their wounds, and there are also cries of pain.

That's because of the grief-stricken cries of family members when their loved one can no longer wake up.

There is no joy, no glory; for ordinary people, killing is nothing but a shadow and a nightmare.

Fortunately, the hunters weren't as fanatical and high-spirited as one might have imagined; otherwise, the tragedy would have been even more devastating.

All I can say is that this is the best possible outcome.

Grani finally breathed a sigh of relief; his efforts had not been in vain.

But how should these two deal with this?

As people who have been there so far, the other party has not shown any hostility; at least they put away their weapons and helped them. Therefore, we cannot rashly question them.

But in places like this, you can't trust anyone.

This is also the most basic way of survival.

"Thank you for your help. If it weren't for you, no one can imagine how many families that cannon would have destroyed."

Coral nervously thanked the two of them beside Grani.

Are you hunters from another group?

"Yes, but we're not like those small fry. We're not as greedy as those guys. There are very few of us, so instead of risking our lives to snatch this little girl, we'd rather cooperate with you."

"Thank you for saving us, but now is not the time to talk about treasure."

Grani glanced at the villagers behind him, who were filled with a somber atmosphere, helping each other to go home. The injured were being treated, while the deceased would be properly buried by their families on the hill behind the village.

"Now is the time to talk about the treasure. I can tell you're not a hunter, so you don't know how many bounty hunters this treasure has attracted. The group you drove away is just one of the most active ones. Do you think that driving these people away will stop anyone from targeting Dripwater Village?"

Chapter 284 [Heading into the Mountains]

"Treasure? What a despicable word."

***On the cliff, looking at the strangely shaped hills in the valley, which have been eroded by wind and sun over countless years, they have become what they are today.

However, no one can understand how the shape of this rock was formed in nature.

Because the hollow cylinders are arranged neatly at the top.

Compared to naturally formed structures, the highly industrial-looking, orderly arrangement and uniform size are definitely the work of humankind.

As the representative of the gods on earth, the man disdained to use the names of those lowly creatures to describe this place.

This isn't some treasure trove, it's a miracle!

These are traces left by the gods in the human world.

Take the metal fragments out of his pocket.

It was a piece of metal scrap picked up from the valley. Although it was only a small piece, its grotesque cross-section showed how violently it had been torn off.

However, the cross-section is not the key point.

The man held it above his head as if it were some rare treasure, the moonlight shimmering on its smooth surface.

The brilliance emanating from this seemingly insignificant metal fragment is something that no manufacturer in the entire Terra continent can produce; it is a true miracle.

Its manufacturing principle surpasses the hardness of all known metallic materials. Although it is also a metal, the hardness of this metal has surpassed any manufacturing process currently used on Terra.

Incomprehensible words were printed on the smooth paint surface.

It is not any known language at present; at most, we can recognize that its grammatical structure is similar to the oldest Victorian language.

This unassuming fragment contains traces of the divine.

Such a thing is something that the people of Terra could not possibly create.

But it truly exists now!

It exists in the hands of men.

It's like humans discovering the remains of an alien board game.

Although the underlying principles are incomprehensible, the gap is as vast as that between primitive people and those who did not understand the concept of heat death in the universe.

But the discovery itself is exciting enough!

Because that is enough proof of the existence of gods.

And the existence of "divine people"!

They possess a level of technology far exceeding that of today, yet they use similar materials and even share a somewhat related language.

More advanced technology, more ancient writing, and an incomprehensible technological gap.

All of this is incredibly exciting.

"Those lowly creatures don't understand what they're looking for at all. They think it's some shallow treasure, but it's actually a true miracle! No one can value a god."

The man tapped his cane, and the surrounding figures began to stir, slowly making their way down the mountain.

"Hmph, we must be the first to arrive. Those fools will only blaspheme the miracle. Hmph, a bunch of ignorant, stupid, and backward inferior races."

·············

"You mean, you want to cooperate?"

"Yes, we are not those greedy guys. If we cooperate, it should be a win-win situation."

The space seemed unusually cramped in the small room, especially with the burly man named Big Bob standing there.

The wooden table, which was a bit small for him, couldn't quite support the heavyweight's arms.

Feeling that the table was about to break, Big Bob could only cross his arms, lean back in his chair, and wait for the other party's reply.

"How do you want to divide it?"

"It would be more appropriate to figure out what this so-called 'treasure' is before discussing it."

The silver-haired girl next to Big Bob tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table, propped her chin up with one hand, and said lazily.

Indeed, although their attitudes were quite unpleasant and their personalities were incredibly eccentric, what they said was absolutely correct.

The only known fact about the so-called "Knight's Treasure" is that someone once dug up gold coins used as burial goods near Drip Village, but no one knows what the treasure itself actually contains.

Although the word "treasure" easily evokes images of money or valuable burial goods, you never know.

What if it's the tomb owner's favorite painting? Or even just a landscape scene? Something without intrinsic value can still be called a "treasure."

Therefore, everything is full of unknowns.

No one knows what the treasure they are looking for actually is.

Grani, are they... trustworthy?

Although it wasn't said explicitly, Chlor's worried look conveyed this meaning to Grani.

These two men certainly exude an air of untrustworthiness, and Grani would rather not work with any bounty hunters if he could.

However, her only companion is currently missing. Although Grani is not worried about the other party's safety due to their strength, if Grani, who has no support, sets off alone with the defenseless Chlor, she may encounter attacks and ambushes from other bounty hunter groups.

This time the villagers helped us, but what about next time?

Grani, as a Victoria Ranger, is capable of fighting, at least enough to go toe-to-toe with those bounty hunters. However, if he were alone, the risk would be too high, and Grani cannot take unnecessary risks.

She had promised to protect the brave little village chief.

Therefore, additional combat power is necessary.

At this moment, the unknown combat power of these two has become something Grani has to consider.

Needless to say, Big Bob's strength was extraordinary, judging from the remaining armor on his body. Without any external support, most people would have trouble even walking in this outfit, but this man not only moved with ease in the recent battle, but he also didn't even hear his opponent's heavy breathing.

This shows just how terrifying the opponent's power is.

As for the silver-haired woman, although she looked very thin, Grani felt a tremor run through her.

Yes, the other party's aura was like facing some invisible monster lurking in the darkness, only you could see a small part of the monster sticking out of the darkness, pretending to be harmless.

So terrifying.

Both of them are formidable fighters, and if Grani wants to take Chlor to find the treasure, these two fighters are indispensable.

All that's left is a matter of trust.

Whether or not someone trusts you is the most important thing.

Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust. However, in the world of business, you can't completely trust anyone.

This is a truth proven by the blood of countless people.

"...How about a 50/50 split? No matter what we find in the end, no matter what the treasure is, we will split it equally according to the contract, unless it is something indivisible. If that's the case, then we'll discuss it later. We have no way of knowing what's inside the so-called treasure. How about that?"

"Okay, let's go."

Chapter 285 [That Kind of Thing...]

"So they finally figured it out? Did those idiots really not know what they were doing?"

Rhodes Island, central control room. Kal'tsit stares at the personnel list and the confidential information that was once stored deep within the data terminal on the electronic screen.

The voiceprint recognition results were completely consistent.