An hour later, the darkest hour of the night before dawn came.

Murphy had returned to the Andman Hills from his battlefield tour, and the witch hunters' wounded and family members were escorted back to the Crimson Keep by veterans who had been renamed the Cadman People's Army and the witch hunters who were still fighting.

With their state and speed of travel, it would take them four or five days to get there, just enough time for Baroness Miriam and her administrative team to deal with the 1,000 men that were coming.

Once again, Murphy was glad that he had earned Miriam's loyalty.

With the help of such a powerful administrative student, he rarely needs to deal with the affairs of the territory himself.

And tonight, although the little players are having a good time, casualties are still inevitable, after all, it is a big melee of nearly 1,000 people, and there will always be unlucky ghosts who have problems for various reasons.

But the good news is that only 18 of the 70 little players hung up after the battle.

This fully proves that his young players have adapted to the game's overly realistic combat mode, they are becoming more and more proficient, and they are no longer afraid of real battles, and have begun to apply the cunning nature of the Fourth Scourge to the battle.

The most prominent example is Murphy's "disciple" in the way of summoning, the little rich brother, touching you poor.

This guy relied on the obscene "pretending to be a corpse" and the silent sneak attack of the little manticore, and one person and one pet actually brushed 9 heads when they counted the results after the battle!

That's enough to rank in the top three of this battle.

But touching you poor obviously has its own troubles.

"Master Murphy, come and see my stinky treasure! Why did it grow so big all of a sudden? It's like blowing, I just left it alone for half an hour, and it became like this! ”

Touching you in a panic, he dragged his little manticore, which was whining and screaming, like an unhappy kitten, and ran to Master Murphy's side. He has been transferred to a summoner, but his skill training has not yet improved, and the little manticore, nicknamed "Stinky Treasure", is still in his infancy and cannot complete the contract mark with him.

But after a night of fighting, the situation seems to have changed subtly.

The little manticore, which was originally only the size of a human head, has grown to the size of a golden retriever, so that the poor man who could hold it can now only lead it.

However, the little manticore was a little resistant to Murphy.

It is estimated that they sensed the great threat of the vampire in front of them, which is the instinct of the beasts to avoid danger.

"What did you feed it?"

Murphy was also startled when he saw the manticore lion growing so quickly.

Although he is a summoner, he is not an old man, and his knowledge of astral creatures is still in the learning stage, and he is limited to the knowledge recorded in Trith's Codex.

"Didn't feed anything"

The rich brother replied with a dodgy look.

As a result, under Murphy's slightly stern gaze, he lowered his head, like a child who had done something bad, and whispered:

"It's just that it seems to like the taste of the heart, and I want to stop it, but I was almost slapped by the stinky treasure, and it also protects the food."

"I said it before, don't let you feed it indiscriminately!"

Murphy scolded:

"The habits of astral creatures are not the same as those of the beasts of the material world, and something will happen if you mess around like this! You'll have to train it according to standard domestication, otherwise it will probably abandon you in the next second if its wildness sprouts too early. ”

"Ahh

Brother Fu was taken aback.

He glanced at the little manticore lying at his feet and whining like a big cat, and couldn't help but want to ask more, but the next moment a surprised voice sounded from the side:

"How can there be a just-shelled astral manticore here? And so prematurely entered the growth period? What exactly did you feed it? ”

Mama Marianne, the old hunter who came with Natalie, looked at the little manticore, and said in a surprised tone:

"It's still an unmarked manticore, and at this rate of growth, it will be fully mature in seven days at most, and it will be summoned by the astral plane and return to the world where it belongs. I don't know what you're going to do, but you'll never want to tame it then. ”

Brother Fu couldn't understand what this NPC was saying.

But Murphy understood, and he did not get up, but sat down on the stone, looked at Lady Marianne, and asked:

"You seem familiar with the Astral Minterlayer?"

"I'm familiar with all astral creatures, and I'm an expert in astral creature hunting."

Mama Marianne also looked at the overly handsome but young vampire in front of her, she did not show too much enthusiasm but also did not show too coldness, but just casually explained:

"Giant beasts like the Astral Magoon have learned to control their growth rate in the barren environment of the Astral Plane to help them survive better.

Once the Astral Manticore senses that there is enough food around them, they will grow rapidly and reach maturity in a very short period of time, and then continue to hone their hunting skills until their own strength has grown to the limit, and they will complete a formidable challenge similar to the Black Iron Trial.

If the Manticores survive that challenge, they will become true astral predators, and then slowly advance to the realm of 'legendary creatures'.

They are naturally giant beasts, and their talents and powers are far from comparable to those of real-life creatures.

Even for me, the Astral Magoon is a very difficult opponent.

If your Summoner Champion wants to sign a summoning contract with it, he only has seven days left, and failing to do so means that he will say goodbye to the overly well-raised manticore lion forever. ”

"Thank you for the information, it means a lot to my warriors."

Murphy turned his head and told the little rich brother about the information about Marianne's mother, and when he heard the bad news, his face turned pale.

"You must complete the Black Iron Trial in seven days, my warrior, the Manticore will not recognize the weak."

The vampire reminded:

"When you're ready, I'll help you tame it."

"Seven days?"

Touching you poor glanced at his current character level of only level 5 and a piece of entry-level skills, he felt the pressure, and after saying goodbye to Lord Murphy, Brother Fu immediately contacted Brother Meow, who was still chasing and killing the rout.

"I ordered a quick upgrade package!"

Touching your poor side and stroking the little manticore, who is still well-behaved after eating and drinking, said to Brother Meow on the private chat channel:

"Seven days! No, six days! I must pass the Black Iron Trial within six days, you hurry up and discuss the details with me, money is not a problem! ”

"Okay!"

Brother Meow agreed very happily this time.

Because he already had the "Trial Secret Method" in his hand, he immediately replied to the little rich brother:

"Allow me to take a moment of your time, little rich brother, and I will introduce you to the Father and Savior of nature."

"Ah???h

The little rich brother was stunned in place.

Why does this guy talk like this?

He seriously doubted that he was talking to the wrong person, or did he say that Brother Meow had gone crazy because he had been too deep in the play? ——

"It's a pity that more than 200 people were not saved"

Murphy looked at Natalie, who still had a fighting aura in front of her, and several powerful characters behind her, Mama Marianne, who had just spoken, was a silver-level hunter, and several others were also silver-level.

This is almost the final essence of the White Oak Warband.

It's miserable.

Even if Murphy didn't know much about the Old Church of Nature, he knew that the White Oak Warband was once one of the three Guardian Warbands of the Avalonian Church, and at its peak there were more than 10,000 people! At the moment, there is only a tenth left, and they are all old, weak, sick and disabled, and almost all of their elite have been consumed in the ten years of war, which is enough to prove that the Portia Confederacy is not a good place to gnaw.

Because of the defense against the Black Plague, the people here are all strong, and the army that has completed military reform like the Plantagenet Kingdom has only occupied half of the territory after ten years of fighting.

It is said that even now, when the war is essentially over, there are still some elite Sico hussars who persist in fighting against the Pioneer Legion in the mountains and forests of the Sico Counts in northern Transnesia.

Even the city behind them, the capital of the Confederacy of Portia, had been destroyed in the war two years earlier.

It can be said that every part of this land is sprinkled with the blood of witch hunters, and at present, their relationship with this land is far from over.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Lord Murphy."

Natalie whispered:

"Your willingness to help us is enough, I know that you have mobilized almost all the forces under your command in tonight's battle, and I already feel you. Your sincerity. I just want to ask you, is this condition you gave still valid? ”

She retrieved the lord's edict from her psionic bag that Murphy had written to her the last time she had left.

Although it was a joke at the time, it can be seen from the good preservation of the edict that Natalie had already planned in mind and left a way out for herself and her compatriots that sounded very outrageous.

The growth rate of this girl after her father's death is really emotional.

"Of course, I've always been a man of my word."

Murphy waved his hand and promised:

"From the moment you set foot in Transnesia, you have become the people of this land, and no one can deny your rights and obligations to live here. Of course, I feel compelled to explain to you, as a lord, a few points that you need to pay attention to next. ”

"Well, please, we'll hear you."

Natalie nodded, and then she heard Murphy say:

"First of all, throw away your attitude of not sharing the sky with evil things! The land welcomes all homeless, and as long as they obey the law, no one can trouble them in the name of race or habit.

From tonight onwards, you are no longer demon hunters, but ordinary people in Translasia, and you can keep your faith, but you cannot force others to obey you!

Can it be done? ”

"Yes."

Natalie nodded in agreement without asking for the opinions of the others.

Among the other old captains, except for old Eugene, who had some complaints, everyone else also felt that there was nothing wrong with this one.

"Secondly, there is a 'Head of Faith' in my realm, her name is Jules Belinda, and we call her Mama Jules. She is also a member of the Old Church of Nature, and she will be in charge of all faith-related matters in my territory, and I have carved out a church district for her in the inner city.

You can rebuild the Avalon Sanctuary there.

It is even possible to apply for a grant from the Crimson Archon, but I will tell you in advance that the inner city is now in ruins and overrun by astral shadows and beasts that cross the border from time to time.

In addition, if you want to build your church on my territory, you must contribute to it! ”

Murphy rubbed his chin.

He looked at the witch hunters in front of him, and after a few seconds, he said:

"Don't use the name 'White Oak Warband' in the future, since you want to start a new life, you have to break with the past, of course, I don't care how you call yourself internally, at least externally, you have to use a new title to summarize your forces and organizations.

Let's call it the 'Adventurer's Guild'.

Humans and animals are harmless and clearly indicate what you have to do next.

I need you to use your spare energy, even if you are no longer fighting, to use your superior fighting skills to train my warriors, and all the young people in my realm who yearn for adventure.

You will be the best instructors, especially in the realm of natural psionic powers.

You will be the first President, Lady Natalie, and I will instruct my Archon to issue you three titles of 'Knight of Executive' for your convenience.

If you can carve out your own territory in the future, I don't mind giving you the title of baroness or even countess.

Do you accept this? ”

Natalie turned around this time and discussed a few words with the veteran captains behind her.

There was not much to say about this request, and according to the lord, he did not intend to involve the witch hunters in the day-to-day defense of his realm and the rebuilding of the army.

That alone was a relief to Mama Marianne.

She's really had enough of fighting.

"We don't have a problem."

Natalie turned to Murphy and replied:

"But are we free to choose the location of the Avalon Sanctuary and the address of the Adventurer's Guild?"

"Of course, it's your right."

Murphy nodded, then he held up his third finger and said:

"The third requirement is that my warriors will be sent to rescue you tonight, so their rewards will also be paid by you, and each of my warriors must be guaranteed a weapon or armor above the level of Seiko veteran from you.

Commemorative weapons are the best.

In addition, I need you to give me 200 demon hunting horses that you have tamed in secret methods, and send someone to train my warriors in riding.

They will pay for their studies.

Finally, I need the hunter uniform of the White Oak Warband, the new one will do, the old one will be better, 70 sets will suffice. ”

"Huh?"

This strange request made Natalie's warband leader widen, and she asked rhetorically:

"That's it? Don't you ask us to disarm? ”

"Disarming you, who am I going to turn to if the Crimson Keep and your village are in trouble?"

Murphy rolled his eyes and said:

"The Adventurer's Guild is responsible for some of the investigation of crises or potential crises, which requires you to bring your own weapons, and you should also know about the Black Plague.

When the Plague comes, I think you'll have to take up arms and take part in the fight, if you don't want to! ”

"Needless to say, this is our duty, and it was the duty of the church at Avalon."

Natalie nodded in agreement.

She waited in place for Murphy to say the next conditions and constraints, but after waiting for a few seconds, the conditions did not wait, but waited for Murphy's impatient expulsion:

"What are you doing here? Don't need to go to work? Ladies and gentlemen. ”

"But."

Old Eugene behind Natalie couldn't help but speak:

"Is there only two so-called requirements? Shouldn't there be more harsh conditions, and then we can bargain and finally negotiate a mutually acceptable condition? Your generosity will make us uneasy. ”

"Oh, you mean, you want to bargain with me?"

Murphy smiled wryly, and said:

"But I have nothing more to give you, and as I said, Transcia is a land of freedom. As long as you obey the laws here, pay your taxes on time, and fulfill your obligations, it's your business to live what you want, and I don't care about it. ”

The leader of a group of witch hunters looked at each other.

They whispered and turned to leave, and Natalie bowed deeply to Murphy at the end, and she whispered:

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Murphy, and I apologize to you for my previous recklessness and rudeness."

"It doesn't have to be that way, I know you still hate me, after all, the deaths of four of your team members are related to me, and I don't mind taking this hatred. Of course, I would be more satisfied if it was to complete the settlement of grievances in the way of a 1v1 and fair challenge in the future. ”

Murphy waved his hand again, not wanting to say anything more.

After Natalie left, the shadows floating beside him allowed Lady Tracey to step out, and the anger in her heart dissipated a lot.

After all, little Murphy was very well-behaved tonight, and he didn't make eye contact with Xia Ni's female fox.

"Gone, home."

Tracey called out, playing with the Serenade Scepter to open the teleportation to the Vulture Corridor, and said:

"The blood is good, but it doesn't seem to be suitable for me anymore, I suddenly want to eat supper, Murphy, you make me a serving, ask for egg cakes and side dishes."

"Of course, my lady."

Murphy got up and smiled, grabbing Trace's waist forward.

This overly intimate gesture made Tracy glare at him, but finally did not remove his hand, and at the moment of entering the teleportation, Murphy whispered to Traissy:

"You've just gotten jealous, haven't you? About me and Xia Ni's hypocrisy? ”

"Whoever is jealous, you little bastard, who loves whoever wants, I'm happy to stay away from me. Feed! Someone is watching! Other! Not. The smell of blood in my mouth is so bad! Brush your teeth and go! ”

(End of chapter)