Astral Apostle

Chapter 194: Appreciation (1)

The palace of the Terra Empire was located in the capital’s inner city. It was a group of castles that occupied a large area. The main castle was the most towering and eye-catching, and it served as the administrative core of the King and the Imperial Council’s exercise of power. There were four castles around it, each with its own uses. They were connected to each other by bridges.

A high wall separated the palace from the civilians. It was heavily guarded, and outsiders were not allowed to enter.

In the mouths of the people of the capital, this castle was usually called the “Golden Fortress.” The meaning of this name was mainly to praise the spirit of the royal family of Tarn. In fact, there was nothing golden about the palace castle at all. Instead, it was blue in color. The outer walls were hung with flags with the Tarn family’s emblem and the Empire’s mark.

Even after being in the Mutant Beast world for so long, this was the first time Zhou Jing had stepped into the imperial court.

He followed Keriber through the inner city gate, walking along the main road leading to the castle known as the Path of Glory. They arrived at the entrance of the Golden Castle, and with the supervision of the Royal City guards, they temporarily removed their weapons before entering the premises.

The evening had just passed, and night had fallen. The Golden Castle was brightly lit, and the guards who had just changed shifts were patrolling diligently.

The Golden Castle was heavily guarded. In order to prevent supernatural beings from infiltrating, there were many Mutant Blood Warriors guarding the Golden Castle and the royal guards.

Usually, a Mutant Blood Warrior would lead several ordinary guards for a regular patrol team. There were also sentries made up entirely of Mutant Blood Warriors guarding the area.

The Mutant Beast Hunters were not allowed to walk around in the Golden Castle unattended. Zhou Jing and Keriber followed the two teams of royal guards to the Imperial Conference Hall.

This time, it was not an official audience but an emergency meeting. After learning of Keriber’s report, King Becky·Tarn immediately convened an Imperial Conference to discuss and summoned Zhou Jing, the party concerned, to ask about the details of the chaos in Deep Rock City.

At this moment, as soon as Zhou Jing stepped into the Imperial Conference Hall, he found a few important ministers waiting there. Many of them were familiar faces, and they were all people he had seen when he was using Bill’s identity. Among them was Roman.

“Your Majesty, ministers, this is the Imperial Hunter, Jace. He was the one who personally stopped the atrocities of the bandits and prevented the tragedy of Deep Rock City from happening.”

Keriber stepped forward and introduced Zhou Jing.

......

King Becky and many ministers looked at Zhou Jing in unison. This was the first time they had met, so they could not help but size him up.

Zhou Jing also pretended to sweep his gaze across everyone’s faces as though seeing them for the first time.

“You’ve done well.” Becky nodded steadily. “I’m glad to see a hero with a sense of honor and responsibility like you in the team of Imperial Hunters.”

Zhou Jing nodded slightly. His attitude was calm, not excited by the King’s commendation.

This was because Jason was different from Bill. He portrayed a powerful hunter who had experienced hundreds of battles and life and death situations. Being strong and steady was the image he needed to play.

Seeing how calm he was, no one was surprised. All experts had their own temperaments.

Becky didn’t mind and asked about the details of the chaos in Deep Rock City. Zhou Jing recounted the story, only leaving out the existence of Lynen.

After hearing the details, a look of surprise appeared on Becky’s face.

“This group of bandits called the Sons of Mutant Blood have nearly 40 Mutant Blood Warriors. Most of them were killed by you alone?”

Many ministers present also looked at him in suspicion.

They had already heard the report before, and this was what made them question it the most.

Sensing the distrust of many ministers, Keriber spoke up for them and explained.

“Everyone, there’s no need to doubt Jace’s strength. He’s also one of the top elites among the third enhancement hunters. After joining the empire for more than half a year, he has already become one of the top experts among the empire’s hunters. Even against a fourth enhancement hunter, the latter might not necessarily win against him. Most importantly, Jace still has the determination to continue strengthening. I think highly of him. Perhaps he can become another fifth enhancement hunter after me!”

Hearing this, everyone could not help but size up Zhou Jing in surprise again.

It was not easy to obtain Keriber’s high praise. They did not expect Keriber to think so highly of this hunter called Jace.

A Mutant Beast Hunter with determination and potential who might reach the fifth enhancement in the future was someone valued highly by everyone.

Even the leader of the royal guards, Irene·Tarn, also looked at him with interest.

“Hehe, you’re really a respected veteran hunter. I hope that your future enhancements will go smoothly and that the Empire will have another fifth enhancement warrior as a pillar of support.” Roman smiled and said some polite words.

“I’ll try my best.” Zhou Jing did not say much.

King Becky waved his hand and did not continue the topic. He instead addressed Zhou Jing solemnly,

“Jace, you’ve done a lot of good. If the Sons of Mutant Blood had succeeded, it would have made the other bandits feel that evil was easy. Fortunately, you foiled their scheme and didn’t let things continue to deteriorate. Otherwise, the success of the Sons of Mutant Blood would have attracted more people to imitate them.”

After speaking, Becky paused. His expression was both angry and helpless as he continued,

“But even if this group of bandits fails, what happened in Deep Rock City will still have a bad impact, triggering more people’s ambitions to do evil. If there’s a first time, there will be a second time. In the future, there might be more newcomers who, after obtaining the power of Mutant Blood, choose to trample on the law…”

Roman agreed at the right time, “Yes, this is just like what happened to Jason in White Plains Town back then. That person had failed to assassinate the lord. Although he died, the impact had already been caused. Later on, the Lord of White Plains Town was kidnapped and killed precisely because someone imitated him… Once such a thing happens, it can’t be salvaged.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Back then, the assassination attempt in White Plains Town made everyone present resent the man who started this whole affair.

As people with authority, they would never allow their own safety to be threatened. Anyone who dared to disobey this rule was the public enemy of the ruling class and considered a rebel.

Although everyone knew that the Lord of White Plains Town was in the wrong, they still treated Jason as a criminal… If one were to set a precedent of resisting the ruling authority with an assassination, more people would think that there was still such a choice in the future.

These ministers vaguely understood the principle of guarding against the mouths of the masses. Unfortunately, even if they wanted to stop the people from discussing this matter, they could not do so. After all, the degree of development of civilization was limited, and the royal authority could not control what happened too far away. It was not like high-tech civilizations that could seal everyone’s mouths at any time.

It was also because the instigator, Jason, was already dead. Otherwise, they would have long sent out bounties for him all over the country and would not stop until he was dead. They still had not given up on investigating the mysterious murderer who killed the Lord of White Plains Town.

However, what these ministers did not know was that the murderer had already arrived in front of them, but no one recognized him.

Zhou Jing’s expression was calm as if he had not heard anything.

“He’s talking about Jason, but I’m Jace. What business is it of mine??”

Becky coughed to quiet the crowd before slowly continuing,

“No matter what, the matter in Deep Rock City will spread sooner or later, so I’ve decided to hold a public execution. I’ll judge and execute the leader of the Sons of Mutant Blood in public. I’ll let everyone see the outcome of the bandits and the strength of the Imperial Hunters!”

Everyone was not surprised. Before Zhou Jing arrived, they had already discussed this plan.

Since they could not stop the news from spreading, they could only reverse the direction of the rumors and emphasize the fate of the bandits and Jace’s heroic image.

At this moment, Becky looked at Zhou Jing and revealed a rare smile. “Jace, you’ve made a great contribution this time. I’ll give you a corresponding reward to thank you for your contribution. Do you have any requests?”

Zhou Jing pretended to think for a moment and said, “I don’t have anything to request. I don’t care about money. This is the duty of the empire’s hunters. Compared to that, I would like to personally execute Dorton.”

Hearing this, Becky was a little surprised. He pondered for a few seconds and didn’t refuse. “Okay, since you caught the criminal yourself, you’ll resolve it.”

After saying that, as he looked at Zhou Jing’s calm expression, Becky admired him even more.

“You’re not bad. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Zhou Jing nodded in greeting, putting on a cold front to the end.

After chatting about the matter, the meeting ended. Zhou Jing bade farewell to the King and the others and followed Keriber out of the Golden Castle.

“Now that the king knows that there’s someone like me, in the future, if Jace/Jason stands on the Empire’s side, his path will be easier.”

This time, there were too many people present, so Zhou Jing had no intention of revealing any information about the tribes’ independence plans. Moreover, this was his first time meeting the King, so he did not trust him enough.

Although he did not take the opportunity to cause trouble, he had obtained the King’s appreciation and made an impression. In the future, it would be feasible to find a reason to ask for a meeting, unlike before when he could not establish a connection with the King.

“Now that I’ve found a channel to reveal the conspiracy of the tribe’s independence, I can wait for the opportunity to cause trouble…” Zhou Jing thought to himself.

He had already decided to hedge his bets. Bill would take the Roman faction, while Jason would naturally take the Empire’s side.

Now that the situation was unclear, he could place his bets on both sides. It was safer that way.

Watching Zhou Jing leave, Roman retracted his gaze, his eyes flickering.

A hunter with the potential of reaching five enhancements… Pity. Although it was worth roping such an individual in, such hunters were often determined and difficult to bribe or subdue.

Moreover, his potential was only something that had yet to happen. Perhaps, this person would die suddenly the next time he decided to enhance…

Roman shook his head. For the time being, he didn’t plan on getting too close to Jace.

Although a powerful hunter was important, in his opinion, it was nothing much.

Bill, who was able to develop the Mutant Blood Potion, was more worth roping in. In comparison, a hunter was nothing.

Roman had already formulated a plan. He planned to launch a fierce headhunt when Bill ended the closed development program. He would definitely take this talented pharmacist under his wing.

...

A day later, a notice was posted in the capital to publicize the chaos in Deep Rock City.

This news shocked the residents of the capital, causing myriad ripples to spread. Soon, it became the main topic of conversation in the streets.

Because promoting positive influence required a typical example, the empire emphasized Zhou Jing’s contributions. They planned to establish the image of a hero and divert the attention of the world from the bandits.

The title of “Savior of Deep Rock City” was certified by the empire and was given to Zhou Jing.

The name “Jace” quickly spread throughout the city, becoming a celebrity among the hunters. It was discussed fervently by the residents of the capital.

As the Empire’s notice was sent to other cities, Jace’s reputation gradually spread. The incident in Deep Rock City was known by more people, causing a sensation everywhere.

To Zhou Jing, the most direct manifestation was that the Legendary Points awarded by his Life Episode, [Riot in Deep Rock City], kept increasing. Soon, it reached 5 points, which was equivalent to providing an additional 5% of daily income. As his reputation would still increase over time, there was still room for improvement.

Zhou Jing did not care about the publicity of the empire. He busied himself in helping Lynen settle down in the capital, occasionally going to discuss the incomplete sorcery book with Lynn. The rest of the time, he stayed in the Imperial Hunter’s Base and waited for the public execution.

He had roughly finished learning all the breathing techniques in the Hunter library. Zhou Jing had already planned to let Jason undergo his fourth enhancement, but he was not in a hurry. This was because Bill had been placed in the workshop for quite a while and was developing a new type of blood potion. He already had some ideas and progress on it.

He planned to let Jason use the new blood potion. The enhancement should be greater than normal blood potions.

Once the research and development were successful, he would be able to enjoy this benefit and become the first “New Era Enhancer”!