Chapter 86
The Recompense
"Take the injured back to camp first. That includes the Silver Beard Wolf pups. Those who are uninjured...we must move forward. Our duty is to deal with the demonic beasts!" Steven surveyed the surroundings and saw that the danger and damage were not too severe. In fact, they could allow their people to drink healing potions, which would immediately close their wounds.
However, it was known that returning without any injuries would be seen as abnormal. Others might say that the Setter family hadn’t done their job well enough. So, Steven did not allow his people to heal just yet. He simply ordered them to go back and show the camp how many enemies they had faced.
Facing 10 level 2 beasts would spell disaster for any other family. While the Setter family occupied the 6th floor, other families still couldn’t secure it with their own strength. Some families could only use the 6th floor area by purchasing concessions.
"My apologies, my lord, for our carelessness." The injured member understood his family head’s intention but pretended to feel deeply guilty about it.
Even though they should have fought together, they were sent back due to injuries caused by their own carelessness.
The person who had been attacked sustained numerous open wounds. Fortunately, they weren’t too serious, but they had to endure the pain and return to the camp to see a priest as soon as possible. However...if the priest couldn’t heal, they had a healing potion that could instantly heal their wounds, so there was no need to worry.
"Go now. Your faults will be dealt with later," Steven said with displeasure, looking very strict. Afterward, the Setter family split into two groups, one moving forward and the other returning to camp.
At the emergency camp, the soldiers divided their forces to protect it as best as they could. While they were on alert, someone noticed a group struggling back. A soldier called his comrades to help investigate.
"Aren’t those the Setter family members!?"
"Indeed! Why are they so injured? This...What happened? How many demonic beasts are outside!?" The soldiers turned pale with shock, their imaginations running wild with fear of the unknown number of demonic beasts.
"Hurry, help them quickly!" A soldier shouted, and everyone nearby rushed out to assist the injured Setter family members back to safety.
The most injured person was the one who had been swarmed. His flesh was torn in several places. A high-level priest was quickly summoned and, seeing the severity of the injuries, immediately called for a high-level healing potion.
Others had less severe injuries that could be treated with ordinary wound healing potions. Nevertheless, the appearance of these 6 Setter family members drew a lot of attention.
"What exactly happened...out there?"
"We saw signals of encountering demonic beasts as well. About those demonic beasts..." The soldiers and others were very curious and bombarded the injured with questions once their condition had improved.
The injured person who received the high-level healing potion waved his hand; his face filled with frustration.
"Out there, it wasn’t just the demonic beasts that were terrifying. We also encountered 10 level 2 Sword-Tailed Squirrels!" With that, he thew out the bodies of nearly 10 level 2 Sword-Tailed Squirrels.
Seeing this scene, everyone let out cries of shock. They knew that the abilities of these level 2 beasts in the Tower of Eternity’s 3rd or 4th floors were far beyond what ordinary soldiers could handle. If it were them...they probably wouldn’t have survived!
"The first demonic beast we encountered was killed by a member of the Setter family. However, since we didn’t know if there were more demonic beasts, we continued forward to thoroughly clean up the area. One of our members was prepared to sacrifice his life to kill demonic beasts, so he pushed ahead to fulfill his duty as best as he could." At this, everyone nodded in understanding.
It was not uncommon to equate killing demonic beasts with sacrificing one’s own life. If someone was ready to die, wanting to contribute as much as possible was only natural.
The Setter family’s rewards for those who sacrificed themselves on missions were well-known. Even members of other families envied this. Some even expressed a desire to join the Setter family! Hunters lived with many risks, and if those risks could bring worthwhile benefits, no one would hesitate.
Upon hearing the Setter member’s explanation, the listeners continuously praised them. Some thanked them for their dedication, while others wished the remaining members safe returns.
Having completed their duty, the 6 Setter family members stayed to help guard the camp. They couldn’t rejoin the others because traveling in a group of only 6 would likely lead to their deaths. Besides, they didn’t know where the rest of the group had gone.
Meanwhile, those who continued forward decided to form a group around the area and not venture deeper into the forest. They believed they had done enough in searching for demonic beasts. After another hour of scouting, they headed back. It turned out that the Hart family had returned to camp before them, having encountered and killed 1 demonic beast. The Setter family had also encountered numerous beasts and 1 demonic beast. Their achievements were no less impressive.
However, when the Cherine and Fernal families appeared, their condition was much worse than that of the first two families.
"What happened? Why didn’t the Setter and Hart families suffer any harm?" A member of the Fernal family said indignantly.
Actually, they had encountered 3 demonic beasts, all of which were only level 1. Compared to their fighting power, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. However, those who went out to fight lacked the necessary willingness to sacrifice. No one wanted to be the one to slay the demonic beasts, resulting in a chaotic battle with many members getting injured by the demonic toxin.
Similarly, the Cherine family could claim to have faced 4 demonic beasts. Their condition was equally dire. When they saw that the Hart and Setter families had barely any injuries, they felt like fools who might have been tricked.
"Why were you two families so lucky! We encountered 3 demonic beasts, but the Setter family only faced one? I think something is off. Maybe the Setter family just ran away after meeting the first beast!"
A Fernal family member shouted angrily, feeling that they had faced greater danger and thus unfair treatment.
"The Fernal family always blames others. No wonder...you get deceived so easily."
"Head of the Setter family, I don’t think this is about other matters. It’s not unusual for us to feel this is unfair, right? We had to deal with 4 demonic beasts, while you only faced one...I genuinely feel it’s unjust. Why did our Cherine family have to suffer more losses?"
The head of the Cherine family stepped forward immediately. They had not only fought the 4 demonic beasts but also struggled with members of a branch family, which explained their battered condition.
"Hmm? Now you two families are teaming up against the Setter family again?" Aman couldn’t help but sneer. Previously, the Fernal family had used the Hart family to accuse them, unaware that the Setter family had planned to expose their treacherous relations, leading to a conflict. It’s surprising that these people hadn’t learned their lesson!
A large crowd gathered, listening to every word exchanged among the 4 families. Unfortunately, the Hart, Fernal, and Cherine families arrived one step behind the Setter family.
The 3 families were unaware that the Setter family had already brought back nearly fatally injured members for treatment and had easily thrown out the corpses of 10 level 2 Sword-Tailed Squirrels, which were far more formidable than what they had encountered. Therefore, the words of the 3 families held no credibility.
Those listening felt like spitting in disgust. These families encountered only 3 to 4 level 1 demonic beasts, didn’t they? Meanwhile, the Setter family had ventured deep into the forest to hunt demonic beasts and had encountered level 2 creatures! And yet, these people claimed that the Setter family had an unfair advantage?
Whether encountering 1, 3 to 4, or even hundreds of demonic beasts, the damage would be the same if only one person were to face them. The Setter family had killed 1 demonic beast and demonstrated their intent to continue hunting down as many as possible, valuing the sacrifice of life. Was it the Setter family’s fault that the other 2 families were unlucky?
Of course, no one’s thoughts were openly shared. Everyone thus tried to tarnish the Setter family’s reputation by claiming the situation was handled unfairly, not realizing that the Setter family members were smirking behind their backs.
Well...If the 2 families had simply done their job without saying anything, they would have been hailed as heroes. However, due to their foolish actions, the Cherine and Fernal families appeared weak and whiny, blaming the stronger Setter family like spoiled children in the eyes of others.
"Lord Steven, your son has quite the mouth. Are you saying we falsely accused you? The evidence is clear. Do we need to accuse you of anything? Everyone can see how unfairly you handled the situation."
"I can’t believe the Setter family, who claims to be strong and fearless, is actually always taking advantage of others like this."
"Did the greatness of the Setter family come from exploiting others? I’m truly disappointed that I once admired you." The Fernal family seized the opportunity to slander the Setter family, as if tarnishing the Setter family’s reputation would compensate for their own losses.
However, Steven did not respond like a fool. The great man spoke calmly, unlike others who would have already challenged those slandering and belittling their family to a fight.
The calmer Steven remained, the higher the Setter family’s image rose in the eyes of the onlookers. His strategy was truly perfect.
"Our Setter family has never had such cowardly thoughts. When choosing patrol directions, wasn’t it the Fernal family that chose first? We were the second to choose, and we picked the opposite direction, understanding that the Cherine and Hart families would likely cooperate better with the Fernal family. Nothing that happened could be seen as having hidden intentions as you claim."
Steven pointed out the facts, which the Setter family had planned everything. They allowed 2 positions with 1 demonic beast each. If the Fernal family was lucky enough to choose the first spot, the Setter family would take the remaining one. But it was unfortunate for the Fernal family, who had the right to choose first, while the truly fortunate ones were the Hart family, who had no choice at all.
If the Fernal and Cherine families wanted to blame someone, they should blame themselves for their misfortune, which led to such great losses!But then again...with people courting disaster like this, the Setter family wouldn’t be foolish enough to let this opportunity for recompense slip by!
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