Cornflower Witch

Chapter 241 Valley City
The third day after Valley City closed its gates.

Prince Jobs, Lord Fabre, and a group of officers and knights from the city discussed their strategy.

"The enemy is stationed upstream. They don't seem to be in a hurry to attack. Instead, they keep sending scouts to scout the area around Creek Valley City. Their scouts have been spotted in the nearby plains, the forest on the opposite bank of the river, and the villages downstream."

"It feels like someone is slowly grabbing your throat with their hand. Even though they haven't actually done anything yet, it's still incredibly uncomfortable."

"If we let them continue like this and figure out everything around Creek Valley City, then we'll be able to retreat or do anything under their watchful eyes."

As he listened to the officers' discussion, Jobs leaned back in his seat at the head of the table, propped his head up with one hand, and looked at the map on the table with a furrowed brow.

Although he had no prior achievements, Prince Jobs had inherited the bloodline of the Regas royal family well. He had beautiful short blond hair and handsome facial features, which made many young girls in the city admire him. Even some noblewomen from the Kingdom of Antioch were somewhat infatuated with him.

"Why don't we get rid of these scouts?" he asked at this moment, his eyes filled with disgust for the Antioch scouts.

“We’d like to as well, but many of those scouts are 'First-Order Mist Shadow' type superhumans, and there are quite a few 'Second-Order Mist Shadow' captains. They are exceptionally good at concealing their figures and moving at high speeds. Ordinary people simply can’t catch up with them or beat them,” the former Regas officer explained to the prince.

"Don't these scouts and assassins have any natural enemies?" Jobs was still somewhat displeased.

"In the case of conflict between nations, when facing such scouts and assassins, one can either send out similar personnel to harass the other side, or recruit hunters skilled in reconnaissance or wizards skilled in telepathy."

“Wizards have many unorthodox and strange abilities that are difficult for even scouts and assassins to predict and detect. Once they are caught, they can be easily killed with superior combat power.”

"So, do we not have any skilled hunters or wizards on our side?" Jobs was still dissatisfied and continued to press for answers.

"Back when the Kingdom of Regas still existed, there were hunters in the army who were specially trained as scouts. As for wizards, there were very few in our country. There were only occasional special female officials in the royal palace who assisted the royal family. They possessed some special secret arts to protect the royal family from assassins."

“Ladies-in-waiting…” Prince Jobs recalled that when he was a child, there seemed to be a few mysterious old women in the palace who would help the royal family diagnose illnesses, prepare special medicines, and occasionally teach the princes and princesses some mysterious knowledge.

Where are those female officials now?

"After the fall of Baiya City, the royal palace was completely destroyed. We don't know where the people inside went; they're probably dead," someone whispered from the side.

Upon hearing this, Prince Jobs spat impatiently, then picked up his wine glass and drank it to relieve his boredom.

Seeing this, the officers present also felt that they should indeed find a solution, otherwise the situation would be truly passive and uncomfortable.

"How about we recruit and form a patrol team? There are many forests near Creek Valley City, and there are some hunters in the countryside. Although their strength varies, it's better to have one than none."

"Let's do it this way," Prince Jobs waved his hand, signaling them to proceed.

……

That afternoon, recruitment notices were posted on the main streets of Valley City and at the city gates, attracting many residents to watch.

"Recruiting hunters of 'Tier 1' or higher, generous benefits, 50 silver coins per month..." The person next to him read the text aloud.

"50 silver coins a month? That's great." In Creek Valley City, an average person only earns 5 silver coins a month.

"However, you need to be at least Tier 1. A Tier 1 hunter can earn about the same income by hunting on their own."

“My uncle is a Tier 1 hunter. He occasionally hunts beasts with a solidified phase and can earn 1-3 gold coins a month, but it’s not stable. On average, he earns about 50 silver coins a month a year.”

"Adventurers are better off. I think a skilled Tier 1 adventurer can earn 70-80 silver a month, but it's quite dangerous."

People were talking about it. Although the treatment was in line with his status, it was not very attractive. After two days of recruitment, there were very few applicants.

To this end, Prince Jobs decided to double the pay, giving each hunter 1 gold coin per month and a set of practical leather armor, which attracted many hunters to sign up.

……

In an ordinary gray-brick house in the city, a woman with chestnut-blonde hair sat by the window adjusting her bowstring and maintaining her bow and arrows.

"Knock knock." A knocking sound rang out on the door.

"Wait a moment." She heard a voice reply, then put the oil brush back into the glass bottle and stood up. She walked unhurriedly to the door, opened it, and a young girl, a head shorter than her, walked in.

"Sister Karen is still home today." The freckled girl walked in, looking around the room with curiosity. When she saw the prey's head hanging on the wall, her eyes lit up with admiration.

"Yes, is there something you need? Why did you come so suddenly today?" Karen poured her a glass of water and handed it to her.

“The city is under lockdown recently, and I didn’t have much to do at home, so I came out for a walk.”

"Because of the arrival of the Anti Kingdom's army, I don't know how long Valley City will be under lockdown. If they don't let me leave the city to gather herbs, I'm afraid I won't have any money for food in the future," she said with a hint of complaint.

"At this point, don't think about gathering herbs. Just getting through this safely is good enough," Karen comforted her.

The other person nodded. Actually, she was just saying it. This short girl had saved some money over the past two years, so she wouldn't starve to death.

"Has Karen gone out these past few days?"

"No."

"As expected." She covered her mouth and smiled.

"I was wondering why Karen was still staying home today. You probably don't know what's going on in the city right now."

"Prince Jobs sent people to post notices saying that he wanted to recruit hunters to form a patrol team to clear out the Antioch scouts outside the city, with a salary of 1 gold coin per person per month."

“They are indeed very wealthy.” Karen nodded, but her expression didn’t change much.

"Hey, isn't Karen tempted? I heard from them that it's not just 1 gold coin a month, but also 1 gold coin for capturing a scout. That adds up to 2-3 gold coins a month."

For an ordinary person, a gold coin is equivalent to 100 silver coins, roughly the total income of two years, making it extremely tempting.

“I know, but I don’t want to get involved in conflicts between nations.” Karen shook her head.

"It's better to be a pure hunter."

"Are you really not going? The patrol team has great benefits, including various subsidies and rewards. If I had Karen's strength, I would definitely go there."

"Besides, the Kingdom of Antioch is so wicked. By doing this, we are ridding everyone of a scourge." The girl opposite clenched her small fist.

Hearing this, Karen smiled but still declined the other party's suggestion.

"I'll stay home for now, and I won't get involved in the war."

Seeing that Karen had made up her mind, the girl opposite could only stand up dejectedly, say goodbye, and leave.

After she left, Karen closed the door again, sat by the window, and patiently adjusted the bowstrings and varnished her bows.

Only occasionally would I look up and listen to the chatter coming from the street not far away.

Her [Wind Positioning] skill has now been upgraded to Lv.3, allowing her to easily distinguish voices from 100 meters away.

"Are so many people attracted by the patrol team's treatment?" She put down her bow and arrow.

“However, war is very cruel. If it’s just for that little bit of money…” Karen shook her head and stopped talking.

She took down a small notebook from the wall, its pages yellowed with age, filled with her notes from her time studying at Hyde University.

Only the last page contained the signatures and blessings of several people.

As she gently traced the names with her fingers, she recalled the time they spent studying together. Although it was only half a year, those six months were far more wonderful than the past three years, and she cherished those memories.

(End of this chapter)