Ling Cage: I am a spiritual master, devouring source matter to become a god.

At this moment, Mark, who was eating nearby, saw that his team members were in trouble. As the commander of the Hunters, he naturally could not pretend not to see it.

Mark stood up and walked over, asking, "Lord Lightbringer, what mistake have these people made?"

Vanti glanced at Mark. "Captain Mark, didn't you hear these people talking behind your back about how you've been unfair?"

Mark glanced at the group, pretending not to hear their usual gossip. Otherwise, according to the Lighthouse's regulations, they wouldn't have fared well.

Mark didn't care about any of that. To protect these people, he shook his head and said, "I didn't hear anything."

The Lightbringer pointed at Berry and said coldly, "Come on, repeat what you just said."

At that moment, Charles also appeared in the cafeteria.

Seeing the commotion, he naturally came over out of curiosity and asked, "What happened?"

When Vatican saw Charles approaching, he immediately bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, these members of the Hunters have been discussing Captain Mark in private. According to the Lighthouse Law, speaking ill of one's superior is unlawful and should be punished!"

The lighthouse is strictly hierarchical; if superiors are allowed to be talked about casually by subordinates, they will inevitably lose their authority.

How can you lead a team without authority?

Criticizing one's superior is a matter that can be serious or minor.

"What did they say?"

Vatican looked at the group again and said sternly, "Say what you just said again."

When faced with Charles and Mark, two high-ranking members of the Lighthouse, Berry and his teammates became timid and hesitant, showing none of their previous arrogance.

“Speak!” Charles glanced at Berry, his voice low and thin, as if threatening.

Berry hurriedly said, "They're all saying that Captain Mark took people down to the surface without permission. Some people are saying that Captain Mark only pre-selected Jing Yuan for the Wilderness Hunters and there was no issue of him going down to the surface without permission. Some people are unhappy because they think that those who can enter the Wilderness Hunters have all gone through strict selection processes, so why should they be given a spot directly? They say Captain Mark is unfair!"

This series of answers was heard by everyone in the cafeteria.

This isn't just a canteen for hunters; it's the canteen for the entire Shangmin District, with people from all walks of life here.

Jingyuan found this scene quite amusing.

Jingyuan sensed something was wrong as soon as these people started talking about Mark.

On the lighthouse, who would be constantly looking for Mark?

Weren't these people arranged by Charles?

He made the arrangements, and he even summoned a priest to punish him!

While those people were talking, the group of Lightbringers were nowhere to be found.

How did you hear that?

"Insolence!" Charles raised his voice, seemingly stern, but in reality, he wanted everyone to hear.

"Captain Mark has his reasons for making arrangements. According to you, as the commander of the Wilderness Hunters, even if he wants to bring people outside the Wilderness Hunters to the surface, and if he wants to arrange a spot for someone to join the Wilderness Hunters, is that not allowed?"

Charles's words shocked everyone; he seemed to be defending Mark!

“Everyone here, everything you eat and use, wasn’t it all brought back from the ground by Captain Mark at the risk of his life? Now that Captain Mark has only made a few minor mistakes, are you all going to gossip about him?”

Charles's words were true; Mark had indeed made significant contributions to the lighthouse. However, his last sentence went so far as to characterize Mark's mistake as "a minor error"!

The uninformed public thought that Mark had really made a mistake and that Charles was making excuses for him!

But many others believe that even if Mark made great contributions to the lighthouse, does that give him the right to do whatever he wants?

This is exactly the effect Charles wanted.

Mark remained silent on the matter.

Jingyuan went down secretly; revealing the truth would probably be detrimental to him.

So Mark decided to take the blame. To him, it was just a matter of penalty points and contribution points.

Jingyuan stood to the side and smiled helplessly.

Charles arranged for people to spread negative rumors about Mark, then arranged for people to punish those who spread the rumors, and finally twisted the truth, saying that Mark was arrogant and complacent.

One person directed and starred in a great show.

"You flatter me, Chief. The supplies weren't collected by me alone. Even if there's credit, it's all thanks to the hunters!"

Mark knew perfectly well that Charles was deliberately targeting him.

But these words displeased people in other jobs.

So you hunters are the ones who deserve the most credit, and it seems like all the other jobs are just freeloaders!

"As for Jingyuan going to the ground..."

Jingyuan sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere around him. He realized that, given Mark's personality, he would probably take the blame for him going down to the ground without permission.

If he says it, then Charles has won this wave of public criticism.

The thought that this whole thing was caused by him made Jingyuan feel embarrassed to sit down.

He stood up, walked towards Mark and Charles, and said loudly, "Your Excellency! I have something to report!"

Chapter 13 A Fierce Battle Against Charles

Charles stared coldly at Jing Yuan, wondering how he dared to speak up at this moment.

But with everyone watching, Charles still asked, "What are you reporting?"

Jing Yuan pointed to the group of hunters being escorted by the priests and said, "These people didn't just criticize their superiors, but they spread rumors, maliciously slandered their superiors, and undermined morale! Chief, is such a serious offense only punishable by ten lashes?"

"Oh?" Charles said sarcastically, "Aren't they telling the truth?"

"No!" Jing Yuan said loudly to the people around him, "Everyone! My name is Jing Yuan, and I'm the person they say Captain Mark took to the surface without permission! I want to tell you all that Captain Mark took me to the surface for a special mission! According to the Lighthouse's regulations, if there are special circumstances on the surface that need to be handled, non-Hunter members can be taken there. Going to the surface without special circumstances is a violation! As for the claim that Captain Mark directly arranged for me to join the Hunters, that's pure malicious slander. I applied to be a Hunter and am also waiting to participate in the assessment!"

Jing Yuan pointed at Berry and the others, angrily rebuking them: "So they weren't just making baseless accusations, they were maliciously slandering! The situation is extremely egregious!"

When Jingyuan said this, everyone was stunned.

This was originally a small matter, but Charles made a big deal out of it, so it could become a big deal or a small deal.

When Jingyuan said that, things became complicated.

Charles gritted his teeth, at a loss for what to do.

On the lighthouse, who would dare to openly oppose him like this?

"Besides!" Jing Yuan said loudly again, "Is being a Wilderness Hunter such a good job? Am I going down to the surface for a vacation? As a Wilderness Hunter, you face the threat of Devouring Beasts on the surface! You could lose your life at any moment! If it weren't for the survival of the Lighthouse, who would want to be a Wilderness Hunter! Who would want to go down to the surface?"

Jingyuan turned to look at Charles and laughed, "If Captain Mark had arranged for me to enter a good place like the Law Firm, you could criticize him for abusing his power. But entering the Wilderness Hunters, what kind of good place is that? Yes, the Wilderness Hunters have higher standards of dedication, but don't forget, they are all paid for with their lives."

Jingyuan spoke very directly, but he also made everyone understand a fact.

Being a hunter means you can die! And there's a very high probability you'll die!

Given a choice, who would willingly take the initiative?

At the same time, he was also telling everyone that there was no threat of death at the law firm, which was the real lucrative job!

"Yes! We hunters risk our lives!"

Immediately, some members of the hunters stood up.

"Yes! What's wrong with giving a little more points for the sacrifices we risk our lives for?"

The majority of those present were hunters, and Jing Yuan's words resonated with them, instantly stirring up a great deal of excitement!

Seeing this, Mark gestured for everyone to be quiet and not get too excited.

Charles, however, asked, "Lighthouses have their rules. Since you're on a mission, what mission are you on?"

Jing Yuan stared at Charles and said, word by word, "If you want to know what the mission is, we can go see the city lord immediately. If the city lord allows it, you can find out. If the city lord doesn't allow it, as the head of your guild, you are not qualified to know!"

Wow!

Everyone thought Jingyuan was really brave!

On the lighthouse, everyone knew that Charles was the son of Lord Morgan. Although on the surface everyone had abandoned the old world's family ties, in secret... it was an open secret.

Jingyuan confronted Charles face-to-face, and even as the head of the association, he wasn't qualified to know about it; this must have been an extremely secret mission.

Even Mark was dumbfounded.

Charles was stunned by Jingyuan's confident demeanor.

Go find the city lord?

After what happened last time, Morgan realized that Charles was making underhanded moves against Mark.

Morgan had already given Charles a warning.

So when Jingyuan mentioned going to find the city lord, Charles hesitated.

If Jingyuan truly has a special mission, then Charles's actions are undoubtedly shooting himself in the foot.

Mark established himself in the Lighthouse through his own abilities.

Charles could only rely on his father-son relationship with Lord Morgan. To disappoint or even disgust Morgan would be the most unwise choice for Charles.

Jingyuan looked at Charles, anticipating his choice.

No matter what the other party chooses, he has a way to deal with it.