Astral Apostle Chapter 61: The Empire Hunter and the Undercurrent

"Jace and Rosen... come with me."

Cole no doubt had him, and brought the two into the station, leading the way ahead.

Zhou Jing looked left and right, observing the situation in the station. The most numerous facilities on the road were the training grounds. There were hunters who were guiding batches of hairy boys to exercise, shouting non-stop.

These teenagers wear uniform simple leather armor, the youngest is eight or nine years old, and the oldest seems to be no more than fourteen years old.

Seeing that Zhou Jing noticed these children, Cole introduced:

"They are apprentices who have not yet received alien blood enhancement. When they complete the basic course and their bodies grow to their peak state, they will use alien blood potions, and those who survive will become preparatory imperial hunters under the leadership of the old hunters. Go down and finish the first hunt of your life."

"Where did these children find them? If the reinforcement fails, is it okay to die?" Zhou Jing asked.

"Some are children sent by expatriate imperial hunters, some are teenagers found in the countryside, and some are young people who have applied to become hunters... There are also blood relatives sent by various tribes." Cole casually said. Dao: "Being a hunter is inherently risky. Every year, a group of people will die. It depends on luck."

After speaking, he turned to look at Zhou Jing and said:

"You used to be a freelance hunter. After you officially enlist in the army, you can also take the imperial hunter's course."

Zhou Jing nodded, mainly because of this. Joining the Empire Hunter is much more efficient than asking for advice everywhere.

The two walked while chatting, and soon came to the archives of the station, taking into account the role of enlistment registration.

"Can you write? If you can't, you can dictate my records." Cole asked for a blank booklet and placed it on the table.

Zhou Jing took it over and looked at it. It was a simple table format, and he had to fill in the information, including his own origin, past hunting records, weapon proficiency, number of abnormal blood enhancements, enhancement tendency and other information.

He picked up the pen and filled it out by himself. During this time, he walked out of White Plains City and learned more about the customs of the Terra Empire. At this time, it was easy to compile it, and he also filled in the information for Ross.

The hunter records naturally do not write about the experience of Baiyuan City. While Zhou Jing opened the map in the past two months, he deliberately stopped in several towns and left the hunter records of "Jess and Rosen" in various hunter taverns. He also took part in a few simple crusades against alien beasts, leaving real records... Although people may not send people to investigate on the spot.

Cole took the information of the two and looked at it carefully, and then looked at Zhou Jing with some surprise: "Are you strengthening it twice?"

"Not like it?"

"That's not... Most of the free hunters who enlisted in the army were strengthened for the first time, and it was rare to see the second strengthening to join actively. They are considered elites in the group of imperial hunters." Cole paid a little attention to Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing was curious: "How many people in the Empire Hunters have various levels of strength? Who is the strongest?"

Hearing this, Cole didn't mean to hide it. After all, it was information that many imperial hunters knew:

"At present, the maximum number of enhancements among the imperial hunters is five, and there are two, one of which is the chief hunter conferred by the empire and the current commander of the imperial hunters.

There are twelve or three hunters who have been strengthened four times, some of them are in the station, and the others are sent out. There are fifty or sixty people in the three reinforcements, which are the backbone, and generally lead a hunter team. The second enhancement is the elite among hunters and the main force for crusade against alien beasts, and the first enhancement is the most, there should be more than 1,000 people. "

Zhou Jing blinked.

I always felt that the size of the Imperial Hunters... was smaller than he thought.

But when he thought about it carefully, the population of the alien world was not that huge. The Terra Empire's standing army seemed to be in the tens of thousands, and the proportion of imperial hunters with extraordinary combat power in the military force was already very high.

Moreover, most of the members of the imperial hunters are sent to various places to maintain the security of towns and cities. They suffer high battle losses all the year round, and there are additional casualties due to failures in strengthening. To put it less, dozens or hundreds of hunters die every year. Scale is not easy.

Although the number is limited, the combat effectiveness is terrifying.

A single blood warrior can fight an army of dozens or hundreds of people, just like a super soldier. And one or two thousand super soldiers... On the battlefield of cold weapons, I am afraid it is the gods who block and kill the gods and Buddhas, and they can also destroy the standing army of the tens of thousands of people.

'If such a huge group of extraordinary powers join forces, wouldn't it be a matter of minutes to overthrow the Terra Empire? ' Zhou Jing was speechless.

He suddenly discovered that the rule of the Terra Empire seemed stable, but it was actually sitting in the crater, ready to be burned by the magma spewing from the bottom of the buttocks at any time.

It can only be said that, fortunately, the ancient ideological traditions of the tribal era are still in play. Most hunters have a high moral standard and like to hack, and they only want to crusade alien beasts to protect the people, otherwise it would have become a chaotic world... Terra is really good enough. In fact, he can't control the hunter group at all. Most of them rely on self-consciousness.

The thought went through his mind again, but Zhou Jing didn't show it on his face. He changed the subject and asked:

"By the way, how about the imperial hunter's workshop? I have always heard that it is the highest level, but I have never seen it before."

Cole nodded and smiled: "Yes, the Imperial Hunters have the largest workshop in the country, and the craftsmen in it are all elites, including master-level pharmacists and blacksmiths, who study various new craftsman techniques. As with the new alien blood potion formula, the latest results are given priority to supply to us.”

Zhou Jing smiled: "That's great, I've always wanted to do the third blood enhancement, but I haven't come across a suitable potion. I hope there's something to be gained here."

"...Are you going to do three enhancements?"

Cole's eyes suddenly flashed, as if the tutor had heard that the student was going to take the Ph.D.

Even the imperial hunters who have the best supply of resources, only a small number of people are willing to risk sudden death to continue to strengthen the alien blood.

Every time I gamble my life, I give my life to the illusory luck. Once or twice, it is fine. After winning a few times, I will not consciously fear the head and tail. Not everyone has this kind of courage.

Those who dare to continue to strengthen, either have a firm attitude and are brave and diligent

...or a gambler.

Cole is a hunter who has been strengthened for the second time. He does not dare to continue strengthening. At this time, he can't help but admire Zhou Jing a little. For those who dare to continue on the path of alien blood, no matter the final success or failure, the hunter will look at it differently. Treat each other.

The identity registration went smoothly. After filling it out, it was handed over to others for a simple review. Kerr immediately took Zhou Jing to one of the training grounds for a practical test.

Seeing is believing, this is a necessary part of joining the Empire Hunter. Hunter tests are not full of bells and whistles, but actual combat.

The two stood at the training ground, separated by a distance.

"You strengthen the second time, and I also strengthen the second time. Let's play a game and let me see your level."

Cole smiled and pulled out the special long knife on his back with his backhand. The blade was longer than ordinary, about one meter seven, with an arc, which was very useful for cutting giant creatures.

Appears to be a weapon wielded with both hands, but he raises one hand steadily.

"Choose a weapon, you also like to use a knife, what kind of knife?" Cole pouted at the weapon rack beside him.

Zhou Jing looked at Cole's skilled knife-holding posture, his eyes lit up, and he was delighted to see the hunter.

Yo, the swordsman!

It can be considered that I have met a good knife player, and I just touched it.

He walked to the weapon rack, took a look, pulled out a long knife of the same style, and played a few knives at random, like an arm.

Due to the improvement of the sword skill aptitude, the speed of practice has returned to its original efficiency. Within two months of opening the map, [Weapon Mastery - Sword Skill] has been successfully upgraded to Lv5, and the proficiency has greatly improved.

In addition, the increase in physical fitness and resistance aptitude has also slightly increased the training speed of each hunter's breathing technique. In the past two months, the upgrade is only a step away.

Seeing Zhou Jing's naturally skilled temperament when he picked up the knife, Cole's eyes became more serious.

Although he has received systematic training, he does not underestimate free hunters who are wild. It is a taboo to underestimate the enemy. Old hunters rarely make such mistakes.

The shouts on the training ground weakened, and the hunters and apprentices who were exercising cast curious glances at the two who began to confront each other in the corner of the training ground.

"Who is that person, I don't seem to have seen it before."

"It should be a new hunter, I don't know what level."

The crowd whispered.

Cole observed Zhou Jing's posture, looking for loopholes. Seeing that Zhou Jing showed no sign of attacking, he was not polite and rushed on the ground.

Bass!

The long blade stabbed, and the cold light at the tip of the blade trembled, like a swept streamer.

Zhou Jing's eyes blinked. Instead of retreating, he advanced forward. He slid forward, holding the handle of the knife with one hand and touching the back of the knife with the other, roundly drawing a crescent moon.

The stabbing long knife was blocked by the blade, and a stream of sparks was drawn, causing a short and sharp metal friction sound.

Zhou Jing flicked his wrist, flicked Cole's weapon easily, and narrowed his eyes.

Slow, too slow.

Light, too light.

Both are secondary enhancements, but Cole's speed and strength are too weak in his eyes, and there is no pressure.

When the physical fitness reaches the second-order, the attributes do not seem to be much different, but the characteristics brought by it make the physical quality completely different. There is a clear gap with the first-order physical fitness, and the agility and flexibility are greatly enhanced.

In Zhou Jing's eyes, Cole's movements seemed to slow down.

Originally, Jason's attributes were higher than those of normal hunters with secondary enhancements, and with the addition of his traits, he is now even more capable.

After realizing Cole's strength, Zhou Jing knew it in his heart. Instead of directly crushing it with his explosive physical fitness, he controlled his strength and speed to a level comparable to Cole's, simply fighting the opponent.

On the one hand, it is to save face for the other party. On the other hand, I also want to fight with a master swordsman for a long time... I finally found someone to slash against each other, and let's talk about it.

The training ground was dusty, and the two of you came and went, and the sword light flashed. The continuous cold light was moved by the two to avoid them, wiping their bodies and stabbing them in the air.

The knife light rolled into a ball, and the whistling sound of breaking through the air and the clashing sound of Qingming were intertwined.

Various knife movements such as slashing, cross-cutting, thrusting, parrying, etc., unfolded in the hands of the two people one after another, which was dazzling and extremely precise at the same time.

The apprentices in the field were dazzled by their superb swordsmanship, and they all stopped their training and gathered around to watch.

The hunters guiding the apprenticeships didn't stop them...and they wanted to watch too.

It seemed that they were evenly matched and slashed for a while, but Cole was keenly aware of Zhou Jing's strength, and his eyes changed slightly.

As an old hunter, he can feel whether the opponent has released water or not.

'This person seems to be deliberately controlling the strength, and only uses the swordsmanship to learn from me... But the swordsmanship alone is not under me. Not at this level, he seems to be a seasoned old hunter...'

Cole's thoughts flashed in his heart, and he also became competitive, and suddenly jumped back and exited the battle circle.

"Don't fight anymore?" Zhou Jing was ready to stop when he saw this.

Cole shook his head, pointed the knife directly at Zhou Jing's nose, and said solemnly: "I can see that you have reservations, come on, use the knife with all your strength, don't worry about anything."

Having said that, Cole didn't wait for an answer, he made a move of accumulating power, and then slammed the ground and attacked.

The knife is in front of people, and it cuts horizontally!

This knife, whether it is strength, speed or tendons, is played at a high level, calm and fast, as if it can cut through all obstacles in front of me.

In the face of this knife, opponents of the same level must avoid the edge, and Cole has a strong confidence.

However, a dark shadow that was so fast that he could hardly react, suddenly crashed into his sight.

Immediately afterwards, a cold light flashed from bottom to top.

Clang! !

A strong force suddenly exploded along the long knife, exploding with a trembling force.

Cole couldn't hold the weapon with his five fingers. The long knife came out of his hand, swirled and flew into the sky, and fell into the ground not far away.

In front of him, Zhou Jing maintained a raised posture, the blade still trembled slightly, making a humming sound.

Empty-handed Cole froze on the spot.

In the moment just now, Zhou Jing suddenly started, twisting his muscles all over his body. After the advanced stage, his body burst out with an explosive acceleration, driving the long knife to roar, and the high speed turned into an extremely heavy force, which directly sent Ke flying away. Er's weapon.

This knife is fast and heavy!

Moreover, the timing was precise and exquisite, making Cole, who is good at using knives, unconsciously feel the beauty of knife skills.

Cole looked at the broken palm, and then at Zhou Jing, who looked relaxed, and fell into silence.

Is this a one-shot?

After being stunned for a few seconds, Cole couldn't help but speak:

"Are you really a secondary reinforcement?"

"Yes." Zhou Jing shrugged.

"...awesome."

Cole sighed with admiration.

At the level of secondary strengthening, there is such strength...

Only after having experienced too many battles on the edge of life and death, can a second-strengthened body be tempered to this level, right?

Hunters have always admired the strong, and Cole is in awe.

Seeing Zhou Jing's second to Cole, many hunters and apprentices onlookers were surprised.

Cole is not an unknown person, and he is also a master among the imperial hunters. Except for the few who have been strengthened three times or more, he is the leader among the remaining hunters.

Being able to defeat Cole is equivalent to being a top-notch expert among the hunters of the second-strengthened Empire.

'It seems that a very powerful newcomer has come this time...'

Everyone looked at Zhou Jing and their thoughts flashed.

"With your strength, if you officially enlist in the army, you can be included in the elite team." Cole said in admiration, "Commander Kreiber will definitely value you."

Crabbe is the current chief hunter, the commander of the imperial hunters.

Zhou Jing smiled. He was also curious about the attributes of the most enhanced alien warriors in existence.

At this time, Cole turned his head to look at Ross and said, "This partner of yours has to be tested too... By the way, why hasn't he spoken?"

Zhou Jing's face did not change color:

"He is actually my apprentice. During a hunt, his voice was hoarse due to the poison of alien beasts, and his head was also traumatized and confused. Only some fighting instincts remained, and he had lost the ability to hunt alone, but Can also cooperate with me, so I take him with me."

"That's it." Cole patted Rose's shoulder respectfully, agreeing: "We cannot abandon any hunter who is wounded for crusade against alien beasts."

Ross looked down at the palm resting on his shoulder and quietly touched the dagger in his arms.

"Cough!" Zhou Jing hurriedly put his elbow on his waist to stop Ross from drawing the knife, and Nunuzui said, "Go, give him a job."

When Ross heard the words, he gave up drawing a knife and gave Cole a hard blow. He walked to a grindstone on the training ground without hesitation and slammed it hard.

Click!

The rock cracked.

Ross wiped the white ash from his forehead expressionlessly.

"What the hell!" Cole was startled.

A serious hunter has a tough body, but how can anyone casually use their head as a weapon, doesn't their head hurt?

A ruthless man!

"This, such a bump, won't my head break?" Cole couldn't help but said.

Zhou Jing coughed and tried to explain with a sullen expression: "It is because his head is not good, so his head is good."

...this is quite philosophical.

Cole wiped his sweat, not knowing it.

Anyway, it's okay to hit the boulder with your head. There must be a level of reinforcement. He didn't dare to let Ross show it again, for fear that he would have to collect corpses for others, and eat dinner on the spot.

The group left the training ground, and Cole took Zhou Jing to an empty simple house.

"This is your temporary residence. When you complete the last test, which is to conduct a hunt under our supervision, and show your hunter level, you can officially become an imperial hunter... And like you You don’t need to be led by an old hunter like the reserve hunters. Just wait for Commander Kreber to come back and let him arrange it. The commander goes out hunting and will be back in two days.”

Cole turns back to explain.

Zhou Jing was looking at the room, and when he heard the words, he looked back at him and asked, "What level of beasts do you want to kill in a general hunting test?"

"It varies from person to person, and it also depends on what strange beasts have appeared recently..." Cole rubbed his chin and pondered: "But the Imperial Hunters only cleaned the surrounding area some time ago, and there seems to be no serious abnormality. Beast, on your terms, may let you go to the Colosseum to find an opponent."

"The Colosseum?" Zhou Jing raised his brows.

"Huh? Don't you know?"

Cole was stunned for a moment, then thought that Zhou Jing was not from the capital, so he was not surprised, and explained:

"When conditions permit, the imperial hunter team will capture alien beasts alive and bring them back to the animal trainers to breed. Otherwise, where can there be a stable supply of materials for workshops to study various alien blood potion formulas? The animal farm is a supporting place for some inexperienced imperial hunters to practice combat... By the way, to earn a little money, we also need funds and extra money.”

Speaking of which, Cole's expression was a little subtle.

Is it true that ordinary people pay for tickets to watch the movie...

Zhou Jing had a complicated expression. In an environment where alien beasts threaten human beings, the appearance of such a **** facility where hunters fight alien beasts for fun is quite subtle and should not exist.

He has visited many towns, and only the capital has such facilities... and it seems that this is the only place where large-scale farming of alien beasts occurs.

"It is said that the empire is researching how to tame some of the farmed alien beasts, turn them into mounts, and equip them with the army and imperial hunters. There are already some results. Our commander is an alien beast knight." Cole said casually. road.

"Well, this is a feasible solution..."

Zhou Jing couldn't help but think of how the Earth Skeletons domesticated the Tyrannosaurus.

It seems that among the existing auxiliary functions, there is a [pet function]?

Well, since the king has such conditions, the next time you use a new apostle, maybe you can try this function.

Cole said some more precautions and then left.

After all, this world is a bit primitive, and the various rules and regulations are not rigorous and perfect. I can move freely in the imperial hunter station... But I can't enter the capital for the time being.

Zhou Jing made the bed, and through the window, he could just see the majestic outline of the distant capital Tarn City.

He looked in the direction of the capital, and his eyes flashed slightly.

'It shouldn't be a problem to infiltrate the Empire Hunter. We have already arrived at the foot of the capital. We can find a chance to get in touch with the power core of the Terra Empire... Let's wait and see the situation first, and then see how to take advantage of the information that Rut kindly gave me. ’

…

At the same time, the royal palace, a room somewhere in the castle.

Roman stood in front of the window, silently overlooking the row upon row of cities, as if stepping on the king's capital.

He is a fat middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance. He wears a supple satin brocade coat with jewels. Unconsciously restrained in front of him.

On the table behind him, there are several secret letters, two confidants standing at the table with their heads bowed and not speaking.

After a long time, Roman said in a low voice:

"Root is dead, I don't know what he revealed, I don't know who kidnapped him... This is the report you gave me after investigating for a month?"

The two confidants trembled slightly and hurriedly replied:

"Sir, there is really no clue. We investigated all the alien blood warriors in the White Plains City, and all the hunters who left White Plains City, even including the warriors of the Root tribe, no one can match the number, we still I don't know who the killer is."

"We also went to check the so-called Wood family according to your wishes, but there is no blood relative of this tribe at all. It's not that we don't work hard, and we can't check it!"

Since Root's death, a slew of spies have sought out the identity of the killer.

After a large number of Shuangmu Village villagers moved to Baiyuan City, some spies even quietly dug up Jason's grave at midnight, but found that the body inside was fine and had not been repackaged

No matter how hard you search, you can't find the "dead" head.

When Roman heard the words, he turned to look at the two of them.

The two who had been chatting and explaining were swept away by his half-smiling gaze, and the back suddenly shivered, and they immediately shut their mouths.

Roman did not get angry, but smiled and comforted:

"Okay, okay, I never doubt your ability to do things. It seems that this murderer is really mysterious and difficult to find out."

His tone was friendly, but the two of them didn't dare to pick up each other at all.

Roman rubbed his wrench and said again: "If you can't find it, continue to look for it slowly, don't worry... This matter has been revealed for the time being, how is the investigation about that faction?"

A confidant quickly replied: "Sir, we have found their old nest, but it seems to have been abandoned there, there is no one, I don't know where they went~IndoMTL.com~ Hearing this, Roman revealed something inexplicable. With an expression on his face, he said to himself: "That group of people somehow cut off contact with me, and disappeared for no reason, with all kinds of strange abilities... um... hehe. "

The two confidants looked at each other, not daring to speak, and didn't know what Roman was thinking.

After a while, Roman waved his hand and ordered:

"Continue to investigate the identity of the murderer and the whereabouts of the mysterious force, and send some people to secretly contact the lords of various tribes, telling them that plans may change at any time, pay more attention. By the way, pay attention to the movements of the royal family, they have been acting a little over the years. Weird, there should be someone pointing at the back, maybe I have noticed something...

The court is still negotiating the choice of the new lord of Baiyuan City. Let the servants eavesdrop. I want to know what each minister thinks... The position of the lord of Baiyuan City must be given to the one I found in the Root tribe. new partner. Root is dead, save him a new buddy to get rid of. "

After an order, Roman let the two confidants back down.

The two of them left quickly as if they had been granted amnesty.

Roman retracted his gaze, picked up a few secret letters from the table, and rubbed his fingers slightly.

The flames of the candlestick next to it seemed to be grabbed by an invisible force, turned into a fire snake, and fell on the secret letter in his hand.

Phew!

Light up, go out, all in an instant.

Several sealed letters turned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

Roman's fingers were unscathed. He tucked his hands into his sleeves again and continued to look down at the city outside the window, wondering what he was thinking.