Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After realizing what the Hunter Association was, several troops instinctively felt threatened and gathered together for a discussion.

“Hehe, with the exception of missions to escort merchant teams, the missions of the Hunter Association are quite similar to what we do. Aren’t they deliberately stealing our livelihoods?”

“That’s right, there’s no Troop Association in Wissen Town, how are we going to compete with the hunters in the future?”

“Hmph, what are you afraid of? The Troop Association will naturally step in and deal with such grave matters. Perhaps the so-called Hunter Association will disappear on its own after two days!”

…

The troops had mixed feelings as they looked over the poster they had torn down. Some of them became more and more agitated, their eyes becoming red as they thought about pointing their swords toward the Hunter Association and causing trouble there. Some were depressed, fiercely tearing the notice in two, a cold gleam flashing past their eyes. Some remained silent, downing the cup of rum in their hands after letting out a cold smile.

Even though they were extremely displeased, the troops did not dare act recklessly due to Yang Ling’s overwhelming power. After all, no one wanted to end up like the Wind Troops!

Even though they did not act recklessly, they did not sit back and do nothing. Someone would naturally step in and deal with the matter after news spread to the headquarters of the Troop Association in Montson.

Yang Ling had powerful abilities, but they were incomparable with the Troop Association which had been around for hundreds of years. If they mobilized their legendary top-grade troop team, they might even be able to deal with the entire Magical Beast Territory and the newly formed Hunter Association.

The troops were deep in discussion, while at the same time, an intense argument was happening within the meeting hall of the Wissen Castle.

Yang Ling shook his head and let out a bitter smile as he looked at the records of the hunters’ overall abilities Viola handed him, gently creasing his brows. Many people had registered with the Hunter Association throughout the day, a full eight hundred. Unfortunately, almost all of them were one-star hunters at the beginner level, their abilities pathetically weak. They would not be able to use a Magic Hunting Card with their abilities even if Yang Ling gave them one for free.

He needed a large number of low-level hunters if he wanted to quickly expand the influence of the Hunter Association, but even more so, he needed several high-level hunters with powerful abilities. Otherwise, there might be no one who could accomplish a mission sent to the Hunter Association in time. The confidence people had in the Hunter Association would be diminished if that happened too many times.

Even though they had issued a substantial number of missions at the opening of the association, most of them were missions issued by the association itself, such as purchasing Magical Beast Essence Crystals, Magical Beast Eggs, and young Magical Beasts.

Just having missions issued by the association was inadequate. If Yang Ling wanted to quickly increase the influence of the association, he needed to obtain many requests from outside sources. Without hunters of a high enough caliber, they would naturally not be able to attract missions that carried substantial rewards, and it would make it difficult to expand the influence of the Hunter Association quickly.

“Sir, why don’t we try our luck in some large cities like Montson or Bavaria?” Seeing Yang Ling shake his head, Viola, who had been responsible for the tests, naturally knew what was going on.

“Recruit experts from the large human-populated cities?” Yang Ling’s eyes lit up when he heard Viola say this but then shook his head once more. On the Tailun Continent, young men who had good connections would choose occupations such as Spellcaster or troop. Not many people were willing to become vagrant adventurers who earned little pay.

Furthermore, ascertaining if a hunter was of a high level or not was not as simple as looking at the Battle Energy or Magical Energy in his body, he also had to assess their overall abilities, such as their skills when it came to tracking, escaping, setting up traps, long-range attacks, and experience, among many others. An exceptional hunter required an extraordinary amount of guts and patience, not just powerful Battle Energy or Magical Energy.

After a moment’s hesitation, Goode said, “Sir, in my opinion, rather than waste our efforts on the large human-populated cities, we could recruit the aborigines living deep in the forests and mountains. They are more familiar with the lush forests, the movement patterns of Magical Beasts, and techniques for capturing and killing their prey!”

Under normal circumstances, nobles had an easier time grasping the methods for learning Battle Energy or magical spells. However, they would either choose to join the Spellcaster Association or the Warrior Association. Even the weakest of them would join influential troop teams. No one would choose to be a vagrant adventurer.

Some of the commoners might have no choice but to join the ranks of adventurers to make a living, but they were unable to grasp powerful Battle Energies or magical spells because of their natural limitations. Even if they had vast experience when it came to hunting, they were limited by their innate strength and overall ability, making it hard for them to become high-level hunters. Their abilities might stay at the level of one-star or two-star hunters all their lives.

If that was the case, they might as well recruit the aborigines in the forest who had dealings with the Magical Beast Territory. That way, they could not only avoid wasting too much time, but they would also be able to recruit enough hunters within a short amount of time, greatly boosting the influence of the Hunter Association.

Recruit aborigines from within the forest? Goode had made an excellent point. With Goode’s reminder, Yang Ling quickly recalled the barbarians who were hailed as the “mountain warriors.” An average person might think that an ordinary barbarian would pale in comparison to a Swordsman, but the barbarians were much more powerful than the Swordsmen and Spellcasters who had grown up in the city when it came to abilities such as tracking, escaping, and hunting in the forest.

“Sir, as long as we come up with a way to sketch miniature Magical Spell Formations, there would perhaps be a way to allow low-level hunters to use the Magic Hunting Cards as well. That would quickly enhance their overall abilities!”

After a moment’s deliberation, the Gnome Elder loudly voiced his opinion. Low-level hunters were unable to use Magic Hunting Cards because they did not have enough Magical Energy in their bodies. But as long as they drew out a miniature Energy Gathering Spell Formation on a crystal ore using the Blood Essence of a Magical Beast, they might perhaps allow even hunters of the lowest level to use the Magic Hunting Cards and through that increase their overall abilities within a short span of time.

“That’s right, draw out a large number of Magical Spell Formations. That would solve our problems quickly!” Goode loudly agreed, surprised.

“That’s right, as long as there is a large number of Magic Hunting Cards, as long as every hunter could use them freely, that would naturally increase the abilities of the low-level hunters within a short amount of time!”

…

The group gave their approval one by one when they remembered the abilities of the Gnome Tribe, becoming more and more excited. Only Yang Ling shook his head. The Magical Spell Formations of the Gnome Tribe were powerful indeed, but unfortunately, they had been unable to produce them in batches, and it was wishful thinking to hope that they would achieve a major breakthrough anytime soon.

Furthermore, even if the Gnome Elder succeeded in achieving a breakthrough, Yang Ling was unable to supply that many Magic Hunting Cards. Even if he spent the entire day making the cards, he could only create about twenty. There was no way that he could distribute the cards to every hunter at a low price like cabbage at the market.

Even though he knew that it was impossible, Yang Ling was not so foolish as to dampen the confidence of the group. He left quickly after instructing Goode to recruit barbarians from the forest as soon as possible. He wanted to have a little time alone to think deeply about the long-term development of the Hunter Association.

Even though he had set up the Hunter Association, there were still many institutions within it that had not been perfected. There was also a need to further refine and consolidate many areas of the association. Goode was experienced and intelligent, but unfortunately, he had been working hard all on his own and was frequently tired. He was bound to miss some things no matter how able he was.

Yuna was smart and had her own unique interpretations of many things, but she was severely lacking in terms of experience and could not hold her own. He could get her to help perfect a few of the institutions, but it would be too much for her to handle if he asked her to conceptualize an all new operational model or institution.

“It would be good if Harribell was here!” Yang Ling could not help but recall the capable Harribell after massaging his temples. As the person in charge of the Boulade Merchant Association, even the experienced Goode might not be her match when it came to planning and deductive abilities! Unfortunately, it was impossible that she could serve as his tactician given her current role.

As Yang Ling walked outside, thinking deeply, a soldier quickly ran over to him and said, “Sir, something bad is happening, a bunch of people are causing trouble in the association. There are more and more spectators and Sir Kaluso will not be able to hold them back much longer!”

“Trouble at the association? Would the troops that have a conflict of interest with the Hunter Association take action this quickly?”

In his surprise, Yang Ling decided to hurry. He led Goode, Viola, and the rest toward the Hunter Association by the Donau River on fast horses. Even though he knew that he would come into conflict with the Troop Association sooner or later after he set up the Hunter Association, Yang Ling had not expected it to happen this soon!

Rushing over on their horses, the group soon arrived at the Hunter Association by the Donau River. They had not even stepped into the door when they heard shouting and crying.

“Toria, how could you leave us just like that, what are we going to do in the future…”

“Sigh, how pitiful, to meet with such an end just after joining the Hunter Association, how unlucky!”

“Didn’t you say that you would pay a thousand Purple Crystal Coins? Why are you delaying it, are you all liars?”

“That’s right, you’re too much. The notice clearly said that there would be a compensation of a thousand Purple Crystal Coins, what’s going on now?”

…

With the crowd was a lady dressed in a white long dress with tears on her face. She was carrying a baby and kneeling by the body of a young man, bawling her eyes out. The young man had been lain on the ground and was not moving. His eyes were wide open, his face pale. It looked like he had stopped breathing long ago.

Yang Ling quickly understood what was going on after hearing Kaluso’s explanation.

A large group of people had suddenly charged in from outside. They were hunters who had just joined the Hunter Association as well as troops that had gathered in Wissen Town. They had begun shouting after putting Toria’s body onto the ground, asking Kaluso to hand over the thousand Purple Crystal Coins.

Without giving him time to react, Toria’s wife had started bawling, holding their month-old child, claiming that the association was a cheat and would not compensate them even after someone had died. The shouts and cries gave him no chance to further learn the details.

As this was happening, there were still several hunters who were in the midst of their registration and waiting for their tests, but they quickly swarmed around the scene when they heard the commotion made by Toria’s wife. Not knowing the details, looking at the woman in tears, seeing the young child in her arms, they all pushed the blame toward the only person in charge present, Kaluso!