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

After shaking his head, hunter Kermtin was incredibly confused when he saw the spectators around him, as well as the ropes on his body, “Viola, why did you tie me up, this… Just what’s going on?”

What’s going on?

Looking at the confused Kermtin, looking at his partner who had went through thick and thin with him, Viola finally relaxed after asking Kermtin a few simple questions and ascertaining that he had fully came to his senses.

“Hehe, you lad, you went insane and began scratching anyone you saw. You almost clawed open my throat!” After his elation, Viola shook his head, quickly slicing open the sturdy ropes around Kermtin’s body and helping him up.

“Thank you Chief Elder!”

Kermtin immediately knelt in front of Yang Ling after listening to Viola’s explanation and understanding what was going on. He had lost his mind after getting injured and having a few sips of alcohol, and was completely unable to recall what he had done. If not for Yang Ling, he might have stayed a lunatic forever.

“You’re welcome. As the Chief Elder of the association, this is within the scope of my duties!” After personally helping Kermtin up, Yang Ling gave a mysterious smile, then continued, “Kermtin, closely examine this Magic Hunting Card and see if it is any different from before?”

Kermtin’s heart shook when he took the card Yang Ling handed over to him and saw the mysterious symbols that had not been there before. He had felt a sense of familiarity. With a thought, the Wind Wolf that he had tamed for many years instantly appeared before his eyes, extending its tongue to lick his right hand. It was more friendly than it was before.

Oh, why is this the case?

He had wanted to test his coordination with his War Pet after stroking the head of the Wind Wolf. However, he did not expect the Wind Wolf to pounce forward and return with a section of a withered branch, fast as lightning, when he had just thought about it. He no longer had to use a mixture of signals like he had before.

He was even more surprised when he saw his hands suddenly shrink and mutate, turning into a pair of wolf claws. He shot out a sharp Wind Dagger with just a gentle movement of his hands, slicing a branch the thickness of a wrist into half.

Seeing his claw-like hands, looking at the branch that he had severed in one strike, even Kermtin himself was dumbfounded, much less the spectators around him. Kermtin stuttered, “Chief Elder, this… What’s going on?”

“Hehe, don’t worry, this is a good thing. You will turn back to normal if you relax!” Looking at the surprised yet worried Kermtin, Yang Ling had a faint understanding of what was going on.

After recognizing its master through the blood dripped onto it, the Magic Hunting Card had closely linked Kermtin and his War Pet, the Wind Wolf, and in a strange turn of events, gave Kermtin a portion of his War Pet’s abilities.

Could it be that a person would obtain the abilities of his War Pet as long as he introduced his blood into the new card?

In his doubt, Yang Ling got the Gnome Elder to hand over the remaining six Magic Hunting Card that had the Gnomes’ magical spell formation, modifying them on the spot, introducing an Illusory Restriction within the cards. He then handed the cards over to Viola and the hunters at the side, allowing them to test out the effects of the new card.

After seeing Kermtin’s powerful abilities and how he had rapidly turned back to normal, the hunters were raring to test out the new cards, all of them sealing their War Pets into the new cards before biting open their index finger and spilling a few drops of their blood onto the card. As hunters who took risks wherever they went, they could encounter threatening situations at any time within the forest. No one was willing to miss the opportunity to quickly improve their abilities.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment!

After spilling their blood onto the card, other than Viola obtaining the powerful Earth Spike of his War Pet, the Violent Earth Bear, the rest of the four hunters did not gain the abilities of their War Pets. They were incredibly envious when they saw the excited Viola.

Could it be that only people who had a certain amount of mental energy could obtain the abilities of their War Pets?

Yang Ling felt that he had a faint understanding on the crux of the issue after closely observing the differences between the subjects of his experiment. Unlike an average person, Kermtin himself was a Swordsman, while Viola was a Spellcaster. Not only were their abilities far superior to the average hunter, the amount of mental energy they had were also above that of an average person. Perhaps it was due to this that they could luckily obtain a portion of the abilities of their respective War Pets.

“Elder, Master Aaron, I still have a dozen Magic Hunting Cards here. Draw the magical spell formations onto them as soon as possible!”

Even though there was no way he could make every hunter obtain the abilities of their War Pet, Yang Ling was already very satisfied that he had successfully gotten the cards to recognize their master. He left quickly after leaving the Gnome Elder and Master Aaron with a few instructions.

After achieving a breakthrough on the Magic Hunting Cards, he hoped that he would be able to achieve a similar breakthrough on the Man-eating Vines and puppets as soon as possible so as to securely wield this power in his hands.

After having executed the dozen assassins at the Magical Beast Plaza, he had handed the puppet Kayseri and the few assassins over to Alice for her to train them. According to the reports of the latter, the movements of the puppets have become more natural under the effects of various medicines. Their expressions were also getting more varied, their reactions more nimble.

This way, he would be able to get them to return to their individual camps and scout for information as long as he established absolute control over them. They would become powerful chess pieces in his hands.

The Man-eating Vines had high speeds, sharp attacks and an indistinguishable disguise. They would definitely make powerful weapons for the hunters’ self defense. If he could solve the problem of them recognizing their masters, he would be able to equip the hunters loyal to him on a large scale and rapidly nurture his lieges, creating a strong foundation for the development of the association.

Magic Hunting Cards, Man-eating Vines and sharp daggers used for close combat, long range crossbows made using Arrow Bamboos that are currently being researched at the military factory…

Yang Ling daydreamed as he walked, full of confidence for the development of the Hunter Association. He could gradually set up branches all over the Tailun Continent when the time is right, expanding the influence of the Hunter Association and completely monopolizing missions and sales associated with Magical Beasts, as well as nurturing a faction loyal to himself. There is strength in numbers. This way, it might not be long before he found out about the secrets behind the disappearance of the Ancient Wizards.

Following the events, the Gnome Elder and Master Aaron tried their best to solve the problem of drawing magical spell formations in batches, while Viola recruited more and more hunters, gradually expanding the influence of the Hunter Association.

Goode was fully responsible for the development of the territory and secretly increasing the intensity of the excavation at the Five-colored Crystal Mine. Alice increased the speed in which she trained the puppets. Yuna accelerated the construction of the Magical Beast Base within the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda… Meanwhile, Yang Ling locked himself in his villa, not only rapidly stabilizing his abilities as a Divine Wizard, but also achieving a breakthrough in the Man-eating Vines and puppets.

Just like the Magic Hunting Cards, he managed to solve the problem of it recognizing its master by introducing an Illusory Restriction within the Man-eating Vines. It would be disguised as a belt on a normal day, but could act as a whip when in a pinch. The user could instruct it to attack enemies close to him like a snake.

Due to the time constraints, as well as the fact that he had to expend a considerable amount of Wizard Power and mental energy whenever he modified a Man-eating Vine, there was no way he could equip the hunters at a large scale for the time being. However, equipping a hundred hunters who had relatively better abilities and were willing to work hard for the development of the territory and the association was more than enough.

While a hundred hunters might not seem like a lot, the impact it had on the Hunter Association that barely had two thousand hunters was unprecedented. Every hunter that joined the association would look up to them as role models, all of them hoping that they would receive the mysterious and powerful Magic Hunting Card and Man-eating Vine one day.

This way, under the lead of the hundred elites, the Hunter Association slipped into an era of unprecedented vitality and efficiency.

Generous remunerations, an impressive status, presentable lives, and the tempting rewards…

In just a short amount of time, the Hunter Association had not only managed to attract a large number of adventurers from all over the Tailun Continent who had come to join the association, it had also attracted many troops, Swordsmen and Spellcasters. The influence of the association increased gradually, and the tracks of the hunters grew further and further. The intelligence Viola could collect also increased.

This day, just as Yang Ling was meditating, Viola rushed over in a hurry, “Sir, a few hunters unintentionally discovered a large group of knights and Spellcasters from the Church at the Valenia Valley. Their actions are strange. It seems as though they are prepared to seal the entire Valenia Volcano Valley!”

Seal the entire Valenia Volcano Valley?

Could the relic of the giant dragon be within the Valenia Volcano Valley?

Recalling the mysterious cave he had come across in the Volcano Valley back in the day, remembering the sealed underground city he had seen from the memories of the many Gargoyles, Yang Ling had a thought. He immediately teleported outside and listened to Viola as he explained the incident.

As it turned out, a few low-level hunters had wandered deep into the Valenia Valley that was rumored to be cursed while chasing an Iron Lizard, unintentionally discovering the actions of the Church army. They sneaked out of the valley while the other party had not noticed them and quickly reported this to Viola.

“Good, very good, Viola, give the hunters a reward and seal off all relevant information!” Yang Ling continued after a pause, “Inform Goode. Get him to observe the actions of the Church army in the shadows and strengthen the defenses of the territory and Wissen Castle.”

Yang Ling hesitated no longer after giving Viola a few instructions and seeing him leave, sneakily leaving through the back door of the castle.

According to the previous agreements, both the Wolf Troop Team and the Dark Association would give him a generous reward as long as he helped them find the relic of the giant dragon. Furthermore, there were more and more powerful, mysterious people gathering in town, all of them maniacally searching for the fabled relics of the giant dragon. Even though there was not much hope of him actually obtaining the so-called Divine Weapons, he was not willing to miss the opportunity to expand his horizons.

Under the cover of the night, Yang Ling quickly headed toward the Valenia Valley, gliding past the snowy grounds between the trees like the wind, not leaving any traces behind. Ever since he had stabilized his abilities at the level of Divine Wizard, he had once again achieved a breakthrough in his abilities. At full speed, even the fastest Horned Bee Beasts would not be able to catch up to him!