Chapter 166: Chapter 118: Shock! The Winner Is... L

Only Baron knew the real reason he was standing there like an idiot. He had strained his back while pulling Brother Sorrowful earlier and needed a moment to recover.

The battle had taken a heavy toll on Baron’s Spiritual Power and Blood Pattern. On top of that, the aftereffects of [Burning Blood] left him feeling utterly hollowed out, compounded by an instinctual craving for blood.

’To be honest, I’m just putting on an act,’ Baron thought. ’I could have collapsed by now, but here I am, still standing.’

By the time the applause had dwindled away, Baron felt a little of his Spiritual Power return, and the instinctual urge for blood to recuperate had somewhat subsided.

Only then did he take the money pouch from the announcer and step down from the stage—taking the stairs, of course.

The moment he stepped offstage, Baron knew what it felt like to be embraced by the entire world.

Everyone in the Demon Hunter candidate area was excitedly shouting his alias, "L." Among them were not only the teammates he’d briefly gotten to know during the Mundra mission, but also many of the Demon Hunters who had once, led by Andre, ostracized him.

One by one, they came to congratulate him.

The spectators in the backstage area also shouted and screamed for him. Women rolled up their sleeves and waved their handkerchiefs, their slender, pale arms shimmering in the sunlight.

The men threw coins and bared their chests... and their chest hair.

Baron glanced once before looking away. An attendant in black stockings came over and said that a few distinguished individuals were looking for him.

Baron clapped Maguire on the shoulder and, as his friend shot the crowd a "See that? That’s my brother!" look, basking in the shared glory, he followed the attendant away.

The attendant, a woman named Sasha, led the way with a seductive sway in her step. Her slim waist and shapely hips moved like a busy little bee.

A pity, then, that she wasn’t looking to pluck any flowers, but rather to be plucked herself.

As they passed, the surrounding men looked ready to gouge their eyes out and paste them onto her. Sasha felt a swell of pride, certain that with the allure she was currently displaying, the champion of the Hunting Competition must surely be captivated by her as well.

She was just waiting for him to call out to her and, like so many champions before, furtively ask if she was free to meet at a tavern later to... discuss the origins of humanity.

For a long time now, Sasha had earned quite a few tips from champions this way.

Many of the other attendants were green with envy, but what could they do? Who could compete with Sasha, who was one-eighth Fairy and the most beautiful girl in the arena?

It had been a tradition ever since the Hunting Competition was established more than a decade ago.

While the Knights and Demon Hunters battled for supremacy in the ring, the girls below fought for the chance to be noticed by the champion.

And Sasha was leading the pack, having brought in a total of 2,887 Silver Coins in bets.

Naturally, this opportunity, like those before it, was hers for the taking.

The attendant had already planned her response. Given this Demon Hunter, Allen’s, looks and physique, she’d only play hard to get three times at most. Any more and he might lose interest.

Sure enough, before they even reached the long pavilion where Lewis and the others were waiting, the Demon Hunter called out to her from behind.

Her mind flashed with images of the Demon Hunter: shattering the Barbarian Bear Knight, Gray, with a single blow; forcing the Sun Knight to his knees three times; defeating six Knights single-handedly; and now, after vanquishing the Faith Knight, Zhan Jiale, standing alone and proud on the stage.

All that, paired with his pale, sharp, handsome face.

Sasha told herself not to get excited. She stopped elegantly, turned back with a demure look, and squeezed her thighs together, not even realizing her own voice was trembling.

"Mr. Allen, the hotel has already been booked..."

"Hotel?" the Demon Hunter said casually. "Thank you, but I’m already staying at the Blood Church."

"Then you..."

"Oh," the Demon Hunter said, picking up the prize money pouch. "I was just wondering... the prize was supposed to be 1,000 Silver Coins. Why is it that when I counted, I only found 978?"

"Where did the other 22 coins go?"

"I hope Miss Sasha can help me report this to the organizers. Thank you."

With that, before Sasha could say a word, Baron walked right past the dumbfounded attendant and entered the pavilion.

Sasha’s lips parted, but she didn’t know what to say.

Under the long pavilion, the group saw Baron and rose from their seats to greet him.

Lewis was all smiles, patting Baron’s shoulder with his metal prosthesis as if they were old friends.

"Such talent in one so young! After today’s performance, I’m afraid I’ll have more people asking me about arranging a marriage for you, L, than in the last two days combined."

Baron replied, "It was a fluke."

Stephen nodded reassuringly. "Viscount Yarilan told me that you, L, are a playwright from Feinan who fled to Prole after offending the king?"

’Feinan is practically a closed country right now. My cover shouldn’t be blown anytime soon...’

Baron glanced at Viscount Yarilan before nodding. "A moment of carelessness. I wrote the wrong thing."

’So he must have hit a little too close to home,’ Stephen thought, then asked, "When did you come to Prole and become a Bounty Hunter?"

He wanted to know how long it took Baron to go from unranked to Entry Tier, and then from there to the cusp of the Bronze Tier.

Baron caught the probing nature of the question and gave a conservative answer, "Two and a half years."

In reality, it had only been about a month. It was the same for his Dragon Knight and Blood Demon Hunter paths; every time he idly used his [Spiritual Vision], he’d discover his Spiritual Power had leaped up again. ’So-called bottlenecks?’ he thought. ’Never had one.’ That was why he felt two and a half years was a sufficiently conservative answer. After all, Sun Gawain had already reached Bronze Tier by twenty-seven or twenty-eight. And Silver Lion Wilder from the Inner Side was supposedly already Silver Tier at just thirty-two. His own Black Iron rank at twenty-two was nothing to brag about.

Who knew that as soon as the words left his mouth, the expressions on Stephen and the other three men would freeze solid.

They all stared blankly at Baron, their faces stiff.

’Was that too conservative? Or not conservative enough?’

Baron was bewildered. He thought the timeframe he’d given was perfectly low-key yet impressive—it suggested he was a decent talent without being too boastful. Their reaction shouldn’t have been so extreme.

"A Demon Hunter on the verge of Bronze Tier in two and a half years..." Stephen murmured. "That’s half a year faster than it took Chairman Liuxia."

Liuxia. The Vice Chairman of the First Hunter Association, a Silver Demon Hunter, and said to be only in his thirties. Everyone believed he would be Gillian’s chosen Elector for the upcoming imperial selection ceremony.

For Stephen to compare Baron to such a figure showed just how highly he regarded his potential.

Even though the Demon Hunter’s promotion ritual was fraught with risks and strict standards—it wasn’t as simple as just having enough Spiritual Power—this was still incredible.

But undoubtedly, even if it took L another year or two to reach the Bronze Tier, it would still be a terrifyingly fast achievement.

Such incredible talent for cultivation, paired with his monstrous aptitude for combat and learning...

Stephen believed this Demon Hunter from Feinan could even be considered a candidate for the next Chairman of the Hunter Association.

’We’ve struck gold!’

"This is what you call a genius!" Lewis exclaimed. "It seems that in a few short years, we will see the rise of another Silver Tier Demon Hunter."

Then, his tone shifted. "It’s all the fault of that foolish King Feinan! Corrupt and incompetent! Harming the virtuous and forcing a talent like L to leave his homeland! From this day forward, I, as the City Lord of Fude City, unilaterally declare a one percent surcharge on all Feinan merchant caravans passing through!"

"A shameless king is unfit for great undertakings," Viscount Yarilan added.

She, too, felt that L had been wronged.

Stephen also nodded. "To persecute a young talent like L... the Feinan People must be living in dire straits. In that case, why don’t we publicize L’s story? We can make a hero of him and expose the brutality of King Feinan at the same time!"

’No, don’t!’

Baron opened his mouth, watching as the powerful figures continued to list King Feinan’s sins: his arrogance and debauchery, his exorbitant taxes, his unfitness to be king.

’I think I might have taken this act a little too far,’ he thought.

Just then, Victor, who had remained silent until now, suddenly took a step forward, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Knight Commander, what are you...?"

Viscount Yarilan moved between him and Baron, her hand quietly gripping the sword at her waist, ready to prevent a sore loser from making a scene.

Stephen also frowned. From their conversation, any fool could see that the First Hunter Association had taken a liking to Baron and decided to take him under its wing.

If Victor really couldn’t read the room and decided to cause trouble, Stephen wouldn’t hesitate to put the Knight Commander in his place.

Lewis was frantically shooting Victor meaningful looks, urging him to read the room before speaking, but Victor ignored him and said, "L, I have only one question."

"If the Iron Dragon problem were given to you, how would you answer?"