Chapter 127 David is dead?
Night once again enveloped the wilderness in an oppressive manner.
After several days of intense trekking, the team led by Jemin has now set up a temporary camp deep in the wilderness hundreds of miles away from Golden Harbor.
The air was filled with the smell of earth, the smell of burnt wood in the campfire, and a faint smell of blood that had not yet completely dissipated.
Benjamin showed no sign of fatigue. He and General Brandon inspected every possible camping site before sunset and finally chose an open area with a small hill behind it, which was slightly higher and easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The carriages were ordered to form a circle, forming a simple defensive fortification to protect the nobles in the center of the camp.
Bonfires crackled throughout the camp, the flames dancing and illuminating the tired and uneasy faces of the nobles.
At this moment, they were huddled in their respective carriages or snuggling around the campfire. Although they were dressed in gorgeous clothes, they could not hide the embarrassment and frustration emanating from them.
Count Reinhardt, the once highly respected old nobleman, was now sitting by a simple campfire, cutting a piece of roast meat with difficulty using the silver cutlery he carried with him.
His face was pale and his eyes were full of worry about the future.
Beside him, Baron Fabio's obese body was almost sunk into the simple animal skin cushion. He rubbed a worn token tied around his waist with his thick fingers anxiously.
General Brandon sat alone, holding a short sword that was polished to an exceptionally bright shine. His eyes were bright, but he would look towards the direction of the royal capital from time to time, his brow furrowed.
"My lord, although Lord Jack is invincible, the orcs and monsters in the wilderness are nothing but chickens and dogs in front of him..." Baron Fabio lowered his voice, almost leaning close to Count Reinhardt's ear, his fat face filled with worry.
"But after arriving in the capital... my distant cousin from that branch has long coveted my title and the property in Golden Harbor. Now that we've lost all our territory, and only have these assets left, I'm afraid those clansmen in the capital won't let us go easily..."
Count Reinhardt stopped what he was doing and sighed softly.
He understood the darkness and cruelty of the royal aristocratic circles better than Baron Fabio.
A bitter smile played across his weather-beaten face. "It's more than just titles and inheritances. Fabio, my grandchildren are constantly fighting over the family inheritance. Now the family has suffered heavy losses. If we elders die unexpectedly on the road, those side branches and younger generations will be able to rightfully divide up all our inheritance."
General Brandon, who was listening to the conversation, couldn't help but interject, "Count Reinhardt is absolutely right. My worthless nephew has been eyeing my military power for a long time. Given his character, he might even collude with outsiders and create an 'accident' to inherit the inheritance legitimately. The aristocratic circles in the capital are more dangerous than the wolves and tigers in the wilderness."
There was a barely perceptible chill in his eyes.
Baron Fabio shuddered with fear, his fat body involuntarily leaning towards the campfire. "Oh my God, General! Are you saying... they will send people to kill us on the road?"
General Brandon did not answer directly, but just glanced coldly at the nobles scattered around in the distance.
As members of the nobility, they know best how dirty things can be done by a noble.
In this wilderness full of dangers, this fear is infinitely magnified.
They were once high and mighty rulers, but now they are like a group of helpless lambs.
They lowered their voices, their words filled with madness for power and money.
In the corner of the camp, in an inconspicuous tent, Benjamin was not asleep.
He sat cross-legged, and the reconnaissance eye in his hand took in everything in the entire camp.
The nobles' whispered conversations, their fears, anxieties, and hidden suspicions all transformed into wisps of worldly aura, which were silently absorbed by the talisman in his dantian.
"It's a pretty good sample." Benjamin chuckled.
He knew that these nobles were wary of his powerful strength, but because of this strength, they were extremely dependent on and afraid of him.
This contradictory mentality is exactly the "sample" he needs.
He no longer paid attention to the nobles' whispers and turned his attention to another matter.
He had previously summoned several mercenaries who had been relatively smart during the day and had developed a fear of him.
These people recognize the role of power more than those soldiers, and at least they will obey his orders until there are greater interests.
Because they had been walking for several days, the surrounding environment was out of the sweeping range of the orc army, and inhabited towns and villages began to appear gradually.
It's just that these villages are more conspicuous as targets, so the nobles would rather endure worse conditions and camp outside.
What Benjamin asked them to do was very simple, which was to collect intelligence and information from the surrounding villages.
Although he has the Eye of Reconnaissance, Jemin is not very clear about the front-line intelligence or the situation in the surrounding towns, so he needs to collect relevant information, at least not to foolishly run into a town controlled by the orcs.
Several hours later, when the night was deepest and the darkest moment before dawn, the mercenary captain finally returned to the camp panting.
"Sir! I've heard!" The captain knelt outside Jemin's tent, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "The orc army is indeed gathering. With supplies shipped from Golden Harbor, their vanguard troops have already gathered in several towns north of the capital. They could launch a large-scale offensive at any moment!"
Benjamin nodded calmly. The orcs' actions were not beyond his expectations, so he signaled them to continue.
"Other than that, there's no specific information. If I have to say... there's probably a rumor about those foreign demons." The mercenary captain's tone was a little conflicted.
"Oh? What rumor?" When he heard it was related to wizards, Benjamin became interested.
The mercenary captain took a deep breath. "Last month, several kingdoms joined forces to strangle a powerful foreign demon named 'David'! It's said that the wizard was incredibly powerful. After arriving in this world a few months ago, he destroyed several tribes in the Orc Kingdom one after another. Later, he broke into the elves' territory and was unstoppable! If it weren't for... if it weren't for the divine intervention and the brave warriors of various countries who spared no casualties, he would have been impossible to eradicate!"
The captain of the private army still had excitement about "gossip" in his eyes. "Sir, you don't know! Those people in the tavern said that the battle was simply earth-shattering! It's said that even space was torn apart, countless mountains were reduced to dust, and rivers were diverted! After the death of the wizard David, his soul even turned into a vengeful spirit, cursing many nobles and priests who surrounded him, causing them to suffer strange diseases and eventually die tragically!"
On the surface, Benjamin seemed to be listening with interest, but his heart was suddenly shocked.
“David?”
There are many wizards named David, but if we say the most famous "David" among the wizards who have just arrived this year, it is probably the tenth-level genius from the First Nolen Academy.
He sent the captain of his private army away and fell into deep thought alone.
"A divine manifestation... does that mean something like an angel? If it's a Level 3 creature leading the charge and a group of Level 2 creatures surrounding them, they might be able to take out that genius."
As a level ten genius, David's trump card is definitely not much worse than mine.
But just like the problem that Benjamin encountered at the beginning, if there is a third-level creature leading the team, the opponent is likely to kill him before he has a chance to play his trump card.
"That's not right. Judging from the rumors, the two sides should have experienced a great battle. However..."
Benjamin couldn't help but search his memory and found the last contribution ranking list.
During the two months that Benjamin was secluded in Golden Harbor conducting research, the contribution rankings were still updated on time.
Because of his lack of contribution in the past two months, Benjamin's ranking dropped two places and is now down to sixth place.
However, the growth rate of contributions from other wizards has also begun to slow down, and it seems that they have all entered a dormant stage.
"David..."
Benjamin quickly looked through the previous contribution lists for the changes regarding David.
In the early days, David was always ranked in the top three in the contribution list.
But in the second month, his contribution ranking declined. At its lowest point, he even fell to fifth place, indicating that the growth rate of his contribution points had slowed down.
It seems that he had wiped out the orc tribe near where he landed, and with no prey left, he probably moved to the Elf Kingdom at that time.
After arriving at the Elf Kingdom, you must have encountered many enemies, and your contribution ranking soared to the top three.
"Then last month... David's ranking jumped directly to first place. It seems that he must have encountered a big battle."
Benjamin's fingers trembled subconsciously. "It seems David was indeed beaten to death... No, this only means that he experienced a great battle last month. It doesn't mean that he was the one who died. We still need to see the changes in the contribution list this month..."
Having said that, Benjamin knew very well that if David really experienced such a siege, the possibility of death would be very high if he was unlucky.
"Could a mere incomplete plane war possibly cause such a huge loss? Could David, a level 10 genius, really die so easily? Wizards are all smart people. They wouldn't really choose such a reckless fool as their heir, right?"
Benjamin looked like he was meditating with his eyes closed, but all kinds of thoughts were constantly churning in his mind.
Finally, he sighed deeply and said, "Forget it. There's no point in thinking about this now. I'd better wait until we reach the capital to get more specific information."
Putting all this behind him for the moment, Jieming sat cross-legged on the ground and meditated before dawn.
(End of this chapter)
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