Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Master Jacob
Ethan got it.
Actually, solving this issue wasn't as troublesome as it seemed.
He could treat the situation like an unfair brawl. The Boar Monarch Pete was alone and getting ganged up on. But what if the Boar Monarch Pete ignored everyone else and just grabbed the leader, Bluefield Taylor, and gave him a thrashing?
A beating wouldn't do much, but what if it turned deadly?
Unless those major families were truly bound by life and death, having experienced the past events at Forest Town, Ethan didn't think they were the type to play fair!
Ethan quickly clicked on the icon of the Purple Thunder Solar Python.
He informed the folks at Blackwood of the next steps.
In no time, the descendants of Blackwood sprang into action.
Time in the game kept ticking.
[Blackwood Year 42.]
[This year, the psychic fields have grown to about 40 acres, and it's another bumper harvest year.]
[Children in Gratitude Village have been eating psychic rice from a young age, starting to attend schools established by Blackwood to learn culture, martial arts, and physical training.]
In the scene.
You could see that Gratitude Village had built a school, from which the clear voices of children reading aloud could be heard.
In the distance, there was a training ground.
An experienced Psychic was imparting combat skills to the children.
Gratitude Village, once a gathering place for disaster victims, was brimming with vitality.
Ethan could feel it.
In twenty or thirty years, these children of Gratitude Village would become the strongest pillars of its development.
However, the powerful figures of Gratitude Village were not training at the training ground as usual.
Even the Blackwood courtyard was missing the figures of Blackwood experts.
In the birthing room.
Mary, who was about to give birth, lay on the bed, surrounded by midwives from Gratitude Village. This was the fourth time these midwives were helping Mary with childbirth, and they were very experienced.
"The young master really, his wife is about to give birth, and he's nowhere to be seen."
The midwife was rambling.
Mary just smiled faintly, if not for the sweat on her forehead and the noticeable bulge on the bedding, one might not even realize she was about to give birth.
A trace of worry flashed in her eyes as she looked out the window.
"It's all up to you guys now, everyone must be safe!"
...
[Your descendants have entered the Silver Iron Forest!]
"Have they arrived?"
Looking at the information in the event column, Ethan clicked on Nathan's icon and switched the view.
Outside the Silver Iron Forest.
Representatives from three nearby towns, totaling seven major families, had gathered together, resting in the woods on the outskirts of the forest, setting up camps to discuss definite strategies.
"The Demon King of the Silver Iron Forest has lived for nearly a thousand years, we must be cautious!"
"Equivalent to the mid-stage of Developing Skill, we've invited Master Shanzai from the Green Pine Temple, who can match the Demon King in battle. Plus our eight pseudo-dan, the Demon King is surely doomed this time."
"After the Silver Iron Forest, resources will be divided among our families, and we shall thrive!"
...
This high-level battle attracted experts from various families and clans, with over a hundred people present.
The Blackwood couple, Nathan and Lucas, along with Julian and several Emerging Ability experts borrowed from the Rodriguez and Martinez families, were also among them, standing conspicuously on the massive body of the Purple Thunder Solar Python.
Even with such a lineup, these major families still had their complaints.
They had heard of Blackwood's exclusive victory over the two major families of Forest Town and thought Blackwood had extraordinary strength. Now, seeing only a Purple Thunder Solar Python impressed them, but many thought Blackwood was hiding its true capabilities. With the great battle imminent, it was not a good time to challenge Blackwood.
Ethan observed their movements.
What amused Ethan was.
He could actually eavesdrop on the conversations of these family forces, their animated characters all displayed subtitles.
Ethan found it amusing that he could eavesdrop on the conversations of these family powers, their animated characters all displaying small text bubbles, especially on the side of Taylor from Lantian.
Inside their tent, Taylor's ancestor, who was over 200 years old but looked merely like a youth, was rumored to have spent ten years of his lifespan to alter his appearance to remain charmingly handsome. This Taylor was also the overlord of Lantian, thanks largely to Ryan, who years ago made sure no one in Lantian dared to defy Taylor.
At that moment, Ryan was secretly gathering the heads or elders of the other three major families, deep in discussion.
"Once the Silver Iron Forest is breached, I have already made arrangements with Master Jacob of the Green Pine Temple to claim the corpse of the Forest Demon King," Ryan declared.
No one objected; they all nodded in agreement.
Ryan continued, "All seven families have come together, but once the Demon King is dead, how do you all view the distribution of benefits?"
The others looked at each other.
Ryan added, "Let me be frank, the reason I called you all here is to discuss this matter. Our seven families have long agreed to develop the Silver Iron Forest together and to distribute the benefits evenly. But exactly how this 'even distribution' should be implemented is another matter. What do you all think?"
The other three families were delighted with his words.
"Senior Ryan speaks wisely. Even if we work together, we should differentiate based on the effort contributed."
"Exactly, our four families have sent the most experts. Why should we share equally with them? In my opinion, once the Demon King is dead, we should take the most valuable parts!"
"Especially Blackwood, whose experts are all at the early stages of Emerging Ability, some just having broken through. I see them as just making up the numbers, such friends I can do without!"
The so-called secret discussion quickly lost Ethan's interest after a while.
He was scrutinizing these powers' experts.
Soon, Ethan's gaze fixed on a monk.
This monk sat under a giant tree, quite plump with a shiny bald head marked with a scar from his vows, hardly recognizable as a monk if not for his shaven head. He looked more like a kitchen old-timer who sneaks food all day, greasy from overeating.
Around his neck hung beads the size of plums, and he wore a beige monk's robe embroidered with gold threads, holding a golden staff. It was clear that the Green Pine Temple where he resided, known far and wide in Tranquil County, was not short of Spiritual Tribute money.
[Master Jacob]
[Abbot of Green Pine Temple, a renowned expert in Tranquil County.]
Ethan frowned.
The Boar Monarch Pete of the Silver Iron Forest had a thousand years of cultivation, but facing this abbot, the odds of victory were slim.
After all, no matter how much gold and silver he wore, his cultivation was of Buddhist teachings, which were especially effective against demonic energies.