Astral Apostle

Chapter 132: Unexpected Intelligence (1)

Zhou Jing led Ross through the streets and alleys under cover of the night and the houses.

The group of Mutant Blood Guards pursued relentlessly, but they could not keep up with Zhou Jing’s speed and were gradually left behind.

After running full speed for a while, the bell suddenly rang throughout the city.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The guard sounded the alarm, alerting the entire town.

Groups of ill-dressed guards rushed out of the barracks and set up defenses.

However, the area of the town was only so big. Therefore, even if the alarm was issued, the pursuers would not be able to reach Zhou Jing. Moreover, the number of soldiers guarding the city wall was limited, so it was impossible for them to intercept him.

Not long after the alarm sounded, Zhou Jing had already reached the city wall.

This section of defense was sparse, and there were only a few guards present. Hearing a commotion, they stuck their heads out of the entrance and discovered Zhou Jing and his companion.

Zhou Jing smoothly climbed up the wall and turned to look at the guards beside him.

When the guards saw this, they brandished their weapons as if they would charge forward at any moment. However, the distance between them slowly widened as they “advanced,” having mastered the essence of the moonwalking.

Zhou Jing grinned and ignored them. He climbed over the wall with Ross and left.

The guards watched helplessly as the two of them disappeared into the thick night, their faces filled with frustration.

After a while, the many Mutant Blood Guards finally caught up to the city wall. When they heard that the thieves had already run away with their lord, the guards were furious.

“Why didn’t you stop him?!”

“Damn it, if you had held them for a moment, we would have arrived!”

The Mutant Blood Guards shouted angrily.

The guards obediently listened to the accusations. On the surface, they looked scared, but secretly, they rolled their eyes.

Funny, why did you think we could have stopped them?

The Mutant Blood Guards seemed to have expected better from them. They scolded the guards and left the city to chase after them for a while. When they felt that it was enough, they returned with a look of disappointment.

On the surface, they blamed the guards for not stopping the kidnapper, but in their hearts, they were secretly glad that the kidnapper was not stopped.

During the pursuit, they had already calmed down from their initial adrenaline.

They thought the enemy had undergone a Third Enhancement… They would never be able to catch him.

Everyone was just putting on a show to show that they had done their best. Then, they went back to their own homes.

As for Lutt… they just wished him luck.

On the other side, many town residents were woken up by the alarm. They walked onto the streets to observe and whispered to each other to ask about the situation. When they learned that the Lord’s residence had been infiltrated and the lord kidnapped, they were all shocked.

Wow, there was finally a good man who acted on behalf of the heavens!

The more Lutt existed, the more desolate White Plains Town became. However, he ignored the losses of the residents of White Plains City and continued to be a lord. Many town residents were already dissatisfied with this. However, the Empire did not do anything, so they were helpless to change the status quo.

When they suddenly heard this, most of the citizens were not angry at all. Instead, they wished they could celebrate.

As word spread, the news of Lutt’s kidnapping spread through the city like a hurricane.

Many people secretly prayed for Lutt.

— Please kill the hostage!

...

After leaving White Plains Town, Zhou Jing ran with Ross for a while before quickly realizing that the pursuers had given up.

“They stopped chasing so quickly. Tsk, looks like Lutt is really unpopular.”

Zhou Jing curled his lips and brought Ross to a hidden area in the wilderness. He put the unconscious Lutt down and woke him up.

The moment Lutt opened his eyes and saw Zhou Jing’s face, he panicked. He sat on the ground and hurriedly moved back, wanting to get away from Zhou Jing.

“How can you still be alive? I saw you die with my own eyes! What exactly are you!”

He could not understand how Jason could come back from the dead. This had already shattered his worldview. His mind was a mess, and he could not think at all. He had almost been scared out of his wits.

Zhou Jing grabbed Lutt and moved him back to the original position, raising his eyebrows as he spoke.

“Do you think that since the matter has passed, the dead will not return to settle the score?”

Lutt trembled. Faced with Jason, who was beyond his understanding, his mental defenses were completely broken.

He treated Zhou Jing as a vengeful ghost, and there was only fear in his heart.

“W-What do you want?”

“I ask, you answer. Cooperate honestly, or my friend will be happy to do something to you.”

Zhou Jing pointed at Ross and casually added,

“He’s proficient in more than a hundred torture methods. He can definitely help you understand your body structure.”

Lutt turned to Ross and immediately believed him… With such an expressionless face, one had to be a ruthless killer!

Zhou Jing then asked what he wanted to know.

Lutt was so frightened that his defenses were completely gone. His brain shut down, and he basically answered whatever was asked. He did not have the courage to resist.

Not long after, Zhou Jing asked about the truth behind Lutt’s assassination attempt and the deeper details.

“… So, you secretly sent benefits to the tribe and accumulated strength in response to a certain Roman’s call to rebel and split the empire one day to create an independent state?”

Zhou Jing blinked in surprise.

Due to Lutt’s overreaction back then, he suspected that there was an inside story. However, he did not know that a lord of a remote place like Lutt was actually extremely involved in a rebellion plan that seemed to stretch throughout the empire.

The leader of this rebellion plan was a guy called “Roman.” He was also Lutt’s backer. He had a high status in the Terra Empire, but this was the first time Zhou Jing heard this name.

Those who participated in this rebellion plan were all tribal lords. With Roman’s plan as a link, they formed an indirect alliance and waited for a day when they would rise up together.

Lutt only knew a portion of the list, not all the people involved in this plan.

Zhou Jing asked in detail and roughly understood the motives of these tribal lords.

The Empire was established by the joint forces of the tribes, but as time passed, they had been secretly thinking of ways to weaken the inherent tribal forces. The Empire had replaced the original position of the tribes and absorbed a large number of resources, causing latters’ strength to decline.

Many tribes felt indignant and thought that it was only with everyone’s support that the Empire could be established. However, the Empire was trying to get rid of them after they had served their purpose, so they decided to respond.

The Terra Empire had been established for more than 40 years, and the threat of mutant beasts still existed. However, the living environment had already improved greatly. The various tribes no longer felt that there was a need to unite, and they were increasingly dissatisfied with having the Empire above them. Therefore, under Roman’s lobbying and many factors, many tribal lords had the idea of escaping the Empire’s rule.

There was no need to overthrow the royal family. That would cause both sides to suffer. Moreover, the various tribes in the Mutant World actually did not value the so-called “Kingship” as the head of the Empire… It had only been 40 years since they entered the Empire Era from the tribal era, and the legitimacy of the royal family’s rule had yet to be completely established.

Every tribe that had survived since the primordial era could be considered an “orthodox” rule as well.

It was because of their support that the empire was established. If they were all independent, the empire’s rule might be justified.

Due to a similar judgment, the various tribes decided not to listen to the Empire anymore. They planned to establish themselves as kings and be completely autonomous, getting rid of the leadership of the Empire’s royal family. Then, through their alliance, they would make the Empire afraid to attack them in retaliation.

“They want to split a unified regime into a bunch of small regimes and make their own decisions instead…”

Zhou Jing sank deep in thought.

In simpler terms, this situation could be understood as… the various tribes, including the current royal family, funded the company together. Everyone was an investor, and the head of the company was the royal family.

But now, the person at the helm of the company wanted to turn the company into a sole proprietorship and dilute everyone’s shares. Hence, the various investors could not take it anymore and planned to withdraw their investments and start their own company… Putting it in this manner, the situation seemed to be clear.

Zhou Jing could understand the thoughts of the various tribes. According to the situation in the Mutant World, there might really be a high chance of success.

However, Zhou Jing was curious about what motive this “Roman” had.

He had lobbied so many tribal lords and secretly formed a team planning to split the empire…?Was this person ambitious? What benefits could he obtain from this?

Just based on Lutt’s description, Zhou Jing could not establish a clear image of Roman without coming into contact with him personally.

Zhou Jing shook his head and put this matter aside for the time being. He then asked about Buzz Cut… In comparison, he was more concerned about his background.

However, Lutt knew nothing about this. He only knew that there was a faction behind Buzz Cut who had a cooperative relationship with Roman. This person was also a secret guard sent by Roman to protect him.

The interaction between Lutt and the mysterious force behind Buzz Cut was limited to providing some supplies every year, such as food, ores, herbs, and so on.

The method of handover was often to transport the supplies to different locations. After Lutt’s people left, this mysterious force would send people to take the supplies away. The two sides would not meet.

However, ever since Buzz Cut died, his interactions with that mysterious force had also been cut off.

“Since the handover is on your side, that mysterious force must have a base nearby…”

Zhou Jing frowned and pondered.

Unfortunately, Lutt did not know the location. There was no way to find him. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Even Lutt didn’t know about Buzz Cut’s true background. At least now Zhou Jing had a clue.

That ambitious man called Roman had a deeper relationship with the power behind Buzz Cut, so he definitely knew more.

Zhou Jing asked what he was concerned about and obtained the information he wanted.

After he squeezed all the information out of Lutt, he was not interested in arguing with him. He directly slit his throat.

A line of blood appeared.

Lutt’s eyes widened as he clutched at his bleeding neck. Pain filled his face.

He had always been on guard against the living, but he did not expect to die at the hands of a “dead person”…

But for some reason, he felt relieved.

After suffering for more than half a year, he was on tenterhooks every day, like a walking corpse… Perhaps only by dying in the hands of this undead could he be released from his nightmare…

Lutt fell to the ground, feeling the life ebb out of him. The past appeared before his eyes, but it was like something from his previous life. He slowly closed his eyes.

Zhou Jing did not look at Lutt’s corpse again. There was no reason for him to let this person off.

Putting his saber back into its sheath, he began to ponder.

“Someone wants to split the empire… Roman…”

To be honest, it did not matter to him whether these tribes fought for independence or not.

Both sides had their reasons. He did not feel a sense of belonging to the Terra Empire and did not care that much.

What Zhou Jing was thinking was about how to make use of this information he had accidentally obtained. He wanted to find a way to earn resources from this matter…

“In the eyes of outsiders, I’m still a dead man. I can’t appear in the surrounding area in case I’m recognized by my former hunter companions.

“It seems that it’s time to leave the White Plains City area… Perhaps I can only use the information I obtained to get close to the core of power in the capital… Furthermore, Roman is in the capital. If I want to contact him, I have to go there.”

Zhou Jing’s eyes flickered.

In addition, the capital had a large number of resources. He could come into contact with more blood potions and hunter breathing techniques, and it was very safe.

—Perhaps it would be a good place for an Eternal Apostle to develop.