CHAPTER 225: MONSTER HUNTING

"Third, and most important of all." Gabriel’s tone became serious, and everyone stared at him intently. "Walking into Valerian territory means bending the knee. They’ll tax us, press us into their wars, or worse—put chains on our people the moment they know who I am. We won’t be independent anymore. We’ll just be another expendable pawn."

Those present in the meeting now understood Gabriel’s perspective. Knowing that purchasing food from the Valerian Kingdom might affect them in the long run didn’t suddenly seem so appealing.

As someone from earth, Gabriel had witnessed this firsthand. He had seen nations become dependent on others and, in the end, become nothing but a pawn.

The Broken Dawn guild wasn’t affiliated with any kingdom, and he planned to keep it that way.

Sophie stared at Gabriel and a glint of admiration flashed across her eyes. It was rare for someone so young to think several steps ahead.

The longer she spent with him, the more she was becoming fond of him. A small, imperceptible smile appeared on her lips as the meeting continued.

In the end they came to a single conclusion: Ragnarok99 and BrawlerX were tasked to scout around the northern trade route beforehand and then report back.

After the meeting was dismissed, Gabriel waited, surveying the camp operations through one of the surveillance cameras. He saw that the 600 refugees from the Crane Camp had been integrated.

"We need more buildings." He frowned, noticing the poor state of the camp. Unlike Kairo and Bai Young, he didn’t just want to gather a crowd—he wanted to make the camp as conducive as he could.

Just as he was absentmindedly looking at the screen, a sudden ding rang in his head followed by a series of green strings of text flooding his retina.

[Ding! You have refugee +6 stats]

At first Gabriel’s mind was blank, but then he began to recall where the six stats had come from.

One of the effects of the Lord title was that for every 100 citizens you took into your camp, you received 1 attribute point.

He had brought in around 600 people, so it automatically translated to six stats; this might seem small at first, but in the long run these stats would accumulate.

If there was one thing this world didn’t lack, it was people!

For a moment Gabriel’s eyes gleamed with avarice, imagining the rapid speed he could use to increase his strength.

He was almost tempted to go on a raiding spree to calm other bases, but realizing that he would be following the footsteps of the previous bosses, he frowned.

As tempting as it was, Gabriel had to dismiss the thoughts for now.

Meanwhile Anna led Sophie and Cassie through the hallway of the mansion.

"Since you’re now a member of the guild, Master asked me to arrange a room for you," Anna said as the two beauties trailed behind her.

Anna stopped before one of the doors on the second floor and pushed it open. The room was simple—two single beds, a wooden desk, and a wardrobe that had clearly seen better days. Compared to the luxury Sophie was used to back in the castle, it was lacking. Still, she gave a polite nod.

"Thank you, Anna. This will do just fine."

Cassie glanced around without complaint and tossed her bag onto the bed nearest the window. "Better than sleeping outside with the others."

Anna gave them a faint smile, bowing slightly before excusing herself. "If you need anything, call one of the attendants. I’ll report back to Master."

The moment the door closed, Sophie sat down on the edge of her bed. Her emerald eyes softened as her mind drifted back to the meeting. For someone so young, he carried himself like a veteran leader.

Suddenly she felt her heart beating wildly and her cheeks flushed red.

Cassie knew too well what was going through the princess’s mind and couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

Sophie was becoming more and more fond by the day. Cassie prayed in her heart that Gabriel wouldn’t reject her because if he did, he might destroy the

Princess.

...

Some time later Anna returned to Gabriel’s side in the surveillance room and reported, "Master, they have successfully settled in."

"Good." Gabriel nodded, then said in a slightly soft voice, "You should take a rest too."

Anna shook her head stubbornly. "No, I’m alright."

Gabriel rose from his seat; his towering frame loomed over her. He brought his hand up and stroked her head.

"Ouch." Anna let out a soft, pleasant sound that some pervert drunkard would pay thousands to hear.

"I insist." Gabriel said deeply, holding her gaze.

With their eyes locked, the huntress didn’t even notice when she nodded vigorously a couple more times than necessary and scurried out, her ears burning red.

Gabriel sat back in his chair and shifted his attention back to the screen.

Although he hadn’t gotten proper rest after the journey from Crane Base, Gabriel didn’t appear tired in the slightest; this was because the base hadn’t put up any noteworthy resistance.

Instead of simply loitering around, he decided to be productive.

...

Later that night, Gabriel exited the mansion. The camp was noisy as usual—refugees moving supplies, guards rotating shifts, and a few children playing near the storage. Gabriel gave it all one last glance before heading out into the wilderness.

While waiting for Ragnarok99 and BrawlerX to return, he decided to use this time to arm his troops better.

After sneaking past the refugees of the camp, Gabriel stepped out through the main gate into the wilderness.

Activating Bull Rush, he kicked the ground and zoomed into the wilderness; his sheer speed created a mini dust storm in a straight line.

After about five minutes of running, during which he covered over a kilometer’s distance, Gabriel finally noticed a line of trees. Just beyond those trees he saw a pair of gleaming eyes at the edge of his vision.

Gabriel’s lips curved into a faint smile as he muttered under his breath, "Perfect."

The beast came crashing through the trees—a boar-like monster twice his size, tusks glinting with jagged stone edges.

[Mutated Stone Tusker LV.39]

The creature stomped the ground with its hind legs and charged forward.

Quickly summoning his sword, Gabriel sidestepped. Crimson Judgement sliced downward, creating a whoosh; the tusk shattered, and the beast let out a furious roar.

Before it could make another attack, Crimson Judgement was upon it again and this time cleaving it apart.

[Ding! You have defeated Stone Tusker LV.39]

"Extract," he spoke without a moment of hesitation.

[Please choose what to extract]

[+2 Strength]

[Stonehide Shield (Rare)]

[Tusker Core (Common)]

Quickly scanning the options, Gabriel selected Stonehide Shield and its description materialized before him.

[Stonehide Shield – Silver]

[Durability: 200/200]

[Description: This shield reduces incoming physical damage by 15% and has a 10% chance to negate knockback effects.]

After keeping the shield in his inventory, he headed deeper into the forest to hunt more monsters.

Gabriel would spend the rest of the night hunting monsters and extracting.

...

Meanwhile, in Stellar City, the capital of the Valerian Kingdom.

Inside a noisy bar filled with mercenaries, adventurers, and maidens drinking away, Andrew sat relaxed, his arms folded as he watched the bald Garth and the Japanese beauty Yumi argue.

"This is ridiculous," Garth shouted, slamming his mug down. "We tried so hard to get into the Adventurers’ elite squad just to get close to him—and then he leaves the guild entirely! How the hell are we supposed to kill him now?"

Yumi frowned and added softly, "Yeah. He’s building his own power base. If he keeps going at this rate, he’ll be untouchable."

Andrew leaned forward, his lips curling into a calm smile and his green eyes glinting mischievously. "You two are thinking too short term. Him leaving the Adventurers’ Guild is the best thing that could’ve happened."

They both turned to him in confusion.

"Think about it," Andrew continued smoothly. "When he was in the guild, he had the entire guild backing him—elite squads, Scarlet Voss, and the infamous Thomas Voss. Now? He’s independent. No protection. Just him and a bunch of players he’s trying to turn into soldiers."

Garth frowned. "And how does that make it easier for us?"

"Simple." Andrew took a slow sip from his mug before setting it down. "We let him build. We let him gather people, supplies, weapons. Right now I have a plan: we stay low, let him think we’re inactive, and when he least expects it, we strike quickly and remove the bug. Then the game can proceed normally."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "You’re saying we wait? I thought the boss gave us a limited time to get rid of the bug."

"It’s much closer than you think." Andrew smirked mischievously.

The faces of Garth and Yumi showed confusion. Seeing this, the smirk was replaced by a serious expression on Andrew’s face and he leaned forward.

"This is top secret," he whispered. "And it’s just what we need to get rid of him once and for all."