One-Eyed Monster

Elder Rostellum was greatly puzzled, but he couldn’t figure out why.

At this critical moment, his Politician’s Sound Sensing Skill had suddenly disappeared. He was equally clueless as to why and could only incessantly tug at his own beard.

This was an absurd reality. Rostellum couldn’t explain the mystery behind it. He knew that at this moment, he could only wait here. Besides endlessly pondering the questions and praying constantly, he could do nothing else.

He wondered why these Treasure Hunters had suddenly become extremely violent. Was it related to what happened on Guru Mountain? He also wondered why the Great Witch Biggs hadn’t come down from the mountain. Had she vanished there? He further wondered why the people from the Alchemy Workshop weren’t managing anything and were always holed up in Lubin Tavern. He couldn’t even get near the tavern’s door...

He would never understand the world of the Alchemists, nor the world of the Treasure Hunters. To him, this was indeed a sad thing.

Of course, this was not Elder Rostellum’s main concern. What truly influenced his mood was always those golden objects. In fact, he was worried about the Gold Rooms under Guru Mountain. These Gold Rooms were all his careful arrangements. By rights, it would be quite good if a county in the Kayne Empire could have one Gold Room, but Elder Rostellum had set up Gold Rooms in Guru Village. This showed his keen interest in those golden things; likewise, he was also adept at managing them. But now, those violent fellows had suddenly started to smash and rob. Who knew when they might get ideas about these Gold Rooms?

Elder Rostellum knew very well that at present, these people were just fighting for some alcohol. Once they were sated, they would start thinking of other things. Among these, the most important thing naturally was gold coins. Wasn’t their purpose here for these gold coins? These guys—idle all day, lazy, and slothful—were now inexplicably so frenzied. They would certainly remember the ultimate purpose of their coming to this remote place. Alcohol was just the beginning; the later targets would become more obvious.

This is human nature, and Elder Rostellum couldn’t control it either. What comforted him was that Aliusan, the leader of Black Mountain, was still by his side and did not participate in the plundering actions of those violent Treasure Hunters...

Desire is infinite. These Treasure Hunters will always have the desires in their hearts fanned into flame. They can now fight for some alcohol. When they realize that things are easier to obtain through such savage force, they will become bolder, and their desires will grow larger. By then, alcohol alone will not be able to satisfy their thirst.

Elder Rostellum was also relieved that the pub owners of Guru Mountain had stocked enough for the Deep Winter Season. The food and alcohol in the cellars would be enough for these Treasure Hunters to squander for a while... But he did not know how long this peculiar phenomenon would last.

Elder Rostellum sincerely hoped that the masters of the Alchemy Workshop could come out to help him. He really couldn’t control anything here anymore.

However, those fellows from the Alchemy Workshop had shut themselves away since communicating with the hunchbacked tavern owner, and had even driven him out, which baffled him. He had thought that he was quite important in the eyes of Chief Kuyi Tulan of the Alchemy Workshop.

But now he finally realized that he was, after all, just a minor county chief. People only thought of you when they needed you; when they didn’t, they would cast you aside like a blade of grass.

Yes, who would come and manage these violent Treasure Hunters for him?

Now, fights were breaking out everywhere at the foot of the mountain, and they couldn’t be stopped at all. All the taverns had been smashed to bits, and the once-clean roads, despite the white snow, were now a scene of utter chaos...

What should he do? That was the question Elder Rostellum most wanted to know at the moment. But no one would pay him any mind.

Even Aliusan beside him just stared blankly, wide-eyed and speechless.

Aliusan had not expected that Black Mountain, which he had painstakingly established, would collapse so quickly. Although his wings had grown a bit stronger, his feathers were still not fully fledged. Now his team had disintegrated. Apart from Musa and Motan, everyone else had degenerated into violent Treasure Hunters.

Musa and Motan were truly loyal Earth Wolves. Aliusan hadn’t expected that the usually aloof Musa would end up standing by him. It was hard to explain such things.

Aliusan felt betrayed by his team. His only remaining support was Elder Rostellum, the county chief. Although he was just a county chief, and currently being pushed around, things would be different once he returned to Gaga County. Besides, he had the mysterious Alchemy Workshop backing him...

So Aliusan chose to stand by Rostellum without hesitation; he wouldn’t be swayed by such trivial benefits right now.

The chaos at the foot of the mountain was both strange and, in a way, not strange at all.

These Treasure Hunters were simply stimulated. They felt their dreams were about to be shattered by those mysterious Alchemists.

Those mysterious Alchemists were powerful, as they could actually catch monsters on the mountain—something the Treasure Hunters had dreamt of. Whether it was fur, bones, or even living creatures, any part of a monster could be sold for a good price in the Dusk Market or the Dark Market. But unfortunately, those monsters were taken away directly by the Alchemists, leaving the Treasure Hunters no hope, which made them very irritable.

At first, they were drinking to drown their sorrows. But after drinking too much, these fellows became impulsive. They felt they were afraid of nothing, so they started fighting each other. They believed that only the strong deserved those monsters and White Cloud Fruit. It was all the fault of the weak, they reasoned; their very existence prevented the strong from uniting, so these weaklings had to be eliminated...

Thus, everyone began to feel invincible. They started trying to eliminate each other, fueled by alcohol, and began to brawl. This gradually escalated into a chaotic free-for-all.

Now, no one could stop them. As long as they didn’t approach Lubin Tavern, there would be no problem. Those Politicians who used to control this area couldn’t manage them now!

More importantly, for the first time in all these years, Guru Mountain was not dormant during the Deep Winter Season! What did this mean? It meant something had been discovered on the mountain!

These Treasure Hunters were frustrated and unwilling. They watched others easily climb the mountain during the Deep Winter Season, but they could not. It was a huge blow to them.

These suppressed emotions finally drove them down the path of violence...

Elder Rostellum was helpless in the face of this chaos. Although he could somewhat analyze what these brutes wanted, he couldn’t stop them.

In fact, he wanted to know what Chief Kuyi Tulan intended to do. Why had he actually sent his subordinates up the mountain in this Deep Winter Season weather? Was it really because, as the Chief Alchemist, his own power was so immense that he didn’t care about these thugs?

It was unclear, and Elder Rostellum dared not jump to conclusions. He was still counting on Kuyi Tulan to deal with these thugs for him.