Chapter 157 Voting Offerings 1

Chapter 157 Voting Offerings 1

"Ugh…."

Karhal groaned in misery as he checked his surroundings after being turned into a mess.

'…Everyone got caught huh.'

It seems they had all been caught during the time he lost consciousness.

The Farmers were looking at them with vicious eyes.

'Hmm…It seems a few have already lost their lives.'

It seemed Keron, Etianon or the others who had been the ones who operated this Human Farm had been killed already.

And people like Sebastienne who didn't really know much about all of this had just been tied down.

Though she had been beaten a bit.

'You shouldn't have crossed the line Keron, Etianon. Stupid bastards.'

He wasn't in the position to say this but that was the truth.

Hadn't him, who didn't know about the farm at all, stayed alive?

The ones who were excessive had been killed but it didn't seem like they had yet decided how to deal with him and the others like him.

'Then there's a bit of hope.'

Though the lives of his comrades had been taken, Karhal didn't really make a nervous expression at all.

Since it wasn't the end yet.

"Hey come on. Hear me out for a second."

Mackill moved the sword to Karhal's neck after seeing him speaking out in such a laid back manner.

"I'll hear out your last words at least."

Karhal, who had been beaten down to a mess, voiced his thoughts with a serious expression.

"Decide what to do after hearing me out. What are you guys going to do now?"

Everyone stopped at those words.

Since they hadn't thought this far due to having been extremely enraged from the previous event.

Akilen spoke with an agitated expression.

"That damn village…"

But Karhal cut her off.

"Are you going to leave the village once and for all? And what about you Hansoo? Are you going to get through the Green Road with these guys?"

The Farmers flinched at Karhal's words.

Green Road.

A road filled with rank 1 and 2 beasts that threatened the village.

Going through this road with their current abilities was suicide.

Karhal spoke with a heavy expression while looking at the Farmers.

Since there was no need to agitate them further by making fun of them.

His life was still in their hands.

"The village is a place where people like you are needed. How long do you think you can survive without the village? The village asked you before we brought you in. As to whether you can sacrifice a bit of humanness for survival. Did it bring you in forcibly?"

"…"

Everyone frowned but didn't rebuke those words.

Since they weren't wrong.

Karhal continued to speak.

"Basically, you guys have just blatantly broken the rules of the village. We didn't do well in our position but at least we're useful. What are you going to go do at the village? Kill everyone of us who went into the forbidden area to torment you? Do you have any idea how chaotic the 1st Area would become without us and how many Farmers would die because of that? Are you going to defend against all those beasts by yourself?"

Karhal then looked at the black marble in Hansoo's hands.

It sealed mana.

A very threatening effect.

But it was useless against the beasts.

Since a beast would just shred them apart with their physical abilities alone.

Though Hansoo might be able to win against them, he wouldn't be able to hunt better than them.

Karhal spoke as he looked at the Farmers who were getting more and more nervous.

This was the last chance.

He needed to stay calm.

Karhal calmly spoke.

"Let's just drop it here. If you guys return to the village separate from us then it'll be solved. If we blame everything to the dead then it would end very quietly. Perfect right? Nothing happened today. Oh wait! Something did happen. Since we cleared the maniacs of the 1st Area and saved you."

Mackill frowned as she spoke.

"How can we trust you? What if you do something to us after you get to the village?"

Karhal chuckled at Mackill's words.

"Aren't you holding onto our weakness? You just need to tell everything to Enkidu if something goes wrong. We wouldn't die but… A 1st or 2nd ranking beast will still be hard for us to fight. There's no reason we would risk going through that just to piss you off a bit more. We Hunters of the 1st Area and will be leaving in just a few months, there's no reason to worsen the situation."

"Damnit."

Mackill frowned as she spat out those words.

Since those words were right despite making her annoyed.

The Hunters wouldn't die from them telling everything to Ekidu.

Since the village wouldn't dare kill the remaining 1st Area's Hunters.

No, there'll be less restrictions on the ones who are in charge of the 1st Area.

Since the problem will get worse if they killed all the people in charge of the 1st Area.

But this was why it was a safe situation for both parties.

If the Hunters would die from the Farmers telling on them then they would do everything in their power to get rid of the Farmers who would be a danger to them after getting to the village.

Mackill took a glance at Hansoo.

"What do we do…?"

Hansoo shrugged and spoke.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"…"

"What kind of authority do I have to decide that? It's all in your hands."

He had accomplished his objective.

And the ones who suffered were Mackill and her group.

If the Farmers could forgive the Hunters then it'll end with that but if they couldn't then the Hunters would just all die.

Since there wasn't a set guideline for a suitable retribution.

"…Phew."

Mackill turned around to hear out the opinions of others.

'Though the answer is predestined already.'

It wasn't a bad offer.

They had already killed the ones who they really wanted to kill anyway.

And as she expected, the people were making nervous expressions while nodding.

Since they didn't really have another method to solve this.

Karhal laughed as he looked at Mackill.

"Then release the mana suppression please. We're on one side now right? You can just suppress us right away if you wanted to anyway."

Mackill sighed deeply and then nodded.

"Okay. Hansoo. Could you please?"

Hansoo then turned off the black jade in his hands.

Kiiiiiiiiing

The jade stopped right away.

At the same time the mana in their bodies that refused to even budge slightly started to move.

'I still can't use it however I want. There are some set rules.'

At the very least, he couldn't turn the surrounding area into a vacuum of mana as he wanted.

'…I should use it when the Harvester comes.'

He knew that he should not use this until then.

While Hansoo was inspecting the black jade.

Karhal made a content expression from the mana refilling in his body and then stood up from his spot.

Along with the other Hunters.

'Damn. Was this really the right choice?'

An aura that theirs couldn't even compare to.

As the farmers were feeling nervous while looking at those Hunters, Karhal looked at the other Hunters behind him and shouted.

"Okay. Since we have thirty people… Take 7 each."

"…Take what?"

At Mackill's question, who was feeling a bit nervous from their powers she had seen earlier, Karhal just smiled as he replied:

"What do you mean? Since we're comrades we'll take you up there on our backs. It'll be a bit hard on your own."

Karhal then pointed towards the top of this darkness.

It was a height that Mackill and the Farmers wouldn't even dare to climb.

But if Karhal and the others helped them a bit with their skills from behind them it'll be very easy.

'Phew. The position of force has been switched over completely.'

But this was still okay.

While Mackill was shaking her head and preparing to go up.

Hansoo spoke towards Karhal who was feeling quite leisurely.

"Wait. We didn't finish yet. Since you finished speaking to them, you should talk a bit with me too."

"…Mmm."

Karhal looked at Hansoo with a heavy expression.

'Yeah. Releasing a caught fish…He shouldn't let us go for free.'

He had forgotten about the most threatening person here while dealing with the angered Farmers.

Even if the Farmers decided to let them go, if this guy wanted to kill them all then it would be a piece of cake.

'That damned marble.'

Karhal's leisurely expression disappeared and was replaced with an extremely pressured expression.

If Hansoo decided to kill them all?

There was no reason to test anything out.

The 200 Farmers and 30 Hunters here would just all disappear.

They would all get smashed apart by that guy's stupidly powerful body.

He would then just eat up their runes and continue.

He wouldn't be able to remain in the village with that but why would he want to stay there anyway?

Someone at his level could just go through the Green Road with ease.

'It seems he has some other thoughts since he hasn't done that yet…'

"What is it?"

Hansoo didn't seem impulsive but this was definitely not a pushover.

And he had nothing to lose either.

He might ask for something large.

Hansoo spoke towards Karhal who had prepared himself mentally.

........................…..

"…Oh my. Something like this really happened?"

Ekidu frowned as she listened to the stories of the Hunters and the Farmers who had returned.

For the Farmers who were suspected of being killed by the beasts or having gone missing to be trapped in the 1st Area.

Karim, the leader of the guards, nodded as he looked at Ekidu.

"It seems the remaining 1st Area Hunters have brought them. Anyways, are you going to just let this slide? Not being able to regulate one's team properly is also a crime."

Enkidu looked at Karim with a heavy expression.

"We have a fault as well for not being able to find something like this out. And since most came back alive… Let's just leave it at that. Oh and watch over them strictly. They might've closed up their mouths due to threats."

"Understood."

Karim nodded.

Since the current situation wasn't one where he should be wasting time on things like this.

The Human Farm event was pretty important but a bigger problem had come up to their front door.

'Tsk.'

Karim finished her thoughts and then looked towards the distance, past Ekidu's residence.

Towards the territory of the Higher race past the ceasefire village.

'Dakidus…'

Karim mumbled quietly and spoke to Ekidu.

"We have to start now."

"….Damn."

Ekidu clenched her teeth at those words.

There wasn't much time until the Harvester of Arukon, the giant Beastmen race, <devouring living ones> Dakidus arrived.

They needed to pick out the offerings before then.

With their own hands.

Karim shook his head while looking at Ekidu and spoke.

With a helpless expression.

"What more are you asking for? This is still very much democratic. Living like this in a world such as this is very good. Ekidu, remember that."

"…Like this huh."

Ekidu clenched her teeth.

It was a word she really hated in the past.

Since those words were just excuses.

But in a situation like this, those were the only words that managed to comfort her in any sense.

Ekidu sighed deeply and then spoke with a heavy expression.

"Okay. Bring everyone to the inner parts to the village and seal them. The vote…Begins."

Karim then nodded as he checked the population of the village.

"Okay. Oh and by the way…There are no preferences and special treatments."

"I know."

Karim nodded as he walked out.

......................

"…This doesn't feel very good."

Altair, one of the newcomers who had come with Hansoo to the village, made a nervous expression while looking around her surroundings.

Since the entire place was in chaos.

"Hurry and go into the village!"

"Damnit! Just use words man! We're going in!"

"Where else would we go anyway!"

Everyone was being shoved through the 52 wooden doors all around the village.

Everyone including the Hunters and the Farmers.

And these people started to move towards the residential area after coming into the village.

To them who moved around in rotations, being pushed in all at once was quite a hassle.

'The issue is… Why is it suddenly like this?'

A hassle like this was something quite hard to see usually.

At this rate the village's system which was needed for it to continue to run would stop.

What kind of event was this that every hour they spent in the Otherworld in leisure was another hour closer to death?

They even thought of running away from the suspicious air but what could they do anyway?

At that moment.

Kuugugugugugu

All the wooden doors started to close up after they all entered.

Every single door from the outermost wall and the fences that divided the three areas.

"Huh?"

All the doors of the wooden walls were sealed.

At the same time some people walked up the hundred scouting posts placed atop of the outermost walls.

Altair frowned as she looked at the people surrounding her as if not one of the people here could escape.

'They are…'

Guards.

They were hard to find in the first place anyway, why were they moving in such a large scale?

At that moment.

Karim, who was standing on top of the highest scouting post, shouted out loudly.

"The vote begins now! The time limit is 3 days. Whatever you do…Receive the recommendations of three people! By proving that you're useful to the village. Those who fail to receive the recommendations of three people will all get sent as an offering!"

"…Offering?"

"Of course we wouldn't stop you sacrificing yourself for your comrades, prove your worth if you don't want to become an offering! To your comrades! Achieve three votes no matter what!"

At the same time everyone' expression split up.

Between the leisurely ones and the pressured ones.

"Damnit! It was two last time! Why is it three now!"

"Aaaaaaahh!"

"Nothing can be done. The balance has been broken because newcomers haven't come in recently. Begin!"

Everyone looked at Altair and Hansoo with evil expressions after hearing the word newcomers.