Astral Apostle

Chapter 137: Empire Hunter; Undercurrents (1)

“Jace and Rosen… Come with me.”

Cole did not suspect anything. Instead, he led the two of them into the base and led the way.

Zhou Jing looked left and right to observe the situation in the base. The most common facility on the road was the training ground. There were hunters guiding groups of young boys in their training, shouting non-stop.

These youths were wearing the same simple leather uniform. The youngest was eight or nine years old, and the oldest seemed to be no more than 14 years old.

Cole saw that Zhou Jing had noticed these children and introduced them.

“They are apprentices who have yet to receive the enhancement of the Mutant Blood. When they complete the basic course and their bodies grow to their peak state, they will use the Mutant Blood Potion. Those who survive will become reserve Empire Hunters and complete the first hunt of their lives under the lead of a senior hunter.”

“Where did you find these children? If the enhancement fails and they die, will it be okay for them to die?” Zhou Jing asked.

“Some of them are children sent by Imperial Hunters who are based elsewhere. Some are youths found in the countryside, and there are also young people who took the initiative to apply to become hunters… Among them are also the blood descendants sent by the various tribes,” Cole said casually. “Being a hunter is risky to begin with. A group of people will die every year. It depends on luck.”

As he spoke, he turned to look at Zhou Jing.

“You used to be a freelance hunter. After you officially join the army, you can also participate in the Imperial Hunter classes.”

Zhou Jing nodded. This was mainly why he had come. Joining the Empire Hunters was much more efficient than asking for guidance from others.

The two of them chatted as they walked. Soon, they arrived at the base’s archive room, which also served as the registration for new hunters.

“Do you know how to write? If not, I can help you dictate in the records.” So Cole got someone to take out a blank book and place it on the table.

Zhou Jing took it and took a look. There was a simple form on it. He had to fill in the information, including his background, past hunting records, his expertise in weapons, the number of times he had been enhanced, his focus on enhancement, and so on.

He picked up a pen and filled it in himself. During this time, when he traveled over from White Plains Town, he gained a better understanding of the local customs of the Terra Empire. At this moment, it was easy for him to make it up, and he also filled in the information for Ross.

The hunter’s records naturally did not record his experiences in White Plains Town. When Zhou Jing opened the map in the past two months, he had especially stopped in a few towns and left behind the hunter’s records of a certain “Jace and Rosen” in various hunter’s taverns. He had also participated in a few simple mutant beast expeditions and left behind a trail of records… Even though the other party might not send someone to investigate, it was still a good failsafe.

Cole took the information from the two of them and looked at it carefully. Then, he looked at Zhou Jing in surprise. “You’ve undergone two enhancements?”

“Am I different from the other Second Enhancers?”

“That’s not it… Most of the freelance hunters who enlist are those who have only completed their First Enhancement. It’s rare to see a Second Enhancer take the initiative to join. They’re already considered elites among the Empire’s hunters.” Cole started to take Zhou Jing more seriously.

Zhou Jing was curious, “How many people are there in the empire? Who is the strongest?”

Hearing this, Cole had no intention of hiding anything. After all, this was information that many Imperial Hunters knew.

“Currently, the Fifth Enhancement is the highest reached among the Imperial Hunters. There are two of them. One of them is the Chief Hunter conferred by the Empire and the current commander of the Imperial Hunters.

“There are 12 to 13 hunters who have undergone their Fourth Enhancements. A portion of them are in the base, and the rest have been sent out. There are 50 to 60 people who have undergone their Third Enhancements. They are the backbone of the force and usually lead a small team of hunters. Those who have taken their Second Enhancements are the elite of the hunters and also the main force of the expedition against the mutant beasts. As for those in the First Enhancement, we should have more than a thousand people.”

Zhou Jing blinked.

He felt that the scale of the Empire’s hunters… was smaller than he had imagined.

However, when he thought about it carefully, the population of the Mutant World was not that large, to begin with. The active army of the Terra Empire seemed to only have tens of thousands of people. In comparison, the proportion of imperial hunters with extraordinary combat strength could already be considered very high.

Moreover, most of the members of the Imperial Hunters were sent out to maintain the safety of the cities and towns. They suffered high casualties all year round, and there were also additional casualties if their enhancement failed. At the very least, there would be dozens or hundreds of hunters dying every year. It was not easy for them to accumulate to their current scale.

Although their numbers were limited, their combat strength was terrifying.

A single Mutant Blood Warrior could fight against an army of dozens or hundreds of people, just like a super-soldier. As for one or two thousand super soldiers… On the battlefield of cold weapons, they could probably kill anything that stood in their way. Against the Empire’s regular army of tens of thousands of people, the current Hunter Corps could easily crush them.

“With such a huge group of superpowers, if they join forces, won’t it be easy to overthrow the Terra Empire?”?Zhou Jing was secretly speechless.

He suddenly realized that although the rule of the Terra Empire seemed stable, it was actually sitting in the crater of a volcano—ready to be burned through by the lava spewing out from under its butt.

It was fortunate that the ancient ideological tradition of the tribal era was still in effect. Most hunters had higher moral standards and liked to be swayed by emotions. In their eyes, they only cared about suppressing mutated beasts to protect the people. Otherwise, it would have long become a chaotic world… As expected, Terra was still quite capable in this regard. They did not restrict the group of Hunters and instead allowed them to rely on their own self-awareness.

Zhou Jing did not show it on his face. Instead, he changed the topic and asked,

“By the way, I’ve always heard that the Imperial Hunter’s workshop is the best. I’ve never seen it before.”

Cole nodded and smiled. “That’s right. The Empire Hunters have the largest workshop in the country. The craftsmen inside are all elites, including master-level pharmacists and blacksmiths. They study all kinds of new artisan techniques and new blood potion formulas. The latest results are all given to us first.”