Chapter 321 Baby Annie

After some awkwardness, Yang Ling finally understood what they were trying to achieve with the help of Elder Berger's explanation. As he thought, news of the Sword Emperor Elderweiss' defeat in the Magical Beast Realm shook the Troops Association. They immediately canceled all plans to fight the Hunter Association.

After some chit-chats during the wining and dining, both parties quickly commenced proper talks. A mischievous young lady by the name of Annie also joined the discussions. While she kept interrupting Elder Berger, thankfully, she didn't call Yang Ling a "lecherous geezer." She looked around, kept murmuring about how boring the talks were, and got increasingly frustrated with the negotiations.

"Your Lordship, there are currently some overlapping and conflicting missions between the two associations. I suggest that we should both compromise on the missions to avoid overlapping." Elder Beger paused. "We Troops will take charge of missions beyond the forest perimeter, such as guarding the city and escorting the merchant teams. As for the Hunters, you may take on missions within the forest, such as hunting and exploring. What do you think?"

According to the Chief Elder, Elder Berger had made a considerable concession on behalf of the Troops Association. Hunting and exploration missions made up a significant percentage of all quests. To smaller troop teams, such missions could bring them quite the income.

On the one hand, there was the Troops Association, with several thousand years of history, their subsidiaries littered all over the Tailun Continent. On the other hand, there was the Hunter Association, who had limitless potential but had not yet grown in power. The difference in their overall strength was massive.

The Managing Elders were astounded upon receiving the Chief Elder's instructions. They secretly heaved a sigh of relief that they did not carry out any operations that were related to the Magical Beast Realm and Hunter Association. Although they were unclear on why the Chief Elder would give that much, they were sure that he must have some great reason for doing that.

Ever since the Troops Association was established thousands of years ago, the Chief Elders had weathered countless storms and tough times with the association. One could say that without the mysterious and powerful Chief Elder, there would be no Troops Association today.

The Chief Elder's authority could not be questioned!

"Elder Berger, have you heard of 'City Hunters'?" Yang Ling took a sip of rum and smiled slightly.

Yang Ling was also surprised at the extent the Troops Association was willing to concede. He'd been prepared for the discussion to drag, but it had turned out to be effortless. However, no one would say no to more money. He didn't mind probing a little bit more to see what other benefits he could get.

City Hunters? Yang Ling's words sparked the interest not just of Elder Berger but also Goode and others.

"His Lordship, what exactly are City Hunters? Are they fun?" Annie, the little lady, asked loudly before Elder Berger could speak.

Before she came to the Magical Beast Realm, she'd thought that the negotiations would be fun. However, the conversations were as bland as water, and so she quickly lost interest. Now that Yang Ling had brought up something she had never heard of, "City Hunters," she perked up at once.

"In my homeland, City Hunters are the lurkers of the dark. For rewards, they could slice the throats of devils and get rid of the evildoers. For survival, they would also kidnap children or young, beautiful girls for rewards. Therefore, people also call them 'Bounty Hunters.' There is nothing they cannot do for money!" Seeing how cheeky Annie was, Yang Ling tried to scare her on purpose.

"I have heard of places where Ogres love to eat children's plasma, but…" began a slightly puzzled Annie. She hesitated. "But why would they kidnap young, beautiful girls?"

Why would they kidnap young, beautiful girls?

Yang Ling looked at the puzzled Annie, then turned to her hot, curvy, and well-endowed figure that had matured all too soon. He shook his head, finally understanding why Elder Berger seemed to have a headache whenever he saw her.

"Hehe! They kidnap them to do whatever they need to do! You'll know in a few years!" Yang Ling simply shook his head, but the Corpse Wizard King quickly answered as he smacked his lips. He adored young, innocent girls around 12 years old, but it could be due to his mental trauma. His words were often shocking.

"Your Lordship, missions within the forest should be enough to expand the Hunter Association. This is the largest concession that we can make!" Upon hearing what City Hunters were, Elder Berger was quick to understand what Yang Ling was implying.

"Elder Berger, while there are many missions within the forest, they unfortunately pay too much less than missions within the city!"

"Your Lordship, this is truly our limit!"

After some haggling, both parties reached a preliminary agreement. The troops would be responsible for missions in human territories, such as guarding the city and escorting merchant teams. Hunters would take on quests in natural environments, such as hunting and exploring the forests, rivers, and seas.

Furthermore, both parties established a consensus on data sharing and mutual assistance. On the surface, data sharing and mutual aid seemed to be fair. However, the Hunter Association, which was currently in its infancy, stood to gain more from the arrangement.

After they reached an agreement, Yang Ling accompanied Elder Berger in person to tour the Wissen Castle, explaining the blueprint of his plan to develop the Magical Beast Realm. As for others like Goode and Yuna, they stayed back to straighten out some detailed rules with the administrative staff of the Troops Association, avoiding the overlapping of missions. Missions that they could not sort into clear-cut areas were labeled for data-sharing, where both Troops and Hunters were eligible to apply.

After getting a better idea of the development plan of the Magical Beast Realm, Elder Berger proposed that they build a Troops Association Division. Yang Ling contemplated this for some time but did not refuse him. They began to discuss further plans for collaboration.

As they were fully absorbed in their meeting, neither Yang Ling nor Elder Berger noticed that the Corpse Wizard King and Annie had gone missing after the pair had quickly gotten close.

"Eh? Where is Miss Annie?" After an extensive tour and admiring the tens of thousands of nights atop the tall tower, Elder Berger finally realized that the young lady had gone missing.

"Elder, Miss Annie said that she's going out with Master Roke. She promised to return before sunset!"

"Before sunset? Look at the time!"

Elder Berger looked into the dark night as anxiety overcame him. How could he answer the Chief Elder if something happened to Miss Annie? No one could shoulder the Chief Elder's fury!

Yang Ling was also worried as Elder Berger paced around anxiously like a cat on hot bricks. He issued a hushed order to Orlando, instructing him to lead a team to the Magical Beast Plaza and bring back the Corpse Wizard King and Annie.

While others may waste half a day trying to find the eccentric Corpse Wizard King, Yang Ling was different. So long as the Corpse Wizard King was within a 100-mile-radius, Yang Ling could sense his rough position at any time. It was just that the farther apart they were, the murkier the location signal was.

Although Elder Berger had not stated this explicitly, Yang Ling deduced from their long conversation that the girl should be closely related to the mysterious Chief Elder. Should anything happen to the young lady, it would cause immeasurable damage to the upcoming collaboration.

The young miss was unlikely to encounter any danger with the Corpse Wizard King by her side. However, the Corpse Wizard King was, in fact, the reason why Yang Ling was worried.

Due to his traumatic past experiences, the Corpse Wizard King bore a deep hatred towards mature women and alluring young wives. Instead, he doted on teenage girls. In theory, he should not harm a young girl like Annie. However, after the intertwining of love and hatred for over 10,000 years, the Corpse Wizard King was toeing the line of lunacy. No one could say for sure that he would not commit the unthinkable when left alone with Annie.

"Elder Berger, Miss Annie, she…she cleaned Wissen Town of all bottles of 100-year-old rum!" Just as Yang Ling and Elder Berger were about to head towards Wissen Town, Annie's personal guard rushed up to them. In his hands were a tall stack of debt notes.

Had she cleaned out all the bottles of 100-year-old rum in Wissen Town?

A good flask of 100-year-old rum cost at least a thousand Purple Crystal Coins. Ordinary folks could not afford a sip a month. Elder Berger felt his head throb as he skimmed the massive stack of debt notes. What was the playful young lady Annie up to this time?

"Wait, hold on. We are not in Capital Montson, and Miss Annie has just arrived in the Magical Beast Realm. How could she make all these pubs put the wine on her tab?" Elder Berger flipped through the notes. An idea suddenly hit him. He checked the signature, and sure enough, there was Lord Yang Ling's name written at the bottom of every note.

Conning people while assuming Yang Ling's name?

Elder Berger smiled bitterly as he shook his head. It was utterly embarrassing. Although he had not figured out how Annie had managed to con the pubs in Yang Ling's name, nothing was impossible for that bizarre mind of hers. It might have been all fun and games for her, but he was the unlucky one who always had to clean up her mess afterward.

"Let's go. We'll see what this is all about."

Elder Berger put away the stack of debt notes and shook his head again. With Yang Ling, they made their way to the Magical Beast Plaza. Annie was too unruly—if he continued to let her be, who knew what would happen next? If anything more disgraceful happened, he could kiss his dignity goodbye!

She'd just arrived in Wissen Town but had already conned in his name? Was she just a classic unwitting bimbo, or was she borrowing his name to throw her weight around?

Even though Elder Berger had quickly put away the debt notes in embarrassment, one glance was all Yang Ling needed to see his name. In the past, the Corpse Wizard King had been the only one who'd dared use his name to cheat. From the looks of it, he might need to add one demoness to that list.