Chapter 43 – Nothing can stop me now!

Chapter 43 – Nothing can stop me now!

Sometime later, by evening, Gerhart's group returned to the village while carrying goods. Gerhart saw two female guards at the gates.

"Gerhart." One of the guards stepped forward and saluted.

"You are?" Gerhart asked, not familiar with the two guards.

"I am Asdis, and this is Zora." The female guard respectfully bowed, showing fealty.

"Right... they are the last two watchwomen. I heard their names earlier while hunting, so they are recently converted. Now, all the village watchwomen are under control." Gerhart clenched his fists in excitement.

With the watchwomen under control, he completed one of his main objectives. Also, among the hunters, a third of them were under control.

"Things are progressing well..." Gerhart thought.

"Did the other hunters return?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes. The last group returned about ten minutes ago." Asdis reported.

"Okay. Keep up the good work!" Gerhart said and walked with his group into the village.

Going inside, the group deposited the goods in the warehouse, met with Kasper to report, and separated to wash up and eat dinner. But what Gerhart didn't expect was that he would receive two unexpected guests shortly after returning. They were Cilly and Konstanze, two young and ripe huntresses. One was a 19-year-old warrior, and the other was an 18-year-old archer. Konstanze had a full figure, and Cilly was more lithe, but they were both pretty girls.

"Hi, Gerhart! Cilly and I didn't get to talk to you, so we decided to visit you now. We also brought beer!" Konstanze gave a friendly smile, hefting a keg of beer.

"Konstanze sort of dragged me here... Sorry to disturb you..." Cilly shyly said.

Among the two girls, Gerhart knew Konstanze was under his control, meaning that she wanted to recruit Cilly.

"Well... come in..." Gerhart smirked, welcoming the two girls inside.

What followed could be described in a thousand words, but in short, Konstanze took the lead, and under the visual stimulation and alcohol, Cilly gained the courage to follow suit, sealing her fate.

Cilly Elkington has successfully converted.

And, of course, he gave plenty of attention to the envious mousey later.

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The following day-

In the training field-

Two men were exchanging punches and kicks.

Thud* Thud* Thud*

"Ugh... Damn. You hit much harder than before and feel much tougher. And your technique drastically improved. What happened with you?" Thomas staggered back, shaking his aching arm.

"Dunno, it just happened." Gerhart shrugged.

"Damn late-bloomer." Thomas inwardly cursed.

"Well, I hope this old man can still pose a bit of a challenge for you." Thomas grinned, returning to a fighting position.

And so, Gerhart and Thomas continued to spar. After this spar, Gerhart's confidence to control his strength returned.

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Later, after lunch, Gerhart went to Jull for a checkup.

"Take a deep breath through the nose," Jull instructed while checking Gerhart's pulse.

"Sss..." Gerhart took a deep breath.

"Breath out."

"Shh..." Gerhart breathed out.

"Okay, nothing abnormal. You are as healthy as a bull." Jull said, retracting his listening device.

"Thanks," Gerhart said and got dressed.

Asher Elkington has converted successfully.Afflictions Detected: Cancerous Cells. Accumulated toxins. Drugs. Varying damage to the body. Fatigue. Advanced Cellular Aging.

Cost for full recovery: 58

Initiate full recovery?

"No. I mustn't rejuvenate Asher. It would be too obvious. I should also exclude damage to the skin or teeth. However, everything else is fine, including the knees." Gerhart muttered.

With that decided, he excluded aging, scars, and teeth, but allowed the rest to heal. The price to heal Asher drastically lowered to barely 6 points, a tenth of the previous price. It was apparent that rejuvenating his body was much more expensive than healing his cancer. But in Gerhart's eyes, there was barely a difference. They were both ridiculously cheap!

Gerhart watched as black energy seeped inside Asher's body, slowly healing him in ways beyond his comprehension. Soon, Asher's complexion turned rosy and woke up. A hint of confusion was in his eyes, but it soon cleared as he noticed Gerhart.

"My lord..." Asher lowered his head with respect.

"Raise your head. Your position is now a Lord, but you must listen to Hope and Havre's instructions. And pretend nothing happened. Understood?" Gerhart said.

"Yes, I understand." Asher raised his head and said.

"Good. Now, did you notice something different about yourself?" Gerhart playfully asked.

"Different? Eh?" Asher blinked in puzzlement as he checked himself, visually finding no difference.

Suddenly, he noticed minor but increasingly apparent differences. His eyesight and hearing were slightly better, the aching in his bones was gone, and the discomfort in his stomach was gone. Also, he felt energetic, his fatigue nowhere to be found. Even his knee movement felt smoother and painless.

"I-I'm healed? Did you heal me?" Asher looked at Gerhart with wide eyes.

"Yes. Consider this one of many gifts." Gerhart smiled.

Asher's eyes started to tear up. Not many knew how agonizing and frustrating his ailment was. Even the many damages he accumulated over the years, including his busted knees, were mended. It was nothing short of a miracle, a saving grace.

"Thank you. I shall serve to the best of my abilities." Asher said from the bottom of his heart.

"Good. Help me convert this village, and I shall reward you." Gerhart smiled.

"I don't deserve it..." Asher humbly said, but his shaking of excitement betrayed his desire for a reward.

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The next day, Gerhart and Hope went to hunt with the hunters. But this time, their objective was different. They changed from four to three groups and were assigned to hunting and bringing back wild game from the inner forest. They would go back and forth three times before ending.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Gerhart stayed with Hauke and Greta again. However, this time, they were with Heiner.

Heiner was a 21-year-old pugilist, and his weapon of choice was a pair of steel gauntlets. He was also the guy with the watery semen. He suffered from Infertility(Low Sperm Count) from his status.

Being four-on-one and not wanting(Or needing) to cuck him for such a flimsy reason, Gerhart and the group initiated a beatdown when they deemed it safe enough.

Thud* Thud* Thud* Thud*

"W-Why!" A bloody Heiner shouted in Indignation.

"It's for your own good," Hauke said with a complicated look, being in the same position two days ago, and smashed his spear shaft on the man's back.

Without being able to put up much of a fight against four equally or more powerful individuals, Heiner eventually fell under Farus's pitying eyes.

Heiner Elkington has converted successfully.

Of course, Gerhart healed his injuries right after. He also tried healing Heiner's infertility problem, but-

Unable to remove affliction. Reason: Condition Genetically Inherent.

Solution: Bless with fertility-enhancing or body-enhancing talents, mending flawed genes.

Cheapest Solution: Initial Healthy Body. Cost: 1.

Gerhart didn't know what genes were, and Hope didn't know as well, but he learned that inherent conditions were incurable unless one changed the foundation of the individual.

With that said, spending one point on this was insignificant for Gerhart, so he spent it without hesitation.

"You should be able to have a child more easily now," Gerhart told the man.

"Thank you, my lord!" Heiner sincerely thanked Gerhart.

Gerhart nodded and looked toward the distance, a smile on his lips.

"I now have the village chief, doctor, watchwomen, and half of the hunters under my thumb. Six more hunters and the initial takeover of the village would be complete." Gerhart thought, a twinkle of ambition in his eyes. "Nothing can stop me now!"

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When they returned with the second catch of the day, Gerhart received a report from Kerry, the watchwoman captain.

"Gerhart, a caravan just arrived. They had two male slaves, and I believe they are guests." Kerry reported.

"... FUCK!"