Lord Protector Novel

Hawkeye then regarded Zeke with a smirk. “It's your turn to make your stance, kid. Yannick and Yoshua recruited you, so are you siding with them or us?”

“I'm a bit tired. Where are the quarters you arranged for me?” Zeke uttered coldly.

That remark made his stance clear—he was willing to continue working for Hawkeye.

Megahead chuckled.

“I love candid people like you! Let me tell you something. The cheapest thing here is, firstly, human life. Secondly, it's relationships. It was a wise choice for you to have disassociated yourself from Yannick and Yoshua. You're my buddy from now on.”

Similarly, Hawkeye grinned approvingly. “Hurry up and thank Megahead.”

Against his conscience, Zeke muttered his thanks.

Clapping his hands, Megahead declared, “All right, it's getting dark. It's time for dinner. Assemble!”

As soon as his words rang out, the “beggars” hastily formed a crooked line.

In a whisper, Zeke queried, “They're a Contubernium? Didn't you say that a Contubernium can only be formed with ten people? But there are only eight people here, including their Decanus.”

At that, Hawkeye flashed him a sinister smile. “When I last came, there were still ten members, but only seven remain today. Do you still need me to tell you where the other three went?”

“They're dead?” Zeke ventured.

“Undoubtedly,” Hawkeye asserted.

“When did you last come here?” Zeke asked again.

“Ten days ago,” Hawkeye answered.

Within ten days, three out of ten died. That means a three-tenths mortality rate. The living environment here is even harsher than I'd thought.

Hawkeye then continued, “Kid, guess how they died.”

“They were attacked?” Zeke postulated.

However, Hawkeye shook his head.

“That possibility is pretty low. My guess is they probably died of starvation. Look at them. They're all as thin as sticks, evidencing that their harvest has been dismal recently. Without spiritual water, they don't get any food. Starving to death is nothing unusual here. Oh well, spiritual water is increasingly scarce nowadays, and life on Theos Island is growing all the more difficult.”

As Zeke had heard of the term “spiritual water” several times, his interest in it was truly piqued.

What exactly is it? Can it be used to cultivate?

Right then, Megahead started distributing food to the team.

The man standing right in front held out a small porcelain bottle while wearing an ingratiating expression on his face. “This is my harvest today, Megahead. Please verify it.”

Megahead shook the porcelain bottle. In the next instant, a smile bloomed on his face.

“Haha, you did great to have harvested two drops of spiritual water, kid. Here, this is your food for today.”

He handed the man four black buns.

The buns had all turned sour and moldy. In the outside world, even beggars wouldn't eat them.

But in the eyes of the man, the buns were priceless treasures that would keep him alive for another day.