The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1006: Importance of Trust It shouldn’t have to be said, but Jake’s friends and allies back in the Order of the Malefic Viper were having quite the… experience. Meira, Irin, and Scarlett were all known for having a close relationship with the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, so with recent happenings, they were put in an awkward spot. People like Draskil, who had interacted with Jake quite a bit, were also being looked at weirdly. Even Helenstromoz and other members of her Dragonflight had people temporarily distance themselves from the Order due to the scrutiny they suffered.

No one dared to say anything directly about the Chosen of the Malefic Viper… but rumors were spreading like wildfire.

Either way, after Jake’s announcement he’d made together with Valhal, Meira, Scarlett, and Irin were all brought to Jake’s private residence by one of the enforcers of the Order. The place had special barriers placed by the Malefic Viper himself, making it one of the safest locations in the entire Order, and needless to say, none of them had any complaints about being put somewhere safe.

The mere fact they were brought there was cause for concern, though, even if it did seem like part of the reason was to hide them away without making it clear the Order was still officially protecting them. Fortunately, Meira’s master was also there helping calm their hearts… by teaching them fringe alchemical theory he thought they could all benefit from.

It didn’t really help.

“Teacher… can you tell us a bit more about what’s going on?” Meira interrupted the lesson on what kind of frog poisons were best to synthesize to create ointments to put on trees you didn’t want to be corroded when watered with or even grown in a bath of powerful acids.

Duskleaf seemed to understand that while the lesson was important, perhaps putting the minds of his students at peace would also be important as he spoke. “Yip of Yore is rapidly destroying the expansion and progress the Order has made over the last few years, and as of a little while ago, the conflict escalated to gods fighting with a few dying so far on both sides. Ah, but more on the side of the Order, so we’re definitely losing on that front.”

“That sounds… bad?” Scarlett asked in a slightly worried tone. Meira looked at her in agreement while nodding. She was happy Scarlett was there as the snake was far more honest and straightforward than herself, and she was especially more honest than Irin. Moreover, Scarlett didn’t seem that suppressed by her teacher despite him being a god, perhaps because she had been blessed by the Viper and had interacted with Lord Thayne a few times. It was definitely also a factor that her overwhelming faith and loyalty to the Malefic Viper made her view all other gods as lesser – even if that god was the Viper’s disciple.

“It does indeed sound bad,” Duskleaf agreed wholeheartedly before pausing for a moment. “Anyway, the best way to safely collect the poison excreting from the skin of the-“

“Can the Grand Elder share with us some of the contingency plans of the Order?” Irin asked respectfully. “Seeing as we will remain confined here till the end of the conflict without the ability to communicate with others without your permission, it would bring us comfort to be aware, and we wouldn’t be able to leak any secrets even if shared with us.”

Duskleaf looked at them for a brief moment. “Thinking about such things will not benefit you in any way whatsoever. What’s going on is far beyond the scope of what a few mortals like you should get involved in. It’s far better for you to focus on improving yourselves rather than worry about a reality you have no impact on.”

“But… just knowing if-“ Irin tried as Duskleaf cut her off by raising his hand.

“Fine. Was it contingency plans you asked about? Contingency plans for what exactly?” Duskleaf asked with a sigh.

“If… should the unthinkable happen… should the Malefic One fall… what will the Order do?”

for several seconds before turning around and summoning a projection of an odd-looking tree, acting as if he hadn’t just been asked something. “As I said before, certain trees grow better in very acidic environments that don’t seem capable of producing any life in the first place, and while the roots can handle

after completely ignoring Irin’s questioning gaze. He didn’t give any answer, yes, but that in itself felt like an answer. She’d known her teacher for a good while and noticed one of his tendencies when he didn’t know the answer to something – and couldn’t find the answer through study - was to simply ignore the question and change the subject. He would then come back triumphantly if he

he was talking about… Meira saw it as him just trying

didn’t know what was going on, and

--

the void. Every single one of them gave off the auras

come seeking answers… and once

with current tasks and continue to focus on the retreat while trying to limit skirmishes,” he spoke, his

– old allies of the Malefic Viper – were silent as they heard the order, many of them showing clear doubt. The last time they met, only a few days ago, there had been nine more gods than today. Two had died, yes, but the other seven had left. The Lord Protector noted which ones as he continued by offering

not waver. Do what you’ve done for so many eras already: trust the

“May I know if the

without permission from the

Order. As long as it remains, we shall remain. Your job right now is to protect the members of the Order as best you can as they retreat while not losing

figures simply nodded, while a few were clearly wavering. They’d already reported everything, and the Lord Protector waved his hand as there was nothing more to say that day. “I repeat, just continue as you are, and stop worrying about the losses of the day, as they are naught but building blocks for the future. You may bleed, yes, but that blood shall become

knew that the next time they met, there would be fewer than today as doubt overpowered their loyalty to the Malefic Viper. The gods kept fading away until only

anything from Master?” Duskleaf asked

Protector shook his head. “Not since he went into

once and had only been back for a few years… so many had

true nature, in wait for the right moment to strike at his foe’s neck. However,

the Order would fall entirely if the Malefic One didn’t show up to defend it even when directly challenged, as while the Lord Protector was confident in his own power, he knew a figure like Yip of Yore was not someone he had confidence in beating. This was not even mentioning the possibility of other powerful allies Yip of Yore could bring along, as he’d been working with both Valhal

would show and take on the challenge. He

was no fighter and would always take the safest approach, and it was by far the safest for their master to simply remain in his Divine Realm while ignoring Yip of Yore entirely. While Yip perhaps had confidence in challenging the Malefic Viper, he also knew he wouldn’t stand a chance if the fight took place within the Viper’s Divine Realm. If it was Duskleaf being challenged like this, he would likely just take everyone

there was a factor in this thing he wasn’t sure about at all. An unknown element that he’d always

two were silent for a moment before the Lord Protector spoke again. “I trust in Master, more than anyone… but I do not have the same feelings toward his Chosen. If he has