Translator: Simple MTL Editor: Simple MTL
The peaceful night passed. The next day, after checking that Big Mouth’s condition had returned to normal, Lugh set off for Village Chief Eddie’s mansion.
After bidding farewell to his father and the villagers, Village Chief Eddie brought Lugh and Austin through the courier station and arrived at Fangshi Village, which was not far from Iron Cloud Village.
As soon as Lugh and the others arrived at the entrance of Fangshi Village, it was already bustling with activity. Peddlers were everywhere. They were peddlers who had heard about the competition from outside and were here to earn small profits.
The venue of the competition was decided by the rotation system. This time, it was Fangshi Village’s turn to hold the competition.
There were already people waiting for Village Chief Eddie and the others to arrive at the entrance of the village. The moment they saw Village Chief Eddie appear.
A plump middle-aged man walked forward with a beaming smile on his face. Behind him were two beautiful handmaidens.
“Eddie, you’ve made me wait for a long time. You’ve finally arrived.”
Due to the hot weather, the middle-aged man took out a handkerchief to wipe off the sweat on his head. He extended his right hand to welcome Eddie and the others,
“Andy, just ask your subordinates to handle this matter. Why do you have to personally go out to welcome us?” Eddie held Andy’s hand and said with a smile.
“Eddie, don’t treat me as an outsider. I believe the two people behind you are the genius representatives of your village.”
Andy withdrew his hand and looked at Lugh and Austin behind Eddie with a smile.
“Lugh, Austin, this is the village chief of Fangshi Village, Andy. Why aren’t you greeting him?” Eddie asked the two of them to bow.
“Lugh (Austin) greets Village Chief Andy!” the two of them said in unison.
“Mm. Eddie, follow me. The others are already in position. You’re the only ones left.”
Andy nodded kindly to Lugh and the others, then led them to the venue where the competition would be held in the village.
As Andy led the way for Eddie and the others, the villagers by the roadside greeted Village Chief Andy warmly. It was obvious that Andy was very well-liked in the village.
Such a situation was rare. Beast Masters’ society mostly interacted with benefits. The position of village chief was merely sent by the Imperial Court to manage and supervise. People like Andy, who were sincerely respected by the villagers, were very rare.
Looking at the slightly puzzled Lugh, Austin turned to him and whispered to him quietly.
“Fangshi Village experienced the invasion of berserk source beasts a few years ago. At that time, Andy had just taken over the position of village chief. He organized the villagers to stand firm while waiting for reinforcements. He sacrificed one of his main source beasts to protect the villagers. From then on, Andy’s prestige in the village became very high, and he gained the hearts of the people.
After Lugh nodded to express his understanding, he shifted his gaze to Andy, who was chatting happily with Eddie, and revealed a trace of respect. Towards Andy’s deeds, Lugh felt admiration from the bottom of his heart.
As if he had noticed Lugh’s gaze, Andy turned around and revealed an amiable smile to Lugh.
Under Andy’s lead, Eddie and the others quickly arrived at the venue of the competition. The venue of the competition was a colosseum. It was no different from the colosseum in the Iron Cloud Village. The only difference was that the size of the venue was larger than that in the Iron Cloud Village.
However, Andy did not directly lead them into the colosseum. Instead, he walked into the luxurious inn next to the colosseum.
The interior of the inn was very luxurious. Eddie and the others followed Andy straight up to the third floor. The hall on the third floor was large enough to accommodate a gathering of a hundred people. There were tables, bowls, and dishes placed in the hall. It was clear that a banquet was being held.
Most of the tables were already filled with people. Looking around, there were about thirty to forty people in the hall. They were all young people around the same age as Lugh.
At the main and guest table, there were the village chiefs of the other host villages, as well as the representatives of the geniuses from the respective villages.
“Come, Eddie. I paid out of my own pocket today. Before the start of the competition, I did my best as a host and specially organized this banquet. However, the facilities in the village are simple and crude. There are only some common dishes. Please forgive me.”
Andy pulled Eddie’s sleeve and led him to an empty seat at the main table before sitting down.
“It’s not strange, it’s not strange. Thanks to Village Chief’s hospitality today, I’ll thank you in advance.” Eddie hurriedly opened his mouth to express his gratitude. The other party had given him sufficient etiquette, so as a guest, Eddie naturally gave him the same level of friendliness and respect.
“Eddie, today you’re the last one among us to arrive. Later, you’ll have to punish yourself with a cup.”
The one who spoke was a thin middle-aged man. The man’s eyes were deeply sunken, and he looked somewhat gloomy and cold. When he saw Eddie, who had arrived late, he revealed a smile.
“That’s right, that’s right. However, punishing yourself with a drink is too petty. Drinking a pot of liquor is more exciting!”
A bald, muscular man with tattoos on his face raised a pot of liquor and spoke straightforwardly.
“You barbarian, do you think everyone can drink like you? Eddie, ignore him. Come, I specially reserved a seat for you next to me. Quickly take a seat.”
A gorgeous woman around the age of 30 glared at the bald man and began to wink at Eddie.
The bald man was not angry after being scolded by the woman. He just smiled bitterly and drank a mouthful of strong liquor alone.
After seeing the gorgeous woman’s attentive behavior toward Village Chief Eddie, Lugh and Austin both cast curious gazes at Village Chief Eddie. It was obvious that they were very curious about the relationship between the village chief and the woman.
Under the gaze of Lugh and Austin, the thirty-year-old Eddie could not help but feel a little embarrassed. He coughed lightly and spoke.
“Cough! The three of you are the leaders of a village. Don’t lose the prestige of a village leader in front of the younger generation. More importantly, don’t be too frivolous in your words, lest you cause a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding? I like people like you, Eddie.”
“What’s wrong? You’re in your thirties and you’re not married. We’re both single, so what if we’re together? Moreover, our federation doesn’t have any rules that forbid marriage between officials.”
The gorgeous woman spoke in a shockingly clear voice, completely unconcerned about the gazes of others.
“!!!”
The surrounding youths and girls all heard the gorgeous woman’s bold words and revealed astonished expressions. Following that, countless curious gazes turned towards the main table.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
Village Chief Eddie, who had always been steady, suddenly blushed. He was choked by the gorgeous woman’s words and kept coughing.
When the bald, brawny village chief saw this scene, he gulped down a mouthful of strong wine even more gloomily, as if he wanted to drink himself to death.
He raised the wine jug and drank wildly. He did not even know that the wine had spilled on his face. The sparkling liquid at the corner of his eyes slid past, but they could no longer tell if it was wine or tears…
Everyone instantly understood something when they saw this scene.
He continued to look at the main table with an expression that said, “There really is a story.” Even Lugh and Austin looked at the village chief with a strange expression.
After a short while, Eddie and the others also took their seats.
Only after Andy introduced them did Lugh know the three village chiefs’ names.
The thin man with a cold expression was called Shawn. He was the village chief of Fragrant Wood Village.
The bald man with green tattoos on his face was named Toran, the village chief of Ardent Path Village.
The last beautiful woman who had an ambiguous relationship with the village chief was Lilian, the village chief of Lotus River Village.
Eddy sat next to Lilian with a flushed face, looking extremely worried. Lilian, on the other hand, was blowing on the cold and warm air, asking about the recent happenings.
The bald man, Toran, was drinking alone, while Andy and Shawn were toasting and talking to each other.
The atmosphere of the banquet was very good, and the village chiefs were on good terms with each other. After all, they had jointly held the competition for many years. Although there was a competition of interest between them, their personal relationships were not bad.
The teenagers sitting at the main table next to their respective villages were quietly eating the food on the square table. It was clear that these young people were somewhat reserved in front of strangers.
They only nodded to each other when their gazes met, and this was no exception even for Lugh and Austin.
After the meal, they took a short break, and the afternoon competition started on time.
The contestants entered the colosseum’s preparation room and waited. The village chief and the others sat on the high seats in the colosseum. At this moment, the seats on the stage were already filled with the audience, and there was a clamor of discussion. The audience was clearly very interested in the upcoming competition.
They rode their source beasts to battle on the vast field. There were all kinds of powerful source beasts, different attributes and races, and all kinds of strange innate abilities and source skills.
Beast Masters’ on-the-spot reactions and the possibility of turning the situation around in a showdown could happen at any time. This tension and excitement were what all Beast Masters sought.
