Chapter 302: Hunting

The five sons before Governor Drag remained silent at his question. In this environment, they didn’t need to study hard because power was inherited.

When Drag felt he no longer had the energy to manage the province’s affairs, he would directly pass the governorship to one of his children and notify the central government of Nagaryll.

After a fair and transparent election by the people, his child became the next governor and had already taken office.

They didn’t care whether the central government had opinions or objections.

This near-hereditary transfer of power had sapped the ruling class’s ambition. Whether they acted or not, they remained the ruling class, so why not enjoy life comfortably?

In earlier years, the struggle between political and religious power kept them in check. If they were too foolish, priests would discipline them or even expel them from the ruling class.

To keep enjoying their power, they had to be somewhat skilled in political struggles, but this generation clearly was not.

The conflict between political and religious powers had become increasingly formalized. People had grown used to shouting slogans without action, becoming more decadent, corrupt, and rotten than before.

Drag, somewhat disappointed, hid it well. He looked at his five sons with different expressions; his lips were pressed tight and pale from the effort.

“Help him, watch him closely, and find out what he intends. Don’t trust him too much, but don’t show hostility too soon.”

One son suddenly said, “Just like before!”

Drag wanted to laugh but couldn’t. If this happened to someone else’s child, he would say with a smile, The child is young; one day he’ll learn to fly. But these were his own children. He couldn’t smile.

Times had changed, maybe…

Drag’s eyes changed. Whether Lynch came to make money or stir trouble, he might be a good whetstone.

One of these children would eventually replace him. They needed to struggle and face setbacks. The temple people avoided confronting these young men to prevent chaos, but what about Lynch?

He was not from here, had no roots here. Would he behave differently?

Governor Drag smiled without speaking, which made the other sons glance jealously at their eldest brother.

They might not understand much, but they knew only one could inherit the governorship.

The effects of last night’s banquet quickly showed after fermenting overnight. The entire Magulana province began to act—it was an excellent chance to make money.

Early in the morning, Lynch was still asleep. Having just disembarked yesterday and drank some alcohol the night before, he was tired.

He was young but needed rest.

Around 6:30, with the sky fully bright over Nagaryll, knocking at the door woke Lynch from his sleep.

His entire floor was a private suite, protected by layers of bodyguards. He didn’t worry about his safety.

Only Sergeant or Asel would knock at this hour.

“Come in!” Lynch fluffed his pillow and leaned against the leather headboard, running his fingers through his messy hair.

Asel entered. Lynch smiled a little. Asel had done well recently, and Lynch didn’t mind showing some warmth.

“Sorry, I just woke up…”

He apologized for his disheveled appearance. Asel looked slightly flattered and hesitated for two seconds before standing at the foot of the bed and lowering his head.

“Mr. Hassana is in the hotel lobby. He wants to invite you to visit the hunting grounds.”

“Hassana?” Lynch was confused, having forgotten who that was. He had met many people last night and had drunk.

Asel quickly explained, “He’s the fur merchant—one of the largest local fur traders.”

Most of Nagaryll’s population lived along the coast and grassland edges. They avoided deeper jungles or grasslands filled with predators.

People often said humans were nature’s top predators, but that was with modern weapons and numbers. A naked person dropped into the wild would become prey within twenty-four hours.

Nagaryll’s slow industrial development had preserved much of its nature. Even now, news of wild beast attacks on villages, causing casualties, was common.

Such things never happened in the Federation, where wild beasts were confined to reserves, hidden away by modern civilization. Here, the wilderness remained untamed.

Outside the city was hunting territory with abundant prey.

Before the world wars, some people came here to hunt and enjoy conquering nature, but after the wars, they nearly vanished.

After a quick wash, Lynch, accompanied by bodyguards, met Hassana, the plump fur merchant, in the hotel lobby.

They exchanged brief greetings before Hassana explained.

“After yesterday, I asked my nephew. He told me some migrating animal herds would pass near here soon…” He rubbed his thinning, curly hair. “We’re organizing a hunt today. Mr. Lynch, you probably haven’t seen one before. Perhaps you’d be interested?”

Lynch thought a moment and agreed. It was also a social opportunity.

The group left the hotel in several vehicles.

The city was small. Lynch had seen much yesterday and thought he knew the area, but once outside the city limits, he realized he’d barely seen the whole picture.

Outside the city wasn’t wilderness or farmland, but a vast slum stretching almost endlessly. The air reeked of foul stench, worse and thicker than inside the city.

The smells included sewage, chemicals, burnt matter, and a rotten stench like meat left to rot in heat, clinging stubbornly to the nose.

As the convoy passed, the people along the road, lying, squatting, or sitting, stood up out of respect for the upper class. Though not strictly enforced, people had grown used to these rigid social rules.

Their dull eyes watched the richly dressed passengers in the cars—not with envy, hatred, or jealousy, but with numb confusion.

After the convoy passed, they sat or lay down again and resumed their previous state.

Hassana handed Lynch a scented handkerchief. “This might help; the smell here is unbearable. I’ve often urged the mayor to drive these poor people away from the city, but he seems to have his own ideas.”

To do business and become a tycoon in Nagaryll, everyone had unique backgrounds. Hassana held little respect for the mayor; social gaps were large but not unbridgeable.

Lynch thanked him and took the handkerchief—hand-stitched, slightly larger than a palm, emitting a herbal or spice scent that masked the pervasive stink and helped clear the mind.

“Are these people refugees?” Lynch asked, puzzled by their lifeless, zombie-like faces.

Hassana frowned, displeased. “They’re poor folks who gathered around the city for various reasons, living off it. Some say we can’t do without them, but I say the city would be better off without them.”

For various reasons—beast attacks on villages, natural disasters, young people moving to the city, and elderly forced to follow—these people had gathered around the city.

They mainly worked odd jobs and day labor. Employees at Asel’s family’s alchemy factory were all recruited from among them.

They didn’t care if the work harmed them or if they lived with dignity. As long as they could earn money, even a little, or just get a bit more food for their families to eat, they were willing to do any job.

A group of poor souls.

After more than ten minutes of driving through this environment, the convoy finally entered true wilderness. Passing one farmland after another, they reached the edge of the grasslands.

It was nearly noon, and the journey was long.

This area lay at the junction of primitive jungle and grassland, in Nagaryll’s midwestern region.

Lynch wasn’t having a great experience. The grass grew damn tall—over a meter high, sometimes more than two meters.

Twisting trees hid carnivorous animals whose emotionless eyes kept watching the convoy as it moved forward.

The distant forest was impressive but too far away to be truly striking. Everywhere in sight was grass.

“We have a camp ahead. When we arrive, we’ll switch to more specialized equipment and vehicles,” Hassana explained. Deeper into the grasslands, the grass would grow even taller.

At that point, ordinary vehicles could no longer travel properly, so special equipment and vehicles were necessary.