48: Chapter 48 The Birth of Wild Grass

In a dimly lit room in Decker City, over a dozen Thieves clad in leather armor stared fixedly at Arnold, who sat in the main seat, with looks that could kill; their eyes seemed ready to spew fire.

"Arnold, are you saying that you are now working for a Frontier Lord? And you even want us, the Wild Grass alliance, to join under that Frontier Lord??"

The middle-aged man sitting on the lower left, whose figure resembled a meatball, roared angrily at Arnold.

"Have you forgotten the rules of the Wild Grass alliance!!! We are not your subordinates!! Arnold!! If you want to follow that damn Lord, go yourself; don't think about dragging us down with you..."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold glint flashed through the room.

Puchi~ A massive human head flew high into the air, then bang~ slammed heavily onto the tabletop.

The remaining headless corpse sprayed blood wildly; the gore even splattered onto the ceiling and slowly dripped back down.

The horrific scene caused an immediate uproar in the room; all the Thieves sitting in their seats looked in disbelief at Arnold, whose body was suffused with Bronze Rank Bloodline Power.

The cold gaze of the man holding a dagger made everyone's spine chill.

"Arnold... you!!!"

"You actually awakened Bloodline Power?!"

"Why did you kill him!"

Looking at the headless corpse that had collapsed to the ground with a boom and the head on the table with wide-open eyes, the atmosphere in the room instantly froze to the extreme.

No one had expected that the usually mild and thin Arnold would suddenly explode into violence without a word.

Arnold scanned the crowd with a cold gaze and said indifferently:

"Don't think I don't know that the reason the children from the Orphanage were snatched that night was because this bastard tipped them off and leaked the news of my departure."

Hearing this explanation, the atmosphere in the room relaxed significantly.

Although they didn't let their guard down completely, it was no longer as tense as before.

Having a reason was better than having no reason at all.

A Thief wearing a black cloak said slowly, "Hyena is already dead; let this matter end here. But I still want to confirm with you, Arnold, do you really want to lead the Wild Grass alliance to defect to that Frontier Lord?!"

"You should know that the reason the Wild Grass alliance is named after Wild Grass is because we are lowly and humble, and can only huddle together for warmth."

"Can you be sure that the noble isn't just trying to use you because you awakened Bloodline Power? Can you be sure that the Frontier Lord can survive in the Endless Wasteland? And can you be sure that by defecting to him, we won't become lowly scapegoats?"

"Arnold, you must know that you only have one life. If you die, you have nothing."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room fell silent.

The Wild Grass alliance was just like its name; they were a group of Wild Grass seen everywhere—humble, with no sense of presence, and if they died, no one would even collect their corpses.

Therefore, they were exceptionally sensitive about the matter of who to defect to; they had seen too many companions who were kicked away like trash after being used by so-called nobles.

Arnold heard this and smiled.

"Use me? Only those with value have the qualifications to be used; how can one talk about being used if they have no value?"

"Furthermore, do you know that I have not only awakened Bloodline Power but also changed into a Rare Class?"

After speaking, his body blurred, and under the horrified gazes of the crowd, he vanished from the spot, only reappearing after a few breaths.

Seeing this scene, the eyes of the crowd burned with desire.

Awakening Bloodline Power, changing into a Rare Class—these were things they dared not even dream of in their entire lives.

But now, these things that only noble lords could possess had appeared on a companion they had spent every day with.

The impact this caused them was exceptionally strong.

The man wearing the cloak changed expression, his eyes looking somewhat subtle, and then he said with a tone of excitement.

"Since you already have the foundation to become a powerhouse, why must you defect to that noble? As long as you are willing to use the Rare Class job change method on your subordinates, we can completely strike out on our own and become a major gang!"

Hearing this, the crowd's eyes became blazing hot.

That's right, since Arnold had become strong, why couldn't they become a major gang on their own? Why did they still have to look to others for survival!!

"Arnold, we are willing to crown you as the president of the Wild Grass alliance; let's do this ourselves!"

"Awakening Bloodline Power gives one the potential to become a Gold, or even a Platinum Expert; we can totally establish a major gang!"

"That's right!"

The crowd was impassioned.

Arnold saw the excited expressions of the crowd, but he wasn't very moved; instead, he inexplicably felt a desire to laugh.

Having witnessed Loren, who used Silver Power to clash head-on with Gold and possessed a Platinum Rank expert as a guard, and then looking at these companions excited by a single Rare Class, he intuitively felt how vast the gap between them really was.

At this moment, he even had the feeling that even if Loren no longer needed him to serve, perhaps he wouldn't be able to go back either.

How could an eagle that had seen the vastness of the sky endure a dark, damp cave?

Seeing that Arnold, whose expression had not fluctuated in the slightest, remained silent, the excited crowd in the room slowly quieted down.

For a time, no one spoke again.

They all felt that Arnold seemed to have undergone some change; the formerly timid guy now had eyes as sharp as a hawk.

"Do you know how my bloodline was awakened? And do you know who bestowed my Rare Class upon me?"

A calm tone rang out, and the atmosphere in the room inexplicably became very heavy.

Arnold scanned the crowd and sneered, "This was the Lord's bestowal; he granted me the power to awaken my bloodline, and he granted me the Rare Class!"

Whoosh~ One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

The dozen or so people in the room looked at each other, their eyes full of shock.

The power Arnold obtained was actually bestowed!!

That Lord could actually grant even such precious things!!

The cloaked man from earlier also changed expression; he had originally thought that the noble recruited Arnold just because he had taken a liking to his awakened Bloodline Power and Rare Class.

But he hadn't expected that Arnold's awakening of Bloodline Power and Rare Class was actually a bestowal from that noble!

Arnold said in a cold tone, "The Lord comes from the Royal Capital; his background is profound and his strength is powerful to an existence you simply cannot imagine. This is an unprecedented opportunity, an opportunity to become someone superior."

"You should feel fortunate; the Lord has appointed me as the Intelligence Commander of Decker City, responsible for establishing an intelligence network. So, now you know why I have summoned you."

"If you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then leave now; I will not say another word to you. But there is one thing: once you leave through that door, you will lose the qualification to serve the Lord... from then on, we will have no connection."

"Make your decision."

After finishing, Arnold slowly sat down and closed his eyes.

The atmosphere in the room changed again, and everyone's expressions were uncertain.

Hesitation, conflict, fear, anxiety—all these emotions were revealed in turn during this short time.

After a dozen breaths, Arnold opened his eyes.

Seeing that not a single person was missing from the room, his gaze softened slightly.

"Have you made your decision?"

The middle-aged man wearing the black cloak was silent for a moment, then stood up and looked directly at Arnold.

"Arnold, I will only ask you one question. What kind of person is that Lord?"

Arnold hesitated for a moment, then said slowly, "The Lord... is a good person."

Huh? The crowd in the room was stunned; they hadn't expected Arnold to give such an answer.

"After the Orphanage was attacked, the Lord had me relocate the Orphanage to the vicinity of the Chamber of Commerce he controls, and in the future, he will also hire people to teach them knowledge so that these orphans can work in the Chamber of Commerce when they grow up..."

Arnold's tone, full of respect, made the room quiet down.

At this moment, everyone's expression was somewhat subtle.

The middle-aged man was startled, as if thinking of something, and his expression softened.

He nodded solemnly, "Arnold, I agree."

The others in the Wild Grass alliance looked at each other at this moment and also nodded slowly.

"We all agree too; we are willing to serve that Lord!"

Arnold smiled, and then his eyes revealed a touch of determination and longing.

"From today on, the Wild Grass alliance no longer needs the word 'alliance'; only 'Wild Grass' shall remain as our name. We are all Wild Grass in Decker City and the Endless Wasteland, small and weak. But life and death are fated; although Wild Grass is humble, no one can make us disappear!"

"One day, Wild Grass will grow like real Wild Grass, filling Decker City, filling the Silver Moon Kingdom, filling the entire Nuoer Main Plane!"

This group of Bronze Rank Thieves emitted their most stubborn roar at this moment; it was a resistance against being driven by fate, a refusal to be reduced to mud!

So what if they were Wild Grass? They would never be trampled to death!!!