Chapter 123: Not a Terrible Result

The rest of the events followed naturally. The injured were taken back to the camp to rest under everyone’s care. Those whose friends and family had not yet returned continued to wait under the shade canopies for the hunters far away.

When the sun began to set slightly in the west, everyone finally let out a huge sigh of relief. After a careful count and check, they found that the worst-case scenario had not happened, meaning no one was missing.

Not only that, the overall condition of the injured was finally within the tolerance of the few supervisors. Although several servants were seriously hurt, among the nobles, only Lord Manchester’s broken hand could be called a serious injury.

Just as George had guessed before, most of those attacked were hunters who were hunting in the forest. Except for a few unlucky ones, everyone on the grassland was safe. Even for those who were injured, the attackers were small creatures like Feral Rats, Feral Weasels, and Feral Foxes. As for the injuries, they were all kinds of different. Just like the young man who had performed quite well earlier, George later found out he was the current Heir of the Sandford family among the Court Nobility. George had never paid attention to the Sandford family in the past and had rarely heard others talk about them either. After gathering the scattered information he just learned, George finally got a general impression of such a low-key family.

The Sandford family fled from the war-torn The South to Nohan about 100 years ago. During the more than 100 years they settled in Nohan, they could be said to have risen and fallen many times. The most important reason was that this family had never produced a strong person of Black Lead Rank, so their foundation was always unstable. Of the three brothers who came, only this one family left now could still maintain the dignity of a Noble.

Fortunately, in these years they had not created any industry with amazing profits. Just relying on the title of Court Nobility was enough for self-protection. Even more rare was that during such a long time, the Sandford family had never produced a true wastrel. Even the reason why the branches that lost their dignity declined was due to investment failures caused by sudden changes in the external environment. Compared to those who gave up on themselves and were eventually removed from the rolls, they were neither better nor worse.

Although George did not know why their family had not made any achievements in martial strength over these years. It might be due to a lack of foundation in this area, but among the Court Nobility, there were quite a few successful examples of those who became apprentices through apprenticeships. But the fact that the family never showed any intention to work in this direction was truly strange. However, this matter had little to do with George; he just treated it as hearing a big gossip. As for the young man who performed well this generation, what achievements and development he would have in the future depended on his own efforts and fate.

The other injured people hunting on the grassland, besides the bites mentioned earlier, mostly suffered from falls. This was mostly caused by the scent of roaming Feral Weasels startling the horses. Fortunately, those who dared to hunt foxes and rabbits on the grassland were basically experts on horseback, and most could calm down the startled horses. Even for the few unlucky ones who fell off their horses, they had relevant experience, knew how to avoid danger and protect themselves, and their bodies were mostly strong, so their injuries were not severe. The worst case was just a cracked leg bone.

However, those servants who traveled with the nobles were not so lucky in this regard. For example, fox hunting required finding dens, setting traps, and making fires to smoke them out. These servants basically rolled around in the grass to complete their tasks better. In this case, the chance of being attacked by those small Feral Animals was much higher.

So these guys were the major group of injured people needing treatment. Besides the first three teams, the servants of the returning teams basically all had wounds on their bodies. This was a big shock to the nobles who had never paid attention to this matter before.

In fact, every year during the Autumn Hunt, there was no year without any injured servants accompanying their masters. Think about it, hunting is an activity with a certain degree of danger. Unlike the nobles, these servants were always on the front line in contact with the prey. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone other animals that are larger or omnivorous/carnivorous.

For the sake of their future or livelihood, these servants had to take risks to do these dirty and tiring jobs. However, in previous years, the hunting grounds for the Autumn Hunt had been sorted and cleaned for hundreds of years, plus the protection of specialized forest keepers, so the risks generally did not endanger lives. Of course, except for cases like accidentally falling into a ravine deep in the jungle.

In past Autumn Hunts, those servants were injured in small groups. First, the proportion was not as high as this time, and second, no one really cared. So the nobles never felt much. But this time, the concentrated appearance of the injured, combined with everyone’s worry and the injuries suffered by the nobles themselves, had a very obvious amplifying effect.

Fortunately, the people hunting on the grassland were not seriously injured. The only problem was to watch out for the heat plague. The number of injured this time was really too large. The reserves of the Autumn Hunt team itself, plus the medicines in Baron Walterson’s medical kit, could be said to be a drop in the bucket. It cannot be said that the Duchy of Nohan was not well-prepared for this Autumn Hunt. Actually, other medicines, whether ointments for sprains, strains, and other soft tissue injuries, or hemostatic and anti-inflammatory drugs for open wounds, were prepared very fully. In these aspects, they were definitely enough.

But things like heat plague treatment potions were used very rarely in normal times, let alone during the Autumn Hunt. Just from the current situation, the number of people needing prevention or treatment for heat plague even exceeded the number of cases in a year among the permanent residents of Karada. For such a niche medicine that is rarely used once in several months, the medical team of the Autumn Hunt originally prepared a few copies just to make up the variety of medicines. Baron Walterson’s potion, which he took a sip of, was his secret recipe. He really could not let go of his herbal research even during the Autumn Hunt. In reality, this potion was actually an Easter egg, not part of the pre-planned situation.

To ensure that the rest of the Autumn Hunt could proceed according to the pre-planned schedule, His Grace the Duke had arranged to collect medicines from within Karada and arranged for personnel to rush to the hunting ground at full speed.

Relatively speaking, the group in the forest, including George, suffered an attack intensity that was far greater than that of the group on the grassland. Plus, the dense trees and continuous shrubs there provided natural ambush spots for the attackers. Those who dared to go into the forest either had their own skills or had capable servants. That was why there were no permanent casualties, although the few limited serious injuries all happened there.

One hunting team was targeted by a Feral Boar. There is a saying: “One pig, two bears, three tigers,” of course, this does not mean the boar is stronger than the tiger. This ranking is actually a distinction of the danger these three animals pose to humans. All three animals have records of attacking humans. Although the tiger is fierce, it lives deep in the mountains and rarely interacts with humans; the bear mainly moves in the mountains and occasionally comes out, having more contact with humans; while the boar spends more time on the plains.

But the Feral Boar here was an animal that could stand up to the tiger. According to the accounts of the injured on site, that boar suddenly charged out from the bushes and knocked down one of the servants. Fortunately, a few seconds before the attack, the hunting dog gave a warning, giving everyone present some degree of defensive awareness. The servant responsible for carrying items was thus able to use his backpack to block his chest when the boar attacked and saved his life. In fact, he was not directly hit; to be precise, he could only be called grazed. Even so, he ended up with multiple fractures all over his body.

Fortunately, the several guards present were all professional practitioners. Under the combined attack of their swords and lassos, along with the support of the hunters’ bows and arrows, they finally managed to drive away that Feral Boar. However, this meant the hunting was basically ruined. How could they leave the seriously injured subordinates behind and continue hunting!

If this matter got out, a hat of being unkind would definitely be placed on the head of the person in charge. Even if it did not get out, it would likely chill the hearts of this group of subordinates. For these Court Nobility, the methods to ensure the loyalty of their subordinates were not as many as those of real-power nobles, and replenishing them was even more difficult. It was not worth it to risk a lot for an Autumn Hunt competition that might not be won. In one word, it was not worth it.

However, after setting aside all the reasons, George saw that the main reason was that the Feral Boar was still alive. Moreover, it was unknown whether there were other dangers in the forest this year, so he stopped the hunting order and ordered people to make stretchers to carry the injured out. While ensuring his own safety, he might also gain a good reputation.

Unfortunately, his good-luck calculation did not work. Perhaps if he had changed the time and place, his actions might have caused a ripple. But unfortunately, he encountered this time of the Autumn Hunt this year, where there were simply too many similar things. He was like a drop of water melting into a lake, appearing so inconspicuous.

However, considering that only one person in the whole team was injured, it was lucky enough. If that Feral Boar had gone berserk and did not care about its life, it would have been very difficult to avoid leaving that whole team in the forest before it died. However, the recovery of such bone injuries could not be fast without Divine Arts, so it looked like the other person would have to lie in bed for several months. Fortunately, since his master had brought him out, he would not be abandoned after today. What a good opportunity to win people’s hearts, do not waste it.

Besides, the Court Nobility hunting teams in the forest also suffered attacks from animals to varying degrees. Not only Feral Animals, but also ordinary fierce beasts. Like the situation earlier where only one person was injured, that was not common. Of course, there were also cases where although the number of injured was large, they left those attackers behind, making them Loot.

There were also cases where the number of injured was too large, and relying solely on their own team was unable to transport them all out. When the brother covered in blood who rushed back to the camp to report the news returned to the camp alone, the scene was simply too exciting to describe.

You can imagine the scene when everyone was expecting their friends and family who might be in danger far away to return. What if their companion appeared before everyone alone, looking wretched and covered in blood? This could be said to be as thrilling as it gets. Even George, who was far away, had his heart suddenly jump up.

The male nobles who had returned earlier looked dumbfounded, and those noble ladies were crying in a continuous stream. Among them, the women related to this team had many fainting incidents again. The emotions in the crowd were on the verge of losing control, and the scene once fell into chaos. Finally, it was thanks to the help of George and a few others that the situation was temporarily controlled. Only after calming the crowd and letting the brother who reported the news explain clearly was a major hidden danger truly resolved.

For George and his few companions, this temporary mine-clearing behavior, although it felt a bit like forcing a donkey to carry a saddle, was done quite well. After that, they organized stretchers and manpower to go into the forest to rescue the injured and the stay-behind group.

Actually, their number of injured had not exceeded half of the whole team. But if they carried the injured back on the way, they would be extremely lacking in self-protection ability along the way. To ensure safety, they had to make choices. The leader of that team did quite well in this regard. He chose to defend on the spot, using the nearby environment and materials to build a simple camp. Then he sent the member with the fastest speed and certain self-protection ability back to report the news. This could be said to be the most correct action when hunters are in danger, and being able to accept reasonable opinions is what a superior needs to do.

With this precedent, the few people who came to ask for help also caused a round of screams and worries. But there was no longer a situation like the first time where the scene almost lost control. Among the attacks encountered by this batch of forest hunting personnel, the biggest highlight was the 14-year-old Mannae Bethwisel and Lord Manchester, who traveled with him. The latter was also the most seriously injured Noble in this trip without a doubt.

Because Lord Manchester himself was a good hunter, their hunting range was much deeper into the Taiswei Mountains than others. In previous years, because of this reason, the results of this group of Court Nobility who fled from the Judico Islands were always considered quite good. The annual exposure opportunity also increased his presence in the noble circles.

It was said that Lord Manchester’s biggest hobby since before he inherited the family business was hunting. As the saying goes, interest is the best teacher. Among the Court Nobility in Karada, his hunting skills could be said to be at the top level. At the same time, he also took inviting others to hunt and travel together as a means of socializing, and judging from the situation, it could be said to be successful. Of course, this was not just because of hunting; his personal social skills should also be praiseworthy. It was said that at first, his wife had some complaints about his behavior of being more on the hunting ground than accompanying her. But since her husband was obsessed with hunting, she eventually learned to endure it and pretended to appreciate everything.

But today, his past advantages had created his suffering. This team of more than ten people was attacked by three Feral Wolves. This attack was very much in line with the cruel and cunning habits of wolves. They lay in ambush downwind in bushes with strong scents, and even specially trained hunting dogs could not detect their tracks in advance.

Of course, when everyone was chasing birds in the forest canopy, the Feral Wolves that had been hiding nearby for a long time suddenly pounced out of the bushes. Such a sudden attack, combined with the strength of the Feral Wolves themselves, quickly knocked down their initial targets. Fortunately, there was Mannae Bethwisel, a youth of Red Iron Rank, and a middle-aged man of Gray Rock Rank in the team. With the joint efforts of the two, they finally managed to turn those three Feral Wolves into Loot.

And the Feral Wolves’ combined attack technique was not easy to break. For this, Lord Manchester, whose strength was not as good as the other two, showed full bloodiness. It should be said that this person had once seriously practiced when he was young. Although he had neglected it for many years, his original foundation was still there. He led the few hunters under his command to work together to successfully trip up one of the Feral Wolves, laying the foundation for the final victory. Otherwise, even if they could win, they would have to pay a much heavier price.

Mannae Bethwisel’s performance in this battle could also be said to be commendable. You know, this young man had never seen blood before. But when facing the Feral Wolves, he showed enough calmness and composure. More importantly, it was said that at the moment the Feral Wolves appeared, he stepped forward and pulled a servant with weak legs behind himself. Of course, this situation still needs to be investigated. If true, it would be a significant stroke in the eyes of many Knights.

The Bethwisel family, to which Mannae Bethwisel belonged, arrived in Nohan at almost the same time as the Sandford family mentioned earlier. However, families from the Judico Islands have always been more cohesive. Plus, their own family members were relatively hardworking and ambitious. Although their luck was not very good, they managed to stabilize their family status. They belonged to the relatively upper-middle class type. Compared to the Sandford family, they were slightly better.

However, this Autumn Hunt, this young man really stood out greatly. There is a saying: “Danger and opportunity coexist!” So many things happened during this year’s Autumn Hunt, and there were not a few injured. But such unexpected events also gave many people a stage to show themselves.