The hunters reluctantly rushed forward.


    They didn’t interact with Mathew much but they already knew him more than enough to know they didn’t really have any other choice.


    Frank took full advantage of the initiative he took. After running for a moment, he heeded Mathew’s advice and buried his feet in the ground. He slid for a bit only toe to aplete stall. Yet, rather than just holding his ground, he firmly stood on the ground before fixing his hold over the weapon.


    And then, with a simple, swift move, he pushed both of his hands forward, thrusting the spear right into the head of the nearest zombie.


    The undead itself walked right into the de,cking the intelligence necessary to avoid the attack. And as the de went right through its skull, it twitched once… and then stopped moving for half a second before slumping down and falling to the ground.


    “Pull the de out!” Nadia shouted, jumping only to kick Frank away, saving him from the two zombies that paid no heed to their fallen brethren and continued their slow advance.


    For a second, it appeared as if Nadia would have no other choice but to cut down some zombies to make her escape… Only to prove everyone’s expectations wrong when she skillfully avoided three different zombies targetting her, dancing right between their stretched-out limbs and avoiding even the tiniest injury.


    “Back to you, guys,” she then said with a smile before retreating to the back while keeping her eyes on the situation.


    The hunters charged forward. And as they shed with the undead, they quickly realized that fighting zombies was not as difficult as they initially thought.


    The zombies were slow and their attacks easily predictable. As long as the hunters avoided getting surrounded, they had little to no trouble taking them down one by one.


    It didn’t take long for the newbies to fulfill the baptism of blood that Mathew scheduled for them, sessfully taking down all the zombies within the group.


    “Hahaha!” Frankughed out loud once he confirmed that no zombie managed to survive the ughter. “I can do this all day!” he then eximed, eager to prove his worth to the cause and thus potentially score some brownie points with Mathew and Carol.


    “Yeah, you can do it all day in here,” Mathewmented, rolling his eyes over the man’s naivete. “But what about a situation when there won’t be anyone like Nadia to keep you safe? What about the situation when you will end up swarmed by a horde of zombies?”


    All the hunters initially shared Frank’s enthusiasm. Yet, as Mathew’s words dawned on them, they quickly came to realize that the reality wasn’t as forgiving as they saw it in this specific, controlled scenario.


    “Guys, I’m harsh with you because I don’t want you to grow arrogant. You did well cleaning those few zombies,” Mathew said, pointing at the small pile of corpses left to rot on the ground. “But once we will go out, things will take a massive turn for worse,” he added, taking a look towards the gate himself.


    “Wait, do you mean to say we are already going out?” Carol grew up from out of nowhere by Mathew’s side, once again ready to challenge his decisions and authority.


    “That’s right,” Mathew confirmed the girl’s worst expectations. “But for the rest of today, you won’t be hunting alone,” he announced only to turn his eyes towards Daria and Le watching the show from a safe distance.


    “Girls!” Mathew shouted.


    The two of them first turned their head toward each other only to both nod their heads a little. And then, they rushed forward, running up to Mathew only to drop on one knee and lean forward, mming their fists against the ground.


    “We are ready and willing to serve, sir husband!” they then screamed out in unison, proving that the entire act was well-through and prepared.


    “…What?” Mathew was left baffled, not expecting this kind of y at all. Yet, between him and the hunters who witnessed this scene… there was no denying that he ended up having it easy.


    “Look at him, having them be so subservient to him,” one of the hunters muttered, clearly not aware of Mathew’s improved hearing as his voice easily reached Mathew’s ears.


    “Aren’t they popr beauties too?”


    “I wish I had a girl like that too…” someone else admitted.


    “They are with him way longer… is that why Carol is the way she is?” someone else noticed a valid point.


    ‘So that’s what it was all about,’ Mathew thought, closing his eyes as a wave of respect washed through his soul. ‘They noticed how Carol didn’t follow up my words without question and came to make a huge show out of it!’ he realized, using nearly all of his willpower not to end upughing out loud.


    What he considered a silly y actually turned out to be a valid social tactic, or so Mathew was led to believe by the reactions of Carol’s very own group of hunters!


    “Rise up,” Mathew ordered, opting to y along with the girls’ little ploy. “You did well kidnapping those zombies,” he then praised the girls only to sheathe his saber, take a step forward and rest his hands on each of the girl’s shoulders. “I will make sure to reward you once the nightes,” he then added, only to ignite even further mes of jealousy and enthusiasm in the men within the hunter’s squad.


    Mathew then took a step back before turning his eyes toward the hunters.


    “A time wille when you will be core members of the highest ss within the society we will build on the ruins of this city,” Mathew then addressed the hunters with a sly smile on his face. “And I don’t think I need to articte how will that affect your chances of gettingid as you wish,” he then added, shamelessly ignoring all the cultural theory about love and sex that everyone would otherwise have to consider.


    And a sound of all the men gulping down their saliva in unison that followed Mathew’s statement was enough of a proof that his words brought the result Mathew desired.


    “For now, though, let me exin the rules of your work,” he then smiled before taking a step towards the zombie corpses before smashing one of the skulls with a swift stomp of his foot. Mathew then squatted down and plucked the core hidden within the zombie’s brains out only to then stand up and sh it at all six of the hunters, Carol included.


    “Are those…” Carol muttered. As the one who already saw the power of the cores, she was better off than everyone when it came to understanding their true worth.


    “Those cores are the true currency of this world. And to make it easier for you, let’s call them points. “And just like I said before. I expect all of you to harvest at least a hundred points worth of cores every day,” Mathew then announced, only for his smile to turn vicious. “And trust me, this is the worst part of the deal!”