Chapter 257: Billy and Alien-man (1/2)

“What? Why?” Zac asked with some confusion as he looked up at the irate giant.

He hadn’t done anything to Billy as far as he knew, and he had even gone so far as to send his forces to help him close out the Ratmen Incursion.

“Your stupid horny friend tricked Billy. Made Billy thwonk the big shield and the biggest rat. But the horny guy jumped out of the shadows and stole Billy's money and strength,” Billy muttered and slammed his club into the ground in frustration, making the whole area shake.

Zac blankly stared at Billy for a second before he could translate what Billy meant. It appeared that old habits die hard, and Ogras had actually stolen the kill of the Incursion leader when they assaulted the Incursion together.

Zac sighed in exasperation at the demon’s antics, but he was also a bit confused. Ogras was stuck at the bottleneck as far as he knew, so killing an Incursion leader would be a waste of Cosmic Energy. It would have been far better if the energy went to Billy instead, bolstering the strength of an ally. Since it seemed both Billy and Ogras were able to kill the ratman it was unlikely it was an E-Grade powerhouse, but it would still likely have given Billy at least one level.

The only reason that Zac could come up with was that there was some hidden benefit for the demon to perform such an action. Perhaps he could receive a title if he managed to be the one to kill a competing incursion leader. But in any case, such an action could put a strain on the alliance, especially when the other side was someone like Billy.

“I’m sorry Billy. Ogras is a bit stupid, I will make him give some good things to you as an apology when we go back,” Zac said, which brightened the giant right up. “And uh, it’s called horned, not horny.”

“What are you doing here?” Zac followed up as he looked at the surroundings a bit skeptically.

He had actually almost forgotten Billy was in this hunt due to his less than stellar ladder positions. Billy was below the top 100 of the Hunter ladder, which was surprisingly low considering his strength, and his Gatherer placement was just abysmal. He wasn’t even in the top 1000.

“Billy looking for treasure while hiding,” the giant said and looked around before bending over toward Zac. “Nigel told me the big secret of the hunt. There are big evil bosses in here. If Billy manages to hide from all big bosses until he gets sent back then he gets a BIG bonus reward.”

Zac gaped at the hogwash that came out of Billy’s mouth. Nigel had obviously been worried about Billy doing something reckless, and tricked him to stay safe with the promise of rewards.

“Yes, I heard something like that as well,” Zac coughed. “You are doing a good job.”

“This hunt is so hard, Billy has looked for treasure everywhere, but there’s no treasure. Thwonking animals instead is easier, gives you money and makes you stronger,” the giant sighed. ”But all animals keeps running away from Billy.”

Zac frowned in confusion when Billy told him that there were no treasures. It didn’t really matter which palace he had visited, they were all filled with a decent amount of valuables. Of course, most had likely been looted at this point, but to not find almost anything for a month was exceedingly unlucky.

As for the reason why the animal ran away from Billy, it wasn't as big a mystery. The giant's aura was completely unrestrained as it billowed out from him. Zac was surprised how heavy it was. He knew that Ogras had told him Billy was very strong, but the aura that emanated from him was far greater compared to when they met during the Auction. But Zac wouldn't pry since it was rude to look into other's fortuitous encounters.

“Did you not find anything in the palaces? On top of the mountains?” Zac probed.

“Billy did not go there. Billy went once and was attacked by ghosts, Billy ain't going up there again,” the giant said with eyes big as saucers. “Mama told Billy that treasure is always buried, hidden by pirates. Billy has no treasure map so Billy has been digging all over the forest. But Billy has been unlucky and not looted a single treasure chest.”

Billy then gestured at a few pits not far away, and Zac was stunned silent. Zac had no idea how to speak with this simple giant. For one he didn’t know if he should even tell Billy about how the hunt worked this late into the game, but he also was unsure whether he would even be able to explain it in a way so that Billy would understand.

“Nigel didn’t come as well?” Zac asked, hoping for some help from the translator.

“Nigel is stupid. Billy even had an extra ticket, but Nigel was scared,” Billy said with a disdainful shake of his head. “Nigel said he will help make Billyville better while Billy hunts. Nigel sold the ticket instead.”

Zac nodded thoughtfully as he gazed at the giant. His initial idea when he realized it was Billy who stayed here had been to invite him to help in the fight against the Medhin, but he wasn’t sure anymore. It felt like he would trick Billy into risking his life in a feud that wasn’t really his.

“What are you doing here?” Billy suddenly asked, as if remembering that Zac had appeared out of nowhere.

After a brief hesitation, Zac decided to tell Billy the truth.

“A very strong bad guy has taken Thea Marshall a prisoner. I am going with a few friends to beat him up and help Thea,” Zac said.

“Bad guys have taken Thea?” Billy said, immediately looking angered.

“You know Thea?” Zac asked a bit curious.

“Thea gave Billy lots of tasty things after the auction, she is Billy’s friend. Billy will come with you and thwonk the bad guys,” Billy unhesitantly said. ”Besides, mama always says you need to help those in need.”

Zac slowly nodded in agreement before he started hesitating again.

“The bad guy is Nenothep Medhin, an emperor from the other world we are doing this hunt with,” Zac started to explain, but was cut off by Billy.

“Other world? What?” Billy asked with a vacant stare.

“Uh, never mind. Anyway, Nenothep is very strong. He has evolved to E-Grade. Do you know about E-Grade?” Zac tentatively asked.