Some of the people standing in front of Jason and that strange man turned their heads and saw Ezekiel, who had been talking with his group less than half an hour ago, now standing behind them with two of his guards, aiming their weapons at them.
Jason, who looked at Ezekiel and his people, then at Jesus, who was being pressured by Ezekiel, instantly understood what these people were thinking.
This is a complete misunderstanding!
But at that moment, he couldn't say what he thought; after all, the main reason he understood the situation was because he knew these people, and none in Ezekiel's group did.
Fortunately, Jason hadn't hit Jesus too hard on the ground, but seeing a gun pointed at him, Jesus pulled out his own and aimed it at Jason's head while slowly standing up.
At that moment, Richard and Jerry also came out from the other side of the modified RV and, together with Ezekiel, formed a small circle. However, they were surprised to see that the other side showed no signs of panic—instead, they were very calm, as if this didn't bother them.
"Oh, Your Highness, don't you think there should be a strong reason for you to get into conflict with my people?"
Ezekiel looked down at Carson on the ground and said in a not-so-powerful voice, "I'm very sorry, but these people have a very close relationship with my people, so you cannot harm them."
Suddenly, Jason holstered his weapon, walked toward Ezekiel, and said with a cold smile, "First of all, someone is trying to save a life. I don't know or care what you're thinking, but you should've chosen your path more carefully. If you think we're easy to threaten, you're completely mistaken about the nature of our people."
After he finished speaking, the sound of two car engines came from behind Ezekiel's people. Two Humvees with machine guns aimed at them, while several people got out of the vehicles, also pointing guns.
Some others got down from the modified RV, and more people approached. Sasha, Michonne, and the others who were clearing walkers aimed their weapons at this group.
"Lower your weapons. Wait quietly until my companion finishes what he's doing, and then I'll decide what to do with you!"
When Jason finished saying these words, he turned and entered the modified RV. Jesus, who had been freed, lowered the guns pointed at him, walked slowly toward his group, and looked at all these people with doubt.
"I think today is a bad day!"
Seeing that the number of people was twice what had come to visit them, Ezekiel lowered his weapon, looked at Jesus with a tired expression, and his tone turned a little accusatory: "I feel like I really did something stupid this time..."
"Your Majesty, all your decisions are always right."
"Jerry! Shut up!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Under the watch of many guns, the group remained motionless while Carson, on the ground, got up and walked toward Jesus. Then he quietly explained what had just happened.
When Jesus heard that this group had cut off Wesley's hand, he couldn't contain his anger and asked Glenn and the others nearby, "Why did you cut off Wesley's hand?"
At that moment, Carson, standing to one side, suddenly spoke up and whispered to Jesus, Ezekiel, and the others, "By the way, when I came out, I overheard you say Wesley was bitten by a walker..."
Jesus was even more confused. Looking at Carson strangely, he asked directly, "Then why do you still need medical care from these people?"
Daryl had been upset with these strangers since they attacked them, and when he heard Jesus's foolish words, he immediately pointed at him: "Are you idiots? Didn't you hear what he said? That man was bitten by a walker."
Seeing that things were spiraling out of control, Glenn, standing nearby, explained something that apparently these people didn't know: "After being bitten by a walker, cutting off the bitten part immediately won't kill you—didn't you know that?"
"What?"
Ezekiel and the others were surprised by Glenn's words, and he continued explaining:
"But it's obvious that this only applies to limbs. Also, someone in your group must have medical knowledge to treat the wound; otherwise, bleeding or infection can easily kill a person. Now do you understand what's happening?"
Jesus pointed at Carson and the others, confused, and asked, "Then why are you pointing your guns at them?"
After saying this, Jesus regretted it. How could he ask such an irrational question nowadays? He seemed confused by a series of previous events.
But Daryl, holding his crossbow and pacing back and forth, found another chance to speak: "You sound like a kid who just left home!"
Daryl looked at Jesus with deep resentment. Although he rarely acted like that, this time he was truly angry. But Jesus still didn't understand this was just a misunderstanding; he only showed a smile that wasn't really a smile.
"Jesus is what everyone calls me..."
"Nobody cares about that!"
"Just Jesus..."
...
At that moment, Ezekiel wanted to scream and release all his frustration trapped in his chest. He also wanted to grab Jesus by the hair and hit him, but it wasn't wise to confront him in front of all these people watching, so he could only wait to talk to Jason about it.
As expected, Bob quickly finished tending to the wounded. This type of injury is mainly treated by stopping the bleeding, and what follows is aftercare. As long as the wound isn't infected, there is a good chance this man will survive.
But what came next was how to deal with the people from Hilltop. If they confronted that shelter now, someone like Gregory wouldn't back down because of this issue. After all, he still cared about his reputation as a leader at Hilltop.
Jason watched as Bob finished treating the man. Wesley was already awake even during the healing process, but due to anesthesia, he felt no pain. However, losing an arm left him a little lost.
Looking at Wesley with blurry eyes, Jason said with some comfort:
"Think about the good things ahead. Even though you lost a hand, you didn't die or turn into a walker. You're lucky to lose an arm in time—everything is okay now."
Wesley brightened and thanked him, then, as if remembering something, asked: "What about Carson and the others? Eh, I mean, what happened to my other two companions?"
"They're outside. Don't worry."
Wesley breathed a sigh of relief and tried to sit up slowly, feeling that aside from the numbness in his cut hand, nothing else was wrong, though his body felt a little weak for obvious reasons.
He stood up, looked at the sunlight streaming through the shooting port, and took a deep breath. The previous despair had disappeared, replaced by hope for survival. Sorting out his chaotic thoughts, he looked at the people who saved him.
"All I can say is thank you again for saving me. Can I know your names?"
"The one who treated you is Bob, and you can call me Jason." Saying this, Jason gave a reassuring look and added, "You better go check on your companions. They seemed so worried about your safety that they even came armed."
Wesley was surprised and slowly left the modified RV. At that moment, Jesus and the others sat on the ground, surrounded by people in military uniforms, and Ezekiel's group had also sat on one side.
"Jesus, Carson, Eduardo!"
Hearing these words, the Hilltop group got up from the ground and looked in surprise as Wesley walked toward them with a bandage wrapped around his left hand.
"Wesley! Are you okay?"
Wesley offered reassuring words, then turned and bowed to Ezekiel before asking, "Did you attack Jason's group?"
"We couldn't avoid it. We saw they cut off your hand and thought they were bad people," Carson said, somewhat guilty.
The corner of Ezekiel's mouth twitched, and he felt all the trust he had built with this group had been crushed by these idiots.
Walking forward, he slightly bowed to Jason and said apologetically, "I'm very sorry; we didn't realize this beforehand, and I'd like to express my sincerest apologies on behalf of the Kingdom of God."
Jason's originally cold expression softened a little. He looked at the few people and said calmly, "Considering your motives were noble and something my people appreciate, I'll let this offense go."
At the same time as several people sighed with relief, Jason spoke again: "But remember, I only give people two chances. You've already used the first one, and if you point your guns at my people again, you'll be my enemies."
As he spoke these words, Ezekiel and the others suddenly felt the hairs on their bodies stand up. It was a sensation of being threatened by a power they couldn't overcome, and their breaths grew heavier, although it was only temporary.
Ezekiel felt very guilty, as he had doubted Jason from the beginning. But when he saw those military vehicles and all those people, he knew he was wrong and that the best thing to do was to try to support these people.