Bear School Astartes

The immediate-body Buddhas of the Immortal Peak Temple, as Black Conical Hat Li said—are indeed strange.

At this moment, the ninja wearing a black iron conical hat is crouching on the window sill of the side hall, pursing his lips, looking ready to leap away at any moment.

Inside the hall, Lann delicately wields his katana just right, allowing the sword oil to fully coat the blade.

”Is this how you used to hunt monsters? It looks... quite basic.”

Black Conical Hat Li tries to make his words sound more diplomatic, but as a ninja who trained since childhood, he has no literary finesse—his words still cut straight to the heart.

Lann thinks to himself that while Demon Hunters have plenty of methods, you have to try one at a time when encountering new types of monsters, right?

Do you just smash them all at once?

Never heard of doing things like that.

He intends to bring justice for those who lost their lives due to the Immortal Peak Temple, but this is ultimately a technical task filled with professional complexities.

It’s not something you can accomplish just with a hotheaded impulsiveness.

Whether in the Magic World or this world, what’s needed to succeed are true experts, not ’heroes’ who are just hotheaded and know nothing.

On this already decayed immediate-body Buddha, he intends to conduct some tests.

”First, the [Insect-like Biological Oil].”

Lann has already noticed that the immortality of these immediate-body Buddhas seems to be supported by centipedes within their bodies.

Even those slightly in the know like Iwami Yixin and Black Conical Hat Li call these people [Insect Hosts].

So he takes out the sword oil specifically used for dealing with insects.

The Demon Hunter holds the shining katana and slowly approaches the sitting, withered immediate-body Buddha.

Suddenly, from within the decayed flesh cloaked in tattered monk robes, there comes a sound akin to the friction of an insect’s carapace.

The ’rustling’ sound is particularly unsettling to the psyche.

Without a second thought, Lann instinctively sidesteps to parry.

With a whooshing wind, dazzling sparks burst from the katana, and a thick black shadow gets deflected by the [Carp Leap].

When this shadow, having lost its initial speed, slows down, Black Conical Hat Li on the window sill finally sees what it is.

—It’s a gigantic centipede as thick as an average person’s waist, emerging from the back of the withered immediate-body Buddha.

It is now recoiling, spiraling around the immediate-body Buddha’s body, raising its head to face Lann.

The image resembles a snake coiled on a rockery.

But with a centipede widened to such a scale, the intimidation it projects and the discomfort it brings to the human mind are on entirely different levels.

The legs of the ninja on the windowsill twitched, almost reflexively propelling him to the branches outside the window.

But as for the Demon Hunter, the expert, he wasn’t deterred by such an otherworldly situation.

What a joke.

Not considering the factors of supernatural power, such a large centipede in the Magic World... would be worth no more than twenty Orens in a demon-hunting quest.

Among the myriad of monsters Lann knows, this one isn’t even the ugliest.

The Demon Hunter paid no heed to its appearance or its just-about-decent speed from earlier.

Instead, his cat’s eye focused on one of its jointed limbs, which was smoking.

The [Carp Leap] wasn’t just for defense; the blade had indeed injured one of its legs.

But amid a burst of high-speed regeneration smoke, the toxin of the [Insect-like Biological Oil] was easily resisted by the creature.

This wasn’t effective.

”Sir, strictly speaking, centipedes aren’t insects, but arthropods. Even ordinary species can live seven to eight years, far surpassing the average insect lifespan.”

Mentos, after recording data, reminds Lann.

The young man acknowledges this.

He remains unworried; to face a new monster and be able to experiment like this is already quite an ideal situation for a Demon Hunter.

Throughout the records, many Demon Hunters met their end because they lacked information or held incorrect knowledge about monsters.

Next, Lann tried the burning effect of the [Igni Magic Seal] and a standard [Northern Wind] bomb.

The burning effect was surprisingly ineffective; it seemed this centipede empowered by undying capabilities cared little for fire.

According to Eastern philosophy, this might be because centipede venom, in the Five Element Theory, is associated with fire poison.

Contrarily, the freezing effect of the [Northern Wind] could make it sluggish for ten minutes without recovery.

According to Mentos’s quantified analysis, the centipede would need at least forty minutes to regain its vigor.

Black Conical Hat Li observed Lann using many methods but none seemed decisively effective.

He mumbles, preparing to suggest going to find the Undying Slash. After all, as a ninja, he could locate items swiftly if need be.

But then he notices Lann, somehow already closing in on the undying insect subdued by frost, raising his katana.

A crunching sound of chitin shattering, and the centipede’s black blood splatters out, but under the frost’s influence, it doesn’t react in pain, only writhing its disgusting body twice.

Then, under Black Conical Hat Li’s amazed gaze, not only does the centipede’s writhing lessen, but even the immediate-body Buddha, used as a ’base,’ tilts its withered body and collapses inward like a sand sculpture with its structure destroyed.

”It’s...dead?!”

Black Conical Hat Li finally jumps down from the window sill, cautiously approaching the traces crumbling into dust.

”You really killed the undying insect!”

Lann’s expression remains calm. He looks at the shimmering katana in his hand, pondering, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

[Remnant Oil].

Remnants refer to ancient, extraordinarily powerful creatures, mostly embodying Chaos Magic Power within the Magic World.

Unlike ghouls, water ghosts, or swamp witches, which possess capabilities beyond ordinary people’s handling, but are mostly due to physical superiority.

Their bodies don’t contain much Chaos Magic Power, nor is it particularly strong.

Remnants are entirely different.

Their basic setup involves possessing magic or physical strength that transcends muscular limits or size. This stems from the thick supernatural power within them.

Such as the stag spirit and female special monster.

The sword oil made by Demon Hunters targeting these creatures not only contains the most potent toxins of all sword oils but also specificity towards supernatural power.

The sword oil Lann applied at the last moment was indeed [Remnant Oil].

And it didn’t disappoint. These undying insects could indeed be regarded as creatures possessing thick supernatural power.

When restrained, they eventually still would die.

But Lann frowning lightly indicated there were still difficult aspects.

[Remnant Oil] is expensive, but Lann doesn’t mind it.

Although he usually worries about money, when he is determined to seek justice for Kotaro, the Tairou Soldiers, and many others, money doesn’t even cross his mind.

If he wanted money, Count Steza’s head would be in his hands by now.

Veltrest’s private offer to him could only be five thousand Orens, but Count Steza, desperate to save his life and win him over, could offer at least five hundred thousand!

But when he crushed that noble head, he had not a shred of hesitation.

Now the key point is... he genuinely doesn’t have much [Remnant Oil] left.

It’s the kind that can’t be bought even with money.