High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 594: Chapter 263: Entrance_1

”Did they graduate from Puppet Academy?” Zheng Qing’s lips moved slightly, as he commented sarcastically, ”Why does every one of them act like a lunatic?”

”It’s not that they act like... they are a bunch of lunatics.” Xin Fat Man muttered in rebuttal.

”Shut up, you two!” Doctor Xiao grumbled, gritting his teeth, ”Are you planning on feeding that Big Mouth Gulu on the ceiling?!”

Hey, you’ve also spoken! If we’re to feed it, let’s feed it together!

Zheng Qing took a light breath, trying to suppress his urge to continue deriding.

”Ahem, ahem, ahem.”

On the stage, the puppet figure with its head in its hands gave a light cough. After attracting everyone’s attention, it raised one finger and added, ”Just like our lovely Secret Garden Elf just mentioned, our treasure is hidden in the garden!”

”A priceless treasure.”

”Something from which you could each benefit for the rest of your lives. Even if you become a great wizard, this treasure’s uses would be endless.”

”A treasure that only the victor will acquire...”

”But, Puppet Highness: Night • Phantom • Puppeteer, how can we be assured that the winner would safely leave your hunting ground?” An abrupt voice echoed in the small auditorium, interrupting the puppet’s performance.

Below the stage, all heads turned towards the speaker in unison.

Curious, malicious, worried, sceptical, and various other gazes intertwined and were overwhelming—an Atlas’ academy uniform-wearing dwarf nervously lost control of his Law Book, shattering the chair in front of him.

With various types of stares coming from all directions, Zheng Qing furiously counted sheep in his mind, repeatedly cursing in his thoughts.

He stiffly turned his neck to look at Xiao Xiao, who had asked the question.

”Damn it, Xiao, you were just telling us to keep quiet, Soul Light!” He stared at Doctor Xiao in silence, gulping with difficulty.

Xiao Xiao ignored the surprised looks from his companions and the different expressions of the crowd, and instead frowned and stared at the puppet host on the stage, adding, ”...after all, we know nothing about you.”

The puppet also looked somewhat surprised.

It seemed that it did not anticipate that, after all that had transpired, someone would have the audacity to speak up—it even took off its high hat hanging around its neck, reinserted its head back in, just so it could see the person who spoke more clearly.

”Well, well, what do we have here? A foolhardy red-robed boy!” The small old man clad in a silver-long robe on the puppet’s head exclaimed cheerfully, ”What a treat...”

”Smack!” The puppet abruptly put his high hat back on, cutting off whatever else the Secret Garden Elf was about to say.

”Polite children will always be rewarded, wherever they are.” The puppet opened its mouth, a big smile appearing on its rigid face: ”As a reward, my answer is—No, you don’t know.”

”You don’t know if I’ll let you leave my hunting ground safely!”

”You don’t know our true identities!”

”You know nothing!”

It then wiped the smile off its face, pinched its nose, and murmured, ”But, this is an opportunity. Isn’t it?”

The auditorium was deathly silent.

Zheng Qing pondered for a while, then reluctantly admitted that the puppet’s words indeed had some truth.

Staying in the small auditorium, they would have to face the mysterious and powerful puppet, the dwarf monster, and the man-eating flower on the ceiling—with rescue from the school nowhere in sight, it didn’t seem like a safe choice. But if they obeyed the puppet and headed to the hunting ground, they might stand a chance for survival.

”Mr. Puppet!” Another voice urgently echoed from a corner, ”Merlin Above! I can give you a large sum of gold... if you need, I will also sign the strictest confidentiality contract! Please...”

With a smirk at the corner of his mouth, the puppet lifted his hand and snapped his fingers with a look of impatience.

”Snap!”

”Ah...” A shadow suddenly sprung from the ceiling, the nightmarish large mouth reappeared, swallowing the sorcerer who had just made a sound, chewing him up a few times.

Fragments of flesh and blood dripping from its teeth and corners of its mouth fell sparsely once again.

This time, the young wizards below were relatively calm, but some couldn’t help but scream.

”You may address me as ’Night - Illusion - Puppeteer - Puppet Highness’, or you can call me ’Puppet Highness’ or ’Ruling Highness’,” the puppet hollered in a raspy voice. ”Are my words that hard to understand? A large sum of gold? What would I want with gold?! To build a heavier chair for that cutie on my head?”

”That’s a good idea.” The slender magic wand appeared from under the brim of his hat, revealing the chaotic beard of the Secret Garden Elf.

The old elf lifted a furry foot onto the other knee without any reservations, scratching the itch with a hand full of various gemstone rings, once again showing that gloomy smile. ”A pure golden chair, sounds like a good idea, hehehehe...”

”No, absolutely not!” The puppet firmly pulled down the brim of his hat, pushing the old elf back in, ”A chair made of pure gold... would break my slender neck!”

”You don’t even give me a chair!! And lock me in the black room!!” A huge sound of wood hitting wood echoed inside the puppet’s hat. The old elf’s frustrated voice came out of the puppet’s ears, sounding like two loudspeakers, resonating throughout the small chapel, ”Can you speed up, and stop talking to these food items!!”

”If you don’t start within five minutes, I’ll raise two Flober Grubs in your ears!!”

The puppet shivered instantly.

”You heard him.” He pinched his slender nose, sighed, waved his hand, and retrieved the long-discarded civility cane back into his hand. With a flick of his wrist, several enchanting sparks came out:

”Leave enough souls!”

”Then you can buy the rest of your life.”

”Let flow enough blood!”

”Then you can wash away your sins.”

”Give up all the rules, ignore all glory!”

”Here is me—”

”Puppet Highness’s Hunting Ground!”

Streams of milky white pillars of light fell from the ceiling, spreading with the curse, covering all the contestants.

Zheng Qing could only see a white light in front of him, feeling light all over, and then lost all senses of his surroundings.

When the white light faded and his sight gradually darkened, the cost student promptly noticed the drastic changes in his surroundings.

He fumbled, pulled out a Bright Eye Symbol from his grey cloth bag, and patted it on his body.

Everything in front of him became crystal clear in an instant.

Under his feet was a thick layer of humus, surrounded by a dark forest. He could hear the noises of many insect beasts in his ears. Within his sight, the other four Hunters of Absolution were standing near him in a disarray.

As for the Hunters of the other teams, they had already vanished without a trace.