High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 625: Chapter 294 The Ineffective Array_1

A green snake, a rabbit monkey, a mountain sparrow, and a red-crowned turtle with their mouths and feet restrained were each shoved into a cage woven from willow branches and inscribed with talismans. These cages were then hung at the top of four wooden pillars, each placed towards the cardinal directions.

Red, slender silk threads, twisted into intricate patterns, tied these small creatures tightly; the threads protruded from the cages, linking them together. Several yellow talisman papers were affixed to these threads with tree resin, gently swaying in the breeze.

In the space between the four pillars, the wizards could faintly see a rainbow light streaming down from these talisman papers, landing on the thin threads before disappearing entirely.

Amber held in her hands a thick law book, she circled the four pillars while chanting, her mouth barely moving.

’Snake, snake, grand words, hailing from the lesser sun,’ ’Destiny’s bird, descend to the old sun,’ and so forth; all statements that sounded incredibly strange and mystical.

Other young hunters, who had already completed their tasks, sat in the middle of the array, either copying new spells from the law book or cleaning their gloves and sorting through potions in their packs.

Of course, there were also those who were daydreaming or dozing off; the distractions were abundant.

”That poor little bird,” Xin Fat Man sighed, pausing his work to comment softly.

”Isn’t the rabbit monkey just as pitiful?” remarked Zhang Ji Xin, giving Fat Man a side-eyed look.

”Hiss...the turtle...is also...hiss... pitiful!” Iseni joined in the discussion, livening up the atmosphere.

”I feel like we’ve done something terrible,” Xin Fat Man lamented, staring at the mountain sparrow in the cage that was still struggling desperately. ”If we were outside, we would probably be hauled into the headmaster’s office by trident sword investigators by now... maybe even sent to Danghag for a lawsuit.”

According to the Wizard’s Code, killing any creature from the designated list is considered second degree murder, a very serious crime. For most wizards, reverence for life equates to reverence for the Code.

”Don’t feel guilty, we’re in a strange hunting ground, beyond the jurisdiction of the Wizard’s Code,” Omega consoled from the side. ”I’d rather the Trident Sword investigators confront us now and issue us a few summons... at least then we could leave this place safely.”

”Even if we were outside, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’d be taken to court,” Zhang Ji Xin suddenly interjected, correcting, ”According to Danghag’s judicial interpretation of second-degree murder, wantonly harming innocent lives constitutes second-degree murder. However, if it’s for experimental purposes, magical sacrifice, or other legitimate purposes, and related ’non-wizard transformation’ data can be provided, then it’s exempted-- all one needs to do afterwards is pay a hefty murder tax.”

”I remember the tax rate two years ago was 250%, based on the market value of the required creature.”

Various looks of realization were exchanged among the other hunters upon hearing this explanation.

Finally, Omega broke the silence.

”So in other words, if you’re wealthy enough, you can do whatever you want, right?” commented this thin young wizard from the Starry Sky Academy as he removed his deer skin hat and wiped it on his dragon leather jacket, suddenly uttering a profound sigh, ”The older I get, the more scared I am... Everything my father used to tell me is true.”

The stingy owner of the Yota restaurant, known for his insatiable love for money, had gained a bit of renown even among the freshmen of the premier university.

Compared to Omega, Xin Fat Man’s focus was elsewhere.

”Are you really Elder Zhang Da?” Fat Man’s eyes bulged in bewilderment as he stared at Red Face, suspicion clearly etched across his face. ”If a professor had said this, I might have believed it... but you... you know all of this?”

His skepticism was plain to see.

It greatly infuriated Red Face.

But he was forced to explain patiently, ”Two years ago, my elder brother accidentally killed a lynx while hunting... He was punished at home and had to copy the related law provisions a thousand times.”

”My brother is lazy, so he paid me to help him.”

”If you copied this interpretation a few hundred times, you’d probably recite it fluently too.”

His explanation was reasonable and caused feelings of empathy.

As the group was engrossed in idle chatter, Amber had finished setting up the ’Four Image Array’ and, clutching the law book, began walking towards them.

”I didn’t say we were sacrificing these small animals. We’re just utilizing their subtle connections with our ancestors, sensing the Four Images, and drawing on the power of the stars in the sky.”

”Not only will this not harm these little ones, it will also stimulate their spiritual intelligence. So you guys don’t have to worry about the ’murder tax’ issue... If Trident Sword truly intends to make trouble for us.”

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Right Aide of the hunting team had already lain down on a slope, covering his face with the Law book and added in a faint, ambiguous voice, ”Rather than focusing on those four creatures, you should pay more attention to yourselves.”

”If I were you, I’d seize this opportunity to get some rest... just like Zheng Qing.”

”Unless we meet unexpected problems, we’ll be staying in this hunting ground for a long time and face many more dangers. Therefore, keeping our strength and magic power at their peaks is extremely important.”

The voice coming from underneath the Law book grew fainter and fainter until it couldn’t be heard at all.

The fortuneteller’s advice was very effective for these young hunters. Before long, snores echoed on the hilltop.

A slight breeze swept over the top of the hill, rustling the leaves of the bushes.

Even though the fluffy yellow sun in the sky was tirelessly scattering its weak light, the little hilltop covered by the Four Image Array seemed as if it had already descended into nightfall, silent as death.

...

Maybe it was because he was on land, Iseni felt his sleep quality was very poor.

The dry air flowed into his lungs, through his nostrils, taking away a large amount of water from his body and slowly leaking out from behind his ears, giving him a burning sensation in every breath he took.

Although the hunting team allocated the only water source on the little hill to him, no matter how you look at it, the water hole which was less than five meters in diameter and only three feet deep was too small for a big, chubby Fishman like him.

Every time he buried his head deep into the water hole, sucking in the muddy water at the bottom, this young fishman warrior could not help but miss the vast and unfathomable Lin Zhong Lake.

It seemed like the last time he had fun in the lake was a very, very long time ago.

The young fishman thought and inadvertently swallowed his saliva. At the same time, he tried hard to keep his eyes closed, preventing the mud from the water hole from contaminating his eyeballs.

He faintly felt something slender licking the scales on both sides of his cheeks.

”Hiss... stop... making... noise... hiss... sleep...”

The fishman stretched out his broad flipper and grabbed at his face, hoping that the rambunctious little frog would keep still.

Then he felt some cold liquid.

The fishman was dazed for a few seconds, then suddenly opened his eyes wide.

About ten centimeters away from his eyes, his little green frog who could fly was lying at the water’s edge with its tongue out, looking like it was on death’s door.

Three deep claw marks were visible on the frog’s back, bone-deep.

The fishman quickly got up, staring wide-eyed out at the area beyond the array.

The gathering of various demons not far from the small hill was a dark mass, looming, causing this cold-blooded fishman’s heart to constrict suddenly.

”Attack...Incoming!!”

Its voice was hoarse as it shouted out.