High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1095: Chapter 157 Horseman Camp Incident

”Smack!”

Sir Friedman slammed the newspaper onto the desk violently, a flush of color rising on his pale face as deep anger resonated in his voice, ”What a buffoon! Even such a simple task was botched!”

The newspaper, thrown onto the desk, was partly covered, but a corner of the front page was visible. It showed a small conflict in front of the D&K store at 97 Pedestrian Street, where Arthur·Ness had slapped a red notice onto the store door, his demeanor bold and arrogant.

Along with this newspaper, there were also two letters.

One was from Ding Ding Finance and Pest Control Company, a compensation request application.

The other was from Greenhill Mansion, inquiring about the incident as Arthur·Ness had injured a fox from Greenhill Mansion while handling the matter.

The compensation request, half hidden beneath the newspaper and half visible in the sunlight, was particularly glaring, ”...Mr. Arthur·Ness interfered without just cause in a fraternity schoolmate’s business, leading to a significant impact on D&K’s reputation and operations. Upon unanimous decision of all shareholders of Ding Ding Finance and Pest Control Company, we hereby apply for compensation, with details of the compensation as follows...”

Despite these two issues, Sir Friedman didn’t really have sufficient reason to be angry.

It had been his own decision to use the resources and strength of the Blood Comrades to try to trip up the Absolution Hunting Team, especially at that small store on Pedestrian Street, ultimately aiming to trip up Jiuyou Academy.

Moreover, the plan had been repeatedly refined by Sir Think Tank and should not have encountered any mishaps under normal circumstances.

If the plan had indeed succeeded, Sir Friedman, who was competing with Mike Gold Cypress Plano for the next title of Augustus, would have greatly enhanced his stature by causing embarrassment for Jiuyou Academy. Thus, from the beginning to the end, the Duke was actively promoting this plan.

But an unexpected event did occur. The enforcement team shut down Ding Ding Finance and Pest Control Company, but during the subsequent thorough search, they failed to seize any goods from the Fishman Tribe. Instead, the Absolution Hunting Team provided ample legitimate invoices and procedures, proving that the store had once consigned a small portion of Fishman goods, totaling no more than a single gold bean.

This small amount of goods not only failed to hold the Absolution Hunting Team accountable but also indirectly proofed the law-abiding nature of the students of Jiuyou Academy. Especially since the location of their store was so remote, right next to the infamous Wandering Bar.

Worse yet, during the ’enforcement’ by the Alpha Academy enforcement team, they ’trampled’ on a fox servant from Greenhill Mansion. Although Arthur·Ness repeatedly emphasized to Sir Friedman that he only grazed the tip of the fox’s tail, it didn’t negate the fact that the incident had happened.

Thus, this provided Sir Friedman with ample reason to be angry.

Even though everyone knew that the Duke was displacing his anger, wasn’t one of the most important roles of a subordinate to serve as a suitable punching bag and target when the superior was enraged?

Of course, the Duke’s fury wasn’t solely due to the failed underwhelming plan and the reckless actions of a White-robed that had offended Greenhill Mansion—these issues could be resolved with a bit of gold and sufficient humility.

The Duke’s fury stemmed more from the noise within the Blood Comrades.

This plan had highlighted his incompetency to a degree, affecting his prestige within the Blood Comrades, and his rival, Mike Gold Cypress Plano from the Auspicious Society, rather than kicking Sir Friedman while he was down or maligning his failure, had instead further rallied all members of the Blood Comrades to unite around Lord Augustus at this critical time, vigorously resisting the attack from Jiuyou Academy’s Sacred Will.

This retreat-as-advance tactic made Sepulano highly regarded among all members of the Blood Comrades. Even the pickiest old member privately praised him as ”knowing the big picture.”

The gain of one inevitably led to the loss of another. No wonder that, in recent days, the betting pools secretly opened among the students saw Sir Friedman’s odds of winning the title of Augustus steadily declining.

Thinking of the latest student survey he had seen last night, which showed his support rating continuously slipping, Sir Friedman felt increasingly irritated.

”Sima, what do you think about this affair?” the Duke asked, turning his gaze to another warlock sitting by the desk, suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked softly.

Sima Yi stared unblinkingly at the Crystal Ball before him, his voice soft, as if whispering, ”Undoubtedly, it was an accident, you failed. Whether it’s the Absolution Hunting Team or Sepulano, there are clever people behind them...”

”Could they possibly be cleverer than you?” Sir Friedman let out a short, harsh laugh, starkly different from his usual demeanor. But at such a time, he could not bother with these details.

Sima Yi chuckled lightly, not directly answering the question.

”Do you still remember how you came to know of me?” he countered.

Sir Friedman frowned slightly, impatiently, ”Because you skillfully cleaned up the mess that Arthur Ness, the fool, left behind last time.”

He referred to the start of last term, when Arthur Ness and Zheng Qing, along with a group of freshmen, clashed on the Pedestrian Street, and were embarrassingly subdued in the mud. This incident had almost become the laughingstock of the entire school.

However, Sima Yi, by elevating the freshmen’s status, skillfully defused that crisis. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Sir Friedman had secretly placed a Kappa Monster in the academy, trying to more thoroughly deal with his own previously embarrassing situation. But that useless Wild Demon only made the freshmen appear more outstanding.

Hearing Sima Yi’s question, Sir Friedman’s first reaction was that Sima Yi wanted to subtly remind him that they were bound together, sharing both glory and loss.

But then, Sima Yi’s next statement made him realize he might have thought too much.

”Just like last time, similar problems, the same solutions,” Sima Yi continued to stare at the Crystal Ball before him, though he slightly quickened his speech, ”You’ve already lost points on this matter, so you should cut your losses timely and make up these points elsewhere.”

”People’s attention is scattered and constantly changing. They easily shift from one thing to another. As long as you handle the next thing excellently, who will remember today’s minor defeat?”

Sir Friedman’s expression slightly improved.

”But,” the Duke still frowned, ”what should we do next?”

Finally shifting his gaze away from the Crystal Ball, Sima Yi looked out the window. There he saw the undulating canopy of Silent Forest and the occasional birds leaping onto the branches.

He spoke in a low voice, ”I’ve heard that at a Centaur Camp just outside the castle, things have been rather unsettled lately.”