High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1832: Chapter 53: Their Respective Missions

The teaching assistants on the mission disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

In the vast office, apart from the eternally burning torches, there were only the tranquil stone sculptures, sitting dumbly on their stone seats, staring at the intricate patterns on the carpet before them.

Elder Ruoyu stood silently at the top of the steps, leaning on his magic wand.

Tap, tap, tap.

Unhurried footsteps sounded from behind the side door, stopping a moment later beside Elder Ruoyu.

”There aren’t many wizards capable of circumventing the School Guardian Array, evading the divination of the Great Diviners, setting up a secret laboratory and conducting illegal magic experiments right under the First University’s nose.”

Professor Yao, dressed in the bright red robe of Jiuyou Academy, followed Elder Ruoyu’s gaze and spoke softly, ”Even the current me isn’t confident enough to achieve such a feat.”

Ruoyu withdrew his gaze and glanced at the new legendary figure beside him.

”I know what you want to say.”

The vice president of the First University lowered his eyelids, a trace of fatigue in his voice: ”You want to say that this wasn’t something that one or two wizards could accomplish... but rather a ’business’ undertaken by many wizards, right?”

”The word ’business’ is excellently used,” Professor Yao praised.

This did nothing to improve Ruoyu’s mood.

”You want to unearth them all?” the elder retorted.

Professor Yao didn’t deny the elder wizard’s speculation: ”Although Zhang Yu is reliable, the assistant team is ultimately made up of young wizards, so it’s inevitable they’ll be careless at times...”

”It’s precisely because they are young that we chose them,” Ruoyu interrupted, ”Youth signifies purity, ideals, and that they aren’t entangled with the laboratory in the Silent Forest... After all, you can’t want both fish and bear paws.”

”I’m quite young, too.”

Professor Yao combed his shiny pompadour honestly: ”Especially as a legendary wizard, I must be the youngest one, right?”

”You have other tasks.”

Elder Ruoyu rubbed the cane under his hand, slowly and firmly rejecting Professor Yao’s self-recommendation: ”The stability of Alpha Fortress, Northern District Wizard, Wandering Bar, Mouse People, and most crucially, the Rat Immortal’s whereabouts... since Shi Hui left, these tasks need your supervision. I’m old, more suited than you to don a grey robe and tidy the garden for these kids.”

”But I’m still the dean of Jiuyou! What does the stability of Alpha Fortress have to do with me? Frankly, I’d be delighted to see them in turmoil.”

Elder Ruoyu glanced at Professor Yao.

”Shut up.”

He tapped the wolf head cane in his hand, appearing very rude: ”Even in private, such things mustn’t be said. After Emma’s failed advancement, you are the only wizard with the qualifications to replace Xiao Shihui’s position in the school... Whether it’s Jiuyou, Alpha, Starry Sky, or Atlas, the students in all four academies are yours. You must not play favorites.”

Professor Yao took a pipe from his pocket, bit it, but eventually didn’t light it. Instead, he removed it from his mouth and sighed heavily:

”This is truly a delightful trouble.”

...

...

Above the canopy was a brilliant sunshine.

Beneath the canopy was as dark as midnight.

In the depths of Silent Forest, most of the time, the forest presented such an elusive scene. Wherever the eye could see, there was lush greenery. Birds issued melodious tunes from unseen depths of the trees, while insects chirped in invisible corners, their varying pitches intertwining, hiding harmony amidst chaos.

Five figures abruptly appeared in a clearing among the trees, but not the slightest ripple disturbed the air; even a yellow leaf, drifting with the wind, continued on its predetermined path, spiraling to the ground.

All five wizards wore voluminous black robes, their builds similar, and faces covered with the same smooth, eyeless masks. Only the center of each mask bore a different symbol in red cinnabar, indicating their respective identities.

”The intelligence showed the coordinates are here,” the wizard with the ’A’ marked mask put away the parchment in his hand as he spoke softly.

”It seems pretty quiet.”

The wizard with the ’B’ marked mask immediately spotted the half-human-height tree cavity hidden among the foliage. His voice was identical to the ’A’ symbol wizard, though tinged with curiosity: ”It doesn’t seem as frightening as previously mentioned...”

”Quiet doesn’t mean safe,”

Mask ’D’ interrupted ’B’s chatter, warning in the same voice: ”Don’t waste time; old rules, the 1-3-1 spindle-shaped battle array, A in front, E in the rear.”

”Aren’t we waiting for the other teams?” Mask ’B’ pursued.

”According to intelligence, this laboratory has multiple entrances, and each team has its tasks. This entrance is ours.”

”So, we have no backup?”

”Shut up!”

”...You should have told us earlier, then I could’ve had a chance to write a will...”

”Shut up!” Mask ’D’ interrupted mask ’B’s muttering a second time—though, due to their identical voices, his warning seemed slightly comedic—he took a deep breath, calmed down, and then instructed again: ”... start checking your respective law books.”

This time, mask ’B’ finally fell silent.

After the five wizards successively confirmed their law books were in order, mask ’A’ spoke again:

”Prepare Phantom Body Symbol... Release Phantom Body Symbol.”

The five figures vanished one by one among the trees, only faint sounds rising in the void, quickly submerged under the rustling of colliding leaves, as well as the gentle chirping of birds and insects:

”Prepare Silence Symbol!”

”Silence Symbol released... In theory, we’ve already disrupted their alert magic.”

”If theories were useful, there wouldn’t be wars in the wizard world... Prepare Binding Spell... Remember what was said in the meeting, capture as priority, use lethal spells when threatened.”

”Prepare Chaos Spell!”

”Hold the Sober Pill under your tongue... Stay alert at all times!”

After a brief and rapid coordination, the five wizards crouched, maintaining a slight distance, and entered the tree cavity one after another in the 1-3-1 formation.

The tree cavity was on an ancient oak tree, its edge curled with pale yellow tree knots resembling a door frame. A moment after the guests entered, the knots quickly wriggled, flashing a faint light over them.

The corridor inside the tree cavity was initially very narrow, allowing only one person to pass slightly bent, but after a short distance, it gradually widened. The surroundings were wrapped with the coarse textures typical of trees. At regular intervals, there were insect platforms filled with sap, hanging on the walls. The platforms were crowded with plump fireflies, engorged with tree juices, emitting a gentle glow.