High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2195: Chapter 416: Winter Hunting Nears Its End

”All clear!”

”Clean!”

”Safe!”

One by one, small blue birds the size of thumbnails landed on Zheng Qing’s shoulder, opening their mouths to convey the reports of Zhang Ji Xin, Dylan, and Blue Bird.

Xiao Xiao sat cross-legged with a crystal ball, nestled within the triangular array formed by Zheng Qing, Jiang Yu, and Xin Fat Man. He was checking the hunting area the team had already cleared to decide if they needed to dispatch the Wandering Hunter for another patrol. However, listening to the suspicious sounds beneath the hood, Zheng Qing suspected he might have accidentally fallen asleep.

In the blink of an eye, three days of the Winter Hunt were nearing an end.

Today was the last day of the Winter Hunt.

The sky had cleared, but the ground was still covered by a thick layer of snow. The crystal ball, reflecting the snow, appeared exceptionally clear and pure, as if every branch, every dry leaf, and every snowflake in the reflected image had been wiped clean.

The intermittent snow and wind left a deep impression on the young wizards participating in the hunt. They were eager to return to the warm lounge, brew a cup of red tea with three large spoonfuls of sugar, or have a warm cup of hot cocoa to enrich this calm yet monotonous practice of the Winter Hunt.

For the Absolution Hunting Team, apart from the giant Human-faced Rat they encountered on the first day, there were no other particularly challenging prey. Zheng Qing had reason to suspect that, in the entire Winter Hunting Area, that Human-faced Rat might have been one of the strongest monsters.

There were no shocks, no regrets, and naturally, not much surprise either.

The entire Winter Hunt was conducted in a conventional, steady manner, leaving nearly all participants, including observers, in a state of ’sacred laziness’ as the end approached.

Xin Fat Man was even biting on the brush handle, starting to draft his next report: ”How about ’Out of Control Human-faced Rat’? Through our encounter with the large Human-faced Rat tribe, I can show readers how dangerous a tribe with a Human-faced Rat Priest can be... Meanwhile, remind the school to reasonably care for the death of Giants or similar large magical creatures... Suppose the Human-faced Rat tribe we encountered was not born from a Giant’s corpse, but from a dead Giant Dragon’s corpse, then wouldn’t we be facing a group of Human-faced Rats with scale armor, strong vitality, and high magic resistance and physical attack capability?”

The captain of the Absolution Hunting Team listened to the fat wizard’s ramblings, listlessly calculating the hunting team’s gains from this Winter Hunt and growing more and more distressed.

After a while, he couldn’t help but sigh.

”The prey this year were really scraps!”

The young cost student scraped at the account book, complaining: ”It’s either ’Motela’ or ’Human-faced Rat’. Killing them doesn’t even yield a foot-wide good piece of leather, and their meat’s soil taste is overwhelming! Not killing them, they pop up in swarms like cockroaches... The talismans we used on them can’t even make a profit... I’ve never participated in such a losing hunt!”

”Who would eat Motela’s meat!” The fat wizard shook his head, uncharacteristically mocking the meat.

The Motela from the Silent Forest and its counterparts along the coast of Britain are already two different species—except they both belong to Muroidia and have anemone-like tentacles on their back—probably to resist the wizards’ indiscriminate hunting, every winter and spring season, the tentacles on the Silent Forest Motela fall off, leaving behind pitted, worthless fur, and the size swells to that of a wild boar, becoming particularly dangerous.

After magical preparation, Motela’s tentacles can ward off misfortune, and the secretions from the tentacles can heal abrasions and cuts, but a tentacle-less Motela will bite through the ankle of anyone who passes their cave entrance, whether those ankles belong to a Horse-Man, a Demon, or an ordinary wizard.

”Speaking of which,” the fat wizard twirled his brush, looking speculatively at a Motela that was still unprocessed in front of Zheng Qing: ”There seems to be a lot of Muridae-like monsters in this Winter Hunt... I remember there was a similar occurrence last year ... could it be, this year the Silent Tides will also come early?”

No one paid attention to his speculation.

Zheng Qing feigned ignorance, glancing toward the direction of the other hunting teams’ grounds, mumbling to himself: ”Maybe we should try our luck with the neighboring team... I remember the Elders said, during past Winter Hunts, there often were teams hunting across boundaries... every time we catch one more of someone else’s prey, the other team catches one less, this rise and fall... Right, who’s next door to us?”

”Fringe Hunting Team.”

The fat wizard lifted his brush and turned back to the drafted outline on the parchment, halfheartedly warning: ”We’re all in the same class, seeing each other day in and day out, best not to... if you really want to go, consider disguising first...”

”What about on the other side?”

”Auspicious... the final Campus Cup rankings of our three hunting teams were close, so the hunting grounds were divided together.” The fat wizard finally tore his gaze from the draft to glance at the captain, sincerely reminding: ”You should remember your relationship with Sepulano... and who Sepulano is now.”

Zheng Qing sighed, gazing at the thick, soft, white snow not far off, feeling an urge to throw himself into it and let the snow cover him.

”Too ’scrappy’; this hunt’s takings are just too ’scrappy’, like using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken.” He started rambling like a complaining woman: ”Never participated in such a losing hunt...”

”This is the usual state of hunting.”

Jiang Yu had been quite interested in making a circle of snowman dolls around herself, finally looked up, and gave the warlock a glance: ”Most of the time, the hunters at the Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt or the Baddminton Winter Hunt I occasionally attend barely make any gains. If you don’t believe it, you can come with me next time to see for yourself...”

”The two Spring and Winter Hunts you mentioned lean more towards socializing rather than actual hunting.” The fat wizard corrected quite rationally.

”Shut up!”

The captain of the Absolution Hunting Team scolded the fat wizard sternly: ”If you don’t speak, no one will think you’re mute. Have you finished your report? If you ask me, your theme is the problem. Who would focus on a Winter Hunt without any surprises...”

He was interrupted by a sudden, dull sound from the depths of Silent Forest.

It was like thunder exploding under the thick snow pile.

Like a Giant Dragon being poked in an unspeakable place.

Zheng Qing immediately fell silent, exchanging a look with the other two, then hurriedly looked at the diviner who seemed to have dozed off in front of the crystal ball: ”Doctor...”

Before he could finish, Xiao Xiao’s hanging head popped up like he was electrocuted, revealing a pair of slightly confused yet spirited eyes: ”It’s outside the Winter Hunting Area, beyond my divination ability...”