High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 966: Chapter 28: Beta Town’s Mounted Police

”As for the escort duty, it will be handled by the mounted police from Beta Town Security Bureau,”

At this point, the wizard from Trident Sword looked up to glance at the treetops of Silent Forest in the distance, then pulled out his pocket watch, checked the time, and muttered, ”Why haven’t they arrived yet... They should be here by now?”

”Over there!” Zheng Qing pointed in the opposite direction of the wizard’s gaze and shouted, ”Is that them?”

The rest of the people on the boat turned their heads in unison towards the direction Zheng Qing was pointing.

They saw several figures riding brooms swiftly flying over from the other side of the river bend, steadily descending. The undulating treetops protruding from both sides of the river did not seem to cause them any trouble.

Under the wizards’ control, the brooms nimbly maneuvered past obstacles, occasionally stirring up a few lingering dead leaves on the branches.

”Whoo!”

”Whoo-hoo!”

Within moments, the mounted police, with the howling wind beside them, stopped on both sides of the ferry.

There were a total of five new arrivals, two on each side, hovering on their brooms; and one leading mounted police member landed his broom on the deck, lifted his leg, and jumped off the broom.

Zheng Qing noticed that these brooms were all striped in blue and white.

Tails of the brooms had a thin line attached, at the end of which hung a red pumpkin lantern spinning wildly like a top, emitting a squeaky, buzzing alarm, relentlessly noisy.

After jumping down, the leading mounted policeman immediately grabbed the red pumpkin lantern and hung it on the hook embedded at the tail of the broom, and finally, the pumpkin lantern stopped shrieking, bringing Zheng Qing a great relief from the noise.

Then, the captain of the mounted police strode over to the old ferryman.

”What has happened? Do you need help, Professor?” He tugged at his pointed wizard hat and rested his other hand on the Law book tied at his waist, his tone courteous and polite.

Zheng Qing noticed a fluorescent orange corn snake coiled on the brim of his hat, its head drooping as if asleep. Even when the mounted police captain tugged at the brim, the snake didn’t budge, making one wonder if it was a living creature or just a decoration.

”Don’t call me Professor!” The old man Xiao Bonar sighed and pointed his chin at the wizard from Trident Sword and said, ”Just a minor accident... handle it according to the procedures.”

The wizard from Trident Sword immediately handed his notepad to the captain of the mounted police and succinctly described the recent incident.

At the end, he pointed at Zheng Qing and the boat beneath their feet and added, ”Because we still have to complete follow-up tasks on-site, and as you folks have more flexibility with time, we’ll leave the later escort of the ferry to Beta Town to you... Just make sure Zheng Qing gets off at the dock in the North District. One of my colleagues will take over the work once he’s ashore.”

”Much appreciated!”

While he was speaking, the captain of the mounted police had already perused the contents on the notepad, and upon hearing this, he tugged again at his wide brim and nodded agreeably, ”It’s our duty.”

The wizard from Trident Sword immediately beamed with joy.

But before his smile could fade, the captain of the mounted police spoke again:

”Time isn’t the issue... However, we’re currently using the ’Harmony Max’ series brooms, with a minimum speed of sixty, and the brooms would stall if any slower. If we had the previous ’Hummingbird-4c’ or ’Dragonfly-5 series’, it would be a different story as those two models have excellent low-speed flight capabilities... with this model, however...”

As he said this, he looked around, a hint of difficulty on his face.

His concerns were plain for all to see.

The ferry was just an ordinary punt and wasn’t fitted with high-end alchemy-powered equipment. It seemed implausible to chase after ”Harmony Max” series Flying Brooms with such a vehicle.

Old Xiao Bonar burst into laughter, waving his hand authoritatively, ”What’s the big deal... You just fly next to us. If I can’t catch up with you, I’ll split this little broken boat and use it as firewood!”

Having said that, he bent down to fish out the palm-sized white water buffaloes from the bamboo basket at the bow and tossed them directly into the river.

Upon touching the water, the buffaloes swelled rapidly, growing to about two meters tall in the blink of an eye. Their coiled horns, strong muscles, and fur as smooth as satin all showcased their extraordinariness to the onlookers.

Then, Old Xiao Bonar stomped his foot.

From the compartment below the deck, thick ropes burst forth like snakes, wrapping around the bodies of the buffaloes. They weaved back and forth, quickly forming a sturdy harness.

”A speed of sixty should be enough with the Strength of Five Cows,” the old man nodded, tapping the water lightly with his bamboo pole. Looking at the two investigators on the boat, he blinked, ”Let’s set off!”

The mounted police captain looked in amazement at the large creatures whose backs barely broke the surface of the water and the taut ropes, praising, ”Nowadays, very few people keep so many jade water buffaloes.”

”Because everyone thinks that alchemy equipment is a bit easier to maintain,” the wizard with the Trident Sword replied, turning his head toward the old ferryman, ”Well then, Professor, until we meet again!”

With that, he put away his notepad and Feather Pen, and with a soft sound, he vanished from the deck without a trace.

The mounted police captain also hopped back onto his broom and began to lead the patrol above the ferry.

The pumpkin lantern hanging from the tail of the broom once again spun wildly, emitting a piercing screech.

During the following journey, Old Xiao Bonar did not reopen the blockade of the cabin, leaving Zheng Qing no choice but to hold on to the gunwale with his legs crossed, sitting obediently on the deck, letting the cold wind make him cry.

But objectively speaking, the scenery from the deck was clearer and more vivid than from inside the cabin.

Even in the cold winter, Zheng Qing could still feel the vitality contained within the Silent Forest—like a bottle of aged wine, fragrant yet concealed until the cap is removed—a sensation hard to experience through the cabin’s glass windows.

Of course, the passengers now sitting in the cabin have been deprived even of this small pleasure.

The blinds on both sides of the cabin have not been opened since earlier, and Zheng Qing figured that Old Xiao Bonar wouldn’t end their ”protection” until the boat reached the dock.

Due to the hitching of several water buffaloes, the speed of the subsequent voyage became extraordinarily rapid.

A waterway that normally took half a day to traverse was completed in just under half an hour thanks to the buffaloes’ pull. When the ferry docked at the pier in North Beta Town, the Sun hadn’t even reached its highest point yet.

This sight filled Zheng Qing with envy.

”Are these water buffaloes for sale?” As he saw Old Xiao Bonar putting the white water buffaloes back into the bamboo basket, he couldn’t help but ask, ”Where did you buy them? How much for each?”

The old ferryman glanced at him with drooping eyelids.

”These are work buffaloes provided by the School Works Committee, not for sale,” the old man added gruffly, ”If you really want to buy some, you might try asking at Green Grocery. They sell all kinds of things there.”