High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1000: Chapter 62: Tribes and Alliance

In the afternoon, the Ding Character Plaza in front of the Forest Goods Market was still bustling with crowds and vendors.

However, just a few hours later, although the sun in the sky had not yet shifted thirty degrees, the tranquil atmosphere on the plaza was utterly gone.

In its place were the tightly shut doors and windows of shops, teams of neatly dressed hunters with serious expressions, and a pervasive air of tension and unease.

The wind howled eerily, with scant dust swirling about the clean streets.

Sculptures of Dendrobium and gargoyles forged from obsidian hung silently on the rooftops and eaves around the plaza, their eyes occasionally moving to show the wizards that they were not truly inanimate.

In front of the Forest Goods Market, supporters who had arrived successively at the plaza had a clear formation and distinct columns.

At the very center of the plaza was a team made up of the Beta Town Security Bureau and the Mage Alliance Investigation Bureau. They also formed the core of the defensive position—with rune-etched barriers and tower shields emitting a cold light, meticulously arrayed at the front. Hunters armed with Charm Guns were interspersed among them, closely monitoring the main entrance of the Forest Goods Market under the cover of their teammates.

The defensive position looked somewhat thin, yet it was incredibly resilient.

Under the threat of the Mad Hunt and the Dark Tide, Beta Town’s Management Committee had received substantial sponsorship from merchant groups and had purchased enough Fu Bullets to cope with the situation.

Nevertheless, Beta Town had not summoned friendly giants or giant dragons for support, nor had they produced potent and durable stone golems as cannon fodder on site.

According to Sister Korma’s explanation, both the Mad Hunt and the Dark Tide would sweep through the town like a fierce wind. If the town could block them outside, that would naturally be best; if not, and a few fire beasts slipped into the town, they might only set alight a few houses, posing limited danger.

But if giants or dragons were called for help, regardless of the outcome, Beta Town would likely need to be rebuilt.

The absence of stone golems and lacking setup of magic cannons on site followed the same logic; these magic elements caused too much damage to the town and were only suitable for field battles, not urban defensive warfare.

On the left side of the official position were the invited Centaur Tribe, Minotaur Tribe, Ninfus, Goblins, and Fishman warriors from Lin Zhong Lake.

The Dark Tide threatened not only Beta Town but also other intelligent beings living in the Silent Forest. This included, but was not limited to, centaurs, minotaurs, ninfus, and unicorns. These beings would move their young, old, and women to temporary shelters at First University before the outbreak of the Dark Tide, while their warriors would join Beta Town’s defenses.

The fishmen carried large clubs on their backs and, with straws in their mouths, sipped on wizard-prepared frog juice, roaring angrily and pacing at the front of the line.

Frog juice was a functional beverage made from mashed frog meat mixed with aloe, honey, licorice, toad cinnabar, calamus, and musk, which stimulated nerves and unleashed potential, making it a popular pre-battle drink among the fishmen.

The goblins, in small groups, were fiddling with their rune hand cannons, which were about as thick as arms—of course, these hand cannons were not much different from the wizards’ large-caliber symbol guns.

The warriors of the Centaur Tribe, carrying long spears and holding bows and arrows, wrapped their hooves in horseshoes and trotted on the blue stone slab streets, creating urgent drumbeats that were annoying and disruptive.

Ninfus and the surrounding warriors were different. They were exceptionally beautiful, dressed in thin gauze, wrapped in mist, forming a small Six-pointed Star Array, and standing right in the middle of the left-side position. The closer the warriors got to them, the more determined their expressions became, and the stronger their will to fight. They were the soul and courage of the left wing.

”Why aren’t we in the line-up with the Minotaurs?” Zhang Ji Xin, wearing boxing gloves, had a fiery gaze looking past the central battle position toward the Minotaurs on the left wing. His tone was filled with regret, ”Captain, I remember there’s a Minotaur in your Merlin Medal. We could totally join them!”

”If you just want to arm-wrestle with a Minotaur, then after the fight you can go find them yourself,” Zheng Qing immediately refused Elder Zhang Da’s suggestion without hesitation, ”As for now, we should stand where we belong.”

Where he referred to as ”our place” was the entire defensive position’s right wing.

Unlike the central route’s official forces and the tribal forces of the left wing, the right wing position was filled with a volunteer alliance — including mercenaries recruited from around Buji Island by Beta Town, hunting teams invited from First University, and townspeople willing to pick up Magic books and Charm Guns to fight.

The Absolution Hunting Team belonged to this alliance.

Previously, under Sister Korma’s assertive explanation, Zheng Qing finally signed Beta Town’s employment contract on behalf of the Absolution Hunting Team, and he had even sent a quick message to gather other team members who were currently at the university.

Because it was still during the period when the school gates were open, the summoned team members quickly arrived at the scene through the portal system. Responding to the summon were Zhang Ji Xin and Lin Guo — Dylan, Blue Bird, and others had gone home for the winter vacation and had not yet returned.

”Besides, the summoned beast in my medal is a Double-headed Minoan, not a real Minotaur,” Zheng Qing added an explanation, then glanced at the Minotaurs on the left wing and whispered, ”I feel like if I stuffed the Minoan into their team, those Minotaurs would beat me up.”

”Very wise,” Xiao Xiao’s voice sounded nearby: ”Throwing a Minoan into the Minotaurs is like throwing a silverback gorilla into a group of wizards... Minotaurs are a species with language and intelligence, significantly different from the Minoans that only roar in battle.”

Xin Fat Man was originally happily sipping milk from a cup on the side. Hearing his companions’ conversation, he seemed to recall something and his gaze wandered toward the tribal warriors on the left wing.

Then he stared intensely at a sturdy adult female centaur, sizing up her leather armor and saddle.

After a moment, he murmured softly, ”Which one could it be?”

Zheng Qing was getting his teammates to check their equipment, getting ready for the impending battle, and vaguely heard Fat Man’s murmur. Thinking there was a problem with his equipment, he asked loudly, ”What? Which one has a problem?”

Xin Fat Man slurped the last mouthful of milk from his cup, then casually stuffed the empty box into his watch, patted his belly, and sighed.

”I was talking about those centaurs,” his voice suddenly very low, ”what do you think, do those centaurs nurse with human milk or horse milk?”