High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1057: Chapter 119: Slipping Away Stealthily

”Bang!”

A crisp sound came from the confrontation spot, as if someone had cracked a loud whip. The witches outside the mud pond let out a collective, gentle ”ay ya” of surprise.

Right after bending down, Zheng Qing quickly straightened up and turned to look over. Because he did it so fast, a few clumps of mud went flying and splattered onto Li Meng, causing the little witch to mutter low complaints.

Zheng Qing paid no mind to her complaints.

When he looked at the confrontation spot, he just saw an orange light spot slowly fading away. The light was located between the patrol officers and the Fishmen, seemingly some sort of cautioning magic.

Zheng Qing let out a deep sigh of relief.

”It’s the ’Palace Yellow Curse’ from the ’Charm of Five Sounds and Colors,’ a preliminary cautioning magic,” Xiao Xiao, who was equally focused on the standoff, promptly explained to the others, ”...Overall, the situation is still under control.”

”First things first, let’s focus on the task,” Zheng Qing emphasized, repeating his words as if to remind everyone of the reason they were in this mud pond today.

More importantly, he did not want his hunting team and friends getting involved with the confrontation by the lakeside in the distance. That would be quite troublesome.

However, this time, whether it was the hunters from the Absolution Hunting Team, Nicholas who had joined the team temporarily, or the several witches standing outside the mud pond, none heeded Zheng Qing’s rambling and all stopped their work.

Right after the orange light spot went out, another crisp ”bang” sound exploded on the lakeside. This time, the color of the cautioning magic turned to red, and the sound was slightly higher pitched.

But the Fishmen emerging from the water not only did not retreat but pressed a few steps closer to the patrol officers. Even from a distance, Zheng Qing could sense the patrol officers in the front line’s nearly vomiting disposition—the stench from most of the Fishmen was very strong, and few wizards could face it without changing color if unprepared.

”...Everybody... stay calm...” A warlock yelled loudly.

”Hiss... Black... Wizard...!” The hissing roar of the Fishmen was just as defiant, resounding across half the lake.

After that, the scene plunged into chaos.

In the moonlight, Zheng Qing could see a short wizard at the front line being knocked away by a Fishman and hung on a tree branch nearby; there were also Fishmen smashed into the water by the patrol officers’ magic wands, sinking silently. Of course, there were more exchanges of punches and swings of wands— in a way, even though a conflict had occurred, both sides were still relatively restrained, not using any destructive or lethal magic.

It all changed when a yapping slender dog had its neck twisted by an enraged Fishman.

”No!!!” The dog’s owner screamed, pulling out a handful of talisman paper from their embrace, and slamming it towards the Fishman. A burst of colorful light blades sprouted from the papers, appearing set to strike the Fishman—although Zheng Qing didn’t know the specific name of those talismans, it didn’t stop him from predicting the brutal outcome that the Fishman was about to be torn apart.

”Boom!!!”

Several thick pillars of water shot up from Lin Zhong Lake almost simultaneously, surged upwards, becoming a raging water dragon that shattered the light blades and hit the patrol team. The patrol officers caught up in an entanglement with the Fishmen had no time to retreat and faced the Fishmen’s innate magic head-on. More than a dozen figures were struck into the air and then smashed back down onto the blue stone slab ground with a thud.

Yet the Fishmen paid no mind to the water dragon that struck them, as if hitting a mere phantom, it caused no damage whatsoever.

”Hiss!” Zheng Qing gasped in shock, watching those figures being knocked away, he seemed to hear the sound of bones shattering and the patrol team members’ screams of agony.

”How dare they... Ugh!” Li Meng was waving her arms, having just screeched half a sentence, when she was suddenly embraced by Jiang Yu, who covered her mouth.

”Should we retreat first?” Jiang Yu’s voice was hurried, anxious.

Zheng Qing hesitated for only a moment before racing towards the edge of the mud pond: ”Quick, let’s go! Don’t stay here... We’ll talk once we’re back!”

Without a doubt, they had witnessed a troublesome incident that could be described as stirring up the heavens.

Whether it was the Jiuyou Academy patrol team being battered with broken bones by the Fishmen, or the lumps forming on the Fishmen’s heads after being struck by the patrol, neither was a trifling matter. Not to mention the current state of alarm within the academy, the intertwining conflicts between the Fishmen and the patrol team, the Blood Comrades and the Sacred Will, Lei Zhe and Augustus, Jiuyou Academy and Alpha Academy, and so on. It would take only a spark to ignite a multitude of bombs.

The scene unfolding before their eyes subtly held the potential to be that spark.

Besides, on a smaller scale, this was merely a minor clash between some young wizards and the Fishmen. On a larger scale, it was an attack by the Linzhong Lake Reserve’s Fishman Tribe against the Mage Alliance. But regardless of the scale, it wasn’t a conflict that these first-year wizards on the sidelines could get involved in.

It wasn’t that the Fishmen were too fearsome and had scared Zheng Qing away. Rather, dealing with this matter, regardless of how it was handled, was bound to cause unrest. Unrest was the last thing First University needed right now.

This also meant that there was a great likelihood that the school would downplay the incident, handing out equal blame to both sides. The only thing that wouldn’t be mitigated would be the wrong people showing up at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

For example, the Absolution Hunting Team, and people like Jiang Yu, Liu Fei Fei, and others.

Perhaps, in the event of discord, these unwitting bystanders might even be paraded by the authorities to divert the focus of the agitated masses—especially since Zheng Qing held many titles, which would stir much discussion.

Upon hearing Zheng Qing’s call to action, everyone in and around the mud pond didn’t hesitate and ran just as he did. As they fled, Zheng Qing pulled a stack of Escape talismans from the grey cloth bag and threw them over everyone. Normally, Escape talismans could only be used in specific areas of the school. However, these talismans had been drawn with his blood, which Zheng Qing had discovered had an unusual efficacy, making them exceptionally effective.

In just an instant, the aura of the Escape talismans enveloped the young wizards, and with a whoosh, their figures vanished from the lakeside without a trace.

Before vanishing, Zheng Qing took one last look back at the scene of the incident.

The last image that reflected in his sight was a spark shooting up into the sky, along with a visible ripple that spread out from the center of the incident site.

Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth, silently applauding his own decisiveness.

With half a year of experience working with the patrol team, he easily identified the ’Comprehensive Alert’ and the Magic Monitoring Fluctuations that followed from the Guardian Array. Undoubtedly, the entire incident would soon stir half the school.