High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1421: Chapter 168 Houdou Buck

Night fell.

The moonlight painted every corner of the Silent Forest, the entire world shimmering with a dim silver luster, like rotting pearls. Under the agitation of Magic Power and the baptism of moonlight, this forest became the most dangerous area on Buji Island.

No wizard would be willing to be in the Silent Forest at night.

But that did not mean the forest was silent.

Summer insects chirped in the grass, vines spread between tree trunks, and those hungry gazes also traveled through the forest under the cover of night, searching for something to fill their bellies.

Such as a group of Houdou.

Normally, these magical creatures lived at the mouth of the volcano at the edge of the forest, sustaining themselves by devouring the heat released by the volcano. It was rare for Houdou to appear by the riverbank. The moist vapor would leave them struggling and exhausted, like Fishmen who had climbed ashore. If they encountered an enemy in such a state, it truly would have been a road to death.

No one wanted to walk on that road to death, yet often, this clearly visible path was the only direction they could head.

Buck gazed melancholically at the silver moon in the sky, sniffing the damp air, always feeling an unstoppable urge to sneeze. But each time the itch reached the tip of his nose, the sense of danger emanating from the depths of the forest would make him hold back his sneeze.

This left him always tearful, his vision somewhat blurred.

Buck was a male Houdou, born three years ago, sporting a beautiful coat of dark fur and a forked slender tail. In this small Houdou group, he counted as half a combat force at his age.

Thus, the tribe had arranged for him to stand guard tonight.

Why the tribe had moved away from the comfortable volcanic mouth, Buck no longer knew. The old leader who had led the tribe away from the volcanic mouth, an old Houdou with a shoulder height of two meters and white-haired fur, had been caught by a awakened hill Giant passing through a hillside a few days ago, who, with one sweep of its arm, stuck a bunch of branches into its mouth.

Buck’s last impression of the old leader was the spray of fire from the side of that hill Giant’s mouth.

It seemed like the leader had screamed, but Buck wasn’t sure because at that moment, the entire tribe was scared into dispersing by that suddenly raging hill Giant, losing several young Houdou along the way.

Those little guys were more likely dead than alive.

Thinking of this, Buck glanced at the silver moon again and sighed deeply.

In the past, when residing near the volcanic mouth, the moon in the night sky was the Houdous’ favorite sight; lying in the warm lava, enjoying the caress of the moonlight, every pore emitted a feeling known as ’comfort’.

But since leaving the volcanic mouth, the silver moon had grown much colder.

Each time he thought of this, it puzzled Buck. Since they had left the volcanic mouth, the tribe had been migrating in the direction of the Sun, yet he didn’t know why the weather kept getting colder and the air more humid. Firelight in the excrement of many adult Houdou had dimmed significantly, and for the young ones like Buck, the color of their fiery excrement had turned from blue-white to orange-yellow.

He seriously suspected that if they stayed in the forest for much longer, his own excrement would turn dark red—that was the color excreted only by dying old Houdou.

Perhaps only by returning to the volcanic mouth could the color of his excrement return to normal.

As to when they might be able to return to the volcanic mouth, Buck did not know. He vaguely remembered the old leader mentioning that deep within the volcanic mouth was a fissure leading somewhere, where only lava flowed in and nothing ever came out. The Wizarding school on the island was aware of it and seemed indifferent, usually just setting up a Surveillance Magical Formation to observe.

Though the Houdou were somewhat uncomfortable with their home being monitored, they had abundant lava and rich food, and the school occasionally sent wizards for their maintenance, so the tribe didn’t have much opposition then.

Until a few months ago, the black tide swept the Houdou group towards Beta Town.

That was truly an accident.

When the black tide surged through the Silent Forest, few magical communities could stay out of it.

When the exhausted Houdou returned from the small town to the volcanic mouth, they were shocked to find their home taken over by the school! A group of wizards in black robes, waving Law books, drove them away from the volcanic mouth.

They only gave them a few baskets of charcoal.

”Such a grievance to dogs!”

Buck snorted indignantly, emitting a few dark red sparks that disappeared in an instant in the damp woods. The color of the sparks brought back the sadness in its heart.

It raised its head again, gazing at the golden moon in the mid-air, imagining that swath of gold scattering fervent seeds to the cold world below.

Then its ears twitched.

Was there a rustle in the forest?

Buck took a deep breath, blinked hard, and pushed the hot teardrops that had been blurring its vision back under its eyelids.

It crouched down, a threatening growl emitting from its throat, and a flare of fire gleamed in its eyes.

The firelight fell on a cluster of bushes not far away.

The sound had come from those bushes.

Buck stared fiercely at the bushes, growling twice more in its throat, signaling that it had noticed the intruder’s presence; come out honestly, or don’t blame it for being rude.

The bushes fell silent for a few seconds.

Then, accompanied by the rustling of branches and leaves, a gray figure darted out of the bushes and appeared before Buck, excitedly wagging its tail. It was as if it had seen a long-lost family member.

The young Houdou snorted, and the firelight in its eyes subsided.

A dog?

Or rather, a lost Houdou?

It wasn’t sure. Judging from the appearance, Houdous and typical domestic dogs looked similar, except ordinary dogs consumed meat and excreted manure, while Houdous consumed charcoal and excreted fire waste. The grey fur was a color seen in young, not fully matured Houdous.

As for the lack of a bifurcated tail, that was not a significant issue; in the Calamity Fight Group, most Houdous had unifurcated tails. Buck was one of the rare ones with a forked tip on its tail.

This confusion disappeared in the next second.

Because the strange dog in front of it wagged its tail and let out a soft, gentle call:

”Meow~!”

Buck’s tail twitched, and a burst of sparks emerged from behind its back.

No Houdou would make that sound, neither would a real dog!

...

...

The dog appearing before Buck was none other than Furry Bean.

Of course, it did not yet know about its new name.

Since following Zheng Qing’s order to find the owner of the Snake Shedding Fragments, Furry Bean had used most of the night, extending clues from within the school to the outside, all the way to the depths of Silent Forest.

That scent, was hiding not far from this group of Houdou.