High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1588: Chapter 332: That Sheep

Goats having horns isn’t unusual.

But for a goat that seems like a nanny goat to have massive scythe-shaped horns, now that’s truly strange.

Back when Zhang Boren was in school, he loved magical creatures. For courses related to mystical beings, he consistently achieved a 4.5 GPA—even though goats aren’t considered traditional magical creatures—this didn’t stop him from quickly identifying a goat’s distinguishing features.

Theoretically, scythe-shaped horns are only found on male goats.

Male goats can’t be used as milk goats.

Moreover, this goat was black.

Realizing this, the captain of the Kunpeng Hunting Team immediately turned around, trying to confirm his suspicions. A flood of unsettling guesses surfaced in his mind.

Those guesses distracted him from noticing the explosion charms scattered all over the warehouse.

He had barely run a few steps after turning around.

Bright orange fireballs blossomed one after another within his field of vision, resembling well-fed fireflies attempting to mate. The warlock had only enough time to mutter a curse under his breath before dazzling light, accompanied by intense shockwaves, instantly swallowed his formidable frame.

The deafening detonation of the talisman paper nearly made him deaf, rendering him unable to hear Mai Dong’s piercing screams from behind him.

Bang!

The warlock’s towering figure shot out from the wobbly flames like a cannonball, slamming heavily onto the blue stone slab road at the entrance of the Forest Goods Market, creating a sizable crater on impact.

Mai Dong crouched near the crater, her ears plugged, her eyes shut tight, screaming in fright. A faint blue barrier erupted with her scream, covering her. Complex golden and silver overlapping runes squirmed across the surface of the shield as intense magical waves surged wildly, almost enveloping the entire market.

The air, flames, and even sound were distorted and reshaped by the rippling waves.

”Silence and Think!”

A crisp voice rang out amid the little witch’s screams and the explosions throughout the market. Though the voice wasn’t loud, it clearly penetrated Mai Dong’s plugged ears.

This was a calming incantation.

The spell’s effect quickly soothed the little witch’s panic, causing her to stop screaming.

Ishikawa stood beside Mai Dong, carrying a sword and holding a law book in his hands. He extended another hand into the faint blue barrier, pressing it against the little spiritual wizard’s shoulder while carefully repeating the incantation:

”Silence and Think!”

With two consecutive calming incantations, the faint blue barrier finally ceased its erratic flickering, calming the swirling runes that danced across its surface.

Mai Dong withdrew her fingers from her ears and cautiously opened one eye.

And then she saw the familiar figure of the swordsman.

”You scared me half to death!!” The little witch dropped her hands, crying out in a trembling voice: ”Captain just lost his mind earlier — suddenly rushed into that warehouse and then got blown up by a pile of explosion charms...”

”Ahem! Heh... TUI!” From the crater at her feet came rasping coughs, followed by spitting sounds, and then Zhang Boren’s gruff complaint: ”I’m not dead yet!!... Speak nonsense as children might, speak nonsense as children might, ptooey ptooey!”

The little witch’s cries abruptly stopped.

She raised her hand and wiped at the corner of her eye, finally noticing the massive crater just ahead.

The captain of the Kunpeng Hunting Team climbed out of the crater, dusting off the dirt on his body. His cloak had been shredded by the recent explosion, and his black robe had also become rather tattered.

The two badges fastened to his robe, however, still gleamed brilliantly, as though the blast had somehow polished them even more.

The warlock didn’t appear injured, though his hair was slightly singed, his face somewhat charred—considering his face was already beet-red to begin with, the additional blackness didn’t really stand out much.

”Ptooey ptooey!”

Zhang Boren spat twice more onto the ground, rubbed his hands together, and raised his head toward his two teammates, flashing an awkward smile: ”A miscalculation... Just a tiny miscalculation.”

”You scared me to death!” Mai Dong didn’t care about miscalculations. She kicked a stone on the edge of the crater, sending it flying in a graceful arc through the air before it landed square on Zhang Boren’s stomach.

”Ugh,” the warlock clutched his stomach with an exaggerated expression: ”Internal injury... I think my spleen’s been shattered.”

Mai Dong’s face stayed stern, showing no worry or sympathy.

”What just happened?” Ishikawa closed his law book and pulled the sword from his back, cautiously eyeing the warehouse that had exploded moments ago: ”You’re not the reckless type... That miscalculation almost caused Little Fish to go berserk, which could severely compromise this timeline’s stability.”

Zhang Boren climbed out of the crater and patted the dust off his robe.

He then reached out, intending to pat Mai Dong’s shoulder, but the little witch dodged his dirty hand without hesitation.

The captain of Kunpeng Hunting Team sighed pitifully, shifting his gaze toward the swordsman and then toward the warehouse, his expression growing somber.

”I spotted a black mountain goat — right in the warehouse earlier.” He began walking toward the aftermath of the explosion, his tone remarkably calm: ”...I think there’s been a slight miscalculation in our previous plan.”

He only managed to take a few steps forward before stopping abruptly.

From the opposite direction came the sound of measured hoofsteps.

The warlock narrowed his eyes, cracking his knuckles, his gaze tinged with vigilance.

From the warehouse now veiled in flames and black smoke, a figure gradually emerged.

It was the black mountain goat.

Head held high, it gripped the neck of a pregnant Chisel Tooth from a nearby cage, dragging it out. The Chisel Tooth’s limbs hung limp to the ground, its body seemingly unconscious, while brownish blood dripped from the goat’s mouth, sizzling as it hit the flame-scorched ground.

Bathed in the firelight, Zhang Boren clearly made out the dozens of thick and thin shadows spread across the black goat’s body, stabbing into the Chisel Tooth like tendrils.

The Chisel Tooth’s body shriveled visibly, its flesh and blood rapidly draining away.

The black goat paused upon noticing the strangers gathered at the market entrance.

Then it loosened its grip.

Thud.

The Chisel Tooth’s head slammed onto the ground, emitting a muffled sound.

The black goat hesitated momentarily and bleated twice, as if attempting to pretend it was just an ordinary goat. Yet the blood quietly oozing from its mouth betrayed the charade entirely.

Zhang Boren tugged at the corner of his mouth, clenching his fist. A faint layer of blood-suffused energy flickered across his exposed skin. Turning his back to his teammates, his voice dropped several octaves: ”Erm... Let me correct what I said earlier. Our plan didn’t have a slight miscalculation—it’s veered into catastrophic failure instead.”

”Black Mountain Goat?!!” Mai Dong gasped, the faint blue barrier around her brightening again.

”It’s indeed that black mountain goat.”

In contrast to the little witch, Ishikawa’s voice remained calm.