High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1589: Chapter 333: The Situation is Still Under Control

It seemed that the Little Witch’s scream had startled the Black Mountain Goat, which slowly turned its head, revealing a burned visage.

To be more precise, it was half a burned visage—the Black Mountain Goat appeared as though it had been split into two by an invisible long blade. The left side was normal: its wool was fluffy, its eyes bright, and its horns sharp. But the right side was utterly unrecognizable; its wool had been scorched, its half-exposed face peeled away, revealing dark red muscle and tangled blood vessels. Its eyelid was gone, exposing a ghastly oversized eye like a glowing bulb. The horn on that side seemed to have melted under searing flames, drooping near its ear, marked with bubble-like holes akin to those on volcanic basalt.

But none of these were the most terrifying.

The most frightening was something beyond the burns.

The flames devouring the goat’s scorched side had not extinguished, burning at a slanted angle in dark red hues. Above the blaze, a dense shadow lingered, leaping as the flames danced, like ephemeral tentacles.

With just a brief glance, the faint blue shield surrounding Mai Dong seemed as though it were struck by an enormous invisible hammer, denting deeply. The runes on the shield splintered, issuing a crackling sound as streams of golden sparks burst forth.

The Little Witch instinctively stepped back. She faintly heard a chaotic and dissonant chorus of prayers near her ear.

Nicolas!

Nicolas!!

The Goddess of Dark Fertility!

The Mountain Goat of the Forest, who bears countless offspring!!

Ishikawa Ukyo reached out to steady Mai Dong’s trembling shoulder, helping her stand firmer.

”Call the dwarf and the blind man over,” ordered the Kunpeng Hunting Team Leader without turning back, as he stood firmly at the forefront. ”The Array in the Silent Forest looks like it’s out of commission for now...”

Ishikawa said nothing, pulling a red Paper Crane from inside his jacket. He placed it on the back of his left hand, whispered softly to it, then slid his right hand across. Instantly, the Paper Crane ignited into a streak of fire, vanishing between his palm and the back of his hand.

The Black Mountain Goat seemed to sense malice from the three young wizards.

No longer pretending to be innocent, it lowered its head, revealing scythe-shaped horns. Meanwhile, its back arched, and its right hoof tapped rhythmically on the stone ground, readying for a charge.

Zhang Boren crouched low, fists clenched at his waist, knuckles facing upward. He locked his gaze onto the flaming goat without a shred of fear.

Boom!

Amid the fire-ravaged warehouse, a wooden pillar finally succumbed to the flames, collapsing straight down with a thundering sound that sent black ash flying and brilliant sparks scattering.

It was like the strike of a war drum.

The Black Mountain Goat and Zhang Boren simultaneously ceased their standoff and charged straight at each other.

Mai Dong nervously clenched her fists, silently cheering for the team leader in her heart. But then she saw the Black Goat suddenly kick its front hoof hard against the ground mid-charge, executing a sharp turn exceeding ninety degrees and violently cutting to the side.

Boom!

It smashed through the flimsy wall of the Forest Goods Market and bolted away, trailing a streak of firelight like a lit firecracker.

Zhang Boren, unable to stop his momentum, brushed past the Black Goat and crashed into the warehouse’s stone wall like an out-of-control heavy tank. Boom! The collision left a massive hole.

The Little Witch gasped in dismay, unable to watch. She unclenched her fists and covered her eyes.

”Huff! Huff!”

An orange flame resembling a crane emerged beside Ishikawa Ukyo. From the blaze stepped two figures—one tall and one short.

The Fire Crane let out a sharp note near Ishikawa’s ear and fluttered its wings before bursting into tiny sparks and disappearing.

”What’s going on?” roared the gunner from the Kunpeng Hunting Team with his booming voice. ”Our magic circle was almost complete; what could be more important than that?”

Despite the complaint, ever since emerging from the fire, Balin had kept his machine gun steady in his hands, its muzzle cautiously scanning the surroundings, his finger tightly clutching the trigger.

Unlike the meticulous dwarf, the hunting team’s Diviner was prudent inside and out.

She rubbed the Crystal Ball cradled in her arms, tilting her head to discern subtle magic fluctuations within the market. Her expression was somber.

”The timeline is showing signs of disruption here,” noted the Witch, who kept her eyes closed yet remained sharply attuned to her surroundings. ”Who did you encounter? Where’s the Team Leader?”

”I’m still alive!” bellowed Zhang Boren’s gruff voice from within the warehouse. ”Ptooey, ptooey... That shameless bastard ran away mid-fight, the coward!”

”Who’s he cursing at?” The dwarf hefted his machine gun, resting it on his shoulder, then glanced sideways at Mai Dong’s faint blue shield as though noticing it for the first time. ”...Were you attacked by a Flober Grub again?”

Flober Grubs were stout, plant-eating worms whose secretions had wide applications in Potion Making. Aside from their unattractive looks, they posed virtually no threat to wizards—except young girls, who seemed particularly susceptible to their unsightly appearance, often fainting before the creatures. Cases of girls collapsing at the sight of the worms were not uncommon each year.

Mai Dong had once been terrified into a trance-like state by a Flober Grub, making her a frequent subject of Balin’s teasing.

”There wasn’t any Flober Grub here!” yelled the Little Witch from behind her blue shield, exasperated. ”How many times are you going to bring that up! The Team Leader lost to a goat in a fight—that’s why he’s cursing...and cursing a goat!”

”A goat?” Balin blinked, a bit lost in the Little Witch’s narrative.

”Goat?” Zhu Ling, the Witch, sharply caught onto the term and turned toward Ishikawa, who had been silent throughout. ”...Was it the goat I think it was?”

The Swordsman silently nodded.

The Witch took a deep breath as her Crystal Ball flickered with irregular light.

Balin, late to realize, looked again at the wreckage near the warehouse—the fallen Chisel Tooth and the stone pit not far away. He then repositioned his machine gun from his shoulder to his hands, unlocking the safety.

”Where is it?” asked the dwarf gruffly.

”It fled,” Ishikawa replied curtly.

”Fled?” Balin raised his brows, his machine gun’s barrel clicking ominously. ”Why didn’t you pursue it?”

”Not pursuing was the right choice,” Zhang Boren’s voice, accompanied by his heavy footsteps, emerged from the smoke and fire. As he approached, it grew increasingly clear. ”Nobody knows what that goat is planning... In this timeline, we’re like homeless orphans. Sticking together is the top priority for combat.”

”It won’t escape.” Ishikawa Ukyo tilted his head slightly. Near his ear, a vibrant green Paper Crane cheerfully flapped its wings. ”I’ve been tracking it... Currently, it just plunged into the Silent River, heading upstream along the riverbed.”

By then, the Kunpeng Hunting Team Leader had made his way to the group of hunters.

He patted dust off his clothes, surveyed the chaotic market sprawled before him, and sighed heavily.

”Let’s leave it as it is here.” The Warlock scratched his head, abandoning the idea of extinguishing the fires. His gaze followed the breach in the market wall made by the Black Goat’s collision. ”As for the goat... Now that we interrupted it, it likely won’t return to the battlefield we previously prepared.”

That much was certain. Even minor disruptions upstream in a timeline could cascade downstream, transforming outcomes drastically. Fortunately, the Black Goat had merely arrived ahead of schedule this time, and the resulting deviations remained within manageable limits.

The dwarf tugged at his beard.

”This is why I despise fighting in alignment with timelines,” he grumbled gruffly. ”You never know if crushing one random frog might draw Satoguya’s attention.”