High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1656: Chapter 400: The Hunters

’Catch Nikita, don’t let her escape!’

This was the last sentence Zheng Qing left his companions before being completely engulfed by the black moon above Lin Zhong Lake. After the efforts of the Absolution Hunting Team’s hunters to follow their captain into the black moon failed, they finally chose to fulfill the captain’s wish.

Soon, the entire Lin Zhong Lake was sealed off by the school, and all students were warned not to approach the sealed area. Although there were rumors speculating that the end of the black moon was the Black Prison, on one hand, this was merely the conjecture of some wizards. On the other hand, even if the end of the black moon was the Black Prison, young wizards would find it difficult to find a way in or out of the Black Prison.

In the past, students of the First University could enter the Black Prison for a brief practice with the instructions from the Professor Joint Meeting, the School Works Committee, or certain Big Wizards. But since last year, the entire Black Prison had tightened its rules for entry and exit, strictly limiting outsiders.

Without a way to trace Zheng Qing’s path, fulfilling Zheng Qing’s ’last wish’ was the only thing the remaining members of the Absolution Hunting Team could do.

At this time, the school received an urgent message from Beta Town—a new and unfamiliar black tide had erupted.

The First University’s School Works Committee, the Professor Joint Meeting, and most of the senior professors and researchers from various research institutes, the First University Assistant Corps, and some outstanding fourth-year members were all currently in the Black Prison.

The remaining school staff, teachers, and researchers on campus had to, on the one hand, work to repair the broken School Guardian Array, and on the other hand, protect the younger students with limited manpower.

After a brief discussion, the student council and the Club Union summoned some senior students to shoulder most of the responsibility of guarding the campus alongside the school staff; meanwhile, some teachers led the school’s formally registered structured hunting teams to support Beta Town.

Amidst the chaos, the only arrangement the lower-grade students received was to ’stay in the dormitory and not come out!’.

Most first and second-year students still respected the school authority and obediently returned to their dorms, starting to review their studies in preparation for the final exams in a few days.

In their view, whether it was the black tide erupting in Beta Town or the ’magic incident’ that occurred earlier in the sky over Lin Zhong Lake, they were both negligible troubles for the First University—yes, in the eyes of some students, it was merely a nasty magic incident caused by demons sneaking in. Many who witnessed the golden net shatter and the black moon float doubted if they had been under the illusion technique.

After all, how could the School Guardian Array of the First University be broken?

Moreover, it was shattered by a charm gun held by a student.

The lower-grade students who knew part of the truth—like the several hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team—naturally would not stay obediently in the dormitory like others.

So, after a brief communication inside the hunting team, a team composed of Zhang Ji Xin, Xiao Xiao, Xin, Blue Bird, and Dylan quietly infiltrated the Silent Forest to track down Nikita’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Li Meng and Lin Guo, being too young and with Lin Guo having just found his Black Mountain Goat, were left at school to be taken care of by Monk Shi Yuan from Atlas Academy.

As for Uncle Zhang Zhi and Sima Yangyun, because one was an outstanding hunter among the senior students and the other was a teaching staff member, they had already been assigned numerous tasks by the school, so Zhang Ji Xin and Xiao Xiao easily avoided their entanglements.

After leaving the campus, Xiao Xiao wasted a precious divination shell that had been offered for a long time to determine the direction of Nikita’s escape and pursued relentlessly. Several times, they caught glimpses of the female demon and the little female demon who called herself ’Zhuzhu,’ but the black flood dragon was nowhere to be found.

Though Nikita was fleeing, she did not delve deep into the Silent Forest—if she had indeed gone into the depths of the Silent Forest, the Absolution Hunting Team’s pursuit might have been reconsidered and possibly canceled—but because she was escaping along the banks of the Silent River, the young hunters of Absolution naturally refused to give up.

This time, it was the fourth time the hunting team had caught sight of the female demon.

”Blue Bird just sent a message, confirming the surrounding environment,” Zhang Ji Xin replied solemnly to Xiao Xiao’s question. ”Did Nikita not see that Black Flood Dragon around her?”

Xiao Xiao shook his head. ”The divination shows no shadow of the black flood dragon.”

”That Black Flood Dragon is indeed injured, no doubt!” Xin Fat Man patted his chest, panting and swearing, ”I saw it with my own eyes. An old man with a white beard threw out a spell and knocked off half the tail of that black flood dragon...they can’t possibly run that fast!”

”So, they might have help?” Zhang Ji Xin irritatedly kicked a dead branch by his foot, which whistled and broke into several pieces against the trunk of a Return Soul Poplar.

”I always felt that demoness has some conspiracy,” Xin Fat Man muttered quietly, while quickly concocting potions to replenish his energy and stamina.

”She’s summoning the black tide,” Xiao Xiao replied worriedly, stroking the amber-colored translucent turtle shell in his hand. The turtle shell, originally as big as a palm, had worn down to about a square inch after several uses and had to be used sparingly.

”What?” The others immediately looked at the diviner with a bit of shock.

Xiao Xiao sighed, reached out, and formed a transparent water mirror. In the mirror was the endless Silent Forest, but the perspective was from above, only showing the lush canopy.

The small warlock adjusted his glasses, pointed to a swaying treetop that was like a wave, then drew a line parallel to the treetop:

”This line is our route tracking Nikita...those violently swaying canopies parallel to us are the traces left by demons constantly surging out from the depths of the Silent Forest...though I don’t know why, it is certain that there is some connection between the black tide and Nikita.”

Zhang Ji Xin stared with jet-black eyes, carefully examining the path of the magical creatures, eventually shaking his head. ”Too orderly...under a real black tide, those out-of-control magical creatures wouldn’t move in such an orderly procession.”

”Hsss.” Xin Fat Man took a sharp breath. It was uncertain if it was the magic potion just swallowed stimulating his taste buds or being frightened by his teammates’ conclusions. ”Wouldn’t we be in great danger then? Why not say it earlier!”

Dylan gave the fat man a disdainful look. ”We’ve been running around the forbidden forest for so long, and only now do you think of the word danger? With your reflexes, when real danger arrives, you’ll surely become jerky.”

”The divination shows that as long as we don’t interfere with those magical creatures, the black tide won’t pose a threat to us,” Xiao Xiao carefully put away the turtle shell and replaced it with a crystal ball. ”That’s why I reminded earlier, if Nikita goes deeper into the Silent Forest, we must abandon the pursuit.”

Everyone fell silent.