High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1661: Chapter 405 Withered Wasteland

A monster, at least three meters tall, walks under the faint starlight.

It has two heads; the left head is crowned with a pair of thick, flat horns. The bluish-black bull horns curve into an exaggerated arc bending backward, with a golden nose ring on its nose, adorned with dense fly-sized runes. The right head sports two round, short horns resembling roe deer antlers, which still carry a layer of fine velvet. This head lacks a nose ring but has a pair of brass earrings, also engraved with detailed runes.

Behind its sturdy neck hung layers of thick long mane, upon which the semi-transparent Zhu Si excitedly climbs up and down.

And there lies the petite Black Cat, lazily purring at the junction of the creature’s two heads.

’Little Star’ summoned four or five orbs of light circling the creature, casting a misty glow. The scope of the illuminated area had shrunk considerably and the brightness dimmed slightly- after passing through the ’unexpected place’ crafted by Zheng Qing. Finally, the adventurous team under the nightfall grew somewhat weary of the unchanging surroundings, which relaxed the Black Cat’s vigilance and allowed the previously divided team to regroup.

This Minotaur was summoned by Zheng Qing right after the team merged.

At that time, he was chatting with Jiang Yu about last year’s opening ceremony. Jiang Yu mentioned the Merlin Medal awarded to the warlock, prompting Zheng Qing to rummage through the deepest part of the Grey Cloth Bag and exhibit the curse solidified by the Alliance on that medal to the Witch.

Unexpectedly, a freshly awakened Zhu Si showed great interest in the gigantic double-headed Minotaur, constantly climbing up and down, refusing Zheng Qing to cancel the summoning spell. Considering multiple helpers in the unfamiliar Black Prison was beneficial for the group, Zheng Qing ultimately decided to let ’Nose Ring and Earring’ stay.

”Why did you name it so?” The Witch asked with a smile.

”For convenience,” Zheng Qing shrugged and complained, ”You know, the true name length of ancient magical creatures like Minotaur corresponds to their family history, almost tracing back to the first Minoan five thousand years ago... If I recite its full name every time I summon it, the battle would likely conclude before I finish speaking.”

”Moo!” The double-headed Minoan lowered its right head, agreeing with a low call.

Zheng Qing tiptoed and patted its elbow in comfort—considering the height disparity, being able to pat the monster’s elbow was quite a cooperative gesture from ’Nose Ring and Earring.’

”Where does it usually reside?” The Witch gently rubbed the Merlin Medal that glittered under the starry light, questioning in a soft voice. The good magical conduction of brass and the dwindling magic environment in the Black Prison interacted, causing the solidified curse on the medal to leak magic, making it more dazzling than usual.

Zheng Qing was unsure if this was a good thing.

”Perhaps the Mage Alliance has a dedicated world for them to stay in, or maybe there’s a small black room in the medal,” Zheng Qing replied vaguely, as the Witch’s question slightly exceeded his knowledge capacity.

She realized it too and smoothly shifted the topic: ”You should let it roam more often, regardless of it being a separate summoning world or a small black room; staying too long is always boring.”

”Moo moo!!” Nose Ring and Earring roared deeply in agreement, stamping its hooves to express full support for the Witch’s wise suggestion.

”Behave better if you want to come out often,” The Warlock couldn’t help but laugh while secretly admitting he had somewhat neglected this summoned beast.

Upon hearing, Nose Ring and Earring reached back, fetched a thick totem pole, and swung it vigorously. Amidst Zhu Si’s exaggerated screams, it summoned a string of rainbow-colored totem halos, wrapping around the group.

There were blue calm auras, green stealth auras, cyan agility auras, white healing auras, red invigorating auras, and yellow protective auras; a dozen in total, painting a layer of rainbows at everyone’s feet.

This made Zhu Si laugh louder.

Unwilling to interrupt the Little Witch’s rare interest, Zheng Qing only took extra care himself.

He glanced at the Old Witch Demon leading the adventurous team up ahead. It was hunching and often crouched, sniffing the scents on the ground with its long nose, occasionally scooping a tuft of earth with its sharp claws and licking it with its gray tongue.

The team just crossed a small hill, and as Zheng Qing surveyed ahead, the distant glow indicating the direction of the Black Prison Castle became faint and blurry, seemingly disappearing into the darkness at any moment.

The Warlock suppressed his unease and asked the Old Witch Demon: ”Approximately how far is it? We haven’t gone astray, have we?”

The Old Witch Demon hadn’t responded yet when the Black Cat expressed its discontent first, lifting its head from between Nose Ring and Earring’s heads and grumbling, ”I’ve been watching from above, how could we stray? It’s definitely a straight line!”

”Yes, yes, dear little master,”

The Old Witch Demon slowly turned back, its voice was as smooth as ever, becoming even more respectful: ”With Old Tuoer leading, you would absolutely not stray... Soon, soon you will see where hope lies.”

”Destiny guides us both, hope is just ahead.”

...

...

In the adventure squad’s immediate front, dozens of miles away.

Amidst overlapping rugged rocks, lies a forest of dead wood. Like most of the Black Prison World’s dead trees, these forest trunks have almost petrified, even the hungriest prisoner scorns gnawing these hard, inedible things just for crumbs.

But unlike most places in the Black Prison World.

Shadows scatter beneath the roots of these dead trees, interspersed with many luminescent mosses. They flicker with faint fluorescence under the pitch-black sky, resembling remnants of ancient divine spirits’ bloodstains, invoking awe and admiration.

Dead trees lie slant, moss lights gleam bright.

The feeble illumination and the swaying mosses within the light failed to bring any vitality to this mountainous area, instead making it even more desolate, as if the entire region’s vitality had been consumed by the mosses.

When the double-headed Minotaur’s swung totem pole hit the ground, transmitting waves of tremor, the fluorescence on the moss suddenly brightened, emitting obscure and indescribable colors- within moments, this hue appeared on every dead wooden tree, revealing this scenery more clearly under the nightfall.

The branches of dead woods twisted and tangled together, seemingly frozen in a moment of a storm’s onslaught, radiating ghostly glory, constantly altering colors with the flickering moss lights.

Momentarily, the moss lights vanished, plunging the entire region back into darkness.