High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1708: Chapter 452: No Bargaining

”I am an official employee of the relevant department!”

”Not a wandering mercenary!”

The black cat leaned forward, its head almost touching the witch’s nose, its dark red eyes staring intently at her. Jiang Yu stood motionless, staring back at the black cat, not retreating a step.

After a while, the black cat viciously said, ”So... how much are you planning to pay?!”

”One thousand jade coins.” The witch estimated her small treasury and answered decisively.

This was an offer filled with sincerity.

Ten jade coins equaled an annual scholarship for a bursary student, enough for all expenses at school for a year; fifty jade coins could rent a spacious shop in Beta Town or buy a secluded detached villa; three hundred jade coins could support an ordinary wizard in acquiring all the resources needed to advance to a registered wizard; one thousand jade coins was an amount many small wizard families couldn’t gather in a short time.

But the black cat sneered at the witch’s offer.

”Tch,” it lifted its chin slightly, its whiskers drooping impolitely, and replied slowly, ”For a wizard, one thousand jade coins might be a lot, but for me, it’s too cheap... it’s far from enough to risk my life with you.”

Feeling it hadn’t been clear enough, the black cat immediately added, ”What does a cat need that much money for, anyway.”

At the foot of the city, amidst the battlefield.

The smoke around the two craters slowly dissipated, revealing charred pits and many unconscious figures. These were the wizards and demons knocked out during the impact.

At the center of the crater, a black dropper was slowly awakening, its numerous tentacles stretching out.

Surrounding the crater, many wizards, and even demons, cried out in alarm. Streams of striking blue-black spells shot into the sky, warning of pollution from the Starry Sky.

As for where the pollution came from, there was no need to say more.

Jiang Yu’s peripheral vision caught this scene, and though her heart grew increasingly anxious, her complexion remained calm. She extended a finger, pushing the black cat’s head away, while looking seriously at the black cat in front of her, giving a second offer:

”A group of female Spiritual Cats, no less than ten, but you only have usage rights, the ownership remains with the Jiang Family. If the female cats give birth to kittens, they all belong to you...”

The witch’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

This was because the aura of the black cat opposite her suddenly sank, a dangerous glint flickering in its dark red eyes. Although its expression couldn’t be seen, it was clear that its mood soured upon hearing the witch’s second offer.

Before it could speak, the witch hastily added, ”Of course, I know you might not need female Spiritual Cats to study magic... but you certainly need the guidance of ancient wisdom. I have a complete set of ’Classical Star Magic’ here, which was purified by the Legendary Wizard, reviewed by Danghag, and certified by the Mage Alliance Security Committee. It was a coming-of-age gift from my Elderly Ancestor...”

The expression on the black cat’s face improved slightly.

”’Classical Star Magic’?” it snorted at the name.

The witch quietly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained, ”It includes the ’Book of the Dead’, ’Cannibalistic Rituals’, ’The Fragment of Sellino’, ’Book of Ebon’, ’Book of Eod’, ’Book of Dekan’, ’Nass Chronicles’, and a series of other magic books related to the Starry Sky.”

The black cat’s eyes noticeably brightened.

”Hmm, that many books?” it hesitated for a few seconds, maintaining an air of restraint, ”But I’m just a cat, I can’t tell if these books are valuable or not...”

”Knowledge is priceless.” The witch looked earnestly at the black cat and straightforwardly added, ”If you come down with me to help, those books will all be yours... along with the one thousand jade coins.”

The black cat immediately leaped off the battlement, landing at the witch’s feet. Its body swelled with the wind, and in an instant transformed into a large black cat nearly two meters tall and over four meters long, resembling a giant tiger.

”After all, that guy does have a connection with me, I can’t just let him die,” it said righteously to the witch, shaking its broad shoulders, ”Come, jump on, hold tight onto the fur on my neck, I don’t mind the pain!”

The witch secretly rolled her eyes and vaulted onto the black cat’s back, grabbing the soft fur on its neck.

The black cat nimbly climbed up the battlement.

Before jumping down, it cleared its throat.

”Ahem.”

The black cat flattened its ears, tilted its head, glanced at the witch on its back, and casually asked, ”Apart from the one thousand jade coins and the entire set of ’Classical Star Magic’, I want to confirm... hmm, those female cats are also part of the deal, right?”

The witch visibly paused.

”Of course,” she quickly responded, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes, ”at least ten, each one beautiful, including a Persian Spiritual Cat with eyes as bright as sapphire and emerald.”

The black cat audibly gulped.

”Appearance doesn’t matter,” it explained seriously, ”The main thing is the need for magic study. Well, cats are different from people, when we study magic...”

The witch, half-annoyed, tugged at the fur on its neck, interrupting its muttering, ”You don’t need to explain how you study magic to me, I just need you to jump down immediately!”

The black cat dutifully closed its mouth.

But before setting off, it stopped once more and tilted its head to ask:

”Are you sure you want to go down and risk your life? We could actually seek assistance from that Great Diviner we mentioned... if we jump down like this, that kid will definitely come after me later.”

Its answer was the witch’s forceful kick to its stomach.

The black cat twitched its ears and gave up on trying to stop her, instead advising, ”Hmm... there are two of Nicolas’s followers down there, to be safe, you should drink some of the Lu Er De Holy Water first.”

A moment later, a crisp shattering of glass bottles was heard from atop the city wall.

A jet-black tail flicked in the air, and like a hunting tiger, leaped and disappeared behind the battlement.

On the inner castle wall, it became quiet.

The gentle breeze passed by, not even stirring a speck of dust.

...

...

As the last line of defense for Xuanhuang Wood, the inner castle wall always attracted attention.

The small actions of the witch and the black cat also immediately caught Professor Yao’s attention.

”That little girl from the Jiang Family has gone down the city.”

”Causing trouble.”

”It’s alright. With that black cat following her, at worst she can escape. Flowers in a greenhouse never grow strong, let her experience the terror between life and death, it wouldn’t be a waste of Elder Mrs. Jiang’s request to us.”

The three heads of the three-headed and eight-armed Giant Ape had a brief discussion, then refocused on the few Great Demons and the two unexpected guests in the crater.

They were the immediate threats.