High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1856: Chapter 77: The Origins of the Ogres

The story of the One-eyed Crow is simple, yet quite strange.

It used to be an Ogre, and it was the only Shaman Elder of the current Ogre Tribe—it’s referred to as ’used to be’ because five days ago, it was challenged by a Two-headed Ogre.

As everyone knows, due to an inherent curse and teeth issues, a regular Ogre’s physical condition rapidly declines after the age of forty, and only mastering ancient Shaman Wizardry can ensure the survival of an elderly Ogre in the tribe. In contrast, Two-headed Ogres are inherently able to grasp Shaman Wizardry.

Under normal circumstances, Shaman Wizardry could make ordinary Ogres show due respect to the Ogre Shaman. But five days ago, the one who challenged the Old Shaman was a Two-headed Ogre.

In terms of Wizardry, they were evenly matched; perhaps the Old Shaman was more experienced, with greater skill in preparing Magic Potions or Divination, but these skills were of little use against the challenge from the Two-headed Ogre.

In terms of physical strength, the Two-headed Ogre, always at peak physical condition, completely overwhelmed the aged Old Shaman.

”...It successfully challenged and thus became the sole leader of the tribe.”

Saying this, the One-eyed Crow turned its head and used its sharp beak to groom the feathers on its back, taking a deep sigh: ”And I was forcibly transformed into a crow by its Demon Art... I shouldn’t have brought it back to the tribe.”

”Wasn’t it turned into a frog?” Xiao Xiao, who had just been hit by a ’Demon Art,’ interrupted Old Crow’s narrative, showing a disgruntled expression.

”Frog, crow, toad, rabbit, whatever—any of these small creatures are possible,” the One-eyed Crow explained patiently, not angry at being interrupted: ”It’s just that turning into a frog is easier... and for an Ogre, turning into a crow might be more humiliating.”

Zheng Qing didn’t want to hear a One-eyed Crow endlessly talk about Ogre customs.

He cared more about a sentence Old Crow said earlier.

”Wait, brought it back to the tribe?”

The young fee student raised his eyebrows, showing a hint of surprise on his face, and kicked the dead Two-headed Ogre at his feet: ”Wasn’t it originally from your tribe?”

”No.”

The One-eyed Crow shook its head decisively, spreading its wings and shaking them: ”It was found by the Hunting Team six days ago while hunting outside, near a miasma-shrouded swamp. They brought it back to the tribe, and I concocted a Magic Potion to heal it.”

”And then the next day it turned you into a crow and took over your entire tribe?” came Xin Fat Man’s gruff voice from not far away, growing closer: ”What a simple, savage, yet efficient social structure.”

Zheng Qing turned around to see that the Blue Fatty, having returned to his normal form, was brushing the dust off himself and walking toward them with a leisurely gait.

”Is it over?” asked the captain of the Absolution Hunting Team.

”The Elders are cleaning up the tail, everything else is finished,” Xin Fat Man stopped at the foot of the Two-headed Ogre, looked down at the corpse whose forehead had a big hole, and remarked regretfully: ”You guys are really lucky... The Elders and I searched for it outside for ages, and it sneaked in!”

”We’d rather not have such rotten luck,” Zheng Qing muttered, glancing at Jiang Yu, who was holding Li Meng and sitting to one side, slightly shaking his head.

The Fatty, seeing the situation, changed the subject smartly: ”Shall I handle it now?”

He pointed to the corpse of the Two-headed Ogre.

This is the usual process after a hunt; each hunting team has specific Hunters responsible for handling the prey’s bodies, collecting their fur, bones, organs, and even eyeballs as materials.

”Thanks for the hard work.”

Zheng Qing nodded to the Fatty, then looked back at the One-eyed Crow: ”So, hearing you, you ambushed this guy for revenge?”

The One-eyed Crow folded its wings, lowered its head, neither confirming nor denying it.

Zheng Qing wasn’t concerned about this, nor did he dwell on the reasonableness of the Old Crow’s words, instead continuing to ask: ”I was curious before—your tribe is so small, without other old Ogres, without enough young ones, how could it produce a Shaman?”

A sufficient number of members and a healthy, reasonable tribe structure are the full conditions for the birth of a Shaman. Simply put, it’s in an orderly, large tribe with enough old Ogres that there’s a foundation for preparing Magic Potions and studying Divination.

Yet this small tribe in front of him, with only young-adult Ogres and even fewer than twenty in number, seemed strange from any angle.

Hearing the young Wizard’s questioning, the One-eyed Ogre let out a deep sigh.

”We are not natives of this World.”

Its first words confirmed some of Zheng Qing’s speculations, and beside him, Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses with a ’just as expected’ look. The Old Crow spread its wings, as if trying to stand more firmly, flapping them twice before continuing:

”A few months ago, we heeded the World’s call, gathering the bravest warriors in our tribe, and followed the king to this Dark World to battle with Wizards... It was an earth-shattering war, curses fell like raindrops from the sky, terrifying roars thundered like echoes in the ears of warriors...”

The young Wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team exchanged glances. Xiao Xiao stroked his Crystal Ball, Xin Fat Man put down his scalpel, and even Jiang Yu embraced the still-sleeping Li Meng and came over.

”If I remember correctly,” Zheng Qing couldn’t help interrupting the One-eyed Crow’s recollection of the Black Prison battle, puzzled: ”After the war ended, didn’t the Demon Alliance Army take their troops away?”

The Old Crow’s single eye dimmed slightly.

”We are not Demons,” after saying this, as if feeling it was a bit demeaning, it immediately added: ”Of course, we do eat Wizards... umm, I haven’t eaten one for a very long time!”

The last sentence was added immediately after it saw the unfriendly glances from the young Wizards after saying the previous one, but it clearly had little effect.

So the Old Crow hurriedly sped up its speech, trying to skim through this part: ”What I mean is, we belong to the subsidiary tribes of His Majesty Leviathan, so when the Demon Alliance Army retreated, many subordinate troops like us were left behind.”

”Moreover, when attacking the Midgard, my tribe was hunted by a Wizard hunting team, causing us to be a bit far from the battlefield as the fight was ending... so we couldn’t catch up with the main tribe’s retreat in time.”

”After the war, the Wizards who regained control of this World accepted our submission, allowing us to live freely on the wasteland...”

On the last sentence, the Old Crow’s voice slightly raised, sneaking a glance at Zheng Qing, seemingly wanting to remind these young Wizards that they were not traditional exiles.