High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2201: Chapter 422: Absolution Forward

When the fourteen hunters of the Ouroboros Hunting Team, led by Andrew Taylor, retreated briskly, across the hunting grounds of the Fringe Hunting Team, the Absolution Hunting Team on the other side was trying to contact the school under the leadership of their captain, hesitating whether to stay put or go to support the patrol team where Linda Barnes was located.

Unlike the Ouroboros Hunting Team, the winter hunting area of the Absolution Hunting Team was located on the outermost side, meaning they had no rear base to retreat to.

And if they abandoned their hunting ground before the end of the winter hunt, they would lose at least half of their points. Facing this dilemma with less than three hours remaining before the end of the winter hunt was truly perplexing.

Of course, another crucial factor in not retreating was that the School Guardian Array was fully deployed, and they were isolated outside the golden barrier with no way to retreat further.

”Unable to contact the school.”

After trying various means, the diviner of the Absolution Hunting Team had to admit that the fully deployed School Guardian Array was not just a physical barrier: ”...Observation room, Hunting Committee, Student Council, Community Union, School Works Committee, and other professors, no contact at all.”

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but look up at the sky, wondering if Su Shijun was nearby and had seen this scene, or if they should try to contact her now.

”Divination Hunting Team’s next target, confirm where we are safer.” After giving this order, he turned to Jiang Yu: ”What do the other two hunting teams say?”

While ordering the doctor to report to the school, he also had Jiang Yu attempt to contact the other two hunting teams in the adjacent hunting grounds.

”No response from the Xiangqi Hunting Team, the Fringe Hunting Team says to stand by... Fifi says they are establishing a safety barrier.” At this point, she paused and added: ”I also tried to contact other hunting teams farther away such as Ouroboros, School Hunting Team, Adjudication, YPO, etc., most suggest staying hidden and waiting in place, while some did not respond.”

Zheng Qing glanced at Xin Fat Man.

Since the complete deployment of the School Guardian Array, the Fat Wizard had stopped fussing about finding his Senior Linda, but his face looked frighteningly grim, clearly unwilling to sit idly by doing nothing.

As for the other three members of the hunting team, Blue Bird and Dylan were both from Starry Sky Academy, so their choice was obvious; and classmate Zhang Ji Xin, since they first met him, everyone agreed he had joined the wrong academy and he was an aggressive militant.

All four members of the hunting team wanted to go out, and the other two had no clear opposition.

After weighing the situation, Zheng Qing left the decision to Xiao Xiao, who held the tortoiseshell.

”Has the divination result come out?”

Xiao Xiao pushed his glasses, squinted his eyes while carefully examining the tortoiseshell with its burnt, crooked cracks, and his expression looked peculiar: ”The divination suggests it’s very dangerous to stay here... Conversely, leaving the hunting ground and going deeper into the Silent Forest is much safer. I’ve tried two tortoiseshells, and both yielded the same results.”

This really was a counterintuitive conclusion.

At the same time, this conclusion made Zheng Qing reach his final decision.

”Maintain the Father Bo Clan’s battle formation at the first rank, ready to advance at any time... Last minute, check each of your law books, talismans, and emergency magic potions, confirm your statuses!”

The captain of the Absolution Hunting Team raised his arm and waved it in the air vigorously: ”Target, to save Fat Man’s Senior Linda!”

...

...

”What a pity.”

”Why couldn’t you just stay put?”

A somewhat rough voice suddenly emerged, breaking the silence of the forest and snowfield. A legendary aura emanating from the talisman seemed to tear a gap in the sentence, leaving a trace of gray in the clear world.

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

The heavy footsteps sounded particularly harsh on the snow.

Along with the speaking and footsteps, two stout figures, one tall and one short, turned around the curled-up Qing Jiao, appearing in front of the five patrol members, revealing their somewhat ferocious faces and yellowed crooked fangs.

They were two ogres.

And they were two-headed ogres!

Linda Barnes made an immediate judgment in her heart and instantly started to be more vigilant about her surroundings. Even in the Silent Forest, an ogre tribe capable of simultaneously supporting two two-headed ogres and raising a Qing Jiao was considered relatively strong, meaning the ordinary ogre count would not be low.

However, under several detection magic casts consecutively, she didn’t find any more signs of ogres.

”Is that talisman drawn by a Legendary Wizard?”

The slightly shorter ogre struggled to lift its head to look at Linda Barnes. It was a hoop-headed ogre, and the newly formed lump of a head under its chin was already faintly visible. The redundant heads stacked at the back of its head reached seven in number. According to the ”Wizard’s Encyclopedia,” such a level of a two-headed ogre was already infinitely close to a Great Ogre, equivalent to a Great Wizard Rank presence.

So its gaze was enough to exert heavy mental pressure on the witch.

A tall silhouette moved a step forward, standing in front of Linda, shielding her from that pressure.

”Why stay put?”

The somewhat dull voice of the patrol team leader allowed the witch to breathe a sigh of relief: ”If we accidentally invaded your hunting grounds, we apologize... it was an accident.”

The ogres didn’t heed Victor, the teaching assistant’s apology, only silently staring at them, seemingly also pondering their next move, or rather, they seemed very willing to waste the subsequent time.

With one hand hidden behind him, the teaching assistant gestured various signs to the others to be ready for an impending conflict while patiently waiting for the other side’s response.

However, those two ogres, as if puppets drained of magic, fell into a strange silence after speaking those initial words, with even their gazes dulling a bit.

After a moment, Victor slowly stepped back a pace, cautiously saying: ”If there is no other issue...”

That step of his seemed to trigger some sort of switch, making both ogres look at him simultaneously.

”You cannot leave.”

The somewhat shorter hoop-headed ogre spoke again, but this time it added another word:

”...for now.”

In other words, their purpose was just to stall the patrol team here? What was their target? The school? The student hunting teams participating in the winter hunt? Or somewhere else?

Linda’s thoughts swiftly turned in her mind as she held her breath, clutching the law book so tightly that her fingertips whitened.

She stared intently at the other Yin Yang ogre—it was larger, but the aura it emitted was much weaker than the other beast’s. Her lips moved silently, rapidly muttering a few spells from her law book, ready to silently cast them at any moment.

The teaching assistant of the patrol stopped his steps, tilting his head, seemingly not too surprised.

”So, this isn’t an accident.”

He summarized, in accordance with the school’s patrol guidelines, making one last attempt to resolve the problem peacefully: ”We are the First University winter hunt patrol team, performing our duties, and according to the ”First University Management Regulations,” ”Bujidao Peaceful Coexistence Agreement,” and ”Silent Forest Behavior Guidelines,” we have the right to request you to leave this area...”

Linda inside rolled her eyes—this leader indeed hailed from Starry Sky Academy, even capable of discussing ’peaceful negotiations’ with an air full of threat.

”You cannot leave here.” The hoop-headed ogre mechanically repeated the sentence.