Bear School Astartes

Because of carrying too many things, although it doesn’t count for much in terms of weight, the large volume indeed caused trouble for the Qilin’s speed.

This led to the Qilin, although it had already quickened its steps, still not managing to run out of the range of these large rain clouds before the raindrops fell from the sky.

Spring rain naturally darkens the sky, and now as Lann returns at noon, the journey has advanced to late afternoon nearing evening.

So the whole world suddenly became dim.

The sky was filled with fish-scale clouds; trees on both sides of the river rooted in yellow soil, wind passing through leaves and branches, making the shadows of trees sway while carrying a mournful whistling sound.

The shady silhouettes in the forest and bushes rustled, as if at any moment Water Ghosts, Swamp Witches, and similar monsters might leap out from within.

Dragging any fool daring enough to wander in this weather into the mire or water, drowning them just to eat them afterward.

In reality, someone should have already been eaten.

”Boom-boom~”

The Qilin’s hooves landed on the damp soil, producing a muffled thud.

Lann sat on the horse’s back, looking down toward the riverbank of this stretch of yellow soil river path.

A torn, pulled-off, blood-stained sleeve lay mixed with a scatter of messy alchemy pouches, dropped to the ground.

It had already been trampled into the muddy ground by many chaotic footprints.

Lann dismounted, walked forward a couple of steps near the wreckage, and squatted down to inspect.

”One person, four Water Ghosts... truly an unlucky fellow, and a fool too.”

Based on the scattered footprints and traces of struggle, Lann could easily discern what had transpired here.

”Did someone die here, meow?”

Rong Buqiu jumped down, curiously coming over and asking.

”No.” Lann maintained a half-squatting posture, raising his head to glance around, ”There’s not much trace of blood here; the Water Ghosts only took the person away, as they prefer to eat food that’s soaked to mush in water or buried in the earth until it rots.”

Despite it being nowhere near evening, the gloomy sky was already enough to make Lann’s eyes glimmer slightly in the shadows.

”Wow...”

The little cat marveled, not knowing whether in awe of Lann’s observation skills or the Water Ghosts’ taste.

Lann looked up at the sky, at this moment the clouds were so thick, it seemed like they’d coagulate into water and pour down any second now.

Earlier, to pack more of Smaug’s dragon skin and scales, Lann cleared many items out of his alchemy pouch, including his waterproof cloak.

Though a bit of rain wouldn’t be much of a bother, if he managed to rescue someone, those roaming nearby must have some sort of shelter from the rain, right?

The Demon Hunter’s fingers grasped a handful of the disarrayed, damp yellow soil on the ground, pinched a bit between his fingertips, and gently sniffed under his nose.

A moment later, he raised his head, gazing across to the other side of this not-so-broad river path.

As he stood up from the half-squatting position, he casually dusted off the dirt from his hands.

”Let’s go, let’s find someone first.”

To the Demon Hunter’s senses, the stench of rotting fish had formed vibrant ribbons in the air, stretching towards the distance.

The sluggish movement of air nearing the rain allowed the scent to linger a while longer.

”I’m not going, meow!” Rong Buqiu scratched his triangular ears with a paw and climbed back onto the Qilin’s back. ”We’ll stay here and watch our things.”

Lann didn’t say much, just waved a hand backward without turning his head, and walked straight towards the direction across the river.

This small river was about four meters wide.

Not wide, but enough that an ordinary person would struggle to cross it easily.

Adding the rain-induced increase in water flow, it might even be a bit dangerous.

But for Lann, it’s merely a leap across.

He wore full armor when he could cross this distance; now without armor, he’s even lighter upon landing.

Continuing on in the direction where the scent spreads.

This direction led deeper into the forest.

The Demon Hunter walked while wiping the yellow mud he stepped on when jumping along the riverbank onto tree trunks.

As he advanced in the woods, a fishy stench different from the woodland’s earthy and grassy odors grew more prominent.

”Wow wow wow!”

”Get away! Get away! Help!”

The cries of monsters and the weak, desperate cries of a human came together from the forest.

Lann calmly continued toward, apparently having found the Water Ghosts’ lair.

As expected, this lair wasn’t far from the river, Water Ghosts couldn’t bear being away from water for long.

On another note, the trees’ leaves and wooden parts acted as sound-absorbing materials, under this ominous weather making these sounds unable to pierce through.

In the now eerie woods, several bizarre, foul-smelling humanoid creatures were suppressing a human’s resistance, seemingly about to bury him alive.

This suited the Water Ghosts’ habit of storing and consuming food.

Actually, the soil was already pressing against this person’s chest, restricting lungs expansion, making his voice so weak.

Yet he kept struggling, with periodic slight uprising of the already covered soil layers.

Humans prefer to drain clean the prey’s blood for a less fishy taste when eating; Water Ghosts prefer to drown or suffocate prey alive, ideally when it’s reeking foully.

One standing on the periphery, continuing to shovel soil onto the person seemed to sense something.

The large fish-like eyes without eyelids glanced back.

”Wow?...Zing!”

The lifeless dead fish eyes now entirely devoid of any sign of life.

A glaring silver light suddenly appeared and flashed rapidly through the dark forest.

This flash of silver light was like a camera flash, but its gentle and elusive trajectory left a serpentine mark under the dim light because it moved too swiftly.

Even the human nearly buried in the soil up to his mouth momentarily paused his cries for help due to the dazzling brightness.

After the silver light flashed, about half a second later, the serpentine trace lingering in the air gradually dissipated from his retinas.

Immediately followed by a sudden gust of fierce wind!

An abrupt and brief ”slash!”

With the cries of the four Water Ghosts coming to a halt, even their movements stopped, increasing both the humidity and the stench in the air of the area.

The Qi Flow Blade sliced across their necks, and Lann, with precision and efficiency, didn’t strive for a clean decapitation, so the heads covered in scales and fins didn’t fall off.

Instead, their necks were split wide open, and the blood was extracted and scattered by the Qi Flow Blade.

Lann even considerately controlled the angle of blood spray, preventing the fishy Water Ghost blood from landing on that man’s only exposed face.

But even so...

”Ah!” The human, buried with only his face showing, instinctively let out a short frightened cry and then, wide-eyed, fell into a stunned silence.

After a second, his mind reacted, and his mouth opened before his brain.

”Ah~~~! Ah!”

This was the scream of someone truly terrified.

A cool white magical glow, prepared in advance, flashed by, and instantly, the screams subsided.

The[Yakxi Rune]is often used by Demon Hunters to soothe human emotions. After all, to gather reliable information from witnesses frightened by monsters, this step is necessary to ensure the credibility of the intelligence.

Taking advantage of the moment when the [Yakxi Rune] calmed him, Lann stepped out from the forest, crossing over the twitching bodies of Water Ghosts.

He crouched down and started to dig the man out.

”Are you okay, sir?”

As he dug, Lann asked.

”I-I’m alive, so I’m...I’m okay.”

The man replied somewhat sluggishly, a typical symptom of having been influenced mentally.

As the Water Ghosts’ blood sprayed, the fishy smell in the area intensified, and the water vapor of the overhead clouds thickened.

Lann quickened his pace in digging the man out of the ground.

”What are you doing walking beside the river in this weather and this time? Looking to get yourself killed?”

Lann first planned to dig out the man’s shoulder area, then pull him out once his upper body was free, as without tools, digging too slowly would take too long.

”I came to...collect fur from the Hunter, I heard there was an excellent bear pelt today. If I didn’t come, it would definitely be snatched up first, so I rushed...ouch!”

The merchant didn’t even have time to finish saying ’time’ before Lann’s quickened actions bumped into his left arm, causing him to yelp in pain.

”Ah! Damn it! It hurts!”

The pain snapped him out of the [Yakxi Rune]’s influence.

However, Lann’s [Yakxi Rune]did not forcibly distort his mind but merely soothed his fear, so the man didn’t notice anything unusual, thinking he was genuinely calm earlier, only broken now by the pain.

”Hang on a bit, I’ll pull you out,” Lann wasn’t fazed by the swear words coming from the man’s pain. ”You’re lucky the Water Ghosts didn’t bury you too deep, or you’d have been suffocated by now.”

”Thank you, thank you.”

Being a businessman, although still in pain, he didn’t lash out or become irrational, instead, he thanked Lann for rescuing him.

The man wore a long-sleeved linen shirt, with a sleeveless leather vest on top, and a money pouch hanging around his neck.

But his left sleeve had been torn off by the Water Ghosts near the river, leaving the shirt bloody there.

Pain and fear took a toll on his endurance, causing him to pant heavily.

He looked at his left hand, covered in a mix of blood and mud, with a face full of gritting despair.

”Damn Water Ghosts! Damn Scoiatael! It’s over! My arm is sure to get infected! The area around Water Ghosts’ lairs is full of germs, rotting meat, filth! I’m losing my life! Boohoo~ ”

Swearing amidst his cries, he began to sob.

”Don’t cry, and don’t panic.” As Lann hooked his hands under the man’s armpits, pulling him out of the ground at once. ”I know a bit about herbalism. Once we find a place to rest, your hand can be properly treated without much trouble.”

”But...Scoiatael? Does that mean ’squirrel’?”

This was an ancient phrase.

Lann looked puzzled at the fur merchant.

”What does a squirrel have to do with your situation?”

The fur merchant by now was completely out of the hole he had been buried in.

Nervously trembling his legs with lingering fear, he thanked Lann once again for his rescue before looking at the Demon Hunter incredulously.

”Scoiatael, yes, meaning ’squirrel’. To be more precise: Squirrel Faction! A gang of forest bandits!”

”If I wasn’t afraid of the Squirrel Faction, I could’ve taken a different road, not end up near the dangerous riverbank, only to be grabbed by Water Ghosts as reserve food...this is one hell of a cursed day!”