High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1451 - 195: Crossing the Lake

Chapter 1451: Chapter 195: Crossing the LakeAccording to the original plan, Zheng Qing intended to gather a standard five-person hunting team within the Forgiveness Knight Order to embark on tonight’s adventure. However, plans cannot keep up with changes, and the schedules of the other hunters in the team were not very accommodating.

Take Blue Bird for instance. Approaching the term’s end, as an outstanding student of Starry Sky Academy, Blue Bird had spent many consecutive days in the arena, especially today being Friday; it is said that he broke many bones in today’s defense battle, so Zheng Qing really hesitated to ask this cool swordsman to venture out injured.

And Monk Shi Yuan was preoccupied with a sacred ritual. Today, on the Gengwu Month, Xinsi Day, the thirteenth day of the lunar month of May, is the worship day for many divine spirits like Guan Gong, Cheng Huang, and Dragon King—of course, these are all far-fetched excuses from traditional mysticism, never confirmed by any legendary wizard about the birthdays of the gods—but every time such a day comes around, students of Atlas cannot avoid reciting prayers in front of the statues of gods.

You may not worship gods that are not yours, but you cannot lose respect for them.

Another significant reason why Zheng Qing did not inform Monk Shi Yuan was that the monk had almost never participated in the training of the Absolution Hunting Team. Asking him to join would be less reliable than inviting Nicolas.

In the afternoon, Nicolas did quietly approach Zheng Qing, hoping to join the adventure tonight. Zheng Qing knew he wanted to help Liu Fei Fei catch that Faceless Demon disguised as a pet snake, but Zheng Qing was unwilling to ask Nicolas to join.

Setting aside Nicolas not having participated in hunting team training like Monk Shi Yuan, which would largely render him a figurehead if invited; merely the status -- Northern District Wizard -- was already head-scratching for Zheng Qing. The infamous Sacrificial Spell with a reputation for using a magic spell at the cost of a frog’s sacrifice, and its unstable magic effects, were factors that led Zheng Qing to politely decline Nicolas’s eager request.

As for Dylan, he was the first hunter to be excluded from the list of options. His daily routine was opposite to that of Zheng Qing and the others; when Zheng Qing went on an adventure at night, it coincided with Dylan’s class time. If it were during the school term, letting Dylan take a leave would not be too concerning, but now it was the end of the term.

For college students, the last few classes before the end of the term are the most important of the entire academic year. Many students who slack off during the regular days would count on the key points outlined by the teachers in these classes.

Dylan was one of those students.

So, after much contemplation and selection, Zheng Qing invited Jiang Yu to join tonight’s adventure. As expected, the witch happily accepted his invitation.

Indeed, Jiang Yu had not participated in the Absolution Hunting Team’s training, but her previous adventures in the secret realm’s miniature world and her performance in the daily practice classes made Zheng Qing confident in her participation. Also, Zheng Qing hoped that through this adventure, he could help Jiang Yu resolve her mental burdens.

According to general hunting rules, all participants in a hunting competition must use code names.

Although tonight is not a hunting event, the rule still applies.

Zheng Qing’s code name is ’Black Cat’—originally ’Mr.’ which was changed due to Mr. Wu’s presence, leaving the young public-cost student feeling a bit self-conscious, so he switched to a new code name this time.

After all, everyone present is aware of his other identity.

Jiang Yu’s code name is ’Monitor’, which is up to standard, no one would call it wrong, nor would anyone guess randomly.

The rest are habitual: Xiao Xiao is ’Doctor’, Zhang Ji Xin is ’Elder’, and Banna is ’Fatty’, with no objections from everyone.

As for the positions, Zhang Ji Xin still takes up the role of the main hunter, with Banna and Xiao Xiao serving as the Left Auxiliary and Right Aide, Jiang Yu as the Wandering Hunter, and Zheng Qing as the Tracker, in charge of the most crucial

"Quiet!" Xiao Xiao sternly glanced at their team leader, and Zheng Qing promptly raised his hand and made a zipping motion over his mouth.

Ding-a-ling.

The barely audible bell sound still lingered from afar.

Before long, faint ripples appeared on the surface of the lake. Shortly after that, several dark grey iron oxen slowly emerged from the water, calmly making their way to the shore and offering their broad backs to the young wizards.

Xiao Xiao was the first to jump onto the back of an ox.

The iron ox shook its head and turned steadily, beginning to swim towards the deeper part of the lake. Zheng Qing bit his lip and jumped on second, with the others following closely behind.

Soon, the lake shore returned to its usual tranquility.

In the depths of the lake, only a few vague figures could be seen.