Volume 2 Chapter 36: Reunion

“Chirp, hoot, roar…” Various strange insect calls and beast howls echoed intermittently in the pitch-black forest, filling Qin Lun with worry.

If he had a choice, Qin Lun really did not want to travel on such a dark, late night. The time when Odo’s team found the Witch’s Cottage and fought happened to be in the evening. By the time Qin Lun killed the witch and started his journey back, the sky was already completely dark.

Qin Lun inserted torches into the four corners of the carriage. However, with so many obstacles in the forest, the torchlight could only illuminate a short distance of about ten meters ahead. The doctor periodically sent a signal flare into the night sky, both for lighting and to scare off predators in the darkness.

He learned from the Witch Maiar that the witch had already sent information about the large number of Demon Hunters entering the Maiar Forest to the Witch Maiar headquarters a day ago. Calculating the time, it was very likely that the Witch Maiar reinforcements would reach the outskirts of the forest tomorrow or the day after. This time, the Demon Hunter team truly had to evacuate the Great Forest Maiar immediately.

Through simple communication using signal flares, Qin Lun learned that the main Demon Hunter force with Lady Nova had already defeated those Evil Creatures and was now also rushing through the night to the original campsite to wait for the rendezvous.

It took Qin Lun and the others about half a day from leaving the campsite to finding the Witch’s Cottage. The return trip was a bit faster, but it was the middle of the night, and everything around was dark. He did not dare to go at full speed; it would take at least five hours to get back to the camp.

Perhaps the recent battles between the Witch Maiar and the Demon Hunters in this area over the past two days had scared off the forest predators. Qin Lun reached the campsite’s bonfire without the carriage being attacked by any forest hunters.

Late that night, this team of Demon Hunters, who had paid a great Sacrifice, finally, very luckily, reunited with their other companions just as the first light of dawn crept over the treetops.

“Doctor Stan, you’re finally back!”

The rumbling wheels of the carriage woke the Demon Hunters in the camp. Led by Lady Nova and the bearded man named Meyer, they came out of the camp and approached the carriage.

“Where are the others?” Seeing that only Qin Lun was sitting upright on the carriage, the surrounding Demon Hunters fell into silence.

“Bonnie is in the back. He’s seriously injured and still unconscious. As for the others… they are also in the back!” Qin Lun, face pale, jumped down from the carriage. Suddenly, he felt dizzy and unsteady, swaying and grabbing onto the carriage shaft for support.

Although Qin Lun had held on until now, compared to Bonnie, who was unconscious from poison, his external injuries were actually more severe. His right chest was pierced by a sharp sword, his lungs had accumulated blood, his shoulder bone was cracked by the Troll, and one of his palms was pierced by the witch’s fingernail.

If not for his Law Body’s ability to slowly self-heal, and Qin Lun using self-hypnosis to forcibly negate the effects of the pain, anyone else would not have made it back.

“Quick, help him into the tent! Find the Saint Healer!”

Seeing Qin Lun’s condition up close, even Lady Nova was greatly startled and urgently called for the Divine Light medical expert from the Demon Hunter team.

“No, I can still hold on! Treat Bonnie first. He was poisoned with an undead toxin. Any more delay, and he might turn into a Zombie!” Qin Lun shook his head, as if trying to shake off the dizziness in his head.

The doctor looked up, his expression serious, and said, “Lady Nova, Sir Meyer, the situation is very serious! Please gather everyone immediately. Before I lie down to rest, I must report the intelligence I obtained to everyone.”

Nova and Meyer exchanged a glance, their faces grave, and nodded.

“Alright then, we will treat your injuries while listening to your report!”

“Doctor Stan, please drink this first!” A Demon Hunter smilingly supported Qin Lun and handed him a tube of golden potion.

“Prompt: Apostle 70053, your Law Body is nourished by an unknown potion. Self-healing recovery rate increased by 500%. Physical constitution permanently improved. Converted into Death Notice body data as follows: HP increased by 15 points, Stamina Points increased by 15 points. Non-digitized body attributes cannot be displayed!”

The attributes of the Law Body digitized by the Death Notice were only three: Soul Lifespan, HP, and Mana. Their initial attributes were all 100 points. After Qin Lun obtained his first summoning skill, Mana changed to Stamina Points.

An increase of 15 points in both HP and Stamina was already a significant improvement. Combined with the other physical attributes not yet digitized by the Death Notice, this tube of potion could truly be called a treasure.

Qin Lun felt a stream of heat rise from his lower abdomen. His whole body felt warm and cozy, and his spirit instantly perked up. He looked at the golden potion in his hand in surprise. Since entering this world, it wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to improve his physical constitution using the medicines Wellington had on hand, but the Death Notice had never shown any reaction before.

He had almost given up, thinking that apart from the exchange items provided by the Shattered Starry Sky, precious medicines from other worlds could not have any effect on his Law Body. Now it seemed, he just hadn’t encountered more precious drugs yet.

“This is…” Qin Lun turned to look at this Saint Healer from the Demon Hunter team.

“This is the Demon Hunter Organization’s imitation of the ancient Longevity Seeker followers’ longevity potion. It’s also called the Sacred Spirit Potion,” the Demon Hunter Saint Healer replied with a smile. “Anyone who drinks this potion for the first time will see a great improvement in their physical constitution. Afterwards, there will be some resistance if taken again. It’s also a top-grade healing product. It’s just that the ingredients for its preparation are too precious and require many mission points to obtain.”

“You are too generous!” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed, and he spoke respectfully.

“Haha, no need to thank me! Our Saint Healers have poor combat strength; healing our Demon Hunter companions is our duty. Depending on the importance of the mission, the Demon Hunter Organization actively provides us with the potion,” the Demon Hunter Saint Healer said, shaking his head with a laugh. “Actually, there aren’t many situations in missions where Sacred Light spells and Demon Hunter potions can be used. On the other hand, Doctor Stan’s medical skills can save more companions’ lives.”

“But even medical skills have limitations; they are powerless against certain types of injuries!” Qin Lun shrugged his shoulders helplessly and narrowed his eyes slightly. “After we resolve this current matter, I must go to the Demon Hunter headquarters to exchange for some Sacred Spirit Potion. I want to see if I can use modern medical knowledge to analyze its components and create a substitute with common materials.”

“Oh? If you could develop a substitute for the Saint Healing Potion, even if its efficacy is only one-third of the original, it should still be able to save the lives of many Demon Hunters!” The Saint Healer’s eyes lit up. He hesitated for a moment, then took out another tube of golden potion from his chest, gritted his teeth, and handed it to Qin Lun.

“Doctor Stan, I believe in your medical skills. However, exchanging for the Sacred Spirit Potion requires not only points but also a certain Demon Hunter rank. At your current rank, I’m afraid it will be a long time before you can obtain the Sacred Spirit Potion for research. Consider this tube of potion my personal support for your research. If you achieve results, please also sell me some substitutes for the Sacred Spirit Potion at a reasonable price.”

“This… Alright, I truly cannot refuse you!” Qin Lun sighed softly, took the potion gently, and put it in his chest pocket. “You are too generous!”

“Haha, I said, no need to thank me. This is also for all our Demon Hunter companions fighting the Evil Creatures,” the Saint Healer said with a smile. “Come on, let’s go into the tent, and I’ll treat your wounds.”

Bending down to enter the large tent in the center of the camp, Qin Lun removed his tattered outer clothes and bared his upper body to receive treatment from the Saint Healer.

Lady Nova and the other Demon Hunters soon finished dealing with their companions’ bodies on the carriage and entered the tent one after another.

“Lady Nova, are all the companions here?” Using the bright lamplight in the tent, Qin Lun scanned the area and immediately understood the situation. He noticed that all the Demon Hunters bore significant injuries. However, compared to when they parted, the number of people hadn’t decreased by much. It seemed the battle here, while startling, was less dangerous and much easier compared to Odo’s team.

“Hmm, our judgment was correct. There was only one witch commanding the Evil Creatures. Not long after we separated from you, the Evil Creatures tracking the main force seemed to lose unified command and were quickly defeated by us,” the bearded Meyer said with a laugh.

Even though he had differed in opinion with the others during the previous meeting, now there were no hard feelings, as everyone’s ultimate goal was the same.

“Doctor Stan, what did you encounter at the Witch’s Cottage? Could it be that there were many Evil Creatures there? Did you successfully kill that Witch Maiar?” Lady Nova asked, her face heavy.

“Yes, the battle with the witch was very tough. But compared to the pure fight, the intelligence I saw…” Qin Lun slowly let out a breath, took out the Witch’s Notebook from his chest, and placed it on the square table in the tent.

Qin Lun calmly and methodically narrated the process of the battle with the witch. Compared to the intense fight, after the Demon Hunters finished passing around the Witch’s Notebook and saw the two pieces of intelligence Qin Lun had specifically marked, the tent fell into a dead silence.

“This notebook… Could it be fake intelligence deliberately fabricated by the Witch Maiar?” After a long time, a Demon Hunter finally spoke with difficulty.

“That’s impossible. One piece of this intelligence is from over ten years ago, the other from over a year ago!” Lady Nova closed her eyes gently and said bitterly, “Moreover, judging from the notebook, the Witch Maiar didn’t attach much importance to these two pieces of information. In fact, besides the humans of Audiya Town, the witches who never step out of the forest themselves couldn’t grasp the connection implied in the intelligence, and the simple-minded Magical Creatures couldn’t convey this kind of intelligence either.”

“We must report this to the Demon Hunter headquarters. The Albert Family is the leader of the Demon Hunters in the Odia area. We cannot make a decision based solely on a witch’s notebook!” another young Demon Hunter said somberly.

“There’s no time. Judging from Doctor Stan’s assessment, the Epidemic Disease will break out in the next few days. Tens of thousands of humans in the Aodia Region are facing life-threatening danger!” Meyer stood up, his face ashen. “We must return to Albert Castle immediately to verify the intelligence in the notebook. If Baron Albert cannot provide a reasonable explanation, even if we get expelled from the organization later, we must still save Odia.”