Volume 2 Chapter 24: Probing

The five-person team was positioned in the center of the demon hunter group. Among them were Qin Lun, who everyone saw as a support member, and his follower Frank. There were also two official demon hunters Bonnie and Odo. The last member was Wil, an eighteen-year-old boy.

Like Qin Lun, Wil was participating in a demon hunter mission for the first time. Qin Lun joined voluntarily, while Wil had no choice. Wil’s father had also been a demon hunter, but he died five years ago during a bounty mission.

Fortunately, Wil’s father left some money behind for his wife and son, enough for them to live on. But Wil always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps as a demon hunter. Five years ago, he was too young, so he used his father’s accumulated points to avoid the yearly demon hunting tasks.

This year, those points were all used up. If he didn’t undertake a mission, his demon hunter qualification would be revoked. Once he lost that status, Wil had no confidence in regaining it on his own. Besides, he was an adult now, so he decided to go on a mission.

The only thing he didn’t expect was that his first mission would be a large-scale combat task.

“Wil, is this enough firewood?” Qin Lun stood by the campfire with an armful of dry branches, a smile on his face.

“That’s enough, thank you, Doctor Stan!” The plainly dressed young man took the firewood and piled it to the side, then busily started preparing hot water for everyone.

After the small team found a clearing in the forest, the five of them set up tents and lit a campfire. During the tasks, Qin Lun suddenly realized he didn’t seem to know how to do anything, even less useful than his own servant Frank. After messing up several jobs for the others, a frustrated Odo finally sent him to help Wil.

As the campfire was lit, the Great Forest Maiar began to be enveloped by night. Without Qin Lun causing trouble, the others quickly finished setting up the tents. They took drinks and food from the supply cart and sat around the campfire.

Bonnie took some dried grass from a pouch and tossed it into the fire. When it burned, it gave off a faint, pleasant scent.

“What is that?” Qin Lun, who had been watching and learning, couldn’t help but ask.

“That’s incense grass. It keeps mosquitoes and insects away!” Odo sighed. “Doctor Stan, you have very little experience surviving in the wild. You need to work on that. Witches’ lairs are usually in places with very harsh living conditions. Demon hunters must learn to survive in all kinds of environments.”

“Right, I’ll count on your guidance in the future!” Qin Lun smiled, not seeming to mind.

Perhaps influenced by the surroundings, the group wasn’t very talkative. They ate quietly. Only Wil would occasionally look up nervously toward the distant howls of beasts in the darkness.

“Crack!” Just as everyone was feeling a bit sleepy and Bonnie was about to assign night watch shifts, a flash of lightning lit up the distant forest. It vanished as quickly as a thunderbolt on a rainy day.

“That seems to be from Nova’s team’s direction!” Odo stood up abruptly, muttering as he looked toward the source of the light.

“Hmm, it must be an electricity-based spell!” Bonnie’s expression shifted uncertainly. “It’s only the first day, and we’re still in the outer areas. They actually ran into magical creatures already!”

While they were speaking, the distant sky lit up with a fiery red glow again. This time it lasted a bit longer, fading after about ten seconds.

“Sir Bonnie, should we go help them?” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up, and he seemed a little excited. He was very interested in the witches and magical creatures of this world.

“No need, they can handle it. If they’re in danger, they’ll send a firecracker signal. Yellow smoke means they need support, red smoke means extreme danger! If there’s no firecracker signal, it means they can manage on their own. Other teams shouldn’t risk breaking formation to rescue them.” Odo watched for a while longer, then sat back down by the campfire.

“Haha, Doctor Stan, get some rest early. We’ll wake you for night watch when it’s almost dawn.” Bonnie sat back by the campfire, drew his knight sword, and began carefully polishing it.

A strange look flickered in Qin Lun’s eyes, and he nodded silently. Bonnie’s behavior in the forest surprised him. This blond young man had shed his noble young master attitude from the castle and turned into a seasoned demon hunter, no less capable than the veteran Odo.

“Rustle…” Qin Lun suddenly opened his eyes from sleep, his body tensing slightly. But he relaxed immediately; he recognized whose footsteps were behind him.

“Young master, did I wake you?” Frank looked at Qin Lun sitting up and scratched his head sheepishly.

“Is it my turn for night watch?” Qin Lun checked the sky and saw it was just getting light. Remembering Bonnie’s words from last night, he understood.

“Yes, Sir Odo wouldn’t let me take your shift.” Frank said with a worried expression.

“Go rest for a bit.” Qin Lun twisted his neck and walked toward the campfire in the center of the camp.

“Doctor Stan, you’re awake?” Odo smiled when he saw Qin Lun. “Your follower wanted to take your night watch shift, but I refused. I thought since you’ve become a demon hunter, you should get used to wilderness adventure life as soon as possible.”

“Yes, I think so too. As a demon hunter, you should always stay alert in the wild.” Qin Lun nodded in agreement.

Actually, even in his sleep, it was very hard for anyone to get close to Qin Lun. Back when he was in Handan Prison, the prisoners sharing his cell were all serious criminals, many of them even on death row.

In that environment, Qin Lun developed an unmatched sense of vigilance. In fact, when Qin Lun first entered the prison, he didn’t kill his cellmates immediately. However, the heavy criminals in the same cell were like fighting dogs in a cage; conflicts were bound to happen.

Over time, in such situations, Joey began to appear frequently. After that, prisoners who shared a cell with Qin Lun would usually end up dead within three days, their corpses horribly mangled, like slaughtered cattle. Throughout the years, prisoners who shared a cell with Qin Lun and survived more than a week were extremely rare in all of Handan Prison.

It was during this period that Qin Lun and Joey earned themselves the nickname “Dissector,” truly becoming a feared serial killer. At times, this serial killer even became Handan Prison and official authorities’ preferred method for “dealing with” certain specific prisoners.

This was also one of the reasons why Qin Lun received preferential treatment in prison before the Handan court approved his death sentence.

“Did Sir Bonnie go to rest?” Qin Lun turned and asked.

“Yes, only he and I have more experience in our team. He took the first half of the night watch, and I’m taking the second half.” Odo nodded, but he seemed deeply troubled.

“Are you worried about something?” Qin Lun’s interest was piqued, and he spoke up.

“Haha, you noticed?” Odo looked solemnly into the distance. “Last night, the three forward teams were attacked to varying degrees.”

“All three teams were attacked?” Qin Lun narrowed his eyes slightly. “Is that very unusual?”

“Hmm, over two years ago, we organized a five-person team to scout the outer areas of the forest near the Aodia Region.” Odo recalled. “That time, after we entered the forest, we weren’t attacked at all in the outer areas. Not until the fifth day, when we went too deep, did we encounter two gargoyles.”

“You don’t need to worry too much. They didn’t ask for help, right? Maybe last night they just ran into some wild animals.” Qin Lun’s eyes gleamed as he smiled reassuringly.

“I hope so! In about two hours, they’ll send someone to report. Then we’ll know what happened.” Odo’s expression didn’t lighten much.

Unlike Qin Lun’s carefree attitude, this old demon hunter knew that what attacked the forward teams last night definitely wasn’t just wild animals. A few beasts wouldn’t make demon hunters use spells. Only thick-skinned, fearless magical creatures would force powerful demon hunters to resort to magic.

Odo’s prediction was correct. When the sky was fully bright and everyone was awake, the three forward teams sent a messenger.

The demon hunter responsible for delivering the news was covered in dust mixed with spots of blood. His left arm was in a sling made of cloth, and he seemed to carry the smell of battle smoke.

“Bla, what happened up ahead?” Bonnie and Odo immediately went to meet him.

“We ran into three gargoyles and had a tough fight. Luckily, besides me, no one else was injured!” The middle-aged demon hunter named Bla glanced at the three newcomers—Qin Lun and the others—and said it lightly.

Bonnie and Odo exchanged a look and said with a laugh, “Three gargoyles are worth quite a few points. Looks like you had a good haul.”

The three demon hunters’ relaxed talk eased the tense atmosphere.

“Doctor Stan, could you take care of Bla’s arm?” Odo turned and asked.

“Gladly! Sir Bla, please come with me.” Qin Lun smiled and led the injured messenger into the tent.

“Sir Bla, it’s just dislocated, the bone is fine. But for the next few days, it’s best not to use this arm too much.” Qin Lun helped the demon hunter set the bone and said with a smile, “I’ve treated your other injuries too.”

“Thank you, Doctor Stan. It’s really great to have a doctor on the team!” Bla waved his arm happily.

“Sir Bla, those three gargoyles were only the attackers your team encountered, right? They don’t include what the other two teams faced last night?” Qin Lun bent down to organize the medical supplies and asked quietly without looking up.

Bla’s expression stiffened slightly. He was silent for a moment before answering, “Yes, Nova and the others also ran into a troll.”

“Is the situation serious?” Qin Lun closed the medical kit without expression.

“If it’s not a coincidence, then yes, it’s very serious!” Bla said gravely.

“There are no coincidences in this world, only inevitabilities.” Qin Lun sighed, borrowing a phrase he had heard some days before.