Volume 2 Chapter 38: Before the Storm

It took two and a half days for the Demon Hunter team to enter Maiar Forest and find the clue to the Witch’s Cottage. However, because the team did not travel from the outside toward the center of the forest, but instead moved in circles around the outskirts, it did not need another two and a half days to withdraw from the forest.

After Qin Lun returned to the camp, the long night had just passed, and dawn was breaking on the horizon. The team had no plans to rest at the camp. Several carriages that originally stored supplies were emptied and used to transport the severely wounded and the dead.

Demon Hunters would not simply bury their companions’ bodies in the forest. For a Witch, a Demon Hunter’s body was the best research material. To prevent the bodies from being defiled, Demon Hunters would bring the bodies back to the human world for burial whenever possible; otherwise, they would cremate them directly.

Qin Lun covered himself with a blanket and leaned against the carriage wall, his face pale and colorless. This was not the doctor pretending to be mysterious; he was already seriously injured. Coupled with the self-hypnosis that kept him going all night, now that he relaxed, he felt as if his bones were falling apart.

Unlike when they first entered the forest, on the way back, no Demon Hunter came to talk to him voluntarily. Their expressions were somewhat distant.

Thinking about it, this was easy to understand. It was like a new colleague joining a department in a modern company. At first, he was enthusiastic, hardworking, polite, and considerate, and everyone liked him. But in a flash, he reported the department head’s work mistake to the company, and this department head was usually quite respected. Although what the department head did this time was indeed not right, the betrayer lost his good reputation, and everyone would surely keep their distance from him.

Qin Lun did not care about others’ opinions of him; he was not from this world anyway. After thinking for a moment, he reached into his chest and pulled out a golden tube of reagent to examine.

“Sacred Spirit Potion: Immortality Elixir (False). This is a healing potion made by the Demon Hunter organization to imitate the Immortality Elixir. The first time taken, it permanently increases a small amount of health and mana, varying slightly depending on individual constitution. Its main uses are to heal injuries, prolong life, remove negative status effects, and offset continuous damage. It cannot be used on undead creatures. Can be brought into Shattered Starry Sky. Selling Price: 1000 Shattered Crystals.”

One thousand Shattered Crystals! Qin Lun slightly raised his eyebrows. Completing the “Investigation” mission only gave two thousand Shattered Crystals. He knew that the selling price was one-fifth of the exchange price. In other words, the actual value of this item should be five thousand Shattered Crystals.

Indeed, effort and reward were proportional. Although Qin Lun nearly died in the battle with the Witch, his rewards were equally enormous! Even the two tubes of Sacred Spirit Potion he drank and tricked others into giving him were actually because he earned the Saint Healer’s respect by fighting the Witch, which was why such precious potions were given to him.

This trip to Maiar Forest, not counting the mission clues obtained, only considering the items that could be brought into Shattered Starry Sky, he acquired ten Moonlight Grass plants, one pair of Magic Eyes, one portion of Golden Silkworm Dust, and one tube of Sacred Spirit Potion. This did not even include the Golden Summoning Scroll and the Sacred Spirit Potion he drank.

Of course, there were still some unidentified items. In terms of the price sold to Shattered Starry Sky, it was a total of 1900 Shattered Crystals. In terms of actual exchange value, it was a full 9500 Shattered Crystals, equivalent to the Shattered Crystal reward from five satellite-level Plot Missions.

After putting away the Sacred Spirit Potion into his Storage Space, Qin Lun flipped his hand, and the Dagger of Sin fell into his palm. In the battle with the Witch, the Dagger of Sin stabbed into Witch Meisha’s Heart Core. Surprisingly, Witch Meisha did not die on the spot. Instead, the Dagger of Sin slowly absorbed the undead power within the Heart Core.

Actually, Witch Meisha did not die from the Dagger of Sin’s devouring. After Qin Lun cleaned up the Witch’s Cottage and used the Maiar Crystal Ball to absorb Frank’s soul, he discovered that the Witch, who had been turned into a Skeletal Angel by Joey, had turned into a pile of ashes, as if she died from severe injuries.

As for the Dagger of Sin, which absorbed most of the Witch’s power, it also underwent a slight change.

Sin (Short Dagger)

Alignment Type: Life-Taking Relic (Chaotic Evil)

Remnant Souls Quality: 34 (Ten Slaughtered)

Weight: 215 grams

Length: 230 millimeters

Equipment Ability: Soul Devour (Life-Taking Relic special skill). Can absorb the soul power of victims and powers of the same alignment. Autonomous Soul Devour targets are lower-tier beings, with a maximum not exceeding the third tier. Under specific conditions, such as when the enemy loses the ability to resist, it can devour part of the soul power of mid-tier beings.

The original Remnant Souls Quality of the Dagger of Sin was 12. Now, after absorbing the Witch’s undead power, it rose to 34, a full increase of 22 Remnant Souls. It was clear that Witch Meisha had also harmed many creatures in her time, carrying a lot of Remnant Souls energy.

After the Remnant Souls Quality greatly improved, the dagger’s black gleam flowed even more smoothly, and the entire dagger seemed like a living creature. Holding Sin in his hand, Qin Lun felt as if every inch of the blade from the hilt to the tip was like flesh and blood on his hand.

After half a day, the Demon Hunter team finally left the Great Forest Maiar and appeared by the Cockscomb River. All the Demon Hunters felt a sense of relief. In the latter half of the return journey, some intuitively sharp Demon Hunters had already sensed a great danger approaching the team, making them feel as if needles were pricking their backs.

Everyone understood that this was likely the reinforcements sent by Witch Maiar. If they had delayed for another half day, they might have faced a severe test.

After leaving the forest, the Demon Hunter team split up again. Some severely wounded needed proper rest; they could not endure the bumpy journey to Albert Castle anymore and had to go to a nearby town for treatment.

The only Saint Healer in the team, Totti, also wanted to leave, and his attitude was very firm. Although he was not injured, he used the excuse of taking care of other wounded, so others had nothing to say.

In fact, Lady Nova and Meyer did not want Saint Healer Totti to leave. Although Totti was not a combatant, every Saint Healer held a high position in the Demon Hunter organization. If he coordinated, as long as the Albert Family did not deviate from the fundamental principles of the Demon Hunters, they believed things could still be resolved smoothly.

Watching Totti’s departing figure, Qin Lun’s eyes flickered, lost in thought. The Saint Healer had ultimately agreed to his plan. Just as strong Demon Hunters like Lady Nova and Meyer could not realize the significant danger of an infectious epidemic disease, Totti, as a non-combatant, also failed to realize how much storm was brewing in Qin Lun’s seemingly simple plan.

“Doctor Stan, you are also severely wounded. Do you want to leave with Totti?” Lady Nova walked to Qin Lun’s side and said indifferently.

King’s Flower’s initial fondness for Qin Lun had completely vanished. She had a premonition that if the doctor went with them to Albert Castle, things might spiral out of control. It was better to send him away now.

“Lady Nova, the weather is a bit stuffy; there might be a heavy rain tonight!” Qin Lun looked up and answered irrelevantly.

“Isn’t it normal to have storms this season?” Nova frowned, glanced at Qin Lun, and said calmly, “If you insist on going to Albert Castle, I hope you will keep your mouth shut and let Meyer and me negotiate with Baron Albert!”

“Lady Nova, the storm does not change according to human will.” Qin Lun gently closed his eyes and said no more.

Qin Lun understood the psychology of King’s Flower and Meyer very well. These Demon Hunters had fought side by side with Albert Castle and shared a deep camaraderie thicker than blood. As long as there was the slightest possibility, they wanted to absolve the Albert Family.

Moreover, this era was different from a thousand years ago. Witches were no longer the number one threat to the human world. In the eyes of Nova and others, as long as the Albert Family did not violate the fundamental principles of the Demon Hunters, other mistakes could still be forgiven.

However, Qin Lun knew very well that if his guess was correct, these Demon Hunters and the Albert Family probably could not reach an understanding.

The Otherworld Mission that Qin Lun carried was actually the secret that the Albert Family could not explain to outsiders. Their fundamental stances were opposing. All along, he had been using various conditions and clues to investigate the Albert Family’s privacy.

The Witch’s Notebook was the best weapon Qin Lun found. By looking at one spot, he could see the whole picture. From Bonnie, he could fully imagine how powerful the Albert Family’s military strength was. Combined with their connections, they were simply not someone Qin Lun could oppose. Therefore, he could only use the Demon Hunters to achieve the desired result.

In fact, the information revealed in the Witch intelligence was not a big deal. Even if Stephen really married a Witch, so what? After all, Stephen did not join the Demon Hunter organization. What could the Albert Family do by developing Magical Creatures? There was no evidence that they harmed other ordinary humans.

This was also the main reason why Nova and others wanted to talk to Baron Albert first, rather than immediately using force against the Albert Family. If not for this imminent epidemic disease and without Qin Lun, Nova and others might not have confronted them directly but would have reminded Baron Albert in a more subtle way.

The current tense confrontation was entirely triggered by Qin Lun. However, in this regard, although the Serial Killer used all available people and intelligence, he was not wrong, or rather, his stance itself was not wrong.

The Otherworld Mission given by Shattered Starry Sky was not randomly assigned. Even if it was just a Guidance Mission for a novice Apostle, it inevitably had historical and regional significance, differing only in the size of the affected geographical area and the length of the time span.

What Qin Lun was doing now, besides his own mission, was indeed preventing the spread of the epidemic in the Odia Region.

Was the epidemic in Odia an Undead Plague? Was this disease internally related to the Albert Family? What impact would the epidemic ultimately have on Odia, Maize Duchy, and even the whole world?

The answers to these questions were still unknown. Qin Lun triggered the confrontation between the Demon Hunters and the Albert Family with the direct goal of completing the “Investigation” mission related to Stephen Albert. Of course, in the process, the answers to these questions would also be revealed.

As for the fate of the Albert Family, it was not in Qin Lun’s hands but in their own. Qin Lun was merely winding up the spring of the fate carriage, waiting for the final moment to arrive.