Shire picked up the wooden crossbow, filled it with grooves, pulled the string, fastened it on the crossbow, and then ventured out into the shadows of the woods.
"Who are you?" He raised the crossbow and aimed at the shadow, his hand on the trigger pin, ready to shoot. The crossbow was a weapon invented by the gods to kill dragons.
The shadow was silent, but stood still, and in a trance Char saw a figure. Was it another demon hunter? Preferably some other demon hunter.
He heard the mantra whispered.
"Flowing shadows." Her voice is thick and hoarse.
The figure disappeared in front of him, and Charles turned his back and knew that something was wrong, and soon a large hand was clasped around his throat, the fingers thick, the whole arm strong, and the slightest effort made Charles feel himself choking.
"Well..." Char quickly dropped the crossbow, pulled the protective dagger from his belt, and thrust it behind him, forcing the hand to loosen and the man to take a few steps back.
"Valen." Etienne said. "You were forced out by the apprentice."
"Everyone knows you picked up a country bastard, a shameless little brute, as if he had been bitten by a dog." The demon hunter swears.
Char put the dagger back in his belt and picked up the crossbow again.
He knows that voice. It's a nasty hunter.
He was about thirty years old, with a bald forehead, a broad nose, high cheekbones, gray eyes, and short red hair stuck in a tangle on his head. He wore a heavy cloak of black fur, under which he wore chainmail, with nothing on his belt, and was lightly armed.
Wallen, as he is called, is skilled in teleportation spells, which is enough to earn him a place among the most powerful demon hunters. From what the Shire had heard, Valen was a loner, had a bad reputation, and seemed to have many eccentricities.
What is even more terrible is that it is said that Warren was once small, weak and unworthy of mention, but in an operation, he made a deal with the demon he was hunting, the demon gave him the spell of teleportation, and he let the demon live, so as to obtain great power.
Also known as Wallen the Possessed, a heretic among hunters.
Now it seems that the rumors are almost true, and that Wallen was fierce, evil, and aggressive. Char, filled with revulsion at the great hand he had just taken at his throat, and unable to use it, returned silently to the burning alder tree.
"He is my apprentice, and you must respect him." Etienne yawned and opened another bottle of wine.
"Etienne, you're a drunk, sleeping with prostitutes, forcing them to give you children. I don't respect you, let alone this little boy." Valen strode to the tree and saw Julius's body hanging upside down. "... So Julius is dead. Well, good thing it was him."
The flames broke the rope that connected the dead man's ankle to the branch, and the hideous body fell to the ground with a thud.
What is "good is he", Shire heard this cold-blooded rhetoric, the heart is very unhappy. Shouldn't demon hunters respect each other and stick together?
"And Julius' apprentice, Denver, was also killed. They should have been ambushed by the Blade Demon." Etienne took out the inactive knife. "The devil has made this out of Julius's spine."
"Show me." Warren reached out his hand.
"Keep it well, Char." Etienne ignored Valen, turned his head and handed the knife to Charles, "Devil hunters are poor, but they have income, and this prize is our income." There were desperate warriors in the cities and towns, eager for this sharp weapon. Try to sell it to people who know."
"It belongs to Mr. Julius... Bones?" Shire held the blade in his hands, and after hearing this description, he stared at the curve of the blade, which had a faint pale line on the back, and indeed resembled the spine of a living creature.
"Yes, but you can't put it back. Deal with it yourself."
"How much will it sell for?" 'asked Shire.
"The same weight of gold, enough to feed you for several years." Etienne looked at the gruesome remains of Julius. "... Burn his bones and gather the ashes, and his soul will thank you."
"If he still has a soul." Warren sniffed. "After twelve years, how many souls are left who can pay for the spell?"
"At least more than you." Etienne put on his clothes slowly. "... Certainly more than me."
Charles hid the black and red blade in his bag, paid a brief moment of silence to the remains of Julius, and then dragged the dead man's body to the burning tree and burned it.
The flames scorched the body, the flesh shrieked, and the smell doubled in the flames.
Char's stomach twitched and he retched for a while.
"I don't like Julius." Warren sat down beside the burning tree and murmured, "He was so bad at it that his death was for the best."
"So." Etienne asked. "Do we continue to hunt the Blade Demon, or do we evacuate in time?"
Char knew that this was a central issue, concerning their future fate. The demon hunters of the area are summoned, and they use the hunt spell to find the Blade Demon's entry into the real world in time to drive it into the twilight forest before it can wreak havoc.
Instead, it uses this vast forest to distract the hunters.
It was as if the hunter had not forced it into the forest, but that it had deliberately set a trap here to kill the hunter.
Char naturally wanted from the bottom of his heart to leave here and return to the safety of civilization. But the blade demon will henceforth be unrestrained. With no demon hunters to pursue, it can strike in carefully selected places, and a single attack can corrupt a large number of humans.
Demons come from another world, and if they stay in hell, they can only capture their victims with distant psychological cues and mental disturbances, with limited impact. But when a blade demon descends on itself, as it did, its destructive power and influence increase a thousandfold.
The mere sight of its image will quickly break down the will of mortals, mad, enchanted, and become servants of the devil. This phenomenon is called depravity by hunters.
Keep chasing, or do you want to go?
"Are you a 'weakling' like Julius? Well, demon hunters are good and bad, and you shouldn't be expected..." Warren intoned disdain, "At this point, the blade demon has not been able to escape our grasp."
"I highly commend you for your team spirit, and I take it that you support continuing the pursuit." Etienne nodded. "Did you find anything?"
"The Blade Demon encountered other hunters today, leaving traces of a battle, but no winner. It is not far around, like a shadow. It's probably trying to weaken us... You see what a mess you are already in fighting with the Blade demon's minions and a single knife."
"Blade is high and powerful in Hell, and we must fight one at any cost." Etienne said. "Look at Julius."
The flames burned the remains of Julius, whose face was so scorched and his skin so scorched that Charles could not help retreating a few steps.
"Of course, that's why we can't go, we've had people sacrifice and the plan runs smoothly." I don't know where you got your head when you talk about retreat." Warren's tone was not good.
The more Shire listen to the more unhappy, but there are such people in the world, although bad temper, crazy talk, but people still have to let him a few points.
"What can I say about you? We are not absolutely sure that we will defeat the Blade demon in the final battle." Etienne said.
"Nonsense. Frederic alone could banish the Blade Demon, not to mention you and me." Warren didn't think so. "Besides, I'd love to meet the Blade demon..."
Frederic was a name that the Shire held in awe. He was the leader of the demon hunters of Upper Loman, held the title of Master Hunter, and also ran the Hunter Sanctuary. He is a living legend and no one doubts his strength.
"I hope so." Etienne didn't want to talk much.
"We must assemble as a team, because we are particularly weak when we fight alone. Because each hunter knows only a few spells. Look at you, Etienne. If you would tell everyone the secret of the Flame of Afen, everyone would be better off." Valen looked into Etienne's face.
"Come on, if anyone else had asked me to hand over the Arfen Fire spell, I would have thought twice about it. But Warren? Shut up, you are not fit to use this spell." Etienne shot back.
Valen rose abruptly, casting a broad shadow that almost covered Etienne as he sat seated.
Char quickly picked up the crossbow and aimed at Wallen, who would not hesitate to shoot as soon as Wallen was ready for the teleportation Spell.
"Are you ready to kill me? The little apprentice?" Warren turned his head and stared at Shire. "I'll kill you before you strike."
Am I faster at shooting, or is he faster at casting? 'thought Shire.
"You can try it." His heart beat fast, he felt nervous, but he did not flinch, and he found that the longer he stayed in the twilight forest, the more daring he grew, and that his courage was gradually honed in this harsh environment.
"Your way can scare strangers and fool cowards. But it's not the first day you've met us. Sit down." Etienne reprimands.
"I'll kill you both if I get the chance." "But not now," said Warren slowly. "After we have killed the devil, we will settle our accounts."
Despite his reputation, Wallen was known to many people in the Kingdom of Loman, and he was associated with many nobles, assassins, and mercenaries, most of whom were willing to do him a favor. Of all the local demon hunters, Master Frederic may be the strongest, Etienne the oldest, but if anyone is the worst, it's Valen.
In the twilight forest to face the blade demon, and leave the forest, and may be Warren plot, the shire thought of the future of all kinds of suffering, could not help but double tension.
We're all hunters who risk everything to fight the devil, so why does the relationship get so close? Shire was puzzled.
Some things are obvious, even to an apprentice like him, like the fact that the hunters are always fighting over spells.
The best, strongest hunters have five or six spells and can even explore new ones on their own, while those who have lost their spells in the succession are destined to be weaker than others in every respect, so hunters often compete with each other for reliable and effective spells to strengthen their confidence against demons.
Etienne had mastered quite a few hunter spells, but he had only taught Charyafen the Flame, which, according to the old Hunter, was the most powerful hunter spell in the world, enough to meet all challenges. And the others are not in a hurry, the coming days are long, he can slowly teach Shire.
Just... Is there really a chance in the future? Char could not help thinking, would we really get out of the forest alive?
Etienne, apparently less worried than Charles, took the food out of his knapsack and gulped it down.
"Have a good rest, and then travel in the morning." He told his apprentice, "Every ounce of strength counts, and every night's rest counts." Don't store up fatigue and worry, or you'll show up."
"Yes." Char brought out cheese, jerky and wine.
The Kingdom of Loman was a vast territory, bordered by the sea to the west and separated by mountains and the interior world to the east. These cheeses are the famous speciality of Loman, the crust is hard and crisp, and when you bite into it, you will find a sweet, soft milk heart, soft and tender, and the milk is so rich that it is almost choking.
The jerky is salted pork, very salty, to be drunk with wine, two thirds of the glass filled with cloudy apple cider, which is at first pungent, then sweet and fruity. Shire sipped.
When he had finished eating and drinking, he turned his head to look at the burning remains of Julius, whose burned bones radiated an unpleasant smell. But it was a worthy predecessor who died in battle, and Shire looked complicated.
The fire died out, and Julius's body was not completely burned, leaving most of the skeleton, charred bones, and piles of ash. And on Julius's neck, in the ashes of the broken bones, there was a necklace, rare stones shining in the firelight.
Such a big gem! This is Mr. Julius's estate? Should I take it? Charles wondered, or should he bury it with Julius's ashes?
Shire walked over to collect the ashes and the necklace.
He heard the incantation, and soon a shadow ran across the ground, and Warren appeared at the side of the corpse, reaching out to pick up the necklace.
Charles clenched his lips and quickly stretched out his hand, grasping the necklace too.
He looked up and saw Valen's face, and his heart jumped. Valen looked at him fiercely.
"Give it to me."
Shire clenched his mouth and struggled internally, but decided to express his attitude: "No."
Warren looked strange, mocking Shire's overreach: "You don't really want to argue with me." With more force in his hand, Charles felt the necklace tear, and it moved slowly in the direction of Valen.
Should I let go?