As they were eating, a commotion finally erupted from the slums.
There were exclamations of shock, and suddenly, several low buildings collapsed one after another. Amid the screams and curses, everything fell silent.
The disturbance in the slums drew the curiosity of a crowd of onlookers, who quickly surged toward the entrance of the area.
The sudden influx of people posed a challenge to the city guards, who swiftly formed a human barrier to block the eager spectators, glaring at them with stern expressions, warning them coldly.
"Stop right there!"
"Leave this place!"
With weapons raised, their commands were blunt and commanding, leaving the would-be onlookers feeling as though cold water had been thrown over their heads. They quickly calmed down and slowly retreated.
Though they didn't leave, they merely stood at a distance. Since they didn't disrupt the order, the guards turned a blind eye, allowing them to observe from afar.
"Oh, the people here do enjoy a bit of excitement, don't they?"
"These are wealthy individuals who enjoy a taste of adventure. Every time a monster hunter sets out, they show up to watch."
"Ah, so they worship the monster hunters?"
"You could say that, but not entirely. Many are more enamored with the hunters' power."
The monster hunters possessed mysterious abilities, as if they carried an innate aura of restraint, specialized in dealing with magical beasts. Often, when faced with powerful monsters, their strength and intellect would be severely weakened, only to be neatly dispatched by the seemingly frail hunters.
Each performance was dazzling, and many who were unaware of the true circumstances were awestruck by their power, worshiping them for it.
"And this time? What's going on here?"
In densely packed areas, trouble was bound to arise. In such chaotic parts of the city as the slums, misfortune was an everyday occurrence. So frequent were these events that people had grown numb to them. In most cases, they were seen as mere trifles.
What counted as a significant event were those that caused panic, and what could cause panic more than the sudden appearance of monstrous creatures?
These monsters appeared sporadically in various parts of the city. Whether noble or commoner, they rampaged indiscriminately, injuring anyone in their path. If only the poor were affected, the nobles would hardly act, but when the rich were also targeted, threatening their rule, their response was swift.
At times like this, someone had to step in.
The nobles' forces were split between personal guards and city constables. The personal guards were a noble's secret weapon, used only when their lives were directly threatened. They were usually kept well-hidden, to the point that their very existence was nearly forgotten.
The constables, on the other hand, represented the city's authority. In times of war, they would become the city's army, but in peace, they maintained order. Before the monster hunters arrived, the constables had borne the burden of dealing with the magical beasts, paying a heavy price each time, their efforts often leaving them in great pain.
Eradicating monsters was seen as the dirtiest and most tiresome of tasks.
"Monsters often appear here?"
"Yes. Since the area became a town and later a city, the trouble has never stopped."
Carpentier began recounting the story of the first monster to appear in the city. It was a tale as old as time—about a local noble who abducted a beautiful young woman and killed her fiancé. The girl, heartbroken by the loss of her lover, swore vengeance upon the noble.
But the noble's power was overwhelming, and how could a lone woman exact her revenge? In desperation, she called upon the gods, but when they did not answer, she sold her soul to a demon in exchange for the strength to carry out her revenge.
In the end, the noble family was cursed, their power diminished year by year.
The girl who had bargained with the demon for vengeance disappeared, and one year after her disappearance, the monsters began to appear in the city. As the city grew, the monsters' appearances became more frequent.
"By the way, does that noble family still exist?"
"It has fallen. I heard the last descendant made a mistake, fled the city, and turned to a life of banditry."
Carpentier took a certain satisfaction in the fall of the family, for they had been the source of the monster outbreaks. Seeing their downfall, how could he not feel vindicated?
Regrettably, the last heir of that family had managed to escape and become a bandit.
"Sir, they're coming out!"
"Coming out?"
Just as Zhao Lun was about to ask about the noble family and the girl's name, the monster hunters emerged, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
The crowd fell silent, all eyes fixed on the hunters emerging from the building.
Tap, tap! The sound of footsteps grew clearer. The onlookers held their breath, their eyes widening. When they saw the creature captured by the hunters, their eyes bulged in terror, and they stumbled backward.
"Ah! What are you doing?! You stepped on me!"
"FUCK! Who stepped on me?!"
A brief moment of chaos ensued, with several people being knocked to the ground and trampled. Fortunately, the constables were present to maintain order, and only a few were injured. Those who fell quickly stood up, cursing under their breath but not seeking revenge on those who had stepped on them. Instead, all eyes turned toward the monster.
The creature was pink and round, resembling a giant pink meatball, but its body was elastic, capable of stretching and compressing at will. It could also harden into a solid form, able to penetrate even thin iron plates.
Its body was covered with numerous pink tentacles, each ending in a sucker, and each sucker was lined with razor-sharp teeth. If one were to compare it to a creature, it most resembled the lamprey, though the monster's suckers were far more deadly.
But even that wasn't enough to strike fear into the onlookers. The most terrifying aspect of the creature was its many eyes, which were densely packed across its body. Just looking at them filled the onlookers with dread.
The onlookers, like fragile flowers in a greenhouse, had never encountered such a creature. Upon laying eyes on it, they were overwhelmed.
"Oh! A devil!"
"Lord! It should be burned at the stake!"
"Kill it!"
"Kill this demon!"
Some people, embarrassed by their earlier behavior, gathered their courage as the monster was restrained by an unseen force, loudly calling for the creature's death.
The monster hunters paid no attention to the crowd's shouts, while the constables kept the rowdy onlookers at bay, clearing the way for the hunters as they made their way to the town hall.
Their task was to capture the monster, bring it to the town hall for judgment, and burn it with fire.