High School of Demon Hunting-Chapter 2317 - 538: Farewell to the Brass Mark

"...Old Jack turned the compass in his hand, the spurs on his heels chiming as his left eye narrowed slightly, his right hand pressing against the law book at his waist... Three-eyed ravens perched on the white bark birch, yellow-skinned frogs crawl out of Green Haze Lake, amidst the cacophony of croaking, cursing each other’s blindness..."

Xiao Xiao hummed this ancient hunting song softly, wearing a pair of silkworm gloves. With tweezers and clamps, he skillfully separated the elves’ skin and flesh, preserving every collected material in quadruplicate—from skin, muscle, and fat, to nerves, blood vessels, bones, and more—in different glass bottles.

Two of the samples would be handed over to the Trident Sword, two to the school, and the remaining portion belonged entirely to the Atonement Hunting Team.

Xin Fat Man labeled each bottle with a feather pen and tape, while Dylan recorded the number of each bottle on a notepad, providing detailed descriptions of the retained samples.

Only Zheng Qing stood by as if foolish, blankly watching his companions bustling around.

Well, not just him.

Likewise ’idle’ was the young master of the Dragon Hunting Ground, vas Eagle, who at this moment was at the edge of this ’bloody land,’ leaning against an apple tree, grasping a feather pen, scribbling on a piece of parchment, possibly writing a love letter to some girl.

This assumption was made because young master Vas occasionally wore a silly grin on his face. Zheng Qing felt that the creator maintained perfect fairness in this matter—regardless of intelligence or dullness, handsome or ugly, children in love always wear foolishness on their faces.

"If you think you’ve got nothing to do, go keep an eye on the magic fire heap for me." The busy professor stopped humming, giving orders without lifting his head, "Once we’ve collected this batch of materials, we need to perform some divination promptly... Remember to turn those bone fragments from time to time, don’t just roast one side... You can always pick up a few more when you have time, for divination, it never hurts to prepare more."

"I’m not doing nothing."

The leader of the Atonement Hunting Team mumbled, regretfully taking one last look at the already dissected little elf’s chest and abdomen, before turning and slowly walking towards the small pile of magical flames that Xiao Xiao had ignited.

A small heap of broken bone fragments—both dragon bones and elves’ skulls and hip bones—was already arranged around the fire. Many of these fragments had been corroded by black magic, with surfaces covered in blisters, as if they would crumble into dust at the slightest touch.

Earlier, Xiao Xiao had thrown some herbs and minerals into the fire, their rising mist moisturizing the parched bone fragments, purging the residual toxins within, smoothing over the scars, ensuring they could withstand the entire divination process.

Zheng Qing carefully picked up the bone fragments at the edge of the fire with his long-handled tweezers, gently turning them to ensure that each side could be moistened by the rising mist.

Under the moonlight, the pale red magic flames leapt like a heart, each tongue of flame resembling blood being pumped from a heart, gushing warmth and energy into the cold night.

"Are you newcomers of the Trident Sword?"

A voice from behind startled Zheng Qing; it was vas Eagle.

The long-handled tweezers in Zheng Qing’s hand paused slightly, then continued to turn the bone fragments nonchalantly. "Newcomers? I don’t know what you’re talking about..."

"Our family’s Dragon Hunting Ground has been in operation for some years now, and we’ve had plenty of dealings with the Trident Sword." The young master of the hunting ground didn’t mind the warlock’s denial, squatting beside him, staring at the magical flames and supplementing in a low voice, "Those seasoned Trident Sword specialists wouldn’t be as meticulous as you... Not that they’re any less diligent... But they wouldn’t always act together in a group of five."

"Doesn’t the bureau require action in groups of five?"

Hearing this retort, vas Eagle laughed but quickly regained composure, quickly explaining, "Theory is theory, practice is practice. When actually executing investigative tasks, time, efficiency, and precision, much like Mendel’s Paradox in the law of transformation, you can never fully balance all three.

If you want to conduct a thorough and complete investigation, efficiency will inevitably suffer, and there won’t be enough time; if you aim to investigate efficiently within a limited time, it won’t be possible to be comprehensive... Those senior Trident Sword members quietly break the bureau’s ’principle’ a little for balance.

For instance, in today’s investigation, they might have only three people arrive at the accident site, while the other two concurrently investigate a nearby tavern, café, or the Eagle’s old estate... Of course, all under the premise of safety... Conducting material collection, reporting, and collective action as meticulously as you are is characteristic of Trident Sword newcomers... Or perhaps, are you a registered hunting team from the school carrying out a designated mission?"

Under the Cat Mask, Zheng Qing remained expressionless, mechanically turning the bone fragments that slowly regained their original form.

He had previously thought that the battle maniacs from Starry Sky Academy lacked brains.

He didn’t expect this senior to be so astute.

"Were you just writing a love letter?" He evasively changed the subject, skillfully steering the conversation: "Rumor has it, you attend Starry Sky Academy at the First University... From your earlier analysis, I almost mistook you for a student of Alpha." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The Cat Mask trembled slightly, interrupting this small interlude.

"Mr. Zha, come take a look at this." Xiao Xiao’s voice, slightly more serious, reached his ears.

Zheng Qing stood up in surprise.

Vas Eagle, showing understanding, shrugged and returned to the apple tree.

"What’s the matter?" The captain of the Atonement Hunting Team approached the diviner from behind.

In the tweezers held by Xiao Xiao, there was a small shriveled vertebra, embedded on its backside was an oval brass plate, with no complex runes, just a capital letter ’M’ engraved using recessed carving.

This brass plate was eerily familiar.

It only took a few seconds for Zheng Qing to recall.

"That two-headed ogre from last year’s pre-term trial?" he softly recounted the origin of the other brass plate from memory, "Merlin’s initial? So, the black wizard we’re tracking is a conservative wizard... highly likely a member of the Dark Council?"

"Perhaps."

Xiao Xiao raised a hand to touch the mask on his face, seemingly wanting to rub his eye corners, but ultimately only feeling the cold, smooth mask against his hand. "Last time, we speculated this ’M’ represented Merlin’s initial because we lacked more clues, it was purely conjecture... But now we know of the ’Ravens,’ that there’s a ’Professor,’ that their aim is to ’break the binds of the rules, transform into an angel, and pursue the eternal and noble truth’... Perhaps we should narrow our perspective a little more."