C3 Waren

Shire picked up the crossbow and cocked it into readiness. He loaded the bolt onto the rail and placed the stock against his shoulder. He then plucked up his courage and walked towards the shadowed underbrush of the forest.

"Who's there!" He raised the crossbow and aimed at the shadows. He put his finger on the trigger and readied himself to shoot immediately. This special crossbow was a weapon invented by the gods to hunt dragons.

The shadow remained silent and stood unmoving. Shire saw the shadow in a seeming daze. Was that another Devil Hunter? It would be best if it was another Devil Hunter.

Then he heard a soft chant.

"Flowing Dark Shadow." The voice was hoarse and heavy.

The figure in front of him disappeared. Shire's eyes widened and he quickly turned around. Like lightning, a large hand grabbed his throat. The fingers were thick and strong, and the entire arm was heavily muscled. With just a little bit more force, Shire felt that he would be choked to death.

"Ugh..." Shire quickly threw away the crossbow, pulled out the dagger from his belt, and stabbed wildly, forcing the hand to let go. That person also took a few steps back.

"Waren," Etienne said, "You were actually forced back by an apprentice. That was kind of pathetic."

"Everyone knows that you picked up an apprentice from the countryside, a shameless little bastard." The Devil Hunter cursed.

Shire put the dagger back into his belt and picked up the crossbow.

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he recognized the voice. It was that irritating hunter.

The man was about 30 years old. He had a large forehead, wide nose, high cheekbones, and a pair of gray eyes. His short red hair was messy and stuck to his head. He wore a thick black fur cloak over his chainmail. There was not much equipment on his belt — he was traveling light.

His name was Waren. He was proficient in teleportation spells, and this was enough for him to have a place with the most powerful Devil Hunters. Legend has it that Waren was a loner with a bad reputation. He seemed to have a lot of strange fetishes.

What was even more terrifying was that Waren had once been weak and not worth mentioning. However, during a mission, he had reached an agreement with the devil he was hunting. The devil had given him the teleportation spell, and in return, he had given the devil a chance to live.

People who acted that way were commonly known as "devil devourers." Waren was a heretic among hunters.

From the looks of it, the rumors were probably true. Waren was indeed vicious, evil, and aggressive. Shire thought of the big hand that had grabbed his throat just now, and his heart was filled with disgust. However, to make another move was to invite undue retaliation, so he had to swallow his anger and quietly went back to the burning alder tree.

"He's my apprentice, so show some respect." Etienne yawned and opened another bottle of wine.

"Etienne, you're a hopeless drunkard, always fooling around with prostitutes, and forcing them to give birth to your child. I don't even respect you, let alone this little brat." Waren strode to the side of the tree and saw Julius's upside-down corpse... "So, Julius died. Ha, luckily it was him."

The flames broke the rope connecting the dead man's ankles to the branch. The corpse fell to the ground with a muffled noise.

What did he mean by "luckily it was him"? When Shire heard such a cold-blooded remark, he felt very unhappy in his heart. Should not Devil Hunters respect and cooperate with each other?

"And Julius's apprentice, Denver, unfortunately, also lost his life. They must have been ambushed by the Blade Devil." Etienne took out the lifeless evil blade, "The devil refined Julius' spine into this thing."

"Let me have a look." Waren stretched out his hand.

"Keep this, Shire." Etienne ignored Waren. He turned around and handed the saber to Shire. "A Devil Hunter is poor, and this is our sole income. There are brave warriors in cities and towns who don't care about their lives or their reputation. They desire to obtain this kind of deadly weapon. Try to sell it to those in the know."

"Is this Mr. Julius'... spine? " Shire held the sharp blade with both hands. After hearing what Etienne had said, he stared at the arc of the blade. There were faint white lines on the back of the blade, which indeed looked like the spine of a living creature.

"Yes, and don't bother trying to put it back. Deal with it yourself."

"How much is it worth?" Shire asked.

"Gold enough for you to live without worry for a few years." Etienne looked at Julius's horrible corpse, "Go burn his corpse and bury his ashes. You'd be doing this poor man a great favor."

"Yeah, like he would ever know about this, being as dead as a doornail." Waren snorted and said, "He had been in this profession for twelve years. How much of his soul could he have left?"

"At least more than yours." Etienne slowly put on his outfit. "And definitely more than mine."

Shire hid the black and red blade in his luggage and spent a short moment of silence over Julius' remains. Then, he dragged the dead body closer to the burning tree.

The flames roasted the body. The dried flesh sizzled, and the smell of the corpse was even worse in the flames.

Shire's stomach twitched, and he started to retched.

"I didn't like Julius." Waren sat next to the burning tree and murmured, "He was too weak. It's just a matter of time before he got killed."

"So," Etienne asked, "Should we continue to chase after the Blade Devil, or should we retreat now?"

Shire knew that this was an important decision to make, and it was related to their fate in the future. All the Devil Hunters in this region were gathered here. Through the tracking spell, they had planned to find the position of the Blade Devil that had invaded the real world in time, and drive it into Twilight Forest before it could wreak havoc.

However, it took advantage of this vast forest to disperse the gathered strength of the hunters.

It was as if it was not the hunters who forced it into the forest, but it deliberately retreated here to trap and kill the hunters.

Shire naturally hoped from the bottom of his heart that he could leave this place and return to civilization — the sooner, the better. However, if they did so, the Blade Devil would no longer be restricted. Without the Devil Hunters chasing after it, it would have the time to recover its strength and could carefully choose a place to attack. A single attack could impact a large number of humans.

Devils came from another world. If they stayed in hell, they could only use temptation and mental interference to target their victims. The effects were limited. However, if the devils descended with their main bodies, their destructive power and influence would increase exponentially.

When ordinary mortals saw a devil's true appearance, their will would quickly collapse. They would go crazy and become demonized, becoming the devil's servants. This phenomenon was called corruption by hunters.

To stay or to leave, that was a critical question.

"Are you also a weakling like Julius? Alright, not all Devil Hunters are heroes. I shouldn't be counting on you guys..." Waren's tone was disdainful, "But you should know that, at this point, it's impossible for the Blade Devil to escape from our hands."

"I highly praise your team spirit, to think you will support us in continuing the chase." Etienne nodded sardonically," Did you discover anything? "

"The Blade Devil and the other hunters encountered each other today. There were traces of a battle, but no victor has been determined so far. It's not far away, following them like a poisonous shadow. It probably wanted to weaken us... Look, you're already in such a sorry state just by fighting with the Blade Devil's hasty creation."

"The Blade Devil has a very high level in hell, and it's very powerful. We have to pay any price to fight it," Etienne said, "Look what happened to Julius. That could be either of us."

The flames were still burning Julius's corpse. His face was extremely charred, and his skin still sizzled. Shire could not help but take a few steps back from the grotesque scene.

"Of course, that's why we can't leave. We have already sacrificed some of our people. The plan is going smoothly. And now you're even thinking about retreating? I really don't know what's wrong with you." Waren's tone was unfriendly.

The more Shire heard, the more unhappy he became. However, there were people like this in this world. Although they had bad tempers and arrogant personalities, people still had to give them some leeway due to their usefulness.

"What else can I say? We don't have absolute confidence that we can defeat the Blade Devil in the final battle," Etienne said.

"Nonsense. Frederick alone is enough to deal with the Blade Devil, let alone together with you and me." Waren did not think it was a big deal, "Besides, I really want to meet the Blade Devil face to face..."

Frederick was a name that filled Shire with respect. He was the leader of the Devil Hunters in Upper Lawman District. He had the title of Great Hunter Master and was also in charge of Hunter Palace. He was a living legend. No one would doubt his strength.

"I hope so." Etienne did not want to talk further about it.

"We must form a team; we're very weak when fighting alone. Why? Because every hunter only knows very few spells. Look at you, Etienne. If you were willing to tell everyone the secret of the 'Yafen Flame', everyone's strength will increase by leaps and bounds." Waren stared at Etienne resentfully.

"Come on. If anyone else asks me to hand over the incantation of the Yafen Flame, I might consider it. But you? Shut up, you're not qualified to use this spell," Etienne retorted.

Waren suddenly stood up and towered over Etienne. His broad body cast a shadow over the older hunter, who was sitting cross-legged.

Shire quickly lifted the crossbow and aimed it at Waren. If Waren started to incant the teleportation spell, he would shoot him without hesitation.

"Are you planning to kill me? Little apprentice?" Waren turned his head and stared at Shire, "I'll kill you before you attack."

'Which would be faster — my trigger finger or his casting speed?' Shire thought grimly.

"You can try." His heart was beating fast. He felt nervous, but he did not shrink back. He realized that the longer he stayed in Twilight Forest, the greater his courage became. In this harsh environment, his courage was gradually being honed. Repeatedly facing such deadly situations, one either held his own or died.

"That trick of yours might scare strangers and cowards, but it's not the first time we've met you. Stop fooling around and sit down, for god's sake," Etienne reprimanded.

"I'll kill you both once I have the chance," Waren said slowly, "But now is not the time. After killing all the devils, we'll settle the score then."

Although Waren had a bad reputation, he knew a lot of people. Many people in Lawman Kingdom had heard of Waren. He also had dealings with many nobles, assassins, and mercenaries. Most of them were willing to lend him a hand when needed. Among all the local hunters, Master Frederick might be the strongest, and Etienne the most experienced. But if there was someone who should not be trifled with, it was definitely Waren.

For Shire, he had to face the Blade Devil in Twilight Forest, and if he left the forest, he might be plotted against by Waren. He thought of all the trials and tribulations he would face in the future, and he could not help but feel even more nervous.

Everyone was a hunter who had given up everything to fight the devils, so why did they have to be at each other's throats too? Shire could not figure it out.

Some things were obvious. Even an apprentice like him could see it. For example, hunters always fought over incantations.

The most outstanding and powerful hunters mastered five or six spells. They could even work out new incantations themselves. The hunters who inherited fewer incantations were destined to be weaker than the others in all aspects. Hence, hunters often fought over reliable and effective incantations to increase their confidence in fighting against the devils.

Etienne had mastered many spells, but he only taught Shire the Yafen Flames. According to the old hunter, this was the most powerful hunter spell in the world, and it was enough to deal with all challenges. As for the others, he was not in a hurry. There was still a long way to go, and he could slowly teach them to Shire.

"But... would there really be a chance in the future?" Shire could not help but think, "Can we really leave the forest alive?"

Etienne was obviously not as worried as Shire. He took out food from his backpack and started eating.

"Have a good rest. We'll continue our journey at dawn." He told his apprentice, "Every bit of strength is important. A good night's rest every day is the key. Don't exhaust yourself too much, or else you'll become weaker."

"I understand," Shire took out cheese, jerky, and wine.

The Lawman Kingdom was vast, with the west borders facing the ocean. The east side was separated by mountains and the rest of the continent, forming its own territory. The cheese was a famous specialty of Lawman. The shell was hard and crispy under the sun while the inside of the cheese was soft and sweet. It was smooth and tender, and the fragrance of the cheese was so thick that it was almost suffocating.

The jerky was pork that had been preserved with salt. It was very salty and needed to be drunk with wine. Two-thirds of the glass bottle was filled with turbid apple fruit wine. The wine had a bit of a burn once drunk, and then one could taste the sweetness and the fragrance of apples from it. Shire took a sip.

After eating and drinking, he turned his head and looked at Julius's still burning corpse. It emitted a disgusting smell. That was a great hunter who had died in battle and deserved respect. Shire had a complicated expression on his face.

The fire gradually died down. Julius's remains had not been completely burned away. More than half of his remains, charred bones, and ashes were left behind. And around Julius's neck, there was a necklace still intact in the ashes. The rare gem was shining under the light of the fire.

'Such a large gem! Was this the inheritance of Mr. Julius? Should I take it away?' Shire thought to himself, 'Or should I bury it along with his ashes?'

Shire walked over and prepared to collect the ashes and necklace.

He heard an incantation and a shadow quickly passed by him. Waren appeared beside the corpse and bent over to pick up the necklace.

Shire pursed his lips in displeasure and quickly reached out his hand to grab the necklace too.

When he looked up and saw Waren, however, his heart skipped a beat. Waren was glaring at him with a fierce look.

"Give it to me."

Shire hesitated and felt conflicted in his heart, but he decided to express his attitude. "No."

Waren had a strange expression, as if he was mocking Shire for overestimating himself. "Don't tell me you really want to compete with me?" He increased the strength in his hand. Shire felt that the necklace was about to be torn off. It slowly moved toward Waren.

'Should I let go?' Shire thought to himself.