Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 644 I've been reborn again?!
war!

The shouts of battle were deafening, rising from all directions.

He awoke with a start, finding himself standing in a narrow alleyway nestled between city walls, low-rise houses, and dilapidated shacks.

Sewage flowed along the city wall, gleaming with an ominous dark red sheen at our feet. The pungent smell in the air was not from household garbage or human and animal excrement, but from the strong smell of rust and the acrid stench of burning corpses...

[Where am I?!] His mind was buzzing with shock at the sight before him.

"Boom~"

Suddenly, a loud bang shook the city walls, houses, and shacks violently, and the ground trembled. Before he could think, he instinctively stepped into the sewage and pressed his back against the city wall.

The violent tremors within the city walls made his bones feel numb, as if an electric current was flowing through his muscles, bones, and blood vessels.

Am I not on the old road between Brugge and Amelia?

The solid yet smooth feel of his back calmed him down, reminding him who he was and where he should be.

[This isn't the Ring of Maidalui, it's the city of Maidalui? Is there war in Maidalui? Did Vera and Vesemir encounter an accident and become separated?]

【wrong! 】

After calming down completely, Erin discovered that he was actually fully healthy, able to run and jump, and showed no signs of serious injury whatsoever.

Given the injuries he sustained in Ban Ade, even with the three Witcher potions—Swallow, Full Moon, and Pure White Lafard—along with Vera and Ada Emin's medical skills, it would take at least a month before he could walk like a healthy, normal person again.

One month.

They must have arrived at the Ring of Maidalui long ago; how could they suddenly end up in a city that is currently at war?

Thinking of this, Erin suddenly realized that his perspective seemed a bit strange, and the surrounding city walls, houses and shantytowns all seemed exceptionally tall.

Lower your head again.

A pair of small, muddy hands, like those of a mischievous five or six-year-old child, came into view.

At the same time, what catches the eye is a decent cotton satin top that, although it is stained with mud, is clearly well-made and even stylish.

A emblem was faintly embroidered on the chest of the shirt.

The emblem's design is divided by a cross, but what exactly is in each of the four sections is completely illegible.

"A nobleman's child, a five or six-year-old nobleman's child..." he murmured softly, looking around at the dirty and messy surroundings with confusion. "Why would a nobleman's offspring be here..."

[Appearing in a slum in the lower city?]

Did you get separated from your family while fleeing in panic due to the war?

No! It might not actually have happened; it could just be a dream...

Erin's mind was still a bit confused.

He had no idea why he was here, possessing the body of a child...

"boom!"

Another deafening explosion reverberated through the city walls.

Gravel and dust fell in a flurry.

Erin felt as if his internal organs were about to be shattered, and he quickly staggered away from the city wall.

The techniques that are suitable for a Witcher to dodge falling rocks are not suitable for a five or six-year-old child.

[What should I do?] After his breathing calmed down, he looked around at his surroundings, somewhat bewildered.

If he were truly in a dream, or in his own body, he would definitely rush out to investigate the current situation.

But now, the sensations around him were too real. He didn't know how he had taken over the child's body. Was it temporary, or had he taken over the body that had been destroyed, just like the original?

If it's just temporary, could this deserted, dirty corner be a safe zone arranged by the child's parents?

As he pondered this with great difficulty, he suddenly noticed that the shadow beneath his feet had become clearer at its edges.

【not good! 】

His expression suddenly changed drastically. Without looking up or caring whether the tremors at the base of the city wall would shatter his internal organs, he lunged into the sewage next to the city wall.

A strong stench mixed with the smell of blood filled my nostrils.

"boom!"

The earth shook violently, almost knocking him unconscious. Then, scorching heat burned his back, and he could hear the hair on the back of his head curling up from the heat.

It took him a while to recover and struggle to climb out of the sewage.

"Cough cough cough~"

The child coughed several times, his voice choked, and then a burst of flames came into view.

Thick smoke and ash billowed from the narrow streets, and flames engulfed the tightly packed thatched huts, licked at the castle walls, and spread outwards at a visible speed.

He knew immediately that there was no need to choose.

Whether he got lost or his parents left him here on purpose, this place is no longer safe for him.

[Damn it! Where have I ended up?]

Erin cursed under his breath, enduring the burning pain in his back, and walked with difficulty, his steps unsteady, following the direction the city wall extended outwards.

Almost every two steps were accompanied by a roar, while the deafening shouts of battle from all directions gradually subsided.

Do not!
It's less about calming things down and more about moving away...

[And this wasn't normal combat activity; the attacking side unleashed magic, extremely powerful magic...]

Ailin, leaning lightly against the city wall, made his judgment.

But didn't the Northern Continent long ago prohibit high-ranking sorcerers from participating in wars?

War is ultimately about interests, whether it's for defense or for conquest. Low-level sorcerers are alright, as their spells are usually less lethal than ordinary arrows on the battlefield. But when it comes to high-level sorcerers, the destruction of cities and countries can happen in an instant.

Moreover, powerful spells are difficult to control and distinguish between friend and foe. For example, with Arz's Double Cross, half of the city of Maripo was destroyed by the summoned demons, and Arz himself was killed.

As for restricting warlocks from using spells they can't control, who cares about that on the battlefield? Of course, every opportunity to win or turn the tide must be seized.

In the past, high-ranking sorcerers from the northern continent also intervened in wars on behalf of their respective countries.

The result is that they can't protect anything, and they can't gain anything from fighting for it.

This is why such a rule exists, to the point that, conventionally speaking, sorcerers of the Northern Continent are stateless.

Of course, this is just a convention.

[Was it influenced by the second fall of Ban Ade?]

[Are the radical sorcerers of Ottoran and the Brotherhood of War so radical that they intend to establish a sorcerer kingdom before Hen Gedimidis awakens?]

Arlin had considered whether to use the Wild Hunt, since their powerful siege spells were practically their trademark.

However, on the one hand, the Wild Hunt had just suffered heavy losses after a wave of attacks were wiped out.

The Ain El is an orderly race that can be considered a high-level civilization. It's not like they can just call up a group of people to take revenge as soon as they return to the gang after losing a bunch of brothers.

This is war, and it's a war that spans the globe.

After suffering heavy casualties, Ion El will be more cautious about launching the next attack. Although he will send more and stronger warriors, it will certainly not be an easy task.

On the other hand, the Wild Hunt always soars through the skies, using its aerial advantage to crush inferior human soldiers.

But when Erin looked up...

The sky, almost shrouded in scorching black smoke, was filled with fireballs, falling rocks, and hail, but conspicuously absent were the skeleton knights galloping across the heavens.

As for whether it's a prophecy... prophecies have never been this real; they're always vague and dreamlike.

Moreover, the duration is extremely short, consisting of only a few fragments that do not form a complete picture.

And now...

He felt like he had been walking for almost half an hour.

What exactly happened? Erin couldn't help but mutter to herself again and again.

He thought of communicating with the wolf emblem, the mirage pearl, the good girl, and even the Demon Hunter's Notebook in his mind.

My mind is completely blank; the links to the wolf emblem, the mirage pearl, and the good girl have all vanished. The only connection I find is when I try to trigger the Demon Hunter's Notes…

The surrounding space began to shake and become unstable. The roaring sounds, the shouts of battle, and even the smell of gunpowder in the air became ethereal, as if separated by a thin layer of medium.

It was as if if he forcibly triggered the Demon Hunter's Manual, he would immediately return to his original body from his current shell.

This relieved Erin.

"I just hope I can go back anytime..." he thought to himself.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The explosions around him grew more frequent as he made his way towards the heart of the battlefield, a growing sense of unease creeping into his heart...

Although it was along the city wall and in some remote areas, it was not like we would encounter no one at all. No one was peeking out from the windows or doors of the houses and shacks along the road, so it seemed that no one was there.

It's as if this city is a ghost town.

Yet, if this city is to be called a ghost town, the sounds of shouting and explosions from behind the city walls are still so clear.

The air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder, making one's throat itch.

This extremely contradictory feeling gave Erin a chill down her spine.

fortunately.

Under Soi's tutelage, and having become familiar with the construction of various castles and city walls, Erin was able to determine, by observing the materials and shapes of the bricks, that he was definitely still on the northern continent and knew the location of the city gate...

near...

Finally, after climbing a steep, gap-filled stone staircase and passing through a shantytown, the view suddenly opened up before us.

The desolate ruins stood amidst towering flames, billowing smoke rising into the sky, blackening the azure sky, and turning the world into a chaotic, dim yellow.

There are also humans, but they are not alive.

The corpses of the dead, dressed in the linen clothes of commoners and the expensive silks of merchants and nobles, were scattered haphazardly on the damp, rough stone streets.

"Tap tap tap~"

He carefully walked out of the shack area, the ground beneath his feet feeling wet and sticky, which was extremely uncomfortable.

As they got closer, more details were revealed to the Witcher.

None of the corpses had any wounds; they simply stared eerily at the sky with their hazy, gray eyes, or reflected the flames of the surrounding burning houses.

Upon witnessing this scene, even Erin, who was accustomed to bloody acts of beheading and dismemberment, could not help but feel a chill run down his spine and his hair stand on end.

[An ordinary human being...no wounds...no struggle...died instantly...expression panicked but not terrified...]

They died suddenly and unexpectedly, perhaps even among the first humans to perish in this city...

Arlin examined the dead with the professionalism expected of a witcher.

Further away, there were some other corpses, but those weren't as intact; they were pierced, exploded, burned... all sorts of ways to die...

Once you reach the middle of the road, you'll see even more.

However, Erin's attention was no longer on the gruesome corpses.

The sloping stone path leads directly down to the city gate, which has a large hole in it.

Through the hole, one could faintly see the daylight outside the city gate, and the lingering sounds of battle were coming from that hole.

When he noticed the hole and the vaguely familiar sounds of battle, his senses were suddenly triggered.

A strong intuition surged in his mind, telling him that the destination of this "journey" was right there, behind that hole.

Erin swallowed hard.

The burn wounds on my back didn't seem to hurt as much at that moment.

"Tap tap tap~"

Following his instincts, Erin avoided the corpses, the dark red pools of blood, and the burning remains of the ruins, and walked step by step toward the wreckage with a large hole in it.

The further you walk, the fewer corpses there are on the stone path.

This defies common sense.

Since the city gates had been breached, there should have been one or more meat grinder-like battles behind them. But the few corpses on the stone road made it seem as if the enemy had used powerful magic to open the city gates, just to greet the people inside and tell them not to struggle and to come out and die.

It was as if reinforcements arrived the instant the city gates opened, keeping the enemy outside the city.

There were only corpses at the city gate; there were no guards.

As he stepped into the shadow of the city wall and passed through the open city gate, the heart-wrenching shouts of battle became clear once again.

"boom!"

A blinding light suddenly shone as he climbed onto the towering ruins of the city gate and peered out, accompanied by a deafening roar, causing Erin to squint and brace himself.

When he opened his eyes again...

The vast plains stretching to the distant mountains were littered with corpses and rivers of blood from the city gates outwards.

Beyond the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, in the far distance, patches of black and gray intertwine and separate, each contact accompanied by earth-shattering shouts of battle and the stilling of large patches of gray and white.

The black and gray-white blocks represent the city's defenders and the enemy.

However, due to the great distance, the boy possessed by Erin did not have the eyesight of a witcher and was unable to discern the identities of the two parties.

Would you like to come closer?

When the thought crossed his mind, Erin's vision jolted, and he floated out, rushing toward the battlefield at an incredible speed.

The black and gray blocks of color also rapidly expanded and became clearer in front of him.

But the shouts of battle and all other noises around me quickly faded away until there was no sound.

Erin didn't notice this, because he had already seen the two colored blocks clearly.

The grayish-white patch belonged to a knight in silver armor, while the black patch was the one he knew best…

Wild Hunt!

No! It's not just the Wild Hunt!

Even as Erin's vision was still fixed on the battlefield at breakneck speed, he recognized that the figure at the tip of the black cone-shaped skeleton knight, laughing maniacally and wielding a black lance, charging towards the silver knight, was none other than the Wild Hunt King, Eredin Brick Glass.

"How is this possible?" Erin exclaimed inwardly. "How could the King of the Wild Hunt have arrived so quickly? No! Why is the Wild Hunt on the ground instead of flying in the sky?"

[How could the King of the Wild Hunt possibly be like an ordinary knight, charging with a lance...?]

【etc! 】

Erin suddenly thought of a question.

Who is actually fighting the King of the Wild Hunt?!

(End of this chapter)