I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Chapter 538 Saturn Opens Its Mouth

A frosty patch fell from the deer antlers:

"It's more expensive to not charge than to charge. Name your price, I know the rules."

"Then I'll owe you for now."

The hunter's hand stopped on the ruler. Debts accrue interest, and interest never considers relationships.

"...I'd rather pay now."

"You can't afford it." The woman put the quill back in the pen holder and turned away.

"In 1683, when I was nineteen, I carried a lantern for my teacher."

The hunter remained silent.

"At that time, he already had two fragments of the tradition. He was going to be promoted that night, and we found the door."

He made me stand outside the door, holding a lamp to shine on his back.

"Half an hour later, my teacher came out and said he had failed his promotion. That night, he copied the star chart as usual, and I helped him."

"It turned out that he actually copied it with his left hand."

"But my teacher wrote for forty years, always with his right hand."

The flame of the whale oil lamp did not move at all, indicating that the owner of this place was actually very calm.

The hunter sneered inwardly. Seeking revenge for his teacher was a pretense; his true intention was to collect fragments of the changing tradition to advance his own career.

"The one who returned lived for another thirty-one years, wrote a great deal, had many students, and finally died in his own bed."

I read the eulogy at the funeral.

The faceless woman sighed softly:

"As for that expert from the Black Soil River, he holds the fragments of the 'substitute,' and our interests are aligned."

"If you can make it bleed, then you've already paid for it."

The hunter nodded, understanding the other party's meaning, and quickly put the whalebone ruler back into its saddlebag; it was more than willing to not pay.

The faceless woman didn't mind: "Alright, ask away. My astrological chart can only answer one question."

"Will the next question cost money?"

"receive."

The hunter opened his mouth, then swallowed back a long string of words.

"I want to ask about the Gotthard Pass on the winter solstice."

"That's the location, not the issue."

Another layer of frost fell from the deer's antlers.

"...On the winter solstice night, how should my team deal with the situation at the mountain pass?"

She nodded, walked to the wall, and grasped the brass crank.

The crank turned, and the entire dome began to rotate.

The hunter looked down and saw that the ground beneath his feet had turned into a star chart.

The floor is the master plate, the dome is the star network, and the telescope is the aiming rod. The woman stands at the center of the plate, the pin that connects everything.

The hunter had just raised his foot.

"Put it down," the faceless woman warned coldly.

"If you move even one step, I'll have to recalculate my declination."

The hunter quickly put his foot back, afraid of crushing it.

"My divination is actually very simple: I look at where the star goes and whether its mouth is open or not."

"That's all?"

"That's all. The rest is just fluff for laymen."

The wandering stars are planets, which the ancient Greeks called pees, meaning "wandering people".

All the stars in the sky stayed put, except for a few that were restless and wandered around in the sky all year round.

During the Age of Discovery hundreds of years ago, the Deep Realm had already accumulated many masters of chaos.

The Abyss was filled with the broken breaths, the skeletal remains, or the disfigured faces of fallen masters—these out-of-control high-ranking beings wreaked havoc everywhere. At that time, even Great Masters dared not descend into the Abyss; if they were unlucky enough to encounter a chaotic master, their fate was often worse than death.

The hunter had also experienced this; he chopped the other person with an axe, but the other person didn't feel any pain.

I miss the other person's name, but there's no name to remember.

That was a rare instance of the hunter returning empty-handed.

Later, the first expert in the traditional star charts, who had just split off, came up with a solution:

If the abyss can't hold it all, then launch it into the sky.

It uses its power to tie those monstrous creatures one by one to the traveling star. The traveling star is always moving, and the creatures tied to it are always being dragged along.

A creature that is dragged along cannot take root, and without taking root, it cannot grow.

In November 1572, a new star brighter than Venus appeared on the chair of Cassiopeia. It was visible even during the day and remained lit for two weeks before going out a year and a half later.

A Dane wrote a book called "On Nova".

People thought it was an astronomical work, but it was actually a register.

Aristotle said the heavens are unchanging, a statement that has been invalidated since that day. This first master of the split star chart tradition also rose to the rank of master through this unprecedented and audacious plan.

A large portion of the Deep Realm was cleared away, at the cost of creating a window above everyone's head.

Starlight began to leak down into the ether, astrology went from nonsense to something half true and half false, and the Old World entered the Little Ice Age.

The older generation used to say that if too many things were hanging in the sky, the ground would get cold.

The entire mystical world became incredibly active from that time onward, entering a new era. Many of the current experts were born during that period.

But things started to get unsettled in the sky.

In November 1833, the Leonid meteor shower erupted, and stars fell from the sky over the New World like a torrential rain. Several dead people in the New World knelt in the snow waiting for the Last Judgment, but instead of the judgment, they were met with the Wild Hunt.

In the autumn of 1859, there was the "Carrington Incident," in which the sun caused a storm, and the world's electrical circuits collapsed. A hunter riding his horse across a railway could see the telegraph lines sparking on their own.

The terrifying Tunguska event of the summer of 1908 left an old scholar who, upon returning from the area, often complained that it was so bright at night that he could stand on the street and read the newspaper.

The hunter knew that these were all effects brought about by disturbances from celestial bodies.

The puppy's head spun around following the baby's breath, and when it got dizzy, it plopped down on the ground.

The woman cranked the handle again, and the sun settled on the lowest step. "Since it's the winter solstice," the star chart expert said, releasing the crank.

"When the sun is at its lowest point, the night is longest. And when the night is long, the stars in the sky shine down for a longer period of time."

She raised both hands to the east of the StarNet, spread her fingers, and pinched a star from the sky.

A ray of light trailed behind the star, so thin it was almost invisible.

She wrapped the thread around her little finger once, then pinched the second and third beads.

After pinching enough, she spread her ten fingers and started flipping the rope.

The light rays cross and hook between your fingers, and with each turn, you reveal a constellation.

She pulled her hands outwards, and Orion was formed between her fingers.

"This is you."

The hunter squinted and scrutinized the animal for a long time.

"I'm not that thin; it feels like someone has strangled my waist."

She ignored him and pinched off two more antlers to make a pair. The hunter fell silent; now it really did look like a deer.

The woman flicked her left middle finger, and a line dangled from the human-shaped figure's feet, bearing the star Sirius from the constellation Canis Major.

"This is your big dog, and it also represents your men."

With another flick of the little finger of the right hand, the constellation Canis Minor appears beside it, making a total of two stars.

"This is it."

The puppy stared at the two stars for a long time.

The hunter was there, the big dog was there, but the laziest constellation in the entire sky was none other than its own, and it whimpered in grievance.

The faceless woman plucked off a darker star and placed it under the two stars where her hind legs were.

"I'll give you a replacement for your lame leg."

The puppy stopped whimpering and swished its tail twice on the floor.

Once all the main constellations were gathered, she fell silent.

With a flick of the rope, Orion and the two dogs were pushed aside. She pinched Gemini off from the east and hung them side by side on the line.

The greyish-white Saturn slid down the line into them and settled down.

She loosened her two middle fingers, and the strands of thread in between sagged into a huge pocket.

The thread under the pocket was twisted into a knot and split into four strands, one flowing north, one west, one south, and one northeast, each going its own way down.

The hunter stared at the grayish-white Saturn for a while.

Saturn's rings have been particularly wide open these past two years, and it just so happens to be nestled in Gemini.

An old man sat between two children with his mouth open.

It also recognized the four strands of thread under the pocket: north to the Rhine, west to the Rhône, south to Ticino, and northeast to Reuss.

On the night of the winter solstice, a bottomless bag will open at the foot of the Gotthard Pass.

The faceless woman raised her hand again and plucked a star from the head that Perseus was holding, hanging it in her pocket.

The star flickered, and the puppy bared its teeth at it.

The hunter recognized the star; the constellation Perseus held Medusa's head. This star was the eye on the Gorgon's head, blinking every few days.

Perseus dared not look directly at that head, so he slashed at the reflection on the shield.

This implies that there are eyes hanging outside the pocket in the mirror, and each blink counts as one, indicating that the other person is counting who he saves first.

The Hunter Master has clashed with the Black Earth River expert many times. He has personally smashed hundreds of those mirrors, so he knows them very well.

The woman tilted her right wrist inward, and Orion's raised arm, guided by the thread, reached into the pocket.

The eye on the side of the pocket blinked, and a string of small lights appeared:

Gold seal ring, iron ring, bronze seal, bronze ring, antler-tipped tokens... The hunter's hand, which was originally resting on his waist, suddenly slid into his cloak.

This is telling myself that as long as I reach out and grab it, the mirror will reflect in my face.

Nothing can escape, whether it's locked inside the cabinet or bearing its name on the outside.

The star chart expert simply brought his hands together in the middle, and the lines all came loose.

The three stars on Orion's waist slid down the loosened thread into his pocket, and Sirius rolled down with them.

"Feed it." The hunter was getting impatient. The faceless woman ignored it.

The hunter shut his mouth; he understood. Even if he didn't reach out, his people, dogs, and collectibles would still fall into his pocket one after another.

You can't ask for help, and you can't not ask for help either.

A snowflake drifted in through the crack in the skylight, and by the time it landed, it was already a tiny star, white with a hint of blue, and it landed on the very top intersection of the flower rope.

She stretched out her little finger to try to hook it into the knot, but it slipped out of the knot.

She tried to hook it again, but it slipped away again, so she simply stopped paying attention.

The three stars in Canis Minor climbed upwards along the loose line, toward the newly arrived star, while Sirius and the other stars followed suit.

On the floor, the puppy's tail wagged faster and faster, and half of its body swayed along with it.

This time, the hunter watched for the longest time.

This new star cannot be found in any of the catalogues, which means it is not listed in any star catalogue.

It means that someone will appear and teach his men how to climb up the ranks.

Moreover, the puppy would lie down at his feet as soon as it saw him. The rope was flipped again, and four faint stars were pieced together to form a square.

A bright red star slid down from elsewhere and stamped the bottom right corner of the box.

The hunter recognized the shape; a dozen days ago, over Jutland, the hunter's book had flipped through it himself, and the book master had gone out.

This means that a library card will be valid that night.

The woman loosened her grip, and the stars flew out of the skylight, returning behind the snow clouds.

That grayish-white Saturn moves the slowest, and its rings are still open.

The star that wasn't on the star chart mysteriously shattered on its own, and then lit up again after it was completely broken.

The hunter stood still, silently summarizing:

On the winter solstice night, at the Gotthard Divide, there will be a bottomless pocket;

There's a mirror on the outside of the pocket, and it's counting who it saves first;

If you reach out, all your belongings will be exposed;

If they don't reach out, all their belongings will fall. Unless, someone can teach them how to climb back up on their own;

That night, one library card will also be valid;

A star that is not on the star chart may have a piece broken off, but it will still shine.

It was secretly planning a hunt long before it came to Turin.

The notice for the Lower Realm was written by the old scholar at the Hunter Lord's request.

The antler mark on the notice, and Loki holding the notice to sell information—all of these were tacitly approved by the hunter.

The Black Earth River expert brought in the Abyss expert's words, and the Hunter also learned everything clearly through his own channels.

Its plan was actually quite simple: to feign weakness. The Black Earth River expert wanted a bag of people, so the hunter would first give it a bag of people.

The forty-odd newcomers Loki brought have already paid their admission fees, so even if the hunter falls, the hunter won't lose money.

When the Black Soil River expert stretched out the mirror to count the people, the hunter followed the mirror back and blew the horn again.

When the horn sounds, it summons all the experts in group fights to join the fray.

In late April in Flanders, the deep red mark that should have landed on the Gale Master's bone flute was instead blocked by the Black Earth River Master's mirror screen, as the hunter had pulled on the reins. It owed the hunter a favor. On the winter solstice night, the Gale Master was responsible for blowing away the hunger that gushed from the Abyss Master's mouth.

Then, let the forging expert from the Apennine Plowing Furrow plow a furrow around the St. Gotthard Pass, so that the Black Soil River expert won't be able to escape even if he wants to.

There's also the whirlpool expert from Stroma Island, who twists back the four rivers that flowed into his pocket, causing the pocket to leak.

In addition, star chart experts will also be watching from the sky, reporting the real-time situation to them at any time.

Five against two, in theory one should be a sure win.

But the favors of the Gale Master are used only once and then gone.

The prices offered by experts in City Forging, Vortex, and Star Chart are all very high, and even if you win, you still have to share the spoils with them.

They didn't call out to anyone; the people in the team were taught to climb the ranks by the envoy.

Black Soil River Master and Abyss Master came up empty-handed, and with nowhere else to vent their anger, they could only take it out on the Venerable Envoy.

The main reason the hunters targeted the Black Earth River Master and the Abyss Master was because they were targeting the Venerable Envoy.

The Wild Hunt has a rule older than the Huntbook: blood for blood.

The phrase "Blood Seals the Saddle" in the Hunter's title signifies that blood debts must be repaid in blood. The more important the person killed was in the party, the greater the bonus the Hunter receives when collecting the debt.

The honored envoy rode the same horse that the hunter himself had ridden, and in the hunting register, the honored envoy's position was listed ahead of all the riders.

In the entire Wild Hunt, the only person more important than the Lord Hunter is the Hunter himself.

If the Black Earth River Master and the Abyss Master were to tear the Venerable Envoy apart with their own hands, the blood sealed inside the saddle would suddenly burst into flames.

At that time, based solely on the blood debt, the Hunter Master will be able to take on two opponents by himself.

The price the envoy has to pay is not much, and the master will cover it.

Moreover, if the Black Earth River Master and the Abyss Master don't know their own strength and try to tear the shadows off and then try to tear the shadows off the Venerable Envoy himself, it's like tearing off the Master's library card.

Before the book was even back on the shelf, something happened to the person who borrowed it. Perhaps the masters of classical tradition would personally come out to help.

Of course, it would be best if the master could come, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't. With the added bonus of blood debt, it is confident that it can severely damage the opponent.

The faceless woman standing beside him immediately guessed what the hunter was thinking.

It's probably about directly pulling in experts you know to fight in the Deep Realm, with everyone joining in, and then splitting the spoils after winning.

But the Star Chart experts knew that allowing the battle to escalate would definitely be detrimental to their side. The Black Earth River experts and the Abyss experts weren't fools either; their secret lay in the fact that the more chaotic the situation, the more advantageous it was.

If it turns into another chaotic war, it will only repeat the same old cycle.

And there's something very important that I must remind the hunter.

She took the quill from the pen holder and tapped it on a blank space in the star chart.

"Are you settling accounts?"

The hunter remained silent.

The star map expert casually pointed to the print on the wall, which was Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Son".

"Those who are masters of chaos are all deaf, just like the painter of this painting."

You recite the name of the revered one, but the master of chaos cannot hear it;

I compile star charts; the masters of chaos transformation don't have numbers, and nobody can summon them.

The star chart expert's fingertips landed on the old man's crazed face in the painting.

"There is only one exception." "The Chaos Masters cannot hear names, but they can hear hunger, while the Abyss Masters can summon them directly."

"This is its hidden trump card, which the Black Soil River expert invited to play, precisely because of this trump card."

"So if you want this operation to succeed, the best course of action is to act quickly."

The hunter bent down, picked up the lame puppy, and tucked it back into the saddlebag.

"Will the next question cost money?"

"certainly."

The hunter didn't ask any more questions, and turned to leave with his dog.

………………

On December 22nd, it got dark in the capital at 3:50 pm.

In the study at 13 Chelsea Road, a fireplace was burning, and Grandpa was leaning back in a high-backed chair reading the newspaper, the pages rustling loudly.

Richard leaned over his chair and read the newspaper with him. Sometimes, news from the real world was actually a precursor to events from the mystical world.

Then a piece of news took up most of the page: the two positions at Sufra and Australia/New Zealand were evacuated overnight without a single casualty.

The reporter wrote with great enthusiasm, describing how the soldiers wrapped the soles of their boots in burlap sacks and walked silently across the sand towards the beach.

Several "automatic rifles" were left in the trench: two tin cans hanging one above the other, with water dripping from the upper one. Once the lower one was full, it would fall down and the trigger would be pulled.

More than an hour after the person left, the gun was still firing.

At the last gathering, Dionysus mentioned that his bitter brew had been sold to the military supply system for use in evacuations from a certain coastline.

There was another message, relegated to a corner: In the early hours of the 19th, enemy forces released a new type of poison gas north of Ypres, and our army's protective headgear proved highly effective.

Grandpa folded the newspaper and placed it on his lap.

"Sir Haig, he was a man of great patience."

"Wouldn't it be better to endure it?" Richard asked.

"It's certainly a good thing for someone who can endure to be a soldier."

But if such a person were the commander-in-chief, he wouldn't let his soldiers retreat easily. Grandpa picked up his pipe to smoke, but put it down in the end.

"If we don't withdraw our troops, even more people will die."

As the two were talking, the atmosphere gradually became somewhat heavy. Suddenly, a series of light footsteps, almost jogging, echoed in the corridor.

"Brother!" Evelyn poked her head out from the doorway, her nose covered in flour.

"There will be carols at the cathedral tonight. We'll start from the square at eight o'clock, go around to Chelsea Bridge, and come back."

I want to go to bed early tonight.

Evelyn's eyebrows furrowed instantly.

"Last time you said you wanted to go to bed early, but the next day when I went to call you for breakfast, you were sleeping like a salted fish that had been pickled in a jar, and I couldn't wake you up no matter what I said."

"I was really tired that day."

"Aren't you tired today?"

"I'm tired today too."

Evelyn squinted at him, slapping the dough in her hand loudly. "Fine, I'll go myself."

She was about to go back to the kitchen when she poked her head out again.

"One fruit pie for you, one for Grandpa, two for me, one for Aunt and one for Mom, and the rest will be sent back to Dad."

"Lard is hard to buy this year, so if you find any bits of residue in it, don't say I made it."

"Then who did it?"

"They said it was made by Sister Grey."

She laughed after she finished speaking, then turned and disappeared.

Grandpa glanced up from behind the newspaper but didn't say anything.

Margaret sat by the window, knitting gray wool gloves.

She came to the capital two days ago with her Christmas train ticket. Rogers said there was still work at the factory and she wouldn't be able to arrive until the 24th.

Richard carried the tea over and sat down next to her.

The mother wrapped the thread around her finger again. "Something going on again tonight?"

"some."

Does your maternal grandfather know?

"Know."

She placed her gloves on her lap and reached out to take his hand that was holding the teacup.

Her hands were warm, warmer than a teacup, and the few remaining strands of blood slowly circled around her fingertips.

"Go."

"I'll make breakfast when it gets light, so your grandpa doesn't have to sit in the chair all night; his back isn't good."

"He said he wanted to sit down."

"You believe everything he says?"

The mother withdrew her hand and continued knitting the gloves.

"Last winter he said his back didn't hurt, but then he stood on the stairs for half a minute before he could move his legs." "I remember that."

"There's more." His mother didn't look at him.

"When you come back, warm your hands before touching your sister, she's sensitive to cold."

Richard looked down at his hands: "Okay."

Richard returned to the third floor at 10:30 p.m.

Evelyn's plate of mixed fruit pies was on the bedside table, covered with a piece of fine linen. He picked one up and took a bite; it was sweet and sour.

The door opened without knocking.

Gerald carried in a chair with a wool blanket draped over the back and a crescent-shaped silver blade tucked under his arm.

He placed a chair by the window, with the seat facing the window and his back to the door, and rested the silver blade horizontally on his lap.

"Grandpa, it's time for you to sleep."

"As people get older, they need less sleep." Gerald pulled the blanket over his legs.

Richard didn't try to persuade him further; he knew he couldn't change his mind. "Where are we going this time?" Gerald asked.

"In the mountains of Switzerland."

The old man glanced out the window; the winter night in the capital was shrouded in fog, and the lights were barely visible.

"The mountains in winter are unpredictable. When I was young, I chased a deer in the Wetterhorn Mountains for three days."

Later, it died of exhaustion in a snowdrift. I went down to retrieve it, slipped, and ended up lying in the snowdrift with it for half the night.

"And then?"

Then it got light... The sun always rises.

Richard hummed in agreement, lay down on the bed fully clothed, and held the Hunter's token in his hand.

When the clock in the lobby downstairs struck eleven, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

The shadow rose up from under the bed and put on a mask.

The Wild Hunt's forces had already assembled in the sky.

As the shadow fell into the queue, the old scholar was already waiting there with the same horse. It was the same horse as before, half a head taller than the surrounding horses, and it only had an old rein.

When the horse saw the shadow, it snorted and lowered its neck.

The shadows have activated the "Face of Rebellion." Tonight, there is no Hermes; only the messenger of the Wild Hunt rides on horseback.

Even when facing Loki and his men, Richard couldn't let his shadow raise the Twin Serpents Staff.

With the previous note that read "Whoever possesses this will be the Hunter's successor," the team could recognize him.

Richard looked towards the other end of the queue, where it was bustling with activity, with many new faces, all radiating vitality.

Loki brought over forty new recruits this time, all of whom were recruited from docks, mines, and back doors of taverns throughout the North.

They were wrapped in all sorts of fur coats, riding horses that had been assigned to them, and sitting somewhat awkwardly in their saddles.

Everyone held a receipt in their hand, with the rules printed densely on the back:

1. Do not state your name.

2. Do not answer questions.

3. No names will be given to anything. 4. No refunds; you cannot back out after joining.

V. The right to interpret the above terms belongs to Shouzuo.

A lobster soldier in a red coat rode past the newcomer, looked him over, and casually asked him:

Which battalion are you from?

The man immediately straightened his back and reflexively rattled off a long string of words:

"Reporting, sir, I am Olaf Eriksen, son of Erik Olafsen, from the Steiner Farm north of Bergen. We have three cows..."

Upon hearing this, half the squad covered their faces simultaneously, and Loki slapped himself on the forehead.

The lobster soldier himself hadn't expected to be asked so many questions: "...I just wanted to know the battalion number."

The old scholar shook his head: "Fortunately, we haven't gone inside yet."

The newcomer's face turned pale instantly. He looked at the receipt, then at the lobster soldier, and after stammering for a long time, he managed to squeeze out, "I... can I quit now?"

"No refunds," Loki said through gritted teeth. "It's written on the receipt."

At the very end of the procession, a dark-colored horse lagged behind. The girl on horseback wore a cloak with a white fox fur collar, and the name of the god of winter and hunting hung faintly above her head.

The newlyweds around her exhaled puffs of white mist that dispersed in the cold wind, but there was nothing there at all.

She was breathing too, her chest rising and falling, her breath colder than the mountain wind, so cold it didn't even condense into mist when it reached her mouth.

The horse beneath him was rather restless, turning its neck every now and then to look in the direction of the envoy.

Richard really wanted to ask her: What exactly did Holloway want her to bring back from the spirit world?

The shadow, of course, did not speak; tonight's envoy did not recognize Skadi.

The hunter blew a short trumpet.

The team took off and flew south along Lake Uli, then crossed the mountain pass and headed east to the skies above the Gotthard Mountains.

This area is the roof of the Alps, and on this side of the curtain, the four rivers will not flow down the mountain tonight.

The four streams turned around and seeped down the snow towards the center of the mountaintop.

The water flowed in silently, without any echo.

The surrounding snow slopes all slope slightly inward, like the fabric of an empty bag. Below the mountain pass are several alpine lakes, frozen solid in winter.

The ice surface was scraped smooth by the wind, and when the moonlight shone on it, it shone like a series of mirrors.

The Wild Hunt's caravan was reflected on the ice, and the hunter leader glanced down at it.

On the ice, the riders in the front row lit up one by one.

Tap, tap... unhurriedly, counting from the front row backwards.

The hunter tightened his grip on the reins.

It slowly turned its head to look at the flank of the formation.

The envoy remained quiet, seemingly lost in thought.

The old scholar rode up to him: "Master Hunter, it's time."

The hunter tilted the deer's antlers slightly to one side.

On the third floor of the bed in the capital, the tip of the deer antler in Richard's palm suddenly felt ice-cold.

A voice came from the depths of the Wild Hunt Horn: "Your Excellency, I would like to discuss something with you regarding the traps we may encounter next, involving the two masters of Black Earth River and Abyss."

A moment of silence fell over the depths of the horn, shutting out the sounds of the wind and hooves.

Richard was really caught off guard:

"Since there was such a trap below, why did you only tell me about it at the last minute?"

"The sooner you tell them, the easier it is for the other party's divination to intercept the message."

The hunter told Richard everything he knew and let him decide for himself:

"Below is the Abyss Master's pocket, and outside the pocket is the Black Earth River. I'm counting who I'll save first."

I won't save anyone; you'll have to find a way to get them up on their own.

How you manage to climb out is entirely up to you.

After they climb out, those two masters will vent their anger on you, but at most they will damage your shadow and add a wisp of spirit to it.

The library card you have in your pocket will cover it, and I will make them pay for their crimes in blood. They won't pose any threat to you for at least five years.

Richard hummed in agreement: "Is there any payment? You wouldn't let me do this for nothing, would you?"

The rule of the Wild Hunt is that you take the loot.

The hunter knew that since the other party had taken the initiative to discuss the spoils, it meant that they had already agreed.

"Of course, if you're willing to help, I'll use the mysterious fragments torn from them to act as your spirit messenger, as I promised."

And of the loot from this haul, you can choose any one... no, I'll give you two.

The voice from the horn was strained, clearly indicating that it was quite painful for the miserly hunter to cut off more meat.

"If you are unwilling, I will remove you from the group right now. I respect the messenger and the masters of the classics and traditions."

Then the Hunter fell silent, waiting quietly for Richard's reply.