All my hunting commissions come from another world?

They probably guessed who had followed them.

Soon, Ludwig saw a short figure in blue armor running up the stairs, dragging an old man that Ludwig knew very well.

However, the old man was clearly not in good condition at the moment.

"Zhou Si, Zhou Si, I'm not late, am I?"

Azure Star jogged over to Zhou Si's side, while Geman was casually tossed aside. Ludwig was completely stunned by the sight.

What was happening before his eyes was far too rare even for this well-traveled Holy Sword Hunter.

"You've arrived just in time, but what's this all about?"

Zhou Si's tone was somewhat strained. Although he had anticipated that the little mute girl wouldn't persuade Geman in a normal way, he couldn't have imagined that she would make such a dramatic entrance.

"After a friendly conversation with this gentleman, he decided to come with me to see Maria."

When Azure Star emphasized the words "friendly" and "proactive," Geman, who was still lying on the ground, felt his vision go black upon hearing Azure Star's voice.

This was the first time Gehman had ever met someone like Azure Star in all his years of life, and he felt a surge of anger and frustration.

"...German?"

It took Ludwig a while to realize that the battered old man on the ground was his old friend.

"Little mute, weren't you a bit too rough?"

Zhou Si looked at the wounds on Geman's body. Almost all of them were blunt force injuries inflicted by Azure Star with his fists, feet, and the handles and backs of knives. Just looking at those bruises made him feel pain.

"I couldn't stop myself for a moment, hehe..."

"sorry."

Azure Star scratched the back of her head, trying to get away with it by being cute, but under the watchful eyes of the people around her, she honestly admitted her mistake.

"It's not a big problem."

Zhou Si didn't think that Azure Star was wrong to use force; it was just that the little mute was a bit too ruthless.

Even a legendary hunter like Gehrman, whose blood flowed with the blood of a superior being, was lying on the ground unable to move, which shows how ruthless the little mute was.

"If all else fails..."

After hesitating for a long time, Azure Star took out a bottle of recovery medicine from her prop bag with a pained expression and handed it to Zhou Si.

Seeing the little mute girl's stingy attitude, Zhou Si was speechless and pushed her recovery medicine back to her.

"You should keep this for yourself."

After saying that, Zhou Si took out a secret medicine from her bag and threw it into Geman's mouth.

'Heavens...angels!!!'

Azure Star watched Zhou Si's retreating figure, her eyes filled with longing.

He had previously sent her materials, but now he doesn't want her recovery medicine, and he's been taking good care of her along the way.

Zhou Si's favorability rating on Azure Star has risen again, now almost matching that of Aibo.

The lone bird stood with its arms crossed, quietly watching the interaction between the two. Although it had a smile on its face, Ludwig, who was standing next to it, felt a chill from that smile for some reason.

Thanks to the effects of the secret medicine and his own recovery ability, Gehman quickly stood up again.

Despite his comical entrance, the legendary hunter still managed to straighten his clothes with great composure and greet Zhou Si and Lone Bird.

"Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Geman."

He then looked at Ludwig beside him, his expression quite complicated.

"Long time no see, old friend."

"Ah."

Ludwig merely gave a cold reply. His relationship with Gehrman wasn't actually that good; he got along better with his apprentice, Maria.

'They don't exude any air of authority whatsoever, not even Ludwig.'

Gehmann paid no attention to Ludwig's attitude, but he was filled with curiosity about the changes that had taken place in his old friend.

And those two hunters I'd never seen before.

Now that he had been brought here by Azure Star, Geman gave up struggling. He saw no hope of defeating Azure Star.

"Huh? Where's Mary?"

Only then did Azure Star realize that Maria, who should have been sitting at the Star Clock Tower, was nowhere to be seen.

"She probably went to the fishing village."

Zhou Si pointed to the passageway beside him. There were no signs of a battle inside the clock tower. Maria was probably not dead, but had opened the road to the fishing village for some reason.

"She would never go to that place unless something unexpected happened."

Gehmann's voice was somewhat low. Maria's conscience had been tormented since the incident in the fishing village, which was why she insisted on staying in the clock tower.

"Then let's not waste any more time."

Zhou Si interrupted Gehman's recollection, and no one else objected.

After passing through the passageway of the clock tower, a muddy path appeared before them.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, and mist filled the air, making the area outside the clock tower seem like another world.

As you continue along the path, you gradually see many stone tombstones on both sides, and slowly, the shadow of a village comes into view in the distance.

Zhou Si glanced back. Gehrman had his head down, so his expression was unreadable, while Ludwig's silence spoke volumes.

Lawrence, Gehrman, Ludwig, and possibly Maria in the fishing village.

The people who were responsible for the massacre of the village years ago gathered together again in this village after an unknown period of time, and Zhou Si suddenly felt like he was in hell.

"wrong."

As they moved forward, Zhou Si's expression suddenly changed; his exceptional senses allowed him to detect the subtle clue.

A faint, strange smell permeated the air, and upon closer listening, one could hear the sound of something wriggling mixed in with the sound of the rain.

Zhou Si stood at the very front of the line, carefully discerning possible clues using her hearing and sense of smell.

But at that moment, Zhou Si felt something enter his body through his nasal cavity, trying to do something to him, but this feeling was quickly extinguished by Zhou Si's body.

Zhou Si experienced the troubles of being too adaptable for the first time, but fortunately he wasn't the only one in the team.

"...Something is stimulating the blood of those guys."

Gehman frowned; he was the only one here whose body still contained the blood of the superior.

Although this substance is currently relatively rare, the amount of superiors in Gehman's blood is indeed too high.

He was already showing some signs of a reaction; those guys' blood was starting to boil and get excited, and Gehrman suddenly felt a bloodthirsty urge.

But he quickly suppressed this impulse.

“We need to speed things up. If those things are drifting out of the fishing village, Maria won’t last long.”

Zhou Si nodded. Although converting Gehman into Haisi would solve the problem of that substance's stimulation, he didn't want to do that right now.

Although the old man joined their operation, everyone here knew that his purpose was different from Zhou Si's.

The group quickened their pace.

Soon, the outline of the fishing village gradually became clear, and a strange scene appeared before them.

The dilapidated fishing village was now draped in a red veil, with countless tiny blood-red spores crawling all over the houses. Huge, grotesque plants clung to the buildings, breathing in a rhythmic manner, making the village seem as if it had come alive.

"Oh my god..."

Ludwig gasped in surprise at the scene before him, and Gehrman beside him could no longer maintain his riddle-like demeanor.

Zhou Si sensed a familiar scent from those red spores, and the culprit behind all this was probably the ancient dragon that had entered the dream with them.

“There’s no miasma here, but it definitely came here.”

Zhou Si whispered to the lone bird Azure Star beside her, assuring them that they understood what she was saying.

"Melo, has the guild found anything out?"

We investigated the Ancient Forest and indeed found the miasma and spores you mentioned; those should be traces left by that ancient dragon.

The monsters along that ancient dragon's path have become much more aggressive, which matches your current situation.

Based on the researchers' assessment, that ancient dragon was likely a special individual of the Vaal Hazak.

"understood."

The boomerang hit Zhou Si on the head again, but he was somewhat used to it by now.

"It seems that guy has undergone some significant changes here as well."

"Did you bring the miasma-resistant beads and the medication to relieve abnormal conditions?"

Both Lone Bird and Azure Star gave affirmative gestures, and then Zhou Si took out the Hunting Flute from the Hunter's Book.

Holding the hunting flute, Zhou Si suddenly felt a pang of emotion. Back then, in his youthful ignorance, he was still dissatisfied because he had drawn the hunting flute.

He now sincerely apologizes to the hunting flute!

The flute is so useful!

The melody of "abnormal status invalid" sounded again, and the effects of those spores were instantly eliminated.

"What an amazing weapon."

Gehman looked at the hunting flute in Zhou Si's hand with some surprise; he had never seen such a magical weapon before.

But Zhou Si and his group obviously didn't need to explain to Gehman; finding Maria was their top priority.

Only then did the group officially step into the fishing village.

The fishing village was eerily quiet. Due to the influence of these spores and plants, their exploration efficiency was not high. Zhou Si did not believe that those huge plants were just decorations.

Even a lineup like Lone Bird, Azure Star, and Zhou Si must be extremely careful when facing an unknown ancient dragon.

Finally, after they had ventured some distance into the fishing village, Zhou Si heard some sounds.

A sharp weapon slices through the air, and there are the roars of certain creatures.

Zhou Si carefully discerned the information within the sounds, as for the directions from which these sounds came...

Zhou Si turned his gaze to the deep well in the village.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Deep Bond Between Master and Disciple (16/20)

The sounds of fighting could be heard coming from the deep well, and the red spores spread down the well walls all the way to the bottom.

"My lord, let me scout ahead for you."

Ludwig volunteered, but when he said that, the lone bird next to him almost couldn't hold back.

The knight probably didn't quite understand what kind of person the adult in front of him was.

That makes sense, since Zhou Si hasn't fought against Ludwig yet, he might have mistaken Zhou Si for one of those backline fighters using rune magic.

After all, Zhou Si looks like a handsome young man with a slightly bookish air about him, and no one would have thought that this guy could wield a Anjanath like a greatsword.

Zhou Si did not refuse Ludwig's request; with their lineup, it was unlikely that anything would go wrong.

After receiving Zhou Si's approval, Ludwig took the lead and jumped into the deep well, followed by the others.

The space at the bottom of the well was large, but even so, the rock walls were now covered with red spores, and even the water underfoot was reflected in the water as blood red.

The sounds of battle were coming from deep within, and everyone immediately ran towards the direction from which the sounds were coming.

A piercing roar echoed in the space at the bottom of the well, as two enormous monsters covered in spores were frantically attacking a slender human figure.

The monster had human limbs but a huge fish head, with a gaping mouth that split open to the edge of its skull and a mouthful of sharp teeth. Underneath the spores, you could vaguely see its blue skin, but this blood-red coat had driven it mad.

Meanwhile, Maria, holding Luoyang in her hand, gracefully dodged the attacks of the two monsters.

This elegant 'dancer' simply dodged, and despite numerous opportunities to attack, Maria showed no intention of wielding the Luoyang sword in her hand.

She had already killed these people once, and even in a dream, Maria was unwilling to do it a second time.

But eventually someone took that step for her.

A beam of moonlight swept past Maria, leaving a wound on one of the monsters.