Night falls at the foot of the city wall.
No one lives here, so there are few lights.
The surrounding area seemed very dark compared to the brightly lit streets.
The water of the moat around the city flows silently but with undercurrents. There is an old banyan tree with hanging beard by the river, and a pavilion is built next to the tree.
Sitting in the pavilion was an old man in a white robe and a young girl who was neatly dressed and had two pigtails.
There was a Go board between the two of them.
At this time, the black and white pieces on the chessboard were crisscrossed, and the situation was difficult to distinguish.
"Master, are we waiting for someone?"
The girl picked up the white piece and put it on the chessboard, causing the old man to frown.
"This mission is extraordinary. We must unite several demon hunters to take action at the same time to be successful."
The old man's words did not scare the girl, on the contrary, her eyes lit up.
"Could it be that the one we are going to capture this time is a spirit monster?"
She had heard that only when dealing with spiritual monsters would several monster hunters be dispatched at the same time.
Just as there are criminals among humans, there are also such people among spirits and monsters.
Moreover, these spiritual monsters that commit crimes often have powerful strength to support them.
It is precisely because of the strong military force that they are fearless.
"As long as we successfully complete the mission this time, you can start your apprenticeship."
The old man put down a black piece and did not directly answer his apprentice's question.
"Really, Master?!"
The girl almost couldn't help but jump up.
"But even if you say so, I won't let you play this round!"
But when she glanced at the chessboard, she knew she was already winning.
"Girl, being too competitive is not a good thing sometimes."
The old man shook his head and gave a doting smile.
"Old Qi, have you been waiting for a long time?"
Just then a figure came out of the darkness on the pebbled road.
The visitor was dressed in a black satin robe, with a long sword in a jeweled scabbard at his waist.
A pair of eyes emitted a faint yellow light in the night, making its vertical pupils particularly conspicuous.
He made no effort to conceal his identity as a demon, and the wolf demon's head and face were not disguised in any way.
The Demon-Extermination House is actually not an organization of the human race.
Strictly speaking, it is now an organization jointly run by humans and demons.
There are demon slayers among humans, and there are demon slayers among demons.
Their purpose and responsibilities are the same, which is to maintain social stability and resolve unsafe factors.
It's just that the scope of activities is different. The demon slayer is in the human city, and the demon slayer is in the demon city.
Occasionally, when situations like the present occur, it is not uncommon for demon hunters and demon hunters to join forces.
"Brother Langxing, long time no see."
When the girl saw who was coming, she quickly stood up and bowed.
Their city was quite close to the Demon City, so he had followed his master and Wolf on two joint missions. He had a good impression of this demon slayer and respected him quite a bit.
"Hello, little Doraemon. I haven't seen you for a few years. You have grown up."
Lang Xing smiled, but his wolf-headed appearance made him look somewhat ferocious.
He glanced at the old chess player next to him, who was secretly changing the position of the chess pieces while his apprentice was talking to him.
"You old thing, you've been playing Go for so many years but you're still so useless."
He sighed unhappily.
"Tonight's mission is just the two of us."
Looking around, Lang Xing didn't find anyone else.
In his calculations, apprentices like Tinker Bell were not counted in the mission.
"No, we need to wait for someone else."
The old chess player made a black move, but suddenly said in annoyance: "Damn it, I still lost!"
"Who are you waiting for?"
"Minus thirteen."
"he?"
Hearing this name, Lang Xing was slightly stunned.
This is also an old acquaintance, and his reputation in the industry is mixed.
"Well, speak of the devil and he will appear."
After putting away his chess pieces, Lao Qi raised his chin in a certain direction.
In addition to Shisan and Shi Li, their figures were approaching.
"Master Thirteen, you finally accepted another disciple?"
Lang Xing was slightly surprised to see that there was someone following him.
The other two also looked curious. Even Doraemon knew that Thirteen did not accept any disciples.
"Where is your apprentice? Where did he go?"
Except for Thirteen, who did not answer the question but instead asked it instead, his expression was neither salty nor indifferent.
“I graduated two years ago.”
There was a hint of pride in Lang Xing's tone.
It is indeed a matter of pride to train a qualified talent for the demon-hunting world and to ensure that there is a successor.
“I’m so envious.”
Except for Thirteen, he did not hide his envy at all.
The requirement of the Demon-Exterminating House is that each person trains one apprentice, and more than that is not a hard requirement.
"Okay, let's talk about tonight's mission."
Lao Qi is the person in charge tonight.
"I'm sure you heard about it when you received the mission. This mission is more dangerous."
"The opponent is a dangerous Grade A wood spirit."
"We received a tip that he will be in the area tonight."
"And our mission is to bring him to justice."
"Let me tell you about my plans for tonight."
He wiped his palm across the chessboard, and the surrounding environment information collected during the day appeared on the chessboard in the form of phantoms.
"I will use the barrier technique to seal off the surrounding world. I will have to trouble you two with the fight then."
"There are no civilians living around here, so you can practice your skills without any worries."
"It is reported that the place where the wood spirit will appear is here."
"You two hide here separately. When the barrier appears, immediately split up and surround them from the left and right."
"If you have any objections, raise them now. If not, then you can choose a suitable ambush hiding place in advance."
Lao Qi pointed out those positions on the chessboard phantom.
"Master, what about the two of us?"
Except for Thirteen and Langxing who had no objection, Doraemon raised her hand.
"As for the two of you, please stay by my side and protect me."
Lao Qi waved his hand casually.
This mission was dangerous, and the apprentice's level was not actually in his plan from the beginning.
"That's fine..."
Except for Thirteen who glanced at Shi Li twice, no one else said anything.
To deal with one wood spirit, it only takes Lang Xing and himself.
So, everyone started to act separately.
Strictly speaking, when Lao Qi releases the barrier, he must also be inside the barrier, so he does need someone to protect him.
But this barrier does not cover thousands of troops, but only a wood spirit, so it may not be able to split itself into two parts.
Therefore, the existence of Shi Li and Doraemon can be regarded as just for show, simply to gain experience.
At this time, Lao Qi had already closed his eyes and was meditating, gathering his energy for releasing the barrier later.
On his chessboard, there were only two characters, one black and one white, placed close together in the center of the board.
Doraemon was a little bored, so she turned her gaze to Shi Li.
"Hello, my name is Tinker Bell."
"Shi Li."
"Your dog looks so strange. It has no hair at all."
Tinker Bell pointed at the mourning dog.
"Oh, I've raised it for many years, but it's sick now."
This was how he had explained it to Chu Shisan before.
"By the way, how good are you? After it starts, should we sneak over and see how they exorcise the monster?"
Glancing at his master behind him, Doraemon moved closer.
"My level is OK."
"But this is not a good idea. It could be dangerous."
Shi Li himself was not afraid, but he was not sure he could keep the other party safe.
It would be quite troublesome if the aftermath of the battle was too intense and affected bystanders.
"You should worry about yourself."
Dingdang understood the other person's eyes, puffed out his chest and said: "Although I don't have a magic weapon yet, I am already a master who is about to graduate."
"In terms of magic, I am not inferior to ordinary demon hunters."
"And once I become a master and receive my own magical weapon, I will be a formal high-level demon slayer."
As soon as these words came out, Shi immediately became interested.
"Then how can I get my own magic weapon and become a formal demon slayer?"
He didn't care about obtaining the magic weapon, but was very interested in his final mission goal.
"Huh? You don't even know this?"
Tinker Bell glanced at him and introduced himself: "If you want to become a high-level demon slayer, you need to take it step by step."
"The first thing is to learn from a master, then get recognition from the master and get a letter of recommendation."
"Take the recommendation letter to the nearest big city's local demon-killing house, pass the assessment there, and then receive the magic weapon."
"That's all."
Listening to her introduction, Shi Li began to think about it in his mind.
At present, I can say that I have just completed the first step and am still in the process of learning.
There are two more levels to come, which require you to get the approval of the demon-killing master and pass the assessment of the demon-killing house.
Now there are only about 70 to 80 days left in my plan, and I don’t know if I can complete it.
While he was thinking about it, Doraemon gave up the idea of ​​sneaking off to watch the battle.
Because she thinks that someone who doesn't even know the basic industry rules must be of little skill and will become a burden to her.
Then both of them fell silent, and time passed slowly.
After an unknown amount of time, Shi Li suddenly heard a very subtle sound behind him.
In this quiet night, even if it is subtle, it is still quite clear.
Looking back, I saw the sound coming from the direction of Laoqi.
The sound seemed to be made by the two black and white pieces on his chessboard colliding with each other.
Almost at the same time he turned around, he saw Lao Qi's eyes suddenly open.
"Watch out, I'm about to start."
He informed the two in a deep voice, then flicked away two black and white pieces with his fingers.
Ding! Ding!
He formed a sword finger with his right hand and quickly drew something on the empty chessboard.
From Shi Li's perspective, the whole process took no more than 3 seconds.
A blue light formation soon appeared on the chessboard and began to rotate continuously.
Buzz!
Then the entire space, including the night sky, began to vibrate, and a barrier made of blue energy appeared out of nowhere, covering the area.
(Is this the demon slayer's barrier?)
Shi Li looked up.
They were at the edge of the barrier, and behind Lao Qi was a wall of blue light.
Extending upward, forming a curved surface.
About 30 seconds later, an explosion was suddenly heard in the distance.
Boom!
Columns of fire shot up into the sky.
"here we go."
If Shi Li remembered correctly, this flame effect should come from one of the magic weapons of Chu Shisan that was used against wood monsters.
"What a pity, it has nothing to do with us."
Doraemon dragged two rattan chairs from somewhere and sat on them with her hands on her head.
"If we only talk about frontal combat capabilities, the two over there are considered the best in the demon-slayer world."
"With their combined strength and my master's barrier, the target will be unable to escape."
"You've been standing for so long, do you want to sit down?"
She pointed to the empty chair next to her and called Shi Li over.
"No."
Shi Li waved his hand to refuse.
He had been kicked hard in the butt by Master Shi during the day, so it was not appropriate for him to sit down for the time being.
With his eyes closed again, Lao Qi was maintaining the barrier and had no time to be distracted.
The two people with nothing to do could only watch and listen silently to the sounds of fighting in the distance, waiting for the outcome.
This battle seemed more intense and longer than expected.
"Disciple."
About ten minutes later, Lao Qi suddenly spoke.
"Master, I'm here."
Tinker Bell stood up reflexively.
"The situation has changed. The wood spirit should have a demon pet with him."
I only heard Lao Qi say quickly: "I'm afraid his monster pets are now searching for the center of the formation in the barrier. If they find this place, you must do your best to protect me!"
The center of the formation is his chessboard.
In other words, the place that group of monsters are looking for is right here.
"Yes, Master!"
Doraemon's expression was solemn but also a little excited, because she could finally take action.
Demon pets are generally not very strong, so they are suitable training objects.
【roar……】
About 2 minutes later, Shi Li found that the hound beside him lowered its body and let out a low growl.
"Be careful, there is an evil spirit approaching."
Lao Qi opened one eye and gave the answer.
"No problem, Master, just watch me!"
Using this time, Doraemon has set up several magical traps.
"It's a good opportunity to try out the results of my training during this period."
Shi Li stretched and took out an iron rod.
I hope that this time, I won’t have to face another PVE game.
"Huh?"
Seeing him take something out of thin air, Doraemon's eyes were slightly shocked.
Is this a magical weapon?
【Roar!!!】xN
But before she could open her mouth to ask, the roars of various monsters came.
“Wow, so many!”
Doraemon originally thought that there were only three or five of them at most, but at a glance, their number reached at least ten!
"And isn't he a wood spirit monster? Why would he raise a fire monster?"
This was the question that puzzled her most.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting the two monsters that had stepped into her trap.
One of them fell to the ground on the spot, while the other one had many black spots on its body but still had not lost the ability to move.
"call……"
Seeing this scene, Doraemon couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
【Quack, quack! 】
But at this time, the long-legged chocobo monster running in the front had already discovered her presence.
These monsters don't have any intelligence, so their masters can't give them any orders and can only release them to run around in this barrier.
The monsters are very hostile to humans. I'm afraid they want to use this to find the holder of the array's eye and kill him.
The long-legged chocobo monster ran very fast and reached Doraemon in the blink of an eye.
He tilted his head back slightly, then pecked it.
Like her master, Doraemon does not take the direct approach to exorcising demons.
Therefore, his physical strength is at most only slightly better than that of an ordinary person. Facing a monster of this speed, he is unable to react in time.
"!!!"
At this moment, she could only watch the sharp bird's beak enlarge in her pupils.
Just when she thought she was going to be stabbed by the bird's beak, a black shadow with white light swung over and hit the bird demon's head hard.
Bang!
"Why don't you hide?"
Shi Li glanced at her and protected her behind him.
"I, I, I, I can't react!"
When she came to her senses, Tinker Bell's voice trembled.
She wanted to remind the other party to be careful of the bird demon's counterattack, but when she looked down, she found that the bird demon was already lying on the ground and... had lost its head.
(One shot headshot?)
She looked at the iron rod in the other person's hand again. There were a few wisps of white smoke wrapped around it. It was obvious that it was not an ordinary object.
Is this guy really an apprentice?
"Weren't you full of confidence before? Are you afraid of this?"
While Shi Li was teasing the other party, he struck out with another stick.
Bang!
The pressure from the immortal energy plus the force directly caused the back of the tiger-like monster that pounced on it to collapse, and it rolled on the ground wailing.
"That's because there are too many of them and they come too fast!"
"If you give me more time to prepare, I can withstand even double the attack!"
Tinker Bell was a little unconvinced.
But what she said was true. In such a short period of time, most of the monsters had fallen or were seriously injured by her traps.
The only "lucky ones" who could run in front of the two of them were the bird demon and the tiger demon.
"Okay, then you arrange it."
After Shi Li left these words, he began to look for the monsters on the ground to finish off.
After Doraemon had finished the arrangement, he planned to go to Thirteen's side to have a look.
Encountering such an emergency situation makes me a little worried.
At the same time, he also asked the beast dogs to go out for reconnaissance and surveillance, and come back to report to him if they encountered any special situations.
So Doraemon began to rearrange the magic traps. Occasionally, monsters would attack, but they were all killed by Shi Li.
After she had arranged everything, Shi Li came to Lao Qi.
"Master Qi, I'm a little worried about Chu Shisan, so I plan to go over and take a look."
"Well, go ahead. If things don't work out here, I'll help."
Lao Qi answered immediately with his eyes closed.
When Shi Li turned and left, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the other's back.
Although I didn't say anything, I saw the whole thing that happened just now .
It seems that Chu Shisan has found another good disciple this time.
They are both disciples, so why is there such a big difference between them?
His eyes couldn't help but fall on Doraemon again.
How about training her for a few more years before letting her become a master?
If Doraemon knew this, she would probably be so angry that she would die on the spot.
…
At this moment, somewhere in the barrier.
The funeral dog was faithfully carrying out the task assigned by Shi Li, sniffing as it walked.
Anyway, it's just a dog, even if it encounters a monster, the monster will not pay much attention to it.
【Ahhh woof? 】
Suddenly, it stopped.
Why is there a scent like this, as if I have smelled it before?