Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1279 1251. The First Hunter
"teacher?"

After Maria took a quick look around, her brows, which were originally furrowed under her tricorn hat with velvet feathers because she didn't like the scene, suddenly showed a hint of surprise.

She took a few steps forward and walked over to the bench where only one person was sitting.

"Are you also included in this?"

Although Maria was surprised, she responded because of her own personality and professional habits as a hunter.

So she spoke slowly and lightly, and the sound she made was like a lucid dream.

There was only one old man on this bench.

He was wearing a top hat with frayed edges on the brim.

He was wearing a slim and tall suit with suspenders and a wide shawl on his shoulders.

The shawl should have been gorgeous and smooth, but as if it had suffered too much hardship, the hem of the shawl had been torn into an uneven shape.

If it flutters, it will probably look like the devil's claws.

The old man raised his head, holding the brim of his hat. Under the hat were pale hair, a sharp hooked nose, and an untidy stubble on his face.

The first hunter, Geman.

The founder of the unique profession of Hunter in Yharnam.

He was the only one on the bench, not because others excluded him, but because others respected him.

A smile appeared on his old face when he saw his students.

But he did not respond to Maria's question, but simply patted the empty seat beside him.

"Sit down, Maria," he said calmly, "It's time to begin."

He looked at the student sitting next to him with an unusually complicated look in his eyes, but it only lasted for a moment.

Maria is a capable and mature hunter.

She was a blood noble from Cainhurst, but she did not have the bad habits of those people who were ostentatious and indulgent.

Her white hair was simply tied into a braid and covered under a tricorn hat with a swan feather.

This hat not only binds the hair, but also covers the face that is delicate and beautiful because of the blood.

He was dressed in black leather, with only a half-shoulder cape draped over his left shoulder.

The boots and breeches made her look tall and fierce.

unfortunately
Germann's eyes revealed a complex emotion.

This is all in the past.

Maria did not see the complex emotions in her teacher's eyes because those emotions were hidden under the brim of her top hat.

Maria's face, which was exactly the same as the doll lady obtained by Lan En, turned around calmly, taking in more information in the cathedral.

That calm expression makes him look almost like a puppet.

Now the cathedral was noisy, with hunters, clergy, and scholars, all talking in their own circles.

Although most of the people in Yharnam subconsciously spoke in low voices because of the dangerous night, the gathered noise was still very chaotic.

On the other hand, not all conversations are conducted in whispers.

"Your decision is impulsive, Ludwig."

A voice stood out slightly from the 'buzzing' noise.

Many people's attention was attracted by this.

Among the hunters who were indifferent to voices, this volume could already be called a "question".

He was an old hunter wearing a burnt black leather jacket, speaking solemnly to the church's first hunter.

Ludwig is the church's first hunter, while German is Yharnam's first hunter. These are different concepts.

The relationship between the two of them is also good. After all, all of Yharnam's hunting skills are actually derived from Geman.

Everyone also knew the old hunter who questioned Ludwig.

Chief, a hunter with a foolish and kind heart, always does some meaningless and unnecessary things in the middle of hunting.

I heard that he has recently been getting together with a group of hunters who like to play with gunpowder weapons and make the scene noisy and chaotic, and he wants to open up another category from the traditional hunter workshop.

They said they wanted to call it - the Powder Keg Gang.

The other hunters whispered among themselves.

"Heh, now he's going to do something boring again."

"How the Church Hunters do is Ludwig's own business. Why do you care so much?"

"Isn't it good to let those newbies get in touch with some high-quality blood in advance? Haha."

The hunters' whispers made people feel more than just upset.
The sticky smell of blood! The terror in the dark! The hidden malice!
Originally, the veteran hunters present were all experts who had hunted countless wild beasts.

The blood of wild beasts seeped into their pores, and the thick smell of blood on their windbreakers could not be washed away even if they washed them again and again!
But none of the old hunters felt uncomfortable or unhappy, because they had all adapted to the smell of the blood and were even intoxicated by it.

The Yharnam people feared the old hunters because they probably found it difficult to distinguish between the so-called hunters and the beasts, and wondered if there was a clear line to distinguish one from the other.

Moreover, is it the hunters' obsession with blood that has caused this line to become blurred? Or has this "clear line" never existed in the first place?
In short, if an ordinary Yharnam citizen came into this cathedral now, his first reaction would definitely not be to feel safe and relaxed because of so many hunters.

Most of the old hunters in Yharnam do not regard the townspeople as people who need to be "protected".

After all, apart from blood, they care little about anything else.

"Please believe me, Chief." In the gloomy and terrifying atmosphere created by the old hunters' whispering, Ludwig, as the person being questioned, lowered his head and spoke sadly but sincerely.

He had a handsome appearance, and the church hunter's attire he wore was thicker than the windbreaker of an ordinary hunter.

The difference in equipment shows that the monsters they have to face are not on the same level as ordinary hunters.

Alfred, the church hunter who gave [Fire Paper] to Lan as a greeting gift, also wore the same thing in Yharnam in the 'future'.

"I also want to use a gentler process to slowly increase the church hunters' acceptance of high-quality blood. But... we don't have time."

Among the many old hunters, Ludwig should be one of the few who would not cause panic in ordinary people.

On his back he carried a large half-sword wrapped in a cloth strip but without a scabbard.

I don’t know if it’s because the sword is wrapped, but it gives Ludwig a calm temperament.

"Grayblood is raging, and there is a shortage of manpower. In order to protect the Healing Church, the church hunters are in urgent need of strength."

"And the sacred blood! The sacred blood cultivated by the church can give us the power to protect the innocent!"

After the words "protect the innocent" were spoken, most of the old hunters present either showed no emotion or smiled playfully.

Give them a blood collection bottle, and they all feel that it is more of a reason to fight than the so-called 'protecting the innocent'.

But unlike the others, Qila was a person similar to Ludwig. That was why he took this opportunity to question the first hunter of the church.

For the new recruits who are being recruited into the Church Hunters.

"They will have a hard time with the blood. It will be too early for them."

Chief's voice was as gentle as the smoke drifting in the night, even a little weak, but it did not affect the seriousness in his tone.

"That blood is dangerous!"

"I appreciate your concern for the newcomers, but please don't be alarmist, Chief."

After finally getting to the heart of the topic, Ludwig's expression immediately turned serious.

The head that had been lowered in sadness was raised.

"Blood therapy is pure and sacred, but it takes a peaceful process to accept it. Currently, there is no rigorous data to show that past tragedies are directly related to blood therapy."

"If you don't have solid evidence, don't slander the Holy Blood. You are slandering the foundation of the Healing Church!"

As he spoke, Ludwig frowned tightly as he looked at Chiefa.

"Only [Blood Healing] can save Yharnam. You shouldn't say such things at this time."

Facing Ludwig's serious and somewhat scary expression, Chiefa calmly shook his head.

"I'm telling you this because I trust you. I believe you really care about those young novice hunters. But here, I just trust you."

As he spoke, the old hunter in the burnt black leather jacket looked around.

As for the other old hunters sitting on the bench, most of them only responded with a bloody smile when facing Chiefa's gaze.

The clergy and scholars at the pulpit remained calm.

The archbishop, who had been keeping his head down and talking to the gloomy scholar beside him, seemed not to notice what was happening under the pulpit at all.

He took two steps forward and opened his arms. His large papal robe made him stand out in the main seat.

"Everyone is almost here, let's get down to business. Chief, you sit down too."

Lawrence spoke calmly, and his soft voice was repeatedly echoed and amplified in the exquisite architectural structure of the church.

The hunter in the burnt black coat sighed slightly but still sat down next to Ludwig.

And this devout first hunter of the church cast a serious look at the pulpit the moment the archbishop stood up to speak.

"Yharnam is becoming increasingly dangerous. The number of people suffering from gray blood disease is still increasing. Although the number of cases of beast disease has stabilized, it does not seem to be curbed."

Lawrence first briefly explained the current situation in Yharnam.

Without the gray blood disease, it would not be a big deal. But once the gray blood disease plague is added, the troubles that can be easily dealt with at ordinary times will become more serious.

But among the hunters below, only a few people listened carefully, like Ludwig and Maria.

Lawrence was not surprised by this at all, he just continued talking.

"Most of the stress comes from gray blood disease and the useless Golden Cup Church of Good Will."

"And I am honored to inform you that, thanks to the unremitting efforts of the church clergy, we have found the source of this terrible plague."

(End of this chapter)