Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1280 1252. Big Hunt

As soon as these words came out, Ludwig, Maria, Chiefla and this very small group of hunters, even in Yharnam, still had the professional habits of Yharnam hunters.

They also frowned, or became serious, and put down their slender legs that were casually crossed.

This was already a significant emotional fluctuation and sudden expression for the hunters of Yharnam.

And Lawrence on the pulpit continued speaking.

"Yes, that's right. The grey blood plague has a source."

"And just as the rumors in the city say, the source comes from a small fishing village not far from Yharnam."

A small fishing village. The mountain range where Yharnam is located is actually close to the sea, so there will be fish on the tables of the Yharnam people.

The source of these catches is that small fishing village.

Although the small fishing village supplies a lot of seafood to Yharnam, the people of Yharnam never like it or care about it.

The people of Yharnam are inherently xenophobic. Outsiders who come to Yharnam suffer cruel hardships and become a joke to the Yharnam people, young and old.

But this small fishing village is even more xenophobic.

Even the Yharnam people who were closest to them only knew that the small fishing village had their own unique beliefs. They did not want to understand the outside world, and the outside world did not want to influence them.

They just fish, and they provide large catches regardless of the season or weather.

But just like the people of Yharnam reject outsiders, saying that "it is the dirty outsiders who bring the plague."

The people of Yharnam, who are now suffering from gray blood disease, have begun to spread the news that "the gray blood disease comes from that disgusting fishy village."

And the Archbishop of the Healing Church is now undoubtedly putting the final word on this statement.

"The source of the plague has been found." Maria raised her head, and her delicate face like a doll was revealed under the tricorn hat with swan feathers.

"So what do you want us to do? Go to that fishing village and look for the original sample of the plague? I can start right away."

Maria is not only a hunter. After the gray blood disease broke out in Yharnam, she often went to the medical treatment center run by the Healing Church to help. The medical knowledge she possessed was not much different from that of ordinary clergymen of the Healing Church.

So she immediately understood how finding out the source of the plague could help in solving it.

But the slight joy in the eyes of the white-haired Blood Noble immediately turned into astonishment the next moment.

"No, we don't need to look for any plague samples."

At the pulpit, Archbishop Lawrence spoke softly and calmly.

The sound was very soft, but due to the reverberation and diffusion of the church structure, the volume was very loud.

"We just need to go out there and hunt, that's all."

"Hunting?" Compared to Maria, Qila was less shocked. He immediately grasped the key point and asked, "Who is the target of the hunt?"

Lawrence answered calmly, "A strange creature in that small fishing village. And... everything that's blocking the road."

"Grayblood Disease is a poisoning method used by the fishing village to attack Yharnam using a method similar to [Arcane]. It would be too slow for us to solve it by research now. We must attack the source directly."

"Wait!" Maria could hardly contain her astonishment. She stood up from her chair. "Archbishop Lawrence, did you just say, 'hunt down everything that stands in the way'?"

The level of xenophobia in the small fishing village... no, it should be reduced a little, at least similar to that of Yanan.

A group of hunters from outside the area rushed in to hunt something, so how could anyone not block their way?
But unlike Maria and a very small number of hunters, the vast majority of hunters actually didn’t care about Lawrence’s previous speech at all.

Most of them were whispering as before, mostly talking about the benefits and pleasure of blood, as well as hunting techniques and experiences.

But after Lawrence said this, the scene fell silent almost immediately.

The transition from the noisy whispers to the dead silence only took a moment.

It is precisely because this transition is so abrupt that it seems even more bizarre and terrifying.

Chief pulled down the brim of his hat and glanced quickly left and right.

The moment the archbishop issued the order, except for a few hunters, the other old hunters stopped talking to each other and turned their eyes directly to the pulpit.

Almost everyone subconsciously stretched out a smile that made people tremble in their hearts.

It's like someone who's been exposed to anesthetic powder seeing new goods.

That kind of morbid desire is about to burst out!
"If this can save the people of Yharnam." After Maria asked the question, Ludwig spoke up and broke the chilling silence of the old hunters.

There was some difficulty and hesitation in his speech, but his tone was low and firm.

"Then the church hunters and I will do that."

Maria asked him pointedly: "Are the people in the small fishing village not considered human beings?" Ludwig, who had already made his decision, was just as straightforward: "Give up the small for the big. How many people are there in Yharnam? How many people are there in the small fishing village? Not to mention that they were the ones who poisoned first!"

"Whether it was intentional poisoning or an accident by the [Arcane] is another matter. We all know how dangerous people who study the [Arcane] are, and how dangerous the [Arcane] itself is."

"I believe in the church's findings." The voices of Ludwig and Maria echoed back and forth in the cathedral. The church's first hunter spoke in a very resolute tone, "Time waits for no one. How many people has the gray blood disease killed so far? Will it continue?"

"Besides, they are indeed not human beings, Maria." Archbishop Lawrence said softly at the pulpit, interrupting the hunters' dispute.

"According to our investigation, the [arcane] is just as you thought, it is out of control. All the people in the small fishing village have turned into monsters, and the gray blood disease is just the mess left after the people died."

“Tell me, Maria. When you hunted lycanthropes in the alleys of Yharnam, did you consider them human?”

Lawrence looked at the speechless female hunter. He didn't wait for her response, but this was a response in itself.

"That's it, Maria. They are all lycanthropes now, not humans. Just hunt them down."

Under the tricorn hat with swan feathers, the Blood Noble frowned.

If this is the case, then there is really no need to hold back. Cainhurst is also a resident of Yharnam, and it is natural for him to think that lycanthropes should be hunted down.

But is this really the case?
Maria looked at Ludwig who was sitting on another bench. The church's first hunter was greatly relieved after Archbishop Lawrence gave such a clear and accurate response.

He completely trusted the Healing Church, and if the target of his hunt was just something like a lycanthropist, he would have no psychological pressure at all.

But Maria couldn't convince herself by placing her trust in the Healing Church as easily as Ludwig did.

But at this moment, Maria, with her head down, happened to look at the teacher beside her.

The first hunter, Gehman, slightly lifted the brim of his frayed hat with his fingers and nodded to his student.

This means that he is also willing to prove that what Archbishop Lawrence said is correct.

Ludwig placed his trust in the church, while Maria placed her trust in her teachers.

After German nodded, Maria's brows relaxed, and she sat down calmly again, resuming her calm and cold professional style as a Yharnam hunter.

No one objected anymore.

Archbishop Lawrence looked around and spoke again, beginning to directly explain the mission requirements.

"This mission will be accompanied by scholars and clergy from Byronvis. They will be responsible for confirming the target and even start some small research on the spot if necessary."

"And in order to quickly resolve the long-running gray blood disease, we will mobilize most of the hunters to participate in this operation, German and Ludwig."

As he spoke, Lawrence called out the names of two people.

The first and oldest hunter just held up his bowler hat and said nothing. Ludwig stood up directly, his expression serious and solemn.

"You are all on the roster for this operation. I have to warn you that some of the 'accidental products' created by the [Arcane] will be very difficult to deal with."

This is a big hunt that has involved all the [First Hunter] and [First Hunter of the Church]. The difficulty of this hunt has been made clear from now on.

But most of the old hunters present felt nothing, and even the creepy smiles on their lips were getting bigger and bigger!

There is no concept of "powerful enemy" in their minds. They only have one thought - "the blood shed by a powerful enemy must be exceptionally sweet"!
Behind Lawrence, the gloomy scholar who had been discussing with him with his head down, took two steps forward and walked to his side.

"In addition, Byron Weiss has some other requirements for the hunting process."

The scholar added, his voice was equally soft and erratic, but compared to Lawrence's, it had a more scholarly, chilling and gloomy feeling.

"We require that you chisel open the skull of each prey after killing it."

"In the brain, scalp, even in the bones. You can do whatever you want, but you must examine it thoroughly."

"We wanted to see if they had 'eyes' underneath their skulls."

Are they looking for the Inner Eye?
Maria's wide range of knowledge made her realize this immediately.

The Inner Eye is the basis of Master William of Byron Weiss's 'Theory of Clairvoyance'.

But why. Is the [arcane] that caused the accident in the small fishing village related to Byron Weiss?
Why should we look for traces of Master William's academic research under the skulls of those 'accidental products'?
But the only one who knew these problems and cared about them was Maria, who remained silent beside the teacher.

After hearing the mission requirements, the remaining hunters began their frightening whispers again.

"Brain? I don't like playing with my prey's brain. There's not much blood to be released from it."

"That's because you don't have the skills. Haha, you can start peeling the skin from the carotid artery upwards!"

The old hunters were immersed in it, enthusiastically and impatiently.

(End of this chapter)