Chapter 351: 351. Clergy
After the Church Hunter left, Lann closed the door again and walked to Viola’s side.
"Don’t panic yet, madam."
The housewife was at a loss. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, yet she instinctively crouched down to pick up the broken porcelain plates.
The pieces clinked softly in her trembling hands.
It wasn’t until Lann pressed her shoulder that she seemed to suddenly come back to her senses, collapsing and murmuring incredulously.
"How could it be like this... never encountered... two consecutive nights of hunting!"
Lann quickly recovered from his initial shock and rationally questioned Viola.
"Has Yan’an ever experienced consecutive hunting nights?"
"N-never!"
"How much incense did Gascogne bring back?"
Viola clasped her hands together as she stood up: "He bought five blocks, each enough to burn throughout an entire night."
As she said this, her expression slightly calmed, as if she gained some courage from the reliable incense in the face of the abnormal event.
"Then the situation isn’t too bad; stay calm, madam."
Lann patted Viola’s shoulder, then swiftly returned to the guest room to start putting on the armor he had taken off while resting.
A Demon Hunter, even those of the Bear School who are generally equipped with heavy armor, would never take a Knight’s Attendant on a mission, as they couldn’t afford it.
Therefore, the basic requirement of Demon Hunter Armor is that it can be put on and taken off by one person.
In the guest room, Lann lifted his school’s armor, the clinking of plates against each other and the chain mail’s friction ceaseless.
Piece by piece, he put the heavy steel onto his body.
And amid the sound of steel sliding against steel, Viola hesitantly spoke from the doorway, leaning on the door frame.
"Mr. Lann..."
"Is there anything else, Lady Viola?"
Lann’s hands didn’t pause, he simply turned around for a moment to glance at the lady of the house.
She was wringing her hands, appearing hesitant and uncertain.
"Maybe it’s silly of me to say this, but you, you should take this opportunity to leave!"
Lann paused while fixing his shoulder armor, looking at Viola in confusion.
She seemed to be wrestling with herself, but after a moment of internal conflict, she spoke resolutely.
"You haven’t registered with the Church, you’re not yet a Hunter of Yan’an, right? An abnormal hunting night is coming, and you have no reason not to leave! Go quickly, this city... this city is experiencing things that even I as a local don’t understand!"
"The incense Gascogne brought is sufficient... you should withdraw too."
At this moment, the sounds of two pairs of little shoes tapping on the floor echoed as Olivia and Victoria, two little girls, hugged their mother’s waist, somewhat scared.
They also looked at Lann, but instead of pleading for this protector to stay, in their clear, pure eyes, there was... instead...
The two little girls understood their mother’s words.
Lann looked at Gascogne’s family before him.
Their expressions were sincere and natural.
Viola might not have mentioned this at all, but after Lann expressed his intent to help, she still said it.
Gascogne had long self-deprecated that the moment he settled in Yan’an, he was no longer a Priest.
But undoubtedly, he had taught and influenced his family to become people of ’virtue’—
If others had a chance to escape danger, one shouldn’t drag others into the mire with themselves.
"Madam... you didn’t deliberately say these things to me, did you?"
Lann suddenly made an off-the-cuff remark with a pause.
This left Viola, who was both tense yet relieved with her outburst of emotions, momentarily unsure of how to respond.
She opened her mouth dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.
"What are you talking about?"
"No, nothing."
Lann’s halted actions smoothly resumed.
If she had ulterior motives, he’d have few scruples or expectations, but now... tut!
"Mentos."
The Demon Hunter began a brief exchange with the biological intelligence.
The long-familiar Mentos naturally responded.
"The task was established two minutes ago. Based on last night’s combat data, I’ll analyze the common traits of the Beast Plague patients within an hour and draft simplified combat guidance... I will always support your actions, sir."
"I’ll leave it to you."
The newly established progress bar in his mind steadily progressed.
Having donned his armor and strapped the Alchemy Pouch to his back waist, Lann tightened the fasteners on his body, smiling at Gascogne’s family.
"The agreement with the Priest is ’before he returns, I will protect his family’. Lady Viola..."
The Demon Hunter, whose self-esteem soared again after arming himself, walked with heavy steps to Viola’s side.
His gloved leather hand gently stroked the hair of the two little girls.
"I will fulfill the promise..."
"I always fulfill my promises."
-----------------
Henrik was questioning a familiar face in the Healing Church.
"Mark! Tell me the real situation! Give me the truth! How bad is it now!"
The Hunter in a dirt-yellow leather coat had already removed his yellow mask, revealing an aged face.
His coat still bore the never-drying thick monster blood. His eyes were bloodshot. It was clear he hadn’t rested since parting from Lann and Gascogne last night.
Now, he was following behind a clergy member roughly his age, persistently questioning with a grim expression.
The setting sun painted all of Yan’an in hues of yellow and filth.
The clergyman in front of Henrik was busily organizing supplies, ensuring things like quicksilver bullets, gasoline bombs, and throwing knives from the Hunter Workshop were transported to the right places so the Hunters could use them on the hunting night.
"There is no degree; the Church has issued notice for another hunting night, and you should go back to prepare, Henrik."
This clergyman had an M-shaped hairline. If the Church Hunter’s attire was partly modeled after monks but with a focus on mobility, then those not responsible for killing retained a scholar’s robe-like attire.
Faced with a day’s evasion, as the sun set, Henrik’s anxieties grew more intense.
Finally, he directly grabbed Mark’s shoulder. His superior physical qualities as a Hunter made him confident he could stop the man in front of him.
Just as Henrik expected, he easily stopped Mark from his headlong rush.
"Tell me the truth!"
Even the tiniest muscle fibers on Henrik’s face twitched.
"You saw those three abnormal patient corpses this morning! You weren’t surprised at all! You and I both know! We both know very well where we last saw such things!?"
The clergyman gloomily met Henrik’s gaze: "Don’t mention that place, Henrik. It was a tragedy, a powerlessly tragic..."
Mark wanted Henrik to stop, but the Old Hunter ignored him, uttering one name after another.
A name forgotten by the current Yan Nan people—
"Old Yan’an."
Upon uttering this name, both Henrik and Mark involuntarily flinched at the corners of their eyes.
"That old city, now reduced to ashes and charcoal, on the night we burned it to the ground, that unprecedented hunting night... we first saw patients with red glowing eyes! Patients who transformed with a mere blink!"
"And now, such patients have appeared in Yan’an..."