Chapter 90: Chapter 7: Demon Hunter 5
Van Helsing must not be dealing with Water Ghosts for the first time.
While Su Ziyu was still adapting to the resistance of underwater movements, he had already swung his sword to sever a Water Ghost’s arm.
Water Ghosts are not considered very powerful monsters. Their strength is only slightly greater than that of an average adult male. They often drag people into the water with surprise attacks. Once in the water, even Demon Hunters find dealing with them daunting, and seasoned hunters can be caught off guard if there are too many.
However, they have very obvious weaknesses.
A Water Ghost’s body is more fragile compared to other monsters, and even an ordinary person with a knife can injure them. On land, Van Helsing could handle ten Water Ghosts at once without batting an eye.
Crack.
Su Ziyu swung his blade and chopped off the head of a Water Ghost. His strength was akin to that of a Giant, and when unleashed, chopping these Water Ghosts was like chopping frozen meat.
Underwater combat is truly unpleasant.
It’s not just about adapting to the buoyancy of water, but also the resistance of water and the difficulty of exerting force in it.
Especially after he killed one Water Ghost, dark red blood flooded from the monster’s neck, spreading quickly in the water, not only obstructing vision but also carrying a nauseating stench of decay. Van Helsing and Melissa were likely accustomed to such situations, while Su Ziyu had to use Spiritual Energy to shield his mouth and nose.
Apart from attacking, Water Ghosts rarely appear on shore, so to eliminate them, you must go underwater.
"Pollutant detected!"
"Mission target: Eliminate the Jellyfish Hag."
"Mission reward: Increase in Authority Level."
The number of these Water Ghosts was not small.
Su Ziyu took down two, Van Helsing killed three, and Melissa was still dealing with one.
"Watch out!" Su Ziyu suddenly shouted a warning.
In a place concealed by mud and water plants, there seemed to be a natural cave. A chilling aura shot out from it, and Van Helsing’s movements suddenly slowed drastically, his entire body appearing a bit stiff.
Immediately after, a bloated Water Ghost appeared in front of them.
It looked like a drowned pregnant woman, her face severely decayed, long hair spreading like seaweed, and her body covered with dark cyan spots. Her fingernails were pitch-black and sharp, with a bluish hue. The moment she appeared, she let out a sharp scream and then rushed forward like a fish.
Van Helsing’s reaction speed was quick, but underwater, he was far less agile than on land.
Su Ziyu saw a trace of blood spreading not far away.
It seemed that the Jellyfish Hag possessed some special abilities. After she appeared, the icy lake water became even more bone-chilling. Melissa was the most affected, struggling as if exhausted from swimming, with slight spasms in her limbs.
Su Ziyu wasn’t sure if he could use Spiritual Lightning underwater, but it was very likely he couldn’t control it properly.
— "Time Acceleration."
Everything around turned into a slow-motion frame-by-frame movie. Su Ziyu’s figure suddenly darted forward, and the explosive impact created ripples on the lakebed as he charged directly at the Jellyfish Hag like a swordfish, swinging his blade at her head upon contact.
He knew how difficult it was to deal with those monsters marked by the Space-Time Monitor System, so when he struck, he held nothing back.
"Mission complete."
"Gained 1 Source Power Value."
The body of the Jellyfish Hag was no different from an ordinary Water Ghost; just chopping off her head would kill her.
The battle didn’t last very long.
Returning to the shore, all three wore expressions of exhaustion, though Su Ziyu was just pretending.
"Damn."
"There was actually a Jellyfish Hag here." Van Helsing cursed, clutching a wound on his abdomen, looking a bit angry. "No way. We need to ask for more pay when we get back!"
Beside him, Melissa already lay on the shore, panting as if drained.
Demon Haunted was indeed hard work. This was Su Ziyu’s first time taking a bounty mission, and he realized it wasn’t easy work.
"We’ll need to avoid underwater combat in the future," Su Ziyu thought to himself.
Van Helsing simply treated the wound on his abdomen, then walked over and patted Su Ziyu on the shoulder, saying, "Thanks."
"I’ll buy you a drink next time."
With that, he returned to the lake.
The water in the lake had turned a little murky, with a lot of blood spreading through it. Van Helsing used his sword to chop off the Jellyfish Hag’s head, then turned the bodies one by one. They were all the corpses of people drowned by Water Ghosts. He swung his sword, chopping off the heads of these corpses.
"The lake has been polluted." After a while, he surfaced, panting, and said to Melissa, "These bodies must be dealt with."
"Otherwise, over time, they could turn into new Water Ghosts."
This Demon Hunter did work for money, but his cleanup was thorough, otherwise, he could easily ignore these drowned corpses.
"Why are you carrying this head?" On the way back, Su Ziyu couldn’t help but ask.
Van Helsing gave him a stiff smile, his mouth twitching as he replied, "To show them. Make them pay more!"
There were five claw marks on his abdomen, and trying to smile pulled the wound.
In town, a group of people was already waiting.
Van Helsing quickly assumed his silent, stoic Hunter persona once more, even carefully hiding his wound.
They didn’t linger.
Van Helsing took his bounty and set off immediately, even though his injuries hadn’t healed.
Very strange.
Ordinary people feared Demon Hunters, yet it seemed these powerful Hunters were also very wary of ordinary people. Van Helsing dared not let them know that he was injured.
They camped outdoors at night.
Van Helsing drank some kind of potion he crafted and seemed quite drowsy. He finally received a reward of nine Golden Galleons, but Su Ziyu took only three, as money meant little to him. The Source Power Value he gained was the real reward. In this world, pollutants seemed abundant, but they were not very powerful. All those encountered so far only dropped 1 Source Power Value, the same level as Living Corpse Ghosts.
But they were much easier to deal with than Living Corpse Ghosts.
Su Ziyu felt he should spend more time looking for these creatures, as defeating them was much easier than taking down a super mutant if there were enough of them.
Melissa was quite silent today.
She sat alone by the campfire, occasionally glancing at Su Ziyu. After hesitating for a while, she finally sat beside him, her face pleading. "Can you teach me to fight?"
Su Ziyu was taken aback at her words.
He turned to look at Van Helsing, only to find that he seemed to be asleep, or at least had his eyes closed.
"Your mentor’s swordsmanship is better than mine." Su Ziyu spoke the truth. White Crow Swordsmanship LV1 indeed couldn’t compare to Van Helsing’s skills. He was just physically stronger than a Demon Hunter.
Melissa looked a bit disappointed. "I’m not strong enough."
"He said Raven School swordsmanship isn’t suitable for me, not until I endure the Magic Potion Trial, at least."
.........