The wooden staff held by the patrol members is made of oak hazel wood. The head of the staff is either a snake head or a bird-shaped one. There are all kinds of strange things, all of which are spiritual creatures.
The wooden stick is reddish brown all over, with a warm color and a smooth feel, as if it has been coated with a layer of wax. Even the protruding knots on the wooden stick do not feel dull to the touch.
It is said that these wooden sticks are made by the school's Alchemy Research Institute, and are embedded with many magic patterns. They are quite powerful within the school's protective formation. No matter what kind of mountain spirits, ghosts, monsters, or monsters, they are immune to the sticks.
Shape, can only be subdued.
Compared with the wooden sticks in the hands of the students, Old Man Verne's stick is thicker and longer. The elf at the head of the stick seems to be in the shape of a bird, but it has two slender arms stretched out from the wings, which is very strange.
.
Zheng Qing secretly speculated that the wooden stick in the old man's hand was probably more powerful, but he didn't know what effect it had and whether it could drive away the legendary monster.
The wind lantern hung on the head of the staff, swaying slightly as the old man Verne walked around, making a small noise.
The lights shining on the forest path swayed vaguely along with the creaking and swaying sounds, which added to the unsettling atmosphere.
In the advancing patrol, everyone was discussing what had just happened.
"Kappas actually have their own language. I only knew they could squeak." A chubby boy praised in a surprised tone, as if he had just realized that kappas are intelligent creatures in a sense.
"The squeaking ones are mice." Another sophomore from Jiuyou College laughed at him and said in a rather dissatisfied tone: "I'm just curious why the school allows these pests to stay on campus... In addition to destroying food, what else do they do?
It’s of no use.”
"Wisdom is the greatest wealth." An Alpha student seemed to have found an opportunity to criticize his opponent, saying in a pitiful tone: "It is immoral to evaluate an intelligent creature by 'whether it is useful'... What you usually do
Doesn’t the assessment include personal moral character?”
This sentence implicitly ignited the flames of war between the Jiuyou students and the Alpha students.
But this flame of war was simply crushed by the old man Verne:
"No matter how useless a kappa is, he is still a kappa from Daiichi University. Daiichi University has the final say on what to do."
With just one sentence, the fire in everyone's heart was turned in a different direction, and a proud expression appeared on their faces.
Zheng Qing admired him deeply.
The old school worker was obviously very familiar with the discord between several colleges, and did not give any chance for the flames of war to rekindle, and continued:
"Although the kappa in the school are still naughty, they are very well-behaved towards the wizards and have no record of hurting anyone."
"On weekdays, the school working committee often gives them some work, hiring them to help drag the canoe under the water, so that they have some means of making a living, so that they don't feel tabooed just for a few bites."
"We make the rules and they abide by the rules, so we have to uphold the rules."
"So, when these little guys get into trouble and come to the patrol team, we can't turn a blind eye."
"This is the number one university, and we must give them an explanation."
The patrol was moving quickly along the forest path. Everyone was silent when they heard what the old school worker said.
Although it explains to a certain extent the reason why the patrol suddenly changed its itinerary, it does not convince everyone.
"It makes no sense for us to help them investigate missing persons in the middle of the night."
"I always feel that this is the job of the student union."
"Maybe some societies and hunting teams are also interested in this kind of thing."
The young new team members murmured to exchange their opinions, and the focus of the discussion shifted to whether it was reasonable to leave this matter to the patrol team.
The atmosphere in the team returned to normal and began to slowly become active.
"Silence!" The old school worker who was walking at the head of the team suddenly stopped, turned his head, and whispered to silence the team members' discussion.
Several distracted young wizards shouted softly and bumped into each other.
Zheng Qing raised his head and found that the angry wind lamp hanging on the head of the staff had at some point dimmed the firelight in the cover, leaving only a large fire swaying slowly in the lamp oil.
The old man Verne didn't explain, he just raised his head and took a deep breath.
The others didn't know why, but they all imitated the old man's actions very obediently, and took a deep breath.
Only the old hunting dog in the team was lying on the ground for some reason, burying his head in the tall grass. He even raised his two front legs and put them on the bridge of his nose, as if he was trying to stop breathing.
Although the patrol team has gone far into the woods beside the lake, it has not yet completely escaped from the coverage of Linzhong Lake. The sound of the gurgling water of the lake can still be vaguely heard in the ears.
Take a deep breath, the fragrance of vegetation, the freshness of water vapor, the fragrance of earth, all mixed together, it is intoxicating.
However, a subtle odor was mixed in the air, irritating everyone's nasal cavity.
Zheng Qing smelled this slightly familiar smell, opened his eyes suddenly, lowered his voice and exclaimed:
"Floc!"
Almost at the same time, several people in the team also shouted out the mystery.
Old Man Verne did not look back, but nodded slowly, agreeing with the judgment of the young wizards.
"What are the fish-men doing on the shore in the middle of the night?"
"This place is so far away from Linzhong Lake. We definitely can't use ridiculous excuses like getting lost to cover it up."
"Besides, it smells like there's more than one fish-man."
"Funny! Are they planning to cause trouble in the school? Aren't they afraid that the school working committee will take back their reserved land?"
The patrol members were talking among themselves.
It's just that no one is overly worried about the fishmen coming ashore. Most people are just curious about the purpose of these fishmen and how the school will deal with them.
The old man leaned on the wooden stick and let the team members whisper. After a long time, he sighed deeply and whispered:
"Ling Guo, Zheng Qing, you two come with me. The others return to the lakeside and continue patrolling... You two juniors will keep an eye on the spot. You can use the emergency signal if there is a situation. I asked Yue Yue to follow you.
"
The old man with two black stripes on his robe at the back of the team should be calm.
The old hunting dog wagged its tail and snorted lazily, agreeing to the arrangement.
Although some people expressed some dissatisfaction, under the stern eyes of the old school workers, no one expressed it openly and all responded to the orders.
The old man waved his hand and signaled them to leave.
"Why are we separated?" After everyone disappeared from sight, Lin Guo finally couldn't help it and asked in a low voice: "Isn't it safer if there are more people... The fishmen in the lake are very powerful, right?"
Zheng Qing said nothing, but looked at the old man in front of him with doubtful eyes.
The ferocious face and terrifying physical strength of the fishman when he entered school were still vivid in his mind. Although he was holding a patrol stick, it could not at all weaken the uneasiness in his heart.
"They are all troublesome little babies." The old man did not answer Lin Guo's question, but murmured, then walked deep into the woods with a cane.
The two freshmen looked at each other, quickly picked up their wooden sticks, and hurried away, fearing that they would end up alone in the dark woods.
This chapter has been completed!