CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 8: DEMON HUNTER 6

Melissa’s age is not very old.

Considering the earlier development of Western races, her age might be even younger than she looks.

She is eager to become stronger.

Su Ziyu doesn’t know the reason, but he doesn’t mind offering some guidance.

Being a Demon Hunter is a dangerous job; every bit of extra strength means a better chance of survival.

Van Helsing’s swordsmanship is wide and powerful, aggressive, and incredibly lethal, but its defense mainly relies on parrying and blocking. Honestly, anyone with even a bit of training in swordsmanship knows this style is not suitable for women. Women’s innate physical condition and strength cannot compare to men’s; parrying relies on having enough strength and constitution to withstand the enemy’s attacks, or else you might block the attack but still end up with broken bones. Clearly, Melissa does not possess the non-human level of physique that true demon hunters have.

By contrast, the White Crow Swordsmanship that Su Ziyu masters is indeed more suitable for her.

White Crow Swordsmanship is quick and nimble, with many evasion techniques. Women can also harness its power.

Su Ziyu turned to glance at Van Helsing, then stood up and said, "Follow me."

Melissa’s expression was full of surprise.

She indeed didn’t expect Su Ziyu would agree so readily; she was even prepared to beg numerous times and pay a certain price.

The moonlight was great today.

After Su Ziyu walked fifty steps, he stopped and turned around to look at Melissa, who had somewhat flustered and uneasy expression, and said slowly, "The White Crow Swordsmanship I learned emphasizes speed and agility, with the moves mostly relying on body movements to evade enemy attacks."

"Watch carefully."

Su Ziyu presented a starting position of White Crow Swordsmanship, then proceeded to explain some basic moves slowly.

An hour later.

Su Ziyu returned to the campfire while Melissa was still diligently practicing. She had a decent foundation from Van Helsing’s previous guidance, which made learning White Crow Swordsmanship relatively quick.

"You’re probably curious why I want to take on a female apprentice," Van Helsing’s voice suddenly emerged.

The swordsmanship Su Ziyu taught indeed had the style of a demon hunter, but Van Helsing could not determine which school it belonged to. Perhaps Su Ziyu himself wasn’t aware, but from Van Helsing’s perspective, many moves of White Crow Swordsmanship were not designed for dealing with humans; at least five sword techniques were aimed at large creatures, and three were for dealing with extremely swift enemies.

This is a characteristic of demon hunter school swordsmanship; one can judge whether it’s for humans or monsters just by the moves!

"Hmm?" Su Ziyu was a good listener.

Van Helsing, covering his abdominal wound, sat up and gazed at Melissa, who was practicing tirelessly, saying, "I met her while executing a task in Dongluo."

"At that time, I was hunting a vampire."

"I found her in the vampire’s cellar, chained like a slave, imprisoned there, and on the brink of death from excessive blood loss."

"She was only fifteen years old then."

Van Helsing paused here, reaching out to pat Su Ziyu’s shoulder, saying deeply, "I owe you one."

Upon hearing this, Su Ziyu couldn’t help but remain silent for a while.

He turned to look at the girl sweating and training over there; she indeed was different from other women, having a heart yearning for strength.

The night quickly passed.

The next day, Van Helsing’s wound was almost healed.

They continued advancing in the direction of Lund, but apart from playing Gwent cards with Van Helsing, Su Ziyu occasionally guided Melissa on White Crow Swordsmanship.

Her age indeed wasn’t much.

This year she just turned twenty, though she appeared slightly more mature.

The hardships and suffering bestowed on her the aura of a mature woman.

Along the way, her attitude towards Su Ziyu improved significantly, even more respectful than to Van Helsing. During rest stops in villages, Van Helsing, the old man, had to wash his clothes himself, while Melissa had already stayed up overnight to wash Su Ziyu’s clothes clean.

This matter angered Van Helsing to the point where he blew his beard and glared for quite a while.

The journey was relatively peaceful.

Su Ziyu gradually learned more about this world, with Van Helsing being an experienced demon hunter whose footprints almost spanned the globe. He could tell that while Su Ziyu was powerful, his experiences weren’t rich, occasionally boasting to impart some wisdom.

This world is highly similar to Earth, at a medieval civilization level, with numerous kingdoms and perpetual warfare.

Various monsters are rampant during this era, and demon hunters are their specialists.

However, compared to demon hunters one or two hundred years ago, the organizations now have weakened significantly due to their involvement in numerous kingdoms’ political conflicts. The non-human prowess of demon hunters aroused envy from kingdoms and nobles, and alongside some individuals’ greed for power and wealth, a brutal war erupted within demon hunter organizations.

Many demon hunters perished at fellow demon hunters’ hands.

Moreover, given the stringent conditions for demon hunters’ birth and their inability to reproduce, their numbers dwindled drastically, with some organizations even falling prey to political struggles.

During that period, demon hunters assassinated many nobles using their non-human strength, leading to a century of animosity and caution from the secular forces towards them, seeing them as outcasts.

Since then, demon hunters’ organizations gradually retreated into the shadows.

They maintain a certain distance from all kingdoms, resolutely refusing to meddle in dirty political conflicts.

But the dreadful cost had already caused some demon hunter organizations to perish, forcing some schools to seclude themselves due to dwindling members.

Van Helsing assumed Su Ziyu was a descendant of such reclusive schools.

On the third day.

They took on a task at a small village along the way.

It was a very impoverished village.

The villagers pooled money but could only come up with half a Golden Galleon, a price insufficient to hire even standard mercenaries, yet Van Helsing gladly accepted the task and came back overnight with a ghoul’s head.

He was a very interesting demon hunter.

Su Ziyu found he could learn many things from him, with Van Helsing’s outlook on life offering Su Ziyu many insights.

Both faced unpredictable days.

Both confronted various dangerous monsters.

Van Helsing lived more freely and openly than Su Ziyu, as he himself said, as a demon hunter must face various monsters, even if one day he dies at their hands, it does not matter.

Because that is the purpose of the demon hunter’s existence.

He is a demon hunter.

This is his mission.

Yet he is also someone with principles; he must be paid.

.........