"Is this the place?"
"Yes, sir."
"There's deathly aura... the scent of death is very fresh."
"We didn't hunt any prey, sir."
"We believe you... such filthy residual Magic Power couldn't possibly have the slightest thing to do with my lovely students."
"Did those mutated Gaiterasi die?"
"We shouldn't rule out any possibility."
In the empty hunting ground, Hilda and Zheng Qing's low conversation could faintly be heard. Other than that, there was not the slightest sound, creating a startling deathly silence.
Even a half-abandoned hunting ground should not have been this quiet.
Zheng Qing noticed this and immediately reported it to the teaching assistant.
"Don't worry, this is still within the School Guardian Formation's coverage." Hilda crouched on the ground, fingering his earring as he muttered, "Obviously, a violent Magic Power shockwave erupted here. Those sensitive little bugs burrowed into the soil to play dead long ago... or perhaps they really did die."
As he spoke, he poked a finger into the ground and dug out a black beetle lying on its back. The teaching assistant squinted, carefully studying the residual Magic Power patterns on the dead bug.
Zheng Qing watched worriedly, somehow feeling that Hilda would stuff the bug into his mouth the next second, chew it, and then tell him how long it had been dead.
Fortunately, the teaching assistant was apparently still conscious enough not to do that.
"Remove their borers and their pests."
Hilda quietly recited an unfamiliar spell and gave his judgment. "A classic insect-killing spell... It seems the one behind this mutation had no intention of letting even a single little bug witness the experiment. You were very lucky to get out of this hunting ground."
"An experiment?"
Remembering the You Zui Hunting Team's earlier discussion, Zheng Qing could not help interrupting the