Although he could not determine the specific era and location, Hao Ren could still roughly infer his landing point from the surrounding architectural style and Vivian's notes. If he guessed it right, he and Lily should now be between the 14th and 16th centuries. Judging from the passers-by's accent, they should be in France, but he could not determine which city they were in.
However, being able to roughly determine the era was a great convenience. At least, Hao Ren could determine what kind of identity he should be in the current historical period: a demon hunter who hid in the human society and acted independently.
Before he set off, he learned more about the demon hunters from Hasse and White Flame. As the most powerful factor in the entire Mythological Era, the demon hunters were a group that Hao Ren had to deal with frequently throughout his historical journey. Their information was the most important intelligence of this trip back in time. After cramming, Hao Ren learned that even in the most intense era of conflict, the demon hunters were not a group of crazy hunters incited by fanaticism and hatred. Although they were indeed driven by fanaticism and hatred, their actions and organizational structure were always full of rationality and discipline.
In addition to the sages, who were the governing body, and the Council of Elders, who guarded the North Pole and almost never set foot in the modern world, the demon hunters were mainly divided into three types of troops:
The first type was the Sacred Army, also known as the Legion of Battle. This formation was very active during the Mythological War. They appeared on the battlefield by the thousands and directly destroyed all the ancient Mythological Kingdoms with force. They were the promoters of the Twilight of the Gods. But after the end of the Mythological Era, this first-line army lost its meaning of existence and gradually disintegrated into the second and third types of troops.
The second type of troops was the Hunters, also known as the Hunters. They were elite combat troops composed of a small number of demon hunters, usually ranging from dozens to hundreds of people. They were mainly active in the late Mythological Era and the Dark Ages after the end of the Mythological Era. At this time, the army of the gods had collapsed, and there were no more epic battles like the Great Plains. But after the fall of the gods, the remaining exile sects and small groups of heretical worshipers were still growing in the dark. As the saying goes, a centipede dies but never falls down. These exile sects could often control one or two towns, and the Hunters were professional squads used to deal with these stragglers.
The third type of troops could no longer be called troops. They were actually a completely scattered armed force known as the Stalkers. The Stalkers were usually demon hunters who acted alone, or occasionally formed teams of two or three. These combat elites were active in the same period as the second type of troops. They were masters of independent combat. After the otherworldling gods lurked in the cracks of human civilization, these lone combat elites tirelessly played the role of cleaners. In the countryside and the wilderness where the Hunters could not reach, it was the place where the Stalkers showed their skills.
The Hunter Order and the Stalker Order were not completely isolated. Under certain conditions, they were actually one, or could be transformed into each other. If the elite demon hunters of the Hunter Order passed certain tests, they would be qualified to go hunting alone, and they would become the Stalker Order. If there was an emergency, such as the discovery of a group of heretical gods, the nearby Stalker Order demon hunters would immediately be summoned to form the Hunter Order and join the battle.
Hasse once told Hao Ren that the demon hunter organization was indeed full of discipline, but even the tightest organization would have loopholes. In the fighting order of the demon hunters, the third type of troops was the easiest to exploit: the solitary, secretive Stalkers.
In the wilderness where the otherworldlings were still powerful, the Stalkers would have a very weak connection with the organization. They would even go deep into the enemy's hinterland to hunt and lose contact with the outside world for half a century. In order to track down some extremely cunning prey, they would even completely change their appearance. Even when they were in contact with other demon hunters, they would keep their identity secret. It sounded incredible, but under the premise of the phenomenon of innate hostility, everything could be explained. Whether it was the demon hunters or the otherworldlings, when they faced each other, they were used to judging whether the person in front of them was not of their own kind by instinct. As long as they did not have the urge to draw their swords and kill each other, they could rule out the identity of the enemy. Therefore, the process of identity verification was not as strict as imagined, especially between the Stalkers.
Now, there was an anomaly in this time and space, and that was Hao Ren. He was an out-and-out otherworldling, but he would not cause innate hostility in front of anyone, which made it easy for him to take advantage of the biggest loophole.
The identity that he had set up for himself was that of a Hunter Hunter.
To ensure his safety, he had borrowed a full set of demon hunter camouflage from Hasse before he set off. It was the real thing, the standard equipment of demon hunters that only the enchanting craftsmen of Coldpath could make. With this set of camouflage equipment, he would not have to worry about being seen through even if he met an elder demon hunter. But for now, he was only equipped with a sacred silver dagger that symbolized his identity and some amulets and rune cards. A Stalker demon hunter would not be fully armed all the time, and disguising as an ordinary person was their usual method.
The French towns of the Middle Ages, like all other parts of Europe at the same time, were shrouded in a dark and gloomy atmosphere, especially at night. Curfews forbade people from going out at this time, and the vigorous witch-hunts made people feel insecure. There was almost no entertainment after nightfall, and to prevent the accused from being exposed as "witches," the townspeople did not even dare to laugh loudly in their own homes: a graveyard silence hung over the town streets at night.
Only the night watchmen and cavalrymen who patrolled the town dared to swagger in the streets at this time.
The fire of the Renaissance had been ignited in the cities of Italy, but the fire was far from burning a small town in a remote part of France. Here, darkness had long been entrenched.
Hao Ren and Lily shuttled through the empty streets, avoiding the night watchers who might attract trouble. At the same time, they focused on sensing the eyes of those who might be hiding in the dark: the latter was one of their targets.
"It stinks everywhere," Lily complained. She had torn off the hem of the dress that made her very uncomfortable, but the length of the dress was still too long for the werehusky to get used to. She had to hold up the dress when she ran. What was even more annoying was the smell in the streets. "I've only read about it in books before. I didn't expect the medieval European towns to be so smelly," Lily said.
"Nowadays, even big cities don't have much awareness of public health, let alone a town like this." Hao Ren was also very unhappy with the smell around him, but he was glad that his nose was not as sensitive as Lily's, so it was not to the point that he could not stand it. "If it weren't for this environment that caused the plague, the witch-hunting movement would not have become so serious."
"Say, Mr. Landlord, do you have any ideas?" Lily asked Hao Ren in a low voice while enduring the smell and trying to distinguish the presence of otherworldlings. "Why do I feel like it's going to be difficult to find Vivian's hibernation in such a dark place?"
"Of course I have an idea," Hao Ren said confidently. "First of all, our 'landing point' will definitely be near Vivian's hibernation. We don't have to worry too much about it geographically. Second, there will be abnormal supernatural phenomena around Vivian's hibernation. These supernatural phenomena will inevitably attract some people: otherworldling survivors seeking power and heritage, or demon hunters who sniff out the scent. The latter two types of people will lead us to the right place. That's why our first step is to investigate the situation and see if there are any legends of demons and ghosts nearby. It would be best if there are any recent incidents. Then, we can investigate with the identity of an exorcist … Anyway, this is the best method I can think of. Of course, if this doesn't work, I have a backup plan. That is, we'll make a big fuss. This will most likely attract the demon hunters. Then, I'll disguise myself and find a way to sneak into the team of demon hunters to see if I can steal their local surveillance records. There must be some valuable clues in them. But the second plan is very dangerous. More importantly, you must not be exposed to the demon hunters. So, it's best for you to go back to the 'safe house' … "
The 'safe house' that Hao Ren mentioned was the hunter's hut embedded in the boundary of space and time. By luring the locals into the hut, Hao Ren had confirmed that only he and Lily could see and enter the hunter's hut. It was a well-deserved safe house.
"I think the first plan is better." Lily, of course, did not want to go back to the black and white hut. "Don't worry, Mr. Landlord. Even if I encounter the demon hunters, I'm not afraid. Oh, I'm not stupid enough to fight them head-on. I can run if I can't beat them. I have a special bloodline. Even if there's innate hostility in this' old body ', it won't be so hostile. I can easily slip away from the demon hunters. And if it doesn't work, I'll pretend to be your 'prey'. If we encounter otherworldlings, you'll pretend to be my prey. Oh, come to think of it, our combination is invincible. "
Hao Ren was speechless.
He did not know if their combination was invincible or not, but this dog's logic was really invincible!
At this moment, Lily suddenly stopped.
"Wait," she whispered to Hao Ren. "There's someone in front … I smell the magic potion."
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