After ten arrows, Milva, her hands aching from the effort of drawing the bow, watched as the monster's body began to burn. The flames spread rapidly across its skin.
"Ughroooar!"
The flames finally broke through the Ancient Leshen's defense. He looked up at the sky and let out a deep, suppressed roar, and immediately summoned a cloud of crows. The crows used their feathers, wings, and even their entire bodies to extinguish the fire that covered the Ancient Leshen. Before long, the fire was extinguished.
Milva gritted her teeth in frustration and prepared to fire again, when suddenly she felt a gust of wind.
Turning her head, she saw that more than a dozen forest wolves were rushing towards her in a group.
In her quest to get a better angle to attack the Ancient Leshen, Milva had inadvertently wandered away from the group. Seeing her in danger, House and the others tried to rush to her aid, but they were too far away, while the others were fighting monsters, which prevented them from advancing.
At that critical moment, a black gust swept across the battlefield.
He looked like a whirlwind that cut through the wolf pack with the force of a tank, and in his amber eyes shone an overflowing emotion.
It was Black Wind.
Without Lann, the horse had decided to follow the Cintra team on his own, cutting through the wild creatures and small monsters that crossed his path, killing them as he went in an uncontrollable frenzy.
Despite being out of control, the horse was intelligent enough to recognize the danger. Seeing more beasts approaching under the Leshen's command, Black Wind grabbed Milva's quiver in his teeth and, like a young horse, lifted her off the ground before breaking into a swift run.
The creatures were powerless to stop him. Not a single one managed to reach him.
"The Earl's mount..." Milva murmured absentmindedly. "It's protecting me..."
The female archer was confused for a breath, but she reacted quickly. Her body, suspended in mid-air, turned over nimbly and hugged Black Wind's neck, shouting excitedly.
"Black Wind, run more steadily, let me sit on your back and shoot a few more arrows! With your speed, no other monster can catch up with you, and we will soon...Ahhhhhh!!"
However, before she could finish her sentence, she let out a scream of terror. Black Wind made a sharp turn at an astonishing speed, launching her into the air.
Milva was catapulted straight into the Cintra cavalry team, where her companions quickly caught her in several hands.
Black Wind snorted in disdain, but then he felt something familiar that shook him to the core.
Something made Black Wind understand what he must do, full of determination, he charged straight towards the Ancient Leshen. As his speed increased, a wave of invisible magical energy began to spread out from his body.
With a vibrant sound, an emerald light flashed across his back, forming the figure of a knight in a matter of seconds. As sparks flashed, Lann's figure materialized on the battlefield.
[Teleport]
Kolgrim's eyes widened in disbelief. "What new trick is this?"
Though he expressed bewilderment, seeing that the most powerful witcher had arrived, Kolgrim and all the witchers knew that the fight was decided. They immediately surrounded the Leshen, ready for the final attack.
At that moment, the few human soldiers remaining near the Leshen took the opportunity to retreat, leaving the field clear.
Lann stroked Black Wind's neck. The relationship between the two went far beyond mere tacit understanding; the horse instantly understood his master's intention.
With another turn at breakneck speed, Black Wind launched Lann like a cannonball toward the Leshen.
The Leshen seemed pleased. From its perspective, Lann had become a perfect target. Although he couldn't use magic due to the dimeritium splinters in his body, his gigantic hands would be more than enough to crush any opponent.
But Lann didn't give him the chance. Just as the Leshen's massive hand was about to reach him, the world around Lann began to slow down.
It wasn't like a complete pause in time, but everything seemed to move in slow motion, as if time had been slowed to 10% of its usual speed.
Lann could not move, nor swing his sword, nor cast a sign. He was trapped in the position he had been thrown into.
But his mind continued to function at a normal speed.
His dark golden eyes now shone with an intense emerald color, and it seemed as if energy would burst forth from them at any moment. In his field of vision, a circle expanded from its center, marking all the places he could reach with a simple thought.
[Blink]
With another vibrating sound, Lann vanished into thin air, turning into a trail of light that disappeared just before the Ancient Leshen's hand caught it. The Leshen only managed to grab onto the void.
The monster looked down in confusion, but didn't notice that Lann had appeared standing behind him. Lann punched the ground and suddenly, a purple magic circle appeared around him.
[Yrden Sign]!
The Leshen's body, blackened by the witchers' poisoned silver blade and the flames, once again lit up with a purple light. Sensing the ambush, he tried to turn around, but his movements were greatly slowed. Lann, for his part, easily moved out of his reach.
With a crack, a purple bolt of lightning struck the Leshen, sending it reeling. The impact shattered the small plant growing on its shoulder, along with the human skull hanging there.
Carefully evading the ranks of human soldiers, Lann raised his left hand and activated a new sign.
[Igni Sign - Firestream]!
A massive wave of fire engulfed the Ancient Leshen. The fire swirled around him, forming a massive tornado of flames.
The witchers seized the moment and raised their hands in unison.
[Aard Sign]x4!
The fire, fanned by the wind, became even more ferocious.
Seeing the Earl's bravery in battle, the Cintra riders launched their final attack. On horseback, they circled the tornado of fire, firing arrows into the center as they crushed and cut down the monsters in their path.
At some point, the creatures and monsters that had previously attacked with uncontrollable fury came to their senses. Terrified, they fled deeper into the forest.
Lann knew the battle was won.
...
The fall of the Ancient Leshen meant that the valuable Leshen Decoction was now in Lann's hands.
Lann then looked up, observing the griffins and forktails flying in the sky. After the initial chaos had been overcome, the armies of the various kingdoms had begun to organize an effective attack under the orders of their officers. The creatures that had sown terror until then were shot down by the arrows of the troops that had regained their composure.
Some reckless soldiers charged forward, eager to kill the creatures and gain glory, but what they didn't know was that although those winged beasts had fallen to the ground, they still retained considerable combat power. Ordinary armor couldn't withstand the claws and fangs of the monsters, and the soldiers who recklessly attacked were torn apart in a matter of seconds.
The warriors of Cintra rushed to rescue them.
Human forces lacked experience in combating monsters and did not know how to take advantage of the resources that the bodies of these creatures offered. They did not understand the value of their corpses, nor did they know what mutagenic agents were.
If the kings brought sorcerers or alchemists with them, the situation might be very different. But they did not. So Lann and his party are the biggest beneficiaries of these monsters after their death.
The proud kings, at best, only cut off the heads of monsters for display or distributed a few scales and skins as trophies, which did them no harm.
After ordering several Cintra knights and the witcher Serrit to wait for the flames to die down before processing the Leshen's corpse, Lann leapt agilely onto Black Wind's back and shouted to his troops: "Keep helping! Our allies need us now more than ever! For the North! For Cintra!"
The cavalrymen responded with high spirits: "Yes! Lord Earl! For Cintra! For Lannister! For the lion!"
The battle lasted until dawn.
With the first rays of the sun, the last of the monsters let out an agonized cry before falling heavily to the ground.
In the second half of the battle, Lann barely used the signs.
On the one hand, these monsters were not as dangerous as the Ancient Leshen, so he did not need to be as vigilant. On the other hand, Lann wanted to project an image of a 'human hero' that the soldiers could understand and admire, as he had done when rescuing Meve's team.
For these knights and soldiers, decapitating a beast with a sword was far more respectable and worthy of admiration than blowing it to pieces with a magic cannon.
That night, more than a monster hunt, was the personal spectacle of the Lion of Cintra, Lann.
During the battle, Lann once again changed into the stance of holding two swords. The golden rune sword and the scimitar shrouded in red light were more dazzling than torches in the dark night.
The fighting style the system had granted him, along with his enhancements and mutations, had elevated his physical abilities beyond human limits, allowing him to fight tirelessly until dawn. Every corner of the battlefield had felt his footsteps.
The last monster, a forktail, now lay with its neck pierced by Lann's Aerondight sword, pinned to the ground as if it were an execution.
Lann stood upright on its back, watching the system panel as the experience gauge rose slightly, confirming the creature's death.
At this moment, the familiar system tone rang:
[Character level increase +1]
The massacre of the monsters had caused him to level up again.
Unfortunately, he had not received a hunting mission, otherwise the profits that night would have been much greater.
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