"Shh!"
A sharp blade cut through the air. The ground, littered with rubble and weeds, was gouged with a deep furrow. Dark soil, severed earthworms, and tangled roots lay just a hand's breadth from Allen's eyes.
The earth was torn up, the debris sent flying. The stench of the soil mixed with the fresh scent of grass juice, entering his nostrils with each ragged breath.
With the rhythm of the attack disrupted, Allen could barely defend himself.
Unlike in the game, where the time between each flash of the Wraith's green light was almost identical, in reality, the interval after each flash varied by half a second to a second, making it difficult to predict.
The main issue was that the Wraiths, which were supposed to be mindless, somehow retained memories from before their deaths. The Wraith wielding the short-handled scythe was easier to deal with, merely swinging its weapon wildly as if cutting grass. But the one with the longsword was a different story.
This Wraith fought like a sword master, each move targeting Allen's most difficult defenses. Even when the scythe-wielding Wraith attacked, the longsword Wraith found gaps to exploit.
As the scythe struck towards his right arm, the longsword would be slicing towards his back the very next moment. The Wraith had an excellent grasp of timing.
Allen couldn't find a moment to catch his breath, not daring to even block with his sword for fear that the rusty blade would stab him from an unnoticed angle.
"No wonder that knight was seriously injured at the beginning of the fight," Allen thought.
This longsword-wielding Wraith was far stronger than the others.
Whoosh~
After another roll to avoid being attacked from both sides by the Wraiths, Allen felt like a ball being tossed around by them. The golden glow of his Quen shield flickered and restored. The explosive effect of his LV3 Quen shield, which he had hoped for, pushed back the two Wraiths but only bought him enough time to cast the next Quen sign.
Damn it!
What should I do?
His heart pounded loudly as he gasped for air like a bellows. His stamina was running low!
Just then, a shout from the middle-aged knight reached his ears.
"Come over here, witcher apprentice!"
Without hesitation, Allen rolled three or four meters toward the sound.
Clang!
Sparks flew as a cold steel sword parried the longsword of the Wraith. However, the middle-aged knight struggled, stepping back half a step to absorb the impact before stabilizing his stance.
But with each successive strike from the longsword-wielding Wraith, the knight seemed to handle it with increasing ease.
"Impressive!" Allen's eyes lit up.
Even though the knight's strength was clearly inferior, his technique and footwork allowed him to firmly control the Wraith. As expected of the king's bodyguard, or rather the swordsmanship champion of Kaedwen, he certainly lived up to his reputation.
Clang!
With the sound of metal clashing, Allen deflected the scythe, his right hand brushing the ground as magic surged through him.
Yrden sign!
The pale purple magic trap once again slowed down the scythe-wielding Wraith, limiting its ability to blink.
"Ah!"
With a hoarse, drawn-out scream of rage from the Wraith, Allen mentally used a drowner heart essence potion to restore his stamina. After a deep breath, Allen finally had enough energy to scan his surroundings.
Vesemir continued to hold three Wraiths at bay, occasionally focusing on one and delivering two or three heavy strikes. Judging by the Wraith's fading transparency, it would likely take Vesemir another three to four minutes to finish off the first one. That's how it is for witchers without Wraith oil or Moondust.
They can only rely on the reaction between silver and spirits to wear them down and purify them. Especially considering that Vesemir was using an ordinary fine silver sword. If he were using Elsa, he could cut down the time by at least half.
The two royal bodyguards each fought a Wraith, but since they weren't wielding silver swords, they could barely harm the Wraiths in their ethereal form. However, their skilled swordsmanship and footwork allowed them to steadily control the two Wraiths as they gradually adapted to their blinking.
But judging by the occasional glances they cast at Vesemir and the slight trembling of their arms, it was clear that they wouldn't last much longer under the Wraiths' immense strength.
"It's time to end this!"
Allen made up his mind.
[Monster Hunt]
Time seemed to freeze for a moment, the dust suspended in the sunlight slowing down its dance. Perhaps because this scythe-wielding Wraith was already weakened.
Two brilliant flashes of silver light.
Ding!
[Monster Hunt] 100%
With a rhythmic pace, Allen's footfalls echoed on the blood-red footprints.
After dodging an attack with a side step, he leapt forward, blinking to the scythe-wielding Wraith's back. A thin line of blood appeared as Allen pivoted on one foot, spinning halfway around.
Slash!
The cold gleam of the blade and the bloodline overlapped.
The Wraith, which should have been intangible and only susceptible to pure silver, reacted as though it had a physical form. The hooded head, along with the dark yellow hood, was severed and fell to the ground, disintegrating into a pile of black dust before it even landed.
"One down..." Allen murmured, then mentally consumed another essence potion to restore his stamina. The middle-aged knight could still hold on, but the younger knight's sword was beginning to slip under the Wraith's repeated heavy blows.
"Let's save Bowen first..." he thought.
Activating Monster hunt again.
Allen quickly stepped into the young knight's combat zone, and with the knight looking on in shock, he beheaded the pitchfork-wielding Wraith with four strikes. Potion, Monster Hunt, beheading, potion...
In the overgrown castle main path, Allen was a storm of flashing silver light. Wherever he went, the wind howled, the blades whistled through the air, and metal clashed.
[Monster Hunt] was particularly effective against Wraiths; as long as it was a one-on-one fight, it worked wonders. Perhaps due to the lack of physical protection, his mental power and the aura of spirits intertwined, causing the Hunter's instinct bar to fill up rapidly. Even without attacking, the bar increased by one percent every three seconds. Each time his silver sword struck a spirit, the bar increased by more than 30%.
In just a few moments.
The Wraiths fell one by one under the chant of "two down, three down, four down..."
With a final piercing scream, they turned into black dust.
Ding!
[Monster Group "Wraiths" Lv37 defeated!]
[Reward Calculation: Victory in Adversity, Base Rating D, Overcoming Higher Level Foes +3—C, Beheading Terror +3—B]
[Final Rating: B]
[Obtained Loot: Wraith Purification Essence6, Experience Beads9, Wraith Chests*4]
[Ding! Hunting Mission: Wraiths I (Kill Wraiths 0/50) has been activated. Accept?]
Wraith Purification Essence?
No more heart essence potions?
After a moment of surprise, Allen quickly understood. Makes sense, Wraiths don't really have hearts; they're just a bunch of spirit entities that turn into black ashes when killed. But what attributes does this Purification Essence enhance?
His heart raced with excitement.
Time to level up again.
Anticipation!
"Phew~"
Allen let out a long breath, casually accepted the mission, and twirled his sword before sheathing it.
"Witch... Witch... Witcher apprentice, do you know Viscount Hudson too?"
A sudden exclamation interrupted Allen's thoughts.
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
150. A Product Never Seen Before.
151. A New Commission.
152. As Strong as a Witcher.
153. What is a Genius Witcher?
154. Sol Henrietta.