"Bear with the pain!"
"Ahhh!"
A piercing scream echoed through the ruins. The young knight's face was pale, and the veins on his face bulged. It wasn't surprising that the knight couldn't help but scream.
Salting the wound, removing the poison called "Resentment" by the witchers, and cauterizing the wound with heat to stop the bleeding—these pains were akin to torture. But this was the emergency treatment method for wounds inflicted by wraiths.
Although holy water from the clergy or healing from the priests of the righteous gods could be used, which would undoubtedly be gentler, the gash on the young knight's back was so large, and the blood was flowing so profusely, that he couldn't afford to wait that long.
Vesemir withdrew the glowing red-hot dagger.
"Alright, next, just find a place to bandage it up. There won't be any aftereffects."
"Thank you, Vesemir," the middle-aged knight said gratefully.
Unlike Bowen, who had joined not long ago, Fargo had always been one of his men and had completed many tasks assigned by the king alongside him. Fargo was also a family member, the child of his elder sister.
When he saw Fargo being struck down by that monster during the battle, Serio's heart nearly stopped. He was terrified that Fargo might meet a tragic fate, leaving him unable to face his sister's sorrow.
Thinking of this, the middle-aged knight helped Fargo up, turned his head, and said, "And thank you too… um…"
"My name is Allen."
"Thank you too, Allen… If it weren't for you, Fargo would certainly have lost his life by now," the middle-aged knight said sincerely.
Fargo, too, with sweat covering his face, his complexion pale, nodded weakly in gratitude.
"No need to thank me. You came over to block an attack for me just now."
Allen felt a bit uncomfortable with the middle-aged knight's sudden change in attitude.
"It's only right to watch each other's backs on the battlefield, and with the skill you've shown, I was just adding the finishing touch."
The middle-aged knight shook his head, then stood up straight, and said seriously, "Allen, I am Serio Coel."
"The Coel family owes you a debt."
Then, the middle-aged knight nodded toward Vesemir and was about to help Bowen support Fargo as they headed toward the exit of the ruins. The witcher had spoken the truth. They had come to this castle ruin to drive away the wraiths, not to harbor elves.
There was no longer any need for the knights to risk their lives by staying. Witchers were experts in dealing with monsters; they were… just knights.
"Wait a moment, Captain Serio, I have something I'd like to ask," Bowen suddenly said.
"Do you need us to step away?" Serio was momentarily stunned but didn't show any surprise.
Bowen shook his head and looked at Vesemir, saying, "Witcher… sir, I heard you say earlier that these monsters shouldn't have appeared in the daylight, correct?"
Vesemir nodded and said, "That's my experience."
"So this situation is unnatural? Was it because a sorcerer cast a spell? Or did Viscount Hudson summon an evil spirit?" Bowen pressed.
"Hudson summoned an evil spirit?" Vesemir said in surprise. "Why do you suspect that?"
In the Northern Kingdoms, where belief in righteous gods was strong, summoning evil spirits was a deadly blow to a noble's reputation—even rival families wouldn't use this accusation lightly. Because if they weren't careful, it could spark a never-ending noble feud. So, this wasn't a claim to be made lightly, especially since, from what the knights had previously discussed, this knight named Bowen was a kinsman of Hudson.
Serio and Fargo were both surprised; they hadn't heard of this before and couldn't understand why Bowen would let them hear such information.
Bowen hesitated for a moment and then said, "It's not a guess. This was the result of the investigation by the royal sorcerer after Viscount Hudson's family suddenly perished in a fire."
"However, the elders in the family don't believe it."
"Although I didn't know Viscount Hudson, the elders believed he was an upright man and couldn't have summoned evil spirits."
"Moreover, they calculated the time, and given the kingdom's administrative efficiency, the investigation result came out too quickly—it's too suspicious."
"But because summoning evil spirits is a huge stain on the family's reputation, and if the king were to hold onto this, it would damage the family's interests, so they haven't pursued the matter further."
After pausing, Bowen looked up, glanced around at the others, and continued, "Captain Serio might have guessed it by now. I was sent by the family to test the king's attitude and see if we can reclaim this fief. Also, after all this time, the elders are eager to know the truth."
Serio Coel remained expressionless as he listened. He regretted not leaving earlier. The Coel family's highest title was only that of a few barons, most of whom didn't even have fiefs. His entry into the King's Guard was due to his swordsmanship championship, not his family background. He shouldn't have gotten involved in a conflict involving great nobles, the king, and sorcerers.
At this moment, he should've ignored everything, left immediately, and then reported everything that happened when he returned.
After that, he would distance himself from the situation entirely. But unfortunately, the Coel family, though not vassals of the Val family, had many territories that were very close to theirs. Especially Serio's father's fief, which was only separated from the Val family by a small river.
As a result, upon hearing Bowen's words, Serio could only curse inwardly while outwardly pretending as if he hadn't heard anything.
Bowen didn't mind, sighing and then sincerely saying, "Witcher, I didn't intend to reveal this information, but seeing that you seem to have had a good relationship with Viscount Hudson, I decided to be honest with you."
Luckily, he was only here to test the king's attitude. He originally planned to find a time to explore the ruins of the castle alone. Luckily, he hadn't done that. Facing just one wraith had already pushed him to the limit. The thought of venturing in alone made his scalp tingle.
"The School of the Wolf maintains neutrality…" Bowen quickly interrupted before the creed was fully spoken, "I only wish to commission you to help clear out the monsters in the castle and tell us where they came from. It doesn't violate your school's neutrality."
"And we're willing to pay a reward of 1,000 Orens…"
As he spoke, he quickly took out a purse from his leather armor and poured out a shiny silver ingot, handing it to Vesemir, saying, "This is five marks of pure silver, worth five hundred Orens, as a deposit."
Vesemir was still planning to refuse.
"Accept it, Master Vesemir," Allen's mouth moved slightly, urging him in a voice only witchers could hear. So, Vesemir glanced subtly at Allen, hesitated for a moment, and then accepted the silver ingot. Bowen beamed with satisfaction. Seeing Vesemir's troubled expression, he didn't say anything further and was about to leave with Fargo.
As he passed by, his gaze swept over Allen's clear blue cat-like eyes, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "By the way, witcher Allen, how old are you…"
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
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152. As Strong as a Witcher.
153. What is a Genius Witcher?
154. Sol Henrietta.
155. The Witcher, the King, and the Little Wild Cat.
156. The Unexpected Guest.