Hearing Hughes' words, Allen instinctively turned his head to take a look and was instantly stunned. A massive creature, four meters tall, emerged from the darkness. Its tightly bound muscles bulged like those of a skinned frog.
A blood-red fin extended from its tailbone all the way to the top of its head.
"Drowner King!"
Allen exclaimed in shock.
How could such a creature appear here?
He instinctively scanned the Witcher's journal once more, confirming that the current "Conjunction of the Spheres" wasn't something he had triggered by mistake.
Could it be that the Conjunction of the Spheres had truly been revived?
The Drowner King was clearly not a native monster of the Witcher world...
Hmm...
Even drowners weren't, but the Drowner King hadn't even appeared in the original books or the games. In his astonishment, Allen's azure eyes narrowed slightly as he took a closer look.
"This Drowner King seems different from the two we encountered before..."
Allen was somewhat surprised.
After breaking through the iron gate, this Drowner King didn't charge in, nor did it cast an ice spear spell with a "gwaaah" like before. Instead, it crouched down, casually grabbed a drowner, and began gnawing on it. It was as if it hadn't eaten for days.
"Drowner Kings eat drowners too?"
Allen was utterly shocked.
Before he could make sense of it, the drowners that had surged out of the iron gate—those that hadn't died or lost mobility—began recovering from their falls one after another. They stood up, croaking loudly and chaotically.
Seeing the living beings in the arena, their blood-red eyes gleamed as they rushed forward.
"Quick, use Quen!"
Seeing this, Allen shouted to his companions. At the same time, magic power surged rapidly through his body, and he traced a triangle with his right hand in the air.
The next second.
"Boom~"
The rushing drowner collided with a faint golden spherical shield. The shield flickered on and off. Immediately afterward, Allen's body also flashed with a faint golden glow. This was the active shield converting absorbed physical damage into armor for his regular Quen shield.
With only a steel sword in hand—and one that wasn't even sharpened—he had no intention of engaging these drowners head-on.
Under the protection of their active shields, Hughes, Bond, and Fred, upon hearing Allen's words, also quickly cast their own shields. Then, in unison, they used the Aard Sign to push back the approaching drowners.
They also employed the Igni Sign, shooting out faint sparks with their right hands, igniting several drowners in front of them while retreating alongside Allen. Drowners were extremely afraid of fire.
Seeing their burning kin, the remaining drowners immediately retreated, croaking something unintelligible. To the four witchers from the School of the Wolf, drowners were old acquaintances.
Even though Hughes, Bond, and Fred were slightly weaker than Allen, they were still more than capable of handling hordes of drowners.
And so, the four witchers from the School of the Wolf skillfully avoided the drowners and quickly moved toward the iron gate where Vesemir was located.
Just then—
"Allen!"
Vesemir's anxious voice came from behind, and four sword bags dropped onto the ground.
"The iron gate is malfunctioning!"
"The sorcerers responsible for unlocking it have all disappeared!"
"Even Robin was called away not long ago…"
Allen's heart sank upon hearing this. He grabbed his sword bag, unsheathed his silver sword, and with a single swing, decapitated an approaching drowner. Then, with a flick of his middle finger, he pushed forward.
"Bang!"
A powerful shockwave surged forward. Several drowners near Allen were instantly blown away. The monsters behind them were knocked down like dominoes. Though Allen's magical abilities were already on par with Vesemir, his Aard Sign wasn't quite as powerful yet. However, he had already reached the point where he could blow away small-sized monsters, just like Vesemir once had.
At this moment, though, neither Allen nor Vesemir paid much attention to this scene.
Their expressions were grim.
The only way out of the arena was on either side of the platforms where Vesemir and Guxart stood. Of course, the monster entrance where the Drowner King was located was technically an option, but clearly not a viable one.
Vesemir's side was locked, leaving no way out.
And as for Guxart…
Allen glanced back.
The waiting area for the School of the Cat was deserted. It was unclear where Guxart, the leader of the Cat witchers, had fled to. The iron gate was likely locked as well.
Otherwise, that Cat witcher named Jeffery wouldn't have been standing at the gate, refusing to enter, instead frantically swinging his blunt sword to fend off the drowners. As Allen looked over, Jeffery, caught off guard, was bitten on the wrist by a drowner. Within seconds, he was submerged in a nauseating sea of grotesque blue bodies.
As for the other Cat witchers…
Allen glanced at the three groups of drowners surrounding them, with more drowners squeezing their way into the fray, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Were the witchers sent into the arena all discarded members of the School of the Cat?"
"These scum!" Allen cursed. Meanwhile, he noticed that although the stands were in chaos, the drowners and the Drowner King were confined to the arena. Any drowners that were flung into the audience by violent impacts were quickly thrown back into the arena by sorcerers maintaining order.
Without a doubt, this was a premeditated attack aimed at killing the witchers from the School of the Wolf. Whether they were in the arena or seated on the main stage.
As for the Conjunction of the Spheres…
That was just an excuse!
However.
Since Lady Vera had assured him that the safety of the head sorcerer was not his concern, Allen only needed to focus on getting Hughes, Bond, and Fred safely out of the arena. Just as he was pondering how to escape, there was a loud "gwaaah!"
Allen looked in the direction of the sound.
The Drowner King was shaking its head in pain.
The half-eaten, blood-soaked arm of a drowner fell from its mouth onto the ground.
"Buzz~"
The wolf medallion on Allen's chest began to tremble more intensely.
The arm...
Watching the scene, Allen's eyes lit up.
After using Aard to blow away another group of drowners, he quickly turned to the anxious Vesemir and said: "Master Vesemir, there's a Foglet's arm bone in my bag, quickly grab it!"
The Foglet's arm bone allowed its user to turn into mist. As long as there was a gap, they could transform into mist and pass through obstacles. Since it was a magical artifact treated by Lady Vera and not something from the Witcher journal, Allen had allowed other witchers from the School of the Wolf to use it.
Though it hadn't been used frequently, it was more than enough to escape through the fist-wide gaps in the iron fence!
"The Foglet's arm bone!"
Vesemir's eyes lit up, and he quickly turned to retrieve Allen's bag.
"Gwaaah!"
The Drowner King roared again. But this time.
When Allen instinctively looked over, he realized it had locked onto him!
"Allen!"
Vesemir passed the Foglet's arm bone through the gap in the iron bars. Allen immediately handed the arm bone to Hughes. His gaze never left the blood-red eyes of the Drowner King, as if afraid of startling something. In a soft voice, he said: "One by one, I'll draw their attention while you escape!"
"Allen, you first—"
Hughes was about to return the arm bone when Allen interrupted him: "I don't need this. I have another way out. Trust me!"
Without waiting for Hughes' reply, Allen began to walk slowly towards the Drowner King. Hughes stared at Allen's back for a moment, but didn't insist. Since Allen said he had a way out, then he surely had a way out!
Besides…
Hughes cast a contemptuous glance at the large monster that was charging toward them, roaring. Besides, Allen had already killed more than one "Drowner King!"
So, Hughes gripped the Foglet's arm bone tightly, stimulated his mutated organs, and magic instantly flowed through him, surging into the arm bone.
"Poof~"
A soft sound.
Hughes instantly expanded into a faint mist, slowly seeping through to the other side of the iron bars.
----------------------
"Swish~"
A flash of silver light. The five Drowners in front of him were immediately decapitated. Blood spurted from the wounds, and the heavy scent of iron filled the air. As his abilities surged, Allen finally appreciated the true value of Elsa's sword.
When fighting monsters like Drowners, there was no need to worry about bones getting in the way.
No need for any technique.
One swing.
The Drowners in front of him would obediently split into two, or sometimes three, or even four pieces...
How many pieces depended on how cooperative the Drowner was. Did they raise an arm or a hand to block their neck? Was it one arm or two?
It didn't matter. When Elsa swung down, the destination was already determined. Hearing the sound of Hughes turning into mist behind him, a slight smile appeared on Allen's lips.
He hadn't lied.
Allen had multiple ways to leave this cage-like arena, more than just one. Using the Foglet's arm bone to turn into mist was one option. The newly learned Blink was another. This ability also allowed him to pass through obstacles, and was even more useful than turning into mist. Though, due to the influence of the evil god, Allen had to consume Melitele's amulet every time he used Blink. But even if Kreve's amulet was useless, Melitele's amulet could still be used three more times.
Actually.
In the game, Ciri of the "Elder Blood" also had the ability to Blink, and she could even bring others along with her. Unfortunately, Allen hadn't reached that level yet.
"To reach Ciri's level, I'd probably need Blink to be at least level 7," he thought.
As for the third method…
Allen looked up.
"Raaawr~"
A furious roar, accompanied by the ground shaking violently. From out of nowhere, the Drowner King appeared, its gaping maw wide open, charging straight at him with a cloud of dust in its wake!
"As long as I kill the monster in front of me, someone will open the door for me!"
----------------------
In the main stands of the arena.
"The Conjunction of the Spheres! Monsters are coming! Protect His Majesty!"
An attendant, with a terrifying message, rushed up the stairs to the main stands.
"Clang! Clang…"
The sound of swords being drawn echoed as the king's personal guards surrounded Henselt, their swords pointed outward, alert. After Jenks left, Sol was the only outsider left on the main stands and was naturally kept outside the protective circle of the royal guards.
"Sitting beside me is none other than the Dragon Slayer, Sol, a grandmaster Witcher..."
"What's the Conjunction of the Spheres compared to that?"
"No matter how strong the monsters are, Grandmaster Sol will protect me!"
"Isn't that right, Grandmaster?"
Henselt's angry voice rang out from within the guard's protective circle. But the guards didn't disperse; they still surrounded their king, their swords raised outward.
It was as if they weren't preparing for the monsters of the Conjunction of the Spheres, which hadn't appeared in hundreds of years. But were instead guarding against the Witcher whom their king spoke so highly of.
"Of course."
Sol sighed and slowly stood up. He cast an imperceptible glance at Henselt's position, his expression complicated. He was already tired of this charade. He just wanted to fast-forward to the next act. So, he played along.
----------------------
Encircled by his guards, Henselt's mouth curled into a slight smile, showing no fear of the so-called Conjunction of the Spheres.
On the contrary, he was quite pleased with Jenks's arrangement for this scene. Being blocked by the guards, Henselt couldn't see Sol's expression. But he could see the Wolf School Witcher running away, chased by Drowners in the arena below. And so, the fat man's lips curled higher and higher, the folds on his face deepening.
When he saw that Wolf School Witcher named Allen…
The one who made Sol proudly declare, "The finest Witcher of this generation from the Wolf School"...
Standing alone in front of a vicious large monster, stalling for time so his teammates could escape…
He knew…
The time had come.
Sure enough.
As the ugly monster pounced on Allen, and Sol leaned forward as if he couldn't help but jump into the arena…
The leader of the Cat School, Treyse, who had been hiding behind the guard closest to Sol, made his move. His body remained still, but the arm holding the sword stretched out silently, aiming to protect the king. The tip of his sword glinted with an eerie green light as it quickly and quietly thrust toward a point on Sol's back.
A blind spot in the Witcher's senses.
His sword could pierce any armor.
As long as it made even a small wound, the poison on the blade would be enough to incapacitate even the Dragon Slayer. The sword sliced through the air. Though it moved fast, it made no sound, not even a whisper as it cut through the wind.
Silently, it drew closer to the grandmaster of the Wolf School, and with it, the future of Treyse and the Cat School drew closer as well. In that moment, Treyse even imagined building a monument for the fallen Cat School Witchers who had died in this arena.
Unfortunately…
The next second.
"Bang!"
A soft sound.
Golden magical energy shimmered from the sword tip. Treyse' murky yellow cat eyes widened in shock, pupils narrowing to a slit.
When?
When did he activate the Quen sign?
Treyse couldn't believe it. He had been watching Sol closely since they left the camp this morning.
How could Quen last this long?
No, that wasn't the most important question…
The real question was…
Why would he even need to use Quen in such a safe place?
Suddenly, An overwhelming, chilling pressure emanated from the man in front of him, like the coldest winter wind.
In the next instant.
Treyse found himself locked in a stare with a pair of silver-gray cat eyes, devoid of surprise or confusion!
The chill stabbed up his spine to his scalp.
Sol had known all along!
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
201. Henselt is Dead?
202. The Curse Of the Black Sun!
203. A Wolf is a Wolf.
204. Hen Gedymdeith Returns.
205. A Difficult Situation.