Wolf School?
The Angren Free Mercenary Company, originating from the Angren region of Temeria, naturally wasn't influenced by Kaedwen's disdainful attitude toward witchers.
On the contrary, as the leader of a professional mercenary company that frequently traveled far and wide, he was quite familiar with witchers.
Compared to the cruelty of the Cat School or the coldness of the Bear School, the Wolf School had the best reputation and the strongest witchers among all the schools. They were the best travel companions.
And indeed, this proved to be true.
The witchers who appeared near the convoy, though young in age and few in number, moved with light steps, wielded their swords with skill, and cooperated seamlessly.
They were even more seasoned than these old mercenaries, who had honed their teamwork through years of battlefield experience.
The moment they joined, the collapsing battle line was immediately stabilized.
What's more, they even had the energy to laugh and compete with each other like children, counting how many ghouls they had killed.
"This isn't right…" Seeing the young, smiling faces of the approaching witchers, their lean physiques, Ryan thought to himself, 'They're just kids.'
Grotesque monsters baring their teeth, children wielding silver swords, the blood-soaked wilderness painted black by humanity's infighting…
'This world is truly messed up…' Ryan sighed.
"What's wrong?" Dana walked over.
"Nothing…" Looking at Dana's face, smeared with blood and marked by dirty tear streaks from her worry for him, Ryan felt warmth in his heart.
Gripping the sword in his hand, he said firmly,
"Let's fight together, Dana. The Free Angren never lets their reinforcements fight alone!"
"Got it!" Dana nodded forcefully and drew her short sword.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions interrupted the two, just as they were about to join the fray.
This time, the explosions occurred near the convoy. The rush of air from the blasts carried the stench of burning flesh and smoke, enveloping them.
Ryan quickly turned to look.
Amid the smoke and dust, familiar blue eyes shone faintly, like a dragon hidden in the clouds.
Noticing Ryan's gaze, the blue eyes seemed to glance at him briefly before disappearing again.
"It's him!"
Surveying the battlefield, Ryan noticed that the explosive monsters, which his mercenaries had struggled to deal with at a one-to-one exchange, were being obliterated in droves by the middle-aged witcher and the young witcher. It was as if squashing ants was easier than their relentless slaughter.
"The Wolf School is truly formidable!"
The leader of the Free Angren Mercenary Company clicked his tongue in admiration, swinging his sword toward a stray ghoul.
But no matter how strong the Wolf School was, there was still a monster as large as several wagons combined, lurking on the battlefield's edge and watching intently.
The immense pressure it exuded enveloped the battlefield, making everyone's legs tremble. Even the middle-aged witcher from the Wolf School didn't dare to face it directly.
And that monster could join the ghouls' assault at any moment.
"The Wolf School lives up to its legendary reputation, disregarding their own safety for honor. But the Free Angren cannot let our brave allies risk their lives to save us."
Ryan furrowed his thick eyebrows. Glancing at his brothers, exhausted from the prolonged battle, his hesitant gaze turned resolute.
"Kill these ghouls as quickly as possible and support the Wolf School reinforcements!"
"The witchers need the strength of the Free Angren!"
"Yes, Captain!" The surrounding mercenaries responded loudly.
------------------
On the other side.
The massive alghoul, which Ryan had described as "watchful" and "terrifying," stood stunned, looking at the battlefield, where the tide had suddenly turned. Its steps faltered.
The thought of running away quickly overtook its not-so-bright mind.
----------------
"Rotfiends are surprisingly easy to deal with!"
Having just dispatched a group of seven rotfiends, Allen thought to himself. With a quick decision, he cast an invisibility spell and charged into the wind toward two rotfiends standing dumbfounded.
At fifteen meters away, he bent his index finger and thrust his hand forward.
Igni – Flame Sign.
A surge of heat rose from his heart, flowed through his right hand, and erupted outward.
The blazing flames coalesced into a white-hot serpent of fire, igniting the air around the rotfiends even before reaching them.
Boom! Boom!
Fiery blossoms exploded in rapid succession.
In an instant, the two rotfiends were obliterated, their flesh vaporized into ash.
All that remained were two charred, smoking craters.
"Rotfiends are surprisingly easy to deal with!" Allen repeated, once again amazed.
In the game, rotfiends were designed for balance; no matter what skill you used, you had to reduce their health to a certain level before they exploded.
But in reality…
These rotfiends were like walking gasoline barrels, igniting and exploding upon contact with open flames. They even exploded faster than when they triggered their own self-destruction.
At the right distance, one Igni sign…
Damn!
It was exhilarating!
Especially when multiple rotfiends were clustered together—it was even more satisfying than watching dominoes collapse in perfect sequence in his past life.
Allen was almost reluctant to stop.
"Allen! The alghoul is about to flee!"
The witcher turned abruptly toward the alghoul's direction, locking eyes with its crimson pupils.
"Roar!"
The alghoul bared its massive maw, letting out a high-pitched roar.
Its muscles tensed as it crouched on all fours, ready to pounce like a tiger or leopard, threateningly leaning forward.
This seemed to contradict Vesemir's earlier assessment.
But having hunted alghouls before, Allen knew this was just the creature's posturing to mask its cowardice.
During a previous hunt, he had made the mistake of stopping when a alghoul assumed an attack stance. To his surprise, the moment he halted, the alghoul used the opportunity to flee at lightning speed, delaying his hunt by hours.
And sure enough.
The cunning creature's red eyes darted nervously. Its front claws remained fixed, but its hind legs suddenly dug into the earth.
Its forward-leaning body was about to pivot.
But Allen wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.
"Fir..."
The elegant, ancient incantation echoed across the battlefield.
A golden-brown ripple, visible only to witchers, spread toward the alghoul like ripples on a river's surface.
Simultaneously.
The mutated organ near Allen's heart channeled energy, combining it with the mental focus from his brain.
With his right hand extended, his index and middle fingers together, he swiftly drew an inverted triangle in the air.
Axii – Mind Control Sign.
A stream of silvery light shot like a homing arrow, piercing the alghoul's crimson pupils. The beast froze, caught in the combined assault of Axii and the Wild Word.
Unlike drowners, ghouls, and rotfiends, alghouls possessed intelligence. And with intelligence came susceptibility to the Axii sign.
To be safe, Allen had also used the Wild Word to forcefully lower its hostility.
Sure enough.
Under the double influence of the signs and the beast-howl, the cunning creature froze mid-movement.
'No danger~'
Through the two channels, Allen transmitted the same thought.
Before the witcher could influence the situation further,
the head of the alghoul with black spikes swayed dizzily in the air, drew two circles, and fell onto a rusty metal tower shield—where it promptly fell asleep.
"Boom~"
It was as if an ancient monastery's bell had been struck.
This "bell sound" didn't wake the alghoul, but it made every living being on the battlefield instinctively look in the direction of the noise.
"What's wrong with that monster?"
Ryan hesitated for a moment before slaying a drowner that had lost its right arm and left leg. The monster had suddenly frozen, distracted by the alghoul's strange behavior.
"I… I don't know..." Dana, standing next to Ryan, was equally stunned. "It seems... it might have something to do with that blue-eyed witcher?"
After exchanging a bewildered glance, the two of them simultaneously turned to the nearest witchers. They found the witchers just as surprised, wide-eyed as they stared at the bizarre scene.
"Roar~"
Their astonishment lasted only a few seconds—the time it took for the alghoul to fall asleep and the drowners to collectively freeze.
A few seconds later, the drowners seemed to go mad. They roared and frantically surged toward the alghoul, forcing everyone else to try their hardest to stop them.
Though no one understood what method the blue-eyed witcher had used, it was clear that the alghoul was at a disadvantage, and the drowners could not be allowed to disrupt the situation.
The battle entered a fever pitch.
The crazed drowners, with heavy breathing and bloodshot eyes, attacked with terrifying intensity, forcing even the younger witchers, who had grown adept at hunting them, to remain on high alert.
But everyone occasionally glanced at the heart of the battlefield.
-------------------
The soft steps of leather boots moved across a terrain of potholes, decaying flesh-covered bones, and rusty swords and shields.
The witcher moved lightly until he stood before the enormous body of the alghoul.
Even then, the creature remained asleep.
It was as if this desolate battlefield had become a warm, albeit foul-smelling, nest for the monster, with the cold, rusty shield serving as its favorite pillow made of human bones.
A moment of strange harmony prevailed.
But the drowners were now utterly frenzied.
"Roar~ Roar~ Aaaah—!"
The deafening roars of the creatures echoed across the battlefield, as though they were desperately trying to awaken the alghoul.
They ignored the silver weapons of the witchers and mercenaries, charging forward despite gushing blood, severed limbs, and exposed innards, all aiming for the alghoul.
The witchers and mercenaries left behind could only shout in frustration and chase after them.
Amid the chaos, Allen stood calmly at the giant creature's neck.
Its grotesque maw, larger than his entire body, hung slightly open, exhaling a foul stench.
In this position, if the alghoul suddenly awoke, a single bite could swallow him whole.
"Huuh~"
The witcher exhaled slowly and focused his mind.
[Monster Hunt]
Time seemed to slow as the alghoul, sensing danger, twitched its pitch-black eyelids, struggling to wake from its nightmare.
But it was too late.
Elsa, his sword, shimmered with a sharp, silver glow. Its tip pointed skyward.
"Swish!"
The blade slashed through the air, creating a fierce gust.
"Splurt—"
It tore through the coarse skin, the intricate muscle fibers, veins, and bone.
"Roar—!"
The searing pain and overwhelming sense of danger made the alghoul snap its crimson eyes open in agony.
Dark red blood gushed out like a fountain, spraying over three meters high.
As the creature began to struggle,
Ding!
[Monster Hunt progress: 100%]
A cold, mechanical system notification rang briefly before cutting off.
"Clang!"
Elsa's blade struck the rusty tower shield.
The huge, spiked head fell heavily to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
Allen quickly retreated several steps, evading the flailing claws of the now-headless giant drowner ghoul as it received its final death signal.
Dust billowed as its body thrashed weaker and weaker.
"When did large monsters become so easy to decapitate? It didn't even struggle—it practically offered its head willingly..."
Vesemir, who had just rushed over from the other side of the battlefield, looked dazed.
He could tell that Allen had used the Axii Sign.
That particular mind-control sign indeed had remarkable effects on monsters like the alghoul, which possessed some level of intelligence.
But at most, Axii could incapacitate them for just one second, and external disturbances would shorten that duration even further.
What kind of Axii Sign could make a alghoul fall into a deep sleep?
Even after smashing its head onto iron, it didn't wake...
Vesemir found the whole thing incomprehensible.
"Could it have been the incantation Allen used when casting Axii?" the witcher master pondered. "If so, Allen might've just come up with a groundbreaking technique!"
The mercenaries and witchers chasing after the drowners also stared at Allen's elegant silhouette in shock.
"Do witchers really need Angren Free company?" Dana asked absentmindedly, glancing at her leader.
Under his steel helmet, Ryan's face was red with emotion.
----------------------
With the alghoul slain by Allen, morale soared, and the remaining drowners were swiftly eliminated.
Ding!
[Monster Horde "alghoul" Lv59 Defeated!]
[Reward Calculation: Crushing Victory—Base Rating: D; Overleveled Kill +3—C; Decapitation Fear +3—B; Underdog Victory +3—A]
[Final Rating: A]
[Loot Acquired: Alghoul Heart Essence, Drowner Heart Essence ×37, Ghoul Heart Essence ×8, XP Pearls ×12, Ghoul Treasure Chest ×5, Drowner Treasure Chest ×5, Corrupted Ghoul Treasure Chest ×5]
[Battle Points Earned: 1510 (Drowner 10×37 + Corrupted Ghoul 20×7 + alghoul 1000×1)]
Ding!
[Witcher Codex: Alghoul Activated!]
Ding!
[Hunting Quest: Alghouls (Kill 0/100) Activated. Accept the quest?]
The ringing of the harvest bells resounded in Allen's mind. He opened his Witcher Codex and casually accepted the new hunting quest. Then, glancing at the bounty evaluation, his eyes sparkled with joy.
The joy wasn't just because the A-rated evaluation resulted in a generous haul of essence, XP pearls, and treasure chests.
The battle points alone were enough to upgrade an Lv2 skill to Lv4.
More importantly, this time, Allen had truly relied on his own strength (Monster Hunt served only as a safety net and wasn't actually used) to easily slay a large monster.
Just over a month ago, he had been running helplessly, led around by this very type of monster.
The dramatic improvement in his abilities was exhilarating!
"Splurt~"
Pondering how to allocate the spoils and battle points, Allen pulled out a dagger from his belt and began collecting materials from the alghoul's corpse.
Although he could've delegated this messy task to other witchers, the materials from a alghoul were rare. Its bone marrow was a primary ingredient for brewing a powerful potion. So he decided to handle it himself while the materials were still fresh.
At that moment, a voice suddenly called out from behind him:
"Excuse me... Are you the 'Blue Death,' Sir Allen of Ellander?"
.....
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334. The Dwarf Princess in Need of Rescue.
335. A Unique Grandmaster Wolven Armor Set.
336. A Stalemate.
337. Neutrality?
338. Repaying a Favor or Owing One?