Of course if you counted him, the prisoner, as well, then there were two!
"Can you roast?" The man in the black robe said, suddenly turning to look at the teenager.
The unexpected question caused the teenager to be at a loss. First he nodded, then he shook his head. For a moment, even he wasn't sure what his reply was.
"You better be able to! Otherwise, I'll eat you!" The man in the black robe released a stream of fire at the tough leather rope binding the teenager, incinerating it into ashes: "Come and help me roast the meat! "
The teenager flexed his numbed limbs, dusting off the ashes left on his skin.
The black ashes dispersed, revealing his undamaged skin below.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
It's important to note that the ropes were binding his body tightly and were pressed into his skin. Yet the mysterious spellcaster was able to wield fire to incinerate the rope and leave his skin untouched. This……this terrifying elemental control was worthy of worship!
In his heart, this mysterious black robed man that had appeared out of nowhere was a powerful deity sent from the heavens to save him. How else would a human be able to control elemental fire to such a precise degree?!
His heart filled with faith, the teenager took the rock out of his mouth and ran to where the mercenaries had left their stuff, drinking until he was full. Then, he washed his hands and face before walking to the campfire and doing his job of roasting the meat.
Greem sat by the campfire, but ignored the teenager. He was still silently communicating with the chip in his mind.
"Beep; battle report……
“Twenty-three total plane natives captured, of which thirteen are witcher-knights, ten are human mercenaries. One person escaped....
“Golem squad. Thirty-seven clay golems mobilised, one pseudo-adept-level stone serpent mobilised. Casualty number is 0......
“Initial battle strength estimate: witcher-knights are equal in power to apprentice adepts. Individual power merged with primitive magical weapons and knight battle techniques, suited for large-scale battlefield melees……"
Greem was slightly stunned.
"How did someone escape? Where is this guy? "
As Greem had that thought, the chip instantly switched to the viewpoint of a wind critter far away.
A scrawny and agile mercenary was running for his life in the dark and lightless woods, not even taking a single look behind him. The protruding branches whipped and slashed him, leaving wounds all over his body, but he would not slow down his steps even a little.
Honestly, Greem had cleared the forest way too thoroughly, causing all the wild beasts to vanish. Otherwise, with the mercenary’s reckless sprint, he would have eventually ended up in the belly of a wild beast.
"Beep; this mercenary took advantage of the chaos and escaped the camp. Asking host; should the Lightning Giant be sent to capture or eliminate him?"
Greem's eye gleamed for a second before he coldly said, "Based on the direction he's running, he should be headed for the human town in the west! Evil Bugs has set up a large web there. Hopefully, that mercenary has the luck to break through. No need to care about him. If he wishes to die, then let him have a taste of Evil Bugs!"
"Right. I felt like these knights have very average power individually. They’re only normal people who’ve received special physical training. Why would you rate them as powerful as apprentice adepts?"
"Beep; the evaluation this time is a conclusion drawn from the combined strength and power of the two parties, viewed from all angles and perspectives……Witcher-Knight is a unique job class that requires the aid of many external objects to unleash their strength. Their standard equipment should be a powerful mount, customized magical equipment, and powerful individual battle techniques. With all this taken into consideration, a fully equipped witcher-knight should not be weaker than an apprentice adept of the same level……"
Greem couldn't help but fall deep into thought when he heard this.
Chapter 174
Warm sunshine pierced through the spotty canopy, spilling onto Mok and making him feel a little relieved.
Some birds nesting in the trees nearby were startled and let out calls high above the canopy, breaking the peace of the woods.
Even though his head was bruised and the corners of his mouth were swollen from an entire night of running frantically and blindly through the dim woods filled with branches, vines, and bushes, ultimately he succeeded in escaping the nightmare that was in the woods.
Mok kept turning his head to look, even though nothing had been pursuing him, as if some invisible demon was following right behind him.
Suddenly, it was bright. The massive forest ended right before a green grass field below a gentle slope. Mok could see the sharp corners of a village's wooden houses and the chimney smoke from afar.
Mok felt relieved when he saw this.
Stumbling out of the woods, Mok ran towards the small mountain village without another look back.
That was the village of Colca!
As a small village on the edge of the Greenland Forest, it was not very prosperous. However, it was still a good place to replenish food and water stocks. Therefore many mercenaries and adventurers that made a living in the Greenland Forest enjoyed resting in Colca Village.
It was deadly silent in the small village.
Logically speaking, this was the time the village hunters were at their busiest, forming parties and venturing into the woods to check if their traps had caught anything. This was the time when the elderly of the village gathered to chat at one end of the village; while the women started drying animal leather that had just been tanned……
Mok looked in confusion at the empty village before him. He didn't even see any of the rowdy brats that were always playing in the village's clearing.
Was everyone in the village absent?
No, someone was in the village!
Mok was a mercenary after all. Even though he wasn't good at fighting or killing, his observation skills were well-honed. He could vaguely see the light reflecting off eyes behind each tightly shut wooden door. He could even hear several people breathing heavily.
"Hank! Thor! Dhaka! Are you here? It's me, Mok! Why are you all hiding? Do you not recognise me? I'm Mok of the Black Bear Mercenaries……"
Having heard Mok's shouts, the door of a wooden house in the village opened. The familiar silhouette of the hunter Hank appeared behind the door. Mok didn't know why, but Hank did not welcome him warmly as he had done in the past. Instead, he stood silently in the shadow of the door, slowly letting Mok inside.
The frightened Mok had spent an entire night running through the forest. He had long since been exhausted and hurriedly ran into the house.
"Hank, I don't care what you have, just get me something to eat and drink first. I still need to rush back to Blue Hillock City after I get a quick rest. Let me tell you something, Hank. You need to warn everyone in the village not to enter the mountains again for the time being. There……"
Mok had adjusted his eyes to the darkness inside and was shocked to find all twelve of the village’s hunters inside. They stood silently in the house, their faces hidden by the shadows that obscured their expressions.
"Are you having a meeting? Don't you know how to light a lamp?"
Mok's words were interrupted by the room turning completely dark. Hank had closed the door!
With the door shut tight, the inside of the wooden house became even dimmer and more ominous!
Mok shivered. For the first time, he realised the strangeness of the situation before him.
He had just taken a step backwards when someone grabbed him from behind. Another two men charged forward, gripping his arms and shoulders with their large, firm hands.
"What are you doing? It's me… it's me, Mok……"
Mok struggled with all his might. His right hand tried reaching for the dagger at the back of his waist, but the three people
surrounding him were thoroughly restraining him. Mountain hunters naturally possessed great strength. And since there were three of them holding him, Mok was unable to fight back.
Mok, who was cursing and screaming, was approached by a hunched silhouette.
He had white hair, a white beard, and a face full of wrinkles. It was the elderly village head of Colca Village, Grampa Norham.
Before Mok could even say Norham's name, the old man with the compassionate face abruptly opened his mouth. And it didn't stop opening. The corners of Grampa Norham's mouth were torn from opening his mouth wider than it could go. It was torn all the way to the base of his ears.
But it wasn’t a mouth he opened. It was… it was a hideous mandible split into four parts! Small sharp teeth lined the edges of the mouth. It was horrifying to look at! Within the mandibles, a hideous and odd scorpion scurried out of the bloody red throat.
Grampa Norham slowly walked forward and used the mandibles to pry open Mok's mouth, spitting the hideous scorpion into his mouth.
Mok was deathly terrified at this point. He squirmed and struggled with all his strength, letting out muffled and sorrowful wails from his mouth.
Sadly, nothing he did mattered!
The horrifying scorpion successfully squeezed its way inside his throat. After a moment, the three men let go of his arms, but Mok was no longer struggling. The pained expression on his face had vanished, turning into a numb and vacant look.
He put down his arms. A dark red glint lit up deep within his pupils. Like the other hunters, he waited silently in the darkness for his master's orders.
At the same time, a nearly invisible wind critter was floating above the wooden house. It seemed to be silently waiting for something.
"Hpmh! Greem, you've overstepped your boundaries!" A mental flux that sounded like the screeching of insects suddenly rang within the consciousness core of the wind critter.
"This is not overstepping my boundaries! This is just tracking!" Greem's listless voice was also transmitted through this temporary mental link. "As you can see, I'm tracking my prey! Should I go to Keoghan and complain about you intercepting my prey while I'm hunting?"
"Hmph! You can go complain if you wish to! Keoghan gave me the order to seal off the mountains and woods here and not let anyone through. I’m merely following my orders. What about you, huh? A powerful flame adept, yet you let a mere mercenary walk through your territory untouched. Perhaps you should explain your incompetence to Keoghan!"
"There's no need… since you've intercepted the prey, I'll let the issue slide. I'm leaving!" Once Greem finished speaking, the wind critter slowly rose, as if it was about to leave.
"……” Acteon, who had been hiding in the darkness, immediately became vigilant.
For as long as Acteon had known him, Greem had never been such an easygoing person. He couldn't help but feel something was wrong with Greem giving way so easily this time.
Just as Acteon was racking his brains for an explanation, a mental flux was transmitted from the wind critter that was high in the skies now. "Oh right, Acteon. Do you always neglect to check your targets' bodies before turning them into bugmen?"
Having said that, the wind critter dashed to the woods without even looking back.
Just then, the temperature of Mok's body started rising rapidly. Almost instantly, his entire body was converted into a human bomb. When his blood and flesh heated up to the critical limit, he exploded with a bang.
Most of the "bugged" hunters were standing close together in the house, causing Mok's explosion to drag the other seven bugmen to their deaths. They melted in agony, riddled with holes by the bone fragments and boiling blood that went flying everywhere.
Acteon had placed a heart-devouring bug, that he bred personally, inside each of the bugmen. In that instant, eight heart-devouring bugs had died. It was easy to imagine the Spiritual pain Acteon felt at that moment.
The very next moment, Acteon's angered screams and curses filled the skies.
Sadly, the wind critter had already escaped!
…………
When Greem brought his prisoners back to the adepts' base, the teenager followed beside him.
The teenager’s name was Edwin. His hometown was in a faraway place known as Clyde. There, they produced fragrant grape wine and were famous for having breathtaking scenery. Unfortunately… after he awakened that odd talent, he was forced to leave his hometown and lead a life of vagrancy and hiding.
Even if he hid in the depths of the Greenland Forests, he would still be tracked down and trapped by the witcher-knights, who were as crazed as mad dogs. Six of the seven people with whom he had lived together for half a year were now dead. He was the only survivor. The witcher-knights had only spared him because they wanted to publicly execute him in the city.
However, his life had completely turned around after last night. From now on, he was on a completely different path!
It had only been two or three days, but the base had undergone great change once again.
Standing tall was a stone tower three levels high. A dozen robotic beasts were levitating on the outside of the tower, carefully carving unique rune patterns on the walls of the tower.
This was not a true adept's tower yet, but after being strengthened with Runes of Toughness, Runes of Magic Resistance, and Runes of Divination-Obscuring, it sufficed as a temporary residence for the adepts. The crafting of higher quality magical items and potions required the use of alchemy labs and alchemy stands.
That was why the construction of an adept tower was of utmost importance!
Upon returning this time, Greem realised that the voodoo beasts in the outer rim of the base had doubled. Furthermore, Greem found traces of the beasts he had delivered previously on some of the stronger adept-level voodoo beasts.
These included the Bloodthirsty Man-eating Demons, the Wild Giant Apes and the Toxic Giants……
These powerful adept-level voodoo beasts were very crudely crafted. Their biological systems were unstable. Just one look, and Greem could tell that these were inferior products created on the spot. Although these beasts would not suffer any loss to their strength and would easily reach the level of adepts, their life force would only sustain them for one to two months before failing.
Just as Greem was passing the prisoners over to Keoghan, the teenager Edwin was looking over everything in the base with feelings of worship.
This was the holy land of spellcasters of his dreams! This was a place he was willing to defend with his life!
Chapter 175
Blue Hillock City, Tulip Hotel.
A pale but mean-looking thug strode across the crowded lobby and went past the suites filled with waitresses. He walked along an inconspicuous alley into a hall guarded by several tough men, before finally turning into a remote location at the backyard of the hotel.
The ones waiting here were all young but amazingly talented people. There were even exceptional individuals amongst them that the castellan had recruited from several major cities nearby. Their talents were in various fields, but there was a common similarity to their appearances. The men were handsome, while the women were beautiful. Everyone one of them had pale complexions, vaguely resembling ancient nobility that never went out in the sun.
These young men and women gathered in small groups in the hall, corridor, and on the sofas, having passionate conversation with each other. Strangely, the use of odd words such as ‘blood treats’, ‘Embrace’ and the sort permeated their conversations.
Swiftsword Jake was used to this scene. He quickly went past everyone, and rushed to the secret room at the innermost section of the building. The group of people might look like they were flirting with each other, but in truth, they were spread out and positioned in such a way that they closely guarded the secret room.
Should any outsider that didn't belong to their ‘clique’ enter, they would likely be brutally torn to pieces in minutes.
The youths guarding the door
took a good look at Jake before silently opening the wooden door behind them.
There was almost no furniture in the secret room, with the exception of bed so large it could be considered opulent. Two extremely attractive women, that were hardly wearing anything, laid on both sides of Mary, diligently serving her.
A naked young girl hung on the room’s ceiling, pinned by daggers on her limbs and chest. Drops of bright red blood seeped through the wounds, dripping down the dagger. Flowers of blood slowly bloomed on the bodies of the three people on the large bed, drop by drop, dyeing them crimson.
The three, however, were not worried by this at all. In fact, the two beautiful ladies even used the tip of their tongue to catch the dripping blood, letting out seductively lewd moans as they did so. They were thoroughly enjoying it!
The scene within the room was so extravagant and seductive, yet Jake didn't dare to stare. He bowed and spoke softly, "Mistress, the witcher-knights you had us observe have made a move. Around a hundred people suddenly surged into Blue Hillock City today. Though they tried to be covert, I've already sent someone to probe them. They are witcher-knights from outside. They’re spread all across the city, but the leaders have already made it to the camp!"
Mary suddenly sat up and coldly stared at her subordinate, "You have already probed them? You didn't startle or alert them, did you?"
Mary's blood red pupils lit up, and instantly the debaucherous atmosphere within the room vanished. All the blood servants immediately stopped what they were doing and anxiously waited for instructions from their master.
Mary's threatening stare terrified Swiftsword Jake. Hurriedly he explained, "There's no need to worry, Mistress! We did not use any of our own men to probe the knights. We had several street urchins annoy the targets. Some of them saw the unique runic weapons of the witcher-knights under their robes."
Mary finally nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. Relaxed, she lied down once more.
"Do not forget your identity. You are a gang subordinate to a local noble. Just monitor them. Do not overstep your boundaries. As long as you do not do anything that oversteps the boundaries of your identity, they will not suspect you. Also, I need to know their purpose here!"
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