Where Are the Ghoul Models?

"Although our destinations are all outside the city, they are not remote places; there are villages all around..."

After the carriage had been traveling for a while, Ianna suddenly spoke, breaking the silence inside the carriage.

Ailin looked in the direction of the sound.

Sitting next to him in a row, Ianna leaned against a soft lumbar pillow, her expression gentle.

The Old Duke across from him leaned on his cane, his posture upright, but he had been resting with his eyes closed ever since he ordered the coachman to set off.

He didn't open his eyes when he heard Ianna speak.

There are villages all around, which means we definitely won't encounter too many monsters along the way...

Ailin thought about Ianna's words and felt more confident.

That makes sense.

If some great monster were to attack, how could the Grand Duke allow the soldiers to leave?

"What kinds of monsters did you encounter when preparing for the ritual in the past?" the demon hunter asked, taking a responsible attitude.

"The most likely thing we'll encounter is ghouls," Ianna thought for a moment, then sighed. "Temeria has been through several wars in the past few years..."

"Although Falga was killed by the old King Gedymar of King of Temeria at Hottberg Fortress thirty years ago, the chaos she stirred up will not end so quickly..."

"Eight years ago..."

"The last remaining rebel force of Falga was suppressed by Merlin's troops in an unnamed hill south of Arland..."

The Old Duke, who was mentioned, twitched his nose slightly, but did not open his eyes or speak.

However, with Ailin's keen senses, he could detect that Erin's head tilted upwards.

"And then, five years ago..."

"A plague known as the Black Death broke out in the Vizima."

"To facilitate treatment by the temple's priests and healers, the sick civilians were also isolated in the Kam Valley, not far from Arland..."

"Finally, it was three years ago..."

Ianna glanced at the Old Duke and continued:

"Because of the royal family's outrageous behavior, the nobles of Temeria launched a rebellion..."

"For some reason, one of the battlefields is also very close to Arland..."

"Hmph!" The Old Duke snorted lightly, his face unusually grim, and opened his eyes, glaring at Ianna with annoyance.

"What?" The Old Duke's reaction seemed to anger Ianna, causing the High Priest's face to turn cold immediately.

"Are you saying that people can't talk about the dirty deeds of your royal family?"

"Because of a prince's infidelity, at least fifty thousand people died in Temeria..."

"Thump!"

Ianna was interrupted when her cane struck the bottom of the box.

"Amavet isn't necessarily the king's son," the Old Duke argued with a sour face. "He could very well be that bastard Falga's illegitimate child..."

"If something goes wrong, you're called Falga's bastard; if nothing goes wrong, you're called your Gedymar's good child?" Ianna sneered.

The veins on the back of the Old Duke's hand, gripping his cane tightly, bulged out from the force.

"Gedymar is not only my brother, but also your king, and the guardian of all Temeria ..."

"A guardian?" Ianna smiled. "What has he been protecting?"

"Besides..."

"In my heart, there is only one queen..."

The High Priest and the Old Duke inexplicably started arguing over a perfectly normal question about one of their Witcher.

This left Ailin somewhat bewildered.

What baffled him even more was how Falga had a child with the King of Temeria, and the child was a prince of Temeria.

Isn't the Queen of Gedymar the heir to the Elder Blood, Reanlon?

etc...

Ailin frowned and thought carefully for a moment.

The Hottberg triplets!

He remembered that after Falga imprisoned Reanlon, the two of them had children at almost the same time in Hottberg Castle.

Falga believed that only a queen was qualified to be her child's wet nurse.

So she put her own child with Reanlon's twins, who were already mentally unstable, and let her nurse her own child.

After the fortress was finally breached by Gedymar and Falga died, no one could ever tell which of the triplets was Falga's child and which was Gedymar and Reanlon's child.

But...

He seemed to remember that Falga's child had been confirmed to be a girl...

Ailin glanced at Duke Mason and Ianna, who were still arguing, and wisely refrained from asking the question.

On the other hand...

Three major upheavals within ten years.

Temeria has truly suffered many misfortunes!

"Most of them are Ghoul, and sometimes you'll see Giant Ghoul and Rotfiend. That's about it..."

The Old Duke seemed unwilling to argue with Ianna about Temeria's scandal in front of the Witcher.

After glancing at Ailin, he spoke the answer to the question on behalf of the High Priest.

Ailin nodded upon hearing this.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the dark red Necrophage Oil from the medicine pouch at his waist and carefully applied it to Elsa.

Although, judging from the Old Duke's tone, the probability of encountering Giant Ghoul and Rotfiend is not high.

But if there's an opportunity to prepare in advance, of course you should seize the time to get ready.

Anyway, the ingredients for Ghoul Oil are very cheap.

"What's this?"

The Old Duke frowned and asked.

He had been on the battlefield when he was young and knew that what Ailin took out was not the anti-rust oil used for routine weapon maintenance and polishing.

"This is Necrophage Oil... uh... a Sword Oil specifically for ghouls..."

"Sword Oil? Necrophage Oil?" The Old Duke's brows furrowed even more.

He searched through his memories but couldn't find such a potion.

This should not be done.

As the Duke of Arland, he could even buy potions like the Veridian Sigh.

and...

Everyone knows about his establishment of the Monster Hunter Army in recent years; there's no reason why no one should have heard of such a potion whose effects are obvious just from its name.

"Sword Oil is a potion recipe created by Ailin himself..." Ianna said.

The Old Duke stared at the excessively young witcher with suspicion, and immediately lost interest in the potion called Sword Oil.

He even felt that the young man in front of him was being a bit attention-seeker.

"Hahaha~" Seeing the Old Duke's change in expression, Ianna guessed what he was thinking. After laughing a few times, she explained, "Besides being Witcher Master, Ailin is also Vesemir's alchemy apprentice. She told me that Ailin has an exceptional talent for potions..."

"Hmph~" The Old Duke opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something.

But when she noticed Ianna's smiling gaze, she gave a soft hum and then shut her mouth.

However, Ailin noticed...

The Old Duke's eyes kept glancing at Elsa's sword, which gleamed with a dark red sheen, clearly showing his interest in the Necrophage Oil.

This made Ailin raise an eyebrow, and he had some thoughts in mind.

Although Haxor, who wanted to stop the School of the Wolf's gift money, is already dead.

But even if the new king of Kedwen doesn't hate the School of the Wolf, it's unlikely that he'll make up for the missed gift every year as he has in the past.

Expanding the number of apprentices is inevitable, and the expenses for various magical potions within the school will certainly rise rapidly.

perhaps...

It's time to find a new way for the school of thought to make money.

in addition.

He now has over 20,000 Oren, which is considered quite wealthy.

But the materials consumed in the ceremony over these three days are almost this much.

A real man shouldn't always be a kept man.

However, Ailin, who noticed the Old Duke's interest, said nothing and continued to carefully apply the Sword Oil, hoping that two Ghoul would come to be his models.

Just as he was thinking this.

The next second.

"Knock knock knock~"

There was a knock on the carriage door, and the carriage gradually came to a stop.

A job has arrived?

Ailin immediately became excited, but of course, he still maintained a cool and silent demeanor.

"Your Grace, High Priest, we've arrived at the first location..."

"However, it seemed that there were a few shadows loitering in the grass in the distance."

"It seems like we're being watched."

The driver spoke calmly, as if he were inside the carriage, not outside.

The Old Duke glanced at Ailin upon hearing this.

The witcher tactfully stood up and said:

"I'll go!"

Ianna smiled and patted the Witcher's arm.

"Squeak~"

The moment the carriage door was opened.

The Witcher's figure paused almost imperceptibly.

The next second.

"Awoo~"

A long howl came from afar.

Um?

The Ghoul's cry seems... a little off.

It sounds like a wolf.

Ailin looked in the direction of the sound.

Under the bright sunlight, about five or six hundred meters away, a series of gray and white figures flashed by in the grass.

All right...

He forgot that besides monsters, the most common creatures in the wild are actually various wild animals, especially packs of wolves.

With a hint of disappointment, the Witcher calmly sheathed the silver sword and pulled out the steel one.

"They were a few wild wolves."

Ailin gave a reminder, nodded to the coachman, and then got off the carriage.

As the first location to be set up for the ceremony.

The Witcher got out of the car and looked around.

Just as he had guessed.

Although it's in the wild, standing here and looking back, you can still see the spurs of the Mahakam Mountains, which rise much higher than the ground.

Below the mountain lies the small city of Arland, a gray area dotted with touches of orange.

A narrow path, just wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage, stretches from Mahakam, approaching from afar.

On both sides, knee-high weeds and unidentified pink flowers were growing more and more lush.

And an open space that had clearly been cleared.

"Tap tap~"

Footsteps came from behind.

Ianna and Mason also stepped down from the carriage.

Ailin turned around at the sound of the voice, "Grandma Ianna... High Priest, Duke Mason, although it's just a few wolves, there's still danger after they get down. You can wait in the carriage."

Ianna smiled but didn't say anything.

"What?" The Old Duke snorted through his nose. "You're not good enough?"

The Witcher chuckled and shook his head, offering no further advice.

After using his Witcher Senses to confirm that there were only eight wolves around, he habitually added Quen, then performed a sword flourish before charging towards the wolf pack.

"Awoo~"

The wolves in the distance noticed the Witcher, their prey separated from the pack, and as he drew closer, they howled and charged.

actually.

As typical bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong, and since it's not nighttime, the eight wolves certainly wouldn't dare attack them.

At most, they would just follow and observe.

After all, although the Demon Hunters didn't come, the Duke was always accompanied by about ten guards on horseback following behind the carriage.

But Ailin had agreed to everything because he thought they were Ghoul.

We certainly can't back out just because it's a wolf instead of Ghoul.

"Phew~"

The wind whistled in my ears.

As they rushed towards the wolf pack, they drew ever closer.

When he got close enough to see the gray-white fur fluttering in the wind and the pale fangs, the Witcher held his sword in his left hand to protect himself, and with his right index finger bent, he quickly moved forward.

Igni Fire Sign.

A surge of heat rose from near the heart, flowed through the right hand, and then gushed out.

"Whoosh—"

After the violent shockwave, a huge fan-shaped flame with a radius of three meters appeared, instantly igniting the entire wolf pack that was approaching.

"Waaah—"

Amidst the pitiful and panicked cries, thick smoke, accompanied by the acrid smell of burning protein, rushed over on the wind in an instant.

However, Ailin didn't care.

He looked at his right hand and paused for a moment.

This was the first time he had used the Igni Sign after his Mystic attribute had increased to over fifty.

What were originally just small sparks and flames have turned into a large ball of fire.

The results were outstanding.

"Waaah—"

The wolf pack's screams awakened the witcher.

"Pfft~"

"Pfft~"

"Pfft~"

With swift and decisive eight sword strikes, he beheaded the leader of the wolf pack.

"Bite."

[Slay the pack of monsters called "Wolves"!]

[Reward Settlement:...]

The Witcher ignored the ringing in his mind.

Monsters of this level are probably not even comparable to water ghosts. If they are not hunted in the form of the Monster Hunting Legion, there will be no reward.

and...

Ailin glanced at the eight wolf carcasses, and it was almost impossible to tell that their fur had originally been shiny.

"There's no need to collect this wolf pelt," he concluded.

Take another look.

Even the abdominal fat, which could be rendered into Dog Oil, was melted by the high-temperature flames.

The Witcher sighed, thinking:

"Igni's power is too great now that its strength has increased. Next time, for the sake of spoils and materials, I should restrain its power a bit, or just use a sword..."

This was truly the first time he had encountered a wild beast like a wolf, and he instinctively used the method of "more fur, less fire" to hunt monsters as quickly as possible.

In the end, they didn't leave behind any spoils.

Ailin was secretly alarmed.

Good quality wolf pelts aren't cheap, but they're not too bad.

But if it's bear fur and bear fat, then he'll suffer a huge loss.

"Shh~"

As Ailin turned to walk toward the carriage, he was about to sheath his steel sword.

Only then did he notice that the steel sword in his hand was the newly acquired Divine Sword Balmor.

Suddenly, he felt that the sword didn't want to follow its new master's first battle, which was killing wolves, and that's why it affected his use of the hand seals.

But after carefully sensing it for a few seconds and finding no fluctuations, he chuckled and shook his head.

"Clang~"

The steel sword is sheathed.

"What's wrong, Ailin?"

"Are you injured?"

When Ianna saw the Witcher approaching in a dejected mood, her heart skipped a beat. Forget about the Old Duke, she quickly walked a few steps towards Ailin and asked him.

Um?

Injuried?

Do they even deserve it?

The witcher looked at the High Priest who was examining his body with his hands, puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he smiled wryly and said:

"No injuries."

"I just didn't expect the wolves to be so weak..."

"No spoils of war were left behind..."