The First Battle of the Divine Sword Balmor
[... The "Demon Spirit" will appear in 27 seconds after the Conjunction of the Spheres. Please be prepared!]
As the countdown slowly reached zero, the Witcher thought for a moment and then pulled out two pieces of black cloth from his chest.
This is the Nightfall Magic Suit, a gift from Francesca.
Once the mask is worn, one can remain invisible at night.
A headscarf can eliminate the sounds of breathing, footsteps, and even heartbeats.
He hadn't used it in so long that he'd forgotten he even had this stealth artifact.
Generally speaking
When the Conjunction of the Spheres and summon monsters, there will always be a period of time when they are unconscious and dizzy.
Therefore, the Witcher has an advantage at the start.
This is also the source of his confidence to complete the hunting mission at this time and summon the convergence of the Conjunction of the Spheres.
Ailin is no longer the Witcher apprentice who just transmigrated here.
With this first-mover advantage, if the summoned monster is on par with the Drowners King and the Giant Drowner.
He could easily use [Demon Hunter] to land several consecutive sword strikes, accumulate enough progress, and then instantly kill the enemy.
But demons can eventually become ethereal.
He wasn't sure whether the monsters summoned from the world tracked by the demon spirit would fall into a coma.
Wearing this set of equipment should ensure absolute safety... right?
The Witcher tightened his mask.
In an instant.
The surroundings were so quiet that only the campfire crackled and burned dry branches and wood, and the rustling of the night wind blowing through the grass could be heard.
Even the few demon spirits that had been chasing after them suddenly froze, as if they had suddenly lost their target.
A few seconds later, it floated back towards the Witcher.
However, at this point, Ailin had no time to worry about them.
...4, 3, 2, 1
As the countdown ended, the Witcher's vision suddenly turned red.
The scene before my eyes was as if it were soaked in blood.
It was extremely frightening.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres! Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres!]
"Buzz~"
The Wolf Emblem throbbed violently, but Ailin could not hear a sound.
None of these unusual occurrences affected the Witcher's composure.
The Conjunction of the Spheres —it's an old acquaintance!
Ailin crouched slightly, preparing to receive the impact...
While using the firelight, they scanned the surroundings for any unusual activity, hoping to find where the monster had emerged as soon as possible.
The next second.
Under the flickering light of the campfire.
A deep, dark black hole, seemingly capable of absorbing all light, appeared about ten meters to the right of the Witcher.
Once a black hole appears.
Ailin quickly turned to the right, took three steps, and silently crouched down with lightning speed, channeling his magic into the soil less than a meter below the black hole.
Yrden Sign Magic Trap.
"Pop—"
A soft sound.
It felt like a soap bubble being popped next to my ear.
The thought, "This commotion seems a bit too small..." flashed through the mind, and the Witcher rolled forward twice without hesitation, watching the black hole where the surrounding air was distorted and fluctuating warily.
Then he reached back with his right hand, about to pull out Elsa.
But unexpectedly...
Behind the Witcher, the spot next to Elsa suddenly trembled almost imperceptibly.
That's where the Divine Sword Balmor is located.
The Witcher was taken aback.
At this moment.
Black holes are changing again...
A tiny green dot, about the size of a thumb, was... spat out...
Um?
Why is it so small?
The Witcher paused as he reached for Balmor's hand, his azure Cat Eyes widening in surprise.
Just as he was rapidly racking his brains for a way to defeat such a small monster...
The next second.
"Hiss--"
Amidst the eerie, piercing, and chilling hiss of a snake, the green light suddenly expanded.
"Da da da~"
The frequency of the hoofbeats decreased, but the warhorses' breathing became faster and heavier.
The sound of my heart pounding was so loud it even drowned out the sound of the wind whistling past my ears.
"Neigh—"
One of the warhorses in the column was either exhausted or its front hooves had gotten stuck in some kind of pit.
After letting out a long howl, he and his knight suddenly fell to the ground.
Then it was quickly swallowed up by the horde of demonic spirits that were chasing after it.
"Ah--"
The screams of the Guard Knight quickly faded away.
"I need to rest for a while!" Vesemir, who was racing at the very front of the long line, thought to himself after turning another wraith into a green firework.
The warhorse has reached its limit.
Even as more and more demons escaped the pursuit.
He also had to lead his Guard Knight to a distance away from the demonic tide before stopping, allowing his warhorses to rest.
And in fact...
Not just warhorses.
The Guard Knight on their warhorses were in no better shape than their horses.
They were all panting heavily.
Since Vesemir joined them and slowed down the demon tide, they have not stopped for a moment.
Although it was just following behind him and didn't attack.
However, riding a horse while wearing heavy armor is quite physically demanding.
Moreover, they had to suppress their fear of death and the increasingly cold temperatures as they approached those hideous demons.
"Master Vesemir ...we can still...we can still hold on..." Arthur, panting heavily and with bloodshot eyes, approached Vesemir as he sheathed his sword and sped away from the demonic tide.
"No, you won't do it!" Vesemir interrupted expressionlessly, placing his longsword flat on the gradually leveling horse.
Amidst the anxious admonitions of Arthur and the other Guard Knight, he turned to look at a place submerged by a green tide.
You can vaguely see the dead knights and warhorses there.
This was the fourteenth knight to fall in the short time since he joined.
This time, the Witcher Master wasn't going to listen to their nonsense about "it was just an accident," "there were pits on the ground," or "bad luck."
to be honest.
Vesemir could understand the extreme fear of the Guard Knight as they watched more and more wraiths return to the wraith tide, approaching the ritual circle, approaching Arland, and approaching their beloved ones.
He wasn't someone who couldn't bear to see sacrifices.
but...
Since their "mistake," or more precisely, their lack of knowledge about monsters, led them to return to the Monster Hunter Army to retrieve the Specter Oil, almost ruining all their previous efforts.
Including the seemingly calm officer named Arthur, all the Guard Knight lost their composure, as if they were trying to atone for their sins, and disregarded their own lives.
This is not something experienced soldiers should do.
It's also meaningless.
Right now, he's the only one who really makes a difference in this team.
The other Guard Knight followed, but only to try to avoid attracting the spirits.
certainly.
More importantly...
Although Vesemir was not an expert in ritual studies, he could still roughly estimate the time it would take by watching Vesemir's ritual circle gradually fill up from a distance.
As long as there are no problems here and there with Ailin, and the Monster Hunter Army are there to stop them.
There should be enough time.
There is no need for these venerable Guard Knight to waste their lives.
but.
Listening to the intense, almost leaping heartbeats of humans and animals, I looked back at their faces, which were so anxious that they seemed to have lost their minds and their eyes were red.
Vesemir knew he couldn't persuade him, so he simply gave him a stern rebuke:
"I am the Witcher Master. Do you think you know better than me how to deal with monsters?"
Then, he stopped talking.
Watching the returning demon spirits and listening to the panting of the people and animals around him, he estimated the best time to fight again.
Although Arthur was anxious, without Vesemir, there was no use in them going back.
After exchanging bewildered glances with his subordinates, he quickly adjusted his breathing.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the Witcher Master's reprimand, Arthur's heart calmed down.
Yes!
Vesemir is the Witcher Master!
Since he's so calm, there's definitely no problem!
The more Arthur thought about it, the calmer his anxious heart became.
"Moreover, we also have two Witcher Master ..." he breathed a sigh of relief.
Speaking of which, Master Ailin is only fourteen years old now.
Recalling the Necrophage Oil, the Specter Oil, and that blood-dripping, hideous Giant Ghoul head...
Arthur couldn't help but admire it in his heart.
It can create excellent potion recipes and is powerful enough to easily hunt large monsters.
Is the gap between ordinary people and geniuses really that big?
To avoid thinking about demons and spirits again and affecting my mood.
Lost in thought, Arthur's eyes involuntarily drifted to the other side of the demonic tide.
However, it's currently nighttime, and with the demonic tide blocking the way, naturally nothing can be seen...
Um?
Arthur's eyes widened suddenly.
What is that?
As he listened intently to his heartbeat, Vesemir instinctively turned his head to look at Arthur, then followed his gaze.
The next moment.
The Cat Eyes suddenly contracted into a vertical line, and its breathing stopped instantly.
He saw it.
Behind the surging demonic energy, a Skeleton Giant at least ten meters tall suddenly appeared.
It emitted a strange, shimmering green light.
One eye with a vertical gaze.
The moment the Witcher Master saw the giant, an intense pressure spread rapidly like a whirlwind.
Not only did Vesemir feel a sudden heaviness throughout his body, but his heart also felt a greater strain.
The warhorses were restless and neighing.
"Clatter clatter~"
The rattling of teeth continued to emanate from the ranks of the Guard Knight beside him.
The massive tide of demonic spirits seemed to be suppressed by the immense pressure emanating from this magical power.
Nearly a thousand demon spirits turned around almost simultaneously to face the monster, and then suddenly stopped in their tracks.
It was like a subject encountering a king, or an animal encountering its natural enemy...
Upon witnessing this bizarre scene, Vesemir shuddered, a chill running from his tailbone down to his scalp.
"Damn it! Ailin's still there!!!"
The Witcher Master exclaimed and spurred his horse to charge.
Arthur, quick-witted and agile, was startled and immediately grabbed him.
But how could an ordinary person, even an elite knight, possibly hold back a Witcher Master?
"Neigh—"
After being freed in an instant, Arthur's outstretched hand was caught by gravity and forcefully pulled on the tail of the warhorse beneath Master Vesemir.
The warhorse neighed in pain, narrowly avoiding being kicked.
But this also increased the speed of the car.
"Da da da~"
Amidst the rapid sound of horses' hooves.
Arthur, who was helped up by the other Guard Knight, was as pale as a dead man.
He stared blankly at the enormous monster that seemed like a god descending to earth, the demon spirits that resembled well-organized soldiers, and the panicked, fleeing Witcher Master...
His hands fell limply to the ground, his heart filled with despair.
Its rough mane drifted and fell into the dust.
It's over...
Arland... it's over...
"What kind of monster is this?"
Caught off guard by the suddenly enlarged green monster, the witcher quickly retreated, carrying the slightly trembling, seemingly excited Balmor.
The monster's rapidly expanding, rough hide remained two fists away from him.
He could even see the fingerprint-like texture, expanding into a series of vertical and horizontal grooves.
Ailin had considered the potential difficulties that might arise during this Conjunction of the Spheres.
The Wild Hunt suddenly appears, the monsters are too powerful, and demons suddenly swarm in...
But he really didn't expect that the first of the eighty-one tribulations would be the crushing weight of a ghostly demon.
But speaking of which...
Although we don't know what this enormous, never-before-seen monster looks like, ghostly spirits floating in the sky are generally weightless...
Daydreaming doesn't affect the Witcher's retreat speed.
In less than two seconds, Ailin, like a ghost, silently retreated to a place less than five meters away from the shimmering campfire.
It's here too.
The monster stopped expanding.
"Phew~"
The intense heat scorched his back, and the Witcher quickly took a breath.
Then.
He skillfully took out the Blizzard from the reagent bag, gulped it down in one go, and then casually tossed it aside.
Immediately following.
In order to conserve the first-mover advantage that the Conjunction of the Spheres and "night" brought him in the blink of an eye.
Without identifying and checking the attributes, without carefully observing whether the monster is unconscious, and even before the effects of the blizzard have fully taken hold...
He stomped his right foot on the ground and swung Balmor.
Cut!
For Ailin, this sword strike was a gamble.
Previously.
He never used Balmor.
Whether it's Ghoul or a demon...
It seemed as if there was always a subconscious reminder reminding him.
The great Balmor sword is not for cutting down those small fry.
Of course, this is just a feeling, not actually like a warlock speaking in his mind.
Ailin was used to using Elsa and applying Sword Oil, so he hadn't used it before.
But just a few seconds ago.
The legendary longsword Balmor actually took the initiative to "challenge" him.
Even if there's no time to apply the Specter Oil, the Witcher will still risk it.
Cut steel, slay demons, break armor, exorcise evil, destroy fate...
This divine sword has five entries.
"Call out!"
In an instant.
In order to concentrate fully on delivering this sword strike, the demon hunter's magical power temporarily ceased, breaking free from the state of stealth and silence under the cover of night.
A flash of cold light.
Balmor cleaved through the air at incredible speed, producing a loud bang.
It slashed fiercely at the rough skin of the unknown ghostly spirit.
Just in case, the Witcher is already prepared at this moment.
If the sword deflects due to the elemental Favor Field, quickly use the reaction force to spin around and draw out Elsa, who is soaked in Specter Oil, to rejoin the sword.
At that time.
The effects of the blizzard medicine must have already taken hold.
He can do such difficult moves.
But I never expected it.
As Balmor's sword slashed down on the monster's green skin, a dazzling white light suddenly shone in the darkness.
Immediately following.
Like a hot knife through butter, it sliced through the elemental Favor Field on the skin without any resistance, the entire sword sinking deep into it.
But this is not the end.
"Bang!"
A loud explosion.
Where Balmor cleaved, a cavity the size of a human head suddenly exploded.
This moment.
Even the usually indifferent Ailin was momentarily stunned in his demon-hunting state.
Then.
He stared wide-eyed at the numbers in his field of vision.
[Demon Hunter] Progress 69%