First Battle with the Wild Hunt
The fire gradually grew larger, flickering with reddish-orange flames in the boundless darkness.
Conversations and arguments could be heard in the air; judging from the tones and rhythms, they must be Elder Speech.
This language originated from the elves, and because it makes it easier to manipulate the elemental forces of the void, many of the spells are in Elder Speech. Conclave of Sorcerers study them specifically, but Ailin was only taught some technical terms by Vesemir when he was studying alchemy and ritual.
He couldn't understand.
The arrival was too hasty. The original plan changed from simply observing from the air to landing and inquiring, then to a visit to Adriano and trying one's luck. Now, fate has sent a guiding light, forcing us to venture into dangerous territory.
Of course, these are all good changes, a happy kind of trouble.
However, if he had known his current predicament from the beginning, he could have gone back. Kaer Morhen isn't far from Ban Ad; it probably wouldn't take more than ten minutes to fly there.
Mary, an outstanding graduate of Aretuza, could not possibly be ignorant of Elder Speech.
But after thinking about it, even if he knew in advance, he wouldn't actually bring Mary.
She is too weak.
Perhaps Francesca could.
He touched the smooth, woman-like skin of "Night Color" on his face.
The obedient and self-reliant "Valley Daisy" still performs admirably in terms of combat ability.
The place where Ian Siddy and his group were hiding was also in the Blue Mountains, seemingly near Ben Ade...
But he dismissed the idea shortly after it came to mind.
Let Ian Siddy watch him capture Ian El, who shares the same lineage.
What an outrageous idea!
It would be better to bring Vesemir along; who knows, the Witcher Master might have Elder Speech in his skill set accumulated over hundreds of years.
What am I thinking about?
Is it useful to think about these useless things now?
As the firelight drew ever closer and the mysterious, incomprehensible language grew louder in his ears, Ailin suddenly noticed that his palms were sweating, and the wind blowing through the forest chilled his neck, which wasn't covered by the "night."
"Am I... nervous?"
Yes, he was nervous.
Only when you're nervous will you have such wild thoughts.
He could easily understand his own nervousness; after all, it was the Wild Hunt, the Wild Hunt that had just destroyed hundreds of thousands of male wizards guarding a fortified city, the Wild Hunt that had killed a third of Arland's population with just a few spells...
When he first met them in the Gors Velen, he was severely injured by the aftereffects of the spell before he even saw their faces.
Seven meters!
He was only seven meters away, a mere seven meters, and he died in the process of a single charge.
Although there are only two Wild Hunt left, they are both seriously injured.
But even so, can he really defeat them?
Ailin took a deep breath.
The air I inhaled felt as chilling as the icy chill emanating from the ice clusters left behind on the ruins in front of the Gors Velen that day.
That was the smell of fear.
"How ridiculous!" he thought. "Just a few minutes ago, I was thinking about how to seize the treasure that guides destiny while killing one and sparing another to extract information through torture."
"But now, just getting close to the firelight of their camp and hearing their incomprehensible chatter, I'm already feeling an involuntary fear?"
He shook his head self-deprecatingly, then continued toward the firelight and his destiny.
It's better to be afraid now than to regret it later.
Having missed out on these two lone, heavily wounded Wild Hunt, will there be another opportunity like this next time?
There won't be another one. Ban Ade is the most powerful force in the Northern Continent. Where else can we find such a good opportunity?
Orange-red flames flickered in the darkness.
The air was filled with increasingly loud, agitated, and angry whispers.
He approached stealthily, using the assassination techniques employed by the School of the Cat in the jungle.
Lifting his feet to a hair's breadth, he glided sideways very slowly, using his keen sense of touch to probe the ground for any twigs or traps that might expose him, before gently landing.
"Night" can make him invisible and silent, but it cannot prevent him from being affected by some magical traps.
More importantly, doing so would put his mind at ease.
He quietly moved to a downwind spot, where a faint smell of blood mingled with a unique, sweet fragrance, carried on the forest breeze.
Once we reached the edge of the camp, the voices became clearer.
Although Ailin couldn't understand what they were saying, he tried his best to memorize the tones so he could ask someone about it when he returned to the temple.
The Wolf Emblem trembled uncontrollably in his chest, but he calmed it down with a mental reassurance.
After taking out the Giant Ghoul Decoction and Blizzard from his reagent bag and drinking them, he slowly walked over the thick oak tree that blocked his view and the knee-high bushes, and finally saw his destination.
If he hadn't known that Wild Hunt was the same person as Ain El, who shared the same origin as Ain Siddi, he would never have equated the two monsters before him with the handsome elves.
Only a skeletal head remained, wearing a rusty helmet, with bluish-gray flames burning in the empty eye sockets, and a tattered cloak billowing in the forest wind.
They must have been arguing, their arms slashing through the air again and again, nearly hitting each other's menacing heads.
A black iron scepter, the same color as the armor, was stuck in the ground to the side, its transparent gem at the top gleaming with a chilling light.
It resembles a demon more than a living being.
"They... are the Wild Hunt!"
Ailin couldn't help but hold his breath, and after a second, a question came to mind.
Since the Wild Hunt is skeletal in appearance, where does the fresh smell of blood in the air come from?
When he realized that this might be some kind of disguise, similar to how he used a mirage to replace the pupils of his feline-like eyes, the argument that had been echoing in the makeshift camp paused for a moment.
We've been discovered?
Ailin saw their arms waving in mid-air and awkwardly swung them toward the scepter beside the campfire.
We've been discovered!
Although the reason is unknown, Ailin made the right decision at that moment.
In a flash, he drew Elsa with his right hand and made a triangle gesture in front of him with his left.
"Buzz!"
The Wolf Emblem hummed intensely.
The moment his right foot slammed into the ground, the space around him trembled, forcing him out of his hiding place.
Countless translucent threads stretched out before my eyes.
With a slight thought, Ailin skillfully manipulated the silk threads with his Divine Power.
In an instant.
"Whoosh~"
A soft sound.
Ailin vanished from his spot and reappeared in the center of the two Wild Hunt.
At this moment, he did not rush to attack any of the Wild Hunt.
As soon as he teleported to the campfire, to the astonishment of the two Wild Hunt, he used the force of his right foot stomping on the ground before the teleportation to kick the two staffs stuck in the dirt away with a spinning kick of his left leg.
"Whoosh~"
"Whoosh~"
In an instant, the two staffs shot out like arrows into the darkness outside the camp.
With two sharp "thuds," the bullet pierced into two thick trees at least thirty meters away, disappearing straight into the trunk.
It was at this moment that he discovered that the treasure that guided his destiny was not just one.
One was on the left side of the Wild Hunt's waist, and the other was hidden in the right side of the Wild Hunt's chest armor.
"@#￥%"
"%￥#@"
All that remained were skeletons, their two mouths, with their white teeth gleaming, opening and closing, emitting mournful cries.
Ailin found it somewhat amusing at that moment.
How could such a loud cry be produced from a mouth with no tongue and only bones? This disguise is far too perfunctory.
However, the thought only flashed through my mind.
The next moment.
Land with your right foot, then step onto the ground.
While spinning and wielding the sword...
Demon Hunter
Time slows down, and emotional fluctuations are suppressed to the extreme.
The sword rang out clearly, its gleam dancing in the firelight, tracing a silver arc before landing on the metal bracers on the left side of the Wild Hunt's Instinct Barrier.
"When!"
A purple light flashed across the metal bracers, and the silver sword was naturally bounced off.
The Wild Hunt on the left was instantly thrown back three steps by the force of the slash, its arms suddenly spreading out unnaturally.
[Demon Hunter] Progress 3%
"Who are you?! You're not one of those human wizards!"
The left jaws of the Wild Hunt remained motionless, yet the sounds traveled clearly into Ailin's ears. They echoed in his mind, as if reverberating underwater.
Ailin did not answer the voice in his mind. Instead, using the force of the silver sword deflection, he crossed his left and right feet and spun around to slash at the Wild Hunt on his right with even greater speed.
This Wild Hunt seemed far less trained than the one on the left, or rather, far less quick in melee combat.
"Thump~"
He didn't even realize the longsword had struck his neck.
It's just a pity.
As the sword fell, Wild Hunt was enveloped in an icy blue magical glow, as if he were wearing a robe covered in mysterious runes.
Then, the amplified force sent him flying sideways in the opposite direction of the staff, crashing into an unknown bush and then into a tree.
[Demon Hunting] Progress 8%
It's not that 5% is added on top of the 3% from the other Wild Hunt, but rather that the 3% and 8% from the two Wild Hunt are calculated separately.
This is a new effect I gained after upgrading [Demon Hunter] to LV4, and this is only the first time I'm using it today.
[Name: Demon Hunter]
[Type: Special Skill]
[Level: LV4]
[Active Effect: Consumes 250 (+100) stamina points, focuses the mind to enter a 250 (+100) second Demon Hunting state, and after the conditions are met, launches a fatal blow (guaranteed to kill the monster).]
LV4 Additional Effect: Consumes an additional 250 mana; when switching between two (+1) targets, the hunting progress is calculated separately for each target.
There's no need to distinguish between 3% and 8%; the question is which one to focus on.
Almost the instant the Wild Hunt was knocked away, Ailin lunged forward in the direction it had flown.
"Phew~"
Just then, he heard a sudden gust of wind behind him. He assessed the situation but did not dodge. Instead, he adjusted his center of gravity.
During the battle, a flash of golden light appeared on the blood-red leather armor that revealed its true form.
The fierce force, filtered by the Quen Sign, acted on the waist, which Ailin then used to propel him toward the fallen Wild Hunt at an even greater speed.
"Despicable human! Who are you?!"
Someone was roaring in my mind, their voice like thunder.
Ailin, however, paid no heed and took three long strides to the bush where Wild Hunt had fallen.
Not only that, he even activated "Blizzard" the moment he swung his sword down.
The adrenal medulla on both sides of the waist instantly secreted pheromones, and the brain suddenly became cold.
The sound of the wind rustling through the trees stopped, as did the crackling of the campfire and the curses of the Wild Hunt chasing after them.
Everything slowed down dramatically at this moment.
Only the silver-white longsword descended from the sky, meeting the terrified gazes on the ground, striking five times in an instant.
[Demon Hunter] Progress 16%...25%...35%...46%...
[Demon Hunter] Progress 57%
The ice-blue robe covered in runes has an unstable protective effect, increasing by one percent with each strike.
The final strike even pierced through the blue magical glow, slicing a half-inch gash across Wild Hunt's neck.
Bright red blood gushed from the dried and decaying throat bone, a truly bizarre sight.
"It really was a disguise..." Ailin's heart skipped a beat.
"Ah!&%!!!!"
The Wild Hunt on the ground was screaming, but Ailin could only understand one word.
He could understand the urgent, angry roar in his mind, "Stop! Stop! You damned monster!"
Tsk tsk!
I never imagined that one day I would be called a monster by the Wild Hunt...
As for stopping?
Of course not!
Since he used "Blink," it was destined that these two Wild Hunt would not leave alive, not even as his prisoners.
As for that intelligence, we can simply extract it from their memories after we learn the Elder Speech.
He still remembered the memories of the two witchers that were revealed when the School of the Cat attacked them; there was no reason why the Ion Els, who were also intelligent beings, couldn't reveal them.
To be honest, whether it was because they were already injured, or because their staffs were disarmed beforehand, or both, even though his attack was sudden, these two Wild Hunt were much weaker than he had imagined.
This relieved him, but also made him curious about the Wild Hunt's true strength.
Of course, compared to the outcome of easily killing the Wild Hunt and obtaining "the Wild Hunt's memories," he wasn't so eager for the important information about "the Wild Hunt's strength."
However, during his five consecutive sword strikes, the Wild Hunt was indeed so weak that for a moment, he had the idea of capturing them to extract more information.
Forcibly shut off the flow of thought and warn yourself not to become arrogant because of temporary advantages.
Ailin suppressed the palpitations caused by the toxicity of the "Blizzard" mixed with the "Giant Ghoul Decoction" and took a breath.
The unusual state was very brief; the sword-wielding motion only hesitated for a fraction of a second.
However, the two Wild Hunt still managed to seize the opportunity.
After a gasp, the person on the ground pressed their hands twice on the black iron armor. As the brightness of the ice-blue runic robe returned, a deep blue spherical magic barrier also appeared, repelling Ailin from his spot.
A scorching heat emanated from behind him, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see a fireball rapidly taking shape.
But he didn't care at all.
After being bounced back, the moment they land from mid-air, they bend their knees, tense their leg muscles, and push off the ground to propel themselves forward.
The silver blade flashed in mid-air, unleashing a dazzling display of light, once again piercing the Wild Hunt, which was twirling its fingers within the deep blue magic barrier, seemingly chanting some incantation.
Immediately following.
The moment the longsword made contact with the magic barrier, the Cat Eyes suddenly contracted.
An accident occurred.