Aberration in the Monster's Nest

Ailin is no longer a new apprentice demon hunter who has just arrived in this world. In the past six months, countless monsters have witnessed his growth with their blood.

So of course he has a way, and not just one way.

The Greater Griffin can carry him across the sky, and natural barriers that can block humans are often meaningless to him.

He could also wait until nightfall, use "Night" to conceal his tracks, approach the Monster's Nest, and use the Special Skill "Tracking" to find the differences between the footprints left by the ghouls.

certainly.

The most convenient method is still the one we have right now—directly ask the owner of this land.

Under the bewildered gaze of Arthur and the young witcher, Ailin found a flat, dry stone platform.

Squat, bend your knees, close your eyes, meditate...

"Thump~"

"Thump~"

The heart slowed its beating in a unique rhythm.

The world fell silent.

Primal Tongue...

Based on his experience of the forest fire seven days earlier, Ailin did not rush to engage with the heavy and magnificent natural light, but cautiously extended the tentacles of his mind.

"Child, what do you want?"

The words are simple and archaic, and the tone is as indulgent as a mother who dotes on her children.

Ailin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Monster's Nest!" he whispered without hesitation.

Before he could finish speaking, several sounds of flesh writhing suddenly appeared in Ailin's mind, and at the same time, Mother Nature urged him on—"Destroy the enemy of nature."

Is the Monster's Nest an enemy of nature?

This thought popped into his mind.

That makes sense, though. Ghoul aren't native life forms; they're killers from another world that came through the Conjunction of the Spheres.

Moreover, ghouls are not picky eaters; apart from humans, all living beings with flesh and blood are on their menu.

As for the Monster's Nest, in every respect, the monster is completely unnatural.

He responded softly, Mother Nature seemed to understand, no longer urging him.

The sound of flesh and blood writhing in my mind grew louder and clearer.

When Ailin opened her eyes and stood up from the ground, she met Arthur's gaze.

"No need to rush," Arthur nodded slightly. "The mountain road is rugged and difficult to travel. Let's rest and then set off to find the ' Earl '."

He thought Ailin was resting.

"No need..." Ailin shook his head and exhaled a breath of stale air.

A look of disappointment flashed across Arthur's face. He thought to himself that Ailin really had no other choice, and was about to suggest going down the mountain.

"I've found it," Ailin said.

Arthur paused for a second, then instinctively asked, "Found what?"

"Earl."

Ailin's words were concise and to the point.

Because he was still in a state between sleep and wakefulness, most of his energy was focused on the sounds transmitted by Mother Nature in his mind.

He tried to catch the loudest squelching sound.

"The Earl? What Earl..." Arthur paused, then suddenly realized, "The Earl! You found the Earl?!"

He looked at Ailin, whose eyes were half-closed, and for a moment he had the illusion that he had been in a coma for a year in the blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, no.

No matter how he tried to recall it, it took Ailin less than ten seconds from bending over, closing his eyes, to standing up and admitting that he had found the "Earl" who had left them at a loss.

Such a short time is not even enough to relax the sore muscles.

Arthur looked around at the witchers in a daze.

The seven young witchers, including Ernie, Klar, and Kray, who were about the same age as Ailin, gaped, their expressions as shocked as his.

If the Monster's Nest weren't nearby, they might already be making a huge fuss.

Only Vesemir nodded slightly, as if he had expected it.

But Arthur, a man of many experience, saw through the deception at a glance.

Vesemir's hands were clenched into fists, his dark red leather gloves were wrinkled and cracked, and his dark golden Cat Eyes were flat and oval, trembling slightly. How could he have expected this?

Besides, if he had expected it, why wouldn't he have said anything a few days ago?

But Vesemir's behavior also showed that Ailin was not lying; he had indeed found the "Earl".

At least there wasn't the slightest hint of doubt in Vesemir's expression.

But...

Arthur couldn't understand why Vesemir, also Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf and a so-called "traveling mentor," was so shocked. He should have taught Ailin all his skills.

Furthermore, why wouldn't Vesemir possess the same skills that Ailin knows?

"Cough cough~"

Vesemir coughed twice, interrupting Arthur's overly direct gaze.

"Ailin, where is the ' Earl '?" he asked dryly.

"Follow me." Ailin let out a sigh of relief, glanced at the people around him, and without further explanation, jumped off the stone platform and headed north.

The others looked at each other and followed closely behind.

As always, Mother Nature has no secrets from her children.

All the noises from the Monster's Nest were no secret to Ailin.

Moreover, as he frequently used the Primal Tongue, his connection with Mother Nature seemed to be growing closer.

After meditation, the voice of Mother Nature emanating from his mind lasted longer.

When he used to capture Greater Griffin, his cries after each meditation could only last three or four seconds, but now he can last at least half a minute if he wants to.

If he understood the language of the Monster's Nest —provided they had a language at all—the secrets of the Monster's Nest would be laid bare before him.

Unfortunately, Ailin didn't understand.

In his mind, the sounds emanating from the Monster's Nest resembled gut rumbling, but they were merely extremely disgusting gut rumblings, devoid of any other meaning.

However, he still remembered this point.

After all, not every enemy encountered in the wild is unintelligent; the real foes are the Wild Hunt and the Warlock.

Following the direction in their minds, Ailin led Vesemir and Arthur's group over hills, valleys, and pine forests. After another hour, they still hadn't reached their destination.

The noisy, writhing sounds of the Monster's Nest could only point him in the right direction.

Direction is certainly important, but in the rugged mountains and forests, it is only one factor leading to the goal.

They not only had to avoid the direction of the carnivorous creatures and try to stay downwind to avoid engaging the enemy prematurely, but they also had to deal with the unique rugged and winding terrain of the Mahakam Mountains.

Fortunately, Arthur seemed to have a mental image of the terrain of Mahakam, otherwise the journey would have been even more difficult.

As afternoon approached, the sun was obscured by clusters of gray clouds.

"Vesemir is actually right..." Ailin cleared the rubble stuck in the mud and climbed up the steep slope, then reached out and pulled Arthur up as well. "If the Guard Knight and the Monster Hunter Army are really willing to risk their lives to buy us time to find the ' Earl '..."

"That would only be a waste of soldiers' lives."

Arthur, who had struggled to climb the steep slope, paused for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

"Because there are more than three Monster's Nest," Ailin squinted, trying to find his way through the dense, sunless forest, "And not just the Baron and the Earl ..."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, catching his breath.

Ailin didn't hide anything. "There are seven Monster's Nest in total, and their vitality and life force are divided into three tiers. In Sala's words, they should be four 'barons,' two ' Viscount,' and one Earl..."

He paused, his azure Cat Eyes looking at Arthur: "Those two Monster's Nest you found were just barons'..."

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked, still somewhat doubtful.

It's not that he doesn't trust Ailin.

The Monster's Nest is already outrageous enough; the existence of more than three Monster's Nest is merely Vesemir's speculation.

But the number can't possibly double!

Moreover, so far, apart from those two "barons," he hasn't seen a single other Monster's Nest.

Vesemir's face was also full of surprise and uncertainty, but he didn't say anything and just stared straight at Ailin.

Ailin didn't speak, but simply pointed to the other side.

Arthur walked a few steps in confusion, then suddenly felt a jolt.

Holding onto the thick pine tree, cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

As far as his eyes could see, the enormous Monster's Nest resembled a blood-red mountain of flesh, with carnivorous creatures roaming the entire landscape.

"This... this..."

At this moment, apart from the Old Duke, the highest-ranking military officer in Arland was speechless and unable to utter a complete sentence.

Because Ailin was right. If he really insisted on going his own way and allowed the Monster Hunter Army and Guard Knight to go up the mountain, they would surely be reduced to ashes.

Looking back now, the main reason they were able to evacuate unscathed two days ago was because there were fewer people, only one more than today, Sala, and they evacuated in time.

Otherwise, with wave after wave of ghouls from the seven Monster's Nest attacking, no one would be able to leave Mahakam alive.

Having experienced wars that left corpses strewn across the land, the Black Death that plunged every household into mourning, and the legendary natural disaster Wild Hunt, that fell from the sky...

Arthur thought nothing in his life could ever make him lose his composure.

But there are seven Monster's Nest... seven...

"This is the ' Viscount '..." Ailin said softly, looking at the crimson, mountain-like Monster's Nest in the valley, and at least five Giant Ghoul, several Rotfiend, Spiked Fiend, and Ghoul surrounding it.

He knew that words alone were insufficient, so he deliberately waited until he arrived at the location before revealing the number of the teeming, writhing Monster's Nest in his mind.

"Besides here, there's another ' Viscount ' and ' Earl '?" Vesemir's face was so solemn it looked like water was about to be squeezed out.

"The other ' Viscount ' is on the other side of the valley, just upwind of the two barons we just met," Ailin nodded slightly and pointed to the north side of the crimson flesh mountain. "As for the ' Earl,' we still have a long way to go."

"Impossible!" Vesemir exclaimed. "How could there be so many Monster's Nest here, and how could they have developed to this extent?"

"But there are indeed so many here." Ailin pursed her lips helplessly as she helped Kray pull Aias up. "And there's an even bigger one on the other side."

Vesemir was momentarily speechless, then turned his head to look at Arthur face was deathly pale.

Although he didn't speak, his face clearly said, "What kind of auspicious place is your Arland?"

"Are the old tombs of five or six thousand people completely empty?" Ailin asked.

Before he unleashed his Primal Tongue, he saw the two "baron" level Monster's Nest and assumed they had only recently formed.

Judging by its size, Ailin was somewhat skeptical. An old tomb with five or six thousand people, let alone four or five years old, wouldn't be enough even if four or five thousand people had died recently.

"It's not a matter of whether the tomb is old or not..."

Before Arthur could speak, Vesemir spoke up.

His brows furrowed in worry, as if he were recalling something:

"I've never heard of such a thing... Perhaps it existed during the Witcher Conclave era... but since I became a Witcher, I've never heard of any place having more than three Monster's Nest, never..."

"You mean the appearance of so many Monster's Nest is abnormal..." Ailin realized his phrasing was off and corrected himself, "I mean it's beyond reason..."

Vesemir nodded vigorously, but offered no explanation. Instead, he looked at Arthur and asked solemnly:

"Arthur!"

"Um?"

"Besides the Ghoul stealing corpses, haven't you noticed anything else unusual? Including before May Festival..."

Arthur snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, and knew what Vesemir wanted to ask. He said, "No, there were only Ghoul who sneakily stole corpses. When they were discovered digging up graves, they killed a few people. After that, they became more vigilant, and there haven't been many casualties."

"As for before May Festival..."

"Before May Festival, because of the Monster Hunter Army, the villages around Arland hadn't been attacked by ghouls for a long time..." Arthur frowned, "For at least six months..."

"Etc!"

Arthur suddenly shook his head, interrupting himself.

He looked at Ailin: "You remember Jesska this morning... the old woman who brought you stew bread..."

Ailin paused, wondering why he would mention the old woman. "You mean the mother of that Monster Hunter Army?"

"The captain of that Monster Hunter Army is called Derek," Arthur nodded. "He, Sala, and I were all comrades-in-arms during the Falga's Rebellion five years ago, so I know him very well."

"He would go hunting in the mountains during the holidays of Candlemas (February 2nd) and the Spring Equinox (March 21st).

"In fact, the place where the Monster Hunter Army and the Guard Knight are stationed is the hunter's hut used in the hunting grounds of Moin Village."

"If the Monster's Nest was here back then, he couldn't have missed it."

Vesemir and Ailin exchanged a glance.

"It's July 3rd now, which means at least three months ago, the Monster's Nest hadn't even appeared yet..." Vesemir scratched his head in disbelief. "Three months... seven Monster's Nest ..."

"This... this... how is this possible?"

Vesemir pressed further, "Aside from May Festival, has nothing else gone wrong?"

"An accident? What kind?"

"For example..." Vesemir paused, glancing at Ailin without leaving a trace, "For example, the Conjunction of the Spheres that occurred in March of this year when Ban Ad appeared."

"No." Arthur replied firmly.

"That...that shouldn't be happening..." Vesemir muttered to himself.

The Conjunction of the Spheres... Ailin pursed his lips upon hearing Vesemir's words.

Although Arthur said that Arland had never experienced Conjunction of the Spheres, in fact, a Conjunction of the Spheres did occur on May Festival, right outside the gates of Arland.

It was just that it was too dark, the commotion caused by the Wild Hunt was too great, and the demon spirit tide attracted everyone's attention.

Could the events outside Arland City be related to the Monster's Nest here?

"After the Conjunction of the Spheres, strange monsters appeared... This scene seems... seems somewhat familiar..."

Ailin looked thoughtfully at the carnivorous creatures that covered the mountains below.