The Hero's Return and the Cannibals' Infighting

"Of course," Ailin stroked the stubble on his chin, "It wouldn't work if we released it all at once and scared away the already demoralized wizards."

"That way, no one will attract the Wild Hunt's hatred."

"It's very subtle, very subtle. We must think about this carefully and plan for the long term... Hmm?"

His ears twitched, sensing the unusual noise, and he turned his head to look at the ground.

"... Save our hero!"

"Kill!"

Shouts of battle replaced cheers in the valley as human soldiers brandished their dimly lit weapons and charged toward the ghouls.

The one who charged the furthest and worked the hardest was none other than his old acquaintance, Sala.

"This... this is because they thought I was trapped in the monster horde and wanted to rescue me?"

Ailin paused for a moment, then felt a warmth in his heart, and hurriedly sent a telepathic message to the Greater Griffin.

"Bah!"

With an intense pressure descending from the sky, the cry of the Greater Griffin echoed throughout the valley, seemingly announcing the return of a hero.

The battlefield fell silent for a moment.

All living things instinctively looked up at the sky.

"Ailin!"

Vesemir's eyes lit up when he saw the Greater Griffin landing.

A Alde Sign blew away all the ghouls that had just escaped the control of the Evil God and were brutally slaughtered.

Ianna sat down in the stirrups of the Mutant Horse, smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, but did not order the army to disengage.

Even if Ailin no longer needs rescue, the ghouls will always need to be eliminated.

If we don't deal with them before they recover from the negative effects of being banished from the Evil God and before the Divine Art bestowed by Meritellie fades, it will only be more difficult to deal with them in the future.

Tissaia cooperated, and after seeing that Ailin was safe, she ordered the Sorceress of Aretuza to increase their magic output without holding back.

Then he looked up at the enormous thing that obscured the stars and moon, his gaze unfathomable.

Meanwhile, the alluring and daring Sorceress, obeying their headmistress's orders, unleashed flames and lightning to kill the Ghoul, Rotfiend, and Giant Ghoul near the valley entrance.

Her gaze would occasionally drift towards the sky, and she would subconsciously smooth her hair and the wrinkles in her expensive clothes.

"Huff~ Huff~"

The howling wind bent the trees over, making them rustle.

Greater Griffin, taller than the trees, landed.

Although the oppressive aura was only meant to warn the crowd, it was withdrawn after a brief burst in the sky.

But the instinctive fear brought by the enormous object caused ordinary soldiers to give way when faced with it at close range.

The Sorceress of Aretuza also stepped back a few paces, making enough space for some of them to stop casting spells and hold their staffs, watching the king in the sky.

Under the spotlight.

A demon hunter, carrying two swords, with deep blue Cat Eyes and wearing dark red leather armor, emerged from the thick black mane of the Greater Griffin.

The Greater Griffin swept its menacing eyes across the crowd, then gently spread one of its wings and let it droop to the ground, like an expensive black and red carpet being laid out on the ground.

On this "carpet," Ailin slowly walked down step by step. Although he was slightly disheveled, he exuded an imposing aura in the eyes of everyone.

Kill gods!

This is the witcher who just single-handedly drove away an Evil God.

"How can he be so young? Do witchers also take Youth Potion? Aren't men usually fixed in their middle age?" A Sorceress who noticed Ailin for the first time whispered.

"You don't know?!" the companion next to him asked in surprise.

"Know what?"

"Ailin ... Master Ailin didn't take the Youth Potion; he's naturally very young. If I remember correctly, he should only be fourteen years old..."

"Fourteen years old!!" the Sorceress exclaimed, but there were many other Sorceress around her who showed similar surprise, so it didn't stand out.

Then she was shocked to find that her companion's address seemed wrong as well. "Wait... Master Ailin... you mean he's already Witcher Master?"

"You really don't know anything?" Her companion seemed surprised. "It's normal that you haven't heard of him before, but he's the one who summoned the goddess's oracle and bestowed Divine Art blessings at the Temple of Melitele. Didn't you ask him about it?"

"Not everyone attended the meeting," the Sorceress shook her head. "I heard a bit of a rumor, but before I could ask, I went up the mountain..."

"Tell me quickly, what has this young, reckless... witch hunter done?"

There are quite a few Sorceress who know nothing about Ailin. Some have never heard of it, while others have heard of it to some extent, but due to the warlocks' general sense of superiority over the creations of their class, they do not know much about it.

We can no longer call it whispering; we are discussing it openly and honestly.

The more extroverted ones weren't even satisfied with discussions within the Sorceress themselves, but instead directly asked the priests around them.

Then, at the Temple of Melitele, the priestesses, heads held high in proud demeanor, were met with a chorus of exclamations of praise.

Of course, there is also a small group who have "sufficient" knowledge of Ailin, but are focused on other aspects, or rather, some details.

"There's not a single injury..."

Tissaia blinked in surprise, her beautiful eyes darting around.

Although blood and dust were mixed together and smeared all over his face, making Ailin look very disheveled, his leather armor was intact without any tears.

She turned to look at Vesemir was running excitedly towards her.

He is clearly an older, more experienced Witcher Master, and is said to be Ailin's travel mentor.

But what about him...?

Claw marks tore open the greaves on the thighs, the shoulder pads mixed with Aetherium were dented, the stitches were torn open by the immense force, and the leather on the back was corroded into unsightly charred and burned marks...

Even his face had several bloody, healed scars...

Tissaia was not questioning Vesemir's competence as Witcher Master.

Getting injured is normal.

Even the most experienced warriors cannot claim to emerge unscathed from the fiercest battlefield, especially when surrounded.

Even a Sorceress like her knew that trading minor injuries for major ones, and major injuries for fatal ones, was the norm on the battlefield. Moreover, no matter how strong one was, it was normal to suffer some injuries from sharp rocks and bumps when rolling and dodging.

Moreover, Vesemir is not dealing with ordinary humans, but with Ghoul, Rotfiend, and Giant Ghoul controlled by Evil God.

Looking at the "injuries" on his leather armor, Tissaia could almost imagine that he used his shoulder pads to block the bite from behind, finishing off a Giant Ghoul, and that when the Spiked Fiend self-destructed, he didn't have time to dodge and could only find the right angle to use his back to block...

To achieve this level, he truly deserves the title of the youngest... or rather, the youngest Witcher Master in the School of the Wolf.

"But what's this about Vesemir's apprentice?" Tissaia asked, puzzled.

How can we deal with Evil God so "cleanly"?

and...

He actually succeeded!

How did he exorcise the Evil God?

Tissaia scrutinized Ailin as he stepped down from the Greater Griffin: "This is not normal! This is very abnormal!"

Her gaze shifted away.

The Greater Griffin, known for its violent and cruel nature, was surprisingly docile and obedient than a domesticated pigeon.

"How is he able to do this?"

Who came up with this domestication method?

"Vesemir?"

"But her research area is clearly not in this one..."

Thoughts surged, and one question after another welled up in my mind.

Tissaia thought for a moment, then looked at the Greater Griffin and a thought struck her.

The Greater Griffin seemed to sense some hostile gaze, and let out a low growl in a deep voice. Its two sharp claws were ready to strike, and its violent emotions were so intense that they almost overflowed from its golden eyes.

"Strange..." Tissaia looked away, but her confusion only deepened.

The fact that the person's violent nature is still present indicates that they were not raised from childhood.

Of course, even raising a monster from an egg cannot eliminate its demonic nature, but...

With so many prey in front of him, he only revealed some emotions and did nothing even when provoked.

The fat cats at the Aretuza Academy seem more aggressive than it.

"Go ahead, Good Girl."

Tissaia saw Ailin calm the Greater Griffin down and pat its wings.

Then the enormous creature gripped the ground with its two sharp claws and kicked off, its wings flapping to blot out the sky, sending sand and stones flying.

"Exorcising Evil God without harm... subduing Greater Griffin... and even a potion formula like Sword Oil that narrows the gap between mortals and superhumans..."

Tissaia looked thoughtfully at Ailin as he approached.

"I sent the Greater Griffin to help deal with those carnivorous creatures."

Despite his physical weakness, Ailin ignored the intense gazes around him—some filled with admiration, some with praise, and some with doubt—and casually walked slowly to Ianna's Mutant Horse.

It's not that exposing his weakness would pose any danger. With Vesemir, Ianna, the temple priests, and the soldiers of Arland around, even if Tissaia, the strongest woman in the Northern Continent, wanted to harm him, it would be very dangerous.

With so many people around, it's best to expose as little information as possible.

certainly...

With so many people who admire him present, Ailin still had some idol baggage to maintain.

Ianna hadn't spoken yet.

"Hahaha~" Vesemir laughed and strode over, hugging Ailin tightly. "I knew you could..."

Vesemir paused for a moment.

When he felt his arms wrap around her, Ailin felt as soft as freshly baked white bread and as light as a feather, and he almost knocked her over.

fortunately.

Vesemir reacted quickly enough to change his move the instant he realized something was wrong.

He naturally placed his hands on Ailin's shoulders to support him.

"I knew you could...do it!" Vesemir laughed heartily twice more, covering it up by giving him a worried look.

"Some short-term side effects." Ailin's mouth moved almost imperceptibly. "That's enough."

Vesemir released his hands.

"The Evil God has been banished?" Ianna smiled kindly.

"They've been driven out." Ailin, who was absolutely certain of this, nodded vigorously and turned his head to look at the valley.

The smoke and dust from the explosion had been dispersed by the Greater Griffin flapping its wings, and the valley gradually became clear.

The tower of Ain Siddi, which was covered with flesh and blood by the Summoning Ritual, is now nowhere to be seen, leaving only a ruin scattered with flesh, bones, and rubble.

They were truly dead beyond any doubt.

However, there were still quite a few carnivorous creatures around, estimated to be two or three thousand.

However, apart from Ghoul, Rotfiend, Giant Ghoul, and Spiked Fiend, there were no unfamiliar large monsters.

"Were all the large monsters that came from the Conjunction of the Spheres killed?" Ailin wondered.

It's not surprising, since the Conjunction of the Spheres actually takes place at the tower of Ain Siddi, right at the foot of the Summoning Ritual.

It's just that even the large monsters summoned by the Giant Ghoul's celestial sphere interaction disappeared so casually, which feels rather strange.

"Sir Ailin," Tissaia dismounted her Mutant Horse and approached him, "Can you tell me how you stopped the Summoning Ritual and banished the Evil God?"

The Sorceress casting spells and the priests casting Divine Art to protect the soldiers around them quietly slowed down and pricked up their ears.

But before Ailin could figure out how to make it up...

"Would you share your secret techniques with anyone else?" Ianna glared at Tissaia with displeasure.

Then, ignoring the reaction of the first Sorceress of the Northern Continent, her expression shifted dramatically from anger to joy, and she looked at Ailin with a kind smile, advising him:

"You're still young, let me teach you a lesson..."

"A hidden dagger is always more dangerous than a drawn sword."

"Why are you so wary of me, Ianna?" Tissaia smiled helplessly at Ailin. "I was just asking, not interrogating you..."

"Do you think I'd let you interrogate me?" Ianna interrupted impatiently.

Ianna and Tissaia's relationship doesn't seem to be very good... Ailin raised an eyebrow, about to change the subject.

"Bah!"

Suddenly, Greater Griffin startled cry came from the valley.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

The carnivorous swarm has shown unusual activity.

However, it wasn't that the ghouls awoke and began a collective assault on human defenses.

Awakening from the chaos of losing the control of the Evil God, the monsters immediately turned their claws on each other, ignoring the human soldiers and the Greater Griffin, and began to fight.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

Amidst the deafening roar that shook the mountains and forests, chaos erupted in the valley, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The ghouls split into two groups and engaged in a chaotic battle.

"Both sides..."

Ailin seemed to remember something and exchanged a glance with Vesemir.

If I remember correctly, the Monster's Nest has four "barons," two "Viscount," and one "Earl," which is the Summoning Ritual, so...

"Didn't you destroy the Monster's Nest?" Ailin asked.

Ianna paused for a moment, glanced into the valley, and then nodded knowingly. "After seeing you riding the Greater Griffin towards the Summoning Ritual, we bypassed the Monster's Nest along the way and chased after the retreating carnivores, rushing towards this valley."

"So..."

"Is this a battle between Monster's Nest?"

"That should be the case," Ailin nodded.

"Then I'll arrange for someone..."

"No need, Mother Ianna," Ailin quickly interrupted. "I'll ride the Greater Griffin; it's faster and safer."

He originally thought he wouldn't have a chance to destroy the Monster's Nest, which was a real pity.

I never expected such a good thing to happen.

Even someone weakened could manage to airdrop a few Honeycomb Bomb; why let someone else have that opportunity?

to be honest.

He was quite curious about what the effects of the Monster's Nest's "Heart Essence Fluid" would be.

What kind of items can you get from the Monster Nest Chest?