Monster Hunting Legion, Fourth Tier! New Legion Skill: Bestow Honor!
The kings don't have many ways to deal with Ard, and Ailin thinks it will mostly fall on Ban Ade.
The Radical Faction led by Senne, the sorcerers of other factions under Ban Ade, Hen Gedimidis, Otolan, the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate, and now the kings and nobles of the northern kingdoms...
to be honest...
With so many variables, it's beyond Ailin's ability to make decisions; all he can do is speculate and wait and see.
And in Ard, there lies the Greater Griffin of the Great Griffin.
It's unclear whether Demavend II will remember their free help and cover it up for them.
Exposing their role in taming the Greater Griffin for Vengerberg was actually beneficial to Ard at this stage.
Since Ailin and Vesemir's actions had already reached their limit, it was impossible for the School of the Wolf to directly intervene and fight for Ard.
Ard's greatest need for the School of the Wolf should be to actively deal with the carnivorous creatures and other monsters that have run rampant due to the war after the war, and to restore production, handicrafts and trade activities in the occupied territories as soon as possible.
Logically speaking, Demavend II should have been fully aware of this, and should even have actively helped them conceal it to gain favor with the School of the Wolf.
But how should I put it...
As Nannick said, most of the kings of the northern kingdoms were products of inbreeding, and their behavior was sometimes really hard to judge.
Therefore, Ailin could only wait and see.
As for Kaer Morhen...
Such big news couldn't possibly be kept secret.
After discussing the matter, Ailin and Vesemir wrote down the ins and outs of the incident—from the unexpected encounter with Senne, refusing the commission from the dwarf master Horton Qui-Gon, the ambush by Vilgefortz, the subjugation of the Greater Griffin, and the suspected destruction of the kingdom of Kedwen —in a brief and objective manner, and sent it back via several carrier pigeons.
Soyer is the grandmaster of the School of the Wolf; he has the right and the obligation to know all this, and he also needs to make some preparations in advance.
Kedwen, the School of the Wolf, located within its borders, was the first to bear the brunt, and it's impossible that it was completely unaffected.
The king and nobles pleaded for help and vented their anger, while mutinous soldiers launched attacks...
If we really keep it from the chief, it could cause a big problem.
The Greater Griffin was certainly faster, but both witchers tacitly ignored this information channel.
On the one hand, it would take one or two days just to send a message back and forth, and the quests here in Arland are almost finished in the next few days, so there's no need for that.
While the Kedwen couldn't be kept secret, it wasn't that urgent, and a few hours wouldn't make a difference.
On the other hand, the two Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf were also not entirely sure.
After returning to Kaer Morhen, will they still have the mind to chase Ghoul all over the mountains again?
Time flies.
Three days passed quickly.
In the past few days, while cleaning up the remaining carnivorous creatures, Ailin and Vesemir have been keeping a close eye on the progress of the Kedwen affair.
However, aside from the excuses from Senne's side, there has been no news from Nannick, the Old Duke, or Tissaia de Veres.
Three days is not a short time, but for Kedwen and Ard, who were cut off from news, it was far from enough to get any further information.
Without the aid of magic, this is the normal speed of information dissemination in this era.
Even if Tissaia de Veres, who should be among the first to receive information, wanted to learn about the war situation through Ard, the person she contacted would probably not be in Vengerberg, and the journey would take several days.
In response, Ailin and Vesemir could only wait patiently.
On the bright side, neither of the two witchers received any bad news from Ard.
As for other aspects...
The chests of Ghoul, Rotfiend, and Giant Ghoul's Chest can be opened immediately upon killing them, but unfortunately they are all junk mixed with some Experience Orbs and Lesser Experience Orbs.
Last night, Ailin estimated the time and set up a "Meritellie's Concealment Ritual" at the icon, but unfortunately, he did not receive any response.
The goddess probably hadn't recovered from the previous exertion, so he decided to try one more time before leaving.
certainly...
It wasn't that there were no gains at all.
Ailin's exploration of Primal Magic has yielded some results; he can now imbue invisible spirits with power, much like telekinesis, to move heavy objects.
Uh... it's not as powerful as when Vilgefortz or Pavetta, Ciri's mother, awakened in the original story.
It's almost ineffective in actual combat, but it's very convenient for retrieving small items in daily life.
He is currently trying to amplify signs, spells, and incantations with Primal Magic, but for some reason he has not yet succeeded.
In the original story, Ciri saw the future through the Primal Magic, and Vilgefortz's supposed ability to send messages across vast distances through dreams was nowhere to be found.
However, since it was a newly acquired ability, Ailin wasn't in a hurry.
After several tests, Vesemir and the young Witcher's Path of the Battle Roar proved that it could enhance strength independently of Beast Path of the Battle Roar, but the rate of enhancement was only a quarter of that guided by Beast Roar.
And then...
That was the huge boost Ernie and Klar suddenly gained in the Path of the Battle Roar, which allowed them to wreak havoc when hunting ghouls.
Two days ago, when they encountered a horde of ghouls controlled by a Giant Ghoul, Ailin and Vesemir didn't even need to intervene. In their berserk state, they wiped out nearly forty ghouls, including the large monster Giant Ghoul, in ten minutes.
afterwards.
Vesemir's tone was tinged with envy and jealousy as he said, "Another group of 'genius' witchers are graduating from my class."
Then, with a mix of distress and anticipation, and a touch of awkwardness, she said to Ailin, "I don't even know how I'm going to explain to those wide-eyed, astonished old bastards at the end of the year how I trained you all. Why don't you do it for me..."
Ailin, of course, refused outright and suggested that Vesemir simply reduce the extent of his annual boasting.
But honestly...
An average of 20 points in attribute values, a Witcher's two-handed sword, the Quen Sign, and the Oterrohp Sign all at level 3, plus a record of defeating numerous ghouls...
Unbeknownst to them, the first batch of seven members of the Monster Hunting Legion — Ernie, Klar, Kray, Aias, Hugh, Spencer, and Xilo— had already reached the mid-level of the School of the Wolf of Witchers.
Of course, for the School of the Wolf, which only has fifty or sixty Witchers, the strength of the mid-level members is not very high; most of them are ordinary Witchers.
They simply made thorough preparations before each hunt and acted within their capabilities; that was all.
"Bite!"
The cold, impersonal System Notification interrupted Ailin's thoughts.
[Slay the Level 11 "Ghoul" Monster Horde!]
[Reward Settlement:...]
Final rating: D (Loot Lock)
[Loot obtained: 6 Ghoul Heart Essence Fluid, 3 Lesser Experience Orbs, 2 Ghoul Ghoul's Chest]
[Gained 60 Combat Points]
He jumped down from the tree trunk and looked into the woods.
Ernie and the others had already sheathed their swords, skillfully harvested the materials, and were heading back with a sense of unfinished business.
No wonder they were still not satisfied.
There are six Ghoul, and even one for each person isn't enough.
However, after several days of hunting, ghouls have become increasingly difficult to find. Today, after a whole day of chasing, only two waves were found, including the two waves of these six Ghoul, for a total of sixteen Ghoul and one Rotfiend.
And some of them are quite intriguing.
On the day of the Summoning Ritual, so many Spiked Fiend were released, at least twenty, but apart from the demon hunters led by Ailin, they only saw a few on the first day after the Summoning Ritual.
For the next seven or eight days, we didn't encounter a single one.
The number of Giant Ghoul also has considerable discrepancies, and the number decreases as you progress.
This is also abnormal.
As the brains of ghouls, Giant Ghoul should encounter hordes of ghouls, each led by Giant Ghoul.
"My previous guesses are probably true," Ailin thought. "There's at least one other person behind the Summoning Ritual who can control the ghouls..."
They had already discussed this hypothesis with Ianna and the Old Duke, asking them to remind the nobles of the surrounding territories and the kings of neighboring countries.
However, with the entire Northern Continent's attention focused on Kedwen and Ard, no one knew what effect such a reminder would have.
Looking up, he saw that dusk was approaching. Ailin sighed and said, "Alright, we..."
Before he could finish speaking...
"Bite!"
The cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind again. After a moment of surprise, a flash of joy appeared in Ailin's eyes.
He quickly opened the Witcher's Handbook.
[Ding! The Monster Hunting Legion (Tier 3) has been upgraded to the Monster Hunting Legion (Tier 4). Please open the Legion panel to view details.]
As expected, the Monster Hunting Legion has been upgraded!
Ailin turned directly to the page of the Witcher's Handbook, which was about the Monster Hunting Legion.
Blood mist swirls across the ancient pages of the book.
When Ailin's gaze fell upon the interface that originally belonged to the Monster Hunting Legion...
"Thump!"
The thunderous sound of war drums rang out.
What followed was the clang of metal on metal, the roar of monsters, sharp blades slicing through flesh, and heavy hammers smashing bones...
The chaotic sounds of the battlefield made Ailin feel as if a strong smell of rust was lingering around the tip of his nose.
"Kill!"
A roar whose timbre was indistinguishable.
Suddenly, all the noise disappeared, and the swirling blood mist gradually dissipated, revealing a dark red panel that resembled dried blood.
"Whoa!"
"The special effects are so amazing!"
Ailin secretly felt a surge of anticipation. His guess was indeed correct. The Monster Hunting Legion, like the skills, should be structured in three tiers, each with additional special effects.
Based on these special effects alone, he felt that a fourth-tier Monster Hunting Legion should be at least twice as strong as a third-tier one.
Legion Name: Pact of the Wolves
[Rank: Fourth Rank]
[Status: 20/7500]
[Combat Points: 1829]
Members: 10/25 (+10)
[Loyalty: Huus 100 (Die-hard), Bont 100, Fred 100, Ernie 96, Klar 95, Kray...]
[Skills: Loot Lock Transfer LV2, Resonance LV2, Bestow Honor LV1]
[Monster Hunt Quest: Demon Hunter IV (Hunting any monster 275/750) (+32)]
"Well..."
Looking down, the most important thing immediately comes to mind: the addition of new members.
"Ten more members have been added..." Ailin was speechless.
Although it's double the growth of the previous three levels, at this stingy pace, it's unclear when it will reach the true size of a "legion"...
Of course, fifteen spots should be enough for him for a while.
My gaze continued down to the skill bar, and the first thing I saw was a skill I'd never seen before— Bestow Honor.
[Bestow Honor]
[Level: 1]
[Type: Legion Passive Skill]
[Active Effect: Grants the "Captain" title to one legion member. A previously granted title can be revoked once. (A "Captain" can lead ten members. As long as the members are within the "Captain's" influence range, the outcome of the battle is independent of the legion commander and calculated separately.)]
"Captain" rank?
After glancing at the face of the Bestow Honor, Ailin's heart began to beat faster involuntarily.
Separate settlement...
In other words, as long as Ailin grants Ernie the title of "Captain", he can lie in his residence in the temple and watch the Combat Points on the Monster Hunting Legion panel keep jumping.
This directly rescued him from the abyss of raising children!
Moreover, while the captain leads a team, he can also lead more members to hunt monsters, and the rewards of battle, treasure chests, and Experience Orbs can even be doubled.
The flexibility has increased by more than double.
This new skill alone is enough to make for that grand opening animation, and what if "Legion Skill: Bestow Honor" gets upgraded a few more times in the future...
Tsk tsk!
Ailin smacked his lips.
The Monster Hunting Legion has a bright future ahead of it.
The only drawback is that the bestowed title can only be revoked once now, so the choice of recipient needs to be carefully considered.
But let's put that aside for now...
Ailin's gaze returned to the two newly upgraded Legion skills.
[teach]
[Level: 2]
[Active Effect: Consuming Combat Points increases a member's skill experience at a 1:2 ratio. (Only Combat Points gained after leveling up through skill transfer.)]
[Passive Effect: During combat, members' combat skill experience will increase due to the leader's influence.]
"Hiss~"
The moment he saw the active effect of "Legion Skill: Instruction", he immediately gasped.
One to two?!
One Combat Points can be used as two Combat Points?!
This was combined with the Bestow Honor.
To be honest, even Ailin is a little envious of Ernie and the others now.
[Loot Lock]
[Level: 2]
[Type: Legion Passive Skill]
[Effect: Legion Hunt, the lowest possible rating after the raid is locked at D+]
"Not bad," Ailin thought. "I can get an extra Experience Orbs every time I settle accounts. It adds up."
It has to be said that the Monster Hunting Legion's potential has more than doubled with this upgrade.
He now has the urge to lead a team of witchers, Vesemir leads a team of witchers, and clear out all the monsters in the entire Mahakam Mountains overnight.
It's just a pity...
"Ailin ..." Vesemir walked over from the side, stepping on the decaying leaves. "The carnivorous creatures around Arland have been almost completely cleared out."
"Will we continue tomorrow?"
"No, thank you." Ailin looked up at Vesemir's anxious face and sighed.
"We're going back to Kaer Morhen tomorrow."
Who knows what awaits them in the Ancient Sea Fortress?