Then Dick stooped and slowly approached another house, opening the door without making a sound.
Inside, two men were eating around a pot.
One had his back to Dick and was completely unaware of the approaching danger. The other soldier was wolfing down the food in his bowl when he sensed a shadow drawing near. A glance out of the corner of his eye was enough to fill his face with terror.
A crossbow bolt had already pierced the first soldier's back, killing him in a single shot.
Before the other soldier could stand and fight back, another bolt shot straight through one of his eyes, its tip emerging from the back of his head.
The second soldier slumped his head and sat motionless.
After dealing with the two men, Dick followed the thunderous snoring toward a side door, pushed it open, and looked inside.
A Jatu soldier was sleeping soundly, utterly unaware of his companions' gruesome deaths outside.
Dick wasted no time. He clamped a hand over the man's mouth and drew his blade across his throat.
The soldier's eyes flew wide with terror. His legs twitched as he tried to fight back, but no matter how he struggled, he could not break free of Dick's arm, which looked far from brawny yet was immensely strong.
Only after dealing with this soldier did Dick relax a little.
He studied the soldier lying dead on the bed, his eyes still open, and noticed that this Jatu was not particularly tall or large. His skin was somewhat dark, clearly from constant exposure to the wind and sun.
These Jatu soldiers, who slept on horseback and were skilled riders and archers, struck fear into the continent's other nations. They should never have been this helpless, but they had let down their guard and run into a witcher skilled in assassination.
Only one left. That should be the priest.
With that thought, Dick approached a house in the center of the village.
This house looked far better than the others. Even its walls were made from a combination of marble and wood. It probably belonged to the village chief or a wealthy merchant.
Dick focused, held his breath, and listened carefully to the sounds inside.
"I know who you are."
It was a low, hoarse voice that sounded neither distinctly male nor female. "You're the apprentice of Barbara, chief court sorceress of the Northern Kingdoms, and one of the few sorceresses who command lightning magic.
"Lightning magic is exceedingly rare. I never imagined that a mere apprentice like you could just barely cast the Lightning Strike Spell."
Hearing this, Dick felt a surge of delight. The one who could cast the Lightning Strike Spell had to be the sorceress-in-training, Xiya.
The priest spoke the common tongue. His speech was somewhat awkward, but intelligible.
"Do you know that you killed one of my compatriots back then? And afterward, you tried to cast the Lightning Strike Spell again, nearly causing us a great deal of trouble.
"If I hadn't stopped those Jatu soldiers, they might have already taken turns violating you by now. Tell me... shouldn't you thank me?"
Then came the female voice Dick knew so well. "You're a Jatu priest, and my teacher is a court sorceress of the Northern Kingdoms. You invaded this country. I was simply resisting. Why should I thank you?"
"Heh, stubborn little girl." A sinister chuckle rang out. "Still, it seems you have no intention of cooperating and revealing the secret of how you mastered the Lightning Strike Spell."
"I was born with it. Never mind refusing to cooperate-even if I did, you would gain nothing."
"Not necessarily. It seems we'll have to wait until the Jatu army defeats that blasted Duke Amara, then take you back to the Jatu Plains and study you at our leisure."
"Study? What are you going to study?"
"You, of course.
"You may be stubborn now, but we'll have plenty of skilled craftsmen to slowly pry your mouth open. Even if you can't tell us anything, we can still use your body as material for magical research."
"In your dreams. Someone will come to rescue me soon, and you'll be killed then." Xiya's voice grew frightened.
"Are you counting on that little knight who ran away? He was scared out of his wits. He won't be coming back.
"No one will save you, little girl. Frightened already? You should be. Hehehe.
"Once we take you back, if you're lucky enough to survive the research, those ravenous Jatu warriors will certainly be interested in such a noble, rare sorceress. You might even bear a dozen or more children.
"Once you have those attachments, you can settle down peacefully on our Jatu Plains."
"Never."
"That isn't for you to decide."
Dick listened no longer and gently pushed open the door. Xiya came into view, tied to a post, with a cloaked figure standing in front of her.
Just as Dick was about to aim and fire, the disheveled priest suddenly turned around, as though he had been prepared all along.
His upper body was bare, and white paint covered his face.
Suddenly, he swung the staff in his hand down at Dick.
Dick had no choice but to abandon his short crossbow and dodge the fierce attack, then draw the steel sword from his back.
"Heh, witcher, did you think I wouldn't notice you?"
Seeing that his strike had missed, the priest took a step back and said loudly:
"I set a detection trap at the entrance. The moment you opened the door, I knew you were here. I thought I could kill you with one strike. I didn't expect you witchers to be so quick on your feet."
Dick said nothing and moved straight in to attack.
The priest had only raised his voice to alert the guards outside, but when they failed to respond, he knew they must all have been killed.
He was horrified, but kept his composure. He swung his staff again, and this time, fierce flames surged from its tip, rushing toward Dick's face.
Dick dodged this attack as well. Just as he was about to counterattack, he saw the priest leap nimbly backward and move behind Xiya.
It seemed he had only intended to force Dick back.
"Witcher, you came to rescue her, didn't you? No wonder this little girl was so certain someone would come to save him.
"I suggest you put down your weapon, or your little lover dies." As he spoke, he gave another sinister chuckle.
"All right."
Dick actually dropped the steel sword in his hand.
"Don't do that! Kill him! Don't worry about me! He'll never let me go!"
"Shut your mouth, little girl, or I'll burn that delicate little face of yours with fire. You wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life as an ugly freak, would you?"
Xiya's face went pale at his words.
The priest grew even more pleased with himself. "Now, witcher, turn around and go to the corner. Yes, just like that."
Watching this, Xiya felt a little desperate. She could not understand why Dick obediently did as he was told. Was it merely because she had taught him alchemy?
The priest moved behind the witcher, who was kneeling on the floor, and viciously swung his burning staff at the back of his head.
It was easy to foresee the steel staff smashing the skull of the witcher who had given up resisting.
"No!" Xiya screamed.
But in the next instant, the flames on the priest's staff suddenly went out, and he fell backward, clutching his throat with both hands.