With that, Dick was the first to turn and run toward the hillside.
The attendant's footsteps sounded behind him.
This time, Kebi did not argue with the witcher:
Dick had just saved his life. Wouldn't talking back now mean he couldn't tell good from bad?
With his Witcher Senses, Dick clearly heard a sound from the river like water bubbling in a cooking pot.
He glanced back and saw several heads emerging in the middle of the river, their wide, scarlet eyes fixed in his direction.
After running another few dozen meters, Dick turned around, completely ignoring the knight-to-be beside him, who was panting with his hands on his knees, and muttered to himself:
"One, two, twelve. There really are a lot of drowners.
"Next, it'll be up to Lady Xiya, but I need to hold these drowners back."
He briefly checked the recovery of the magic within him. Hmm, good. I'll be able to cast another Sign soon.
Judging by the distance, they'll be here in five seconds, and my Sign will be ready just in time.
He had already noticed dark clouds gathering across the sky ahead, slowly obscuring the blazing sun.
Xiya's lightning spell was about to take effect.
Seeing Dick standing still, no longer moving away,
Kebi hurriedly shouted in distress, "Dick, we need to run! These drowners aren't something ordinary people like us can handle!"
But Dick remained silent, pushing one palm forward as though measuring something.
Seeing this, Kebi gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his longsword. He stopped retreating as well, seemingly ready to stand by Dick through thick and thin.
Dick was slightly surprised, but a faint smile still curved his lips:
This Kebi might be reckless, but he's a decent fellow.
In the time it took him to turn, the twelve drowners had already spread into a fan and were charging toward the "fresh meat" before them.
They ran somewhat like humans, yet differently, their movements seeming more deliberate, as though specially devised for amusement.
But most people would only feel terror at the sight of them.
For beneath those slightly comical steps lurked lethal danger.
As the distance between them closed, Dick could even smell the drowners' distinctive fishy stench.
Once they entered his Sign's range, Dick thrust out his left palm. This time, Mind Shockwave surged forward in a fan, instantly halting the seven or eight drowners before him.
Mind Blast had taken effect.
But the four drowners on either side were unaffected by the Sign and continued lunging at him.
Dick sidestepped one drowner's lunge, then blocked another's swipe.
For an instant, the force transmitted through his sword made Dick's arm go slightly numb.
The impact drove Dick back one step, while the witcher's strength forced the drowner back two.
Following the momentum, he turned sideways and kicked the third drowner in the chest, knocking it over.
But the fourth drowner had already lunged at him from the side.
Seeing its claws drawing ever closer, with nowhere left to dodge, Dick prepared to trade an injury for the drowner's life.
Suddenly, a longsword appeared from beside him and sent the drowner flying with a single strike.
Slightly surprised, Dick turned to look at the young knight. He had thought the boy was no longer capable of fighting, yet he had actually managed to help.
His face flushed and his forehead sweating, the young knight nodded to Dick.
Both hands were still trembling slightly around the longsword.
In just those one or two seconds, the other drowners had recovered and were about to attack again.
The young knight pressed his lips tightly together, despair showing in his eyes:
I just received the grand master's promise that I'd be promoted to knight, and I've met a girl I fell in love with at first sight. How can I be about to die here?
As his composure crumbled, he shouted to bolster his courage, "Damn monsters, I'll fight you to the death! For the glory of the Order of the Falcon!"
Suddenly, thunder rumbled above the drowners. Several bolts of electricity, each three fingers thick, coiled amid the dark clouds like a dense mass of little snakes.
The drowners all raised their heads, and for the first time, a humanlike look of fear appeared on the monsters' faces.
Heavenly lightning inherently countered evil creatures, let alone so much of it overhead.
The next instant, those lightning serpents abruptly descended.
Crackling erupted as the powerful currents scorched the drowners before them. Their entire bodies trembled, agonized howls rang out without end, and the stench of their charred skin filled the surroundings.
Up on the hillside, the sorcerer's apprentice withdrew her casting hands, her face pale, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Fortunately, the sorcerer's apprentice had kept her word. The lightning had only paralyzed the drowners, not killed them.
Had it been a fully fledged sorcerer, Dick could only have looked on helplessly.
Naturally, he would not waste Xiya's assist. While the drowners were paralyzed, he had already charged into their midst.
Aiming for their vital points, he took seven or eight drowners' lives in an instant.
Meanwhile, Kebi's emotions had risen and fallen like a roller coaster, and he was raising his sword to help.
Seeing this, Dick shouted, "Don't come over! Just keep watch from the side."
As expected of a witcher. He's so cautious.
Kebi thought to himself and obediently complied.
Seeing the knight-to-be stop advancing, Dick felt a little relieved.
But the blade in his hand remained just as deadly. A few breaths later, the witcher had slit all twelve drowners' throats.
A satisfied smile appeared on Dick's face, for a notification had appeared on his panel:
Drowners killed ×14. Energy points gained ×30. First kill of [Necrophages]. Energy points gained ×15.
These drowners varied in strength, with each providing between two and three energy points.
Then he drew the dagger at his waist and gently cut into the gaps in each drowner's skull in turn, slowly removing the white, jellylike substance inside, afraid of damaging even a little of the tissue.
He then placed it in a bag he had prepared beforehand.
Drowner brains were one of the ingredients used to brew potions. Once air-dried, they could be brewed with other ingredients, and Dick naturally would not pass up these materials.
And alchemy was something a witcher would learn sooner or later.
Beside him, Kebi was already dumbstruck. He had never expected Dick to "dismember" the drowners after they died. What was more, his movements had been so gentle, as though these drowners were his treasured possessions!
At that thought, the young knight shuddered. This witcher is actually so vicious. I must never offend him.
Dick turned to look at Kebi. He offered no further explanation, merely saying, "Thanks for your help."
Kebi's face reddened further at those words. "I..."
He did not know what to say. It seemed the witcher and Miss Xiya had already planned how to deal with these drowners, and he had clearly only caused the witcher trouble.
He wanted to explain that it had been his first time facing a drowner head-on, and that he had only failed to show his strength because he had been frightened. Yet saying such a thing now seemed more like looking down on the witcher.
Dick said nothing more, merely patting his shoulder before heading up the hillside.
Seeing this, Kebi sheathed his sword at his waist, then spotted the small crossbow nearby that the witcher had casually thrown aside to save him earlier. He walked over, picked it up, and headed toward the hillside again.
Up on the hillside, Dick looked at the stunned constable, who still found it somewhat unbelievable:
This witcher, who had always been ignorant and unskilled, could actually finish off these drowners so cleanly and efficiently.
And the sorcerer's apprentice beside him could actually fight with such power as well.
He had thought the two had only come here to "gild" their credentials and would naturally leave after a while.
When he had first told Xiya about this matter, he had merely thought it worth a try, never expecting the two of them to actually resolve the trouble.
But he said little, merely taking a money pouch from his pocket and handing it to the witcher.
"Dick, you did wonderfully! Here are 30 Kelang, pooled together by the villagers."
Dick accepted the coins with a smile and tucked them into his pocket in satisfaction.
The commonly mentioned Kelang were silver coins. In terms of this world's purchasing power, one Kelang was roughly equivalent to 50 to 100 yuan in his previous life.
So 30 Kelang was already a considerable sum. It seemed being a witcher really was a lucrative profession.
And just after he accepted the money, another notification appeared on the protagonist's panel:
Contract quest completed. Reward: energy points ×30.
Sure enough, just like in the game, completing a contract quest also awarded extra energy points.
Dick was even more delighted. Added together, his energy points had now reached 105.