Red calmly raised his hand and pressed his palm down. An invisible pressure spread and the noise quickly subsided, leaving only suppressed sobs and heavy breathing.
"Now is not the time to celebrate." Red's voice was steady and powerful, reaching everyone's ears clearly, "It is still early, we need to enter the village immediately to survey the situation and assess the threats. Only after we understand clearly can we formulate countermeasures." He turned to Brand, "Village chief, please arrange for us some guides who are familiar with the village's routes."
Brand immediately restrained his excitement and nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Yes! Your Excellency is right!" He quickly turned around and pointed out a few villagers in the crowd who were relatively strong and had calm eyes. "You guys, lead the way! Protect the safety of the Warlocks!" Although the words "Protect the Warlocks" sounded a bit absurd, it was the only loyalty he could express at the moment.
Under the leadership of several villagers guides, Red and his team of warlocks, including Yavi and Yennefer who were right next to him, turned around and left this temporary camp full of hope and sorrow, followed the path they came from, and walked resolutely towards the ruins of Saize Village at the foot of the mountain, shrouded in the shadow of death.
Under the nervous and slightly fearful guidance of several village guides, the warlock team stepped into the dilapidated entrance of Saize Village. An indescribable stench of blood, rotten flesh, coke and dust, like a tangible sticky substance, blew in the face with the breeze, making people almost nauseous.
The scene in front of me is even more shocking than when viewed from a distance on the hillside. The once peaceful villages are now devastated:
The scorched skeleton of the house was twisted and deformed in the setting sun, leaving the hideous traces of the raging fire.
Half-eaten carcasses of cattle and horses were scattered along the roadside, with their internal organs and bones exposed, attracting buzzing swarms of flies.
The most heart-stopping thing is the mutilated corpses scattered among the rubble and beside the road - some are wearing the villagers' coarse clothes and have missing limbs; some are even indistinguishable from human form, leaving only dark brown stains and dense white bones. The smell of death is too strong to be eliminated.
Several muffled exclamations and gasps immediately rang out from the team. Several young students turned pale, their eyes evaded, and they couldn't bear to look any further. The two female apprentices even covered their mouths, resisting the urge to vomit, and their bodies were shaking slightly.
Yavi's expression was calm. This purgatory-like scene had long been engraved in the bone marrow of his demon hunter. He took a deep breath calmly, and the senses belonging to the mutant demon hunter in his body were instantly activated! The blue eyes were like molten glass, instantly shrinking and deforming, transforming into cold, vertical pupils like big cats, with cold brown light deep in the pupils.
"!"
Yennefer, who was standing next to him, was startled by this sudden change and trembled slightly, but she immediately realized that this was the demon hunter ability of Yavi. A flash of understanding flashed in her purple eyes, and then she quietly took another half step closer to Yavi, as if being close to this only anchor point could give her a sense of security in this dead land.
Through the enhanced field of vision of Witcher Senses, Yavi penetrated the diffuse dust and the shadow of the building, and clearly "captured" several energy outlines that were staggering and moving, exuding a strong putrid smell near the central square of the village in front of them - they were Ghoul, about five or six in number.
Team leader Red was standing in front of the team, scanning the dead streets with vigilance, as if assessing the risk of going deeper. At this moment,
The calm voice of Yavi sounded clearly, breaking the oppressive silence. "In the center of the village ahead, about five or six Ghoul are active. The threat is not great, but it exists."
Red suddenly turned his head to look at Yavi, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then his eyes fell on his inhuman, cold brown cat eyes, and he suddenly realized. "... I almost forgot your origin. The demon hunter's senses are truly well-deserved." He nodded and gave a decisive order, "Okay, the goal is clear, keep moving forward! Stay vigilant!"
The team moved again, and the atmosphere was more solemn than before. The hands of the village guides holding simple weapons were shaking. When they approached the relatively open small square in the center of the village, the few Ghoul wandering aimlessly finally Sensing the aura of a stranger! Their rotting heads turned sharply in the direction of the team, their cloudy eyes locked on the target, and they made a creepy "ho ho" sound in their throats. Then they got down on all fours, like hyenas that smelled blood, and rushed over crazily!
"Ah!" Faced with this sudden and terrifying scene, the villagers, although their legs were weak with fear and their faces were as pale as paper, still relied on a protective instinct, tremblingly raised the pitchforks and wooden sticks in their hands, and bravely blocked the way of the warlocks - even if the barrier looked so fragile and ridiculous.
"Everyone, attack freely!" Red's voice sounded like thunder, with an unquestionable command, "Attention! Avoid the remains of the villagers! Control the spell range and do not damage the remaining buildings!"
The moment the order was given, the suppressed magic power fluctuations suddenly broke out!
The young warlock apprentices seemed to have found an outlet to vent their fear, and began to chant spells one after another. In an instant, the sky above the square was colorful:
The fireball roared out with a blazing tail flame!
The ice pick shoots with biting cold air!
Chain lightning crackled between Ghoul!
There was even more invisible shock wave of thought power sweeping across!
These spells hit Ghoul with precision or a little panic.
Yavi did not chant a long spell. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, locked on the target, and quickly formed seals with his hands in front of his chest. The invisible wind element quickly condensed and compressed in his palms! Several nearly transparent wind blades with sharp green light shining on the edges were instantly formed. With a flick of his wrist, they made a sharp sound of breaking through the air. The last one came first!
Puff! Puff!
The wind blade accurately passed over the two Ghoul running in the front, like the sharpest razor cutting through dead wood. Ghoul's upper body was strangely staggered from its lower body, and black blood and internal organs were sprayed all over the ground. At the same time, the spells of other students also fell like raindrops.
Under the intensive spell attacks of the warlocks, these ordinary Ghoul were like broken dolls, torn to pieces, ignited, frozen, and exploded in an instant! They could not even rush to the fragile defense line formed by the villagers, but turned into pieces of broken limbs and meat that were smoking and smelling all over the ground.
The battle ended extremely quickly.
The surviving villagers stood there dumbly, watching the monsters that had been charging at them fiercely just now turn into filth on the ground, and then looked at the group of young warlocks with fluttering robes and the glow of magic around them. The fear in their eyes has not completely faded away, but a stronger light of hope, like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood, has burst out uncontrollably! These warlocks... really have the power to dispel darkness!