Grey Rock Mountain.
This is a steep mountain range within Upper March.
As the sky grew darker, Raven flapped its wings and flew over the frost-covered branches, making a hoarse cry.
On the mountainside in the distance, the black mine opening looks like a giant beast with its mouth wide open.
With his nose twitching, he could clearly smell the icy cold wind mixed with the thick smell of sulfur.
Staring through the cat's eyes, a large number of scaffoldings were randomly abandoned outside the mine, and the mine carts overturned in the snow.
At the fenced wooden gate not far away, several people stood there, rubbing their hands constantly, breathing hot air from their mouths, and looking out from time to time.
When they saw the war horses and knights in silver armor appearing, their eyes lit up.
One of the middle-aged men came over quickly.
"Praise the gods, I finally waited for you to come, Master Elena!"
The visitor was wearing a thick brown cotton-padded jacket, an old felt hat on his head, and his face was full of wrinkles.
He rubbed his hands back and forth on his chest and bent his waist very low.
Elena said, "Raise your head."
Cole After hearing this, he slowly raised his head.
Elena's eyes moved to Arwen beside him, "This is a demon hunter, you can call him Raven."
The kingdom's law to revoke the book "Monstrum" has been promulgated. Cole smiled and said, "Mr. Raven, I am Cole, the mayor of this town. It's great to meet you."
"With the witchers, our town can be saved this time."
"How is the situation now?" Elena asked.
"Not so good." Cole grimaced and invited a few people into the town, "Sir, it's cold outside, let's go in quickly, make a fire, drink hot soup, and talk about things."
Elena and Arwen looked at each other, got off their horses, and patted their snow-stained cloaks.
The mayor's family is not rich, it can even be said to be somewhat poor.
The furnishings in the house are simple, with a mottled wooden table and a few crooked stools.
The charcoal fire in the brazier was not burning brightly, and some black bread for the winter was piled in the corner.
Seeing outsiders coming in, a rough-looking woman in an apron quickly brought several bowls of hot potato soup.
Then he hugged a seven or eight-year-old child and retreated into the small room in the back room, even locking the door.
Arwen took off his boxing gloves, sat at the table, and scanned the room with his peephole eyes.
"Sit down and talk, Cole."
Elena pulled out the chair, and although his voice was calm, it revealed the majesty of a commander.
"Yes, yes."
Cole sat down on the edge and swallowed, with lingering fear on his face.
"My lords, that monster--it's simply terrifying."
With trembling hands, he held the wooden bowl in front of him.
"It started a month ago when miner Jim, who was working the night shift, didn't come back. We thought he was lost in the mine or fell into an abandoned pit. The next day, I sent four strong young men down to look for him——"
Cole's voice trembled, and the water in the water glass spilled on the wooden table.
"The result----only two came back."
"The two people who came back are all crazy!"
"They were covered in blood, and they were talking incoherently about dark shadows under the ground, eyes as red as blood, and big man-eating mouths!
"In the next few days, there was an unbelieving supervisor who took people to the first level of the mine tunnel and wanted to take out the tools——"
"Adults, you will never imagine what they saw."
Cole Covered his face with his hands.
"Jim's head was half chewed off, his belly was hollowed out, and his internal organs were dragged all over the floor."
"There were more than a dozen pairs of red eyes staring at them in the darkness, and disgusting chewing sounds were made from their mouths. Monsters were eating Jim them!"
Arwen used [Alchemy Perception] to examine the potato soup in his hand. It only contained potatoes and a little coarse salt. He drank it slowly and felt it was sticky, so he continued lightly.
"Ghoul."
Cole raised his head, with scarlet eyes, looking at Arwen as if grasping a life-saving straw, and then quickly looked at Elena.
"Yes----it's Ghoul!"
"Master Witcher! Lord Commander!"
"No matter what they are, please deal with them quickly!"
Cole stood up suddenly with a pleading tone.
"Only 10% of last month's ore target was completed. If this month's target is not completed, according to the Upper March law, I will be finished!"
"There are so many people in the town who all rely on this mine for their livelihood."
"If the mine is sealed, we won't have to wait for monsters to come up and eat us. We will all starve to death in the winter."
Arwen put down the potato soup in his hand, stood up, and looked out the window.
The last ray of sunshine is about to sink behind Grey Rock Mountain.
Cole rubbed his hands, as if he saw Arwen's intention, "This winter is very cold, and it gets dark very quickly."
"The adults must be tired too. I found some clean rooms for you, right next door."
"Although it's a bit crude, it has a stove, so I can rest for a night, how about it?"
"Well, that's troublesome."
Arwen looked down at him with cat eyes.
Cole A restrained smile appeared on his weathered face.
"It's my pleasure, Mr. Witcher."
After setting up the room, Arwen checked the equipment, put on his hood, and walked out of the room.
He didn't take a few steps when he heard the wooden door next door being opened.
Elena leaned against the entrance, "Mr. Mr. Demon Hunter, where are you going?"
"I'm going to go to town for a walk."
Elena stroked the hornbeam longbow behind him, "I don't expect to have a peaceful sleep in this place."
"Let's go, I'll come with you."
Arwen raised his eyebrows, turned around, and Elena followed closely.
The town was eerily quiet, with all the windows closed and only weak candlelight shining through.
The two walked side by side on the narrow dirt road, their boots making a constant "squeaking" sound as they stepped into the snow.
"When you were drinking that bowl of soup at the mayor's house just now, you frowned very tightly. Is there something wrong?"
Arwen replied calmly, "For Ghoul, a living person is just a primitive ingredient. The meat needs to be torn into pieces with fangs and claws, and then left for a period of time before it can be used."
"And that Cole said it in too much detail."
Elena looked sideways at him, "You mean, he is lying to us?"
Arwen shrugged, "Not necessarily. When people are frightened, they will always exaggerate things."
"But he's right about one thing. Going into the mines at night is not a good choice."
"Ghoul will be more agile and powerful at night."
Elena smiled and said, "You are really professional."
"Besides killing monsters, do you have any other hobbies?"
Arwen didn't expect her to ask this, so he hesitated for a while, "Training, monster hunting commission, this is my daily life."
"Huh?" Elena chuckled, his voice clear and clear.
"Then your life is really barren."
"If it were any other baron, at your age, you would be in the top brothel of Adelaide, holding the plumpest woman, drinking white wine from Toussaint, where would you be studying how to kill monsters."
"And I heard that the witcher's ability in bed is very extraordinary."