Recaps

Arwen and Elena descended into the ghoul hatchery, where Arwen confronted a newly hatched Bloodthorn Ghoul King. Arwen decapitated the monster, leaving the clearing’s remaining threat defeated.

• Arwen and Elena pressed deeper into the mine after deciding not to regroup, despite the gunpowder smell that made fire dangerous.
• Arwen and Elena discovered a ghoul hatchery, where Arwen destroyed several scab eggs while Elena supported him with silver arrows.
• A Bloodthorn Ghoul King hatched from a larger egg and attacked Arwen as immature giant ghouls emerged around them.
• Elena killed the approaching giant ghouls while Arwen slowed the king with Yrden and wounded it with Tor Zireael.
• Arwen trapped the king with a silver chain, knocked it off balance with Aard, and decapitated it; Elena killed the last ghoul.

Arwen protected Elena from the Bloodthorn Ghoul King's self-destruction and installed its mutagen after surviving the blast. He discovered a tunnel full of dead miners from Grey Rock Mountain and found a silver tag bearing the name Piers.

• Arwen warned Elena and shielded her from the Bloodthorn Ghoul King's explosion with the drake golem and a Quen Sign.
• Elena knocked away a falling rock that threatened Arwen, breaking her forearm in the process.
• Arwen confirmed Elena's injury, then installed the Bloodthorn Ghoul King Mutagen and gained Rotthorn Toxin.
• Arwen found a hidden mine tunnel filled with the corpses of at least a hundred miners from Grey Rock Mountain.
• Arwen discovered a silver tag on a young miner and read the name Piers.

Arwen emerged alive from the mine after Cole betrayed the Upper March men and prepared to flee with stolen ore. He accepted Mana’s contract to hunt the monsters, facing Cole and his bandits outside the mine.

• Cole revealed that he served the Hengfors League and had killed the miners with black powder to hide his thefts.
• Cole ordered the captured Upper March men hanged, Mana abused, and the mine blown up.
• Arwen killed the bandit dragging Mana with a thrown dagger and emerged from the mine alive.
• Mana begged Arwen for help and described the monsters and the slaughter.
• Arwen accepted the monster-hunting contract and drew his greatsword.

Arwen rescued Elena, Zachary, and the other knights by killing Cole and all twenty-two bandits, then returned to Grey Rock Town with the captives’ stolen riches. The townspeople learned the truth about the miners’ deaths and celebrated Arwen as their newly ennobled baron and savior.

• Arwen deflected the bandits’ arrows with his sword and Quen Sign, then slaughtered all twenty-two bandits with his greatsword and Rotthorn Toxin.
• Arwen caught Cole as he fled, crushed his ankle, and killed him despite his threats and offers of money.
• Elena emerged alive from the mine, and Arwen freed the five knights before gathering the wagons’ ore and gems as spoils.
• In Grey Rock Town, Elena exposed Cole’s crimes, and the residents celebrated his death while Zachary announced that Arwen was a baron ennobled by King Miodrag.
• During the town’s celebration, Arwen treated Elena’s broken arm and accepted venison from a little girl who showed no fear of him.

After four peaceful months at Grey Rock Mountain, Arwen improved his skills, received an enchanted elven longbow from Elena, and set out for Temeria. At the Temple of Melitele, he learned that Mother Asumpta had died and Nenneke had become high priestess, then agreed that Ellander should be the goddess’s followers’ new refuge.

• Arwen trained in archery with Elena and gained a talent that improved his accuracy, while also strengthening his witcher skills and learning spells.
• Elena gave Arwen an enchanted elven longbow, and he left Grey Rock Mountain the next morning after they said goodbye.
• Arwen returned to the Temple of Melitele and found Nenneke arranging flowers for Mother Asumpta, who had died four nights earlier.
• Nenneke told Arwen that she had become high priestess and that the Temple’s followers needed a safer refuge as tensions along the northern border grew.
• Arwen told Nenneke that he had come back to help, and named Ellander as the place for their new refuge.

Arwen and Nenneke’s caravan encountered elves who barred their passage through the forest near Shaerrawedd. After Arwen subdued their band, Toriel recognized him as the witcher who had saved her, and the elves invited the caravan to their camp.

• Mia told Arwen that her injuries had left her unable to bear children, and the caravan continued south toward the Pontar River.
• Elves fired warning arrows and confronted Arwen and Nenneke, demanding that they stay away from Shaerrawedd.
• When the elves aimed their bows, Arwen charged and subdued the five-member squad without seriously injuring them.
• Toriel recognized Arwen as the witcher who had saved her, and her brother Galar apologized and thanked him.
• Galar offered the caravan shelter, water, and supplies at the elves’ camp, and Arwen got Nenneke’s agreement before accepting.

Arwen accepted the elves’ request to investigate the disappearance of their children and learned that Earl Rupert Mansfield’s son Edmund and the sorceress Freyja had also vanished. After Arwen prevented a clash between the elves and Rupert’s soldiers, the Earl entrusted him with a magical pendant that could track Edmund.

• The elven elder told Arwen that eight children had disappeared and asked him to find them, offering his help with swordsmithing in return.
• Arwen questioned the elder, learned the children vanished silently after midnight in fog, and accepted potions and insectoid sword oil from Nenneke.
• A raven alerted Arwen to an armed party led by Earl Rupert Mansfield and the gnome Lorik approaching the camp.
• Rupert told Arwen that his son Edmund and Freyja had disappeared, and Arwen explained that the elves were also missing children.
• When elves confronted Rupert’s soldiers, Arwen persuaded both sides to hold back, and Rupert gave him Freyja’s magical pendant to help locate Edmund.

Arwen followed the ruby pendant into a Kikimore-infested cave while searching for the Earl’s missing child. He and his companions defeated the first swarm, and Arwen gained a new mutagen, but the search continued deeper underground.

• Arwen, Galar, and Lorik found a newly dug cave marked by corrosive slime, and Arwen identified the creatures inside as Kikimores.
• Arwen prepared with potions and insectoid oil before leading Galar and Lorik into the cave after the pendant’s signal.
• A swarm of Kikimore Workers and Warriors surrounded the group, forcing Arwen, Galar, and Lorik to fight their way through.
• Arwen used his silver sword and Igni Sign to kill the Kikimores, while Galar’s arrows and Lorik’s fire bombs helped defeat the creatures behind them.
• Arwen installed the Kikimore Worker Mutagen and gained Carapace Armor, then finished off a wounded Kikimore Warrior.

Arwen and his companions confronted and killed a blue-robed wizard in the underground passage, then reached the wizard’s laboratory. They found the elf Galar’s niece dead, but discovered several children imprisoned nearby.

• Arwen saved Lorik from an earthen spike and spotted a blue-robed wizard who accused them of killing his Kikimore children.
• The wizard attacked with earth magic, but Arwen broke through his spells, killed him, and learned that Earl Rupert’s child and the elf’s child had been eaten by his creatures.
• Arwen rescued Galar and Lorik from sinking ground, collected the Kikimore remains, and led them deeper into the cave.
• Arwen and his companions entered the wizard’s laboratory, where Galar found Nisha bound and dead with Kikimore eggs inside her.
• Galar saw several children in a cage, and one pointed-eared boy recognized him as Brother Galar.

Arwen rescued five children from a cave where a wizard had experimented on them with kikimore eggs, and discovered evidence linking the Hydra cult to a gathering in half a month. The group prepared to travel to Hydra Canyon, while Francesca Findabair learned of the cult and asked to meet Arwen in four days.

• Arwen freed five children, healed them, and found an experimental journal describing kikimore eggs implanted in children and a captured sorceress who might have been Lady Freyja.
• Arwen discovered a snake-headed mask bearing the Hydra cult’s symbol and a message announcing a gathering of wizards in half a month.
• Arwen returned with the children and the victims’ bodies, reunited Edmund with Earl Rupert, and told the elves and humans what he had found.
• Nenneke identified the mask as the symbol of Hydra, and Arwen revealed that the cult might be gathering at Hydra Canyon, where Lady Freyja could be held.
• Earl Rupert and the elven elder agreed to prepare an expedition to Hydra Canyon, while the elder promised to forge Arwen’s weapons with help from Francesca Findabair.
• Francesca learned about Hydra and the missing sage Ida Emean, sent Arwen’s weapons into the pool for forging, and asked to meet him in four days.

Arwen crafted and tested enhanced alchemical bombs, then met Francesca Findabair, who presented him with a reforged greatsword. Francesca began to reveal another reason for seeking him out.

• Arwen and Lorik made an enhanced venom bomb, and Arwen gained the Alchemy Extraction talent.
• Arwen and Lorik tested their bombs in the forest, where Arwen used his Signs to greatly amplify a Northern Wind Bomb's destructive effect.
• The elven elder led Arwen to meet Francesca Findabair, who had forged his weapon.
• Francesca gave Arwen his reforged greatsword, enhanced with star-meteor steel and an armor-piercing rune.
• Francesca told Arwen that she had another reason for coming to see him.

Arwen accepted Francesca’s commission to find the missing elven sage Ida Emean and received a mask that could conceal him and let him impersonate its former owner. After two days of marching, Arwen’s party reached a village in Hydra Canyon where humans, elves, dwarves, and even a Kikimore Worker lived together; Arwen disguised himself as the green-robed mage and went down to investigate while the others waited for his signal.

• Francesca explained that Ida Emean had disappeared near the Kestrel Mountains and asked Arwen to find her, promising her friendship and a reward.
• Francesca enchanted the hydra mask so it could conceal Arwen’s presence and transform him into the green-robed mage whose appearance she had divined.
• Arwen joined Earl Rupert’s soldiers and Galar’s elven archers on a difficult march through the forest toward Hydra Canyon.
• Arwen’s party discovered a village where humans, elves, and dwarves lived together peacefully, and a Kikimore Worker calmly pulled a wagon with an elven child riding it.
• Arwen ordered the others to hide at the forest’s edge, gave Lorik instructions to distribute dimeritium and wait for a bomb signal, then disguised himself as the mage and walked toward the village.

Arwen entered a village where magic influenced the residents and discovered that the sorceress Freyja Natavren was being held in the manor dungeon. There, he recognized the blue-robed mage Meng as Mage George of Ban Ard and knocked him unconscious after learning he was hunting a black-haired witcher.

• Arwen entered the village and noticed its villagers behaved unusually, while the wolf-head medallion on his chest vibrated in the dense magic.
• Jared told Arwen that a sorceress had injured villagers and that two emissaries had stopped her, then led him to the dungeon where she was held.
• Arwen met the blue-robed emissary Meng, who joined him in visiting the captive Freyja Natavren.
• Meng demanded that Freyja reveal the whereabouts of a black-haired witcher, and Arwen realized he meant the newly appointed baron.
• Arwen offered to trade the witcher's location for a magical item, then identified Meng as Mage George of Ban Ard and knocked him unconscious.

Arwen rescued Lady Freyja from Hydra Canyon and learned that a cult led by a bishop planned a ritual involving nine wizards and the Elder Blood secret hidden in Atamont's ring. After killing George, Arwen disguised himself as a wizard and led Freyja toward the Kikimore Queen beneath the castle.

• Arwen freed Lady Freyja from her dimeritium shackles, and she recovered her magic.
• Freyja used mental magic to break George's resistance, and he revealed that Atamont's ring was connected to the Elder Blood.
• George described the bishop's plan to gather nine wizards for a ritual to summon the Hydra God and named the Kikimore Queen as the bishop's creation beneath the castle.
• Arwen killed George after questioning him and decided to deal with the Kikimore Queen before venturing deeper into the canyon.
• Arwen disguised himself as a blue-robed wizard and led Freyja past the guards, convincing the guard captain to accompany them to the Kikimore Queen.

Arwen and Freyja entered the Kikimore cave, where Arwen killed the guards who tried to leave and fought through the insect colony. After discovering the Kikimore Queen and its nest, Arwen asked Freyja to restrain it while he dealt with the other Kikimores.

• Arwen killed the six guards who refused to enter the cave, hid their bodies, and disguised himself again.
• Arwen and Freyja entered the cave and fought more than a dozen Kikimore Workers and three Kikimore Warriors.
• Arwen upgraded his Carapace Armor and installed the Kikimore Warrior Mutagen, gaining the Giant Limb Armor Break talent.
• Freyja sensed a powerful life force deeper in the cave, and Arwen drank Tawny Owl before they continued.
• Arwen and Freyja found the Kikimore Queen feeding on a vast supply of corpses while its workers tended its eggs.
• The Kikimore Queen detected the intruders and turned the colony against them, so Arwen told Freyja to restrain it while he fought the other Kikimores.

Arwen and Freyja fought the Kikimore army and its Queen in the underground hall. After Freyja’s magic restrained the Queen, Arwen upgraded his mutagen, wounded it with toxin, and killed it, leaving the Kikimore army outside Freyja’s barrier.

• Freyja restrained the Kikimore Queen with vines while Arwen held back the charging Kikimore Workers.
• Arwen used Northern Wind Bombs and Aard to freeze and kill the Kikimores, raising his Kikimore Warrior Mutagen acquisition to 1125% and upgrading his mutagen.
• The Queen broke free and attacked Arwen, who dodged its strikes and fought it with Tor Zireael.
• Arwen’s charged sword strike cut into the Queen’s carapace, and Rotthorn Toxin began corroding its wound as Freyja blocked the Kikimore army with a magical barrier.
• Arwen slowed the Queen with Yrden, severed its hind leg, and stabbed its neck, killing it.

Arwen killed the Kikimore Queen and gained the purple Pheromone Domination talent, which let him control insectoid creatures and discover a surviving queen larva in the nest. He bonded with the larva, left with Freyja and the Kikimores at his command, and prepared to deal with the blue-robed wizard who had Earl Rupert’s child.

• Arwen equipped the Kikimore Queen Mutagen, increasing his mental power and gaining Pheromone Domination.
• The Kikimores treated Arwen with wary reverence, and he found and mentally bound a Kikimore Queen larva in the nest.
• Arwen coaxed the larva to hatch and fed it Royal Wyvern meat while Freyja gave him a protective insect cage.
• Arwen told Freyja that he had found Earl Rupert’s child with the blue-robed wizard, then transformed into the wizard’s appearance.
• Arwen used the larva’s pheromones to make the Kikimores clear the exit and left with Freyja, intending to deal with the wizard.

Victor and Rono investigated the frenzied Kikimores, triggering Arwen and Freyja’s trap and exposing the Hydra organization’s plan to perform a ritual. After Arwen and Freyja questioned Victor, a pillar of light rose from the canyon, signaling that the ritual had begun.

• Rono detected a swarm of Kikimores but could not sense the missing Kikimore Queen, so he and Victor entered the burrow.
• Victor and Rono found the frozen, bloodied chamber and discovered that the Kikimore Queen was gone.
• A Dancing Star bomb filled with Eerie Green Flame exploded; Victor used Rono as a shield, then escaped the burrow badly burned.
• Arwen and Freyja confronted Victor, subdued him with dimeritium and magic, and learned that the Hydra Ritual required nine wizards and that Ida Emean was meant to be the god’s vessel.
• A blackish-gray pillar of light and red lightning erupted from the canyon, and Victor laughed that the ritual had begun.

Arwen and Freyja discovered that the ritual had begun early and found Ida Emean imprisoned in its magic formation. Disguised as an envoy, Arwen entered the gathering, but the bishop exposed him, and Arwen began fighting the remaining envoys.

• A black pillar of light triggered fanatical prayers among the villagers, and Earl Rupert led soldiers carrying dimeritium toward the village.
• Arwen killed the hypnotized Victor, then followed Freyja deeper into the canyon and found Ida Emean shackled at the center of a magic formation.
• Arwen disguised himself as the Insect Envoy and approached the other envoys while Freyja planned to get close to Ida Emean.
• The bishop arrived and announced that the ritual was about to begin, then exposed Arwen as the one who had killed Victor and the others.
• Arwen killed the sorceress with his greatsword, while the three remaining envoys used magic to trap and attack him.
• Arwen blocked seven rock spears with an empowered Quen Sign and prepared to counterattack with [Pheromone Domination].

Arwen defeated the bishop’s mages and rejected the bishop’s offer to join his cause, exposing his hypocrisy toward the people under his control. The bishop raised a powerful shield against the Kikimores’ venom and warned Arwen that he would regret refusing him.

• Arwen used poison bombs and the Kikimore Warrior’s ambush to overcome the mages, while Harold was killed by the swarm.
• Arwen shot the gray-robed mage out of the air, and the Kikimores devoured his body as the bishop watched.
• The bishop praised Arwen’s abilities and offered him a place in a movement promising constitutional monarchy and democracy.
• Arwen refused, accusing the bishop of controlling villages and using their people as resources for his ascent to godhood.
• Arwen commanded the Kikimores to attack the bishop with corrosive venom, but the bishop blocked it with a powerful magical shield and warned Arwen he would regret his refusal.

Arwen fought the black-clad bishop, a wizard who split into four elemental doubles, and used the Kikimores, a Dracolizard Golem, and a Dimeritium Bomb to gain the advantage. The chapter ended as the last double defied the bomb’s magic-nullifying effect and destroyed a magic formation.

• The black-clad bishop released insecticide against the Kikimores, but Arwen used [Pheromone Domination] to make the swarm retreat and then attack.
• The black-clad bishop divided into four elemental doubles and bombarded Arwen and the Kikimores with fire, ice, wind, and earth magic.
• Arwen escaped into the forest, summoned a Dracolizard Golem, and hid in mist before ambushing one double and cutting it in two.
• Arwen took the double’s head and crushed it, then detonated a Dimeritium Bomb hidden in the severed body to disrupt the other doubles’ magic.
• Arwen used his silver chain and greatsword to pull down and kill two doubles, but the last one remained airborne inside the bomb’s field and destroyed a magic formation.

Arwen and Freyja destroyed the magic formation, but the black-robed bishop revealed that the ritual could continue and became a vessel for the Hydra Evil God. As the god’s domain suppressed magic, Arwen discovered that Tor Zireael could counter its darkness and fought back, while the Hydra Evil God became determined to take his body.

• Freyja freed Ida Emean and destroyed the magic formation’s core while Arwen attacked the black-robed bishop.
• The mortally wounded bishop revealed that the ritual did not require the surviving emissaries and offered his body for the Hydra Evil God’s descent.
• The Hydra Evil God revived the bishop’s body, drained the villagers and Kikimores, and spread a domain that stopped magic.
• Arwen drank [Thunderbolt], [Blizzard], and [Tawny Owl], then attacked with Tor Zireael and found that its silver light could dissolve the god’s dark energy.
• Arwen struck the Hydra Evil God with a powerful kick and continued attacking as [Deadly Rhythm] triggered; the god decided to devour him and claim his body.

Arwen fought and killed the Hydra evil god with help from the Dracolizard Golem and Ida Emean, but the collapsing portal swept Arwen, Lady Freyja, and Ida Emean away. Earl Rupert arrived at the ruined canyon and ordered his soldiers to search for Baron Arwen.

• Arwen used his sword, bombs, and strength to wound the Hydra evil god, then kept attacking as the god begged for mercy.
• The Hydra evil god tried to escape through a portal, but Ida Emean halted it long enough for Arwen to kill him.
• The system overloaded after Arwen killed the Hydra evil god, and the unstable portal began pulling the canyon into it.
• Arwen recalled the Dracolizard Golem, but the portal swept him, Lady Freyja, and Ida Emean away before collapsing.
• Earl Rupert and his soldiers reached the devastated canyon, and Rupert ordered them to search for Baron Arwen.

After arriving in a primeval forest with injuries from his battle against the Hydra, Arwen installed the Magic Suppression Domain talent and rescued Ida Emean from a group of Giant Centipedes. He found numbered markings on the monsters and returned to Ida, leaving them together in the forest.

• Arwen recovered from the portal journey, checked that the Kikimore Queen larva was safe, and installed the red Magic Suppression Domain talent, which stopped magic within a fifty-meter radius, including his own.
• Arwen followed a scream through the forest and found Ida Emean threatened by a Giant Centipede.
• Arwen used Pheromone Domination and his silver sword to kill the first Giant Centipede, then killed three more with a Northern Wind Bomb after Hydra's curse hindered his swordsmanship.
• Arwen synthesized and installed the Giant Centipede Mutagen, then noticed serial numbers 04 and 07 branded on the monsters' carapaces.
• Arwen returned to Ida Emean, gave her his cloak, and she thanked him.

Arwen and Ida crossed the Kestrel Mountains after the spatial turbulence separated them from their companions, and Ida explained how Arwen might repair Tor Zireael. They reached Morgraig, where Alzur’s Stone Circle reacted to the magic within the ruined witcher headquarters.

• Arwen and Ida escaped the giant centipede’s corpse and camped in the forest, where Ida identified their location as the Kestrel Mountains.
• Ida told Arwen that master dwarven smiths in the Mahakam Mountains could repair Tor Zireael, but the chaotic magic around them prevented portals and magical communication.
• Arwen killed a numbered mutant Slyzard that approached their camp, and Ida recognized it as an experimental monster.
• Arwen and Ida traveled through the ruins and arrived at Morgraig, the former headquarters of the Order of Witchers.
• Arwen noticed bones in Morgraig’s moat, concluded that many remains came from later events, and saw Alzur’s Stone Circle react to the magic inside the castle.