Chapter 1110: Monster Hunting

Inside the castle, the candlelight was dim.

The flickering radiance shone upon Kalin's face, causing the youth's features to shift between light and shadow.

And in this atmosphere, Kalin suddenly thought of his teacher.

It was on a night just like this, and he was merely an ordinary son of a Cowherd at the time.

By a stroke of luck, he had saved a severely wounded Witcher.

The teacher referred to himself that way, but every time he mentioned the word Witcher, his face carried a trace of bitterness; Kalin did not understand what the other meant.

Even now, he still had not understood.

However, he still went to the servant's kitchen; he needed to find something to eat to maintain his strength!

"No..."

"Greetings, I heard there are monsters appearing here? I think you need help!"

If things went smoothly, perhaps he could make a round trip in half a day and successfully resolve the issue of the Decoction!

He wore a set of black Leather Armor, his long white hair hanging loose, and on his back, he carried a crossbow and a Cross Sword.

Aaron promised.

Beside him, Cowherd held a bow and arrow, cursing under his breath, and looked at Kalin again: "Lord Kalin, you will provide Protection for me, right?"

Joann gazed at Aaron's back, and a rare look of solemnity suddenly appeared.

Recently, the effects of the potions he used had become increasingly weak, likely reaching the Human Limit mentioned in the inheritance.

'Perfect, there is an abandoned hunter's cabin in the forest; I can go stay there for a few days first!'

Seeing this scene, Kalin felt a pang of heartache for no reason.

Cowherd covered his face and actually began to cry.

He gazed at Lady Catherine's room, his eyes filled with tenderness.

"I know, I'm just asking, I promise you, I absolutely will not go deep into the orchard to find that monster!"

"Damn it... that Witcher today must have been a fraud; after he took my food, he just disappeared!"

Such a Dream Ghoul was by no means naturally formed, but rather... raised by someone!

"It's that group of Evil Domain Warlocks! Raising Dream Ghouls in the Graveyard? I seem to have heard of such cases..."

After all, they were all people from the same town, having lived together for so many years.

"Hey... have you heard? Cowherd, who delivers apples to us... encountered a monster!"

Of course, if the opponent were wearing a full set of armor, it would be a bit troublesome to take them down.

At his right hand, he also led a pitch-black warhorse.

But the Dream Ghoul was different!

Kalin held a sword in one hand and a torch in the other, cautiously walking toward the depths of the orchard.

In fact, it is said that the origin of the Witcher has some connection to the evil experiments of Warlocks.

"Once the Wraith Flower matures, who knows how many more Evil Domain Warlocks will emerge!"

'I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead...'

And there was the accompanying Swordsmanship!

It was by relying on these that Kalin grew step by step into the current strongest person in the Baron Lancaster territory!

Yes, in his view, even that person known as the number one Knight of the barony, Gangshan, was far from being his match.

And previously, on Aaron, Joann had smelled the scent of the Witcher Basic Body-Forging Decoction!

This piqued his interest, and he wanted to see which old friend had taken this Gravekeeper as a student.

"No... monster!"

Cowherd's expression was terrified, and he kept retreating backward until he reached a White Fruit tree.

"It didn't do anything?" Aaron asked suspiciously.

Cowherd reached out his hand powerlessly, only to see Aaron walk away without looking back, walking further and further away...

Kalin bowed.

Aaron packed the necessary supplies into a small bundle, carried it on his iron sword, and left the Graveyard directly.

At the same time, inside the orchard.

In a certain sense, this could also be considered... grave robbing!

The next moment, a pair of sharp claws covered in fungus suddenly sprang out from the darkness and attacked him!

"It seems you've been scared out of your wits, come, drink a little!"

That was the method of constantly training oneself in coordination with each dose of potion!

The Witcher has already undergone modification, and after Gene Mutation, they will possess various strange abilities.

What he had strengthened was his sense of smell!

Just as he was secretly lamenting how the boat of friendship between the two had capsized so easily, the Witcher Joann spoke up: "Who is that?"

'I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence!'

"It's nothing, this is my honor."

"To actually use the Graveyard as a cover, the methods of these Warlocks are becoming increasingly covert; I must notify the others!"

But after arriving at the Graveyard, his expression changed: "This feeling... this smell... a Ghoul?"

With a creak, the wooden door opened, revealing a somewhat haggard face: "Oh... Zoro... please come in!"

This iron-blooded man seemed to have become increasingly timid and afraid of death as he grew old.

Although this sounded very much like the plot of some third-rate novel, where the protagonist follows a powerful professional to fight monsters, then an accident inevitably occurs, and finally the protagonist stands out and gains benefits...

The Wraith Flower is a type of Extraordinary Material plant that can potentially grow in environments full of corpses, but it has demanding requirements regarding the history of death.

Aaron did not discriminate against the other party either.

"Of course..."

One of the items made Kalin's expression shift.

"You can go rest; I will be very vigilant during the day." Catherine offered a brave smile.

Aaron laughed heartily.

The other party seemed to have forgotten that when she followed the old Baron to the village when she was very young, she had once given a candy to the Cowherd's son.

"A Gravekeeper?"

A Horse Lantern appeared, gradually drawing closer.

This level of strength was not enough to finish off that couple and then protect Miss Catherine in ascending to the position of Baron.

He saw Aaron and Wolf, and revealed a smile: "Let me introduce myself, I am Joann from Gehrihos, a... Warlock!"

After all, people are always afraid of death.

When a friend is in trouble, one must go take a look and help out!

In reality, he and Wolf were indeed acquaintances, having the friendship of having toasted each other in a tavern.

They reside in a strange 'Dream', and can borrow the power of the Dream to drag enemies in and trap them to death...

Wolf is a fruit farmer who lives in a hut on the edge of the orchard.

The Ghoul is a very common monster that likes to hide in places with many corpses, living by gnawing on them.

Wolf took it without standing on ceremony and drank it straight from the bottle with a gurgling sound.

'Are the senses of a Warlock all this sharp? He seems to be a bit suspicious of me.'

Some Evil Domain Warlocks often secretly choose certain Graveyards as environments for cultivation, and will leave behind their own guards to maintain the environment so it does not change too much.

He lay down, sniffing carefully at the soil with his nose, and followed the trail all the way to a grave.

From that moment on, he silently swore in his heart to protect Miss Catherine well!

Even if... it meant sacrificing his own life for it!

This day, Aaron took a wine flask made of ox horn and knocked on the door of Wolf's house.

Seeing this, Joann's expression changed slightly as he looked at the sword blade he was using to dig the soil.

Hmm, this is enough!

Orchard.

The next moment, the tree trunk he was leaning against instantly deformed; two thick branches turned into arms, and forked antlers appeared on its head.

That was the only time Kalin had tasted sweetness since he was born.

"This is a common characteristic of all trained Dream Ghouls!"

Although the Gravekeeper Zoro was a bit reclusive and a bit lecherous, he truly had no other bad conduct.

A fruit with white skin was planted here; it looked somewhat similar to an apple but was smaller, had bright red markings, and tasted very sweet.

"This... you two go ahead with your business, I won't disturb you."

He would not entrust his own safety to others, even if the other party looked like a good person!

"Wolf!"

The palm of Kalin's hand holding the sword hilt was also sweating a little.

Aaron did not want to go along to crusade against the Antler Monster.

"No... it looked at me once, I remember it very clearly; in the night, its eyes were like emeralds... I must have been hated by it, maybe it even cursed me."

The strong liquor seemed to bring him a bit of strength and comfort, making him finally appear less haggard, though his nose was a bit red: "You actually came to see me?"

Catherine's room door opened, a maid walked out, followed by Catherine who was yawning: "Thank you for your hard work, Kalin..."

He was once famous for his bravery, but at this moment, there was only a look of panic on his face.

But in reality, one only has one life; facing danger is just playing a joke with one's own life!

Next, it was time to take the Decoction made from Extraordinary Material to break through the limit!

However, a trace of joy quickly surfaced on Wolf's face again: "In my orchard, a monster did indeed visit once; if you kill it or drive it away, I will give you a reward!"

At the time, he had successfully used the bloody scent of a cow that had just given birth to confuse the Hound's sense of smell and save the other party.

Joann muttered to himself, quickly taking out an old black notebook from his person, and began to search by the light of the Horse Lantern.

Outside the Graveyard.

This is a very dangerous thing, and the mortality rate is high! Extremely high! Over sixty percent!

In the records of the inheritance, often only three or four out of ten eligible candidates can survive!

But for Miss Catherine, Kalin was willing to give it a try!

But more crucially, he could not find the materials from an extraordinary creature!

He stayed for a while longer, comforted Wolf with a few words, and then rose to take his leave.

"Wait..."

However... the word 'save' was not entirely accurate, because after taking care of the other party for a few days, the other party died due to the severity of their injuries.

……

……

'But running away a thousand miles just because of a scare is not my style either...'

……

Soon, the night passed.

"We are friends, aren't we? Besides... I am quite interested in that Antler Monster."

The kitchen was in a mess; several kitchen helpers were huddled together, teasing the kitchen maid and chatting from time to time.

Nowadays, they have already classified Warlocks as "monsters" as well, and must prioritize killing them upon encounter!

This is an unresolvable blood feud!

"Dream Ghouls will not stop corpses from being buried, because this is the expansion of the Graveyard... but any grave-robbing behavior will be attacked by them!"

"Oh, he is called Zoro, he is the Gravekeeper in our town..." Wolf said truthfully.

"Hmm... alright."

Where the torchlight shone, there was nothing unusual, but he saw footprints on the ground.

The Evil Warlock Mal was eventually assassinated by several Master Monster Hunters working together, and the Monster Hunters also paid a heavy price for this.

Aaron and Wolf both revealed expressions of awe and vigilance.

Wolf was originally the Baron's Archer, and there was a bow and arrow hanging inside his house.

Monster Hunters take exterminating monsters as their profession, from which they obtain money.

Besides that, the organizations of those monsters are also the key for them to concoct certain advanced potions!

"So it is a Monster Hunter."

It is Joann!

This Monster Hunter did not immediately resolve Wolf's matter, but instead came to the town's Graveyard!

Night.

If Aaron were here, he would immediately recognize that this is the grave that those grave robbers dug, and the one he later repaired!

Joann's expression became incomparably grave, using a silver sword to pry open the soil: "Not an ordinary Ghoul... but... a Dream Ghoul!"

"Who?"

Aaron smiled and handed over the ox-horn bag.

Ever since hearing about the orchard in the tavern, Aaron had decided that Wolf was his good friend!

Wolf muttered: "I really had bad luck. That night, I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk... you know, for someone like me without a wife, how hard the nights are... speaking of which, that kid Ivey is really lucky... alright, back to the main topic, I entered the orchard, reached the deepest part, and saw a Shadow, I thought it was a thief stealing fruit at first, so I approached quickly... but after getting close, I realized it was a monster with deer antlers and a human shape..."

"Yes, we are friends..." Wolf stared at Aaron, his eyes gradually becoming gentle.

Hearing this news suddenly at this time, his eyes couldn't help but light up, and he grabbed the collar of the kitchen helper who was speaking: "Where is Wolf? I want to go find him!"

But the Monster Hunters do not admit it.

The current Baron's territory is in a critical period of power struggle, and he cannot leave the territory for too long.

"Gurgle gurgle!"

Returning to the Graveyard, Aaron didn't say a word and ran away directly!

Creak!

The wooden door opened, and not far from the entrance, a tall, strange stranger was actually standing there.

"Here... Roge Kingdom, Rad III, twenty-seventh year of his reign... the Evil Warlock Mal was in the south of the kingdom, experimenting with planting 'Wraith Flower'... he cruelly murdered many people and created Dream Ghouls to guard the planting environment of the Wraith Flower..."

But before dying, the other party used the power of a Mysterious 'Spell Seal' to transmit a piece of information into his mind.

After all, the reputation of these people indeed does not seem very good.

"However... I advise you not to ask about the monster, and even more so, do not go looking for it..." Wolf suggested sincerely: "We are just ordinary people... if it weren't for this patch of White Fruit about to be harvested, I would have wanted to run away..."

After all, there are quite a lot of wild beasts in this era, and one cannot trust the integrity of the townspeople either... if no one is watching, it might happen that the fruit will be picked clean by others in two days.

However, he still tried hard to pretend that nothing was wrong.

Kalin immediately looked over there.

Suddenly, a Shadow seemed to flash in the darkness.

Deer-antler monster!

The other party actually disguised itself as a tree!

It grappled Wolf, making the bow and arrow in the other party's hand fall to the ground, and then... its elk-like mouth opened, revealing countless sharp teeth, and bit down fiercely.

Pfft!

Blood splattered everywhere!

(End of this chapter)