As evening fell in the Sekas Empire, in the slums outside the Nordland territory, two unexpected visitors arrived.
The leader of the two was a man in his early thirties. He wore tight-fitting leather armor, had a longsword at his waist, and his dark golden hair flowed freely behind him. They stood out in the dilapidated and decaying slums, immediately drawing numerous hostile glances their way.
Hungry mobs and thieves lurked in the shadows, their sharp, dagger-like gazes scanning the two figures.
However, when they noticed the Holy sigils on their clothes, those prying eyes quickly retreated.
In the Sekas Empire, perhaps some people didn't recognize the Empire's flag, but no one was unaware of the Holy sigils. They were the symbol of the messengers of the gods!
Other than the clergy in their temple robes, those bearing Holy sigils were none other than Witch Hunters!
Rumors had it that every Witch Hunter was blessed by the gods, possessing abilities far beyond ordinary individuals. No one was willing to cross paths with such targets.
Noticing the hidden figures disappearing into the shadows, Andrew sneered and then wrinkled his nose as the faint, putrid stench of the dilapidated alleyways wafted over him.
"As Archbishop Anluke said, these wizards are like rats, hiding in these dark, foul corners," Andrew said, covering his nose and complaining.
"We should stay vigilant, Andrew. We're not dealing with ordinary individuals this time," the leading man warned, clearly annoyed by Andrew's brash attitude.
A few days ago, a significant event occurred in the Duchy of Nordland. A wizard named Koru had attempted to bewitch the Duke's second daughter. Fortunately, the vigilant guards had discovered it in time, preventing the Duke's young daughter from being ensnared by the devil.
The memory of the fierce siege was still fresh in their minds.
To capture this audacious wizard, Duke Nordland had dispatched two large squads of guards, and even then, they had suffered heavy losses. If it hadn't been for the arrival of the Church's Bishop, Duke Nordland's reputation would have been tarnished.
Their current target was the wizard's apprentice, another sorcerer.
"Don't worry, Blaine," Andrew chuckled. "This time, we're dealing with a mere apprentice who's only been studying magic for a few months. These people usually only know a couple of parlor tricks. Trust me, a farmer swinging a hoe is more challenging to deal with than them."
In the half-year since he joined the Witch Hunters, Andrew had participated in several witch-hunting operations. At the beginning, he had been filled with dread about these supposed devil-summoning wizards.
However, after encountering them, Andrew realized that these wizards weren't as terrifying as he had imagined. Most of them posed no real threat; their magical powers were limited, and some were even less reliable than swords and shields.
As for the inexperienced apprentices, they could only be described as useless. Once they were distracted, they couldn't cast magic in battle and were easy prey.
What pleased Andrew the most was that the bounties for capturing these wizards were quite substantial. Duke Nordland had been even more generous, offering six whole Sekas gold coins for capturing a single apprentice. That would be enough to live in luxury for quite some time!
Of course, killing them would only be worth half the price.
Blaine glanced at Andrew but didn't argue, though he didn't let his guard down.
In his experience, Witch Hunters who relied too much on intelligence often didn't live long.
The slums outside Nordland's territory weren't large, and there was very little foot traffic. With their identities as Witch Hunters, Andrew managed to obtain information about their target's hiding place through a bit of intimidation from a homeless man.
The building before them was difficult to describe as a house. The red brick walls were covered in green vines, and the door seemed ready to fall apart with the slightest push.
Their target was right in front of them, but neither of them made an immediate move.
Andrew shot his partner a disdainful look, silently cursing in his mind. He took the initiative and placed his palm on the door, his calloused fingertips gripping the door latch. Though the door appeared rickety, it didn't budge, indicating something was blocking it from the inside.
Andrew gritted his teeth and forcefully kicked the door.
A deafening crash echoed as the door gave way, revealing the interior of the room.
The narrow room was a mess, cluttered with heaps of garbage piled up in the corners.
A candle on a wooden table at the side flickered for a moment, then extinguished due to the violent entrance, leaving the room shrouded in darkness. Only a faint glimmer of light filtered through the wide-open window, barely illuminating the tattered blanket dragged from the bed to the window's edge.
Blaine, who followed inside, scanned the room. His attention was quickly drawn to a piece of paper that had fallen on the floor.
Andrew also noticed this as he entered, and he bent down to pick up the crumpled paper. After reading its contents, his expression soured.
"Damn, it looks like we're late. This kid has already gone to meet up with other apprentices!" Andrew exclaimed in frustration. Taking into account the room's state and the message on the paper, he pieced together what had happened.
Their target, the apprentice wizard, had received word of their arrival before they got here and had left without packing up.
However, judging by the candle that hadn't completely burned out and the lingering warmth on the bed, it seemed the target hadn't gone too far.
With this in mind, Andrew grew impatient. He was determined to pursue their quarry. After all, it was six Sekas gold coins on the line, and he couldn't let the opportunity slip away.
Once their target joined up with other wizard apprentices, it would be much harder to capture them. However, compared to that, Andrew was more concerned about the possibility of other bounty hunters beating them to the punch.
"Wait a moment…"
Just as Andrew was about to hurry to the window to give chase, Blaine stopped him with a raised hand and pointed to the desk.
Andrew turned to look, and aside from the extinguished candle, there were more than a dozen copper coins scattered about, as well as sheets of paper covered with strange characters and symbols.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Andrew quickly understood his companion's meaning. If the apprentice wizard had left after receiving a warning, they wouldn't have left behind easily carried coins or these "precious" magical manuscripts.
With his experience in hunting wizards, Andrew knew most wizards would rather die than let their so-called research notes be compromised.
In other words, their quarry was likely still hiding in this very room.
Andrew sneered, and the telltale signs on the floor—dragged blankets, open windows, and the fallen note—all suggested that their quarry had fled.
It was evident that the apprentice had played a clever trick, attempting to mislead them to another location. It could even be a trap, and Andrew almost fell for it.
At this moment, hidden in the darkness, Lynn was breaking into a cold sweat. His mental state was increasingly frenzied in this life-threatening situation, his dispersed energy expanding in all directions under the influence of magic.
He could even influence the airflow to a certain extent, which had extinguished the candle without making a sound. This unique ability allowed him to remain hidden from the two witch hunters.
Blaine paid no attention to the now-aware Andrew. His gaze swept around the room, eventually landing on the dark red cabinet beside the tall window.
The cabinet was only as high as his shoulders, covered in dust, and unassuming in the drafty, dilapidated room. But it had enough space for a curled-up adult male to hide within.
In his mind, Blaine imagined that if they were to search the cabinet without knowing, the wizard apprentice could easily launch a sudden attack from behind the cover of clothing. If the attack failed, he could jump out of the window to escape.
This was undoubtedly the best hiding spot in the entire room!
Realizing this, Blaine didn't hesitate for a moment. Without any warning, he drew his sword.
The blade slid out of the scabbard, creating a soft, resonant hum in the room.
In just an instant, the silvery blade sliced through the wooden cabinet as if it were cutting through butter, and the closed cabinet doors fell apart.
Wood splinters and torn fabric filled the air, but the expected gush of blood did not follow.
Furrowing his brows, Blaine was somewhat surprised. Had he made a mistake in his judgment? Was their target simply careless and left these things in the room?
Andrew, who was standing nearby, was startled by Blaine's sudden unsheathing of his sword. He was about to mock Blaine for his erroneous judgment when, from the narrow gap between the bookshelf and the wall, a short sword suddenly extended out of the darkness, heading straight for Andrew's neck!
The one launching the attack was Lynn.
As soon as Lynn saw the coins and manuscripts on the table, he knew he couldn't avoid this confrontation.
The narrow gap he had hidden in offered no cover at all. He relied solely on shadows and visual distortion to remain hidden. It was undoubtedly a very dangerous place, but Blaine and Andrew had arrived too quickly. Lynn was still reeling from his transmigration experience, and Lynn's mind was in turmoil, leaving him no time to find a better hiding place or set up a proper ambush. He hadn't even had time to pick up the dropped parchment scrolls on the floor.
If the two of them discovered that there was no one in the cabinet and started searching the room carefully, they would quickly find him. So, Lynn acted without hesitation.
Considering the lethality of the situation, Lynn refrained from using his partially mastered and improved [Icy Blade.] The short sword he wielded was much more reliable within arm's reach.
The moment Andrew saw the cabinet splintered wood flying and relaxed his guard, a strong sense of impending danger washed over him.
Before joining the Witch Hunters, Andrew had been a renowned mercenary, constantly teetering on the edge between life and death. He was intimately familiar with this deeply ingrained feeling. It had saved him once again. Just as the sharp short sword was about to descend, Andrew managed to twist his body and narrowly avoid the gruesome fate of decapitation.
However, Lynn's surprise attack had been lightning fast, and even though Andrew had made an evasive move, he couldn't avoid it entirely. The sharp short sword left a deep gash on his neck.
Crimson blood flowed from the wound, and Andrew, feeling a mixture of shock and anger, was well aware that he had narrowly escaped death.
"You bastard!" Andrew shouted, his rage surging. He swung his longsword downward, intending to cut Lynn in half.
His strike was swift and heavy, and Lynn barely had time to react. Nevertheless, his body instinctively made a parrying motion, and the clash of their blades filled the room.
Before this, Lynn had never wielded a sword to harm another person, but thanks to the previous owner, Karl, he had a well-trained muscle memory.
It was Karl's impressive swordsmanship that had deterred the unfriendly neighbors in the slums.
However, this time, Lynn was up against a Witch Hunter who was not lacking in training. Andrew, empowered by the Elixir of Divinity, possessed abilities far beyond the ordinary. He was a merciless opponent.
Andrew's swordsmanship was unorthodox but ruthlessly efficient. In just three clashes, Lynn's wrist was sore, and he could barely hold onto the short sword.
"Die!" Andrew roared, lifting his longsword to push away Lynn's short sword, and with his left hand, he reached for Lynn's throat.
Lynn, gasping for breath, his face turning red, gradually losing consciousness.
[Warning,
Covenant target under severe life threat. By the Federal Intelligence Management Act, Article 37, the nearest law enforcement personnel will be automatically contacted...]
The sudden reminder in his mind pulled Lynn's consciousness back from the abyss of despair, filling him with a glimmer of hope.
[Warning... no signal... Warning... not connected to the network...
Please proceed to the nearest elevated location to search for satellite signals and call for federal assistance promptly...]
Lynn muttered a curse under his breath. He had forgotten that he had already crossed over and couldn't be certain if he was in the same universe anymore.
Damn it! He should have saved the money he used to buy a new spaceship and upgraded its intelligence. How was he going to find a satellite signal now?
Even if he could, did he expect federal officers to fly over to rescue him?
But at this moment, Lynn had no time for regrets. The hand tightening around his neck was like a death grip, slowly but relentlessly choking the life out of him.
[Warning... no signal.
Initiate emergency protocol.
Highest probability of survival analysis.
Under the user agreement, connect to the neural network...]
The prompt in his mind became more urgent, but Lynn couldn't hear it anymore. He felt as though his brain had exploded, and his soul seemed to detach from his body, examining the world in a strange state.
Lynn's dispersed mental power expanded like ripples in water, and his perception of the elements became clearer...
.
.
"Brunette, black eyes, looks like we've got the right person." Seeing Andrew easily subduing their target, Blaine relaxed his grip on his sword and turned his attention to Lynn.
"You're quite capable, little mouse. If you're so good at hiding, why not cut off a hand and a leg..." Andrew sneered.
Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt like he was struggling to breathe, and his anger continued to rise.
If it weren't for the last-minute realization that a live person was worth more than a dead one, Andrew would have wanted to kill Lynn immediately.
Blaine, on the other hand, was unfazed by his companion's cruel suggestion and casually chimed in, "Just cut off a hand; otherwise, you'll have to carry him back yourself. Remember to be quick and make sure he doesn't bleed out on the way."
With his back turned to Blaine, Andrew had no time to respond. His face turned purple, and the longsword he held in his left hand crashed heavily to the ground. His labored breathing, previously irregular, had now become increasingly rapid. He resembled a fish out of water, with his heart and lungs on the verge of bursting.
Ten years ago, when he was swallowed by a massive vortex in the Sea of Mist, Andrew had experienced this suffocating near-death feeling. Breathing was nothing more than a luxury, and if he hadn't been exceptionally lucky, he might have already been buried at the bottom of the sea.
But this time, he wasn't underwater, and Lynn's recent attack had clearly not severed his windpipe.
Andrew gasped for air, but his condition showed no improvement. Instead, it worsened, and his grey eyes seemed on the brink of popping out of their sockets.
What kind of magic was this? Andrew immediately realized that the young wizard's apprentice in front of him was up to something, but the overwhelming suffocation response had caused him to miss the opportunity to counterattack. The hand gripping Lynn's neck grew weaker.
At the same moment, Lynn, with his head hanging low, suddenly made a move. His tightly shut eyes snapped open, and simultaneously, the oxygen in the surrounding air was instantly vacuumed away. A short sword thrust upward, piercing Andrew's throat from below!
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT