Chapter 181: 182. Vera is Here.
"…Humans are here… Trolls… Kill!!!"
The moment Giant Troll shouted.
Allen moved his thoughts.
Magic power circulated instantly, and his mental energy merged with the "Night."
In an instant.
The Witcher disappeared into the cave.
"Thud~ thud~ thud~"
From the entrance came the sound of steady footsteps.
Allen, hidden, looked toward the sound.
The flickering firelight cast large shadows in the cave, resembling some menacing and terrifying shadow creatures. While invisible, Allen quickly found a large rock to hide behind and observe the battle at the entrance.
As the footsteps approached, the figures of the creatures finally appeared in the distant passage. Several shields were pressed tightly together, walking out from the passage, step by step.
"Four unbreakable shields?"
Allen pinpointed the key.
No!
There were more than four!
As the Kaedwen soldiers slowly emerged from the passage, another row of four unbreakable shields neatly followed behind the first row. Clearly, the severe defeat in the last battle had made the commander of this Kaedwen army more cautious.
"Tsk tsk~"
After identifying the attributes of the unbreakable shields, Allen looked at them, and his ears could almost hear the sound of coins flowing away. Just those eight shields, as long as they were in their active state. Even without being attacked, based on the rate of magic stone consumption, at least 200 Orens would be burned per second.
"As expected of the largest country on the Northern Continent, they are certainly wealthy!"
However…
Walking out of the cave?
Wouldn't that leave the top and both sides exposed?
Allen was puzzled.
He had seen unbreakable shields in combat before. Although it was the magic shield that blocked attacks, not the shield surface itself. But it was similar to the Quen shield, just a layer on the surface of the shield. It wouldn't block attacks from the top or sides.
"Could it be that all the experienced shield bearers were killed by the stone trolls in the last fight?"
"Are the ones coming now all inexperienced?"
The Witcher speculated in his mind.
Not only Allen, but Giant Troll also seemed to have noticed this rare opportunity.
"Roar!"
Without waiting for the Kaedwen soldiers to stabilize their position, Giant Troll, along with a few other stone trolls, charged forward. As they approached, Giant Troll, with fists bigger than an average human, swung down at the top of the shield, as if trying to punch through and hit the small humans behind the shields. It was easy to imagine that if that mountain-sized fist came down, the soldiers behind the shields would surely suffer heavy damage.
"Thud!"
A loud crash resounded.
"As expected, it's not that simple!"
Allen's eyes were fixed on the spot where Giant Troll attacked. At the top of the shield wall, the massive fist was blocked by a yellow glow. The magic glow hit by the fist turned into a hollow, earth-yellow ring. Then, like a stone hitting the surface of water, the originally transparent magic glow erupted into an earth-yellow radiance, creating intense ripples where it was struck.
But in the end.
Giant Troll's heavy strike was firmly blocked.
"It's a semi-spherical magic shield!"
Allen thought to himself.
The source of the earth-yellow glow was the eight unbreakable shields.
"Three tower shields form a thick wall!"
The description of the unbreakable shields from his Identification spell suddenly surfaced in his mind. Allen realized he had underestimated these shields. Three shields weren't even the limit for coordinated defense!
However…
Was this shield form triggered by just three shields?
Or did it require more unbreakable shields to resonate?
Various speculations flickered in Allen's mind. The importance of these unbreakable shields with a second form rose sharply in his mind.
But…
"Is it really worth it?"
The Witcher was somewhat doubtful. His gaze fixed on the edges of the unbreakable shields, where six magic stones of different colors were embedded. One of the stones turned to dust after Giant Troll's attack. An adjacent stone was also starting to dim.
Even though the magic stones embedded in the unbreakable shields were probably of the lowest quality.
After a quick mental calculation, Allen estimated that this single attack had cost at least three thousand Orens.
Would even a king not flinch at such a cost?
"Is it worth it to kill a few monsters?" Allen thought.
There were many ways to kill monsters. The cost of blocking this attack was enough to hire several master Witchers. Even if the king had conflicts with the Wolf School, couldn't he hire some sorcerers instead?
"Strange!"
Allen thought.
However.
Watching the soldiers behind the tower shields swiftly replace the magic stones, and seeing Giant Troll and the other stone trolls' ineffective attacks. He wasn't planning on sitting back and doing nothing. Since he had cleared up the misunderstanding with Giant Troll. Every Rock troll here could become an ally he could gain.
So.
After observing for a while.
Allen connected his mind to the "Night," turned invisible once again, and quickly moved toward the flank of the Kaedwen army, hiding behind a protruding stalagmite.
"If only I could cast spells while invisible, reciting incantations silently would be great."
Allen sighed inwardly, then began chanting softly.
"Qua-la~ qua-la-la~ qua-qua-la…"
The mysterious chant came from Allen's mouth, masked by the noisy roars of the stone trolls on the battlefield.
Before long.
A two-finger-thick ice spike appeared in the Witcher's hand.
Allen squinted, aiming carefully.
"Whoosh~"
With a soft sound.
Just as the Kaedwen soldiers focused their attention on the massive stone trolls in front of them. The ice spike sliced through the air, grazing the earth-yellow glow and piercing through the leather helmet, embedding itself in the temple of a soldier on the edge of the shield wall, behind an unbreakable shield.
The next moment.
"Thud~"
As if coordinated with Allen, Giant Troll's heavy strike followed, smashing against the magic glow formed by the unbreakable shields.
"Boom!"
One of the unbreakable shields was instantly thrown into the air by the rippling magic glow and then clattered onto the ground.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?"
"Where's Andre? Why did the unbreakable shield link suddenly break?"
After a moment of silence, chaos erupted among the Kaedwen soldiers.
Panic, doubt, confusion…
Even from fifty meters away, Allen could feel the surge of emotions.
"Andre is dead!"
A soldier screamed in terror. The unexplained death of one person caused the once organized army to descend into chaos. The earth-yellow magic glow flickered and dimmed.
Clearly.
The resonance of the unbreakable shields was on the verge of collapse.
What terrified the soldiers even more was…
"Watch out! The monsters are attacking again!"
The next moment, the giant fist of Giant Troll, larger than a human, came crashing down again with a fierce gust of wind.
Boom~
Another loud crash echoed like a wave crashing against the shore. But this time, the earthy yellow magical barrier couldn't withstand the surging force of Giant Troll.
Screech—
Amidst the ear-piercing noise, the magical shield of the Unbreakable Shields shattered instantly. Giant Troll's fist, along with the stones thrown by other trolls, broke through the shield, rushing past the Unbreakable Shields.
"Ah! The Unbreakable Shield is broken! The monsters are getting in!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Help! Quick... ah..."
"...Humans... kill..."
The roars of the rock trolls and the terrified screams of the Kaedwen soldiers echoed through the entire cave.
"The effect is that good?"
Allen looked at his right hand in surprise. It was hard to believe. The defense that even Giant Troll couldn't break had crumbled because of his small ice spear spell.
At best, he thought that strike would only kill one soldier and cause some chaos, then provide a chance to weaken the Unbreakable Shields to four. After all, from the previous battle, Giant Troll was left with only four Unbreakable Shields. That indicated that four shields couldn't block a well-fed Giant Troll.
But... he hadn't expected that the death of one soldier would cause the seemingly indestructible shield wall to collapse.
"Indeed, there's a reason why magical tools like the Unbreakable Shield are outdated."
Allen thought. He looked at the tower shields discarded by the soldiers. In an instant, many thoughts passed through his mind. Very soon, these shields would be his spoils of war. The weaknesses the Kaedwen soldiers revealed while using them could also become vulnerabilities if they were used by the Wolf School.
Just then.
Allen had a sudden thought and instinctively extended his right hand.
The next second.
A translucent crystal bird lightly landed on his index finger.
"A messenger bird?"
Allen exclaimed in surprise, just as he was about to check the message the bird brought. A faint scent of orange mixed with a hint of cardamom wafted through the cave's bloodstained, decaying air.
"This smell..."
Allen froze for a moment, then quickly turned his head in the direction of the scent. No more than three meters to his side, a figure cloaked in a black robe suddenly appeared.
"Lady Vera!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
Indeed.
The figure that appeared was the sorceress Vera. After she appeared, her gaze lingered on his face and hair for a few seconds.
Allen knew.
The sorceress was looking at his mask and headscarf.
Immediately after, her small, delicate nose twitched.
"Lady Vera, what brings you here?"
Looking into the sorceress's red eyes, Allen suddenly felt a bit guilty and asked again.
"After you sent the message with the messenger bird, Mary... came to me in a hurry and even prepared materials to brew Viridescent Sigh..."
When Vera mentioned Mary, Allen noticed a somewhat meaningful look in her eyes. It made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
"...After I prepared everything, I discovered the messenger bird couldn't locate its destination and was just circling around, so I knew you must be trapped somewhere. That's why I set off to find you..."
The sorceress briefly recounted her search for Vesemir and Sol. That subtle uneasiness in Allen's heart slowly transformed into warmth. In the world of Witchers, finding someone wasn't an easy task. Even though he had informed her of the Orchard's location through the messenger bird. But taking just a day to get from Kaer Morhen to the Orchard, even with a portal, was no small feat.
Allen estimated that, with Vera's magical abilities, she must have used at least ten portals. Continuous portal use exacts a massive toll, both physically and mentally. Moreover, The sorceress also had to find the commander. Since he was with the king, his whereabouts would have been difficult to track down.
Allen looked at Vera's face illuminated by the flickering firelight.
Although magic allowed her to maintain her delicate appearance, Allen could clearly see a hint of fatigue in her eyebrows and at the corners of her eyes. Thinking about this, he opened his mouth, wanting to express his gratitude but not knowing how to say it.
"...After arriving here, I quietly followed the Kaedwen army down... When I sensed the familiar magical fluctuations, I released the messenger bird and followed it to you..."
"Though, I initially thought you'd be surrounded by danger..."
The sorceress glanced around, paused for a moment, and her gaze settled on Allen's masked face. With a playful tone, she remarked:
"But it seems like you've been doing quite well."
Allen was flustered and instinctively took a deep breath, ready to explain. But the chamomile-scented air that filled his lungs left him momentarily speechless.
Luckily.
At that moment, the battle between the rock trolls and the Kaedwen army ended. Allen suddenly saw Giant Troll's massive figure move silently behind Vera, as though it weighed nothing. It stretched out its right hand, seemingly preparing to attack her.
"Stonehead, this is my... um... friend. Please don't harm her."
Allen quickly stepped forward, positioning himself in front of the sorceress. Hearing this, Stonehead immediately stopped its hand, scratched its head, and said: "...Witcher is Stonehead's friend... Witcher's friend is not Stonehead's enemy..."
Then, with a fearsome yet clumsy grin, it pointed at the cave entrance and continued: "...Trolls grateful... Witcher helped... Spoils belong to Witcher..."
Allen followed Stonehead's gesture. Eight Unbreakable Shields lay scattered on the ground, askew. Clearly, Such heavy equipment wasn't suited for carrying during a retreat.
Of course.
Judging from the bloodstains and the suspicious dark red streaks on the tower shields. It was likely that their original owners hadn't managed to escape themselves. The thought made Allen's stomach churn slightly, but only for a moment.
"Thank you, Stonehead."
After thanking the troll, he gladly accepted the eight Unbreakable Shields. Originally, he was worried about how to transport these shields.
But now...
Allen glanced at the sorceress: "Lady Vera, do you have a way to help me get these shields out of here?"
The sorceress nodded, and after confirming with Allen.
Snap~
With a snap of her fingers, the eleven Unbreakable Shields, including the previous three, vanished. After collecting the shields, Vera turned to Allen: "Allen, have you finished everything you need to do here?"
"If you're done, let's leave quickly!"
Allen instinctively nodded but then remembered the rock trolls around him and asked: "If I leave now, what will happen to these rock trolls?"
"What will become of them?"
....…
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