During my month away, Hamlet had indeed undergone a massive transformation. The Lord’s abilities were simply too strong; he’d basically rebuilt a town in such a short ti. I couldn’t help but be impressed.
"All good?"
"No problems, we can set off imdiately."
"I will lead the Cavalry at the front to clear out the bandits, but you must also stay vigilant because no one knew how reliable this information was."
The two exchanged information, and then, without waiting for the convoy, Lance set off first with Dismas and Boudica, as well as forty carefully selected Cavalryn.
"Co, follow to exterminate the bandits."
"Hamlet Must Win!"
Forty iron-clad Cavalryn were already an impressive force in these parts. The tremors from the galloping horses were profoundly shocking.
And these were rely light Cavalry. If they were heavy Cavalry, if there were four hundred, or four thousand... what a sight a Steel Torrent would be!
「 」
"We’ve only been gone a few days, but it seems they have indeed completely abandoned these camps."
Geralt inspected the abandoned camp. In just a few days, it looked like it had been deserted for half a year, with rampant vegetation encroaching and the ground already covered with lush new sprouts. Thin vines had also climbed over the tents in the camp.
Tadiff was also examining traces left in the camp, hoping they were false signals, but it was apparent the site had been abandoned.
So my bounty has slipped away again.
At this thought, Tadiff couldn’t help but curse.
"I curse this damned place!"
His reaction didn’t co as a surprise to the others; it was obviously not the first ti he had been like this.
In fact, Geralt’s squad had been scouring the wilderness for several days. They continuously expanded the mapped area but made no further discoveries, the only clues being long-abandoned camps.
"It’s getting late. Let’s rest for now," Geralt suggested setting up camp after ensuring there was nothing amiss in the area.
The others had no objections. After all, there was a ready Sanctuary. Though it was a bit eerie, who among them, all skilled individuals, would be afraid of such things?
The camp was quickly set up, and the bonfire was lit, its flas beginning to rise.
"Check how many days your food and water can last."
They didn’t have the storage space of Lance’s Exhibition Room, so one major factor limiting their movent was logistical support.
They had to carry their own food and water. To avoid affecting combat capabilities, they obviously couldn’t bring too much, so seven days of rations were about the limit.
After a few days of consumption, it was clear that everyone’s remaining supplies were dwindling.
Without pots or pans, only iron kettles were used to boil water; compressed hardtack, jerky, and cheese served as food.
Actually, such logistical support was already quite good for Tadiff.
Once everyone had sorted themselves out, Geralt received so rather unwelco news. Their food would only last another two or three days. This ant that after reserving two days for the return journey, they could only squeeze out one more day for exploration.
"We’ll just resupply when we go back, and then co again. We’ve achieved sothing on this trip, after all; we now know the movents of the Heretics," Geralt consoled the others and then discussed the next day’s tactics with Balistan.
Junia wasn’t concerned about these things; she was still praying after eating.
As for Tadiff, he was sowhat isolated, checking his equipnt alone, sharpening his axe, always prepared for battle.
Soon, night fell. They lay simply around the bonfire on the cleared ground, with only Geralt sitting with his sword in his arms.
After the night watch was set, the camp gradually fell into silence, save for the occasional crackle of the bonfire.
Even the watchful Geralt couldn’t help but slowly close his eyes to rest. As the fire’s glow dimd, darkness drew near.
A string of faint, unintelligible syllables, like a hushed chant, drifted from an unknown location.
Geralt was instantly alerted. His eyes snapped open, a flash of gold scanning the distant darkness.
But there was nothing unusual; all was quiet. The previous sound seed like an auditory hallucination.
Geralt froze, but this lasted only a few seconds before he suddenly bellowed.
"Ambush!"
Without hesitation, he drew his Longsword and swung it toward the darkness, striking sothing with a clang of tal on tal. Sparks burst forth, briefly illuminating a figure within the shadows.
The next second, the figure charged into the light. This one was different from the Heretics they had encountered before; it wore a black iron helt imbued with religious significance and wielded iron claws as weapons.
He had heard from Lance that these were the true elites of the Ascension Sect, not just common rabble.
What troubled Geralt more, however, was that it wasn’t just one. Looming figures in the darkness were rapidly approaching.
Fortunately, his shout had also awoken the other three. They all slept in their armor and now grabbed their weapons and charged into battle.
"Kill!" Tadiff, fueled by the frustrations of the past few days, roared as he found a target in these attackers.
He swung his axe with a ferocity that emphasized his brute strength, striking with lethal force. His innate prodigious strength enabled him to overpower the elite cultist who had undergone countless Flesh Rites.
Walter hadn’t been exaggerating; this man’s fighting prowess was genuinely formidable—a born killing machine.
"Receive your punishnt!" Junia cried out excitedly, raising her Warhamr and releasing a bolt of lightning straight at an onrushing cultist.
The cultist’s bare chest blackened instantly upon contact with the holy energy; flesh peeled and cracked open, revealing a grueso wound.
But these attackers seed indifferent to their wounds. On the contrary, Junia’s exposure of her Church identity imdiately drew fiercer retaliation. It wasn’t just one; other cultists also targeted her, lunging with their iron claws out of so unfathomable vendetta.
Junia was proficient with Divine Arts, but her combat skills, particularly in close quarters, were sowhat lacking. She could barely manage one enemy, even with her Heavy Armor.
But being attacked from multiple sides would be very dangerous.
Luckily, just as the cultists had allies, so did Junia, and hers was a very sturdy bastion.
"Stand behind !"
Balistan charged with his shield raised, pushing aside the deadly claws and even knocking the cultist back a few steps. Seizing the mont while his opponent was off-balance, Balistan launched his Morningstar Hamr at the enemy.
With a heavy thud, hamr t helt. Despite the head protection, the blunt impact was still devastating. The cultist’s already unsteady steps beca even more precarious, causing him to stagger.
In response to the night attack, Geralt’s counterstrikes were equally sharp. He abandoned his previous caution, risking it all to kill the enemies before him swiftly.
His Longsword pierced a cultist’s heart, but it didn’t kill him. Instead, the cultist pressed forward, heedless of the risk, attempting to restrict Geralt’s weapon while his claws aid to behead Geralt.
Yet Geralt was battle-hardened. How could he fall here? With a fierce kick, he pulled his sword free and, with a backhand swing, sent the cultist’s head flying—dead beyond any doubt.
The death of the enemy before him did not relax Geralt. Instead, he remained on high alert, scanning the darkness.
He was certain he hadn’t misheard; that sound was a Heretic Priest preparing so Sorcery.
The attack that summoned Void Demons had nearly killed the Lord. Rembering this, Geralt instantly felt as if facing a great enemy, understanding that the squad absolutely could not let the priest continue if they wanted to live.
But even his eyes, capable of piercing the night, couldn’t penetrate that darkness. The enemy had surely used so Sorcery to conceal themselves. How could he find the hiding Heretic Priest?
Geralt fought his way through, freeing Junia from the fray, then shouted, "There’s an enemy hiding nearby! I need to find them!"
They were all familiar with each other’s abilities, so Junia understood what Geralt ant. She imdiately raised the Holy Canon.
"God said, ’Let there be light...’"
Then, a sun-sized orb of light rose before her and exploded. The brilliance instantly dispelled the surrounding darkness, and for a mont, it was as if day had broken.
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