The Pigman butchers did not care at all about the lives or deaths of their companions. As they drew near, they didn’t mindlessly charge forward but instead hurled their heavy Chain Hamrs at Lance.
If hit by one of those fist-sized, rust-covered, spike-encrusted Chain Hamrs, tainted with who knows how many kinds of filth, the true horror wasn’t the torn flesh or broken bones, but the subsequent, untreatable infections.
This was the terrifying nature of the Beast Lair.
Lance held his Shield in front of him. The next second, sparks flickered across its tal surface as the force from the Chain Hamr slid off the inclined Shield, making it impossible to knock him back.
Seizing the opportunity, Lance lunged forward, giving them no chance to retrieve their Chain Hamrs. He swung his axe, engaging the Pigman butchers in fierce combat.
Boudica raised her War Halberd and charged. A Pigman Hookhand hastily lifted a battered wooden Shield, made of planks and chains, to defend itself.
But using a Shield required skill, and the biggest mistake was to block an attack head-on, as all the enemy’s force would then be transferred directly to the Shield-bearer.
Lance had been taught by the expert Balistan, but it was obvious these Pign were rely crudely imitating certain behaviors.
They knew how to use it to fend off attacks but hadn’t yet reached the stage of learning from experience.
The tip of the War Halberd pierced straight into the Shield, and the rotten wood actually managed to block it!
But the incredible force of the charge instantly slamd into the Pigman Hookhand’s lean body. Amid squeals, it began to lose its balance, its altered Pork Trotters apparently serving little purpose.
Boudica wasn’t just good at charging; on the contrary, her combat skills were quite formidable.
After thrusting into the wooden Shield, she executed an upward strike, intending to flick the Shield from its grasp. To her surprise, the Pigman Hookhand’s modification was bizarre—its arm wasn’t holding the Shield but was instead bound to it with chains.
Despite this, the Pigman Hookhand’s frenzied struggles managed to wrench the Shield free. It then shrieked and charged at Boudica, attempting to hook her.
Boudica, unfazed by the missed attack, swung her War Halberd at it. The confined space did not impair her movents in the slightest.
Tadiff had only ever seen Pigman butchers and assud they were all of that type. He hadn’t expected such a diversity of species here.
But this didn’t stop his killing spree.
He flung out his hook chain, snagging the massive Iron Helt of another Pigman Hookhand. Tugging with all his might, the rope tensed with a sharp whipping sound.
That Pigman Hookhand probably never expected that instead of hooking others, it would get hooked itself.
With its disproportionately large head and smaller body, the Pigman couldn’t resist Tadiff’s force and stumbled forward as he pulled.
Tadiff charged in, swinging his axe. He didn’t aim for other parts but struck at the Pigman Hookhand’s unarmored right arm, chopping off the Pork Trotter, which fell to the ground along with its hook.
A Hook Pig without its hook was like the West without Jerusalem.
Having lost its ability to counterattack, the Pigman Hookhand was quickly dispatched by Tadiff’s axe.
Armor? Just hack at the unarmored parts!
anwhile, Lance had already finished off the Pigman butcher. He had simply charged forward and delivered an overhead blow with his axe. While Tadiff couldn’t cut through its defenses, Lance’s enhanced brute force ant nothing could halt him.
The first blow sank the entire axe head deep, splitting the Pigman’s skull. The second blow cleaved its brain, leaving no chance of survival—after all, these pigs weren’t kin of the Old Ones.
Boudica also dispatched her enemy. The Pigman Hookhand’s wooden Shield shattered on her second blow, and her War Halberd thrust straight through its chest. It died without ever getting close enough to swing its iron hook.
The crippled Pigman finally died when Dismas shot it in the head a second ti. Its brain turned to mush, oozing from the bullet hole, proving that even the tenacious Life Force of monsters couldn’t withstand the power of gunpowder.
Now it was as it should be—a quiet pile of rotting flesh.
The entire battle lasted perhaps only three to five minutes, a typical duration for most small-scale skirmishes.
"Check if anyone is injured," Lance said. As he spoke, firelight suddenly flared in the darkness, expanding into a luminous circle. This made everyone, already accustod to the dimness, instinctively blink and look away.
However, the firelight was gentle, not as searing as sunlight, and their eyes adjusted in only a mont.
The recent fight hadn’t been difficult. The Pign looked repulsive, but they weren’t actually strong, as the encounter had just proven.
"I reckon these Hook Pigs are too weak! Next ti, I’ll take on the bigger ones!" Boudica declared. She seed sowhat dissatisfied as she kicked aside the Hook Pig in front of her.
"The true danger of these monsters isn’t their combat ability," Lance explained, "but the countless viruses and bacteria on their weapons and bodies. If you’re injured, there’s a high probability of contracting a disease or suffering a wound infection. Even if it’s not fatal, you might end up needing an amputation."
At this, Boudica instantly sobered. The period of blindness she had endured was truly excruciating. She couldn’t imagine life after an amputation—how would she fight then?
"However, don’t worry too much. I’m here, after all," Lance continued. "Even if you get hurt, as long as we treat it promptly, it won’t be a major issue. That’s why you must check for injuries after every fight. If you find anything, speak up imdiately. Don’t delay treatnt."
Tadiff found this peculiar. In his line of work, injuries were common and usually self-treated. An employer like their Lord, who handled logistics and treatnt and was also generous with pay, was a first for him.
"These Pign’s equipnt seems closely connected to the Heretics..." Lance mused.
This was Lance’s first real encounter with Pign. To quickly understand them, he needed to inspect the bodies more thoroughly.
"Damn it!" Dismas exclaid. "We haven’t even fully standardized our own equipnt, yet these Pign beat us to it! Could they actually have Pigman blacksmiths or sothing?"
These Pign had indeed been ntioned in the previous eting, where Dismas had noted the uniformity of their equipnt.
The attire and weapons of the Knife Pigs were exactly as Geralt had described, and the modifications and equipnt on the two Hook Pigs were also strikingly similar.
"That Knife Pig’s disc belt and tattered leather—isn’t that the sa gear worn by the Heretics?" Lance observed. "It’s obvious these Pign have a significant relationship with the Sect of Ascension. Their equipnt might very well be supplied by them."
Lance wasn’t particularly concerned about this point. He was now focused on the Hook Pig, dismantling its strange headgear. Underneath was a pig’s head, its face sowhat misshapen, and clear signs of modification on its body.
Neither the Knife Pigs nor the Hook Pigs had particularly unique body structures. However, Lance approached the crippled Pigman with extre caution, not even daring to touch it directly, instead using his Short Sword to cut and probe.
It wasn’t fear of infection; his Natural Purification ability could eliminate most diseases and toxins. The creature’s appearance was simply repulsive, both physically and psychologically.
"This crippled Pigman has a human-like face on its chest," Lance noted grimly. "This shows these monsters were created by the Heretics using Sorcery. They are grotesque hybrids of humans and pigs—an unnatural fusion of twisted flesh, a cri against the laws of nature."
From the Knife Pigs to the Hook Pigs, and finally to this crippled one, Lance discerned a sequence.
The Knife Pigs were the apparent successes of this experintation: sturdy, thick-skinned, and retaining human-like arms capable of grasping weapons. Their lower limbs could also support their bodies for various activities.
The Hook Pigs, perhaps due to problems during the ritual, failed to develop to the level of Knife Pigs. Thus, they were likely subjected to further modifications, a way to utilize otherwise discarded flesh.
As for the crippled Pigman, it was the most obvious failure. Its deford body lacked even the value for modification, as it couldn’t even walk properly.
Of course, it’s also possible there was continuous product iteration, from the initially failed crippled pigs to a third batch of improved Knife Pigs, following revisions by these ’Old Ones.’
This was Lance’s speculation, but the truth didn’t much matter. They all had to die anyway; there was no point dwelling on such details.
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