The Divine Hunter

The sun slanted westward, the sky darkened, and the five witchers moved in three directions on the Whispering Hill.

"Crow feathers, tree heart remains, black mare... Such a bizarre ritual, how can I feel like a step to release the devil?" Leso and Roy rode side by side with a solemn expression, "Little devil, for that ugly monster Finding all the materials for resurrection will not cause a catastrophe, will it? Did the blood of the ancients warn you?"

"I'm sure that the heart of the tree is not a 'devil'." Roy looked at the dark area in the southeast of the Whispering Hill. The night was the most active time for the beasts, but this time they stayed in the grass and didn't go any further. Attack the witcher as you do during the day.

Because they were covered with green sap from the roots of the tree, exuding a faint scent of plants, like a friendly sign, to disperse the violent beasts they encountered.

"But it's not a good thing! Even if she once belonged to the ancient Druid ring, I admit that there is indeed a clear record in some ancient books that the Druid ring existed in Willen. But this guy described the three sisters as It's heinous, and it's slightly different from what we know..."

The bald man watched the sunset fall into the horizon, and put forward another point of view, "We have all seen the situation in Lower Valen. The lady in the forest asked the villagers for sacrifices, but she also gave them a good harvest of crops to cure diseases. The fruits of , save them from the endless beasts and monsters of Velen. To a certain extent, the three sisters are fair, maintaining a bloody and fragile balance. To destroy this balance, is there a better alternative? ?"

"Lesso, the old witch kidnapped Carl, they must understand a truth, witchers are not so weak and deceiving!"

"Freeing the heart of the tree is not the only way." Lexo groped his smooth chin, still insisting on his own opinion, "An unknown creature who has been imprisoned for hundreds of years and is full of resentment... If he is freed, he will definitely retaliate, causing this 'nothingness'. The great disaster of the Land of Man'."

"In order to fight against the three witches, releasing another terrifying monster, kid, is definitely not the way to go!"

Roy sighed, his eyebrows tightened and loosened,

"Well, actually I have a solution. As you said, the three sisters are not good things, and the tree heart can't be trusted completely, then..."

His tone suddenly became cold, and Anjin's pupils flashed, "Do you remember the blood gems given by the lady in the lake? Let's do this later... It's up to you to use..."

...

A bright moon hung on the horizon.

Soon, the witcher rode away from the Whispering Hills, and after repelling a wave of frightened water ghosts in the Velen Swamp,

to the hillside surrounded by three oaks,

In the dark night, the moonlight illuminates a blue stone tablet in the center of the hillside.

The stele is oval in shape, simple and cold, full of the vicissitudes of time, the surface is covered with cracks, and clumps of messy grass stubble stubbornly drilled out of the cracks in the stone.

Roy crouched down, and then touched some rough and twisted symbols on the surface of the stone tablet: irregular triangles, patterns of stars, moons, and simple but vivid wild animals sketched with a few strokes. This is some kind of ancient stone carving. .

He couldn't understand the meaning of these patterns at all.

"What did it say?" Roy glanced at the bald man,

"These symbols are the words created by the Druid Ring. The Snake Sect does not have this branch, and I have not learned this kind of writing, so I can't understand it, but I think it is undoubtedly the tombstone in the heart of the tree."

The eyes of the two of them turned to the open space in front of the tombstone.

"Kungulan, Madam Treeheart, it's you who asked us to dig your grave, don't blame it..."

The two pulled out their steel swords and began to dig the soil. Soon after, they dug up a pair of remains from the empty ground in front of the tombstone, and then reluctantly pieced together the pile of broken bones to form a human shape.

Its limbs and skull can be seen on its body, but there are sharp canine teeth that do not look like humans on both sides of its gums, and long dry nails extend from the top of its finger bones. The most striking feature is that it is extremely petite, less than that of a normal human. one third.

Remains of Unknown Creatures

? ?

"Look, this is not a human skeleton at all!" The bald-headed man's eyes became even more fearful.

"Maybe it's an old man, is it possible?"

Leto shook his head and said firmly, "I have seen many remains, including old people over eighty years old, although most of them are hunched over, suffering from severe osteoporosis, and their bones have become deformed, but not the one in front of me. The bone mass of this skeleton is too small, but there is no sign of missing or excessive weathering."

"Like dwarf, halfling, gnome, or goblin bones?"

"They don't have such sharp canine teeth!" Letso said. "And, whether it's a dwarf, a halfling, a goblin, or a gnome, there are far fewer ribs than this remains."

"Then what is buried here? It's not a human, but it assumes the responsibilities of a Druid?" Roy also wondered, could it be that the so-called ancient Druid is another inhuman intelligent creature?

It doesn't exist in the literature, and I haven't seen it myself.

"Maybe only those hundreds of years old, learned druids can reveal the answer."

The two witchers whispered again for a while, then quickly collected the remains and returned to the Whispering Hills.

Almost at the same time, on the other side, Felix, the demon hunter from the cat faction, had found a crow's nest among the lush branches and leaves of the big banyan tree, and obtained a few jet-black feathers.

And Brother Serret, in the meadow west of Whispering Hill near the Humpback Swamp, used the Sign of Aksifa to bewitch a black mare standing and dozing.

The three waves of demon hunters each took one material and returned to the cave in the Whispering Hills one after another, and came to the heart of the tree.

"Witcher, everything is ready, what are you waiting for? Start the ceremony now!"

The voice of the heart of the tree was trembling, full of uncontrollable excitement, and she manipulated the taupe rhizome, circling the body of the black mare.

Like a boa constrictor sizing its prey.

The mare seemed to sense something, snorted uneasily and impatiently, and paced with shredded hooves.

"Ms. Kungulan, everything is ready," Roy took out the package containing the remains in his saddlebag and held it in his hand, "but before the ceremony, we still have some questions to ask..."

"Speak!" Shuxin looked anxious.

"Ms. Kungulan, do you remember the conditions we made earlier?"

"Several, you've come this far, and you still don't want to believe me?" Shuxin said displeased, "I repeat, once you are free, I will help you escape the eyes and ears of the three sisters and sneak into their base camp. Deshan, teach them a profound lesson."

Shuxin said solemnly, "But I warn you, don't expect too much, such as killing any of the old witches, that's unrealistic! The three sisters' powerful mana aside, they can also summon a large number of monsters from other worlds. Even Wild Hunt's help."

"Wild Hunt?" The hearts of the four Snake Sect demon hunters jumped. They didn't expect to hear this familiar name in the heart of the tree, the lifelong enemy of Snake Sect. They deeply understood the power of Wild Hunt.

"How many of you have heard of those ghost riders flying in the sky? To tell you the truth, the senior management of Wild Hunt will attend the banquet held by the three sisters every year, and the long-term exchanges have allowed them to maintain a good relationship." Shuxin sighed, "So If you want to kill the three sisters, you have to pass the wild hunt. With the current strength of the few, I'll be honest, it's unlikely."

Roy's mind rolled in the memories, as far as he knew, the three sisters held a night feast every spring at Balder Hill, entertaining the powerful aliens of Willen, and at the same time accepting sacrifices from the peasants under their rule - beautiful young boys and girls. .

Some of the "reborn" children are sent back the next day, and the farmers are given acorn oil that can water their luxuriant crops.

It is a relationship of sacrificial shelter in the most crude and primitive form.

In addition, Shuxin's remarks also made Roy confirm a guess from a long time ago: Wild Hunt's participation in the three sisters' dinner is not for simple pleasure, and they must also participate in Willen's "sale".

Some of the children that the old witch snatched from the people of Velen might be handed over to Wild Hunt. After all, this group of ghost riders across the sky has been captivating people all over the world to strengthen their legions.

"Don't worry, we don't plan to fight Mrs. Lin Zhong head-on at the moment."

"a wise decision…"

"If you don't have a head-to-head confrontation with Mrs. Lin Zhong, then after entering Bald Mountain, how can the old witch's memory be improved?" Serite asked.

"Turn on the fire and burn it all down!" Oaks said fiercely,

"If you set fire in front of someone else's house, you can't tell how much it will burn. You will definitely have a deadly feud with the three sisters." Lesso expressed a vague objection.

The heart of the tree was suddenly silent, and the witcher could feel the struggle and hesitation in her heart, and after a long time, the old female voice replied, "I have a better idea, if you can destroy the sacred oak tree in Balder Hill. , will make those three old bitches vomit blood."

"Holy Oak?" Roy thought of the unusually well-growing crops in Lower Varen for a moment, and the rubber used by the villagers to water the farmland.

"It was originally the seed I sowed during my lifetime, but then the three sisters killed me and occupied it, but instead used it to do good to the people of Velen - ordinary acorns crushed into oil can water a good harvest and give it to the healer It can be used for healing, and the pink acorns that are more than a hundred years old and the golden acorns that are more than two hundred years old are of great benefit to mankind." The heart of the tree paused, "Even if you can't destroy the oak tree, take it away. The precious acorns are enough to grieve their hearts for a while."

"Holy oak, pink and gold acorns?" The eyes of the five witchers lit up.

Seeing this, Shuxin continued to urge, "Several, I told you such a precious secret, but the sincerity is not enough? Let's start the ceremony... Put the crow feathers and bones under the heart first!"

Roy exchanged glances with everyone, and took the crow feather from Phryus, "Offer the crow feather..."

With a dignified and serious look, he put the material in front of the tree heart.

The heart of the tree immediately replied in a solemn and ceremonial voice, "I was once flesh and blood—" The echo triggered a torrent of magic power, causing the cave to vibrate continuously, as if it was about to collapse, "I will be free again!"

However, the witcher's cunning voice came in at this time, "Ms. Kungulan, how can you escape the eyes and ears of the old witch with the method you said?"

Roy asked as he swayed the white skeleton in front of the tree heart.

With the arrow on the string, the tree heart couldn't hold back, "My blood! Later, when you cut open my body, collect a part of my blood, and apply it all over the body, you can hide it from the eyes and ears of the three sisters!"

Satisfied, the witcher placed the skeleton under the heart, "I offer your skeleton..."

The heart of the tree shouted, "I was once flesh and blood..." The cave was full of echoes, and the wind swept from the outside, blowing feathers and bones into a pile, "I will be free again!"

Heart of the tree shouted.

"Witcher! Bring the horse here and let it drink my blood!" After Tree Heart finished speaking, the spiky shell that wrapped the heart was removed, revealing soft and warm horny skin.

Phryus led the black mare to the front, while Leto drew his steel sword and pressed the cold, sharp point of the sword to the heart of the tree.

Roy didn't do anything, if Shuxin died under his hands, it would turn into nothingness.

But he asked another question, "Ms. Kungulam...will you take revenge after you leave the heart of the tree?"

"What revenge? Witcher, do you still have the heart to joke at this juncture!?"

"It's not a joke... You know what I mean," Roy asked seriously, "Will you take revenge on the residents of Warren? As far as I know, because of the orders of the three sisters, they once wanted to kill you."

"How do you know?"

"You mentioned it to me, Ms. Kungolan, have you forgotten?"

"Did I forget?" said Treeheart. "Sorry, I don't think I'm that forgetful."

Roy no longer hesitated.

According to the plan, he gave Leto, who was holding the sword, a look.

A cold light flashed in the cave... Amidst the cheerful laughter, a terrifying wound opened in the heart of the tree, blood poured like a spring, a small part of it flowed into the leather bag prepared by the witcher, and most of it was mixed with the materials on the ground.

Blood, bones, and crow feathers instantly merged into one.

The black mare drank blood with her head bowed, and all that remained in the cave was the sound of sipping and swallowing.

When the blood is drained...

Shen Jun's black beauty raised her head, revealing a pair of eyes that were as red as blood.

"Free!" It raised its front hooves and gave the young woman's lively cheer. "The spirit of nature is above, I, Kungulan, are finally free! I want to take revenge and kill them all—"

A hand suddenly touched the mane of the black beauty's neck, "There is still one step to complete the ceremony... Kungulan."

"what?"

Letho's poisoned snake steel sword had not yet returned to its sheath. After saying this, he took advantage of the situation and slashed the black beauty's neck with the bloody blade.

The flesh was split open, blood, fascia, and bone stubble were exposed, half of the neck was cut open, and the ground was dyed red with more turbulent blood than before.

"Why!" The black beauty only had time to say these words, and she fell to the ground, her hoof twitched, she just got free, and she didn't have time to run wildly on the Whispering Hills.

She was full of unwillingness, and the last picture in her eyes was the cold and rigid face of the bald man.

In his hand was a gem that was as dazzling as blood, and that was her final destination.

"Okay..." Roy breathed a sigh of relief, took the blood gem from Leto's hand, and weighed it in the palm of his hand. There was black smoke rampaging from the crystal wall, but he couldn't escape from the cage.

He closed his eyes and tried for a while, and sure enough, the blood gems that had been put into the soul could no longer be put into the loot package, and could only be carried with him.

"Ms. Kungulan, although I released you as promised, it's more reassuring that you continue to stay inside."

"The soul of the heart of the tree is so sealed in this stone?" Serrit looked at the incomparably smart, but not so conspicuous black smoke in the gemstone, with a look of disbelief, "The so-called soul is just like this. Something like a tadpole?"

"This is not a simple stone! Only the blood gems given by the lady in the lake can hold the soul. Whether it is a human being or a monster, most of the cores are the same." Roy explained patiently and handed the blood gem to Serrit looked closely.

The eyes of Oaks and Phillis next to them were also full of exploratory desires. Before that, they had never seen a embodied soul with their own eyes in their long lives.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"She claims to be an ancient Druid, so find a real Druid to 'inspect the goods'."

The crowd discussed for a while.

Leto looked around and began to assign tasks, "Let's take a night's rest in the tree hole today and be fully prepared."

"Tomorrow morning, the little devil and I will smear the blood of the heart of the tree, avoid the eyes and ears of the three witches, and go to Bald Mountain to find the sacred oak tree. Brother Vulture, you, Serret and Oaks, offer sacrifices to the lady in the forest, Get Carl back! How?"

"Just do it!"

The moonlight sprinkled from the outside of the cave accompanied by a whisper, and five pairs of different-colored beast pupils converged in one place.