The Divine Hunter

Temple Island Square, a sacred place where believers and pilgrims exchange experiences on weekdays.

At this moment, there was a lot of people, and the huge square was crowded with shouting citizens.

The focus of the crowd was in the center of the square. On the stake set up by the temple guards, a creature with a body similar to a dwarf and an odd-looking creature was tied with a stick of five flowers, and his hands and feet were bound with silver handcuffs and shackles. His wrinkled face was bloodless, and he lowered his head so deeply that he couldn't see any facial expressions.

A hill of dry wood is piled underfoot.

Men in black clothes and black hats and wearing Lamian whips are pouring oil on the pyre.

A man wearing a white shirt with red sleeves and a red stripe on his collar, a robe like a burning sun, with white temples, his majestic eyes swept over the wall of people who were present at the temple guards. More than two thousand, farmers, merchants, minor nobles, members of the city council, including all classes in Nuocheng.

In addition to humans, there are also non-human race elves, dwarves, half-blood elves...

People do not forget to draw a clear line, elves stay with elves or half-breeds, and many of them have never appeared in Nuocheng.

Armed to the teeth, muscles, and hair, the dwarves, the butcher Clever's men, gathered around their compatriots, accompanied by a few halfling farmers of similar stature but with baby faces.

All non-human races distance themselves from humans, and vice versa.

Human beings also have their own small circles. The nobles look at the merchants and hawkers with contempt. The soldiers and mercenaries with weapons form a pile. The number of farmers is the largest, but they gather quietly on the periphery of the inconspicuous square.

"Everyone! Here today, in front of everyone, I want to announce one thing!" Bishop Cyrus' voice was old but thick, piercing the crowd, making the noise disappear at once, "The great Eternal Fire's law and order Officer, the real Mr. Chapelle was killed by this evil shapeshifter two years ago. He has been wearing Chapelle's skin and stealing the authority of the sheriff! He has done bad things in the city of Nuo! "

The crowd resumed the noise.

The merchants pointed at the shapeshifters and whispered, while the farmers looked fierce. They had heard all kinds of bad rumours about shapeshifters. They hated the monsters that took other people's lives. Smash that ugly thing hard.

There are also reasonably sensible intellectuals who keep scrutinizing the monster. In their opinion, in the past two years, Nuocheng has been developing in a good direction as a whole. This does not seem like what an evil creature has done.

The half-elf Skirou, who was in the crowd, patted the thin middle-aged woman's trembling shoulder and gave her a calm look.

The two stand-out knights, Grimm and Cassirer, were surprised. They were both seeing a live shapeshifter for the first time, and they were disguised as church security monsters, and they were not discovered for two years.

Is this the so-called dark under the lights?

They tried to talk to a more normal-looking, well-dressed nobleman next to them.

"Who is the shapeshifter caught by Eternal Fire? What crimes did he commit?"

"Oh, sir," the male aristocrat stroked his beard and shook his head, "I can't think of it if you ask me that. What crime did he commit? Chasing down murderers? Fighting criminals on the streets? Perhaps the biggest mistake he made was As a shapeshifter."

"Since ancient times, the eternal fire has been catching this 'monster'."

Grim frowned.

"Thanks to the warning of Eternal Fire, we have uncovered its true colors! Stop him from committing more heinous crimes!" Bishop Cyrus continued,

Gigi, the shapeshifter on the stake, looked at the bishop's back numbly.

"I invite everyone to witness that it was my negligence and mistake to let this beast live two more years."

The archbishop looked remorseful and full of remorse.

"Fortunately, the eternal fire blesses him, and he hasn't made a big mistake."

"Today, the immortal flame will continue to guide all beings, dispel the fog, and purify the evil!"

Immediately, hundreds of believers in the audience folded their hands on their chests,

Bow down in prayer.

The bishop held high the torch-shaped holy silverware that shone on his chest, and began to judge with justice and dignity,

"Look at this ugly shapeshifter, a blasphemous creature, every fold on his face represents an innocent person who has been replaced by him."

"Burn him!" the crowd shouted.

Jiji, who was tied to the stake, glanced at everyone with yellow eyes, sighed, and the brilliance in his eyes dimmed.

This is the city where he has worked hard for two years and cared for the people for two years without any selfishness.

"Sir Bishop Cyrus!" A blacksmith with a purplish-red face, a burly physique, and an apron opened his mouth outside the wall guarded by the temple. He had been observing just now, but unlike the excited farmer, he looked towards Deformation Weird eyes, with a hint of pity, "So far, we can only hear your broad and broad words, but you just don't elaborate, what crimes did this shapeshifter commit? Except for replacing the former sheriff Sha Peller! Who saw him kill the sheriff?"

"Dalph, the blacksmith, I remember that the day you were born, the Archbishop personally baptized you. Are you denying what Lord Cyrus said?"

A guard of eternal fire as tall as a hill walked to the blacksmith with the long sword at his waist.

"I didn't deny anything, I just wanted to know the truth!" The strong man spit on the ground, wiped the sweat from his palms on the cotton skirt, and raised his voice, "I'm just speaking as a Nuocheng native. My doubt, in the past two years, our city has definitely become better. In the past, the barrels and tools I carelessly left outside the blacksmith shop must disappear overnight. And in the past two years, there has never been such a thief. Small touch phenomenon."

"And my shop's business is much better, even with two apprentices! This disguise shows that the number of tourists visiting Nuocheng has greatly increased."

"People's choices are the best evidence. Will everyone rush to a city with bad security?"

Many people bowed their heads.

Start thinking seriously about the changes in the past two years.

"Dalph is right!" another scrawny peasant interjected, "my poor Tina was just playing on the field for a while before being caught by traffickers and nearly sold to the Skellige Islands, where she was stinking. Dry islanders as wives! Thanks to Sheriff Chapelle's tireless pursuit."

"My daughter was rescued unharmed and she is now feeding chickens at home."

"If the shapeshifter is evil, why is he doing good things?!"

The shape-shifting monster Jiji was relieved when he heard the words, and a hint of relief appeared on his face.

"That's his cleverness!" There was a convincing power in Cyrus' voice, "If he does all the bad things with pus from the bottom of his feet, he will soon see through his identity and be kicked out of position by me. ."

"But he is very good at disguising. Whether it is appearance or action style, he maintains the surface justice and uses it to paralyze your simple and kind people!"

"But compared to his evil deeds behind the scenes, these so-called good deeds can't make up for one-tenth of it!" Celeston paused, looking at the crowd,

A full third of the non-human race.

If a conflict between humans and non-human races is provoked at this time, it will only detonate a terrible disaster.

Dealing with inhuman races can only be done slowly.

Now he solves the main contradiction first!

"His greatest crime is to gang up with a group of mutants and build a secret laboratory in the alder forest on the outskirts!"

Cyrus flashed the detailed instructions of Wygfortz in his mind and circled slowly around the stake.

"The place is ostensibly an orphanage. In fact, it is a place for witchers to conduct vicious mutation experiments and mass-produce mutants!"

"Nowadays, many children have been persecuted and poisoned by them. They have the pupils of beasts and become non-human species."

"It is conceivable that if the shapeshifter continues to sit in the position of the sheriff, his accomplice witcher will expand at an unprecedented speed in the name of the orphanage, and soon the entire city of Nuo will become a mutant the ocean!"

Frightened cries rang out from the crowd.

"It's terrifying..." Cassir shook his head. "The witchers in Nilfgaard were all driven away by His Majesty Emhyr. Are the witchers in the north so evil?"

"No, buddy," Grim shook his head, thinking of the white wolf who had fought him upright in Sintra, "I can guarantee that this archbishop is just alarmist, he has a deep prejudice against witchers. !"

"Lord Bishop!" a bard retorted, his expression serious as if he was stating the truth. "The witcher is not as evil as you say!"

"They rescued countless rural peasants from the fangs and claws of monsters, and killed countless man-eating beasts!"

"But their fees are so expensive!" Someone refuted,

"That's the life money they deserve!"

Outside the human wall, there are people who help the witcher, see through and dress up, and are obviously regulars in the dance hall.

"The Witcher helped Princess Yada of Vizima get rid of the curse of the bloodthirsty bird!"

"Cleaned up the filth in the sewers of Nuocheng!"

"Help the little princess of Cintra escape from the clutches of Brock Leon's terrifying dryad!"

The citizens fell silent.

The propaganda of the dance hall poets has played a big role. In the past two years, they have listened to the good words of the witcher, and their ears are almost cocooned, and they believe it without knowing it.

The archbishop beat his chest, and the right hand holding the cane shook uncontrollably, "Are you all brainwashed by the rhetorical poets in the Nuocheng dance hall?"

"But do you know that the biggest shareholder behind the dance hall is the witcher!"

"They brag about themselves and put money on their faces just to deceive you!"

"Take your head and think, what the dance hall says is the truth? Then if they claim that the barren witcher is your father, would you believe it?"

The crowd roared, shaking their heads desperately.

"Just go to any city outside Nuocheng and see!"

"What is the reputation of the witcher? The locals will tell you!"

"Almost every old man in the village can tell a lot about the atrocities of mutants! The shape-shifting monsters who act for tigers are even more unforgivable!"

Cassirer said to himself,

"The words of Archbishop Cyrus are so damn powerful!"

"Sir Bishop..." shouted a knight in the crowd. He was tall and straight, with bright blond hair, and his smile was as warm as the rising sun, which made people feel good about him, "According to your logic, as long as the demon hunter proves Not a villain, then the shapeshifter who helped them is a good man!"

"This heroic knight, even you are deceived by this evil gang? Your words are absolutely impossible!" The archbishop's majestic eyes turned to Grimm, "After purifying this evil thing, we will immediately go to the suburbs to catch Catch those wicked witchers!"

"The ability of this shapeshifter is strange and unpredictable. As long as we unlock the holy silver weapon on him, he can change shape at will, and immediately change into anyone present, not only the appearance is exactly the same, but can even read your thoughts. I know you All the memories of the past."

"And then invade your home and property, humiliate your wives, husbands, and abuse your children. This knight, including you, is not immune!"

"Burn him!" Someone was afraid and began to shout loudly.

Grimm's face was solemn, his gaze at the shape-shifting monster changed uncertainly, and he squeezed the long sword around his waist.

"The shapeshifter does not belong to the creation of the gods, and is not allowed to live in the world! He must die!" The archbishop shouted, and made a look at an eternal fire guard beside him.

It was the young guard who had been with Chapelle all the time.

He was hesitant to move forward.

"Fathers and fellow villagers!"

The shape-shifting monster tied to the stake suddenly opened his mouth, his small yellow pupils glanced at the crowd in the crowd, his voice hoarse like that of a critically ill patient.

"I, Gigi, pretended to be Sheriff Chapelle for the past two years, but I didn't kill him. When I found him, he was already dead. I just want to use his identity to practice the eternal fire of the team. faith!"

"And during my two years as a sheriff, I have a clear conscience, and I have never done anything wrong to the people of Nuocheng, never enriched my personal pockets or abused my power! I have worked hard to arrest human traffickers and crack down on crimes. , all to make our home better. All my actions are clear to everyone!"

"I swear to the great eternal fire!" He looked reverent.

It was only then that everyone discovered that this shape-shifting monster could actually speak human words, and his eloquence was not bad.

The part that was swept by his yellow pupils lowered their heads, and there were also people glaring at each other.

"Here! How dare you argue!" The archbishop waved his cane and scolded sharply, with disgust in his eyes, "What qualifications do you have to believe in eternal fire! Your oath is blasphemous!"

Everyone suddenly realized that the eternal fire has been chasing and killing shape-shifting monsters since ancient times.

The two are completely mortal enemies.

"Lord Cyrus, the eternal fire is the symbol of redemption, guiding all beings in the dark... and all beings are equal. This is the original text in the canon!" The shapeshifter threw a series of questions, "Am I not a life? "

Cyrus' face sank.

"Because of my innate ability, am I going to be charged with an unwarranted crime? Even if I never abuse my ability."

The shapeshifter questioned thousands of people on the field.

"Because of your prejudice against shapeshifters, do I deserve to be burned because of your prejudice against me stealing your identities? Even if I never made a mistake!"

There was a brief silence in the crowd, and the dwarves and elves who were once suspected and suspected by humans suddenly felt a little bit of the same.

"According to the way the archbishop deals with it, from the moment a person is born, he has the possibility of committing a crime!"

"So are we going to burn a baby?!"

A dwarf with a warhammer on his back said angrily, stroking his beard.

The sound came far away.

"Burn the shapeshifter! Don't let him talk nonsense!" someone shouted in exasperation.

"Don't do it yet!" The archbishop glared at the young guard.

And Jiji suddenly smiled at everyone, with tears in her smile, her expression calm, and she regarded death as home.

"Kodali, let's do it." He said to the guard, his eyes calmly swept across the crowd, his voice resounded throughout the temple island square, "Burn me to death!"

"If I die, it will make everyone feel at ease! I am willing to practice the doctrine of eternal fire at the cost of my life, and end everyone's suspicions and worries!"

He said solemnly,

"I am willing to use my life to guide all beings!"

"I have only one prayer! After I die, the people of Nuocheng will no longer be unreasonably suspicious of any human beings, non-human races, dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and even witchers!"

"I hope that everyone can coexist peacefully in this prosperous home!"

"If this little wish of mine can be fulfilled." A touching smile bloomed on the deformed and ugly cheeks, and he seemed to be glowing, "I will die without regrets!"

"Ugh."

There was a flash of struggle in the guard's eyes, and he sighed, and another guard threw a torch at the sight of the archbishop.

"Pfft!"

The orange flame instantly ignited the oil on the pile of firewood, and it ignited into a circle at the feet of the shapeshifter.

He was still smiling at everyone.

However, this smile was quickly deformed by the high temperature.

...

All of a sudden, everyone in the square suddenly lost their voices.

His eyes stared at this scene complicatedly.

Only the crackling sound of Mars could be heard.

And Grim grinned at the black-haired knight beside him, clenched the sword in his hand with a firm expression,

"Dude, it's time to get your hands dirty and practice our chivalry!"

His words were suppressed by a strange air-breaking sound!

"boom!"

In the burning pyre, a bomb seemed to have detonated, and the wood exploded and flew in all directions like raindrops.

The Temple Square was half-empty, and thousands of orange light spots flickered, as if a grand fireworks show had started.

"Puff-puff-puff!"

Logs of firewood fell on the guards of the temple walled in by adults.

Some were still burning, and the hot guards were screaming.

Some carried white smoke and fell into the crowd, stirring a burst of exclamations.

There was also an unlucky businessman who was directly hit in the head by a piece of wood and passed out.

And Archbishop Cyrus, who was next to the fire, was hit by the violent airflow and fell to the ground with a wailing cry, blushing and unable to get up for a long time.

Two loyal guards pounced on him to stop the flying firewood for him.

The sudden accident caused the dense crowd in the square to explode, like a huge wave, and the waves rolled up countless people to sway!

However, when the flying firewood fell to the ground and went out, the chaos quickly disappeared.

At this point, the firelight dissipated.

The stake stands alone in the center of the square.

Shapeshifter Gigi was burnt to ashes by the flames and heat,

The thinning hair on the top of his head was burnt.

But it doesn't stop there.

The flames did no irreparable damage to him.

He was still healthy and sane, those pale yellow pupils staring straight ahead,

Everyone was silent and looked at the past

Suddenly, a figure in a black cloak stood in front of the shapeshifter.

Two hilts emerged from the shoulders.

The pit viper pendant in front of the neck is rippling in the wind.

On the young face, dark gold and silver-gray pupils flickered coldly, and turned to the archbishop who slowly climbed up with the help of the eternal fire guard.

"Cyrus Engelkander Heimfa... Archbishop of Eternal Fire, you want to judge my friend, you want to judge all witchers?"

"Come here and tell me what I did wrong?"

"I'm all ears!"