The Void Pathfinder from the Demon Hunter World

(Note: The recommended background music for this chapter is "The Hunteru0027s Path" from The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Soundtrack.)

The sun was already high when we came out of the Mongoose and Horse Tavern the next day.

We must reach the town of Watt Hall, further west, before dark today to rest. It's a bit late to set off now, so we have to hurry up.

After leaving Watt Hall, everyone will have to roll around in the quagmire of Velen for a few days. We can't go to the humpback swamp in the southeast of Velen this time, because there are three old witches there that we can't afford to offend at the moment.

Today's lunch was eaten on the roadside with dry food, so we didn't encounter any rural weird events or rural alternative love stories.

A group of 6 riders successfully entered the city of Watt Hall before the sun set and stayed in a local tavern. The young prince, who had not dismounted all day, was exhausted. After a quick dinner and setting up the magic trap, he went to bed.

...

Velen is on the west side of the sea, divided into four pieces of land of varying sizes by three rivers.

In the damp and gloomy Velen, the weather is always cloudy, the air always smells musty, the clothes are always damp, and the feet are always muddy.

Velen is a whole piece of noble territory. More than a hundred years later, during the Civil War, in the plot of the Witcher 3 game, the original lord Visserad abandoned the territory and fled because he was afraid of the Nilfgaardian Black Army.

Philip Strenger, a low-ranking officer in Temeria, occupied the lord's castle in Crow's Nest, proclaimed himself the Bloody Baron, and controlled Velen. This Bloody Baron has many plots in the game.

In fact, from a long time ago, the actual ruler of Velen was not the nobles, but the Lady of the Forest. They are gods that can be prayed to, but also demons that take people's lives. Yes, they.

It was a long time ago when Amavit was born, and the specific time is unknown. Some people say that the Lady of the Forest came from a different world where the celestial spheres intersect, and they killed the increasingly crazy "Fairy Mother"; others say that the Lady of the Forest is the daughter of the powerful druid "Fairy Mother". Anyway, the Lady of the Forest came and the "Fairy Mother" disappeared.

The Lady of the Woods absorbed the magic power of the Fairy Mother and the land of Velen, and possessed great strength. Everything in Velen was their eyes and ears, including trees, flowers, insects, birds, and beasts. They used the magic oak seeds on Mount Bald to make potions to make crops harvested and cure diseases. They asked people for children to cook and eat.

They transformed into beautiful girls in cool clothes to reward pious men, and also killed and ate those who made mistakes with their ugly and powerful bodies.

The wild god rule of the Lady of the Woods required complete obedience until Geralt and Ciri ended their ugly lives and helped the bloody baron and his family out of trouble. Note ①

…

The next day, all weapons and armor were carefully oiled to avoid moisture erosion. Let the four guards pack up the horses, purchase supplies and move freely. Amavit pulled Drina to study how to enter Velen.

In the normal timeline, Velen is not very dangerous, but this is more than a hundred years ago in the abnormal timeline. God knows what kind of monsters will be encountered in it.

Drina also hated Velen. He had been here less often, so he was not very familiar with it. He was very pleased with the prince's cautious attitude.

This trip to Velen is estimated to take 4 to 6 days.

After determining the route, the two left the tavern and wandered around the town to bask in the sun.

After lunch, the guards were free to move around, and Amavit made some extra preparations in the tavern room.

After spending the second night in the town of Watt Hall peacefully, the group arrived at the first stop in Velen, Bankohan Village, after more than 2 hours of riding.

There is no tavern here, or a special tavern. The blacksmith shop and the wine shop share a large wooden house.

Amavit didn't want to stay here. This kind of rural blacksmith shop can only make a hoe or nail a horseshoe, and can't do more. He dismounted and looked at the notice board, and accidentally found an interesting commission.

The evil ghost in the abandoned house not far from my house makes terrible noises every night. It's really terrible. My wife and daughter are going crazy. Please ask someone with ability to drive away or kill the evil ghost. ——Kent at the west end of the village.

Hmm, looks like some kind of demon. Amavit stroked the fluff on his chin, a little interested, and he casually pulled off the commission.

Handing the horse to Drina, Amavit walked to the west of the village, and on the way he stopped a villager and asked, and finally found Kent's home.

Da da da... "Is anyone there? I'm looking for Kent." Amavit knocked on the leaky wooden door and asked.

The wooden door creaked open, and a standard Willen farmer stood in the door.

He wore a linen long coat on his upper body, a pitch-black leather waistcoat on the outside, and homespun trousers on his lower body whose original color could not be seen. The cuffs and trouser legs were already tattered into flocculent. He was barefoot and had no shoes. He wore a yellow leather hat with ear covers on his head, and deep frown lines above his frowning brows.

He asked in a pure Velen dialect: "Who is it? Ah, you, hello. What do you want?"

"Are you Kent?"

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am, you posted this on the notice board?" Amavit raised the page of the commission.

"Ah, yes. But you don't look like the hunter they say, um, demon hunter."

"Yes, I'm not a demon hunter. Phew~, say it again, it doesn't matter who I am, I help you solve the problem, you pay me, yes or no?"

"Okay, yes..."

"Have you seen the ghost with your own eyes? Or just heard it?"

"I, I saw it with my own eyes. I was scared, it was so scary, it..."

"Kent, calm down. Describe the ghost's appearance. What does the head look like? What does the body look like? What does the feet look like?"

"Inhale...exhale...OK, sir. It, it has no face, no eyes, only two big holes on its head, and its tongue hangs down this long. On its body, on its body...oh, it wears a tattered skirt. Madam bless you...it has no feet, it is floating..."

"Very good, Kent. Let's continue. Does the ghost only appear at night or during the day?"

"At night, it makes scary noises every night. My wife and daughter heard it, and they were so scared that they couldn't sleep."

"How long has it been like this?"

"More than half a year, there were occasional noises at night before, and it's been like this every night for the past ten days."

Well, a night ghost. Monster hunting is a dangerous job, and determining the type of monster is an important first step.

"Okay, I understand. Now, let's talk about my reward. I'll pay you after I solve the problem."

"20 Orens. I can give you 20 Orens."

"30 Orens."

"Last year's harvest was not good, I..."

"30 Orens!"

"Okay, okay, 30 Orens."

[Task prompt: Ghosts at night. The Kent family in Bankohan Village is harassed by unknown ghosts every night. I hope someone can solve this ghost so that the whole family can have a good rest. Do you want to accept this task? 】【Yes】【No】

Naturally choose [Yes]. Night ghosts are very familiar.

"Deal. Now, come out, where is the haunted house? Show me."

Kent hesitated for a moment before realizing that it was daytime. He walked out the door and pointed to a dilapidated house more than 100 meters away and said, "That's the one."

"Are you sure? That's the one?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, go back. There will be no trouble tomorrow morning. Remember to prepare my reward tomorrow morning. Goodbye, Kent."

"Goodbye, sir."

Amavit walked up to the guard and said, "It's confirmed. It's a ghost-like monster called Night Spirit. It's a kind that ordinary people will have trouble encountering. Let's go, let's talk while walking. You can also participate. You may encounter similar monsters in the future. It's good to have more experience."

"Okay, young master." ×5

"Night Spirit is a soul-like monster that only appears at night. It moves very fast and can turn invisible. Its attacks can be blocked with armor and shields, but it is almost impossible to kill it with ordinary steel weapons. Magic is useful, and the demon hunter's seal and silver sword can also kill it. Generally, the demon spirit will have an emotional object, which is its emotional bond when it was alive. You need to find this object and burn it together with the demon spirit's bones, and then kill the demon spirit. This is the only way to get rid of it. If you simply kill the demon spirit, it will be resurrected the next day. Okay, we are here, let's go in and see if there is any problem in this house. Don't worry, there is no danger here now. Leave 2 people to watch the horses, and the rest of you can help me come in and find something. "

Amavit took the lead in walking into the dilapidated house that no longer had a door.

"Look for corpses, old bloodstains, and any suspicious objects."

Drina looked around and whispered, "Your Highness, how do you know all this?"

"There is a book called "Revised Edition of Continental Monsters" in the library of the palace. The author is... um, I forgot."

This "Revised Edition of Continental Monsters" does exist. It is also in the library of the palace, but it is definitely not so detailed.

Amavit found that there seemed to be something on the ground. He blew up a breeze and swept the loose soil on the ground. He also lit up a light ball of illumination and hung it above his head.

There was indeed a black trace extending from the foot to the bottom of the bed. After dropping a detection technique, Amavit said, "It's human blood. It looks like it's been a long time. Open the bed."

The guard opened the wooden bed. Under the bed was a dry skeleton holding a wooden box in his arms. The wooden box was already opened, and there was a piece of straw paper with words written on it.

Amavit took the wooden box handed over by the guard, and did not touch the paper with his hands, but gently let the paper fall on the cabinet, with the handwriting facing up.

"... (unclear)... 23rd of the month. This day finally... the court of Ma filed a lawsuit... what he did. For example, Johan was killed just because he did not take off his hat quickly enough... wedding, claiming to exercise the right of first night. ... The judge sympathized with us... all our responsibilities to the lord and... the life of a free man!

... (unclear)... even better. Walker... He also gave me a bracelet, the most beautiful I have ever seen. Mom said we don’t even have a plow or a hoe, so we shouldn’t spend money on... No! I will never take off the bracelet, I want to wear it all the time, so... happy."

"The object of entrustment should be a bracelet, look for it again."

"Okay, young master." ×3

The 4 people searched the broken house, and there was neither a bracelet nor a secret room.

"It seems that it is not here anymore. This may be the reason why the demon spirit was not here in the first place." Amavit walked to the corpse and asked, "Drina, can you tell whether this corpse is male or female?"

Drina looked through the skull and hip bones of the corpse and replied, "It is a female corpse, less than 30 years old."

"I see, it seems that this girl was killed at home, and the bracelet was taken away by something. It may be a human or a wild dog."

The prince extinguished the illumination spell and cast a tracking spell on the corpse. In his vision, a thin magic thread pointed to the woods outside the back window.

"Follow." Amavit walked out of the door and walked quickly around the back of the house, and the guards followed with horses.

Following the guidance of the magic, we went several hundred meters deep into the woods outside the village. The magic thread disappeared behind a large stone, and scattered canine corpses could be seen nearby.

It was most likely that wild dogs took the bracelet away, and the wild dog pack was killed by the demon spirit.

His Royal Highness tapped the ground with his foot: "Here, dig, it won't be too deep."

Two guards took out a small shovel from the horse bag, and dug out a wide metal bracelet in two or three strokes.

The bracelet was made of brass mixed with gold. Of course, only a little gold was mixed in, and nothing was inlaid, but the pattern was very beautiful. A line of cursive characters "To Claire, Walker" was engraved on the inner wall of the bracelet.

"Your Highness, how did you find it?" Drina asked, looking at the bracelet, and the other guards were also curious.

Amavit handed the bracelet to the guard officer.

"Install it, it will be useful at night. It's okay, it's not dangerous now. Tracking, a kind of prophecy magic. It can track two objects that are connected to each other. I guess you don't want to hear more details."

Everyone walked back, and Amavit said as he walked: "After the sun sets, I will burn the bones and bracelets in front of the broken house. The demon will appear immediately. You can't participate in the battle, stay away from me, 100 meters, um, enough. Lead the horse and point the horse's head in the direction of escape. In case we can't handle it, we can escape. Although it is unlikely to be used, but what if it happens."

The 4 guards exchanged glances with each other. Drina looked like she wanted to complain but didn't dare to, and finally couldn't help it: "Master, it's not nice to say that, right?"

"Hey, Drina! First, I'm not a knight, it's not my turn to defend Velen; second, I have no grudge against this demon, I don't have to kill it; third, I'm so sensible, you should thank me. Is that enough?"

Drina's expression became even more difficult to describe, and after a while he said: "That's enough, thank you, Master."

"You're welcome."

...