165. The Woman in the Camp.
Night.
The starry sky hung low.
The faint light cast by the new moon and stars couldn't illuminate the world below, especially in this valley. Under the cover of towering cliffs, the light that reached the camp was even weaker. Adding to this were the abandoned, unknown-purpose tall wooden frames and various piles of stones.
"This is a perfect place for a stealth assassination," thought Allen, a seasoned keyboard assassin from his previous life, as he hid behind a supply crate in the corner of the camp.
"Thump~ Thump~ Thump~"
Seven or eight soldiers holding finely crafted spears and wearing well-tanned leather armor patrolled down the main path of the camp.
Allen quickly ducked down, hiding in the shadow of the supply crates, feeling a strange excitement as he watched the soldiers' backs. He had an urge to follow them and slit their throats one by one.
"As long as I kill everyone who sees me, it'll be a successful stealth mission," a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, but the young Witcher quickly shook his head to dispel this dangerous idea.
Stay calm! Stay calm!
This is reality, not a game!
His goal wasn't just to kill some important target in the camp. He had to re-trace the black magic power points, find that human couple, and then escort them safely out of this camp.
In light of that objective, killing these guards was meaningless.
"Thump~ Thump~ Thump~"
Another group of guards passed by, illuminated by the torches on either side of the main path, interrupting his thoughts. If any of them bothered to check the supply crates, Allen would be exposed, and he'd likely die in this unknown, temporary camp. Thinking of this, the young Witcher's heart raced, and his breathing became rapid.
It felt as if...
At any moment, the guards slowly walking by might suddenly turn their gaze towards the supply crates. Then, amidst shouts of "Alert!" and "Enemy!", sharp spearheads would thrust towards him.
"Thump~ Thump~ Thump~"
As the guards drew closer, the young Witcher's heartbeat quickened, echoing in his ears like the sound of war drums. Fortunately, This group of guards, like the previous patrol, didn't notice Allen and gradually disappeared into the dim, flickering firelight.
"Phew!"
Allen let out a sigh of relief. The reason why the young Witcher's mind was filled with all sorts of unrealistic thoughts...
At one moment, he wanted to follow the game tactics from his past life and assassinate, and at another, he was terrified, paranoid...
On one hand, it was because he'd never done anything like stealth and assassination before, especially not in a place teeming with hundreds of elite soldiers.
After all, the Wolf School wasn't like the Cat or Viper Schools. The enemies they faced were usually monsters; Vesemir hadn't taught them how to escape from encirclement after a failed strike.
On the other hand...
[Name: Allen]
[Health: 100%, Stamina: 310/310, Mana: 373/410]
He was waiting for his mana to recover.
"Thump~ Thump~ Thump~"
Another patrol passed by.
Allen seized the moment as they walked by, his entire body rippling like water. Then, he blended seamlessly into the camp's dark night. At this moment, The last soldier in the patrol seemed to notice something, warily turning his head to look back.
"What's wrong, Tris?" asked a soldier next to him, puzzled.
"Uh... nothing, it just felt like something moved behind us," said Tris, looking back again, finding nothing.
"Hiss~"
The soldier next to him sucked in a breath, following his gaze warily. In the dim, flickering light, there was nothing behind them.
"Don't scare me, Tris."
"This place, Ban Ard, is pretty eerie. There's supposedly a ghost castle in a nearby town, filled with wandering spirits..."
The soldier called Tris scratched his head sheepishly, just about to say something when...
"Soldiers! What are you chatting about?" a stern voice from the front of the patrol interrupted them.
The two soldiers exchanged glances, immediately shutting their mouths and resuming their patrol.
"Phew~"
Behind the two soldiers, concealed by an illusion, Allen quietly exhaled.
Mirage Pearl: Illusion.
Ever since he used the Mirage Pearl to create an illusion and dodge the Drowner King's fatal blow,
Allen had never slacked in his practice with the Mirage Pearl, spending at least an hour every day exploring the methods of creating illusions. His efforts paid off. With his increased familiarity with the Mirage Pearl and his significant enhancement of mana and mystery, the young Witcher could now create a sixteen-cubic-meter, nearly room-sized, three-dimensional illusion at its peak.
Of course, this sixteen-cubic-meter three-dimensional illusion only lasted for about two seconds. Moreover, in well-lit environments, although Allen's illusions were very realistic, they were jarringly out of place, with the details being severely distorted.
Fortunately.
Now, it was night, and such extreme effects weren't necessary. A rough, flat, dark illusion mimicking the camp's normal scenery was enough.
"The soldiers in this camp are definitely elite."
Allen crouched down, following behind the guards. The Cat School Double-Sword LV3 made his steps more agile, his footsteps light and soundless. Even just one meter away from the guard in front, he wouldn't be detected. This was something the Wolf School Double-Sword footwork couldn't achieve.
After walking about another ten meters, a dark, deep cave appeared ahead of the patrol.
A cave?
Is this the place?
Linking to the wolf medallion in his mind, Allen focused and carefully observed.
In the air, there seemed to be a faint black line formed by small black dots. The black line extended directly towards the cave ahead.
I've found it!
Allen's eyes lit up, and he quickly surveyed the area. A person-high pile of stones, fallen and broken wood, and...
Hmm?
Is that a mine cart?
The young Witcher was about to take a closer look when a wave of dizziness suddenly hit his mind.
Not good!
I'm out of mana!
Allen immediately broke away from the patrol route, maintaining his illusion as he swiftly moved to the cave entrance, near a large pile of stones. As soon as he hid behind the pile, his mana was completely drained, and a sense of emptiness washed over his mind.
Yes.
Even a rough, flat, dark illusion could only be maintained for two minutes with Allen's current mana level. As a result, The young Witcher was constantly moving and stopping within the camp, spending most of the time hiding in small corners, waiting for his mana to recover.
"Phew~"
Leaning against a large stone, Allen let out a long breath. The entrance to the dark cave ahead was empty, with only an abandoned mine cart sitting on the tracks. place must have been a mining site before. With this thought, Allen furrowed his brow slightly.
A mining site?
It seemed like he had heard about it somewhere before.
The young Witcher lowered his head, pondering.
"Who are you?"
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind, causing the young Witcher, who was deep in thought, to shudder violently.
Instinctively, he was about to turn around and draw his sword, but he felt something pressing against the spot on his back where his heart was. The sharp sensation made his hair stand on end, and he immediately halted his body's instinctive response.
What's going on?
He had clearly not seen anyone behind the pile of rocks just now.
"Answer me! Who are you? What are you doing here? Why did you suddenly appear here?"
The voice was low but stern.
At the same time, the sharp object pressing against Allen's back became more intense, even slightly painful. However, Allen instead breathed a sigh of relief. Because this time, he heard it clearly.
The voice behind him belonged to a woman, and there was virtually no chance of a woman being in the human army of Kaedwen. At least, not a woman wielding a weapon.
Unless...
This woman wasn't allied with the Kaedweni soldiers in the camp.
"As you can see, I carry two swords," the Witcher tried to turn around, but the increasing sharp pain in his back stopped him, "so I'm a Witcher, a Witcher of the School of the Wolf."
As soon as he finished speaking, Allen felt the sharp object against his back ease slightly.
"What are you doing here? Sneaking around like this, isn't this your human territory?"
Human territory?
The words were laden with a strong hostility towards humans!
The person behind him was indeed not human?
After a moment of deliberation, Allen decided to speak the truth: "A few days ago, I received a commission from an elf, and now I'm trying to fulfill it."
"Which elf, and what commission?"
"A red-haired elf. She gave me the commission in my mind."
"Red hair, and she can enter your mind—it's Ida!"
The voice behind him revealed a tone of surprise, and the sharp weapon pressing against Allen's back was completely withdrawn. Taking advantage of this, the Witcher took a swift step forward and instantly turned around.
A tall figure in black tight clothing appeared before him. She held a gleaming dagger, and the black mask and headscarf she wore only revealed a pair of wide eyes, filled with astonishment. It seemed she hadn't expected the Witcher before her to be so bold.
For Allen, there was no time to draw his sword or cast a Sign, and since the person before him might not be an enemy and they were in the heavily guarded Kaedweni camp, it wasn't wise to make a big commotion. Therefore, Allen suddenly took a step forward, his right hand positioned with the base of the thumb upward, and with lightning speed, he reached out and grasped the black-clad person's wrist holding the dagger.
So weak!
Feeling the strength of the black-clad person's hand, the Witcher's eyes widened slightly, a bit puzzled. He hadn't expected it would be so easy to disarm the opponent.
"Was the reason I didn't notice this person earlier because of the side effects of depleted magic?" Allen wondered.
With a light shake of his right hand, the dagger, which had been glinting in the dark, fell into his heavily calloused hand. In the next moment, the blade of the dagger was already pressed against the throat of the person in black. The young Witcher completed this series of actions in less than three seconds.
The person in black only felt a blur of movement before her, and the next thing she knew, the blade of her beloved dagger was already at her throat.
How… how could this be?
Who is this Witcher?
Oh, right... Ida.
He just said he was a Witcher commissioned by Aen Saevherne.
-----------------
Complex thoughts flooded her mind, and the person in black widened her eyes in shock.
"Huff~"
Allen took a deep breath, tightening his grip on the dagger as he glanced at the patrolling soldiers in the camp, quietly calming his breathing, which had become a bit erratic due to the brief burst of activity. This was his first time using the techniques of the Cat School Two-Handed Sword Level 3.
This move, similar to a disarming technique from his previous life, was a high-level skill of the Cat School Witchers used when their long sword was knocked away or to disarm an enemy in narrow terrain.
Allen also felt it was a unique experience to use a technique not found in Wolf School swordsmanship, which was specifically designed for combating humans. After all, there weren't many monsters skilled in wielding weapons.
"Very well, now it's my turn to ask the questions."
"Who are you, 'Elven Lady', who suddenly appeared?"
"What are you doing here?"
"And… who is this Ida you mentioned?"
Allen asked softly.
The "Elven Lady," who had no reaction to the title, frowned instantly at the mention of "Ida," just as she was about to speak.
Suddenly.
The pressure of the dagger against her neck relaxed. She saw the strange Witcher before her withdraw the dagger, and with a swift motion, flip his wrist to return the dagger's intricately carved wooden handle to her.
What… what does this mean?
The person in black felt a bit puzzled but hesitated for a moment and eventually took the dagger back.
"This Elven Lady, would you mind telling me why you are here?"
Allen asked softly.
"Aren't you… aren't you afraid I'll use this dagger against you again?"
A voice as clear as a mountain spring suddenly came from the mask of the person in black.
Allen was slightly stunned, looking at the pair of azure eyes peeking through the gap between her mask and headscarf.
"Is this her real voice?" he wondered, "It sounds pretty nice."
Then, he shook his head and replied: "No, since you didn't harm me in the first place, you must have realized."
"The reason I'm 'sneaking around' this camp is probably the same reason you're 'sneaking around' too—we weren't invited here by the Kaedweni army."
"Perhaps, our goals are aligned, don't you think?"
Though he said this, Allen really wasn't afraid of the unknown black-clad person wielding the dagger.
When he disarmed her earlier, he realized that this person was very weak, extremely weak. Her wrist was so weak and unsteady that a light shake was enough to make her drop her weapon. She didn't even have a Level 1 in close combat skills, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
It was better to return the dagger, leave a good impression, and gain some favor.
The person in black frowned slightly when she was described as "sneaking around," but then she remembered he was commissioned by Ida. So she relaxed her brow and nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Allen smiled and said, "My name is Allen, a Witcher of the School of the Wolf."
The person in black hesitated for a moment, but under the dim light of the campfires, she saw the warm smile on the Witcher's face, and after a moment of distraction, she eventually said:
"My name is Francesca Findabair…"
"Aen Seidhe… or as you humans call me…"
"An elf."
....…
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166. The Daisy of the Valleys and the Child of Miracles.
167. That Damn Reckless Elf!
168. A Trap from Fifteen Years Ago.
169. Hurry Up and Teleport!
170. How Much Does a Wolf Pack Leader Cost?