Chapter 157: Battle in the Depths

Lann shook the sword, removing any traces of blood. After having killed the monsters, the runes on the Aerondight Sword glowed even brighter.

The brief encounter was over quickly. After killing the drowners, Lann made his way to the human bodies that had been being devoured by the monsters.

"It's the guards of the eternal fire."

The guards' armor was badly damaged and dented, something the drowners could not have done. Lann carefully examined one of the less damaged bodies.

"It's very big and has amazing strength. But there are no claws or teeth, and its fighting style is different."

"Is that it, the Toad Prince?" Triss asked.

In some corners there were structures made of a strange white substance, similar to beehives, which contained the bodies of young girls, probably attracted by the legend of Prince Toad.

"It seems that the prince was too 'happy' with them and wanted to devour them to be together forever."

Lann shook his head and took a deep breath, activating his witcher senses.

From the bodies of the Eternal Fire soldiers and the young girls, red pheromones emanated that intertwined, forming visual ribbons that headed in one direction.

"Found it!"

Lann began to run, quickly passing corpses and debris of all kinds. He was glad he hadn't worn his Archgriffin cloak, but a common cloak. Otherwise, it would have been completely ruined.

The view quickly widened, revealing a central processing station of many pipes, about two or three stories high, and the ground was covered in nondescript substances.

Occasionally, a little moonlight shone down from the small skylight above, but unfortunately it did not help improve the atmosphere on the scene.

Rotting corpses, disgusting mucus everywhere, and that stench.

Thanks to Triss's herbs, Lann couldn't smell anything, but his witcher senses could 'see' those scents. His entire field of vision was shrouded in a thick reddish fog.

"This is his lair." Lann crouched down and lifted some of the monster's trail with the tip of his sword. "It's fresh, it just left, it must be nearby."

They had no intention of waiting patiently for the monster to return. They still had a second mission tonight, so they needed to lure the monster out somehow.

Following Chappelle's information, the monster loves blood and alcohol. Lann examined the surroundings and soon found several fresh corpses. This would be the blood.

"It is a way to avenge them. Thank you for your sacrifice. Rest in peace."

Lann placed his right hand on his chest and muttered a prayer as Triss looked at him curiously.

After paying respect to the dead, Lann pulled several barrels of hard liquor from his inventory and poured them over the bodies.

Now they had the alcohol too.

The pungent smell of alcohol mixed with the disgusting smell of blood immediately filled the entire space.

Lann thought that it was still not enough. Holding his nose, he walked to the center of the room, looked at the various tunnels that connected to that place and threw several Aard Signs to spread the smells as far as possible.

Triss, seeing Lann busy, smiled and quickly spoke a few words. Soon, a steady wind began to blow.

This breeze was not as intense as Lann's Aard Signs, but it was persistent, carrying the smell of blood and alcohol to every corner of the underground tunnels.

Lann, surprised, looked at Triss and she raised an eyebrow saying: "Sorceress magic."

Lann smiled. "It seems that you will have to give me a few more lessons after you go back."

Time passed by minute by minute, and the two did not wait too long. Soon they heard a sound of a giant jumping in the pipe in the southeast corner.

Then a chorus of squeals filled the air. A horde of rats rushed out of the tunnel, nearly blocking it with their numbers. They were terrified.

Watching the rodents heading towards them, Lann frowned slightly and cast the Igni Sign, consuming a small amount of his magical energy.

A cone-shaped stream of fire surged out, causing the rats to squeal even louder.

Before Lann could cast another Igni Sign, a thunderous croak rang out, drowning out the rats' squeals.

A stench so strong that even Triss's herbs couldn't block it began to fill the place.

Lann's eyes narrowed. Instinctively, he cast a Quen Sign on himself. A second later, a mass of mucus was launched at astonishing speed, dissipating his stream of fire and hitting him squarely.

With a loud bang, the Exploding Shield activated, sending Lann several meters back. He rolled on the ground before getting up, staring at the mass of mucus in horror.

If he had been hit directly, the injury would have been the least of it. The psychological trauma would have been much worse.

Casting another Quen Sign on himself, Lann watched the giant figure slowly emerge from the darkness.

It was a huge being, moving clumsily, its body riddled with repulsive tumors that oozed poisonous pus.

The monster opened its mouth, revealing a cavity that was divided into four parts, each filled with razor-sharp teeth.

Then a long, fast tongue shot out from his mouth, catching one of the liquor-soaked bodies and bringing it into his mouth. His body shuddered as he chewed.

Lann grinned. "You seem to really like alcohol."

Taking advantage of the monster's busyness, Lann ran towards it, raising his hand to release a white glow.

[Axii Sign] + [Delusion]!

This monster was almost a boss, possibly even stronger than the Chort Lann had faced before. The mental confusion wouldn't last long.

But Lann only needed a moment.

Approaching quickly, he crouched down and punched the ground, causing a purple light to shine in the darkness.

[Yrden Sign]!

The toad prince reacted, trying to attack Lann, but the movement of his tongue became visible to the naked eye.

Lann constantly dodged and jumped, using his sword to deflect and harness the force of the monster's attacks.

He was distracting the enemy, creating an opportunity for the sorceress behind him.

The sorceress had enough time to cast a spell that no weapon could match in terms of damage.

After the Toad Prince appeared, Triss found a dark corner far away from the battlefield. She trusted Lann completely, so the rhythm of her spell chanting was particularly stable. Soon, a torrent of shockingly warm fire began to condense around her.

"Lann, get out of the way!"

Hearing the sorceress's warning, Lann knew the time was right. He performed one last Yrden Sign beneath him and then intentionally collided with the toad's tongue.

The tremendous force was unleashed upon Lann, and with the breaking of the Quen Sign's shield, the Exploding Shield was activated, sending him flying backwards.

The next second, the fire enveloping Triss began to violently collide. Two streams of fire rushed towards the Toad Prince, completely enveloping him.

[Boom!]

A loud bang echoed, causing a sharp pain in Lann's ears.

Looking up, the tumors on the giant toad were roasted by the flames and burst one after another. The originally moist skin was now cracked in large areas, like a piece of charred wood.

[Boom!]

A strong vibration came from beneath the Toad Prince, followed immediately by his gigantic figure rising up like a projectile.

However, Lann was not at all worried.

The threat to his life caused the Toad Prince to jump back and forth to break the shackles of the flames. The ground was completely covered with the stream of fire, which rapidly revolved around the toad, forming a fiery whirlwind.

This was all because Lann wanted to capture the Toad Prince alive, so Triss specially left a way out.

As the Toad Prince jumped back and forth, he was slowly engulfed by the whirlwind of fire.

Triss, seeing this, panicked and lowered the magic controlling the fire. The whirlwind of fire remained in place for about ten seconds before dissipating, turning into waves of heat that spread everywhere.

The ground that had once been filled with mucus, corpses, and garbage was now black, and in the center lay a large, black mass shaped like a toad.

Lann applied a Quen Sign to himself, then used the Aard Sign to disperse the flames coming towards him and cautiously approached the toad, which now looked like a piece of burnt wood.

With a sharp whistle that cut through the air, Lann's body reacted before he could think. He raised the Aerondight Sword to block the attack.

He felt an enormous force hit him from the front, almost making him drop his sword.

It was the tongue of the Toad Prince.

The tongue was covered in a sticky substance. An instant later, Lann felt an irresistible force pulling him, making him stumble.

Looking forward, he saw his Aerondight Sword caught in the toad's mouth.

Dammit!

With a wet sound, the shining tip of the sword emerged from the toad's lower lip. Its huge body stiffened and stopped moving.

Lann quickly cast an Axii Sign to calm the toad, stopping it from continuing to chew on the silver sword.

Magic continuously flowed inside him to maintain the effect of the Axii Sign. Because the monster was severely injured by the fire, Lann could subdue it like this.

Triss ran forward and spread her arms, skillfully reciting a spell. The giant toad's body began to tremble and shrink in size until it became a small jade sculpture.

The Artefact Compression spell had been successful.

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