38. Slaying the Drowner King.

"Boom!"

The ice spike missed Vesemir and shattered on the hard slate. The wind mixed with ice crystals and dust blew Vesemir's loose hair behind him. With Vesemir's skills, he didn't need to deceive the Drowner King's vision like Allen did. This massive, cumbersome magic was more suited for siege warfare or hunting large, slow-moving creatures.

Such a slow attack could not deceive the senses of the Witcher master. Vesemir easily dodged the ice spike and, while the Drowner King was still in the stiff phase after casting the spell, he rushed forward in a few quick steps and spun around to slash.

In a flash of silver light, the blue magic shield flickered twice before shattering instantly. Seizing the pattern of the Drowner King's spellcasting, Vesemir swiftly slashed twice more, cutting through the skin outside the Drowner King's heel tendons.

[Slay Progress: 53%]

"Quack!"

A furious roar, and the magic shield regenerated once again.

"Still not enough," Vesemir thought, feeling a bit regretful. Although he trusted his apprentice, the Witcher master was unwilling to just wait idly. Despite catching the Drowner King's spellcasting gap, he still couldn't deal significant damage.

"Whoosh!"

The giant webbed claw, filled with anger, swiped towards Vesemir's head. Vesemir quickly ducked and raised his sword.

"Zzzz—"

A piercing scratching sound rang out, and the blue shield flickered. The swung silver sword was deflected, but Vesemir didn't mind. He borrowed the momentum to spin around and slash again. The silver blade quickly flickered on the Drowner King's claw.

"Pop!"

A light sound, and the Drowner King's shield shattered again.

[Slay Progress: 62%]

Allen felt strange now. His mind was invading the monster's aura, and his thoughts seemed to merge with Vesemir's actions. The Drowner King's left foot kicked out, requiring a sidestep, a turn, and a slash. As Allen thought this, Vesemir seemed to follow his command, sidestepping, turning, and slashing. Finally, perfectly breaking the blue shield once more.

[Slay Progress: 75%]

Allen felt the Witcher master was like his own hand, his sword an extension of his attack range. This wasn't an illusion of the Witcher apprentice, nor was it the only spot to attack or dodge; it seemed to be a special effect of the "Slay" skill.

The Witcher master trusted him, so part of his aura merged with some mental power Allen had spread. Through the Slay state, Allen could guide Vesemir to make the best attacks.

"So this is the correct use of 'Slay'?" the Witcher apprentice thought.

It seemed Vesemir hadn't noticed anything unusual. The Witcher master indeed hadn't noticed anything unusual. He just felt exceptionally good today.

Almost without thinking, he could dodge the monster's attacks at will, finding the next best attack spot with a glance. Like now. He sidestepped to avoid the monster's kicking right foot and swiftly slashed four times on the shield. In the past, he could only manage two slashes while dodging.

"Not having hunted a worthy prey for so long, has my strength improved?" Vesemir felt both invigorated and puzzled.

Apart from life-and-death situations, Witchers mostly rely on age and the growth of mutated organs to increase their strength. This progress is slow. But now Vesemir felt an almost explosive increase in power. If he had encountered this monster before today, Vesemir would never have handled it so easily. He quickly retreated two steps to dodge the monster's right foot, expertly spinning and slashing.

"Pop!"

The breaking sound wasn't from the magic shield. Vesemir stared in surprise at the broken silver blade. It was, after all, a training sword and couldn't withstand such intense combat. With his weapon broken, Vesemir quickly made a sign to the Drowner King.

Aard sign.

The strong shockwave left the monster's claw empty as it tried to grab. The Witcher master swiftly retreated, about to ask Allen for his sword, when he saw a familiar figure rush out beside him.

It was Allen.

At that moment, the Witcher apprentice ignored Vesemir's surprise. Entering the Slay state, Allen could barely feel any emotional fluctuations, only the purest calculation of pros and cons.

Having already merged his mind with Vesemir's actions, how could Allen not notice the Witcher master's sword's condition? Or rather, because Allen noticed everything, Vesemir, who was wholly focused on the battle, overlooked the weapon's state, the most crucial information for a warrior. Allen didn't remind him because it wasn't necessary.

After all,

[Slay Progress: 100%]

Upon entering the execution mode, Allen realized he was wrong. Upgraded "Slay" didn't just enhance the duration of the Slay state.

In Allen's vision, a series of bright red footprints led straight to the Drowner King's nape. Some of these footprints even floated in the air, at heights he couldn't reach from his current position. But in the Slay state, Allen felt no fear and naturally didn't hesitate.

"Allen?" Vesemir called.

The Witcher apprentice didn't reply, focusing entirely on stepping on the red footprints. He stepped left, and the Drowner King's massive right foot kicked, narrowly missing him. He jumped right, landing on the Drowner King's retracting foot. Walking up the monster's right leg, Allen moved as if on solid ground.

Step by step, following the red prints, the Witcher apprentice dodged all of the Drowner King's attacks. Though his speed wasn't fast, in a blink, Allen stood at the end. The red prints vanished underfoot, and a familiar red line appeared before him. Time seemed to freeze at the moment the red line appeared, and everything turned into a still picture. He saw the fear in the Drowner King's large pupils, Vesemir's astonishment, the floating dust in the air...

A red line appeared among the floating dust. Following that familiar instinct, Allen gripped Elsa and slashed along the line. Then, a dreamy silver light flashed.

Dust, blue light, flesh, and bone were cut apart.

"Splat."

Bright red blood sprayed from the cut. An indescribable fragrance also wafted over.

"The Drowner King's blood is fragrant," the Witcher apprentice, just out of the Slay state, oddly fixated on this. Then his vision went black, and he started to fall. Obviously, exhausting 150 points of stamina instantly was not pleasant.

"Thud."

Allen's limp body was caught by a somewhat hard arm. Simultaneously, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

"Ding."

[Drowner King Defeated!]

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39. Return with Honor.

40. Keeping to Oneself?

41. Essence of the Drowner King's Heart.

42. Affinity.

43. Big Bang.