Chapter 267: The Consequences of Spreading Rumors about Demon Hunters

Wild Hunt?

The demon hunter was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at Ianna.

Ianna smiled and nodded, indicating that he should tell the truth.

This is what she called a surprise?

He didn't have to wait until May Day was over to go to the old duke's house, and now the old duke came to him in person...

Not knowing why the old duke came to ask in person, Ailin considered his words and said:
"I was at Blackbeard's inn in Floating Harbor at the time, so I didn't see it with my own eyes..."

Senior citizen affairs.

"but……"

"Afterwards, we asked the residents of the floating harbor and the travelers who were there at the time..."

"Skeleton horses, ghost armies, blue-black flames..."

"It is exactly the same as described in the ancient books..."

"Three or four hundred skeleton knights rode out from the void, as if there was an invisible gate in the sky..."

"As they flew over the floating harbor, one of the Wild Hunts waved his staff casually..."

"The blue magic glow fell like a meteor, destroying the huge trading market with one strike..."

When he said this, the demon hunter paused.

"At that time, Master Vesemir and I also discovered something unusual and were about to leave the Blackbeard Inn to check..."

"Before I could fully walk out and see clearly, I was seriously injured by the aftermath of the opponent's spell."

"And the destroyed trading market was covered with ice that was taller than the city wall of Elland. When we left the floating port a day later, it had not completely melted..."

The old duke frowned tightly when he heard Ailin's description.

Before he even saw the Wild Hunt, he was severely injured by the aftermath of the spell...

If it were three or four days ago, when he had not seen Aelin's strength, he might have thought that the young demon hunter was not strong enough or was careless.

but now……

After experiencing that wave of zombie attacks, not only did the knights of the Royal Guard have a high opinion of the young witcher, but after returning that day, they even kept urging him to come to the temple of Meliteli and drink with him.

A half-human-high giant zombie head is still hanging in the castle's hall. It is a standard large monster.

When the young witcher returned from hunting, he saw clearly that there was really not a single scratch on Arlin's body.

What's more.

He had heard of Vesemir's name long ago and knew that his strength would only become stronger.

"It seems that the assessment of the Wild Hunt's strength needs to be raised significantly..." the old duke thought.

After thinking about this matter in his mind for a while, he looked up and nodded slightly to the demon hunter, and said seriously:

"Thank you for the information, Demon Hunter."

"This is very useful for us in Temeria."

Ailin was stunned for a moment when he heard the thanks.

I saved the lives of an entire carload of people a few days ago, but I didn't receive a single word of thanks from the old Duke.

Now just a few words...

But before he could respond, the old duke turned his head and looked at the smiling high priest:

"Ianna, can you help me find the volume about the Wild Hunt in the temple?"

The high priest smiled, glanced at Ailin and said:

"I've been looking for it for a long time."

"Hmm?" The old duke leaned on his cane and tilted his head.

“As soon as Arryn arrived at the temple, he asked me to collect the files on the Wild Hunt.” The high priest paused, then added, “Master Vesemir is now sorting the files in the library…”

"Why?" The old duke was startled when he heard this, then he looked at the witcher and asked curiously.

Ailin was silent for a few seconds, then told the story of Fulla Duli, whose husband's life was forever frozen in the trading market.

Then he paused for two seconds and said softly:

"There are many ordinary people who died at the hands of the Wild Hunters, but most of their relatives are not in Floating Harbor..."

After hearing what Ailin said, the old duke was silent for a long time, and the axe-like texture on his face softened a lot.

"Rumors are just rumors..."

He suddenly said something out of nowhere.

He didn't explain afterwards.

After nodding goodbye to Ianna and Aelin, he got on the carriage and left.

Meanwhile, the young demon hunter was still pondering what it meant to say "rumors are just rumors".

"Wheels and wheels~"

The sound of the wheels gradually faded.

Ailin came back to his senses, looked at Ianna, and asked:
"This...is it over?"

"Did Duke Mason come here just to ask about the Wild Hunt that appeared in Flotsam?"

What about the formula for the corpse-eating bio-oil and the May Day anomaly?

"This is no small matter..." The high priest smiled and retracted his gaze from the black carriage. "I received news yesterday that two direct heirs of noble families and a baron died in the floating harbor."

"The noble council of the Vizima court has been at loggerheads for the past few days."

"Mason must have received an order from the king, so he came here to inquire about the situation."

"But..." The high priest paused for a second, looked at the joyful expression on Ailin's face, and said:
"Although three nobles died, facing a legendary monster like the Wild Hunt, not only will the Council of Nobles not necessarily take any targeted actions..."

"Those families that have lost their patriarchs and heirs may not necessarily have..."

The demon hunter was stunned when he heard this, and subconsciously asked: "Why?"

The high priest sighed and said:
"To them, the Wild Hunt is a scourge..."

“How can one take revenge on earthquakes and tsunamis?”

The demon hunter was a little confused: "But didn't you just say that this was not a trivial matter?"

"This is indeed no small matter," the high priest smiled inexplicably, "The family that lost its head wants to keep the title and the seat in the Council of Nobles, and the nobles who lost their heirs have to spread their sharp thorns like hedgehogs to prevent being coveted by their own kind..."

"As for Mason..."

"It has only been a few years since the nobles' rebellion ended. The king should be alert to whether this is a sign of a new round of rebellion or whether the remnants of the rebellion are still stirring..."

"As a member of the royal family and the king's younger brother, Mason naturally has to find out the whole story."

"And the least important thing is to avenge the three people who died, even if..."

The high priest paused and said in a complicated tone:
"They are also nobles, and they are also someone's son, husband or father..."

The demon hunter fell silent upon hearing this.

But he didn't feel angry at all.

Although he said that he collected information about the Wild Hunt because of the mother and son who lost their father and husband, in fact it was more for himself.

After all, there was a high possibility that the Wild Hunt was coming for him.

But Ianna doesn't think so.

She watched the witcher lower his head, his mood down, and her heart softened.

Suddenly I felt a little regretful for exchanging the ugly facts for interests, and revealing them bloody to him.

“Is it… too early…” she thought to herself, “Aelin has just left Kaer Morhen, and is full of passion to slay demons for mankind…”

But she remembered what the young witcher had said on the way here about "blood and fire", and couldn't help but sigh.

Sooner or later, the miracle child will encounter the ugly side of humanity.

It's always better to make it clear in advance than to be suddenly taught a lesson by reality.

The price at that time may not necessarily be just the inner pain and discomfort.

But... "Good boy, this is reality," Ianna gently rubbed the witcher's hair, and changed the subject, "Of course it's not completely useless..."

The witcher looked up.

"At least the Council of Nobles will definitely offer a large reward." Ianna smiled.

Ailin nodded and said nothing more.

He was not satisfied with the huge sum of money.

Just as Ianna said, the nobles did not think of destroying the Wild Hunt because they had always been a natural disaster in legends.

but……

Is the Wild Hunt really a natural disaster?
Do not!
They are just Ain Ayr!

The elves who share the same roots as the Ein Sheedi and others who have been pushed to the edge of the world by humans...

The witcher didn't believe it.

When the nobles find out that it is the elves who are invading them, they will really not react at all, just like they are now.

The question now is...

How can I convey this information to the nobles in the most credible way...

As May Day is approaching and Aelin predicted an "accident" yesterday, the high priest has a lot of things to rearrange and prepare today.

therefore.

After seeing the old duke off and talking about the Wild Hunt for a while at the temple gate, Arryn and Ianna separated.

However, the witcher did not return directly to the icon room. Instead, after asking for directions, he went directly to the temple's library.

After brewing so many potions yesterday, he needed to find an opponent to test them against.

Also.

So many days have passed.

I don't know if Vesemir has found any useful information...

……

"Wheels and wheels~"

After leaving the Temple of Meliteli, the old duke's black carriage drove straight towards the inner city along the main road of the city.

In the center of the inner city, there is a castle.

In other words, the purpose of the existence of the entire city of Elland is to protect this heavily guarded fortress.

The black carriage passed through the drawbridge and the huge city gate and stopped in the wide open space inside the castle.

"Squeak~"

The door of the carriage was opened.

A middle-aged man, neatly dressed and meticulous in appearance, walked forward gracefully but agilely, intending to help.

But the old duke with a solemn expression waved his hand and refused.

The middle-aged man who looked like a butler did not take it seriously. He stood aside and bowed slightly to report:

"Master, the amount of urine from the wyvern you ordered to be checked yesterday is not enough to meet the requirements."

"But I asked the people from the Chamber of Commerce this morning, and they said Vizima has some in stock, but it will take three or four days to..."

"Let Agatha go," the old duke waved his hand. "I spend 100,000 orens every year to hire a magic consultant, not to have her in Elland every day, holding tea parties for the ladies."

The middle-aged butler nodded and said:
"The Mayday patrol route was rearranged, and the soldiers close to the Guards were not enough."

"Also, the city guards reported that the number of travelers who came to Elland to participate in the May Festival carnival these days is at least twice as much as last year."

The old duke stopped, thought for a moment, and arranged:

"Let's also send the Demon Hunters..."

"in addition……"

"Tell the city guards to conduct stricter inspections in the next few days and not let those suspicious people into the city."

"Yes, sir." The middle-aged butler responded, paused for a second, and then said:
"Sir, the manager of Aretusa Civil Cooperation Organization is waiting for you in the reception room..."

"Aritusa Civil Partnership Organization?" The old duke was stunned when he heard this tongue-twisting name.

The middle-aged housekeeper explained very insightfully:

"The Aretusa Civil Partnership is a guild that sells various magical items created by the sorceresses of Aretusa..."

The old duke frowned when he heard this:
"how?"

"Agatha is short of money for jewelry again?"

"What excuse did you make up this time?"

"Not Ms. Agatha," the middle-aged housekeeper shook his head, "she already found an excuse to raise the consulting fee a few days ago."

"Because it was within the budget you set for magic consultants, I did not report it."

He paused for a moment and said:
"The man waiting in the drawing room said..."

"He was specially sent here by Ms. Vera from Aretusa. She said there was a... um... some sword oil... some corpse-eating biological oil cooperation. You must be interested..."

"Vera..." The old duke raised his eyebrows, "Is it the bloody red fox?"

"Yes, sir." The middle-aged butler replied, "It's the alchemy master."

Vera, corpse-eating bio-oil...

The old duke murmured:
"Ianna didn't lie to me this time. That kid really learned alchemy from the bloody red fox..."

"And the relationship seems to be quite close..."

"Master, what did you say?" The middle-aged butler didn't hear clearly, "Do you want to drive that person away?"

"Nothing," the old duke waved his hand, then thought for a few seconds and ordered:
"One hundred thousand Auren, buy as many sword oils as you can sell..."

"Then..." The old duke paused:

"I want to cooperate with them for a long time, and I want to make it as binding as possible."

"Go and ask what they want. As long as it's not too much, I'll agree to it..."

The middle-aged butler was startled when he heard this, and couldn't help but look up at the expressionless old duke.

It’s not too much, so just agree to everything?

Isn't this just allowing the other party to make demands?

Even your own business cannot get such “generous” conditions, right?
The middle-aged butler thought about it.

The bloody red fox is famous in the northern continent for its life-extending magic potion. Could it be that the master's purpose is this?

But hasn’t the master always been like the high priest of Meliteli, advocating natural aging and death?

The little duke finally bought the longevity potion, but he refused to drink it...

"What's the matter?" The old prince interrupted his wandering thoughts.

"I understand, sir." The middle-aged butler replied quickly, then hesitated for a second and said, "But Ms. Vera is good at longevity potions. If you want long-term binding, the requirements must be very high, so..."

"It's not Vera who needs to cooperate!" said the old Duke.

"what?"

"The one you want to cooperate with is the creator of the sword oil formula. Just tell him and he'll know." The old duke waved his hand impatiently.

The alchemist master, Bloody Red Fox, who was specially teleported from Aretuza, was selling something that was not the formula created by Vera... The middle-aged butler was a little confused.

But he didn't show it. After nodding respectfully, he walked towards the reception room.

"and many more!"

The old prince called out to him.

"After you have negotiated a cooperation agreement with Ms. Vera's housekeeper, go check who are the people who have been spreading rumors about demon hunters in Elland recently..."

"Then..." The old duke paused and thought for a moment, then said:
"Send someone to drive them all out, and don't let them set foot in Elland again!"

(End of this chapter)