Chapter 274: One wave comes after another

The strong sense of crisis was like a basin of ice water suddenly poured on Ailin's head, causing him to shudder violently and break away from the hot carnival atmosphere.

"what happened?"

The warm and soft girl in my arms is like a kitten.

She wore an elaborately woven charming crown, her eyes full of misty love, she raised her head and rubbed Alin's neck, her soft and sweet whispers tickled the witcher's ears.

"Mayday King!"

"May Queen!"

The crowd around was still dancing and partying wildly.

From time to time, a boy would run into the darkness outside the campfire, holding another girl in his arms. The girl would laugh and shout nervously and struggle in his arms.

At the nearest campfire, armored soldiers threw bundles of dry pine branches into the fire.

Make the fiery red light even hotter and brighter, illuminating the surroundings.

Not far ahead is the city gate of Elland.

Everything seems to be normal.

Although the May Day parade is about to end, the carnival atmosphere is still so strong...

Do not……

Perhaps it was because it was nearing the end that the atmosphere was more infectious than before.

From all directions, a zombie or a demon suddenly jumped out from nowhere.

The exorcism ritual proceeded as normal.

The witcher grasped the angular wolf emblem in confusion.

Even it didn't hum.

"Is this an illusion?" the demon hunter thought.

"What's wrong?" The lazy and tickling voice sounded again from his arms.

The girl pressed one hand on his chest, and the fire in her eyes flickered like stars.

Then she closed her eyes, tilted her head back and pursed her tender red lips.

She was asking for a kiss.

The demon hunter, who was suddenly pulled away from the revelry, was stunned for a moment and was about to lower his head to respond to the girl's love.

"Meteor shower!"

Someone suddenly shouted loudly, and then the revelry crowd broke into a commotion as if a sudden tide.

The demon hunter looked up subconsciously.

Colorful stars fell from the sky, leaving long tails of flames.

The dark, cloudless sky looks like the most precious velvet.

Why are shooting stars colorful?
A question suddenly popped up in my mind.

However, before the witcher could think carefully, he squinted his eyes and tried to see the beautiful scenery clearly, but suddenly he felt like he fell into an icy cave.

Under the flickering light of the "meteor", the cavalry galloped across the sky.

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

Wild Hunt!

So those shooting stars!!!
"careful!"

"Get down quickly!"

The demon hunter shouted loudly, but was quickly drowned out by the noisy voices.

His waving arms seemed like a signal of carnival enthusiasm, making the crowd surrounding him even more restless.

"Mayday King!"

People followed and shouted.

Then many boys picked up the girls and ran into the bushes.

It also has an effect on another level.

Only the girl in his arms heard the anxious cry, and confusedly followed the sound to see the starlight getting closer and closer.

I woke up in an instant.

Ailin's prophecy turned out to be true!
There really was an accident on May Day!

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Mary frantically tried to cast an Asherai water shield on her boy.

But the other person hugged him tightly and threw him into the soft grass beside the road.

next second.

"boom!"

There was a loud explosion as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting apart.

The girl, who was being held tightly under the witcher, could not hear anything because of the explosion.

She could only feel vibrations coming from the ground that made her internal organs seem to shift and break.

Her mouth opened and closed, and she shouted loudly, but she didn't even know what she was shouting.

a long time.

Mary, whose brain went blank from the shock, suddenly felt the witcher on top of her move.

He slowly got up.

Gravel and dirt fell from his back.

"..."

Mary vaguely saw him speaking.

After a long while, there was an unbearable tinnitus.

"Mary...Mary...are you okay...can you hear me?"

"Mary! Mary!"

Looking at the anxious look on the boy's face, a thought that was completely irrelevant to the present and even somewhat inexplicable suddenly popped up in her confused mind:

That kiss just now...why didn't you continue the kiss?

……

Is he shocked to death?
Ailin looked at Mary's wise eyes and felt a little worried.

The right hand waved in front of her eyes several times before the girl's eyes finally focused.

"I...I'm fine..." said Mary.

The demon hunter heaved a sigh of relief, and after pulling her up, he immediately looked up.

There was nothing in the sky, and the Wild Hunt that was originally passing by was nowhere to be seen.

But inside and outside the city, there were flames everywhere, tall ice clusters, deep cracks in the ground, and spikes that were taller than the city gates...

and also……

The heart-wrenching wail that echoed through the sky.

But its strong presence proved that the witcher was not wrong.

The Wild Hunt has been here.

And it's the same as it was back then in the floating harbor.

These damned beasts unleashed these powerful spells seemingly not for the purpose of conquest or plundering wealth, but simply for fun.

"Is the Wild Hunt the Wild Hunt that the goddess is reminding me of in my dream?" The witcher had a bitter taste in his mouth.

All the preparations made by him, the old duke and the high priest were put into practice.

Who would have thought that the accident on May Day was neither a wild monster nor a demon spirit that was to be exorcised by a ritual...

But it was those wild hunters that appeared inexplicably in the sky.

But why?

Shouldn't their target be Ban Ade, where the Ade Ghaith Gate appeared?
Why did you come to Elland, west of the floating harbor?
Could it be that he was chasing after him?

but……

If they had discovered him, why did they just vent their anger on ordinary people instead of coming down to catch him?
to be frank.

With his current strength, even with Vesemir and Vera, he is no match for the Wild Hunt who can gallop in the sky and cast powerful spells...

He even didn't quite understand it.

In the original work, Yennefer, Geralt, and Ciri before she awakened her talent, were all able to escape from these powerful elves time and time again.

"Ailin..." The girl's call interrupted his thoughts.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" The witcher lowered his head and gently straightened the crown on her head.

Perhaps because of timely protection, the flower crown on the girl's head was still bright and beautiful under the flickering firelight.

Because of Ailin's actions, the girl was stunned for a moment and shook her head gently:
"I am fine."

"Let's go check on the others..." The Demon Hunter nodded and walked towards the parade route with a heavy heart.

Perhaps it’s because the fire in the city is more vigorous and conspicuous.

There weren't many "meteors" falling in the suburbs, and those few that did fall didn't hit the revelers.

But that doesn't mean the men and women who took part in the march escaped unscathed.

"Shasha~"

Through the grass.

Both Alin and Mary stopped involuntarily.

A huge cluster of ice stood not far away.

Even Arryn and Vesemir, whose physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people, were seriously injured by the impact of the ice cluster magic at the floating harbor. Even if these ordinary people were not hit head-on, how could they be intact?
The boys and girls who once shouted "Mayday King" and "Mayday Queen" and enthusiastically carried Ailin to the parade platform...

A large group of people...

At least half of them looked like bleeding rag dolls, with empty eyes, lying lifeless on the ground, in front of the ice clusters that reflected the firelight.

Among the remaining half, some were constantly vomiting blood and irregularly shaped pieces of flesh.

Although they are still alive now, their internal organs are shattered and they are definitely dead.

This was an injury that even the priests under Meritelli could not heal.

others.

Except for those who ran into the bushes and escaped.

They were all lying on the ground howling, and they all had some injuries on their bodies, some were just scratches and some were broken bones.

But compared to those young lives that died prematurely, they are already extremely lucky.

"Hoho~"

"mom!"

"Woo-Shaq... wake up Shaq..."

……

Hearing the wailing in his ears, the demon hunter looked up at the sky and clenched his fists.

"Alin...Alin..."

Mary covered her mouth when she saw this scene. Tears as big as beans flowed from the corners of her eyes. She choked with sobs and couldn't speak.

The girl didn't know whether this was due to the relief of surviving the disaster or the fear of the loss of her loved ones.

If it weren't for Ailin protecting her.

The female sorceress, whose physical fitness is not much better than that of ordinary people, may also be one of them.

Feeling the girl trembling in his arms, the demon hunter sighed and patted her back gently:

"It's okay...it's okay..."

"It's all over..."

Temporarily... it's all over...

The demon hunter thought.

There were many wounded on the ground, but there was not much the witcher and Mary could do.

They can only pick those with relatively minor injuries, such as scratches and broken bones.

Mary bandaged the injured with bandages or cloth strips she had with her.

Ailin drew his sword from the wooden parade platform and chopped some regular wooden boards to fix the broken bones.

Then wait for the priests and doctors from the Temple of Meritelli to come and further treat the injuries.

The others who were not injured or were slightly injured, seeing what Alin and Mary were doing, joined in silently, doing what they could for the injured.

However, the two of them did not have time to treat the injuries of several people.

“Da Da~ Da Da~”

The sound of heavy horse hooves came from the direction of Elland's city gate.

"Alin! Alin!"

Vesemir and Vera shouted and galloped over on their horses.

Behind them followed a large group of knights wearing black and gray armor.

"Here!" Ailin stood up and waved.

Mary didn't hear her name called.

However, when she saw her mentor and Vesemir in this situation, she stood up with red eyes and tears in her eyes.

Without waiting for the horse to stop, she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she wanted to throw herself into Vera's arms.

Unexpectedly, after Vera jumped off the horse, she dodged quickly, took a few quick steps and hugged Ailin in her arms:
"Are you okay, Alin?"

"Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Ailin smelled the fragrance of orange and cardamom, patted Vera's back gently, and said softly:
"I'm fine, I'm not injured at all..."

Staring at him with resentful eyes, the demon hunter hesitated for a second and then said:
"Mary wasn't hurt either."

But Vera seemed not to have heard the second half of his words. She pulled Ailin's shoulder again, looked him up and down for a long time before she breathed a sigh of relief.

Ailin felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by Mary, so he changed the subject and asked:

"Where's Yennefer? What's the situation in the city now..."

Vera shook her head and was about to answer.

At this time.

The knights following Vera and Vesemir also caught up.

The leading officer dismounted, walked quickly to Vera with a bag in his hand, and said hurriedly:
"Ms. Vera, the materials have arrived. Please arrange the ceremony as soon as possible."

Arrange a ceremony?

Aylin was stunned for a moment.

The sorceress didn't waste any time. She gave Aylin an apologetic smile and walked to the deserted road next to the ice cluster with the bag of materials.

Chalk, glass, sulfur, magic dust...

Isn't this the material for magic rituals that increase magic capacity and enhance the power of spells?
"Yennefer is safe," Vesemir came over and continued their conversation. "Ianna arranged for Lysa to take care of her..."

"As for the situation in the city..."

The Master Demon Hunter shook his head and sighed.

This is the time when Ireland is busiest every year. Even though most of the May Day carnival is for young people, there are still many performances in the city.

There were a lot of people gathered.

The Demon Hunter Master said in a sad tone:
"A lot of people died in Elland. There was a fire spell that happened to hit the Elland market square."

"In order to celebrate May Day, many taverns put a lot of free wine barrels there for people to take, so that is the most crowded place in the whole city."

"After the disaster, the panicked crowds trampled on each other, and more people died..."

Vesemir paused for a second, looked at the tragic scene around him, cursed "Damn Wild Hunt", and said solemnly:
"The priests and doctors of the Temple of Meliteli are now in the city treating the wounded. They definitely can't spare anyone to leave the city at this time..."

"If there weren't a bigger problem outside the city, the old duke wouldn't have been able to send out so many soldiers..."

"Bigger problem?" The demon hunter looked up in confusion.

The Wild Hunt has already left, so what else could go wrong?
Is it possible that they will come back?

and also……

Ailin looked at Vera, who was concentrating on setting up the ceremony.

The ritual array of three intersecting circles she drew on the ground with chalk was undoubtedly the magic ritual that the witcher had just learned some time ago.

At this time, a ritual to increase magic capacity and enhance spell power should be arranged here...

Are you guarding against some monster?

but.

Before he could ask.

"Om~"

"Om~"

The wolf head emblems with bloody mouths bared on Arryn's and Vesemir's chests trembled at the same time.

"Wow~"

The cold wind blew from all directions, causing the bonfire that had not been fueled for a long time to flicker and quickly dim.

A chill instantly penetrated from the coccyx directly to the scalp, and the witcher looked in the direction following his strong sense of crisis.

next moment.

Ailin opened his mouth and cursed:
"grass!"

(End of this chapter)