Chapter 339: Returning a Favor or Owe a Favor
When the witcher returned to the fork in the road, the moon was still high in the night sky.

The campfire crackled and the snoring in the tent made the howling mountain wind less shrill and more lively.

"Are you keeping watch tonight?"

The two witchers tied up their horses and asked the witcher Clay who came over, "Where are Ryan and Charles from the caravan?"

"I just saw them going that way."

Clay pointed sleepily in the direction of a bushy area. The branches of the trees were dim and there seemed to be flickering lights, so there must be someone inside.

Vesemir and Arryn looked at each other.

The reason why Ryan and Charles followed Clay to keep watch was because of the situation in Vergen that Arlin and Vesemir had found out, but no one knew why they were hiding in the corner.

"Snapped!"

Vesemir slapped Clay on the back of the neck, and the young witcher immediately shuddered.

"Keep watch and don't fall asleep!" The witcher master scolded in a low voice and walked in the direction of Clay's finger.

Ailin gave the grimacing young witcher a pitiful look and followed closely behind.

"Shasha~Shasha~"

After walking a few steps deeper into the woods, the night wind blew over, mixed with the sound of conversation.

"...Today is Free Anglin's dereliction of duty...Commission..." Ryan's voice was interrupted by the messy wind.

"Ryan, don't mention this anymore." After taking a few steps closer, the caravan boss' voice gradually became clearer. "We have been cooperating for so many years... Today... Today's events were caused by Sally's willfulness, and she also harmed so many of your brothers..."

"Charles, Sally is still young. I didn't think it through... I feel guilty about taking this money..."

"Don't be so willful, Ryan. You're not a child anymore... If you don't take this money, what will happen to your brothers who died today? How will you support them..."

"I……"

"Don't say any more. If you really feel guilty, then be more careful on the road ahead. Don't make any more mistakes and get to Fort Dallas safely..."

"But……"

"It's not our fault. Who could have thought that the battlefields of Kaedwen and Aedirn would suddenly appear on the established route we are used to taking? War, war, it was the war that killed my Lis..."

Listening to the conversation between Ryan and Charles, the demon hunters looked at each other.

It has always been the mercenaries who sell force and live on the edge of a knife who complain about the low pay and have conflicts with their employers.

I have never seen a mercenary who asked for a pay cut because he failed to protect his employer...

The mercenary tried to refuse, but the merchant insisted on giving him the money.

This is quite rare...

but……

Since they were not planning anything that would harm them, the two witchers decided not to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Cough cough~"

He coughed twice and made some noise again.

Not long after, two figures, one tall and one fat, holding torches, walked out of the woods.

In the firelight, the short and fat businessman Charles had a pale face and slightly messy hair, and he did not look in good condition.

But when he saw Arryn and Vesemir, he still came forward, forced a smile, and asked in a slightly anxious tone:
"Master Vesemir, Master Arryn, what is the current situation in Vergen? Is it besieged by a large army? Do we need to take a detour?"

"Vergen is safe and sound, everything is fine. After a night's rest, we can go there tomorrow morning," Vesemir smiled apologetically, "We received false news."

"It's inevitable. It's good that everything is okay. It's good that everything is okay." The fat businessman looked relieved.

They tacitly did not ask what kind of false information could attract nine highly skilled demon hunters to come together.

Just as the witcher didn't ask them why they were running around during the war.

"But since it's fake news, what are your plans next?" Ryan asked curiously, holding a torch in his hand to avoid the low branches.

When Charles heard this, his eyes lit up and he quickly added:

"If you two don't have a clear destination yet, why not come with us to Dallas-Fort Worth? The reward will definitely not disappoint you."

“No.” Vesemir glanced at Arryn and shook his head. “We have other things to do and we are going our separate ways. We will have to part ways with you after we leave Vergen tomorrow.”

"Is that so..." Charles was a little disappointed, "That's such a pity."

A few people turned around and walked towards the camp.

"Oh, right," Ailin suddenly thought of something, "When you pass through Vengerburg, it's best to bypass the capital."

Charles and Ryan stopped at the same time and tilted their heads in confusion.

"why?"

"It is said that there are monster attacks there every day," Ailin said, "and two months ago, before Aedirn and Kaedwen declared war, Vengerberg was searching for mercenaries and idlers holding sharp blades and sending them to the front line. Now the situation is only getting worse."

Charles and Ryan looked at each other and thanked Ailin at the same time.

After all, Vengerburg is the capital of Aedirn, with abundant resources and smooth roads. The caravan originally wanted to replenish supplies in Vengerburg.

If the situation is really as the witcher said, we may not be able to get out once we enter the city.

"I owe you two another big favor..." Ryan said with emotion.

Ailin joked, "How about returning one?"

Ryan was stunned for a moment, then he stopped immediately, turned to face the demon hunter, and said solemnly: "Master Ailin, please tell me. The Free Anglin Mercenary Group will do its best."

"It's not a big deal," Ailin waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to be so serious. "Kaer Morhen is high in the mountains and far away, and information is blocked. This false news caused us to make a wasted trip, so I would like to ask you to send a letter to Kaer Morhen every one or two months, recording the events you think the Wolf School needs to know."

"Hey! This is not a big deal. It doesn't require a favor." Ryan shook his head.

"Our Charles Chamber of Commerce can also do this." The merchant also quickly added, "Although our Chamber of Commerce is not very large, we have branches in Aedirn, Kaedwen, Temeria, and the United Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia."

"Then I'll leave it to you." Ailin smiled gently.

The information stagnation is really frustrating.

Whether Vergen was besieged was not a secret in the first place, but because of the information delay, because of Holden Qui-Gon's identity, his relationship with the school, and the master of the Wolf School, they had to rush over in a hurry.

After all, this is a harmless commission, so it’s okay to accept it or not.

But what about next time?

The living environment of the demon hunters in the northern continent is visibly deteriorating. Who knows if the next time will be a trap?

Therefore, he could not wait until he had fully thought it through and until the number of Wolf School witchers was sufficient to station one permanently in each major city. He had to start building the school's intelligence system in a scattered manner now.

It's a pity that he really knows nothing about this and can only try it randomly.

Ryan and Charles' characters are fairly trustworthy, and there's no need for them to be too reliable for now.

"It's an honor for us."

"my pleasure."

The two agreed and began to ask how to deliver the letter to Kaer Morhen.

"Uh……"

Ailin really doesn't know this very well.

Vesemir had always been responsible for sending and receiving mail. "There is a village called Kael at the foot of the Blue Mountain where Kaer Morhen is located. You..."

Vesemir seemed to sigh softly, looked at Arryn with a complicated expression, and then told him how to send the letter.

After the Demon Hunter Master finished his instructions, Ailin thought for a moment and said:
"It's expensive to send letters, and I can't let you spend money..."

"Master Ailin, please don't say that!" Ryan said anxiously, "If it weren't for you, I would have become food for the ghouls, and Free Anglin would have been wiped out..."

"Yeah, and it doesn't cost much to send a letter..." Charles added.

"One month, two months, or even half a year is fine, but it definitely won't work in the long run." Ailin shook his head and interrupted the two.

Then he thought for a moment, took out a few bottles of corpse-eating bio-oil from the reagent bag and handed them to Ryan.

"This is corpse-eating creature oil. Apply it on the blade. It will be easier to kill corpse-eating creatures such as water ghosts and ghouls."

Ryan took the sword oil subconsciously and was about to argue, but he was stunned for a moment.

But before he could say anything, Charles carefully held the sword oil in both hands and looked at it carefully:

"Master Ailin is too modest. This... this is not the level of 'a little easier'."

"Huh? Do you know about corpse-eating bio-oil?" Ailin asked curiously.

Charles nodded:

"I saw it half a month ago when I passed by La Varedi. It has basically spread throughout Temeria. As long as you apply this sword oil on a long sword, a steel sword can also be used as a silver sword."

"what!"

Ryan exclaimed and almost threw away the corpse-eating bio-oil. After he came to his senses, he was so scared that he quickly hugged the bottles of blood-red potions in his arms.

Having just suffered from the zombies during the day, he knew best the meaning of "a steel sword can also be a silver sword."

Silver weapons are expensive and easily worn out.

Although the Free Anglin Mercenaries prepared silver weapons for everyone, in fact these "silver weapons" were only plated with a thin layer of silver.

When faced with large-scale zombies like the one they encountered during the day, most of the mercenaries' plating was quickly consumed.

The further they went, the more the mercenaries were forced to use their shields to fight off the monsters, and only a few of them in heavy armor could kill the ghouls.

Otherwise, although the zombies will not be completely eliminated, the time it takes for the front line to collapse will definitely be prolonged.

"Master Ailin, this... where can I buy this potion? How much orens does it cost?" Ryan hesitated for a few seconds, his tone unable to hide his urgency.

"You can't buy it." Charles shook his head. "This is produced by Vera's alchemy workshop in Aretusa."

"Now it can only be seen in Elland, and is only used by the Demon Hunting Army."

"Don't even mention whether you can buy it. Even the King's Guards in Vizima, the capital of Temeria, haven't been used yet."

Charles knew it in detail.

It can be seen that some thought has been put into the corpse-eating biological oil.

It's no wonder. As long as there are water ghosts and zombies in this world, no businessman can suppress his desire for sword oil, which is considered hard currency.

"Is that so..." Ryan felt a little disappointed.

But after thinking about it, something seemed wrong.

and many more!

Since there is no Vizima, where did the necrophile bio-oil in my hand come from?
Charles thought of this, too.

The two looked at Ailin almost at the same time.

"The formula for the corpse-eating bio-oil was devised by Arryn," Vesemir glanced at Arryn and continued, seeing that he had no objection, "His alchemy teacher is the bloody red fox, Ms. Vera. Vera's alchemy workshop is also helping him produce consignment potions."

Charles, Ryan:?

A demon hunter who can only dance with swords and perform crude magic tricks, and an alchemist who created such an amazing alchemical formula from a bloody red fox?
How do these almost mutually exclusive elements fit together?

Not to mention...

The two of them looked carefully at Ailin's face, which was intimidating without even getting angry and made people dare not underestimate him, but still a little childish.

Not to mention he was only fourteen!
Being stared at by the two people in disbelief, Ailin nodded slightly: "Corpse-eating biological oil is indeed the formula I came up with."

The woods were quiet for a moment.

The only sounds were the rustling of the trees in the mountain wind and the "bebo-bebo" sound of burning pine resin in the torches.

"Yes..." Charles's chubby face showed an excited but complicated expression that he tried hard to hide. "Masters Aelin and Vesemir appeared in Elland on May Day more than a month ago."

“The corpse-eating bio-oil also suddenly appeared after that.”

"Really... I never expected that Master Ailin not only became a demon hunter master at such a young age, but also made extraordinary achievements in alchemy..."

He is indeed a professional businessman.

Charles's praise continued one after another.

But Ailin knew what he meant.

"You want to qualify to sell necrophile oil?" he asked.

Charles' tone suddenly paused.

The pale but round fat face shook violently and was about to speak.

"Okay." Ailin nodded casually.

"Ah?" Charles was stunned for a moment, then his expression suddenly became serious, "What do I need to pay?"

"Take Ryan with you," Ailin glanced at the mercenary leader, "and as we said before, just send a letter to Kaer Morhen every month."

"When I meet Ms. Vera, I will report your name to the alchemy workshop."

Perhaps to Charles and Ryan, the corpse-eating biological oil is very precious, but to Ailin, it is just an ordinary sword oil.

What's more, I am just a dealer and I am helping him make money.

As for whether this will affect the livelihoods of other demon hunters...

The impact of Ban Ader's foreign fusion has begun to take shape, and now even Aedirn next door has been affected.

I’m afraid that in the future demon hunters will just complain that there are too many demons.

"Of course, it currently only targets corpse-eating biological oil," he added.

Only targeting the corpse-eating bio-oil means that there are other "bio-oils"...Charles was stunned.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked:
"Why are you treating me... us so well?"

Ailin: "Maybe I just like you guys more."

Just say it.

He nodded to the Master Witcher, and the two witchers headed straight for the camp.

Charles and Ryan were left staring at each other in bewilderment.

"Charles, are we returning a favor, or are we owing another big favor?"

(End of this chapter)