Cornflower Witch

Chapter 157 The Genius Archer Tia

The pale, ghostly body, resembling a rotting corpse, creates a strong visual impact; even before you arrive, you can almost smell the stench of decay.

Facing such an enemy can be extremely difficult without proper countermeasures, especially for those classes that only rely on physical attacks.

Karl methodically used his abilities, first making the ghost cat visible with powder, then manipulating it to constantly tug at the ghost and find opportunities to tear it apart.

Unlike battles between living beings, fights between ghosts do not rely on techniques, but rather on the resilience of their souls, or rather, the vitality of their dark side.

It was obvious that although this ghostly cat was small in size, its form was much more condensed than the undead in front of it, and it was also mentally clear. Even though its overall physical strength was slightly inferior, it could still easily kill this mindless undead.

About two minutes later, the ghost became weak, as if it would dissipate at any moment. At this time, Karl also recalled the ghost cat and took out a special black skull.

He pointed the black skull at the ghost, and guided by the invisible power of 'death', the ghost was slowly absorbed into the black skull and disappeared.

"Is that all?" Although Bonna had accompanied him on several adventures, this was the first time she had seen Karl use this skull to absorb ghosts.

"Yes, when I get back, I can use some secret techniques to refine the ghost in the skull into pure 'death embers' power to enhance the black cat or strengthen my own nature." The principle is roughly similar to ordinary adventurers drinking 'blood wine,' except one is a 'blood law' substance and the other is a 'death ember' substance.

“I’ll take this loot. When the spoils are divided later, deduct four gold coins from my account,” Karl told 'Bad Apple' to write down.

"Okay." The other party indicated that they had made a note of it.

"But don't these remains have any other use?" The short captain walked over and used a branch to turn over the pile of rotten and dried bones.

“It’s no use anymore.” Karl shook his head.

"If it were some powerful skeleton, or if the awakened ghost was very strong, it wouldn't be trapped in the dead tree for so long."

"Let's burn it down, it looks really unsettling," Bonna suggested, raising her hand.

"Row."

Then Bona came to the tree and gently blew on the dead wood. Soon, a hot flame rose up and ignited the half-tree.

After finishing their tasks, the group set off again, occasionally chatting about the knowledge and interesting stories they had learned during their exploration.

"Generally speaking, the rewards from secret realms are natural resources or the monsters within, but sometimes, our rewards are things left behind or traces of activity by people who explored this place before."

"For example, many people died in a certain secret place before. After the enemies were cleared out, the place became safe. The relics of the explorers became the resources that later explorers could find."

"It sounds a bit sad," Hiltia thought. The owners of those relics were probably a group of people around their age who had entered the secret realm with many fantasies and hopes.

"At times like these, you can't think about so much, Tia." Bona walked beside the girl, trying to infect her with her enthusiasm.

"Since everyone is going to die anyway, you should be happy before you die." This way of comforting her left Hilti speechless, unsure how to refute it.

After passing through a secluded forest path, the canopy overhead thinned out a bit, allowing some light to penetrate the dim woodland.

There is sound

While everyone was still unaware, Hilti heard a faint sound, looked up, and discovered some kind of wild beast eating in the bushes several hundred meters away.

Those creatures that can survive in this twisted secret realm must not be ordinary beings. She stopped and cautiously reminded everyone.

“Oh, can you spot prey from this far away?” 'Bad Apple' carefully observed the bushes for a while before noticing subtle differences and moving figures.

"You still say you're not a 'rogue'? I don't think most rogues have such amazing observational skills as you," the captain complained.

"Can you hit it with one arrow? If you can reduce its ability to escape, the rest of us can catch up and take it down together."

“I’ll give it a try.” Hiltiya herself had never shot prey that far before.

She inserted a 'sickle vine' seed into the arrowhead, raised the ebony composite bow, aimed at the prey in the distance, calmed herself, and slowly adjusted her posture.

At this moment, she was completely focused, her gaze seemingly able to pierce through the gaps in the branches and leaves, 'seeing' the shape of her prey clearly.

This should be a deer, but its antlers are twisted and its fur changes constantly with the environment, making it difficult to identify.

The bowstring was drawn, the arrow was nocked, and Hiltiya held her breath. When the prey's position aligned with the trajectory of the arrow in her perception, she released her grip. The black arrow swiftly pierced through the branches and leaves, silently embedding itself in the prey's body.

The deer-like monster cried out in alarm and then began to run, rushing into the depths of the dark forest.

It leaped and ran, and then black, thorny vines oozed from the wound, constantly wrapping around the deer's body until they reached its legs, causing it to fall. It was then wrapped in layers of black thorny vines and unable to move.

【Horned Forest Deer】(Tier 1 - Emerald Honey); This is a forest deer with a 'distorted' nature, its antlers are twisted and deformed, and it has lost most of its mind, but it can still instinctively eat plants. Its fur can change with the environment to protect itself from being discovered.

The group rushed over, and then 'Bad Apple' gripped the dagger and precisely stabbed it into the deer's eye socket, killing it and ending its struggle.

"Oh, newbies really do have good luck."

'Bad Apple' examined the dead forest deer, then got up.

"The antlers and blood of this deer are quite valuable. It's a pity we've only been here a short time. If we had come across it on our return trip, we could have taken it back to town."

“The fur is very nice. I’ll dissect it for you, Tia, later,” Bona said.

Although the others in the team could also dissect, none of them were as skilled as Bona, a professional chef. Through her hands, the fur could be peeled off intact to the maximum extent and sold for a higher price.

"This one deer alone will yield more than 10 gold coins."

The group stopped, and first Bonna skinned the deer, then Karl extracted the blood, Yann helped saw off the antlers, and Bad Apple cut off the deer meat. After a while, the group had more things in their bags.

【Strange Antlers】(Good): Antlers are twisted and tough, but not suitable for making tools; they are better suited for grinding into powder for making medicine.

【Color-Changing Deer Hide】(Excellent): Can be made into a special cloak that changes color with the environment, making it a favorite of some thieves and assassins.

【Deer Blood】(Pass): Beast blood containing the power of 'Blood Law', which can be used to make blood wine, but because it has been contaminated, its quality is low.

Along the way, they encountered other creatures, some strange crows that flew by, others that were about to ambush them but were spotted in advance by Hilti. Hilti would often shoot an arrow at them, hitting the birds or snakes and pinning them to the trees, where they could not break free no matter how much they twisted.

With this seemingly delicate girl in the team, the journey seemed exceptionally easy. The others only needed to finish off the enemies and collect the prey. Despite being a newbie who should have been taken care of, she seemed to have become the team's main force today.

After defeating the monsters along the way, their packs were filled with even more loot.

Thus, by evening, they found a relatively safe place to camp for the night.

An orange campfire burned brightly, and the group, who had been traveling all day, rested around it, watching Bonna prepare dinner.

"Roasted venison and mushroom and vegetable soup, please wait a moment."

Being able to eat hot and delicious food in such a dark and desolate place can greatly boost morale.

Hilti placed the compound bow on her lap and patiently examined it in the firelight. Her long legs were tinged with a faint golden hue by the firelight.

Today, she's become increasingly adept at using the bow and arrow, even to the point of being somewhat addicted.

Perceive, aim, find the rhythm of the trajectory, confirm, release the arrow, and hit the target.

The arrows seemed to be her arms, hitting exactly where she pointed, with remarkable precision; this positive feedback was mesmerizing.

On the other side, Carl was also checking the various powders and reagents he carried, while Yann lay on the grass to rest, and 'Bad Apple' nimbly jumped onto a tree branch to observe the surrounding environment and keep watch.

Everyone was doing their job, and although they didn't talk much, there was an unspoken understanding between them.

Soon, Hilti smelled the aroma of roasted meat. Her gaze followed, and she watched with curiosity as Bona used a special method to grill the meat. The heat, containing the "golden steam," penetrated the food, heating it from the inside and gradually changing its properties, making it more nutritious. The "twisted" contamination that was originally contained was also slowly transformed and dissipated during the grilling process.

The chef seems quite interesting.

It's difficult for her to continue improving the quality of crops now, but if she could process 'perfect' quality food in this way, could she break through the limitations and create 'second-tier' high-grade food? It's said that such food not only replenishes physical strength and nutrition, but also has various special effects.

If she has the opportunity in the future, she wants to learn cooking skills from Bona. Even if it can't be a career, it would be very worthwhile to cook delicious food for herself.

(End of this chapter)