I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Zig's back suddenly tensed.

A strange magical fluctuation rippled through the air ahead, and the third eye in the center of Fenton's forehead shone brightly.

Before the packhorse beneath him could even neigh, it was like a skeleton whose bones had been suddenly removed, its front knees slamming heavily into the mud.

Inertia propelled Zieg forward.

In mid-air, instead of pulling on the out-of-control reins, he let go and allowed his body to fall into the mud with the force of the forward momentum.

Just as his shoulders and back were about to hit the ground, he instinctively curled up and, using the momentum of his forward charge, rolled several times in the slippery mud, forcefully dissipating the impact that would have broken his bones into the soil.

A huge shadow blocked out the moonlight overhead.

A gust of wind carrying a strong, putrid stench descended from the sky—the Fentonian monster, weighing several hundred kilograms, actually crossed a distance of more than ten meters and crashed down on him like a falling boulder.

Twenty points of magic were instantly drained.

Wind step!

An invisible current of air rapidly converged and swirled on both sides of Zig's calves. With a powerful push from his boots into the mud, his body, like a leaf swept up by a gale, moved nearly ten meters to the right, skimming the ground.

"boom--"

The mud and water where Zig was originally located exploded.

The Fentonian landed on all fours, its heavy body smashing the ground into a horrifying crater, sending mud and gravel raining down in all directions.

As mud splattered on Zieg's cheek, his left hand unfastened the clasp of his fanny pack, and two fingers pulled out a North Wind bomb.

He unscrewed the copper band on top, exerted force with his arm, and the bomb flew in an arc towards Fenton's face.

Just as the bomb left his hand, Zieg spread his right hand out to his side.

Silvery-white dust appeared out of thin air, rapidly gathering, elongating, and solidifying in less than a breath.

In the instant the light and dust dissipated, he firmly grasped a Nilfgaardian spear in his palm.

The wooden spear shaft conveyed a cool, hard feel.

He pulled his shoulders back to their limit, used his waist and back to throw the spear hard, right after the North Wind bomb.

Fenton noticed the glass bottle that flew towards them first.

It didn't take the hit head-on; instead, its right claw swept across the bottom of the bottle, like slapping away a flying stone, and propelled the North Wind Bomb into the air.

boom!

A bone-chilling cold exploded above its head, and large swaths of pale frost spread out in mid-air.

The extremely cold air current landed completely in empty space, not even touching a single black hair on the monster.

But it didn't know that the bomb that exploded in mid-air was just a decoy to distract attention from the very beginning.

puff-

The spear emerged from beneath the pale, frigid mist and pierced the chilling third eye.

The eyeball was shattered instantly by the spear tip, and the remaining force of the spear shaft drove a section deeper into the skull.

"Awooo—!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the night sky above the woodland.

It braced itself on its hind legs, its massive upper body suddenly rising up, its two huge front paws waving wildly in front of it like runaway windmills.

Zieg took another glass bottle from his pouch—"Prelude: Maripo Forest".

He pushed the cork open with his thumb, and the spicy, bitter medicine flowed down his throat and into his stomach.

A heavy, drum-like thumping sound immediately came from my chest cavity, the temperature of my blood rose sharply, and my blood vessels throbbed under my skin.

He could clearly hear the faint rustling of leaves dozens of meters away, and could see every taut muscle of the Fent Monster as it brandished its claws.

The fingers loosened, and the empty glass bottle fell towards the muddy ground.

Before the bottle hit the ground with a dull thud, Zieg's figure had already vanished from the spot.

Driven by instinct, the irrational monster sensed the approaching presence of living beings.

A giant claw covered in mud and blood swept across the ground, attempting to cut the human in half.

Zig bent his knees slightly, used his boots to push off the mud, and lightly leaped into the air.

The sharp claws, carrying a foul stench, barely grazed the soles of his boots.

In mid-air, Langurisa's long, silvery sword was drawn from its sheath.

Using the momentum of his descent, he swooped down like a hawk, his longsword slicing precisely into the back of Fent's left hind leg.

The sword blade, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud, sliced ​​through the black mane, flesh, and taut tendons, causing the monster's left side to sink.

The moment Zig's toes touched the ground, without a moment's hesitation, Langlisa swiftly pulled to the side.

The silver sword light trailed a crescent-shaped arc along the inside of the monster's right hind leg joint.

Dark red hot blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing onto the damp, cold earth, and wisps of white mist rose from it.

With its two hind legs crippled in succession, Fenton roared angrily, its massive body collapsing backward uncontrollably.

But in the instant it fell, it somehow managed to twist its upper body with the brute force of its waist and abdomen, and with the momentum of the turn, it launched one last frantic sweep with its two front paws.

The sweeping range was extremely large, almost blocking all escape routes in the surrounding area.

Zig's eyes were fixed on the huge black shadow that was being flung towards him; the effects of the drug in the Maripo Forest had brought his reaction speed to its limit.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, stepping onto the monster's bent hind leg joint and using the momentum to leap into the air again.

He leaped to the highest point, and Fenton's enormous head was exposed directly below him.

With both hands gripping the hilt tightly, Zig adjusted his posture, pointing the sword tip vertically downwards, pressing all his body weight onto the blade, and crashed down.

click-

Langriza pierced through the gap in its skull, the blade sinking into the cranial cavity.

The Fentonian's massive body convulsed violently, its front paws carving two deep furrows in the mud.

As soon as Zig's feet touched the top of the monster's head, he pushed off forcefully, using his hands to pull Langrisser out of the skull, and then flipped backward to create distance.

The moment his boots touched the ground, his calf muscles, propelled by the drug, unleashed an astonishing power. His body, like a fully drawn bowstring being released, sped forward at breakneck speed, skimming the ground.

laugh!

The silver-white blade pierced the left chest from beneath the thick black bristles, passed through the ribs, and reached the still wildly beating heart.

Zig twisted his hands, and the sword blade twisted open inside his chest cavity.

Fenton's movements froze.

A whistling sound, like air leaking from its throat, escaped as its massive, mountain-like body collapsed with a deafening crash, sending mud and water flying across the entire forest floor.

Sieg drew Langrisser, wiped the blood off the blade, and sheathed it.

He walked to the monster's corpse, turned his back to the farmhouse, and used the massive body to block any possible stares from him. He then took out a herb-gathering knife from his adventure book.

After taking all the valuable materials from the Fentonian, Zig put away his herb-gathering knife and stood up straight, holding a jar of kerosene in his hand.

They poured all the viscous liquid onto the monster's mangled corpse, and the pungent smell of oil temporarily masked the stench of decay.

He casually tossed the empty can aside and took out a flint and a small tinder ball from his waist bag.

With a short, crisp click, the sparks landed precisely in the tinder.

Zig pinched the tinder between two fingers, bent down, and gently blew on it.

A tiny crimson dot rapidly expanded within the dried, shredded fibers, producing a faint crackling sound.

Just a second before the faint flame was about to burst forth completely, he flicked his wrist and threw the scalding tinder into the black mane soaked in kerosene.

Flames roared up and spread rapidly along the black mane and the oil in the wound. The bright yellow flames dispersed the surrounding darkness, also engulfing the nauseating stench in the fire.