I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Chapter 142 Who's a good person who concocts medicine without wearing armor?

"Two bottles each, drink one now."

Zieg handed the potion to Clegane, who then distributed it.

"After drinking this, you will be able to see clearly in the dark. Do not bring torches."

He glanced at the stone steps leading underground.

"The ventilation in these underground spaces with iron gates is probably not very good, and it's impossible to keep torches burning all the time; they mostly use oil lamps."

"Once we're down there, have the person most skilled with a crossbow find the lamp first. Once the lamp goes out, then you can make your move."

"Yes, sir." Clegane took the potion, personally selected ten people, and distributed the potion.

The remaining people will serve as backup.

He uncorked the bottle and poured "Sequence Cat" into his mouth.

Before long, his pupils contracted slightly, and the darkness before him began to clear.

The stone steps leading underground, which once resembled a black hole leading to the throat of a wild beast, are now clearly visible down to each step.

They set down their halberds, slipped small round shields over their left arms, held loaded crossbows in their left hands, and gripped hammers in their right.

"Walk."

"Crigan said in a low voice."

Eleven people entered the secret passage silently.

Zig stood by the hidden door, listening quietly to the sounds below.

The first sound heard was a few faint clicking sounds of mechanisms being ejected.

Immediately following was the crisp sound of the glass lampshade shattering.

The soldiers who went down immediately used crossbows to blast the glass oil lamps in the basement.

The intense darkness instantly engulfed the entire underground space.

"Damn it! Who turned off the lights?"

"Enemy attack! Enemies! Where's my sword?!"

"Ah! I'm dead!"

From the basement came the terrified and panicked screams of the Fallen Knights, accompanied by the crashing sounds of tables and chairs being knocked over as they blindly swung their weapons.

They were completely unprepared for the surprise attack, so much so that they weren't even wearing armor.

For the Sintra veterans who drank "Sequence Cat," it was a one-sided dimensional reduction attack.

There were no unnecessary shouts, only efficient blunt force executions.

boom!

That was the dull thud of a heavy hammer slamming into a human chest, followed by the sound of bones cracking under the strain.

puff!

That was the sound of the hammer tip, capable of piercing armor, driving directly into the skull.

The sounds of fighting coming from underground didn't last long; in fact, it could be described as a cold-blooded slaughter rather than a fight.

Less than fifteen minutes.

Everything returned to deathly silence.

With a series of steady footsteps, Clegane climbed back up from the tunnel.

His breastplate was splattered with thick blood, and blood droplets were still dripping down the handle of the hammer, but his breathing was unusually steady.

"My lord, the area below has been cleaned up." Clegane paused, his tone carrying a hint of awe for Zigg's potion. "There were fourteen fallen knights in total. Only two of my brothers suffered minor injuries from the enemy's wildly swinging swords in the darkness; they are being bandaged down there."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Zieg himself drank a bottle of "Order Cat" and went down the stone steps.

The air underground smells terrible.

More than a dozen fallen knights lay scattered in pools of blood, their deaths extremely gruesome.

These people were also wearing the robes of the Flaming Rose Knights, but the burning rose was so obscured by blood and mud that its original color was no longer visible.

Zig first went to check on the wounded veterans.

After confirming that it was just a superficial injury and that applying ointment would solve the problem, he spoke to them.

"Well done. You guys go up and keep watch, and get some fresh air while you're at it."

"Yes, sir."

A soldier looked around at the mountains of wooden crates.

"Sir, how are we going to transport those Ophir merchants' goods? We didn't bring any wagons, and if we rely on manpower, I'm afraid—"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. You guys go up first," Zig interrupted him.

Out of absolute obedience to his new lord, the soldier asked no further questions and retreated to the ground along with the other soldiers, who were covered in blood.

After everyone had left the underground cave, Zig looked around again.

The goods of the Ophir caravan were piled up at the very back of the cave.

Silk, carpets, spices, vases, decorative weapons, and several wooden crates placed separately in a corner.

One of the exquisite wooden boxes, wrapped in velvet, stood out.

It was wrapped very tightly, and the outer layer was engraved with the royal crest of the Ophir family.

This was clearly the state gift that King Ophir intended to present to Radovid V.

Zig did not open it.

Instead, he included it in his book of adventures.

"The box containing the jewel-encrusted Ophir scimitar: a scimitar specially commissioned by King Ophir to be crafted by skilled artisans, with priceless rubies inlaid on the hilt and scabbard, which turned out to be nothing more than a frivolous ornament as a gift to Radovid."

However, diplomatic gifts are not necessarily magical weapons that can be used to kill enemies.

Sometimes, the less practical a thing is, the more suitable it is as a gift.

After scanning his surroundings, he looted all the goods belonging to the Ophir caravan from the basement.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his nose suddenly twitched.

The air, thick with the smell of blood, also carried a faint, pungent, and strange odor.

I could smell this scent when I first entered the secret passage, but now it's even clearer.

Zig followed the scent to a hidden compartment at the deepest part of the underground space.

Pushing open the wooden door, the scene inside instantly turned his calm gaze cold.

In this cramped compartment, there were two simple alchemy tables, piled high with distillation flasks, filters, and heaps of white powder.

Several detailed recipe drawings were scattered nearby.

Anesthetic powder.

Zieg recognized the origin of these things at a glance.

In the underworld of Novigrad, it is a hallucinogenic drug a hundred times more terrifying than the plague.

This white powder can produce intense hallucinations and pleasure in a very short time, and after just a few uses, it can cause terrifying addiction.

Whether they were wealthy nobles or laborers carrying sacks at the docks, once they became slaves to narcotics, their ultimate fate was invariably to lose everything, be separated from their families, and eventually become walking corpses rotting in stinking ditches.

"What a bunch of rotten scum."

Zig took a torch from the Book of Adventures and lit it.

Then he casually tossed it into the center of the alchemy table, which was filled with anesthetic powder and refining solvents.

boom!

The highly flammable solvent was instantly ignited, and the orange-red flames greedily licked at the white powder, quickly turning into a raging inferno.

Zig didn't look again, turned around and strode out of the cubicle, returning to the ground floor via the stone steps.

The moment he stepped out of the abandoned house, a surge of fire burst forth from the secret passage, turning the once pitch-black wilderness crimson.