I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Throughout the night, Kawaki Village remained on edge.

Torches were lit at several intersections on the way down the mountain, and the able-bodied men on night watch took turns standing guard, with no one daring to relax their vigilance.

The barn was lit all night long, with women, children, the elderly, and the weak crammed inside. The outer ring was guarded by people with bows and wooden spears, who even spoke in hushed tones.

There were two close calls during the night. Once, the mountain wind blew through the forest, causing the firelight at the crossroads to flicker wildly, and the guards almost thought something was touching them.

On another occasion, several strange cries came from the more distant mountains. The cries were sharp and short, making one's back tense.

As dawn broke, not a single goblin actually rushed down the mountain.

The villagers endured that breath all night.

As soon as it was light, Sieg and Valeria went back into the mountains.

The two spent the next three days in the mountains.

Zig followed the fresh footprints, broken branches, trampled mud, and scattered traces of the night before, first eliminating the few remaining enemy groups closest to the city and fleeing the fastest.

The next day, they continued their search along the hunting trails, mountain ridges, rocky slopes, and several suitable hiding places in the forest, finding and killing the scattered goblins one by one.

On the third day, the two stopped just following the traces and instead went back to re-examine the area, turning over all the ditches, abandoned houses, collapsed walls, tree holes, and several hidden hideouts where things might be hidden.

As Zig tracked them down, he compared the numbers with what he saw in the stronghold.

Those who died in the city, those who fled into the mountains, and those they found along the way—they were all buried deep in their hearts.

By the evening of the third day, no new traces could be found in the mountains, and no second nesting site was discovered. The numbers from before and after also matched perfectly.

Only then did the two truly realize that the entire goblin colony had indeed been wiped out.

When Sieg and Valeria returned to Riverwood Village, the people who gathered at the village entrance still wore the tense expressions they hadn't dared to let off for the past three days.

People kept glancing at the mountain path behind the two, as if they were hoping for something. They wanted to ask, but were afraid of hearing an answer they didn't want to hear, so they didn't dare to speak first.

Valeria spoke first.

"The mountains are clean and tidy now."

"None of them survived."

These words instantly removed the stone that had been weighing on Hemu Village.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, and then, almost simultaneously, cries, laughter, and shouts erupted.

Some people immediately squatted down, covered their faces, and cried uncontrollably;

Someone grabbed the shoulder of the person next to them and asked repeatedly if it was true;

Some people, with red eyes, turned and ran back into the village, shouting as they ran, their voices so loud that half the village could hear them.

"They're all dead!"

"All the goblins in the mountains are dead!"

The tension that had been building over the past three days finally eased completely at this moment.

All the fear, resentment, grievances, and relief that they had dared not voice before surged up amidst the chaotic sounds of crying and laughing.

The elders also rushed out.

The old man looked several years older in the past few days, and his back was more hunched than usual.

He looked at Sieg, then at Valeria, his lips trembling, his chest heaving several times, before finally exhaling slowly.

"Adventurers, Kawaki Village will forever remember your kindness."

After saying this, he solemnly bowed his head to the two of them.

The villagers then suddenly realized what was happening and busied themselves moving everything they could out of their homes.

Wine, water, smoked meat, dry rations, freshly baked bread, and even the cured meat and cheese that I couldn't bear to touch, were all brought out one by one.

The fire was reignited, the pots were set up, and the whole village was suddenly in a flurry of activity, but it was no longer the panic and chaos of before; instead, it was a lively atmosphere where everyone could finally catch their breath.

As night fell, the firelight in Hemu Village was brighter than it had been the previous nights.

The group rested in the village for one night before setting off back to the border town the next day.

……

As the last rays of light sank below the horizon, the squad finally returned to the border town.

The town gates are already closed.

Two iron basins were placed beside the door, the fire burning brightly, illuminating the short stretch of stone path with flickering light.

The guards on night duty had just changed shifts when they heard the approaching hoofbeats and footsteps. They first put their hands on their weapons, but when they saw that it was an adventurer, they immediately relaxed, opened the door, and let the person in.

The border town is always quiet at night.

The main street, which was quite lively during the day, was now mostly dark.

The shop doors were tightly shut, and there were few lights behind the windows. Only the area around the tavern, inn, and adventurers' guild was lit by a warm yellow glow, barely giving the street a semblance of life.

At the town gate, the group briefly agreed to meet at the tavern the following night and then went their separate ways.

Valeria and Lucy are locals from the border town, while Hill and Ravenna, though outsiders, have also bought their own property in the town.

Zig was alone, and he continued walking towards the hotel as usual.

He paused for a moment after pushing the door open.

The lobby was much livelier than usual.

The once spacious hall was now almost completely full, with tables and chairs crammed together. Even the two small tables against the wall, which were usually the least occupied, were now filled with guests.

The sounds of talking, laughter, and clinking glasses mingled together, making the whole room feel warm, and the night breeze blowing in from the door couldn't dispel the lively atmosphere.

Zig looked around before finally finding an empty small table in the corner.

He went over and sat down, not in a hurry to speak, but first looked at the group of extra guests.

Most of them were merchants and travelers, and their clothing was quite different from that of the locals commonly seen in border towns. Their boots were covered in yellow mud that hadn't been shaken off, and the edges of their cloaks were worn out, clearly indicating that they had just come from a long journey.

The usually smiling proprietress was incredibly busy at this time.

She carried a tray, moving back and forth between tables, her face flushed and her forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat. Just as she put down a plate of barbecue, she was called back by another table.

Seeing how busy she was, Zig didn't urge her, but just sat quietly and waited.

The sounds of conversation came from all around, and they were all the same old topics that the businessmen were talking about.

The conversation was chaotic and noisy, making your ears ring, but if you really listened, there wasn't anything new to hear.

Zieg's attention only slowly shifted when the two people at the next table mentioned the words "Water City".

The speaker was a middle-aged businessman with a short beard, holding a wine glass in his hand, but his tone was somewhat mysterious.

"Have you heard? Something big has happened in Water Seven recently."

The tall, thin man who was cutting meat with his head down immediately stopped when he heard this.

"What is it?"

The short-bearded merchant glanced around before moving forward a little.

"Murder cases. Not the ordinary kind, but several in a row, specifically targeting people who are alone at night. I heard the deaths are all gruesome, and there have been more than one or two so far."

The tall, thin man's expression suddenly changed.

"What about the guards of Water City? This place is so big, surely there's no way to deal with it all?"

"How could there be no way?" The short-bearded merchant shook his head. "We've sent out several rounds of manpower—night patrols, street searches, alley investigations—we've done it all. But the strange thing is—we just can't find it. That thing seems to only appear at night, and after it's done its job, it disappears without a trace. We can't even catch a glimpse of its tail."

The tall, thin man subconsciously rubbed his arms; just hearing it sent chills down his spine.

"This is too weird. I was originally thinking that after I sold all this goods and saved enough money, I would take my wife and daughter to Water City to settle down. It's a big place with more opportunities, which is much better than a small place like a border town."

"Looking at it now, although our place is small, it's quite peaceful."

The short-bearded merchant took a swig of wine and sighed.

"Who says it isn't?"

The tall, thin man frowned, then lowered his voice even further, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"But isn't the City of Water protected by the Holy Maiden of the Sword? Didn't that Holy Maiden fight alongside the Hero against the Demon King back then? Even she couldn't handle this?"

"Who knows?" The short-bearded merchant shrugged. "Anyway, people over there are panicking right now. As soon as the sun sets, hardly anyone dares to walk on the streets. Business has cooled down considerably, otherwise these people wouldn't have changed their route halfway and squeezed into the border town."

Upon hearing this, Zieg tapped his finger lightly on the table without making a sound.

Just as the short-bearded merchant was still eager to continue speaking, the proprietress finally squeezed through with her tray.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."

She placed the steaming hot food on the table, and even while busy, she didn't forget to smile apologetically at Zieg.

"I don't know what's going on tonight, so many people have come all at once. My legs are about to break. Please eat first, and let me know if you need anything."

She was called away by someone at another table as soon as she finished speaking.

Distracted by this, the two merchants at the next table didn't continue their previous conversation. They clinked glasses and quickly switched to talking about other businesses and market conditions on the road.