I'm not a Witcher anymore.

That evening, Sieg moved into the elder's house.

The elder's house was simple, but very clean.

The elder’s wife also prepared dinner for him—dark bread, stew, and a small can of beer.

Although it wasn't a lavish meal, it was the best hospitality they could offer for a remote village.

The next day at noon, when the sun was at its strongest, Zig went to the cemetery. The tomb witch hated sunlight, and if she really wanted to do something, it would be easier now than after dark.

The cemetery is located about a kilometer north of the village, on a small mound.

From afar, you can see the crooked tombstones and a dilapidated gravedigger's hut.

The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds and thorns, making it appear desolate and gloomy.

As Zieg approached the entrance to the cemetery, he immediately smelled a putrid stench.

It was the smell of rotting corpses mixed with the dampness of the soil, making one want to vomit.

He frowned slightly, then stepped into the cemetery.

Just as he expected, the ground was covered with dug-up graves.

Fresh soil was scattered all over the ground, and some coffin lids were lifted, revealing that they were empty and the bodies that had been lying there were gone.

He searched the cemetery carefully, vigilantly observing the surrounding movements.

The sunlight was blinding, but that actually reassured him—as long as there was sunlight, the tomb witch wouldn't be too active.

Finally, Zieg discovered traces of the Tomb Witch in the gravedigger's hut.

The door to the cabin was ajar, and a glimpse of the dim interior could be seen through the crack.

Zig pushed open the door, and an even stronger stench hit him.

The room was dark because all the windows were covered with mud, and only some light came in through the doorway.

Without a doubt, this place has become the lair of the tomb witches.

Inside the gravedigger's hut, there were scattered gnawed bones and remains, with a particularly shocking pile in the corner.

Zig crouched down and examined the area, and concluded:

Some of them were rotting corpses dug directly from their graves, but some bodies were not yet completely decomposed.

It is almost certain that these are the five missing villagers.

Although tomb witches feed on carrion, they will never hesitate to kill live prey.

They usually don't eat immediately after killing, but instead bury the carcass again and wait for the flesh to ferment and rot before digging it up and eating it slowly.

Zig took out the prepared kerosene from the Book of Adventures and poured it around the hut.

The pungent smell of oil masked the putrid stench.

He poured extra onto the pile of corpses in the corner to make sure it would burn brightly enough later.

Then he went to the door, took out a flint, lit a torch, and threw it into the house.

boom--

Flames erupted instantly and spread rapidly.

The gravedigger's hut, a wooden structure filled with flammable debris, was quickly engulfed in flames.

Orange flames shot into the sky, billowing thick smoke, which was particularly conspicuous against the clear sky.

Zig retreated to a secluded spot on the edge of the cemetery, where the sun couldn't reach him. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and stared at the house that was burning ever brighter.

The smoke column produced by the burning flames can be seen even from a great distance.

The room still contained its stored "food," and this monster also possessed considerable intelligence.

Once it discovers that the dwelling where "food" is stored is on fire, it will rush back immediately.

The fire grew larger and larger, and the entire building had become a giant bonfire.

With a crackling sound as the wood burned, the roof collapsed, sending countless sparks flying into the sky.

After an unknown amount of time, the sunlight overhead gradually became weaker.

The flames were still burning, and the gravedigger's hut had completely collapsed into a pile of charred ruins. The thick smoke gradually thinned, leaving only a few sparks dancing among the remains.

As the sun sets, the golden sunlight begins to turn orange-red, becoming less dazzling and scorching.

The temperature was also dropping, and a breeze swept through the cemetery, bringing a touch of coolness.

Just then, Sieg sensed a faint presence.

It was a smell mixed with stench, dirt, and some inexplicable malice.

It's very faint, but it definitely exists.

It was moving, cautiously shuffling from the depths of the woods at the edge of the cemetery in a certain direction—a direction away from here.

Zig's gaze immediately locked onto the source of the aura.

Right there—in the shadows at the edge of the woods—a hunched black shadow flashed by in the distance, moving swiftly and eerily, like some twisted humanoid creature crawling on all fours.

It clearly sensed something was wrong and wanted to slip away quietly before Sieg caught its eye.

found it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zig moved and chased after the dark figure.

The addition of Swift Step significantly increased his speed.

The tombstones and potholes flashed by beneath his feet, and Zieg chased after them into the woods.

The dark figure ahead clearly noticed its pursuers and quickened its pace, darting from the edge of the forest into the deeper bushes.

But it was ultimately no faster than Zieg.

The distance between the two is gradually decreasing.

Twenty meters, fifteen meters, ten meters...

As the distance closed, Zig finally saw what the thing looked like.

It still barely retains a semblance of human form, but from head to toe it exudes a grotesque deformity that makes people want to vomit.

The grayish-black flesh clung tightly to the bone, as if it had long since rotted away, yet it hadn't completely decayed yet.

Its back was arched high, and it even carried half of the exposed bones and ribs on its back, as if some corpse had rotted into its body.

Its limbs were frighteningly thin, with swollen and twisted joints, and its claws were thin but exceptionally long, with nails that gleamed with a dirty yellow hard sheen.

The face still retained some of the features of an old woman, but the features were already badly damaged.

Her long, gray-black hair cascaded down, partially obscuring her pale, bright eyes.

Its mouth was stretched wide, almost reaching its ears, revealing a set of sharp, yellow and black teeth, with putrid saliva dripping down its chin.

The Tomb Witch.

"Foolish human," the monster stopped and turned around, a grotesque smile appearing on its twisted face, its voice hoarse and grating, like fingernails scraping against a stone slab, "you're courting death."

Before she could finish speaking, the tomb witch suddenly opened her mouth, and her long, thin tongue shot out like an arrow!

The tongue came swiftly and fiercely, its tip taut and straight, like a poisoned bone spear suddenly thrown out.

If it pierces your body, you won't be able to fight back; you'll just go limp on the spot.

However, Zieg reacted faster.

The instant his opponent opened his mouth, Zig shifted his feet and dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

The blade gleamed with a cold, autumn-water-like light under the setting sun, drawing a chilling arc before precisely striking the piece of soft flesh that had not yet retracted.

Although the tongue was incredibly resilient, it was instantly severed by the sharp blade.

The front half fell limply to the ground, still writhing, while the back half quickly shrank back into the tomb witch's mouth.