Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

It was still dark.

The mist in the woods had not yet dissipated.

"Enemy attack!"

The shouts from the rear of the procession broke the silence of the early morning.

Diaz charged forward on horseback from the front of the column, his armor clattering on his back. He reached Wayne's carriage, pulled on the reins, and the horse's forelegs rose high and then fell back down.

"Sir! We've been attacked at the rear! A horde of monsters is closing in from the north!"

Wayne lifted the car curtain.

"What size?"

"A small group, about twenty or so, mostly Tier 2, with three Tier 3 leading the way." Diaz spoke quickly. "They should be the vanguard of the demonic tide; the main force is still behind. But if we don't deal with this wave quickly, the monsters behind will be attracted by the smell of blood, and then things will get troublesome."

Wayne jumped down from the carriage.

"You lead a group to guard the middle and rear of the column and protect the residents."

"Sir, what about you?"

"I'll cover their retreat."

Diaz opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again. He pressed his right fist against his chest, turned his horse around, and charged towards the middle of the column.

Vera poked her head out of the carriage, still holding a blanket. Emma emerged from behind her, her hair disheveled and her eyes not yet fully open.

"Master, I want to go too!"

Wayne reached out and pressed down on the top of her head, pushing her back into the carriage.

"Stay in the car."

"But……"

"No buts."

Emma remembered what Wayne had said yesterday and stopped arguing.

Wayne lowered the carriage curtain and walked towards the back of the procession.

The back of the line was in complete chaos.

The driver of the last carriage fell to the ground, shuffling backward with his hands on the ground, his face showing a look of utter horror. A second-tier monster crouched before him, resembling a wolf but larger than a calf, its body covered in gray-black scales, drool dripping from its mouth, its yellow vertical pupils staring at the driver.

The monster kicked off with its hind legs and lunged at the coachman.

Wayne kicked the monster in the side.

Click.

The sound of ribs breaking exploded in the morning air. The monster's body flew past the coachman, crashing into a large tree by the roadside. The trunk shook violently, and leaves rustled all over the ground. Its body slid off the trunk, twitched twice, and then lay still.

The driver collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Wayne glanced at him sideways.

"Can you stand up?"

The driver nodded, got up from the ground, his legs were still shaking, but he stood up.

"Go to the middle of the line."

"Yes, yes..."

The driver turned and ran.

Wilford's guards had already engaged the monster. Swords and blades struck its scales, sparks flying. Second-tier monsters were thick-skinned and tough; one or two blows wouldn't kill them, often requiring three or four men to spend half a day hacking at one.

But third-tier monsters are different.

There were three peak-level third-tier demonic creatures: one resembling a giant lizard, entirely black, about two zhang long; one resembling a fierce tiger, with crimson fur and golden eyes; and a demonic bear that walked upright, nearly ten zhang tall at the shoulders.

They did not participate in the battle; they stood on the periphery of the battlefield, their corrupt, vertical pupils scanning the battlefield.

They are watching.

Let's look at the strength of this team.

They're looking for prey worth hunting.

However, by the time the three monsters reacted, one of them had already been crushed to death by Wayne's cross.

Wayne fell from the sky.

Along with it came his cross.

This cross is Wayne's signature weapon.

He spent all his savings on this weapon. The material was meteorite iron from outer space, and he hired a master dwarf craftsman to forge it. He spent 500 gold coins on just one material.

The giant lizard that had been crushed to death lay at Wayne's feet, half of its head caved in, dark red blood seeping from the cracks in its skull, soaking the soil beneath its feet.

The remaining two monsters paused for a moment.

Without any hesitation, they turned and ran.

They run very fast.

But Wayne is faster.

The Crimson Tiger had just charged into the forest when Wayne appeared in front of it. He hadn't chased after it from behind; he had circled around it from the side. He stood on a branch of a large tree, looking down at the tiger running below, the cross slipping from his hand and crashing down.

The tiger's back collapsed under the weight of the cross.

Click.

Demon Tiger, dead.

He turned around and looked in the direction the demonic bear had fled.

The demonic bear was slower than the tiger, but it chose a smarter direction. Instead of running deeper into the forest, it headed north along the foot of the mountain, where there was a rocky slope with piled-up rocks and complex terrain.

Wayne's figure disappeared from the spot.

Ten breaths later, he caught up with the demon bear on the rocky slope.

Same script, same operation.

Demon Bear, dead.

A fourth-tier opponent can easily defeat a third-tier opponent.

When Wayne returned from the rocky slope, he was carrying the cross. The morning light streamed in from behind him, bathing him in a pale golden glow. This made him appear quite holy.

Wilford was the first person to see Wayne.

His gaze swept over Wayne.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"fine."

Wilford glanced at the still-dripping cross, swallowed hard, and asked no more questions.

"My lord." Diaz rode back from the middle of the column, dismounted, and several dark red bloodstains were splattered on his armor. "The monsters at the tail have been cleared out. There were twenty-three in total. No residents were injured, but six guards were wounded, all with minor injuries."

Wayne nodded.

"The column continues forward, remain vigilant."

"Yes, sir."

Diaz turned around and waved his arm towards the front of the convoy. The wheels started turning again, and the convoy slowly moved forward, at a slightly faster pace than before.

Just then, Wayne's expression changed.

The panel then appeared.

[Battlefield: Hidden Threats]

[Identity: Fourth-tier demon, demon scout, belonging to the vanguard of the demonic tide. The giant lizard, tiger, and demonic bear are all his tamed demonic pets, responsible for reconnaissance, harassment, and probing the defensive strength of the human forces.]

[Current Status: Disguised and in hiding. He's waiting, waiting for you to lower your guard, waiting for you to turn away, waiting for the moment you turn your back to him to strike and kill you. You killed his little pet, and he's furious.]

[Note: Demons are demons, not monsters. They belong to the demon race, one of the native races of the abyss, sharing the same origin as monsters but belonging to a different branch. Monsters tend to possess, parasitize, and corrupt at the soul level, while demons tend to destroy at the physical level. Simply put, monsters play dirty tricks, while demons play hard tricks.]

Wayne looked ahead and said coldly.

"Will you come out on your own, or should I ask you to come out?"

There was no response from ahead.

Diaz looked at Wayne with a puzzled expression.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

A tall figure tore through the mist in the forest.

The creature was over two meters tall, dark gray in color, with thick limbs and no hair on its head, replaced by a layer of fine keratin. Its eyes were scarlet, with vertical pupils and deep-set eye sockets, and only two narrow holes on the bridge of its nose.

"Human, you killed my little pet, so you're not leaving today!"