Witch Monastery

In the distance, Jutta was running back on branches. Cuibisi, who was standing beside her, also walked behind her, blocking her way, and looked at her back coldly.

The atmosphere on the scene suddenly became tense, as if a fight would break out if she didn't explain her next sentence clearly.

"No ill intentions?" Hawthorne raised his eyebrows. "What kind of reasons do you have to make me believe that a local experienced hunter who deliberately led us to the ogre territory has no ill intentions?"

Chapter 132 New Contract

The rookies might not know this, and Jutta and Cuibis don't quite understand it either, but Hawthorne, who has played all kinds of professions, knows it very well. Hunters like her who are familiar with the mountains and forests are best at distinguishing the traces left by various creatures, and it is absolutely impossible for them to "accidentally" enter the lair of some terrifying enemy.

What a level one hunter can do, she can't do?

How can it be!

Especially this time the enemy is a large-sized ogre, a stupid creature that will leave obvious marks and will not cover them up.

At worst, as a druid, she can also communicate with the surrounding animals and plants to ensure that there are no enemies in the resting place.

However, she did not do so, and deliberately took them to rest in such a dangerous place. It is conceivable that she definitely had other purposes.

Nidalee looked at him seriously. Even though a sharp sword was pointed at her throat, she did not seem panicked. "Mr. Hawthorne, I would like to apologize for my negligence. Please forgive me."

She was still trying to cover it up. As she spoke, she lowered her head, as if she was sincerely repenting.

Hearing this, Cuibisi, who was standing behind her, sneered and said mercilessly: "Negligence? Apologize? Oh, if we were a little weak, we would be captured by the ogres, stripped of our clothes, pressed under their crotches, and rushed until our eyes rolled back and our tongues stuck out, and our bellies were filled with white fluid and bulged like a watermelon - imagine that scene, Druid, do you think your apology can save everything?"

She was exaggerating, but it was possible. That's how half-ogres came to be - but human women rarely survived to give birth, most died halfway through, and then their ogre fathers pulled the babies out.

However, few people would mention this matter, especially someone like Cuibisi, who described the chaotic scene so bluntly.

Uta's face turned red, and then he turned away, pretending not to hear. Nidalee, who was the target of the attack, blushed even more, and couldn't believe that such a beautiful and elegant girl could say so many dirty words in one breath.

Perhaps, this is the viciousness of city people.

"Then, I... then as a token of my sincerity in apologizing, I am willing to return all the deposits I received before to you, and

I will still take you to Zenis's castle to investigate. What do you think?" Nidalee finally gritted her teeth and said this in a slightly painful tone. She didn't know whether it was because the money made her feel bad or because Cuibis' words were too harsh.

Cuibis looked at Hawthorne, signaling him to do her a favor. She didn't know the hunter's ability, and she already believed Nidalee's explanation. She was just using this as an excuse to bargain.

However, Hawthorne was unmoved: "The deposit is not the key. I want you to tell me the truth, Druid, why did you bring us here!"

As he spoke, his eyes became sharper, and the cold blade even moved forward a little and touched Nidalee's wheat-colored skin.

The girl's face turned pale. She knew that if she didn't tell the truth, she would not be able to get through this test today.

She then took a deep breath and tried to make her tone sound calm: "I...I don't have any bad intentions. I just want to find out your strength. I think you went to find Zenis, the bandit leader with blood on his hands, with the intention of destroying him, right?"

"To be honest, I am the same. I am amazed by your strength and the strength of the two young ladies. I think we can join forces to destroy him."

"I know a small path that can lead us to sneak into his castle and destroy his troops at the lowest cost. Then we can each take one of the treasures inside..."

"Shut up!" Hawthorne interrupted her coldly, "Who told you that I had such thoughts? Don't speculate on my plans, and don't try to drag me into your trouble with just a few words!"

This was a lie, and from that moment on, he began to act and prepare for bargaining.

He is asking for an exorbitant price, which means, I have no intention of doing it with you right now. You invited me, so you have to pay a little more.

Nidalee was speechless for a moment. Thinking of the urgency of the matter, she gritted her teeth and looked up suddenly: "Well, we can have a 60/40 split. No, 70/30 split. You get 70 and I get 30. And you get to choose first. How do you think about this?"

Hawthorne's eyes sparkled as he looked at her: "Are you really doing this for money?"

According to his understanding, druids should not be so greedy for wealth. After all, they live in places like mountains and wilderness all year round. Even if they get a large sum of money, they can't spend it, right?

She must have other purposes in wanting to kill Zenis.

Treasure? Or a blood feud?

Noticing the change in his expression and tone, Nidalee heaved a sigh of relief, her heart sinking back into her stomach. Then she straightened her face and said, "To be honest, Mr. Hawthorne, I'm really not after money. If you want, then we can split the final wealth 80-20, which is not a bad idea."

"However, this ambitious man Zenis must be eliminated. If he was just burning, killing and looting as usual, it would be fine, but he is now touching the forbidden power and disrupting the balance of nature, so his power must be eradicated!"

She said it righteously, just as she had assured him with her chest when she was in the adventurer's quest hall.

Hawthorne's eyes flickered when he heard this, and he thought that he would inevitably have to attack Zenis's castle in the end. After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, his hand trembled slightly, and the magic sword automatically dispersed, and the two sides returned to a peaceful state.

"Ba Er...Okay, for the sake of nature's balance, I can take this risk with you." He nodded to her and said, "But from what I know, Zenis is quite powerful, so I hope you only made this invitation to us when you are fully confident."

Nidalee breathed a sigh of relief, then took a step forward and stretched out her right hand to him again: "Of course, Mr. Hawthorne, to be honest, the strength of the three of you is beyond my expectation. I thought it would take us some effort, even a little embarrassed, to deal with these three big guys. I really didn't expect the three of you to be so powerful!"

"In this way, I have even more confidence in this operation!"

Hawthorne smiled, his eyes sparkling. Having been cheated by this woman once, he had reason to believe that this guy was still hiding something from him.

Therefore, although such an agreement has been reached, in the end, I am afraid that we will have to act according to circumstances and be flexible...

Nidalee also kept smiling, her thoughts were simpler. Treasures and such didn't matter at all, as long as she could get the fragment of the holy sword, then everything would be worth it...

Chapter 133 Purifying Zombies

After reaching a new contract, the four returned to the river, rested for an hour, and then set off again.

This time, Nidalee still quickened her pace to save time. They walked for another two hours, crossing more than 20 miles of mountain roads. When the sun was already southward and showing signs of setting, she stopped again and asked, "Everyone, do you need to rest? The territory of Zenis is ahead, and there will be enemy scouts wandering around this area."

Hawthorne nodded slightly. His magic effect was about to expire, and he needed a little time to replenish it. "Okay."

They sat down and took out their dry food. But this time, Nidalee took out her remaining godberries and handed them three: "Please eat this. It's too bad to eat ordinary food with the druids here."

Hawthorne didn't hesitate to take it and swallowed it directly. He felt a sweet taste spreading in his mouth, and at the same time a warm current went deep into his stomach and then spread to his limbs and bones, relieving his fatigue brought by climbing over mountains and hills.

Jutta and Cuibisi did not refuse either. They also took one, ate it themselves, and then slowly rested.

Another hour passed like this, and he finally recovered. He stood up again and walked inside: "Nidalee, continue to lead the way!"

Nidalee nodded and walked in front. The sun was already red, and although it was not yet night, part of it was already blocked by the mountain. The dense forest began to look a little dark, and gusts of cold wind blew, as if some ghosts were moving around here.

Here, even Nidalee slowed down her pace, being cautious and alert, trying not to make any noise.

"Take the path I've walked before." She said softly, "There are traps set by the hobgoblins here. I can't point out every one of them to you. For the sake of efficiency, don't walk where I haven't walked before!"

Hawthorne nodded and followed him slowly. However, just because they didn't take the initiative to look for trouble didn't mean that some trouble wouldn't take the initiative to look for them.

Sand, sand, sand——

The sound of slow footsteps on fallen leaves became clearer and clearer, as if someone was approaching. Hawthorne and the other two quickly hid behind a tree and looked over. Then they saw a human figure staggering in the depths of the gloomy woods, walking towards them.

When Hawthorne saw the guy's appearance clearly, his pupils contracted slightly!

That's... a zombie!

It was not the jumping zombies in Hong Kong zombie movies, but more like the zombies in Resident Evil. The guy was in ragged clothes, his skin was blue, his mouth was grinning, his tongue was sticking out, one of his eyes had fallen out, and he was emitting a strong stench of rotting corpses. No further observation was needed, just one glance, and anyone could identify him as an undead!

only……

So ugly!

Although I know that there are zombies roaming in the wilderness, and I also know that Zenis is indeed doing this, the visual impact of seeing it in the game and seeing it in reality is completely different!

Is this the unholy power Nidalee was talking about?

It is true that allowing the undead to come back to life does go against the natural laws that the druids believe in.

Now, we have to let it rest in peace.

Thinking of this, he glanced back and saw Nidalee's center of gravity sinking slightly, as if she was waiting for the zombie to get closer before suddenly exerting force to kill it.

However, Hawthorne gestured to her not to act rashly, and then, in her confused gaze, he took the initiative to walk towards the zombie.

Nidalee's expression was slightly confused, and then the zombie walked up to Hawthorne, opened its rotten mouth, showing its fangs, and was about to bite.

Hawthorne slid behind its body, put his hand on its shoulder, and silently said, "Purification!"

hum-

A milky white purifying light lit up, and immediately, the zombie's body tensed up, and a hoarse roar came out of its rotten throat: "Ugh——!"

Then, in the white light, his body turned into ashes and fell to the ground, with only a handful of ashes left.

Hawthorne opened the system, looked at the newly received fifty purification points, and nodded with satisfaction.

Sure enough, not only creatures like witches, but even undead creatures like zombies can be purified successfully.

Then, the "Agatha" who was purified by herself should also be a ghost?

Perhaps she was the culprit behind the Goblin Cave Massacre?

After being purified, she became like the zombie in front of him, her soul shattered and turned into ashes?

Well...I guess so.

Tsk, since the undead can be purified, can the demons also be purified and then provide me with a large amount of purification points?

And... this castle seems to have provided me with more benefits than I originally expected...

His mind was active for a moment, and then, three women came over. Nidalee's expression looked obviously full of shock: "Are you a paladin?"

It was hard for her not to associate that white light with the holy light of the paladins, so for a moment, she actually felt some admiration in her heart.

Perhaps this trip was the right one. If I were a Paladin, I would not have sat idly by and watched such evil behavior. When dividing the spoils, I could have been more generous and let me get the holy sword fragment more easily...

Hawthorne was slightly startled when he heard this, knowing that she had misunderstood him, and then he laughed dumbly: "Uh... I'm not a holy knight who has taken an oath, but... just think of me as a clergyman whose duty is to slay demons and defend the way."

As he explained this, Cuibisi's mouth curled up slightly behind him.

Eliminate demons and defend the way?

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that it is a membrane-removing comfort.

But no matter how Nidalee understood the situation, with a desire for purification points in her heart, she continued to ask: "Are there any more zombies like this around? I won't allow such undead creatures to wander around this land at will. Find them out and let me purify them!"

After hearing this, Nidalee was more convinced that he was a paladin. But she was not in a hurry. Instead, she said with a serious look, "Sir, I know you are eager to eliminate the demon, but the necromancer that Zenis invited is still working in the castle."

“If we don’t kill him first, and instead search for zombies in this vast forest, after wasting some time, I’m afraid there will be more innocent victims!

"

She said this, thinking that she was experienced and her words accurately grasped the pain point of the Paladin.

Hawthorne thought about it and felt that this was the truth: these wandering zombies did not have much intelligence and their movements were slow enough. Even if they were allowed to run, they would not be able to run far, so there was no need to rush.

It is better to kill the culprit first, get the fragment of the holy sword, complete the original mission of this trip, and then I will feel at ease!

Thinking of this, he nodded gently: "Okay, then, you lead the way, and we will sneak into the castle first!"

Chapter 134 Infiltration

This is a castle that has been abandoned for many years. Even its outer wall has completely collapsed and is buried by the ground. Its main gate faces west, and there is a tower to the north and south of the gate. There are also several arrow holes under the tower, which is convenient for archers to shoot outward under the protection of the wall.

Although many parts of the castle had collapsed, the remaining buildings could still provide adequate protection for the people inside. People at the top could also overlook the surroundings. In short, the front of the castle was easy to defend but difficult to attack. With the strength of the four of them, they probably couldn't take it down by force.

Fortunately, with Nidalee leading the way, they don't need to attack from the front.

"This way, come here!"

In the grove north of the castle, Nidalee bent over, carefully leaning against a tree to hide her figure. At the same time, her brown eyes, with the help of magic, saw through the darkness and watched the situation of the castle ahead.

Hawthorne followed her with a grim look on his face, because he realized that the sanitation system of this abandoned castle might be seriously damaged, so the residents inside used this place as a replacement area...

But the mission was more important, so he could only endure it and follow Nidalee, approaching quietly.

Between the woods and the castle was an open space less than ten meters wide, where some brick and stone remains of the outer wall could still be vaguely seen. Further in was the wall of the room on the side of the castle, but a small section of it collapsed along the position where the window once was, forming an opening to the outside.

Nidalee was spying on the hobgoblins in the room through that opening.

At this moment, the sun had completely set, and the entire forest and the castle were in darkness. Only a few fires illuminated the area, allowing the bandits inside to have some time to live at night.

"That's the dormitory of the hobgoblins." Nidalee said as she looked at them. "They should have had dinner and are gambling now. I expect they will go to bed in a while."

"We just need to wait a little longer. It shouldn't take too long. What hunters need most is patience..."

Huo Sang's expression was stiff. He couldn't bear to wait in this forest any longer. Looking at the ruins in front of him, he gritted his teeth and suddenly said, "Maybe I can let them sleep a little earlier tonight."

Nidalee turned her head with a puzzled look, and then saw him looking around. After making sure that no one would suddenly go to the woods to relieve themselves, he suddenly took a quick step and rushed to the wall of the castle. He leaned against the edge of the collapsed opening and peeked inside cautiously like a thief.

This room is about 60 to 70 square meters, with a wooden door on the south side leading to the east. Next to the collapsed hole is a huge wooden board, which should be used to block the opening when winter comes.

Fortunately, they haven't started to repair it yet, otherwise this path would be impassable.

In the corner of the room, there was a thick blanket on a thick thatched floor. Six guys in their underwear were sitting on the blanket playing dice, not alert to the impending danger.

Those six people are naturally the earth elves here.

Hobgoblins, like bugbears and goblins, belong to the general category of "goblin-like" humanoids. They are about the same size as normal humans, but have red skin, pointed ears, huge noses and deep nasolabial folds, so they generally do not conform to human aesthetics.

Compared with humans, their average physique and IQ may have a little advantage, but not much. Their greatest characteristics and strengths are their strict internal hierarchy, ruthless code of conduct, and the military training that every member must receive.

Although not as cruel as the training methods of the Amazon warriors, every hobgoblin, regardless of gender, will receive a full set of military training from an early age, including the use of various weapons, armor and shields, as well as knowledge related to marching, logistics, battle formations, etc.

Therefore, every hobgoblin, when they grow up, is an excellent soldier who can be used in any aspect at any time. In this rubble area, the mercenary group led by the hobgoblins has always been synonymous with reliability.