Chapter 224: Continue the Massacre

Screams and howls swept through the battlefield. Two drowners flanked the witcher. They swiped at the shield and crushed it. Roy crouched down and disappeared from the drowners' sight. He put his weight in his right feet and swiveled Gwyhyr around, slicing the drowners' knees open.

The drowner fell down, howling. They could not fight in that state.

Roy heaved a sigh. He remained crouched, and he rolled forward to where another drowner was. He touched the ground with one knee and looked up. Before the drowner could do anything, Roy thrusted his sword up and pierced the drowner's brain. Rancid blood trickled down the blade, drenching his sleeve and splattering his face. It did not faze the witcher, however. He remained calm.

He could not pull his blade out in time, so he let go. The drowner's corpse fell backward with the blade still stuck in its head. He held the hilt of his other blade, and Roy made a blue sign in the air, pushing it ahead. A gust of strong wind stirred in the sewer. The drowner that tried to approach him crashed into an invisible wall. It wobbled and lost its balance

Roy took the chance to go past the drowner and lopped its head off with Aerondight. He noticed a burly silhouette standing behind the drowners. It was a drowned dead, and it was their commander. The drowned dead was bigger than the regular drowners. Its whole body was greyish-black in color, and its gills and fins were more distinct.

Drowned dead

Gender: N/A

Age: Eight years old

Status: None

HP: 100

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 6

Constitution: 10

Perception: 6

Will: 4

Charisma: 0

Spirit: 5

Skills:

Leader (Passive): The drowned dead are kings of the drowners. It can command all nearby drowners.

Mutated Body Level 10: Some humans who died in the water turn into drowners. They are built differently from humans. They are immune to poison and bleeding.'

***

Unlike its brethren, the drowned dead was not in a hurry to attack. It could see that the witcher, who was drenched in the blood of its brethren, was not easy prey, and it tried to escape.

Roy grabbed Gabriel and sent two bolts piercing through its thighs. The young witcher darted ahead and cast Fear on the crippled drowner before thrusting his sword through the monster's head.

Drowned dead killed. EXP +50.'

"Knew it. The leader's worth more than these mobs."

The knights' battles had come to an end as well. The sewers' less-than-stellar environment did unnerve them. They were tense at first, but thanks to their training, the knights calmed down after just a while. Thanks to their swordsmanship and the witcher's tips, they managed to clear the remaining monsters.

The knights plopped down on the ground, huffing and puffing. They were still holding their bloodstained swords, still reeling from the shock after the battle. One of the knights, Mars, was injured. There was a gash on his face.

Roy tossed him a dose of potion. "Mars, you had better use this and treat your wound if you don't want your face to rot away."

"Is it that serious, Mr. Roy?" Horror appeared on the young knight's face. He took the potion, though he hesitated. "They say witcher potions are poisonous. Can I really use this?"

"Don't worry about it. This is just some regular marigold potion. It won't kill you." Roy wiped the blood off his blade and held his hood down to keep Gryphon from sticking its head out.

There were fifteen drowners, including the one that was left behind earlier. He killed half of them. Seven of them were regular drowners, while the remaining one was their leader. He got 190 EXP from this battle, and now he was almost halfway through his EXP bar. Level 6 Witcher (1670/3500).'

The knights killed off the remaining seven. Good thing they're here to help me out. If he had to face all fifteen drowners by himself, he would have to use the bombs and get injured just to kill them all. I've only used Thunderbolt up until now. I can still take another decoction. I also have Activate and my bombs. Should be enough to handle most situations.

While the knights were healing and treating their wounds, Roy gathered all the drowner corpses and poured some liquid on them that could hide the smell of blood, then he cut them up. He would never waste any resources. Drowner tongue and eyes were nice alchemy materials, and Roy would take them.

The knights were staring at the witcher as he cut up all the corpses. The torch's light illuminated his shadow on the wall, and it looked like a humanoid demon dancing a crazy waltz. Once Roy sliced the corpses abdomens open, he rummaged through the organs and held them up for a closer look. Sometimes he would even grin, but his face was covered in blood, so he looked more like a crazed surgeon.

Roy was in luck. Aside from the organs, he also found a lesser red mutagen. He could use it to make drowner pheromones to hide his human scent. It could even fool monsters with a great sense of smell, like water hags. He also found a regular mutagen thanks to the drowned dead. Up until now, he had acquired four out of the ten mutagens he needed to advance his class rank.

"What are you doing, Mr. Roy?" Agorn stared at the witcher, who had his back turned to them. He thought he was getting stronger in mind after coming down to the sewers, but seeing the witcher cut the corpses up was still terrifying.

Roy pulled a drowner's tongue from its mouth. It was the length of a forearm, and the tongue was still bouncy. He showed it to the knights. "This stuff might look ugly, but they sell well, and they're worth a lot. You guys helped me out, so you can take some." He liked money, but rules were rules. He must share.

The knights shook their heads violently. It was normal to kill the monsters, but taking their body parts and selling them for money was as bizarre as it went.

"You sure? I can sell them off and split the crowns with you guys." Roy cut the corpses up at a faster speed than before. "Honestly, these monsters are just like cattle to me. I'm just getting the most out of them."

"Roy the witcher Butcher of the Sewers" Agorn muttered to himself, and his eyes shone. "We'll take some ears to prove to the princess that we also helped."

***

The witcher poured a lot of mysterious liquids onto the pile of corpses and led the knights deeper into the sewers. He tucked most of the organs away in his inventory, and the knights were holding a little satchel that was drenched in blood. They were filled with drowner ears.

The paths nearby were filled with drowners, just like what Roy said. There were no other creatures around, save for mice the size of human heads. They explored about a quarter of the sewers under the temple area, and it was starting to get dark out there, so they went to the nearest exit according to the map. They climbed up the rickety ladder and ended work for the day.

After resting for the night, the rested witcher and knights came back to the sewers. The drowner corpses Roy left out the day before had been devoured, leaving nothing but a trail of blood and flesh leading into the darkness. They followed the trail and left the drowners' turf only to leap into another monster's lair.

"They eat everything wherever they go, including humans. Beware the monster that preys on flesh."

Ghouls. A monster ruled by the desire to eat. They usually appeared in cemeteries, graveyards, and battlefields, where human bodies were abundant. Humans would balk at the stench of rotting corpses, but ghouls thought of them as a delicacy. These monsters had arms and legs, just like humans did. However, they walked on all fours like beasts, and their muscles were as hard as boulders. Their faces looked like someone had smashed them in, and their eyes were devoid of any emotion. They were dark and filled with nothing but greed and cruelty.

Ghoul

Age: One year old

HP: 110 (Weakened)

Strength: 10 (Weakened)

Dexterity: 8 (Weakened)

Constitution: 11 (Weakened)

Perception: 6

Will: 5

Charm: 2

Spirit: 5

Skills:

Plagued Claw Level 1: Ghouls are filled with toxins, bacterias, and viruses. Anything that they wound will start to feel feverish and weak. Their wounds would start to rot as well.

Devour Level 1: Ghouls can devour flesh to quickly heal minor wounds and regain some HP.

Madness (Passive): Ghouls will store a part of the energy from the flesh they consume. Once they receive heavy damage in battle and have less than one-fifth of their HP, they will activate this energy and heal themselves swiftly. They shall receive +1 to their STR, DEX, and CON. The ghoul will become crueler and immune to pain for a minute.'

***

"Lucky us." Roy heaved a sigh of relief. There were only four regular ghouls and no alghouls or graveirs around, or they would have been in trouble. The ghouls' bellies were swollen up, and they were crawling as slow as tortoises. They also smelled like shit, as if they had food poisoning. Roy's trap was effective, and they devoured a lot of the poisoned drowner flesh.

Right. Time to kill them. Roy put his finger to his lips and drank the decoction. Black veins popped up all over his face. He whipped out the necrophage oil and shared it with everyone. They greased their swords with it.

Agorn, Mars, and the other knight held their sword and shield up, standing back to back and forming a solid formation. The witcher took up the vanguard position. He was the spear of the formation and the fighter who could deal the most damage. The witcher pulled the trigger, and the bolt arced through the air. It pierced the ghoul's skin, but the skull defended against it.

The arrow was powerful enough to destroy a drowner's head, but it could not deal a lot of damage to the ghouls. The monsters were angered, and they charged at the group, shouting and screeching. Two of them were in the lead, and the other two followed. They were as big as calves, and the small group of ghouls were enough to fill the space before the witcher and the knights. They were unstoppable.

Roy could even smell their stench from where he was standing. He cast Igni, and a stream of fire charged at a ghoul. It howled in pain and rampaged around, breaking the formation. The witcher leaped up into the air and landed on its back. He held Aerondight horizontally and brought it down. Blood splattered everywhere, and a big head flew into the air.

Ghoul killed. EXP +80.'

The witcher leapt down and rolled away. He stood up immediately and sent two bolts flying at the ghouls at the rear end. He attracted their attention and ran away immediately. The wastewater splashed everywhere, the narrow passage filled with the sounds of footsteps and roars. The ghouls chased after the witcher, and they eventually turned the corner, where the knights could not see them.

The ghouls had power, and they could pin the witcher down if they flanked him. Roy did not face them head on. Instead, he kept his distance, kiting them around. The ghouls growled at him in anger, keeping up the chase. However, the narrow passage was hindering their movements, and they would crash into each other, making things even more chaotic for them.

The witcher had a chance to regroup. He switched his blade out for the crossbow and turned around to shoot at the ghouls. The bolts hit the face of the ghoul on the left. It shook its head in an attempt to shake the blood off, but suddenly, the ghoul and its companion lost sight of their target, much to their confusion.

All of a sudden, the air started to ripple, and a slender silhouette descended on its back, swinging his blade down. Aerondight buried itself in the neck of the ghoul, but it was not enough to kill it.

The ghoul roared, but before it could do anything, countless crimson tentacles showed up from nowhere, tying them up and pinning them down. That was the last thing the ghouls saw. Roy cut off the head of one and turned around to thrust his blade at the second ghoul's eyeball. It almost killed the ghoul, but not before it screamed and regained control of its body.

The ghoul gleamed red, and it pounced at Roy. Roy was faster. He tilted his head, and the attack missed. The young witcher leaped up into the air and landed on the ghouls back, swinging his blade across its neck.

***

A few moments later, the last ghoul was finally killed in battle, but Roy was hurt as well. He had a gash on his shoulder, and his clavicle was showing. The young witcher took a breather before going back with the ghouls' bodies.

The knights only had to face one ghoul, so they won without any trouble. They formed a solid wall of shields according to their training and kept the ghoul in a corner. They were lucky this was a narrow passage, and the ghoul could not escape. They poked at the ghoul through the cracks between the shields and killed it eventually.

Agorn let his shield go, staring at the mangled corpse of the ghoul that was lying on the filthy ground. He was in disbelief. "W-We killed a ghoul?" He had bruises all over his face, and his body felt like it was battered countless times. The ghoul did this to him.

"Congratulations." Roy stabbed the ghoul one last time.

EXP +80. Level 6 Witcher (1990/3500)'

"And now you can call yourselves Ghoul Killer. You can tell this to your kids and their kids every day." Roy swung his short sword and cut up the corpses again to collect the materials.

Luck was on his side that day. He got one lesser red mutagen from the ghouls. "Don't let your guard down just yet." Roy cut off the ghouls' nails and split them between the knights. "These guys are weakened because of my poison. If they were in their top condition and led by an alghoul, all of us could have been injured. This is also only our second day." Roy frowned. He had a bad feeling about this. "I have a feeling we'll run into something more dangerous."

***

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