Chapter 229: This is the perfect time to kill your sister and become a master.
Mermaids (Siren) are considered to be special individuals among the female sirens, and are distantly related to the harpies.
The latter may be somewhat credible, but the former is doubted by scholars and warlocks - because although the female sirens have natural and beautiful upper bodies like human women, they still look like evil beasts of the deep sea when hunting. The true appearance of mermaids; on the other hand, although they also have predatory behaviors, they are always beautiful.
And the most important thing is that the female sirens are closer to beasts and monsters, with little reason and wisdom; while mermaids actually have language.
Scholars who are proficient in linguistics are convinced that the mermaid's language is a variant of the ancient language, with a unique melody and speaking that sounds more like singing. And since there is language, a more frightening speculation can be extended from this - mermaids are civilized, perhaps in the deep sea.
But ordinary people don't care about this. They are more interested in the love legends about mermaids. It is said that they sometimes jump out of the water, sit on the rocks, and accept the courtship of male humans.
Geralt once witnessed such a love story. This story happened in the original short story collection: a Duke of a certain place once fell hopelessly in love with a mermaid, and entrusted Geralt, who was proficient in ancient languages, to help convey the story. In his own mind - here he sighs at the profound knowledge of the wolf sect's demon hunters - the Duke hoped that the mermaid could give up the life in the sea and marry him, but he was rejected.
Later, the unhappy Duke commissioned Geralt to investigate several murder cases, only to discover that the vicious beasts came from a mysterious underwater intelligent race. Soon there was a conflict between this group of races called "ocean dwellers" and the people on the ground, and war was about to break out.
Fortunately, the mermaid the Duke loved finally appeared in time. She used magic to turn her tail into legs, married the Duke, and prevented the conflict between the land and the sea.
A rather beautiful story to read.
...
But now, mermaids rarely accept the clumsy advances of sailors or the overtures of dignitaries - probably because too many lonely sailors kidnap them.
"Ever since I can remember, my father has warned me: If you hear a beautiful woman singing at sea, you must turn around immediately, even if it leads to the storm." "The appearance of mermaids is just a disguise, they are extremely ferocious.
Encountered They should pull out the ax as soon as possible." The old village chief vowed, "The ultimate goal of that mermaid must be the lives of all the children in our village. Bill was bewitched by that monster with an obscene appearance!"
Lann exchanged glances with several witchers behind him, especially Geralt.
The experienced wolf sect demon hunter shook his head. He did not rule out the suspicion that the mermaid was kind-hearted, but he still needed to see it with his own eyes to be sure.
Any absolute stereotype of monsters or other mysterious races may lead to tragedy.
Lan followed the old village chief's words and continued to ask: "You saw that Bill meeting the mermaid at night, what happened next? You killed the mermaid, and then asked the young people in the village to tie up Bill and go to Forhalla Village, trying to He feeds the bears?"
Butler Guslav's eyes became sharp following Lan's words, causing the old village chief to kneel down again with a plop.
"Two adults, we don't have that kind of ability..."
"The moment we saw the mermaid, the mermaid also spotted us and immediately dived into the sea and disappeared." The
old village chief lamented . Said: "After Bill found us, he actually told us: That mermaid is kind, and it is because of her that life in our village has improved. He said that he was trying to find a way to let the mermaid gain the ability to go ashore, but it was not possible. If they want, they will find a way to gain the ability to breathe underwater - no matter which method they use, they will eventually stay and continue to help the village, making us the richest village on Great Skellige Island." The witchers asked again
. After a glance, Geralt nodded slightly this time. It means that just like mermaids can gain legs, humans can also gain the ability to live underwater through some magic like the transformation of tree spirits, and they can live and sleep with their mermaid partners.
The old village chief was still sighing: "This child has read too many outside stories. Do we Skellige people believe such ridiculous and absurd rumors? Even children don't believe it!" Lann sighed,
no I don’t know if it’s for this village, or for that young Bill, or for that unknown mermaid.
"Why did Bill go to Forhalla Village, and was he accompanied by a young man from your village?" "
That was his glorious trial - I actually believed his lies!" The old village chief looked regretful, "In order not to Let the village be destroyed by the mermaids. We planned to organize manpower and ask the lord for help to hunt the mermaids. But Bill stopped us and said that he was willing to go to Fulhalla Village to explore the truth and gain glory in exchange for us not to hunt and kill the mermaids. Mermaid."
"Although the Svablo sect was destroyed, the shepherds trying to find the lost lambs and the travelers trying to escape the snow swore that the fresh blood reflected the sunlight on Svablo's altar, and the underground The cave still resounded with the roar of the giant bear - Bill swore that he would bring back the giant bear's head." The
old village chief beat his chest regretfully: "The Skellige people can't stop the islanders from getting glory, so we agreed. , and sent four of the strongest boys in the village to supervise him and prevent him from escaping. Unexpectedly, only Bill escaped!" "The mermaid
must have used evil magic, and Bill was complicit with it! "
But Lann and his party knew that the truth of the matter was different. They knew that it was the giant bear transformed by the Wilka people who killed the team who wanted to gain glory, and Bill himself also escaped death.
I just don’t know what gave Bill the confidence to go up the mountain with such confidence. Did he really hope to give him strength through love? Or maybe he thought that if he died in the village of Furhalla, he could exchange one life for another and make the villagers give up hunting mermaids?
Lan shook his head and asked: "So where is Bill now?"
The old village chief's eyes showed hatred: "That despicable person without honor actually dared to return to the village. We were originally planning to execute him and make him pay for deceiving us. The price. As a result, he ran into a complex cave in the mountainous area near us, where a large number of sea monsters live - and from that time on, sea monsters also began to appear in the coastal waters of our village." The old village chief angrily
said Unfair: "This is strong evidence. I don't think Bill was seduced by the mermaid at all, but that they colluded to destroy our village!"
Lann sighed deeply again, for the sake of this village, and for Bill.
But now it can at least be proven that Bill is still alive for the time being. I hope that the love between him and the mermaid can keep him safe in the place where the female siren haunts.
"Show me the location of the cave filled with krakens. I need to find it."
...
Skellig has many terrains similar to the caves in front of you.
The entrance to the cave is wide and deep. The rock walls on both sides are leaning against the cliff. From time to time, a hole as high as a person will appear. Some dark and disturbing sunlight shines through the cracks in the rock cave wall and into these holes, illuminating the cave. Illuminate into a psychedelic look.
With a "pop" sound, the feet wearing steel shin guards stepped into the water. The sea water reached the ankles, causing an uncomfortable soaking sensation.
"This is it, my lord...and the masters." The old village chief said to the demon hunters and Guslav Butler.
Lann looked inside the cave. Along with the low hum of the rocks and the flickering of light, there were also low hissing sounds coming from deep in the cave from time to time.
These neighings made the old village chief, who was already trembling, tremble even more violently.
"You go back first, thank you for your hard work and leading the way." Lan said calmly.
The old village chief bowed hurriedly and ran away, not wanting to stay in this place for another second.
Then Lann turned his attention to Guslav, who was Kratz's former adjutant and shook his head firmly: "Your Majesty the Earl sent me as your guide, so there is no reason for me to let you explore dangerous places alone." Lann patted him encouragingly
. shoulder: "Then prepare your weapons."
Walking into the cave, the wet and salty breath suddenly hit everyone.
The sound of people stepping on the sea water soon began to echo in the cave, but the faint neighing sound stopped immediately.
Obviously, the monsters in the cave were aware of the presence of Lan and his party. However, they did not attack everyone immediately, as if they wanted to use some other means.
Lann noticed that Kolgrim seemed particularly excited, mixed with a hint of curiosity.
"I'm from the south." Kolgrim explained. "Even when I went north to look for the school's equipment blueprints, I encountered mostly harpies, but I have never seen a sea monster. I heard that this kind of monster is particularly special. Know how to... seduce people, I have long wanted to see it."
The other four pairs of demon hunters' eyes fell on Kolgrim, but then they nodded in agreement and understanding.
Lann encouraged: "You will take the lead in that moment."
Kolgrim agreed happily, with an abnormal flush on his face; but the movements of his hands were not slow, and he quickly and steadily polished his silver sword. The [Hybrid Beast Sword Oil] characteristic of the Layer Snake Sect.
...
As everyone moved forward, an open space like a patio soon appeared in front of them, and a...beautiful figure.
She has fair skin that is completely different from the women of the archipelago. It is sprinkled with crystal water drops and looks even more delicate under the dim light of the cave. She has long, slightly curly golden hair that feels slightly wet and sticks to her slender body. The neck looks charming again.
The most important thing is that her clothes are very "marine" and extremely "natural". She doesn't even use shells as a cover as in the legend. She just exposes her beautiful curved skin to the rain falling from the sky. Under the sunlight and the focused gaze of everyone.
Water droplets dripped from her hair, slowly streaked across her skin, and finally penetrated deep into the scales below her waist.
This is the Kraken.
"Yin——"
a voice began to echo in everyone's ears.
It’s not singing, because what’s in front of me is not a mermaid. What reached everyone's ears was an echo that sounded like the roar of a whale. It was empty and leisurely, enough to make the listeners lower their guard.
Kolgrim opened his arms to stop his companions behind him, indicating that it was his duty to take the lead at this time.
After applying a layer of [Quen's Seal] to himself, he held the snake-headed silver sword upside down, hid the blade behind himself, and slowly approached the sea monster in front of him.
The snake-like demon hunter put away his sharp teeth and began to spit out messages frequently, observing every detail of the Kraken rigorously and greedily.
"Ah... the upper body is like this. It is really no different from humans... No, this is the biggest difference, because everything that grows is too standard, like a sculpture." "As for the lower body... it
seems There are no organs that can help with hunting. It's not a fish tail, because it's a sea monster...it looks more like a snake's tail with fins..." The
amber snake pupils became brighter and brighter, and the expression of the snake sect demon hunter became brighter and brighter. Be more and more focused.
The Siren, who was being scrutinized by Kolgrim with his eyes, tilted his head in a girlish manner, as if he was extremely curious about the movements and words of the person in front of him.
She suddenly changed from a semi-lying position on her back to a sitting position, and at the same time, her body slowly began to lean forward towards Kolgrim.
There was no expression on her fair face, but her eyes as pure as lake water reflected purity without a trace of pollution from the world; as for her body, because of the sudden increase in size, her hair was , skin, and the dewdrops on it began to ripple slightly like the water surface blown by the wind.
Lann heard a sudden swallowing sound beside him. Looking back, the three demon hunters, wolf, bear, and griffon, all had expressionless faces.
The one who made the sound was the Slavic housekeeper.
The islanders knew how powerful the Kraken was. This former lieutenant of Kratz was the one who held the weapon the tightest after entering the cave.
But at this moment, even after doing enough psychological preparation, Guslav Butler was still greatly shaken by the actions of the siren.
...
"Ah... Sui Liu, even her movements are so anthropomorphic. Have they ever specially observed and learned human postures? Or are they reacting instinctively?" "But look at
her... no, it's 'it' Why does the movement feel so familiar? It's a bit like..."
Before Kolgrim's academically exploring soliloquy ended, the siren with the beautiful upper body in front of him suddenly turned into a black shadow.
"...It's a bit like a prelude to snake predation." The demon hunter's words came belatedly.
It turned into a black shadow because it was difficult for ordinary people to catch the Kraken's ejection speed with the naked eye. The forward leaning of its body just now that made the whole body start to fluctuate was actually the accumulation of energy before preying.
In the demon hunter's amber snake eyes, every change of the sea monster was clearly reflected: the
corners of its mouth suddenly split open, revealing fish lips full of sharp teeth; the skin on its face and body looked like waves. There was a surge, and thin blue-purple scales stood up; the tail, which was the same color as the scales on the upper body, swung hard in the air, and suddenly ejected bone spurs as long as the palm of its hand.
A huge shadow spread out behind it, revealing a pair of ferocious bat-like fins.
"Hiss!"
The empty chant turned into a harsh roar, and the scene suddenly changed from "hazy dream" to "heavy-mouthed curiosity".
If he is really a lonely sailor who has been wandering at sea for a long time, after such a temptation, he must have put down his guard long ago; and even a calm-minded person, after going through the transformation from dreaming to curious, must be frightened. Will also forget to resist.
Fortunately, standing in front of this sea monster was Kolgrim, who was dedicated to "academic research."
If it were Cohen or Lann, they would choose to use [Alder's Seal] or [Igni's Seal] to directly paste it on that scary face at this moment.
But Kolgrim's seal was not that strong, and he was worried that the opponent might break through his seal and attack him.
So he turned around lightly, like a more agile snake teasing a young fish.
Then he swung the silver sword he was holding upside down with his backhand like a large dagger.
The arc light flashed and blood splattered. Kolgrim didn't use much strength and just cut open the sea monster's back which was already covered by scales.
But the Kraken screamed miserably, because the cut flesh and blood began to emit thick white smoke as if strong acid had been poured on it, and then black and purple lines began to spread towards the surroundings of the wound.
The snake-like demon hunter slowly took two steps back and shook the silver sword coated with the school's special sword oil. He was confident that in about ten breaths, the sea monster would die on its own.
Looking at the sea monster flopping on the ground like a sea fish, Kolgrim sighed: "I suddenly have no intention to study them anymore..." The
next second, the sea monster, who knew that his life was in danger, suddenly pressed the button tightly. It stopped on the ground, and the sharp claws that had changed like a falcon instantly changed back to the green appearance of a girl; when it raised its head, the fine scales on its face also turned back into delicate skin.
Those lake-like eyes really started to overflow with water, and even his originally calm expression became pitiful.
"Yan——"
Listening to the cry containing sad emotions, Kolgrim's eyes lit up again.
"Will you actually beg for mercy? Thinking about the disguise and seduction before, it turns out that the Siren's IQ is not that high..." ...
Lan
narrowed his eyes.
He raised his head and looked thoughtfully at the cracks and holes at the top of the cave. The places where the sunlight originally came in were suddenly covered by fleeting shadows.
Turning back, Lann looked at Kolgrim who was in high spirits and said, "I don't think it's begging for mercy." ...
"
Sga!!"
The next second, seven or eight snake-like figures emerged from the rock wall. They squeezed in through the hollow, and then they suddenly spread their wings and let out ear-piercing roars along the rock wall, as if they were responding to their dying companions below, or as if they were intimidating the murderous demon hunters.
The demon hunters raised their crossbows at the same time and began to aim at the sea monster in the sky.
"Kolgrim, do you still want to continue research?"
The snake-sect demon hunter looked at the sad siren on the ground, and then at the strange-looking sirens in the sky, and shook his head with regret.
"Okay." Lann chuckled and raised his left hand toward the sky.
To deal with these enemies flying in the sky, disrupting the flow of air and causing them to lose their balance and fall to the ground is far more efficient than hitting them with arrows.
"Save your arrows, it's quite troublesome to string them up." Lann turned around and advised, and then said a few more words, "Wrap up your clothes, it will be cold in a while." After saying that, before Geralt and the others could react, the giant
giant A large amount of magic power has been condensed in Lan En's hands.
[Alder's Seal·Bearing·Magic Explosion]!
...
It was obviously not winter yet, and we were obviously inside the cave, but at this moment, a snowstorm suddenly swept across.
In just a moment, the swift black shadows in mid-air spread out due to the wind pressure, and were tightly suppressed on the rock wall, unable to move.
Immediately afterwards, due to the special terrain, the storm formed by the impact of telepathy began to rotate around the rock wall, actually forming a small tornado. The Kraken, which was clinging to the rock wall just now, was once again rolling uncontrollably driven by its huge wings, hitting rocks and rolling down from time to time along the way.
The four demon hunters narrowed their eyes slightly and took two steps closer to Lan's direction.
Guslav clutched his collar and cuffs tightly, his teeth chattering, but his face flushed:
"This is the Lion of Sintra..."
Gede seemed to have remembered something, and suddenly approached Cohen and asked: "Lan There are many magical seals: his Arden will not attack his own people, his Axi can hypnotize magical creatures, and now his Alder also has a freezing effect! I wanted to discuss these seals with him before, but he said These are the specialties of the Gryphon School, so I’m going to shirk them. Can you teach me? I’ll give you the Bear School’s Quen secret in exchange!” The storm
in the courtyard was very strong, and Gerd’s voice was quickly carried away by the airflow. It couldn't reach Cohen's ears at all.
"What did you say? I can only see your lips moving!" the senior of the Griffin School shouted loudly, looking confused.
Gede was stunned for a moment, and clasped his hands in front of his mouth like trumpets: "I say! Can you teach me these magical seals? I'll give you the bear sect's secret of Quen in exchange!" Cohen suddenly shouted in the
snowstorm Shivering: "What did you say? I can't hear you!"
...
Lann did not continue to spray the storm. It is because this cylindrical natural terrain is so suitable for the use of [Alder's Seal] that he actually used his own seal. It became a continuous attack.
"Plop," "Plop."
When the storm finally weakened a little, the sea monsters in the sky finally fell to the ground. They were even carried by the remaining wind currents and slid on the ground, and their skin was cut open from time to time by sharp stones.
Their bodies were covered with a thin layer of ice crystals, and the blood that flowed out quickly solidified. Their wings were completely frozen, and they would definitely not be able to fly in a short time.
The demon hunters put away their crossbows, drew out their silver swords from behind in neat movements, and stepped forward slowly.
The ferocious-looking sea monsters seemed to have frozen skin and scales. They could not even change into the posture of a girl to beg for mercy or be confused. Only the sea monster scratched by Kolgrim at the beginning was left mournfully wailing. .
"Yin -"
its voice suddenly became high-pitched, like a flashback; the snake sect poison in its body also completely exploded at this moment, giving it excessive pain and about to take away its life.
However, just as Lan En and the others were raising their swords and about to pierce the bodies of the sea monsters, a young man's voice suddenly sounded in the cave.
"Stop, please stop, kind adults, show mercy!"
The demon hunters stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.
(End of chapter)