Five pairs of eyes of different colors looked at the strange young man who had just run out and tried to stop the witcher from killing the siren.

He has very typical islander features: brown-gray hair, a strong build, and dark skin.

If anything...

He has a handsome face, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a bit of the innocence that is unique to young people from small villages - the kind of innocence that can be seen at first sight.

It was in stark contrast to the villagers who had rough looks and even long, sloppy features.

But at this moment, his handsome face was covered with bloodstains, his cheeks were cracked and gray, dirty, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes.

That moment even reminded Lan of Udarek, the lord of the Brockvar family, whose face looked like he had taken too much anesthetic powder.

In the sight of the demon hunters, thick red smoke surrounded him, which was the pheromone in the demon hunters' sensory vision.

He is the young man who escaped death that everyone has been looking for, the warrior who has a close relationship with the mermaid.

"Bill?" Lann did not retract his sword. He just stared at the young man's face and asked him for confirmation.

Kolgrim and Gerd showed great interest in Bill. They looked the young man up and down, but found that his condition was not very good.

In addition to his extremely weak face, his clothes were also tattered, and it could even be said that only strips of cloth were left to wrap around his private parts, which were full of tear marks and blood.

But Bill ignored his own condition. He strode forward and seemed to want to stop Lann and others from killing the siren, but was intimidated by the demon hunters' aura.

So he could only stop not far from Lan, at a loss as to what to do.

"I don't know how this gentleman knows my name, but I am indeed Bill." The young man looked anxiously at the siren lying on the ground and wailing. His gentle and anxious eyes were as if he was looking at his own sister.

However, when the young man turned around, he saw Guslav wearing the crest of the Clet family, and he immediately bowed to him, hoping that he could order a rescue and spare these sirens.

Guslav was still immersed in the blizzard that Lann had just cast, which was an ability that only the strong in the Druid Ring could match. And according to rumors, the lions of Cintra were more proficient in sword skills.

He gestured in Lann's direction with a straight face, "This is the Duke of Cintra, Lord Lann Lannister Rhaanron, cousin of Lord Kratz."

So young Bill bowed down in the direction of Lan again and begged for mercy.

"Lord Lannister, these sirens have no ill intentions. They just want to protect me. She just asked them to come and protect me..."

Just as young Bill was speaking, the witchers noticed that these sirens seemed to have seen something that they were extremely disgusted and afraid of.

In order to stay away from Bill, they even took the initiative to "escape" and struggle in the direction of the witchers.

This is very abnormal.

"They don't seem to be reacting to protect you."

Lann shook his head, looked around and said, "I've heard rumors about you. I have no comment on the mermaid's evaluation, but look around..."

Lan pointed in several directions of the patio: "This is the lair of the sea monster, and this place is covered with blood. I don't care whether you are doing this for love or something else, but as a human being, you must also stand on the side of a human. They are monsters that eat humans, so they must pay the price."

Bill still knelt on the ground without raising his head: "No, sir. Since I came here, they have never gone out hunting, and their numbers are even decreasing... They don't hurt others, but people are hurting them!"

Guslav frowned and looked at the shameless young man.

And Lann also realized that something was wrong. The young man was a little too excited, but the logic of his language was very confusing... Could it be that he really had taken anesthetic powder?

Kolgrim suddenly came forward and whispered in Lan's ear: "The blood on the ground is not human blood, but..."

The snake demon hunter pointed his gaze in the direction of the siren.

Lan was stunned for a moment, looking at the young Bill, and suddenly understood something.

"We came from the village of Fulhala, where we met one of your companions."

Hearing Lane's words, Bill's body trembled violently. Several key words in the words seemed to stimulate him.

"You saw the bears, didn't you? Or, to put it bluntly, you saw the Welka, didn't you?"

Bill lay on the ground, hesitating for a long time, motionless.

Lann frowned and said, "Look up and look at me."

This time Bill did not hesitate and raised his head as he was told. What he saw was a left hand emitting white light.

[Axis Seal: Charm]

Bill's expression gradually became confused, while Lane's face began to become serious.

"What's wrong?" Geralt walked forward and asked with concern.

"There's something wrong with this guy." Lann frowned. "The magic power consumed to hypnotize him... is the same as hypnotizing a monster. No, even a little more, comparable to hypnotizing an ordinary warlock."

Geralt was stunned for a moment.

But soon White Wolf began to analyze: "Could it be because of the mermaid? Just like what this young man said, these sirens are protecting him, this kind of spiritual protection is also the magical effect of the mermaid?"

Lann looked thoughtful: "But even a warlock can't do this, right?"

Geralt shook his head. "It's not a question of strength. Maybe it's just a difference in system. I've seen a mermaid turn her tail into legs. This is something most warlocks can't do. But does that mean she has profound magical attainments? Not necessarily."

Gerd also gave his own guess at the right time: "I remember that mermaids can use their singing to hypnotize sailors, right? Maybe Bill has listened to mermaids' songs too many times and developed mental resistance? Or maybe he is just gifted and born this way, so he can attract mermaids?"

There is some truth in what they say.

"Maybe." Lan shook his head.

Seeing that Bill had completely fallen into a hypnotic state, Lane asked him, "What's your name?"

"Bill."

"You are in love with a mermaid, yes or no?"

"yes."

Lann nodded and asked the purpose of his group's visit.

He didn't expect that he would gain more than he imagined this time.

…

Although the world is cruel and the times are difficult, fairy tales will always exist.

Bill felt that he was a lucky man, as he had been treated as described in poetry and legend - he met a mermaid and fell in love with this beautiful creature.

Although poetry is not practiced with swords and personal prowess, love is often more attractive to young people than strength.

What's more, the mermaid gave Bill not only the nourishment of love, but also magical powers that allowed Bill to avoid the monsters near the coast, allowing him to return home with a full load of fish every day, and even take care of other villagers in the village.

Unfortunately, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and was basically the same as the information Lane and his friends had learned: the villagers discovered that Bill was in love with the mermaid. The villagers, who were afraid of the unknown, believed that mermaids were a scourge, so they organized people to capture and kill them. In the end, Bill stopped them using the excuse of the Trial of Glory.

The turning point came with Fulhara.

"As we climbed the mountain, we heard voices that sounded like a song, like the melody of our prayers to the Mother Freya. But their voices were louder... and more disturbing."

"Before we could get closer to investigate, a giant Skellige bear suddenly rushed out. I swear I've never seen such a big bear, but its footsteps were as light as a cheetah. We didn't have time to react... or even if we did, it would be useless."

"I fainted the moment I saw him. Maybe some of my companions escaped, or maybe not. I never thought that I could wake up after fainting..."

Kolgrim raised his eyebrows: "When you woke up, you found that the giant bear and his companions were gone, so you returned to the village by yourself?"

This is a very classic suspense description. If this were the case, there would be nothing to gain today.

However, Bill, who was in hypnosis, ignored Kolgrim's question and continued:

"When I woke up, I found myself in the mouth of the giant bear. It bit my arm but retained its strength... It seemed to want to take me somewhere."

"I fainted and woke up several times. When I woke up, there were a circle of people around us. They were all warriors. The leader was holding an oak staff. I guessed he was a druid..."

Lan's spirit was suddenly shocked. After listening to this self-narration, he realized that the young man in front of him was taken to the gathering place of the Vilka people and even saw the Vilka people with his own eyes?

"The druid told us that from now on I was also a Welka, and asked me to perform the Welka ceremony."

"They smeared some animal entrails, honey and other things on my body, which were said to attract bears. Then they fed me some strange-colored mushrooms, and threw us into a cave while shouting "Svalblod" to a wooden sculpture of a giant bear."

When he said this, even though he was still in a hypnotic state, Bill began to tremble uncontrollably.

"The giant bears were quickly attracted to us. I have never seen so many bears at once in Skellige."

"I found out that there were three other people besides me who were sacrificed to the bear. They all lost their minds. I was also in a trance after eating the mushrooms, but I retained some consciousness."

"I escaped while the giant bear was hunting the others and made my way back to the village. But the village chief showed me his harpoon before I could explain..."

"I don't know where else I can go. I just remember Xinazi once told me that if I ever run into danger, I can come here. The sirens here won't hurt me..."

That's where the story ends.

Lann exchanged glances with the demon hunters. This story was too bizarre, but the amount of information revealed in it was astonishingly large.

Guslav swallowed his saliva and said, "'Let the believers drink special herbs, and then let them fight the giant bear. In the end, the warrior will be devoured by the giant bear, but the one who stands up will be a true Welka warrior' - this is the birth process of the Welka Berserker. In the past, only the strongest in their tribe could perform the ceremony. How come now..."

Lann took over his words: "Now they are asking the villagers they kidnapped from the mountains to perform this ritual. This can only mean one thing - the Vilkers, or the Svablo Cult, are trying every way to increase their combat effectiveness. They want to mass-produce Berserkers!"

Guslav's eyes turned horrified. "Are they going to make a comeback and take revenge on the Skellige people? This news must be reported to Lord Kratz as soon as possible... No, report it to His Majesty Bran!"

"We will report this as soon as we get back. It just so happens that we are here to look for the Vilkas." Lann looked at Bill, "and he can take us to the gathering place of the Vilkas."

Lann had stopped supplying magic power to the seal at this moment, and Bill quickly woke up from his hypnotic state, looking around in panic.

Lann raised his eyebrows again at the extremely fast recovery speed.

"Where's your mermaid? You seemed to have said her name just now - it's 'Xinazi', right?"

Bill prostrated himself on the ground, trembling, as if begging: "I haven't seen Xinazi since I came here. She must have been scared away..."

"Don't lie. You know I can make you tell the truth, and you will definitely tell me more than I want."

Bill trembled even more violently: "I really never saw her again."

Lann sighed and kicked the struggling siren aside.

"Now that you have regained your sanity, you must know who you have met. That person is the enemy of the entire Skellige Island and also the enemy of our trip. That is why I came to Agro Village to find you."

Lann said patiently, "You are the only one who has reached their hiding place, so you can definitely return by the same route. And as a guide, you have wiped out the enemies of Skellige. How great an honor do you think it would be? With such a reputation, I believe no one will harm your Xinazhi again. Even King Bran and my cousin will take the initiative to help you."

Bill raised his head suddenly, and his cloudy eyes with heavy eye bags suddenly began to sparkle: "Are you serious?"

Steward Guslav angrily scolded Bill: "Do you think Lord Lannister would stoop to deceive you!"

Bill lowered his head in fear again.

Lan waved his hand at Guslav and lowered his voice to Bill: "I don't have to lie to you, and I believe you have seen my ability. I can force you to take us there without even your consent."

"But I think you are a talent, you have a gift, so I want to give you a chance, a chance to become a smart person and regain your glory."

Bill's body trembled twice, as if he was recalling what had happened recently, and his ten fingers dug deeply into the wet ground soaked by sea water under his feet.

Finally, he lowered his whole body to the ground and shouted his loyalty to Lann: "Thank you for the opportunity you gave me, Lord Lannister."

Lan nodded in satisfaction.

At Lann's signal, Bill stood up. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, I still want to let you know - I was half asleep and half awake when I came back, and I ran in a hurry, so I can't remember the specific route. I only have a general idea in my mind."

Lann waved his hand nonchalantly, his dark golden lion pupils lit up: "Where you go, you will definitely leave traces, and we only need the traces to trace back to the original body."

…

There was no need to go to Agro Village again. After Lann's promise, even Bill didn't want to see anyone there again.

The group went straight back to where Kratz, East and the others were and told them what they had gained from the trip.

Kratz and Easter's emotions were up and down, because the stories that Lane and his friends brought were so bizarre, as if someone was reciting a children's bedtime story in front of them - and only half of it.

"So what do we do now? Follow this lucky guy directly to the hiding place of the Svalblod sect."

Faced with this question, East shook his head firmly: "No, the current situation is too different from what we expected."

"The Svalblod sect didn't have many berserkers during its heyday, and we killed a few more at the banquet. I originally thought we were just going to wipe out the remnants of the sect, but now it seems that's far from the case."

Easter analyzed: "Since they can create berserkers at such a high cost, they must have a way to control them. You know, a giant bear of this size can break up a small team head-on. If these giant bears fight in groups, the consequences will be even more disastrous."

As he spoke, he turned around and looked at his soldiers: "They followed me for glory, and I am responsible for their lives. This is no longer a simple battle for the throne, but a major event concerning the entire Skellige."

After thinking for a moment, Easter decided: "We need two experienced demon hunters to follow this lucky boy to find out the hiding place of the Vilk people. And Kratz, you go back and mobilize as many soldiers as possible within the family - if necessary, I will ask for help from other families!"

Kratz hesitated to speak.

Easter knew what his nephew wanted to say, and raised his hand to stop him from speaking. "The throne is nothing. The safety of Skellige is the most important. I can't imagine how many berserkers the Svalblod Cult has created in a covert manner, and I don't know how long they have been hiding in the shadows and planning this scheme. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, we must act with caution."

Kratz had nothing else to say and could only nod to Easter with a serious expression.

"When I go back, I'll investigate how many people from nearby villages have gone to Fulhala in search of the so-called glory, just like the people from Agro Village... Or, to be more direct, I'll investigate how many people have gone missing recently."

Given Skellige's political system, such an investigation would be difficult.

Lann looked at the serious Easter and Kratz and said comfortingly, "Maybe things are not as serious as we think. The birth of Berserkers requires bears in addition to humans. Although Skellige is large, there are only so many bears, and they are top predators."

Easter was not comforted by Lann, but his face became more serious: "No, I hope the Vilka people captured the villagers just to make berserkers, otherwise, the situation will only get worse..."