Blochilon Town, Lord's Mansion, Study.
Ciri was reviewing the documents that Lann had not had time to process before he left.
Cohen set up another table for himself and spread out his own [Griffin School Contact Notes], not knowing what he was writing.
All the accidents happened unexpectedly.
With a loud "boom", a muffled thunder suddenly exploded out of nowhere, and then a storm enveloped the entire town.
The griffin emblem on Cohen's chest vibrated violently, and coupled with the huge noise outside, countless chills exploded in every pore of Cohen.
He rushed to the balcony in two steps, and it seemed that the doomsday scene in the poem appeared before his eyes. Dozens of huge, twisted figures appeared in every corner of the town at the same time.
Each of them is as tall as two or three stories high, each of them has unparalleled power in its body, and each of them has a mad desire for blood and killing.
"Chimera, giant mantis, mutant crab demon..." Cohen widened his eyes in disbelief. These monsters, each of which could destroy a town if they appeared alone, actually appeared in a group at this moment.
The Griffin School Demon Hunter shuddered suddenly: "Ciri, run! Run to the Brokilon Forest and find the tree spirits! These monsters are not naturally produced, they are all deformed products of alchemical experiments. The cost of each one is worth a castle. This is an attack from Nilfgaard!"
Ciri had never seen such a scene before, and it was visible to the naked eye: "What about you, Cohen?"
Cohen gritted his teeth and said, "I am the only demon hunter here now. No one knows how to deal with these monsters better than me. I will delay time to give the people in the town time to retreat... The people here are important forces for the reconstruction of your country in the future. You must not lose too many people here."
"Lan En left Black Wind behind. You ride it and leave immediately. I will let my town guerrillas protect you."
The demon hunter finally adjusted the strap of his alchemical backpack, jumped off the balcony without hesitation, grabbed a horse and galloped towards the center of the town.
“Cohen!!” Ciri screamed at the witcher’s back from the balcony.
She stamped her feet hard and paced around the room in a panic.
"Calm down, Cirilla, you are a princess, calm down."
"Lan is not here, but what would he do if it was Lan? If it was Lan, if it was Lan..."
The mere presence of that figure in one's mind was enough to make one feel safe. Ciri took a few deep breaths and suddenly calmed down, then her eyes became firm.
She did not run away, but carried two swords on her back, one of which was the steel sword [Swallow] given by Lann, and the other was the ordinary wolf-headed silver sword that she had asked for from Geralt some time ago.
Except for the lack of a badge, Ciri now actually looks a bit like a witcher.
"I can't escape. I am a princess with a heavy responsibility and a demon hunter who protects civilians." Ciri murmured to herself, "But Lann also said that we must 'plan accurately and carefully before taking action'. We must not be reckless and must not be overwhelmed by emotions."
"The enemy is coming for me. I will be the best bait, giving everyone a chance to counterattack or escape. But I also need to provide myself with a layer of insurance. If I am caught, it will be a huge blow to Lann and Cintra..."
Thinking of this, Ciri suddenly saw Cohen's previous seat. Because he left in a hurry, Cohen had not yet put away his [Griffin School Contact Notes].
Ciri looked thoughtful, then picked up a pen.
…
The situation in the town was more serious than Ciri had imagined. Just as Cohen said, these monsters were capable of destroying the town if taken alone.
If they appear in large numbers now, it would be enough to cause a small country to be slaughtered and blood would flow like a river.
But in a sense, the town's situation is not as bad as it used to be. Brokilon is called a "small town", but in fact, with the careful construction of the old druid and the people of Cintria, it has surpassed most of the war fortresses in the North.
Not only is it extremely solidly built, it is also filled with towers, arrow sentries, walls that can be used as shelters, and basements.
What's more, the combat units in the town at this moment are also quite special, and their resistance sentiment is also very strong -
…
"Troll, protect, home!"
Three huge rocks flew towards a huge strange mantis that was three stories high with the momentum of a landslide, and with a "bang" they left amazing cracks on the dark green shell.
"Hiss--" the giant mantis cried out in pain, and swung its forelimbs, which were like side knives, immediately, chopping at the huddled troll, but it only managed to shave off large pieces of dust, and almost broke the serrations on its forelimbs.
The Giant Mantis is a monster that was given the title of "The Fearful One" by the compiler of the Monster Encyclopedia because it is powerful enough to make people fearful.
For some reason, scholars who study monsters are obsessed with enlarging the size of insects. The Troll Mantis is a successful product of this experiment. It was designed by Arzur and then perfected by the alchemist stationed in Kaer Morhen. After the first Troll Mantis appeared, the alchemist was horrified and destroyed the monster before it grew up, because he concluded that his invention would become a trouble for the continent.
Facts have proved this to be the case. The alchemist's notes were later circulated, leading to the creation of more troll mantises. The damage brought to the people by this evil beast far exceeded that of the ordinary monsters in the intersection of the celestial sphere and the local area. Even conventional top predators like pterodactyls could only become food for the troll mantises.
By the way, the alchemist later discovered that the eyes of the troll mantis could be added to the witcher mutation experiment. Unfortunately, future witchers no longer had the ability to hunt troll mantises alone, and the [Eye of the Troll Mantis] also became a legendary material for witcher mutation.
Lane's mutation was used, thanks to the hard work of Thomas Moreau and the wild creativity of Mr. Geron.
…
"Hiss--" Even such a powerful monster would find it difficult to deal with groups of rock trolls, because the rock shell as hard as a mountain could really restrain the slashing attack designed based on the mantis prototype.
But the huge size of the two-story building also brought unparalleled power. After finding that the trolls could not be cut open, the enraged troll mantis immediately exerted its strength to hit the trolls and their family far away like baseballs, and smashed a building.
The rock shell can protect against slashing but not heavy blows. The troll did not come out of the smoke and dust for a long time. It was probably fainted.
Fortunately, their attack created opportunities for others.
"Warriors of the Todaloch family, let these monsters in the desert see the power of the men of the sea!" The blonde iron-forged girl Yuna, wearing iron armor, stood high above the crowd and commanded the islanders to rain arrows at the cracks on the body of the giant mantis.
It is true that the Todaloch family led by Yuna is in charge of logistics in Cintra, but almost all the islanders are soldiers, and blacksmithing is the most physically demanding profession.
To put it bluntly, these logistics personnel who remained in the town of Brokilon are more capable fighters than most of the front-line soldiers.
"Renalug! Renalug!" the islanders roared the archipelago's war cry.
The troll mantis moved forward under the rain of arrows, and more islanders rushed forward with the tower shields prepared for the Mahakam heavy infantry, creating opportunities for their companions behind them.
With their coordination that was even more tacit than that of an army, they actually managed to resist the attack of the monster.
Apart from these islanders, none of the other Cintrians escaped. City guards, craftsmen, and even ordinary refugees, those who were strong enough to hold weapons would pick up stones and throw them at the monsters.
Yuna was astonished by this high and almost fearless morale.
The craziest among them were a group of people who drew three scratches on their clothes and called themselves the "Lion Cult." During the time Yuna had been in Brokilon, they were the most civilized and united people, always spontaneously helping the city guards maintain order, resettling refugees, and even sharing the limited food.
However, facing the danger at this moment, those kind faces became ferocious like evil spirits!
"For the Lions!!!"
Yuna was stunned because they wanted to pounce on the monsters without wearing armor or holding knives!
She grabbed a threatening little girl to prevent her from dying. Feeling the resistance, the girl, who looked no older than sixteen, was still trying to turn around and bite Yuna.
"People of Skellige, do not stop me from fighting for the Lion!"
She is Finsi, the first person rescued when Lann returned to Cintra after the mutation. She was also the first to spread the name of the Lion.
“Are you crazy?” Yuna yelled in the islander’s unique tone, “Going up like this is no different from committing suicide. Don’t you know how to make yourself more useful?!”
She pointed at the student-like person who was bandaging the wounded and said, "Take these doctors from Niubao and retreat to the forest first! They can provide more help to Lann later. They are invaluable!"
The Skellige people can indeed roar better than the Cintra people. Fins was stunned for a moment and looked at the red-haired female student beside her.
"I won't leave! I'm a medic!" Shani shouted, "This is where I'm supposed to be!"
Fins was encouraged and raised her hands again: "For the lion!!"
Yuna: “…”
[Ancestors, how come these Cintrians are even crazier than us islanders! ]
Yuna gritted her teeth and watched as Finsi gathered another group of Lion Cult members. Fortunately, Yuna's words were somewhat taken in by these fanatics. Although they were unarmed, they at least knew to find weapons first and not to cause trouble for the warriors in front of them.
But he still acted as if he was willing to die for the lion at any time.
"The unarmed refugees are going to the battlefield. Is it because we failed to protect them? Pull out our crossbows! And the chariots and battering rams!" Yuna turned around and roared, "Give these monsters something powerful! And where are the demon hunters? Isn't Coen in Brokilon? Who can tell me what the weaknesses of these monsters are?!"
…
Cohen is climbing the stairs.
He almost flew along the ladder towards the big bell on the top of the bell tower.
The Giant Mantis is very sensitive to loud noises, which can cause the monster to become deaf and lose its defenses.
The same goes for the mutant crab monsters; these insects created through experiments all have similar weaknesses.
After climbing to the top floor, Cohen condensed a telekinetic shell with his left hand that was as powerful as a battering ram, and without hesitation poured his power towards the clock in front of him.
[Alder Seal]!
“Boom—”
Immediately, the bell sounded much louder than usual, announcing the first ray of dawn that spread to every corner of the town of Brokilon.
The speed of destruction in the town suddenly stagnated. The soldiers besieging the insectoid monsters were surprised to find that the monsters suddenly became stiff, curled up, and even twitched, and they had no ability to resist attacks.
Someone saw Cohen's back in the bell tower by the moonlight and immediately cheered, "It's Cohen! The witcher knight who is from the same Griffin School as the Duke of Lannister!"
The experienced warriors would not miss such an opportunity. They immediately picked up their weapons and attacked the helpless beasts lying on the ground. They chopped them with swords, axes, hammers and shot them with crossbows, which immediately caused a large number of hoarse and noisy screams.
The screams were immediately drowned out by the even louder sound of the bell.
“Boom—”
Cohen smiled with satisfaction.
But this smile didn't last long, and the next second his expression became serious again.
The monsters he just saw were not only these insectoid creatures, but also more powerful [synthetic beasts]. When Cohen rang the giant bell to make the monsters lose their fighting power for a short time, he also attracted the attention of other more ferocious monsters.
A monster with antlers, a mane covering the back of its neck, and red shells and scales all over its body flapped its wings and rushed towards Coen from the night sky.
If the giant mantis and mutant crab monster still barely looked like living creatures, then the traces of experiments on the Chimera, a combination of four different creatures, were too obvious. They looked like pure weapons of war.
Cohen drew out his silver sword and gestured, wanting to make some moves, but then he discovered that several other chimeras rushed out from the darkness.
The bell was so loud that he stood out like a drop of blood among a school of sharks.
There is nothing much to say. Cohen finally fired a magical air cannon at Da Zhong and turned around to jump off the building.
However, Cohen was surprised to find that the area around the bell tower had been surrounded by crows without him noticing.
…
A flock of black birds took off with a deafening sound of flapping wings and cries, circling around the town, forming a black curtain that blocked out the already dim moonlight.
Cohen suddenly smelled a strong herbal scent, sage, mint and musk.
“Hiss—!”
The Chimera that was speeding through the night sky cried out again, but this time it was a scream.
A human-shaped black shadow streaked across the night sky, approaching the monster at a speed twice as fast as the Chimera. In the moonlight, one could see claws as long as the forearm extending from the bat's hands, tearing the Chimera's neck apart easily like a hot knife cutting through oil.
Blood spurted out, and the giant beast only had time to let out a short howl before falling to the ground. The other monsters that were originally heading towards the bell tower immediately scattered.
Cohen suddenly felt his body lighten. It turned out that the crows were holding his body and preventing him from falling from a height and getting injured.
When he looked again, Regis, who had regained his gentle appearance, was standing in front of him.
"Are you okay, Mr. Demon Hunter?" Regis said slowly, "Or, can I call you Cohen? If we are going to work together in the future, I think we can choose a more intimate name."
Cohen turned around and saw the Chimera that had crashed to the ground and knocked down a house. The hideous wound on its neck was like a bloody fountain.