The Cornflower Witch Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Facing a Powerful Enemy

“What was that?”

Hylial stopped, pushing back her hood, trying to discern the faint sound coming from the mountains in the distance.

Had someone encountered a powerful monster? She stood there for a long time, but no other sounds came from the distant mountains. She could only shake her head and continue forward.

On the other side, Mick had finally caught up with Jero’s team, but what greeted him was a horrifying scene.

Someone had died.

He looked at the scattered debris on the ground, the blood-stained and flesh-covered clothes, and the broken sword blade, a chill running down his spine.

Where was Brother Jero? His gaze anxiously darted around, but thankfully, he didn’t find any of Jero’s armor or weapons.

Walking to a corner of the scene, he picked up a blunted and bent weapon from the ground, silently estimating.

Such a powerful enemy could directly twist and break an iron sword. And with half a shattered armor nearby, one could imagine the grim scene; the person inside the armor must have had half their body smashed.

Brother Jero is a powerful warrior; he wouldn’t die here easily. Mick could only encourage himself this way. Now, he had completely abandoned the idea of participating in the assessment and only wanted to quickly find his former teammates and help them escape danger.

He silently searched for tracks and set off again along the faint traces.

…

About half a day later, he finally found the marks and tracks in a hidden mountain gully.

Rushing in, before he could even call out his teammates’ names, he was attacked.

A large black sword chopped down along the mountain wall, striking a rock beside him, sending sparks and white marks flying, startling Mick.

Then, he finally saw everything inside the cave.

Jero stood in the cave, covered in blood. His legs trembled, his lips quivered, and his thick arms gripped the greatsword, yet he cowered like a child.

“You… don’t come any closer.” He shook his head vaguely, stepping back constantly, then tripped over a package behind him and fell to the ground.

“Brother Jero, it’s me, it’s me, Mick.” The young man called out anxiously, extending his hands and slowly walking towards him.

“No, don’t come over.” Jero seemed unable to recognize the young man in front of him, only responding with fear, wildly swinging the greatsword in his hand.

Why is this happening? Why couldn’t Brother Jero recognize him? Mick’s gaze searched around and found the white ash of tobacco remaining on the ground.

Is it “Sun-Dazzling Grass” again? It’s said that consuming too much of this can cause hallucinations.

With this clue, he scanned the remaining traces in the cave and indeed found many “Sun-Dazzling Grass” ashes.

It is said that this type of tobacco can suppress pain and relieve tension, but a side effect is that it is easily addictive and causes hallucinations. Excessive consumption can make people withered and thin, so those who use such things are generally ridiculed as cowards by people in taverns.

While calming the frightened Jero, Mick spoke to him, waiting for the effects of the drug to wear off.

Time slowly passed in torment. It was two hours later when Mick finally took Jero’s hand and made him put down his sword.

“Brother Jero, what happened?” Mick anxiously asked Jero, whose demeanor had changed drastically.

“I, I can’t remember.” Jero seemed exceptionally resistant to recalling the events of the past few days. He hung his head, his hands occasionally covering his head, as if he dared not look at Mick, who was a size smaller than him.

“Brother Jero, you remember. You escaped from over there; you must remember,” Mick asked again anxiously, eager to know the whereabouts of the others.

“No, no…” Jero again lost the ability to speak, only repeating those few words.

Faced with such a Jero, Mick was filled with disappointment. The powerful, reliable, and admirable Brother Jero he used to worship, why had he become like this?

Even if he was afraid of death, it shouldn’t come to this, and now they were safe.

He didn’t understand, and a wave of disappointment rose within him.

However, with Jero remaining silent, he had no good solution. He could only stand up again, leave the cave, and look for other traces.

…

In the mountains, Iona, holding two black steel daggers, looked up at the tall ogre in front of her. The ogre had thick, gray-blue skin, no hair on its head, and rough, wrinkled skin above its brow, looking quite ferocious.

This ogre was probably around First-Order, but its immense size, and the wide beast bone it held, like a giant hammer, swept through the air, creating a strong gust of wind that easily shattered the rock Iona had been standing on.

Race: Ogre (Low-Tier)

Status: Healthy (Bloodthirsty)

Talents:

Immense Strength [Excellent]: Ogres are naturally powerful. Their large size and physique grant them strength far exceeding other creatures of their rank.

Fate Card: [Wilderness Ogre] (First-Order Blood Discipline)

‘Ogres have enormous appetites. No living creature of flesh and blood they encounter can escape their consumption. In the Ninth Epoch, the most common and abundant flesh and blood creatures are humans.’

–

Effect: [Powerful Physique Lv.4]: The innate talent in your bloodline grants you immense brute strength and physique. Even rhinos are mere playthings in your hands.

Ability Cards:

[Blood Devour Method Lv.2] (Blood Discipline): Digests and devours flesh and blood, transforming it into your own ‘Blood Discipline’ affinity power.

[Thickened Hide Lv.2] (Blood Discipline): Tough hide, like thick leather armor, protects you from damage.

[Intimidation Aura Lv.2] (Blood Discipline): After slaying many creatures, you gain an aura that intimidates other living beings, making them lose their fighting spirit and dare not resist.

Facing this powerful ogre, Iona darted through the trees like a wasp, dodging the whistling blows of the beast bone.

During this time, tree after tree fell. She leaped between the treetops, her body soaring high. At the highest point, she plunged downwards, her sword blades gleaming with brilliant golden light, stabbing directly at the ogre below.

…

Golden light flashed, and the massive beast bone swept across. Intense combat erupted in the forest.

Half an hour later, Iona leaned against a tree, gasping for breath. Her normally neat red-and-gold hunter’s attire was stained with blood and mud, and one arm was bruised and difficult to move. Behind her, the huge ogre lay on the ground, its eyes pierced, and several horrific wounds gaping on its chest and abdomen. Foul-smelling blood flowed out, emitting puffs of heat, and occasionally, some insects landed on its exposed organs, sucking the dried blood.

She had defeated the ogre, but at a considerable cost. At least one arm was temporarily unusable and would probably not recover until tomorrow.

However, the arduous battle had yielded some results. She had now completed her first and second objectives, and only the final “Blood Odd Flower” remained to be found.

Deep within the forest, Hylial also encountered a terrifying opponent.

It was a giant ogre with two heads, its skin dark red, like magma. It wielded a thick iron rod, and the hot breath exhaled from its nostrils stirred the fallen leaves on the ground. At this moment, it was looking down at the diminutive figure in front of it.

Behind this tall ogre, a cliff jutted out from the mountaintop, and an eerie blood-red flower bloomed quietly, exuding an incredibly tempting sweet scent.

This was precisely the ultimate goal of this assessment, the “Blood Odd Flower” (Second-Order Blood Discipline).

(End of Chapter)