The Cornflower Witch Chapter 157

The grey ghostly body, like a rotting corpse, gave a strong visual impact. Even before it approached, one could almost smell the stench of death.

Facing such an enemy, without proper countermeasures, it would be extremely difficult, especially for professions that only relied on physical attacks.

Karl calmly employed his abilities. First, he used powder to reveal its form, then he manipulated the phantom cat to continually draw the ghost’s attention while looking for opportunities to tear it apart.

Unlike battles between living creatures, struggles between ghosts did not rely on specific moves, but rather on the strength of their souls, or their dark vitality.

It was clear that although the phantom cat was small, its form was much more condensed than the corpse wraith before them, and it was also mentally clear. Even with a slight disadvantage in overall aspect power, it could still easily decimate this irrational corpse wraith.

About two minutes later, the ghost became weak, seemingly on the verge of disappearing. At this point, Karl recalled the phantom cat and then took out a special black skull.

He aimed the black skull at the ghost, and under the guidance of unseen ‘Dead Ember’ power, the ghost was slowly absorbed into the black skull, vanishing without a trace.

“Is that the end of it?” Although Bona had been on several adventures with them, this was the first time she had seen Karl use this skull to absorb a ghost.

“Yes, when we go back, I can use some secret methods to refine the ghost in the skull into pure ‘Dead Ember’ power, to enhance the black cat, or strengthen my own aspect.” The principle was similar to ordinary adventurers drinking ‘blood wine’, but one was a ‘Blood Discipline’ item, and the other was a ‘Dead Ember’ item.

“I’ll take this harvest, and then four Gold Coins will be deducted from my share of the spoils,” Karl told Bad Apple to note.

“Okay,” the other replied, indicating he had noted it.

“But this corpse, has it no other use?” The short captain walked over and poked the pile of rotting, dried bones with a branch.

“It’s no use anymore,” Karl shook his head.

“If it were a powerful corpse, or if the awakened ghost was formidable, it wouldn’t have been trapped in the dead tree for so long.”

“Let’s burn it, it looks grotesque,” Bona suggested, raising her hand.

“Alright.”

Bona then approached the tree, gently blew on the dry wood, and soon, high-temperature flames ignited, setting half of the tree ablaze.

After dealing with it, the group set off again, occasionally chatting about the knowledge and interesting stories from their exploration.

“Generally speaking, the rewards from a secret realm are natural resources, or products from the monsters within. But sometimes, our rewards are the remnants or traces of activities left by those who explored here before us.”

“For instance, many people might have died in a certain secret realm before, until all enemies were cleared, making the area safe. The relics of the previous explorers then become resources for later adventurers.”

“That sounds a bit sad,” Hylial thought. The owners of those relics were probably a group of people their age, who entered the secret realm with many fantasies and hopes.

“You can’t think too much at a time like this, Lia,” Bona walked beside the girl, hoping to infect her with her enthusiasm.

“Anyway, everyone’s going to die, so before you do, be happy!” This way of comforting Lia made her open her mouth, unable to find a suitable retort.

After passing through a deep forest path, the canopy overhead became slightly sparser, allowing some light to penetrate the dim woodland.

A sound.

While the others remained unaware, Hylial heard a subtle sound. She looked up and saw some kind of wild beast feeding among the bushes several hundred meters away.

Anything capable of surviving in such a twisted secret realm likely wouldn’t be an ordinary creature. She stopped walking and cautiously alerted the others.

“Oh, can you spot prey that far away?” Bad Apple meticulously observed the bushes for a good while before noticing the slight differences and the moving silhouette.

“You say you’re not a ‘Ranger’, but I think even regular Rangers don’t have such amazing observational skills,” the captain grumbled.

“Can you hit it with an arrow? If you can reduce its escape ability, we can chase it down and take it out together.”

“I’ll try,” Hylial herself had never shot prey from such a distance.

She notched a ‘Sickle Thorn Vine’ seed onto her arrow, raised her Ebony Compound Bow, aimed at the distant prey, calmed her mind, and slowly adjusted her state.

At this moment, she concentrated, her gaze seemingly piercing through the interwoven branches and leaves, “clearly seeing” the shape of the prey.

It should have been a deer, but its antlers were twisted, and its fur constantly changed with the environment, making it difficult to distinguish.

The bowstring was drawn, the arrow notched. Hylial held her breath, and when the prey’s position coincided with the arrow’s trajectory in her perception, she released her fingers. The black arrow swiftly pierced through the branches, silently embedding itself in the prey’s body.

The deer-like monster shrieked and then began to run, plunging into the depths of the shadowy forest.

It jumped and ran, and then black barbed vines oozed from the wound, continuously wrapping around the deer’s body until they spread to its legs, making it fall. It was then enveloped in layers of black thorny vines, unable to move.

【Twisted Horn Deer】(Tier 1 Emerald Honey): A forest deer corrupted by the ‘Distortion’ aspect. Its antlers are twisted and deformed, and most of its sanity is lost, but it can still instinctively gnaw on plants. Its fur can change with the environment, protecting itself from detection.

The group hurried over, and then Bad Apple, gripping his short sword, precisely plunged it into the deer’s eye socket, ending its life and struggles.

“Oh, oh, beginners really do have good luck.”

Bad Apple examined the dead deer and then stood up.

“This deer’s antlers and blood are quite valuable. It’s a shame we just started our journey; if we encountered it on the way back, we could take it straight back to town.”

“The fur is excellent. I’ll help you skin it, Lia,” Bona interjected.

While the other team members could also butcher, none were as skilled as Bona, the professional chef. Under her hands, the fur could be peeled off with maximum intactness, fetching a higher price.

“This one deer alone will earn us over 10 Gold Coins.”

The group paused. First, Bona skinned the deer, then Karl extracted the blood, Yarn helped saw off the antlers, and Bad Apple cut off the venison. After a short while of work, their bags were a little fuller.

【Strange Antlers】(Good): Twisted and tough antlers, unsuitable for crafting tools, but better for grinding into medicinal powder.

【Color-Changing Deer Hide】(Excellent): Can be made into special cloaks that change color with the environment, a favorite of certain thieves and assassins.

【Deer Blood】(Passable): Beast blood containing ‘Blood Discipline’ power, usable for making blood wine, but of lower quality due to contamination.

During the rest of their journey, they encountered other creatures. Some were strange crows that flew by in a flash, others were poised for an ambush but were discovered by Hylial in advance. Often, an arrow would shoot forth, hitting a bird or a poisonous snake, pinning it to a tree, making it struggle in vain.

With this seemingly frail girl in the team, the journey felt exceptionally easy. The others only had to finish off the prey and collect the spoils. The new team member, who should have been looked after, seemed to have become the main force today.

After killing these monsters along the way, their backpack was filled with various spoils of war.

Thus, by evening, they found a relatively safe place to set up camp for the night.

The orange campfire burned, and the weary travelers, having walked all day, rested by the fire, watching Bona prepare their evening meal.

“Roasted venison, mushroom and vegetable soup, it’ll be ready soon.”

Eating hot and delicious food in such a dark wilderness greatly boosted morale.

Hylial had her compound bow on her lap, patiently inspecting it under the firelight. The flames reflected on her slender legs, tinging them with a delicate golden hue.

Today, using the bow and arrow felt smoother than ever, almost addictive.

Perceive, aim, find the rhythm of the trajectory, confirm, release the arrow, hit.

The arrow felt like an extension of her arm, shooting exactly where she pointed, remarkably accurate. This positive feedback was captivating.

On the other side, Karl was also examining the various medicinal powders and reagents he carried. Yarn lay resting on the grass, while Bad Apple agilely climbed a tree, observing the surroundings and keeping watch.

Everyone performed their duties, and though little was said, there was an unspoken understanding among them.

Soon, Hylial caught the scent of roasted meat. She looked up, curious to see Bona’s special grilling technique. The heat imbued with ‘Gold Steam’ penetrated the ingredients, heating them from within and gradually altering their properties, making them more nutritious. The inherent ‘distortion’ contamination slowly transformed and dissipated during the roasting process.

Being a chef seemed interesting.

It was now difficult for her to further improve the quality of her crops, but if she could process “perfect” quality food in this way, could she break through the limitations and create “Tier 2” aspect high-grade food? It was said that such food was no longer just about replenishing physical strength and nutrition; it also possessed various special effects.

If she had the chance in the future, she wanted to learn cooking knowledge from Bona. Even if she couldn’t pursue it as a profession, making delicious food for herself would be a very worthwhile endeavor.