Night had fallen.
In this era where there was no electric lighting and the wilderness was undeveloped, there was little light in the world after nightfall. The only bright lights were concentrated in the aristocratic area and near the church in the center of the city. Once out of the city, only the moonlight and starlight could guide the traveler, just like now.
Hao Ren and Lily easily left the city after nightfall. The ordinary patrolling soldiers were like decorations to them. After walking along the main road outside the city for a short distance, the two of them noticed an empty space by the side of the road. In that empty space, there stood a lonely, withered beech tree. The bright moonlight of the approaching full moon shone on the withered branches of the beech tree. A crow was standing there, using its black eyes to size up the two people who were leaving the city in the night.
Hao Ren looked at the crow for a while and said calmly, "Are you here to show us the way?"
The crow, frightened, uttered a hoarse cry, and flapped its wings from one branch to another, which was farther away.
Lily scratched her head and said, "Mr. Landlord, I don't think it's him …"
Hao Ren frowned and said, "Madam Marie said to let us follow the crow's guidance. She can't be lying about this, can she? This is a bit bad, completely harming others without benefiting herself …"
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard the sound of flapping wings behind him, followed by a hoarse voice that sounded like a crow's caw. "Hey! Hey! Idiot! Idiot! What are you looking at? The great Kodo is in this place! "
Hao Ren turned his head and saw an ugly bird, at least twice the size of an ordinary crow, hopping on a haystack not far away. The bird had a striking black feather on its head. As it hopped around, it said in an arrogant tone, "Hey, I'm not afraid of you!" That wretched old woman always makes the great Kodo lead the way for you brainless fools. Hey, hey! "
Hao Ren was a little stunned. "So you are the crow that will lead us?"
"Of course it's me! Of course it's me! Have you ever seen a more beautiful raven than the great Kodo? " The giant crow shouted as it flapped its wings. "You were talking to that scrawny, sickly man just now. What a joke! Caw! That old woman was also a joke! You know that there are crows everywhere in the wilderness, but you still insist on letting Kodo lead the way for strangers! "
"Alright, alright, we know you're great," Hao Ren hurriedly silenced the chattering ugly bird. "Now, take us to your master. This is what we agreed upon."
"Kodo knows, Kodo knows, Kodo is smarter than most of you, so keep your mouth shut, Kodo knows what to do —"
The big crow shouted and chattered, but in the end, it still had to obey the witch's order. So it flapped its wings and flew into the air, leading Hao Ren and Lily in the wilderness at night.
The crazy crow flew very fast at the beginning, as if it wanted to get rid of the two people behind it, completely ignoring the orders given by its master. However, it soon found that its flying speed was not worth mentioning to the two people on the ground. No matter how fast it flapped its wings, it could not get rid of the two people's sight. Lily even had the time to collect a lot of strange stones and weave a wreath with the flowers and plants she picked in the wild. To be honest, if it was not for business, the dog could even go hunting …
The big crow finally gave up the idea of teasing the two people, but it did not stop for a moment.
Perhaps the witch had fed it some other strange things when she activated the bird's intelligence, so the bird's mind was always in an uncontrollable state. It flew and talked about the human's harvest, the lord's eccentricities, the size of the city and village, the weather and soil, and even the name of the second egg it laid last year. Hao Ren wanted to borrow Lily to throw a stone at the stupid bird countless times, but he managed to restrain himself …
While Kodo was talking, Hao Ren noticed that the moonlight around them was gradually dimming.
They deviated from the main road and ran in the wilderness. Fog began to gather around them, and in the hazy fog, even the direction became erratic and difficult to determine. Slowly, even the crows in the air were covered by the fog. Only the constant chattering sounded in the air, guiding them to the next direction.
A graveyard suddenly appeared in the thick fog.
A few broken iron railings blocked the way, and on the other side of the iron railings were scattered tombstones and stone statues. A few dead trees had fallen, and their withered branches crushed the walls of the cemetery. The branches rested on a few lonely tombstones.
The sound of the crow's wings flapping echoed in the air. Kodo descended from the thick fog. He stood on the iron fence and shouted at the direction of the graveyard. Accompanied by the ear-piercing crow's cry, the scattered fences and tree trunks immediately grew countless arms and legs, shouting and shouting as they hurriedly ran to the sides.
Hao Ren and Lily raised their vigilance and followed behind the big crow into the cemetery.
A long table was set up in the open space in the middle of the cemetery, and the long table was filled with all kinds of suspicious food. Thick white candles stood between the cups and plates, and the pale flames at the top of the candles burned quietly in the fog.
There were a few black high-back chairs around the long table, and a few women in black robes stood up. They turned their heads, and pairs of suspicious and vigilant eyes stared at Hao Ren and Lily.
The fog in the cemetery slowly dissipated, and Hao Ren could see the appearance of everyone present. Some of the witches were charming, some were young and beautiful, and some looked like ordinary peasant women. But these appearances were meaningless. Hao Ren knew very well that witches, as servants of the Otherworldling Gods in the Mythological Era, were mainly responsible for serving their masters and pleasing guests. Their most basic ability was to use magic to reshape their body and appearance. Every adult witch had at least a dozen faces, and even they themselves did not know what their original appearance was, so it was useless to recognize a witch by her appearance.
But at the very least, during this "guest" process, these witches should not change their appearance.
So, Hao Ren quickly recognized Madam Marie among the witches. She was standing in front of the chair closest to the end of the long table, wearing a simple black robe with a copper pendant hanging on her chest. The big crow, Kodo, was standing on her shoulder, tearing a piece of bloody raw meat with relish.
"Very well, you are here as promised," Madam Marie raised her chin and said expressionlessly. "The mysterious wizard and the mysterious werewolf lady. Times are tough now. I hope you don't mind this humble place for guests."
"You can call me Hao Ren." Hao Ren did not give himself a Western-style name. Instead, he used a name that the locals would not understand. "This werewolf's name is Lily."
"Hao Ren … What a strange syllable," Madam Marie repeated the word stiffly. Then, she took it as a pseudonym. Although wizards were not as good at disguising as witches, basic disguises and fake names were still common. "Foreign wizard, I hope you can understand our caution in this situation. In this day and age, it is a great risk to receive a stranger. I hope you can first prove your identity as a wizard."
"Understandable. Gullible guys die fast in this day and age." Hao Ren smiled and waved his hand. Countless swords and oddly-shaped weapons immediately appeared along with the ripples in the air. The cold gleam of metal was continuous in the air. Of course, he did not know the sorcerer's tricks, but as an inspector, he had all kinds of tricks up his sleeve. It was not difficult for him to disguise himself as a wizard. Not to mention that the system of wizards on Earth was a mess. They were all 'magic apprentices' created by various otherworldling gods using methods similar to human experiments. So, it was even more difficult to distinguish them from each other.
The witches did not expect that Hao Ren would prove his identity as a wizard in such a way. There was a commotion. Madam Marie's expression changed slightly. She then believed that this weapon-making witchcraft was indeed a wizard's trick.
At least, it was not a demon hunter's.
Lily also stepped forward excitedly. "Hey, do I need to prove myself? Look at my ears, look at my teeth — they're the real deal! "
The witches closest to her subconsciously stepped back. Then, a young woman bowed awkwardly. "Lady werewolf, you don't need to prove your identity. We can feel your powerful aura."
Lily suddenly became very happy.
Hao Ren's eyebrows twitched. He realized that although the Mythological Era had ended and human wizards had become an independent group, the otherworldlings with orthodox blood still had a certain deterrent power in front of them. Although Lily was not a real werewolf, she still had the aura of a werewolf and an extremely similar aura. For witches with only half of their non-human characteristics, it was impossible for them to distinguish the subtle differences.
It seemed that there were some unexpected benefits to bringing Lili along.
"Have you brought news of the demon hunters?"
Madam Marie asked bluntly after confirming Hao Ren's identity.
Hao Ren did not answer immediately. Instead, he found an empty chair at the long table and sat down. He saw a mysterious man in a black robe sitting across the table, his face hidden in a hood. Judging from his figure, he should be a man, the wizard that Gray Rat had mentioned earlier.
The hooded wizard nodded at Hao Ren as a greeting. Hao Ren returned the gesture. Then, he answered Madam Marie's question, "First of all, I want to know about the arrested witch."
Madam Marie's face darkened. "I told you, that is —"
"Is that a scam to fool people?" Hao Ren raised his eyelids and glanced at the witch. "Then you must have put in a lot of effort for this scam. You even went to the execution ground in the city to carve a bunch of runes, didn't you?"
The middle-aged witch finally looked surprised. "You actually went to confirm those things?"
"If I don't even have this level of caution and care, how can I deal with you cunning guys?" Hao Ren spread out his hands. "I think we should be more open and honest. The demon hunters are wandering around, and the human church is powerful. In the name of magic, don't we have enough enemies? I can't believe I have to divert my attention to decipher your words. "
Madam Marie's face was gloomy and she did not say a word. A young witch behind her finally stepped forward. "You should understand our cautiousness, wizard. The person we are going to rescue is very important. She is a representative of a powerful force, and we hope to get the protection of that force through her."
Hao Ren did not care much about the person the witches were going to rescue. He was more interested in finding out if there were any ruins nearby. But in order to get closer to the witches, he had to continue the conversation and even consider helping them save the person. "Oh? What kind of person is she? "
"Her name is Hessiana, a powerful blood mage."
"Pfft —"
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