Chapter 235: The Changing Witch

Chapter 235: The Changing Witch

Cornered beasts fight with a crazed desperation, yet the Hunter’s threads had silently entangled its limbs. As the creature panicked due to its shifting center of gravity, the butcher’s blade swung down with a heavy blow.

Miracle Water Thread, Miracle Evil Light Slash!

Precise and elegant, yet brutal and efficient, the first Overlord Creature the trio encountered, the Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon, had its head split open like a watermelon. It possessed a mane of lacquer-black hair as if styled by a beauty salon and a massive body akin to a dump truck. However, now it was destined to dissipate into motes of light, mingling with the Reverse Golden Rain and sinking into the soil as nourishment.

Several spirits took the opportunity to flee but were casually captured by the trio.

“It’s not much different from the usual monster hordes.”

Sonya sheathed her sword, interlaced her fingers and stretched them forward, flexing her joints to relax, commenting like a Gourmet, “But the last Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon did have its merits. Scales, 2 points; movements, 3 points; meat quality, 4 points. But for the skull, I’d give it 5 points—it’s as crisp as a chip—”

“That comment alone will have me remove chips from my menu for at least the next five days; my fats thank you,” Ashe said, not amused. “But to be fair, this Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon’s strength is no less than other Large Creatures. Plus, it commanded the other fierce wolf dragons—there were three times it almost severely injured you.”

“You had my back, didn’t you?” Sonya glanced at Ashe and suddenly caught sight of an incredibly cute girl. Her large eyes seemed expectant, a proud tuft of red hair on her head begging to be smoothed down.

Sonya couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle Deya’s head, “Besides, I have the super impressive Witch by my side. How could a mere Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon escape our exquisite teamwork?”

“Exactly!” Deya said proudly, hands on her hips, “As long as the Swordswoman is with me, even ten more would be no challenge!”

“If you can attract the hatred of ten Giant Fierce Wolf Dragons as firmly as capitalists attract the labor of their workers, I wouldn’t mind your enthusiasm for the job.” Ashe clapped his hands. “Alright, now it’s time to collect the bonus. Let’s see what surprises the Fierce Wolf Dragons have prepared for us.”

The Fierce Wolf Dragon’s den was the third Resource Point they had found tonight and was also the first overlord Resource Point they encountered—with not only thirteen Fierce Wolf Dragons but also one overlord creature, the Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon.

Of course, the battle wasn’t as easy as these three made it sound, as if they were cheating in a single-player game with a co-op team. An overlord creature has combat power comparable to that of a Large Creature and can also command Gregarious Creatures in combat support. They fight without any sense of honor.

When the boss attacks, its minions will shamelessly sneak attack, and even a Battle Sorcerer who excels in group combat would be as helpless as a student who realizes on the last day of summer vacation that they have yet to do their homework.

Fortunately, Ashe and his companions were just as shameless. They found a narrow passage and blew up the walls on both sides, reducing the space to only allow two young girls to dodge and weave. Ashe then stood behind, stabbing with his Heart Sword, quickly exhausting the Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon’s minions. What followed was a one-on-three showdown with the Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon.

The Resource Point they had fought so hard to secure was naturally rich in spoils. The den contained three types of resources in production: wood, mercury, and sulfur.

Wood and ore were the cheapest resources; the first two Resource Points they found tonight contained wood and ore. But mercury and sulfur were rare.

“Fiery Sulfur” was the best fuel for Fire Magic and Gun Technique spirits, while “Mercurial Silver” was a universal lubricant for spirits of Poison Magic, Water Art, machinery, and other Factions.

The rarer the material, the wider the range of spirits it could cultivate, and the stronger the effect. Meanwhile, ordinary wood and ore materials were not only picky for the spirits but also yielded inferior cultivation results.

Sometimes Ashe even wondered if he was the servant and the spirits were the masters. How else could he explain going through hardship and risking his life to find cultivation resources for the spirits?

In short, the den of the Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon was likely the best haul of the night.

However...

Ashe gazed at the pool of mercury before him, next to which stood a machine that looked both crude and somewhat complex, as if an Orc had drunkenly cobbled it together from a pile of parts in a once-off artistic endeavor that could never be replicated.

But it was this contraption, which rightly belonged in a heap of junk, that had been driven by the spirits of the Fierce Wolf Dragons, extracting mercury from the pool and refining it into precious materials like “Stoneflow Silver” and “Stonemilk Silver.”

Especially when feigned, the lethality of innocence is strongest since true naivety may lack finesse, whereas a contrived act hits just the right notes, not angering anyone.

But Sonya found that the Witch was genuinely naive.

It was as if the Witch had torn off the Werewolf Mask she used for defense the previous night, revealing the harmless and pure face of a lamb. She seemed to lack experience in interacting with her peers, her way of socializing involved laying her heart out in the open, shouting for attention—’look at me, look at me’—a country kid would have more guile.

Being an expert at feigning innocence herself, Sonya could tell this wasn’t an act. But if it wasn’t an act, then what about the composed White Witch from the night before?

Ashe seemed to have some guesses, as he knew the Witch’s Inherent Talent was a Personality Split, and the Witch from last night was clearly not the same persona as the one tonight.

But should this information be shared with the Swordswoman?

Or rather, should he be the one to tell her?

“I suggest you ask her directly, after all, it should be her privacy.”

“Just tell me since you know.”

“But if the Witch asks about your secrets, should I be honest with her too?”

Ashe waved his hand dismissively, as if to swat away annoying flies, before Sonya could retort: “I know what you’re going to say—yes, emotions are profound because of their depth, and relationships are intimate because of their closeness. You should indeed have more privileges with me than the Witch, such as discussing her gossip behind her back.”

“I do enjoy gossip, but the premise is those people don’t become colleagues we meet every day. The three of us will be comrades-in-arms who stick together out of a fear of death in the foreseeable future. It’s no big deal to whisper and vent about the third person occasionally, but we shouldn’t make it a habit to privately discuss the gossip of teammates—it would inevitably lead to you, Swordswoman, thinking we’re talking about your secrets whenever you see me and the Witch together.”

Sonya immediately countered, “I’m not that sensitive!”

“I think the only thing in this world that’s more sensitive than you is Secret Poison,” said Ashe in irritation. “Although it’s inevitable to form cliques when a team gets larger, right now there are only three of us. I hope we can keep the atmosphere at the level of a student interest group for as long as possible, before we enter the dirty adult world of gossiping about colleagues all day.”

“Actually, I’ve had a question for a long time—what does gossip mean?”

“You didn’t understand?”

“Given the context, I can guess it probably means speaking ill of others.”

“It’s basically talking about people’s private matters.”

“What does that mean, ‘private matters’?”

“Are you picking a fight?” Ashe was losing his patience. “If you want to know the Witch’s secrets, just go ask her yourself!”

“But asking about someone’s secrets so bluntly can make one seem to have low emotional intelligence...”

“Then let me help you. I’m actually quite curious too.”

Without further ado, Ashe pulled Sonya along to find Deya. Sonya was taken aback by the sudden hand-holding—it wasn’t their first time holding hands. They had clasped hands while soaring through the Sea of Knowledge, and there had been times during battle when they assisted each other. But this casual contact in everyday circumstances was new.