Chapter 19: The Witch Hunt Journey
After walking out of the Holy Healing Church headquarters, Su Xiao returned to the Locke Hotel. Melody didn’t dare to flee, first because of the ‘bomb’ inside her, and second because Amu was watching over her.
As soon as Su Xiao stepped into the hotel room, he found Melody trembling in a corner. The bed and wardrobe in the room had vanished without a trace, and Amu was holding half a wooden stool in his hand. Judging by the situation, if Su Xiao had returned any later, Amu would have started dismantling the floorboards to eat.
“H-Help, help.”
Melody was clearly startled by Amu, who was in the middle of a meal. If Su Xiao hadn’t come back, Amu might have even devoured the entire hotel.
As if he had anticipated this happening, Su Xiao tossed an oilcloth bundle to Amu. Inside were various types of food he had bought—meat, vegetarian dishes, everything.
“Did you really become a witch hunter?”
After seeing the ring on Su Xiao’s little finger, Melody immediately recognized its origin.
“That’s right. From now on, you’ll be hunting witches with me. As compensation, you’ll get a quarter of the bounty from the wanted posters.”
The price Su Xiao offered wasn’t low. Witch hunters under the Holy Healing Church could also claim bounties after killing witches, but they only received 50% of the reward. This was tied to benefits, basic income, and equipment usage issues.
Even though witch hunters only got 50% of the bounty, overall, it was still more advantageous than outsiders killing witches. They didn’t have to bear the maintenance costs of weapons and armor, and travel expenses, food, and lodging were all reimbursed by the Holy Healing Church. Plus, there was a base salary and benefits, making the bounty income more like a bonus.
Witch hunting was indeed a dangerous profession that lived on the edge, but there were no destitute witch hunters.
“Two quarters.”
Melody tried to drive a hard bargain. Su Xiao tossed a wanted poster in front of her. When Melody opened it, her pupils contracted sharply, because it was her own wanted poster.
“Th-Three… three silver coins.”
Melody stared blankly at the poster between her hands, seemingly shocked. For reference, the bounties for first-stage witches ranged from 20 to 40 gold coins, with exceptions for those with strong combat abilities.
Su Xiao had one wanted poster with the highest bounty: 7,000 gold coins, dead or alive. Because the amount was so large, even witch hunters under the Holy Healing Church could claim the full reward, not just 50%.
What could 7,000 gold coins do? The answer was to recruit thousands of militia, buy weapons, build a castle, and gradually develop into a lord of a small territory.
Such a high bounty naturally belonged to that five-stage witch. Her whereabouts were unknown, but she was roughly located in the western region.
All the commissions Su Xiao had taken were in the central and western areas. These two regions were under the Holy Healing Church’s control. Clearly, the Church wanted to clean out the witches on its own turf first. As for the south, that was witch territory—there, witch hunters would become the hunted.
“Why am I being hunted? Why am I only worth three silver coins…”
Melody muttered to herself. After all, she was a third-stage witch. Being valued at just three silver coins was too humiliating; she would surely become a laughingstock among her peers.
“You’ll only get a quarter. As for your bounty, if you want to be worth 1,000 gold coins, I can help make that wish come true.”
“Not at all. Three silver coins is fine.”
“Is that so? Then let’s move.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now.”
Su Xiao led Bubu Wang and Amu out of the hotel. Melody hesitated for a moment before choosing to follow.
As soon as she stepped out of the hotel, Melody saw a carriage. The carriage’s cabin was entirely made of metal, several times larger than an ordinary one. The draft animals weren’t ordinary horses either, but creatures resembling rhinoceroses. These three beasts were called ‘Dokens.’ After domestication, each Dokens cost 150 gold coins and could travel a hundred kilometers on just a handful of grass.
The carriage was custom-made by the Holy Healing Church. Witch hunters could rest inside, and the rear compartment was used to store weapons.
Su Xiao opened the compartment behind the carriage. On both sides were various hooks and locks, and below were three shotguns of different calibers. Beside them, an iron box contained diamonds and gunpowder.
That wasn’t all. There were also fire oil, potent tear gas (a mix of large amounts of pepper, acidic liquid, and chili extract), and various other items.
Su Xiao picked up a diamond and, under Melody’s resigned gaze, shoved it into her mouth.
“What does it feel like?”
“It has a strange taste.”
“…”
Experiments proved that ingesting diamonds orally had no effect on a witch. This substance likely reacted with a witch’s blood, thereby interfering with her ability to use her avatar.
With a clang, Su Xiao closed the rear compartment and entered the carriage from the side. The interior was about two meters wide and three meters long. When the seats were flattened, it was spacious enough to lie down and rest.
Amu sat at the front of the carriage as the driver, but there was no need for him to drive the Dokens. With Melody, a witch skilled in beast language, around, she only needed to give a command, and the three docile Dokens would head in a fixed direction.
Sitting inside the carriage, Su Xiao picked up a stack of wanted posters from the seat beside him. Yes, a stack—conservatively estimated at several dozen. These were all the recent wanted posters.
Not only that, but Su Xiao had also obtained a map from the Holy Healing Church. This item was definitely a strategic asset. The Church had a clear rule: even if a witch hunter died in battle, they had to destroy this map before their death.
The map covered 60% of the Dark Crow Continent. What made it even more valuable was that it was from six years ago. Don’t think that was too old—given the world’s technology, this was already an impressive update frequency.
The carriage moved forward and soon reached the city gate. Seeing the emblem on the carriage, the city guards let it pass immediately, even though their detection crystals were warning that there was a witch inside the carriage.
Melody stuck her head out the window and grinned at the squad leader who had captured her when she entered the city. The next moment, a hand grabbed her by the back of the collar and yanked her back inside. Seeing this, the squad leader’s lips curled into a smirk.
Su Xiao’s destination this time was the Furnace Human Settlement, 30 kilometers away. This was a territory governed by a white witch. Of course, this white witch had to pay a large amount of taxes to the Holy Healing Church every year. According to local intelligence, there was a black witch hiding in the Furnace Settlement.
Su Xiao handed a wanted poster to Melody.
“This witch—do you recognize her?”
“Of course. Feast Witch Keith. No witch doesn’t know her infamy. That old hag has a habit of eating people. Rumor has it she prefers the flesh and blood of white witches.”
“Perfect. She’s our target this time.”
“You don’t mean to…”
Melody swallowed hard, already guessing what was coming.
Su Xiao’s witch hunt had begun. For now, he was only a White-level witch hunter, a rank that witches scornfully referred to as ‘rabbits.’