Chapter 20: The Feast
Su Xiao had three goals in hunting witches: first, to raise his witch hunter rank to Red Level (third rank, top tier), which would allow him to access classified intelligence and search for clues related to the character 'Mo'; second, to obtain Pioneer Sources and treasure chests; third, to gain reputation with the Holy Healing Church. Once he reached Black Level (second rank) hunter, he could exchange items at the Holy Healing Church's faction shop, which was also a substantial profit.
Three birds with one stone—why not do it? Besides, Su Xiao would be staying in the Dark Crow Continent for a long time. Without sufficient preliminary intelligence, finding the Blade Demon sealing device would be nearly impossible.
Riding in the carriage was bumpy and not particularly fast, but Su Xiao would be engaging in high-intensity combat for a while afterward, so he needed ample time to rest.
After a bumpy journey, Su Xiao arrived at the Furnace Human Settlement by noon the next day. This time, his target was the Feast Witch, Keith.
According to Holy Healing Church intelligence, Keith was a third-stage witch with a bounty of 128 gold coins, specializing in the curse system.
This was Su Xiao's first encounter with a curse-system witch, the most insidious type. Flame Explosion Witch Isa had died at the hands of a curse-system witch, and her gruesome death was still fresh in his memory.
Melody pushed open the carriage door, now dressed in a cool backless outfit that accentuated her curves.
"The Furnace Human Settlement is just ahead. Should we notify that White Witch lord?"
Tempted by the gold coins, Melody had fully thrown herself into her role as a witch hunter assistant.
"No need. How much do you know about the Feast Witch, Keith?"
"Not much. She's an old woman, though most people see her as stunningly beautiful—that's the natural advantage of curse-system witches."
Melody's tone carried a hint of envy. Witches lived two to three times longer than ordinary people, and most maintained their youthful appearance for the first half of their lives. Once they exceeded a certain age, they began to age rapidly.
If hunting a witch had a difficulty rating of 10, then 6 points of that difficulty lay in finding them. They were virtually indistinguishable from ordinary women unless you got close.
Su Xiao jumped down from the carriage. From a compartment behind the carriage, he retrieved a shotgun and carried several vials of differently colored potions.
"That's all? If your first shot misses, you'll have to fight the witch barehanded."
Clearly, Melody had no idea about Su Xiao's fighting style. He was carrying this gun just to conserve ammunition for D·Assassination.
Su Xiao said nothing. He left Amu to guard the carriage and brought Bubu Wang with him toward the Furnace Human Settlement. Interestingly enough, the White Witch lord governing the Furnace Settlement was the very figure Melody had wanted to impersonate. That White Witch had made significant contributions to the Holy Healing Church, earning legitimate territory in the Central Plains region. Settlements ruled by the likes of Isa were illegal and could be wiped out at any time.
Ten minutes later, Su Xiao arrived near the Furnace Settlement. Surprisingly, the city walls weren't tall—at most a few meters high—but the equipment mounted on them was quite advanced.
The gates of the Furnace Settlement were wide open. With his witch hunter identity, Su Xiao entered easily. Moreover, anyone who dared to reveal a witch hunter's presence in the city would face execution.
As soon as he entered, Su Xiao caught a faint smell of burning. The Apostle's Eye floated into the air and began indiscriminate scanning.
"Bubu, you handle this area."
At the edge of the city wall, Su Xiao used a branch to sketch a rough map on the ground. He drew a circle on it, indicating the area Bubu Wang was responsible for.
"Melody, use your avatar to transform into flying creatures—preferably eagles or sparrows. You cover this area."
"My name is Melody."
"Oh."
As Su Xiao spoke, an invisible avatar appeared behind Melody. It had no fixed form, a result of her ability.
The avatar twisted and formed over a dozen sparrows. Seeing these sparrows, Su Xiao inexplicably thought of the large flock of crows he'd seen when first entering the world. It made him wonder if the Dark Crows weren't actually the most combat-capable elemental type.
Melody took a deep breath, purple light flickering in her eyes. The dozen sparrows flapped their wings and flew off.
Su Xiao held a tablet computer, observing the images fed back by the Apostle's Eye.
Inside the Furnace Settlement, in a mushroom-shaped building.
"What... is that creature?"
In a laboratory that wasn't luxurious but was cluttered with items, a witch in pajamas with a languid expression sat up. She picked up a transparent crystal from the table.
With a crack, the crystal burst into dust, and a scene materialized in the air.
"A White-level witch hunter? Daring to hunt the Feast alone... such a reckless young man."
Just as the pajama-clad witch was about to dismiss the scene before her, Su Xiao, holding the tablet in the image, turned his head. After a moment, he looked away.
The scene slowly dissipated. The spoon in the pajama witch's hand dropped. In those few seconds, she felt as if she had locked eyes with that White-level witch hunter.
Meanwhile, Su Xiao touched the tablet screen with his finger. An image froze, zoomed in, and resolved in clarity.
"Bubu, head to coordinates 2978637."
Su Xiao pressed the earpiece, and Bubu Wang's bark came through.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao put away the tablet.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
Melody looked at Su Xiao in confusion. He didn't answer her question, simply walking deeper into the city. Soon, he arrived near an abandoned warehouse.
"Wait here."
Su Xiao unslung the shotgun from his back. The barrel was at least five centimeters in diameter. One shot would spew out hundreds of diamond fragments.
Five minutes after Su Xiao entered the warehouse.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed from underground, followed by silence.
Bang! The warehouse's wooden door burst open. Melody outside stumbled back several steps. A woman with tattered clothes and her right arm completely blown off rushed out of the warehouse. Her eyes held only one emotion: fear.
Zzzz~
Metal wire retracted. The tattered woman fell face-first to the ground as the wire quickly dragged her back into the warehouse.
"Save me..."
The woman raised her remaining arm, pleading with Melody not far away.
Melody stepped back again. She recognized this woman—it was the Feast Witch, Keith.
Pfft!
After the sound of blood spraying, the warehouse fell completely silent. The woman's arm, still visible outside the warehouse door, rapidly withered. Her skin lost its luster, eventually becoming skin and bones. This was the true form of the Feast Witch, Keith.
Su Xiao walked out of the warehouse, pulling off his gas mask. The warehouse had a large underground space. To ordinary people, it was a hellish kitchen. Even a mature adult would collapse in terror upon entering.
[You have killed Keith.]
[You have obtained Pioneer Source 04. Total Pioneer Sources obtained: 12.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increases Mana Points by 25. Current maximum Mana Points: 6541.]
[You have gained 60 Holy Healing Church reputation. Current reputation: 60/100 (White Level).]
[Special Reputation Quest: Witch Hunter (3/10).]
...
[Prompt: The hunter may choose one of the following rewards.]
A: Treasure Chest·Gold (This chest has received additional enhancement. Chest rewards increased by 50%.)
B: Curse Resistance (Unique to this world): Increases resistance to curse-system witches' curses, erosion abilities, etc., by 40%, with a low chance of immunity.
Note: This ability is only effective in the Dark Crow World. Upon leaving the Dark Crow World, it will be converted into abnormal attribute resistance at a certain ratio.
...
A choice between a Gold Treasure Chest and Curse Resistance. Based on Su Xiao's assessment, a third-stage witch would drop a Gold to Legendary chest. Of course, Legendary chests were somewhat watered down. Considering the 50% boost, it would likely be a mid-to-low-tier Legendary chest. Fourth-stage witches could drop mid-to-high-tier Legendary chests, while fifth-stage witches would definitely yield top-tier Legendary chests or even higher grades.