novelraw Chapter 4: No Corpse, No Murderer
Chapter 4: No Corpse, No Murderer
No wonder they were northern troublemakers; the moment they opened their mouths, it was filthy language that made one want to kill.
However, out of professional ethics, Kiriman still restrained his anger and did not immediately draw his sword to eliminate the three men in front of him.
He looked expressionless at the three hunter brothers and said with a firm voice:
"It really is you. Detection magic has already revealed the truth to me."
"You were the ones who buried rotting animal carcasses in Lady Judith’s orchard."
"Hunters who frequently roam the forest naturally know what kind of behavior attracts ghouls."
"As for your motives, it’s nothing more than greed for this lady’s beauty and the orchard she manages."
"Such crimes would surely prompt the sheriff of White Orchard to extort a hefty sum from you before locking you up for a thorough punishment."
Being so resolutely exposed face to face, the expressions of the three hunter brothers changed slightly. They exchanged glances, all filled with murderous intent.
If these accusations came from others, they could easily argue, since words alone hold no proof. Even if they twisted the truth, others couldn’t do anything about it without solid evidence.But this opponent was a witcher, wielding mysterious and powerful magic. For more chapters visit novel fire.net
The unknown is what truly terrifies people; no one knows what unexpected things magic can conjure. This mix of rejection and awe is the common attitude of most civilians towards magic.
After whispering for a few seconds, the eldest of the three hunters, the scar-faced man with a vicious expression, turned back and looked at Kiriman with the eyes of a predator. He said grimly:
"Shut up, bastard. No one believes a mutant."
"It’s you evil bastards who brought the black plague that caused heavy losses to the people of Temeria."
"Now, you must have used disgusting dark sorcery to seduce that bitch Judith and crawl into her bed."
"We will kill you and tear out your mutated heart and brain. You won’t get to meet the sheriff."
After speaking, the scar-faced man glanced at his brothers behind him and shouted lowly:
"Stop standing there. Take him down together."
Shouted at by the eldest brother, the younger hunter holding a bow grumbled:
"I’ve said it before, we should have killed this mutant earlier."
"If we had ambushed him with arrows just now, none of this would have happened."
After saying this, he pulled out an arrow and was about to shoot, while the other two hunters also raised their weapons, attempting to surround the witcher from different directions.
Seeing this situation, more words were useless; the murderers were basically confirmed.
Taking out these troublemakers was exactly what Kiriman wanted to do right now.
Kiriman’s eyes flicked briefly as he quickly formulated a battle plan.
He crossed his hands in front of his chest, facing the three encircling men without dodging or evading.
At that moment, while the enemies were slightly confused, a huge wooden shield large enough to cover half his body appeared out of thin air on Kiriman’s left hand, protecting his body.
This sudden conjuring of an object startled the three hunter brothers, causing them to hesitate in their attack for a moment. They seemed afraid this was some kind of evil sorcery.
However, Kiriman had no hesitation. He slightly moved the wooden shield aside, revealing a crossbow already cocked behind it.
With a flash and a click, the crossbow shot an arrow that accurately flew past the two hunters wielding melee weapons and instantly struck the young hunter holding the bow in the neck.
Pfft! The sound of the sharp arrow piercing flesh.
The bow hunter’s eyes widened in shock, unable to react in time. He clutched his bleeding neck and collapsed to the ground, sobbing and twitching continuously.
The eldest and second eldest hunter brothers were stunned.
They had dared to openly attack Kiriman only because they saw him unarmed and without armor, never expecting the situation to change so quickly and lose one brother in an instant.
However, being distracted during battle is a death wish.
Just in that brief moment of hesitation, the shield and crossbow in Kiriman’s hands vanished, replaced by a steel sword gleaming with a cold light.
Although Temerian Military Swordsmanship looked plain and unremarkable, with broad and sweeping moves that were difficult for true sword experts to handle, it was very suitable for dealing with civilians.
Kiriman tightly gripped the steel sword and stepped forward with an upward strike. The sharp blade cut from below upward, slashing open the eldest hunter’s belly, spilling his intestines all over the ground.
Then, with another step, he spun and slashed horizontally. The immense force struck the last hunter directly in the neck under his terrified gaze, severing his head, which rolled onto the ground.
Compared to battle-hardened veterans and frequently murderous bandits, ordinary troublemakers were like docile sheep, easily slaughtered.
The difference in combat experience caused them to be a step slower at critical moments, resulting in fatal mistakes.
And it was exactly this hesitation and delay that allowed their lives to be harvested like straw, effortlessly.
After easily slaying the three troublemakers, Kiriman expressionlessly took a cloth from his storage space, wiped the blood off his sword blade, and then put it away.
The fight had been far too simple. For a witcher with the ability to summon items at any time, dealing with a small number of ordinary people was like a dimensionality reduction strike.
He had three crossbows fully cocked stored in his storage space, all waiting to be used at any moment.
Even experienced witchers rarely manage to dodge a powerful crossbow bolt during a close-range sneak attack.
And once he learned more alchemy skills, what he stored in his space wouldn’t just be crossbows, but countless alchemical bombs ready to explode at any time.
Over ten minutes later, Kiriman returned to the house and lay back on the bed, without even a trace of sweat on his body.
He closed his eyes and gently stroked that warm, soft flesh, a faint smile appearing on his face.
The traces of battle in the courtyard had been cleaned up, and the three hunter corpses were all stored in his storage space, unnoticed by anyone.
At this time, the sun had just risen. Unless the three hunters had informed others before committing their misdeeds, no one would know the reason for their disappearance if even their corpses couldn’t be found. No one would notice their deaths for days.
After all, even in a modern society with advanced reconnaissance technology, it is difficult to solve cases and convict suspects without corpses, let alone in the ignorant medieval era.
However, Kiriman was a man with professional ethics. He planned to stay at Lady Judith’s house for a few days to investigate whether there might be other murderers and to carry out his subsequent plans.
This place was not far from White Orchard. He could also raid the hunter brothers’ homes, scavenge some scraps, and gather news about the Kingdom of Temeria.
Coming to White Orchard this time was a decision he made after careful consideration.
Before the arrival of the future Geralt, this area had plenty of valuable things waiting for him to uncover.
Life was tough now; careful planning was essential.