The place where Brady died was only two miles away from Spencer. The three walked along the village trail for half an hour and saw a lush pine forest in the distance.
Most of the trees have experienced hundreds of years, and the height is more than 40 years. Looking up, the broad and dense umbrella-shaped branches and leaves are gathered together, and the lush greenery blocks the sun.
The ground under his feet was covered with a thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves, and the fermented smell of soil and plant residues filled his nose and mouth. From time to time, a small animal peeked out of the pine forest and fled into the woods in panic. place.
"You two, the scene of the murder is in front of you, and there are still dried bloodstains. I believe you can recognize it at a glance. I will wait here and I will not accompany you."
According to the village chief Kasili, a place where someone has died is unlucky and will bring bad luck.
He had been to the scene once before, and this time he was really reluctant to approach.
The two did not force it.
Far away, at the edge of the woods, among the rows of scattered pine trees, there are a few particularly long branches that bend inward abruptly, forming a "spire" more than one person high, and below them, covered with The ground of the fallen leaves was dyed reddish-brown, and piles of flies were flying on the scattered pieces of meat and bones.
Fortunately, there was no rain in these three days, and the traces of the murder scene were preserved.
The two approached the scene further, and there were human footprints scattered on the ground, which should have been left by the villagers. In addition, there was a faint stench in the nearby air.
Going a step further, a humming sound suddenly sounded in the quiet woods. Roy was startled, his body shuddered, his back arched like a frightened cat, and he took a few steps behind the witcher.
This is not his cowardice, this is just a strategic retreat. There is a tall man standing in front of him, so don't overdo it with your own small body.
"Relax, kid."
Leto's right hand gently stroked the snake pendant on his chest to stop its vibration, "The fluctuation of the magic power is too slight, this is not the attack of a monster, it is just the resonance of the residual energy at the scene..."
He closed his eyes and felt,
"Even though three days have passed, I can still feel faint elemental fluctuations."
"The murderer is really not an ordinary human?" Roy squatted down, stretched out his palm and touched the contact point between the pile of spire-shaped branches and the ground, and blew the sand off his fingers.
"This pile of twigs was not created by nature or by man, but by supernatural magic. I can imagine the scene - Brady, completely defenseless, inserted into the body and overhead by the sudden rise of branches from the ground. , disemboweled."
"So this is the first scene of Brady's death?"
"I can't imagine anyone who would go to the trouble of using destructive spells on a corpse."
Roy has no doubts about the witcher's words. After walking around the first scene, he made a new discovery.
"There are some strange scratches on this pine tree..."
After observing, the witcher pondered for a moment, and gave him an approving look, "This is the trace of the vines dragging. The murderer used the vines to restrain Brady, hoisted him off the ground, and then used a spell to deliver a fatal blow."
In a nearby bush, the two found a severed vine.
"Control the vines... use thorn-like spells..."
The shadow of some kind of monster flashed in Roy's mind, and he had a rough guess in his heart.
At this time, the witcher squatted down and picked up a piece of stench and looked at it carefully, Roy's nose twitched slightly,
"Rotten flesh and blood, and the excrement of birds and beasts..."
"To be more precise, it contained bird and wolf droppings, dried urine. But the quantities were unusual..."
In addition to the reddish-brown color of blood, the mottled ground was also covered with sticky and dry dung.
Leto continued to analyze,
"It's impossible for a corpse to attract so many beasts... The location where the corpse was found was on the edge of the mountain forest. The wolves' territory should be located in the heart of the mountain forest, and they have to walk a certain distance into it. This place does not belong to their hunting ground... "
Roy thought for a while, "So, those beasts deliberately left the ground full of filth here?"
The witcher nodded and said, "Nine times out of ten, this is using animal waste to cover up and destroy the evidence left by the murderer. And they have achieved their goal. The murderer's footprint and smell are completely confused." The witcher Rubbing his nose, "At least I can't tell... Tracking."
Roy was stunned, "It means that the murderer can also manipulate wild animals."
He summed up the information collected at the moment:
Can manipulate vines, use thorn-like spells, drive wild animals, and live in forests.
The image of a tall monster became clear in his mind. If the murderer is that kind of thing, Spencer's commission is really hot.
But he was faintly excited, and hunting it in the monster's base camp must be a daunting challenge.
If you are alone, and you are still so weak, you must be able to escape as far as you can. But with Leto, the main fighting force, beside him, everything is possible.
Naturally, Leto couldn't detect the thoughts in his mind, and he was still indulging in his own rhythm, "Don't you think it's strange, if it only targets ordinary people, the murderer can't do these clean-up measures, and it is difficult for ordinary humans and dwarves to discover these clues. ."
Roy was surprised, "So all these arrangements are aimed at a special group - witchers!"
The witcher nodded and said solemnly, "It's only migrated to the nearby mountains and forests in the past few months, committed four cases, and obviously realized that his actions will attract professionals. This is a very cunning, rich Against the experienced, powerful 'old guy'!" The last sentence aggravated his tone, and he made no secret of his fear.
Roy's breathing quickened slightly when he heard this.
So far, the most powerful guy he has ever faced is still the tomb witch.
A tomb witch who is vulnerable under the cooperation of the witcher is worth 100 experience, so the monster that the witcher is so afraid of now must provide more experience.
Currently at LV3 (5/1500), if there is a chance, he certainly doesn't want to miss it.
"Little devil, why are you excited? Shouldn't you be afraid? The target is obviously a monster far beyond your ability." Leto patted the filth in his palm and stood up, "So sorry, you're excited for nothing. I've had a fight. I'm not going to accept the commission this time."
Roy sighed inwardly. He had a hunch that someone as cautious as Leto would not necessarily take over this matter.
"But how should I explain it to Spencer's people?" He could think of the disappointed expressions of the group of women and children, a little unbearable.
"Explain what? Remember, we're neither paid nor committed. We don't owe them anything. Could it be that you're going to fight that thing out of sympathy for them?" the witcher snapped ruthlessly. , "When you are so weak, you are not qualified to sympathize with others."
Roy's lips moved. He didn't expect that the bald man's mouth was quite poisonous, but he didn't refute it.
When the strength is weak, it should develop steadily, and it is useless to speak ruthlessly.
The witcher's sharp eyes turned to the front, and there was a black raven at some point in the strange branches.
It stood on the branch and spread its wings, with a long beak like a hook, and a trace of anthropomorphic cruelty and cunning in its black eyes.
"dumb-"
The gaze of the two seemed to startle it, a red light flashed in the raven's eyes, and it suddenly flew to the forest with its wings.
Letho whispered to himself, "The faithful servant is rushing to inform its master..."
"Whoosh-"
A crossbow arrow slid across the sky, and the raven trembled suddenly, and fell to the ground like a broken kite, losing its vitality.
"… "
"Little devil, who told you to shoot it?"
"Sorry... It seems that I misunderstood what you meant?" Roy shrugged and said helplessly, "Correct next time?"