Cornflower Witch

Chapter 101 A Hard-Won Victory
Hiltia and Iona worked together. When one of the ogres chased another, the other would take the opportunity to attack and interfere. After this alternation several times, the ogre's not-so-bright brain quickly figured it out.

He turned his two heads in different directions to deal with the situation, and took up weapons in both arms to sweep across the two men.

The thick iron club was swung up, smashing down trees along the way and even shattering some rocks. The flying fragments hit the two men, causing them pain.

Fortunately, at this moment, the hallucinogenic poison that Siltia had administered began to take effect. The two-headed ogre felt dizzy and saw double images of everything, its vision went black, and it even became unsteady on its feet.

Their once fierce and powerful attacks became sluggish and often missed their mark, completely unable to keep up with the two agile opponents.

Faced with this situation, Hilti and Iona seized the opportunity to attack, continuing to widen the original wound and even attempting to attack the vulnerable eyes and throat.

The dark red two-headed ogre, weakened by its rage, could only wildly swing its iron club to parry. Though its aim was poor, a single blow would cripple both of them.

Left with no other choice, Hiltiya stepped back again and took the lantern from her waist.

A few drops of emerald dew fell onto the 'Fire Orchid' in the glass bottle, and the flickering sparks became blazing. Then she opened the lid and manipulated the remaining 'Fire Orchid Stamens' to float out and sprinkle them towards the two-headed ogre not far away.

Having already witnessed the power of these flower stamens, Iona quickly dodged them.

When those faint sparks flickered and touched the ogre, the sparks instantly blazed brightly, and the explosive heat wave burst out, blinding it. It roared wildly in pain, and after several attempts to dodge, it finally lost its balance and fell to the ground.

Poisoned, blinded, bleeding, and injured—under the combined effects of multiple negative conditions, the two-headed ogre's arrogance finally weakened. Taking advantage of its momentary lapse in evasion, Iona leaped up again, her rapier flashing like a bright streak of light falling from the sky, piercing the ogre's chest and penetrating its heart.

Black and red flesh flew everywhere. Just as Iona was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the dark red ogre, its face contorted in a ferocious grimace, grabbed Iona's waist with its giant hand and held her tightly.

Under the immense force, Iona felt her internal organs being squeezed, and indescribable pain came from all parts of her body.

Why could this ogre still wield such power even with its heart destroyed? Iona couldn't understand, but it was too late; she couldn't break free.

Faced with the critical situation, Hiltiya acted decisively, rushed forward, gripped the black steel short sword with both hands, and plunged it into the other side of the ogre's chest.

The sharp black steel barely pierced through the thick, tough outer skin, and plunged into another pulsating heart.

"Roar--"

The ogre let out a violent roar. The intense sound waves, the shockwaves from the 'Blood Law' aspect, almost shattered the two of them. Not only did their breathing techniques come to a standstill, but their hearts also clenched as if gripped by iron clamps.

Fortunately, this was the two-headed ogre's swan song. After the roar, he became extremely weak, and the hand holding Iona slowly loosened its grip.

A few minutes later, Iona slowly broke free from the ogre's grasp and stood up.

By this time, the cannibal was completely dead, and its originally dark red skin had gradually turned into a bluish-gray.

Walking to the side under a tree, Iona leaned against the trunk, took out the potion she carried at her waist, and drank it. Her originally pale and weak face regained some color.

On the other side, Hilti also drew her black steel short sword, bringing with it a little thick black blood. She discovered that a small piece of the sword's tip had broken off and fallen into the ogre's body.

With such tough skin and flesh, it would be difficult to cut it open and search for anything. At this moment, Hiltiya was also sore all over and exhausted, and had no strength left to search.

She glanced at Iona not far away, then found a large tree to rest under.

Taking a deep breath and using breathing techniques to calm herself, the girl remembered something, took out a golden petal bracelet from her bosom, and put it on. Her body warmed up a bit. Defeating the enemy should have been a joyous occasion, but the two would soon face another problem.

There is only one 'Blood Flower' and only one spot available. How should the two people share it?

About twenty minutes later, Iona, who was of the 'blazing sun' aspect, was the first to stand up and look at the blood-red flowers on the distant cliff.

She glanced at Hiltiah, who was still sitting under the tree, picked up her sword, and walked step by step toward the cliff.

Because the flowers are located on a steep slope, they are difficult for ordinary people to reach. Even Iona has to carefully climb and get closer little by little.

At this moment, her clothes were stained with blood, her once gorgeous hunting outfit was tattered, and her golden hair was also stained with dried blood and bits of grass. However, her red eyes remained firm, and she did not look like a pampered noble lady at all.

Hiltiya arrived at the foot of the cliff. She looked up at Iona climbing above, raised her hand, but after a moment, lowered it.

At this moment, she could easily knock down the unsuspecting Iona by attacking her, but would she really do that?

Indeed, the Hidden Woods is her best option right now. She can easily obtain many inherited secret techniques, growth resources, and opportunities there. But should she really attack Iona because of this? She felt it would be difficult for her to do so.

Perhaps I don't face the same predicament that Iona does, which requires a full-fledged struggle, and therefore I lack Iona's decisive will.

Forget it, let's wait for her to come down before discussing the ownership of the Blood Flower. I'm afraid the two of them will have to have a match.

……

However, fate is never so kind; a sharp cry of an eagle shattered the silence.

A bright orange-brown falcon swooped down from the high sky, leaving a long trail of air behind it. Its entire body was enveloped in the hot air. It knocked Iona away, and its sharp talons tore through Iona's leather hunting armor, leaving several bright red wounds.

【Gale Vulture】(Tier 1 - Blazing Sun): A ferocious bird of prey that appears during the season of rising winds. It often moves in flocks, attacking and preying on various animals, and is especially fond of things with the 'blazing sun' attribute.

On flat ground, this Gale Vulture would definitely be no match for Iona, but it attacked from the air, not only knocking Iona away with one blow, but also grabbing Iona's shoulders with its two claws and hurling her off the cliff, throwing her onto the hard stone ground.

Seeing Iona being captured, Hilti quickly chased after her. As Iona fell, she leaped up and caught her in mid-air before slamming down to the ground. She hurriedly kicked several times to mitigate the immense impact of the fall.

Seeing that Iona hadn't been killed by the fall, the Gale Eagle let out another sharp cry. It turned around and swooped down again, its outstretched wings gathering high-temperature air currents, which slammed into Sylvia like cannonballs.

Setting Iona down, Sylvia, still holding the broken sword, kept her eyes fixed on the swooping Gale Eagle, constantly estimating its angle and direction. When the Gale Eagle was only a few meters away from her, she brought down the broken sword with all her might.

Scorching flames and feathers flew everywhere, and scalding blood poured onto Hilti. Her short sword, already overwhelmed and full of nicks, broke completely this time. The Gale Vulture, its chest ripped open by the broken sword, continued to struggle on the ground, its wings, about five meters wide, flapping incessantly, stirring up dirt and heat waves. Dark red blood mixed with dust, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of burnt blood.

Pained by the slaps of the Gale Vulture's wings, Hilti had no choice but to throw away her broken sword, leap back to dodge, and then find the Tree Jade Spirit Sword that had been bent earlier, holding it in her hand once more.

Under the infusion of the [Emerald Honey] essence, the originally bent emerald longsword returned to its straightness, and the nicked blade was restored to its sharpness and flawlessness.

Taking a few steps forward and accelerating, Hiltiah gripped her sword in both hands. Her feet and waist followed the rotation of the blade as she swung it with all her might, drawing a striking emerald arc that directly severed the neck of the struggling Gale Vulture.

As dusk fell, steaming blood flowed slowly across the grass. A blonde girl lay unconscious under a tree, while the corpse of an ogre in the distance remained as still as a stone. The only conscious figure slowly rose in the afterglow, panting.

(End of this chapter)