Cornflower Witch

Chapter 99 The Witch in the Twilight
"Hey, are you still alive?"

Hiltiya stood before the hidden cave, looking at Thorin, who lay unconscious before her.

The other person buried half of their body in the soft soil, their face was purple, their body had a fever, and they were almost in shock.

Taking out the small knife she was carrying, Hilti cut open the other person's wrist and examined the dark red blood that flowed out.

"He's definitely been poisoned," the girl thought. She then took out a 'white camellia' flower leaf from her bosom, pried open Sorin's jaw, put the fragrant camellia leaf into his mouth, and poured in some water.

A short while later, Thorin slowly woke up and looked up to see Sylphia standing not far in front of him.

He discovered that the fragrance of the flower petals he held in his mouth dispelled the drowsiness in his mind, making him realize that this should be the antidote.

"Thank...thank you," he mumbled, then weakly closed his eyes again.

The assessment is probably hopeless, but surviving is a great blessing.

In the past, he did not understand why his father, a veteran who had experienced many battlefields, had now fled the battlefield and lived in seclusion in a remote place like Jiaoshi City.

Now he can probably understand his father's feelings and thoughts.

Battlefield and death are truly terrifying things. He recalled the poisonous snake he had killed yesterday. Even if he had won, what difference would it make? He had almost died in the mountains. Compared to surviving, victory seemed insignificant.

After regaining some strength, he slowly crawled out of the soft soil, then found the water bottle he had buried, drank some water, and felt much stronger.

"I'm feeling better. I should be able to slowly move back on my own later," he said, sitting under the tree with swollen eyes.

"Tiya, you still need to participate in the assessment, right? You don't need to linger here any longer." Although he didn't know how this seemingly frail girl had come to the depths of the forest, since she had made it safely, she must be much stronger than him.

"I was originally thinking of competing with Mick, but it seems I was too arrogant." He shook his head self-deprecatingly.

“Since you can guide Mick, you must be better than him. I misjudged you in the past.”

"Among this batch of trainees, probably no one can beat you except Iona... Now that I'm weak, I can truly feel what strength is."

"Your steps and movements are far more coordinated than others; this is not something a delicate girl could do."

"This bead is for you. It will be of great help if you face Iona." He took out a snow-white pearl from his sleeve and handed it to the girl.

[Bluewater Shell Pearl] (Tier 1 - Hibernation): A pearl containing the power of sexuality, which can be activated and stimulated to emit a chilling aura. (Residual power 82%)

"Originally, this was prepared for myself, so that I could have a fighting chance when facing Iona." He leaned against the tree trunk and spoke slowly.

"We don't need it now."

"I'll stop here. You can continue your journey..." After saying that, he closed his eyes again, entered a state of quiet breathing to adjust his blood circulation and repair his injuries.

Seeing this, Hiltiya slowly stood up. She looked at the pearl in her hand and nodded to Thorin, who was resting with his eyes closed in front of her.

"I'm leaving now. Here's some wound medicine; you can apply it externally." She left a small bottle of hemostatic and antiseptic wound medicine and then departed.
……

In the evening, Hilti found another ogre, which had rough blue skin, a rhinoceros-like horn on its head, and was covered in foul-smelling blood.

Faced with the ogre, she put down the basket beside her and then gripped the two Tree Jade Spirit Swords in her hands.

The emerald light flowed, and the two jade-shaped longswords glowed in the evening light, becoming sharp and hard.

"You ate someone." Hiltiya could discern the traces left on the other person's body and muttered to herself.

Faced with the girl's questioning, the cannibal in front of him roared disdainfully, then gripped a thick wooden club, strode forward, and swung the club, which was thicker than the girl's waist, down.

Hilti nimbly dodged the wooden club before it even came at her, sending shards of dirt and debris flying. She then swiftly rushed behind the ogre and, before he could react, plunged her sword into his back.

The sword precisely avoided the tough bones, piercing the ogre's lungs through the gaps between the bones, then slicing horizontally before being withdrawn.

The excruciating pain enraged the ogre. His blood boiled, and the power within him surged forth in his fury. He gripped the wooden club and spun it wildly, smashing it against the girl.

Faced with this seemingly frenzied attack, Hilti calmly responded, constantly using trees to block the opponent's advance and then quickly avoiding the attack range.

Blood kept flowing from the wound. The herbs applied to the Tree Jade Spirit Sword to prevent blood clotting made it impossible for the ogre to heal. It slowly went from being furious to being terrified, and then it covered its wound and tried to escape.

Hiltiya shook her head, stopped, and took out the lantern from her waist. With the activation of the [Blooming Flower Technique], the brightness of the Fiery Orchid stamens within the lantern rapidly increased, followed by an invisible wave of fire spreading outwards.

A tangible orange-red wave of fire spread from beside Hilti, igniting the trees and the bodies of the ogres along the way. The ogres howled and rolled around in the mountains, raising wisps of blue smoke.

About ten minutes later, the cannibal was completely dead, its charred body emitting a foul, hot stench on the grass.

"Now I've accomplished my second objective," the girl thought, carefully approaching the dead ogre and examining the corpse with another black steel dagger.

With the experience of defeating her opponent this time, she had some ideas when facing the two-headed ogre before.

It seemed she needed to find other ways to defeat her opponent; a relentless assault wasn't the best option. She realized that the greatest credit for killing this ogre was the herbs she had inadvertently picked along the way that prevented blood clotting.

If she could poison someone… Sylvia began to devise her next plan.

……

At the foot of the mountain, Viscount Xue Feng and Maester Hai De sat in a makeshift wooden shed, discussing the progress of the assessment.

"Now, the first group of people who found the spring have returned."

"Six people returned in total. Two of them brought back the spring water, while the other four were injured and voluntarily gave up their elimination."

"Currently, Iona, Tia, Komia, Karen, Mike, Ray, Thorin, and Baron are still not back." The attendant beside him counted them according to the roster.

"A day and a night have passed. The trainees have limited food and water, and their supplies should be almost exhausted. If they cannot find water and food on their own, it will be difficult for them to continue," a tall knight said, standing beside the viscount and wielding a heavy sword.

"Levin is right. Generally, the first goal is within the range of normal people. As long as you study hard and prepare well, it is not difficult to achieve."

"However, starting from the second goal, it will be a great test of talent and strength."

"How many students in this cohort have reached 'Level One'?" Knight Levin asked the instructor.

"Eight trainees in this cohort have advanced to Level 1," the instructor replied proudly.

"Oh, so that means none of the elite students who have reached the first tier have returned yet, is that right?" Knight Levin said with interest, his gaze beneath his helmet fixed on the distance.

"Yes." At this point, many people present began to worry again.

These elite students are the pride of Jiaoshicheng. In another ten years or so, they will probably become the backbone of Jiaoshicheng, standing here just like they are now.

While it's good for young people to have ambition, it would be a pity if they encountered an accident while slaying a 'Tier 1' monster.

The conversation rang out under the makeshift wooden shed until a black carriage slowly drove up in the twilight, silencing everyone.

Two third-tier knights stood in front of Viscount Xuefeng, their 'castle' aura spreading like a city wall, enveloping the entire temporary camp and preventing the invisible erosion from spreading in the night.

At that moment, the black carriage stopped, and then the door opened.

A woman in a black, alluring dress stepped slowly out of the car, followed by a graceful figure whose face was obscured. She had pale skin and wore a captivating dress as black as night. A thin black ribbon wrapped around her wrist, twisting occasionally as if it were alive.

[Tier 4 - Nightmare]

When she appeared, many of the weeds at her feet began to twist, turn black, and deform unnaturally; some even grew out of the shape of wailing human faces, sending chills down one's spine.

In a brief encounter, these plants were tainted by the power of 'Nightmare,' mutating and withering. Even the two third-tier knights, who were only one tier apart, looked solemn and warily at the figure slowly approaching them.

Is this the witch from the Hidden Woods? So terrifying and horrifying, she seems completely unlike any mortal being, more like some kind of twisted monster.

At a moment of extreme tension, the unknown figure let out a light, melodious laugh, finally breaking the silence.

"Long time no see, little Hyde. I never imagined you'd grow so old." Tiny specks of purplish light appeared beside her, faintly illuminating her figure in the twilight.

Finally seeing the other person's face clearly, Haide, who was sitting on the wooden chair, stood up in disbelief and looked at the other person.

"Is that Melinsa...senior?"

Sixty years later, the senior I met by chance during my studies is still so young.

(End of this chapter)