The Witcher: Grinding Proficiency Starting with the Witcher

Li Wei and Ashel nodded in unison.

"I brought it."

Daniel continued, "Next, you two will each explain your battle plans. Ashel, you go first."

Ashel was visibly taken aback upon hearing this, but after a moment's hesitation, he said, "I plan to lure the petrified chicken snake out of the cave, prepare honeycomb bombs near the entrance, and then use the fire sign to catch it off guard before hunting it down."

Daniel and Art nodded and turned their gaze to Levi.

Li Wei pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "If it's according to my plan, I will first infiltrate the cave to observe whether there are suitable conditions for fighting inside. If there are, I plan to deal with it in the cave."

"reason?"

Daniel's cat-like eyes narrowed slightly.

Li Wei explained, "The ideal fighting environment for the petrified chicken snake is an open area."

"Once it takes to the skies, it can fully utilize its advantages in the air."

Even if outmatched, they can escape quickly using their flight ability.

"By then, apart from our bows and crossbows, it will be difficult for us to inflict any effective damage on it."

"Ashel's method isn't impossible either. As long as its wings can be destroyed immediately when it's stunned by the bomb, that would work."

"But I'm afraid that would only introduce a lot of variables."

"Li Wei, you've thought of everything!" Ashel's cat eyes lit up. "We have cat eye drops, so we're not afraid to fight in the dark."

Seeing that the two had reached a consensus on the plan, Daniel said no more.

"Let's begin then."

Li Wei walked to his mare's side, and the horse kept stamping its front hooves on the snow, as if it had sensed the terrifying atmosphere coming from inside the cave.

"Relax, little girl."

Li Wei stroked its mane, calming its panicked emotions.

He took the greatsword off his back, leaned against the pine tree beside him, and suddenly felt a lightness in his body.

We won't need it for the upcoming battles.

He opened the backpack hanging on the saddle and took out a honeycomb bomb, sword oil, and three test tubes of different colors.

The green one was swallow medicine, which he put in his pocket, the one he could easily reach.

The white one is cat eye drops, which can amplify sensory perception, especially enhancing the night vision function of cat eyes in dim environments.

The yellow one is owl potion, which can increase stamina.

Li Wei pulled out the corks from the cat's eye drops and owl drops, and gulped down both bottles in one go.

The icy liquid sank into his stomach, and Li Wei involuntarily lowered his head, clenched his fists, and his facial muscles twitched violently, revealing a ferocious expression.

The veins on his neck bulged out one by one, like black vines spreading straight down to the area around his eyes.

His jet-black pupils pounded violently like a heartbeat, then suddenly contracted, turning into pinpoint vertical pupils.

Li Wei squinted, and his surroundings became a blur of white.

[Status: After using cat's eye drops, all five senses have been enhanced by 30%...]

[Status: Stamina increased by 20% after using Owl Potion...]

Endurance: 2.41 - 2.89

"Hiss..."

The faint sound of footsteps echoed in the distance.

Looking out, Li Wei saw a red outline appear in his field of vision amidst the vast expanse of white snow.

That was a spotted deer foraging for food.

He smacked his lips; the effect of this cat-eye drop was practically comparable to a thermal imaging camera on Earth.

He took out an oilcloth, evenly applied the sword oil to the silver sword [Lone Wolf], picked up the honeycomb bomb, and returned to his previous position.

Ashel walked over just then, his face pale and his black veins throbbing, clearly also suffering from the side effects of the drug.

"The potion's effects only last for half an hour; we need to finish this quickly."

Daniel addressed the two of them.

Li Wei and Ashel, each holding a silver sword, slowly approached the cave entrance from either side.

A foul stench wafted from inside the cave, and Li Wei twitched his nose.

"It stinks!"

After exchanging a glance with Ashel, the two stepped into the cave together.

The dim environment inside the cave instantly brightened, and the effects of the cat's eye drops were fully triggered.

The stone walls on both sides were covered with friction marks, and the petrified chicken-snake footprints on the ground were becoming more and more dense.

Following the footprints deeper into the area, after crossing a stone step about half a person's height, one could see several pale scratch marks and dried dark bloodstains on the step.

The temperature was rising rapidly, and the stench and blood smell in the air were becoming increasingly strong.

Li Wei was on high alert; he knew the petrified chicken-snake was not far away.

He gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, alert to his surroundings, and assumed a fighting stance.

"Huff... huff..."

Heavy breathing came from ahead, then silence fell again.

Li Wei and Ashel exchanged a glance and silently moved closer, whereupon a cave quietly appeared.

In the center of the cave, countless skeletons were piled up like a mountain. Li Wei glanced at them and saw that most of them were the remains of antelopes and wild boars.

On top of the skeleton, a creature larger than a full-grown warhorse was fast asleep.

A pair of large wings covered most of its body.

At the joints of the wings are sharp, knife-like claws, enough to tear the fur of any creature.

Its entire body was covered in gray-black feathers, which swayed slightly with its heavy breathing.

Farmers often say that the petrified chicken snake is a combination of a petrified lizard and a rooster, with a rooster-like, coral-like crest that is dark red.

Its curved beak, cast from black iron, gleams with a metallic sheen even in the dark.

If it weren't for its head, Li Wei would have thought that the creature in front of him was a small-sized flying dragon.

Under the influence of the cat's eye drops, the petrified chicken snake emitted a crimson heat, like a miniature furnace.

Li Wei gave Ashel a look, and the two quietly retreated back to the entrance of the passage.

"Li Wei, did you see that? It's like a crouching dragon, it's so beautiful..."

Ashel lowered his voice and said excitedly.

Li Wei took a deep breath and replied in a low voice, "The terrain inside is not open, and in close combat, we would be at a disadvantage with our strength."

"Also, I didn't find any wounds on the petrified chicken snake."

"So what do you plan to do?"

Ashel pressed on.

Li Wei frowned. "I plan to attach a honeycomb bomb to an arrow and shoot it first."

"Then, when you see an opportunity, use the fire sign to attack its wings and disable its ability to fly."

"Then we'll lure it out of the cave while things are in chaos, okay?"

Ashleigh pondered for a moment.

"Okay, we'll do it your way."

Livy drew a silver bleeding arrow from his quiver and tightly fastened a honeycomb bomb to the arrowhead.

They took out the elven longbow and returned to their previous position.

Ashel bent over, moving as lightly as a cat, and made no sound even as he stepped on the bones scattered on the ground.

When he silently approached a spot about seven meters from the side of the petrified chicken snake, he gave Li Wei a ready gesture.

Li Weila nocked an arrow, held his breath, and aimed at the petrified chicken snake's tightly closed eyes.

At this distance, he was absolutely certain of hitting the target.

While holding the bowstring with his right hand, he quickly made a fire sign with his left hand.

"laugh!"

The fuses buried inside the honeycomb bomb were ignited.

Fire the arrows!

The arrow shot out like a silent bolt of lightning, its fletching spinning rapidly in the air.

The arrow has been specially treated so that it makes almost no sound during flight.

In the blink of an eye, they were already in front of the petrified chicken snake.