Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 146 The Blessing of the Lake Goddess

In Wayne's backyard, the old Witcher Vesemir had gotten up very early. Wayne had just gotten up when he saw him, Belingal, and George of the Griffin School in the blacksmith's workshop, talking quietly about something, probably studying some equipment blueprints.

As the saying goes, "experience is the best teacher." Having dealt with blacksmiths for decades or even centuries, spending most of their savings on repairing and forging equipment, older Witchers may not possess the forging skills of professional blacksmiths.

However, their knowledge of blacksmithing is not much worse than that of ordinary blacksmiths, which is why each Witcher school has its own Grandmaster-level and Master-level armor sets and other valuable blueprints.

These precious legacies left by their predecessors were all gradually improved upon by the witchers of the past based on their own experience.

As the master of the Wolf School and a witcher nearing three hundred years old, Vesemir is undoubtedly one of the most experienced witchers. His use and understanding of swords and armor far surpasses everyone's imagination. Perhaps he can even create a set of master-level equipment blueprints of his own.

Lambert and Eskel, on the other hand, weren't as diligent. Ever since they came to Wayne's house, they've taken over Wayne's daily job of frying fish in his spare time.

Wayne's warehouse was full of all kinds of alchemical bombs. These two unfortunate brothers had never fought such a rich war before. Every day, they would excitedly bring a large number of bombs to the shore of Lake Vigema.

Teaming up with the little earth spirit Fizz, they began to wreak havoc on the underwater half-fish people.

Not only did the half-fish people underwater suffer, but the fish in the lake were not spared either. After each time they finished frying fish, the two brothers would bring back a large pile of fresh freshwater fish, which the hardworking Belingal would then turn into salted fish and dried fish, which were then laid out to dry in the backyard, covering a dense area.

Lambert also boasted that when he left Vijma, he would take hundreds of kilograms of dried salted fish with him, which would not only solve his daily food problem, but also serve as hard currency to sell to taverns and restaurants in exchange for gold coins if he was in dire need.

This idea was also agreed upon by Eskel, who was also used to a hard life. Having a few salted fish to keep him company when camping in the wild was a good option.

Wayne ignored the two clowns, changed into a clean and handsome outfit, mounted Lucifer, and prepared to head to the swamp village.

Today is the day he is to meet the goddess of the lake. Perhaps because of Yennefer's arrival, Triss, Keira, and Yennefer, the three sorceresses, gathered together and quickly completed the development of the underwater combat barrier that Wayne needed. Although it has not yet been tested in actual combat, with this powerful tool, there is no need to wait any longer.

After he formally reports this matter to the goddess of the lake today, the final battle can begin tomorrow.

He greeted his family and rode his horse to the swamp village, where he found Fisherman King leisurely fishing by the lake.

The mysterious Fisherman King seemed completely unsurprised by Wayne's arrival; he simply asked:

"What do you want, Goddess's chosen one?"

Wayne didn't say much about this mysterious guy, only simply stating:

"I have business with Her Majesty the Goddess. Please take me to Black Tern Island."

Upon hearing this, Fisherman King merely gave Wayne a deep look, said nothing, neatly packed up his fishing rod, and led him onto a small boat. They rowed all the way to Black Tern Island, stopped at a shore, and he said calmly:

"Go by yourself, I'll wait for you here."

After thanking him, Wayne did not hesitate and headed towards the forest he remembered from the last time.

Because he possessed the Hekna Amulet, a gift from the Druid Elder, no wild beasts dared to attack him along the way, making his journey quite safe.

After walking for about twenty minutes, through the dense forest, he successfully arrived at the beautiful, fairyland-like lake in the heart of the forest.

This time, Wayne did not use the ring given by the goddess to summon the goddess of the lake. As soon as he approached the lake, he immediately felt a mysterious aura enveloping the area around him.

Soon, the beautiful and holy figure of the goddess of the lake slowly emerged from the lake water and rose to the surface of the lake.

Looking at the goddess's beautiful face, perfect figure, and clear, lake-blue eyes, Wayne sighed softly, lowered his head, and whispered:

"Praise be to you, beautiful goddess of the lake."

The goddess of the lake slowly walked up to Wayne, parted her red lips, and spoke in an ethereal voice:

"No need for formalities, my warrior."

"What brings you to see me?"

Facing this goddess, pretense and politeness were superfluous. Wayne raised his head, admiring the goddess's beautiful body hidden behind the veil, and said:

"Your Majesty, I have gathered a group of powerful warriors and three powerful spellcasters."

"We will begin our attack on the evil god's lair beneath the lake tomorrow, striving to eradicate this scourge hidden here completely in one fell swoop."

"All preparations have been made for this matter, so I am here to report to you."

Whether the goddess of the lake already knew about this or not, after hearing Wayne's report, a gentle smile appeared on her beautiful face. In an instant, that beautiful smile even warmed Wayne's heart.

The goddess looked into Wayne's eyes and said softly:

"You are doing something praiseworthy, my warrior."

After saying that, the goddess cupped Wayne's face, pulled him into her arms, and gently kissed his forehead. A delicate fragrance, like orchids in a secluded valley, filled Wayne's nose. His face felt the warm and smooth skin beneath the thin veil, and her warm red lips left a faint kiss mark on his forehead.

However, this feeling was fleeting. The goddess released Wayne's body and whispered:

"I have bestowed upon you the protection of the lake. In tomorrow's battle, my power will shield you, and the evil thoughts of the evil god will be unable to invade your mind. I hope you can completely eradicate the evil god's avatar lurking beneath the lake."

"I await your triumphant return, my warrior."

"After you achieve victory, I will bestow upon you the reward you deserve."

After saying these words, the goddess of the lake slowly walked back to the center of the lake and disappeared into the water again under Wayne's gaze.

Only after the goddess had completely disappeared did Wayne bow slightly to the lake before walking out of the forest.

The goddess of the lake remained as beautiful, serene, and ethereal as ever, like the pure maiden that every man longs for.

Unfortunately, she was indeed very different from ordinary girls; she possessed a kind of divinity that made it difficult for anyone to feel desire for her.

However, the harder something is to obtain, the more it arouses people's greed. Just thinking about the goddess of the lake's holy face revealing other, more interesting expressions always makes people feel itchy and want to do something.

As Wayne pondered these strange thoughts, he returned to the Fisherman King's small boat. The great battle was to begin tomorrow, and he needed to spend more time making preparations to ensure that tomorrow's battle would go perfectly.

Therefore, he also planned to see someone today, the Druid Elder Cairnster, whom he had thought of many times but had never visited.

Actually, the reason I hadn't visited this old man so many times before, besides the fact that I really couldn't find the time, was that I hadn't found where the Druid's Ring of Cairnster was.

Fortunately, with the help of his brothers from the Wolf School, the task was handed over to Geralt, who had been bored all along. He lived up to expectations and found the Druid's Ring hidden in the forest and the location of Cairnst in just two or three days.

When Wayne emerged from the swamp village, Geralt was already waiting by the roadside on his mount, Carrot.

(End of this chapter)