Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 173 The Overconfident Mercenary

After leaving the palace, Wayne went to the blacksmith shop of the dwarf master O. Henry to check if the things he wanted were ready.

It was a huge steel cage made up of dozens of iron bars thicker than an arm, weighing several tons, which is why it trapped the vast majority of monsters.

In the Middle Ages, before welding technology existed, only large blacksmith shops like those of O. Henry had enough manpower, skills, and materials to complete the task.

While he was inspecting the progress of the steel cage, Master O. Henry also told him some good news.

The new armor, crafted using dragon scales from Skyrim and the hides of green dragons from the Wizarding World, is largely complete and in its final stages.

Because Wayne provided a sufficient amount of materials, Master O. Henry made two sets of armor.

It is a set of heavy leather armor made primarily of green dragon leather, with some key areas made of metal and dragon scales. It has moderate defense, comparable to most chainmail, but its advantage lies in its lightness and flexibility. The overall weight is only five kilograms, which is considered light armor and suitable for flexible combat.

The other set is a heavy armor similar to plate armor, made mainly of hard dragon scales and various rare metal materials. Its defensive power is amazing, far exceeding that of ordinary knight's iron can. However, it also weighs more than 20 kilograms. Due to the special structure of plate armor, it will be slightly hindered when moving.

However, these problems are nothing to Wayne. His physical abilities far exceed those of ordinary humans, making him a top-tier witcher among all witchers. Calling him a humanoid monster wouldn't be an exaggeration.

These two sets of armor are perfect: one set is for light combat, and the other is for heavy-duty battles. They are just the right amount to handle different situations, which makes Wayne quite satisfied.

He spent two or three hours in the blacksmith's shop, where he used Gwent to gain experience and a lot of rare materials from the dwarf master. He also used the blacksmith's simple kitchen to cook a delicious lunch, with good wine and food, and a warm welcome to maintain everyone's friendship.

When Wayne had a few drinks and left the blacksmith shop, his keen witcher senses immediately detected that someone was following him, and quite a few of them at that.

This discovery immediately brought him to his senses, and at the same time, a thought struck him—this situation had taken him somewhat by surprise.

Although he had anticipated that the person who cursed Princess Yada would come to hinder his actions, he hadn't expected this guy to be so audacious. He had only been away from the palace for a few hours before he had already taken action, showing no regard for him or King Fortest. It was hard to say whether he was brave or foolish.

Well, to meet the king, he went out today dressed in a proper and handsome silk robe, without even bringing any weapons. Perhaps this attire gave others hope that they could defeat him.

Unfortunately, these poor fellows didn't know that his swordsmanship only ranked second in his overall strength; his ability to freely cast spells made him the strongest.

Wayne pretended not to notice that someone was following him and left the old city of Vizima. When he crossed the wooden bridge connecting the old city and the new city and came to an open space outside the new city with few people, he indeed felt a group of about ten guys surround him from several directions and block him in the open space.

Wayne glanced around at the people surrounding him and couldn't help but frown.

These guys weren't the thugs and hooligans in the city. They all had a fierce demeanor, wore all sorts of armor, and carried various weapons. Two of them even had light crossbows. They were most likely mercenaries who made a living from war.

Their faces were filled with ill intent. As they approached Wayne, the leader, a burly man in armor with a bald head and a scarred face, chuckled and said:

"Pretty boy, someone paid us to cripple you. We're just doing this for the money, so don't blame us."

Wayne looked up at him, his face showing no fear, and calmly said:

"Could you tell me who commissioned this? Have you met him in person?"

The bald, scarred, burly man was slightly surprised to see Wayne's confident demeanor. However, considering that Wayne was unarmed and unarmored, and had no chance of turning the tables against a dozen men, he spoke up:

"We can't tell you who commissioned you; that's our professional ethics. Besides, we don't know who it is; we're just doing our jobs for money."

"You'd better not resist, lest we kill you without thinking, and then you won't be blamed."

Upon hearing this, Wayne sighed, began to gather the chaotic magic within his body in his hands, looked at the scarred, burly man, and offered one last word of advice.

"Since you know nothing, there's no great use in keeping you around."

"If you surrender now, you can save your life, but once the fighting starts, I won't hold back."

The scarred, burly man was taken aback by what he heard. He turned to look at his dozen or so fully armed men and couldn't help but burst into laughter, saying:

"You want us to surrender? Are you an idiot? Or are you just playing dumb? Forget it, I thought he was someone important, but he's just a moron. Brothers, cripple him!"

Upon hearing their leader's order, the mercenaries showed no mercy and immediately charged towards Wayne, laughing loudly. Their goal was to cripple Wayne, so the mercenaries in the distance carrying crossbows did not make a move but instead raised their crossbow bolts, pointing the arrows at Wayne with a threatening air.

Seeing that they were stubborn and unyielding, Wayne no longer held back. His right hand, which was filled with chaotic magic, instantly drew an Alder sign and then slammed it down into the ground.

Bang!

With an invisible circular shockwave, a deafening explosion erupted. Within a radius of nearly ten meters, grass clippings, pebbles, and soil flew outwards. The mercenaries charging towards him seemed to have been struck by an invisible rhinoceros at high speed. They weren't pushed away, but instead were all sent flying backwards, coughing up blood. They also knocked down the others behind them like rolling gourds.

Having awakened the ancient blood, and with the aid of various skills and equipment, the strength of his sign now far exceeds the standard of an ordinary demon hunter. Even the impact damage inherent in the Aard sign can directly shake an ordinary person, causing their internal organs to shift and causing them to vomit blood incessantly.

The scarred, burly man who led the group was further away. Although he was also knocked to the ground by the power of the Alder sign, he immediately struggled and shouted after falling:

"He's a wizard! He's a wizard!"

"Archers, shoot him dead!"

Unfortunately, as two of Wayne's key enemies, how could he let them have a chance to strike? Before the bald, scarred mercenary could even shout, one of the two mercenaries wielding crossbows had already been controlled by Wayne's Axii sign. To the astonishment and shock of the other crossbowman, he pulled the trigger and shot his comrade through the throat.

Meanwhile, Wayne had already taken advantage of this time to rush to the controlled archer at an extremely fast speed. Before he could break free of Axii's control, Wayne punched him hard in the throat, shattering his throat bone. He could only clutch his neck and suffocate to death in agony.

In just a few seconds, the mercenaries surrounding Wayne were routed by his powerful magic, with almost none of them able to put up a direct fight.

However, being a man who had seen blood on the battlefield, the bald, scarred, burly man who was the first to be knocked down got up, picked up his shield and one-handed sword, roared at Wayne, and then loudly rallied his comrades, saying:

"Brothers, don't be afraid. He's only one person. Come with me. Wizards are only human. As long as he gets one hit, it will be our victory."

Having said that, he raised the round shield in his hand to cover the lower half of his face and chest, and led the other mercenaries who were inspired by him, over the wounded comrades on the ground, and charged towards Wayne with all their might.

Unfortunately, these mercenaries, who had only ever fought with ordinary people, could not even imagine the destructive power of a demon hunter with ancient blood and unleashing his full firepower.

Wayne sighed inwardly, looking at the six reckless mercenaries charging towards him. He raised his right hand, which had been accumulating a large amount of chaotic magic power, and unleashed a charged version of the Igni sign.

In an instant, a massive heat, like a volcanic eruption, accompanied by orange-red flames covering an area of ​​several meters, engulfed the six mercenaries who were rushing towards them.

The mercenaries who rushed over only had time to let out a painful howl before they were scorched by the intense heat of the flames enveloping their bodies. They rolled and struggled on the ground for a few moments before losing their lives.

Faced with this horrific scene, which resembled the breath of a dragon, the mercenaries who were lying on the ground groaning from their injuries were all stunned. They covered their mouths, trembling all over, and stared at Wayne with horrified eyes, as if they were looking at a demon. A few even wet their pants in fear.

Wayne felt no pity for these men who lived on the edge, more like bandits than mercenaries. He glanced indifferently at the survivors on the ground, but did not pursue them to the end.

After all, in the real world, killing doesn't provide experience points or any benefits, so it's better to leave a few people alive to help collect the bodies of their companions.

He shook his right hand, which was slightly burned by the intense heat of the Igni flames, and turned to walk towards a grove of trees a hundred meters away. In his witcher's senses, there was someone secretly observing them from there.

When he saw Wayne's overwhelming victory, or rather, his frenzied slaughter, the guy let out a gasp and started desperately fleeing in the opposite direction.

Without a doubt, this guy is most likely the one who hired these mercenaries to ambush him, and also the one who cursed and poisoned Princess Yada.

According to Wayne's memory, it seemed to be a chubby court minister. He couldn't remember the exact name, but if he caught him, he would definitely be able to recognize him.

Wayne was fast; in less than half a minute, he spotted the figure, covered in fat and dressed in ornate clothes, fleeing toward the gates of Vizima.

(End of this chapter)