A fantastical journey across the heavens, beginning with the Witcher.

After leaving the principal's office, the group finalized their plan for the day.

Elena went to Gillen's dormitory under the pretext of "summoning a class" and stalled him by saying that "the students have fallen too far behind in class and urgently need to make up for the anatomy class"; Li De took the opportunity to sneak into Gillen's room to search for clues; Sal provided backup on the outside in case of any unexpected situations.

Although the daytime at Newburgh College was shrouded in the oppressive atmosphere of martial law, boarding students still hurried along the paths with their books in hand.

Elena knocked on Gillen's door as planned.

"Professor Gillen, are you there?" Her voice was clear, with a deliberately amplified hint of displeasure. "I went to your office but couldn't find you. Were you slacking off in your room?"

A gentle response came from inside the room: "Please come in, Elena. I just finished tidying up a few drafts and was just about to take a break."

Elena pushed open the door and entered, deliberately raising her voice to steer the conversation toward teaching.

"How can we let you rest? The students' anatomy classes have been suspended for almost a week, and they've almost forgotten everything, even the basic skeletal structure. If classes don't resume soon, the subsequent courses simply can't proceed. As their instructor, you can't just stand by and watch them waste their studies, can you?"

Gillen pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and gave a helpless smile: "I would like to hold classes, but with martial law in effect right now and people feeling anxious, I'm afraid the students won't be able to concentrate on their lessons."

"It is precisely because of martial law that we should strive to help them calm down!"

Elena retorted without backing down, "I've already notified several core apprentices to gather in the anatomy room in half an hour. Hurry up and get ready, we'll go together."

"Alright then, I'll bring my textbooks."

……

Once he was sure the two had left the room, Li De went around to the window, used a bent thin wire to hook the window bolt, and successfully slipped back into the room.

This is an exceptionally tidy room, almost to the point of being obsessive-compulsive.

On the bookshelves against the wall, books are neatly arranged by subject and size, with spines facing the same direction and not crooked at all; the surface of the desk is spotless, with ink bottles, quill pens, and paperweights all placed in their fixed positions, and even the stacked papers are perfectly angular; on the specimen rack in the corner, various animal and plant specimens are categorized, clearly labeled, and placed at perfectly uniform intervals; even the dust on the windowsill has been wiped clean, and sunlight shines through the window, casting neat patches of light on the floor.

Everywhere exudes a rigid and rigorous atmosphere, with no superfluous decorations, as if the room's owner has devoted all their energy to academics and pursued an extreme sense of order even in their daily life.

There was indeed a faint smell of formaldehyde in the air, but that wasn't much evidence; many rooms in the college had this pungent odor.

Li De did not rashly search the items, but first carefully observed the wall to confirm that there were no hidden magical traps or sensing devices.

His gaze swept quickly across the bookshelves and desk, finally settling on the desk drawers and the middle section of the bookshelves.

The drawer was unlocked, and inside were several stacks of drafts. Li De quickly flipped through them, and found that the contents were mostly ordinary biological structural analyses, with nothing unusual. He then put them back as they were, without even changing the angle at which the papers were stacked.

To his surprise, there was a book sitting alone deep inside the drawer, standing out from the surrounding drafts.

Why would someone who keeps everything neatly organized put books in a separate drawer?

"Talf's Southern Travelogue... is a travelogue that records the scenery."

Upon opening the book, most of the pages were brand new, except for the chapter introducing the "Prince of Giso," where the edges of the pages were frayed, the corners were slightly curled, and there were a few water stains on them, seemingly traces left by tears.

The Duchy of Giso… Li De’s heart stirred. He remembered that this was a vassal state of the southern Nilfgaard Empire. A few years ago, when it was annexed by Nilfgaard, a fierce war broke out.

Could it be that Gillen has some connection with the Principality of Gisso?

Without looking at it too closely, he quickly put the pages back in their place and returned the book to its original position.

After confirming that there was no extra information in the room, he wiped away any traces his fingertips might have touched, smoothed out the fine wrinkles on the carpet in front of his desk, and cleaned up all the footprints.

After confirming that no traces had been left, they left the room the way they came and returned outside the academy to meet up with Sal.

"Have you found anything?" Sal approached and asked in a low voice.

"There's no direct evidence, but it's probably hidden somewhere secret. However, Gillen seems to have some connection with the Principality of Giso. I found a travelogue in the room, and he cried over the part about the Principality of Giso."

Sal frowned: "So what do we do now? We can't just keep watching him."

"Don't those monsters attack residents every day? If I stay nearby, maybe I can stop them..."

Before Li De could finish speaking, a low roar suddenly came from afar, and a dark figure appeared out of thin air in the center of the academy square.

It was tall and hunched over, with long, sharp claws. Its head was covered by a spherical mask made of iron plates, and through the gaps in the mask, one could vaguely see a pair of eyes that emitted a scarlet light.

"Holy crap? They just delivered themselves to my doorstep?"

Li De was taken aback for a moment, then immediately drew his silver sword "Goldwell" and rushed over.

However, the monster seemed to have only come to meet its "fans" before turning around and running away.

Sal wanted to lead a group to give chase, but Li De stopped him: "You can't catch up. Guard the academy, I'll go after them."

Li De mounted his horse, spurred it on with his legs, and his mount, Coal Ball, understood, neighed, and galloped off towards the city where the Blood Demon had fled.

Not long after they left, a loud crash came from the back wall of the academy, and two tall, dark figures broke through the wall and rushed into the academy.

There were two more blood demons, both wearing masks, just like the previous one.

"More monsters?! Gunfire!"

Thrall's pupils contracted, and he gave a stern order. The well-trained guards immediately formed a spear line, the tips of their spears pointed directly at the charging Blood Demon.

But the Blood Demon's power far exceeded expectations. Its claws struck the spears, producing a piercing metallic clang. Many guards were so shaken by the immense force that their hands split open, and their spears flew out of their hands.

Even more terrifying, these blood demons had metal plates embedded in their chests, and when the spear tip pierced them, it only left a white mark, which could not cause any fatal damage.

In just a few rounds, a guard was grabbed by the Blood Demon's spear and flung away, crashing heavily into the stone wall.

"Hold on!"

Thrall brandished his longsword and stepped forward to entangle a blood demon, trying to buy time for the guards to adjust their formation.

The other blood demon seized the opportunity to rush towards the students, and the situation instantly became critical.

On the other side, Li De rode his coal briquettes, relentlessly pursuing him through the city streets.

The guards along the way were completely helpless against the rampaging monster. Just when they were about to be left far behind, the Blood Demon suddenly stopped and launched an attack.

Li De leaped high into the air, stepping onto the back of a coal ball, and simultaneously slashed at the Blood Demon with his silver sword in his left hand and his steel sword in his right.

"clang!"

The sword struck the monster, producing a dull metallic clang.

The joints of this blood demon's limbs were inlaid with metal plates, and its vital organs, such as its chest and abdomen, were covered with fish-scale-like metal armor. It had clearly been transformed into a killing machine clad in iron armor.

Li De landed and rolled, dodging the Blood Demon's claws as it countered, and thrust out with both swords simultaneously.

"clang!"

The silver sword aimed at the monster's throat was deflected by the metal plates beneath its mane; the steel sword aimed at its waist and abdomen was also blocked by its claws.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Blood Demon launched a counterattack, its claws lashing out at the Witcher's chest with a stench of blood.

Li De dodged to the side, simultaneously swinging his sword horizontally to slash at the gaps in the armor plates on the Blood Demon's leg.

However, the monster reacted extremely quickly, twisting its body abruptly and using the armor plates on its leg bones to forcefully block the attack. The sword blade sliced ​​across the surface of the steel armor, creating a spark.

Li De sheathed his steel sword, used an Alder Strike to repel the Blood Demon, and took the opportunity to inspect his weapon. Fortunately, the dwarven forging craftsmanship was exceptional, and there were no nicks or chips on the blade.

But this can't go on forever; the monster's body is covered in armor plates, making it difficult for the silver sword to be effective.

Li De secretly vowed to find a way to break through this tortoise shell.

The Blood Demon, having gained the upper hand, pressed his advantage and launched an increasingly fierce attack.

Li De relied on his agility to dodge continuously, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings. When he caught sight of the iron chains piled up by the roadside, a plan flashed through his mind.

……

"Yes, that's it! Kill him! Kill this witcher!"

In an unknown, dimly lit laboratory, a sorcerer draped in a long robe stood before a huge cauldron, observing the battle between the witcher and the experimental subjects through the water in the cauldron, his fierce tone tinged with a hint of excitement.

……

On the battlefield, Li De deliberately created an opening, letting the sharp claws graz his shoulder, leaving a bloody mark.

Without changing his expression, he rolled to the side, circled behind the Blood Demon, grabbed the iron chain, and swung it out violently.

The chain, propelled by inertia, tightly bound the monster's right leg. The more the monster struggled, the tighter the chain became, completely restricting its movement.

"Igni!"

Li De gripped the iron chain tightly with his right hand to prevent the monster from escaping, while his left hand formed a hand seal, and blazing orange-red flames erupted from his palm, slamming hard onto the Blood Demon's metal armor.

The Blood Demon was still struggling; its exposed skin was already blistering with blood, and its mane was twisting rapidly in the flames.

"Ah!"

Amidst screams, it wildly flailed its claws, trying to force the witcher back, but was nimbly dodged.

Seeing that it couldn't be attacked, the monster tried to hide and escape, but the chains were tightly wrapped around its legs, and the other end was being held by the Witcher. After running a few steps with brute force, it only moved along with the Witcher, and the flames burning its body didn't diminish at all.

"Sizzle—"

The ear-piercing sound of flames burning metal rang out, and the high temperature was rapidly conducted, causing the armor embedded in the body to scorch the flesh beneath the armor plates.

As the temperature rose, the metal armor glowed slightly red.

The time was ripe! Li De suddenly yanked the iron chain, stopping the monster's charge and pulling it to the ground.

Then, he stepped on the monster's body with one foot and gripped the blood demon's chest with both hands.

Then—tear it!

With a strength attribute of up to 21 points, its explosive power is astonishing.

They forcibly tore the armor plate embedded in the flesh, and as the plate fell off, a foul-smelling spray of blood splattered out.

"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

The Blood Demon let out a terrible wail.

It already possessed the ability to speak, but it had been controlled by the sorcerer and could only roar and kill. Now, it had briefly regained consciousness due to the intense pain.

Unfortunately, the wail did not elicit any sympathy from the demon hunter. He kicked away the blood demon's wildly swinging claws and tore off pieces of armor one by one until the blood demon's chest was a bloody mess and the bones were vaguely visible before he stopped.

Sensing the imminent danger, Blood Demon desperately pushed Li De aside and turned to jump onto the roof to escape.

But he forgot that he still had an iron chain wrapped around his leg. Li De hooked the railing by the roadside to stabilize himself and pulled hard!

The iron chains snapped straight, and the blood demon, which had just taken off, was forcibly pulled back to the ground.

The silver sword was drawn again, piercing straight into the monster's bloodied and mangled chest.

"No! I don't want to die!"

The Blood Demon roared, its voice filled with despair.

But the power of words is ultimately pale, far less direct than a longsword. The monster died; the sword tip pierced through the gap in its ribs and went straight through its heart.

Even so, the blood demon struggled several more times, then unleashed another Igni sign, burning for over ten seconds before finally ceasing to move, its charred claws hanging limply at its sides.

Li De breathed a sigh of relief. This thing was far less skilled than the old witch, but it still managed to cause quite a bit of trouble with its brute force and modified iron armor.

Fortunately, the iron ball mask sealed the monster's head; otherwise, all the guards on the street would have been its mobile health packs, and it would have taken who knows how long to fight them.

Li De moved his shoulder, which had been scratched by the claws, and was about to catch his breath when he suddenly seemed to discover something and squatted down to examine the Blood Demon's claws.

"Wait...this claw is different in size from the mark left in the square!"

Recalling the monster's strange behavior when it appeared, he suddenly realized, "Damn it! A diversionary tactic!"

Li De cursed angrily, whistled to summon Coal Ball, swiftly mounted his horse, and shouted to the guards who rushed over upon hearing the commotion: "The Blood Demon's blood is poisonous! Leave some men to guard the corpses and don't allow anyone to approach! The rest of you come with me to support Bull Fort Academy; there are still monsters there!"