Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Simmons's voice made Clint, who was about to speak, swallow his words.

But Clint wasn't going to back down, saying, "I'll tell Big Butt that you call it Big Butt!"

"So what? I've only met it a few times. Do you think it will believe me? But you shout it like that every day. I'll tell it when I see it in the future!"

Simmons nonchalantly revealed his scheme, leaving Clint awkwardly shutting his mouth.

After saying goodbye to Hill, Simmons left. Hill, on the other hand, was led by Clint down the path of becoming a living sacrifice.

Clint handed Hill several clumps of purple poisonous moss, saying, "We need to get through quickly. The crow people here are difficult to talk to. If you touch their poison, eat this as an antidote..."

After saying that, Clint started running, but he slowed down, seemingly mindful of Hill behind him.

Hill didn't explain that she had also undergone training and her physical fitness had been enhanced. Being slow had its advantages; she could record everything around her more carefully.

Beside a cliff, Hill saw a scene of a car accident: a carriage had crashed into a tree beside the cliff, and a group of crowmen, just as Clint had described, were gathered around it.

With Hill by her side, Clint the Cat bent down to avoid a crow-man wielding a staff, and finally arrived at a stone bridge.

At the end of the stone bridge is a stone gate, where crowmen patrol back and forth. In particular, on the left side of the stone, a crowman holding a staff is watching over everything around him.

Clint gestured for Hill to hold the moss ball securely, then led the charge.

The wary crow-men also spotted them, and purple poisonous mist spewed from their staffs, quickly covering half of the stone bridge.

Clint was still looking back to check on Hill's condition when he saw Hill instantly overtake him and cross the stone bridge ahead of him.

Poor Clint was a step too slow; the poisonous mist coated his body, causing him to grimace in pain. He quickly ate the stored moss balls, which eased the pain somewhat.

Seeing the speed Hill unleashed, it was clear he had been enhanced, but Clint couldn't say anything to his former superior; he could only swallow the bitter pill himself.

After passing through the Arakkoa's blockade, the path leveled out. Following the spiral path down, the two arrived at a round stone wall.

Halfway up the road, Clint had completely renovated the place. All sorts of equipment and weapons were neatly hung on the walls, and a wooden hut had even been built next to it for him to rest in.

Upon reaching this point, Clint stopped there. He said to Hill, "I can't go any further. My current strength is only enough to stay here. If we continue, we'll need Geralt's guidance..."

Clint's explanation made Hill underestimate him. After training under Geralt for so long, was this all he was capable of?

As if sensing the disdain in Hill's eyes, Clint explained, "Below here is the Forest of Crucifixion. I can handle the sinners and giant crabs there, but to get past it and reach Farron Keep, I'll have to face either the Exile Brothers or the Black Knight..."

"I'm no match for the Exile Brothers; I can't withstand their heavy weapons at all. And the Black Knight, according to Geralt, is a god; the moment I saw him, I felt as if death was approaching..."

Hill gleaned several points from Clint's words.

This is not Farron Keep. Geralt's greatest support and allies are in Farron Keep, and to get to Farron Keep, one must pass through the Arakkoa and the Exiles on the Road of Sacrifices.

This arrangement somewhat explained Hill's earlier suspicions; Geralt might also be wary of the Undead Settlement, which was why he made this arrangement.

At that moment, the crisp sound of horses' hooves rang out, and Clint and Hill both knew that Geralt had arrived.

Following the zigzagging uphill road, Geralt, riding Carrot, soon appeared at Lubanbian Village.

After helping Hill onto his horse, Geralt said to Clint, who was trying to catch up, "Clint, you've been having a lot of free time lately..."

"Leisurely?! You have the nerve to say I'm leisurely? I just came from the graveyard after forging a giant crossbow!"

"Isn't that a lot of free time? No training required! I've already spoken to the Exile Brothers, they'll come and give you special training. I don't expect you to defeat them, but at least you should be able to fight them to a standstill."

Chapter 293: Hill's Farron Fortress - A Glimpse into the Past

Geralt carried Hill down the slope, ignoring Clint's friendly blessing behind him.

Carrot led the two through the shallow swamps of the Forest of Crucifixion. The crabs, the size of car tires, in the forest reminded Hill of the giant crab that the Greedy One had taken out to cook.

Hill asked, "Geralt, have you ever seen a crab with claws longer than two meters?"

Geralt on horseback didn't turn around; he simply patted Radish's neck to urge it to move in another direction.

In the shallow marshes of the forest, Geralt, having found a direction, shouted, "Look closely, here comes the giant crab you wanted!"

Geralt gave the reins a jerk, and Radish began to gallop at full speed. As he ran, Hill could clearly feel Radish's hooves stepping on something hard.

The sound of the horses' hooves was distinctly different from the soft ground of the shallow marsh; it was as if they were stepping on a steel plate.

Geralt didn't stop, directing Radish to move forward quickly, and finally hiding behind a big tree.

Hill looked back and saw a giant crab, over five meters tall, with huge claws, emerge from the shallow swamp. It was looking around, trying to find the person who had woken it up.

However, after looking around, he couldn't find Geralt and the others hiding behind the tree, so he could only vent his morning grumpiness by banging the ground with his crab claws.

"Those are the specialty crabs of the Crucifixion Forest. They taste pretty good. If you'd like some, I'll have Clint hunt one for you. Clint's pretty good at hunting crabs..."

Hill, standing behind Geralt, tugged at the strap securing his weapon to his leather armor and said, "I've seen that thing. It was roasted and eaten by the Greedy Ones..."

Instantly, Geralt's aura became heavy, and Hill was afraid that Geralt would turn his head 180 degrees to stare at her.

Fortunately, Geralt simply said in a low voice, "I see. It seems someone sneaked in..."

This time, Geralt didn't have the same lightness as before. Instead, he jumped off his horse and took out a few metallic leaves from his bag.

The blade is like a thin blade, and combined with its dark gray metallic color, it really looks like a knife at first glance.

Wolf Blood Sword Grass: A testament to the Farron Guardians' fulfillment of their mission, who guarded the warriors' resting place alongside the old wolf. The leaves of the sword grass are stained with dried blood. It is said that this was once a mark used by the Undead Legion for communication; now, it is given to the Guardians by the souls of the warriors resting in the Corrupted Forest as proof of their recognition and gratitude. At least, that's what the Guardians believe.

Geralt ran the few wolfblood sword herbs across the back of his hand, and blood soaked the edges of the herbs.

Stuff a piece of sword grass into the pocket hanging under the neck of the radish, which is usually where the radish carries snacks, but it can also be used as a container for other items.

Geralt patted Carrot on the head and said, "Remember the Exiles brothers? Take this to them, and be quick! Then go find Ella..."

Radish nudged Geralt with his head to show he understood, then galloped off in one of the directions of the Crucifixion Forest.

Looking at Hill standing to the side, Geralt said, "We have to go on our own now. You need to stay close to me. Farron Keep is under martial law. If you're found out you don't belong to Farron, no one will listen to your explanations..."

Geralt's seriousness made Hill realize that the Greedy One had found the giant crab here, but Geralt had not found any trace of it.

The name Farron Fortress immediately suggests that it is defending against something dangerous.

Hill nodded, indicating that she understood. Her left hand rested on the Gothhild sword, ensuring she could react instantly.

For the rest of the journey, Geralt moved at Hill's maximum speed. After they walked along the edge of the shallow swamp and entered a stone archway, Hill was intimidated by the aura emanating from the left and dared not make the slightest move.

Geralt waved in the direction Hill dared not look, and the intimidation gradually dissipated. Hill caught a glimpse of a figure dressed in black armor out of the corner of her eye.

'This must be the Black Knight Clint was talking about!'

Hill didn't dare to look closely; she was so overwhelmed by the sheer force of the argument that she saw the slideshow flashing before her eyes. She was certain she was about to have a fascinating debate with Mephisto.

Geralt knocked on the iron gate, signaling Hill to come over quickly.

Forcibly controlling his neck and not daring to let his gaze wander even slightly, Hill only felt a little better after passing through the iron gate.

Before Hill could ask, Geralt reached out and touched the lock on the iron gate, and a patch of azure crystal covered the gate.

Hill asked in surprise, "You can do magic?"

"So what? The Crystal Elders are twin brothers, one in the Grand Archives and the other in Farron Keep. Farron and the Grand Archives have a long-standing relationship, and the Undead Legion has its own exclusive spells and mage slots."

However, now only the Undead Legion remains; the mages still need to be trained by the Dragon Academy. Perhaps you will see the Undead Legion's fighting style in its prime in the future…”

Geralt shook his head with a wry smile and continued, "Never mind, why bring this up now? We have more important things to do..."

Following Geralt's footsteps, Hill finally saw the outside view on the left side of the corridor. They were now walking on the fortress wall, with only a dark and deep forest below, and no other scenery in sight.

The entire city wall shows signs of repair, with old and new stones overlapping each other, giving people a sense of the collision between the ancient and the modern.

Standing in front of a newly repaired wall, Geralt was somewhat taken aback.

"I forgot this hole has been repaired. I used to go down here all the time. Oh well, I'll just use the normal passage..."

Hill touched the newly repaired stones on the wall and confirmed that these were the building materials Geralt had extorted from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Comparing the size of the building materials to the fortress, Hill felt that the materials were just a drop in the ocean, and that Geralt had even gone easy on them.

As Hill walked through the fortress corridor, he saw a strange creature with strong, long limbs and reversed joints that made it appear much larger than it actually was.

The horns on their heads and the tails on their backs both indicate that they are fundamentally different from ordinary humans.

Geralt handed a piece of Wolf Blood Sword Grass to one of them and then continued on his way.

After turning the corner, from where they couldn't see him, Geralt quietly explained the identities of these strange creatures.

"They are the descendants of the acolytes of Farron Keep, half-human, half-beast creatures who live in the swamps of the keep as a tribe. Although their limited intelligence makes their fighting style seem very savage, they are all brave and skilled warriors."

After passing through the corridors in the city walls, Geralt finally led Hill up a hillside, at the top of which stood a tall building resembling a Greek temple.

The building's doors were tightly shut, and sounds of fierce fighting could be heard coming from inside.

Hill thought something bad had happened, but Geralt acted as if nothing had happened and simply pushed open the door.

This is a spacious hall, with stone slabs piled up in the center, resembling a huge training platform.

And right now, the Undead Legion that Hill had seen is conducting...training here?

Hill watched as an Undead Legionnaire plunged a claw-shaped dagger into his opponent's body, while his opponent, seemingly unfazed by the injury, countered by thrusting his greatsword into him.

Hill clearly saw blood and internal organs spurting out from the grooves in the blade, but no one around stopped the fight.

Geralt waited for the battle to end before entering the arena and finding the leader of the Undead Legion to discuss something.

Hill kept a close eye on the fallen Undead. His teammates grabbed him by the feet and dragged him away, tossing him into a corner like a dead dog.

While they still had a breath left, the others pulled out a dark green glass bottle from their pockets, which contained a liquid that looked like scorching golden lava.

After drinking the liquid, the Undead Legion, who had been on the verge of death, quickly regained their former vigor and picked up their weapons to challenge their former opponents once again.

Looking at the combat training before her, Hill finally understood why Geralt disapproved of her training. Even the training to break through the layers of puppets had left her covered in injuries.

But look at the Immortals, they're really going at it hand-to-hand, while our training is just like kids playing house.

Geralt's conversation with the captain was very quick, and the captain reassembled the Undead Legion during their discussion.

Seeing these warriors who were haphazardly getting up from the ground, carrying the Farron Greatsword and with their eyes glowing red, Hill couldn't help but take a few steps toward the door.

Geralt was almost finished speaking when he walked toward the door, talking to the Undead Legion leader as he did so.

"Give him the stuff while he's still conscious, I'll handle the rest..."

The captain nodded and went to take command of the Undead Squad.

Geralt led Hill outside, and Hill looked back and saw the Undead Legion filing into a dark passage directly opposite the gate.

As you descend the slope, only a few torches provide illumination, making the forest less reliant on the elusive sunlight.

He passed through a massive stone gate in the opposite direction, and Geralt waited until the gate was completely closed before extinguishing the three braziers at the entrance. Then he looked up and searched for something in the forest.