Wild Dog Gang

After receiving the desired information, Wayne didn't linger in the pub. He beckoned and called out to the boy named Alex. With a deft flick of his thumb, a golden Oren landed in the boy's hand. Wayne offered a friendly smile to Alex and then turned to address Old Yueke.

"Keep an eye on him for now. I'll go and deal with the Wild Dog Gang, retrieve my mount, and return to check in with you."

Upon hearing Wayne's intentions, Old York's expression soured, and his voice took on a more irritable tone as he exclaimed:

"Young man, why won't you heed the advice? While a horse may be valuable, it's not worth risking your life over!"

Wayne chuckled, interpreting today's task as unfinished business. He replied to Old Yueke with a proposition:

"Old Yueke, given that the Wild Dogs are a ruthless bunch if i successfully get rid of them, you'll have to treat me with the best wine your establishment has to offer. How does that sound?"

Old Yueke, visibly annoyed, responded with a loud curse:

"You bastard, you don't know what's good and what's wrong. I'm trying to persuade you, but you're still so stubborn."

"Fine, if you're set on this course, no one can dissuade you. If you rerally succeed in eliminating the Wild Dog gang, you can enjoy free access to the wine in my shop."

"I only hope you witchers live up to the tales we've heard."

Wayne, indifferent to Old Yueke's harsh tone, gladly accepted the expert-level task triggered by the command [Eliminate Wild Dog Gang]. Waving goodbye to Old Yueke, he released his heightened senses and sought the scent of his mount, Lucifer, in the air. Having been together for several months, Wayne was very familiar with its smell, especially when mixed with the herbs he had collected.

He searched and chased the scent all the way, soon walking out of the slums of old Vizima and reaching the main road connecting various areas. However, what surprised him was that the direction guided by this smell did not lead to the crowded places in the city but directly out of the city along the road.

Wayne was even more delighted because he had been thinking that if all the Wild Dog Gang members were in the city, it would not be easy for him to attack. After all, this was the capital of Temeria, and large-scale casualties would attract the attention of the city guards, potentially leading to expulsion.

Now, it seemed that the Wild Dog Gang's location was likely outside the city, in places ungoverned by law, where might dictate authority. With this in mind, Wayne quickened his pace. It was only noon, and any delay might affect his plans for the afternoon. Dealing with local hooligans wasn't worth the trouble.

Soon, Wayne chased out of the old city of Vizima following the scent. Because the degree of mutation was not obvious, the guards in charge of the city gate only regarded him as a mercenary seeking employment in the city. Unaware of his identity as a witcher, they ignored him and allowed him to pass.

Exiting the city gate, Wayne followed the scent for another seven or eight miles, leading him to a deserted farm. There, he spotted two oddly attired men in cotton clothes with tattoos, guiding his horse Lucifer into the farm's stables. Near the farm's gate, four similarly dressed men leaned against the wooden wall, armed with simple weapons like wooden sticks, axes, and short knives.

They chatted or dozed off, seemingly bored. Notably, besides these men, a massive vicious dog squatted obediently, exuding an intimidating presence with shiny fur, powerful muscles, sharp fangs, and fierce eyes—a clear sign of well-trained fighting dogs.

However, Wayne is not an ordinary person and vicious dogs are no better than drowners in front of him. Since the mission is to eliminate the wild dog gang, he is too lazy to talk nonsense with these dying people.

Seizing the opportunity while the four men and their dogs remained unaware of his approach, Wayne retrieved a devil puff ball from his bag and threw it without warning. The highly poisonous gas bomb, concocted from a blend of toxic herbs and biological toxins extracted from monsters, unleashed a green smoke upon explosion. The four men and their, caught off guard, failed to react to the sudden attack. Enveloped in the toxic green fog, they succumbed to severe coughing and burning pain, rendering them incapacitated. Writhing in agony, they lay within the spreading green fog, gradually succumbing to the lethal effects.

Meanwhile, the two Wild Dog Gang members inside the farm, who had just led Lucifer in, noticed the commotion at the gate. Abandoning the horse, they frantically shouted towards the inside, probably calling for support.

Following their yelling, a dozen members of the wild dog gang and a dozen vicious dogs rushed out of the farmhouse in no time.

Armed with weapons, the gang members rushed toward the two shouting comrades for some unknown reason. When they looked up, they found no visible enemy, prompting them to inquire about the situation from the two individuals.

A few bolder gang members, with weapons in hand, covered their mouths and noses, attempting to approach the green fog released by the devil puff. Their intention was to rescue the four gang members lying in the poisonous gas, unaware that these individuals had already lost their lives.

Wayne had lurked near the farm gate under the cover of grass, observing the gang of wild dogs attempting to approach the poisonous gas. With a sinister smile on his lips, he stood up directly from the grass. Before the gang members could react, he drew an upside-down triangle sign in the air with his left hand and gently pushed forward.

A violent gust of wind spurted out from his left hand, forming a powerful fan-shaped shockwave. It directly hit the still-spreading green poisonous mist and the gang of wild dogs behind the poisonous mist trying to approach, using Aard sign. With a bang, the green poisonous mist quickly spread toward the farm under the force of Aard's seal, knocking the few wild dog gang members close to the poisonous mist directly to the ground.

However, before they could struggle to stand up, a figure wearing dark blue light armor and holding a refined sword appeared coldly, ignoring the enveloping poisonous mist, and reached their side.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

In just a second or two, the sword in that figure's hand transformed into several afterimages, instantly cutting the throats of several wild dog gang members lying on their backs. Blood sprayed out, immediately staining the farm's grass red, and the struggles of the gang members stopped abruptly. They all clutched their throats, losing their lives in pain.

Wayne flicked the steel sword in his hand lightly, causing the blood remaining on the tip to escape from the blade, allowing the sword to return to its gleaming state. Holding the sword flat, he confronted the remaining wild dogs in the farm, adopting a defensive posture of the wolf school swordsmanship. A cruel smile played on the corner of his mouth as he sternly shouted,

"You bastards, consider this as a reward for stealing my horse".