460. Where’s the Leshen? Bond on the Trail! Danthe’s Confusion

"I'm waiting for the rew—"

Allen paused, realizing that what he was about to say wasn't meant to be spoken aloud, and abruptly cut himself off.

I'm waiting for the reward settlement... He nearly let it slip.

But it really was strange.

Allen's gaze swept past Vesemir, Danthe, and the group of young witchers, surveying the devastated oak forest that had been ravaged by his battle with the Leshen.

The Leshen had died leaving behind only its shattered elk antlers, and the oppressive aura that had shrouded the forest had completely vanished—without a trace.

The wolves' howls had been frightened off by the royal griffin's overwhelming presence, and the flock of crows had been wiped out by Erni and the others.

So why hadn't the Witcher Journal shown the reward settlement yet?

"Allen?"

Vesemir called out again.

After a few seconds, Allen took a deep breath. "I suspect the Leshen isn't dead."

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The seven young witchers immediately unsheathed their swords with their right hands, while simultaneously tracing a triangle in the air with their left, refreshing their Quen signs.

Their previously casual stances snapped into sharp readiness as they moved to form a loose circle around Allen, Vesemir, Danthe, and Fred—leaving enough space between one another to avoid interference should a sudden battle erupt.

Danthe, startled by Allen's words, also cast a Quen sign on himself and couldn't help but glance several times at the young witchers around him.

In his heart, for what felt like the hundredth time, he doubted whether these sharp, disciplined witchers were really the same batch of clumsy apprentices he had seen half a year ago.

Time passed.

Nothing happened.

Only the night wind whispered through the wreckage of broken oak trees and underbrush, carrying with it the thick scent of tree resin.

"Allen, maybe you don't know," Danthe finally couldn't help but lower his sword—his arm sore—and spoke as gently as he could, "the Leshen doesn't leave behind a body after death. That's part of why it's called the forest god or embodiment of the woods."

He thought Allen was overreacting just because he hadn't seen a corpse.

"It's not that..." Allen shook his head. "I know Leshens don't leave a body behind when they die."

"Then why?"

"A hunch..." Allen fell silent for a few seconds. Of course, he couldn't say the reward hadn't appeared yet. "I just have a feeling the Leshen isn't dead yet."

A hunch... Danthe opened his mouth.

He really wanted to say—so what if the Leshen isn't dead?

This place was desolate, with the nearest human settlement far away—and even that settlement was a prison, hardly a threat to anyone.

Besides, they hadn't taken on any contract, so killing the Leshen wouldn't bring them any reward.

Danthe considered this and remained silent. Instead, he glanced at Vesemir, signaling for him to talk some sense into his traveling apprentice.

After all, Allen wasn't his own apprentice. It wouldn't be appropriate to give him orders or corrections, especially in Vesemir's presence.

But to his surprise, after catching Danthe's look, Vesemir frowned and asked back: "Danthe, do you know of any unusual places nearby?"

"Any caves suitable for hiding, or signs or objects related to Leshens?"

Danthe raised his brows in surprise.

I asked you to stop Allen, and now you're joining in on his nonsense?

Yet everyone's serious gaze was now fixed on Danthe, without even the slightest hint of doubt or relaxation. It made him feel like he was the outsider here. Suddenly, Danthe had an odd feeling.

It was as if he had stumbled into a religious chapel by mistake—and was now brazenly questioning the priests and preachers who were spreading their gospel.

Still...

"There is a place with some Leshen totems," he said, trying to keep his expression neutral.

Danthe subtly glanced at the still-unconscious Fred and frowned slightly. "Right beneath the oak tree where Fred had been tied up."

The tree where Fred was bound wasn't far. Even moving cautiously, it only took a few minutes before a particularly thick oak came into view.

In the dark, the massive green oak loomed tall, its twisted branches reaching into the sky like claws.

Stag skulls with antlers, along with bundles of twigs fashioned into totems, were planted in the earth around the base of the tree. From a distance, they resembled miniature Leshens, leaning against the tree and silently watching them.

Chilling. And eerie.

There was no reaction from their school medallions.

After exchanging glances, the witchers drew their swords defensively and moved forward with caution.

At this point, calling down the royal griffin to destroy everything from above would have been the safest move.

But no one suggested it.

Danthe kept quiet because of the difference in strength and his uncertainty about the griffin's relationship with the others.

Vesemir and the young witchers didn't speak up because the griffin belonged to Allen.

And Allen—just like them—thought: Even if the Leshen is still alive, so what?

If they could kill it once, they could kill it again.

Besides, in a fight with the Leshen, the griffin was actually the weaker party. If the Leshen used its vines to catch it off guard and bind it down, things could get really troublesome.

The earlier attack had only been because Danthe and Fred were in imminent danger—forcing the griffin to dive and strike.

Whoosh~

Allen stepped forward and cast an Igni sign.

In an instant, roaring flames engulfed the totems, burning them to ashes—even the deer skulls were reduced to cinders.

Still, nothing happened.

The oak tree rustled loudly in the wind, as if mocking them for their unnecessary efforts.

Allen stood in silence, frowning slightly in thought, as if trying to recall something.

Danthe glanced at Vesemir.

Erni, Klar, and Clay exchanged puzzled looks.

An awkward silence lingered for quite a while.

"Ahem…" Vesemir finally cleared his throat, prompted by Danthe's increasingly insistent gaze. "Allen, are you saying the Leshen is still not dead?"

Allen nodded and looked to Danthe. "Master Danthe, besides this place, is there nowhere else?"

"No," Danthe shook his head firmly. "I scouted this area for a long time during the day. Only this part of the oak forest is the Leshen's domain. I only ever saw Leshen totems beneath the tree Fred was tied to."

Vesemir saw Danthe open his mouth, hesitate, and close it again. He sighed inwardly and spoke on his behalf: "Allen, perhaps it's best to leave for now?"

"Fred is still unconscious, and Bond's fate is unknown. Let's find Bond first and get them both to safety before we think of anything else."

Allen felt conflicted—part of him agreed they should go look for Bond first.

But Leshens were categorized as Relict monsters. Defeating one meant there'd be a chest reward, and after the goddess Melitele recovered, those rewards could include Relict Oil.

If they missed this chance, who knew when they'd next encounter a Relict monster this easy to fight again, especially considering how rare such monsters were?

After surviving the descent of the Evil God, Allen had no desire to go through that slow and painful struggle again.

And who knew when he'd next run into a summoned demon ritual monster that troublesome?

Would he be lucky enough to survive again, like he did a few weeks ago?

But Bond…

Even so, Bond's situation wasn't so urgent that a few minutes—or even ten—would make a difference.

After all, the Leshen had been playing hide and seek with Danthe the entire day. If Bond had successfully escaped that morning, he should be safe by now.

Hughes had been critically wounded because of the Leshen's control over vines and roots, which caused the worst injuries—piercing wounds. The second most serious were from when he was attacked by drowners underwater and hit his head on a rock, leaving him unconscious.

Other injuries like wolf bites, crow pecks and scratches, even those suspicious corrosive wounds only looked serious.

So it shouldn't take long to search for Bond, but...

Who knows?

What if those few minutes made all the difference, and then he...

"If only I hadn't acted impulsively before, just using \[Hunting] to finish off the monster directly..."

Allen sighed in his heart. Even if he had used [Monster Hunting], most likely it wouldn't have been fully charged before killing the Leshen.

Unless he refused Balmur and didn't use Roar.

But how could that be?

He didn't have precognition to foresee this situation.

Being too strong could also be a kind of headache.

Ridiculous...

"Let's go find Bond first," Allen nodded. "But don't let your guard down—the Leshen is definitely still alive and could attack at any time... Vesemir... you take Fred to Clay..."

"Once we leave this oak forest, I'll have the good girl—" Seeing Danthe's confused look, Allen explained, "That is, the royal griffin will come down and carry him on its back."

Danthe nodded, quietly relieved.

Honestly, even now he didn't believe Allen's so-called "premonition" that the Leshen was still alive.

The serious-sounding talk of "don't let your guard down" and "only call the griffin down after leaving the oak forest" he just took as a young man being stubborn and trying to save face.

As long as it didn't interfere with the real business, it was understandable.

Who hasn't been young, wild, and prideful at some point?

But on the other hand...

Danthe glanced nonchalantly at "the obedient one," then walked back to Vesemir, who was standing guard behind the group.

Why is it that the one giving orders in this team isn't the obviously more experienced traveling mentor, but an apprentice?

Why does Vesemir show no mentor authority at all?

And that royal griffin—why does it sound like Allen's pet?

Shouldn't it belong to Vesemir?

Danthe had a head full of questions, but now wasn't the right time to voice them.

The night breeze sensed the fierce battle had ended and gradually calmed to a gentle whisper.

Layered clouds covered the moon again, and the deep darkness returned to this wilderness.

"Vesemir, how do you plan to find Bond?" Seeing everyone clean the blood off their swords and prepare to move out, Danthe couldn't help but ask.

When it came to tracking, he was definitely no match for Vesemir.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be searching for Bond at this point.

In fact, among all Witchers, only the leader and White surpassed Vesemir's tracking skills.

"Master Danthe, can you still find where you and Bond were forced to separate?"

The question came not from Vesemir beside him, but from Allen at the front of the group.

Danthe's steps faltered as he glanced at Vesemir.

Vesemir shrugged, showing no sign of surprise: "Speak up, Danthe, do you remember?"

"Of… course I remember…" Danthe said with a strange expression, pointing in a direction. "The edge of this oak forest, not far from here, about a hundred meters or so…"

Then he saw Allen walk off in the direction he pointed to, without waiting for anyone.

The other Witchers, including Vesemir who should have been the traveling mentor, naturally and unquestioningly followed, as if this scene had repeated countless times and was ingrained as muscle memory.

Seeing this, Danthe felt especially strange inside.

He wanted to say something, but seeing Vesemir's face with the look of "I'm lazy and proud of it," he couldn't bring himself to say a word…

If Danthe came from another world like Allen, he might have joked, "Shameless people are unbeatable."

The whole team moved forward in an awkward atmosphere, punctuated by Danthe's frequent but unspoken thoughts.

Allen walked at the very front, not sensing this vibe.

Even if he did, he probably wouldn't care—his mind was still on where the Leshen was hiding.

Honestly, although this lifetime he hadn't seen Leshen data in the Old Sea Fortress, in the previous life, in the game, he had killed a Leshen.

Back then it was his first kill; later, when he leveled up, he went back with full build.

With the Dimeritium Bomb and Spinning Top Sword Techniques, just button-mash and win—simple and direct.

But in the game, aside from Leshen's teleportation and troublesome wolf packs, it never revived after death.

"Strange…" Allen frowned. "In the game, destroying the altar's totems makes the Leshen appear. The oak tree Fred was tied to should be the Leshen's altar. The Leshen doesn't set up altars in multiple places in the game…"

"Did I overlook something back then?"

Now he wanted to go back and try burning that oak tree with an Igni sign.

Just then…

"We're here!" Danthe suddenly called out, interrupting his thoughts.

Allen looked up.

The Leshen's signature twisting vines stood tall in the forest, the sharp wooden edges still stained with dark red blood.

He twitched his nose and caught Hughes's scent.

The ground showed clear signs of battle—charred scorch marks crept along the nearby oak branches. Judging by their intensity, they should be from Danthe's Igni sign.

The gentle sound of flowing water echoed faintly nearby.

Not far off should be the Modian River, the closest to the Duppa River, from which Hughes likely escaped.

He just didn't understand why the temple said it was the Duppa River.

Of course, that detail wasn't important right now.

"Can you find him?"

Danthe anxiously glanced at Allen, then at Vesemir, his gaze uncertain before finally resting on Vesemir's face.

Although Allen was leading just now, he was only confirming the direction.

He felt the actual tracking should still be Vesemir's job...

"Allen, can you find Bond?" Vesemir ignored Danthe and looked directly at Allen.

Danthe: ?

"Should be able to," Allen took a deep breath, "as long as he didn't escape via water like Hughes did..."

Danthe: ??

Before he finished speaking—

Danthe didn't even see Allen crouch down to carefully search, nor did Allen take a close look. He just stood there scanning the ground near the vines and seemed to immediately find the target.

"Follow me!" Allen strode forward quickly.

Just as Danthe was about to scold Allen for being so careless—no matter how strong, you can't joke with the lives of your comrades—

He was surprised that Vesemir and the other young Witchers followed seriously and without hesitation.

Danthe: ???

Is this really how tracking is done?

............

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