MM Racing Chapter 64 Hans of Hidalis
Chapter 64 Hans of Hidalis
The mercenary camp was located on an open field on the eastern outskirts of Oxenford, surrounded by thick wooden stakes, with several tents crookedly pitched in the center of the open field.
One mercenary was squatting by the fire, repairing his sword blade with a whetstone, while another leaned against the fence, yawning. When he saw two horses coming from the dirt road, the yawning one nudged his companion with his elbow, stood up, and walked to the fence.
Ron glanced at the rough wooden cage in the corner. Inside the cage was a person leaning against the bars, one leg crossed over the other, as if he were in his own living room.
He saw Geralt approaching and tapped lightly on the fence twice. "Are you here to rescue me, or to chat with me?"
"Chido?" Geralt said.
"Exactly," Cheetos said, sticking his hand out from behind the fence. "The lock-picking expert is currently on vacation. If you need any locks opened, wait until I get out of this hellhole."
The tent flap was lifted, and a burly middle-aged mercenary stepped out. The edge of his breastplate was worn so badly that the leather lining underneath was exposed, but his weapons were spotless.
He glanced at Geralt, then tilted his head back to look at Ron: "I am Hans of Hidalis, a world-renowned mercenary, a veteran of many wars, and an honorary member of the Lily Order."
Then, in a self-deprecating tone, he added, "Although my reputation has suffered a bit lately."
Geralt pointed in the direction of the notice board: "I saw your request on my way here."
Hans walked to the campfire, kicked a stone at his feet, and gestured for the two to sit down.
"Radovid hired us to fight the men in black. I heard from nearby farmers recently that something in the forest was stealing their cattle."
Since we were setting up camp here, I figured I might as well help the locals. I brought a few skilled men with me, but we were no match for that monster.
He paused, poking at the unburnt wood in the campfire. "Ged and Hank didn't make it back, so I figured we'd have to find a professional. I'm willing to pay them."
Geralt looked at him with some surprise. "You're offering a bounty on your own dime?"
"Those two lads followed me for four years. Their owed military pay is still outstanding, and now they're gone. We can't just leave them without any explanation."
Hans stood up and dusted off his knees. "The Witcher is the most suitable candidate. If you take this job, this bag of crowns is yours."
"You don't need to pay." Geralt tilted his head towards the cage. "In exchange, just release Chito."
Hans glanced at the lock-picking expert in the cage, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright, kill the monster, you can take the person."
The forests of Osenfort are much drier than those of Willen, with sparse canopies that allow sunlight to filter through the leaves and cast dappled shadows.
Geralt walked ahead, his steps light, while Ron followed behind him, carrying his greatsword. Occasionally, the sword brushed against the low branches by the roadside, making a soft rustling sound.
Geralt stopped at the base of an oak tree. A mercenary's body lay on the ground, the blood dried and blackened. Geralt crouched down, examined the blood, and glanced at it.
"It wasn't bitten; it died from falling from a great height. It was a flying monster that could grab people and lift them into the air; it must have been quite large."
The two followed the trail of blood eastward. Geralt found a few feathers in a crevice in the roadside stone. He held the feathers up to the sunlight and squinted as he examined them for a while.
"The rachis is very thin and the vanes are sparse; it is a griffin."
Ron stepped forward and surveyed the surrounding terrain. "Is it dangerous?"
"The great griffin can spew strong acid that can melt even thick armor. Its claws are very sharp and powerful; a head-on collision could break your bones." He twirled a feather between his fingertips.
"But that's probably not a problem for you."
The two waited in the open space in front of the nest until dusk. A huge shadow swept out from above, and the great griffin landed on the rock in front of the nest, folded its wings, opened its huge beak slightly, and made a low gurgling sound from its throat.
Ron took a step forward, and the great griffin spread its wings and swooped down, its entire body diving down. Ron dodged to the side.
With a hissing sound, the claws grazed his shoulder armor as Geralt slashed in from the side. The shockwave from the Aard sign struck the griffin, freezing it for a moment.
The griffin roared and turned around, its beak wide open, a cloud of strong acid emitting yellow smoke rising from deep within its throat.
Ron stepped forward and slammed his greatsword down, the blade striking the skull. The griffin's head was smashed by the blow, causing it to plummet and its entire body to tilt to the left, losing its balance.
Without pausing, Ron slashed with his greatsword, the blade piercing through the side of its neck, severing the cervical vertebrae, and emerging from the other side along with fragments of bone and feathers.
The massive griffin head rolled to the ground, its beak still slightly open. Its enormous body crashed backward, its wings twitched twice, and then it stopped moving.
Ron slung the greatsword back over his shoulder, and Geralt walked to the griffin's corpse, examined the severed neck, and saw that it was dead in one strike, with no chance to struggle.
"Is it just my imagination? I feel like your strength has increased again. You're making me start to doubt my identity as a Witcher..."
"They're still young, still growing."
Geralt glanced at him, his face expressionless, but his lips twitched slightly. He turned and walked towards the griffin's nest, bent down and rummaged around inside for a few moments, then scooped up a whole egg from under a dry branch.
"Here you go, your spoils. This egg is still alive."
Ron took the egg, wrapped it in a soft cloth, and put it in his backpack.
When the two returned to the camp, Hans was sitting by the campfire and saw Geralt unslaughter the head of the great griffin from his horse and place it in the center of the camp.
He stared at it for a moment, then waved his hand. A mercenary went over and unlocked the cage. Chido walked out of the cage, stretched his wrists, and stood in front of Ron.
"If you need any lock picking work, feel free to contact me anytime."
Hans took a swig from his glass, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and stared at the campfire for a moment in silence.
Ron sat down beside him, not in a hurry to leave. Hans took another swig and shook his head.
"Kurt left too. He was forced to leave because of the unpaid military pay. Redania hasn't paid a single crown for weeks, and recently they've even started delaying paying the copper coins they used to cheat us. He said he was going to try his luck on the other side of the river."
He placed the cup by the campfire. "At least in Nilfgaard they won't delay paying their soldiers."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Not necessarily. But if you ever really want to change employers, you can come to Raven's Den. My territory is recruiting, and I don't delay paying wages there."
Hans paused, looked up at Ron, and didn't immediately agree: "Let's talk about it when my contract expires."
The following evening, the light flickered in the basement of the herbalist's hut. The halfling had already replanted the collapsed herbs in the garden and was now dozing against the door.
Five people sat around the table, on which lay the floor plan of the auction house, with every key point circled.
Evelyn stood against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her chest; her slender elf figure resembled a rapier sheathed.
Cheetos sat on the corner of the table, repeatedly wiping his lock-picking tools with a piece of suede, making each pry bar shine.
Geralt stood against the wall, his silver sword held upright beside him. Ron looked down at the blueprints on the table, while the man in black stood in front of the blueprints, his finger lightly tapping on the annotations.