Mage And Wolf
Chapter 253

Chapter 253: Chapter 253

"Now that the fun part is finished, we souks find the rest of the witches who headed East towards Alpha Conway and his pack. But I don’t know how well they’ll actually do if there are category 4 monsters in the area." I inform the group.

"I’ll carry this one. We can see if she is sane or needs to be put down when she wakes up." Lelou agrees, tossing Becca on her shoulder.

"I’ve scanned the area, no other transit spells have been used, so either the attack worked or they don’t know where it came from." Karl adds.

Finding the rest of the witches, hopefully alive, is the first priority, so I lead everyone down their trail, which they disguised with a potion, but the death energy that clings to black witches makes then easy to follow anyhow. The scent of it lingers on everything they touch. They were moving cautiously, or perhaps they had injuries, while I’m keeping a pace that makes a comfortable jog for Lala and Hui’Jin, one they can keep up all day at their level of cultivation.

We’re not the only ones that are tracking the witches though. Stronger magical Beasts are very intelligent, the there’s a group of what smells like tigers also trying to follow the trail.

"Karl, my good man, I require a safari hat. We’re going Tiger hunting." I tell him in my most pompous voice and he creates one with a flourish. Putting the round white hat on, I change into a casual cream colored silk shirt and black high boots with my favorite leather pants. Last up is to dig through the bag of weapons Karl prepared for a rifle.

Sure, I could kill it more effectively with my fists, but that’s not how you hunt tigers.

Lala and Hui’Jin are doing their best to hide their laughter, but Lelou has given up on trying, a rumbling laughter that sounds much more Dragon than human coming from the usually composed red dragon.

I find an AK loaded with rounds enchanted for penetration and claim it as my own. Moving through the woods at a quick jog it doesn’t take long to find the tigers, they’ve surrounded the camp the witches set up, barely fifteen miles from the safe house. But I suppose that’s not a bad day for regular humans on foot in the woods.

[Six tigers, all category 4. Tell the others.] I mind link Karl before unloading on the first target. The satisfying ring of automatic rifle fire echoes through the trees and the first tiger falls. That took half a magazine though, I should have grabbed more ammunition. The remainder drops the second giant cat, patterned as a Bengal tiger, but over three meters tall at the shoulder and I’m forced to call on the energy Dragons using a defensive technique to avoid being bitten by the others.

"Now you’ve done it, you made them mad." Karl laughs in the distance and I can hear that all four remaining cats are coming for me.

"Go greet our hosts while I pet the kittens." I joke back, landing an energy covered strike that crushed a tiger’s ribs, leaving it gasping and dying.

Everyone but Hui’Jin goes to guard the witches, while the little Dragonewt simply watches me fight, making mental notes as I spar with the Monsters. I’m not being nearly as aggressive as I could be, using the chance to stretch my muscles, but my former Acolyte looks enthralled with the fight.

Technically she’s still my personal assistant, but she’s a full Priestess now, and no longer an Acolyte.

The last tiger tries to flee and I send the black and white dragon looking energy manifestations after it with a straight punch, the technique causing them to shred the beast with their teeth.

"All done. Let’s go say hello before they think we’re unfriendly." I tell Hui’Jin, taking her hand and walking towards the camp.

"Greetings everyone. Problem solved." I wave and the witches look shocked.

"You sent the little ones to fight the monsters, you old deadbeat?" An old witch asks. She must know Karl from before society came crashing down.

"Don’t call me old. You were over a hundred when we first met." Karl counters, making Lala giggle.

"Immortals arguing over who deserves to be called old is always funny." Lelou laughs, nodding her head at Lala.

"Not Immortal yet I’m afraid, though I’ve nearly made Core Formation and the Dark Arts have extended my life." The old woman sighs, reminding me I had a present for them.

"If you’d like, I have a cultivation technique from the Death God that is perfectly suited for witches. It should help with the corruption from black magic as well." I tell her with my best serious face.

As her curiosity gets the better of her, I can feel the knowledge rise from my spirit ocean to form a ball of energy in my hand. I press it to her forehead and it sinks in effortlessly, granting her the knowledge of a lost Death Cult cultivation technique.

"I see, it’s so simple once you know. I’ll have to teach the others too. The corruption has gotten bad in some of them." She grins a toothless smile, grabbing my hand in both of hers to shake it.

"No need to thank me, it was the will of the Gods today. But I am looking forward to what a Death Cult witch can do when she doesn’t need to worry about losing herself to the corruption."

"It will be amazing. Using our own powers instead of potions." Says a younger coven member, black scales of the corruption visible on her face.

In reality, the corruption is both a blessing and a curse. As a blessing of the various death gods, it grants the witches power. But their body can’t handle it, and they don’t dedicate themselves to one God so the mutation of the curse is random, killing them or turning them into demons. With focus and an appropriate technique they can prevent the mutation without losing the blessings.