Alvin swept his gaze around.
Twelve Drowners.
Added to the seven from before, that made nineteen in total.
According to the Bestiary, that number was far beyond the size of an ordinary Drowner horde.
Trial of the Dreams.
The term flashed through his mind at once.
He also knew there was little chance of getting help from Vesemir and the others.
The only one who could keep him alive was himself.
“Ha!”
A Drowner lunged first.
Alvin raised his sword in both hands, stepped forward, and brought it down in a practiced slash.
The silver blade cut through empty air.
The expected bite of flesh never came.
The lunging Drowner seemed to have suddenly grown clever.
It jerked back and avoided the strike.
“Whoosh!”
Another Drowner circled in from the side, its claws whistling through the air as they tore toward Alvin’s opening.
Alvin quickly twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Dodge, then block.
He instinctively raised his sword across his body, only to realize that the Drowner had already retreated back into the swarm after its ambush failed.
This…
this was impossible.
Shock flashed across Alvin’s face.
Everyone knew Drowners had no brains.
That was exactly why his earlier fights against them had been so easy to handle.
But the ones before him were acting like trained soldiers.
They knew how to surround him, pressure him, even strike from two sides at once.
No.
These aren’t just Drowners.
There has to be something worse out there.
His eyes searched frantically.
Behind the Drowners, a mass of orange-red heat emerged from the water.
It had two pairs of fins on its head, prominent cheekbones, and a square mouth lined with two rows of saw-like fangs.
It was larger than an ordinary Drowner by a full size.
Its cheeks pulsed, its pupils flickered with an evil red light, and a low growl rumbled from its throat.
Alvin cursed under his breath.
What the hell is that thing?
On the cliff above, Vesemir cried out in alarm.
“It’s a Drowned Dead!
A powerful species among Drowners.
It can control them.
This is bad!”
“Geralt!”
Before he had even finished speaking, he saw that the white-haired youth beside him had already drawn his Silver Sword and was sprinting down the mountain path.
Vries frowned.
The ruby necklace on her chest flashed with light.
“Ha!”
The Drowners kept hissing and roaring as they pressed in on Alvin, trying to overwhelm him with sheer momentum.
But under the influence of [Dual Soul], Alvin remained calm.
The standoff did not last long.
The Drowned Dead climbed fully out of the river, raised its gaunt right arm, and pointed a finger at Alvin.
“Ha!”
The twelve Drowners moved at once, attacking from every direction.
Alvin dodged with the footwork of the School of the Wolf Witcher Swordsmanship, aided by the [Tawny Owl] potion he had drunk.
He spun, rolled, and slipped away from their attacks.
Sweat mixed with mud and filth until his whole body was caked in it, leaving him in a miserable state.
His breathing began to grow ragged.
Even with the support of [Tawny Owl], his strength would run out sooner or later.
He knew he could not keep this up.
But the Drowners kept avoiding his Silver Sword, giving him no opening at all.
His gaze swept toward the Drowned Dead hiding in the rear.
Those dead fish eyes actually gleamed with a cunning and greed that should not belong to a Necrophage.
It looked like a raccoon staring at a mouse in its paws, planning to toy with its prey until it was exhausted before delivering the final blow.
Alvin’s mouth twitched into a fierce grimace.
He bent forward slightly, rose onto the toes of his right foot, drove force up from the ground, and shot forward.
The Drowned Dead saw through Alvin’s plan at once.
Cut down the leader first.
A hoarse hiss rasped from its throat.
The twelve Drowners in front of it received the order and blocked his path together.
Alvin roared and swung his sword.
“Get out of the way!”
The Drowners ahead avoided the blade, while the Drowners at his sides stabbed at him with their claws.
This time, Alvin did not dodge.
He forced his way through.
In an instant, several bloody lines opened across his body.
The bone-deep pain made his teeth chatter.
But his cat-like eyes stayed locked on the Drowned Dead.
Adrenaline surged through him as he staked everything on this charge.
The Drowned Dead took a step back, letting out a rapid, low growl.
The twelve Drowners came at him one after another.
Eight meters.
Five meters.
Three meters…
A sharp gust swept across his back, and blood sprayed.
Not good!
Alvin shouted inwardly, but his body had already pitched forward and fallen to the ground.
“Clang!”
The Silver Sword slipped from his hand and landed beside him.
Agonizing pain shot along his nerves and flooded his brain, making his vision go black.
The Drowners let out chilling cries and rushed forward, fighting to tear Alvin apart and devour him.
“Ha!”
The Drowned Dead spread its arms and roared.
All the Drowners stiffened, then began retreating.
The Drowned Dead walked to the shore.
Its black, rotting tongue slid out of its mouth, and its eyes were full of greed.
A cold wind swept across the lake.
Alvin bit the tip of his tongue to keep himself conscious.
His nose was filled with the smell of rust.
In the blood, he tasted Celandine.
He had drunk more than [Cat] and [Tawny Owl].
He had also taken a [Swallow] potion.
The medicine surged from his lower abdomen and spread through his limbs and bones.
The pain was quickly suppressed.
Two meters…
Not enough…
One meter…
Half a meter…
Alvin felt the Drowned Dead’s wet tongue lick across his black hair, and his scalp went numb.
This distance was enough.
He shoved himself up with both hands, grabbed the Silver Sword beside him, and thrust it out in an instant.
The flash of the blade filled the Drowned Dead’s eyes.
It hurriedly raised its right hand to block, and the Silver Sword pierced its dark blue palm.
But the resistance forced the blade away from its neck.
Muddy blood mixed with Necrophage’s Blade Oil splattered across its face, giving off a sizzling sound like burning flesh.
“Ha!”
The Drowned Dead let out a howl of pain.
Alvin twisted his wrist and sliced off half of the Drowned Dead’s right palm.
The Drowned Dead retreated quickly, returning to the water.
Shock filled its eyes at first, then turned into utter fury.
It had never expected this despicable Human to feign death and strike back.
Blood from its right palm polluted the surface of the river.
The two rows of sharp teeth in its mouth kept clacking together, producing a grating sound that set the teeth on edge.
“Ha!”
Before the roar had faded, Alvin sprinted forward and stepped into the river, aiming to cut off the Drowned Dead’s head.
The Drowned Dead retreated step by step.
It had just experienced the power of the Silver Sword firsthand, and fear had begun to grow in its heart.
But as the King of Drowners, when had it ever suffered such humiliation?
It pushed off with both feet and leapt backward, diving into the water like a fish until its entire body vanished beneath the surface.
Alvin searched the water and saw a pale yellow shadow swimming swiftly toward him from below.
The shadow held its limbs close, like a twisting water snake, silent and astonishingly fast.
He found the right moment and thrust the Silver Sword into the water, only to pierce the Drowned Dead’s reflection.
Suddenly, a hand clamped hard around his ankle.
Its claws were like blades, digging into his flesh.
A tremendous force surged from it, and his body sank.
This beast wants to drag me under.
Murky river water instantly flooded his nose.
Alvin gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and a panel appeared.
[Underwater Breathing], activated!