Beast Slayer Online: Initialization
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 36
By that point, the man-eater case was effectively over.
Lannor could sense the existence of a larger man-eater group, but in times like these, they truly did not seem to count for much.
All that remained now was to bring the killer to Crow’s Perch and collect the bounty, two hundred and thirty Orens in total.
Before setting out, Lannor returned to Auridon once more and took along his damaged armor.
He intended to see whether it could be repaired directly at Crow’s Perch.
Ivan did not mention going with him, which in itself counted as further proof of Auridon’s growing trust in the young man.
“So ... they caught that animal?”
Old Aaron stood at the village entrance and asked the question. Behind him were pairs of tense eyes.
“Yes, they caught him. It didn’t take much.” Lannor smiled as he loaded the bundle containing his armor onto Pope’s back.
“He’s a man-eater, but he didn’t really know what sort of place Dunham was, that’s why he committed the crime there. It wasn’t a deliberate provocation against the Goddess’s faith, so you can rest easy.”
Had it been deliberate provocation, then the surrounding villages were already prepared to maintain patrols of able-bodied men.
Because provocation like that would never end with a single incident.
But now no one needed to waste that manpower, and the relief was visible on every face.
Lannor joined up with Phillip Strenger’s squad, and together they rode north toward Crow’s Perch.
The road by horseback would take roughly two days.
As for the killer, it surprised no one that by that very night he had begun to burn with fever.
After all, having both feet pierced and then being dragged out through a swamp, avoiding infection had never been realistic.
“Tch, master, have you got some Elixir or other that might keep him alive a bit longer? Two days is all we need, just long enough for you to get your bounty, if nothing else.”
Phillip came to Lannor rubbing his hands, looking slightly embarrassed.
Seated beside the campfire, Lannor answered at once with a clean threefold refusal. “No, I don’t, and I’ve no idea.”
In truth, there were plenty of elixirs and oils and the like in the alchemy sack.
But for an ordinary man the toxicity was too severe. If the killer drank one, he would likely end up either dead or witless.
Vserad likely would not care overmuch whether the man he executed was witless, but...
Those things were expensive.
I barely bring myself to use them for my own hunts, and you want me to waste one on a man-eater?
And at present Lannor had not yet turned much of his energy toward alchemy. These were all Bordon’s stores, and each bottle used was one bottle gone.
So beneath Phillip’s pleading gaze, Lannor walked straight over to the murderer, who was sprawled across a horse’s back and half-delirious.
He pulled up the man’s trouser leg and confirmed that everything below the ankle had already begun to blacken.
Then he drew the steel sword from his back.
His left hand shifted through a Sign while it brushed lightly over the blade.
“Igni.”
With a hiss like water thrown into hot oil, the bright steel turned red in an instant.
Only then did Phillip realize what the Witcher intended.
“Plague take you, you can’t mean to...”
Thunk.
The red-hot blade traced an arc through the air and hacked both the killer’s feet clean off where he lay over the horse.
There was no bleeding. The wounds were seared shut in the same instant.
The murderer, who had been blurred by fever moments before, let out a howl and came fully awake.
The scream was enough to startle the horse.
Lannor did not even bother wiping the blade. Once it had cooled, he simply sheathed it again.
As he passed Phillip, he patted the big man on the shoulder.
“The amputation was a success. Listen to how loud the bastard’s screaming, I’d say he’s got at least five days left in him.”
What was Phillip meant to say to that? The victim was a man-eater, all that remained was to rejoice.
The rest of the cavalry reacted little to the brutality itself, or rather, their attention was fixed instead on Lannor’s Igni.
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