The flood from Honey River submerged the houses and farmlands on both banks.
In the hazy mist, the skeletons of houses and trees protruding from the water resembled dark reefs, causing considerable trouble for the boatmen rowing.
In the niche of the Fur Guild Hall, a white marble angel used its hand to hook onto a piece of purple silk cloth.
In the howling wind, the silk cloth kept changing its form, sometimes like a rose, sometimes like a thorn.
In the flood's mist, the sound of wind chimes mixed with the whistle of thrushes, creating a fresh yet foul odor that hit Jilo's nose.
The world before his eyes had only three colors, black, white, and gray, even the brightest red rooftops appeared dull.
Compared to before, the water level had dropped significantly, reaching only about neck height.
Although the water wasn't deep, the deep black waves and floating gray mist made Jilo feel like the poet Zeng Ting in the classic "Fire Prison," slowly moving forward in a bottomless dark abyss.
Looking up to the sky was a patch of gray-white, and looking down to the ground was a pitch-black abyss, making it hard to distinguish between up and down.
A dilapidated solitary boat was moving forward in this flood valley.
"Row faster." A black-robed monk with iron teeth in his mouth arrogantly shouted at the soldiers and the boatmen.
This shouting interrupted Jilo's thoughts, and looking at the Iron-tooth Monk, he couldn't help but sigh.
The poet Zeng Ting had the sincere protection of animal friends, but Jilo didn't trust the group of people around him at all.
On the small boat Jilo was on, there were four armored soldiers, two night guards, one boatman, and Jilo with the monk commanding the soldiers.
This was the team sent to investigate the Secret Faction and the Witch.
Jilo didn't quite understand why they made such a fuss over the death of a countryside knight?
Could it be that the knight named Barnett was a relative or illegitimate child of Durdafer?
"Once we round that hollow, we'll reach Holy Grail Mountain." The Iron-tooth Monk's face was full of excitement, "As long as we can catch the Witch this time, the Cathedral Priests will definitely elect me as the next Priest."
Our goal for this operation is to investigate, find out how Barnett died, and catch the Witch.
Have you ever seen a Witch? Arguing here about witches, do you even know what black hand means?
If the Witch attacks, Jilo would be the first to run.
Back then, the Demon Hunter Castle where Jilo resided was destroyed in a surprise attack by the Witch from Black Snake Bay overnight.
Without even seeing the enemy, the fortress collapsed instantly.
Countless apprentices and official demon hunters were crushed and buried, with Jilo's scar on his face stemming from that time.
With disdain, Jilo cast his gaze on the slick head of the Iron-tooth Monk, evaluating him as someone who only reads demon hunter stories.
Jilo wasn't a formal demon hunter, but at least he had some exposure to the demon hunter industry.
With such configurations, even fighting an old wizard would be tough, let alone a Witch.
In a proper Witch hunt, several Counts and Great Monarchs would be mobilized, with hundreds of Knights, and armored soldiers calculated in units of fifty.
To defeat a Witch, a small thousand-strong regular army is needed, and that too in a surprise attack. They think they can take down a Witch with a "Fire and Ice Witch Hunter Harry" kind of knight, monk, and demon hunter trio?
Please don't joke around!
"Our goal is to investigate Lord Barnett's cause of death," Jilo reminded, "The Witch is not something we few can contend with right now."
Besides, I'm not even a formal demon hunter, Jilo added in his heart, I haven't even drunk the magic potion.
"Aren't you here? With this flood, can the Witch even fly? It's fine, really." The Iron-tooth Monk waved his hand, grinning to reveal two sharp iron teeth, "Besides, I have a Holy Net Ball and a Holy Water Hand Bomb. If we can't beat her, we can still escape, right?"
Hearing about the Holy Net Ball, Jilo felt slightly more at ease.
His face remained stern, but in his heart, he still wondered, who knows what bizarre and unpredictable abilities the Witch might have?
Anyway, Jilo had already made up his mind to glance at the villagers of Red Mill Village from a distance once ashore.
Then report back saying there's an invisible unknown force forewarning, and that Red Mill Village is in great terror and unapproachable.
In any case, Jilo couldn't stay here. Any longer, and his identity would truly be exposed.
Once the flood subsides, he would quickly flee to Norn to hide for a few days before coming back out.
"Master Priest, Master Demon Hunter, where are you heading?"
While contemplating, a sudden voice nearly startled Jilo off the boat.
He turned his head to see a raft.
The raft was now right next to their dinghy, the fog was so dense they hadn't even noticed it.
"Who are you?" Jilo, tall and rugged-faced with two scars over his right eye, immediately made the villager bow down.
"Sir, I'm a villager from Red Mill Village, here to catch fish."
"Just in time." The Iron-tooth Monk jumped out immediately, "We're heading to Red Mill Village, you, lead the way."
"Red Mill Village is already flooded, our camp is on Holy Grail Mountain."
"Then let's go to Holy Grail Mountain."
"Priest, this way." The villager promptly turned and paddled forward.
Jilo felt a headache coming on, all these soldiers were watching, he couldn't possibly say no, so he just nodded slightly.
Gulag Monastery was not far from Holy Grail Mountain, and with the villager's guidance, they quickly reached Holy Grail Mountain.
After tying the boat to a tree, the group waded along the path at the foot of the mountain and arrived at the mountainside of Holy Grail Mountain.
"Hey, isn't the lord of Red Mill Village a Knight called Barnett?"
"Ah, don't mention it, Demon Hunter sir!" The villager waved his hands continuously, "It's bad luck, we only found out a few days ago that Barnett was actually a devil. Do you know what he did? He was raising demons in the Black Pine Forest! Genuine hellhound demon!"
Raising demons?
Jilo's brain felt like it was burning. Considering Durdafer's unusual concern for Barnett earlier, an ominous premonition arose in his heart.
"Thanks to Master Saint Grandson Pope and the Saintess, we would've never known Barnett was a devil," the villager continued talking to himself, "That day, Master Saint Grandson Pope was clearly killed, his head was severed, but our Lord Miseria resurrected him, and the Saintess was even blessed. Initially, Miseria appeared to her in a dream, then bestowed her with the divine art of lightning..."
Damn!
Jilo nearly jumped up on the spot, dealing with a human-shaped demon plus a shape-shifting witch was almost the most troublesome combo.
"Where is your Saintess?" Keeping a straight face, Jilo asked casually.
The boatman answered offhandedly, "She went to the Black Pine Forest to gather root tubers; if you want to meet her, you won't be able to for a while."
Fortunately, it wasn't beyond retrieval yet.
Decisively, Jilo immediately turned to the Iron-tooth Monk and whispered, "They're two extremely powerful demons, none of us here can easily defeat them. Barnett fell to their hands; we need to report back immediately."
"Let's not rush, let's take another look. Maybe these ignorant people again believed some Secret Faction or something strange like a boar." The Iron-tooth Monk was clearly unwilling to back down.
He had come up through the choir, alongside Durdafer, who was on his way to becoming an Archbishop, while he was still just an Assistant Priest.
He had heard Durdafer was going to be promoted, but there was no successor chosen.
To take over Durdafer's position, he borrowed a huge sum of high-interest loans from the El Banker, smoothed over everything, but was just one merit short.
This opportunity was a must-grasp.
Seeing the Iron-tooth Monk hesitating, Jilo's bloodshot eyes were full of urgency: "This is a witch we're dealing with, neither of us can handle it, not even Durdafer; we must report to the High Castle Archbishop."
"At least, let's catch a mid-level cultist; anyway, with the witch not here, if we go back without any witness, we'll get nothing." The monk insisted with gritted teeth, as it might involve Durdafer's scandal.
He didn't want to expose this matter, he just needed to prove to the high bishops that Durdafer couldn't handle their affairs. Look, now he himself had caught him out.
With that thought, the Iron-tooth Monk's eyes burned hot and full of hope.
Snorting heavily, Jilo knew the soldiers all took orders from the Iron-tooth Monk, so he could only grit his teeth and ask, "Who do we catch?"
"Let's catch that one right there." The Iron-tooth Monk pointed with his thick, short fingers.
A young man stood there in a blue and black brocade short robe, with a short cape tied at his neck.
From his attire, it was clear he wasn't an ordinary commoner, but seeing his manner of speaking, his status probably wasn't very high.
Moreover, the boatman was running towards him, likely some minor leader.
"Alright, but once we catch him, we retreat immediately!"
"Right."
"Go!"