Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 484: Chapter 309: The Situation_1

The Pigman awoke from its dizziness, but the pain from its severed arm surged into its brain, throwing it into a frenzy. The iron chain wrapped around its wrist formed a bracer, and when it loosened its grip, the chain slid out, extending its attack range and turning into a sweep.

Tadiff had just completed his attack and had no time to adjust his stance. Being hit by the hammer or entangled by the chain would be extremely troublesome.

However, Tadiff, the bounty hunter, was never afraid. He was determined to collect the Pigman’s bounty. As the Pigman turned, he launched another attack, whipping out his own hook chain to collide and entangle with the Pigman’s Chain Hammer, disrupting its attack first.

Then, he pulled forcefully, causing the Pigman, already off-balance from its severed arm, to stagger.

Tadiff showed no mercy. His axe sliced towards the Pigman’s loudly braying mouth, chopping straight through the corner and into the flesh. The Pigman struggled fiercely in pain, but it was nothing more than its death throes.

Quickly, Tadiff pulled out the axe embedded deep in the Pigman’s body. The fallen corpse looked as though it had been dismembered.

Finding no weakness, he created one. Though it was a bit clumsy, he had indeed dealt with his target.

Looking at the others, the one Balistan had targeted had its head smashed in. One should never underestimate the power of the Morningstar Hammer, especially when wielded by someone with innate divine strength; the force it unleashed could shatter a skull with ease.

The one Geralt faced had a slightly less gruesome death. It was pierced through the chest by a Longsword, its heart and lungs destroyed instantly. Blood flooded its lungs, causing internal bleeding.

Although its strong Life Force allowed for more struggle, the end result was still death.

Compared to the other two—one dismembered, the other with a smashed head—it did die a more dignified death.

What was the best proof of these monsters’ identity? A pig head or a pig whip?

”I need to skin it; give me some time,” Geralt said without hesitation, beginning to work on the Pigman before him.

The whole corpse was too heavy, nearly two hundred pounds. Without tools, they couldn’t possibly carry it back, not even a pig’s head that weighed dozens of pounds.

Thus, only its hide could best demonstrate the creature’s unnatural state.

Skinning was one of the sacrificial rituals of the Ascension Sect. Lance and the others were utterly repulsed by such practices, wishing they could exterminate those heretics.

Yet now Geralt was also skinning a creature, and even the most devout Junia showed little reaction.

The reason was very simple: because they were human, they would inevitably stand from a human perspective.

Seeing humans harmed would instinctively elicit empathy, but this empathy was seldom extended to other creatures, especially one as grotesque as a Pigman.

Geralt had learned from a young age how to deal with monsters and, crucially, how to extract materials from them.

His technique was excellent; the skinning knife swiftly removed a flawless hide from the monster—a pigskin without a single tear.

”Such a strange body structure. I don’t know whether to call this a pig or a human,” Geralt remarked after retrieving the hide. He didn’t stop there, instead slicing open the creature’s chest cavity to examine the Pigman’s internal structure, finding it eerily similar to that of a human.

”The contents of its stomach suggest it’s omnivorous, which explains why the vegetation around the den entrance was so heavily damaged—even the roots were dug up. These pieces of meat don’t seem to be from the charred corpses, nor are they human. If this assumption holds, there might be a very complex ecosystem inside the cave. Their digestive abilities are stronger than we imagined...”

Geralt, true to his reputation as a master Witcher, gleaned much hidden information from a simple dissection.

But after he finished, one question stumped them.

”What should we do with these bodies?”

”The cave entrance isn’t far,” one of them pointed out. ”Soon the smell of blood will attract more monsters.”

”Burning them is impossible,” another said. ”It would require at least several hundred pounds of wood.”

”Carrying them away is also impossible. Let alone three Pigmen, three men couldn’t carry them very far.”

After some discussion, they realized they had no other options but to abandon the bodies where they lay.

”Let it be. We’ve gathered the information we need,” Geralt decided, promptly leading the group away.

Whether the corpses would be eaten by wild beasts or found by other Pigmen was no longer of consequence. The priority for their small party now was to deliver news of the Pigmen’s appearance to the Lord as quickly as possible.

* * *

On an Imperial road, many refugees staggered along, their expressions so numb they resembled the living dead.

Among them, a carriage of Romani design traveled, drawing no particular attention.

”Has the situation in the Empire truly become so dire?” The Elder, who should have been at the headquarters of the Seekers of Omens, was present. Her words were less a question and more an exclamation.

The woman sitting opposite the Elder was no ordinary individual either; she was the head of the Seekers of Omens’ operations in the Imperial region.

In response to the Elder’s statement, she earnestly explained the current predicament facing the Empire.

”Ever since the Emperor ascended to the throne, he has been supporting the new nobles in the cities while simultaneously curtailing and undermining the Old Nobility. His aim was to reclaim their lands for urban development. This policy has deepened the conflicts between the Royal Family, the new nobles, and the Old Nobility. Previously, these struggles were confined to the shadows. However, the recent drought has caused a decrease in grain production in the central region. The subsequent emergence of refugees has intensified these conflicts, bringing them out into the open.”