The battle had just ended, and Guilliman, feeling a little more relaxed, suddenly detected an unusually foul stench.
While a putrid smell is normal in a crypt, this fresh, meaty stench was distinctly different from the smell of decades-old corpses and could not escape a Witcher's senses.
He followed the scent and, as expected, saw a highly decomposed corpse, its face unrecognizable, dressed in tattered grey leather armor, with a Witcher medallion hanging on its chest.
It was slumped against the crypt wall, letting maggots tear at its surface, much like corpses in zombie movies, a truly tragic death.
Judging by the style of the Witcher medallion, there was no doubt that the corpse before him was the unfortunate Viper School Witcher, Kogrim.
He had indeed died in this underground crypt, and his body was left exposed, unburied.
Out of sympathy for a fellow Witcher, Guilliman stared at the corpse for a few seconds, suppressing his disgust. He was about to go and gather the deceased's belongings and bury the body, giving his colleague a proper send-off.
However, before he could act, a surge of necromantic energy suddenly enveloped the corpse. The two evil spirits that had just fled had not truly escaped; instead, they reappeared beside Kogrim's body, glaring at Guilliman with malevolent eyes, seemingly intent on doing something.
Guilliman frowned, vaguely sensing that something was amiss. He was about to swing his sword to attack the two evil spirits when something unexpected happened.
He watched as Kogrim's corpse, enveloped in necromantic power, suddenly shuddered and slowly rose to its feet. Its largely decomposed face opened its eyes, revealing two pitch-black hollows that constantly emitted black necromantic smoke.
Its mouth opened and closed, uttering in a hoarse, resentful voice:
"Damn… Lord, I want… revenge… revenge…!"
Hmm, wants revenge on the Lord?
Could it be that because the time of death was still short, Kogrim's lingering spirit had not completely dispersed and had taken over this body?
Guilliman thought to himself.
However, soon, something more troublesome occurred. As Kogrim's corpse stood up, the remaining two evil spirits directly transformed into black mist and merged into the body.
In an instant, the necromantic energy around Kogrim's corpse surged. Its movements, which had been stiff like rusted machinery, became as smooth as a living person's. And from its two pitch-black eye sockets, a chilling, necromantic glow emerged, clearly indicating some form of enhancement.
Guilliman was stunned by this development, something he hadn't anticipated.
However, he did not attack rashly, suspecting that the entity might be Kogrim's spirit and that communication might still be possible.
He held his longsword horizontally, adopting a defensive stance, and at the same time, called out to the spirit in a probing tone:
"Hey, Kogrim! Is that you?"
"Brother! Can you understand me?"
However, the spirit before him seemed to possess no reason, not answering his questions, still muttering phrases like "I want revenge!" in a hoarse, broken voice.
Is it a remnant soul?
Or perhaps Kogrim hasn't become a complete evil spirit, only a lingering resentment for revenge against the living?
Guilliman speculated, tightening his grip on his longsword, ready for battle.
He didn't believe that a spirit, having transformed, would let him, a fellow Witcher without even a medallion, go.
However, without knowing the opponent's strength, it wasn't suitable to attack rashly.
Indeed, after a few seconds of dazed confusion, the spirit of Kogrim before him suddenly seemed to recognize him as an enemy. It turned its nearly half-rotted head to stare at him.
At the same time, it agilely crouched down and picked up a fangs-shaped dagger, a weapon that appeared unique to the Viper School.
It continued to mumble words like "Kill! Revenge!" Its chilling, deep gaze fixed on him ferociously, showing no intention of communication.
Damn it, it's become an elite spectral monster. Looks like I still have to fight.
Guilliman cursed inwardly, no longer hesitating. He extended his non-sword hand forward, and a fishing net, which he had prepared earlier, appeared in his grasp.
This was a weapon he had specifically prepared in the past for agile enemies.
He hadn't brought it out when dealing with the incorporeal evil spirits, but now, against this corporeal one, it was perfect.
Before the opponent could act, Guilliman estimated the distance, forcefully threw the fishing net, and simultaneously moved his feet, approaching the spirit, preparing for his subsequent attack.
Whoosh!
The low-intelligence spirit clearly did not anticipate the sudden net attack and was directly caught face-on by the fishing net, its body movements becoming chaotic.
However, the fangs dagger in its hand was quite sharp. With a forceful swing, it cut several breaks in the fishing net in a very short time, clearly indicating that the net could not hold it for long.
Taking advantage of this opening, Guilliman quickly approached Kogrim's spirit, his silver sword, coated in specter oil, repeatedly thrusting into its chest, stabbing seven or eight times, and constantly stirring to enlarge the wound, causing its broken internal organs and putrid fluid to leak out, splashing everywhere.
Damn it, it stinks too much.
The smell of the putrid fluid made Guilliman's stomach churn. If he hadn't fought many times before with those foul ghouls and drowners, and seen many rotten corpses, he might have vomited now.
Speaking of which, being a Witcher is truly an unlucky profession. Every day, you have to fight these dirty, grimy monsters.
Low pay, lots of work, and damn dangerous. What's more infuriating is that their social status isn't high, and they often face discrimination.
If it weren't for wanting to become stronger, and his Golden Finger being related to Witchers, he definitely wouldn't be this damned Witcher.
Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to be a mage or a noble lord? A lavish and dissolute noble life is what a man truly yearns for.
Guilliman cursed, and fueled by the anger in his chest, his attacks became even more ferocious.
However, with a body as a barrier, the silver sword's restraining effect on the spirit seemed to be significantly weakened. Although attacked many times, Kogrim's spirit, apart from opening its mouth to wail, did not show any noticeable weakening.
Seeing that the fishing net was about to be completely torn, Guilliman sharply kicked the opponent, directly knocking the spirit's body to the ground.
At the same time, he aimed his sword at the exposed neck beneath the fishing net, changing his thrust to a slash, intending to cut off its neck and decapitate it.
Things went smoothly. The spirit's neck was not very strong. Guilliman's sword flashed, and the blade in his hand precisely severed the corpse's neck.
However, with a squelch!
Kogrim's spirit cared nothing for its own life and showed no intention of defending or blocking.
As Guilliman cut off its neck, the fangs dagger in its hand also plunged directly into the Witcher's calf, piercing straight through his lower leg.