Way of the Knights

Chapter 694 - Hag

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What is a Hag? 

It is a creature who is considered as a mutated Demonic Beast. Depending on their mutation, the shape in size of a Hag might differ from one to another but despite this, they all share a few common features which makes it easy to identify them.

The first common feature they have is that, they are humanoids. They have arms and legs as well as a body and head which similar to that of a human. They also possess some form of intelligence, some of them could even talk using human language whilst also knowing arcane language to understand demonic beasts.

The second common feature they share is that whatever mutation a Hag goes through, they will always take the form of a very old lady. Usually, Hags can shapeshift into a form that makes it easier for them to move around, for some reason though they always ends up looking like an old lady who's just a few steps away from their coffin. Once a Hag is enraged, they might discard this form and return to their original appearances but for the most part, if they were just left alone, they will always look like an old lady. 

And lastly, the most common feature they share and also the easiest way to tell if the creature is a Hag or not, would be their Auras. 

Auras of the Hag are always cursed. This is mostly because they practice curse spells and hexes as their main form of combat. By using mediums like a sacrifice or ritual, they can impose certain conditions to their enemies. They could even terraform the land in order to make suitable for their needs. Some of the most powerful Hags can even kill someone without needing to see them or even get close to them, just knowing the person's name and a the right amount of sacrifice is enough. 

No matter who you ask, they will say that Hags are downright terrible. They are abominations created through mysterious dark rituals which can pollute an entire world easily if they wanted to. 

It is very difficult to kill a Hag since, despite their 'old lady' appearance, they possess the raw strength necessary to level an entire city in no time. They can be fast, have bodies that are as tough as diamonds on top of being able to use Dark Arts to hex and curse somebody. Some Hags can even pull themselves out from the grasp of death and live again. 

At a glance, Hags doesn't seem to have any form of weakness however this isn't true. The fact that they are branded as abominations means that the Heavenly Laws despises them. No matter how much of a genius a Hag is nor how long they lived, they will never be able to wield the power of laws in their entire lives. 

Additionally, in order to evolve to their next form, a Hag needs to confront a Heavenly Tribulation every single time. At least 80% of the Hags that existed since the ancient time either died from Heavenly Tribulation, or was killed by people who can wield the power of Laws. 

Still, despite their this fatal weakness of theirs, it doesn't mean that confronting a Hag will be easy. In fact, anyone who knew that they'll have to confront a Hag needs some form of a plan if they wanted to ensure their safety as well. 

Today, Vendrick is about to meet the first Hag of this lifetime. 

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"Ugh, the stench here is...ugh." 

The smell of this place can make anyone retch in disgust. Even a sewer would smell than this horrible stench.

However, just from this scent, Vendrick already knows that there is a Hag nearby. In fact, if he truly wanted to scout using the safest method, he should stop here and not go any further. His sense were sharp enough to notice the lingering aura of a Hag here, so it's pretty much confirmed. No need to think twice. 

Unfortunately, Vendrick wasn't satisfied with just this. According to his standards, this won't do at all. Aside from the fact that this place definitely has a Hag, he basically got nothing. He already knew about the existence of a Hag, his instincts already warned him about so he wasn't surprised at all. What he needed was more intel...

So instead or retreating, Vendrick decided to continue going deeper into the territory. If anything, he just made sure that he was more vigilant since he at an unknown territory by now. 

To someone else, this place wouldn't really arise too much suspicion. There's the stench yes, but considering that this forest is crawling with Demonic Beast, they will mostly likely end up thinking that this stench is coming from a decaying demonic beast since the place didn't really look different from the general theme of its surroundings. 

This of course, will be a huge mistake. 

"Tch, terraformed." Vendrick spat quietly as he continued moving slowly. He was being really careful to not leave even a single trace of him behind. 

Now that he's infiltrating the territory of a Hag - a terraformed one at that, leaving something that the Hag can use to track him will be a fatal mistake. Sometimes, that would be enough to get himself killed. 

Despite the innocent look of this place, Vendrick could feel that the strangeness of this place. It felt eerie and downright creepy. Even a falling leaf gives off an impression that it will turn into a monstrosity in just a few moments. 

Make no mistake, within this place, everything is decided by the Hag who terraformed it. If she didn't want to, not even a single leaf will fall from the trees. Within this territory, the Hag is no different from a god. Well, at least they are if they were confronting someone else and not Vendrick. 

Still, being careful is not a bad move. Vendrick truly has no plans on confronting the Hag right now. He's still too weak, he just wanted to investigate. 

'Shit, that Hag is trouble.' Vendrick had a solemn expression as he analyzed his surroundings. 'She made the soil capable of draining blood and longevity from unsuspecting victims. All of the trees are alive and carnivorous, their roots can form a wall that will imprison me if I get careless. Heck, even a single blade of leaf can turn into a sharp sacrificial dagger.'

Vendrick never felt so happy that he had an ocular technique that could reveal the true appearance of this camp. Without it, he would've needed more time to learn this secrets, possible increasing the risk of getting caught. 

Still, even with his ocular technique, his chances of winning didn't increase, in fact it decreased when he learned about it. The Hag of this camp is a rare one, a genius so to speak. 

'Damn, there's much difference huh? What's up with the difficulty of this trial?' Vendrick lamented inwardly. 

Despite his whining though, Vendrick never really lost faith to himself. Yes, the odds were against him but it doesn't mean that he's certainly going to lose. 

He kept moving forward slowly, still making sure to not leave even a single trace of himself. As he went deeper, he witnessed more and more abominations created by the Hag of this camp. 

Trolls covered with poisonous warts, overgrown insects buried deep underground waiting to ambush someone, ponds that has blood instead of water and decaying animals. Ritual circles, skulls and bones, totems, deadly traps and list goes on. 

Vendrick managed to avoid all of this without alarming or triggering them. He was like a ghost as he moved from one place to another. He took his time and committed everything to his memory. 

Time passed and Vendrick was still finding out more abominations created by Hag, they didn't show any signs of stopping but Vendrick paused on his tracks. 

He did so because he arrived at safe location. Not really safe but far away that can he observe what's in front of him without alerting his target. 

Of course, it was none other than the Hag. Vendrick met his first target. 

Her abode looked like a hut made out of straws in the surface. In fact the Hag herself looked like a kind old lady who's living by herself alone in the woods and already accepted her fate, patiently waiting for her death to arrive. 

In truth however, this old lady was death. Under the influence of his ocular technique, the veil of illusion was dispelled. Allowing him to see the real face of the Hag. 

The Hag's body is filled with holes. These holes if filled with all sorts of worms, centipedes, locusts and etc. There was one centipede that crawled inside her missing left eye, her face contorted for a bit and she clenched her jaws and started chewing. As to what she was chewing, Vendrick didn't really want to know. 

'Fuck! An Insectoid? Are you for real!?' Vendrick's face cramped due to the absurdity of this discovery. He then looked at her base and his face cramped even more. 

'If she's an Insectoid, that means her home is basically an Insect Hub right? And since she lived for a long time already...fuck, this is worst."