Things often develop unexpectedly.
Just as the three were waiting for the Plague Hag to be subdued so that the quest could be successfully completed, events suddenly took a turn.
The Plague Hag, trapped in the Soul-Binding Array, transformed after most of the black mist and poison gas on her body were dispelled. From her original decaying and foul-smelling form, she changed into a pitiful-looking, plump pregnant woman, carrying a child.
As if the vengeful spirits of the dead influencing her sanity had been dispelled, the pregnant ghost sobbed and pleaded with the three around her:
"Please don't kill me, don't kill me."
"At least, at least let me give birth to my child."
"My child is about to be born; he is innocent."
Unfortunately, if she were a living person, carrying a normal baby, she might have garnered some sympathy.
But the opponent was a Plague Hag, a monster that spreads plague and disease. Faced with such a being, even those kind-hearted saints would likely find it hard to be overly sympathetic.
Allowing her to find release was already the best outcome.
Keira sighed and explained to the two Witchers:
"This should be a pregnant woman who died in the plague, about to give birth. Her resentful soul became a vessel for the grievances and negative energy of other dead, which is why she became the Plague Hag she is now."
"Don't worry, I will complete my research as soon as possible and then give her release."
Although Keira's character wasn't exactly kind, she was definitely not a ruthless sorceress. She merely yearned for a luxurious and vain life; her nature wasn't inherently bad.
Just like the Plague Hag in the Rat Tower, the formation of a Plague Hag is likely due to a resentful soul being empowered by surrounding negative energy and the grievances of other dead, leading to its transformation.
Guilliman nodded, feeling his Witcher experience had grown considerably.
Experienced Witchers are like this; much knowledge isn't learned from books but requires personal experience and practical summation.
However, he reached out to stop Keira from trying to put the Plague Hag into an item.
He spoke to the pregnant ghost, asking:
"What happened to the children who disappeared from the surrounding villages?"
"Was it you?"
"You're about to become a mother yourself; you should understand the sorrow of parents who have lost their children."
The pregnant ghost, with her resentment and negative energy dispelled, should be able to communicate normally. Although it wasn't certain if this matter was related to her, asking was still a good idea.
Hearing Guilliman's question, she slightly tilted her head, revealing a pained expression, and said:
"I didn't harm those children; they are in the basement of the ruins."
"It wasn't me who kidnapped those children; it was a group of ghost riders on skeletal warhorses, emanating icy cold, who forced me to do it."
"I tried to resist, but my plague and disease couldn't harm those Ghost Riders."
Ghost Riders, Ghost Riders with frost. Such a name, in the Witcher world, basically refers to the Wild Hunt.
And the Wild Hunt's tradition of abducting children or young people from the human world to train them as slaves is an old one, perfectly in line with their nature.
Guilliman's expression immediately became serious. He instructed Gaetan to search the ruins for the children, while continuing to inquire:
"How many children did those Ghost Riders order you to collect? When will they come again?"
The pregnant ghost, thinking of something, began to sob, saying sadly:
"They said they had a way to ensure my child's safe birth, and they told me to exchange ten children for it on the full moon night a week from now."
"I didn't harm those children; I even prepared food and water for them."
"I just hope my child can be born safely, boo-hoo."
The full moon night a week from now?
Time is a bit tight.
Guilliman stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Although the Wild Hunt currently posed no threat to him, they would definitely be his enemies in the future.
After all, the Wild Hunt's goal was the Elder Blood. If they couldn't capture Ciri, then their next target would be him and Yavin, who also possessed Elder Blood.
This was an unavoidable conflict; after all, they needed the Elder Blood to save their entire race on a planet, so compromise was impossible.
He himself was fine; with the help of the Deep Blue system, he could basically control his bloodline power, making it less likely to expose the Elder Blood.
But Yavin didn't have such conditions.
According to the original timeline's development, in about a year, he would naturally awaken his Elder Blood. Either his power would go berserk, causing him to cross dimensions and disappear without a trace, or he would expose his power and be discovered by the Wild Hunt.
Moreover, Guilliman was finding it increasingly difficult to acquire soul power now. He was already considering crossing into other worlds to obtain soul power there.
However, doing so would inevitably lead to pursuit by the Wild Hunt, which would be quite troublesome.
If there was a way to ambush the Wild Hunt in the Witcher world and defeat them first...
Then he wouldn't have to worry about future harassment and could focus on training his Elder Blood abilities.
Guilliman remembered that the Elder Blood was an experimental product created by the Aen Elle King, and the reason the Wild Hunt could traverse worlds in soul form was because they possessed a profession called Navigator.
The Navigator also had Elder Blood in his body. Although he couldn't open doors to other worlds like Ciri, allowing a large group of people to cross worlds,
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