The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

Outside the laboratory door, two braziers used for lighting were burning.

Lann took a deep breath and said: "In a moment, don't pay attention to me, stay behind me and focus on maintaining your protective shield. If I'm not mistaken, the Cat School's witcher might still be active, and he's extremely aggressive and without much rationality."

Triss showed a surprised expression. "But this lab seems to have been abandoned for at least twenty years? Could the captured witcher still be alive? I thought you only came to look for treasures and some witcher's legacy."

Lann nodded, his face serious. "His condition is... very strange. You may need to use the Artefact Compression spell to get him out of here. Stay away and behind me. Our opponent is from the Cat School, which specializes in fighting humans. If a mage lets him get close, the consequences would be disastrous."

Seeing Lann's serious expression, Triss nodded.

Lann took a deep breath.

The Witcher of the Cat School within this place was one of the tragic elements of The Witcher Series. His fate was very similar to that of Jerome, also a witcher kidnapped for experiments.

But his fate had been much worse than Jerome's. Jerome, at least, was facing his own father, whose goal was to turn him into a normal human.

The sorcerer who kidnapped this witcher simply wanted to use him as an experimental subject, treating him worse than a laboratory rat.

Furthermore, if Lann remembered correctly, this witcher was not weak. Although he did not know how his strength would manifest in the real world, Lann estimated that he would be stronger than the first Cat School witcher he encountered, Jad Karadin.

By rescuing him, Lann wanted to verify one of his conjectures and attempt to subdue the other party and fill the Cat School's vacancy in his Order of Witchers.

But if that wasn't possible, perhaps the only outcome would be to help him find eternal rest.

[Click!]

After inserting the key, the door opened inwards.

They entered the laboratory, which was surprisingly well lit.

The decoration here was noticeably more refined and elegant than outside. The intricate reliefs on the floor had not yet eroded, the stairs were intact, and there was no trace of dampness or coldness, as if someone had maintained it.

The laboratory is clearly divided into two areas.

The right side belongs to the living and experimental area.

There were all sorts of alchemical instruments there, including a human-sized culture tank, a gourd-shaped liquid filter, various strange and now shrunken biological tissues, and a large number of books either scattered on the floor or neatly arranged on shelves.

In front of them, however, was another area.

At the end of his sight, there was a statue of a cat, with an elegant posture but a fierce expression. Around the surrounding walls, many bricks had fallen, letting roots and plants grow, giving the laboratory a primitive and wild feeling.

Centered on the cat statue, there were hundreds of candles arranged in a row, all burning brightly.

In front of the statue, on the ground, there was a hexagram-shaped matrix drawn with pure white ash, with a candle at each of its six points.

The laboratory was illuminated by these candles.

But what caught Lann's attention was the figure kneeling on the pentagram, or rather, the creature.

He had his back to Lann, in a posture that looked like one of meditation or prayer.

"There is no justice... nor evil." The voice was harsh and sharp. "Only... the pain is real."

Ignoring the clearly abnormal voice, Lann focused his attention on his back, leaving him deeply shocked.

This creature had its skin flayed, with all the muscles exposed to the air, some places even showing white bones.

And those visible muscles were covered with burns, knife scars, electrocution marks, puncture wounds and other injuries that Lann couldn't identify.

Such a body not only was not devoured by infection and decay, but every muscle fiber on it was even clean, without a drop of blood.

It was as if this creature was born to be like this.

Lann's eyes narrowed. He knew of this witcher's situation due to his memories of his past life, but seeing this person's state in real life made him realize the gravity of the situation.

Sensing someone's presence, the flayed man slowly stood up, a sword in his hand reflecting the candlelight.

"There is no justice, or evil."

The skinner turned his head, and his face was even more terrifying.

Without lips or cheeks, his teeth were completely exposed. He had no eyelids, with his eye sockets exposed, and a red glow emanated from his eyes.

"Just... the pain is real!"

What had begun as a quiet, devout prayer transformed into a battle cry. The flayed man and the cat statue behind him seemed to merge into one, and he lunged toward Lann.

Lann didn't dare to let his guard down. He felt a gust of nauseating air surround him and activated his Quen Sign.

He didn't have time to throw another sign before their silver swords met in a fierce clash, sparks flying everywhere.

As if they were mirror images of each other, they both took a step forward at the same time, before beginning to turn their bodies.

[Whirl] vs [Whirl]

[Clang! Clang! Clang!]

The sound of metal clashing resounded incessantly. In just a few seconds, they exchanged dozens of blows.

The more Lann struggled, the more amazed he became. Although the flayed man's muscles were severely atrophied and his body riddled with wounds, his strength was astonishing.

And although Lann surpassed him in strength, he could not subdue him, because the skinning was incredibly fast. His body moved unpredictably, and his attacks were difficult to anticipate.

Worst of all, he did not fear death, often allowing Lann's sword to cut him deeply, only to leave a wound on Lann in return.

Lann only used his physical strength to power the [Whirl] skill, but Lann, seeing that he was beginning to fall into a disadvantage, let his adrenaline and magic power slowly flow into his skill.

Lann's speed and strength in swinging his sword while executing his skill increased noticeably.

The two of them fought relentlessly, their swords clashing and separating, playing a symphony of iron and blood in this laboratory.

"There is no justice, there is no evil."

In the midst of the frenzied combat, the flayed one screamed again.

Distracted by his own scream, his attacks became slower, and Lann managed to inflict several wounds on him.

But Lann didn't dare let his guard down. Something wasn't right.

Sure enough, the flayed one took this opportunity to swing his sword forcefully, forcing Lann back while keeping his sword in a defensive position.

Immediately Lann attacked the flayed man again but saw that a circular shield of earthy brown appeared in front of him.

[Quen Sign - Active Shield]

Lann was shocked and tried to stop his attack, but he couldn't stop his sword in time.

Lann's sword bounced off the light shield, exposing his chest and abdomen to the enemy.

A silver shadow lunged towards Lann's neck.

[Quen Sign - Exploding Shield]

Lann's light shield exploded, and the impact sent them both flying.

Lann spun nimbly in the air before landing in a crouch. Looking up, Lann saw that his opponent had also adjusted his stance, aiming his sword at him from afar.

"Lann!" Triss, who had been watching from behind, shouted and launched a bolt of lightning at the flayed creature.

The flayed one staggered under the impact of the lightning, and although his body was filled with electrical arcs, he showed no signs of paralysis.

That moment was enough for Lann to take the initiative.

With a wave of his hand, the Quen Sign covered his body again. When the distance shortened, his left hand touched the ground.

A purple glow covered the enemy's body.

Lann's sword intercepted the flayed man's attack, which seemed to move in slow motion. Taking advantage of his slowness, Lann's left hand moved closer to his opponent's face.

[Axii Sign]!

A white light surrounded the flayed man's head, affecting him for a brief moment. However, the glow in his bloodthirsty red eyes intensified, allowing him to recover.

At that moment, he saw a rune sword rising above his head.

Lann used all his strength in that attack, and the blow came down with the force of a mountain, causing the shield of light to crumble in an instant.

[Clang!]

The flayed man was barely able to raise his sword to block Lann's attack, both swords clashed, almost letting the flayed man's sword stick to his face.

After failing to hit him, Lann raised his sword again with the rebound force of the collision of steel.

[Clang!]

The second time.

Although he managed to block the attack again, the skinned man seemed to suffer great damage, retreating repeatedly.

[Clang!]

The third time.

The skinned man's hands holding the sword creaked and small cracks appeared on his sword.

[Clang!]

The fourth time.

Lann heard a crack coming from the skinned man's sword he was using to defend himself.

[Clang! Crack!]

The fifth time!

The skinned man's sword finally couldn't withstand the brutal attack and broke into pieces.

Metal fragments flew in all directions. Lann's sword pierced the flayed man's body, making him scream.

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