Chapter 143 White-Haired Witch
The sun was setting, casting long shadows over the land. In less than half an hour, darkness would envelop the world.
Footsteps echoed through the empty alleyway. One of the men, a bald figure, frustratedly exclaimed, "Damn it! Where could that woman have gone?"
"We've lost her again. We've wasted two months chasing her from the inland to the west. We need to find a way to get some money to continue." the bearded man replied.
They were both bounty hunters, willing to do anything for the money. Assassinating someone in the Royal City was easy with enough money, as history has shown.
This time, they were after a high-paying bounty that would secure their future for generations to come, and they could live in Royal City in the future.
In the bounty hunter world, there was a list of the top one hundred most notorious bounties. The top ten were the most sought-after, each offering a life of luxury to the one who completed it.
The two men had their eyes set on the tenth-ranked bounty, which promised a thousand gold coins.
A thousand gold coins! A baron's annual income was only a hundred gold coins, and an earl's was a thousand.
For a five-people family, three silver coins a year would suffice. A gold coin could be exchanged for a hundred silver coins, a fortune that even some nobles in the Royal City did not possess.
"We need to find a way to lure her out. Every time we get a lead, she disappears." The bald man said, frustrated.
The bearded man sighed. "What can we do? The last time we saw her, it was only her back. If not for our exceptional tracking skills, we wouldn't have been able to follow her until now."
"Are we just going to give up? We've invested two months in her." The bald man retorted. "We've put all our savings into this!"
The bearded man pondered for a moment and said, "Unless we find her weakness, we won't be able to locate her."
"Weakness?" The bald man rubbed his head, his eyes lighting up. "I heard that this White-Haired Witch has a soft spot for her own kind."
"But where can we find an elf? A regular elf can fetch fifty to a hundred gold coins." The bearded man remarked, emphasizing the need for financial resources to execute the plan.
The bald man chuckled slyly. "We don't necessarily need a real elf. She'll fall for false information, too."
"That's right! It is said that a single elf caused a huge commotion in the Royal City, even leading to the demise of a duke." the bearded man added, his eyes gleaming with a cold light. "We can set up a trap and spread the fake news."
"Is that so?" A cold voice sounded behind them, causing both men to jump in surprise. They turned around and saw a figure in a black robe and hood standing on the rooftop.
The figure was silhouetted against the light, making it impossible for the two men to see the person's face clearly. However, an intuition told them that this was their target.
"You are the White-Haired Witch!"
The bald man drew his long sword, his eyes fixed on the figure on the roof as if facing a formidable enemy.
"It's her, the same disguise as last time." The bearded man said, drawing his own sword and holding a rope in his other hand.
"You are really annoying!" Elisa's cold voice echoed as she pushed back her hood, revealing her white hair flowing in the wind. Her green eyes locked onto the two men, gradually turning sharp.
She had intended to play a game of cat and mouse with these two, but their malicious intentions had extinguished her interest.
"So it's really you. You dare to show up." the bald man said, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
"Let's take action!"
The bearded man shouted, swinging a rope with a stone tied to it towards Elisa.
"What a lovely day!" Elisa's lips curved into a faint smile as she spoke seemingly unrelated words.
With a swift leap, she descended from the rooftop into the alley, dodging the rope. In her left hand, she held a bow, and in her right, she grasped an arrow. In less than a second, she had drawn the bow and released the arrow.
The arrow struck the bearded man in the left eye, the tip emerging from the back of his head. He couldn't even utter a scream before collapsing.
As the sound of the body hitting the ground reverberated, Elisa's foot pushed off the wall, causing her to somersault in mid-air. Another arrow was swiftly knocked on her bow, and in the horrified gaze of the bald man, the arrow shot into his mouth, silencing his scream.
With a graceful flip, Elisa landed elegantly, her long white hair cascading down. Only then did the bald man's lifeless body hit the ground.
"No need to dispose of the bodies today. Seems like quite a few people died." Elisa remarked, her face cold, her green eyes calm and profound. She walked over to the bodies, using her sword to pick up the pouches of coins.
She rummaged through them, finding only a few silver coins and some copper coins, along with a piece of parchment.
"Poor men."
Elisa tossed the coins into her pocket and examined the parchment. Her green eyes narrowed, and she said in a bitter voice. "A list of bounty tasks!"
The first thing she saw was the tenth-ranked bounty task. She read it aloud, "White-Haired Witch, Elf, estimated to be between sixteen and twenty years old, White hair, green eyes, pointed ears. The target must be alive, with no missing limbs... The reward for one thousand gold coins!"
"They really think highly of me!" Elisa sneered as she stuffed the task list into her pocket, she put her hood back on, and walked out of the alley.
"It seems I can't stay in this city any longer." Elisa stood at the entrance of the alley, pondering. "So, where should I go next?"
As Elisa's thoughts drifted, she suddenly heard the sound of approaching hooves.
