Warhammer: Return of the Dragon.

Walking to the stake, Victor drew out his dagger and cut the hemp rope. He looked at the girl without any mercy, stretched out his left hand and said sternly, "Touch this holy object."

The girl's brown pupils were filled with fear, and her fear of her savior was no less than that of the villagers in the audience.

But this was the only chance to survive, so she stretched out her tender but calloused hand and gently placed it on Victor's black gauntlet, her posture stiff and not daring to make another movement.

Five seconds later, the gauntlet did not respond, so Victor asked, "Have you ever burned farmland?"

The girl withdrew her hand in fear and lowered her head under Victor's scorching gaze. Her voice, as tiny and trembling as a mosquito's, fully explained her fear.

"Well... my parents were killed by the Beastmen, and I burned my own fields that night."

A wild mage whose emotions connect him to the winds of magic...

The gauntlet that did not respond allowed Victor to rule out the possibility that the girl was affected by Chaos. He wrapped the black leather coat, a symbol of fear in the Empire, around the girl's shoulders and looked back at the militiamen holding muskets below the stage.

"What are you planning to do, attack Sigmar's servants?"

"Daphne is a wizard, Mr. Witch Hunter... We cannot tolerate a wizard leaving Barton Village. She has killed many people. The beastman attack two months ago must have been caused by her!"

It was still the man presiding over the trial. Although he was a little afraid, his eyes were full of hatred when he looked at Daphne.

Those with the same expression as him might have imposed on the girl the guilt of attacking the beastmen and being unable to protect their families, and the veins on their arms holding the muskets were bulging.

These words caused Daphne, who was wrapped in a black windbreaker, to tremble, and she subconsciously wanted to curl up and squat on the ground.

Victor held the girl's head with his right hand, and his cold and sharp tone did not change at all, and he whispered, "Leave it to me."

The pistol was taken out again, and Victor pointed at the leading man: "If she is a witch, according to the laws of Wissen Territory, you must immediately report the matter to the nearest Sigma Church, but you took the initiative to carry out lynching, which is suspected of shielding her.

If she is not, and you are simply feeling guilty about the beastmen attacking the village and are placing the blame on Daphne, you are committing murder.

With the authority granted by His Majesty the Emperor Blessed by Sigmar, Karl Franz, and His Majesty the High Priest Walkerma, I, Victor Salzpyre, have the right to judge you on the spot!"

The witch hunter was full of murderous intent. He held Daphne's head with one hand and pointed a gun at the head of the village leader with the other. The two completely different temperaments seemed to confirm his inner persistence.

"I..." The leader was a little afraid, but the musket in his hand gave him great courage. Five muskets were pointed at the witch hunters. Even if these guys were as scary as the legend said, they would definitely be injured. With a few dung forks, they would definitely win.

Victor didn't give him a chance to say more. After pulling the trigger, the bullet passed by his ear.

As the villagers looked on with increasing fear, Victor put his pistol into his belt and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist: "This is a warning... Sigma will not give fools a second chance."

The first person who threw down his musket took the remaining three people down with him. They wanted to vent their anger, but that didn't mean they wanted to die.

When the witch hunter draws his sword, it means a massacre. Adhering to the principle of rather killing the innocent than letting the guilty go, the witch hunter is both the guardian of the empire and the executioner.

"Very good..." Victor hugged Daphne and held the girl against his waist. He was not a fool. If he continued to stay in Barton Village, accidents might happen.

Before leaving, the witch hunter "politely" used three silver coins to take a few pieces of clothes hanging in front of the door of a farmer at the entrance of the village, and then quickly ran towards the northwest.

At the edge of a forest, Victor put down the girl he was holding on his waist, took the witch hunter's black leather coat, and handed over the clothes he had just received.

"Now, I ask you questions and you answer them. Don't have any doubts. Do you understand?"

Daphne hugged the sweater, her brown eyes still showing some fear. She had escaped the trial in her hometown, but where would the witch hunter take her next? "Understood."

"One, when did you feel you could release the flames?"

"A long time ago, I told my mother that I felt a sense of familiarity when I looked at the flames in the stove...but my mother said not to mention such things and would not let me light a fire to cook."

"how long ago."

"I don't know, I forgot."

Victor nodded. Affinity with magic is often innate. If a person was originally a magic idiot and suddenly became a genius one day, there is no doubt that he was influenced by evil forces.

If Daphne's mother wanted to protect her child from exposure to fire, it would be normal to burn a piece of farmland under extreme circumstances.

"Second, do you have any relatives?"

"There are two uncles, but they..."

The sobbing girl left Victor speechless for a moment. He took off his gauntlet and stroked her head to comfort her.

He had seen witch hunts many times...If the two uncles were not dead, they must have taken away all the property in her house.

"Third, are you willing to go to Altdorf, undergo the purity judgment of the church, enter the magic academy under the watchful eye of Sigmar, and become a battle mage to serve the emperor in the future?"

"I……"

Apparently Daphne seldom came into contact with these lofty terms. Although Aldorf was not far from Wissen Territory, it was already the end of the world for people in remote villages.

The magic academy and battle mages have nothing to do with ordinary farmers. Perhaps wizard is the term they are more familiar with.

"Don't rush to give me an answer... The Empire will not miss any potential user of the Wind of Magic."

After saying that, Victor walked over, picked up some dry firewood, piled them into the shape of a bonfire, and motioned Daphne to light it herself.

The little girl's outstretched hand trembled constantly. Under Victor's emotionless look, a small flame emerged from her palm and slowly slid into the firewood.

Very faint...

Having witnessed Orthea's mastery of the Wind of Axia with his own eyes, Victor had a clear understanding of the destructive power that a flame mage could cause. If the female elf was like a violently erupting volcano, then Daphne in front of him was just a flame ignited by straw.

But the elves' talent for the wind of magic... Victor didn't want to think about it too much. As long as Daphne could become a battle mage in the future, it would be the best contribution to the empire and the only possibility for her to survive.

Victor took out some dry food and water and handed them to Daphne. His serious expression finally changed and became a little gentler.

"Eat, we still have a long way to go..."

"Thank you." Daphne took the dry food and water, looked at Victor carefully, and when she saw those eagle-like eyes looking at her, she immediately lowered her head in fear.

He is a good man...better than any uncle or aunt in the village. (End of this chapter)