The Divine Hunter

One morning, the light was dim and the air was humid, smelling of night rain and morning fog.

Wagon convoys from the far west crossed the outskirts of Vizima and the drawbridge over the lake, entered the trading area, and, escorted by heavily armed soldiers, entered Foltest Castle, north of Vizima.

A man with a majestic hook nose in a blue cloak got off the carriage and looked sideways.

The breeze blowing from the vast expanse of Vizima Lake conveys peace, but there is another fierce battle waiting for him in the castle.

...

The king of Temeria sat on the throne at the head of the rectangular table, with a crown on his head and a red cloak, holding the handle in one hand and his chin in the other, showing a proud gesture in front of the visitor.

And Princess Yada sat on his right and remained silent.

"Sitra has no cowards since time immemorial. Your soldiers' blood and bravery are well-known throughout the North, together with Your Excellency and the wise commander of the Lioness of Cintra. It will surely give the barbarians from the south a head-on attack. , let them have a long memory!"

"Your Majesty Foltest, thank you for looking down on me so highly." Across the table, Easter with a beard like a bandit glanced at the leader of the meeting, "With your foresight, it must have been dispatched. The scouts went to Amer Mountain to scout, and Nilfgaard's tens of thousands of troops have already revealed their prominence."

"With your wisdom, you should have seen that their plot is far more than a Sintra."

"So what? For the Nilfgaardians, the Yaruga River is an impenetrable moat, the river is under the control of our northern nations, its mouth and supply routes are under our control. Protected by the three fortresses of Skellige, Sidaris, and Verdon."

"The 'children' of Nilfgaard can't guarantee the safety of the supply line without controlling the estuary and the river bank. If they dare to cross, they will never come back!" Foltest looked determined, as if speaking of Sintra's The catastrophe had nothing to do with Temeria.

Easter looked out the window and took a deep breath, the rain fell unconsciously, and the annoying raindrops knocked on the window, "I'm from Skellige, and the children of the sea don't like to be around the corner, so I'll just say it bluntly. …”

"Sintra's men are known for their bravery, but our country is limited, and the elite soldiers we can cultivate are also limited. In the face of absolute numbers, we are powerless."

"You have your valiant ally Skellige."

"Boom!" The thunder rolled, and silver snakes shuttled through the dark clouds.

"That's all!" East emphasized loudly, "To put it mildly, even if our men fought bloody battles, the possibility of Sintra falling would still be terrifyingly high."

"From your perspective, you should understand that Temeria can't stay out of the way." Easter paused, his tone dry, but he had seen the future no matter how painful it was, and he would face it all now, "Once the southerners get hold of it Sintra is an important strategic area at the mouth of the Yaruga River. It will become the thorn behind all the kingdoms in the north... The southerners will continue to launch northward attacks from this stronghold, harassing His Majesty's land and people. Even Slowly affecting the economy and culture of the North."

"But if Sintra's defense is strong enough, it will become a steel gate, acting as a barrier on the south side of the Yaruga River, keeping Nilfgaard out of the door and making it difficult to enter."

"I didn't deny this." King Temeria frowned, "So this time, I will do everything possible to reject the council's proposal and discuss it with you."

"I'll omit all the trivial details..." East said bluntly, "I hope Your Majesty can send troops to support Sintra,"

"But you must understand that I have no reason to agree to your request." Foltest's eyes lit up, "I have heard about the meeting you held, Toussaint, Cidaris, Brugg, and even yours. Leiria and Livia under the rule of the vassal Widden, Calanthe's cousin, Queen Mivi, all rejected the alliance request."

East's face was gloomy.

"Redania, Aden, Kaldwin,

I don't even care about you. I have also written to them about the stakes, but they still refuse to cooperate. He continued, "I am the dignified King of Temeria, why should I ask my brothers to shed blood and sacrifice in vain, take risks, and shed blood for other countries?" "

"Just because of a potentially manageable threat?" The tall, strong, handsome man's intentions were clear, "or is it because Sintra has something to do with Temeria, such as a vassal. ? Or there will be in the future."

"Your Majesty!" Easter's beard's face flushed with annoyance, and he clenched his fists quietly, "Cintra is a free and independent country that will never depend on other forces, be it Nilfgaard or others. Countries can only choose the way of cooperation.”

"And the people of Sintra will never accept a blood other than the royal family as ruler. I have only one great granddaughter, and as far as I know, you - only this beautiful Princess Yada."

This time it was Foltest's turn to turn pale and red.

"But I never thought of letting you help in vain, Sintra is willing to pay real money as a reward..." Easter said solemnly before he got angry, "I want to hire the Temerian army to defend against it. Nilfgaardian invasion."

"Oh? If it was a year ago, I would definitely shoot you out!" Foltest changed his posture, pressing his knee with one hand and rubbing his chin with the other, his eyes flashing with seriousness, thinking for a moment, "But Now, how much are you going to pay and how much troops do you want?

"Ten thousand... cavalry... armored infantry, during the period of aid, Sintra will pay all remunerations in place of Temeria, provisions, maintenance of weapons and equipment, according to your country's standards, and pensions for injuries and deaths will also be paid by Let's come out."

"Then, I, Ist Tursek, swear by the honor of the Tursek family and the King of Sintra, that as long as the country exists, the black knight will never be able to touch the land of Temeria."

King Temeria shook his head decisively without considering it.

"The lion has a big mouth. Ten thousand people are absolutely no way... The battle has not yet begun, how can I let myself hurt. At most three thousand people, and the number of troops is up to me."

"Secondly, if you want to take my lovely and respectable soldiers away as mercenaries, should you give their true 'friends' some comfort? We need a slow and careful discussion."

Easter breathed a sigh of relief, and his face became awe-inspiring again. Next was the most intense "fighting battle". He had to keep the bottom line and never let his queen down.

He glanced out the window, the strange and mournful wind finally stopped, and the dark clouds had a faint sign of disappearing.

...

"Consultant Triss, Consultant Kayla, Consultant Feikat, please sit down!" After a long time, Foltest's slightly brisk voice rang out. He rubbed the ring on his hand, and his brown eyes flashed with a strange light. Happy in color.

The bearded East on the opposite side was sweating coldly on his forehead, and there was a hint of pain on his face.

Both have an agreement on hand.

"I have agreed with Lord Easter, and I will send soldiers to Sintra soon." Foltest's voice was sonorous and powerful, "If the 'child' in the south wants war, then give him war. I have always They want peace, but they want force, so we have to show them who is better."

"But now there is a difficult choice. In addition to soldiers, we need a skilled spellcaster to accompany the army."

"Are any of the three advisors willing to take on this important task?" The King of Temeria deliberately glanced at East, "Because the task is highly dangerous, the participants will be compensated with a generous reward. Trust me, Easter will never treat you badly."

The three royal advisors fell silent.

As long as his brain is not lacking, he will not take the initiative to ask Ying to go to the most dangerous place at this time.

It's not a woman's turn to go.

And Kayla Metz had been paying attention to her best friend's demeanor, and when she saw her stubborn expression with her red lips pursed and her chin slightly raised, her heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, the silly girlfriend took a step forward in front of the two kings, picked up the skirt with her fingertips, and made a very formal curtsy.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Sintra to assist the army in defending against the invaders from the south."

"Ms. Triss, have you thought about it?" Foltest glanced over the graceful curves under her blue slim-fit leather jacket, with a bit of regret in his eyes. For so many days, he has not had a chance to kiss Fangze.

The sorceress nods heavily, and suddenly the memory rolls in her mind.

The witcher had told her that she would be seriously wounded in the future battle of Sodden, and if what he said was true, then his trip to Sintra probably wouldn't be in danger.

Triss could only comfort herself with this lame and ridiculous reason.

I don't know, how is that guy now?

...

The dimly lit hall under Temple Island.

Roy is watching quietly.

In the light of the brazier.

A gargoyle covered in moss, with a belly as big as a bucket, carrying a pair of petite wings that are very disproportionate to its size, is circling around a dry fountain, walking slowly, with glass-like eyes flashing green, looking at the figure. It was clumsy and heavy to go up, and every step made the ground quiver.

But it suddenly flapped its small wings and disappeared into the air at an unbelievable speed. With a flash, it appeared near a wooden dummy ten meters away.

"Duan!"

The stone claws tore the dummy in half with a swipe.

It hunched its back, opened its mouth wide, and sprayed a dark green sour liquid at the remaining half of the dummy.

"Puff... puff"

The wood made an eerie sound, was corroded into smoke, and turned into a pile of garbage in the blink of an eye.

"Snapped!"

Crisp applause!

The gargoyle received some kind of order, and walked to the corner of the hall with a shy belly. In front of a beautiful woman in a black lace dress and flaming red lips, she squatted down like a pet and let her pet her.

"Snapped!"

The woman clapped her hands again.

The green light in the gargoyle's bulging eyes went out, and he lost all vigor, and crouched on the ground and turned into a dead statue.

"Okay, Coral, I didn't expect you to be a golem expert!" Roy walked over to the sorceress and put his arms around her waist naturally, with a novel look in his eyes, "It's performance just now seems to be better than the bottom of the Nine Valley Lake. That's better."

"The gargoyle at the bottom of the lake has existed for hundreds of years, and its heart is severely worn, and its strength is greatly reduced." The woman's red lips showed a smile, "And this one was almost created by me from head to toe, and it is almost new. Light material The fee was two crowns."

"Absolutely great value for money."

"Within a hundred years, the gargoyle will be self-sufficient without any additional cost, and it will become the most loyal and cost-effective bodyguard!"

Roy stepped forward cautiously and tried to touch the hard shell of the gargoyle a few times, but the latter did not respond.

"Giggle... What are you afraid of? I have already put all the members of Gawain's house on the safety list, it doesn't matter when you come in or go out."

"But you have to remind those ADHD patients not to play with it. Gargoyles are not a training tool for those little ghosts to play."

The two discussed the mutant conversion solution that was still under study. Afterwards, the sorceress returned to the laboratory to continue research, and Roy hurriedly returned to Gawain's house.

...

Escal was looking at the uninvited guest, with the witcher's signature vertical pupils, indigo color, but dressed in rags like a beggar and a tramp, with an unpleasant smell of sweat and stinky smell.

A gleaming griffon pendant is worn around the neck.

He peered out the windows outside the classrooms and workshops, with obvious shock and confusion on his face. The smell was carried into the room by the wind, and the children couldn't help frowning and nose.

"Is this mother really the most chivalrous Griffin witcher?"

How to see how obscene.

He turned around and glanced at the old man Cohen. He had been away for more than two months, and he had actually changed from a handsome young man to a ragged and dusty tramp, but full of energy, white, yellow and green intertwined. The pupils were frighteningly bright.

"If Iglesia, the rising star of the dance hall, knew that her boyfriend had fallen so far, wouldn't she fight with that guy?"

"Hey, buddy, you actually succeeded!" A cheerful shout came, Roy waved his hands and poured into the courtyard, his eyes swept to Geron Moru, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Afterwards, the two Griffins and Eskar sat under the stake with him.

The twelve apprentices were probably taken out by owls for training in the wild. They had killed water ghosts and soaked in cesspools during the trip to Toussaint, and they were much more courageous.

"Cohen, tell me, where have you been for the past two months?" Roy asked, looking at Cohen's dusty and dirty face.

"I took Geron from Toussaint to Kyle Siren to worship, and then back to Novigrad."

"It's not that close." Escal raised his eyebrows.

"Apart from meditating for five hours a day, I spend the rest of the time on the road," Cohen said with relief. "This journey has not been in vain."

He glanced at the Griffin pie beside him, their eyes met, they were two friends who cherished each other.

"We all want to understand some issues, so we no longer struggle, degenerate, and give up on ourselves."

Geron nodded silently.

This time, there was no more despair and emptiness in his eyes, but a little more anger, and occasionally a fleeting determination.

His body is no longer shockingly skinny, and he looks a bit healthier than it was two months ago.

Roy nodded.

"Has the school children increased again?" Cohen asked with his fingers clasped together.

"Well, there were thirty new arrivals not long ago, and now there are fifty children in total."

"These students are male and female," Geron Molluy asked. "Are you all going to train as new witchers?"

"To be exact, there are only twelve apprentices currently learning the Way of the Demon Hunter." Roy and Escal exchanged glances with pride on their faces, "But I promise there will be more and more in the future. "

"I didn't expect that there is still an organization today to develop witchers so vigorously." Geron Mollu shook his head slightly in admiration, "You are indeed creating a miracle."

"So how are the two of you thinking?" Roy glanced at the two Griffin sects gently,

"I am willing to join the Brotherhood, and Cohen is no exception." Geron wrapped his right fist in the palm of his left hand, squeezed it hard, and swept his eyes towards Roy and Escal sincerely, and said in a hoarse voice, "But I I hope you can help us find Your Excellency Ellen first."

"No matter the result. And I heard Cohen say before that you seem to have some clues about the whereabouts of Teacher Elan."

"That requires the use of "Book of Shadows", and the Jiron brothers have to cooperate throughout the process."

"Let's start now?"

"I suggest the two of you take a day off and change your clothes." Roy swept over the tattered clothes of the two and shook his head, "Don't let Igsena see you like this, or I'm afraid she will go crazy!"

Cohen's face changed instantly.