From Witcher to Lord of the Empire

But Queen Mi Wei quickly adjusted her mood again. She looked at the snake demon hunters who were picking up the corpses of the monsters, and then at Lann's lion pupils.

"Suddenly I admire your foresight. Are you behind you all demon hunters?" Queen Mi Wei said, "Their skills are amazing. Now I really hope that there are several demon hunters in my territory. gone."

Lan En smiled slightly and did not speak. With a wave of his hand, he inserted the golden rune longsword back into the scabbard behind him.

After confirming Lan's identity, the knights under Queen Mivi also confirmed that the miraculous sword in his hand was what countless knights dreamed of. Their eyes were almost glued to Lann's Sword of the Lake Maiden, until the golden light of runes on the surface of the sword was completely covered by the scabbard.

The reinforcements from the fort rolled in, but they stopped awkwardly in front of everyone. There was no need for reinforcements here.

Lan En glanced back and saw that his soldiers had almost finished cleaning the battlefield, and stretched out their hands to make a "please" gesture to Queen Miwei.

"Your Majesty must be frightened, how about going back to the fortress to rest first?"

Queen Meewe also smiled slightly: "Let's go together, Lannister."

The distressed United Kingdom army, the Sintra army returning with a full load, and the reinforcements who slipped around left the battlefield in an orderly manner, entered the fortress not far away, and set off billows of dust.

The body of the fork-tailed dragon was taken away, and the ghouls were all left behind.

The criss-crossed limbs squeezed blood and seeped into the soil, and the wind blew up a disgusting fishy smell.

Theoretically, this kind of scene is the most attractive to ghouls, but unfortunately it is ghouls lying here this time.

After a while, crows began to occupy the sky.

There was a sudden sway of trees in the jungle on both sides of the road, one pair after another was observing the sound on the mainland in the forest, and then disappeared.

The owner of these eyes didn't know how long they had been here, and they hadn't been noticed until now when they decided to leave.

Among the group of people, the leader was a guy wearing a black cloak and brown leather armor.

His face was painted with brightly colored oil paints, but his pointed ears revealed his identity——

elf.

They traveled through the jungle for a long time, and soon came to a small camp. In order to hide, the people in the camp did not light a fire, but the atmosphere between the tents had a depressing boiling.

The races here are more abundant. In addition to elves, there are also dwarves, halflings, and gnomes. The total number of people exceeds a hundred.

Only there are no humans.

And if you want to find one thing in common among so many races-that is, they all wear squirrel fur decorations on their bodies.

Seeing the elf who was the leader come back, several elves immediately surrounded him eagerly, asking whether the plan was going well.

The elf shook his head, he didn't know what he said, but a few words were vaguely brought out from the flow of the wind.

"Failure... Mi Wei... Henselt... Demon Hunter!"

…………

There used to be a proverb in the North: "Whoever controls the Pontal Valley can control the whole North."

From this sentence, the strategic position of the Pontal Valley can be glimpsed.

Haji Fortress is the only war fortress in the Pontal Valley, and it is also the largest military fortress in the entire Northern Kingdom.

In the long history, Redania, Temeria, Aedirn, and Kaedwen all once had the right to control it, and they all lost their right to belong to it one after another.

Until it became the no man's land it is today.

In such a no-man's land, the furnishings inside would naturally not be very comfortable. But for the demon hunters, such an environment is already a rare comfort.

A hall in the fortress was turned into a living room for marching, with a bed, a desk, and a dining table scrambled.

Lann was sitting on the desk writing something, the snake sent the witchers to drink and chat around the table, and the attendants and soldiers were standing guard outside.

A fire burned warmly in the fireplace.

In addition to these people, there is also a slender figure looming in the room. She is sitting in front of a drawing board, daubing colors and drawing lines.

She has a thin and slender figure, wearing a dark gothic long dress that looks as clean as a mourning dress, and the black veil is pulled back by her, almost blending with the ebony hair.

Alice, she is painting.

An empty and warm room, the earl concentrating on his work, the witcher resting, and the soul painting with a smile. No matter how you look at it, these few elements that are not harmonious enough have reached a delicate balance at this moment.

People in it are even a little comfortable.

Spread out in front of Lan is the [Griffon School Contact Notes], and it is time for him to contact his mentor after a long time.

"Dear teacher, see the words as the face:

I've arrived at Fort Haji, and I'm about to hold the northern talks that will decide the fate of Cintra. This is a crucial step, and the expectations of those who trust me, those who are loyal to me, those who follow me, rest upon me. I was on a mission, and I was often out of breath because of it. "

【Translation】: What a disciple with a sense of responsibility and justice, do other disciples have such ability and awareness at this age? In the eyes of outsiders, the Cintra Lion Knight, who is always radiant and full of confidence, is also confused and uneasy in his heart, and he only appears in front of his teacher for help. So teacher, are you really not here to help your proud disciple?

"I had a pleasant surprise encounter in Novigrad with a tormented cat-pie witcher, Kiyan. I rescued him from the warlock's laboratory and restored him to sanity and health. He now joins the My Demon Hunter Order is stationed in Novigrad to help me collect information, and at the same time perform the original duties of a Demon Hunter, hoping to restore some reputation for my cat companions..."

【Translation】: Does the experience of the cat-pie demon hunter feel very similar to you, teacher, do you empathize and want to go out to meet him? And the way the Mao faction saves the school is to join the WTO, do you want to learn it too?

"At the same time, I also met four demon hunters from the Snake School, and one of them was rescued by me in the White Orchard. I didn't know that the Snake School had been destroyed by Nilfgaard. After the situation, they gladly joined my project of the Demon Hunter Order, and worked together to make the Demon Hunter great again..."

【例句】：The same school was destroyed. Teacher, look at the consciousness of others.

"On the way, I found that there are more and more frequent monsters than before. This has also been verified by other northerners. Perhaps something has changed in the outside world. This is the time when demon hunters are most needed ..."

【Translation】：Teacher, come out quickly.

"I hunted two fork-tailed dragons on the way. The decoction made from their mutation inducers is very beneficial to the Griffin school. After this meeting is over, I need to go to Kyle Siren to get your guidance .At the same time, I also hope that with your help, my troops can return to Sintra as soon as possible..."

After adding a series of sincere greetings, the signature was signed.

Lan exhaled a long breath, moving his somewhat stiff neck.

"Lan, I see you've been sitting there for a long time, how about having a glass of wine together?"

At the table, Colgrim called out to Lan.

Lan went over to take the wine glass: "I'm writing a letter."

"Letter?" Serrit was taken aback, "Do you nobles write letters directly in books?"

Lan smiled lightly and shook his head, shook his contact note in front of them, and put it back in the [item] with a flip of his palm.

"This is the unique communication technique of the Griffin School, and it is a magical prop. The content I wrote in this book can be presented in another book thousands of miles away."

Lane didn't hide this matter from his colleagues from the Snake School like he did to Yada.

After hearing this, Lei Suo once again said in an exclamation tone with no expression on his face: "Is it really the Griffin School..."

After being with Lan, they have to accept a little griffin shock every now and then.

"What about you? What were you talking about just now?" Lann drank the wine in his glass.

Just now he was focused on how to express his "missing" for Geron in the letter, and he didn't pay much attention to the chat content of the demon hunter.

"About the soldiers of Kaedwen." Oakes shook his head, looking very upset.

Demon hunters have keen senses, while Snake Pie, as an assassin, is particularly sensitive to other people's eyes.

From the moment they entered the Pontar Valley, the Kaedwen soldiers looked at them with very strong hostility and contempt in their eyes; , this hostility is even worse.

Rann didn't know how many people had heard bad things about Kaedwin and their king Henselt along the way. Now that King Henselt has not seen him, the rumors about Kaedwen can only be true.

Kaedwen is the most extensive country in the north, and the second largest country in the entire continent after Nilfgaard.

But such a vast country has not bred a sufficiently civilized country. Kaedwen has a cold and merciless climate, and there are a large number of vast virgin forests in the territory. The Kaedwen people are also known for their barbarism and vulgarity.

And the king of this country, Henselt, is famous for being extremely greedy and irritable, and he is also famous for hating non-human races. He invested a lot of money and manpower in order to form guerrillas to encircle and suppress non-human races, and he was the number one person who set off racial conflicts in the mainland.

Many rumors have said that the "Squirtaia" that slaughtered humans today was formed with the secret funding of Emperor Nilfgaard. This statement is not unreasonable; but even if it is true, how quickly the Scoia'tael can gather A group of killers who hated human beings to the bone, King Henselt also contributed a lot.

Emperor Nilfgaard was able to invade the northern border so easily, thanks to the various wonderful kings in the northern border.

"In the past few days, Kaedwinian soldiers have come to provoke us from time to time." Colgrim said sullenly, "To be honest, if it wasn't for the consideration that we are also representing one political force and worrying about causing conflicts, I would have learned a lesson. Those stinking bastards."

Lan En laughed: "I also want to thank you for considering me so much?"

Colgrim nodded of course, "You're welcome."

Oakes punched Colgrim's shoulder angrily: "When did we meet the official army before and hide away? Even without Lan, you can't fart!"

"Who said that?!" Colgrim immediately stiffened his neck.

He rolled his eyes, and suddenly pointed to the bald man who had been silently beside him and said, "Let Leto lend me his 'Poisonous Silver Sword', and I will dare to let those Kaedwen soldiers taste the power." !"

Lei Suo, who was drinking silently, was taken aback for a moment, and shook his head helplessly.

As the contemporary leader of the Snake Sect, he is the most calm and calm, but like all demon hunters, he has not put on airs. Many times, Colgrim and the others regard Leto as their elder brother, the kind of elder brother who is "like a father". .

He had been playing the role of a listener during the drinking discussion just now, but Colgrim suddenly pulled himself out as a shield.

The [Snake School Poisonous Silver Sword] that he just got behind is shining, and Lei Suo, who regards it as a treasure, naturally cannot lend it to Colgrim casually.

Lan En smiled, and took the initiative to change the topic and asked Lei Suo: "How does this sword feel in the hand?"

A hint of intoxication and enjoyment flashed across Leto's face: "It's great, I really don't know where you got it back from. But I want to thank you again, Lane."

Along the way, Lei Suo has used this sword to participate in many battles, especially the one against the fork-tailed dragon at the gate of the fortress. [Snake School Poisonous Silver Sword] cutting the scales and spines of dragon-like creatures is no better than chopping How difficult it is to turn over the water ghost. This made Leto appreciate Lan even more.

"This sword is the best quality sword I have ever seen, even inferior to the Griffin Silver Sword my mentor gave me."

Of course, except for the [Sword of the Lake Lady] and [Alice] that Lan is carrying on his back now.

Lan said in a joking tone: "I even wonder if this sword is the sword of your school leader Iva Xieyan."

Lan En originally said this sentence casually, but the reaction of the Snake Demon Hunter was beyond his expectation.

Whether it was Letho, Colgrim, Oakes or Serrit, they all began to shake their heads solemnly.

"No, I've seen Master Yiva's sword before. It's completely different from this sword. Maybe it's the sword of a senior who died outside."

In the eyes of everyone in the Snake Sect, this sentence is very common. But Lan heard something different.

"Wait, Lei Suo, have you met 'Iva Xieyan', the founder of your school?"

Lesso nodded as he should: "Yes."

Then he saw Lan En's surprised expression, and after thinking about it, he figured out the key point.

"You have only seen our four Snake Sects all this time, which may have misunderstood you. But in fact, Master Iva is still alive, and it is because of him that we were able to survive when the Snake Sects were destroyed in Nilfgaard. There should be five more people in the Snake Sect."

"Are you sure? That's the Grandmaster who was active during the time of the Demon Hunter Order. If he was still alive, how old would he be now?" Lan said incredulously, "Is he still in Nilfgaard now? Why didn't he talk to you guys?" Come to the north together?"

Facing Lan En's question, Lei Suo shook his head: "Although Master Yiva is still alive, he embarked on a journey alone not long ago. His evil eyes seem to have seen something, which forced him to move towards his goal. It is also because of this that he passed on the position of mentor to me, and let me lead everyone to seek the revival of the school."

Colgrim also chimed in and said, "That was after I arrived in the northern border. When you and I met Lann, you even planned to write a letter and send it back to Master Ivar. Knowing that Master Yiva has left, I have regretted it for a long time."

The words of the Snake faction made Lan fall into deep thought.

He admitted he was hungry.

Ivar Evil Eye. A super mutant who has endured more witcher mutations than ordinary demon hunters because of his body's outstanding drug resistance, and a master who has existed since the time of the demon hunter order, how much would such a person have? powerful?

And judging from Lei Suo's reverent tone and retelling, Iva Xieyan is definitely still in his prime.

It's a pity that I couldn't win him over one step too late, and Iva didn't know what he saw with his evil eyes, so he left his lingering school and walked away.

That is to say, Lei Suo is really powerful, and the snake faction is also rare and cohesive, which makes the snake faction not scattered.

And judging from the tone of Lei Suo and the others, they even understood Iva Xieyan's approach very well, and they didn't feel abandoned by the other party.

"Did Master Iva tell you where he is going and what he is going to do?"

"No." Lesso shook his head, "But we believe he has reasons to do so."

"Then you want to find him?"

Lei Suo was silent this time, and sighed after a long time: "I think."

Obviously, he didn't have any complaints about the departure of the master, but those trivial thoughts have always been trusted and suppressed in his heart.

Lan can only say: "After we return to Sintra, I will strengthen the promotion of the Demon Hunter Order, especially the news that 'the Snake Sect is also in the order', if Grandmaster Iva sees it I will definitely come to find you."

Lesso nodded.

The two clinked glasses and drank in one gulp.

Colgrim suddenly thought of something: "Lan, where is the founder of your Griffin School? I heard from Master Ivar that he seems to be called 'Elan of Larvik'?"

Lan thought for a while and said: "I have not been a demon hunter for two years, and I have never met Grandmaster Elan. The Kyle Siren was once destroyed by an avalanche created by the warlocks. Grandmaster Erlan mistakenly thought that the entire school was wiped out. So he left in a disheartened mood and has never been heard from since.”

"My mentor Jielong was imprisoned by his warlock father for experiments when he was out to accept the commission, so he escaped unharmed. I rescued him by mistake, and then became a Witcher."

Lane briefly introduced the current situation of Griffin School.

But from Lei Suo and others who don't know the specific situation, Griffin School seems to be worse than Snake School.

"It's a pity, Master Yiva has a lot of praise for Grandmaster Elan, and every time he is mentioned, he is always fascinated." Lei Suo sighed, "I have always wanted to see the Griffin Knight that Master Yiwa mentioned with my own eyes. "

Several demon hunters looked at each other in silence, clinked glasses and drank.

After a round, Colgrim suddenly thought of something.

"Lan, do you think your Elan master is still alive?"

Lan was silent and shook his head: "No one can tell, maybe. After I spread the news of the Griffin's revival in Sintra, maybe he will come back."

The topic was too serious, and several demon hunters were speechless again and clinked glasses.

However, this atmosphere did not last long.

Soon a cheering cheer broke in, clearing away the wine and silence.

"It's done, my painting!"

Alice happily stood up from the chair, but she seemed to realize how rude her behavior was, and immediately covered her mouth with one hand, and looked at the witchers at the table apologetically.

Such an expression on the face of the gothic young woman full of melancholy and broken feelings really has a different kind of contrasting charm.

In fact, Alice is very happy. She has been muddled and depressed for an unknown number of years, and she has not experienced emotions other than "sadness" and "pain" for an unknown number of years.

Lan smiled and walked towards her, looking at the painting on the easel.

Above are two leaders facing each other at a distance.

One is a mighty knight with blond hair and lion eyes, who looks as young as the morning sun, but also has the majesty of a mountain. He was inserting a gleaming rune sword back into its scabbard at this time, and at the same time he was talking to the person opposite.

Just from the canvas, you can feel the charm of this knight paving. Anyone who looks at this painting will be immediately caught by the knight.

Opposite him was a lady wearing a gold-plated armor and a crown, her face was calm, but there was a trace of embarrassment that was hardly noticeable.

Behind them are the knights, the forest, and the corpses of two huge fork-tailed dragons. There are some other monsters scattered around.

"You said you wanted me to draw a painting as a gift to the queen, and that was the first thing I thought of." Alice said softly.

Yes, Alice was there. And it was by Lane's side.

Although Alice is a [Demon Spirit in the Painting], her [Tsubaki] talent gives her a lot of possibilities. In addition to her own portrait, she can actually be possessed on Lann's [Alice] scimitar.

Alice possessed [Alice], very reasonable.

After all, she can't always be possessed in portraits that are not convenient to carry. Unlike [Confiscation Art], the paintings she possesses cannot be stored in the [Inventory].

It is also because of this that Alice, who was attached to the scimitar, saw the scene of Lann showing great power to rescue the queen at that time, and re-enacted the scene with some of her own subjective emotions.

By the way, if Lann wants to slash someone with a machete, he should tell Alice in advance to let her get rid of her possession. This lady is not yet used to negative-range contact killing.

Lan can't say that he knows much about art, but under the education of the old housekeeper and the influence of Queen Calanthe during the Earl's time, he has more or less appreciation.

He sincerely praised: "A very wonderful work."

Alice lowered her head: "I don't know if my painting is qualified as a gift for this kind of diplomatic occasion, I'm afraid it will lose Cintra's identity."

Lan En comforted again and again: "Please don't say that, your artistic attainments are far beyond your imagination."

For Alice's painting skills, there is actually a hidden easter egg in the original game as an illustration.

If the player fulfills [Open Sesame] among Ogierd's three wishes in person, they will go to the ongoing auction of the Borsodi brothers on the way to find Borsodi's house.

When the game company set up the auction items for the auction, it paid tribute to many works of art in the real world of Lan En's previous life. Among them was a painting called "The Starry Sky Over the Pontal River", and the author's name was "Vanlu" .

From the name, brush strokes, color techniques, and even the artist's name, this painting is a tribute to a famous masterpiece - Van Gogh's "Starry Night Over the Rhone".

And this Fanlu is actually a pseudonym, his real identity is - Alice.

In other words - Alice's painting level is Van Gogh's level.

It's just that Alice herself never knew that she only took painting as a hobby, and never sold one before her death.

At this moment, Lan En is more and more satisfied with the painting.

Alice looked at Lane more and more satisfied. What could make her happier than complimenting a painter on a painting?

"It takes about one to two days for the surface to dry, and about a month for the whole painting to dry."

Lan En frowned slightly when he heard that, and said helplessly: "Such a beautiful painting is indeed worth waiting for. It's just that Queen Mi Wei won't be able to see her for the time being."

But I saw Alice chuckle: "If it's an ordinary painting, I would prefer to wait for it to dry naturally. But since it is a work with political missions, maybe doing so will make it more storytelling..."

As soon as the words fell, I saw a bright emerald flame suddenly ignited on Alice's body, and the flame quickly permeated the painting and passed by.

The flames were quickly extinguished.

Seeing Alice smiling and making a "please" gesture, Lan tried to touch the canvas lightly with his fingertips.

dry.

"You always surprise people, Ms. Alice."

The beautiful soul gave a lady's salute: "It's far less than the surprise you gave me, Knight Lane."

Behind Lan, Colgrim took a sip of his drink and asked Letho, "What are they doing?"

Lei Suo didn't look back: "Just watch."

After a long time, Levin, who was standing guard outside the door, suddenly heard a call to himself from inside the door.

"Levin!"

"Yes! My lord!"

After knocking twice, Levin pushed the door and entered, waiting for orders.

"Go send a greeting card to Queen Mi Wei, I will visit her during dinner."

This kind of thing should have been done by House, but now House was thrown into the "temporary butler group" of Haji Fortress by Lane. After all, he was the only one with relevant experience among the people he brought.

So this kind of temporary diplomatic work can only be handed over to Levin for the time being. It just so happens that Lane also plans to train the young people in the small town to become independent talents in the future. This is a real opportunity for young people to exercise.

"Yes! Your Excellency!" Levin responded forcefully, pushed back Mirva who was poking his head into the room, and turned to leave.