From Witcher to Lord of the Empire.

Chapter 194
"Hey, have you heard about Sintra?"

"Yes, I hear they are now ruled by an Earl, who seems to be a Lannister, known as the 'Lion of Cintra'?"

"I've also heard of his name. He was the most popular knight in the north before, but there were rumors that he was plotted against by the Nilfgaardians."

"But in the end it was miraculously revived, and my ears were so callused when I listened to his poems in the tavern!"

"That's the old almanac from who knows how long ago!" It was a soldier who spoke, "Do you all know that Sintra was also invited to Haji Fortress to participate in the talks this time..."

"Your brain was shot by Scoia'tael?" A soldier next to him punched him hard. "Everyone knows about this kind of thing! What do you think we are here for? You've been drinking so much that your mind is not clear." Yet?"

The soldier who was beaten staggered and fell here, and then threw the wine glass in his hand to the ground in a rage and wrestled with the people around him.The onlookers immediately surrounded them, cheered and cheered like organizing a small boxing match, and bet on winning or losing.

This place is Pontal Valley.Where Temeria, Redania, Kaedwen and Aedirn meet, it is one of the most important military regions in the north.

The interest entanglements among the above-mentioned countries have caused more than one conflict here. Countless battles have been witnessed by the trees and stones here, and blood is often mixed with the water of the Ponta River along with the conflicts.

The causes of each conflict are also different: the ancient dispute between elves and humans, the conflict between the interests of nobles and merchants, and peasant riots that broke out from time to time.

The most recent war broke out about 40 years ago. Temeria and Aedirn threw a large number of corpses here, and finally demarcated the national border. In name, the Pontar Valley was under the jurisdiction of Aedirn.

These are now the historical embellishments of the Pontal Valley.

The Pontal Valley is destined to witness more history, such as the present - the first meeting of the four great powers of the North, plus the Northern Talks attended by the United Kingdom of Sintra, Leiria and Livia.

This is an unprecedented event.

At this time, half of the participating countries have already arrived at Haji Fortress.Merchants from the four countries on the border also heard the news. I don’t know how many temporary shops have been set up nearby, selling wine, meat, even anesthetic powder and other things and services that make them comfortable to the soldiers gathered here.

In peacetime, the big soldiers have nowhere to vent their energy, so they squander a lot of money. In wartime, they can follow behind them like vultures to clean up the second and third battlefields. "Follow the army and you can make a lot of money", this is the consensus among businessmen.

A non-commissioned officer wearing a beaver fur hat took a glass of wine from a merchant beside him, and while drinking, he looked at his subordinates who were holding a "boxing match".

"Has anything interesting happened here recently?"

The Pontal Valley is now gathering multinational troops. In order to prevent conflicts, the places where the troops of each country are stationed are strictly divided and separated.On the contrary, merchants from various countries can run around, and the news they bring is that the soldiers serve good drinks.

"No major incidents have happened recently. The kings are very careful, and the people below are also very nervous." The businessman said courteously, "However, news about the 'Lion of Sintra' that the two gentlemen discussed just now has been spreading recently. "

"Oh?" The beaver hat sergeant showed interest in his eyes.

"He has a lot of nicknames now. Like 'Friend of the Dryad', 'Gryphon Rider of the Lady of the Lake', 'Fair Lannister', 'Brave Lannister', 'Lion in Flames' etc. Wait, this either happened during his struggle with Nilfgaard, or on his way to Fort Haji."

"Oh?" The sergeant in the beaver hat touched his chin, "So many nicknames?"

"Isn't that right? I heard that Mahakam has made new Gwent cards for him recently."

"Mahakan?" The beaver hat sergeant's eyes suddenly changed, becoming filled with righteous indignation and unstoppable ferocity, "Damn dwarves!"

The merchant who was telling the story was stunned for a moment, wondering why the soldier who was so nice just now became so violent.

The sergeant in the beaver hat looked at the bewildered merchant, and slammed the wine glass in his hand: "Don't you know? The dwarves have become the enemy of mankind, a group of villains who deserve to be plagued! As a merchant, I believe that There's no way you haven't heard of Scoia'tael!"

"I know, I know." The trader casually saw the beaver cap sergeant with a yellow unicorn coat painted on him, and felt disapproving. "But with all due respect, my lord. Scoia'tael has nothing to do with me."

"It has nothing to do with you? Damn Shushu, how can you say these words?"

A soldier next to a beaver hat suddenly jumped up and shouted:
"After the Nilfgaardians invaded the North, the first Scoia'tael started showing up. These damned inhumans just made it worse. We fought in the south, bleeding on Mount Sodden, and they fought partisans in our rear. They thought the Nilfgaardians could defeat us, so they proclaimed that human dominion is over and it's time to restore the old order. 'Drive humans back to the sea!' was their battle cry and their excuse for murder, arson and looting! "

The merchant pursed his lips: "Your Excellency, but as far as I know, most non-human races also condemn the Scoia'tael and don't want to have anything to do with them. Most of them are very loyal, and sometimes they even pay a lot for their loyalty." price."

The soldiers present suddenly stopped talking and stared at the merchant quietly.He seemed very young, in his early twenties, or even in his early twenties.It is very courageous to dare to come out to do business alone at this age.

"Businessman, what country are you from?"

"Temeria, sir."

"Ha!" Beaver Hat Sergeant laughed, "I remember you defeated Mahakam, so the dwarves are now nominally your king's courtiers, right?"

"Yes, sir," said the trader, "and I have seen the lion of Cintra and his dwarf companions. In the White Orchard. They had a lot of knives and swords at that time, but they let go For offending his beekeeper, he did not take his anger out on any of the commoners. The dwarves are definitely not evil when surrounded by such a lord, so I think your evaluation of the dwarves is biased... "

The beaver hat sergeant stood up with a gloomy face: "I thought that people like you who make a living should have a more flexible mind. Now it seems that they are not much different from those who work hard..."

The sergeant wanted to teach the trader a lesson.

Seeing that there seemed to be a conflict, other businessmen who should be together immediately came to smooth things over.

"Oh, oh my lord, why do you have to be as knowledgeable as this young man? He was seduced after meeting the Earl of Lannister, and he even said that he was not going to be a businessman anymore, saying that he wanted to go to Cintra to have a son , and make my son a knight."

These words made the surrounding soldiers burst into laughter, and the businessman who smoothed things over laughed the loudest: "Listen, listen, does this sound like something a person with a good brain can say?"

Seeing that the officers and soldiers relaxed a bit, the businessman who was trying to smooth things over immediately turned his head away, scolded his young comrades, and at the same time told the other soldiers around:
"Look at my head, it was broken by dwarves. Scoia'tael are worse than robbers! Robbers want money, but Scoia'tael just want human blood. Not all of us have gold, but we all have gold in our veins." Blood is flowing!"

"The lumberjack shot with an arrow in a clearing, the tarmaker chopped to pieces in a beech forest, the farmer whose village was burned and fled to escape, did they harm the non-human race? They lived next to each other and worked together yesterday , today suddenly there is an arrow on my back... And what about me? I have never hurt an elf, dwarf or other non-human race in my life, but you see, my head was chopped off by a dwarf's machete broken."

Speaking of which, the smooth-talking businessman pointed to the bandage on his head, and bowed deeply to the onlookers who had stabilized their emotions: "If it wasn't for the rescue by heroic soldiers like you, I would have died in the ground long ago. It's..."

"Well said!" Some soldiers cheered.

Apparently, what the businessman said made the soldiers very happy. The sergeant in the beaver hat seemed to have forgotten the unhappiness just now.

The soldiers went forward to buy wine from the businessman who was rescued by his own people after being hacked by the dwarves. The sergeant in the beaver hat looked him up and down.

"where do you come from?"

"Aden, Your Excellency."

The sergeant in the beaver hat nodded, "Take care of your Temerian buddy, he's not very smart for your profession."

The businessman hurriedly responded with an apologetic smile.

After drinking another glass of wine, the sergeant in the beaver hat seemed a little drunk, and shouted at the young trader in Temeria:
"Let me tell you, boy. It's us soldiers who are protecting you! Humans used to condone non-human races too much. We regarded them as human beings, as our compatriots, but they stabbed us in the back. And Backing them up are the fellows who live with us—elves, half-elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings. They harbor Scoia'tael, feed them, replenish their men..."

"They move in small groups. There are a hundred in numbers, sometimes more. They call them 'commandos,' a borrowed term from the dwarf language. The best way to deal with them is to cut off their supply lines, isolate them, and let starvation force them Surrender. Arrest the inhumans who aid the Scoia'tael, and draw them out. Those from towns, villages, and farms..."

"But you're dealing with Scoia'tael, and only Scoia'tael." The young trader interrupted him suddenly. "The problem is, we don't know which non-human races are helping them. So it's wrong to hate all non-human races." !"

The young merchant seemed obsessed with seeing the heroic knight and the dwarves following him in White Orchard, and how those dwarves slaughtered the goat like a pig.Still defending them until now.

The beaver hat sergeant's face darkened, looking at the young merchant in front of him, he didn't know what he was thinking.

On the other side, a soldier who had drunk a lot of wine was already in a daze, and after hearing what the young merchant said, he shouted loudly: "If you can't tell the difference, then arrest them all! Squeeze the nape of each non-human race and put In the mines, in the quarries. Everyone, including the innocent, including women and children!"

"This is to protect human beings, there is no other way!" A soldier beside him shouted hoarsely, "Anyone who helps non-human races should also be liquidated. Like that Lannister of Sintra, I I heard he became a witcher, so he should..."

The sergeant in the beaver hat suddenly yelled and kicked the hoarse soldier out.

All the soldiers fell silent for a moment, afraid to speak any more.

Only the young trader thought about himself, as if he had won: "As far as I can see, Scoia'tael was born because of you Kaedwenians. It was you, and other nobles and knights who created it." .You oppressed non-human races and didn't allow them to live in their own way. Now you pay the price. And we have been transporting goods on this road, but swallowed your bitter fruit..."

He was immersed in his own world and couldn't see the changes around him, but the businessman who smoothed things over suddenly covered the young businessman's mouth severely.

He looked in horror at the soldiers slowly surrounding him.I don't know if it was because of drunkenness or anger, the faces of the soldiers were all flushed at the moment.

The sergeant in the beaver hat clenched his fist and slapped the hilt of his sword fiercely: "I can't pretend that I didn't hear you insulting Kaedwen on Kaedwen's territory. As a businessman, you are really not smart..."

With a "bang click", the businessman turned his head, and suddenly saw that his cart had been overturned to the ground, and all the drinks inside had spilled out.

"You... what are you going to do? We are traders from Temeria and Aedirn, and this is not your Kaedwen!"

The young merchant finally became frightened, and suddenly forgot what he insisted on just now, and backed away in fear.

"Where we are is Kaedwen." The beaver hat sergeant gritted his teeth.

Kaldwin's soldiers surrounded them, they didn't draw their swords, they seemed to want to teach the person in front of them a lesson with their fists and kicks.They are already used to this kind of thing.

However, just as they were about to execute the two merchants, a soldier who had just finished a boxing match and fell to the ground suddenly felt a vibration from the ground.

The people present were all soldiers, so they naturally recognized the movement.This is the sound that can only be made when a large group of cavalry is approaching.

"Woo--" There was a dull and long horn sound from the sentry post at the gate of the barracks.

And in response to it, the same horn sounded from the road outside, indicating that he was not an enemy.

"Ugh-"

Whether it was the enemy or not, Kaedwen's soldiers could no longer be as loose as they are now, and they quickly straightened their clothes.

The first thing that caught everyone's eyes was the flag of the Three Lions of Sintra flying in the strong wind.After the flagpole slowly rises and is exposed to everyone, the composition of this team can be seen at a glance.

This is a cavalry team of only about 50 people, but their momentum is amazingly strong, obviously they are all elites on the battlefield.

The leader is a blond knight, imposing, the lion crest on the chest seems to be roaring against the scorching sun under the sunlight.

Behind him came two male and one female servants, and after that came four warriors in strange armor with twin swords on their backs.

After that, there are the Sintra cavalry neatly dressed in standard silver-gray armor.

Triss is no longer in the team at this moment. After finishing her trip to Novigrad, she never accompanied Lan to Haji Fortress.

One is because her "magic class" is over, and she needs to return to Sintra and Arethusa to deal with affairs; the other is because the other kings of Haji Fortress did not bring their own royal advisors because they did not trust warlocks. It is not appropriate for Lan to bring Triss, a sorceress, alone.

When Triss left, she also brought the [Gatekeeper's Shovel] that Lann obtained from Everec Manor. This kind of equipment enchantment with blood-sucking effect was almost unheard of, so she decided to go back and talk to Mossa They should study it carefully and try to see if they can reproduce it.

In addition, there is also a royal mage who came from the Kingdom of Ophir and is proficient in the technique of "infusion" to accompany Triss, preparing to pass on the technology to Mossak.Lane believes that when he returns to Sintra, there will be a bumper harvest.

Now Lann's team consists of himself, three system-blessed [followers], four snake demon hunters, and more than forty Sintra cavalry.

Looking at other countries in the Pontar Valley from a distance, it can be seen from their waving flags that the soldiers they bring far exceed Lann's team composition.

Because it was the king who went on tour in person, the three countries that had already arrived—Temeria, Aedirn, and Kaedwen—each brought about 1000 soldiers, most of whom were knights, royal guards, and the country’s elite troops.

The Pontar Valley is located at the junction of the four countries, and they also have their own troops at the edge of the valley closest to them.As long as the situation changes, organize a large army to fight out to protect the king-this may be the situation Nilfgaard wants to see the most.

After the sentry post at the gate of Kaedwen and Lann's team communicated with each other with bugles, the direction of Haji Fortress soon heard the sound of loud horns.

Soon, Kaedwen, Temeria, and Aedirn, a host from each of the three parties rode over from the direction of the fortress and led them to their camps.

Some of them wore the armor of high-ranking officers, and some were pampered like royal stewards.

This is a kind of balance. Although Haji Fortress is under the jurisdiction of Aden in name, there are actually many articles in it.Now that the king gathered here, he couldn't find a "representative" to send out a steward.

Therefore, the countries participating in the meeting simply formed a steward group of the "host family" to be responsible for the living matters of the participating lords in Haji Fortress. Lan and the others will also send a person to join this organization in the future.

The senior officer of Kaedweni obviously smelled alcohol when he passed his camp. He gave the non-commissioned officer a hard look, and the two traders took advantage of this opportunity to sneak away.

Lan En and his party slowed down when they were about two hundred steps away from the sentry post, walked forward slowly, and met the butler group at the gate.

House took the lead and shouted: "In front of you is the return of the dead, the lion of Cintra, the griffin rider of the fairy of the lake, the lord of Brokilon, Lan Lannister Earl Le Allen!"

The three officers were very cooperative and paid tribute to Lan En. Even if some of them had the same noble title as Lan En, they still had to show enough respect in diplomatic occasions at this time.

After all, the person in front of him will discuss matters with his king at the same table in the near future. If he doesn't respect him, he doesn't respect his king.

Lan En looked at the three people in front of him.

The officers of Kaedwen wore beaver fur hats, brown cloaks, and brown and khaki cotton coats, with a unicorn standing upright carved on their chests, imposing.

Temerian officers wore studded armor with iron plates sewn inside, blue shirts, hoods, and blue and white striped scarves under the armor.

Aedirn sent not an officer, but a royal steward, dressed in fine silk.However, his muscles were stretched out under the clothes that covered him, and he obviously also had the duty of a guard in normal times.

The outfits of these three people reminded Lan of the ace troops from various countries that played in the Civil War in later generations.Although at this point in time, most of them have not yet been formally established or even have a number, but they have vaguely taken shape.

"Earl Lannister, it's been a hard journey. I don't know if the journey is smooth?"

Both officers had serious faces, and in the end it was Aedirn's royal steward who came out to salute Lan En first.

"It's okay, but the law and order around here doesn't seem to be very good, and I encountered a lot of water ghosts, ghouls and the like."

Lan shook his head, quite strange: "What are you guys doing here? Logically speaking, these monsters should stay away from places where such a large army is stationed."

But I didn't expect the royal housekeeper to smile wryly after hearing this: "We don't even know the things that the demon hunters behind you don't know. Recently, the monsters around have become more and more manic for some reason. .In the beginning, the soldiers almost misunderstood and started fighting."

On the way, Lan found that there were far more monsters in the Pontal Valley than outside. Although they could not be seen everywhere, they killed more monsters in one week than in the previous two months combined.

And the number has also changed from groups of three or five to large groups of more than a dozen.Although there is no loss for Lan and the others, for a small village, this number of monsters is a disaster.When Lann passed by, he saved many civilians who were affected by the disaster and received a lot of gratitude.

This process really made the snake demon hunters experience the joy of griffins for a while.

Originally, Lan En guessed whether it was because of the geographical location at the junction of the four countries in the Pontar Valley, which led to a situation where fathers did not love their mothers and no soldiers took over the law and order here, which led to the flood of monsters.

But now it seems that this is not the case, because there are monsters frequently harassing even around the army station, obviously it is not a pure security issue.

"Now you don't have to be bothered by monsters anymore," said Aedirn's royal steward. "This is now the safest place in the North."

Lane nodded noncommittally.

Sintra is different from the four kingdoms in the north, they can deploy their troops here without any scruples, but Lann's escort is only a few dozen riders.However, because of this, Sintra's resident is arranged closer to Haji Fortress, which can save a lot of time.

But before they could walk back to the castle, they suddenly heard a dull horn sounding from beyond the end of the road.

Listening to this voice is... there are troops calling for help with bugles?
Lan En looked back towards the direction of the sound, only to see two black spots hovering in the sky at low altitude, dropping smaller black spots from time to time.

Through the witcher's keen eyesight, the small black dots thrown by the big black dots can be seen - they are in the shape of people!

Looking at this scene, one could even faintly hear the hoarse and ugly roar of beasts echoing in the air, and then the screams of humans gradually faded away in mid-air, and then stopped abruptly.

At the same time, Lan heard an exclamation from the butler of the Aedirn royal family behind him: "According to the itinerary, the only one who has just arrived in the Pontal Valley at this time, besides Earl Lannister, is Queen Mivi. !"

(End of this chapter)