From Witcher to Lord of the Empire.

Chapter 208 Ciri Wants to Grow Up Quickly
As one of the four northern kingdoms, the Kingdom of Kaedwen is famous for its vast land and sparse population.The land of Kaedwen may not even be measured by its king Henselt, which is why there are too many mysteries in this land.

In the northernmost corner of Kaedwen, one of the few forgotten corners of the world, part of the endless Blue Mountains, lies Kaer Morhen, the stronghold of the witcher's wolf school.

Today, this forgotten corner welcomes visitors once again.

The fiery red portal spread out in mid-air, and Lan was the first to jump out of it on Black Wind.Without the onlookers from Sintra, there was no need for one person and one horse to hold their expressions this time. At this moment, they were all pale and dizzy, and they almost fell to the ground staggeringly.

Following Lan En came out the Snake Group of Four, and their condition was no better than Lan En.

The last to emerge from the portal was Mossak.He looked cheerfully at the monster hunters in front of him, and stomped the heavy oak cane on the ground, dissipating the portal behind him invisible.

Kaer Morhen is also a place that needs to be kept secret and does not accept inexplicable visitors.Therefore, Lan En only brought these few people with him on this trip, not even his attendants, so it was regarded as visiting friends.

Colgrim supported a stone and sat down to relieve the dizziness that hit his head, and with all his strength, he actually broke a stone.He unconsciously handed this stone to his eyes, and in a trance, he saw fossil-like lines on it. Those lines connected with each other, depicting the shapes of shells and fish.

"I must be too dizzy, the distance of this portal is too long... How can there be fossils of fish and shells on the blue mountain..."

Mossak looked at Colgrim amusedly, and said, "No, these are marine fossils. This mountain range was once a vast sea, and it became what it is today through the evolution of the earth's crust. 'Kaer Morhen' in the ancient saying It has the meaning of 'Fortress of the Ancient Sea' inside."

The old druid took two steps forward, pointing to the castle in the mountain: "I have been here many times, I could have sent you directly to the castle hall. But considering that you are all here for the first time, I think it would be better for you to take a look at the whole picture of this fortress."

Following Mossack's fingers, the gazes of the demon hunters (and the demon hunter horses) projected past, and they saw a stretching mountain river and a winding mountain road.Further up, there is a defensive wall that has collapsed to the point where only the scaffolding remains, the only remaining towers and gates, and the heavy and thick cylindrical main tower.

The castle was almost integrated with the snow-capped mountains, and the faint but heavy sense of human history shrouded everyone's hearts.The unrepaired city wall still retains traces of battle, just looking at it seems that the ever-changing sounds of fighting will be recalled in my ears.

…………

The wolf school is the most peculiar school among all the witcher schools.

Normal demon hunter schools basically have their own characteristics. They will choose one or several skills to study in depth according to their environment, life and combat needs.

The cat school is good at swords, especially the dexterous light strike, and pursues a fatal blow to people; the griffin studies the magic seal, so it begins to study magic, and the masters in the school even surpass the warlock in terms of spell knowledge; the snake school is obsessed with poison and sword oil , They carry forward these skills, and can often kill people invisible; the Xiong faction that has not yet appeared is also said to be good at swords, but they like to perform miracles with great strength, and they have specialties in the defensive [Quen Seal].

As for the wolf faction, they know a little about everything.A mature wolf hunter can use the sword to defeat the famous swordsman head-on. He can also use sword oil and potions to prepare himself well before hunting demons, and he can skillfully use them after he really starts hunting. Signs and bombs to help kill enemies quickly.

This kind of "know a little bit of everything" character design is theoretically the most likely to have a protagonist.

And the reason why the Wolf Faction has learned so many things is largely due to their history - the Wolf Faction is called "the orthodox inheritor of the Demon Hunter Cult", and this is also true.

After the founder of the Demon Hunter Order, Mage Alzu, left the order, the demon hunters in the order had conflicts due to conflicts of ideas, and then left in large numbers to establish schools around the world.

The remaining demon hunters took all the experimental equipment, mutation materials, and experimental manuscripts, and together with the alchemists and warlocks who were willing to help them carefully cleaned up the demon hunter order, then arrived at Blue Mountain, and established Yi Fortified castle "Kaer Morhen".

They are the most standard witchers, not as extreme as the cat pie, nor as selfless as the griffin.They adhere to the principle of neutrality and moderation, do things unfairly, never get involved in politics, and do not want to train apprentices.The most prosperous wolf faction has no more than 15 demon hunters, plus no more than 30 apprentices in training.

But in Lane's eyes, these wolf factions are a group of patients with borderline personality disorder, and perhaps have a tendency to self-destruct.

The Wolf faction can be said to have the most abundant resources, the most spellcasters, and the most orthodox heritage of all schools, but they have never sought to develop.Facing the rumors and rumors against the witcher in the later period, they never thought of calming down, and only wanted to prove themselves through time and actions.

In the end, like the Griffin School, the Wolf School ushered in the coveted warlocks and the fear of the rulers. Behind the scenes, the mob incited the mob to attack Kaer Morhen, killing almost all the witchers, warlocks and alchemists in the castle. , only the last Grand Master, Vesemir, survived.

And when Vesemir cultivated a new generation of wolf demon hunters, these demon hunters all lacked recognition of their identity as demon hunters.They hated the mutation of the demon hunter who took the lives of most of their companions, and kept secret about the pain they had suffered.They are unwilling to train the next generation of demon hunters, even if there are a few "accidental children" in the middle, they are unwilling to bring them back to train them.

In the end, even Grandmaster Vesemir succumbed. He destroyed most of the alchemy instruments used by the school for mutation, and only kept a small part in dust for his thoughts.In the original history, the wolf faction eventually disappeared from the world very quickly.

But Lane knew that Vesemir, an old teacher who experienced the heyday of the Wolf School, still hoped to revive the school in his heart. His attitude was more disheartened by the times and painful memories of the past. surrender.

Lane, on the other hand, hoped to reawaken the spark in Vesemir's heart.

Lei Suo looked at the mottled city walls and dilapidated castles, feeling deeply moved in his heart: "Could it be that all the strongholds of demon hunters cannot escape the fate of being destroyed?"

Then the current leader of the Snake Sect looked at Lan's back. The lion-like young man was looking at the majestic castle, and there seemed to be thousands of emotions mixed together in his eyes.The sun hit his pale golden half-length hair, and the reflected light was even more dazzling than the snow on the top of the mountain.

"The future of the witcher... is here?"

…………

Triss is in Kaer Morhen at the moment, and she is in charge of Ciri's magic class with Yennefer as a teaching assistant during the day.The red-haired sorceress had communicated with Mossak in advance about the time of her visit, so the people in the castle knew early on that there would be visitors today.

Because of this, Ciri was out of shape all day today, and her potions class in the morning was almost turned into an alchemy bomb preparation class by her.

Her people were sitting in the classroom, but her heart had already flown to Lan En's arms.

The windows and doors of the classroom were wide open, and suddenly the sound of horseshoes floated in from outside.Immediately afterwards, Ye Naifer, who was teaching her, saw the girl with mouse-gray hair put on her griffin cloak like a gust of wind, and rushed out of the door at a speed that was invisible to the naked eye.

If it was normal, Yennefer would definitely start yelling and yelling at this moment, and might even start to sneer at Geralt.But today she began to sip wine with a smile on her face, leaning on the window sill and watching the group of people walking into the yard
The blond knight led a group of warriors with amber snake eyes, wrapped in snow, from outside.The white-haired old witcher who came out of the hall opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

The old man in front of him was Vesemir, the teacher of the Wolf School.

Unlike Geralt's mutated creamy white hair, Vesemir has gray hair too.But it was time and old age that bleached his hair, and few witchers lived to his age.

The eyes of this old witcher with a story engraved on his face lit up when he saw Mossak.When he saw the blond lion-eyed demon hunter beside Mossak, his eyes brightened even more.

Lan was about to get to know the owner of the castle under the recommendation of Mossack, but suddenly felt a gust of squirrel-gray wind blowing in front of his eyes, and then a familiar touch hit his arms, and then It was a familiar voice ringing in my ears.

"Wow! Lann!!"

It can't be said that they are too familiar, at least the weight of this body is much heavier than when they were separated, and judging from the touch from the fingertips, it seems that the body has begun to have some curves.

The little girl is starting to grow up.The astonishment on Lan En's face quickly turned into a light smile, and he quickly reacted and hugged the girl in his arms.At this moment, Shirley's body and mind finally merged into one.

Mossack next to him, Vesemir standing at the door, and Yennefer leaning against the window all showed almost unanimous smiles when they saw this situation.

Lan Gently patted Ciri in his arms, knowing that it was impossible to pull the girl whose limbs were stuck into her body like tree roots for a while.

He maintained such a posture of holding Ciri with one hand and saying hello to the castle owner in front of him.

"Hello, you must be the mentor of Vesemir. I am Lann from Sintra, Lannister Leanlan, nice to meet you."

"You must have heard of me from many sources and from various angles." The old witcher, that is, Vesemir, had an intriguing smile on his face, "I have also heard of you from many people. "

The old witcher waved his hand at Lann smartly: "You don't need to address me with honorifics. I'm not used to hearing things like 'sir' and 'mentor'. Our wolf cubs call me by my name directly."

Indeed, unlike the Griffin School, which values ​​etiquette, the Wolf School doesn't care much about this kind of verbal etiquette, and it's even a little big or small.But the emotional connection between them is the closest.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Vesemir." Lan soon did as the Romans did, shaking Vesemir's hand with his vacant right hand.

Then Lan En held Ciri's hand with a little strength, lifted the little girl up unsteadily and walked aside, revealing Lei Suo behind him.

If Lane is visiting as a family member, or even with a little political mission.Then the members of the Snake Sect are pure communication among demon hunters.

"If you have traveled a long distance, then you must be tired now. If you have passed through the portal, then you need to rest even more now." Vesemir laughed, "I will take you to your respective rooms, if you want You can visit Kaer Morhen. My boys are out hunting and preparing a good dinner for the rare Snake brothers, druids, and Ciri's family who are here."

Lan En smiled and said, "I'm already looking forward to it."

"I know you have a lot to say to me, let's talk about it at dinner." Vesemir obviously had a plan in mind, and said solemnly to Lann.

Then he changed his gentle expression, as if the seriousness just now was just an illusion, "Shirley, you will take Lan's room there, and I will take care of the other guests!"

"Okay!" Ciri's muffled voice came from Lan's arms, it was really hard for her to respond to orders from the outside world.

…………

After the initial clinging, Ciri was off Lann quickly, but her hand was still firmly on Lann's arm.

She didn't look back, just walked away bored.Lan En didn't notice anything unusual at first, and wanted to tease the little girl, but soon he saw Ciri's expression again.

I saw that after the initial ecstasy, Ciri became preoccupied again.

Lan tried several times to say hello to Ciri, but the little girl didn't respond at all.

What's the matter, are you having trouble?
After entering the room prepared for Lan and closing the door, Ciri turned her back to Lan.

"What's the matter, my princess?" Lan looked around the room unnaturally, and said with a smile, "Are you still blaming me for leaving you here and never coming to look for you?"

Lane said sincerely, "If that's the case, I apologize to you."

Facing Lan's reaction, Ciri wrinkled her nose where Lan could not see.

"Not this. You are busy, I know, everything you do is for Sintra. I can stay here because you are outside to protect me from the wind and rain. Yennefer and Triss told me There are many stories about princesses who have lost their country, and I am lucky to have them now." Xili said.

"That's why I worked very hard in Kaer Morhen, and I never asked to leave here, because I want to make myself useful as soon as possible, fulfill the responsibility of a princess, and help you as soon as possible."

Hearing Ciri's words, the expression on Lan's face gradually melted away.

He stepped forward lightly, resting his elbows on Ciri's shoulders, his left hand went over the girl's collarbone and hugged her shoulders, and his right hand gently stroked the soft hair on her head: "But you are still angry, yes Right? I know, it’s one thing to understand the truth, but it’s another thing to actually encounter things in life.”

"No, that's not what I'm angry about." Shirley's brows furrowed even tighter, and his lips moved for a while before uttering a name.

"Triss!"

Lan's face and hands froze at the same time.

He only remembered now that he had come all the way to Kaer Morhen and hadn't seen Triss yet.With the character of the red-haired sorceress, she would have appeared long ago under normal circumstances, and would even grab Mossack's job to introduce Vesemir to Lane.

But she hasn't shown up until now, so I don't know if she is hiding from something.

"I'm a child, yes, but I'm not stupid." Ciri sniffed, as if she had a cold, and said in a muffled voice, "Since Triss helped you in Novigrad , It changed when I came back. She restrained me a lot and would avoid me; when she had to give me lessons, she felt a little deliberately letting me and pleasing me."

"I was mentally prepared when I was in Brokiron. At that time, I took care of Triss, and I asked you to take care of Triss."

"Something...has happened, hasn't it?"

Facing Ciri's question, Lan remained silent, for it had already happened.

"I also understand some things. Although my grandmother and Mossak didn't deliberately teach me when I was a child, I understand. Like political marriage or something, I have heard and learned from the book and everyone's conversations. , I also know that this is a necessary way."

Ciri seemed to be taking the initiative to find reasons for Lan En, and her voice became more and more muffled: "I'm just very unhappy, because I'm also working hard to grow up. Just another five years... no, four, three... three In just three years, I will grow up!"

"Can't you just wait a little longer..."

Lane lowered his head, not seeing him for a long time, Ciri's height at this time was already almost reaching his chest.

But Shirley... If it was only three years, it was still illegal in my previous life.If it is written in a novel, even if it is a historical theme, it may even be blocked...

Lan tried to organize his words, but Ciri didn't wait for him to respond.After making this call, the little girl seemed to vent some of her emotions, and finally turned around.

She hit Lan En hard with her head first, but then her forehead was hit by the solid breastplate, and she couldn't help crying out in pain; when Lan En stepped forward to check with concern, she dexterously dodged again, He used the newly acquired demon hunter fighting skills to hit Lan En's body hard a few times.

Then she rubbed her sore hands, put her hands on her hips and said, "You only have three years, Earl Lannister! Do you know? For these three years, I allow you to use all means to strengthen Cintra, for us Fight for all the allies you can! But, but after three years, when I grow up, you won't be able to mess around anymore, you know?"

The little princess raised her head: "Because at that time, you will be the prince of Cintra! Or you can be the king if you want... In short, you are the lion of Cintra, and this is your responsibility! And, and You are still my knight, and this is my order to you, do you understand?"

Ciri tried hard to tighten her little face, but Lan could see that her hands were trembling slightly, whether it was pain or other emotions.

Lan sighed, stepped forward and took Ciri's little hand.These hands were no longer as delicate as the princess's before, and were even rougher than peasant children of the same age. They were covered with calluses, and there were burns caused by various magical experiments.

Perhaps the sorceress will find a way to restore the tenderness of these hands with magic, but at this time it faithfully shows the hardships its owner has suffered during this period.

"Of course, my princess." Lane said, "follow your orders."

The cold wind outside the window seems to have become a little quieter at this moment.

It's a pity that the ceremony between the princess and the knight didn't last long, and soon there was a knock on the door, breaking the atmosphere in the room.

"Boom boom boom——"

Ciri wrinkled his nose in dissatisfaction: "Geralt and the others have gone out, are those Snake Brothers you brought here?"

Lan shook his head: "If it was Colgrim and the others, they wouldn't have knocked on the door at all."

"That's Vesemir, maybe it's for your Demon Hunter Cult." Ciri patted Lane's hand, "Go, knight, and complete your mission, for Cintra!"

Lane shook his head and chuckled.

After opening the door, to their surprise, there was not any member of the Wolf Sect or the Snake Sect they had expected.

Outside the door was a demon hunter wearing a cotton-padded robe, his face was neatly dressed, and his hair was meticulously tied into a bun behind his head.Although he was indoors, he still wore iron wristbands, not knowing what his personal hobby was.

At the moment of opening the door, Lan and the other party's eyes met, and then moved down in a tacit understanding, focusing on the other party's chest.

The two griffin badges shook slightly, as if echoing each other from afar.

"Korn?" Lane recognized the other party's identity the first time he saw the other party.The Griffin Demon Hunter who appeared in the Wolf faction base camp had no one other than himself.

In other words, apart from the Griffon Demon Hunter besides Kyle Siren, besides himself, and the founder Elan who may not know where he is wandering, the only one left in front of him is the one in front of him.

Cohn has a beard and looks rugged.But his demeanor has a bit of the elegance that he learned from Kelda, so he looks very calm and trustworthy at a glance.

"You must be Lan." Cohen smiled. He reached into his arms and grabbed a corner of a notebook. "Ms. Keerda often mentioned you to me. I know you are coming to Kaer Morhen today, so I ended the hunt early and came back."

[Contact Notes of the Griffin School], Geron can dig out two books from the snowdrift, there is no reason why there is no Kelda who has been guarding the Kel Siren.It is also reasonable to give to one's own disciples.

As he said that, the Griffin Demon Hunter looked into Lan's room: "I didn't seem to come at the right time?"

"No, you came at the right time." Ciri ran out of the room like a gust of wind. Cohen was a member of Ciri's fencing teacher group at this time, and his teasing eyes made Ciri a little unbearable.

"I'm going back to continue my Potions class. Ye Naifa can't wait any longer. Help me introduce Kaer Morhen to Lane~"

The little princess ran very fast, leaving only a string of tail sounds echoing in the corridor.Lan and Cohen couldn't help laughing when they saw this.

"We all like her." Cohen looked at the direction Ciri left. "She is very sensible and hardworking."

He obviously praised Ciri, but Lan's mood also improved.

The young lion-eyed demon hunter took a step back and made an inviting gesture towards the senior outside the door: "Please come in, I think we have a lot to talk about."

(End of this chapter)