From Witcher to Lord of the Empire.

Chapter 238

"From the perspective of power, the Svalblo Sect has been completely wiped out, and Easter's road to coronation is no longer hindered. No matter which family it is, it can no longer find fault."

Now that even King Bran agrees with this, Lan will have no other opinions.Could he, a foreign Duke of Sintra, understand Skellige better than the king of Skellige?
"Fortunately, Lann, you have turned the two original competitors of the Dimen family and the Drummond family into your own this time, completely clearing away possible obstacles in the future." King Bran sighed, " I know Lugo well, and I can guess what he's thinking just by listening to what you tell him."

"He's an awkward guy, but he's also a typical Islander, and it's easy to make him your own: save his life, or beat him up."

King Bran laughed: "Of course, except for Kratz. No matter what the Clayt family does to the Drummond family, it is impossible to change their attitude."

Kratz snorted heavily.

Lan thought for a moment and asked a question: "What about the Dimen family? Hogg Blackhand is dead, who will inherit it? Do we want to intervene in it, and support an heir who is close to us to control the Dimen family?"

"No, Lane, that's not what the islanders do. We won't interfere in the internal affairs of other families." King Bran shook his head seriously, but then comforted him, "But now it seems that the Dimen family has Has an heir of her own—Juta Ann Diemen."

"She is Hogg's immediate family member, she is highly skilled in martial arts, and she was once Hogg's personal shield guard. Although she failed to protect Hogg, she followed Easter to destroy the gathering place of the Svalblo sect, and He chopped up the statue of the evil god with his own hands."

King Bran stroked his beard: "We will not interfere with the internal affairs of the Dimen family, but we can release these news to publicize Juta's actions and show our attitude of praising Juta. In addition to her own achievements and' The Iron Lady's reputation is enough for her to run for the position of the patriarch of the Dimen family."

Svanrigi, who was sitting behind King Bran, nodded thoughtfully, expressing his admiration for his father's way of "not interfering with the internal affairs of other families but still being able to influence the election of the patriarch".

"If Juta is in power, we don't have to worry about the attitude of the Dimen family. She has already expressed her support for me after Hogg's death." East added.

Then, he looked at Lan thoughtfully again: "If it really doesn't work..."

Lan was taken aback by East.

Kratz suddenly stepped forward and patted Lane on the shoulder: "The 'Iron Lady' has a great reputation! Her sword skills are the best in Faroe Islands, and she once swore to the goddess Freya that only those who defeat her are eligible to follow her." She stayed overnight, married her, and even let her bear children. There were many people who challenged her, but no one succeeded, which even gave her the nickname of 'Iron Lady'."

"And Lane..." East took over Kratz's words, and the smile on his face became inexplicable, "Did you chop her away with the back of a knife to save her on the battlefield?"

Lan En froze for a moment, and tried to recall: "At that time, there was a giant bear pounced on the still-dead Hogg Blackhand. I wanted to save him, but Juta was in the middle of the road..."

Now it's not just Kratz and East, even King Bran and Svan Rij have incomprehensible smiles on their faces.

"From the point of view of a swordsman, you have shown insurmountable strength, and you have 'defeated' her." Kratz patted Lan on the shoulder vigorously again, "Didn't you realize that she looked at you all the way afterwards? Yet?"

Needless to say, Lan really didn't pay attention.He was used to such eyes, and even dulled the corresponding senses because of it.Thinking back carefully at this time, it seems that it really makes a lot of sense...

"Tsk." Lann had a headache and felt that the pressure on his body had increased greatly.

In fact, what they said was all jokes, and with Ciri around, Lann couldn't really be allowed to complete this "political mission".

And what a character East is, he himself has absolute confidence in Juta's following.If you can't even subdue such a little girl, how can you become the king of Skellige?
Teasing Lan on this occasion is more of a relaxed chat.

It's impossible to really rely on Lann's sacrifice, right?
No way?
……

There are still a few days before the new meeting of the Seven Great Clans.

Due to the lessons learned last time, King Bran will be more cautious in holding meetings this time, and other family patriarchs will be more cautious when they come.

This is bound to take more time.

After communicating with Mossak in Sintra, it was confirmed that everything was going well and that there was no need for Lan to take the time to rush back to deal with any emergencies. Lan unexpectedly had a rare moment of free time.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a sudden bad news was sent to him.

……

"you are leaving?"

When Lan said these words, Ged was standing in front of him.The tall bear demon hunter had a reluctant smile on his face, but his movements were still decisive.

Yes, Gerd is leaving the team.

"It's a pleasure to take risks with you, Lane, and I also believe that the future of the reconstruction of the Demon Hunter Order and the revival of the Demon Hunter Group that you describe will definitely come." Gerd said, "But I have followed Torgil, do you still remember? This time I and you jointly exterminated the Svalblo Sect, in itself, Torgil, as a member of the Tursek family, entrusted me with the task.”

"Now that the Svalblo sect has been destroyed, East is about to regain the throne, and I'm going back too." Ged laughed heartily, as if trying to dispel the heavy expression on Lan's face.

Lann tried his best to save Ged: "Earl Thorgil is also a member of the Tursek family, maybe we can still..."

"You are a nobleman, so you must know the words 'my lord's lord, not my lord'." Ged shook his head, interrupting Lann's remaining persuasion, "Just because I follow Thorgil, doesn't mean I want to Work for King Bran and Easter."

"And the relationship between me and Torgil is not a lord and a follower, but a friend." Ged added, "To be honest, I also hate the life of a demon hunter, you know I will wait for you when I go back." What is it that holds me? Torgil will give me a hunt, and a feast of laughter and boasting, and my story will be the star of the feast!"

Having said that, the bear demon hunter, who was always laughing, finally showed a vicissitudes of life expression.As a bear demon hunter, he seemed extraordinarily cheerful and talkative, almost making people forget that he was actually an old demon hunter whose qualifications might surpass that of Leto.

"I didn't choose to become a witcher before, but fate made me not have the choice. But my life now makes me very satisfied." Gerd patted Lann on the shoulder, "I can even be regarded as retired—— Ha, the No.1 retired demon hunter in history, do you think this name is quite famous?"

Even after saying such words, Lan knew that he had no possibility of keeping Ged, so he could only show a bitter smile.

Gerd comforted: "Actually, if you let me join you, maybe it will bring you trouble. I fled to Skellige because of the failure of the political struggle. Do you remember? I heard that Sintra is now I am in turmoil, and I am fighting for all possible strengths. But my joining may do more harm than good to you, making your allies betray you and increasing your enemies."

Lan En could only shake his head when he heard the words. With so many reasons superimposed, he knew that it was impossible to keep Ged: "In any case, the door of Sintra is always open for you. If you want to experience retirement in another place , I will definitely treat you well."

Gerd laughed, remembering Lann's promise that one day he would visit his old friend at the gateway to the north.

Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something, turned to Lann and said, "Maybe I can help you one last time—I heard that you are helping Feitov find his missing apprentice recently?"

Lane nodded.

"Fetov is a rare sky master who can control the weather and call the wind and rain. Even among the druids, there are few people who can do this. If it is not for careless management, I believe he can become the Ring of Oak Your great mentor. Having a good relationship with such a strong person will be of great help to you."

Of course, Gerd didn't need to point it out, Lann was getting close to Feitov now.

"If you want to help him find his apprentices, I might have some clues." Ged thought with an unspeakable expression on his face, "I also went to Moss when I was helping Grasmeet collect purple scorpions. Kogan Forest, where I met an apprentice druid."

Gerd seemed to be weighing his adjectives: "What about his condition... a bit drunk, so that he doesn't want to return to the Oak Ring. I don't know if he is Feitov's apprentice, but I believe he must know something."

Lan was stunned for a moment, listening to Gerd's words, inexplicably felt a little familiar smell appeared.

Sure enough, Ged immediately made a deep expression: "As for the reason why the apprentice stayed in the forest and didn't want to return, it's also the reason why I couldn't pick purple beetroot."

"There's a night witch over there."
-
Two of the seven major families live here on Great Skellige Island, and it also has a huge trading port. Its level of development and civilization is quite high.

But even such an island has vast virgin forests.This may be due to the deliberate maintenance of the druids, and the growth of the Skellige often requires mountains and forests to provide them with experience.

"Moscogen Forest" is one of the largest virgin forests.

In addition to the purple betel that Gerd was looking for, there are precious alchemy materials such as datura root and buffalo grass in this forest; in contrast, there are also groups of forest wolves, water ghosts, and evil ghosts. , and even fork-tailed dragons, forest trolls and other harmful monsters.

There are even rumors that someone once witnessed the deer head spirit in the forest.

"Heifeng, stop for a moment—"

The black horse shuttled through the forest like the wind, and after hearing the master's order, it became still in an instant. The momentum disturbed the air around it, shaking the surrounding flowers and plants,
Lan got off his horse, bent down, and carefully picked a herb with red flowers.

He was not followed by any family soldiers, not even Cintra's entourage or witcher.

With Lan En's current strength, he no longer needs followers. Human soldiers will neither threaten nor help him unless they reach a certain level.And now is the time for Lane to exercise himself.

The demon hunters can provide Lan with a lot of help.However, considering that he might not be able to stay in Skellige for long, Geralt and the others were all asked by Lan to complete the commission—Skellige's commission.

After all, Skellige has a lot of commissions, which can not only help Lann fill the experience gap caused by the contract Bill and Svan Ridge, but also train the attendants and help them upgrade to provide him with strength earlier.

For example, looking for female night devils... no, for the simple task of finding druid apprentices, Lan felt that he alone was enough.

……

After looking at the red flowers in his hand for a long time, Lan shook his head and gave up the idea of ​​identifying the types of herbs.He still hasn't memorized the herbal illustrated book that Mossak gave him, but he can only see that this herb is very precious. As for what it belongs to and what its name is, Lan is at a loss.

Just when Lan En was annoyed, emerald flames ignited on the black magic scimitar behind him, and then a phantom figure in a black gothic dress appeared beside Lan En.

Alice stood quietly on the grass, the sunlight projected on her body through the gaps in the trees, making her hazy body even more illusory.It was obviously an illusory soul, but she was covered with golden sunlight at the moment, and even her skin shone like diamonds.

In the painting, the soul gently lifted the black veil to reveal a pretty face, looked closely at the herbs that Lan En picked, thought for a moment and said: "This seems to be a red mandala. It has an anesthetic effect, but unfortunately its roots It’s not developed enough, otherwise you can get even more precious alchemy materials.”

The lion-eyed demon hunter holding the red mandala raised his eyebrows.

Facing Lan En's surprised eyes, Alice raised the corners of her lips slightly: "Usually when you are busy, I draw pictures and sometimes read some books. Many of the textbooks are out of reach of the aristocracy, and I have benefited a lot..."

Lan En laughed lightly: "No, no need to explain, that's not what I care about. I'm glad you finally came out of the scimitar attached to you. I've been bored all the time, and it's really hard for you."

Alice lowered her eyelids: "Didn't you ask me to help you draw pictures and send them to the lords of various families in the archipelago? I think the scenery of this forest is very good and suitable for collecting folk songs, so I came out."

"As for being in your scimitar, that's my own decision. I like to observe the ever-changing scenery and you, but I don't want to appear in front of those soldiers. Their eyes will make me very distressed."

Alice looked at Lann with a smile.

Heifeng snorted lightly, as if sensing a familiar aura, he stepped forward and wanted to rub his companion.The spirit in the painting condenses the entity very cooperatively, and gently begins to help the horse comb its hair.

Lann chuckled lightly, flipped his left hand, and took out the map marked by Gerd, and then activated the witcher's senses, and began to identify his own path in the forest.

When he looked up again, he saw that Alice was already on the horse, as if she was waiting for him.

"Heifeng, let's go!"

The black-haired demon hunting horse neighed excitedly, and began galloping through the forest like a joy.

The reaction of the demon hunting horse was extremely fast. The primitive forest full of obstacles was obviously the most troublesome terrain for ordinary war horses. At this moment, it felt like a game of overcoming obstacles by Hei Feng.It tosses and turns among the clumps of trees, and from time to time jumps high over the rocks that can obviously be bypassed. When passing the stream, its four hooves will deliberately kick and splash water.

Seeing that happy look, Lann's mood improved a lot.

until……

With a sound of "Boom", a Timberwolf's waist was directly kicked off by the black wind, making a frightening crisp sound like a biscuit being broken, and howling, it flew out and smashed a small tree.

The remaining wolves finally realized that the giant black beast in front of them and the armored man on its back were not something they could provoke, and disappeared into the depths of the forest howling.

It turned out that the wolves looking for food found Hei Feng and Lan En.

Without waiting for Lan En to dismount, Heifeng drove off the group of hungry beasts by himself.

Seeing that Hei Feng seemed to want to chase the wolves into it, Lan quickly grabbed the rein and brushed the horse's mane and neck vigorously.

"Black Wind, Black Wind, forget it..."

The belligerence and capriciousness of the horse regardless of the occasion still caused Lan En a headache.

After finally calming Heifeng, Lan wiped his sweat, but when he turned around, he saw the spirit in the painting frowning.

She seemed extremely dissatisfied with the destruction of the original happy atmosphere, and this opportunity to be alone with Lan En was also extremely rare. At this time, emerald flames began to burn on her body.

"Alice, Alice, calm down too..."

Lann hurriedly spread out one hand to grab the soul in the painting.

He looked around in a hurry, but found that he had reached the destination marked by Ged.

In front of him was a mountain road that seemed to be overgrown with weeds, but Lann's demon hunter senses could clearly distinguish the life trajectories of humans and humanoid creatures.

Going up the mountain road, a deep cave soon appeared.

The place had deliberately hidden its traces before, but here it was a lot of perfunctory.Lann squatted down, and soon found the red footprints specially marked by pheromones on the ground through the witcher's senses. In addition to human footprints, there were also - hoof prints.

found it.

After passing through a long tunnel covered with moss, a light began to shine in front of my eyes.The experienced Lann knew that the bright color was not the sun, but candlelight.

Lan looked into the depths of the cave for a while, then looked back.Alice very consciously turned into a ball of emerald flames and returned to his black magic scimitar.But Heifeng didn't want to enter this narrow place, so he wagged his tail and ran towards the depths of the forest.All it takes is a whistle if Lan needs it.

(End of this chapter)