Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1184 1166. Arrival
“Isn’t this conclusion entirely correct?”

Lann said as he crossed his arms behind Sakia, the bald knight turned around and frowned at him.

"Sir, most non-human races also condemn the activities of the Scoia'tael and do not want to have anything to do with them. Most of them just want to maintain a stable life, and they have paid a heavy price for it."

"There was a half-elf mayor in a town not far from Vizima. He often called for peaceful coexistence and cooperation between the two races, but he was eventually killed by an assassin."

"And the assassin who shot that arrow was undoubtedly one of his seemingly harmless neighbors. A halfling or a dwarf." The bald knight sneered.

"As far as I'm concerned, none of them are loyal. Don't talk to me about the loyalty of the non-human races! They are all our enemies, but some of them are better at disguise!"

As if out of respect for the warriors on the barge chartered by Duke Shiward, the bald knight turned around and spoke seriously to the frowning Sakia and Lan En behind her.

He spread his hands, trying to increase his credibility with his gestures.

"Dwarves and halflings have lived alongside us humans for centuries, and to some extent have gotten along quite well. But look at this now!"

"The elves just took the lead, and then they all picked up their weapons and ran into the forest!"

"If you ask me, it was foolish to ignore the free elves and tree spirits in order to maintain social stability! They should not be allowed to keep the mountains and forests!"

"'Drive the humans back into the sea'! Listen! If they want war, give them war! See who will survive in the end!"

Sakia twitched her lips a few times, as if she wanted to say something, but then she sighed. Anyway, what she said in the end was definitely not what she wanted to say at the beginning.

"It is unwise to attempt to chase elves through forests and valleys, sir."

Sachia said.

"And I wouldn't recommend hunting down dwarves and halflings who are assisted by elves in these parts either."

The bald knight nodded in agreement: "That's a point."

"You are all excellent mercenaries and warriors, obviously experienced. Chasing them through the brush and woods is pointless and inefficient."

"The best way is to cut off their supply lines and isolate them. Arrest the non-human races that help the Scoia'tael, so that they lose the basis for guerrilla warfare. What is this called? Yes! Cut off the firewood from under the cauldron! Arrest them in cities, in towns and villages."

"The question is," Lan interjected calmly, "how do you determine who the non-humans are who are helping the Scoia'tael?"

"Then arrest them all! No one should be left behind!"

"Ha!" Lan's calm laughter almost seamlessly connected with the bald knight's response, as if he had known the other party would say that.

"I see. I seem to have heard this argument somewhere. Grab every non-human race by the scruff of the neck and throw them into quarries and mines, including innocent people, including the elderly, the weak, women and children, right?"

"This sounds similar to Bloody Falja's policy. But Falja targets those who oppose her, whether human or non-human. In this respect, you seem to be better than her. But in terms of fairness, she is better than you."

The bald knight angrily threw the leather gloves in his hands, making them snap.

"Okay, don't think I didn't hear you were being sarcastic. But what else can I do?"

"You are a warrior, so you should have been paying attention to the recent war atmosphere, right? The truce agreement between Nilfgaard and us is as fragile as an eggshell! When the Southern Empire attacks again, will our rear have to face such rampant Scoia'tael?"

"And you should also know that as the war goes on, both us and Nilfgaard will become weaker and weaker. When those 'loyal neighbors' you mentioned see how weak we are, how many of them will join the Scoia'tael?"

"The Nilfgaardians are counting on them to bleed us from behind!"

Suddenly there was a cheer outside the house and the wooden door of the sentry box was knocked.

The sergeant who was going to board the ship to ask for help stuck his head in, looked around, and then continued, "We've barely cleared a hole in the waterway, which should be big enough for the barge to pass through. Do you want them to sail, sir?"

The bald knight sighed and waved his hand.

"They are the people the Duke urgently needs. We can't waste time here to clean up the river. Let them go and we can do the rest slowly."

Finally, Sakia and Lan turned and walked out of the house, and the bald knight in the blue coat spoke coldly.

"May you arrive safely and not be killed by the insidious elves' arrows. This is all I can wish you, sirs and ladies."
-
The barge weighed anchor again and slowed down.

The captain, who had been casually strolling around with a piece of dried fish in his mouth, was now concentrating on the wreckage of wooden boats that occasionally protruded from the water around him.

This temporarily cleared waterway was not very wide, barely enough for a barge of his size to pass through.

Sakia and Lan were still standing at the bow, looking at the wreckage of the sunken ship falling behind on both sides of the bow.

On those wreckages protruding from the water, there are occasionally human or non-human limbs and bloodstains left on them.

The blood and flesh also attracted large and small fish and shrimps in the river.

'Tragic and complicated'

Sakia held onto the railing, frowning and muttering.

She was not shocked by the battle debris on the river, as she was used to seeing these things. What really shocked her was the seemingly ordinary conversation just now.

Lan En stood quietly by the railing, his palm gently running along the hair on the back of the flannel ball as it squatted on the railing.

He didn't say anything, but Sakia seemed to want to express her desire to talk to him because she had discussed books with him before and participated in the conversation.

The female warrior with a red and white cotton rope headband turned her head and looked at the witcher's delicate profile, with only the corners of his mouth and chin showing under the hood.

"Has this world always been so complicated?"

Lan En did not respond to Sakia's question first, but turned his head to look at her strangely.

"Look at the tone of your voice, as if you are seeing this world for the first time?"

"No!" Sachia instinctively denied it immediately, but then seemed to think that this outright denial was too suspicious, so she forced herself to calm down and make amends.

To Lan, her performance seemed rather strange and awkward.

"I just, I just haven't understood something as profound as racial issues, you know? I used to just swing swords without thinking, but now I'm reading books and debating with people."

The witcher chuckled.

"Unfortunately, the book you read has been carefully 'edited' by the author, and it simply and mindlessly attributes the lack of racial problems in Nilfgaard to their so-called 'unity under the sun'."

"But today, you are in a place that has been attacked by the Scoia'tael, with casualties on both sides, and the complex but real situation comes to you."

Sakia sighed, regaining her calm and melancholy. She scratched her dark golden hair in distress and distraction.

"I originally thought that racial peace could be achieved with just a little concession from the dominant race, humans. But what about now?"

"What if the non-human races are not satisfied after receiving concessions? Can humans continue to make concessions? What if hatred cannot be suppressed?"

"Non-human races have indeed suffered unfair treatment, but what if they in turn implicate innocent people? Many humans have indeed not oppressed them."

"And humans also have their own problems. The Nilfgaardian Empire in the south is ready to make a move. How can we tolerate instability in the rear at this time?"

Sachia was talking to himself, but as he spoke he began to have a headache and sighed.

But when she was covering her head in distress, she turned around and saw the person next to her leaning against the railing with his arms folded over his chest, looking at her with his head tilted.

Even with the hooded cloak on, he could sense the other person's interest.

She suddenly became a little angry.

"Look at how relaxed you are." She said sarcastically, "It seems that you have the same profound insights as when you taught me what a 'trustworthy book' is yesterday?"

"It's hard to say what your opinion is." Lan En shook his head, "But I think you are very powerful."

"Ok?"

Sakia frowned in confusion.

"First you want to change the situation by doing something. What surprised me is that you didn't even think of giving up after the setbacks."

"Secondly, you realize and acknowledge the complexity of real problems. You even start to use your brain to try to understand and solve this complexity."

The witcher raised his hand from his cloak and counted his fingers one by one.

"You really look like a big shot who can do big things now, Sakia."

"But the 'big shot' now thinks you are teasing her." With her long dark blond hair falling around her neck, Sakia frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Or..." Under the dark golden hair, blue pupils looked at the other party, "Do you actually have an opinion on this matter?"

Inexplicably, although Sakia had not even seen the real face and body of the person in front of him through the magic cloak, they had not even told each other their names.

But she always felt that this person was not as clueless as she was when faced with this complex racial issue.

Lan En didn't say anything else afterwards, but just looked at the direction of the bow with the fluffy ball.

The terrain on both sides of the Pontar River gradually rose, the plains turned into mountains, and the soil turned into rock.

The Pontar Valley, between the Kestrel and Mahakam Mountains, is a long, narrow area that takes a whole day to cross even by barge.

But fortunately, the gathering point established by Duke Heward was outside the valley.

The barge arrived safely, more than an hour later than the expected dinner time.

(End of this chapter)