Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1220. Future Plans

As soon as Lan En said this, Margarita and Sakia looked at the witcher in surprise, and then they reacted and turned their surprised gazes to the one-eyed elf.

Iorveth was much calmer.

“No right fruit can grow from a dirty foundation.”

The commander of the Scoia'tael, who was known for his ruthless reputation of 'indiscriminate attacks', spoke in a philosophical tone at this moment.

"Since Aelirion destroyed the elves' reproductive potential as a race, we have learned to submit to human rule."

"The human country was built on the ruins of the elven palace, and we elves make a living in the human country."

"We are widely distributed and can be found in every country, but our situations are pretty much the same in every country."

"In the past two hundred years, countless elves have cried and thanked the gods just to meet a lord who can tolerate and trust non-human races. But as I said before, all these are as empty and unreliable as bubbles and illusions."

"The only ones who can save us are ourselves! Other people's help will be unreliable one day!"

"But the elves are no longer a decent race." Margarita pointed out calmly but sharply. "Population. As the most basic attribute of a race, your population is too small."

Iorveth responded directly to Margarita's sharp questions.

"Yes, there is no doubt that the elves had already failed in the racial struggle two hundred years ago."

"So I don't dare to hope that the elves can return to their historical status before humans landed. This stupid idea has never appeared in my mind."

"Now, there is only one goal that is most likely to be achieved and most worth pursuing."

The one-eyed elf raised a finger and gestured to everyone around the campfire.

But it was not him who spoke in the end, but Lan En who responded to him under his earnest gaze, which seemed a little timid in his small expectations.

The demon hunter said calmly as he looked at the flickering campfire.

"—Equality of races. Elves, dwarves, halflings, humans. Equality for all."

Iorveth pursed his lips and nodded, while Sakia seemed to have suddenly been enlightened, but still turned to look at the witcher with a bit of confusion.

"The elves alone can't accomplish anything," Lan continued, "so we have to bring everyone on board and paint a common vision for everyone."

“And the irony is.”

As he spoke, Lan's eyes finally moved away from the flames, and he looked with interest at Sakia who seemed to be in deep thought, and Iorveth who was eagerly waiting.

"Because we want to bring everyone together and promise them a fair and just future, it is best if the leader is not any of these non-human races."

"Otherwise, you will continue to have internal doubts, suspecting that other non-human races are using you as targets to attract fire."

"And those who meet the requirements, have a true sense of equality in their hearts, and are strong enough not to die halfway."

The demon hunter smiled self-evidently and pointed his finger at his chest and the green dragon female warrior on the other side.

If you want to accomplish big things, a correct and suitable leader is of paramount importance.

Like Iorveth, his ideas are bold enough while taking reality into consideration.

Although it has not been stated explicitly, Lan En already knows it completely: he wants to build a city or even a country that is different from the four northern countries and can truly achieve equal treatment between non-human races and humans.

But ideas alone are useless.

His identity and position are destined to not unite the majority of people who need to be united in the process of reaching this goal. He can only unite the elves.

His leadership ability and charisma do not support him to break through barriers and go further.

So he needed to find a real leader.

A person who can identify with his ideas and has advantages that he does not have becomes a leader.

There was no such person to be found, which was why Iorveth decided to go all out and form a team of Scoia'tael.

But now two of them suddenly appeared in front of him!

What was once just a castle in the air, with only a rough outline of an idea, now stands before Iorveth, showing the possibility of being realized!
"You want to build a free city, like Novigrad?"

Margarita shook her head with a dumb smile, raised her wine glass and took a sip.

"The current situation? This is really a bit of a pipe dream."

This is not to look down on Iorveth's ideals, but Margarita knows that the current situation is complicated and the establishment of Novigrad is by no means that simple.

Novigrad is built on the delta where the Pontar River meets the sea, and its geographical advantages are immense.

In addition, it is the area where humans first landed and established city-states, and it is also the place with the deepest accumulation.

Then there were repeated political struggles and international frictions, which finally led to the status of this "Pearl of the North" as a free city-state.

But do the current international situation and geographical factors create the conditions for this?
The North has been developed back and forth by humans for hundreds of years. This place is not very large, so how could there be any unowned land?
Every place has its own owner, who would be willing to cut off a piece of meat?

Shoot it down? That's even more impossible.

It's annoying when the Scoia'tael fight guerrilla warfare. If they came out of the mountains and forests and fought head-on, humans would be very happy.

Moreover, at this juncture when the situation between the North and the South is unprecedentedly antagonistic, the Squirrel Party still has the guise of "oppression and resistance". The people are not that angry with them, and just think that it is normal for a non-human race to resist.

But if they start occupying cities, then they are blatantly on the side of the Nilfgaardian Empire. Nothing can be said about them, they will be classified as "enemies" and there will be no obstacles in destroying them.

So in Margarita's opinion, the one-eyed elf's idea was indeed good, but because it was inappropriate, it had no room to be implemented under the tide of the times and the situation. However, just when the sorceress lost interest and turned around to see the expression of her lover.

"." Margarita's expression of sighing and shaking her head suddenly froze.

Because she felt a hint of familiarity in Lan's eyes, which seemed calm as he stared at the fire.

When he first entered Aretuza to recuperate and said he wanted to go to Vizima to settle accounts, it was this look in his eyes.

At that time, she advised Lan En not to rush, but what the result was was now basically known to everyone in Vizima.

Once he makes up his mind, nothing can stop him.

"You are not..." Margarita still looked at the witcher in disbelief, "Do you think this can succeed?"

The one-eyed elf, who had been helplessly turning away due to the sorceress's cold words, now turned around with a serious expression.

"There is indeed a chance."

Lan En spoke bluntly.

Margarita frowned at first, but then she could only sigh helplessly.

"You've actually had this idea in mind for a long time, right? You've long been impatient with the stupid nobles and the officials with big brains, right?"

"I have never concealed this from you."

"But you never said you wanted to do this." Margarita was speechless, but then she shook her head and smiled bitterly. "Forget it, I can't stop you anyway."

"But you'd better think it through, dear. This is not an easy thing. Even Philippa, the most ambitious among us, I don't think she is this ambitious."

At the end of the conversation, Margarita actually felt that she was at a loss for words and could not accurately describe how she felt.

".Such a subversive idea."

But Lan En only cared about Margarita's approval. After receiving the sorceress's reluctant but almost doting consent, Lan En smiled.

He supported his knees with his elbows, but his eyes were turned to Sakia beside him.

On the other hand, Iorveth asked anxiously.

"What do you mean by 'have a chance'?"

"It means that there is still a chance to get a city in a legitimate way. Somewhat legitimately."

Lan En narrowed his eyes and rubbed his fingers thoughtfully.

Now that he has decided to do something, he becomes excited again after a fierce battle with the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Fight, then conquer, develop strategies and policies, and grow in size.
Just thinking about this series of events made him feel relieved.

I don’t know if it’s because of the memories and instincts of the interstellar era superhuman soldiers in the [gene seed].

Or maybe he himself had indeed endured this muddy world for too long.

Although due to his own outstanding abilities, he has already established a foothold in this magical Middle Ages, and things are getting better and better.

However, his outlook on life and values ​​still make him feel awkward and uncomfortable here all the time.

"Aedirn."

After becoming a little excited, Lan En's tone became unprecedentedly rational and calm.

He said the name of a country and turned his head to the east.

Along the south bank of the Pontar River and across the valley is Aedirn, one of the four northern kingdoms.

"It is the largest grain exporter in the north. This time, Demavi is in a hurry to solve the problem in the Pontar River Valley in order not to affect the river transportation of grain exports."

"And what does this have to do with a legitimate name?"

Iorveth obviously didn't follow Lan's train of thought, he asked in confusion.

The demon hunter also answered clearly.

"A large amount of Aedirn's grain is exported to make money. This is of course nothing in normal times."

"But now we see that the friction between the north and Nilfgaard is constant and the situation is tense. Important grain is still mainly used to make money, rather than being stored as food reserves."

"We are not fools. In this situation, the king and nobles are eager to exchange grain for money, because the money will eventually go into their pockets. But what about the farmers?"

"The farmer can only watch anxiously as more and more of the food that can save his life is sold abroad at a critical moment, while he can only get a disproportionate amount of money."

At the end, Sakia's eyes were thoughtful, while Iorveth's eyes lit up.

Lan En finally said softly.

"In Aedirn, peasant uprisings have happened more than once or twice. Ever since they became the largest grain exporter, they have never stopped."

"As the atmosphere becomes increasingly tense, the farmers will become more and more irritable and restless."

"And by then, even if the next riot involves many non-human races, it will be Aedirn's internal affairs. It is reasonable for the country to decide for itself, right?"

(End of this chapter)