Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1461 1433. News of the War

The Embers left with the [Big Eater Vitality] that Lan had produced in batches.

Stuart will personally take these potions to High Hill Castle to complete the subsequent strengthening process of the Knights of Embers.

After they escort these alchemical potions, they will head directly north to Novigrad to complete Lann's mission: execute all the Eternal Flame members involved in this incident and clean up the scum inside the Dark Alley Gang.

Afterwards, he turned eastward to Aedirn and participated in the internal work of the rebels under Sakia.

Each of the several tasks was time-consuming, laborious, and mentally exhausting. Normally, it was not something that a mere order of knights could handle.

But the Embers Knights had no complaints and no hesitation.

As always, they will never let Lan down.

Lan En also gave them the greatest trust.

On the island of Thanedd, the traces of battle and the mess of fighting left behind that night were quickly cleaned up within a few days.

The originally relaxed and lively atmosphere of the academy is now solemn and silent.

People are talking about the war.

The news spread from the harbor of Gos Velen throughout the city faster than the salty sea breeze.

On the evening of the day that Stuart and his men arrived, Lan heard that the Nilfgaardian army had broken through the river section defense line in the upper reaches of the Yaruga River, which was jointly defended by Rivia and Aedirn.

Undeclared war.

The Nilfgaardians' position was that the enemy attacked them first, and they were responding in a legitimate and equal manner.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Nilfgaardian troops gathered on the river section had to be assembled at least two months in advance. If they were to assemble in secret, the time would have to be doubled, at least four months.

So everyone said that the provocative Aedirn and Rivia soldiers were actually Nilfgaardians in disguise, just to provoke war.

But Lan En had already heard from the person involved in the Gastang Palace at that time - Tishaya, and the two of them were talking in a hug.

The witcher knew that they were indeed soldiers from Aedirn and Rivia, but Emhyr's intelligence should have been obtained long ago from the northern kings' plans, and he just went with the flow.

"The two Rivia fortresses, Spala and Skala, were captured immediately. I heard that they were prepared to hold out for several months, but under pressure from the merchants and guilds in the city, they opened the city and surrendered."

"Because the Nilfgaardians said they would not sack the town if they gave up resistance and paid a ransom."

The poet, who was the best at finding out and spreading news, drank a sip of warm red wine and rubbed his hands while speaking.

It is indeed not an easy thing to walk around the pier and wander around in the sea breeze today.

"Did they keep their promise?"

Lan En asked.

"I have complied."

"Interesting." Lan En sneered.

"In this age filled with hatred and contempt, the gates are opened with just a promise? I remember that craftsmen and merchants never opened the gates of the city walls. They only helped to defend the city. Their own settlements were even built like small castles, with arrow towers and watchtowers."

"Money knows no borders, Lan." Dandelion spread his hands. "As long as merchants can make money, they don't care who the ruler is. Nilfgaardians don't care who pays taxes. Dead merchants can't make money, and they can't pay taxes."

"Let me guess." Lan En pinched his chin with his fingers, and his mind had already constructed a picture of the battlefield situation based on Dandelion's information.

"The one who broke through the defense line upstream of the Yaruga River should be Nilfgaard's Eastern Front. The commander is Menno Kuhoon?"

"Amazing!" Dandelion looked at him in surprise, his mustache rising. "How did you know?"

Lan smiled.

How does he know?

Because it is impossible for a slave-based militarist empire to suddenly repent and do anthropomorphic things just because of a defeat two years ago.

However, Nilfgaard's eastern front actually kept its promise of not looting or massacring.

Then it can only be the commander's problem.

Menno Kuhoon was the only supreme commander left after Lann killed all the senior commanders on the battlefield of Sodden Mountain.

The only reason Lan let him go at that time was that he seemed to be one of the few rational people among the senior military officials of Nilfgaard.

He knew that wars could not be won by violence and slaughter alone, and he knew the importance of politics and reputation, so he had been suppressing the criminal tendencies of his legions.

Now it seems that Lan En's words were indeed engraved in his mind.

"Okay, thank you, Dandelion." Lan En patted the poet's shoulder, "Thank you for helping me get information before you leave."

"It's not a big deal. It's easy for me to handle." The poet raised his eyebrows proudly but declined.

"But, do you really want me to send Geralt to Brokilon? I heard that the tree spirits there kill people without blinking an eye!"

Lann didn't say much, but just put a cloth bag filled with seeds of New World crops in Geralt's saddle bag.

Geralt himself lay drowsily on his horse.

"So with Geralt like this, you won't go, Dandelion?"

The poet opened his mouth, but in the end he straightened his chest with a rather righteous expression, his expression was almost exaggerated to the point of being a little dramatic, and rode on his mare. Geralt's most serious injuries were to his legs, but the most difficult to deal with was his brain.

Lan En has already dealt with his leg and foot problems, and he just needs to rest.

Originally, Lan En wanted to give him [Big Eater Vitality] or other recovery potions of demon hunters.

But these things also need energy to be replenished into the body to bear the body's consumption. And Geralt is now concussed and dizzy, and can't eat anything at all.

After much thought, I decided to send him to a place with abundant vitality so that he can be treated and recuperate at the same time.

As for where the vitality is the most abundant in this magical Middle Ages, the first choice is of course Brokilon, who has a friendship with the witcher and has suppressed an ancient leon-headed spirit that has been to the New World.

By the way, Lan En also wanted to ask the tree elf queen Aisna to try to see if she could better cultivate plants from the New World.

When the portal opens, the change in air pressure makes one feel as if there is a layer of air film in the ear canal.

Lan finally called Dandelion and confirmed some things with him.

"Are you sure you remembered it correctly?" Lan's silver hair fluttered in the airflow of the portal. He asked seriously, "Dandelion, when you gave the swords to Ciri and Geralt, did you give her the dagger?"

"Of course! I'm sure! That dagger feels very comfortable. I'll leave it to Ciri!"

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Dandelion shouted, pressing his hat against the air current, and Lan nodded.

The [Blocking Dagger] strengthened by the [Blessing Gem] of the Fire World can, under normal circumstances, almost be said to be a magic item that continuously releases micro-restorative miracles.

In addition, Ciri always carries with her a small gift made for her by Berengar - a modified version of the hidden blade wrist guard.

Under normal circumstances, she shouldn't have any major problems.

Although he was confident in Ciri's safety because he had seen her as an adult, Lan still couldn't help but care about the girl.

The bard led the way through the portal, and he and Geralt would appear directly outside the Great Forest of Brokilon.

In the following days, news of the war continued to arrive. Even if there were no poets going to the dock to inquire about intelligence, the news still spread everywhere as if it had wings.

Aedirn and Rivia gathered more than 15,000 soldiers and more than 3,000 knights, but were quickly defeated by the Nilfgaardians, and at least one-third of the troops were besieged in Lyria.

The remaining soldiers kept retreating and retreating.

The Nilfgaardians seemed to be on a risk-free and rewarding hunt.

The prey was readily available, defeated soldiers and people could be used as slaves and sold, and the army had been disbanded and no one could protect them.

Later, news came that the free elves and the Nilfgaardian Light Cavalry Corps had defeated the Governor of Aedirn in the Valley of Flowers.

Although the market had previously guessed that the Scoia'tael was supported by the Nilfgaardians, this was the first time they officially stood together to carry out military operations.

It is rumored that the conquered Valley of Flowers will be given to Francesca Findabel by the Emperor of Nilfgaard and become the kingdom of the elves.

In addition to the eastern front, news began to arrive from the other two armies of the Nilfgaardians.

Their western coastal front has directly breached the Kingdom of Weiden and is currently attacking Sidaris.

The Central Front also crossed the Yaruga River.

But unlike the Eastern Front led by Menno Cuhoon, they implemented a scorched earth policy.

The Nilfgaardian army burned and looted everything.

Foundries, huge furnaces, mixing furnaces, zinc foundries, wool mills, malt distilleries
Military and people's livelihood, factory technology, equipment, and even products.

Food, cloth, and livestock in warehouses.

Nilfgaard plundered everything.

Dismantle and then move away.

Emhyr’s orders were simple enough.

He wanted everything that could strengthen the country to be shipped back to Nilfgaard.

However, they did not care about the occupied areas at all. If they became the empire's territory in the future, how would the people there live?

The so-called great empire, unified territory.

It sounds exciting, and even those who don't understand it well may regard it as a progress of civilization, but in essence it is just a trick of conquering and plundering colonies.

The Nilfgaardians only care about their core territories, and the rest of the occupied territories are not considered Nilfgaardians at all.

They are not qualified to talk about the integration of civilizations.

In the following days, the unfavorable war situation in the north became more and more rampant, and even the streets and alleys of Gos Velen seemed to suddenly realize that the war was so close to them.

The Nilfgaardian army is so fierce, and now they have no help from magic, how can they fight against them?

And on a bright and clear afternoon, a team of soldiers appeared at the sealed gate of Aretuza.

That was a team of blue guards.

Foltest's personal guard.

(End of this chapter)