Lan En was pleasantly surprised when he heard this: "That's great. But according to you, such advanced technology also has strict confidentiality measures. Wouldn't it cause trouble for you if you teach it to me?"

Prince Ofir waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's very expensive, and there's no way to popularize it in the army on a large scale. At most, it can be used to strengthen the guards, so most of the time it can only be regarded as a reflection of the strength of the nobility. Moreover, many alchemists will use this technology to trade after learning it, so there's nothing worth keeping secret."

Prince Ophir showed a sincere look: "Please don't refuse this, Lan. The 'Magic Infusion' technology alone cannot express my gratitude to you. Please accept it!"

Lann returned a sincere look: "Since you insist, it would be impolite for me to refuse. Thank you, Your Highness!"

…

In order to obtain Prince Ofir's "thanks", Lane and his crew need to return to Oxburgh.

But before leaving, Lann still had some other matters to deal with in Novigrad and to make plans for the future.

Two days later, in Novigrad Square, in an abandoned underground bank vault.

This was originally the territory of the Ghost Face Gang, which was affiliated with the Hawthorne family. However, because this gangster family started a riot a few days ago and caused various losses to Novigrad, they have now become a rat crossing the street that everyone wants to kill.

All the properties of the gangster family were also confiscated. This abandoned underground bank vault was one of the properties of the Hawthorne family. It was converted into an underground casino some time ago and now it has been transformed into a small underground meeting room by the Eternal Flame.

All the furnishings in the room had been cleared out, leaving only a round conference table in the middle, with only two people sitting on one side of the table.

One was wearing a plain cloak with his face buried in the hood; the other was wearing an open waistcoat with a chest covered in tattoos.

They are Francis Beran, the "Beggar King" and leader of the Dark Alley Gang who manipulates all beggars, orphans and vagrants, and Carlo "Machete" Varese, the leader of the Black Gold Society who unites most of the non-human races.

They seemed to be waiting for someone.

Apart from the table, the only decoration left in this meeting underground room were dozens of candlesticks. Now they were all lit, making the basement as bright as the ground.

Machete seemed to enjoy this kind of environment: "This is the place to talk. The scene that the warlock created before was more like an underground organization than ours."

The Beggar King uttered a light “huh”.

Machete laughed loudly, not caring about the Beggar King's cold attitude: "Come to think of it, I saw that when there was a riot in the city before, you also sent people to help eliminate the Ghost Face Gang. Did that Lannister also come to find you?"

The Beggar King touched the back of his neck and nodded silently.

They wanted to talk about something else when they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the underground passage.

The sound of footsteps indicated that there were quite a few people coming and they were moving at a fast pace. Soon, another group of people entered the conference room illuminated by candlelight.

The first person to come in was Chapelle, who was very familiar to both Machete and the Beggar King. The security officer of the Eternal Fire had changed into a silver necklace today.

Standing next to him was a blond knight. The Beggar King had seen him before, and Machete could more or less guess his identity after seeing the iconic lion emblem on his breastplate.

"The Lion of Cintra." Kandao chewed on this title that Zoltan had mentioned to him many times. He couldn't help but think of the snake-faction witcher who sneaked into his house that night as if he was in an empty space, and he felt very afraid.

Following behind them were several temple guards and Cintra cavalry, who were obviously their escorts. One of them was a red-eyed warrior wearing light armor, which was particularly eye-catching.

The Beggar King and Machete frowned at the same time. They were invited by Chapelle to participate in the meeting, but they had no idea what the topic was.

When I saw Lann appear, I started to wonder:

Why does the Count of Cintra continue to be involved in Novigrad's affairs?

"Thank you very much for your help during the Ghost Face Gang riot. Novigrad is happy to have 'friendly citizens' like you." Chapelle said his thanks coldly, "Thank you very much for taking the time to come here today."

Machete looked at the soldiers behind Chapelle and Lane and curled his lips. He suddenly missed his bathhouse, where he usually liked to hold meetings because they were "honest" enough and no one carried weapons.

But who made it possible for the Eternal Fire to arrange the meeting today?

"We didn't expect that Hawthorne's son would be even crazier than him. What he did does not represent us." Machete said confidently. He did not let down his guard because of Chapelle's thanks.

The Beggar King pulled his hood down again. "Just tell me what's going on, Monsieur Chapelle. We are not the kind of people who beat around the bush."

After seeing the two's reactions, Chapelle nodded, but suddenly directed their attention to Lann: "Although I invited the two of you today, the one who actually presided over the meeting was not me, but Mr. Lannister."

As he spoke, Chapelle sat down, but not in the main seat, leaving it empty for Lane.

This action again stunned the two leaders of the underground world.

The security officer of Novigrad and the Eternal Flame vacated the throne in his own territory for a foreign count?

Lann smiled, but did not really sit in the main seat. Instead, he and Chapelle sat on the left and right sides and said:

"You two, some of you have met me, and some have not. So I would like to reintroduce myself: I am Lann of Cintra, Lann Lannister Rhaanron."

"The reason why I've come all this way today is mainly to thank you for standing up during the previous riots." Lann said with a smile, "So in return, I want to do you a favor."

What qualifications does this Lannister have to represent Novigrad to thank them for "standing up"? The two leaders of the underground world were stunned again. They looked at Chapelle, but found that his face was normal and he didn't seem to think there was anything wrong.

Things started to become a little complicated.

"First, Mr. Beilan." Lan En turned his gaze to the Beggar King first, "We have met before."

That was not a good memory for the Beggar King.

"'News from the North converges in Novigrad, and news from Novigrad converges in the Beggar King.' I still remember this sentence clearly." Lann smiled, "What surprised me even more is that your sources of information seem to be no longer limited to the North."

The Beggar King shook his head. "I know what you are planning. You want us to help Cintra resist Nilfgaard, right? You think too highly of us. I am just gathering information from the merchants. That is all I know about the south."

Lann spread his hands. "Please don't refuse yet, Mr. Beran. Like I said, I'm doing you a favor. I'm definitely not a selfish person."

"You make a living by intelligence, but in my opinion, your way of obtaining intelligence is too loose and too passive. I want to help you make it more refined and systematic."

Lann said, "Right now you are only getting information from the merchants and travelers who come to Novigrad to do business, and understanding the outside world. Why not turn the passive into the active?"

The Beggar King laughed and said, "You want me to be the ears of Cintra? Let's not talk about why I want to share the current news with you. Do you know who my people are? Homeless beggars, orphans and vagrants, why should they listen to you?"

Lan nodded. "What I want are the homeless and beggars. It's just right for them to blend into the merchant team of Nilfgaard. I believe that not everyone chooses the current life. Having a job to feed themselves is also what they want. And..."

Lann pretended to reach into his bosom, but actually took out a purse from the [Inventory], threw it on the table and said, "I will support them so that they can get two jobs. And when Cintra is restored, I will give them a home. Is this reason enough?"

Machete had been listening nearby, and couldn't help laughing when he saw Lann throwing the money bag: "That's a nice thing to say, but is it just based on this bag of crowns?"

The Beggar King also looked displeased: "Lannister, are you insulting me or my people?"

Lan En was stunned for a moment, then realized that the two people in front of him had misunderstood each other.

So he stood up and untied his purse.

A handful of sparkling diamonds just flowed out of the purse. This was a friendly sponsorship from the Mirror Master.

The machete's laughter was gone.

Give money to the poor and shelter to the homeless.

Looking at the silent Beggar King, Lann continued, "I have heard some rumors that the Beggar King is actually a man of noble character. If you feel that 'accepting funding' hurts your self-esteem, you can understand that I want to hire those poor and wandering people through you and give them jobs. And their wages will be temporarily deposited with you by me."

In the original novel, the Beggar King had helped many people in distress for free. During the witch hunt, he mobilized people to cooperate with Triss to evacuate all the warlocks hiding in Novigrad to peaceful neutral countries.

His identity is the leader of an underground gang, but his character is not simply black. Moreover, this person does have abilities, and his abilities can also play a role for Lann at present.

"So what can I gain?"

"Isn't it enough to change 'News from the North converges in Novigrad' to 'News from the Continent converges in Novigrad'?"

The Beggar King reached out to take the purse and scooped up the diamonds on the table with both hands as if he was picking up sesame seeds that had fallen on the table.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll take your money and run away?"

"I'd like to say that I 'trust my employees,' but I don't think either you or I would believe such childish talk." Lan pointed at Chapelle standing beside him, "So the Eternal Flame will serve as a witness to our cooperation."

He pointed to Kaiyan who followed him into the basement and said, "My spokesperson will also stay in Novigrad to oversee the implementation of our agreement."

The red-eyed cat-style demon hunter smiled kindly at the Beggar King. The Beggar King, who had been kidnapped by the demon hunter once, did not dare to look down on him.

Seeing that the Beggar King agreed to his proposal, Lann then turned back to the machete.

The dwarf was eager to try after seeing the big bag of diamonds.

Seeing Lann reaching into his arms again, this time he didn't take out a purse, but took out... a stack of papers?

Kandao took it with doubt and a look of disappointment; but after seeing clearly what was on the stack of drawings, his expression gradually changed.

"Is this the Mahakam Steel Sword? No, the structure is more complicated... Mahakam Rune Piercing Sword? That's not right either..."

Although Machete was not a professional blacksmith, the sound of blacksmithing echoing in his dwarven blood and the influence of his growing environment still made him inevitably learn a lot of basic knowledge of forging. At this moment, looking at the stack of drawings handed over by Lann, he became more and more frightened.

"No, no, no, this forging style is a bit like the design before the 'Exile Landing' period. It is a lost thing..."

"It's not just the sword... it's also armor and greaves. It's a suit!"

Machete raised his head suddenly, his face flushed with excitement. Even from a businessman's perspective, he knew how heavy the thing he was holding was; if it fell into the hands of the blacksmith, it would only be more unbearable than he was now.

"Lannister...Lord Lannister, what do you want me to do by giving these things to me?"

Thank you for the gift, Mirror Master.

Even though Master Mirror had helped the demon hunter to survive the mutation, Lan had never thought about the above sentence, but at this moment, this sentence really emerged from the bottom of his heart. Sure enough, only when a person leaves completely, he will be appreciated.

"I hope to become friends with Mahakam," Lann whispered. "You can consider these drawings as a gift. I have more."

Machete laughed: "You want to see Elder Hogg?"

Mahakam is where the dwarves live, and Elder Hogg is their de facto ruler. Like many fantasy novels, the dwarves are the largest weapons manufacturers on the continent.

In this world, the dwarves of Mahakam also have the best heavy infantry in the world. In the later North-South War, they sent volunteers to fight with humans. The tightly knit infantry phalanx not only resisted the impact of Nilfgaard's cavalry head-on many times, but also had enough strength to face the heavy cavalry corps!

Lann wanted to try to gain their support in advance and obtain more military power.

That's why he's doing what he's doing now: "I want these blueprints to be the beginning of friendship between Cintra and Mahakam. I just want to meet with the elders. We'll talk more about what happens next."

Machete scratched his beard and said, "I can't go back to Mahakam. This is the situation for both Zoltan and me. But I know more people than he does, so I can help you convey this message to your companions who are still in Mahakam."

Machete's words were not an excuse. Mahakam was an extremely closed and conservative place, but young dwarves yearned for freedom. Therefore, there was a custom: after a dwarf's fiftieth birthday, he could leave Mahakam and experience human civilization for a year. However, if he did not return before the expiration of 365 days, he would be permanently removed from the clan's list.

Lann now knew Cleaver, Zoltan, and Yarpan, all of whom had been expelled from the clan. However, rules were dead, but feelings were immortal, and they could still contact their former relatives and friends to help Lann make connections.

Even though the dwarves do not welcome human visitors, the lost armor forging techniques from the Mirror Master should be enough to serve as a stepping stone.

Machete collected the equipment drawings as if they were treasures.

"Well then." Lane took out a bottle of Towson's specialty red wine, "I think we need a toast at this time."

The two underground leaders, who had reaped great rewards, naturally agreed.

The dwarves didn't seem to like wine very much, but the Beggar King liked it very much.

"Come to think of it." The Beggar King touched the diamond in his arms and suddenly said, "Before, Bishop Hemelfat of the Eternal Flame once suggested that the Eternal Flame and all the underground forces in Novigrad form an alliance. He also laid out a rough framework. I wonder how he is doing now?"

"He died, along with Caleb Manji." Chapelle said coldly, "We will not be an alliance, we just take what we need. The reason I allow you to exist is only because you do not disturb the lives of the citizens, and even effectively help the lowest level people."

The Beggar King was not angry when he heard Chapelle's rude words. Instead, he took off his hood and smiled: "You have indeed changed a lot."

After this, the Beggar King and Machete did not exchange pleasantries with Lan and the others. They left quickly in a businesslike manner.

Then came Chapelle, who came here mainly to take the lead, and would need to patrol the city and appease the people afterwards. The effect of spreading faith recently has been surprisingly good.

Soon, Lann and his group were the only ones left in the underground meeting room.

"Is there something?" Kaiyan suddenly saw Lann turning towards him and asked curiously.

Lan nodded.

After arranging the gang members today, his affairs in Novigrad are settled. After that, we need to take Prince Ofir to Oxburgh, and then hand over Olgierd's mission to Vizimir II.

Yes, besides Mirror Master, Olgierd has another quest that can kill two birds with one stone, and Lann has to get this experience.

After visiting Niubao, we headed towards Haji Fortress.

But Novigrad is very big, and there are still some things that Lann likes that he has not taken away, so Lann wants to take this opportunity to remind Kaiyan of some precautions.

"There are many strange races and humans with special abilities in this city. I want to subdue them all. They include the dream diviners who can independently perform dream divination, other shapeshifters like Chapelle, and even little earth spirits, succubi, and so on."

Lann said with a serious face: "If you encounter them, I hope you can show kindness on my behalf, provided they don't hurt anyone else, instead of killing them hastily for the sake of the bounty. In my eyes, their value far exceeds those tens or hundreds of crowns."

Kaiyan's face was a little tangled, but he still agreed: "You are very different from the princes and nobles I have seen before. You seem to particularly like these messy things... But nobles all have some strange habits. I understand what you mean, don't worry."

Lann shook his head and said, "Kayan, you know my plan for the Demon Hunter Cult. I want much more than that. If the Demon Hunters want to establish a base in Cintra, they must clean up their tarnished reputation. I am doing this now."

"And Novigrad is the largest city in the north, and the news here will spread throughout the entire North. I hope you can reshape the image of the demon hunters here and change the prejudice of the world, even if it's only a small part."

Hearing Lann's words, Kaiyan's expression became a little unnatural: "In fact, the reputation of the demon hunters was mostly ruined by us cats."

Lann of the Griffin School smiled and said, "Of course I know, so I hope to let the world see a different cat."

Kaiyan thought about it. He could agree to Lann's previous request to show mercy to the non-human race after thinking for a while, but he really didn't have enough confidence in the current expectation of breaking the prejudice.

"This will be difficult, Lann. The reputation of the witchers is not only due to our own loss, but also to the warlocks, nobles, and politicians who are adding fuel to the fire and making things worse. Otherwise, you griffins would not have ended up like this."

Lann knew what was going on: "So this time I asked the Eternal Flame to help. With them, your operation will be much smoother. Moreover, I have another helper..."

Kaiyan looked curious when he heard this.

…

In the southern courtyard of Novigrad, in the Foxon Theater.

The actors are rehearsing the play in full swing. The troupe suffered a disaster and was almost disbanded. Even with the consolation of the eternal flame, it is still a drop in the bucket for them who want to get back on track as soon as possible.

The condolence money can only allow them to maintain basic living and avoid being displaced, but it is far from enough to restore their former prosperity.

The old members of the troupe, which had lost a large number of actors, even suggested that they merge into other troupes. But in the end, the troupe's star, Irina Renard, overruled all objections and retained as many members of the troupe as possible.

Not only that, because of her performance in the previous riots, Irena was also elected as the leader of the Foxen Theater.

When Lan and Kaiyan arrived here, the troupe was training new interns. Not far away, they could see people rehearsing a new play.

Almost half of the actors were dressed as knights, wearing theatrical armor with lion emblems, waving wooden swords and chanting lines loudly. Not far away, there were many children playing and fighting, and the leader of the children had golden hair.

"I was once thrown out by a lion!" This sentence earned him the envy and support of all the children in the troupe.

Kaiyan happened to hear this and couldn't help laughing out loud.

When Yina saw Lann, who stood out from the crowd, her eyes immediately lit up. She casually said a few words to the people around her and then trotted over.

Looking at the bunch of actors in front of him who looked like monkey versions of himself, even with Lan's current facial expression control, he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

"Ms. Irina, although I sponsored you because I wanted you to help me create a few plays, but now these..." Lan pointed to the actors who were rehearsing, "are really a bit too surprising for me."

A few days ago, Lann had come to the theater under the pretext of looking for Dudu, and used his money to help them through the difficult times. Drama, as an art form, can rise to the level of a royal banquet or sink to the street square, and can also cleverly mix private work into it, making it a perfect means of publicity.

When Lane was suppressing the riot, he had already planned to bring this troupe under his command, and the Foxon Troupe was eager to do so and they hit it off immediately.

In response to Lann's reaction, Irina covered her mouth and chuckled: "These were originally planned plays. Cintra, Temeria, Redania, wherever you go, you can leave deeds worthy of praise. You are simply a natural protagonist in poetry and drama. I don't know about other places, but half of the poets and theaters in Novigrad have to thank you for supporting them."

Lann chuckled.

After the greetings, Yina got to the point: "Are you here today to share some stories other than rumors to enrich our repertoire?"

In terms of social interaction, Yina is very smart. Lane must have a profit after funding the troupe, but what can the troupe do? Only acting, writing scripts according to the requirements of investors and then performing.

However, Yina took the initiative to say that it was Lan who provided stories to help the troupe enrich its repertoire. Then the situation changed from the troupe helping Lan to Lan helping the troupe, and the communication became very comfortable.

Lane loves to communicate with smart people.

Currently, there are very few artists on the continent who are willing to promote The Witcher. The most famous one is Geralt's best friend Dandelion. Ninety percent of the credit for the famous nickname of "White Wolf" belongs to him.

At this moment, Lann began to tell Yina the stories of the once magnificent demon hunters that he knew.

The story of a series of betrayals in which the cat school backstabbed the wolf school, and then was backstabbed again; the inspirational story of a scoundrel from the lion and scorpion school who was enlightened in Toussaint and devoted himself to religion; the sad story of a pioneer from the griffin school who slayed a dragon but was killed by human greed. There are many more unknown stories of the glory and sadness of the demon hunters...

These stories full of twists and turns and great tension made Yina fascinated.

"But these stories lack the necessary elements to become the 'finale.'" Although the stories are good, Yina gave a professional opinion against it, "They can make people sigh, but it is difficult for people to be happy and discuss them spontaneously. We need stories that happen around us, or stories that are immersive enough."

Yina's eyes sparkled. "The best stories are those that can be spread on the streets and in taverns. Love and swords are eternal themes - for example, you."

"There will be a story happening around us soon." Lan pointed at Kaiyan.

After a series of subsequent discussions, the themes of Lane and Kaiyan will become the main focus of the Foxen Theater in the future.

The themes of Lann's "Knight Princess", "Battle to Destroy the Country", "Journey to Restore the Country" and other themes are the mainstays of the show; Kaiyan completes commissions from time to time in the city and provides materials to the troupe in real time, striving to create the image of "Our Good Neighbor Demon Hunter" and related stories.

Before leaving, Lann specifically told Kaiyan: "Don't care about money. If you meet a poor family, try to waive the reward. The money I leave you is enough for you to squander for a long time. If it's not enough, go to Chapelle or contact me for it."

"Are we going to be like this from now on?"

Lann thought for a moment and said, "At least it should be like this for now."

"What if someone refuses to pay or even blackmails me?" Kaiyan knew how unreasonable people were in this era.

Lann said he had been prepared: "'Lannister, a debt must be paid'. Go to Chapelle, he will treat you as a pagan."

The cat-faction witcher suddenly became a little excited after hearing this. Should he take the initiative to find a rogue or something to practice with?

Seeing Kaiyan's suddenly eager expression, Lan rubbed his brows with a headache.

In fact, in terms of choice, it would be more stable to leave a more stable snake-faction demon hunter in Novigrad, such as Kolgrim.

But they were not happy about it. Only Kaiyan, who was contracted by the [Follower] panel, was willing to accept their request. And only when the [Follower] completed the task would he share the experience with them.

But Kaiyan is a rational cat, and he has the [Follower] panel, the Eternal Flame, and the Theater Troupe to help look after him, so nothing unexpected should happen... right?

I wonder what the reputation of the witcher will be like when I come to Novigrad next time.

Lan shook his head and prepared to leave to deal with his last business in Redania.

…

Two days later, beef burger.

The Cintra cavalry rolled in and stopped at the outer city of the academy.

As if it was just yesterday, Dijkstra was waiting at the city gate in colorful silk clothes, and came to greet Lann at the same time. It was obvious that he had already received news of Lann and his group's whereabouts.

"Compared to last time, there seem to be a few fewer people behind you." Dijkstra looked at the cavalry behind Lann.

Lane's face was serious: "They got a soldier's end."

Some Cintra cavalrymen died in the battle against the Wild Boar Army.

"I'm so sorry." Dijkstra bowed his head politely and observed two seconds of silence.

Then he looked at the newly appeared Lei Suo and others in the team, pretending to be curious: "But there seem to be a lot of new faces?"

Lann nodded. "It's reasonable for me, a count, to have a few followers, right?"

Dijkstra looked at the amber snake eyes of the demon hunters and smiled: "Of course."

Lann paused, also showing a curious look, and suddenly asked: "Why didn't I see Ms. Philippa this time?"

Indeed, at this moment, there was nothing on Dijkstra's shoulders, and there were no birds in the sky.

Dijkstra showed a surprised look: "Lord Lannister knows Lady Philippa? Have you met her?"

The last time Philippa and Lane had something to do with each other, it was a secret, and both parties tacitly kept it a secret.

But others didn't know, so how could Dijkstra not know? Moreover, Lane and Philippa had included "asking Dijkstra to help" in their conditions.

"You don't know whether I have met her or not?"

"Lord Lannister, please do not speak words that I do not understand." Dijkstra said, "But if you want to visit Lady Philippa, it is not convenient now. She is not with His Majesty the King in the Bull Fort, but in the court of Tretorg. After all, you know - when the King is away, the advisor must stay at home."

Lann raised his eyebrows: "It seems that your majesty trusts Ms. Philippa?"

Dijkstra laughed: "Of course."

The two walked and talked, and Dijkstra led Lane back to the reception room where he had lived before.

He showered and changed his clothes as usual to wash off the dust on his body. However, thinking about meeting Vizimir II soon, Lann suddenly had an idea:

"Milva, come in for a moment."

Before Lan En finished speaking, the maid rushed in. She had obviously been waiting outside the house for a long time: "My Lord Earl, do you need me to help you bathe?"

Lann's face darkened. "I have prepared a gift for the king. Send someone to the market to buy me some wrapping materials."

Milva retreated again with a look of disappointment.

After a while, there was a knock on the door, and the maid brought back what Lan wanted.

After completing these, Lann waved away the waitress who looked even more disappointed, took out two things from the [Inventory], and began to decorate the gift he had prepared.

The king seemed to really care about the academic development of Niubao. He waited until sunset before sending his butler to meet Lann.

He was still warming himself by the fire, with his son serving him as wine.

The only difference was that there were half as many knights serving as guards around him as before, and they looked at Lann with more vigilance.

The majestic and dignified king and the nervous and alert knight, the two types of people in the room formed a sharp contrast.

The little prince Radovid was at a loss. After Lann came in, he stared at him without moving his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Welcome back, Lannister." Vizimir II raised his head and immediately saw the gift in Lann's hand. "What is this?"

"I got this artwork by chance when I saw it in Novigrad. It is said to be from the collection of the Everec family."

Lan En smiled and said, "I don't dare to take the property under your name, so I brought it back and planned to return it to its original owner."

Vizimir II shook his head. "It's hard for you to say 'gift' so euphemistically. Originally, this kind of thing should be handed over to the butler, but things have come to this - Rado."

The prince heard the king's call and stepped forward to take the long, flat package from Lann's hand.

“Is this a painting?”

"Yes."

Facing the king's question, Lan nodded. This is a painting, a painting brought out from Everec Manor, a painting made by Alice.

It is also a vehicle through which the soul in the painting can travel.

Radovid's eyes were full of curiosity, but he still had to observe etiquette in front of his father, so he had to put the painting aside for the time being.

Vizimir II suddenly thought of something and waved his hand, and a butler came forward. After hearing the king's whispered order, he hurried out and returned with a painting a moment later.

"This painting is called 'The Lion and the Brave Redanian Soldier' ​​​​and was presented to me by a painting teacher from Niubao." Vizimir II smiled. "It shows you and my soldiers fighting against a monster that suddenly appeared on a transport ship - you seem to call it a dragonfly monster, right?"

Lann paused with a smile on his face and took the painting. It was indeed a reproduction of 90% of the way he and his group fought against the dragonfly monster at that time. The only difference was that the Redanian soldier in the painting was passionate and now jumped off the boat with a determined look on his face.

initiative.

"The brave Redanian soldiers used themselves as bait to lure the monster out of the water and protect the merchants on the transport ship. The relevant poems and literary works have spread throughout Oxburgh." Vizmir said meaningfully, "I like this painting very much. So I give it to you as a return gift."

This was obviously done by the poets and artists on the ship at the time. Lan admired their artistic attainments in his heart and bowed slightly to Vizimir II: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Vizimir II raised his chin slightly, ended the greetings, and got down to business.

"I heard about what happened in Novigrad. I didn't expect such a big mess to happen. It turns out that a religious organization cannot really manage a city. I plan to take Novigrad back from the Eternal Flame."

Vizimir II looked Lann in the eye and asked, "Lannister, what do you think?"

It would be a miracle if you could take it back. After your son comes to power and until your death, the city will still be filled with eternal fire.

And why do you always ask me about things happening in your country?

Lann said calmly: "I may have misunderstood... I always thought that Novigrad was the territory of Redania. Now it seems that this is not the case?"

There was silence for a while, until Vizimir II chuckled and said, "You are right."

But he quickly straightened his face again: "How do you get along with Chapelle?"

Lann sighed. "It's awkward. He's very cold and arrogant, and he won't listen to you. He only provided information in response to your instructions, but he was unwilling to send soldiers to help. As a result, I had a direct conflict with Olgierd and lost a lot of manpower."

At this point, Lann showed his genuine regret: "They are all warriors who fought against the Nilfgaardians. I didn't expect them to die in a place like this."

The confrontation with the wild boar army and the subsequent monster strength of Olgierd caused Lann to lose a lot of manpower. Lann only brought out such an elite team, and one less death was one less.

But how can there be no deaths in war? Especially those who are destined to fight on the battlefield.

"I'm sorry, they died for me," Vizimir II consoled him, "I will pay their pensions."

Lann shook his head. "They are my people, and I should take care of their affairs after death. If you want to have mercy on them, I just hope that their stories can be remembered by people. The dead should not be forgotten."

Vizimir II did not comment on Lann's request.

"Where is Olgierd? Is he dead?"

Indeed, the body was not intact.

Lann shook his head: "I killed his wild boar army, but I just drove him away."

Vizimir II remained calm, but Prince Radovid frowned deeply.

"Why? I thought swords had no eyes."

Lann said sincerely: "No matter what he did, he is a noble after all, and he is your subject. Even if he committed a crime, he should be judged by you. I have no right to lynch him. So I only killed his wild boar army and ensured that he would not cause you trouble as before."

"Where is he now?"

"In the hands of the Nilfgaardians."

Vizimir II was stunned.

"With your eyes and ears, you must know that the previous riot in Novigrad was caused by the Nilfgaardians. Olgierd reached an agreement with them. The last time I saw him, he seemed to have sneaked onto a Nilfgaardian ship."

Lan was outraged: "He's a traitor!"

Radovid, who had been listening, looked confused and didn't seem to react to what Lann said.

Vizimir II closed his eyes in pain: "The Everec family, after the founding of the country... I didn't expect that they would turn to the south now."

"Imran!"

Hearing the king's angry shout, the royal butler in the house immediately stepped forward.

"Go and call Count Dijkstra over here. I want him to draft a document immediately to announce it to the whole nation. The evil deeds of the Everec family must serve as a warning to everyone!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The system prompt sounded at this moment——

[Mission - Fairness and Selflessness - Completed]

Lann gave a hidden smile.

As if he was really angry about the betrayal of his hero, Vizimir II took a long time to calm down. Then he looked at Lann and said softly: "Lannister, thank you for helping me discover this cancer in time."

"We are friends, this is what I should do."

The prince obediently poured wine for Lan at his father's suggestion, and both the host and the guests were in great joy.

"The trip to Haji Fortress is on the agenda, and I'll be leaving in a few days. Do you want to come with me?"

Lann had spent nearly a month in Novigrad, and now the day of the Northern Talks was approaching.

Haji Fortress is located at the border of the four major countries in the north. If we set out from Niubao now, we can arrive there a few days before the meeting starts.

"Don't bother you, we plan to go on our own."

"Okay." Vizimir II did not try to persuade him to stay. "But be careful on the road. According to my intelligence, things are not peaceful recently."

Lan asked doubtfully, "The southerners are attacking again?"

"No, I heard there are many more monsters." Vizimir II shook his head, "Water ghosts, ghouls, and other things. Those dirty things that have been in the forest for years have also run out, and the city guards in many places have begun to ask for help."

"But I heard that there seem to be a few more demon hunters in your team? If you add yourself, then there's probably nothing to worry about."

The king joked, "If possible, I would like to borrow a witcher from you."