But Queen Mi Wei quickly adjusted her mood. She looked at the snake hunters who were cleaning up the monster's body, and then looked at Lan's lion eyes.
"I suddenly admire your foresight. Are those behind you demon hunters?" Queen Mi Wei said, "Their skills are amazing. I really hope to have a few demon hunters in my territory now."
Lann smiled slightly without saying anything. He waved his hand and put the golden rune sword back into the scabbard behind him.
After confirming Lann's identity, the knights under Queen Miwei also confirmed that the magical sword in his hand was the object of countless knights' dreams. Their eyes were almost always glued to Lann's Sword of the Lady of the Lake until the golden rune on the surface of the sword was completely covered by the scabbard.
Reinforcements from the fortress came rolling in, but stopped awkwardly in front of everyone, as support was no longer needed here.
Lan looked back and saw that his warriors had almost finished cleaning the battlefield. He stretched out his hand and made a "please" gesture to Queen Miwei.
"Your Majesty must be frightened. Why don't you go back to the fortress and rest?"
Queen Mevy also smiled: "Come together, Lannister."
The embarrassed United Kingdom army, the Cintra army that returned with a full load, and the reinforcements that had taken a ride on horseback left the battlefield in an orderly manner and entered the fortress not far away, raising a cloud of dust.
The body of the fork-tailed dragon was taken away, but the ghouls were left behind.
The limbs scattered all over the place squeezed the blood into the soil, and the wind blew up a disgusting fishy smell.
Theoretically, this kind of scene is most likely to attract zombies, but unfortunately, it is a zombie lying here this time.
After a while, crows began to fly in the sky.
Suddenly, the trees in the jungles on both sides of the road shook, and pairs of eyes appeared in the woods observing the noise on the continent, and then disappeared.
No one knew how long the owners of these eyes had stayed here without being discovered. Only when they decided to leave did they show any movement.
The leader of this group of people was a guy wearing a black cloak and brown leather armor.
His face was painted with colorful paints so his true appearance could not be seen, but his pointed ears revealed his identity——
Elf.
They shuttled through the jungle for a long time and soon came to a small camp. In order to hide, the people in the camp did not light a fire, but the atmosphere between the tents was suppressed and boiling.
The human races here are more diverse. In addition to elves, there are also dwarves, halflings and gnomes, with a total population of more than a hundred.
Only humans are missing.
If you want to find a common point among so many races, it is that they all wear decorations made of squirrel fur.
Seeing the leader elf coming back, several elves immediately surrounded him eagerly, asking in a chattering manner whether the plan was going well.
The elf shook his head. No one knew what he said, but a few words were vaguely heard in the wind.
"Failure...Mevi...Henselt...Witcher!"
…
There used to be a saying in the North: "Whoever controls the Pontar Valley controls the entire North."
From this sentence we can get a glimpse of the strategic position of Pontar Valley.
Haji Fortress is the only war fortress in Pontar Valley and the largest military fortress in the entire Northern Kingdom.
Throughout the long course of history, Redania, Temeria, Aedirn, and Kaedwen have all had control over it, and have also gradually lost ownership of it.
Until it became the no-man's land it is today.
The furnishings in such a no-man's land are naturally not very comfortable. But for the demon hunters, such an environment is already a rare comfort.
A hall in the fortress was turned into a living room for marching, with a bed, a desk and a dining table hastily placed there.
Lann was sitting at the desk writing something, the Snake Faction witchers were drinking and chatting around the dining table, and the servants and soldiers were standing guard outside.
The fire in the fireplace burned warmly.
In addition to these people, there is a slender figure looming in the room. She is sitting in front of a drawing board, applying colors and drawing lines.
She had a thin and slender figure, and wore a dark Gothic-style long dress that looked like mourning clothes. She lifted the black veil and draped it behind her head, almost blending into her ebony hair.
Alice, she is painting.
The spacious and warm room, the earl concentrating on his work, the demon hunter taking a rest, and the soul painting with a smile. These seemingly inharmonious elements have reached a delicate balance at this moment.
People who are in it even feel a little comfortable.
Spread out in front of Lan was the [Griffin School Contact Notes], and it was time for him to contact his mentor after a long time.
"Dear teacher, I am writing to you.
I have arrived at Haji Fortress, and am about to attend the Northern Talks that will determine the fate of Cintra. This is a crucial step, and the expectations of those who trust me, those who are loyal to me, and those who follow me are all on me. I have a mission, and it often makes me breathless. "
[Translation]: What a sense of responsibility and justice this disciple has. Do other disciples have such ability and awareness at this age? The Lion Knight of Cintra, who is always shining and confident in the eyes of outsiders, also has moments of confusion and anxiety in his heart, and only appears in front of his teacher for help. So teacher, are you really not going to help your proud disciple?
"I was pleasantly surprised to meet a tortured cat-faction demon hunter, Kaiyan, in Novigrad. I rescued him from the warlock's laboratory and helped him recover his sanity and health. He has now joined my demon hunter cult and is stationed in Novigrad to help me collect information while fulfilling the original duties of a demon hunter, hoping to restore some reputation for his cat-faction companions..."
[Translation]: Does the experience of this cat-school demon hunter feel very similar to yours, teacher? Do you feel empathy and want to come out and meet him? Moreover, the way the cat school saves the school is to enter the world, do you want to learn from it as well?
"At the same time, I also met four demon hunters from the Serpent School, one of whom I had rescued in the White Orchard. I learned that the Serpent School had long been destroyed by Nilfgaard. After learning about the situation in Cintra, they gladly joined my Demon Hunter Cult plan and worked together to make demon hunters great again..."
【Translation】：It is the same school that was destroyed. Teacher, look at their awareness.
"During this journey, I found that the number of monsters appearing is greater than before, and the frequency is higher. This has also been verified by other people in the North. Perhaps something has changed in the outside world, and now is the time when demon hunters are most needed..."
【Translation】：Teacher, please come out soon.
"I hunted two fork-tailed dragons on the way. The decoction made from their mutation-inducing substances will be of great benefit to the Griffin School. After this meeting, I will need to go to Kael Siren to get your guidance. At the same time, I also hope that with your help, my troops can return to Cintra as soon as possible..."
After adding a series of heartfelt greetings, he signed his name.
Lan let out a long breath and moved his stiff neck.
"Lan, you've been sitting there for quite some time, how about having a drink together?"
At the dining table, Kolgrim shouted at Lan.
Lan went over and took the glass: "I'm writing a letter."
"Letter?" Serrit was surprised. "You nobles write letters directly on books?"
Lann chuckled and shook his head, waved his contact notes in front of them, and put them back into the [Inventory] with a flip of his hand.
"This is a unique communication technique of the Griffin School, a magical prop. What I write in this book can be exactly presented in another book thousands of miles away."
Lan did not hide this matter from his colleagues in the Snake School as he did from Yada.
After hearing this, Lei Suo once again said in amazement with a blank expression: "Is it really the Griffin School..."
After being with Lann, they had to endure a little griffin shock from time to time.
"What about you guys? What were you talking about just now?" Lann drank the wine in the glass.
Just now he was concentrating on how to express his "missing" for Geron in the letter, and didn't pay much attention to the conversation with the demon hunter.
"About those soldiers from Kaedwen." Oaks shook his head, looking very indignant.
Demon Hunters have sharp senses, while Snakes, as assassins, are particularly sensitive to other people's eyes.
From the moment they entered the Pontar Valley, the Kaedweni soldiers looked at them with strong hostility and contempt; this hostility became even stronger after they rescued Queen Mevi and the Kaedweni arrived late.
Lann had heard countless bad things about Kaedwen and their king Henselt during his journey. Now that he hadn't seen King Henselt yet, the rumors about Kaedwen were only in name only.
Kaedwen is the most extensive country in the North and the second largest country in the entire continent after Nilfgaard.
However, such a vast territory has not given birth to a sufficiently civilized country. Kaedwen has a cold and ruthless climate, with a large number of vast primeval forests distributed throughout the territory, and the Kaedwen people are also known for their barbarity and vulgarity.
The king of this country, Henselt, is famous for his extreme greed and irritability, and is also known for his hatred of non-human races. He has invested a lot of money and manpower to form a guerrilla force to encircle and suppress non-human races, and is the number one factor in stirring up racial conflicts on the continent.
There are many rumors that the "Squirrel Tale" that is killing humans today was secretly funded by the Emperor of Nilfgaard, and this statement is not without evidence; but even if this is true, King Henselt also played an indispensable role in the fact that the Scoia'tael was able to so quickly gather a group of killers who hate humans to the core.
The Emperor of Nilfgaard was able to invade the North so easily thanks to the various weird kings in the North.
"These past few days, Kaedwen soldiers have come to provoke us from time to time." Kolgrim said sullenly, "To be honest, if I hadn't considered that we are also representing a political force and were worried about causing a conflict, I would have taught those bastards a lesson long ago."
Lan En was happy: "Should I thank you for considering me so much?"
Kolgrim nodded as a matter of course: "You're welcome."
Oaks punched Kolgrim's shoulder in annoyance. "When have we ever encountered the official army before? Even without Lann, you can't fart!"
"Who said that?!" Kolgrim immediately stiffened his neck.
He rolled his eyes, and suddenly pointed at the bald man who had been silent beside him and said, "Ask Letho to lend me his 'Poisonous Silver Sword', and I will let those Kaedwen soldiers have a taste of my power!"
Lei Suo, who was drinking silently, was stunned and shook his head helplessly.
As the current leader of the Snake Clan, he is the most calm and composed, but like all demon hunters, he does not put on airs. Many times, Kolgrim and the others regard Letho as their elder brother, the kind of brother who is like a father.
He had been playing the role of a listener during the drinking conversation just now, but he didn't expect Kolgrim to suddenly pull him out as a shield.
The [Snake Sect Poisonous Silver Sword] that he had just obtained was shining behind him. Leiso, who regarded it as a treasure, naturally would not lend it to Kolgrim casually.
Lann smiled and took the initiative to change the subject and asked Lei Suo: "How does this sword feel?"
A trace of intoxication and enjoyment flashed across Reso's face: "Very good, I really don't know where you got it back from. But I want to thank you again, Lan."
Along the way, Lei Suo has participated in many battles with this sword, especially the one against the fork-tailed dragon at the gate of the fortress. The [Snake School Poisonous Silver Sword] cut through the scales and spine of the dragon-like creature just as easily as chopping down a water ghost. This made Lei Suo even more grateful to Lann.
"This sword is the best quality sword I have ever seen. Even the Silver Griffin Sword my mentor gave me is inferior to it."
Of course, this is in addition to the [Sword of the Lady of the Lake] and [Alice] that Lann is carrying on his back.
Lann said in a joking tone: "I even doubt whether this sword is the sword of your school leader Iva Evil Eye."
Lann had just said this casually, but the snake demon hunter's reaction was beyond his expectations.
Whether it was Letho, Kolgrim, Oaks or Serrit, they all began to shake their heads seriously.
"No, I've seen Master Iwa's sword before, and it's completely different from this one. Perhaps this is the sword of a senior who died outside."
In the eyes of the Snake Clan, this sentence was nothing special, but Lan En heard something different.
"Wait, Leiso, have you ever seen 'Iva Evil Eye', the founder of your school?"
Lei Suo nodded as a matter of course: "Yes."
Then he saw Lann's surprised expression, and after thinking about it, he figured out the problem.
"You have only seen four of us from the Snake Sect, which may have misled you. But in fact, Master Iva is still alive. It was because of him that we were able to survive when Nilfgaard destroyed the Snake Sect. There should be five people in the Snake Sect."
"Are you sure? He was a great master who was active during the Demon Hunter Cult period. How old would he be now if he was still alive?" Lan said in disbelief. "Is he still in Nilfgaard? Why didn't he come to the North with you?"
Facing Lan's question, Reso shook his head: "Although Master Iva is still alive, he set out on a journey alone not long ago. His evil eye seemed to have seen something, forcing him to move towards his goal. That's why he passed the position of mentor to me, and asked me to lead everyone to seek the path to revival of the school."
Kolgrim also chimed in, "That was after I arrived in the North. When I met you, Lan, I was even planning to write a letter back to Master Iva. It was only after I met Letho and the others that I learned that Master Iva had left. I felt regretful for a long time."
The words of the Snake Clan made Lan fall into deep thought.
He admitted that he was greedy.
Ivar Evil Eye. A super mutant who has undergone more demon hunter mutations than ordinary demon hunters because of his body's outstanding drug resistance. A founder of a demon hunter sect that has existed since the time of the demon hunter sect. How strong can such a person be?
And judging from the reverent tone and retellings of Reso and the others, Iva Evil Eye is definitely still in his prime.
Unfortunately, it was too late to win him over. Iva saw something with his evil eye, and he actually abandoned his struggling school and left.
In other words, Lei Suo was indeed powerful, and the Snake Sect was also rare in its cohesion, which prevented the Snake Sect from falling apart.
And judging from the tone of Reso and the others, they even understood Iva Evil Eye's actions and did not feel abandoned by him.
"Did Grandmaster Iva tell you where he was going and what he was going to do?"
"No." Letho shook his head, "But we believe he has reasons to do so."
"So do you want to find him?"
Lei Suo was silent this time. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "I want to."
Obviously, he did have no complaints about the Grandmaster's departure, but those trivial thoughts had always been suppressed in his heart by trust.
Lann could only say: "After we return to Cintra, I will intensify the propaganda for the Demon Hunter Cult, especially the news that the 'Snake Faction is also in the Cult'. If Grandmaster Iva sees this, he will definitely come to find you."
Reso nodded.
The two clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
Kolgrim suddenly thought of something: "Lane, where is the founder of your Griffin School? I heard from Master Iva that he seems to be called 'Elan of Larvik'?"
Lan thought for a moment and said, "I have been a demon hunter for less than two years and have never met Grandmaster Elan. The Siren of Kael was once destroyed by an avalanche created by the warlocks. Grandmaster Elan mistakenly believed that the school was annihilated, so he left in despair and has not been heard from since."
"My mentor, Jeroen, was imprisoned by his warlock father for experiments while he was out on a commission, so he escaped. I rescued him by accident, and then became a demon hunter by a wonderful arrangement of fate."
Lann briefly introduced the current situation of the Griffin School.
To Reso and others who didn't know the specific situation, it seemed that the Griffin School was even worse off than the Snake School.
"What a pity! Master Iva has high praise for Grandmaster Elan. Whenever he mentions him, I am always fascinated by him." Lei Suo sighed, "I have always wanted to see the Griffin Knight that Master Iva mentioned with my own eyes."
Several demon hunters looked at each other in silence, clinked their glasses and drank.
After one round, Kolgrim suddenly thought of something.
"Lan, do you think your Grandmaster Elan is still alive?"
Lann was silent and shook his head. "No one can tell. Maybe. After I spread the news of the revival of the Griffins in Cintra, maybe he will come back."
The topic was too heavy, and the demon hunters looked at each other in silence again and clinked their glasses.
But this atmosphere did not last long.
Soon a burst of joyful cheers broke in, dispelling the wine and silence.
"My painting is done!"
Alice stood up from her chair happily, but soon seemed to realize how rude her behavior was. She immediately covered her mouth with one hand and looked at the witchers at the table apologetically.
This expression on the face of the Gothic young woman, which is full of melancholy and brokenness, really has a unique contrast charm.
In fact, Alice is very happy. She has been in a daze and depressed for who knows how many years, and she has not experienced any emotions other than "sadness" and "pain" for who knows how many years.
Lan walked towards her with a smile and looked at the painting on the easel.
Above are two leaders facing each other from a distance.
One was a mighty knight with golden hair and lion eyes. He looked as young as the morning sun, but also as majestic as a mountain. He was sheathing a glittering rune sword and talking to the person opposite him.
Just from the canvas, one can feel the overwhelming charm of this knight. Anyone who looks at this painting will be immediately attracted by this knight.
Opposite him was a lady wearing gold-studded armor and a crown. Her face was calm, but there was a barely noticeable hint of embarrassment.
Behind them were the knights, the forest, and the corpses of two giant fork-tailed dragons. There were also some other monsters scattered around.
"You said you wanted me to draw a picture as a gift for the Queen, and this scene was the first thing that came to my mind," Alice said softly.
Yes, Alice was there, right next to Lan.
Although Alice is a [Ghost in the Painting], her [Chun] talent gives her a lot of possibilities. In addition to her own portrait, she can actually possess Lann's [Alice] scimitar.
Alice possesses [Alice], which makes sense.
After all, she couldn't always possess a portrait that was inconvenient to carry. Unlike the [Transformation and Sealing Technique], the painting she possessed couldn't be put into the [Inventory].
For this reason, Alice, who was possessed by the scimitar, saw the scene where Lann used his great power to rescue the queen, and reproduced the scene by adding some of her own subjective emotions.
By the way, if Lann wants to use a machete to chop someone, he must tell Alice in advance so that she can remove the possession. This lady is currently unable to adapt to negative distance contact killing.
It cannot be said that Lann knows a lot about art, but under the education of his old butler and the influence of Queen Calanthe during his time as an earl, he has some appreciation ability.
He praised sincerely: "It is a very wonderful work."
Alice lowered her head. "I don't know if my painting is worthy of being a gift for such a diplomatic occasion. I'm afraid it will bring shame to Cintra."
Lann comforted him again and again: "Please don't say that, your artistic attainments are far beyond your imagination."
There is actually a hidden Easter egg in the original game that explains Alice's painting skills.
If the player personally completes Open Sesame, one of Olgierd's three wishes, they will head to the Borsodi Brothers Auction on their way to Borsodi's House.
When the game company set up the auction items, it paid tribute to many artworks from Lann's previous real life. Among them was a painting called "Starry Sky over the Pontar River", and the author's name was "Fanlu".
The name, brushstrokes, color techniques, and even the name of the painter are all tributes to a famous artist and masterpiece - Van Gogh's "Starry Night over the Rhone".
This Fanlu is actually a pseudonym, and his real identity is Alice.
In other words – Alice’s painting skills are at Van Gogh level.
But Alice herself never knew this. She had always only painted as a hobby and had never sold a single painting before her death.
The more Lan looked at the painting, the more satisfied he became.
Alice was more and more satisfied with Lann. What could make her happier than praising the painter's paintings?
"It will take about one to two days for the surface to dry, and about a month for the whole painting to dry."
Lan En frowned slightly when he heard this, and said helplessly: "Such a beautiful painting is indeed worth waiting for. It's just that Queen Mi Wei can't see her for the time being."
But Alice chuckled: "If it were an ordinary painting, I would prefer to wait for it to dry naturally. But since it is a work with a political mission, perhaps doing so will make it have more stories..."
Just as he finished speaking, a bright emerald flame suddenly ignited on Alice's body, and the flame quickly spread over the painting and passed by.
The flames died out quickly.
Seeing Alice smiling and making a "please" gesture, Lane tentatively touched the canvas lightly with his fingertips.
Dry.
"You always have the ability to surprise people, Ms. Alice."
The beautiful spirit gave a ladylike salute: "Not nearly as much of a surprise as you have given me, Knight Lann."
Behind Lann, Kolgrim took a sip of wine and asked Letho, "What are they doing?"
Lei Suo didn't even turn his head: "Just watch."
After a long time, Levin, who was standing guard outside the door, suddenly heard someone calling him from inside the room.
"Levin!"
"Yes! Sir!"
Levin knocked twice and then pushed the door open, waiting for instructions.
"Go and give Queen Miwei a visiting card. I will visit her at dinner time."
This kind of thing should have been done by House, but House has now been thrown into the "temporary steward group" of Haji Fortress by Lane. After all, he is the only one with relevant experience among the people he brought.
Therefore, this kind of temporary diplomatic affairs can only be handed over to Levin for the time being. Lane also plans to train the young people in the small town to become independent talents in the future. This is a real opportunity for young people to train.
"Yes! My lord!" Levin responded in a sonorous voice, pushed back Milva who was peeking into the house, and turned to leave.
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