I don't know when it started to rain heavily outside the fortress.

The patter of rain on the window panes made Lan look up. He thought he heard the eerie, shrill cries of ravens and crows, but it was only the wind and the rain.

The conference room of the fortress was simply tidied up, with a conference table in the middle that was a size suitable for everyone to keep a distance while allowing them to communicate clearly with each other.

But the attitude of the participants was as if the conference table was redundant.

Lan looked at everyone quietly, most of whom he had already seen.

Foltest, the ruler of Temeria, stood away from the conference table and leaned against the window, showing his handsome and noble profile to everyone.

Mivi, the queen of Lyria and Rivia, fiddled gloomily with the huge ruby ​​on her necklace, and her beautiful, plump lips twisted from time to time.

Only the Lord of Redania, Vizimir II, sat obediently on his chair, his elbows on the table, as if thinking.

Everyone was silent.

Lan turned his head again and looked at the remaining two kings whom he had not yet met.

Directly across from Lann's table sat Henselt, the Kaedwen king, a man with a bandit-like beard. His movements were the same as Lann's, and his piercing little eyes observed the other participants in the meeting with scrutiny.

King Demavere of Aedir was lying in an armchair, with a wine glass on his belly, staring intently as if he was judging the material of the glass.

Everyone was silent.

After a long time, King Henselt, who had the most barbaric temperament, said dissatisfiedly: "You went to great lengths to gather everyone here, but no one said a word. What's the meaning of this? Now that everyone is here, they must have something to ask for. In my opinion..."

He suddenly pointed his finger with a huge gem ring at Lan En, and narrowed his eyes like a thief: "You, a kid I have never met. You have been staring at everyone since the beginning. You must be someone with ideas. You start by telling me what you think!"

Henselt's voice attracted the attention of all the kings and queens, as if it had finally awakened these monarchs who had been silent in their own worlds.

Lan raised an eyebrow.

Looking at this group of powerful leaders with a large number of troops under their command, Lann sorted out his words and showed an embarrassment.

"First of all, please allow me to pay my respects to you, Your Majesty Henselt. Your reputation has spread far and wide, and seeing you in person is worth seeing."

Lan stood up and bowed slightly to Henselt, who was standing opposite him, then to the left and the right.

"Your Majesties present here are all great rulers who guard a region, and are powerful figures who can change the situation in the North with just a thought. As for me—"

Lan pointed at himself and said, "I am just an earl, and I have just come of age. It is my honor to be in the same conference room and sit at the same table with you. Don't talk about your thoughts. I don't even know why your majesties invited me here and what the purpose of this meeting is..."

"So." Lann smiled modestly, "It's not that I'm trying to shirk responsibility, but I really don't have any ideas - or rather, I'm here to listen to your majesties' ideas and learn."

After finishing speaking, Lann bowed slightly to the majesties present again and sat back in his chair, maintaining a polite smile throughout the whole process.

Henselt's expression changed as if he had eaten a fly.

Foltestai, who had been admiring the rain outside the window and turning himself into a beautiful scene, finally pulled himself out of the background. He snorted coldly, seeming to be extremely dissatisfied with Lann:

"You are much more talkative than Calanthe."

"Okay, Henselt, Foltestai." Vizimir II shook his head in a thoughtful manner, "Don't embarrass the young man. He shouldn't have spoken at the beginning of the meeting, and the number of times he can speak during the entire meeting is limited. Let him be silent until it is appropriate for him to speak."

The smile on Lann's face turned into a grateful one.

"So let me start the discussion," Vizimir II said. "There's no need to explain the purpose of this meeting. There's nothing else that would bring everyone here together. Since everyone is here, no matter what their stance or demands are, they must want to solve the problem and come up with something."

"We are gathered here today for one thing and one reason only—Nilfgaard!"

Vizimir II spoke slowly.

Lan and Miwei paid close attention to his words. Foltstad chuckled and turned his head back. King Demavi of Aedirn sipped the wine in his glass.

And Hensaid of Kaedwen laughed disdainfully: "We have already let the Nilfgaardians see the consequences of provoking us at Sodden Mountain. Don't threaten us with the Nilfgaardians, Vizimir, and don't spread sensational arguments."

“We beat them to a pulp at Sodden. We not only broke their army, we broke their morale. It’s said that Emperor Emhyr disapproved of the large-scale invasion, and that the attack on Cintra was actually by factions opposed to him. I don’t know if that’s true—I only know that if they won, Emhyr would have applauded and rewarded them.”

"But after the Battle of Soden, he suddenly became the one who opposed the military action, and everything that happened before became an act of disobedience by his marshals. Then heads fell and blood flowed on the guillotine."

Henselt raised his head. "So, with civil unrest in Nilfgaard and almost all the important military officers dead, who can Emhyr send to invade the North? NCOs?"

Vesemir II was not annoyed by the barbarian interrupting his thoughts. He spoke slowly and calmly: "But you still came, Henselt, right? So you must have a request, which made you, a proud person, willing to move your ass all the way to this war fortress - unless you ran so far just to laugh at us. Are you ashamed to say it out loud? Or do you have to use a child - a Lannister - to dare to speak?"

King Demavere of Aedir sat up in his couch, seeming to enjoy seeing Henselt being scolded.

And this is indeed the case. Aedirn is a large agricultural country in the north, famous for its fertile land and developed industrial cities, which makes the neighboring Kaedwen jealous. Since Demawi took the throne, dozens of small and medium-sized wars have broken out with Henselt.

Even outside the Haji Fortress, there might still be soldiers from both countries eyeing the situation covetously, ready to draw their swords if they disagree.

After hearing Henselt's one-sided evaluation of Nilfgaard, Demavell retorted bluntly: "If you really believe the rumors of civil unrest in Nilfgaard, then you are too stupid. I am even ashamed of myself - because I have confronted such a fool as you for so many years."

“After the death of the old Nilfgaardian marshals, the army will be led by young and talented officers. They have been trained by Emhyr for a long time. They have been waiting for such an opportunity for many years. It is the old marshals who have blocked their way to promotion and military power.”

"And as far as I know, those deceased old marshals also pretended to obey Emhyr's orders but actually disobeyed them. So this was not a civil strife, but a purge. Now Nilfgaard is more cohesive, and I even suspect that the defeat of Sodden Hill was part of his plan."

"They now value flanking tactics, long-distance cavalry raids, high-speed infantry marches and landing operations. They use concentrated attack tactics to crush the enemy's offensive. They also use the latest siege technology instead of relying on magic with too much uncertainty. We must not underestimate them. I even suspect that they intend to cross the Yaruga River and launch a real thunder offensive."

Queen Miwei tightened her hand around the ruby ​​necklace, and this sentence touched her spirit. Because across the Yaruga River was her United Kingdom of Leiria and Livia.

"Ha, you're talking to me about military matters, Demave!" Henselt stood up abruptly. "You've never gotten the upper hand in our battles so far!"

“Across the Yaruga? You must be kidding. If we can’t control the river mouth and the riverbank and our flanks are threatened, then Emhyr won’t be able to ensure the safety of his army’s supply lines once we cross the Yaruga. How can we march quickly and use cavalry to raid? When their famous cavalry eats most of their horses, we can have a repeat of Sodden! Damn it, I hope they cross the river!”

Hearing this, Queen Mi Wei finally couldn't help but join the discussion.

"What if the Nilfgaardians don't cross the Yaruga and just sit and wait?" She said little, only posing one question: "Let's think about this: Who is better off? Them, or us? Who can wait, and who can't?"

Vizimir II, Miwei, and Demave all focused their attention on Henselt.

Demave sneered, "Yes, yes. Emhyr unified the South, but the North is not a monolithic entity. As long as there is a draw on the front line, there could be unrest at any time. I bet Henselt will take action."

面对这种指控，亨赛特丝毫不感到恼怒，反而是耸了耸肩膀露出不怀好意的笑：“既然你已经这么说了，那我不这么做的话似乎白白受了你的污蔑了。”

见到两位有宿怨的国王开始针锋相对，维兹米尔二世不得不再次出声：“米薇跟平时一样，话不多，但每句都一针见血。恩希尔有大把时间，我们却没有。他只用弄松山顶的一颗石子，然后静静等待山崩就好。”

他先是夸赞了米薇女王，随后又转向亨赛特：“而这也是你所烦恼的东西，对吧？你也是被内乱搅得焦头烂额的人之一，如果你真的想要解决这个问题，那就不要再说气话，搅乱会议了。”

亨赛特又冷笑了一声，那好似盗贼的小眼睛几乎眯成了一条缝，随后脸上的表情终于变得严肃了。

至于之前所说的话到底是伪装还是真情实感，这一点在场的其他国王是真的猜不出来。

“我今天来这里的目的只有一个。”亨赛特说道，“松鼠党！”

“他们在科德温成群结队地出没，我抓住了几个进行了审讯。我相信他们背后是有恩希尔资助的。”

“你们中的一些人可能会觉得松鼠党现在还只是科德温的事情，但是事情一旦牵扯到了尼弗迦德……嘿嘿，那就大不一样了。百花谷还有自由的精灵，玛哈坎还有矮人和侏儒，布洛奇隆还有树精，而诺维格瑞的非人种族更是格外地多。这将会是一场盛大的内战！”

维兹米尔二世问：“所以亨赛特你的意见，是先肃清北境内部的非人种族，然后再谈对付尼弗迦德的事情？”

“完全正确。”

完全秉承了科德温一直以来的国策。如果说人类对于猎魔人的偏见来自于猫学派，那么北境非人种族对于人类的仇恨就主要来自于科德温了。

一直置身事外的弗尔特斯泰终于不再展示他高贵的侧脸，加入了讨论。

泰莫利亚的国王说道：“我们可不能让你肆意妄为，玛哈坎是泰莫利亚的领地，矮人是我的臣民。”

“你能够指挥他们为你而战吗？”

弗尔特斯泰满不在乎地回答：“至少他们交税，很多税。”

兰恩也终于说了一句话：“布洛奇隆的树精也不是敌人，她们和辛特拉现在是朋友——而且据我所知，松鼠党之中尚没有出现过树精。”

“当然，我不否认松鼠党确实是心腹大患。谁也不能够容忍一致对外的时候有自己人在背后捅刀子。而且让松鼠党继续这么闹下去，只会让原本对人类友好的非人种族变成敌人。这对于在座的诸位陛下——都是损失。”

“我很乐意帮助亨赛特陛下肃清松鼠党。”兰恩说道，“只是在面对非人种族灾祸的时候，我们要分得清：谁是我们的敌人，谁是我们的朋友。朋友是要拉拢的，只有敌人才是要打击的。”

德马维看了兰恩一眼，似乎惊讶于这个年轻人居然真的能够说出真知灼见来。

不过只要是和亨赛特针锋相对的话题，德马维国王似乎有源源不绝的参与积极性。

“松鼠党是你的问题，亨赛特。但是上升到战争层面，他终究不过是尼弗迦德对我们敌后的骚扰方式之一。你要我们全力对付松鼠党而放过正面的尼弗迦德敌人那无异于让我们舍本逐末。而且尼弗迦德的手段可不仅仅是松鼠党这么简单。”

德马维站起来，环顾四周，尤其是在维兹米尔二世、弗尔特斯泰的脸上停顿了一会。

“正如维兹米尔所说的，尼弗迦德只负责从山上推下一块石头，而松鼠党也不过是山崩中的一块石子罢了，眼前还有其他的危机。”

“维兹米尔、弗尔特斯泰，你们的国家和南方的贸易频繁，我相信你们的领地之内肯定也出现了和我类似的情况。”

“有谣言说：尼弗迦德占领区的村庄和城镇里，农夫和手艺人活得更好，他们更自由、更富有，商人行会也享有更多特权……”

有着多个港口贸易城市的瑞达尼亚和泰莫利亚国王微微点头，他们对于这种谣言早就有所耳闻。

“我们的市场就快要被尼弗迦德生产的商品淹没了。我听说在下索登，他们的货币已经彻底取代了北方的流通币。如果我们袖手旁观，那么就只能够挤在北方的角落里面慢慢死掉。因为——听好了——尼弗迦德人会阻止我们往南，可我们必须发展和扩张，否则我们的子孙后代很快就将无处容身！”

在场众人沉默不语。瑞达尼亚的维兹米尔重重地叹了口气，拿起桌上一只高脚杯，喝了一大口。

在这漫长的沉默中，雨水不断拍打窗棂，呼啸的狂风也不时摇晃着窗扇。

“尼弗迦德的手段远不仅如此。”弗尔特斯泰说道，“在我的领地，最近不知道从哪里冒出来一批牧师、传教士、占卜师和神秘主义者，都在宣扬世界末日的到来。他们最近传道的主题是：有一位救星会从南方到来。南方！雅鲁加河对岸！”

“白焰，”德马维喃喃道，“白霜将会到来，其后是白光。随后世界将借由白焰和白女王而重生……我也听过这些。这是对精灵女先知伊丝琳妮·爱普·艾维尼恩的预言的篡改。我下令逮捕了在温格堡集市散播这些预言的牧师，审问他的人礼貌而详细地问他：恩希尔究竟付给他多少黄金……可那牧师只会胡扯什么白焰和白女王……直到他们生命的最后一刻。”

“小心，德马维。”维兹米尔皱起眉头，“别让他们成了殉道者。这正是恩希尔想要的。只要你愿意，大可以抓走所有尼弗迦德人，但别碰牧师，后果太难以预料。他们依然受到尊敬，且对民众有相当大的影响力。我们不能让城镇出现暴乱，也不能对治下的农夫宣战。”

“见鬼！”亨赛特一拍桌子，“别这么做，别冒那个险，别这样，别那样……我们聚在这儿，难道是为讨论什么事不能做？我们应该先确定应该做什么！”

“我从一开始就在说这个。”维兹米尔站起身，“我提议行动。”

“什么行动？”

“我们能做什么？”

沉默再次降临。狂风呼啸，窗扇在城堡的墙壁上不断摇晃。

谁都不愿意开这个口，众人先是把目光转到了兰恩的身上。然后又到了米薇女王的身上。

“你们都看我做什么？”

“我们在欣赏你的美貌，米薇。”亨赛特喝着杯里的酒，嘟囔道。

“同意。”维兹米尔附和道，“米薇，我们也都知道，没有你解决不了的问题。你有女性的直觉，你是位睿智的——”

“别再恭维我了。”莱里亚女王在膝盖上十指交扣。

“我总结一下吧：亨赛特的诉求是肃清领地内的松鼠党，德马维、维兹米尔、弗尔特斯泰你们则烦恼于领地内的流言和经济贸易，但是究其原因——这一切都是尼弗迦德的错。”

“而我也有诉求，我的联合王国现在就在和尼弗迦德对峙，我万分希望脱离这个局面。”

“我们有太多的诉求，也有太多想要做的事情。那如果我们将它们重新梳理一下，我想诸位回忆这样一件事事情：局势到底是从什么时候变成现在这个样子的？”

这句话把所有人的视线重新转回到了兰恩的身上。

“在辛特拉沦陷之后。”

兰恩知道，现在是他说话的时候了。

“所有人都说出了自己的诉求，只有你一直沉默着。”弗尔特斯泰冷笑道，“虽然我们不用猜都能知道你的目的，但是我还是想听你说说看——你想怎么劝服我们支持你？”

兰恩深吸一口气，看着正襟危坐的维兹米尔二世、面色不忿的亨赛特、眼神戏谑的弗尔特斯泰、表情关切的米薇。

“诸位陛下都有着各自的困扰，都希望获得解决。但是这些纷杂的问题其实都只有一个源头——那就是尼弗迦德。”

“但是哪怕我不是诸位一般的君主，也知道牵一发而动全身的道理，如果让诸位陛下亲自下场对付尼弗迦德——无论以什么形式——势必会造成损失。刚刚经历过索登山之战没多久的战士们也都急需休养生息，回复士气。”

兰恩说道：“而我们辛特拉不同，辛特拉天生就是就是尼弗迦德最坚定的反对者。原本我们是北境的门户，而现在我们愿意作为北境的先锋，将尼弗迦德人赶回南方！”

“可是现在的辛特拉只剩下布洛奇隆了，虽然你们和树精似乎关系不错，但是那些绿皮的女人可不会离开森林为你们而战。”

"We have other help, and we have enough confidence in recovering Cintra." Lann replied, "I naturally hope to get your support in terms of manpower, just like the Battle of Sodden Mountain to form a northern coalition. But if that is not possible, I hope to get financial, technical, and equipment support. Or your majesties can involve Nilfgaard on other fronts, so that they have no time to respond to Cintra's counterattack."

"At the very least, we must issue a joint statement or call to make the fight against Nilfgaard the common wish of all the people in the North!"

Vizimir II promptly supported: "Everyone. We need Cintra, a free, independent and strong country. It can become a steel gate and serve as a barrier in the north of Nilfgaard, rather than a scorched earth for the Nilfgaard cavalry to gallop on!"

Henselt frowned. "Is it possible to rebuild Cintra like that? Calanthe is gone."

"The lioness is gone, but now there is a male lion." Mi Wei also supported, "Don't test the young man anymore. He has already proved himself on the battlefield."

Vizimir II and Queen Myvi both clearly supported Lann, and King Aedirn also agreed to resist Nilfgaard. Half of the people in the room had already stood on Lann's side.

Henselt stroked his beard, thinking about something.

At this time, Foltestai finally returned to his seat from the window and interrupted coldly:

"Lannister, can you answer these two questions for me: Who will rule Cintra in the future? And where is the missing Princess Cirilla?"