I don't know when it started to rain heavily outside the fortress.
The pattern 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."
Faced with this accusation, Henselt was not angry at all. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled maliciously: "Since you have said so, it seems that if I don't do this, I will be slandered in vain."
Seeing the two kings who had a feud start to confront each other, Vizimir II had to speak again: "Mevi is as quiet as usual, but every word is to the point. Emhyr has plenty of time, but we don't. He only needs to loosen a stone on the top of the mountain and wait for the landslide."
He first praised Queen Mevy, then turned to Henselt and said, "And this is what bothers you, right? You are one of the people who are troubled by the civil strife. If you really want to solve this problem, then stop speaking in anger and disrupting the meeting."
Henselt sneered again, his thief-like eyes narrowed almost to slits, and then his expression finally became serious.
As for whether what he said before was a pretense or true feelings, the other kings present really couldn't guess it.
"I came here today for only one reason," Henselt said. "Scoia'tael!"
“They haunt Kaedwen in droves. I have captured several and interrogated them. I believe Emhyr is behind them.”
"Some of you may think that Scoia'tael is just a Kaedwen matter now, but once things get involved in Nilfgaard... hehe, that's a completely different story. There are still free elves in the Valley of Flowers, dwarves and gnomes in Mahakam, dryads in Brokilon, and even more non-human races in Novigrad. This is going to be a grand civil war!"
Vizimir II asked: "So Henselt, your opinion is to first eliminate the non-human races in the North, and then talk about dealing with Nilfgaard?"
"Absolutely."
This is in line with Kaedwen's long-standing national policy. If humans' prejudice against demon hunters comes from the Cat School, then the hatred of the non-human races in the North towards humans mainly comes from Kaedwen.
Foltestai, who had been staying out of the matter, finally stopped showing his noble profile and joined the discussion.
The King of Temeria said: "We can't let you do whatever you want. Mahakam is the territory of Temeria, and the dwarves are my subjects."
"Can you command them to fight for you?"
Folterstedt nonchalantly responded, "At least they pay taxes, lots of taxes."
Lann finally said, "The tree spirits of Brokilon are not enemies either. They are now friends with Cintra. And as far as I know, there have been no tree spirits among the Scoia'tael."
"Of course, I don't deny that the Scoia'tael is indeed a serious threat. No one can tolerate having one of their own stabbed in the back when they are united against the enemy. Moreover, if the Scoia'tael continues to make trouble, the non-human race that was originally friendly to humans will become an enemy. This will be a loss for all the majesties present here."
"I am happy to help His Majesty Henselt eliminate the Scoia'tael," Lan said, "but when facing the disaster of non-human races, we must distinguish who is our enemy and who is our friend. Friends should be won over, and only enemies should be attacked."
Demave glanced at Lann, as if surprised that this young man could actually speak so insightfully.
However, as long as the topic was in direct conflict with Henselt, King Demave seemed to have an endless enthusiasm for participation.
"The Scoia'tael is your problem, Henselt. But when it comes to war, it's just one of Nilfgaard's ways of harassing us behind enemy lines. You want us to focus on dealing with the Scoia'tael and ignore the Nilfgaardian enemies in the front. That's like missing the point. And Nilfgaard's methods are not just as simple as the Scoia'tael."
Demavie stood up and looked around, pausing for a moment especially at the faces of Vizimir II and Foltestai.
"As Vizimir said, Nilfgaard is only responsible for pushing a stone down the mountain, and the Scoia'tael is just a stone in the landslide. There are other crises ahead."
"Vizimir, Foltestai, your country has frequent trade with the south. I believe that similar situations to mine must have occurred in your territory."
"There are rumors that in the villages and towns occupied by Nilfgaard, farmers and craftsmen live better, they are freer and richer, and merchant guilds enjoy more privileges..."
The kings of Redania and Temeria, which have many port trading cities, nodded slightly. They had heard such rumors a long time ago.
"Our market is about to be flooded with goods produced in Nilfgaard. I heard in Lower Soden that their currency has completely replaced the currency in circulation in the north. If we stand idly by, we will have no choice but to squeeze into a corner of the north and slowly die. Because - listen carefully - the Nilfgaardians will stop us from going south, but we must develop and expand, otherwise our descendants will soon have nowhere to live!"
Everyone was silent. Vizimir of Redania sighed heavily, picked up a goblet on the table, and took a big sip.
During this long silence, rain kept hitting the window frames, and the howling wind shook the window sashes from time to time.
"Nilfgaard's methods are far more than that." Foltste said, "In my territory, a group of priests, missionaries, fortune tellers and mystics have recently emerged from nowhere, all of them preaching the coming of the end of the world. The theme of their recent preaching is: a savior will come from the south. The south! On the other side of the Yaruga River!"
“White Flame,” Demavere murmured. “White Frost will come, and then White Light. Then the world will be reborn through White Flame and the White Queen… I’ve heard that, too. It’s a distortion of the prophecies of the elven prophetess Ithlinne aip Avernion. I ordered the arrest of the priest who spread these prophecies in the fair at Vengerberg, and the interrogator asked him politely and in detail how much gold Emhyr had paid him… But the priest only talked nonsense about White Flame and the White Queen… until the last moment of his life.”
“Be careful, Demavi.” Vizimir frowned. “Don’t let them become martyrs. That’s what Emhyr wants. You can take all the Nilfgaardians if you want, but leave the priests alone. The consequences are unpredictable. They are still respected and have considerable influence over the people. We cannot allow the towns to riot, nor can we declare war on the peasants we rule.”
"Damn it!" Henselt slammed the table. "Don't do this, don't take that risk, don't do this, don't do that... Are we gathered here to discuss what we shouldn't do? We should first decide what we should do!"
"I've been saying this since the beginning." Vizimir stood up. "I propose action."
"What action?"
“What can we do?”
Silence fell again. The wind howled and the window sashes shook against the castle walls.
No one wanted to speak up, and everyone turned their attention to Lan En first, and then to Queen Mi Wei.
"What are you all looking at me for?"
"We are admiring your beauty, Mivy," Henselt muttered, drinking from his glass.
"I agree." Vizmir agreed, "Miwei, we all know that there is no problem you can't solve. You have a woman's intuition, and you are wise--"
"Stop complimenting me." Queen Lyria clasped her fingers together on her knees.
"Let me summarize: Henselt's goal is to eliminate the Scoia'tael in the territory, while Demavi, Vizimir, and Foltestai are troubled by the rumors and economic trade in the territory. But the reason is that all of this is Nilfgaard's fault."
"And I also have a request. My United Kingdom is now in a standoff with Nilfgaard, and I really hope to get out of this situation."
"We have too many demands and too many things we want to do. If we sort them out again, I want you to recall one thing: when did the situation become what it is now?"
This sentence turned everyone's attention back to Lann.
"After the fall of Cintra."
Lane knew that now was his time to speak.
"Everyone has expressed their demands, but you have remained silent." Foltste sneered, "Although we know your purpose without any guessing, I still want to hear what you have to say - how do you want to persuade us to support you?"
Lan took a deep breath and looked at Vizimir II who was sitting upright, Henselt who looked indignant, Foltestai who had a playful look in his eyes, and Mi Wei who looked concerned.
"Your Majesties all have their own problems, and they all hope to be solved. But these complicated problems actually have only one source - that is Nilfgaard."
"But even though I am not an ordinary monarch, I know that a small move can affect the whole body. If your majesties personally go out to fight Nilfgaard - no matter what form it takes - it will inevitably cause losses. The soldiers who just experienced the Battle of Sodden Mountain are in urgent need of recuperation and morale recovery."
Lann said: "But we in Cintra are different. Cintra is born to be the most staunch opponent of Nilfgaard. We were originally the gateway to the North, but now we are willing to serve as the vanguard of the North and drive the Nilfgaardians back to the South!"
"But Brokilon is the only one left in Cintra now. Although you seem to have a good relationship with the dryads, those green-skinned women will not leave the forest to fight for you."
"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?"
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