Lann knocked down several elven swordsmen in an instant, as if he was strolling in the garden, injuring but not killing them. If this chic look had been seen by the people of Cintra or the knights of the Four-Nation Alliance, it would probably have caused another round of cheers and given him a few more nicknames.
But in the eyes of the Squirrel Party, that relaxed and carefree look was suffocating and chilling.
"I told you, I saved you. And I will continue to save you." Lann said as he stood among the groaning Scoia'tael. "Can you listen to me now?"
Iorveth took a sharp step back.
The man in front of him had the momentum of having just defeated all his companions. Iorveth did not want to show his weakness, but he could not suppress the fear rising in his heart.
If the display of physical and sword abilities on Haji Fortress could still be barely understood by ordinary people, then the [Teleport], [Flash] and Sign abilities that Lann had just displayed had already exceeded the scope of "enemies that can be killed" in Iorveth's cognition.
The leader of the Scoia'tael shouted resolutely: "Humans! I have nothing to say to you! The people of the mountains will never forget the blood that was shed!"
"Ha. If you had listened to my self-introduction just now, you might have tasted something different."
Lann said coldly: "I am Lann Lannister Rayanron."
Iorveth glared at Lann. The racial hatred was irreconcilable, and he didn't want to hear more from Lann.
But we all know that when a word appears repeatedly in front of us, even if we try our best to avoid recalling it, it will still emerge in our minds uncontrollably.
"Leianlun..." Iorveth's eyes were still full of anger, but there was a different flavor inexplicably. "You are the lion of Cintra, the daughter of Laura Doron aip Shidahar - the descendant of Leianlun."
Before he became a member of the Scoia'tael out of hatred for humans, Iorveth had a good family background. Even though the elves on the continent have fallen into decline, many deep-rooted things are still stubbornly upheld by the elves - such as education.
Especially since Iorveth was not yet a young elf, he was still old enough to know a lot of secrets. For example, this "Laura Doron Aipu Xidahar" was actually the first generation of the Ancient Blood.
Iorveth said coldly: "You are the descendant of Laura Doron, which means... you also have elven blood in your body. But this is meaningless. Although we hate this fact very much - but now most people on the continent have elven blood."
When Iorveth said this, his expression was filled with a deeper level of mockery. The aesthetics of elves and humans are very different, and many elves think that humans are nothing more than hairless monkeys. However, under this aesthetic, a large number of elf-human hybrids were still born, and the composition of the mixture is very complicated.
This involves a series of events soaked in blood and wailing, including wars, captives, slave trade, etc.
——Of course, there is true love, for example, the source of Lann's ancient blood, "Laura Doron Aipu Xidahar", fell in love with humans and eloped, thus bringing the ancient blood to humans. However, many elves deny the love element in this, believing that this is a conspiracy planned by humans.
Iorveth, an elf who harbors a deep hatred for humans, is obviously one of the "many elves" in the conspiracy theory.
The Scoia'tael was about to speak again to show his toughness and his determination not to surrender even if he was captured by Lann. But suddenly a flash of inspiration exploded in his mind, taking away all his sanity.
"Ancient Blood..."
He recalled fragments one by one -
There was Lann's physical strength beyond the elves' comprehension when he fought twelve warriors alone on the top of Haji Fortress;
There were the two sigils that Lann had just released, which were more powerful than the normal warlock's attack magic;
And Lann's strange ability to suddenly appear beside him and flash continuously in the crowd.
Iorveth could accept the failure of the Scoia'tael, could accept that he and his group were defeated by a strange and powerful person who appeared out of nowhere, and could even accept death after failure. But he could not accept the thought that appeared in his mind now.
"The ancient blood...has awakened within the human body."
He sat down on the ground in despair, with a look of despair. "Impossible, humans are just carriers of the Ancient Blood, thieves. The savior that Islinni mentioned will only appear after the Ain El clan or Ain Sid takes back the Ancient Blood. He should appear among the elves..."
"How could it be a human... How is it possible?"
Not only Iorveth, but other elves in the Scoia'tael who knew the inside story all had dazed and unbelievable looks in their eyes.
…
Before understanding the reactions of elves like Iorveth, we need to first understand the background of the elves on this continent.
The affairs of the elves are complicated.
The elves on the continent today are called "Ain Sid" in their own language, which is translated into the common language of the continent as "elves". They were once the rulers of the continent until they were overthrown by humans and retreated to the "Blue Mountains" - a vast mountain range that separates the Northern Kingdom from Haklan and Zerekan, and is also the natural border of Lyria and the eastern countries of Rivia, Aedirn, and Kaedwen. Dol Bretanna, known as the "Valley of Flowers", is located at the foot of the mountain, and the Yaruga River also originates from the depths of this mountain range.
But in fact, the "Ain Sid" elves who once ruled the continent were not the indigenous people of the continent.
They come from another world.
According to legend, there is a race called "Ain Woodard" who can easily travel through space and distort the multiverse, so that they can live in different worlds. The Ain Woodard people trace the source of this power to their divine bloodline.
Until one day, they discovered that this kind of time travel actually had sequelae, which would trigger a disaster - "white frost", a force that could freeze and destroy the world. And as they traveled more and more frequently, the speed at which the white frost spread became faster and faster.
After that, the people of Ain Woodod spent their whole lives fleeing from the White Frost, but the White Frost chased them slowly but relentlessly, as if it was a punishment for their abuse of their bloodline talents.
Legend has it that one day, during their long escape, the Iron Woodards arrived at a crossroads. One path at this crossroads led to a green world, and the other path led to the mountainous islands that humans later called Skellige. The tribe could not agree on which way to go, which was safer, and which would be farther from the white frost, so they went their separate ways.
Those who chose the mountainous islands - which is the continent where Lann is now - were later called "Ain Sheedi", and called themselves "Mountain People"; those who built a new home in the forest were called "Ain El", also known as "Alder People".
At the same time, their bloodline talents gradually weakened. After coming to the mainland, Ain Sheedy completely lost the ability to shuttle through space, and only retained the ability to use magic. When the celestial sphere convergence came, humans were able to generate chaotic energy and learned magic from the elves, and the mountain people completely lost the power to maintain their pride.
The Ain El who went to the forest world were different from their peace-loving relatives who were overthrown by humans. They loved killing. After slaughtering the inhabitants of the original world, the Ain El's ability to travel through time and space was almost gone, but they were brave enough to learn to use the white frost that destroyed the world to travel through time and space, retaining some of their talents.
The Aldermen of the Ain El clan occasionally come to the continent. They like to wear skeleton-shaped armor and use the power of frost to travel through the continent, which will cause blizzards. People who witness them call them "Wild Hunt".
But the Alder people of Ain El were not satisfied with this. They were eager to restore the glory of their ancestors. So they awakened their power through various magic, creatures and other technologies that humans could not understand. This power finally sprouted in the elf sage Laura Doron. The Ain El elves believed that Laura Doron's children would fully awaken the power of their ancestors.
They looked forward to calling this power "the blood of the ancients" - Ain El itself also means "elder" - and betrothed Laura Doron to another elven sage, hoping that the blessing of the powerful sage's bloodline could accelerate the growth of the ancient blood.
But in the end, Laura Doron eloped with a human warlock, and both humans and elves were ashamed of this relationship. The revival plan of the Ain El family was thus thwarted.
Eventually, the couple was killed by humans, but the child with the ancient blood was adopted by the Queen of Redania at the time. Humans who did not know the power of the ancient blood did not cherish this bloodline, and did not deliberately spread and protect it, so it was passed down among the upper class of human nobility, and finally only this one child in Cintra was left.
The above is the origin of the elves and the ancient blood.
Some people may ask: After all, the Ancient Blood has never actually demonstrated its full power, so why do the elves, especially the Ain El branch, still have high hopes for the Ancient Blood?
Here we have to mention one of the most powerful prophet and elven prophet in history - Isilini.
Her predictions are known to all races and classes, and most of them have been verified, including but not limited to the weakening of the Ein Sheedi elves who came to the mainland, the bloody Northern War and the North-South War that swept the entire continent in the original timeline, and a super plague that was equivalent to the Black Death in Europe in Lann's previous life.
The Blood of the Ancients was described in Isilini's prophecy as a powerful force to fight against the white frost, save the world, and avenge the elves on humans.
…
Lann said: "The world will die in the frost and be reborn under the new sun. That is also the time when the seeds of the ancient blood will be reborn."
Iorveth, who was already in a state of disarray, unconsciously continued the next sentence: "This seed will not sprout, but will ignite a flame. First - first, the blood of the elves will flood the earth..."
Seeing Iorveth cooperating and reciting the prophecy, Lan nodded with satisfaction. But he still interrupted Iorveth:
"So, as you can see, I am the prophesied Ancient Blood, the first fully awakened Ancient Blood in history, which means -"
"I am the savior predicted."
Lann said in a very low, ethereal, and neither sad nor happy tone: "I said at the beginning that I am here to save you."
Iorveth's heart was shaken, but he still tried his best to regain a bit of sanity.
Fortunately, he is a fighter. If he were an ignorant elf warlock, he might have been fooled by Lann by now.
"Even if you have ancient blood... you are still a human."
Lan ignored Iorveth's struggle and said coldly, "That's why I hate the Scoia'tael. I have no problem with non-human races. I even like most of them."
"Perhaps you have stayed in the jungle for too long. But if you have some knowledge of Cintra today, you should know that we are now defending Brokilon, and the Dryads - who were once an anti-human race even more extreme than your Scoia'tael - have now established a good friendship with us. It is not an exaggeration to say that the two have become one."
"Not only that, I also invited my dwarf and halfling friends to settle in Cintra to give me strength. Racial barriers exist everywhere, but I hope that Cintra can become a unique place, a paradise, a place where we can pursue equality among multiple races - at least a place without discrimination."
"And you, the Scoia'tael, have now become the biggest driving force behind racial conflicts. I have seen many peace-loving non-humans in the North pay for the blood debts you have committed with your blood."
Lann pointed to the halflings who were watching them warily and said, "Halflings are the most peace-loving race. I guess the reason he joined the Scoia'tael must be because his home was destroyed. But have you ever thought that the humans who destroyed his home hated the Scoia'tael because of it?"
In response to Lann's highly aggressive words, Iorveth snorted lightly.
"Even though you have awakened the ancient blood, you are still only human." The leader of the Squirrel Party sneered, "Do you want to convince me to give up revenge and resistance? The elves underestimated the greed of humans, which led to our retreat to the Blue Mountains today. Do you want to repeat the same trick? Don't you look down on us?"
Lann shook his head. "What I said is what I saw and what I did. There is no conspiracy or trick. You can verify it."
"You know about the Blood of the Ancients, so you must also know that Laura Doron has the ability to predict, and this ability is inherited from me." Lann pointed to his eyes, "In the future I saw, everything you did was harmful and not beneficial. Not only did you trigger an indiscriminate massacre of non-human races by humans, dragging countless civilians into the water; the Scoia'tael itself became a political sacrifice. You fought for Nilfgaard, but in the end you became the abandoned pawns of the elves and the Empire in their compromise with the North."
This is the memory that Lann brought over from his previous life. In fact, it is not wrong to call it a prophecy.
Seeing Iorveth's face change drastically, Lann smiled and said, "Yes, I know that the Empire is behind you. I even know that the elves of the Blue Mountains support you politically. You are not a spontaneously organized uprising army or revenge army. I'm afraid your dwarf and halfling friends don't know this, right? But I am the Ancient Blood, I know everything."
The Scoia'tael camp was not big, and these words were enough for all Scoia'tael members to hear. Those Scoia'tael who did not know the truth were slightly shocked when they heard this. They had no knowledge of the Ancient Blood, and they did not trust Lan's words; what made them uneasy was the expression on Iorveth's face at the moment, which was an expression that confirmed that Lan was telling the truth.
Iorveth was silent for a while, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Lan waited patiently until the elf in front of him raised his head and said, "You said... the Scoia'tael will be abandoned? All the comrades will be abandoned?"
"I have told you many times, and I repeat it again: I am here to save you," Lan said. "The battle on top of Haji Fortress was a greeting. I allowed you to escape unscathed. Otherwise, even if you succeeded in assassinating Henselt, you would not be able to return here alive."
"We have been prepared to sacrifice!"
"I know, I know... you're a group of Avengers. I understand, believe me." Lann shook his head, "But I have a better idea, you know what?"
The heir of the Ancient Blood said in a gentle and persuasive way: "Killing Henselt will only bring chaos to the Kingdom of Kaedwen. Do you think that is enough? Is it enough to just relieve the desire for revenge?"
"If I follow my plan, I can even let you own the entire Kaedwen."
…
Lann lowered his voice. The other Scoia'tael could only see his lips opening and closing. After that, no one else could hear what he said to Iorveth.
But the Scoia'tael not far away could see the changes in Iorveth's expression, from hesitation, to heaviness, to uncertainty, and finally to a strange expression that they couldn't describe.
"I know you will hesitate about what I said, and you are undecided. You can go back and report to those who really sit in the high chairs, but I believe they will let you follow my plan."
Lane stepped back, indicating that he had finished speaking. "By the way, give my regards to Ms. Daisy of the Valley. I look forward to meeting her."
Without waiting for Iorveth to answer, Lan released the [Teleport] sense and prepared to leave.
He was confident that Iorveth would listen to him.
"Lannister!" Iorveth suddenly spoke up, no longer addressing Lannister by his race's name. "According to everything you've said, you're helping us. Why are you doing this?"
Lann chuckled. "First of all, what I just said to you is true. It's about eliminating racial discrimination in Cintra and even racial equality. I don't want my people to bear the consequences of your sins."
After saying this, Lan pointed to his eyes again and said meaningfully: "Secondly, in the future I see, you will play a big role."
In the future that I see, it is also in the future that I will create.
But Iorveth's words sounded very different. What was the future of the Ancient Blood? Saving the world. Could it be that the Scoia'tael, or Iorveth himself, would play a big role in saving the world?
Unfortunately, after saying this, Lann no longer waited for Iorveth's reaction. His whole body was filled with emerald light, and he disappeared in the morning sunlight.
This time Iorveth looked carefully.
"It's not a portal, nor is it any known magic." He muttered to himself in a trance, "This magical teleportation ability... is it really the blood of the ancients?"
The Scoia'tael were still searching for traces of Lann in confusion.
Iorveth's adjutant slowly walked up to him and asked, "Iorveth, this matter..."
"Francesca must know." Iorveth suddenly came to his senses and said firmly, "I want to go back to Blue Mountain."
The adjutant showed a submissive expression and had no objection to the captain's decision: "Yes, Madam, you must know about this. We need the guidance of 'Valley Daisy'..."
The return of the Ancient Blood to the world is a major event for the elves; especially since this Ancient Blood has achieved an unprecedented awakening. Thinking of the fragments in the prophecy, Iorveth felt dizzy.
But before that, there are other things that Iorveth needs to deal with.
Lann just said too much information that the outside world didn't know, and many of the current members of the Scoia'tael didn't know. Iorveth turned around and saw the hesitation on the faces of his fellow Scoia'tael members.
A halfling asked Iorveth hesitantly, "Iorveth, who was that human just now? What is the Ancient Blood? Is what he said true? We are actually funded by... the human empire in the south?"
These confused members of the Scoia'tael include dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and even a few elves who have just returned from wandering among the people. Some of them do join the Scoia'tael for revenge, but more of them are driven by the ideals of "freedom" or "racial liberation" in their hearts.
If the Scoia'tael is really just a political force supported by human forces with high-sounding reasons, then what are they?
Iorveth shook his head fiercely: "Everyone, this is very complicated. But please believe me, we are comrades who share life and death, and our ideals cannot be false..."
The leader of the Squirrel Party wanted to continue explaining, but a voice suddenly interrupted him:
"But if what the knight just said is true, your ideals don't seem to be as good as what he said about Cintra, right? At least he was able to express his ideas openly - racial equality, elimination of discrimination, and the process was full of reason and little bloodshed."
Iorveth choked and was about to explain when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
This voice sounded very strange to him, definitely not the voice of any Scoia'tael member he knew. Moreover, the source of the voice was not in the camp, but came from the jungle behind him.
When? Who? Could it be that someone had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and no one—including the Ancient Blood—had noticed?
A chill rose from Iorveth's tailbone, and he quickly picked up his weapon and turned around. The other members of the Squirrel Party also suppressed their doubts and united to face the possible enemy, forming a residual formation to meet the enemy.
Then, they saw a human female figure slowly walking out of the forest, with the aura of a ferocious beast.
"What method did that knight use just now? How did he disappear all of a sudden? I wanted to talk to him about 'racial equality'."
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