"From the perspective of power, the Svalblod sect has been completely destroyed. There is no obstacle to Easter's coronation anymore. No family can find fault with him anymore."

Since even King Bran agreed with this, Lann would not have any other opinions. Could he, a foreign Duke of Cintra, understand Skellige better than the King of Skellige?

"Fortunately, Lan, you have turned the two former competitors, the Dimen Family and the Drummond Family, into your own people this time, completely clearing away possible obstacles in the future." King Bran exclaimed, "I know Lugo very well. Just by listening to your retelling of his performance, I can guess what he is thinking."

"He's an awkward guy, but he's also a typical islander. It's easy to make him one of our own: save his life or beat him into submission."

King Bran laughed. "Except for Kratz, of course. No matter what the Clayt family does to the Drummond family, it will not change their attitude."

Kratz snorted heavily.

Lan thought for a moment and asked a question: "What about the Dimen family? Hog Blackhand is dead, who will inherit? Should we intervene and support an heir who is close to us to control the Dimen family?"

"No, Lann, that's not how the islanders do things. We won't interfere in the internal affairs of other families." King Bran shook his head seriously, but then he comforted him, "But now it seems that the Dimen family already has its own heir - Jutta Ann Dimen."

"She is Hogg's direct relative, has superb martial arts skills, and was once Hogg's personal shield guard. Although she failed to protect Hogg, she later followed Easter to destroy the gathering place of the Svalblod sect and chopped the statue of the evil god with her own hands."

King Bran stroked his beard and said, "We will not interfere with the internal affairs of the Dimen family, but we can release this news to publicize Jutta's deeds and show our praise for Jutta. Her own achievements and reputation as the 'Iron Lady' are enough for her to run for the position of the head of the Dimen family."

Svanregi, who was sitting behind King Bran, nodded thoughtfully, expressing his admiration for his father's way of "not interfering in the internal affairs of other families but still being able to influence the election of the patriarch."

"If Jutta comes to power, we don't have to worry about the attitude of the Dimen family. She has already expressed her support for me after Hogg's death." Easter added.

Then, he looked at Lann thoughtfully: "If it really doesn't work..."

Lane was puzzled by Easter's look.

Kratz suddenly came forward and patted Lann on the shoulder: "The reputation of the 'Iron Maiden' is very loud! Her sword skills are the best in Faroe Island. She once swore to the goddess Freya that only those who defeated her would be qualified to spend the night with her, marry her, and even let her bear children. There are endless people who challenge her, but no one has ever succeeded. She even got the nickname 'Iron Maiden' because of this."

"And Lan, you..." East took over Kratz's words, and the smile on his face began to become inexplicable, "Did you chop her away with the back of your knife in order to save her on the battlefield before?"

Lan was stunned, and tried to recall: "At that time, a giant bear pounced on Hogg Blackhand, who was not yet dead. I wanted to save him, but Juta blocked the way..."

Now it was not just Kratz and Easter, even King Bran and Svanregi, the father and son, had an incomprehensible smile on their faces.

"From the perspective of a swordsman, you have demonstrated an unsurpassed strength, and you have also 'defeated' her." Kratz patted Lan's shoulder again, "Didn't you notice that the way she looked at you was different all the way?"

To be honest, Lan En really didn't pay attention. He had become accustomed to similar looks, and even his senses had become dull. Thinking back carefully now, it seemed that there was indeed something interesting...

"Tsk." Lan En had a headache and felt the pressure on himself increased greatly.

In fact, what they said were all joking. With Ciri around, there was no way they could really let Lann complete this kind of "political task".

Moreover, what kind of person is East? He is absolutely confident that Jutta will follow him. If he can't even conquer a little girl like this, how can he become the king of Skellige?

Teasing Lane in this kind of situation is more of a relaxing chat.

It's impossible that we really have to rely on Lann to sacrifice himself, right?

No way?

…

There are still a few days until the next meeting of the seven major families.

Due to the lesson learned last time, King Bran will be more rigorous in holding meetings this time, and other family heads will be more cautious when arriving.

This is bound to take more time.

After communicating with Mossak in Cintra and confirming that everything was going well and there was no need for Lann to rush back to deal with any emergencies, Lann actually had some rare free time.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a sudden piece of bad news was delivered to him.

…

"Are you leaving?"

When Lann said this, Gede was standing in front of him. The tall bear-style witcher had a reluctant smile on his face, but his actions were still resolute.

Yes, Gerd is leaving the team.

"It's been a pleasure adventuring with you, Lann. I also believe that the future you described of the reconstruction of the Demon Hunter Cult and the revival of the Demon Hunter Group will definitely come." Gede said, "But I have followed Thorgil, do you remember? This time I am working with you to wipe out the Svalblod Cult. This is a task entrusted to me by Thorgil as a member of the Tursek family."

"Now that the Svalblod sect has been destroyed and Easter is about to ascend the throne again, I want to go back too." Gede laughed heartily, as if trying to dispel the heavy expression on Lann's face.

Lann tried his best to win back Gede: "Earl Thorgil is also a member of the Tursek family. Perhaps we can still..."

"You are a noble, you must know the saying 'my lord's lord is not my lord'." Ged shook his head and interrupted the rest of Lann's persuasion, "Just because I follow Thorgel doesn't mean I will work for King Bran and Easter."

"And the relationship between Thorgil and I is not that of lord and follower, but of friends." Gerd added, "To be honest, I am a little tired of the life of a demon hunter. Do you know what is waiting for me when I return? Thorgil will hold a hunting party for me, as well as a party full of laughter and boasting, and my story will be the protagonist of the party!"

As he said this, the bear-faction demon hunter who usually laughed loudly finally showed a vicissitudes of life. As a bear-faction demon hunter, he seemed particularly cheerful and talkative, almost making people forget that he was actually an old demon hunter whose qualifications might even exceed Letho's.

"I didn't choose to be a demon hunter, but fate left me no choice. And now my life makes me very satisfied." Gede patted Lann's shoulder, "I can even be considered retired - ha, the first retired demon hunter in history, don't you think this title is quite impressive?"

After even saying such words, Lan knew that there was no possibility for him to keep Gede, and he could only smile bitterly.

Gede comforted him, "In fact, if I join you, it might bring you trouble. I fled to Skellige because I failed in the political struggle, do you remember? I heard that Cintra is now in turmoil and is trying to gain all possible power. But my joining you may do more harm than good to you, causing your allies to abandon you and increase your enemies."

Lan could only shake his head after hearing this. With so many reasons added up, he knew it was impossible to keep Gede. "Anyway, the door of Cintra is always open to you. If you want to experience retirement life somewhere else in the future, I will definitely treat you well."

Gerd laughed, remembering Lann's promise, and said that one day he would go to the gateway to the North to visit his old friend.

Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something, turned to Lan and said, "Perhaps I can help you one last time - I heard that you are helping Fetov find his missing apprentice recently?"

Lan nodded.

"Fetov is a rare genius who can control the weather and call the wind and rain. Even among druids, few can do this. If he hadn't been so careless about his management, I believe he could have become the Grand Master of the Oak Ring. Building a good relationship with such a strong man will be of great help to you."

Of course, Gerd didn't need to point this out, as Lan was now very close to Fetov.

"If you want to help him find his apprentice, I may have some clues." Gede thought, revealing an indescribable expression, "I also went to Moskogan Forest when I was helping Greysmith collect purple osmanthus. I met a druid apprentice there."

Gerd seemed to be choosing his words: "How should I describe his condition... He is a bit drunk and dreamy, so he doesn't want to return to the Oak Ring. I don't know if he is Fetov's apprentice, but I believe he must know something."

Lan was stunned. Listening to what Gerd said, he inexplicably felt that something familiar was going on.

Sure enough, Gede made a deep expression and said, "As for the reason why the apprentice stayed in the forest and didn't want to return, it was also the reason why I couldn't pick the purple mulberry."

"There's a female night demon there."

…

Two of the seven great families live on Great Skellige Island, which also has a huge trading port. Its level of development and civilization is quite high.

However, even on such an island, there are vast primeval forests. This may be due to the deliberate maintenance of the druids, and the growth of the Skellige people often requires mountains and forests to provide them with experience.

"Moscow Forest" is the largest primeval forest among them.

In addition to the purple osmanthus that Gerd was looking for, this forest also contained precious alchemical materials such as mandrake root and buffalo grass; on the other hand, there were also groups of forest wolves, water ghosts, evil ghosts, and even fork-tailed dragons, forest trolls and other monsters that could harm people.

There are even rumors that someone has seen a deer-headed spirit in the forest.

"Heifeng, stop for a moment—"

The black horse shuttled through the forest like the wind, and then stopped in an instant after hearing the master's order. The momentum disturbed the air around it and caused the surrounding flowers and plants to shake.

Lann dismounted, bent down, and carefully picked up a herb with red flowers.

There were no soldiers from any family following him, not even any followers or demon hunters from Cintra.

With Lan's current strength, he no longer needs followers. Human soldiers are neither a threat nor a help to him unless they reach a certain level. At most, they can do some odd jobs for Lan to make him feel more relaxed. And now is the time for Lan to train himself.

The demon hunters could provide Lan with considerable help. However, considering that he might not be able to stay in Skellige for long, Geralt and the others were asked by Lan to complete the commission - the commission of Skellige.

After all, Skellige has quite a few commissions. This will not only help Lann fill the experience gap caused by Contract Bill and Svanrige, but also train the servants and help them upgrade to provide strength for themselves earlier.

For example, the simple task of finding the female night demon... no, finding the druid apprentice, Lann felt that he could do it alone.

…

After looking at the red flower in his hand for a long time, Lan En shook his head and gave up the idea of ​​identifying the type of the herb. He still hadn't memorized the herb illustration that Mossak gave him. He could only tell that the herb was very rare. As for what category it belonged to and what its name was, Lan En was at a loss.

Just when Lan was feeling frustrated, an emerald flame ignited on the black magic scimitar behind him, and then an illusory figure wearing a black Gothic-style plain long skirt appeared beside Lan.

Alice stood quietly on the grass, the sunlight shining through the gaps in the trees onto her body, making her already hazy body even more illusory. Although she was an illusory soul, she was now covered in golden sunlight, and even her skin was sparkling as if it was embellished with diamonds.

The soul in the painting gently lifted her black veil to reveal her pretty face, and looked closely at the herbs Lan En had picked. After thinking for a moment, she said, "This seems to be red mandala. It has an anesthetic effect, but it's a pity that its roots are not well developed, otherwise we could get a more precious alchemical material."

The lion-eyed demon hunter holding the red mandala raised his eyebrows.

Facing Lan's surprised eyes, Alice raised the corners of her mouth slightly: "When you are busy, I will draw on the side, and sometimes read some books. Mossak is knowledgeable, and many of the textbooks he gave you are not accessible to the aristocracy. I have benefited a lot..."

Lann chuckled, "No, no need to explain, that's not what I care about. I'm just glad that you finally came out of the possessed scimitar. You've been keeping it to yourself all the time, it's really hard for you."

Alice lowered her eyelids. "Didn't you ask me to help you draw pictures to send to the lords of the various families in the archipelago? I think the scenery of this forest is very nice and suitable for collecting inspiration, so I came out."

"As for being in your scimitar, that's my own decision. I like to observe the ever-changing scenery and you, but I don't want to appear in front of those soldiers. Their gazes will make me distressed."

Alice looked at Lan with a smile.

Heifeng snorted softly, as if he sensed a familiar breath, and stepped forward to rub against his companion. The soul in the painting condensed its entity very cooperatively, and gently began to help the horse comb its hair.

Lann chuckled, flipped his left hand, and took out the map with the route marked by Gede. Then he activated his witcher senses and began to identify his own path in the forest.

When he looked up again, he saw Alice already on the horse, seemingly waiting for him.

"Black Wind, go!"

The shiny black-haired demon-hunting horse neighed excitedly and began to gallop through the forest as if it was having fun.

The demon-hunting horse reacted very quickly. The primitive forest full of obstacles was obviously the most troublesome terrain for ordinary war horses, but at this moment, Black Wind made it feel like an obstacle-crossing game. It moved around among the dense trees, occasionally jumping high over rocks that it could have avoided, and its four hooves would deliberately kick and splash water when passing through streams.

Lann felt much better seeing that happy look.

until……

With a "bang", the waist of a forest wolf was broken directly by Heifeng's kick, making a terrifying crisp sound like a biscuit being broken. It flew out with a wail and hit a small tree.

The remaining wolves finally realized that the black beast before them and the armored man on its back were not something they could afford to offend, and they howled and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

It turned out that a pack of wolves looking for food had found Heifeng and Lann.

Without waiting for Lan to dismount, Heifeng drove away the group of hungry beasts by himself.

Seeing that Black Wind seemed to want to chase the wolves deeper into the area, Lann hurriedly grabbed the reins and began to soothe and comb the horse's mane and neck.

"Black Wind, Black Wind, forget it..."

The horse's belligerence and willfulness regardless of the situation still gave Lan a headache.

After finally calming Heifeng down, Lan En wiped the sweat off his forehead and turned around to see the soul in the painting frowning.

She seemed extremely dissatisfied with the destruction of the originally joyful atmosphere. This opportunity to be alone with Lan was extremely rare. At this time, emerald flames began to burn on her body.

"Alice, Alice, calm down..."

Lan quickly used one hand to grab the soul in the painting.

He looked around in panic, only to find that he had reached the destination that Gede had marked for him.

In front of him was a mountain road that looked overgrown with weeds, but with Lann's witcher senses, he could clearly distinguish the paths of human and humanoid life.

Going up the mountain road, we soon came to a deep cave.

The traces were deliberately hidden before, but here they were more perfunctory. Lann squatted down and soon found red footprints on the ground marked by pheromones through his demon hunter senses. In addition to human footprints, there were also hoof prints.

Found it.

After passing through a long tunnel covered with mosses, a bright light began to appear in front of them. Lan, who was experienced, knew that the color of the light was not the sun, but candlelight.

Lan looked into the depths of the cave for a while, then looked back. Alice consciously turned into a ball of emerald flame and returned to his black magic scimitar. Black Wind didn't want to enter this narrow place, so he wagged his tail and ran towards the depths of the forest. If Lan needed anything, he only needed to whistle.