At Easter's coronation banquet, Bran attracted everyone's attention with a heavy face.

Although some of the patriarchs of the seven major families were absent, he continued: "The ascension of the new king means the abdication of the old king. My throne was inherited from my brother, so it is only natural that I should return it to him now. In addition to this - I have one more thing I need to confess in front of everyone."

Seeing everyone's surprised eyes at the word "repent", Bran sighed and said, "During my reign, I failed to discipline my family and failed to supervise the family, which caused irreparable damage to the islands. This is a flaw in my honor, and I must admit it in front of everyone."

Hearing Bran's words, Svanregi behind him clenched his fists.

Bran took a deep breath, his face in pain but still spoke loudly: "Before, the berserkers of the Svalblod sect attacked my castle and hurt my guests. After my screening, I have determined that the enemy is from within my family, that is, my wife..."

…

A loud noise suddenly interrupted Bran's words.

A fiery red portal opened in the center of the hall. The wind blew violently, blowing the robes of the guests into small sails and causing a commotion at the scene.

Lann's body suddenly glowed with emerald light, and then with a flash of golden light, he appeared next to Bran, who was only one step away from the portal, with the Sword of the Lady of the Lake already unsheathed; the other participants also drew out the longswords, hand axes, and short hammers at their waists as if by reflex.

It was really because of the previous sneak attack by the Vilka people that everyone was afraid of another accident at the banquet.

However, a familiar face appeared in the portal - Fetov.

A wise mentor in the Oak Land, a senior physician who forcibly extended Svanrej's life, and a powerful celestial being who could manipulate the weather. If Lan remembered correctly, he went to Udvik Island to find the mentor of Artis, who was suspected of being a fallen druid.

But now he was in tattered clothes and looked pale, as if he had just suffered a terrible defeat.

Lan was startled and suddenly thought: Lord Harold, who has not yet arrived, seems to have his territory on Udvik Island?

The next second, Fetov, without any druid manners, shouted anxiously at the top of his voice:

"Udvik Island was attacked. Harold's life or death is unknown. The druids stationed there...all died!"

"The ice giant has awakened from its slumber. It has brought with it a sky full of sirens, water ghosts, and scavenger demons to attack towns and villages. The Todaloch family... is about to perish!"

…

Although Udvik is not the largest or most prosperous island in Skellige, it was once the most attractive island for travelers. It has an excellent location, beautiful scenery and top local cuisine.

Although the ice giants have always existed on Udvik Island, they like to hibernate, and sleep for dozens or even hundreds of years, which is enough time for two or three generations to go through. Although the ice giants will wreak havoc every time they wake up, compared with natural disasters and man-made disasters such as wars, family conflicts, tsunamis and landslides, the ice giants seem to be nothing.

Anyway, the Frost Giants had only been wreaking havoc on Udvik Island before, and it had nothing to do with other families. The Todaloch family, which managed Udvik Island, organized several campaigns against the Frost Giants, but failed, and then nothing came of it.

However, some young people were very interested in this and were eager to kill the giants and become the objects of praise in poems - in the end they also became one of the evidences to prove the cruelty of the giants.

It was not until recently - Lann now knew that it was the so-called "prelude to the celestial conjunction" - that the ice giants awakened and, relying on ice magic and incomprehensible proficiency in water, ran around most of the archipelago like a picnic, causing unprecedented damage, that the other six families realized the seriousness of the matter.

Unfortunately, when they decided to discuss sending troops to encircle and suppress the ice giants, they happened to encounter the election for the king, which made the clan leaders feel at odds with each other.

Then the remnants of the Svalblod sect appeared.

In short, the constant emergence of "more important things" caused the plan to encircle and suppress the ice giants to be put on hold again and again.

It turns out that although the clan leaders were aware of the danger of the ice giants, this awareness was not deep enough - until now.

It was as if a bomb had been dropped in the center of the banquet, and the atmosphere was instantly detonated. Fetov's embarrassed appearance and words frightened everyone.

Udarek, who had been pale and daydreaming, was so frightened that he sat down on the ground; Jutta, the new tribe leader, straightened her chest as if to make herself appear more calm, but her right hand involuntarily clenched the hilt of her sword; even the mature and steady Dona, at this moment, the hand that was grabbing his beard was trembling slightly.

"Mr. Fetov, no offense..." Madman Lugo swallowed his saliva and spoke hesitantly. He was very polite to the respected druid, "But are you seriously injured?"

"What you said is too unbelievable. The Todaloch family is about to perish? All the druid masters have died. This news is too..."

Fetov interrupted him angrily: "Lugo! I don't care how crazy you were before, but now is not the time!"

The old druid looked around angrily: "We don't have much time, we have to immediately... cough cough!"

Fetov was obviously also seriously injured. There were obvious bloodstains on his body. Coupled with his emotional excitement, he burst into a coughing fit as if he was going to vomit out his lungs.

Fortunately, someone took over his words and prevented Fetov's condition from getting worse.

"We need immediate support," said Easter.

Among the remaining six family heads present, only one was able to remain calm.

Wearing the Iron Crown, Ester quickly walked to Fetov's side and looked around:

"There is no doubt that we are facing an unprecedented crisis. The enemy that we have been ignoring has dealt us the heaviest blow when we least expected it. We are about to lose our partner who has been with us for thousands of years - the Todaloch family!"

"We can't just stand by and watch this happen. As the King of Skellige, I have an obligation to protect my vassals; and as descendants of Hemdall, we have a responsibility to protect our brothers!"

…

When Kratz saw his uncle's actions, he naturally followed behind him to show his support.

Lann and Bran looked at each other, then grasped the weapons at their waists to show their attitudes.

The clan leaders did not question Fetov's news, nor were they the kind of people who could watch the tragedy happen indifferently, but the news came too suddenly and they needed some time to digest it. At this moment, East stood up, which greatly shortened their thinking process, as if a backbone suddenly appeared and directly told them the direction to go next.

"The soldiers of the Tuersek family can assemble immediately - Bran!" East turned around and ordered, "I need you now."

Bran nodded heavily in response to his brother's order, then turned to gather his family's soldiers.

Lann also turned around and called House, asking him to gather the witchers, servants, and Cintra's soldiers.

"Master Fetov, thank you for your continued hard work." East then said seriously to the druid who had just returned, "You also need to notify the other masters of the Oak Ring and ask them to help pass on the orders of the various clan leaders back to their own islands. At the same time, it is obviously too late to take a boat to Udvik Island now. We need to use the portal to transport a group of soldiers first."

Fetov shook his head: "I have already done that."

Just as he finished speaking, more portals were opened in the hall, and suddenly a strong wind blew.

East raised his hands to cover his eyes to block the wind pressure, but his eyes became brighter and brighter.

I saw that the druid consultants worshipped by each family had arrived here. They quickly found their clan leaders in the crowd, briefly explained the situation, and then opened the portal again to bring them back to the territory and began to deploy troops.

But there were three other bearded druids left at the scene, and it was obvious that they were preparing to open the portal to let the advance troops pass through.

However, this number is far from enough.

Fetov sighed, "The portal needs an experienced spellcaster to cast it freely. If it is cast solely by the magic power of a druid without the assistance of magic materials in advance, it will not last long."

East frowned: "How many soldiers can we transport?"

Fetov and his three companions looked at each other and said, "About 500 people."

Easter nodded. "So the main force still has to go there by boat...Five hundred people are enough as the advance team. At least we can preserve the bloodline of the Todaloch family as much as possible and evacuate the civilians on the island."

Bran gave his token to Svanregi, asked his son to arrange for the family soldiers to assemble, and then hurried back, just in time to hear the conversation between Fetov and Easter.

He said quickly: "Brother, you are the king now, don't lead the troops. Let me lead the advance troops."

Easter looked at his brother and shook his head firmly. "It is precisely because I am the king now that I must be there immediately. The king of the islanders should stand where all soldiers can see him while he is still able to hold a sword. You should understand this, Bran."

Seeing his brother's determined eyes, Bran lowered his head in silence.

"Don't worry, I'm with my uncle. You've seen my ability. If things don't work out, I can bring him back intact." Lann stepped forward and comforted Bran, "And I'll bring all the witcher masters with me. They are the best at dealing with monsters. Nothing will happen."

Fortunately, Kolgrim and the others were not present. If they had heard what Lann said, he would have waved his hands to deny it and said something like "You and I are not the same kind of demon hunter."

…

But Lann is definitely not the only demon hunter on the scene.

"Then let Gerd follow." An old voice interrupted their conversation.

Looking back, Thorgeir took a step forward. It was obvious that he had already communicated with his dear demon hunter friend. "Ged is particularly good at a kind of defensive spell. Lan, you must know what it is. Even the most powerful crossbow can't hurt his skin. He will definitely be able to protect East."

The bear-faction demon hunter tore off the cloth on his arms, revealing arms with muscles as strong as rocks. Even a giant bear pales in comparison.

Then he and Lann looked at each other and grinned: "That's an ice giant. I've never seen one since I came to Skellige."

…

The sea breeze blew hard, white waves beat against the shore, making thunderous sounds, and creamy fountains rose from the cracks in the rocks, surging like the hearts of the sailors.

Lann led his Cintra Guard, which had rich experience in fighting monsters, and gathered together with the elite warriors sent by the Tuersek family. Then four mentor-level druids worked together to mobilize magic power to open a portal, and as an advance team, they disappeared in the glittering light in an instant.

Bran then assembled the rest of the large force, leaving Svanregis to guard the castle to maintain basic order, and took a dragon boat to Undvik Island for follow-up support.

The role of the advance team is to save the Todaloch family as much as possible and evacuate the civilians on the island. The follow-up troops assembled by Bran and his team have only one mission - to kill the ice giants and completely put an end to this monster that has plagued the islands for thousands of years since the intersection of the celestial spheres!

"Go ahead, Bran, and wash away your shame with the monster's head. I will take good care of Svanrege."

Lord Torgeir, nicknamed "Red", the elder of the Tuersek family, slapped Bran's shoulder hard.

"If I were not so old, I would be a burden to you. I really want to chop something off the giant with my own axe, even if it's just a finger!"

Bran solemnly asked the old lord to take good care of his son and help manage the affairs of Little Skellige Island when he was away. Then he boarded the dragon ship with his family guards, hoisted the sails, and broke through the waves.

At the same time, warships appeared one after another in the straits between the islands and Udvik Island. The sails of different colors sparkled in the sun, and the bronze shields with different emblems hanging on the sides of the ships also shone brightly.

This may be the most united mobilization that Skellige has not seen in nearly a hundred years.

On a highland coast of Little Skellig, a man with typical southern features was observing these dragon ships sailing far away. He had a beard and a blush of surprise on his face.

He is an officer.

Behind him stood nearly a hundred soldiers who were obviously well-trained, and beside him knelt a distressed sailor.

"This is indeed a coast with an excellent view. Thanks to you for pointing it out." The bearded officer smiled at the sailor with satisfaction.

The sailor had a bruised face and looked pale, and he didn't know how to respond to the bearded officer's compliment.

However, before the sailor could think clearly, he saw the bearded officer's face change, and in front of the sailor's horrified eyes, he pulled out his sword and stabbed it into his neck.

A soldier immediately came out from behind the bearded officer and pushed hard, and the dead sailor immediately fell off the cliff.

The blood surged, and in just a few breaths it was swallowed up by the blue sea. Then the body was pulled by something and sank quickly to the bottom of the sea. It must be a monster like a water ghost, which can quickly make the sins in the sea disappear.

The bearded officer took a deep breath and turned around. "Although I don't know what happened, the armaments of Little Skellig Island are obviously in a state of emptiness. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us."

"Skellig is about to intervene in the war between the North and the South. We need to inflict heavy damage on it." The bearded officer gritted his teeth and said, "And we choose to attack Little Skellig Island. Can anyone tell me why?"

"Because the Tursek family is the most shameless, evil, and brutal family!" Someone in the ranks of soldiers immediately responded, "We want revenge for the Golden Tower City!"

When he was young, Lord Thorgil the Red once plundered the current capital of Nilfgaard, the City of Golden Tower, with Kratz, Ester, and Bran. At that time, the two successive heads of Tuersek were still young men, and Kratz the "Sea Boar" was just a half-grown boy.

Nilfgaard was just a small country at that time, and the soldiers present were all descendants of the victims of the looting, or even witnesses. Therefore, compared with the situation of the Civil War, the banner of revenge could better inspire their fighting spirit and morale.

"Someone suggested hiring a bounty hunter, but revenge cannot be achieved through the help of others. Besides, I have already obtained information that the cruel Lion of Cintra is also on Little Skellige Island."

"This action is not in the Emperor's strategy, but I believe our next action will go down in history and change the landscape of the continent!" the bearded officer shouted, "Take my armor! Put on your emblems and let the people of Skellige and Cintra know who is about to take their lives and bring them fear!"

In an instant, the flag of the Black Sun began to flutter above the islands, and the dark black armor inlaid with gold edges began to reflect a cold light in the sunlight.

At the same time, in the tents behind them, pieces of tarpaulin were lifted, revealing hideous beasts made of metal and hardwood. They were made of black and gray tones, with huge iron chains wrapped around the sides, extending upwards, like claws and teeth, fastened on the capstan and pulleys, ready to tear apart the prey that was about to appear and release deadly force.

Nilfgaardian giant catapult.

A castle takes more than ten years to build, and after careful repairs, it can be preserved for thousands of years. But these catapults are enough to completely destroy them in a day.

The bearded officer solemnly put on his helmet and shouted loudly.

"Great Sun above, all glory to His Majesty Emperor Emhyr."

More sounds rang out, drowning out the noisy sea breeze between the cliffs.

"Great Sun above! All glory to His Majesty Emperor Emhyr!"