What Lann said was the strategy he had decided on since the meeting with the King of the North: Advisor Mossak went north to contact Kovir's mercenary group, butler Ens was responsible for reorganizing logistics to prepare for the war, and Marshal Vissekid was responsible for training the troops and fighting on the front line.

Now the three giants of Cintra looked at each other, and Mossak spoke first.

"Kelda and I met up in Kovir. He had come into contact with many local nobles and even royal families during his early years as a demon hunter, and he knew many people who could help introduce him. I came back temporarily through the portal, and after reporting the situation to you, I will go back and meet up with him immediately."

Mossak's first words made Lann look delighted. The two great masters, Kelda and Geron, were hermits. They let their disciples, Lann and Coen, go down the mountain to train, while they stayed in Kel Siren.

Now that Kelda was willing to come down from the mountain for Cintra's affairs, this was a good start. Lann even felt that even if he didn't hire the Legion, just letting the old griffin start to really get involved in Cintra's political and diplomatic arrangements was a victory.

"Thank you for your hard work." Lan said sincerely, "How is it going?"

Mossak showed a tangled expression: "There were many twists and turns in the process, and it was quite complicated overall. In the end, although we successfully hired a corps, the nature and number of this corps were somewhat different from what we had planned."

Lann showed an inquiring look.

Mossak sighed: "Let me start from the beginning - first of all, Kovir has just experienced a coup."

…

Kovir is located at the northernmost tip of the North. To its north is the Dragon Mountains where the Griffin School's headquarters, Kael Siren, is located, and to its west is the endless sea.

Geographically speaking, this location is somewhat far away from the political center, but geologically speaking, this is not the case - because it is located in a mountainous area, Kovir has extremely rich mineral resources: iron, copper, silver, zinc, and other rare metals. It even has more than half of the gold in the North and produces three-quarters of the continent's magic-blocking gold.

At the same time, due to its coastal location and wide acceptance of various immigrants, Kovir's glass and salt industries are also extremely developed. They built a port in Praxida Bay, which is the trade hub of the entire continent.

However, the country's territory is not large, and the kings of this country do not seem to have any intention of expanding the territory. Therefore, their population is very small, and the entire country's defense force is even handed over to mercenaries. With a lot of money, this country's combat effectiveness is very strong, and it even defeated the coalition forces of Kaedwen and Redania.

In contrast, Kovir's shortcomings are also very obvious: it is a trading country with an extremely prosperous economy and an extremely free market. This is the reason for the country's prosperity, and sometimes it can even rise to the position of "the strongest country in the North" by virtue of its strength. However, the King of Kovir has very weak control over the country. Rather than being a king, he is more like a large city lord.

In the storyline of Lann's memory, the current King of Kovir will be stabbed to death by an assassin on the steps of his own palace in order to protect his queen, and the palace guards will not arrive until most of his blood has been drained.

To Lann, this country was like an enlarged Novigrad, and there was no central force like the Eternal Flame that could convince and unite everyone. So it was not difficult to understand why civil unrest, coups, and even regional independence broke out occasionally.

…

"The current King of Kovir is called Isterad. He has just regained the throne from the usurper, and his foundation is unstable. In the previous coup, Povis declared his independence from the Kingdom of Kovir, and the eastern border close to the inland also declared independence. Kovir has always believed in maintaining neutrality in the war, so Isterad refused to send a mercenary group to help us fight against Nilfgaard."

"Even if we hire them at a premium?" Lann asked inquiringly.

Mossak sighed, "Istrade said he would double the premium and then send troops to attack us who are disrupting the market."

Lann was silent. The treasures he got from the Mirror Master could fill several warehouses, but Kovir's were enough to fill several castles. In terms of money, Cintra was still not as good as Kovir.

“But you said before that the result was good?”

Mossak nodded. "Istrad himself is a rare sober person in the North. He can see the threat of Nilfgaard. After several rounds of negotiations, he decided to release a group of political prisoners, pardon them and let them form a 'Free Corps' to participate in our war."

From Kovir in the north to Cintra in the south, this was actually a disguised form of exile. King Istrad probably never thought of sending back political prisoners who were not suitable for killing but were troublesome to stay in the country.

Lann hesitated for a moment: "How many of them are there?"

Mossak replied: "Three thousand. Redania has sent a large number of transport ships as support, but we need to bear the cost of their food and logistics ourselves."

Lan nodded. It was better to have some than nothing. Let these political prisoners fight against Nilfgaard on the front line. If they made contributions, they could be absorbed to rebuild Cintra after the war. Cintra's population was not enough to restore its former prosperity. On the premise of guaranteeing the rights of the original Cintra people, it would also have to absorb some refugees and immigrants.

And if I remember correctly, King Istrade himself would also send out the "Free Corps" in this way in the subsequent North-South War. These political prisoners were originally some officers in Kovir who stood on the wrong side. They had good combat effectiveness and knowledge, and many of them were even descendants of nobles. In fact, they were stronger than those ordinary mercenaries in fighting.

The future free army will play a vital role in the war against Nilfgaard, and the Redanians even held a grand triumphal celebration for this foreign mercenary group. It is just unknown how much difference there is in the personnel composition between the free army that Kovir has sent to Cintra and the future one.

"If that's the case, maybe these 3,000 people can play a greater role than the 5,000-man mercenary group we originally planned to hire." Lann affirmed the druid's mission. "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Mossack."

"Ens, how is the logistics situation here?"

The old butler flipped open the notebook he carried with him and said in a serious tone, "With the support of the treasure you brought back, we bought a large amount of daily supplies from Novigrad, and they gave us a pleasant discount. Aedirn sold us the first batch of food that was enough to support us for half a year, and there will be more in the future. The construction of the territory is in order. In general, thanks to you, my work here is going smoothly."

Lan nodded with satisfaction.

"But His Majesty Demave of Aedirn has put forward a condition." The old butler said, "He hopes that we can launch a counterattack against Nilfgaard as soon as possible, and he also hopes to have a meeting with you in the near future."

Where there is assistance, there will certainly be demands.

After Ens finished speaking, Marshal Visegid took over the conversation: "I have a similar situation here. My troops have had contact with the messenger of Queen Mivi during this period. The United Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia is under great pressure, and she also hopes that we can send troops as soon as possible. At the same time, she also hopes to organize a tripartite meeting between you and King Demavi in ​​the near future."

Lann pondered for a moment. Nilfgaard was not the boss in the game. While he and others were developing, they were also continuing their strategic layout in an orderly manner. Obviously, Aedirn and the United Kingdom had already felt the pressure.

"How are we preparing for war now?" Lane asked Vissekid.

Vissekid obviously had a plan in mind: "Three thousand of our five thousand people are veterans who have fought in the battlefield. With their help, the remaining two thousand people have integrated quickly. There is enough logistical support for them to devote themselves to training. Now I can guarantee that their combat effectiveness will not be inferior to that of the Royal Guards."

"But we are still lacking in equipment. Although other countries are generous with materials in trade, they are very strict in controlling weapons and armor. Fortunately, Lan, you brought back the Skellige craftsman family, which can alleviate the urgent need."

Ens expressed a different opinion: "The Marshal is too optimistic. Although we have craftsmen, we don't have enough raw iron ore. The armor we finally make may only be able to cover two-thirds of the soldiers - and it's only half-body armor. If damage and repair are taken into account, the coverage rate may be even lower."

Some things cannot be solved by spending money in a short period of time. The treasure that Lann obtained from the Mirror Master can be used to purchase daily supplies, but for some strategic-level materials, countries have export restrictions even to their allies.

Except for relatives like Skellige who are truly sincere and devoted.

Lann rubbed his brows and said, "It's not enough to just consider the armor. If I remember correctly, we also need siege equipment and other war machines, which require more metal raw materials, and the Skellige people are not good at making them. So I still have to go get a set of dwarf Mahakam."

After assessing the current situation, Lann made arrangements with the three elders: "Marshal, Ens, you don't have to worry about Demawi and Mivi. I will explain to them, and we will proceed step by step. Before the reinforcements from Skellige and the free legions from Kovir arrive, and the armor coverage rate is qualified, we cannot start a war lightly - the Cintra people can't afford the loss."

"Only we can decide when to start the battle. We must not only recover the lost territory, but also ensure the greatest gains with the least losses. No outsiders can give us strategic 'advice', especially those allies who have helped us."

Mossack, Ens, and Vissegid nodded solemnly. Vissegid looked particularly pleased. The old marshal was very happy to hear that Lan had such military insights.

"This is the situation in Cintra recently, Lann, you should have gained a lot in Skellige, right?"

Mossak seemed to have heard some fragmentary news, at least knowing that Easter had successfully ascended the throne and Skellige was willing to send reinforcements.

Ens and Vissekid both showed expectant expressions when they heard this.

Then, Lann's words met their expectations, and even exceeded them. For a moment, they were so shocked that they forgot to react:

"When I first arrived in Skellige... the castle was attacked by the Welka people... I recruited a berserker... I also recruited a female night demon... I also recruited an ice giant... The Nilfgaardians attacked... The people of Skellige were very excited..."

…

The sky gradually darkened, and Lan En didn't know how long he had been talking.

The three elders who were listening raised their wine glasses from time to time, and soon found that the wine jugs were empty, and Hardy, the wine waiter, had come in countless times.

The evening breeze blew in, and everyone felt refreshed.

"Your Majesty, everything is going well. It is a blessing. If Her Majesty the Queen knew, she would rest in peace..." Ens lowered his head and wiped the corners of his eyes gently. "And with the great help of Skellige, Cintra will surely be able to recover under your leadership, young master."

The old butler always cares about people.

Mossak was first angry about the appearance of a traitor like Artis in the Oak Ring, and then he began to smile bitterly: "You really gave me a lot of problems, Lann... Researching the necklace that can curse humans to become undead werewolves, cracking the secret of the berserker transformation, and you still want me to try to teach you the Frost Giant Druid magic?"

Although the old druid said "difficult problems", his eyes were shining. For a spellcaster like him who loves academics and research, the attraction of these projects is fatal. However, he already has too many projects on hand, so he has to take them one by one.

Finally he said, "Let's deal with your ice giant problem first."

If Lann wanted to bring the ice giant from overseas to the mainland, he could not afford to consume such a huge amount of magic power at present, and he must use an orthodox teleportation array to transport it - after all, it is a giant more than ten meters tall, and even if a regular wizard opened such a large portal, he could not send it so far.

The druids of Oak Ring were already helping to carve the magic circle, and Mossak was in charge of Cintra. After arriving on the mainland, Lann's mana would be enough to support the consumption of summoning the ice giant.

Of course, the Frost Giant is still too conspicuous in Cintra at the moment. Lann plans to hide him in the snow-capped mountains of Kaer Morhen first. The environment is also suitable, and he can summon him as a secret weapon when needed.

Old Marshal Vissekid was the most excited about the existence of the ice giants.

"A giant that is more than ten meters tall, invulnerable to swords and guns, and has infinite strength? If he uses it to attack the city, we can drive Nilfgaard away now..." The old marshal with white hair and beard began to inhale suddenly.

"No, no, that would still have weaknesses. We have to defend against Nilfgaard's catapults and crossbows, as well as their mage troops. This kind of monster... no, war beast, can support the country's strength on its own. It would be a pity to destroy it in one or two battles." The marshal immediately rejected his own idea and continued to mutter to himself, "We can equip him with a set of plate armor, with a cotton lining and a layer of leather armor on the outside. It needs to be enchanted, and have weapons that are strong enough to exert their strength..."

Should I equip a giant who is more than ten meters tall with armor, or plate armor, and also enchant it?

The marshal's obviously drunken mumbling made Ens and Mossak's mouths twitch.

Lann nodded in agreement. It was also his hope to maximize the combat effectiveness of the ice giant.

Ever since the Ice Giant appeared, Lann's mentality has been inflated. He even thought of using [Teleport] to teleport to the Nilfgaardian Palace and summon the Ice Giant. Then he could just run away and the Ice Giant would be done with it.

But this thought was quickly suppressed after he calmed down.

First of all, if Lann wants to reach Nilfgaard through [teleportation], he must first have a teleportation point in the capital of Nilfgaard. Either he goes there himself, or asks a servant or companion who has a teleportation point to go. Under the current situation between the north and the south, this is already an impossible task.

Secondly, the Black Sun Empire has its own warlock organization and even warlock troops. Under the centralized power of the emperor, these warlocks are very obedient.

The reason why the Frost Giants were able to wreak havoc in the archipelago for so many years was because they were in the mountains, and also because the islanders had not been able to organize an effective response. If they rashly went to the Nilfgaardian Palace, tens of thousands of guards, various large-scale attack equipment, and an entire royal sorcerer group would definitely make the historic Frost Giants completely "history".

However, Lann just suppressed this thought, instead of killing it. Just because the current Frost Giant can't do it doesn't mean that the Frost Giant with the follower panel can't do it in the future...

"The Marshal's suggestion is actually quite constructive. Giving the Frost Giants armor is something we can consider... It looks like Mahakam will have to go there anyway. Only the dwarves can do this kind of thing."

…

Lann stayed in Brokilon for the next few days. After arranging some matters at this stage, Lann set out to visit Queen Miwei and King Demawei for a three-party meeting.

According to the news brought by the marshal and the old butler, the two rulers are now in Edsberg.