When she heard Geralt asking about the origin of her special forces, Leila puffed out her chest, as if she felt proud that her work had attracted Geralt's attention.

But Helela was a qualified soldier after all, and she quickly regained some of her sanity. After thinking for a moment, she answered Geralt: "The Scoia'tael originated from the brutal oppression of non-human races by Kaedwen. Now, with the behind-the-scenes promotion of Nilfgaard, it has spread to Aedirn and Temeria."

"Many greedy non-human races have not been recruited by the Scoia'tael guerrillas, but they still rob people in the name of the Scoia'tael, and some humans persecute non-human civilians under the pretext of eliminating the Scoia'tael. The situation has become so bad that it must be stopped, so we have established this special force."

According to the history that Lann knew, the scourge of the Squirrel Party would sweep across the entire North in a few years and become uncontrollable.

Humans slaughtered non-human races, non-human races retaliated against humans, and then humans retaliated against non-human races. Too many people who could have stayed out of the incident were forcibly dragged into it by knives and swords. Too many children and old people who should not have taken up weapons were forced to be exposed to iron weapons and cavalry.

What is most important to the demon hunter community is that extreme racists will hate any existence that is even slightly different from humans, even if those differences are acquired - such as a warlock who can use spells that ordinary people cannot master, or a demon hunter whose appearance has changed due to alchemical mutation.

Geralt did not have such a forward-looking vision, but his keen intuition, abundant experience, and the history in books all told him that any conflict that rose to the racial level would become irreconcilable, and the animal nature in the human heart would be liberated most thoroughly and to the extreme in the process.

Judging from the situation in Aedirn described by Leila, the animal nature of some people has begun to be released, but this is far from complete.

[If the Scoia'tael is not under control, perhaps Cintra will not be able to stay out of it in the future... No, it is absolutely impossible to stay out of it. ]

Geralt liked Cintra and the people of Cintra. He couldn't help but look worried when he thought of this.

…

Geralt's face remained expressionless, but the atmosphere around them had become gloomy.

Leila seemed to have sensed something. After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly changed the subject and took the initiative to speak to Geralt: "You know that I am originally from Lyria. But in fact, I am still... a quarter elf, because my mother is a half-elf. I heard that Lady Yennefer is of similar bloodline to me?"

Yennefer's mother was also a half-elf, and she herself is a quarter-elf half-blood.

"Quarter elf" is a poetic bloodline, because throughout history there have been many talented people with quarter elf bloodline, who either made great contributions or caused bloody storms.

Therefore, there is a rumor among the people: those who are one quarter elf are not ordinary people - and from a statistical point of view, the probability of a one quarter elf becoming a demon is greater.

Although from the perspective of academic research, this is a kind of survivor bias, and there are countless people who have a quarter of elf blood but died in obscurity. However, the unruly people will even believe that "demon hunters like to eat children", so naturally they don't have the precious ability of "independent thinking".

In some areas, people are even more hostile to quarter-elfs than to monsters; if the Scoia'tael is prevalent in that place, even breathing would be a mistake for a person with quarter-elf blood.

"In the early years, countries like Cintra and Temeria might not have known about the Scoia'tael, but these killers have been prevalent in the east of the North for a long time and are well-known." Leila lowered her head. "When I was a child, I was often bullied by being called a 'little squirrel', so I came to Aedirn."

"I hate those villagers, and I hate the Scoia'tael even more for causing me such misfortune. But I won't harm all non-human races, because I am barely one of them."

Seeing Geralt's eyes, Leila explained, "The strategy of Aedirn is the same. The establishment of the special forces is not to suppress all non-human races. On the contrary, we are to screen and eliminate the real Scoia'tael and protect those non-human races who are law-abiding and integrated into society."

Leila pointed to Yarpan who was leading the way ahead. "For example, them."

The dwarf team was extremely excited when they returned home. After going through the dwarven folk songs one by one, they began to sing the newly learned Cintra songs. There were even some sentences praising the Lion of Cintra, which prompted Lann to stop them loudly from time to time in front of the team.

It looks like the dwarves are having a great time in Sintra.

…

Geralt nodded silently in his heart. It seemed that Aedirn’s rejection of non-human races had not yet reached the point of being indiscriminate.

I just don't know how long this situation will last before it continues to deteriorate, whether Lann has a plan to deal with it, and whether the current situation will affect the plans Lann has already made.

Of course, these are not things Geralt needs to consider or have enough brains to think about. He only needs to report the information he has collected to Lann.

The topic of the Scoia'tael came to an end, and then the White Wolf looked at Leila's left hand, where she wore the lead ring entrusted to her by Demave.

As the only Aedirn member in the team, she should be the one keeping the king's belongings.

Geralt took the opportunity to start the second topic: "Can I ask why His Majesty Demave has this ring?"

"Of course, it's not a secret." As for matters that do not involve state secrets, Leila can be said to White Wolf to know everything at this time, and it is not impossible that she will even reveal some secrets inadvertently.

"Your Majesty, it was a coincidence that you were able to obtain this ring," Leila sighed. "You may know that the Mahakam Mountains are actually Temeria's territory in legal terms, but the dwarves have always practiced a high degree of autonomy. Until one day, King Fortestai thought he should start collecting taxes from the dwarves, so he sent tax collectors to Mahakam."

"I guess this process must not be smooth?"

"You have a keen insight." Leila chuckled. "The dwarf with a bad temper felt insulted, so he put the tax collector in a barrel and threw it off the top of the mountain. King Fortestai was furious and immediately decided to send troops to attack Mahakam."

Geralt nodded thoughtfully. He had attended the Northern Conference with Lann, and at that time he felt that Foltstai's hostility towards non-human races was a little too strong, even more than Demaveri, who was famous for his cruelty among the nobles, and second only to Henselt of Kaedwen.

Now he understood the whole story.

"I suppose His Majesty Demave helped the dwarves?"

"Yes." Leila confirmed, "Your Majesty persuaded King Fortestai to give up the idea of ​​sending troops. The dwarf elder therefore gave Your Majesty a lead ring as a symbol of friendship."

Geralt nodded in understanding and said with a sigh, "I heard that Mahakam is extremely xenophobic. Now I know that they are not completely averse to humans. It turns out that they will show friendship to humans who have done them a favor."

But he heard Leila chuckle, which made Geralt turn his head in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Geralt, I'm being rude." Leila explained, "But in fact, it's not Mahakam that His Majesty has shown favor to, but Temeria. Once you see the gathering place of the dwarves, you will know that it is definitely not a city that can be conquered by manpower. If Temeria really sends troops here, it will only suffer heavy losses and its national strength will be greatly weakened."

Geralt frowned, feeling that the logic was a bit confusing: "If that's the case, then why did the Great Elder give His Majesty Demave the Lead Ring?"

"Because there are a large number of dwarves living in Temeria, if the Temeria army returns in defeat at Mahakam, these dwarves will definitely be blamed. And..." Leila was silent for a while, then said, "I really don't want to say this, but Brovar Hogg is very cunning. He seems to be more proficient in politics than most of the majesties in the North. His gift of the lead ring to your majesty also has many other benefits for him."

"I also hope that you can remind Lord Lannister in time, telling him not to be misled by the stereotype of dwarves and to be careful during negotiations."

Although humans often think that dwarves are loyal, honest, and straightforward, no race has completely identical personalities. Yennefer's funds were fully managed by a dwarf banker. Geralt had met him several times and felt that the dwarf was more calculating than most of the merchants he had met.

Geralt nodded in understanding. He had asked almost all the questions he wanted to ask. He was not a talkative person, so the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

Yarpen's team changed their song at this moment, this time praising the touching story between the Lion Knight and Princess Cirilla. This song was not circulated in Cintra, but was taught to him by Zoltan when he brought it back from Novigrad.

According to Zoltan, this is the latest piece of music from a drama troupe called "Fox" near Novigrad Square.

Regarding the dwarves' singing, Lann probably felt that he could not stop them and just let them do what they wanted.

However, Yarpen's singing soon stopped and was replaced by cheers of surprise.

This gave the others, who were already out of breath from the climb, a boost of energy.

Along the steep mountain road, among the snow-capped peaks, a figure more solid than the rocks was waiting for them.

…

Standing between the peaks was a dwarf, who had obviously been contacted by Yarpan in advance.

The moment he saw the other person, Yarpan's singing took a deep breath, then burst into even louder laughter and hugged the dwarf tightly.

"Gabo, my cousin, long time no see, I'm back!"

"Your scream is still so unpleasant, Yarpen. Can it be considered a song?"

The dwarf's voice was calmer and more powerful than Yarpen's. Compared with Yarpen, who was a mercenary, he also had the roughness and boldness that the dwarves could not erase, but he was much more polite.

Soon he saw the team behind him and his eyes were sharply fixed on Lann who was at the front.

"You must be the famous Lion of Cintra, the Lord of Lannister. I am Gabor Sieglin, the diplomat who has come to greet you. The Great Elder has been waiting for you for a long time."

Lann politely returned Gabo's greeting and then began to look the dwarf over.

He was wearing gray-black iron armor and a fur coat with a white fur collar. He looked as steady as a rock, which made people trust him involuntarily.

He and Yarpen had the same last name - Sieglin, which was a large clan among the dwarves. According to Yarpen, Gabor himself was also well-known among the dwarves, so he was often sent to greet diplomatic guests.

Although due to Mahakam's xenophobic policies, Gabo might not carry out any diplomatic work for several years.

"Leila, long time no see." After a brief greeting with Lann, Gabor saw the messenger from Aedirn in the back, "It seems that His Majesty Demave has not sent a messenger to visit us."

"I am here with Lord Lannister as a guide," Rhaella explained, then raised her left hand. "I brought this."

The jewel that symbolized the friendship between Aedirn and Mahakam was displayed before Gabor.

"Lead Ring..." Gabor muttered in a low voice, "Ordinary people can use it to see the Great Elder, but the Lord Lannister may not need it at all."

His low mumbling was swept away by the cold wind of the snowy mountains, so Leila could not hear it clearly. But Lan, who was not far away, heard it clearly and couldn't help but smile.

It seems that those lost equipment drawings are quite effective.

…

After a brief greeting, Gabo looked behind the team, as if looking for something. After a few seconds, he asked Yarpan in a disappointed tone, "Did Zoltan not come back?"

Yarpan waved his hand nonchalantly: "He said he was only coming back to climb the mountain, and he wouldn't be able to see his family anyway, so he might as well not come - he's just such a weird person."

The dwarves are a very closed race and they value tradition. The current great elder, Brovar Hogg, has ruled the dwarves for two hundred years. He is almost like a patriarch who sets the daily rules for the dwarves, and stipulates what a dwarf cannot do and what he must do.

Zoltan complained more than once while drinking in Sintra:

"There's no freedom in Mahakam. You have no idea how that old bastard runs things. He's suddenly started to make so-called 'community norms': things like whether you can wear braces; you have to wait five minutes for the fish soup to cool before you eat it; you have to work for twenty years before you can submit an application to marry a wife; you can only wipe your butt with your right hand after going to the toilet; you can only whistle twenty yards from a mine..."

What is most unbearable for the freedom-loving dwarves is the "collective labor" system.

Each dwarf is forced to work in the mine for more than 40 years. The reward for the work is a token called "punched gold" that can only be circulated within Mahakam. Six large boxes of punched gold can only be exchanged for a small bag of gold when used to exchange for external currency. It is said that the dwarf elders established this system to make life difficult for the dwarves when they go out, so as to discourage them from leaving Mahakam.

Therefore, many truly capable dwarves would choose to leave Mahakam, such as Yarpan's dragon-slaying team, or traveling merchants like Zoltan, as well as various dwarf craftsmen and dwarf bankers.

…

"By doing this, your Great Elder, aren't you afraid that the real elites among the dwarves will all run away?" Kolgrim asked in amazement. He asked himself if he could live in such a place.

Gabor shook his head and explained, "When dwarves reach adulthood, they will choose to go down the mountain to gain experience. At this time, they will have a choice: either return to Mahakam within a specified time and never go out again; or stay outside Mahakam and never come back."

Gabo has explained the traditions of the dwarves to guests visiting Mahakam more than once, and he always does so with sincerity and never gets tired of it.

"I am a dwarf who chose to return to Mahakam after training outside. I used to loudly scold the Great Elder after drinking, but after I saw the living conditions of the dwarves outside, I found that I gradually understood him. So I chose to return to Mahakam and contribute my own strength to my hometown."

"Of course, I also respect other people's choices. Mahakam also needs outstanding compatriots to bring the voice of dwarves to the world." Gabor looked at Yarpan. The members of the Dragon Slaying Team were the dwarves who chose not to return to Mahakam for the rest of their lives.

The renowned Yarpen Squad is one of the finest dwarves out there. Their dragon-slaying feats have long been woven into poetry, and they will continue to have legends of their own for the foreseeable future.

While they were talking, they had already passed halfway up the mountain. In front of them appeared a tavern and a dozen cabins and tents built around the tavern. It was obviously a gathering place for the journey.

The dwarves of Mahakam often need to cross mountains and hills for their work, and this is one of the places where they take a rest.

"I'll just go this far, Lann. Next, Gabo will take you to see the Great Elder." Yarpan said, "According to tradition, I will never be able to enter Mahakam in my lifetime. If I were seen by those old stubborn people, they would probably call me a traitor and throw wine at me."

Yarpan said helplessly, but he was still smiling: "I'll just drink a few glasses of Mahakam beer here. I've also made an appointment with my family to have dinner here today. I haven't seen them for a long time, and I'm looking forward to it."

Lan nodded in understanding. Facing the traditional issues of Mahakam, he could not say much. If he put on the airs of the Duke of Cintra and "protected" Yarpan and allowed him to enter Mahakam at this time, not to mention that it might offend the great elder who had not yet met, even Yarpan himself might feel uncomfortable.

So Lan simply reached his left hand into his cloak and pretended to take out his wallet: "It's always better to have fun when you meet your family after a long time. Do you have enough money?"

"Haha, that will definitely never be enough!"

The dwarf laughed loudly as he took the coin bag thrown in the air. Feeling the weight in his hand, his smile became even more unbridled.

As mentioned before, the exchange rate between the tokens among the dwarves and the currency of the outside world is very low. The bag of crowns given by Lann can allow an entire team to drink happily for a whole night in the outside world, and in Mahakam it is almost enough to buy the entire tavern.

A mercenary like Yarpan who lives for the moment doesn't have much savings, so Lann can be said to have helped him a lot. Especially today is a family gathering, which is enough for him to show his face in front of his family.

The excited dwarf pushed open the trapdoor of the tavern with his back, and the noise and the intoxicating aroma of hometown wine immediately filled Yarpan's nostrils. He turned around and said goodbye loudly:

"Then we'll see you in a few days, Lan!"

The unique noise of the tavern swept in from behind Yarpan, and his farewell voice also spread into the tavern.

"Lane?" Someone in the tavern looked up as if he sensed something.

Before Yarpan, the captain of the dragon-slaying team, could enter the tavern, his body was suddenly knocked away by someone like a leaf.

A tall figure rushed out from inside.

"Golden hair! Lion eyes! Great griffin cloak! You are Lann Lannister Rhaanron!"