"No, Lord Lannister!" Lann's last words frightened Helela greatly. "I have no intention of putting Cintra in an unjust situation."

Heilela took a deep breath and tried her best to defend herself:

"It's no secret that the Scoia'tael have the support of the Nilfgaardians. Especially since these Scoia'tael are wanted criminals in Aedirn, I, as a captain of the special forces, cannot turn a blind eye. Killing them means weakening the power of Nilfgaard."

"And... after what happened during the day, I believe you can see that the young people of the Ferenz clan have great malice towards human society. They are a good source of soldiers for the Scoia'tael." Helela couldn't help but gasp because of the wounds on her body caused by Milva, but she still forced herself to continue, "If left alone, they can easily be instigated by the Scoia'tael to become enemies of humans, so I plan to eliminate the hidden dangers first..."

What Helela said was not entirely unreasonable, as can be seen from the fact that Kolgrim and his party had stayed outside for so long and had to stick with the Scoia'tael. The main reason why Kolgrim and his party could not return was that the young men of the Ferenz clan were wavering between going home and joining the Scoia'tael. If it weren't for Lann's appearance that gave them a blow, these dwarf youths might have hesitated for even longer.

Lann sighed. "There's nothing wrong with your reason. Even I can't find fault with your starting point. But Captain Leila, have you ever thought about how much trouble your actions will bring to Cintra, and even to Aedirn behind you?"

Helela lowered her head: "I will use my blood to calm the dwarves' possible anger. I will bear all the consequences."

Lann was so angry that he laughed.

He strode forward and grabbed Helela's chin. He lifted the captain's head without allowing her to argue and said to her condescendingly:

"You take it all on yourself? Even if you, a captain of Aedirn, use ten lives, you can't extinguish the wrath of the dwarves! And later, both Cintra and Aedirn will pay the price for your recklessness!"

In this era, there is a primitive legal tradition of "let the instigator pay with his life, and let the hatred come to an end." However, in many cases, the blood dripping is not the end of the conflict, but the beginning of a new hatred. All the suppressed anger will erupt at the right time in the future.

"I don't believe that you, as Demawi's confidant and with the political sense you have developed from living in the court of Vengerberg for so many years, would not be unaware of the consequences of doing this. You are not only hurting Cintra, but also the Demawi you are loyal to!" Lann's strength almost suffocated Helela, "But you were blinded by your hatred, and therefore ignored the war that might be ignited by you in the distance."

"You are unworthy of the badge on your collar. Be thankful that you are not from Cintra, Captain Leila, or you would have been judged for your actions long ago."

"But you will lose your freedom in Mahakam. My servants will keep you under guard until I hand you back to Demawi."

Lann was too lazy to add the honorific suffix "Your Majesty" after "Demawi". And Helela had no intention of defending her king's name. She had known that she would end up like this after being caught, and this was even considered a good outcome.

But when Lann pointed out her thoughts, all the speculations about the possible consequences of her actions that she had suppressed forcibly surfaced, making her lose her mind. So much so that she did not resist at all when Milva took her away for custody.

…

This impromptu farce episode is over, and everything for tonight has been explained.

After a brief greeting with Lann, everyone left the house, except for one person who remained standing. Lann looked over and saw that it was Geralt.

"Kolgrim." Before Geralt could speak, Lann called out to the snake-faction witcher and said in the other's confused eyes, "Geralt seems to have something to say, but I foresee that it would be better for you to listen to the topic later."

Geralt had no opinion on Lann's reaction, but took the initiative to pull Kolgrim, who was unsure whether to go in or out, in. He then closed the door, leaving only three witchers in the house.

"I think what Leila said makes sense." Geralt said under Lann's teasing eyes, "It is indeed easy for young people from those dwarf clans to become members of the Scoia'tael. Captain Leila's way of handling the situation was too harsh, but it also reminded us that perhaps we really need to make some plans for possible dangers that may arise."

Lann stood up and poured a glass of wine for Geralt, and poured another for Kolgrim: "Are you sure that you have such thoughts not because of Leila's identity as your fan?"

Geralt drank the ale in the cup expressionlessly, then snatched Lann's cup.

Lann smiled and shook his head. "Okay, I was joking. But Geralt - why should we stop these Scoia'tael?"

Geralt had imagined countless possible answers from Lann, but this was not one of them. This made him stand there in a daze, not knowing how to respond.

Instead, Kolgrim's eyes gradually brightened.

"you mean……"

"Mahakan has remained neutral for centuries, and they want to continue to remain neutral. But they live in the North, are nominal citizens of the North, and earn money from the North. Isn't it too easy for them to continue to bet on both sides?" Lann shook his head. "Although they promised to give us soldiers through trade, such assistance is not enough... I want to add fuel to the fire and make them completely turn to the North."

"Of course, the resources we have now are barely enough. But the appearance of this group of squirrel party is a pleasant surprise. Since they have already appeared, why not take advantage of it?"

Perhaps anticipating that Geralt might have some questions, Lann blocked his mouth first: "You don't have to worry about the situation getting out of control. After all, Brovar Hogg has firmly ruled Mahakam for centuries. I didn't have a good impression of him during my brief time with him, but I have to admit that he is indeed a wise ruler who is better than most kings in the North. With the ability of the Scoia'tael, they won't cause much trouble here. They will only ignite Brovar's anger towards Nilfgaard."

“And that’s exactly what we want.”

Lann took advantage of Geralt's distraction to snatch back his wine glass, filled it up, and sipped it intermittently, waiting for the two witchers to digest his information.

"So, we do nothing?" Geralt asked after hesitating for a moment.

"We're not doing anything," Lane affirmed.

"But... this is Mahakam, the hometown of Yarpan, and Gabor and Petrit will also go to Cintra later." Geralt hesitated, "Should we really let the Scoia'tael carry out their plans here? Although they will definitely be suppressed by Brovard in the end, there will definitely be some losses in the process."

"They are them, and Mahakam is Mahakam." Lann shook his head, and after a moment's silence, he asked the Wolf Faction Demon Hunter, "Geralt, what do you think of the treatment we received during our time in Mahakam?"

Geralt hesitated for a moment. "Seems good?"

"That's compared to your previous life as a demon hunter." Lann chuckled. "For me, I just feel that there are calculations and conspiracies everywhere."

"Broval wanted everything but didn't want to give anything. He only compromised under my coercion and inducement, and even wanted to kill us. The Sieglin clan used you to weaken and control the monsters. I even suspect that if Sieglin successfully kills Fuchs, we will become their accomplices in name. The Ferenz clan is a little better, but it was only under our questioning that they told us the reason for the dragon's rampage. I believe that as a demon hunter, you must hate this kind of client who gives you a commission but conceals the information the most."

Geralt and Kolgrim couldn't help but nod slightly after hearing Lann's last words.

"I don't want to plot against my allies. I hope that all the partners who cooperate with me can cooperate with me as sincerely as Queen Miwei. But if we were not lucky after coming to Mahakam, we might have lost many troops and rolled out in disgrace."

"In that case, I think it is reasonable to take some extraordinary measures when there is no harm." Lann looked at the two people in front of him, "This is also the point I want to emphasize after the establishment of the Demon Hunter Cult: when accepting a commission, if the other party is sincere and really needs help, then we will fulfill our duties and mission as demon hunters; but if the other party is evasive for personal reasons or even has other purposes, then I don't think we need to be pedantic and dogmatic - what do you think?"

White Wolf lowered his head. This was not in line with his usual style. When faced with situations like what Lann described, he would usually just turn around and leave, rather than resorting to "paying a debt" style revenge.

But the situation is different now. If he really wants to revive the Wolf Sect and establish a sect in the future, his way of doing things may have to move in the direction that Lann said.

"I seem to have heard something similar, isn't it 'Lannister, a debt must be paid'?" Kolgrim was very excited, and he completely agreed with Lann's point of view. But then he became a little distressed.

"Lan, you know that our Snake Sect has changed its style of doing things for various reasons. I think it will be difficult to adapt to the change... I mean, who are we going to point the dagger at in the end, or do we still need to draw the dagger?"

Lann chuckled, "Don't worry, Kolgrim. You, the Snake Clan, will always be the most important part of the plan."

…

It was a dark and windy night.

The number of Cintra guards responsible for guarding the Scoia'tael was reduced by one third, but it was still enough to perform their duties.

Suddenly there was a noise coming from the darkness not far away, which made the people of Cintra, who had just experienced Heleila's "visit", nervous, and they all drew their weapons at once.

"Who?"

There was a sudden noise in the darkness, probably because of the fierce roar. Then several strong and calm short figures walked out of the darkness. The Cintra people looked closely and found that they were all the young Ferenc dwarves who had just returned to the clan.

"A few... Sirs?" The dwarf used the honorifics he had learned in human society in an unfamiliar way.

"We are not knights." The leader of the guards shook his head. "What do you want?"

The people of Cintra looked at each other strangely. They knew that these dwarves were twice or even three times their age, but the way they behaved still had the immaturity and nervousness of young people.

"We... want to send them some midnight snacks." The dwarf youth raised his hand, holding a wooden basket.

He pointed to the room behind Cintra where the Scoia'tael were imprisoned. "After all, they were brothers of our clan before, and I know some of them. They will be sent to Carbon Mountain soon, and we don't know what's waiting for them. They suffered outside just like us, and just returned home - they even suffered more."

The dwarf youth lowered his head. "So at least, now I want them to recall the taste of their hometown. If they can't return to their hometown because of the punishment of the Great Elder, I hope that when they recall the last time they saw Ferenz, it won't just be the cage."

This was a very touching speech, but the people of Cintra narrowed their eyes as they listened to it.

The dwarves came to deliver midnight snacks, but they were sneaky and hadn't turned on the lights. Although they could explain it by saying they were worried about being punished by the chieftain, some of these Cintrians had been guards in the palace before, and their sense of smell for abnormalities was extremely sensitive.

However, the leader of the Cintra guards simply looked at the dwarf youth with a puzzled look, and let him go in the other's surprised eyes.

"Don't worry, we won't tell your chief." The Cintra guard added.

The dwarf youth thanked the people of Cintra repeatedly and praised loudly for their understanding.

But after entering the house behind the Cintra guards, the expression on the dwarf's face suddenly changed.

He felt guilty for a moment, but that guilt was then suppressed by more and more complicated emotions.

“Humans…”

The squirrel party in the house had heard the noise outside a long time ago. When they saw the people coming, they immediately started talking loudly, eating and drinking loudly, praising the clan delicacies brought by the dwarf youth, and lamenting the warmth of their hometown.

Amid the noise, a Scoia'tael dwarf with his beard tied into three braids leaned close to the dwarf's ear and whispered:

"Have you thought it through?"

The dwarf youth also lowered his voice, making sure the content of the conversation was sufficiently covered by the surrounding noise:

"I want to join the Scoia'tael... We are bullied outside, and we hoped to have a good life after returning home, but..." The young dwarf closed his eyes, and the flames of the red dragon, the house burned to charcoal, and the crying compatriots who had lost their loved ones kept flashing in his mind.

"Mahakan is no longer the Mahakam of our dreams. We need a new, more open country that gives us more dignity." The dwarf wiped his eyes and asked the three-braided Scoia'tael dwarf, "Are all the promises you made to us real?"

"That's not what we promised, but what we are going to fight for and get together." The three-braided dwarf emphasized.

"Alright." The dwarf took a deep breath, "You will be locked in there for a short time. I will take care of the rest of the operations."

"What do you need me to do?"