Then, as usual, a figure emitting a faint fragrance bumped into Lann's arms.
"Long time no see, Ciri...have you grown taller again?"
Lann felt the dizziness in his head getting stronger as he was shaken violently.
However, holding the princess in his arms, he suddenly had a feeling of unreality. The little girl who had only reached his waist not long ago could now reach his chest.
Geralt, who was behind Lann, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw the intimate scene between the two.
"Welcome back, Master."
The old butler bowed slightly to Lan, and asked his grandson to hand the basin and towel to the Duke of Cintra.
But Lann didn't have the energy to care about all these things now. After all the soldiers passed through the portal, he immediately turned to Mossak who had stopped casting spells.
"Uncle Mossak, I just resolved the crisis of Queen Mevi and Demave before I came back. They were attacked by the Nilfgaardians, and Queen Mevi almost lost all of Rivia... She even almost lost Lyria."
"Nilfgaard is definitely not the only army taking action in this direction. Are there any actions from other armies? What is the reaction from the North?"
The first thing Lan En did when he landed was to ask about the war. After hearing Lan En's question, Mossak's expression became a little more serious, but it was far from being serious. Obviously, the situation was not a crisis.
He pondered the information Lann had brought back and asked, "Since you came back from there, Lann, you should have solved the problems of Mi Wei and Demawi III, right?"
By now, the old druid has developed confidence in Lann.
Lane also briefly shared with Mossak what he had done in Livia, which made Mossak marvel again and again.
The old druid then shared his intelligence with Lann: "The North's reaction to the invasion of the Eastern Army Group was not very strong. Only Henselt of Kaedwen and Demaevi III have been holding grudges for a long time, and they seem to want to take this opportunity to invade northern Aedirn."
"But his intention was soon discovered by Foltstei and Vizmir. They warned Henselt together and dispelled the idea of that fool. Now that you, Lan, have helped Rivia stabilize the front line, there should be no more turmoil in the future."
The Northern King was being beaten on the front line, but Henselt, also a big Northern country, wanted to stab him in the back at this time. It was this kind of king that lowered the matching mechanism of the entire North.
Fortunately, the previous Northern Conference allowed the kings of other major countries to reach a consensus, otherwise Kaedwen might really have provided assistance to Nilfgaard.
"It's worthy of him!" Lann exclaimed sincerely.
Then Lan asked the question that concerned him the most: "What is the situation on our front line? Have the Nilfgaardians made any moves?"
The old druid stroked his beard and nodded as expected. "It was the same on our side at the beginning. The southerners launched a surprise attack on us about a week ago. The offensive was so fierce that we almost thought they wanted to start a decisive battle. Marshal Vissekid and I had to go into battle ourselves to repel the enemy's first wave of attacks."
"But then, our support came." At this point, a smile appeared on the druid's face, "Easter came with the Skellige people."
Lane showed a look of surprise, and gradually became excited as Mossak and Ens explained.
…
Theoretically, no matter how fast the Skellige ships were, they would not be able to reach Cintra in such a short time. But this time, Skellige sent the entire country to support the mainland. Easter not only mobilized the seven major families of the archipelago, but also invited many druids from the Oak Ring.
Druids who originally followed the way of nature were reluctant to participate in such a war with clear positions. But first of all, as the king, Easter promised a lot of benefits, Mossak, as a prestigious mentor-level druid, also made a lot of efforts, and Lann's actions in Skellige - killing druid traitors and saving druid apprentices - also won the favor of many druids.
So the druids still sent out a team. They gathered several spellcasters who were proficient in weather magic, and led by the sky master Fetov, they summoned the wind, allowing the Skellige fleet to sail down the river with a favorable wind, and the speed was many times faster than planned.
Not only did they reach Cintra ahead of schedule, they even had time to send out a fleet to plunder Nilfgaard along the way, accidentally cutting off several small food routes. As a result, Nilfgaard's logistics no longer dared to operate in coastal areas, and even tried to stay away from inland waterways.
"It's worthy of Skellige." Lan praised sincerely.
"In addition, the magic of Ms. Triss and Ms. Yennefer also provided a lot of help on the front line. Mr. Reso and other Snake Faction members also organized guerrillas, using their rich jungle experience and alchemical poisons to harass the enemy's camps and logistical supply routes many times." Ens added with a smile.
"Mr. Geralt's companions are here too. They are the witcher masters from the Wolf Faction. They are working together with Master Letho."
The old butler chuckled softly and said, "Although Marshal Vissekid will be very unhappy to hear this, I must say that the role played by the Demon Hunter Masters is no less than that played on the front battlefield."
"They are worthy of it." Lann exclaimed again with relief.
Kolgrim and Geralt couldn't help but smile, only Cohen shrugged helplessly at Lann.
"I told the commanders on the front line about your return today, Lan. They are all preparing to return soon," said Mossak. "We need a formal combat meeting to formulate future plans."
"It's time to retake Cintra."
"Of course." Lann narrowed his eyes after hearing the druid's words.
Seeing that Lann had finished communicating with the druid and had started to work, Ens also took out a notebook from his arms and sorted out the things that needed to be told to Lann.
"The combat meeting is scheduled for tomorrow evening. Those on the front lines will need some time to get back. Some of them will need the help of advisor Mossak's portal." said the old butler. The druid nodded slightly. This was agreed upon before.
"Before that, young master, you can wash up and maintain your armor, then go to the town to inspect and announce your return to the people." Ens emphasized, "In addition to the Skellige people brought by His Majesty Easter and Mr. Geralt's friends, there are many other allies who need to meet you."
Although he had just returned from Mahakam, he couldn't relax for a moment. However, Lan En was not a person who cared about these things in an emergency.
He even wanted to skip the time to wash up and get straight to work, but Ens would not allow such unseemly behavior.
"Who are the new allies? Are the mercenaries from Covir coming?" Lan asked curiously.
"No, the Free Legion is still on the way." Ens nodded and confirmed Lann's guess, but there was a slight gap. "The druid master of Skellige did not stop after his fleet arrived. They continued to use the portal to go north to find Kovir's fleet, and then used weather magic to help the transport ships speed up."
"They will be able to reach Sintra in about two days, just in time to join our counterattack."
Lan nodded with satisfaction, then he felt a little strange: "Then you don't seem to be in a hurry to meet them. Who are the allies you are talking about?"
Ens smiled slightly: "These are the gentlemen from Niuburg."
…
"Troll, how many times have I told you that these are alcohols used for disinfection? They are alcohol! They are strategic materials, not for you to satisfy your cravings!"
A hoarse roar echoed throughout the camp.
The one being scolded was a terrifying monster covered in hard rock, which would be academically classified as an "Ogre".
But at this moment, the monster was hunched over like a helpless child, constantly hitting his head with his fists, with a look of grievance on his face.
"Alcohol is better than wine." The troll who was abducted by Lann from the Kaer Morhen Mountains said sullenly, "Supplies, troll, I forgot..."
"Damn it, this isn't the first time I've told you this! When you drink, does it pour into your brain and kill your memories like germs?!"
The one jumping in front of the three-meter-tall troll was a halfling whose height was only up to the troll's thigh.
He had a red beard and shaggy red hair, and was barefoot. He almost couldn't help but jump up and beat the troll in front of him who refused to listen to his warnings.
"Teacher Miguel, calm down..." Everyone knew that even if Milo exhausted himself, he would not be able to hurt the troll, and might even get hurt. In order to avoid a real conflict, a close student immediately rushed over to stop Milo.
This student has hair that is hotter than flames, but his temperament is as calm as water.
"Xiani, let me go! I must teach this guy a lesson today!"
Even though Milo was short as a halfling, the strength brought by his sturdy body was far beyond what Shani, a young girl who had just reached adulthood, could match.
After Milo kicked the troll a few times to vent some of his anger under Shani's pull, his other students rushed over and grabbed Milo with ease, separating the angry halfling and the troll.
Then more students came forward, and more than a dozen people hurriedly pushed the stunned troll out of Milo's sight. The big guy seemed to be confused about the situation, and he didn't appreciate it and didn't want to go out.
——This was the chaotic scene that Lann saw when he arrived.
He was pleasantly surprised.
Milo van der Beek, the medical instructor of Niuburg nicknamed "Rust", the chief of the field hospital in the future Northern War, actually came to Sintra at this time!
The arrival of the Duke of Cintra immediately attracted everyone's attention. The chaotic scene suddenly became orderly, and all the medical students and onlookers saluted Lann.
The troll's eyes lit up, and he shouted "Lane, friend!" and rumbled forward. The guards beside him eyelids jumped, and they almost thought it was an assassination.
Then, as Lann waved his hand behind him to signal the guards "It's okay", the Cintra Lion and the Troll collided with each other with a "bang", slapping each other's backs.
"Lane, you're strong." The troll smiled even more happily, "Friend!"
After a brief exchange of feelings with the troll through body language, Lan quickly turned his head to look at Milo and Shani, as well as the group of young people behind them who were obviously students.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Milo. I will tell the troll not to drink alcohol anymore. It listens to me very much." Lann smiled so sweetly that the female students lowered their heads. "You can't imagine how happy I am to see you."
As he said this, Lann looked behind the halfling doctor, as if he wanted to find more scholars.
"The last time I saw you, you were still an earl, and now you are a duke... I don't know whether I should congratulate you." Milo shook his head and began to use honorifics. He could not be afraid of power in Niubao College before, but now that he has decided to come to Cintra, he must adapt to the local customs.
As for what he said about "should we congratulate", on the one hand it refers to Lann's promotion to the Lord, but on the other hand it refers to Cintra's current situation which is not very good.
"You don't have to look back. The formulas you gave me really fascinated the scholars. Even the dean asked me if I could arrange an interview for you for a professorship." Milo shook his head. "After knowing that you were the Count of Cintra, many old guys wanted to come to Cintra to discuss academics, but the war made them retreat... They were all knowledgeable old professors and couldn't stand the toss."
Lann nodded in understanding: "Then when peace comes, I will write to them and personally invite the scholars to come."
"Ha, they will be very happy." Milo laughed, "There are many physics majors there, and they are also good at architecture, which will be very helpful for you to rebuild your country."
The halfling then pointed behind him and said, "The only ones willing to come here at a time like this are me and some brave medical students. This is a great internship environment, and students can also come into contact with far more 'specimens' than usual."
Milo laughed without restraint as he spoke. His words were very rude, but Lan was delighted to hear them.
Even if they are "internship" students, they are real medical students of Niubao College, which is much more reliable than the unlicensed doctors in various countrysides, small towns, and even big cities in this era.
With this group of students, the logistical support for the soldiers has been more than upgraded to a higher level!
"Thank you very much for your help, Milo." Lann nodded solemnly, "I will send my most trusted servant to lead the most elite guards to provide you with protection. You will receive the best treatment in Cintra."
After hearing Lann's promise, Milo returned the greeting seriously and then laughed. Outside of Niubao, academics like them rarely received the true respect of the aristocracy and rulers, so Lann's courtesy was very useful to him.
"Speaking of which, Lord Lannister." Milo suddenly sighed, leaning close to Lann and whispering, "This time, in addition to those who really wanted to come to the front line to rescue the wounded, there are also many people who were attracted by your fame, the Lion of Cintra..."
…
On the side, Ciri, who was running over with Lan, suddenly narrowed her eyes.
She glanced among the group of medical students.
A group of male students, their eyes were full of admiration. Ciri had seen this kind of look many times, probably because she had listened to too many poems in the tavern, young people, even those who were engaged in academics, admired true knights.
A group of female students, their eyes were full of longing. Ciri had seen this kind of eyes many times, and they were everywhere in Cintra. Ciri was also relieved that people with this kind of eyes would not have anything to do with Lann.
But soon, Ciri locked onto Shani, who had just reached adulthood, behind Milo. The look in the eyes of this schoolgirl was not just admiration, it was impossible to develop that kind of look if nothing had happened.
and……
Ciri frowned slightly. Why is there another red-haired girl?