"name."

"...Yal."

"Where are you from?"

"I……"

"Think it over carefully before you speak." Gede narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the hesitant thin boy in front of him.

The subsidies that Lann gave to the demon hunters were so good that young people from all over Cintra flocked to the capital during this period, and even many people from neighboring countries came to try their luck.

Gede had some free time recently and was wandering around the new site of the sect. He happened to see the Witcher Recruitment Office registering candidates, so he came over out of curiosity.

Yaer looked at the man in front of him who was as tall as a bear, and did not dare to look into his amber vertical pupils.

Someone among the onlookers soon recognized Gede and exclaimed in surprise.

"It's the captain of the sea guerrillas, Master Gede, the Sea Bear!"

"It is said that even a crossbow cannot penetrate his skin, and when he charges, it is like a wave sweeping over the enemy!"

"Look at that arm, look at that thigh, and those beautiful scars! That's what a true warrior should look like!"

"Where is the leader of the forest guerrillas, Master Anaconda Reso? It is said that he is the only master who can compete with Master Gede in terms of size?"

"If I can become a demon hunter, can I become like Master Gede?"

The people of Cintra have an obvious admiration for the witcher.

Gede scratched his head. He used to think that the hospitality he received in Skellige was rare in the world, but he did not expect that the hospitality in Cintra now was even better. He still could not adapt to it.

He calmed himself down and looked at the young man in front of him. He looked to be about fifteen years old.

"You don't look like you come from a poor family." Gede looked at the other person's neat clothes, "Your hands don't look like they have ever held a sword. Instead, they look like the hands that hold a pen. Such clean hands are rare in Cintra nowadays."

"Answer the questions honestly, kid, this is no place for fun."

The young man took a deep breath and hesitated for a few seconds, which made the other people waiting to sign up a little impatient, and it took Gede a few loud shouts to stabilize the situation.

"My name is Yael, and that's correct." Yael finally whispered, "I'm from Elland."

Elland is a vassal duchy of Temeria, but that is not the problem.

Gerd looked at Yar with a scrutinizing gaze: "As far as I know, the Temple of Meliteli is also in Elland. Seeing how frail you look, are you just an apprentice there?"

Meliteli is also one of the main beliefs in the North, and its status in Temeria is equivalent to that of the Eternal Flame in Redania. The difference is that the Temple of Meliteli has a specific goddess, and the temple priests are not as involved in politics as Shapet and others, but concentrate on worshipping the goddess.

Yaer's identity was as Gede expected: "I am an apprentice scribe in the temple. I can read and write... I understand ancient runes and ancient languages..."

"Ha, a young man with a bright future." Gede patted the registrar, signaling him to cross Yar's name off the list. "You should become a priest or scholar, not a witcher!"

"Master, Master, please listen to me." Yael said anxiously, "When Nilfgaard invaded before, I wanted to join the Temeria volunteer army, but the battle ended too quickly... But believe me, I believe Nilfgaard will definitely make a comeback. This is the inevitable law of the development of war history..."

"When the enemy enters our country and our motherland is threatened, no one can stand idly by." The young man's originally hesitant tone suddenly became sonorous, "And the witcher... I want to be like you masters, like Duke Lannister, and become a force to protect the North."

It seems that this is another young man who has been influenced by the title of "Lion of the North". Gerd rubbed his brows. Lann's reputation in the North is getting bigger and bigger.

"Wait, I remember Geralt told me that he spent some time in the Temple of Meliteli when he was young - have you heard of this name? You don't know him, do you?"

"I hadn't entered the temple when Master Geralt came." The reverence in Jarl's eyes became even stronger. "But Sister Nenneke mentioned him to me, and I've also heard a lot of poems and songs about him written by Master Dandelion..."

Nenneke is the high priestess of the Temple of Meliteli. It is said that she taught Geralt when he was young and treated his injuries. Geralt mentioned her when he was drinking and chatting with the witcher, and his words were full of respect.

As for this kid...haha, now it seems that he was not only influenced by the lion, but the white wolf also contributed a lot.

Gede shook his head, grabbed Jarl by the collar with one hand and arrested him. There seemed to be a caravan coming from Temeria recently, and this kid must have sneaked in from there, so he had to throw this kid back.

Demon hunters will not accept apprentices in this way. If it really doesn't work, wait until Geralt comes out of the incubator and let him solve the problem.

Behind Gede, the crowd did not cool down because of this little episode. Instead, it became more enthusiastic because of Gede's brief appearance.

More teenagers, young adults, and even children under ten years old flocked to the registrar led by their parents.

In the future, there will be many fighters with dual swords among them, fighting to protect humanity.

…

"Clang" the lion-headed silver sword was unsheathed, and with the impact of the horse, the zombie in front of him was chopped into two halves.

House adjusted his body, the lion head emblem jumping on his chest.

With a slap on the saddle, he suddenly flew off the horse's back, and with a powerful leap he rushed into the remaining group of ghouls. He relied on the thick armor to take a few claws and dodge a few sneak attacks on his eyes and neck. He stepped forward, twisted his waist, and used his big arms and elbows -

【Whirling Sword Dance】!

Swish, swish, swish!

The three-headed zombies had their chests, waists, abdomens and backs chopped open like melons and vegetables, and blood splattered like rain.

One circle, two circles, until the third circle, House finally couldn't keep his balance and continued the sword dance, so he simply gave up his stance and lay down, rolling on the ground, trying to withdraw from the battle circle.

"Swish--" Two zombies the size of children roared and were about to pounce on House to bite him, but suddenly an eagle-headed sword stretched out from the rear and pierced them with a few hits.

Looking at the sharp look, the swordsman's swordsmanship is more suitable for killing monsters than House who was trained on the battlefield.

House looked up and saw the little boy Leo grinning at him, the eagle emblem on his chest shining.

Before he could say anything, arrow after arrow shot through the gaps around them like a line, one arrow after another seemed to be fired continuously, and all the remaining zombies were killed in an instant.

"Milva!" House cried in dissatisfaction.

The female archer didn't say anything, but just raised her eyebrows proudly, then tapped the horse's belly and took a step back, revealing Lann with a stern expression behind her.

The expression did not look good, and House immediately lowered his head guiltily.

During this long journey to Temeria, Lann did not just rush on the road, but instead destroyed several monster nests along the way for the purpose of training his troops. In the process, he also gained the gratitude of a group of nearby villagers.

In addition to Lann, the other demon hunters in the team now include House, Leo, and Milva who completed the mutation not long ago.

Among them, Milva and House were awarded the Lion Head Badge by Lann and joined the Lion School he founded; Leo retained his identity as a member of the Griffin School. On the one hand, it filled the vacancy left by Lann's withdrawal from the school, and on the other hand, Leo was brought up by Kelda and Gerald, and they had feelings for each other.

However, after knowing that Lann was going on a long journey, Leo was left to Lann by the two old griffins, and it was all regarded as the [Mountain Trial] for this young man.

At this time, Lann stared at his attendants and juniors with a stern look: "We have killed quite a few monsters along the way, why haven't you changed your fighting style?"

"House, is this how you use Sword Dance? Just spin in circles until you can't stand still, and if you can't kill the enemy, then kill yourself? You are from the Lion School, not the Cat School!"

The attendant bowed his head.

"And you, Leo. I don't care that House has a life-and-death fighting style trained on the battlefield. But as a traditional demon hunter, why are you so reckless in a fight? Your teammates are watching your back, so you don't leave yourself a way to retreat? And where's your sign? You're a griffin!"

The young man also lowered his head.

"And Milva..."

The female shooter raised her head, her eyes sparkling.

Lan thought for a moment and said, "Keep it up. Don't learn from them."

"Yes! Your Excellency the Duke!"

The remaining guards consciously surrounded the monster's corpse, skinning it, collecting mutants and other biological materials, and several people worked shoulder to shoulder to explore the monster's lair with extremely skillful movements.

Lan took this opportunity to rest the team and gave Heifeng some water. The horse bumped into its master in dissatisfaction. It had wanted to rush out and fight the ghoul several times, but Lan wanted to train his troops after all, so he held it down by force.

"How far are we from Vizima?"

Hearing the question from the Lord of Oaths, House immediately raised his head and said, "We have already passed the Ishmina Valley. According to the route, we will arrive at dusk this evening."

Lan nodded.

Finally, it worked a little. The attendant heaved a sigh of relief, hoping that the Duke could quickly forget his recklessness in the battle. He had indeed become a little unbalanced due to the sudden increase in strength, and his fighting style had become much more aggressive.

"House."

"Yes!" The servant stood up straight reflexively, thinking he would be scolded again.

However, what came into my ears was the Duke's teasing voice.

"You are eighteen this year, right?"

"Yes."

"Very good." Lan nodded, "Then it's time to find a wife."

"……grown ups?"

"It just so happens that Uncle Mossak is going to confirm the fertility of the new demon hunter." Lann solemnly ordered House, "You have to keep this matter in mind."

You know, the mutation effect of the new demon hunter was originally just a guess that "there is no reproductive isolation among demon hunters" and male demon hunters and female demon hunters can reproduce.

But everything changed when Yada became pregnant with Ran's child.

Mossak made a bold assumption: the new witchers based on Lann's mutations can also reproduce with humans, and from now on witchers will be no different from ordinary people!

Since the hypothesis was put forward, it naturally needed to be verified. Looking at House's embarrassed face, Lane smiled secretly in his heart.

He had more in mind. These first followers who followed him had been fighting for him all along, almost regarding wielding a sword for him as their only goal in life.

But they treated themselves as tools, and Lann himself could not just accept these loyal contributions without doing anything. Even if they did not need it, Lann would arrange for them to receive the treatment they deserved, such as titles, property, marriages, and so on.

Thinking of this, Lan turned around and saw Milva's sparkling eyes again.

And Triss, who was standing behind Milva with a thoughtful look on her face.

…

At dusk, dark golden sunlight shines on the shores of Lake Vizima.

Vizima is the capital of Temeria, but it is also a port city, located at the intersection of important trade routes.

Merchant ships came to the shore and shouted as they unloaded their cargoes.

But their noisy voices suddenly quieted down because a quiet team, which was countless times more powerful than theirs, passed by slowly.

They held their breath. There was blood on the armor of this heavily armored cavalry.

And when they saw the leader's appearance clearly, they could no longer suppress their discussions.

"That must be Lord Lannister... [Lion of the North]."

"Yes, the griffin cape, the light golden semi-long hair as bright as the sun... and that temperament and aura, there is absolutely no one else like him in the North."

"It's exactly like the one drawn in the poem illustration."

"I thought the paintings on the newly released Gwent cards were already very impressive, but I didn't expect the real person to be even more heroic..."

Lan En turned a deaf ear to it. Having passed through cities of all sizes along the way, he no longer cared about such onlookers.

House, on the other hand, was a little wary, trying to prevent anyone around him from behaving rudely and offending his duke.

"Sir, the capital has already exchanged letters with Vizima. They know we will come today. But now we are all armored cavalry, so it will be difficult to arrange. Perhaps we have to wait until tomorrow to meet His Majesty King Fertestei..."

Before House finished his words, the badges on the witchers' chests suddenly began to vibrate.

The portal opened ten steps in front of the team.

Looking at the warlock coming out, Triss showed a look of surprise.

Keira Metz was still wearing her favorite blue-purple top with Carreras pattern, with the neckline open to her lower chest, firmly attracting the attention of the male creatures around her.

She smiled at Triss first, then bowed respectfully to Lann: "Duke Lannister, your news along the way has been delivered by the outposts along the way. His Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time."

The King of Orthopedics seemed to be impatient to see him.

It seems like he has some bad intentions.

This is bullshit.

Lann stroked the reins and said, "Then I'll trouble Consultant Kayla to lead the way and settle my team."

…

There was no change between Vizima Palace and Lann's last visit, and the reception room was also the same as last time.

King Fortescue still had that stern face that was so handsome that it could be described as beautiful. He sat by the fire, warming himself, and said nothing.

After the wine waiter pulled out the seat for Lane, he was driven out. Then Foltestai waved his hand and drove out more than a dozen guards in the room.

"Your Majesty..." The leading knight looked at the lion-eyed man in the room, who was the bravest in the North, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Get out." The king's tone brooked no room for argument.

So there were only two people left in the room.

The flames burned in the fireplace, crackling the fragrant wood and emitting a pleasant smell.

There was an awkward silence in the room.

Five breaths, ten breaths, twenty breaths...

Lan pursed his lips. He naturally knew the reason for the current atmosphere.

No matter how you look at it, it's my fault. Lan En wanted to give the old man a step, so he cleared his throat and was about to say something first.

"Your Majesty..." He even used honorifics.

Then, as soon as Lane opened his mouth, Foltestai interrupted Lane as if he had been waiting for this moment.

"It's revenge." The king's voice was stiff.

"Um...what?"

"Or is this your conspiracy, Lannister?" Foltestra turned around, his teeth chattering.