Redania, Tretog.

The capital of Redania, Tretog is built on the ruins of an elven ruin and lacks any notable attractions.

Most of the time, King Vizimir II liked to spend his leisure time in Oxenburg.

Today was no different. When the assassin's footsteps came back, the king was walking with the prince towards the carriage leading to the Bull Castle.

"You need to strengthen your ties with Niubao and Novigrad in the future." The king taught the prince earnestly, "One of them can bring us excellent talents, and the other can provide us with generous taxes to enrich our military."

Radovid's face was filled with indignation. "But they all lack respect for our crowned eagle banner! The scholars of the Bull Castle seem to regard refusing the nobles' recruitment as a topic of conversation and honor. They even lack respect for your inquiry, father."

"Novigrad is almost turning into a city like Shapet. The soldiers there chant the Eternal Flame more devoutly than they chant their grandfather's name!"

Vizimir II shook his head. He found that his son had a morbid desire to control power. This was not abnormal. Most kings and nobles in the North had this problem.

In other words, a king like Vizimir II who is tolerant of others is considered "ill-behaved" in the eyes of others.

"But this is the foundation for Redania to surpass the other three countries. They have enabled Redania to grow further. Radovid, when you have determined your goal, you must learn to tolerate temporary offenses." The king's tone became stern, "There is more than one king in the North, and there is even an emperor in the South!"

No matter how cruel and violent Radovid became when he grew up, he still didn't dare to speak loudly in front of his father at this moment.

He was forced to think because of his father's reprimand, and soon he began to draw inferences: "Is Philippa and the others' actions on Senid Island also for your 'goal'?"

"That's right. Foltestai owns an entire brotherhood of warlocks, but in order to control power, he has imposed many restrictions on Thanedd Island. What a waste." Vizimir was very satisfied with his son's enlightenment, so he patiently encouraged him.

He pointed at the Redanian crowned white eagle flag flying in the sky and said, "We already have the largest trading city and the largest educational institute in the North. If we can also seize the largest warlock organization in the North, there will be no force stopping us from flying all over the North in the future."

He touched his son's head. He had a son in his old age and had high hopes for Radovid: "I am already old, and may not see that day. But you will definitely be able to do it under your mother's guidance."

Radovid lowered his head and thought for a while, with an unwilling look on his face: "Money and talent are important, but is the warlock worth our efforts?"

"Radovid, the Lannisters of Cintra have changed the form of war, and Nilfgaard seems to have introduced a large number of sorcerers into the army system. You see, all military academies will change the way of teaching in the future, and countless people will begin to study the war not long ago, and they will all come to the same conclusion, that is, magic..."

Vizimir II led Radovid down the marble stairs and left the Tretog Palace. A carriage was already waiting for the master of the kingdom on the avenue.

The king also uses his spare time to teach his heir how to govern the country. His son is very smart, which is a blessing for a king.

But he suddenly realized that his studies had to be interrupted.

The driver of the carriage suddenly let go of the reins and swung the whip towards Vizimir II. The whip was inlaid with sharp blades, which easily cut the king's arm and collarbone.

Blood spurted out, frightening the prince. The king immediately called for help, but there was no response from anyone around him, and the usually swift and loyal guards were nowhere to be seen.

Where had they gone? Vizimir II remembered that he had sent his best guards to help Philippa.

But even so, it is not easy for assassins to infiltrate Tretog's palace. Redania has the largest intelligence agency in the North, and its own defense is also top-notch in the North.

The wise king cleared the barrier in his mind in an instant, and his expression turned angry.

However, the situation did not allow him to loudly rebuke the traitor Philippa. More enemies came from not far away, their weapons were covered with blood, and they had obviously dealt with the nearby sentries.

Vizimir was old enough to be Foltestai's father, but his body could not survive the assassination. The king soon realized this.

"Run, Radovid, run!" The king pushed his son away and hugged the assassin, whom he saw had pointed ears.

A half-elf.

"Run, Radovid, run!" the king shouted. "Always be vigilant!"

The prince was very smart, and he quickly regained his sanity. Taking advantage of the opportunity his father had created with his life, he ran madly towards the palace and soon met the patrolling guards.

The blood-covered prince startled the guards. They hastily drew their weapons and ran towards the king, only to see Vizimir II lying in a pool of blood.

The guards looked pale, and the leading officer shouted at them, immediately following the blood trail to track the assassin, while summoning more guards.

And Radovid knelt down and finally began to cry.

He buried his head in his father's chest and covered his head with his father's hand.

The blood on it painted the prince's hair bright red, like a crown.

He cried for a long time, which was hard for people in the future to imagine. Because people in the future would call him privately like this:

[The hard-hearted] Radovid V.

…

Thaned Island, coastline.

The guards on weekdays were all withdrawn because of the banquet at the Sennid Palace, leaving a lot of defense vacuum. With the help of the insider, a troop quickly found a suitable landing site.

"Bang." Ten soldiers carried the wooden boat ashore, put it on the ground in unison, and began to put on their armor.

They were wearing the crown and white eagle flag and were supposed to be the royal guards, but now they began to perform the duties of special forces.

"Send a signal and wait for the instructions from Advisor Philippa. Remember our mission - for His Majesty!"

The leading officer whispered to the team to assemble, and after confirming the number of people, he led the team to approach the Sennid Palace in a low voice.

…

In the Palace of Thanedd Island, Philippa, who had closed her eyes, suddenly opened them and chuckled.

"How was it?" The bald intelligence chief fiddled with his tight dress awkwardly. "Did the operation go well?"

"It went very smoothly." Philippa said softly, "Remember to talk to them later and let them drink these two glasses of wine."

Philippa pointed to a place not far away. A golden-haired lion and a white-haired wolf attracted almost all the attention at the banquet.

Just at this moment, the door of the hall opened again, and five members of the [Wizards' Coven] walked in under the reverent gazes of the warlocks.

The oldest human sorcerer, Heng Gedimides, the most powerful human sorceress, Tissaia de Vries, the leader of the elves, Francesca Findaby, the rising young man Vigfortz, and the veteran Alto Terranova.

They are arguably the five strongest and most prestigious warlocks today.

Philippa pursed her lips and looked at their position greedily. Then she and several other warlocks floated behind the group of [Wizards' Council] members and formed the [Wizards' Supreme Council].

Philippa, who served in Redania, Fecate, who served as an advisor in Temeria, and three other royal advisors from the northern powers, together with the five people from the [Wizards' Coven] formed the top ten members of the Brotherhood.

However, the Supreme Council is still lower than the Wizards' Council in status, so people's greetings and admiration are more focused on the five high-level warlocks who entered earlier.

…

"What are you thinking about?" Geralt asked when he saw the faint smile on Lann's lips.

Lann shook his head. In the original history, Yennefer had successfully gained a seat in the Supreme Council due to her outstanding performance in the Battle of Sodden Mountain, becoming one of the top ten warlocks in the Warlock Brotherhood.

Now it seems that because she spent too much time in Sintra, this position has been replaced by someone else.

But if Yennefer herself knew, she would definitely not care.

"Nothing." Lane chuckled and took Dijkstra's glass and put it to his lips, his expression suddenly changed.

He looked at the wine in the glass, looked at Philippa in the middle of the hall, and then looked at the long list of [Alchemy] skills that increased poison resistance and the newly acquired [Plague] talent on his panel.

This sorceress is even bolder than expected.

Geralt, watching Lann's expression and eyes changing subtly, quickly understood what he meant.

But he didn't say anything, relying on his enhanced poison resistance after the second mutation. The two men clinked their glasses with Dijkstra and drank the wine in their glasses.

Dijkstra left with satisfaction, and Philippa, who had been paying attention to him not far away, also shifted her gaze to the side.

Everyone felt that the plan was going well.

…

Triss and Yennefer came back after turning around.

"How about it?"

"We talked with most of the warlocks for a while and felt out their attitude towards Cintra." Yennefer said with a playful expression, "Because of you, Lan, they all have a good impression of us."

"Please help me mark them when chaos breaks out, and be careful not to hurt them." Lann nodded.

"But Lan, we heard an unexpected news..." Triss hesitated.

She pointed her finger cryptically in the direction of the wizarding society, where there was a short, fat, bald man who was wantonly enjoying the attention of the people around him.

"Alto Terranova, a member of the wizard's council." Triss said softly, "Many warlocks started talking about demon hunters because of you and Geralt. I just learned that Terranova seemed to be involved in the incident of the Griffin School."

"It was he who, together with a group of crazy guys, created a huge avalanche for the magic books collected by the Kyle Sirens."

Geralt's hand paused, and the white wolf almost couldn't control its expression. It was only with great difficulty that Yennefer calmed it down and did not reveal the truth.

Lann, a griffin, was not moved by Triss's worried look. His eyes became colder and colder, but the smile on his face was maintained.

"It's okay, it's okay... Just call the teacher and Kelda over later. He's not mine."

…

Philippa watched Lann and Geralt drink the wine with a satisfied smile.

Ten of the Brotherhood's most accomplished warlocks raised their glasses, saluted the people around them, and toasted together.

The elderly Heng Gedimidius no longer liked banquets and looked a little tired after speaking briefly.

"Do you need help? How about I help you to rest?" Viggofortz, wearing a knight's shirt, smiled just right, treated people sincerely and elegantly, which were the qualities he always showed.

However, before he could take a few steps with Heng Gedimidis, Philippa suddenly stopped him with a chuckle: "We need you, commander of the Battle of Sodden Mountain. Without you, the representatives of various countries will be less respectful of us."

Viggofortz frowned, and the words of the people around him made him feel even more strange.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Francesca said, her gray-green dress trimmed with lace that rustled as she walked.

The most beautiful woman in the world has a voice that makes people feel relaxed and happy.

But she was an ancient elf! She was even older than Heng Gedimidis. With her pride, how could she care about the other person's health?

Everyone around was surprised by this, and Heng Gedimides himself looked "flattered".

Only Tissaia seemed happy to see this scene. She has always been committed to easing relations within the Warlock Brotherhood. It was she who promoted and established the system that allowed warlocks to go to various countries as consultants.

Tissaia watched the two disappear behind the door. At this moment, she was the oldest, most prestigious, and most powerful warlock present.

She is also the head of Aretuza, and it is her responsibility to open the banquet.

“Dangdangdang——”

Tissaia raised her silver knife and tapped the wine glass three times, attracting everyone's attention.

"Everyone, I am honored to be able to gather all the brothers and sisters of the Brotherhood today - as well as representatives from various countries in the North who have come all the way to Thaned Island..."

…

Francesca didn't even touch Heng Gedimidis. She turned around and looked at the slowly closing door with a sneer.

"Francesca, where are you going?"

The old sorcerer questioned the elf, but received no response.

…

"In the eighth century, under the leadership of priests, druids, kings and warlock leaders at the time, we signed a non-aggression pact in Novigrad and later established the Brotherhood."

Tissaia looked at the representatives from the northern countries in front of her.

"Afterwards, we encouraged warlocks to enter various countries as consultants and provide magical assistance to the kings..."

…

Dijkstra glanced at everyone at the banquet obscurely and impatiently tore at his tights.

He looked out the dark window, lowered his head and retreated into the passage the servants came from, and disappeared.

…

"We can feel that the kings have some misunderstandings about us. But I am glad that these unpleasant things will soon disappear. Tomorrow's meeting will re-discuss the cooperation between the Brotherhood and the various kingdoms."

Tissaia raised her glass high: "Before that, please enjoy the hospitality of Thanedd Island. Let us do our best to be the host... Philippa? What are you doing?!"

…

The black-haired Redanian royal advisor sneered and began to chant a spell rapidly.

Chaos energy surged in the banquet hall, and many warlocks suddenly covered their stomachs in pain. They realized something and looked at the wine glasses in their hands in disbelief.