Chapter 199 What is the name of the King of the North?
Looking around, Foltest said: "Nilfgaard is our enemy, there is no problem." "
Temeria itself is enough to deal with Nilfgaard, but if there is a gate to block the enemy It's better to be outside, and that's no problem."
"But what happens after? After Cintra is recovered? Who will rule Cintra?"
Foltest pointed out a key question: "Lannister Or is it Cirila, who has not shown up for more than a year?"
Lann frowned, knowing what Foltest was going to say. But he still replied:
"Of course it is Princess Cirilla. She is the granddaughter of Aunt Calanthe and the first heir to the throne." "
Very good, since you have said so, then there is a second one. Question."
"Thanks to your story of 'Knight and Princess', everyone in the North also knows the relationship between the lion and the cub, but -" Foltest said, "You are no longer a knight. , but a demon hunter, right?"
Lann's lion eyes looked directly at Foltest: "Yes, I have never denied this." "
Then, like I said - Everyone knows about your relationship, so what should Princess Cirilla do about her marriage when she grows up? As far as I know, demon hunters are sterile." Foltest shook his head: "We
always We can't spend so much effort to support Cintra, only to watch it collapse again decades later because there is no heir? What should we do then? Hold another meeting and support Cintra again. Terra?"
Now that the words were really on point, not only Henselt, but also Vizmir II, Queen Meve, and Demavi all had hesitant expressions on their faces.
Vizmir II frowned, but said: "That is something to be considered later. Now Nilfgaard's problems bear the brunt..." "
But it is something that must be considered, sooner or later." Foltes Tai retorted.
The other kings had to admit that this was indeed an issue worth discussing.
"If you ask me, there is only one solution." Henselt laughed. "Let their princess-that is, Cirilla-marry the son of someone here. That's what you are fighting for, Foltest. An idea, right? I heard you have quite a few illegitimate children!"
"If I remember correctly, Henselt, you don't have an heir, and you have never planned to have another." Demavi of Aedirn said coldly.
Henselt slammed the table and stood up.
Lann looked at Foltest and knew that the king still had not given up his original idea. It seems that Yada has not convinced her father to give Cintra more help during this period.
Lane knew he had to make some commitments now.
"Princess Cirilla is only twelve years old this year, and is far from the age of marriage." Lann said slowly, "But I can assure you that Cintra will have an heir of lion blood in the future."
" Not only that!" Henselt touched his beard, fearing that the world would not be in chaos, "The heir must be related to one of the people we participated in the meeting today. After all, we helped Cintra, there must be something in return, right? I didn't think about myself even a little bit this time, because I don't have a son!"
Vizmir II fell silent. Demavi no longer faced tit-for-tat with Henselt, but looked at Lann.
This is in the interest of all countries in the north.
Only Queen Miwe lowered her eyes: "Both of my sons are insignificant. They are not qualified to be kings, and there is no need to be princes to harm other countries."
Fuertesi praised hypocritically: "So your beauty and Goodness spreads to the north, Miwei."
Lan En faced everyone's gaze and looked at them one by one.
But his thoughts went beyond this meeting: if I remember correctly, everyone present except Queen Miwe died young.
When and how did they die? Can I speed up this process?
There are too many countries in the north...
Lann said meaningfully: "I am not ignorant of the general situation. If your majesties insist, the future monarch of Cintra will definitely be a family member with your heirs. "
I also know that this is the best result for Cintra. But the princess is young, and we have to discuss the specific marriage contract with whom." "
Excellent." Foltest nodded with satisfaction, as if he had gained Victory, "Our help to Cintra is also based on this agreement. If Cintra breaks the contract in the future, we also have the right to withdraw our help!" This
is a naked threat, and Lann is also watching directly at this moment. other side.
"Of course. Please rest assured, your majesties, I will not give you a chance to withdraw your help."
Lann humored him, and the kings present also smiled in varying degrees in cooperation.
So Lan also laughed.
.........
Just when every participant in the Haji Fortress thought they had achieved great success, a dark force was brewing not far away in the Pontal Valley.
In the forest camp, the non-human race troops who had previously attracted fork-tailed dragons and corpse-eating monsters to Queen Mewe were reorganizing their equipment.
Of course, these inhuman race troops also have a more official name - the Scoia'tael.
Compared with last time, they now have a lot fewer people.
They are a mixed race.
The bodies of the elves are slender and tall, and many of them have tattoos shaped like vines and leaves. They carefully inspected their bows and arrows, and of course their knives and spears.
The dwarves used the stones used as stools as whetstones to sharpen their axes for the last time. They talked and laughed with the elves, and they did not notice any tension from their fellow tribesmen outside.
Halflings are about the same height as dwarves, but their hands and feet are slender. They were arranging the leather slingshot, stuffing the leather pouches with stones polished one after another as smooth as pebbles.
Gnomes, who are shorter than dwarves and halflings, can only do some logistical work, such as helping everyone organize equipment.
"You are more agile with your hands and feet. Why don't you serve as scouts for a while? There is always someone who needs to stand guard." A dwarf suddenly said to the halfling beside him, "Leave the charge to us. After all, you are not good at fighting."
The halfling curled his lips: "It's not that we are not good at fighting, we just like peace. But humans have not let us go. This time is just for you to see how brave halflings can be to protect their families." The dwarf frowned
. Wrinkled his nose and started laughing.
The leader of this group of Scoia'tael is a male elf, sitting at the edge of the camp.
Judging from his body shape, he seems to be no different from the elves around him, equally slender and strong.
He was wearing a red turban, and beneath the turban were a pair of light yellow eyes. Of course not the cat eyes of a witcher, his pupils are of normal shape.
"Iorveth!" Suddenly a companion called out his name, causing the leader of the Scoia'tael to turn around.
"What's up?"
"Instructions came from Nilfgaard." The person who spoke was wearing a linen robe and seemed to be a spell caster. "He asked us to take action immediately and interfere with the progress of the meeting." Iorveth nodded after hearing this
. He turned his gaze back to the forest, as if waiting for something.
"His message was given too late. Even if we take action now, we can't interfere with the meeting." "
But we can try to interfere with the North."
The elf leader looked into the depths of the forest in ecstasy.
From the peaks to the east, there was a faint cry of eagles.
From the plain to the west, there seemed to be another roar that sounded like a dragon but not a dragon.
The sun gradually set, and elves and halflings emerged from the dense forest one after another. They were all in terrible shape and suffered minor or serious injuries.
"Thirteen people are missing." The adjutant in charge of counting people came forward and whispered in Iorveth's ear.
The elf leader nodded solemnly.
Immediately, a dwarf stepped forward to help the injured companions and bandage their wounds.
Iorveth continued to stand at the edge of the camp until the moon rose.
But the person he was waiting for still didn't come back.
He couldn't wait any longer. Not because the people who are out are precious, but because the tasks they have to perform are top priority.
"Let's go and have a look!"
He ordered five of his confidants, and Iorveth led them through the woods as if they were walking on flat ground. Even the evening wind could not catch up with their steps.
A faint smell of blood appeared in the air.
"Wow!" "Wow!" "Wow!" The
strange voice startled Iorveth, and when he looked up, it turned out to be a group of wood crows.
The animals rarely appear together in such large groups.
In addition to the mission targets that the team sent by Iorveth had to contact, the guy was often accompanied by forest crows.
In other words, their mission was completed and the mission target was lured out from the depths of the jungle.
But where are they now?
"Tick" "Tick"
Iorveth soon saw them.
A vine rushed out of the ground like a sharp thorn piercing the body of an elf, entering from the left waist and coming out from the right shoulder.
The ground beneath him has been completely dyed dark red, and his abdominal cavity is like a dried up pool, with blood still dripping down.
[The blood hasn’t dried yet. ] Iorveth thought to himself, [They were killed not long ago. 】
Seven or eight crows squatted on the elf's body, pecking at the rare fresh meat.
The team brought by Iorveth was so angry that they stepped forward to drive away the crows in order to collect the corpses of their companions.
But a hand with bulging veins held him down.
The owner of this hand is not at peace either, but he has a greater responsibility.
"Don't alert our mission target, just move forward and take a look."
The elves looked at the leader hesitantly, and although they were reluctant, they still followed the instructions. They also know the rules of survival in the jungle.
The team continued to move forward, and soon saw the remaining companions -
some of them had their limbs eaten away by wild wolves, some were buried underground by countless twisted plants, and some seemed to be directly smashed by a huge palm. body.
Everyone's death was miserable.
"The whole army was wiped out." The adjutant said with an ugly expression.
"Their mission is accomplished." Iorveth murmured to himself, "But we cannot take them home, because this may disturb the mission target they used their lives to attract." "
We sacrificed a whole life on the other end. It took a small team to lure the monster in the direction of humans."
"Iorveth, is this really worth it?" An elf team member couldn't help but say, "Can a monster really cause harm to the human army?"
The leader did not answer, but made several gestures to signal everyone to retreat.
The wolf and crow haven't left yet, and the corpses are still fresh. They need to get out of here as soon as possible, lest the monster is still wandering around and finds them.
"If it's an ordinary monster, it's hard to say. But if it's it, maybe it can be done."
Iorveth shook his head: "But I never thought that I could really do something with them. No matter how powerful the monster is, They are just monsters, nothing more than a mantis in front of an organized army. I just need them to create enough commotion to create opportunities for our assassination." After explaining his companion's doubts, he finally turned back and took a deep look at the man who was sacrificed in the dense forest
. Companions in the depths lowered their heads in silence for them.
"The descendants of the mountain people, the compatriots of Ain Sheedy, all fell on the road to pursue freedom. Your blood and tears will not be shed in vain, but will only forge our swords of revenge..." ...
Haji
Fortress .
It has been several days since the talks ended. During this time, Lann has been signing various cooperation agreements with various kings. The kings also used this rare time to communicate with each other and determine the general policy for the next few years.
The United Kingdom of Leiria and Rivia promised to advance and retreat with Cintra, which Mu Yong questioned. Later, when Cintra attacks Nilfgaard, they will unite their forces to resist the Black Sun;
Redania will provide Cintra with a certain level of war supplies, even if Lan spends money At the same time, Vizmir II also promised to use his own port to provide water transportation convenience for Sintra, so that resources from other countries can support Sintra in a timely manner; Aedirn is close to
Leiria and Liria. The United Kingdom of Via will send a force to join forces with Queen Meve to fight against Nilfgaard. It is also a rare country that directly sends troops to support;
Kaedwen insists on eradicating the Scoia'tael in the country first, but King Henselt has Under the supervision of Fang, it is also determined that the old settlement with Aedirn will not be settled during the frontline battle. If violated, other major powers in the north will attack together; there are many inhuman beings in the territory of Temeria
. Race, so there are also signs of the Scoia'tael looming. Foltest decided to form a special force dedicated to cleaning up the Scoia'tael and join forces with Kaedwen to suppress the rebellion. At the same time, he also supervised Henselt not to go too far in killing innocent people and turning the race into a Conflicts have intensified to the extent that they will harm the interests of all countries.
At the same time, for Cintra, Foltest promised to let Mahakam's dwarf clan provide equipment support, but asked Lan to negotiate it himself.
Although Lann has already had Zygrin, Zoltan, Machete and other dwarves outside to help connect people, the dwarves are still nominally subjects of Foltest - even if the relationship between the dwarves and Foltest is that of Novigrad. The Eternal Flame is the same as Vizmir II.
In other words, if Lan finally agrees to cooperate with the dwarves, but Foltest objects, the plan will not be implemented in the end.
Now that Lan has obtained Fuertestai's verbal agreement, his worries have been cleared away.
Lann didn't want to ask for more. Having received direct help from three of the five participating countries, which even included military support from the two countries, Lann was already very satisfied.
Go back and contact Marshal Visekid to unite Cintra's forces, and then go to Skellige to get naval support. The force will be enough to break out another Battle of Sodenden.
Retaking Sintra was more than enough.
When Cintra is restored, Rann will truly have a country as his backing, and the resources available to him will increase explosively.
At that time, his strength will also usher in a real leap, and the many layouts he made in the early stage will be qualified to close the net... He doesn't know
where his thoughts are diverging. Lan shook his head and drove the trivial thoughts out of his brain.
There is still no trace of things like closing the net, so we should focus on walking a steady path first.
"Alice, which paintings do you think would be better to make as gifts?"
At this time, in front of Lan were various paintings collected from Everrick Manor, all of which were created by Alice before and after her marriage. , which features a variety of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and more.
There may be a gap between the writing skills and Alice's current level, but it is still enough to be used as a gift.
Anyway, it started with Queen Miwe, and Lan planned to send a copy to every king in attendance.
Hearing Lan's question, Alice was in a daze: "Sorry, I was distracted..." "
Oh?" Lan raised his eyebrows, "Do these paintings remind you of the past?"
Alice shook her head. Shaking his head: "No, although the journey with you is still short, these wonderful days have made me almost forget the pain of the past..." "
I'm just lamenting that Nilfgaard... has been so important in my education. At that time, it was still a name that only knowledgeable people knew; when Olgierd and I just got married, although I heard about its rapid rise, I never expected that it would become such an empire that unified the south today."
"It is your destined enemy, right?"
Lann nodded: "I have reasons for having to fight him. As I grow up, these reasons become more and more numerous and take root deeper and deeper. "
I think." Alice said, "If we really want to deal with such an empire that unified the south, shouldn't there also be a hero in the north?" Lann raised his eyebrows: "You want to say '
Northern Territory' King'?"
Alice covered her mouth and chuckled: "I thought you would laugh at my whimsical ideas. But Lan, you can understand what I mean so smoothly, and you even thought of the title-could it be Have you already had the same opinion as me?"
Earl Lion was stunned for a moment, and the smile in his eyes became even stronger.
Alice lowered her eyes: "Am I too smart? This doesn't seem to be a good thing for a woman?"
Lan looked at the demon in the painting and shook his head: "Don't deny yourself, excellence is not a mistake. Your wisdom is the best thing for me. Surprises are a great thing."
The two looked at each other, then moved their gazes away in tacit understanding, and once again focused on the painting in front of them.
They quickly selected three paintings that suited the recipients' preferences and gave them to Henselt, Demavi and Foltest respectively.
Lan En was about to call the attendants to come in when he suddenly heard a rapid knock on the door.
"My lord, my lord! There's a situation!"
Lann was startled. The voice sounded like it was House. Shouldn't he be in the butler group? Why is he back now?
"Come in!"
House burst into the door and saw Lan eagerly about to open his mouth, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise.
"Woo--"
The sound was enough for everyone in the Haji Fortress to hear it. It was a bugle.
And listening to the rhythm, it is no longer the contact number used to identify the enemy and friends when Lan En and others arrived, but -
"Enemy attack?"
Lan En was suddenly startled. Here, where the great powers in the north gather, who has the courage to attack? ?
The corridor suddenly became noisy, filled with cheers, curses and the sound of steel shin guards hitting the ground.
Without waiting for Lan's order, all the Cintra soldiers quickly and orderly gathered outside the house, and the guards of each king also gathered around their respective lords, waiting for orders.
Striding to the window, Lan looked around not far away. Within his sight was the Kaedwen military camp.
A large fire ignited under the unicorn flag, and several figures used the stolen horses to rush between the tents, constantly splashing unknown liquids and various powders into the crowd.
Night had come, and Lan En couldn't see the faces of those figures clearly, but the screams coming from far away in the military camp answered his doubts.
"Squirrel Party!!"
Lann frowned, he really didn't expect to meet this organization in this place.
Along the way, Lan had heard too many people mention this organization in various forms in too many places.
To put it simply, this is a guerrilla group composed of "inhuman races" who are dissatisfied with the status quo under the oppression of humans in the north.
There are two reasons why they are called "Squirrel Party": one is because these guerrillas will hang squirrel furs on their hats or clothing as decoration; the other is because these guerrillas are always hiding in the forest. , feeding on nuts like squirrels.
Of course, this kind of organization that initially rose up to resist oppression often deteriorates over time.
Lann remembered that some of the Scoia'tael leaders later transformed themselves into officers in the Nilfgaardian army to fight against the North due to various political factors, which could be regarded as serving humanity.
(End of chapter)