Tritog, Redania.
The capital of Redania, Tritog is built on an elven ruin without any notable attractions.
Most of the time, King Vizmir II liked to spend his leisure life at Cowburg.
Same today. When the sound of the killer's footsteps echoed, the king was leading the prince to the carriage leading to the Cow Castle.
"You need to strengthen your ties with Cowburg and Novigrad in the future." The king taught the prince earnestly. "One of them can bring us superior talents, and the other can provide us with generous taxes to enrich our lives." Arms."
Radovid's face was angry: "But they all lack respect for our crowned eagle flag! The bachelors of Cowburg seem to regard rejecting the solicitation of nobles as talk and glory. They even lack respect for your inquiry, father. Respect."
"Novigrad is about to become the city of Shapet. The soldiers there sing the eternal fire more devoutly than chanting the name of their grandfather!"
Vizmir II shook his head. I discovered that my son had a pathological desire to control power. This is not an abnormality, most kings and nobles in the north have this problem.
In other words, a tolerant king like Vizmir II is the one with "something wrong" in the eyes of others.
"But this is the foundation on which Redania can surpass the other three major countries. They have enabled Redania to grow further. Radovid, when you set your goal, you must learn to tolerate temporary offenses." The king's tone He became stern, "There is more than one king in the north, and there is an emperor in the south!"
No matter how cold and violent Radovid was as an adult, he still did not dare to speak loudly in front of his father at this moment.
He had no choice but to start thinking because of his father's reprimand, and soon he began to draw inferences: "Are Philippa and the others' actions on Thanede Island also for your 'goal'?" "That's right. Foltest is sitting on the throne
. An entire Brotherhood of Warlocks placed many restrictions on Thanede Island in order to control power. What a waste." Vizmir was very satisfied with his son's enlightenment, so he followed the instructions.
He pointed at the redanian crowned white eagle flag flying in the air: "We already have the largest trading city and the largest education college in the north. If we capture the largest warlock organization in the north, we will have another chance in the future. There is no power to stop us from flying all over the north."
He touched his son's head. He was old and had a son, and had high hopes for Radovid: "I am already old, and I may not see that day. But you are in mother's care. You can definitely do it with guidance."
Radovid lowered his head and thought for a while, with a look of reluctance: "Money and talent are important, but are warlocks worth spending so much effort?"
"Radovid, the Lannister of Cintra It has changed the form of war, and Nilfgaard seems to have introduced a large number of warlocks into the army system. You see, all military academies will change the way they teach in the future, and countless people will begin to study the battle not long ago. And they will all come to the same conclusion, that is magic..."
Vizmir II took Radovid down the marble stairs and left the Tritog Palace. There was already a carriage waiting on the road for the master of the kingdom.
The king is still using his free time to teach his heirs 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, grabbed the whip and swung it towards Vizmir II. It was inlaid with sharp blades that could easily cut open the king's arm and collarbone.
Blood spurted out, frightening the prince. The king immediately shouted for help, but there was no response from the surroundings, and the usually swift and loyal guards were nowhere to be seen.
Where did they go? Vizmir II remembered that he had sent his most elite guards to help Philippa.
But even so, Tritog's palace is not easily infiltrated by assassins. Redania has the largest intelligence agency in the North, and its own defense capabilities are also among the top in the North.
The wise king got through the ideological barrier in an instant, and his expression became angry.
However, the situation did not allow him to loudly rebuke the traitor Philippa. More enemies came from a short distance away, their weapons stained with blood, apparently taking out nearby sentries.
Vizmir was old enough to be Foltest's father, but his body could not survive the assassination. The king figured this out quickly.
"Run, Radovid, run!" The king pushed his son away and hugged the assassin. He saw that the other person had sharp ears.
It's a half-elf.
"Run, Radovid, run!" the king shouted, "always be alert!"
The prince was very smart, and he quickly regained his senses. Taking advantage of the opportunity created by his father with his life, he ran towards the palace like crazy and soon met the patrolling guards.
The blood-covered prince startled the guards. They hurriedly drew their weapons and ran towards the king, only to see Vizmir II lying in a pool of blood.
The guards' faces were ashen-colored, and the leading officer yelled at them. He immediately used the blood stains to track the assassin, and at the same time summoned more guards to come.
And Radovid fell to his knees and finally began to cry.
He buried his head in his father's chest and covered his head with his father's hands.
The blood stained on it painted the prince's hair a bright red, like a crown.
He cried for a long time, which is hard to imagine for future generations. Because people in the future called him this in private -
[Stone-hearted] Radovid V.
——Shandong
Island, coastline.
The usual guards were all transferred away due to the banquet in Xannide Palace, thus leaving a lot of guard vacuum. With the help of the spy, a troop quickly found a suitable landing site.
"Boom." Ten soldiers carried the wooden boat ashore, cheered, put the big thing on the ground, and started to put on their armor.
Wearing the crown and white eagle flag, they were supposed to be royal guards, but now they began to perform the duties of special forces.
"Send the signal, wait for the instructions from Advisor Philippa, and remember our mission - for His Majesty!" The
leading officer whispered to the entire team. After confirming the number of people, he led the team to approach the Sunide Palace.
...
In the Shanide Island Palace, Philippa, who had closed her eyes, suddenly opened her eyes and chuckled.
"How was it?" The bald intelligence chief fidgeted awkwardly with his tight-fitting dress, "The operation went well?" "
Very well." Philipba said softly, "Remember to talk to the two of them later and let them drink. Have these two glasses of wine."
Philippa pointed not far away, where the golden-haired lion and the cream-white-haired wolf attracted almost all the attention of the party.
Just at this time, the door of the hall opened again, and five members of the [Wizards' Guild] walked in with the reverential eyes of the warlocks.
The eldest human sorcerer Hen Gedimidis, the most powerful human sorceress Tishaia de Veris, the elf tribe's talker Francesca Findabei, and a young man who has suddenly risen to prominence. Vilgefortz, and the veteran Alto Terranova.
They can be said to be the five strongest and most prestigious warlocks today.
Philippa pursed her lips and stared at their position greedily. Then he and several other warlocks walked up behind the members of the [Wizards' Guild] and formed the [Supreme Council of Warlocks].
Philippa, who works in Redania, Fekat who serves as a consultant in Temeria, and three other royal consultants from the northern powers, together with the five people from the [Wizards' Guild] formed the top group of the Brotherhood. ten people.
It's just that the [Supreme Council] is still lower than the [Wizards' Council] in terms of status, so everyone's greetings and admiration are more concentrated on the five senior warlocks who entered previously.
...
"What are you thinking about?" Geralt saw the faint smile on Lann's lips and asked involuntarily.
Lane shook his head. In the original history, Yennefer successfully joined the [Supreme Council] due to his outstanding performance in the Battle of Sodden Mountain and became one of the top ten warlocks of the Warlock Brotherhood. Now it seems that she has been replaced by someone else because she spent too much time in Sintra.
But if Yennefer knew it, she would definitely not care.
"Nothing." Lann chuckled and took Dijkstra's wine glass to his mouth, his expression suddenly changed.
He looked at the wine in the glass, at Philippa in the center of the hall, and then at the long list of [Alchemy] skills on his panel that increased poison resistance, as well as the newly acquired [Plague Body] talent.
This sorceress is more daring than imagined.
Geralt looked at Lann, whose expression and eyes were changing vaguely, and quickly understood what he meant.
But he relied on his poison resistance that had been strengthened by the second mutation and didn't say anything. The two clinked glasses with Dijkstra and then drank the wine in one gulp.
Dijkstra left with satisfaction, and Philippa, who had been paying attention to him not far away, also moved her eyes aside.
Everyone thought the plan was going well.
...
Triss and Yennefer came back after going around in a circle.
"How is it?"
"We talked with most of the warlocks for a while and tested everyone's attitude towards Cintra." Yennefer said with a playful expression, "Because of you Lan, they all have a good impression of us. ."
"When there is chaos, mark them for me, and be careful not to hurt them." Lann nodded.
"But Lan, we heard unexpected news..." Triss hesitated.
She vaguely pointed her hand in the direction of the Wizarding Council, where there was a short, fat, bald man, enjoying the attention of the people around him.
"Alto Terranova, a member of the Wizarding Council." Triss said softly, "Many warlocks started talking about witchers because you and Geralt, and I only found out about it - Terranova seemed to be involved. It was because of the incident of the Griffin School."
"It was the magic books he collected for Kel Siren, and together with a group of crazy guys, he created a big avalanche."
Geralt's hand paused, and the white wolf almost couldn't control himself. The expression on his face was finally calmed down by Yennefer without revealing his secret.
As a griffon, Lann remained unmoved in Triss' worried eyes. His eyes became colder and colder, but the smile on his face remained intact.
"It's okay, it's okay... I'll just call the teacher and Kelda over later. He's not mine."
...
Philipba looked at Lann and Geralt drinking the wine, showing a satisfied smile.
The ten most accomplished warlocks of the Brotherhood raised their wine glasses and saluted the surroundings, toasting together.
The old Hen Gedimidis no longer likes banquets and seemed a little tired after speaking a few words.
"Do you need help? How about I help you take a rest?" Wigfortz, who was wearing a knight's shirt, showed the right smile. He was sincere and personable, which was exactly what he had always shown.
However, before he could support Henry Gedimidis and take a few steps, Philippa suddenly stopped him with a chuckle: "We need you, the commander of the Battle of Sodden Mountain. Without you here, representatives from various countries We will all be less in awe of us."
Vilgefortz frowned, and then the words of the people around him made him feel even more strange.
"Let me watch him." Francesca said, her gray-green dress trimmed with lace, rustling with her footsteps.
The most beautiful woman in the world has a voice that makes people feel relaxed and happy.
But she is an ancient elf! She is even older than Henry Gedimidis. With her arrogance, how could she care about the other person's body?
Everyone around was surprised by this, and Henry Gedimidis himself showed a "flattered" expression.
Only Tisaya seemed happy to see this scene. She had been working hard to ease the relationship within the Warlock Brotherhood. She had also promoted the establishment of the system that allowed warlocks to serve as consultants in various countries.
Tisaya watched the two disappear behind the door. At this moment, she is the oldest, most prestigious and powerful warlock present.
She is also the abbot of Arethusa, so she should be the one to open the banquet.
"Dang-dang--"
Disaya raised her silver table knife and tapped the wine glass three times, attracting everyone's attention.
"Everyone, I am honored to be able to summon all the brothers and sisters of the fraternity today - as well as the representatives of the northern countries to come all the way to Thanede Island..." ...
Francesca
did not touch Henry. After Gedimidis, she looked back at the slowly closing door and sneered.
"Francesca, where are you going?"
the old warlock asked the elf, but there was no response.
...
"In the eighth century, under the leadership of the priests, druids, kings of the time, and warlock leaders, we signed a non-aggression treaty in Novigrad, and later established the Brotherhood." Disaya
read Looking at the representatives of the northern countries in front of him.
"Subsequently, we promoted warlocks to serve as consultants in various countries to provide magic assistance to the kings..."
...
Dijkstra looked at the people at the banquet vaguely, and tore his tights impatiently.
He looked out the dark window, lowered his head and retreated into the passage where the servants came from, and disappeared.
...
"We can feel that the kings have some misunderstandings about us. But I am glad that these unpleasantness are about to disappear. Tomorrow's meeting will re-discuss the cooperation between the Brotherhood and the various kingdoms." Disaya raised her wine glass
high : "Before that, please enjoy the hospitality of Xenide Island, and let us play our role as humble landlords... Philippa? What are you doing?!"... The long-black-haired
Redanian
royal adviser sneered. , she began to recite the spell hurriedly.
Chaos energy surged in the banquet hall, and many warlocks suddenly held their stomachs in pain. They realized something and looked at the wine glasses in their hands in disbelief. (End of chapter)