Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 994: 976 Gaoqiu Castle

Chapter 994 976. High Hill Castle

“Bury a box of Oren coins in the ruins of the castle? I’m not saying that, Geralt. Your colorful and thrilling career as a witcher has given you this little imagination?”

?Faced with Lan En's sarcasm, Geralt remained calm.

??Normally, he would be fine even if the villagers spit on him when he was taking jobs, but now it's even worse.

?Sure enough, Lan En, who was making fun of Geralt, suddenly lost a lot of fun when he saw that he didn't refute or stab him.

?“Okay.” The young witcher shrugged.

“Remember, I am actually a duke with a legal appointment?”

?At the very beginning of the Battle of Sodden Hill, Harxor, the Steward of the Palace of Cintra, gave Lan an appointment.

??The coat of arms on it is rigorous and legal, demonstrating its unquestionable legitimacy.

?His appointment ‘Lane of Cintra is, from the date of his appointment, a legitimate duke recognized by Queen Calanthe of Cintra’.

“The territory of Cintra was not returned during the post-war negotiations, and Nilfgaard could not spit it out. Now both the north and the south are exhausted physically and mentally, and no one wants to break the peace after this disaster.”

?But Lann is slightly better than the emotionally sensitive Geralt.

?So Lan En just sighed and recalled it, and then returned to normal.

??But accepting this castle does not mean that Lann is really at peace with Nilfgaard.

“That’s why he gave a castle to me and my knights. The place is called Castle Gauge.”

??A major battle involving hundreds of thousands of people is unprecedented, and now the domestic economies of many countries show no signs of recovery at all.

"Yes."

?Hence he has seen more of the whole story and has more insight into the appearance of things than ordinary people.

?“It’s also to appease you.”

?Lann nodded and said bluntly that he had thought of everything Geralt thought of.

??The voices of Lan En and Geralt were a little lowered when they mentioned that war, as well as Haxor.

Foltest was even jealous of the other northern kingdoms because of Lane's connections in the Temerian province of Velen.

?“This is to win over you.”

?After all, too many people have died. In an agricultural society, this sudden decrease in human resources is simply unacceptable.

?For a classical militaristic slave empire, is it possible to expect that it will stop when it gets better during its expansion?

?But on the other hand, no one wants to go to war again now.

?After participating in the war, he traveled to the New World. The sincerity and enthusiasm of the people in the new continent, as well as the magical and vast nature, healed his body and mind.

?It is natural to win over this unparalleled force that can run rampant in a major battle involving hundreds of thousands of people.

"Foltest, on the other hand, settled my knights in Temeria under the name of the 'Expatriate Knights of Sintra', and there was a castle as their base."

Geralt said calmly. Although he is just a demon hunter, he has actually been involved in many court and political events. Many people are interested in his swordsmanship and want him to participate in a banquet or meeting. to erase someone's neck.

?Foltest was also afraid that Lan En would provoke the Nilfgaard Empire, which was temporarily subdued and peaceful, because of his fiefdom.

?It can’t be stopped, but if you have the slightest idea of ??‘stopping’, don’t look at the fact that Emhyr Emres is the emperor of the empire now. Known in awe as 'the white flames dancing on the enemy's graves'.

?But even he would die if he dared to have such an idea.

?The whole empire will let him die.

?Because without expansion, militarism will collapse. Anyone who does not want to expand is the internal enemy of the entire empire.

??This is a precious period of calm, but Lann believes that the Nilfgaardians will not live in peace forever.

?This is also the reason why he let Menno Kuhorn go in the first place.

?Sooner or later they will face each other again.

“The Knights of Ember have received logistical and financial support from Temeria.”

Lan En said while stroking Qilin's mane.

"I originally ordered Foltest to accept this in order to prevent Foltest from panicking. For a small knight order with only more than 60 people, that is a lot of money."

?“But now.”

?Speaking of this, Lan En's face looked a little embarrassed.

?Now he has to temporarily withdraw the less urgent funds of the Knights to make up for the holes in his own capital chain.

“Oh, so this is your method?”

??Geralt also laughed and complained to Lan En.

—

The Velen region is not only filled with wet, muddy swamps and miasma-filled woods. In the south of this area, there are also rugged and winding mountain peaks.

?These peaks are not high, and the highest Bald Mountain is only more than 500 meters above sea level. However, the huge oak trees growing on Bald Mountain are very conspicuous.

I heard that under the huge oak tree on Bald Mountain, a night banquet is held every year. The theme of the banquet seems to be about the three witches in the folklore of Willen, and the scene is very lively.

?The ancient castle that Foltest granted to the Knights is far away from Balder Mountain.

??It was originally a military outpost built on the mountain, gaining military advantages through its commanding terrain.

?“Squeak!”

On the skyline where the mountain peaks meet the sky, a griffon with swollen hair is flying in a circle, while a sharp cry comes from the bird's beak.

??Geralt was riding a carrot, and Lan En was riding a unicorn. The flannel ball was looking at the sky curiously on Lan En's shoulder. They were all standing in the shadow of the woods downwind.

??The two demon hunters slightly raised the brim of their hoods and looked at the gryphon that vented its vigorous energy by chirping.

?This griffon is very young, with thick quills and black feathers with a hint of gray.

?His body is strong enough to even pick up two armored soldiers and fly into the sky.

??But neither Lan nor Geralt is a strong opponent.

?“The royal griffon, a young and irritable bachelor who has not yet found a life partner.”

?Under the shade of a tree, Lan En summarized the characteristics of this griffon in a few sentences.

?Geralt agreed with Lan's observation.

“It will fly away when it gets bored, so there is no need to get entangled with it.”

??The conclusions of the two demon hunters were correct. The young griffin patrolling the territory flew away after a while.

?The two of them continued walking up the mountain.

?The mountain in Willen should be called a "hillside", because apart from being rugged, it is really not very high.

The height difference of tens to hundreds of meters is slightly away from the moisture on the ground, and the air becomes fresh and the humidity is suitable.

?The flowers and plants are also more colorful than on the plains.

??The several creeks flowing down from the mountains originally had only rotten wooden bridges, but now they are replaced by obviously stronger and newer ones.

"It seems that your knights are adapting to life here?"

??Geralt's pupils shrank uncertainly, turning on his witcher senses to follow the traces.

"They are all very powerful." Lan En didn't seem surprised, "Of course they will adapt."

?In fact, if every member of the Knights has a high degree of subjective initiative, and also makes collective discussions and decisions.

?Then in front of this kind of team, there will be very few environments that cannot adapt.

From the moment the Knights of Ember were born, they have always followed Lan En as a role model.

Even Lincoln, as a subordinate commander, looked like a little kid at first, but later he imitated Lane consciously or unconsciously in every word and deed.

?They have now moved into a mountain castle in the Willen region, and they have not left themselves abandoned.

?On this road, the senses of the two demon hunters clearly saw the traces of team training, as well as the maintenance and repair of the road in their spare time.

?This made Geralt confused. After all, he had never seen soldiers repair anything except those who had been specially given engineering orders.

?Soldiers are roughly equivalent to bandits with relatively strong combat effectiveness.

?This is the norm and common sense in the magical Middle Ages.

?Improve the environment and repair facilities around the station. Even the Knights are a bit too strict with themselves, right?

?But Lan En is very natural. After all, this is what he did when he led the Ember Knights.

?Unconsciously, under the influence of their example, the Knights of Ember are developing towards a look that makes Lan feel familiar and reassured.

The mountain is not high, so it is easy for Carrot to walk along the repaired mountain road, and it is even easier for Qilin to be the one who is being slowed down.

??When the two witchers were waiting on the mountain and looked westward, vaguely seeing the huge oak canopy on Bald Mountain, they could also just see a military fortress whose main body was made of rock above their heads.

?Lane leaned down on the horse and pulled Geralt's shoulders, preventing him from getting any closer.

?As expected, the next moment

?“Whoosh!”

?A crossbow arrow shot out of the firing hole in the outer wall of the fortress.

?According to the parabolic trajectory given by Mentos, the impact point should have passed Lan En and then stuck on the ground next to Qilin's hooves.

?But Lan En's left hand suddenly blurred for a moment, and then when his left hand stopped again, the crossbow arrow was already spinning in his hand.

?“It’s better to stop the magic golden arrow, hehe, I’m very vigilant.”

Lan En rubbed the arrow with his fingertips and chuckled. Then he raised his crossbow and raised his voice towards the castle.

“It’s me! Can’t you try a different way to detect the illusion next time?!”

There was silence in the castle at first, and then a short but strong cheer erupted.

?That sudden cheer even startled Geralt.

?“I beg your pardon, my lord.”

?After the cheers, a voice full of laughter and excitement came from the shooting hole.

"You are always coming and going, busy, but we have to check it carefully!"

?“Come on,” Lan En curled his lips and took off his hood. "Made me look like an enemy."

After the hood was lowered, Lan En's hair flowed out of the hat like mercury, and his face was also revealed.

??The main body of the castle is similar to the crow's nest where Lann once went to Governor Willen.

?A thick wooden door five to six meters high, opened from the inside.

?Lan patted Geralt on the shoulder, then took the lead on riding the unicorn and walked towards the castle.