The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

Iorveth shook his head fiercely. "Everyone, the situation is more complicated than you think. But please believe me, we are comrades who share life and death, and our ideals cannot be false..."

Iorveth was about to continue explaining, but suddenly, an unknown voice interrupted him.

"But if what that knight said is true, then your ideals seem insignificant compared to what he proposes, don't they? At least he spoke clearly: racial equality, eliminating discrimination, and all of that in a reasoned manner, without so much bloodshed."

Iorveth was speechless for a moment, but soon noticed something strange.

That voice was not familiar to him, and it definitely did not belong to any of the Scoia'tael members. Furthermore, the voice did not come from the camp, but from the forest behind him.

Since when? Who could have been listening to the entire conversation without anyone, not even Elder Blood, noticing?

A chill ran down Iorveth's spine. He quickly grabbed his weapon and turned around. The other members of the group, putting aside their doubts, stood on guard and entered a defensive formation against the possible threat.

Shortly after, a human female figure slowly emerged from the forest, surrounded by an imposing presence, almost like that of a beast.

"What kind of trick did that knight use? How did he disappear so quickly? I also wanted to talk to him about 'racial equality'."

She was an extremely tall woman. She wore a traveler's jacket and a tight leather outfit that outlined her lithe muscles, clearly demonstrating her physical prowess.

Her hair was golden brown, cut to the middle of her back, and she wore a headband over her forehead. Small braids decorated the ends of her hair. Her appearance seemed to be from the distant kingdom of Zerrikania, on the other side of the Blue Mountains.

That was a kingdom where dragons were revered as totems and deities.

In short, she was a very striking woman, but she had just moved stealthily through the thick forest, so silently that neither Lann nor the members of the Scoia'tael had noticed her presence.

Perhaps Lann's performance had been too impressive that, even though she was only a woman, the Scoia'tael looked at her as if she were an imminent threat.

"Human…" They murmured, tense.

The confused Iorveth raised his hand to signal his companions not to act rashly. This woman is definitely not simple.

"Human, who are you? Why are you here?"

The strange woman gave a slight laugh, as if she did not care at all what the Scoia'tael called her.

"I come from Zerrikania," she replied. "I heard about the unrest in the North and the event that is going to be held here, so I came to observe. I also heard about the ideals of freedom and equality that the Scoia'tael pursue, and I felt admiration, so I decided to come closer to learn more."

"But now it seems... I am a little disappointed. You seem to be just a part of the power struggle, wrapping bloody knives and scepters with bright slogans, just like those greedy people my father once mentioned to me - maybe I should go to Cintra next."

"Do you know how to get to Cintra? Who is that handsome knight? He seems to be very famous?"

Although she was surrounded by armed individuals of various races, the strange woman remained relaxed, which was disconcerting, as if it was all a casual conversation.

After hearing the strange woman's ridicule and other meaningless words about the Scoia'tael, Iorveth remained calm and just asked: "How did you find our camp?"

The strange woman paused and showed an unnatural expression. "You were seducing monsters and beasts everywhere before... You made too much noise, so I found you easily."

Iorveth took a deep breath and felt that things were getting more and more ridiculous. Not to mention that he and his people had planned the route in advance and were prepared, and the people who implemented the plan were all experts who had been living in the forest for a long time, and even the most experienced forest rangers could not find their traces.

"A human agrees with the ideals of the Scoia'tael. You've opened my eyes." Iorveth said. "I don't want to kill anyone today, but I can't let you leave. You've heard too many things you shouldn't have heard today."

The strange woman frowned. After hearing these threatening words, she even had the leisure to comment: "You are very arrogant, but your behavior is very reasonable... I have learned that this behavior is the most reasonable in this situation."

"But I can't stay here. I want to go to Cintra. Since you don't want to tell me, I'll go find it myself. Of course, if you meet that handsome knight again, you can introduce me to him."

"My name is Saskia."

Following Iorveth's orders, several members of the Scoia'tael began to surround Saskia, attempting to capture her to prevent information from leaking before they could retreat.

But they didn't know what they were facing at the moment.

...

[Quest - Hear My Roar! Part 1 - Completed]

[Character Level Increased +1]

[Mission Uncovered - Hear My Roar! Part 2:

The forces of the north have heard your demands. This is the first time you have raised your voice on a stage of this level. Although it was not very loud, as you need more power. Some kingdoms look upon you with favor, while others watch you with suspicion. You will have to identify your enemies and your allies. But remember, Lion of Cintra: if you wish to rebuild your territory, you will need true friends, a pride, and above all, power.]

After Lann fooled the Scoia'tael and returned to Hagge Castle, a chanting sounded like a holy sigh in his ears. The system shows that the task has been completed and the character level has been increased.

[Hear My Roar], the main quest, has been shelved by Lann for a long time. It originally appeared together with the [Heart of Stone] quest series from Master Mirror. The main line of this quest series is very clear, that is, to follow the path of restoring the kingdom, but Lann did not know how far it would lead him.

As for the first stage of the task, Lann originally thought that it would be completed after the meeting with other northern kings, but he did not expect that he would have to wait until he finished talking with the Scoia'tael to show that the task was successful. This was somewhat embarrassing. Had it not been for an unexpected twist and a flash of inspiration, his original plan would not have included interacting with the Scoia'tael.

However, this notification also brought good news for Lann: the Scoia'tael had been convinced.

Of course, Lann didn't yet know that, in addition to the Scoia'tael, there was another surprise waiting for him.

With the completion of this task, Lann now has three ability points in reserve. After some thought, he decided to reserve them for the moment.

Lann had already decided on the direction of his abilities development: he would temporarily put aside delving into Signs' abilities, and focus on the abilities of the second mutation.

With the power of the Elder Blood coursing through his veins, the standard system abilities no longer represented much of an improvement for Lann. His focus was no longer on expanding his repertoire of abilities, but rather honing and mastering the ones he already possessed. The second mutation abilities perfectly suited his current needs.

In the meantime, that margin would give him time to familiarize himself with the Elder Blood and his new abilities. After all, what the Master Mirror had granted him had been so much that he needed time to properly digest it.

...

As Lann headed off to meet with the Scoia'tael, near Castle Hagge Cintra's soldiers continued to meticulously clear the battlefield.

The Scoia'tael had caused quite a ruckus this time.

Aside from smaller creatures like ghouls and wraiths, they had attracted over thirty flying beasts, including griffins, forktails, and wyverns. Taking advantage of the terrain of Pontar Valley, the Scoia'tael had gathered the forest monsters of four different realms.

After this, the surrounding villagers could rest easy for a while.

These monsters were skinned or beheaded by the kings present at the meeting. They will become decorations in the kings' living rooms or bedrooms or become part of their new dresses.

They also asked for several monsters with relatively complete bodies to be made into specimens, which was the best capital for showing off for the guests.

Of course, the monsters the kings took had already been stripped of the necessary mutagens and alchemical materials by the Cintra soldiers. The witchers also made sure to take useful materials for crafting or upgrading equipment, saving what was necessary for possible emergencies.

It wasn't every day that one witnessed a 'monster party' of such magnitude. The witchers were as excited as farmers at harvest time.

Kolgrim couldn't help but sigh. "So many harvests in one go, using the army to kill monsters is very efficient!"

Letho shook his head. "There are also unnecessary casualties, and many soldiers were killed and injured. That's why the continent needs witchers."

Despite being impressed by the harvest, Letho frowned at the number of monsters gathered. He didn't understand how the Scoia'tael had managed to find so many in such a short time and lure them to one place. According to the usual behavior of monsters, many of them occupied the top of the food chain, lived alone, and had vast hunting territories.

Unfortunately, there was no one who could answer Letho's questions at the time.

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