At night, in Aretuza's guest room.
During the morning, in the vote, Cintra was indisputably abandoned by the mages. Not only did the mages who refused to help Cintra from the beginning vote against, but also several people from the faction led by Tissaia voted against.
Fringilla was in a good mood at the moment. She dismissed the mage troops she brought and asked them to return to the border with Cintra first, while she remained in Aretuza's guest room.
Because according to Emperor Emhyr's orders, she needed to contact someone today.
"Nice speech, Fringilla."
A voice suddenly sounded behind her, and the air suddenly rippled on the empty sofa, and a man's figure appeared.
"It is not polite to suddenly appear in a lady's room. Tissaia might be disappointed, Vilgefortz."
The mage who defended Cintra in the meeting room during the day was now serving tea in the Nilfgaardian mage's room.
"I sincerely praise you, Fringilla. I don't know how many mages who live in shame will be inspired by your words to contribute to Emhyr's army of mages."
"But how many of them will regret it after experiencing life as outcasts, dependent on others?"
Fringilla said coldly: "The position of magic should overcome any disagreement. That is why I chose to serve Nilfgaard."
"Those wandering mages can at least obtain a status that matches their abilities in Nilfgaard, although they also need to pay the corresponding price."
Vilgefortz shook his head. He did not serve the Nilfgaardian Emperor but cooperated with it. He met Emhyr when he was an exiled prince, and supported and guided him step by step to become the emperor who rules nearly half of the continent today.
He was thus supported by the power and wealth of an empire. Now, he was very close to his goal, only one step left.
However, since Emhyr became emperor, the imperial aura began to radiate towards him, and he was far less obedient than the troubled prince before.
Fringilla asked: "So, Emhyr ordered me to meet with you. Is there any news?"
Vilgefortz handed him a note. "The king of Cintra disappeared some time ago. Through my contacts, I learned that he went to Skellige for help. After all, he was once the king of the islands and currently his brother rules there."
"Now that Skellige's support forces have set off, this note says the place where their fleet will pass. I need you to take your troops to stop them."
Fringilla's expression became solemn. If Skellige and Cintra united, they might really be able to hinder the progress of Nilfgaard's army.
"If you already know this, why don't we solve it together?" Fringilla said dissatisfied. "The strength of the mages troops is not enough to destroy a fleet. At most, it will create a storm to hinder them."
Vilgefortz smiled disdainfully, but soon hid it. "Destroying the power of a fleet may indeed be too difficult, but delaying them for a little time is enough, right? This time difference is enough for you to annihilate Cintra's troops and attack their capital."
"And during this time, I need to discuss with Tissaia and the others how to resist the invasion of Nilfgaard. After you destroy Cintra and attempt to continue your march, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers will definitely take corresponding measures."
"At that time, as a member of the Chapter of the Gift and the Art, I cannot be absent."
Fringilla sarcastically said: "How many members of the Council of Wizards and the Chapter of the Gift and the Art were present today?"
Vilgefortz began to smile contemptuously again and said: "Emhyr also gave me a task. After you capture the princess of Cintra, Cirilla, continue leading your army to occupy the entire territory of Cintra. I will take care of bringing her to Emhyr."
Fringilla frowned and stared at Vilgefortz. "Didn't you say that you should discuss strategies with the Brotherhood of Sorcerers?"
Vilgefortz explained calmly: "I just won't have time when the fleet passes. Besides, Emhyr wants to get Cirilla as soon as possible, and you guys can't open a portal at that distance, right?"
Fringilla glanced at him suspiciously and nodded reluctantly in approval.
Vilgefortz then added: "In addition to Cirilla, Cintra also has a member of the royal family named Lann Lannister, you can also capture him and treat him as This is my personal request."
Fringilla refused: "Emhyr did not give me this order."
After finishing speaking, he added with a strange expression: "I don't know why you have this strange habit of collecting the royal family of Cintra, but even if I agree, I can't capture the Lann of Cintra for you..."
Vilgefortz looked at Fringilla with doubtful eyes.
"Because Lann of Cintra is already dead. He died in Beauclair."
...
The evening breeze blew, the gauze curtains were raised, and a person appeared quietly in the empty space.
Vilgefortz returned to his room and looked at the tide on the coast outside the School.
His graceful and polite expression faded from his face little by little, and the fierceness and ferocity in his eyes began to burst out little by little. "…What a waste!"
"Elder Blood... I should have caught you earlier... If it weren't for my experiments being incomplete..."
"In other words…only Cirilla is left now…"
...
In June 1263, the Nilfgaardian army was preparing its weapons at Marnadal Valley, on the border with Cintra, and was preparing for the attack.
In July 1263, Nilfgaard crossed the Marnadal Stairs of the Amell Mountains and launched a surprise attack on the Erlenwald Forest area in the southernmost part of Cintra.
As the gateway to the northern kingdoms, Cintra officially came into contact with the southern empire Nilfgaard. The Erlenwald forest area could not even make waves in this battle and was occupied in one day.
In the same month, Queen Calanthe of Cintra received the news and rushed to fight. Of the planned twenty thousand soldiers, barely less than ten thousand arrived.
To stop Nilfgaard's advance, Queen Calanthe and her husband King Eist led all the cavalry one step ahead, gathering various lords and infantry along the way. At the same time, they ordered Marshal Vissegerd to head north to gather the rest of the army coming from the north, awaiting orders.
When Queen Calanthe and King Eist arrived in the Marnadal Valley, their army barely numbered twelve thousand men.
The Nilfgaard army, which had already occupied Erlenwald, had prepared an ambush. When Queen Calanthe and King Eist entered the valley, they realized that they were surrounded by an enemy several times their number.
"I... have fallen into an ambush in my own kingdom." Queen Calanthe muttered angrily.
Eist couldn't believe it.: "How many people are here... Forty thousand? Fifty thousand? Or... maybe more? What is Nilfgaard really planning?"
Black-armored soldiers flowed like tides from the horizon, and at that moment, the people of Cintra finally realized what they were facing. This was not simply a dispute between kingdoms, the number of these soldiers easily exceeded the total population of many northern kingdoms.
The Cintra soldiers were barely able to form a defensive formation. Before the knights could charge at full speed, they encountered infantry, and the deafening roar echoed through the valley, as dust and blood rose into the sky.
Eist shouted: "Breakout, my love, we must break through!"
Calanthe roared like a lioness, went into battle and chopped down a soldier with a sword. "Where are we going to break through? We must defeat Nilfgaard here, otherwise the cities behind us will not be able to resist this sea of soldiers."
"Nilfgaard wants to destroy us! When was the last time you heard news from Skellige? Weren't there supposed to be fifty ships? Where are the ships?!"
East answered loudly, and his voice was still loud amidst the shouts of death. "They encountered a storm at sea, most of the main forces will not arrive. Only the few hundred people who diverted earlier according to Lann's suggestion reached land. Even if they arrive, it will not make much difference."
Hearing this, the ferocity in Calanthe's eyes intensified, her face was stained with enemy blood, becoming even more savage; The emblem of three lions on her chest craved fresh blood, her claws were sharp.
"Lann died at the hands of Nilfgaard, he died where that damn black flag flies!"
"We will fight alone without reinforcements! Cintra will never surrender!"
This army led by Calanthe is the strongest since the founding of Cintra. They are the proud lions of Cintra, that is why they will fight to the death. It was by leading such an army that Calanthe was able to take advantage of the small territory of Cintra and challenge the powerful kingdoms to the north with sheer military might.
The battle continued from morning until nightfall, by which time the army of Cintra had been decimated, each of them having killed many more enemies than their own number, but the soldiers of Nilfgaard continued to arrive incessantly.
Nilfgaard's officers stood on horseback high in the valley, looking down at the battle below, looking at the king and queen wearing eye-catching golden lion armor.
No matter how bloody the two rulers of the country fought, they were still escorted to the edge of the battlefield by the few remaining guards who performed their duties.
"I didn't expect that the Lioness and the King Eist would fight here personally. It seems that the harvest of this battle will be greater than imagined."
The commander said categorically: "We cannot let them escape, Count Cahir."
Beside the commander, an officer wearing high-grade black armor with gold patterns and a winged helmet raised his head upon hearing this, waiting for military orders.
"The fate of King Eist does not matter, but the lioness must be captured alive. After that, you will lead the cavalry to assault the capital of Cintra. I know that His Majesty the Emperor may have assigned you other tasks, please complete them!"
Cahir nodded at the orders, raising a bow that was almost half his height and aiming at King Eist for a moment, shaking his head to rid himself of the tempting thought of a fatal blow, he was about to enter the battle with his own escort, but heard the commander's furious roar. "Hurry, Count Cahir! Things have changed!"
Cahir looked in the direction pointed by the commander and saw a team of several hundred people crossing into the battlefield in the distance.
They were few in number, but they were all elite warriors. Wearing chainmail and mostly equipped with short axes, daggers and bucklers, they didn't look like a knights charging on the battlefield, but more like a sailors fighting against the waves on the sea.
"The sun is up! Why did those damn pirates come here? Shouldn't the damn mages have stopped them in the sea?"
It is impossible for a team of several hundred people to control this melee of tens of thousands of people, unless they are all mages.
However, after fighting for a day, the Nilfgaardian army was exhausted, and most of them could not even hold their swords. At this time, the Nilfgaard soldiers were really torn apart by them for a while.
"Where is King Eist!"
"Where is King Eist!"
The Skelliges who entered the battlefield shouted while bathing in blood.
"Here!" Eist supported Calanthe. The queen was seriously injured in the battle just now, and blood was oozing out of her body.
At this moment, an arrow leaping from outside the battlefield interrupted everyone's conversation, aiming directly at Eist!
"Uncle, be careful!" The leader of the sailors was always alert to the surroundings. His direction was just right to see the sharp arrow swimming in the air.
The long journey of almost half the battlefield caused the arrow's speed to slow down considerably, allowing the sailor to push Eist aside and easily receive the arrow with his shield, the arrow not even making his arm tremble.
"Damn it!" Cahir put down the longbow in his hand. "It's Crach an Craite, the Wild Boar of the Sea!"
Crach, who had intercepted the arrow with his shield, was the kind of man who looked like a warrior at first glance. He was much taller than the soldiers around him, with a stocky build, broad shoulders, and a chest that looked as solid as a rock. When he roared, it seemed like there was a storm on the horizon.
Wild Boar of the Sea was the nickname the inhabitants of Nilfgaard, who lived on the southern coast, had given him, and he used to scare children until they cried. But Crach took it with pride.
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