When Wayne saw Francesca again, before he could speak, the system prompts reached his ears.
Ding! Settlement started. For this action, 135 points were obtained. The current total points are 135 points.
Hearing this, Wayne felt a little more at ease. The system's calculation rules were quite fair. Although he hadn't personally saved these elves, the points didn't decrease.
This gave Wayne an idea. He could establish a team, or an organization, specifically for rescuing elves.
While rescuing hundreds of elves at once was efficient and earned him an expert-level mission from the sorceress, the speed was still too slow. How long would it take to earn an epic treasure chest?
Francesca's reward was only ten crowns per person. For tonight's operation, he would receive one thousand three hundred and fifty crowns, equivalent to over six thousand orens. He had to admire the wealthy elf woman's generosity.
For some mercenaries, killing an ordinary person only paid a dozen crowns, and they could only earn dozens of gold coins for participating in a war.
Even if Wayne hired a middleman to double the price, there would definitely be many mercenaries willing to take on the task.
Of course, the task of rescuing the elves must remain secretive. It couldn't be entrusted to just anyone. The mercenaries would need to have a strong sense of ethics and personal principles.
Moreover, this mission could be a long-term endeavor, lasting ten or even twenty years. Wayne could use this opportunity to recruit trustworthy mercenaries and train them as valuable allies.
Francesca gathered her long, dark golden hair, revealing her cheeks, and asked softly, "Wayne, are you hurt?"
Seeing Wayne shake his head with a relaxed expression, she reached out and used magic to clean the blood and grime from his body, restoring his appearance to when they first met.
Noticing the witcher's ease, the sorceress couldn't help but feel curious. Hadn't those professional soldiers given him a challenge?
Tilting her head, Francesca smiled and asked, "What happened at the military camp? Did you defeat them?"
Wayne lowered his head slightly, meeting the sorceress's gaze. Looking at her flawless face, he couldn't resist extending his right hand and, to Francesca's surprise, gently poked her cheek. Then, retracting his hand, he said lightly:
"I killed them all, leaving only two alive to deliver my message."
"For a long time to come, the human mercenary, Dante, will be the number one enemy of the Kingdom of Kaedwen."
"This will draw their attention, giving you more time to rescue the elves and get them out of here."
After hearing Wayne's answer, Francesca ignored the young witcher's rude behavior, glancing at him briefly before considering the consequences of his actions.
The slaughter of one hundred and fifty soldiers would undoubtedly attract the attention of Kaedwen's upper echelons.
However, with Dante as a target to draw their ire, it would indeed divert attention away from the elves.
While the resistance this time was fierce, compared to the oppression the elves had suffered for so long, the lack of any resistance would only fuel the enemy's arrogance.
Francesca quickly analyzed the situation. After discussing the current state of Kaedwen with Wayne, she paid him a large bag of gold coins, containing a total of fifteen hundred crowns—more than the system's calculated reward.
Facing Wayne's surprised look, Francesca smiled softly and said, "This operation saved more than 130 elves, but there were also some dwarves and halflings who left the town with them."
"Although my commission is only to rescue our compatriots, Wayne, I'm not a stingy employer. You'll receive appropriate compensation for the risks you've taken."
Wayne weighed the bag of gold coins. Fifteen hundred crowns were worth at least seven thousand orens. This money was enough to hire a mercenary group of hundreds to work for him.
Although Wayne knew the elf sorceress was trying to win him over, he couldn't deny her wealth and sincerity.
Perhaps the tens of thousands of gold coins he'd spent in Azeroth last year would soon be earned back from this wealthy woman.
After parting ways with Francesca, the sorceress used a portal to teleport Wayne back to Vizima. He had to admit, it was a very practical spell.
Unfortunately, Wayne's time studying magic had been too short. Although it had only been a year, his knowledge barely reached the level of a warlock apprentice. He still had much to learn before he could use high-end spells like teleportation.
Even talented sorceresses like Yennefer and Triss had taken twenty or thirty years to reach their current level. The difficulty of learning spells was far greater than passing any modern exams.
Upon returning to Vizima, Wayne immediately began asking acquaintances for information about mercenaries.
Sadly, the sorceresses he knew didn't have access to such low-level contacts. To them, these rough warriors who lived by the sword were beneath their notice.
The dwarf blacksmith master, O. Henry, introduced him to several dwarf mercenary teams, all skilled in combat. However, Wayne's first choice was a human mercenary team, as only humans could move freely within Kaedwen without suspicion.
Moreover, compared to the stubborn dwarves, human mercenaries were more tactful and adaptable. His goal was to rescue more elves, and he didn't necessarily need to resort to robbery or violence. As long as he achieved his goal, even if it meant buying them as slaves or commodities, the process didn't matter.
Such talents were rare. Neither the wealthy merchant Leuvaarden nor the local underworld figure, Old Yueke, had any good recommendations.
It wasn't until Wayne remembered someone with whom he had a friendly relationship that things took a turn for the better.
This person was the dwarf mercenary Yarpen Zigrin, whom he had spared during the fight against the green dragon in Gors Velen.
Yarpen had been a mercenary in the Northern Kingdoms for decades. As an insider, he had far more information than Wayne's acquaintances in Vizima.
After exchanging letters, the dwarf quickly provided several suitable leads, mostly human mercenary groups with good reputations.
Wayne researched these groups, checking their past achievements and employer reviews, and finally selected a target.
The leader of this group was a rather famous figure from the books:
The "Pretty Kitty," Julia Abatemarco.
Wayne had a preference for trusting emotional women over ambitious men prone to rebellion. In this era, women had limited opportunities for success, so they cherished them more. Wayne was willing to give capable women a chance to prove themselves.
After receiving Wayne's sincere letter, Julia Abatemarco and two of her group members arrived in Vizima from neighboring Redania about a week later.
While Wayne was busy finding mercenaries, his cooperation with Francesca continued. He went out twice more, rescuing over 200 nonhumans and earning 200 points, completing two expert-level tasks along the way.
Wayne even took the initiative to assassinate Count Romilly, a notorious racist. At a dinner party held by the Count, he entered the banquet hall and killed Romilly in front of dozens of guards, then publicly displayed his severed head.
The impact of this operation far exceeded previous rescues. The human mercenary Dante became Kaedwen's most wanted criminal overnight, with a bounty of 2,000 ducats.
Because witnesses had seen Dante use powerful magic, King Henselt pressured the Brotherhood of Sorcerers to send warlocks to deal with this dangerous spellcaster.
But facing the threat of death, the nobles who valued their lives eased their oppression of the nonhumans, giving Francesca and the others more time.
That afternoon, a special visitor came to Wayne's mansion.
Francesca, wearing a gorgeous white dress with gold trim, sat at Wayne's dining table, her eyes slightly narrowed as she enjoyed a strawberry cake. She smiled and said, "The pastries you make are delicious, Wayne. Even the cakes made by those royal chefs from thousands of years ago can't compare."
"I didn't expect you to possess such skills at your young age. I'm impressed."
Wayne sipped the elven mead the sorceress had gifted him. Hearing her compliments, he nodded lightly and said without humility, "I won't deny it."
"Anyone who has tasted my cooking would say the same."
Francesca covered her mouth and smiled, then took out a dozen books from her small bag, placing them on the table in front of Wayne. "Wayne," she said, "I learned from Aretuza that you are collecting lost knowledge about witchers."
"These books are some of the ones I collected in the past on the study of witchers. I brought them all. You can take a look to see if there are any you haven't read."
Wayne raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected the elf sorceress to have such extensive information networks, even learning about his activities from the previous year. It was obvious that, after witnessing his strength, the sorceress had gone to great lengths to investigate him.
Of course, Wayne wouldn't refuse these gifts. He flipped through them casually and found quite valuable knowledge within, more than half of which he hadn't yet collected. He stored them in his spatial bracelet.
The elf sorceress wasn't bothered by his actions and said softly, "Actually, during this time, I've also been researching the genetic mutations of witchers. I have to say, the human warlock, Alzur, was truly a genius. He managed to conceive of imitating the genetic structure of monsters to create a group of powerful warriors."
"If you need help in these areas, I'll keep an eye out for relevant information."
"But to be honest, Wayne, I'm curious. From my deductions, even the most successful witcher created according to Alzur's original design shouldn't be as strong as you are now."
"How did you reach your current level in just a few years?"
Facing Francesca's probing gaze, Wayne calmly looked at the sorceress for more than ten seconds before saying, "Ms. Francesca, you should know that there are geniuses in this world. Some people are born with extraordinary talent, and I am one of them."
As he spoke, Wayne activated the already powerful chaotic magic within him, a wave of power emanating from his body. Years of accumulation, combined with various talents and skills, had made his magic surpass most ordinary warlocks.
Although it couldn't compare to the thousand-year-old elf sorceress before her, for a half-elf under twenty, it was enough to surprise Francesca.
The elf beauty's eyes flashed, as if she had seen a treasure. She looked at Wayne seriously, then shook her head and sighed: "It's a pity, Wayne. If I had met you earlier, with your talent, given a hundred years, you could perhaps become the second most powerful warlock among the elves."
"Of course, it's not too late. If you wish, I can teach you all my magic knowledge. As for the witcher mutations within your body, I can ask the elf sages for help. With enough time, their knowledge can surely reverse engineer them."
However, Wayne wasn't swayed by Francesca's proposal. He simply looked at her, then took out a magic-blocking gold shackle from his spatial bracelet and placed it in front of the sorceress.
Seeing her retract her hand as if bitten by a snake, he said with a hint of mockery, "The drawbacks of being a warlock are quite severe, ma'am. I think I'd rather remain a witcher."
At that moment, someone knocked on Wayne's door, and a loud female voice called out: "I am the 'Julia Abatemarco, from Free Company".
"Is this Wayne's home? We received your invitation and have come to visit."
Wayne leaned close to Francesca's ear and whispered, "Madam, some unexpected guests have arrived. If you don't mind, you can welcome them with me."
"Of course, this may reveal your presence, so you can also choose to hide upstairs, or cast a spell to conceal yourself."