"Last night, colleagues from across the Northern Continent sent me the information they've gathered about the Wild Hunt…" Dru paused. "Except for Aedirn's. I'll need to follow up with them…"
"No need," Hen Gedymdeith interrupted. "Aedirn is currently in conflict with Kaedwen. Let's not trouble the youngsters any further. Just tell us what you've collected so far."
Dru nodded slightly and recited a few syllables.
"Whoosh~"
A gentle breeze swept through, and a simple map outlined in golden magical lines materialized before the two sorcerers.
A closer look revealed it to be a map of the Northern Continent.
"On February 7th, in Maribor of the Hengfors League, a few farmers leaving a tavern witnessed an icy blue light illuminating the sky…"
"On February 16th, in Bremervoord of Sodden…"
"On March 1st, in Murivel of Redania…"
"On March 29th, in Ede Cynael of Kovir and Poviss, a hunter was killed by frost magic. A large area of the territory bore hoofprints and traces of frost…"
"On April 8th, in the port town of Flotsam in Temeria, the Wild Hunt was seen on a large scale for the first time. It seemed to involve a water elemental curse of master-level or higher, which destroyed a trading center Temeria had established there…"
"On April 11th, in Oxenfurt of Redania…"
Dru's finger moved over the floating map, marking the locations one by one and connecting the dots, linking all the information related to the Wild Hunt.
Hen Gedymdeith frowned slightly, his gaze following Dru's finger as it traced the connections.
"And on April 30th…" Dru hesitated, his tone becoming complex. "On Mayday, Ellander in Temeria was struck by descending magic of various schools, each as powerful as master-level. A tenth of the city's buildings were destroyed, and nearly ten thousand people died."
"On May 27th, in Lausangdel of Kaedwen, a farmer also claimed to have witnessed the Wild Hunt. However, when our people investigated, it turned out to be nothing more than the drunken hallucinations of the farmer."
"That concludes all the information we've gathered about the Wild Hunt."
With that, Hen Gedymdeith became fully immersed in the map, his eyes moving back and forth among the golden dots, seemingly trying to discern some pattern.
"Which locations can we confirm as traces of the Wild Hunt?"
"Only Flotsam on April 8th and Ellander on April 30th," Dru replied, pointing to the two relatively close spots on the magical map. He added, "Flotsam occurred during the day, so many people saw it. Ellander, though at night, was also confirmed…"
Dru glanced at Hen Gedymdeith and continued:
"Allen—the Witcher who defeated all the Cat School apprentices before the Conjunction of the Spheres—insisted it was the Wild Hunt. After the disaster, Ellander's magical advisor examined the magical remnants on the ground and compared them with those at Flotsam, ultimately confirming the conclusion as well."
"Speaking of which…" Dru suddenly remembered something and added:
"In Flotsam, when the Wild Hunt appeared, Wolf School Witcher Allen and Master Vesemir were also present…"
"So, the confirmed Wild Hunt sightings both involve the two Witchers from the Wolf School?" Hen Gedymdeith frowned even more deeply.
"Yes." Dru nodded and chuckled. "Their luck seems pretty terrible to have encountered such legendary monsters twice… or maybe not so terrible. Witcher Allen, for 'saving' Ellander, was granted a knighthood by Duke Mason, a prominent noble in the area…"
"It's said that Duke Mason even invited the Wolf School to relocate to Ellander."
"The radicals must be losing their minds over this. They're probably scheming how to deal with those Witchers as we speak…"
"Tsk tsk… Stirring up wars, influencing Ard Carraigh's politics… Now they even have to deal with the Wolf School..."
Dru smirked with a hint of schadenfreude(Meaning: pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.) .
The radical faction of sorcerers in the academy had always been deeply disliked.
Not only were they extremely exclusionary,
But they also preached doctrines like: "Magic is power… Humans are inherently entitled to enslave other races… A government led by immortals is the ideal political system…"
These ambitious and provocative beliefs openly violated the agreements made between the Chapter of the Gift and the Art with nobles and other races during its founding. They also swayed many impressionable apprentices within the academy due to their incendiary nature.
In recent years, this had turned the academy into a mess.
Students focused solely on their post-graduation prospects and status, becoming combative, arrogant, and obsessed with power.
This led to declining strength year by year, constant defeats by the young girls of Aretuza, an increase in enemies for the academy, and utter failure in the academic research that required dedicated focus.
The radicals had become the academy's cancer.
Unfortunately, the dean had grown old and had gradually loosened his grip on power. The rise of the radicals even caused the dean to lean toward them in his stance recently.
If not for the Conjunction of the Sphe—
Whatever he thought of next made Dru fall silent, sighing inwardly as his gaze returned to the dean.
It was then he noticed that Hen Gedymdeith had remained silent, seemingly not paying attention to his complaints about the radicals. Even the usual reprimands about "unity" and smoothing over conflicts were absent.
Dru's voice grew quieter.
Something seemed off.
Following Hen Gedymdeith's gaze, he looked at the golden map, replaying his own words in his mind. After pondering for a moment, he hesitantly asked: "Dean… Do you think the Wild Hunt's appearance is related to those Witchers from the Wolf School?"
Hen Gedymdeith withDru his gaze upon hearing this, neither denying nor confirming it.
Instead, as if recalling something, he asked: "Do we know the route those two Witchers took after leaving Ban Ard?"
"No," Dru shook his head. "However, Nia of Vengerberg mentioned in a letter before the war broke out that two Witchers and a sorceress were seen outside the outskirts of Vengerberg, hunting a giant griffin?"
"A sorceress?" Hen Gedymdeith asked.
"Likely Margarita of the Antille family, an apprentice of Lady Red Fox Vera," Dru replied. "Should I investigate the Witchers' route?"
"No need," Hen Gedymdeith shook his head and turned back to the map, murmuring place names, "Ellander, Flotsam, Vengerberg…"
As he muttered, the golden map under Dru's gaze began forming red magical lines of its own accord. Starting from Ellander, they connected point by point.
Ellander, Flotsam, Vengerberg…
Then pausing briefly at the largest city in Aedirn before heading straight to the border city between Aedirn and Kaedwen—Vergen.
Realizing this, Dru connected it to the earlier question and froze for a second. His expression shifted to one of alarm as he caught up with Hen Gedymdeith's line of thought: "Tomas Moreau and Makarov disappeared because of those Witchers?"
"How is that possible?"
"The School of the Wolf has always been neutral, hasn't it?"
"And..."
"How dare they target our people!"
"It's not confirmed," Hen Gedymdeith interrupted, his gaze fixed on the city of Vergen. "And there's no spare manpower to verify it at the moment."
"So, don't tell anyone about this, understand?"
Dru hesitated for a moment, realizing the dean didn't want the radical faction to catch wind of this information. "I'll keep it confidential."
"But..." Dru thought for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "If we can't verify it for now... are we just letting it go like this?"
Hen Gedymdeith didn't immediately answer but instead asked, "What is Sunny doing now?"
"Ever since he claimed to have found clues about Thomas Morley and Makao, he's been staying in the academy, seeking Jenks' leftover research on the Conjunction of the Spheres..."
Hen Gedymdeith snorted coldly. "Have him and his men, along with the mage responsible for Giambattista's spatial isolation barrier, head to Pascal this afternoon. Assign them the task of clearing out the drowners around Ban Ard."
"Sunny is fine. Giving him some tasks will avoid trouble. But pulling away the mage responsible for the spatial isolation barrier?" Dru paused. "The cause of the Conjunction of the Spheres hasn't been discovered yet. If it happens again..."
"We can't consider that right now," Hen Gedymdeith shook his head. "The academy depends on the surrounding villages and workshops for necessary supplies, and the council's reputation is also critical."
"What about the mages conscripted by the new king? Can't we find an excuse to recall them?" Dru suggested.
"No, doing so would give Lado an excuse to target the academy, and there's no time," Hen Gedymdeith immediately rejected. "Every delay worsens Ban Ard's losses and strengthens the council's opposition against us."
"We can't let the new king's hand find a weak spot against us."
"Moreover..." Hen Gedymdeith paused before continuing, "I will remain at the academy until the war ends. Even if another Conjunction of the Spheres occurs, it won't be a problem."
Hen Gedymdeith's tone was calm, but Dru immediately felt reassured.
Yes.
The significant damage from the last Conjunction of the Spheres occurred because all the mages were away from Ban Ard.
Now, with the Magus Prime—humanity's first sorcerer, the chosen of the elven sage Hen Gedymdeith—present, no matter how many times the Conjunction occurred, it wouldn't harm the academy in the slightest.
"I understand, Dean," Dru said with a smile and a nod. "I'll notify Sunny immediately. It's about time to keep the radical faction occupied. Otherwise, they're like wild boars at the foot of Blue Mountain, poking their noses everywhere."
With that, Dru immediately turned and left.
However, just as he did, Hen Gedymdeith's voice came from behind.
"Once you've handled the task, find someone to investigate the whereabouts of Vesemir and the newly minted Witcher Master, Allen."
"Kaer Morhen is in Kaedwen. They... will have to return eventually."
Dru's eyes lit up at these words, and he immediately turned back.
He had just assumed the dean was going to delay dealing with the witchers until after the war.
After all, the academy was truly short-handed right now, and even the regular classes for apprentices were suffering.
He could understand that.
But for the ever-dominant Ban Ard Academy to struggle against two witchers... that was frustrating.
Now it seemed the dean intended to handle it himself...
"I understand, Dean. As soon as there's news, I'll inform you."
"Any other instructions?"
Hen Gedymdeith shook his head. "No, just notify Sunny first."
"Understood, Dean."
-----------------
The tightly shut doors opened again.
A faintly unnatural blue daylight fell on half of Hen Gedymdeith's face.
Bang!
The door closed with a soft thud.
The mysterious, bluish light disappeared.
It was then that the center of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers—the Council of Talent and Craft's five-member assembly member, the eldest living mage, the Magus Prime, humanity's first sorcerer, the chosen of the elven sage...
Hen Gedymdeith, a man adorned with countless prestigious titles, suddenly seemed to deflate, showing a wearied expression.
"Kings, nobles, mages, and witchers... and now even the Wild Hunt has appeared..."
His sigh echoed in the empty hall.
-----------------
Walking out of Ban Ard's reception hall, Dru made his way towards the towering spires along a path surrounded by dense woods.
As he reached the first fork, he suddenly glanced back toward the direction he had come from.
"The dean really has grown old..." Dru muttered to himself.
Three or four centuries ago, even if the academy had been as short-handed as it was now, and even if those two witchers were only slightly suspicious, Hen Gedymdeith would have used a teleportation spell to reach Kaer Morhen, capture the witchers, and probe their memories in the presence of the entire School of the Wolf, including their Grandmaster, Sol.
He would have judged every single person hostile to Ban Ard on the spot.
"Still, it makes sense. If the dean were still like he was in his youth, how could the radical faction—which opposes the Brotherhood's foundational principle of separating sorcery from state governance—even exist in Ban Ard Academy?"
Dru shook his head, sighed, and continued towards the spire where Sunny was.
At that moment—
"... precisely channel your magical energy..."
A voice interrupted from the side, drawing Dru's attention.
He glanced over.
A group of students in apprentice robes was awkwardly using their magic to peel eggshells without breaking the soft white membrane underneath.
"Material handling class, huh..." Dru murmured.
This class was a basic course to train material handling and magical control.
At the moment, however, with their amateurish skills, the students were making a mess.
Chuckling softly, Dru shook his head and continued forward. Soon, the tree-covered path opened into a clearing.
In the distance stood the blue glow of the "Giambattista Spatial Isolation Barrier," enveloping the academy in a protective dome, its silhouette obscuring the towering spires within.
For some reason, Dru suddenly thought of the material handling class he had just seen. The massive blue barrier looked like a peeled raw egg, fragile and ready to spill its contents with just a scratch of a fingernail.
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
326. I Haven't Even Acted Yet, How Is It Over?
327. Were the Witchers' Tracks Exposed?
328. Encounter with the Sorcerer.
329. Vilgefortz.
330. Ancient Blood or the Child of Miracles.