The scorching sun burned the earth, and a rugged path stretched from north to south, with sparse straw-and-mud huts scattered along both sides of the narrow road.
Although few would stay outside during the sweltering summer days, it was never like this:
Standing at the village entrance, there wasn't a single person in sight. The entire village seemed to have been abandoned suddenly.
The keen senses of the Witcher alerted them to something amiss. As they walked into the village, countless eyes peered through door cracks, windows, keyholes, and over walls… watching them—two Witchers dressed as mercenaries.
"What do you think it is?" Vesemir asked as he led his horse forward, not even glancing at the eyes that followed them, acting as if they didn't exist.
Allen gently petted his nervous mare, who snorted uneasily. "Demavend the Second… or some noble from Aedirn? It doesn't matter much to us."
"At Vergen, it caused quite a stir. The marks left behind last night were too many and too obvious. If they've come now, we've hidden ourselves pretty well."
"That's true." Vesemir nodded, hesitating for a second before asking, "Do you think it will cause any trouble?"
"No." Allen shook his head. "Like you said, no one has ever tamed a Griffin. As long as we don't admit it, who will believe that something that never happened before is suddenly happening now?"
"That's true," Vesemir sighed in relief. "Who would have thought?"
"I still can't believe that I just dropped down from the Griffin's strong wings," Allen remarked.
Vesemir's face showed a hint of excitement he couldn't suppress.
Flying for the first time, especially in such a way… riding such a mount…
Standing on the Griffin's back, feeling its powerful heartbeat beneath his feet, alongside clouds, winds, and towering mountains…
Vesemir smacked his lips. He felt that he might never forget this extraordinary moment.
Noticing the expression on Vesemir's face, Allen smiled.
Actually...
Even if someone guessed it, what would it matter?
The neutrality that the Wolf School had maintained once shielded it from many storms and ensured its stability through countless cycles of sunrises and sunsets. But that was the past. This was no longer the time when the Witcher School was falling apart.
Now that the Witcher Trials had near-zero mortality rates, the number of Witchers would inevitably surge, and with their growing strength and influence, how could they possibly maintain neutrality?
That was unrealistic.
Allen didn't even need to make much of a projection.
Once the news about the Trial mortality rate leaked, countless greedy eyes would focus on them.
Remaining neutral at that point would only be seen as cowardice, leading to wolves circling and tearing them apart.
Only by standing firm could they carve out a path forward.
Of course, flexing muscles wasn't urgent for now. The most important thing was still to accumulate strength.
The problem was that the Witcher world transmitted information too slowly, and human perceptions and impressions changed slowly as well. Change had to happen incrementally, so that the world would slowly understand and reduce future enemies, avoiding unnecessary trouble.
The timing now was actually quite good.
Taming the Griffin was too closely tied to individual strength, unlike the Trial mortality rate, which offered too few opportunities for others to profit.
It fundamentally went against the principle of neutrality, but because they hadn't accepted any bounty, there wasn't much that could be criticized. Moreover, due to the conflict between the School and Kaedwen, it wouldn't involve other factions, nor would it provoke strong resistance across the North.
The only concern was how Aedirn would react if they learned or guessed what had happened.
Honestly, staying hidden and quietly accumulating strength was still more beneficial to the School.
But when compared to the risks of exposure, taming the Griffin and preventing Kaedwen's nobles or sorcerers from acting freely was ultimately more beneficial.
"Creak~"
Tying the reins at the stable door in front of the inn, they pushed open the wooden door.
A few days ago, when the landlady saw Allen and Vesemir return, she immediately rushed up to greet them warmly. But today, although she stood behind the bar wiping glasses, her movements were stiff and cautious.
Upon hearing the door open, she looked up at the two Witchers and quickly darted her eyes around, almost as if warning them.
Allen scanned the room.
The farmers, who used to spend a whole day drinking one cup of wine, were nowhere to be seen. In their place were soldiers wearing formal leather armor and carrying swords at their waists.
A dozen men sat around the room, each with a drink, filling the inn to the brim.
Yet, the drinks remained untouched, as if the soldiers disliked them or perhaps there were rules to follow.
Upon seeing the two Witchers, two men near the door, who were not carrying swords, exchanged glances, sizing up the Witchers and looking at the space behind them, seemingly waiting for more people, so they didn't immediately stand up. However, Allen and Vesemir had no intention of speaking.
After exchanging a glance, they calmly climbed the creaking wooden stairs under the gaze of the dozen pairs of eyes.
"You were right, Allen," Vesemir muttered once they reached the second floor, his lips curling slightly. "The king 'invited' us to deal with the Griffin…"
The emphasis on the word "invite" clearly indicated it was intentional.
Allen shrugged and was about to speak when—
"Thud thud thud~"
Heavy footsteps came from the stairwell behind them.
"Two people!" Vesemir whispered, then exchanged a look with Allen, asking what to do.
Allen returned the glance, bent his pinky and ring fingers, and drew an inverted triangle in the air.
Vesemir glanced at the stairs, thought for a moment, and then nodded reluctantly.
The two unarmed men walked up the stairs without any guard, as if marking some sort of attitude.
When they saw the two Witchers standing in the hallway, seemingly waiting for them, their eyes brightened. They stepped forward as if about to speak.
Both Allen and Vesemir simultaneously surged with magic, bending their pinky and ring fingers to draw an inverted triangle in the air.
Axii Sign.
Two beams of white light instantly enveloped the men's heads.
The man in front of Allen immediately froze, while the one Vesemir had cast on paused for a moment before showing a look of horror, opening his mouth as if to shout for help.
"Snap~"
In the blink of an eye, Vesemir stepped forward, slapped the man on the back of his neck, and gently laid the unconscious man on the ground.
Allen gave him a thumbs up.
Vesemir rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and rummaged through the man's collar, pulling out a silver pendant before returning it and sighing, muttering something about his bad luck.
Seeing this, Allen laughed again, then turned to the hypnotized man and said: "Tell me your purpose, and let us know we've been here the entire time and haven't left."
Immediately.
"Gentlemen, I represent a certain noble, and I'm here to invite you…" the man began speaking loudly and enthusiastically, despite Allen and Vesemir already heading for the stairs.
Allen's ears perked up, and he heard no sounds from below.
"Let's hurry up and leave while no one has noticed. It'll be troublesome if we're chased to the small forest."
Vesemir nodded, and the two of them quietly returned to their respective rooms.
Only the unnamed man remained in the second-floor corridor, his voice high-pitched and enthusiastic.
Although he said he was packing, in reality, he was just grabbing a few bags. Witchers travel far and wide, so they don't carry much with them.
The few Witchers turned into statues carried quite a bit, but most of it was junk, not much of value, so there was no need to carry it.
Thanks to Vilgefortz's artefact compression spell, which was different from the one in the original story, the young Witchers' Wolf School standard armor, along with the statues, was also shrunk. So, all they needed to bring were the most valuable and recognizable silver swords.
As for the traces they left behind—well, there was no way to avoid it. After all, the seven young Witchers' horses were still left at the inn, and the griffin had only two claws for grabbing things.
The horses could leave behind some money, hoping the innkeeper would take care of them. Once the spell was lifted, they could come back and find a chance to ride off.
As for the traces... from now on, the griffins wouldn't attack Vengerberg again. Could the people of Aedirn still try to send money over?
"Let's go!"
Within five minutes, the two Witchers, holding a few cloth bags, looked at each other and jumped out of Allen's window.
"Shh~"
The horses neighed loudly, mixed with the sound of hooves rapidly fading, startling the soldiers on the second floor who had been carefully listening to the sounds.
"What's going on?"
"Someone rode off on a horse!"
"The officers upstairs, who were they talking to?"
"What should we do? Should we chase them?"
-------------------------
The commanding officers were all on the second floor, and no orders were given, so the dozen or so soldiers gathered in confusion on the first floor, unsure of what to do.
After a long while, someone ended the chaos.
They hurried to the second floor, shouting: "Lord Yor! Lord Khan!"
"Hmm!!! Someone knocked out Lord Khan!"
"Lord Yor, what happened?"
At this moment, Allen and Vesemir, riding their horses, had already melted into the brilliant sunset.
-------------------------
It was just getting dark.
Three black candles were lit, their flames flickering in the dark.
In the deep garden clearing, chalk traced out the eight symbols of the elven zodiac "Vika" (a festival) on the smooth stone floor. The candle holders were placed on the symbols representing the May Day, Harvest, and Midsummer festivals.
Inside the zodiac ring, a smaller circle was drawn in chalk, decorated with magical symbols and surrounded by a pentagram pattern.
Not far from the pentagram, Allen was carefully watching the ritual circle for the unsealing ceremony.
Yes.
Though the sky hadn't fully darkened yet, the two Witcher masters from the Wolf School had already brought the seven statues to the Melitele Temple in Ellander.
From the village outside Vengerberg, it took less than two hours to fly to the western side of the Mahakam Mountains.
Just over a month ago, Allen had struggled through the wilderness, almost a week in the wild.
Tsk tsk!
This stark contrast felt even stronger than the difference between the griffin's nest and the small forest outside the inn.
Also, they had gained some experience in handling griffins: it's best to land in the evening, just before dark, to avoid attracting attention from humans.
"Why is it that every time I see you, it always involves some curse?"
Ianna, the archprietess, placed three small iron tripods on three of the symbols in the inner ring and glanced at Allen.
Her complicated look made Allen feel somewhat embarrassed.
The artefact compression spell wasn't exactly a curse, but more of a sealing spell.
He wanted to say that, but after thinking about it, the difference between the two wasn't that big—both were non-lethal and restricted the recipient's actions.
Besides, judging by Ianna's expression, she wasn't complaining, but rather teasing, as if she were playing with a child.
Otherwise, why would she hide in a corner, in the dark, while Vesemir stayed out of sight?
So Allen chose not to speak, avoiding Ianna's peculiar compliments like, "Oh, Allen, you know so much!" "It's been a month, and you've really grown, even knowing such strange spells!" "Tsk tsk! Truly the knight of Ellander, impressive!" and so on.
Furthermore, although Ianna was teasing with her words, Allen had not said anything when he arrived with the statues, and no further explanation was needed.
The busy archprietess of the Melitele Temple knew the news immediately and rushed to meet them.
Upon hearing their intentions, she quickly selected the most suitable location for the unsealing ceremony and arranged everything in the garden before the sacred statue room.
Allen could sense that Ianna wasn't acting so eagerly because of Vera, but because she truly valued and was close to him.
"Ianna, please stop."
"Be careful, or Allen might not want to come next time."
The young priestess, Lysa, also watched from the side and curiously asked after hearing the archprietess's teasing.
During this month, her relationship with Ianna seemed to have grown much closer.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more," the archprietess smiled as she placed a crystal on top of each tripod.
The crystals' facets perfectly aligned with the tripods, ensuring no errors in their placement. This precision indicated that while the crystals and tripods seemed insignificant, their cost was certainly high.
However, after inspecting them, the archprietess confirmed that Vilgefortz had not tampered with anything. The tools for the unsealing ceremony were all of the highest quality.
If someone unfamiliar with Vilgefortz, like Vesemir, were to see this, they might think he was genuinely trying to mend relations and make a friend.
But Allen, who knew Vilgefortz's past in the original story, was certain that the man had other plans, and they were not small.
But Allen still couldn't figure out what exactly Vilgefortz was after.
In the original story, Vilgefortz was obsessed with power and strength.
Allen and the Wolf School certainly couldn't offer a mage from a brotherhood of unparalleled talent any power.
"Then it must be power," Allen thought, watching Ianna place the small white statue in the center of the pentagram.
"Whoosh—"
The candles suddenly burned brightly, interrupting Allen's thoughts.
The facets of the crystals lit up, emitting beams of light.
These beams shot toward the small statue, their color quickly changing from green to gold, and moments later, they turned transparent.
At this moment...
"Clop, clop, clop—"
The sound of hurried footsteps came from the darkness at the end of the garden passage.
Nenneke hurried over, her expression anxious.
Allen noticed that she intentionally glanced at him a few more times as she approached.
"What's wrong, Nenneke?" Lysa asked curiously.
"The old duke has arrived!"
.....
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
357. The Next Conjunction of spheres.
358. If Only You Were My Child.
359. How to Deal with Ban Ard?
360. Kaedwen, the Omen of a Fallen Kingdom?
361. The Continuation of the Path of Beast Roar.