Chapter 163: 164. Even if He is the King of a Nation!
Afternoon.
In a branch of the Blue Mountains of Kaedwen.
"Clang~ Clang~ Clang~"
The sound of armor clashing echoed through the nameless wilderness. Three knights clad in steel armor, mounted on powerful warhorses, let their steeds walk slowly along a narrow path worn by travelers through the gentle slopes of the mountains.
Golden horse cloths, gleaming armor, and black unicorn capes on a yellow background. It was clear that these were the King's guards of Kaedwen.
Although it was just early spring, the wild grass in the mountains of Kaedwen had already started to grow wildly. The well-trained horses of the King's guards couldn't help but lower their heads to nibble on the lush grass as they moved forward.
A young knight, sitting atop his horse, gazed at the monotonous mountain scenery and then turned his eyes back to the lead knight, asking:
"Captain Ired, what exactly are we searching for?"
The knight addressed as Captain Ired didn't turn his head: "Knight Wade, didn't you hear the King's order from the herald this morning?"
"We are to search for any unusual occurrences within the designated area."
The young knight named Wade scratched his helmet, confused: "But here, there's nothing but grass—where could anything unusual..."
Before the young knight could finish his complaint, Ired suddenly pulled on the reins tightly, and his well-trained chestnut warhorse halted almost instantly.
"Neigh~"
The white horse behind the chestnut horse swerved to avoid a collision, causing the young knight on its back to nearly be thrown into the knee-high grass by the roadside.
"Remember this, Knight Wade!"
"Once you join the honorable King's Guard, you are no longer the heir of a noble count."
"You are now merely a knight of the King's Guard, just a soldier."
"And a soldier's duty is to obey orders from your superior—namely, the orders of the 'Captain Ired' standing before you, understood?"
The young knight, somewhat flustered, quickly steadied his horse and shouted loudly: "Yes, Captain Ired!"
"Good!"
Ired glared at the young knight once more, then tightened the reins and turned his horse around to continue the search.
"Clop~ Clop~ Clop~"
The heavy sound of hoofbeats gradually faded away.
"Rustle~ Rustle~"
A soft rustling sound came from the patch of grass where the young knight of the King's Guard had almost fallen. Cautiously, a figure stood up from the grass.
A figure clad in light yellow leather armor, carrying two swords—one steel and one silver—on his back in a distinctive style...
Yes.
This person was Allen, the Witcher of the Wolf School.
After parting ways with the Witchers of the Wolf School at White Orchard, Allen headed straight for the castle ruins.
Using the magic vision of his Wolf Medallion, he followed the trail of scattered black magic dots while riding "Carrot" until he encountered the first group of King's Guards.
If Allen's enhanced senses hadn't alerted him from a distance to their conspicuous armor, he would have almost had a run-in with those three knights. After standing up from the grass, Allen patted the leather armor on his chest, looking as though he had just escaped a close call, and let out a long breath.
That was close! Really close!
Even now, his heart still fluttered a bit as he watched the figures of the King's Guards gradually fade into the distance, obscured by the trees.
"This must be the fourth group of knights, right?"
Allen's expression grew solemn as he observed the slowly moving black magic dots nearby. If these magic dots were indeed leading him to the couple that the red-haired elf had hired him to find...
"The anomaly that the King's Guards are searching for—the one King Henselt is after—is surely the same as my target."
He thought to himself.
And it seemed that the King's Guards were very close to locating it.
Which meant...
Time was running out!
Allen sighed, connected his thoughts to the Wolf Medallion once more, and continued to follow the direction of the black magic dots. After encountering the first group of King's Guards, he had sent "Carrot" back to the inn by itself, so now he had no choice but to proceed on foot.
Although it was slower, the advantage was that it allowed him to remain very well hidden, enabling him to quickly dive into the grass as he had just done. Perhaps due to the large-scale movement of troops, the wolves, bears, and ghouls—those creatures with keen senses—had been driven away.
Aside from narrowly avoiding four waves of King's Guards, his journey had been unusually smooth.
However.
Each time he encountered these knights with their black unicorn capes on yellow backgrounds, the worry in Allen's heart deepened.
"Even if I can find the couple the red-haired elf is looking for..."
"But with so many elite knights blocking the roads, how can I safely escort these two people out of Kaedwen through the layers of King's Guards?"
The young Witcher pondered this as he followed the black magic dots around a large oak tree that would take two people to encircle. Suddenly, he froze in place.
A massive gorge cut off his path.
The black elemental dots flew straight into it.
A gorge?
It seemed... it seemed like a good place to hide people.
Allen thought.
As he watched the black dots gradually extend beyond his field of vision, he sighed:
"Unfortunately, the guidance of the black magic dots ends here."
After all.
He had no wings, so he couldn't follow the black magic dots across the gorge. Just as Allen was feeling a bit troubled, his ears twitched slightly.
"Clop~ Clop~ Clop~"
The faint sound of hoofbeats came from within the gorge.
Allen looked towards the sound and saw three of the King's Guards entering the gorge from a side entrance on the right. They passed through several wooden fences and into a large encampment filled with numerous black dots moving around.
"Is this the King's Guards' temporary camp?"
Upon seeing it clearly, the young Witcher immediately felt a sense of unease.
Had the couple the red-haired elf was searching for already been captured?
Or had they not been caught yet, and the King's Guards had just conveniently found a gorge to set up camp?
No, that couldn't be right!
They shouldn't have been found yet!
He remembered the captain of the group of King's Guards who had almost caught him earlier.
"'Search for all anomalies in the designated area…' That's what the captain said."
Allen murmured to himself, and his eyes gradually lit up.
Yes.
If they had already found the couple, why would they still be sending out search parties?
Of course.
There was also the possibility that Allen had arrived just in time. Just as he discovered this gorge, Henselt's guards might have found the target the King was searching for.
But could it really be that coincidental?
Thinking this, Allen lowered his head and squinted as he looked into the distance.
"Clop~ Clop~ Clop~"
Shortly after the knights entered the camp, another group of King's Guards rode out, and the black dots in the camp continued to move as usual.
"They must be changing shifts."
The young Witcher thought.
So, it was clear!
The King's Guards of Kaedwen had not yet found the target; otherwise, why would they need to change shifts and continue searching?
Allen sighed with relief, feeling a surge of motivation in his heart.
"As long as I can find the target first and get that couple out..."
"Take them out..."
He lowered his head and looked at the camp below. Due to the distance, he could only see some small black dots, but after roughly counting, there were at least two or three hundred. Allen remained silent for a long time, then asked himself honestly.
Who gave him the courage to boldly say the words "just need to"?
------------------
Somewhere in a forest clearing near Ban Ard.
On purpose?
Guxart's mind was so scrambled by wave after wave of information that he could no longer think straight.
First, it was about the king wiping out witchers, then about his own school being doomed, and then about their leader persecuting important assets...
He could only hold onto the oiled canvas of the caravan, staring blankly at the bald man.
"What do you mean?"
The bald man didn't directly explain; instead, he guided him like a mentor teaching a student: "When you know the king's goal is to wipe out both the Wolf and Cat schools, and you can't resist, as a leader, your choices become limited."
"Resist, flee, or submit—there are only these three options."
"If it were you, my apprentice, which would you choose?"
Guxart's mind raced.
Before he could come up with an answer, the bald man continued: "Resisting isn't possible, because due to years of war with the elves, Henselt's defenses are the most formidable among kings."
"Sorcerers, royal guards, and soldiers combined number over a hundred."
"And now, at this most sensitive and vigilant time for the king, the Cat school only has a dozen or so witchers; we might not even be able to get close."
"What about leaving?" Guxart asked, "We're not like other schools with immovable stone fortresses; we have caravans, and can go to any country."
"Really?" the bald man countered, "Can we really go to any country?"
Guxart was stunned by the question and instinctively replied, "Isn't that the case?"
The bald man shook his head and said, "The Cat school accepts assassination contracts. From bandit extermination and wanted lists to covert kills, we've been rooted in Kaedwen for over a hundred years. All our clients are here. If we leave, how will we survive?"
"And besides, did you forget what I just said?"
"What..." Guxart paused, suddenly recalling "all witcher schools will eventually perish," and he asked in horror: "There's more than one king who wants to exterminate witchers, isn't there?"
The bald man sighed deeply and whispered: "Guxart, it's not just the kings."
"The entire world is against witchers."
"So even if we flee to another country, the Cat school is doomed, right?" Guxart asked, then gradually calmed down.
There was no point in Treyse using these words to scare him.
Three choices, two already discarded.
Treyse's choice was clear.
Guxart sighed, asking powerlessly, "So you've chosen to submit?"
The bald man didn't answer directly, instead shifting the topic: "I knew there was something off about last night's contract, but it didn't matter."
"In terms of strength, you and Totty could hold off a Wolf school master without issue, and could leave at any time."
"Even if something went wrong and you couldn't leave, as long as you didn't strike to kill, given the principles of Wolf school witchers, they wouldn't kill you even if they had the upper hand."
"As for the others..."
"Fredeca was a madman, too extreme in his actions, and was the source of most of the school's troubles."
"Brehen and Bendo killed many guards in Ard Carraigh's royal city. Although they were later released due to the Wolf school and the tournament, they must die for Henselt to accept the school."
"And as for Brett..."
The bald man sighed.
"His focus was entirely on improving his swordsmanship and strength—a true talent. Unfortunately, he offended the most knights and nobles."
Guxart contemplated the bald man's words, then said somewhat complicatedly: "So, as the school's leader, you've abandoned them all?"
Silence fell.
A few seconds later, the bald man sighed and said: "Yes, I've abandoned them all."
"I've already made arrangements. For the future of the school, even if last night's incident hadn't occurred, they were destined to die sooner or later."
"Treyse, did the king promise you…"
"No, he didn't, Guxart," the bald man said, his expression complicated. "He didn't; I only received a hint."
"If you're not strong enough to be feared, you need to be weak enough to be dismissed."
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, seemingly unwilling to see Guxart's expression as he continued: "A wild cat that wants to become a house cat..."
"Must wash away its stench, dull its sharp claws, and expose its fluffy belly for others to play with, right?"
Guxart remained silent, complex emotions swirling in his eyes.
Silence fell again.
After a moment, perhaps to change the subject or perhaps out of genuine curiosity, the bald man suddenly asked: "By the way, although Brett and Fredeca's fates were sealed, both were formidable. How were they killed last night?"
"Didn't you manage to stop the Wolf school master?"
Guxart gently stroked the smooth canvas, shaking his head. "I don't know either. Totty and I were holding off a Wolf school master the whole time."
"When we left, we only had time to save Brehen and Bendo..."
As Guxart spoke, he suddenly remembered something, furrowed his brow, and said: "Allen..."
"What?" The bald man was puzzled.
"Do you know of a Wolf school witcher named Allen... no, wait... to decapitate Brett, it should have been a witcher master..."
The bald man fell silent upon hearing this, thought for a moment, and then shook his head: "There's no Wolf school witcher master named Allen."
"Why do you think it was this person who killed Brett and Fredeca?"
"It was when we heard the Wolf school witchers loudly calling that name that Totty and I sensed something was wrong and left."
The bald man pondered for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and said: "I'll pass this name along to the king's men..."
"Treyse!" Guxart suddenly interrupted. "I don't care about the lives of Brett, Fredeca, Brehen, and Bendo."
"I've always been on your side..."
The bald man froze for a moment, feeling a warmth in his heart, and smiled with satisfaction.
"But..."
"You don't even have a promise that could be invalidated at any moment, so are you sure..."
"That the exposed belly of a wild cat that wants to be a house cat will certainly be met with a gentle hand?"
"What if it's met with a ruthless boot or a sharp blade?"
The bald man put away his smile, his face serious.
After locking eyes with Guxart for a couple of seconds, he bared his blood-red gums in a somewhat deranged smile: "Then they'll learn just how terrifying a cornered wild cat, combined with the skills it relies on to survive in this world, can be."
"Even if..."
"He's protected by hundreds of men."
"Even if he is the king of a nation!"
....…
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165. The Woman in the Camp.
166. The Daisy of the Valleys and the Child of Miracles.
167. That Damn Reckless Elf!
168. A Trap from Fifteen Years Ago.
169. Hurry Up and Teleport!
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