209. Another Prophecy!
With Hen Gedymdeith' status, it was impossible for him to damage his reputation over just ten thousand Oren.
On the contrary—
When calculating the number of drowners cleared by the witchers, he rounded up the total and gave 2,000 Oren. However, carrying a large amount of silver coins wasn't convenient. So, for payment, Sol only accepted a small portion of the coins, about five hundred Oren.
Five witchers from the Wolf School split it evenly, each receiving one hundred Oren. This amount was easy for the witchers to carry and use daily. The rest was exchanged for rare magical materials or secondary alchemy products unique to Ban Ard. These items were valuable anywhere and had no shortage of buyers. Moreover, the Wolf School now had its own alchemist.
"Bang~"
Catching the saddlebag that the leader lightly tossed over, Allen froze for a moment.
"This is your payment," Sol said, "Two Drowner Kings, Two Bog Nymphs, plus over a hundred drowners, amounting to a total of 11,500 Oren."
"I've exchanged it all for expensive and rare materials."
"Hmm?" Allen held the saddlebag with both hands, staring blankly at the leader. "But one of the Ice Kings and two Lamias were all handled by you..."
Sol waved his hand, interrupting him: "Those three monsters were killed by you, take it!"
"Besides, you're the one who can make the best use of these things."
Allen's mouth hung open in surprise. Those three large monsters were already on their last breath when they were thrown in front of him; he had just delivered the finishing blow. His real share of the bounty should only include one Drowner King and his share of the nearly two hundred drowners.
At best, it would be around three thousand Oren.
And as for the magical materials, he certainly wasn't the only one who could use them. Even though he could indeed brew some potions, there was no way he was better than Lady Vera.
And in terms of relationships, the leader and Lady Vera were family!
Now, not only did the leader not withhold any of the bounty or skim off the top, but he also gave all his share to Allen.
What kind of perfect leader was this?
Even though the items were precious, since the leader was giving them, why would he refuse? Allen had done so much for the School, he could consider this a bonus. Seeing Allen accept the saddlebag, Sol's lips curled into a slight smile. But that smile quickly disappeared.
Once the bounty was divided, Vesemir found an excuse to send the young witchers, who were happily holding their hundred Oren, back to the inn. Of course, Allen was not included among the departing young witchers. He was a Witcher Master and was part of the decision-making body of the Wolf School.
After watching the young witchers disappear from the window, Vesemir quickly walked over to Sol and asked: "Leader, what's the situation with the sorcerer regarding the king's death?"
Although, given the leader's demeanor, the outcome shouldn't be bad, Vesemir couldn't rest easy without confirmation.
"Don't worry!"
Sol knew exactly what Vesemir was anxious about. After casting a sidelong glance at Allen, he said:
"Hen Gedymdeith couldn't figure out the reason for the Conjunction of the Spheres."
"Perhaps due to their already murky stance in this Apprentice Duel Tournament, they deliberately avoided discussing the topic in front of me..."
Upon hearing this, Allen immediately thought of the first Drowner King in the arena. It couldn't cast spells, was clumsy, and was clearly weaker compared to the one that appeared later. If it wasn't a dud, then a sorcerer must have tampered with it. The latter seemed far more likely.
Moreover—
The audience in the arena was shouting about a Conjunction of the Spheres, yet there was no tremor that should have accompanied such an event. The Drowner King didn't appear suddenly; it broke through a sealed iron gate, bringing a horde of drowners along with it. Although there was no solid proof, simple reasoning could easily lead to the conclusion:
The first Drowner King was clearly a stockpile belonging to some sorcerer from Ban Ard Academy. It had been deliberately placed in the arena to target the Wolf School witchers.
"But there's still one more issue."
Allen frowned.
The Drowner King hadn't been recorded anywhere, as if it had never appeared in this world before.
Who had acquired this monster, and by what means?
As he thought about it, Allen's mind flashed to the shard of the Ard Gaeth Gate that Sadia had given him.
Elves...
The Conjunction of the Spheres...
The Drowner King...
"Could there be some kind of connection?"
"Does Ban Ard Academy also possess something similar to the Ard Gaeth Gate shard?"
"Is that how they obtained this Drowner King, and why they, like the deceased Henselt, won't let Sadia and her people go?"
Allen tried to piece together these seemingly unrelated events in his mind, trying to connect them into a coherent line. As Allen pondered, the leader revealed Ban Ard's "request."
"After giving me the bounty, Hen Gedymdeith expressed that he hopes we'll 'truthfully' answer any questions... if anyone comes asking."
Upon hearing that the sorcerers, especially the "Source of Magic," Hen Gedymdeith, hadn't found the cause of the Conjunction of the Spheres, Vesemir breathed a sigh of relief.
Feeling relaxed, he added sarcastically:
"So, this 12,000 Oren is hush money, isn't it?"
Sol nodded slightly.
"Are they planning to take responsibility for this?" Vesemir curiously pressed.
"Answering truthfully doesn't mean we have to speak on their behalf."
Henselt died at Ban Ard, and given the nature of sorcerers, it was hard to imagine they wouldn't find a scapegoat.
Sol shook his head and sighed: "It's the Cat School..."
"The mad, evil witchers from the Cat School were outraged after being expelled from Ban Ard by the wise sorcerers."
"So, in revenge, they summoned a terrifying evil god and murdered the king!"
Vesemir was stunned.
Clearly, the Cat School witchers had been working for Henselt and the sorcerers, but this sudden betrayal...
"Oh... How shameless they are!"
But on further thought, this excuse might actually work.
Most of the nobles of Kaedwen, apart from the royal family, had connections with the sorcerers' academy.
As long as there was an excuse, some exchange of interests, and a convenient enemy to blame, it could be handled smoothly.
As for the royal family...
The only real problem would be the crown prince, soon to ascend the throne. But with the king's sudden death, the prince would need the support of the powerful sorcerers' academy to secure his position and couldn't afford to make enemies of them.
"The sorcerers might actually get away with this!" Vesemir shook his head helplessly.
At that moment, Sol suddenly turned to Allen and asked: "Allen!"
Allen, puzzled, looked over. "What's the matter, Chief?"
Sol gazed earnestly into Allen's bright blue witcher eyes: "You once dreamt of the Kaer Morhen being destroyed by flames and riots!"
"Now the king is dead, and even if Ban Ard manages to get away with this excuse, it will inevitably create a rift with the new king, causing them to be wary of each other!"
"Do you think the scene from your prophecy will still come true?"
"Could Kaer Morhen still face destruction by man-made disaster or natural calamity?"
Allen froze for a moment at the question, his scalp tingling under the three pairs of expectant eyes surrounding him. He wasn't a true prophet.
The future had already changed...
Wait!
He didn't even knew if this was the future from the original story. How could he predict whether the disaster at the Fortress would happen again, like the Battle of Kaer Morhen?
Allen pondered deeply.
Logically, with the immediate enemy king dead and the suspected accomplice sorcerers estranged from the nobles, the Wolf School should be safe. But in the original history, events like the Battle of Kaer Morhen, which destroyed Witcher schools, had occurred in nearly every Witcher school. So, with these two enemies gone, safety wasn't guaranteed.
After all, from a fundamental interest standpoint, a neutral Witcher school growing stronger would inevitably threaten the local nobles' rule. Restraining an uncontrolled armed force's growth was almost instinctive for those in power.
Moreover, with the number of monsters dwindling, the relationship between sorcerers—who were in competition with the Witchers—and the Witchers was steadily deteriorating. So Kaer Morhen really couldn't be considered safe just yet.
But to say that there would definitely be an imminent danger of destruction?
The fundamental conflict between Witchers and sorcerers, and nobles, was that the number of monsters was dwindling. However, with the 'Witcher Journal' existing and the merging of other worlds, As long as Allen was alive, there should be more and more monsters in this world.
The Witchers might once again regain the respect of the people...
In fact,
Allen had also thought of another solution. That was to disregard everything and continue to paint the crisis as dire. But a bowstring kept tense for too long would surely lose its elasticity. Under such a crisis, the Witchers of the Wolf School, when interacting with the outside world from Kaer Morhen, would definitely change their behavior.
Especially knowing that the threat largely came from humans and sorcerers, it would be easy for them to offend powers they wouldn't have offended otherwise, leading to the false prophecy becoming a reality.
If the fictional danger never happened, it would greatly damage Allen's prestige within the school.
"It's really hard to predict!"
Allen sighed. There were too many variables, and he simply couldn't figure it out.
"If only I really had the gift of prophecy!" he thought.
"Prophecies aren't something you can just dream up so easily!" A cold female voice harshly interrupted Allen's thoughts.
Allen looked up.
He saw the sorceress standing by his side, blocking him from the pressure coming from Sol and Vesemir.
Especially Sol.
After glaring at Vesemir, the sorceress kept her gaze fixed on the face of the chief. Her intense glare made possibly the strongest Witcher in the world lose his ability to maintain a cold, expressionless face.
With an awkward smile, Sol seemed to realize his impatience. He looked at Allen and gently said: "Sorry, Allen, I was too pushy."
Faced with an apology from his direct superior, Allen hurriedly waved his hands to decline.
At the same time, he was genuinely relieved that the sorceress had stepped in.
That's right!
He had just hit a dead end!
Why did he have to decide right now?
Allen thought.
"Sorry, chief!"
"I haven't had any dreams about the future recently. When a prophetic dream occurs, I'll inform Mary right away to tell you!"
--------------
At Ban Ard Academy,
In an office filled with parchment books.
"Dean!"
"Are we just going to let those freaks go?"
The middle-aged sorcerer sitting on the armrest was emotionally agitated and slammed the oak armrest. The strongest freak from the Wolf School had extorted over ten thousand Orens from Ban Ard not long ago.
As soon as he heard this news, the mature-looking sorcerer immediately ran over to protest to Hen Gedymdeith. Of course, he intentionally or unintentionally ignored the fact that this sum wasn't extortion. It was a bounty promised by Hen Gedymdeith.
Or, to put it another way, a "hush money."
Hen Gedymdeith sat behind a black lacquered oak desk, not even lifting his eyes.
"Professor Tomas Moreau, I'm not asking you to forget your hatred."
"But at least restrain it. Have some respect for Alzur and Cosimo Malaspina's great creations."
"If they hadn't created the Witchers, solving the crisis humanity faced..."
"Humanity's borders would never have expanded to the Blue Mountains, to the land beneath our feet!"
Professor Tomas Moreau was not interested in Hen Gedymdeith's words.
He sneered and said, "So those freaks aren't our enemies?"
"Of course they are not!" Hen Gedymdeith looked up, "They were once milestones on our road of progress, now they are just obstacles, nothing more."
"However, they remain one of the most remarkable creations of the sorcerer world."
"Respecting them is respecting yourself!"
"My dear Professor Tomas Moreau."
Tomas Moreau wore a look of impatience, clearly disagreeing with Hen Gedymdeith's words. It was only out of respect for the "Source of Magic" that he didn't interrupt him outright. Once Hen Gedymdeith finished, Tomas Moreau impatiently asked: "Are we really going to let those treacherous and hypocritical wolves go?"
"What about the plan?"
"The plan to destroy Kaer Morhen by the end of the year?"
"Calema told me that because the king is dead, the plan has been canceled?"
"If it weren't for waiting on your damned plan, I would've hunted those Witchers down myself by now and avenged my child!"
"And now your plan?"
"Hen Gedymdeith, you've betrayed us!"
----------------
The torrent of anger and resentment poured from Tomas Moreau's mouth. Hen Gedymdeith did not display any displeasure or anger at the professor's near-mad words. He simply looked softly at Tomas Moreau.
After waiting for him to vent all his rage, Hen Gedymdeith finally spoke, in a soft but firm tone: "Professor Tomas, you know I have never betrayed you!"
"You are well aware of Ban Ard's current situation, with the king's death here, and all that we must face together."
"As for the plan..."
Hen Gedymdeith paused, contemplated for a moment, and then continued: "The plan is only slightly delayed..."
"For how long?" Professor Tomas Moreau interrupted, barely suppressing his rage.
"If all goes as expected, no more than two years..." Hen Gedymdeith smiled, reassuringly, "If the situation is not as severe as we expect, perhaps just a year, or even less."
Hearing this, Tomas Moreau reluctantly restrained his anger.
"Apologies, I was too emotional just now."
"The flames of hatred burn brighter by the day, and they rob me of sleep."
"I am but a specter on this earth, awaiting the day those freaks die, so I can follow Lydia."
Hen Gedymdeith nodded: "It's alright, I understand."
"Rest assured, the plan will only be delayed for a brief moment..."
"Everything else remains as it was."
....…
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210. Mary is a Good Girl.
211. Necromancy.
212. Pale Widow.
213. The Unlucky Makarov.
214. All Witchers Must Die!!!