Chapter 338 Neutral?

The Wolf School adheres to neutrality.

In fact, it's not just wolves. In addition to cats and manticores, griffins, bears, and vipers all try their best not to do anything other than their job of hunting monsters.

This is the excuse for the witchers not to get involved in worldly disputes, a lesson learned from the disintegration of the former witcher order.

It was also the common need of all humans in the northern continent where monsters were rampant at the time.

A person's bottom line can be infinitely low.

If you can get enough money and status by doing things for the powerful and killing people, who would risk their lives to hunt all kinds of strange, dangerous and powerful monsters?

therefore.

For a long time, "strictly maintaining neutrality" could actually be regarded as a law recognized by all demon hunter schools and the rulers of the northern continent.

Schools and demon hunters who violate this rule will be severely punished.

However, as time went by and the number of monsters continued to decrease, the habitable areas in the northern continent had been occupied by humans, and the priority of eliminating monsters in the affairs of the rulers of various countries became lower and lower. Only the various monster hunting schools still adhered to this tradition.

But no matter how much Ailin despised this principle, he had to admit it.

Today, the Wolf School still actually requires this principle.

At least this principle is needed in this matter.

otherwise……

Unless Aedirn finally completely occupies Kaedwen, the forces hostile to the witchers in Kaedwen can completely send troops to attack Kaer Morhen openly.

After the war, dig up old scores.

And there is no need for some wizards and nobles to spread rumors to weaken the influence of the witchers.

A Wolf School witcher who helps a hostile country during wartime and is considered a "traitor" will certainly be spurned by all the nobles and commoners of Kaedwen, and will most likely be hostile to other countries in the northern continent, and will eventually have no choice but to surrender to Aedirn.

If this is the case, it would be better to move the school to Elland earlier and join Temeria.

At least Temeria is the strongest among the northern kingdoms, and both civilians and nobles are much friendlier towards witchers than Adian.

So Vesemir was right.

Regional monster harassment, or even just dealing with some small monsters that attack the army, can all be covered up with some excuses.

But the great griffin mentioned by Holden Qui-Gon had such an impact on the war that it might even be some kind of tactic of Kaedwen.

This was a commission that Vesemir and Arryn could never take on.

"At least I can't take it openly..." Ailin thought.

The suffocating silence, coupled with the biting cold, seemed to freeze the air.

Vesemir suddenly said, "Tell me the amount, Holden."

The dwarf listened, glared at Vesemir, then looked at Arryn, and finally sighed with a relaxed expression and waved his hand:

"Forget it, take my good girl and leave. Remember to ask Ms. Vera to carefully select a suitable alchemical magic circle. I personally recommend the element of fire or earth..."

“Wait…” Vesemir interrupted the dwarf’s chatter, “Red dragon skin and scorpion spider queen silk cost at least 30,000 orens. You don’t want them anymore?”

"It's not my red dragon skin and scorpion spider queen silk." The dwarf waved his hands in a daze.

“But this…” Vesemir hesitated.

"Take it." The dwarf smiled and patted the witcher master's thigh. "Demavi II had long anticipated that you would refuse. He is a sinister and cunning man, but he is indeed very generous..."

“I know he’s very generous,” Vesemir said with a helpless smile. “You’ve said that many times.”

"Then I advise you witchers from the Wolf School to come to Aedirn more often," the dwarf laughed. "Although we are not as rich as Ellander and cannot give up a castle to the Wolf School, we still have no shortage of bounties."

Vesemir was stunned and felt that there seemed to be other meanings in the dwarf's words.

"What's wrong?" He frowned.

"Since the Dark Sun Curse, the world has become increasingly unstable," the dwarf nodded to the two demon hunters and left the treasure room. "The deep mountain valleys in Vergen are not so bad, but the village at the foot of the mountain has been attacked by water ghosts two or three times. There are also a lot of ghouls attracted by the fighting on the battlefield..."

“You care about that?” Vesemir asked in surprise. “You’ve always cared about hammers and wine, haven’t you?”

“What are you talking about!” The dwarf widened his eyes in anger. “No matter what, I am still the mayor of Vergen, managing hundreds of people in the entire city…”

"boom!"

The treasure rooms glowing with a faint blue light were heavily closed, locking every warrior's paradise behind the door.

Vesemir looked skeptical.

The dwarf smacked his lips and lifted up the lantern. "Well, this is what Demaevi II said in the letter he sent me. He is a little pessimistic about the future."

"How to say?"

"He said he had a bad feeling, a bad feeling that we were about to return to the era of monsters..." The dwarf led the way nonchalantly, "Of course I think that's bullshit. Demaevi II spends all day in the palace secretly plotting, so it's inevitable that he would be suspicious..."

"Wizards, dwarves, and elves, who doesn't know that there are fewer and fewer monsters in this world..."

"According to those sorcerers who are good at performing tricks, even the activity of magic power is gradually stagnate..."

Vesemir stepped on the dwarf's shadow and glanced at Arryn. "But there was a celestial conjunction in Ban Ader, and there was the Dark Sun Curse..."

Horton paused, holding the lantern and casting a shadow. "When I was drunk and forging, my condition was not always the same, and the long swords I made were good and bad..."

"Is it not possible for the heaven and earth to experience some fluctuations?"

"but……"

Without waiting for the two witchers to reply, the dwarf turned back to look at Vesemir and Arryn: "This is just my opinion. Perhaps Demaevi II's guess is correct."

"Besides, they are just some magic materials. They are valuable, but if they are not valuable, putting them in his treasury will not allow him to win more battles and eliminate the water ghosts that emerged due to the temporary fluctuations between heaven and earth."

"It's better to use it in advance to make friends with you Wolf School demon hunters, just in case."

"After all, there aren't many people in your Wolf School. After coming down the mountain, you always like to go to coastal cities like Temeria and Redania..."

"To be honest, apart from meeting you twice this year, I haven't seen any other demon hunters in Vergen in the past few years, not even once..."

This is indeed true.

The routes most often taken by the demon hunters of the Wolf School in early spring every year do not include Aedirn.

Even those heading to Soden, Cintra and Toussaint on the southern side of the northern continent mostly took a detour through Temeria.

This is partly due to the long-standing war between Kaedwen and Aedirn.

After all, Kaer Morhen, the territory of the Wolf School, is located in Kaedwen, and its relationship with the royal family was relatively normal in the past few years, so it is still necessary to be somewhat cautious.

Another reason is that Aedirn is too poor because it is located inland, mainly engaged in agriculture, and has been in constant war.

Except for the royal capital, Vengerburg, other cities basically cannot pay any decent compensation, and the entertainment options are far less diverse than those in the western coastal cities.

Demon hunters also have desires.

People with ability will vote with their feet.

“After I return, I will persuade the Chief…” After a pause, Vesemir glanced at Arryn, “I will come to Aedir often in the future.”

Ailin nodded as well.

"Hahaha," the dwarf laughed heartily, "that's enough."

At this time, several people happened to walk into the main hall.

The cold moonlight shines through the empty window, making the ground look as if it were covered with hoarfrost.

"Would you like to stay overnight?" The dwarf glanced at the sky outside the window.

“No,” Vesemir shook his head and waved his hand unhappily, “We came here with a caravan. Because of your lies, we are still waiting for news on the Pontar River…”

"Okay then, I'll take you there." The dwarf laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.

Then after a few steps...

"There's really nothing we can do about the Great Griffin..."

"Really can not."

"I see."

Sighs echoed through the empty hall.

……

The two demon hunters left Vergen the same way they came, without asking Holden Qui-Gon to see them off.

The knights of the Knights Templar sent by King Demaevi II of Aedirn to recruit people are still in the city. Since they have rejected the commission of the Great Griffin, there is no need to make any more noise and cause trouble.

Late at night.

Walking on the neat stone road, the slightly cold mountain breeze from the Blue Mountains whistled.

Listening to the footsteps and the rustling of the wind in the trees, Vesemir was thinking about the impact of the great griffin on the direction of the war and the future of the Wolf School, when he suddenly noticed Arryn's azure cat eyes, which were unfocused and also distracted.

After thinking about it, it seems that Ailin has been in this absent-minded state ever since leaving Vergen.

“What are you thinking about?” Vesemir asked.

"That great griffin," Ailin said subconsciously, his azure cat eyes trembling, and he turned to the witcher master, "Master Vesemir, do you think the great griffin that is attacking Vengerberg now has anything to do with the one we hunted two months ago?"

Vesemir suddenly stopped.

"Maybe it's related, maybe it's not. It has nothing to do with us." He looked at Arryn seriously, "I know you don't agree with the idea of ​​the school's strict neutrality, and you hate some of Kaedwen's wizards and nobles, but we can't do anything about this matter."

Perhaps worried that Arryn might have some rebellious ideas again, Vesemir walked towards the woodland where the horses were tied and changed the subject: "Why don't we think about where we should go next and how to get back to Kaer Morhen?"

"wrong."

Vesemir was stunned for a moment: "What's wrong?"

"We can't just do nothing." Ailin shook his head. "Look at how anxious Holden Qui-Gon is. If we don't do anything, Aedirn's logistics might be cut off because of the big griffin, and they might even have to stop the war."

Vesemir paused again.

But Ailin did not wait for the Demon Hunter Master to speak, and continued:
"The school has fallen out with Ben Ader."

"On the day of the Apprentice Tournament, the wizards did not take action because the king died in their territory. Later, this war took up most of their attention."

"But what if the war ends?"

"Will either the wizards or the new king compromise because of this war?"

"Will the relationship between them be healed because of this war?"

"Those nobles who hate the Wolf School will be able to spare some strength after the truce."

"When the cracks are already exposed, will they really tolerate their 'enemies' hiding safely in the Ancient Sea Fortress?"

Ailin paused and looked at Vesemir seriously:

"The strength of the Demon Hunters in the Demon Hunting Corps is increasing rapidly. Every second is very important to us."

"War is not a good thing. Many people will die, but the Wolf School needs a Kaedwen who has no time for other things."

In silence, Vesemir stared into Arryn's eyes, his expression changing from gloomy to bright.

"Huh~"

The mountain wind grew stronger and stronger, bending the trees on both sides.

The leaves were blown by the wind and hit the two witchers.

for a long time.

"But...but if the people of Kaedwen knew about the killing of the great griffin, Kaer Morhen would still be in danger."

Vesemir retorted.

However, Ailin was not discouraged. Instead, his eyes lit up.

"As long as the people of Kaedwen don't know about this, it will be fine." He said firmly, "We are not going here for the bounty given by the King of Aedirn. There is no need to let other people in Aedirn, including Horton, know about this."

"The size of the great griffin is obvious, and according to Horton, it appears in Vengerburg every day. We don't need anyone else to tell us about the monster."

"You can just use illusion to disguise your identity like we did these past few days."

"After discovering the great griffin near Vengerberg, find an uninhabited spot along the warp, lure it down with bait, and kill it."

"God is unaware of it."

When Vesemir heard this, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then sighed: "You always have reasons to convince me."

Ailin was completely relieved when he heard this: "That's because Master Vesemir is accommodating me, and it's all for the future of the school."

“Yes,” Vesemir sighed again with a tired look on his face, “It’s all for the future of the school.”

Just say it.

The two witchers walked silently to the grove where the horses were tied, untied the reins from the tree, and climbed on the horses.

He pulled the reins and turned the horse's head back to the right place.

Seeing that the Demon Hunter Master was not in high spirits, Ailin thought for a moment and said:

"Master Vesemir, in fact, if we want to take Erni, Kral and the others with us, we may have to avoid an ambush by the wizards on the way back, and we may also have to rely on the big griffin."

“And it’ll be easy.”

“What do you mean?” Vesemir was stunned.

Ailin glanced sideways at the translucent Demon Hunting Notes in front of him.

[Name: Giant Beast Hunting of the One-Eyed Clan]

[Type: Disposable magic props]

[Function: Put the capture rope around the target's neck and tighten the buckle to confuse the mind of the low-intelligence target and greatly increase the probability of the target recognizing the owner]

[Note: Capturing humanoid creatures is not supported at this time. What are you thinking? This is a giant beast capture! ]

"You will know then..."

Ailin smiled mysteriously, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and rushed into the darkness.

night, deeper.

(End of this chapter)