“You can have the prison for yourselves…”
As soon as the witcher had finished, the leader of the soldiers quietly unsheathed his sword. His peers from the same squad let out a cruel smile as they unsheathed their standard-issued longsword and encircled them. They slowly reduce the area the two witchers could move in.
They believed the witchers would never resist, seeing they had absolutely outnumbered them.
The two witchers in the circle exchanged a glance.
“All this while… All this harassment! I’ve had enough of this!”
They heard the young witcher curse. And in the next moment, the soldier who was facing his back suddenly felt that there was a flash, and his target dexterously and swiftly jumped towards him with his back still facing him, and the pommel of his sword violently bashed into his stomach. There was a stinging pain, but the soldier couldn’t even react before he fell to the ground.
The soldiers next to him brandished their blades at him after he did that, but he easily dodged. And then he spun around, and his sheathed sword slammed into the soldiers’ faces.
“He’s too fast…” That was the last thought he had in his mind as the second soldier fell to the ground.
The entire street was instantly thrown into chaos. Someone let out a sharp scream, and those walking on the street quickly escaped the scene of the battle.
The soldiers looked at their peers who dropped on the ground with fear as their bodies tightened. They held their swords and quickly stabbed right at the center of their targets.
Next, Gwyhyr slashed through the air as it let out a joyful hum. As the blade of the sword refracted the light, even the sun lost its brilliance.
The two witchers didn’t make any flowery actions. They simply jumped and weaved like phantoms among the soldiers. The sheaths and pummels danced in their hands without order.
In five seconds, the group of soldiers scattered like ants being splashed with boiling hot water.
Six of them were already laying on the ground. Some of them pressed on parts of their bodies as they screamed in pain, while others had completely fallen, only their slightly heaving chests still signaling that they were alive.
Seeing that the soldiers had retreated, the two witchers didn’t attack anymore. But they were still on high alert as they remained prudent, back to back, guarding their side of the fight.
The two of them held their swords with both hands and would nimbly wave their blades a few times, creating a scintillating screen before them.
No soldiers dared to approach them. Instead, each of them slowly took steps back as fear filled their faces. They seemed to hear the demons speak.
“Do you understand now? Never ever threaten witchers, especially when there are more than one of them.”
The leader of the soldiers gulped. The difficult and heavy sound when he did so could be heard clearly by all.
“But don’t worry. No one bled and no one died.” With that, the two witchers put their swords back into the sheaths on their backs.
“This is just a lesson for you, soldiers,” Roy said as he stared at the terrified soldiers, the anger in his chest somewhat subsiding. “Now, bring us to the mayor.”
“O… Of course…”
***
The castellan and mayor of Vizima scanned the two witchers standing in his office opposite of him. His eyes stayed on the bald man much longer.
His previous experiences made him understand that despite the witchers’ weird appearances, they were more trustworthy than normal people at times.
He looked at the viper-shaped amulet around their neck.
“It’s unfortunate you’re not from my old friend’s School of the Wolf, but at least you’re not from the School of the Cat.”
He then ordered his guards to leave them before turning to the two of them once again.
“Please, it’s fine for you to sit closer to me.” He showed the two of them the seats opposite of him and by his office table.
“Unlike the superstitious, I do not fear nor look down on you. Instead, I know the witchers have emotions, and understand more about the meaning of fairness and responsibility. At least, they are much more reputable than some detestable mercenary’s reputation.”
“And? Your fairness is to use power to force two witchers who obeyed the law to work for you?” Roy couldn’t help but say in a sarcastic tone.
“I have no choice.” Velerad stroked the rod on his table apologetically.
“I would like to apologize on behalf of my soldiers. I told them to invite you over with the utmost respect earlier. I didn’t expect they would anger you both. Not to mention that both of you have taught them a lesson, correct? You should feel better, right?”
The two witchers merely folded their arms in front of their chest coldly and didn’t give a reaction at all.
“It’s my fault for rushing through things,” the mayor said with a sigh. He continued. “When I heard the good news this afternoon about two witchers visiting Vizima from afar, I was thinking, ‘Are they my saviors I have been begging for?’”
“But the saviors you’re hoping for are already very busy and didn’t even have time for themselves. We have no time to deal with your problems.”
“Everything has a price,” Velerad said firmly. “Let’s not talk about the contract. Why not listen to the price I’m willing to pay? I believe it should make you feel like this journey of yours isn’t a complete waste of time.”
“A price? Can your reward help us instantly reach our destination to the far east across the mountains and seas?” When Roy said that, Velerad’s eyes filled with hope once more.
“I understand that both of you appeared in the stables because you needed to reach the countries to the west of Vizima, correct?” he said as he paid attention to their expressions. “Is it Cidaris, Brokilon, Verden, or Cintra? If you want to go to these places, I believe I can fulfill your wish.”
Roy and Letho exchanged a glance and asked curiously, “What do you mean?”
“As the capital of Temeria, Vizima doesn’t lack powerful mages. And I…” Velerad patted his chest. “I know one of them.”
“If both of you are willing to help me, my mage friend will be more than willing to open a portal to instantly teleport you to your destination.”
Roy became interested. How could I forget about this? Mages can easily open up portals. It would be very easy for them to teleport Letho and me to Cintra. No, we have to add another horse too.
He could summon his horse over at any time. But not Letho’s.
Letho then asked with vigilance, “What’s the name of your friend…?”
“Azar Javed. A mage living in Vizima permanently.”
Letho then mumbled, “This name is quite unique. From his name, it doesn’t sound like he’s from the north or the south.”
“Correct. He came here to learn about magic from a country called Zerrikania across the Blue Mountains.”
As the two of them chatted, Roy was shocked beyond belief.
Azar Javed? Isn’t he one of the bosses leading Salamandra in the future?
It was this mage, and another person called the Professor, who led the Salamandra gang to invade Kaer Morhen to steal the witchers’ secrets.
He’s already permanently residing in Vizima? Then is Salamandra already formed?
While Roy’s thoughts went wild, Letho had already become swayed, especially since they had just lost a large amount of money.
“I concede. Your reward is very tempting. Then, Lord Mayor. What is your request?”
“Good! Looks like we’ve reached consensus for the first item!” Velered paced happily. “My request is very simple. I would like both of you to protect the princess of Temeria, Princess Adda, for a while.”
“What? Someone is trying to hurt the princess?”
Velered stroked his nose with frustration on his face.
“If someone wanted to harm her, it might be something easier to deal with. However, the truth of the matter is that Princess Adda would willingly attract dangers. It has been five years since she regained her human body. Even with King Foltest’s teaching, she still retained a part of her habits from the past.”
When he said the word “habits,” terror appeared on his face as if he remembered something that happened in the past. “Fortunately, the princess’s target had shifted to non-humanoids. However, because of King Foltest spoiling her without limits, the princess is somewhat proud and capricious. Wild beasts and livestock. She will need these things to make herself feel better. Unfortunately, normal monsters can no longer satisfy her. She’s aiming at the monsters that are living on Black Tern Island.”
Roy stopped himself from thinking about Salamandra for the time being and asked, “Black Tern Island?”
“An island to the south of Vizima. There has always been a tribe of degenerate vodyanoi living on the island.”
“I see…” Roy said, “So Princess Adda wanted to destroy these degenerate vodyanoi so that she could protect the people?”
From what he knew, the vodyanoi were amphibian monsters that would feed on fish and algae in the water. They would also sometimes catch small animals by the shores, but they wouldn’t attack humans normally.
As for its physical strength, a vodyanoy was even weaker than a drowner.
But they all hunted in tribes. A small tribe could consist of dozens, while a big tribe could consist of hundreds.
But the vodyanoi in Lake Vizima had already fallen. He believed they would only be even crueler.
Velerad nodded. Even he found it hard to believe.
“Regardless, it is a good thing that the princess didn’t turn on the people, and instead turned on those slippery vodyanoi instead.”
“But it’s not something simple,” the witcher said in a murmur.
“True… The vodyanoi’s influence was quite ancient on the island. Their influence had even reached the swamps around the island and the lake, as well as the villages there. It was rumored that something bloody and strange would happen to the villagers in that area. The princess and the knights from the Order of the White Rose had been dispatched twice to the fringes of the island, but both were minor engagements that ended with them dragging one or two vodyanoi corpses back. But this time, she wants to go deeper into the island. They are already fully prepared, and they will march for the third time.”
“Didn’t the king stop her?”
“The King cannot bear to yell at the princess, so all he could do was let her do as she wished and find several bodyguards who were trustworthy and possessed supreme martial prowess. As his most trusted advisor, I had to help him as well. That is why everything today had happened. I would like to ask both of you to help the princess and protect her in her adventure this time around.”
Escort Princess Adda while she launched a crusade against the degenerate vodyanoi?
Roy shook his head without hesitation. “It’s too dangerous…”
“Then I’ll add another 600 orens as a reward,” Velerad said in a firm voice. “Other than having Azar open a portal, I would pay you two an extra 600 orens.”
Both witchers became hesitant. As expected of someone who lived in the capital of Temeria. He could offer him 600 orens immediately, which was equivalent to 600 crowns. It had far surpassed the rewards from the normal contracts, and it was more than enough to cover the loss of the horse. It was definitely attractive to witchers like them who were aiming to rebuild the schools.
When the mayor saw something, he knew he had them. He then said, “Please, no need to respond to me right now. I’ve arranged accommodations for both of you already. You can think about it after you’ve moved in. If both of you haven’t left by eight in the morning tomorrow, that would mean you have accepted my request and I will bring you to see Princess Adda. But if both of you were to leave early, I wouldn’t force you…”
The two witchers nodded and left the mayor’s office.
They could use this time to clean up the monster materials in their inventory as well as replenish some of his alchemy ingredients.
They also needed to find somewhere with more space. Roy’s training could not be delayed.
In the past, it was about swords and crossbows. And now, signs were added as well. He would need to expend all his stamina and mana every night before he could enter into a meditative state.
