Ailin's Influence

The person who made the announcement was just an ordinary nun from the temple. Ailin, Ianna, and Nannick did not show any unusual reaction and continued walking towards the door.

However, their hurried steps, dilated pupils, and subtle gestures such as pursing their lips and frowning all indicated that the three were not at peace.

Even Ianna, who had just guessed the truth, was no exception.

The fact that Henry Gedimidis had an accident is completely different from the fact that Henry Gedimidis died.

Power struggles, the distribution of interests, the war situation, and even the balance of power between nations will undergo earth-shattering changes.

This is something that concerns everyone...

If the Wild Hunt can kill Hen Gedimidis, the most powerful and oldest Northern Continent, at Ban Ade Academy, how can humanity stop it?

The moonlight that filled the world was obscured by clouds.

The deep darkness, impenetrable even by a lantern, shrouded everything in layers of gloom, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Da da da~"

As the group rounded the statue at the temple entrance, the Old Duke, hearing the commotion, completely disregarded the claim that "Meritellie is a female deity" and immediately came to meet them, leaning on his cane.

Seeing Ailin beside Ianna, he paused, a forced smile appearing on his tired, aged face.

"Ailin, are you healed?"

"You're fully recovered and can join the commission tomorrow."

"Hmm, there's no rush for the commission..." The Old Duke paused, "You're also Witcher Master from the School of the Wolf, which is perfect... perfect..."

Then he glanced at the nun who had given the announcement.

"Talia, you should go back first," Nannick said.

"Yes, Priestess Nannick."

As soon as the nun disappeared into the darkness around the corner from the icon, the Old Duke immediately looked at Ianna and asked impatiently:

"Ianna, do you know that the Wild Hunt attacked Ban Ad nine days ago?"

"I don't know." Ianna remained expressionless, instead pressing for details. "Talia just said that something terrible happened to Ban Ade, and that Hen Gedimidis is dead?"

"Those damned Wild Hunt went to Ban Ade after leaving Arland," the Old Duke said gravely. "Those hypocritical sorcerers are in a much worse situation than us; they lost an entire city."

"Besides the wizards and apprentices within the academy, there were also humans in Ban Ade at that time..."

The Old Duke glanced at the benevolent statue of Meritellie, took a deep breath, as if hoping to draw strength and courage from the temple's sanctity to speak out about the cruel reality.

"Not a single one survived," he repeated. "Not a single one, Ianna, not a single one..."

"Whether they are guards protecting the city, merchants, artisans, or nobles, from toddlers just learning to speak to old women who have lost all their teeth..."

"In one night, nearly 20,000 people died, all of them perished in the fires that burned the city, started by those demons despised by the gods."

A deathly silence fell suddenly before the statues of the three saints: Meritellie young girl, the pregnant woman, and the old woman.

The Old Duke, a veteran of countless battles, was breathing heavily, his unspeakable fear and extreme horror hidden in every breath.

Ailin looked down at her toes, silent, lost in thought.

Ianna and Nannick, who already knew about the devastation of Ban Ad's burning of the city but were unaware of the details, couldn't help but purse their lips and look at the statue.

What a terrible crime this is!

Just hearing about it made one imagine mountains of corpses and seas of blood stretching out before their eyes, the stench of blood so strong that it masked the unique tulip fragrance of the temple.

Looking at the statue of Meritellie, Nannick instinctively wanted to suggest that they discuss the matter elsewhere, worried that the bloody death uttered from her mouth would defile the statue.

But she cut off the idea as soon as it appeared in her mind.

To do so would be a true desecration of Meritellie, the Mother of All Things!

The silence continued for a long time.

Everyone needs time to calm down and process this news.

"You said Henry Gedimidis is dead." Ianna blinked slowly. "Who sent this news?"

"A wizard named Senne," the Old Duke said.

Upon hearing the name, Ailin's ears twitched almost imperceptibly, and he looked up at the Old Duke.

"Agatha (the court sorcerer advisor of Arland) said he was a powerful warlock in Ban Aard," the Old Duke paused, looking at Ailin, and added, "Senne's faction is known as the Radical Faction, and according to Agatha, they are very hostile to the School of the Wolf ..."

"Once we return to Kaer Morhen, you'd better remind Grand Master Soyer..."

Seeing Ailin's strange expression, Ianna and Nannick also frowned. He asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Before Ailin could speak, Ianna said resentfully:

"Before coming to Arland, Senne had sent men to hunt down Ailin and Vesemir."

The Old Duke raised an eyebrow and looked at Ailin: "Why?"

"There's no reason," Ailin shook his head, "It's just that we happened to be passing by Ben Ade, so you're right, Senne's faction does have a very bad attitude towards the School of the Wolf."

The Old Duke remained silent, his right hand, which rested on his black cane, stroking the handle.

"Never mind," Ailin waved his hand. "I suppose Ben Ade doesn't have the energy to care about us witchers right now. Please continue. Was it Senne who told you about the death of Hen Gedimidis?"

"Arland will always stand with her hero."

The Old Duke patted Ailin's shoulder firmly, whispered a promise, and then continued:

"The news of Henry Gedimidis's death was not reported by Senne."

"He's only here to..." The Old Duke looked at Ianna, "Mainly to ask the Temple of Melitele for help, hoping to use Meritellie's influence in the Northern Continent to stop the fleeing of his subjects from Ban Ade and to get them to return home..."

"Wishful thinking!" Nannick scoffed.

What does "returning to one's hometown" mean?

It's just a lack of people to clean up the ruins and rebuild the city.

And it's the kind of place that will kill many people.

"The temple would never do that," Ianna refused expressionlessly.

The Old Duke said nothing; he didn't think the temple would agree to the request either, and continued:

"The second request: The physicians and herbalists of the Temple of Melitele are renowned Northern Continent, and he hopes to hire some of them."

"The third request: We hope that the temple can unite the kingdoms of the Northern Continent and bring peace between the war between Kedwen and Ard."

He finished speaking.

The Old Duke watched Ianna quietly.

Kilometer Scope are expensive, and the cost increases with the distance.

Although Senne maintained the wizard's usual hypocritical self-interest and spoke tactfully.

But in reality, the Old Duke knew that Arland's opinion was not very important to Ban Ad; he was just an intermediary.

Senne really cares about is the idea of Temple of Melitele, that is, Ianna's idea and stance.

As for Ianna's stance...

The High Priest of the Temple of Melitele glanced at Ailin, blinked slowly, and said, "The temple has never forced any physicians or herbalists who come to study. As long as they are willing, they can be freely employed by any force..."

That means they won't agree... The Old Duke glanced at Ailin, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

It's as if everyone knows how popular his knights are in the temple.

Arthur and Sala, especially Arthur, had heard many times from their lads...

Last month, while treating citizens, guards, and soldiers, the temple's healers and herbalists frequently asked the Guard Knight and Monster Hunter Army about Ailin's heroic appearance on May Festival.

It is common knowledge that sorcerers and witchers are at odds.

How could they possibly go to Ban Ade on their own initiative?

"Let's put the third request aside for now. Tell me about the death of Henry Gedimidis," Ianna changed the subject. "Since it wasn't Senne who told you, where did you find out?"

"Alright then," the Old Duke nodded slightly, took a few seconds to organize his thoughts, and said:

According to Senne, Henry Gedimidis is still in seclusion recovering from his injuries; he was only temporarily chosen by Ben Ade to handle affairs...

"But..." Ianna interrupted, "Just say what comes after the 'but'..."

"I was just about to say that."

The Old Duke, displeased, raised his cane and poked the ground, creating three or four small holes in the solid ground:

"But... humph... but others don't think so."

"The reason I came in the middle of the night was to wait for Agatha to gather more intelligence."

"A wizard within Ban Ade revealed that after Hen Gedimidis released forbidden magic to drive away the Wild Hunt, he was too exhausted and was also ambushed and injured. He did not have time to manage the affairs of the academy and hurriedly went into seclusion to recover."

"Then why do you say he's dead?" Nannick asked curiously.

"Because of something that happened six days ago," the Old Duke said.

"The Radical Faction that Senne belongs to usually gets along well with other factions, at least there haven't been any major conflicts during the disaster."

"But in the early hours of six days ago, Senne, along with a large group of Radical Faction male wizards, suddenly sealed off the place where Hen Gedimidis was in seclusion, and did not allow anyone to approach."

"By the time the other factions of wizards realized something was wrong and forced their way in, the place where Hen Gedimidis had been in seclusion had already disappeared."

"Disappeared?" the other three asked in unison.

The Old Duke nodded slightly. "Yes, it's gone. According to the sources, the Dean's office of Ban Ad, which is also where Hen Gedimidis was in seclusion, has been completely hollowed out."

"Then Senne used a vision of the Dean's office, which resembled Kilometer Scope, to take the entire academy hostage under the pretext of protecting Henry Gedimidis."

"Nahen Gedimidis didn't die either," Nannick questioned.

Ianna glanced thoughtfully at Ailin, who also seemed lost in thought.

"Because at the same time, quite a few core male wizards of the Radical Faction also disappeared..." the Old Duke continued, "Nearly twenty, including not only those from the Intermediate Council, but also those from the Advanced Council."

"Does protecting a wounded Hen Gedimidis really require so many people?"

"Many of the Ban Ade wizards believe that the Radical Faction attacked Hen Gedimidis in an attempt to seize power, killing nearly twenty people."

"Right now, it's just that the uncertainty is causing the other wizards to be hesitant to act..."

"Did this happen six days ago?" Ianna suddenly interrupted.

The Old Duke paused for a moment, thought carefully for a while, and frowned, saying, "That's right, it was early morning six days ago. Is there a problem?"

Ailin felt two gazes, each carrying complex emotions, subtly fixed on his face.

However, he pretended not to see it and instead changed the subject to the Old Duke, saying, "Could it be that the twenty missing men were sent out for other reasons?"

The Old Duke was indeed fooled.

"Impossible!" he said with absolute certainty. "Ban Ade has just suffered a great calamity. What could possibly require a dozen or so high- and Intermediate Council?"

"The Wild Hunt has only been scattered, and not only is there a considerable risk of them running around randomly, but as I just mentioned, these dozen or so people are the middle and core of the Radical Faction, so it's impossible for them to escape."

"Moreover, Senne himself, along with the other Radical Faction wizards, were evasive about the whereabouts of the missing faction members, and their excuses were full of holes, clearly indicating that they had something to hide."

"Certainly..."

The Old Duke added, "It's not entirely impossible, after all, my source is Agatha's relay of the analysis from other factions of Ban Ade's wizards."

"The possibility of factional infighting and the deliberate spread of rumors cannot be ruled out."

"But if everything is true, then I really can't think of any possibility that Henry Gedimidis could have survived."

Well-reasoned, with clear regulations and logical flow...

If he hadn't known that the ten male wizards had died right in front of him, and that he had even seen some of them just a few days ago, Ailin would never have suspected anything.

but...

Even if he's not dead now, can Henry Gedimidis really survive under Senne's 'protection'?

Ailin expressed his skepticism.

Although no "Magic Source" was extracted from the "Sorcerer's Memory" in the following days except for the first day, at least four of the male wizards who died that day were involved in the "Magic Source" project.

They select the best of the best and dedicate at least two years to carefully planning the curriculum and providing personal guidance.

Even based on the battle situation seven days ago, the "Magic Source" plan should have failed.

But no matter how you look at it, these dead male wizards were also Hen Gedimidis's "disciples," or perhaps their talents were completely wasted because of his plans.

Henry Gedimidis was not a heartless or cold-blooded person.

If he truly recovers, he will regain power.

Will he really forgive Senne and the Radical Faction for all the wizards who died because of their own selfishness?

How could that be!

At least Ailin didn't believe it, and maybe even Senne himself didn't believe it.

Otherwise, how could they have done something like kidnapping Henry Gedimidis when this great enemy had just been driven away and then issued another challenge, when all forces needed to be united?

Their rights, wealth, status, and even their safety all come from Ban Ade. Aren't they afraid that Ban Ade will fall apart because of this?

"There's a 90% chance that Henry Gedimidis will die at Senne's hands," he thought.

So here's the question.

Ben Ade is now at the forefront of the "battlefield" against the Wild Hunt. What would happen if he lost his strongest fighter, Hen Gedimidis?

Both the male sorcerer and the Wild Hunt are formidable enemies.

Shouldn't he do something?