A Skilled Assassin Cannot Kill a Vigilant Knight

Tissaia de Veres.

One of the five members of the Central Talent and Skill Association of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, the strongest Sorceress in the Northern Continent, and the highest-ranking female ruler.

To be honest, Ailin had mixed feelings about her.

On the one hand, she had amazing foresight and wisdom, and foresaw the changes that would take place on the Northern Continent early on. She actively contacted various forces to prepare for possible disasters.

Even the Witcher, whom ordinary warlocks considered "a failed product," "a brute who knows some crude tricks," and "an experiment that will eventually be eliminated," were not underestimated or ignored; they were united with them on an equal footing.

at the same time.

She also possesses high moral character and a strong sense of responsibility towards Aretuza, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, and the entire Northern Continent.

She was even willing to sacrifice Aretuza's interests just to maintain the established order of the Northern Continent.

For example, actively participating in thankless and arduous Summoning Ritual rituals.

It should be noted that at the time, given that a major force known to be completely unable to participate, there was virtually no chance of successfully stopping the Summoning Ritual.

Even Ianna, the person involved, was very pessimistic, clinging to the belief that there was still a chance if she tried, and that a miracle might happen; otherwise, she would be completely doomed.

As it turned out, Ianna's pessimistic attitude was not wrong.

If it weren't for Ailin drawing the attention of the Summoning Ritual, this combined force of warlocks, priests, and human troops would have been annihilated.

If such a failure actually occurs...

What can I get from Aretuza?

What can Tissaia de Veres gain?

You'll get nothing!

Even if a few Sorceress were to die in the war, Tissaia de Veris's position in Aretuza would inevitably be shaken, and what would be maintained would only be the Novigrad Alliance from hundreds of years ago, a vague and illusory order.

The saying "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" is something many in power can say, but even looking at the history of the oldest countries in the past, very few can truly live up to it when a crisis doesn't affect their own interests.

He remembered the future, or rather, the original Witcher stories from his past life.

The same goes for Tissaia de Veres.

Despite the Conclave of Sorcerers already splitting into a pro-Northern faction led by Philba Ehrhardt and a pro- Nilfgaard faction led by Vilgefortz, they are still trying to mend the rift within the Conclave of Sorcerers without any knowledge of the situation.

Then, during the Thanedd Coup, he made a grave mistake by letting Vilgefortz go, which led to Vilgefortz joining forces with Francesca and the Squirrels to massacre the wizards of the Conclave of Sorcerers on Thanedd Island, resulting in the complete disintegration of the ancient Conclave of Sorcerers after the coup ended.

Tragically, Tissaia de Veres also committed suicide by cutting her wrists not long afterward.

There's actually a small but interesting detail here.

Why was the most powerful woman in the Northern Continent not courted by either Vilgefortz or Philba Ehrhardt?

Tissaia de Veres' ignorance during the Thanedd Coup ironically proved her morality.

A carnivore who is so excellent that he is almost naive.

This is Ailin's assessment of Tissaia de Veres.

Therefore, in most cases, Tissaia de Veres is credible and very reliable.

But on the other hand...

In reality, while Tissaia de Veris respected the Witcher community, she still retained the arrogance typical of a sorcerer towards individuals.

for example...

The brown eyes that were looking at Ailin grew increasingly fervent and restless, and she even openly made an experimental request to him.

What's the difference between this and just walking down the street with cash, randomly asking any decent woman if she'd like to have sex?

therefore.

Even though Tissaia de Veres's image is relatively positive in both reality and the novel from her previous life, Ailin did not completely believe her.

Moreover.

Tissaia de Vera is said to be Vesemir's friend, but unlike Ianna, she doesn't even know the identity of the Child of Miracle Ailin.

This point itself is also questionable.

"Let's invite Vesemir along..." Ianna nodded upon hearing this, and immediately had no objections.

"You must go to Aretuza with Vesemir," she emphasized again, still worried. "There are children everywhere there who have been captured to be used to make Youth Potion. Be careful not to go alone and get disemboweled..."

Ianna was intimidating him, like an old lady using a big bad wolf to scare her grandson who often ran out of the village to play.

"I see."

Ailin nodded silently, thinking that Ianna might have forgotten that he also had another identity as an alchemist.

Although he had never concocted the Youth Potion, he knew that the main ingredient was the root of the mandrake, not the blood of children.

This is a common rumor used to slander warlocks, especially Sorceress.

Vesemir hesitated, glancing at Ianna, but ultimately said nothing.

As the morning sun gradually rises, golden sunlight shines through the narrow gaps between the mountain ridges, piercing the valley and illuminating the uneven valley walls.

The three men stood beside the ruins, watching the busy soldiers under the golden sunlight for a long time.

"How do you plan to get back?" Ianna raised her head towards the Greater Griffin. "You're no longer needed here."

Ailin thought for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Vesemir.

"Let's go back with the main group," he said. "The Greater Griffin is too conspicuous. Even if we give advance notice, it can easily cause some unnecessary panic."

"And..."

He glanced at the exhausted soldiers, paused, and then continued:

"Moreover, although witchers cannot cooperate with the main force in battle, they can still avoid some risks on the way back."

The Sorceress's magic and Divine Power are not unlimited.

Ailin also has a teleportation portal. Basically, it consumes one point of magic power per kilometer for one person, double for two people, and triple for three people. It doesn't sound like much, and the straight-line distance from here to Arland isn't far either.

However, you should know that a level 4 portal can only teleport a maximum of eight people.

The portal is a master-level hybrid spell, and there are fewer than ten Sorceress in the valley who know this spell, most of whom are only at level 1.

Therefore, the magic consumption is not much, but the enormous Divine Power required to repeatedly cast the portal is something that ordinary Sorceress cannot withstand.

Using portals to transport the wounded and the dead back is pretty much the limit.

Otherwise, if war breaks out between the two countries, and a portal extends deep into their territory, sending a thousand or so elite soldiers, what country could withstand that?

Therefore, most of the soldiers, and even most of the Sorceress of Aretuza, had to go down the mountain and walk back to Arland.

With carnivorous creatures roaming Mahakam, the experienced Vesemir led the main force below, while Ailin followed with the Greater Griffin, releasing his aura and flying in the sky, thus avoiding many casualties.

"That's so thoughtful, you're such a good child."

Ianna smiled kindly, her face crinkling with wrinkles, and reached out to touch Ailin's hair, not minding that it was covered in dried, congealed blood clots.

Since it wasn't a normal war, there wasn't much food or supplies to carry. After the Sorceress used the portal to teleport the wounded and the corpses away, the main force set off.

As dawn broke, a Greater Griffin circled in the sky again, releasing its imposing aura.

Although the mountain road was still difficult to walk, only a few soldiers twisted their ankles due to exhaustion.

After descending Mahakam, the army quickened its pace again, and when they could see the city of Arland built on the mountainside in the distance, the soldiers almost involuntarily started to jog.

After escaping death, the feeling of seeing my hometown filled me with an overwhelming longing to return.

Ailin, who had just left Mahakam and disembarked from the Greater Griffin, was infected by this atmosphere and quickened his pace.

Although...

Arland was not his hometown.

"Ailin".

Vesemir suddenly stepped back from the front, broke away from the group, stood by the roadside, waved to him, and called out to him.

"What's wrong, Vesemir?" Ailin walked over, puzzled.

Vesemir didn't speak immediately. Instead, he watched the Sorceress ride past on her Mutant Horse, and then, as if confirming someone's location, he moved his lips and whispered:

"Ailin, are you really going to Aretuza?"

"Of course." Ailin nodded. "Once things are settled in Arland, I plan to return to Kaer Morhen. If Lady Vesemir is there at that time, I will ask her to teleport me to Aretuza."

Other monetary rewards were secondary; what he truly wanted was for his Wolf School Master Set to receive the best possible enchantments.

The Conqueror's Armor of the Wild Hunt is certainly not bad; in fact, it can be said to be quite good.

Ailin didn't even think that Tissaia, who claimed to be the best enchanter in the Northern Continent, could make the Wolf School Master Set reach the level of the Wild Hunt's standard armor, the Conquest Armor.

After all, the magical skills of Aion El, who conquered all realms, as well as the methods and quality of obtaining materials, were beyond the reach of the Sorceress of the Witcher world.

The King of the Wild Hunt Eredin Brick Glass and the elven sage Avallac did not intervene, yet the strongest force in the Northern Continent —Ban Ade—was nearly destroyed, and the Demon Source Hen Gedimidis almost died, fully demonstrates the gap in magic between the two worlds.

But the Conquest Armor was not tailor-made for him.

To be honest, of all the eight magical functions in the entire armor set, including the two set bonuses, only... were actually useful to him.

"Gauntlets - Iron Grip" which "enhances strength and provides immunity to disarming" and "Boots - Flat" which "immunizes against the negative effects of most terrains such as swamps, silt, and snowfields."

The "Ghostly Chest Armor," which claims to "Ghosting and make them immune to physical attacks upon activation," seems very powerful, but the user cannot be damaged while in Ghosting.

That's not the most crucial point. What bothers him even more is that once he enters the Ghosting, all the progress he has accumulated in [Demon Hunting] is reset to zero.

This was unacceptable to Ailin.

With his current attributes, monsters that require him to use his Ghosting to dodge attacks will basically require [Demon Hunter] to kill them in one hit.

And prey that doesn't require [Demon Hunter] basically doesn't need him to wear Conquest Armor.

This is quite contradictory.

The Greaves of Magic, which "increases spell power and gathers magic energy," is also unsuitable for Witcher's Signs. It has some effect, but not much impact.

Most of its abilities are useless, and it needs to be disguised by the mirage pearl when wearing it.

No matter how high the quality or how great the value of the Conquest Armor, it was meaningless to him.

It would be better to have a lower-quality Wolf School Master Set, but one that was tailor-made for him, especially since the dwarf master Horton Qui-Gon's forging skills and the set materials are both excellent.

Not to mention that the Wolf School Master Set is a symbol of Ailin's status as Witcher Master, and the equipment that the school paid for to prepare for him has special significance in itself.

How could he not look forward to the complete Wolf School Master Set after being enchanted by Tissaia de Veris, the strongest enchanter in the Witcher world?

Vesemir frowned, pressed the Black Wide-brimmed Hat he had pulled out from somewhere and put on at some point, and hesitated before saying:

"It's best to avoid places like warlock academies if you can avoid it, especially when a powerful warlock expresses a special intention towards you."

Ailin paused, then said, "I know Tissaia is very interested in my body, but isn't it safe for Lady Vesemir to come along?"

Vesemir opened his mouth, as if he was choosing his words carefully.

After a while, the city gates of Arland were almost in sight. He looked around and frowned, saying:

"Sorceress is Sorceress after all. No matter how good she is to you for a period of time, it doesn't mean she will always be like that."

"Ailin..."

Vesemir looked at him seriously. "I know Lady Vesemir has always been very good to you, but if you calculate the actual time you've spent together, has it exceeded a month?"

"What makes you think that in Aretuza, surrounded by countless close friends and classmates you've known for decades, even centuries, will she necessarily side with you?"

Ailin remained silent.

Vesemir continued, "I didn't mean to sow discord, it's just..."

He paused, as if he had thought of something, and took a deep breath:

"Ailin, I have experienced a lot and met a lot of people in my life. As your travel mentor, I want to teach you one more lesson..."

"Even the most skilled assassin cannot kill a vigilant knight, while a heavily guarded king is often poisoned by his bedmate."

"The most dangerous people are the ones you know best, Ailin."

"It has always been this way, from ancient times to the present, and it has never changed."

"In Aretuza, among so many powerful Sorceress, how will you protect yourself?"

The dark golden Cat Eyes stared directly into the azure Cat Eyes.

Ailin lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "Visemi..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Vesemir waved his hand, interrupting him. "Don't talk to me, Ailin, I don't need your persuasion or approval..."

He suddenly paused, turned his head to look at the noisy crowd, and smiled slightly, "I shouldn't have spoiled the fun at this time."

He patted Ailin on the shoulder. "Go back and think it over carefully. There's still plenty of time."

Then.

Vesemir smiled at Ailin again.

Ailin noticed that Vesemir's gaze wasn't on him, but rather looked over his head and behind him.

What's there?

Ailin paused for a moment, then turned around.

A soft body nestled into his arms, long, flowing hair brushing against his face, the sweet scent of daisies filling the air.

In an instant.

The clamor of the entire world suddenly ceased.

I smelled the familiar fragrance of daisies and felt the warmth of my heartbeat.

For some reason, four words just slipped out of my mouth.

"I'm back."