Do You Really Want to Become the Next Soyer?

Vesemir stopped on the path through the lily of the valley. "Where did you learn that word?"

The Sorceress's ruby-clear eyes were filled with surprise.

Lady Vesemir really knows something... Ailin's eyes lit up, and she fabricated a story:

"According to one of the wizards, his name is Ronnie Dickinson, a wizard from the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate."

"Ronnie Deakins?" Vesemir's surprise deepened. "I know him. He's a senior warlock in the Advanced Council of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, but he's mostly active in Riedania, and he's not exactly friendly to non-human races or witchers..."

"Why would he talk to you about the Vessel of Great Deeds?"

"Etc..."

The Sorceress paused, her brow furrowed, and pressed on with a mixture of urgency and worry:

"What did he say to you? Besides Vessel of Great Deeds, did he say anything else?"

Realizing that his tone was too urgent and pressing, he recalled Ailin's suspiciousness before and after the Trial of the Mountains.

She quickly added, as soon as she finished speaking:

"I'm not trying to sow discord between you and Ronnie Deakins."

"Although the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate has a wide range of research, its strengths lie in the research of genetic modification, biomaterial mutation, and magical warfare construction."

"The organization's overall inclination is hardly friendly towards witchers; you can't easily believe what they say..."

"Ronnie Dickins has a long history of persecuting elves, dwarves, and short-lived scum..."

"You didn't sign any experimental contract with them, did you?"

"Were you given blood samples? Were your hair or skin tissue collected?"

The Sorceress's tone grew increasingly flustered as she spoke, circling around Ailin, touching him here and there, as if afraid she had left some mark or symbol on him.

Before Ailin could react, the bronze clasps on his upper leather armor were undone, startling him so much that he quickly took a step back and explained:

"No, no, I didn't sign any contract, and no blood, skin, or flesh of my body was taken away."

Vesemir stopped what she was doing, puzzled, and asked, "How could Ronnie Dickinson have told you about the Vessel of Great Deeds?"

Ailin countered, "Is the information about the Vessel of Great Deeds really that important?"

She nodded. "In the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, only members of the Advanced Council, who pay a great price and sign a secret covenant, can know this top-secret information."

"Ronnie Deakins wouldn't tell you this without paying a certain price, bypassing the confidentiality agreement."

"He definitely didn't tell me on his own initiative..."

"And you..."

"I killed him," Ailin confessed. "You know I have some special methods, and through these methods, I got the information about the Vessel of Great Deeds from Ronnie Deakins."

Vesemir was stunned.

Although she is seeking a seat on the Brotherhood of Sorcerers Supreme Council and a prospective member of the Talent and Skill Association, her true identity is currently the same as Ronnie Deakins': a member of the Advanced Council.

In other words, at least in terms of their status as warlocks, she and Ronnie Deakins Brotherhood of Sorcerers.

Moreover, although Ronnie Dickinson was slightly less powerful than her, he was definitely not the kind of male wizard who was bad at actual combat.

Just two or three months ago, Ailin needed Soyer's help to kill a few large monsters in Ban Ade, and he would get tired even after slaughtering the water ghosts that were ravaging the city.

Now, her child, who has only been a witch hunter for six months, is telling her that he killed Ronnie Dickinson!

How... how is this possible?

"Of course," Ailin added, feeling a chill run down his spine under Vesemir's suspicious gaze, "It can't be considered a direct kill. Ronnie Dickinson underestimated him at the time."

"If he is fully prepared, I may not be able to kill him."

"That's...very unusual," Vesemir murmured.

Isn't it only natural for the Child of Miracle to create miracles?

But are they creating miracles a little too frequently?

After countless attempts to convince herself to accept that her child was a genius, Vesemir suddenly thought of a question—

Why did Ailin confront Ronnie Dickinson and kill him?

"Could you tell me the details?" Vesemir took a deep breath and asked with a worried tone.

Ailin thought for a moment, since he would have to bring up the matter of when the letter was reported to the chief anyway, he decided to start from when he came down the mountain more than two months ago.

Join Vesemir in rescuing Lord of Vergen, the dwarven master blacksmith Horton Qui-Gon...

How he was tricked, how he persuaded Vesemir to subdue the Greater Griffin that attacked Vengerberg, how he encountered Vilgefortz sent by Ban Ade to attack, how he subdued the Greater Griffin, how he went to the Temple of Melitele to break the curse, how he stopped the Evil God from descending, how he stormed Drakkenberg, and how he executed the Riedania nobles...

He set aside the matter of rescuing Henry Gedimidis for the time being, and told Vesemir everything else truthfully.

Vesemir's expressions were also quite fascinating, fluctuating constantly as the story progressed, displaying a wide range of moods.

After Ailin finished speaking, she looked at him hesitantly for a long while, then took a deep breath with her eyes closed before saying with a complicated expression:

"Witch, Greater Griffin, Evil God, Drakkenberg... What you just said really happened within two months, not two years?"

Ailin chuckled awkwardly and sighed, "I never expected to encounter so many things on this trip down the mountain..."

Yes, originally I just wanted to go to Horton Qui-Gon to get the Wolf School Master Set, but who would have thought that such a strange turn of events would happen later.

"Kedwen has fallen..."

Vesemir sighed and looked up at the north in the illusion.

Her tone was somewhat wistful, but not as sad as Ailin had imagined; it seemed to be merely a reflection on the passage of time and the changing of the years.

However, it makes sense. It was Soyer and the School of the Wolf who "adopted" the Haxor the Glutton and spared no effort in helping Kedwen clear out the monsters.

It's possible that Vesemir had a disagreement with the Chief because of that widow and her orphan.

Despite Vesemir's gentle demeanor towards Ailin, she is actually a fairly typical Sorceress.

"Does Soyer know?" Vesemir asked suddenly after gazing at the clear, calm sky for a while.

"Apart from the matter of Drakkenberg, the other reports came back more than half a month ago," Ailin said. "However, it seems that the Chief hasn't seen them yet, and I'm also hesitating about when to report to him."

"I wonder where the chief is now..."

"Wait a few more days," Vesemir interrupted him. "Soyer is not in a good condition to know this news right now."

Ailin remained silent for a few seconds.

He would certainly prefer that the chief never find out, but things don't stop just because he resists. All the aftermath of events needs to be dealt with and responded to in a timely manner, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

Compared to that, Francesca's arrival on behalf of the Free Elves to sign the alliance was a minor matter.

He thought for a moment and said, "The attack that occurred in Drakkenberg needs to be reported to the Great School of the Griffin. Sending a warning letter will suffice; it's not too urgent."

"Ms. Tissaia de Veres also handled the responses from the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate and Ban Ade."

"Although the fall of Kedwen has not yet affected Kaer Morhen, it will certainly happen soon."

"If the Kaer village at the foot of the mountain were to be attacked by rebel soldiers and refugees, the supply of materials to Kaer Morhen would be in trouble."

The Ancient Sea Fortress is not the small sanctuary of only Vesemir, Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert as depicted in the original story. Each of them is exceptionally skilled and capable of hunting, ensuring they would never go hungry even in the dead of winter.

In reality, there are dozens of full-time apprentices who have not yet passed the Trial of the Mountains and are fully committed to training, as well as some disabled and elderly witchers who can only do safe manual labor.

However, there were only a dozen or so demon hunters, and their strength varied greatly.

This includes Fred, Ernie, and Klar, who just returned.

If it weren't for the fact that the demon hunters of this descending Monster Hunting Legion are already almost capable of standing on their own, they themselves would become a huge burden on the School of the Wolf.

It is obvious that with only a few acquaintances, it would be difficult to support the entire Kaer Morhen by hunting and gathering wild fruits, especially when resources are affected.

Even if you could initially obtain meat and gather wild fruits by hunting, the wild animals would flee, and the edible wild fruits would be impossible to pick, as they would instantly regenerate.

Over time, the food supply will inevitably decrease.

If we don't plan now, the situation will only become more dire when the School of the Wolf of witchers return in the dead of winter.

Without the chief executive's involvement, these efforts would be much less effective.

Besides, were only Dante and Huus unlucky enough to be ambushed in the Northern Continent? Wouldn't other Witchers from the School of the Wolf encounter similar conspiracies and dangers?

After the Kedwen, in addition to the mutinous soldiers and displaced people, there was also a potential political crisis.

How should the School of the Wolf position itself in the face of Ard's arrival?

Rescue the exiled nobles of Kedwen? Submit to Ard? Or remain neutral?

However, even if they insist on remaining neutral, it is still necessary for the chief to express their stance.

In addition, let's not forget Ban Ade, who is secretly plotting independence. What attitude should the School of the Wolf take towards the hostile wizarding kingdom?

These are issues that cannot be addressed without considering the chief executive officer.

Vesemir clearly knew this as well. She frowned, lowered her head, and pondered for a long time before saying, "Regarding the mutinous troops and refugees, we can first remind the village chief of Kaer village to prepare."

"As for supplies, I will use the portal to transport a batch over, and then have Kaer village expedite the purchase and collection."

"The others..."

The Sorceress was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's make the arrangements later. Give me that letter first, and I'll find a chance to give it to Soyer."

Ailin could only nod.

Just now, Soyer only asked to come out in the evening to sign an alliance agreement, but Lady Vesemir not only made a promise to "go home as soon as she gets better" but also shouted, "Don't you want to participate in our future?!" The Chief's condition is obviously not good.

If we consider his past life, he would at least have been admitted to the ICU.

Moreover, the death of the Haxor the Glutton, who betrayed him, has wounded Soyer to this extent.

The stability of Kedwen was almost the culmination of Soyer's life's work. He couldn't even imagine how Soy would react when Soyer heard that Kedwen had fallen and all his efforts had been in vain...

No matter how critical the situation is, we can't disturb them now; we can only leave it to Vesemir.

"The Power Container..." Ailin steered the conversation back on track, "Did Lady Vesemir also sign a secret covenant with the Brotherhood of Sorcerers?"

Vesemir nodded and complained, "Although my information came from Tissaia de Veris, she's a rigid old woman who made me sign a contract before she would tell me anything."

Noticing the change in Ailin's expression, she asked somewhat curiously:

"You want to know how the Vessel of Great Deeds is formed?"

"But didn't you already get the information from Ronnie Dickinson?"

"The contract has been signed..." Ailin was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.

However, since at least there was a way to obtain information, and there were Aristo and Soyer to ask, he didn't press further and patiently explained:

"From Ronnie Dickinson, I learned the words 'Vessel of Great Deeds ' and that it was some kind of artifact that led to the pinnacle of power..."

"Well..." Vesemir lowered her head and pondered for a moment, "Actually, how a warlock's Vessel of Great Deeds is condensed is a matter of confidentiality, so I can't say for sure, but..."

"Buzz~"

The witcher's Wolf Emblem on her chest emitted a piercing buzzing sound that interrupted Sorceress.

Ailin subconsciously turned around to look behind him.

"Roar--"

A piercing roar of a giant dragon suddenly exploded in the direction of the courtyard.

The roar was interspersed with the faint clanging of chains and muffled groans of suppressed pain from humans.

That was Chieftain Soyer's voice.

What kind of pain could make a man like the Chief groan involuntarily before his lover Vesemir had even gone far away... Ailin frowned.

The next second.

"Boom!"

A small red bolt of lightning shot into the sky, leaving a black and red crack in the clear sky in the blink of an eye.

Immediately following.

"Laugh--"

Like a sharp spear piercing soft, fragile brocade, it tore open the illusion of Toussaint, revealing the dark and gloomy grotto hidden behind it.

The immense dragon's might stirred up a great wind, and even the illusions that had not been torn apart were affected and fluctuated.

It was as if a huge rock had fallen into the water, creating ripples.

Vesemir lowered her eyes sadly, as if she shared Soyer's pain.

They were only jolted awake when the raging winds of the dragon's might were about to reach them.

"Let's go out first."

She bit her lip, then pulled Ailin along and ran back the way they had come, arriving just before the storm hit, at the edge of the courtyard overlooking the sea of bluebells.

A slender index finger lightly touched the empty space next to a road sign carved with a lion.

The next moment.

The feeling of weightlessness from being pulled along by the teleportation returned, but without the excruciating pain of being devoured by the wolves when I arrived.

Then.

The howling wind suddenly stopped, the chaotic tinnitus cleared up instantly, and the world went dark.

As the azure Cat Eyes contracted and then dilated, they adapted to the dark environment.

The Aetherium gate, adorned with a wolf's head in relief, stared menacingly at him.

"Because of the covenant of secrecy," the Sorceress's cool voice broke the silence, "I cannot reveal how sorceresses condense Vessel of Great Deeds, but Soyer's can, only..."

Ailin and Vesemir met eyes.

The Sorceress's eyes held a profound sorrow and grief, like the frozen river beneath a hundred-foot cliff in the dead of winter.

"Once you embark on that path, there is no turning back."

"Do you really want to become the next Soyer?"