The self-proclaimed baron had once been a low-ranking Temerian officer who occupied this place after Velen's former lord fled.
Velen had a harsh environment, vast lands, and a sparse population. It was barely worth occupying, which was why he had the leverage to negotiate with the Nilfgaardian army.
He opened every door to the Nilfgaardian army, and in return, the empire formally invested him as a true baron, Velen's local despot.
It had shades of the Japanese installing Puyi back in the day.
Crow's Perch was divided into an outer and an inner ward. Various merchants and farmers lived in the outer ward, while the baron's keep stood in the inner ward. Only upon arriving did Chen Xu discover that the gates were firmly shut. Ordinary people had no right to enter the inner ward at all.
That was hardly surprising, though. Even the famous witcher Geralt had sneaked in through the sewers in the original story. (Assuming the plot followed the White Wolf's personality, he would probably have slaughtered some of the baron's men.)
As a transmigrator, Chen Xu naturally had no intention of following the White Wolf's old path.
"Please tell the baron I have information about his wife and daughter."
He slipped a crown into the gate guard's hand, then suddenly noticed that the fellow before him looked somewhat unusual:
A flat nose, small eyes, yellow skin, black hair, and an excessively short, thin build. He did not look like one of this world's ordinary ethnic groups.
[Zhaotian Zhi used Detection on you.]
The notification had barely sounded before a standard-issue longsword thrust straight at him.
He had never expected to encounter a Chosen One here!
This sword was even faster than Sethis's dagger. No matter how Chen Xu rolled and dodged, he could not put any distance between them. The chill of its edge seemed to remain mere inches away.
Caught off guard, he could only draw Gram and slash horizontally.
Metal clashed against metal. The longsword in Zhaotian Zhi's hand snapped at the sound, while Chen Xu's steel sword did not suffer so much as a nick.
It seemed that Sethis's dagger, which could clash freely with Gram, was probably no ordinary weapon either.
The Chosen One with the soldier identity visibly froze for a moment. Rather than panic, however, greed appeared in his eyes:
"We've got work!"
He called out, summoning four companions from the inner ward.
Detection flew everywhere for a moment, and Chen Xu's expression grew grave.
They were all mortal tier high stage Chosen Ones, several cuts above the "newbies" in White Orchard.
At this rate, wouldn't the so-called kings of cities, kings, and monsters be even more terrifying?
What an excellent matchmaking system!
As the five advanced menacingly, Chen Xu whistled, calling Lizi over and preparing to flee.
On the road, he had already taught Lizi the meanings of several different whistles.
He sheathed Gram, drew the handgun from his waist, and took aim, ready to repeat his old trick. This time, however, the firearm failed to make these fellows pause for even a second.
Not until the fellow named Zhaotian Zhi sensed something wrong and threw a Detection at the handgun.
"Careful, that's a gunpowder weapon left over from another battlefield."
His expression darkened as he reached out to stop his companions and began shouting a warning. Using his [Soldier] identity, he drew over a large number of the baron's actual guards, intending to use these meat shields to take Chen Xu down.
"What are you doing!" The small skirmish finally alerted the local Nilfgaardian garrison.
A squad of black-armored soldiers separated the baron's guards from Chen Xu. The officer leading them, who wore a winged helmet, stepped forward and demanded:
"Would someone explain to me exactly what happened?"
Zhaotian Zhi appeared to be the spokesman for this group of Chosen Ones. He targeted Chen Xu and made the first accusation. "Sir, this man was acting suspiciously. He said he had information about the baron's daughter and even tried to bribe me."
Triumph flashed in his crafty eyes as he opened his palm to display the gold crown Chen Xu had slipped him. "I suspect he's a Redanian spy!"
What does knowing something about the baron's daughter have to do with being a spy?
Chen Xu was utterly bewildered.
Redania was now the only remaining northern kingdom capable of resisting Nilfgaard's invasion. In Velen, or indeed anywhere under the Nilfgaardian Empire's rule, the accusation of being a spy was both foul and hard to shake.
The officer's cold, sharp gaze swept over him, but the sight of Chen Xu immediately cost him his interest:
His tattered leather armor clearly belonged to the already-fallen Temeria, yet he wore a pair of peasant straw sandals.
The poor fellow was even missing an arm.
Bribing someone with a single crown-if Redania wanted to train a spy, surely it would not choose such a conspicuous fool.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
The scar on the wing-helmeted officer's face looked utterly cold. He knew perfectly well that the baron's men were slinging mud, but still decided to look after "his own."
After all, the baron was nominally the empire's ally. If this commoner could not offer a reasonable explanation, he would have to fend for himself.
By now, Chen Xu had also caught on.
It seemed these Chosen Ones were no freeloaders either. They had probably already found the baron's daughter.
The Bloody Baron's wife and daughter had run away from home. Chen Xu had intended to use information about them to gain the support of Velen's official forces, only for these fellows to beat him to it.
Fortunately, he had confirmed the baron's wife's whereabouts last night, which set his mind at ease. "My exact words were that I had information about the baron's wife and daughter, not just his daughter."
Zhaotian Zhi smiled contemptuously. He had already anticipated this excuse:
"Don't tell me you're going to say you know where his wife is?"
They had searched for three days straight without finding a single lead. A Chosen One with a [Commoner] identity who did not even know that the baron's daughter had already been found could only have gotten his hands on outdated information.
Still, this pauper could not even afford an identity, yet had quite a few good things on him. He had probably spent all his points on grid-converted weapons. Now they would fall into Zhaotian Zhi's lap instead.
What a shame he still had to share with the four idiots behind him!
Zhaotian Zhi glanced at his teammates and sighed inwardly, his face already wearing an expression of assured victory.
"I once saw the baron's wife deep in the swamp." Chen Xu described the old woman he had seen last night. "A long green dress, a light chestnut leather vest, blue sleeve covers... oh, and she said her name was Anna."
The captain of the baron's guards gradually grew serious. He had personally seen the baron's wife the night she left, and this commoner's description matched her appearance exactly.
"I'm the captain of the baron's personal guard. You can call me Sergeant." He swept his greasy hair back with one hand, snatched the crown from the bewildered Zhaotian Zhi, and returned it to Chen Xu:
"Come with me. I'll take you to the baron."
"Boss, this isn't right. There's definitely something wrong with him..." Zhaotian Zhi nearly bit his tongue in shock, but before he could finish, the sergeant silenced him with a glare.
He was the most loyal veteran under the baron's command, and no one understood his old superior's temper better.
If they delayed the baron's search for his wife, he himself might be fine, but these fellows would suffer.
The title of Bloody Baron had not come from nowhere.
"Nobody moves."
The wing-helmeted officer representing Nilfgaard raised a hand unhurriedly. "He has yet to clear himself of suspicion as far as I'm concerned."
He had originally thought there was nothing wrong with Chen Xu, but this lowly commoner actually having information about the baron's wife raised far too many questions.
He remembered all the baron's men who had clashed with this commoner. They were extremely capable.
In just the past few days, they had completed quite a few contracts in Velen, even killing a draconic griffin that only a witcher would dare face single-handedly.
He had even been tempted to poach them.
How could a commoner possess the ability to solve a problem that left such talented men without a clue?
Besides, how many people these days could walk out of the depths of the swamp alone?
"Identity. Purpose."
The wing-helmeted officer began interrogating Chen Xu, completely unconcerned by the dark look in the captain of the baron's guards' eyes.
Why did these lowborn people never understand?
The ones who ruled Velen and held the greatest power were not their lord, but us Nilfgaardians.