Gerd turned over and jumped off the horse. The broad palm covered the hilt of the sword on his back, and the sword was ready to be unsheathed at any time.
Lynn looked at him and rushed forward like a mother bear who found her cubs missing when she came home. Worried that he was in danger, she also jumped off the horse and followed him.
Gerd rushed into the ruins like crazy, but there were only blackened ruins and a few charred corpses left in the ruins.
Finally, he found the dismembered body of the tavern owner behind the ruins of the tavern.
"It's them... they're here, they're looking for me."
There was no panic or fear in Gerd's words, but only guilt and self-blame for causing others to suffer.
"These are the subordinates of the duchess Duchy of the Curved Coast you mentioned?"
Lynn frowned and glanced around.
The murderer left no evidence.
But Gerd's guess is indeed very likely.
Because most Islanders seldom loot their own land.
Although the Islanders regard raiding as an honor, this honor refers to looting the enemy's land, not their own.
No one would brag in a tavern about how much property he had robbed from his fellow citizens.
Secondly, it is because of poverty.
Whether it is agriculture or commerce, the archipelago is far inferior to the mainland. Even the most developed port of Kaer Trolde Harbor is actually about the same in throughput and prosperity as the port of Kerack.
It is not as good as Cidaris, let alone Novigrad and the ports of other northern powers.
You know, even if you are looting, you have to keep your head in your waistband, and you have to fight tooth and nail.
Since you are working hard, you must choose the one with greater returns.
Since it is impossible for people from the Islands, Gerd has not offended anyone else.
There is only one possibility left.
People sent by the Duchess of Duchy of the Curved Coast did it.
While Lynn was lost in thought, Gerd on the other side was already digging a hole for the deceased.
Seeing this, Lynn went over to help him bury the tavern owner and other corpses in the ruins.
After burying all the dead, Gerd suddenly said, "Lynn, let's go our separate ways."
Lynn:???
"I know we agreed before that the remuneration would be shared equally. I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have to... no, I have to break my promise."
"Please return to Svorlag Village. If... if I don't go back in a week, I'll ask you to help Earl Torgil clean up Castle Etnir."
Lynn didn't ask why, "Do you want to face them alone?"
Gerd was silent.
"I'll go with you."
"No," Gerd flatly refused without thinking, "I gave the steel sword blueprint and the IOU to the tavern owner, but neither of these two things were found on his body..."
"This shows that the group of people who tried to kill me now not only know my destination, but they may also have set up an ambush near Castle Etnir in advance."
"I've already made people around me pay the price because of me, and I can't make the same mistake again."
"Lynn, you don't have to insist anymore, they are here to find me anyway."
Lynn shook his head.
"No, Gerd, you don't understand. Our School of the Wolf doctrine is that we cannot abandon any of our demon hunter brothers. Even if you are not School of the Wolf, you are still a demon hunter brother. It is impossible for me to abandon you and ignore you knowing that you will walk into the storm."
"Besides, you said it yourself, those who want to deal with you may have set a trap, so I can't just stand by and watch."
"It's just that my help is not unconditional."
Lynn's persistence made Gerd feel warm in his heart.
Maybe other School of the Bear demon hunters can't understand what kind of emotion this is.
But the case of Gerd is different.
He cherishes the care from others.
I also know that this care is precious.
Therefore, he said boldly, "If you want the full reward of these two demon hunting commissions, that's no problem."
As a result, Gerd guessed wrong again this time.
"No, we still have half the money each, but what I ask for is that if we are all still alive after the battle (although I firmly believe this), I need you to join me as a teacher in the Witcher School."
Gerd was stunned for a moment.
"What? Witcher school? It sounds like you School of the Wolf have come up with something really amazing."
Lynn smiled.
"You don't have to rush to answer me. Even if you reject me afterwards, I will help you, but I still hope you can think about it carefully. In addition, after all this is over, I will satisfy all your questions."
Although the contact time with Lynn is not long, just as Lynn is willing to accompany him through fire and water, Gerd is also willing to believe in Lynn.
"Okay, after I finish things here, I'm going to find out exactly what the Witcher School you call is."
Two nights later, under the cover of darkness, the two came to the ruins of a castle.
They were still far away, but they could already see several figures wandering and wandering over the castle.
The city walls are covered with green vines and moss, and the cracked towers seem to fall down at any time. The castle gate has long since collapsed, and the surrounding areas are covered with weeds, which reflects the dilapidated state of the castle.
"Look, there's Castle Etnir."
Lynn nodded.
Then opened Witcher Senses.
It was easy to find the enemy hiding in the forest on the other side of the castle.
"Have you discovered them too? Then let's go up and get rid of them all."
Gerd planned to launch a surprise attack before the opponent discovered them.
But Lynn grabbed him at this moment.
"No, wait a minute. Actually, I have a better plan."
Half a month later.
Everyone, including Charimir, although their loyalty to the duchess has not diminished at all, they all feel endless irritation and uneasiness.
It is very tiring to hide in the woods and lay an ambush, and there are still mosquito bites at this time.
Everyone was bitten badly.
In addition, for fear of alerting others, they dare not move during the day except at night.
And even at night, people must be arranged to rotate vigil to keep at least half of the people awake at all times.
The consequence of this is that everyone is exhausted.
Since they arrived at Castle Etnir, they have been living like this for half a month.
But the enemy didn't even see his shadow.
This made Charimir couldn't help but wonder, did the mutant die somewhere else?
Because before Charimir and their identities were revealed, the tavern owner once told them that the mutant freak left more than a month ago.
Calculating the time, I should have come back from Spikeroog no matter what.
Charimir can clearly feel that the complaints from his subordinates are getting louder and louder.
Before, she was always behind his back, but now she doesn't even act.
Although he can still use his status and power to suppress him, he can't guarantee how long he can continue to suppress him.
After all, the subordinates followed him from Duchy of the Curved Coast to Skellige Isles not just to feed mosquitoes.
As a result, skepticism began to spread among his men.
Many of them believed that the steel sword drawings and IOUs left by the mutants to the tavern owner were actually just for show, and they had no intention of redeeming them at all.
That mutant freak not only tricked the tavern owners, but also tricked them.
After all, in Duchy of the Curved Coast, due to the duchess's personal grudges, public opinion in the principality basically fabricated false facts to discredit the witcher.
After squeezing this, I believe it.