After Cintra's reinforcements arrived, the Nilfgaard people's strategic idea of "taking advantage of the Cintra defenders to seize the valley fortress with a lightning offensive while the Cintra defenders had not completed their strategic deployment, and then marching directly to the royal capital" came to nothing.
The smoke and dust raised by the cavalry has not yet cleared, but the red arrows carefully deduced on the sand table of the Imperial Staff have already collapsed in front of the steel defense line forged with blood by the defenders.
Since then, the two sides have completely turned into a war of attrition.
Skellige Isles's side naturally also received a letter asking for help from Eist.
Because they were going to kill the Nilfgaard people, and Cintra was now an important ally of the archipelago, the major families in the archipelago were rarely united this time.
This time the Islands took out all their wealth and formed a coalition of 17,000 men.
Two thousand of them remain in the archipelago as a reserve force to prevent Nilfgaard's navy from stealing their homes.
Another fifteen thousand people boarded a mighty fleet and crossed the sea to support Cintra.
As for Crach·Quite, the reason why he still stays in Kaer Trolde Harbor is because he is the one responsible for staying behind.
Hearing this, Lynn couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that in this world line, Cintra will not perish.
Cintra is different from other Northern Kingdoms. There is a large Amell Mountains between Cintra and Nilfgaard, which almost cuts the north and south of the mainland.
It is different from those southern countries that were conquered before.
If Nilfgaard wants to conquer Cintra, it must cross Amell Mountains.
And the only place Amell Mountains can allow the army to pass is Marnadal Valley.
In the original plot, because Cintra did not build a fortress in Marnadal Valley, when the Nilfgaard people invaded, they easily occupied Marnadal Valley, and when Calanthe and Eist led the king's army to arrive, they surrounded them.
But now, everything is different.
Cintra blocked Nilfgaard's furious attack at Marnadal Valley.
As long as the Nilfgaard people are still blocked in the Amell Mountains, they will not be able to use its huge army to swamp Cintra in one go.
Turning the war into a war of attrition is a good idea, and it seems to be more beneficial to Nilfgaard.
But the problem is that Cintra people are the ones who protect their homeland and their country. They are willing to sacrifice everything for the motherland and are not afraid of fighting a general war.
Not to mention that Cintra can at least get support from Skellige Isles, Kingdom of Temeria, and United Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia.
Although Nilfgaard appears to be an empire with strong national power and vast territory.
However, because the conquered southern countries have been treated as colonies for a long time, the people in the conquered areas have long complained.
If at this time, all the troops that the Nilfgaard people are most proud of are destroyed in Marnadal Valley, then the conquered areas will definitely be ready to take action and no longer obey the orders from City of Golden Towers as they did in the past.
In addition, when Emhyr Emres replaced the previous usurper emperor and returned to his loyal Nilfgaard, the emperor did not forgive the previous betrayer mercifully.
Those hereditary nobles who kept silent when the late emperor was brutally murdered by the usurper emperor, and those imperial aristocrats who flattered themselves under the iron fist of the tyrant, did not escape the sword of judgment of Emhyr Enris.
When the Sun Disk Scepter shines with its orthodox glory again, the cold front of revenge falls as accurately as the Nilfgaard code.
A large number of nobles were either sent to the guillotine, the gallows, or demoted to common people, and everything they once owned was in vain.
But the balance of fate always leaks gravel in the cracks.
Some nobles traveled across Korath Desert to join Zerrikania, while others stayed anonymous in the vineyards of Duchy of Toussaint.
And more hibernators are hiding in the newly conquered territories of the empire.
Yesterday, they were still rats crossing the street, and they were in constant panic.
But now, these scattered fires are witnessing a turning point in history:
When the myth of the invincibility of the Imperial Legion is shattered, dormant ghosts of the past will surely awaken from the shadows on all sides.
By then Emhyr the foundation stone of imperial power, which was cast with iron and blood, will be shaken by the earth.
And the rusty gears of fate of Northern Kingdoms will also turn to a completely unfamiliar trajectory in the flutter of butterfly wings.
At this time, Crach suddenly asked a question with a strange look on his face.
"Lynn, are you here to help Cintra too?"
Lynn nodded. "No matter who is fighting Nilfgaard, I will definitely help."
Crach hummed and turned his head to look in the direction of the pillars.
"Even if you have a gryphon, then..."
Crach didn't say anything else.
But Lynn already understood what he meant.
"Don't worry, I'm not alone. My people are still behind."
The news of Cintra's invasion quickly spread to the northern kings like wildfire.
However, while the Cintra and Skellige Isles coalition forces were fighting fiercely with the Nilfgaard Army at Marnadal Valley Fortress, Northern Kingdoms's attitude was very ambiguous.
Temeria is the closest to Cintra, and its king Foltest actually wants to support him.
However, the degree of centralization of Temeria is not as high as that of Nilfgaard. Even if a call-up order is issued, it will take at least a month before the nobles below can barely assemble their own armies.
Same goes for Redania.
However, King Vizimir does not support Cintra. In addition to the trouble caused by the feudal army gathering, he has other intentions.
In fact, King Vizimir has been coveting Cintra for a long time.
If Cintra can be included in his bag, Temeria will be surrounded by two sides. In this way, Temeria will also become his bag sooner or later in the future.
And once such a wonderful thing happens, Redania will become the most powerful country in the north and gradually cannibalize other northern countries. It is only a matter of time.
Vizimir knows that Cintra has a princess named Cirilla, who is the only bloodline of the Cintra royal family.
And he happens to have a son, Radovid.
Normally, the ruler of Cintra would not agree to the princess marrying to a powerful country.
For example, a year ago, Calanthe was planning to send Cirilla to Kingdom of Verden to marry the prince Kistrin.
This is because Verden is a vassal state of Cintra. If Calanthe's only bloodline marries Verden, then Calanthe will have a suitable excuse to completely annex Verden and become part of Kingdom of Cintra.
However, this plan failed because Cirilla, who hated marriage, ran away alone and broke into Brokilon Forest.
If another girl accidentally enters the territory of the dryad, according to the tradition of the dryad, this girl will also be transformed into a dryad - this is one of the ways for the dryad to reproduce.
But because Lynn once left a message to Queen Eithné: A few years later, a little girl with white hair will accidentally enter Brokilon. Please return her safely to the human who picked her up.
Although Queen Eithné didn't know why Lynn left such a message, since Lynn didn't say it, Queen Eithné didn't ask any more questions and just said When Cirilla actually appeared, she did as Lynn said, and solved the enemies who tried to capture Ciri, and returned her to the Cintra people who were sent to find her.
Queen Calanthe will marry Cirilla to Verden, but she will never allow Cirilla to marry Radovid.
Because Cintra is not as powerful as Redania, even a fool knows that if Cintra marries Redania, the final result will only be that Cintra will be annexed by Redania.
But if Cintra fails to resist the invasion of Nilfgaard and the country perishes, then no matter Calanthe wants it or not, she can no longer interfere with Cirilla's marriage.
It is even more impossible to refuse the protection of Redania.
As long as the princess combines with Radovid and gives birth to a child of the Redania royal family, then this child will possess the poisonous wine of Cintra.
Once they have two or more children, the life and death of Princess Cintra will become insignificant.
Of course, Vizimir really couldn't bear to let such a young princess bear the pain of the country's subjugation and the heavy responsibility of restoring the country.
Therefore, when that time comes, Vizimir will give her a cup of poisonous wine to free her.
Therefore, Vizimir does not intend to provide any form of support.
As for the Henselt king of Kaedwen, except for trying to recapture Upper Aedirn, he was indifferent to other affairs.
King Demavend of Aedirn is unable to support him because he has to guard against the invasion of Kaedwen.
Queen Meve, who is only United Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia, immediately ordered the assembly of troops after hearing the news of Nilfgaard's invasion, preparing to bypass Mahakam Mountains and come along Yaruga River for support.
A certain coast of the Nilfgaardian Empire, Province of Nazair.
The salty sea breeze tore at the cloaks of a group of people holding torches and wearing hoods on the shore, who had wrapped themselves tightly.
When an unknown number of waves crashed into pieces on the rocks, several Karak ships appeared in the thick night, with the flag of Kovir flapping in the wind.
Hundreds of pairs of dark golden pupils rang out in the dark night, and they silently stepped onto the land, like an army from the abyss.
A cluster of water drop-shaped flames lit up in the hands of the leader of the demon hunters, illuminating the handsome face of Grand Duke Isparaden.
The group of people waiting on the shore breathed a sigh of relief.
He hurriedly greeted him and opened his cloak, revealing the emblem of Syndicate hidden under the cloak.
"Lynn-sama."
Lynn nodded. "Take me to the nearest stronghold."
As early as many years ago, Lynn had already laid out Nazair and sent Syndicate to Nazair.
Syndicate disguises itself as a commercial activity, hides its true purpose, and constantly uses sugar-coated bullets to win over figures in the local political, business and military circles.
Through unremitting efforts, Syndicate was finally recognized by them as one of their own and could have access to more and more confidential information.
At the same time, after testing and understanding, Syndicate also successfully won over a group of Nazair elites who were dissatisfied with the empire.
Although in the eyes of their compatriots, these elites who served the empire lived a decent life with good food and clothing.
But only these people themselves know that they are also looked down upon in front of Nilfgaard people.
Those departments with more profit and water can only be handled by Nilfgaard people, and those businesses that are better to do can only be done by Nilfgaard people...
The elite class Nazair cannot even control their own economic lifeline. They can only watch as the raw materials of their former motherland are being dragged away one after another City of Golden Towers.
Then those cheap goods from City of Golden Towers destroyed the local industry.
Among the many strongholds of Syndicate, the person in charge of the stronghold spread out a map of Province of Nazair and reported the current situation to Lynn:
"Currently, Nilfgaard Army, which is besieging Marnadal Valley, is Western Army Group among the three major armies of the empire. Its total strength is about 80,000. The soldiers are all recruited from the conquered areas, but Nilfgaard people serve as officers."
"The commander-in-chief of its army is Menno Coohorn. He is one of Nilfgaard's most famous generals and one of the very few survivors who swore allegiance to the usurper emperor but was pardoned by Emhyr Enrith."
"The famous general didn't know whether he had a premonition or just out of caution. He sent all the soldiers from Nazair in the army to the front line. Those who stayed behind to escort the transport teams and supply bases were all soldiers from Maecht."
"In the past, when Nazair and Maecht were independent kingdoms, the two countries had a lot of hatred. Even though they were both conquered by Nilfgaard later, Nilfgaard did not reconcile the conflicts between the two. Instead, it was happy to see the outcome of this situation."
"Therefore, in order to avoid alerting the enemy, Lord Drake has given us the instruction to wait and see and hold our troops still. After all, Maecht people are very likely to tip off Menno Coohorn."
Lynn nodded slightly.
"Well, Drake is very thoughtful... at least, do you know Nilfgaard Army's transportation team route and the location of the supply base?"
"Yes."
The person in charge took out another transparent film and painted some red logos on this film.
He aligned the film on the map and discovered to his surprise that the red marks were within the territory of Province of Nazair.
"The dotted line is the transportation route of the transport team on a single day, the solid line is the double day, the red dot is the supply base, and the red circle is the important supply base."
Lynn will keep this information firmly in his heart.
"That's enough."
A few days later.
Late at night.
Nilfgaard Army Outside an important supply base.
The bonfire crackled.
The guard on the wooden fence is yawning.
But he quickly patted his cheek.
If the captain caught him napping, he would be whipped.
However, even though he widened his eyes and tried hard to look outside the stronghold, he did not find the demon hunters lurking outside the stronghold under the cover of darkness.
Lynn is very grateful to those inventors Oxenfurt who love tinkering with gadgets. Lynn bought a gadget called sunglasses from them.
This thing can be worn when the sun is strong to protect your eyes and vision.
But the purpose of Lynn buying sunglasses in bulk is to cover the demon hunter's eyes, which are like a cat's and emit light at night.
At this time, the demon hunters behind him all had a pair of weapons.
If it were during the day, such a scene would look very funny.
But it's night now.
And although the sunglasses cover the witcher's cat eyes, they cannot block the dark vision given to the witcher by Cat Potion.
"Argenta leads five people to deal with the guards on the wooden wall and watchtower. Geraint leads three people to sneak into the stronghold from behind. The others follow me through the main entrance. Let's start action now."
After receiving the order, the demon hunters immediately led their respective teams and disappeared into the vast night.
Lynn and the remaining demon hunters also came to the shadow that was not illuminated by the brazier at the main entrance.
At this distance, the Nilfgaard guard, who generally suffered from night blindness, could not see the demon hunters hiding in the shadows at all.
But Lynn and the others could clearly see the moles on the faces of the guards who were yawning on the wooden wall.
At the edge of Lynn's field of vision, Argenta and five other School of the Cat demon hunters had arrived under the wooden wall.
This five-meter-high wooden wall is not a problem at all for the School of the Cat demon hunter who has accepted Secondary Mutation.
I saw Argenta lightly kicking on the wooden wall, and he flew lightly to the wooden wall.
No matter whether he stepped on the wooden wall or landed on the wooden wall, he made no sound.
Then, Argenta's body pressed down, like a cheetah before preying, and the whole person suddenly disappeared from the place.
The next moment, the torches on the wooden wall disappeared one by one.
But apart from the sound of sharp knives cutting flesh, the wooden wall was completely silent.
Three minutes later, the main door of the stronghold was opened, and Argenta, with blood stains on his body, made an invitation gesture.
"Let's go."
Lynn and the remaining demon hunters quickly walked into the stronghold.