After checking on Regis and Coën, there was still one more injured party left at the scene.
Vilgefortz, nailed to a tree.
The group surrounded him, each casting looks of varying degrees of disgust and hatred at the elite sorcerer.
"If we don't stop the bleeding, he'll probably die very soon," Jerome said coldly.
Keldar added, "I found these on him—"
The old witcher had already searched the captive thoroughly. Aside from his enchanted metal staff, Vilgefortz had been carrying a good number of spellcasting components and minor magical trinkets.
But when Iris caught sight of one small silver box among the items, she let out a startled cry and immediately pulled out an almost identical box of her own.
"After I recovered, I came across two suspicious figures in town—one man, one woman. They'd infiltrated alongside the Nilfgaardians. The woman claimed to be a Psion, a mind-reader. The man was a bounty hunter," Iris explained, pausing before continuing. "The man was strong—he held his own against Coën, House, and Levin all at once. He's supposedly killed three witchers and carries three of their medallions on him."
"...One of those medallions belonged to a Griffin," she added hesitantly, glancing at the three Griffin School witchers present. "That silver box was found on the bounty hunter."
Keldar and Jerome's expressions darkened.
"You killed them?" Jerome asked.
"I locked them inside a painting. They seemed like important operatives, so I figured I'd wait for you to get back before interrogating them."
"Good," Lann nodded. "Keep them there for now."
Lann remembered the two individuals Iris had mentioned.
The psion was Kenna, a rare mind-reader. In the original timeline, she too had joined the Nilfgaardian elite unit assigned to capture Ciri—and had once succeeded. But upon discovering that the Gray Owl intended to betray the Emperor by handing Ciri over to Vilgefortz for experimentation, she was moved by pity and chose to free the girl. For that, she was later tried by Nilfgaard's military court.
The bounty hunter was Leo Bonhart, a swordmaster with near-superhuman skill—a master of bladed combat who collected witcher medallions like trophies. In the original timeline, he had been the first to capture Ciri, trained her as a gladiator, and forced her into brutal matches. Later, he formed a three-way pact with the Gray Owl and Vilgefortz to deliver Ciri, only for Kenna to derail the plan.
Bonhart had no reason to be kept alive. Lann planned to throw him into a dungeon and slowly squeeze out whatever remaining value he had—maybe some witchers under his command would want revenge for their fallen comrades.
As for Kenna, perhaps she was worth trying to turn. She was still a capable talent. Although psions developed unevenly due to their chaotic magical nature and weren't as well-rounded as sorcerers, they did have unique advantages of their own.
Aside from that, Lann turned his attention to the silver box in his hand. While it might confuse others, Lann knew exactly what it was—a magical device capable of long-range communication.
It was a piece of proprietary technology developed by Vilgefortz. Even decades into the future, most sorcerers could only communicate with each other using devices the size of a small table—cumbersome, expensive, and usually only affordable to the most elite.
At this very moment, Vilgefortz had already pioneered the creation of a compact magical communication device—a feat that left the mages of the current age far behind in terms of practicality and convenience.
One had to admit—this guy did have some real skill.
Lann was already planning to hand the device over to Mousesack after the battle, to see if he could reverse-engineer the technology… though Keldar, standing nearby, already looked eager to start dissecting it.
After a brief consideration, Lann handed the box over to the old Griffin, who had been staring at it with a barely restrained look of longing.
As for how to deal with Vilgefortz…
"Lann, what are you going to do with him?"
Lann shook his head and tossed the question back. "Ciri, what do you want to do?"
The girl froze for a second.
"This sorcerer was the source of everything," Lann said, rubbing Ciri's head gently. "I did have plans for him… but I didn't expect the opportunity to kill him would come so soon."
"To me, he no longer matters. But I know what he means to you."
"So I'm leaving the choice to you, Ciri."
The girl fell silent for a while, then looked up and said, "That day, when you told me about the Emperor of Nilfgaard, you also told me your future plans—for the North, and for the mages. If Vilgefortz dies, does that mean those plans can't be carried out?"
"Of course not," Lann shook his head. "I have other plans."
Ciri fixed her gaze on him. "But those 'plans you can still use after Vilgefortz is dead'... they're just backup plans, right? None of them are as reliable as the one that involves using Vilgefortz, correct?"
Lann gave no answer.
...
There was something Ciri had always been curious about—
Had Lann's wish really come true?
And if it had…
What method would the Djinn have used to fulfill it?
In fact, when Lann first heard Ciri's wish, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He believed Ciri had completely wasted one of her precious wishes.
But Ciri didn't mind in the least.
Even if Lann already had the ability to move freely across the battlefield…
Even if he could achieve victory…
Adding one more layer of insurance was always a good thing!
The Djinn, however, didn't quite see it that way.
As it had said before, even a single wish could be interpreted in many ways—
And each interpretation might yield countless different outcomes.
...
Kindling was tossed into the hearth.
Flames roared to life.
A solemn king began reading the war report in his hand.
[February 15, 1265 — All of Lyria fell.
King Henselt of Kaedwen seized the opportunity to launch a southern invasion into Aedirn.]
[February 16 — King Demavend of Aedirn recalled 3,000 light cavalry from the frontlines to reinforce northern Aedirn.
He also ordered the central army stationed in Vengerberg to head north to resist Kaedwen,
leaving Aedirn's forces in the southern alliance significantly weakened.]
[February 19 — The joint army of Queen Meve and King Demavend was defeated by Nilfgaard once again at Aldersberg in Aedirn.
King Henselt led the Brown Banner Regiment across the Dyfne River and captured the town of Gulet in Aedirn.]
[February 20 — King Demavend and Queen Meve split their forces and headed north to reinforce.
Nilfgaard left only 3,000 soldiers to engage Queen Meve.]
[That same day, Duke Lannister of Cintra, who had received a plea for aid from Aedirn's advisors, arrived in Aedirn and helped Queen Meve repel the Nilfgaardian forces.
He then pursued the retreating Nilfgaardians northward.]
[February 21 — Nilfgaard's central army stationed in Upper Sodden advanced eastward under the command of Marshal Menno.]
[February 22 — Duke Lannister and Queen Meve clashed with Nilfgaard's Nauzicaä Division and the 7th Daerlanian Cavalry Brigade.
Nilfgaard's forces were repelled.]
[February 23 — Duke Lannister, Queen Meve, and King Demavend joined forces to pursue the scattered Nilfgaardians.
Aedirn's main forces continued north to fend off Kaedwen.]
[February 24 — The trilateral alliance engaged Nilfgaard's central army on Lyria's border and were once again defeated.
Marshal Menno left the Alba Division to secure the gains, then led the 3rd Army and 4th Cavalry Regiment northward.]
[February 25 — Duke Lannister suddenly appeared within the Alba Division guarding the rear.
The Alba Division's commander, Eggebracht, was assassinated, and the unit's core officers were entirely wiped out.]
[That same day, Marshal Menno halted his northern advance, giving Queen Meve and King Demavend room to breathe.
They entrenched themselves in Lyria's capital.]
[February 26 — Duke Lannister appeared behind the central army's rear lines, suspected of attempting to assassinate Marshal Menno.
Numerous Nilfgaardian mages were reported at the scene, as well as two dragons.
Duke Lannister was later spotted inside Lyria's capital.
Major General Markus Braibant, commander of Nilfgaard's 4th Cavalry Corps, was reported killed in action.]
[February 27 — Marshal Menno dispatched the Vrihedd Brigade and Deithwen Division southward to regroup and build fortifications in Lyria and Lower Sodden.
Duke Lannister was not seen again.]
The flames in the hearth crackled with intense heat.
Philippa Eilhart, the Gem of the Thanedd Court, stared at the war report before her, eyes gleaming with brilliance.
Sigismund Dijkstra, head of Redania's intelligence network, trembled as he held the report.
He couldn't bring himself to imagine that the 'Duke Lannister' in this report was the same golden-haired knight he had shared drinks and laughter with not long ago in Oxenfurt.
"Let's hear it, my advisor… and my count,"
King Vizimir II of Redania gazed into the fire as though lost in thought, his voice expectant.
"What should we do next?"
Philippa glanced at Vizimir II—then quickly lowered her gaze.
Her eyes held too many emotions, none of which were suitable to reveal in front of the king right now.
"Father! I say we behead every single spy who brought us this report!"
shouted Radovid, the king's eldest son.
"This intelligence is completely absurd!"
Compared to his last encounter with Lann, Radovid's buzz cut had become even more extreme.
The king said nothing.
Instead, he slowly turned his gaze toward Dijkstra.
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