The Divine Hunter

The torrential rain that lasted for a day and a night stopped, and the sky was washed into an almost transparent azure blue.

Looking down from the sky, a crowd of people lingered in front of the suffocating fortress close to the banks of the Pontar River.

Around La Valledi Castle, four towering fortified walls and towers over 20 meters form a beautiful city.

The majestic fortifications stretched nearly one-fifth of a Temeria in the east-west direction, casting long shadows on the Pontar River, like a terrifying beast lurking in silence.

The city gate under the steel gate is the mouth of the giant beast, swallowing the noisy crowd.

A team of elite soldiers in heavy silver armor and the coat of arms of the La Valédi family guarded this "mouth", and the countless crossbowmen on the nearby city walls cast stern glances.

The witchers were honestly inspected and cross-examined in front of the city gate. In order to pass the inspection, their weapons were handed over to Leto in advance and stored in the space ring.

"Four snake demon hunters, a pair of cat demon hunters, from Vizima?" The young soldier's gaze swept over the six people in front of him, focusing on the pendants between their necks.

He paused as he swept over the brown horse that the witcher was leading, and the horse was staring at him with eyes like copper bells.

"Did you make a mistake..."

The soldier felt a chill down his spine for some reason.

It's not that he hasn't seen witchers, but in his impression, most of these mutants like to be alone. How come there have been so many at one time?

Five witchers walking together is unheard of.

Think about it, with their superb skills, they are undoubtedly a force that cannot be ignored.

It's enough to stay honest, to make trouble in the city...

In particular, there is a cat faction, the neurotic cat faction witcher's reputation among the people is extremely bad, in case something suddenly goes wrong.

"Have to nip the accident in the cradle."

The young soldier's scalp was slightly numb, and he scolded sharply,

"Report your name, age, purpose of entering the city, and how long are you going to stay?" The scribe behind the soldier held a quill to prepare to record.

This is the first time a witcher has seen such a strict entry procedure, and it is more troublesome than Vizima.

However, they soon realized that as the last line of defense between Redania and Temeria, the fortress of La Valledi had an extremely important strategic position, and this was also done to prevent spies from neighboring countries.

Everyone stated their identity information according to the negotiated rhetoric.

"We came from Vizima and planned to stay in the city for half a month, go around, and then cross the White Bridge to Novigrad..." Finally, Leto concluded.

"Most of the merchants who enter the city have to go to the City of Liberty..." the soldier said impatiently, "but unfortunately, under the order of the baron, the white bridge has entered an indefinite blockade, unless there is a special pass, no one can Don't pass."

"A few of you might as well go to the port in Weren to the west to cross the river by boat..."

"You don't want to let us in at all, do you?" Oakes muttered.

The young soldier simply admitted, "According to the Lord Baron's wishes, the entire city is under martial law recently, and no more dangerous people can be put in, so please come back..."

"Can you get in?" the businessman behind the demon hunter heard the sound and began to urge, "If you can't get into the city, don't get in the way, it's a waste of time!"

Roy turned abruptly and gave the pot-bellied businessman a vicious look, who was suddenly silent again.

Then he took out a snow-white letter inlaid with gold borders from his arms and handed it to the soldier.

"Your Excellency, look again, can you enter the city now?"

The soldier glanced at the Temerian lily on the surface of the envelope, and his expression changed greatly. When he finished reading the letter, his attitude changed 180 degrees.

"Master Demon Hunter... Please forgive Ed's stupidity and recklessness." In just a second, the soldier's sneering face forced a dry smile, "I didn't know beforehand that you knew Lord Verelad."

In order to thank the witcher for helping Princess Yada to lift the curse of the bloodthirsty demon bird, Foltest gave the witcher a lot of money, and before leaving, Yada asked for this letter of guarantee for them. The mayor of Vizima, Vereillard, wrote it in his own hand and has the official seal of the mayor.

The letter guarantees the identity of the witcher Roy and his companions, so that they can travel smoothly in the major cities of Temeria.

As the chief executive of the capital of Temeria, Verelad is still a bit thin. The witchers have his letter of guarantee. As long as they don't take the initiative to commit crimes and trigger the law, most lords and barons will do it. a convenience.

"Then we can go in now?" Oaks said with a half-smiling, arms crossed.

"Of course!" Soldier Ed lowered his head and handed the envelope respectfully, as a humble soldier in the baron, he couldn't possibly offend a mayor of the capital, "Speaking of which, Lord Baron and Lord Verrellard are also old Knowing...he will naturally welcome you to visit."

The witchers exchanged glances.

"What about the White Bridge, will this 'pass' allow us to pass the White Bridge?"

"Anytime..."

Ed gave a wink to the soldiers behind him, and suddenly the two staggered halberds blocking the city gate were separated, revealing a passage.

"There's one more question..." Before entering the city, Roy paused and said, "You said just now that the Baron ordered the blockade of the White Bridge, and the whole city is under martial law. What's the reason?"

Ed's face changed, he hesitated for a moment, "Come here, I will explain it to the masters in detail."

As he spoke, he led the demon hunters to the corner behind the city gate, and slowly stated,

"More than a month ago, Mrs. Louisa gave birth to Lord Baron's second daughter, which was originally a big happy event..."

"You mean the old baron's daughter?"

Ed nodded and continued, "It is Baron de la Valédi, our lord. Fifty-four years old this year, an old woman is naturally a treasure. In order to celebrate the birth of her daughter, the lord even pardoned part of the prison. Prisoners with lesser crimes."

"He named the lady Anas-la-Valetti."

A faint smile appeared on Ed's face, and he was sincerely happy for the master.

Roy carefully observed his expression and confirmed that there was no sarcasm, sarcasm, or teasing. He seemed to believe that the girl was the Baron's own flesh and blood.

"It doesn't make sense..." The witcher couldn't help but wonder, even the two drunkards in the chicken coop pub in the suburbs knew about the scandal - Anais was born from an affair between Lady Mary Louisa and the "big man" illegitimate daughter.

Why are the soldiers in the city kept in the dark?

In addition, in the future that Roy knows, in a few years, Louisa will give birth to a young son for the big man.

"You go on to say..."

"Just a few days after Miss Anais was born, the baron's eldest son, Master Arian, suddenly fell ill and fell into a coma in bed. It has been a long time since the disease has not improved, and there is no sign of waking up..."

The soldier said with a slight sigh, "Later, after investigation, Lord Baron found that it was an outside acrobat who put the spell on the young master to fall asleep, and the nearby witch doctors and doctors were helpless after the diagnosis."

"That's why the baron put the whole city under martial law and blocked the white bridge, in order to catch the culprit of the curse and wake up the young master."

Said viciously, Ed suddenly pointed to the side wall under the nearby city tower, on which was posted a wanted notice, depicting a man of medium build, wrapped in a brown turban, dressed in a white silk robe, with a hooked nose, Thin lips, gloomy face.

The five senses have an exotic feel.

Pedestrians entering and leaving the city gate will be searched by soldiers one by one with reference to the portrait, and even checked for disguise.

"The baron ordered that if the murderer is not caught for one day, Baiqiao will block it for one day. If anyone can report the clues related to the murderer, or cure the illness of Master Arian, there will be a lot of rewards."

The witcher's entry into the city is doomed, and Ed's tone has also changed. "The five masters are amazing people at first glance. If you are good at tracking or healing spells, you might as well give it a try..."

"I still have to teach my disciples, I don't have that spare time..." Phrius refused indifferently.

"Anyway, we have to stay in the city for ten days and a half months. When Roy recovers from his injury, why don't we take advantage of this time to pick up some work?" Oakes put forward the opposite opinion.

And Leto stared at the wanted notice and said suspiciously, "This guy is very familiar, have we met before?"

Soldier Ed's heart froze.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I mistaken someone..." The bald-headed man noticed his disciple's hidden eyes, so he snorted and waved his hand, "This big nose and deep eye sockets are quite similar, and there is no similarity in other places... The mouth is too big, the eyes are too narrow..."

"A few of you will take a closer look..." Ed suggested. "If you are really unsure, you might as well go to the square. Several of the murderer's accomplices are being tortured."

...

The group continued to walk in and entered the center of the La Valledi family's territory.

From the outside of the city gate, there is an endless, high, thick, yellowish marble city wall, and inside the gate is another world. If it is simply called a castle, it is a serious misnomer or a joke.

To be more precise, it is a giant fortress built by the La Varetti family after several generations, around a main fort that is more than 20 meters high and countless cylindrical towers. The central territory of La Varetti that Roy had learned about was much larger.

A circle of tall houses with earth and stone structures was built against the city wall. The gable roofs have sharp and straight ridges. There are no extra decorations on the outer layers of the houses.

The most impressive thing is their hard walls, one has to wonder if the same building materials were used as the city walls.

The streets are full of people and carriages and ox carts pulling heavy goods. The ground is only covered with a layer of shallow cobblestones and yellow river sand, with footprints, ruts, and unevenness. There is a water well, and there are feces and urine left by livestock in every few places on the road, and a strange smell is mixed into the air.

The air was still noisy, filled with the laughter of men, the soft whispers of women, and the sobbing of babies and children, interspersed with the loud shouts of patrolling soldiers.

To sum it up, the fortress of La Valledi is simply dirty and messy, far less neat and clean than the Vegima trade area. But it is full of vigor and a kind of vigor that comes from the market.

The witcher looked from a distance, and the city wall next to the Pontar River in the distance faintly outlined the outlines of several huge trebuchets and the ghoulish crossbow guarding the city. Threat of Nia.

They passed the crowded pedestrians and turned a few corners. The city was also divided into several areas by the tall city walls: the living area, the trading area, and the monastery to the east, and the tower where the baron lived in the north.

About a quarter of an hour later, they came to a circular square, full of people, and all the people who came and went stopped there, pointing at a high stone platform in the center of the square.

Roy's gaze crossed the fountain decorated with the statue of Cliff, the father of the sky, and swept across the four stakes on the platform.

"Hi--" When he saw the prisoner on the stake on the far right, he couldn't help his heart sinking--a lady in rags, with beautiful features, a slender figure, and pointed ears at the top. It's hard to hide that bright and moving demeanor.

Next to her is another woman with a mohawk haircut, bronze skin, and a fit body like a female leopard, and to the left is a middle-aged man with a short stature like a dwarf and an ugly face.

Obviously, all three had been severely tortured, covered with scars, looked tired and desperate, struggling between fainting and sobriety.

"It's really an acquaintance, the wanted criminal at the gate of the city," Lesuo put his hands around his chest and a hint of enlightenment flashed in his eyes, "Isn't he the Quint performer of the Sea Lion Acrobatic Troupe, Amos!"

"It's the Sea Scorpion Acrobatic Troupe." Roy sighed, and the man who carried the curse and was willing to sacrifice himself for his children flashed in his mind again.

The prisoners tied to the stake were the only remaining members of the Sea Scorpion Acrobatic Troupe: Elf Dancer Evelyn, Zerekan's Swordsman Kantila, and Clown Frost.

The one next to Froz, who should have belonged to Corinthian the Fire Eater, turned into a dark, cold, and ugly scorched corpse.

He died at the stake.

Roy took a deep breath, the wound on his rib began to ache again, and inadvertently, with a slight whisper, Aveline opened her eyes, and her empty eyes just matched the dark gold eyes in the crowd. .