The Witcher: Make the Witcher Great Again

Chapter 152: I Came, I Saw, I Sought Vigo

"I'll be brief. I don't know the name of the witcher I saw before because he didn't introduce himself. I could only identify him as likely being from the Viper School based on the witcher medallion he wore."

"Also, don't ask me where he went. I haven't seen him since he left this room."

"So, if you don't mind, can you begin your work? Assuming I haven't misunderstood your purpose..."

A Viper School medallion, sighted in Toussaint.

Lynn was almost certain it had to be Letho, Auckes, or Serrit.

At this point in time, the Viper School's stronghold should have already been occupied by Nilfgaard's usurper emperor.

Unlike the Northern kings, this usurper emperor possessed extraordinary vision and intellect.

Admittedly, a single witcher's role on the battlefield was limited.

But what about forming a hundred-man witcher company?

Even, going bolder, what about forming a witcher fighting force?

It's just a 30% survival rate, right?

As if that were truly low.

Did the ruling class fear casualties?

When they saw orphans tormented to death by the Trial of the Grasses, did anyone truly believe they would shed a single tear?

Simply adopting orphans from across the Empire who were forced to wander for various reasons—even if only three out of ten orphans survived, forming a three-thousand-strong witcher army would be easy.

Then, equip them with three thousand sets of top-tier fully armored knight gear.

This wouldn't be witchers;

these would be three thousand human tanks.

If one could command such a fighting force, why wouldn't they be able to sweep through the Northern Kingdoms?

The usurper emperor of Nilfgaard thought exactly this way, so he gave the Viper School two choices:

Join, or be destroyed.

The Viper School chose the latter.

And so, the Viper School no longer had a home.

The Viper School witcher Fringilla mentioned probably heard about the Duchess's condition and came to investigate.

He likely found the situation far more troublesome than expected.

That's why he quickly slipped away.

He might still be in Toussaint.

Or he might have already gone elsewhere.

However, as Fringilla said, this matter could wait.

So the three approached the velvet bed.

Lynn looked at the emaciated woman on the sickbed. Duchess Anna Henrietta's face was covered in dark lines, just like a witcher who had consumed too many potions.

This indeed resembled symptoms of severe poisoning.

But the Viper School specialized in using toxins.

If even that Viper School witcher had left, it meant the Duchess was not poisoned.

The problem, however, was that she didn't look like she was suffering from a curse either.

Moreover, when it came to knowledge of curses, sorcerers actually knew more than witchers.

For instance, in the original novel, Geralt lifted the curse on Princess Adda, King Foltest's daughter. However, because the witchers' knowledge of curse removal was incomplete, Princess Adda still risked turning back into a monster.

And indeed, in The Witcher 1, malevolent nobles exploited this to turn Princess Adda back into a monster.

If it wasn't a curse, and it wasn't poisoning, then he and Geralt were helpless.

"Lord Regis?"

If anyone present still had a solution,

it would likely be this higher vampire, over four hundred years old.

Regis was truly Regis.

So many renowned physicians from Toussaint and Nilfgaard couldn't even identify the toxin, yet he, after less than ten minutes in the room, had already made a preliminary diagnosis.

"Clearly, this is caused by the power of a demon."

In the audience chamber.

Count Raymonde, the Regent, held a wine glass in his hand.

The glass contained Toussaint's most famous wine, 'East of East'.

After hearing his servant's report, Count Raymonde's expression remained calm.

"So, they were in Her Grace the Duchess's sickroom for less than ten minutes before hastily leaving?"

"Yes."

"They said nothing?"

The servant respectfully replied,

"They only spoke briefly with Madam Fringilla. The very bald barber-surgeon said that Her Grace the Duchess was afflicted by the power of a demon."

"Then the young witcher, along with the other white-haired witcher and the barber-surgeon, left without looking back."

The servant cautiously glanced up at Count Raymonde's face.

"Even with Madam Fringilla and Master Atreus diligently sustaining Her Grace the Duchess's life, Her Grace is visibly wasting away. It seems she only has a few days left..."

"My Lord, if Her Grace the Duchess is gone, Princess Anarietta and Princess Syanna are still young. They will certainly need a powerful noble to act as regent."

"Both princesses carry the ducal family's blood. As long as..."

Before the servant could finish his words, the wine glass filled with East of East was violently smashed against his forehead.

The glass shattered.

Wine and blood flowed together.

But Count Raymonde seemed unsatisfied, as if it wasn't enough to quell his anger.

He delivered another heavy kick to the servant's stomach.

"You scoundrel! Is that something you're allowed to say?! Know your place! Get out! Don't let me see you again!"

Clutching his stomach, the servant quickly scrambled up and fled the audience chamber.

In the vast audience chamber, only Count Raymonde remained.

The lamplight illuminated his unpredictable face, making his thoughts unreadable.

Meanwhile, Lynn and his companions had left Beauclair and were now galloping rapidly in a certain direction.

"Demons are beings from other spatial planes or worlds. They can exist in their own forms or possess animals or intelligent creatures."

"There's a spell for summoning demons called 'daemonology,' which is strictly forbidden by the Brotherhood of Sorcerers."

"Demons don't seem to be a single species or race, but rather a general term for a category of creatures with shared characteristics, as each individual among them is very different."

Riding on a galloping steed, Lynn turned to Regis.

"You seem to know a lot about demons?"

Regis said, "I once dealt with one of them. Its name was Gaunter O'Dimm, the 'Master Mirror'. Of course, that's not its true name. Demons never reveal their true names to others, because knowing a name implies mastering their weakness."

He paused, continuing, "It once offered conditions that were incredibly tempting to me at the time. Even now, I don't know how I managed to resist the temptation back then."

....

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