Bear School Astartes

After breakfast, Geralt left High Hill Castle, not even riding a horse.

The mountain isn’t big or small, but when ensuring concealment during the investigation, there’s no need for a horse.

The White Wolf tied up his hair, two Valerian Steel Swords on his back, wearing high-level Wolf School armor. A row of Alchemy Bombs swayed and clinked at the armor’s attachments.

On the leather strap slung across his shoulder, more than a dozen test tubes of various Magic Potions were inserted.

His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

After all, if it is really as Lann felt, with all these troubles linked together now... Geralt can’t imagine who would want to use Ciri for something!

But whether he can imagine it or not, he is now ready to act for Ciri.

The once small girl, like a hamster, seemed like a burdensome child, but now... Whoever dares to plot against her, the White Wolf will fight to the end, even if it means losing some teeth!

Pursuing clues of a group hiding their tracks in the mountain, even if it is a small mountain, could take several days, or even weeks.

On Sandy Island, the Female Warlock Academy is still preparing various matters, including notifying some warlocks who are secluded and engrossed in research.

Don’t be fooled by those warlocks in Northern Kingdoms’ courts who crave power and play around, because there are many who don’t engage in that.

They must first locate people and then notify them.

The Warlock Supreme Council and Talent and Skill Association were established in the early days when human warlocks appeared as caster management organizations in the Novigrad Alliance.

All warlocks must know about a conference if they are not completely disconnected from Northern Human society.

Back then, to establish its authority as a manager, the non-recognized ”Pure White” Rafad, even when he was appointed Temeria Regent Mage and almost crowned King due to his mediation in the war, would be killed.

And until today, no one from the warlock or mortal community dares to deny the management authority these two organizations have over the Northern warlock community.

This authority was established with real Magic power.

Their summit meeting preparations took a long time, which is normal.

However, the basic meeting time is set for two weeks later and will not change.

While at High Hill Castle, once Stuart’s transformation is completed and it proves that ”Big Appetite Energy” greatly increases the success rate when paired with the ”Cyan Grass Trial,”

Then within two weeks, it’s roughly enough time for several people to begin their transformations.

Two weeks later, Lann and Triss along with Geralt will head to Airetusa to participate or at least observe that grand conference of the warlocks.

”Everything is timed for two weeks later... alright.”

The young Demon Hunter looked out beyond the stone windows of the tower at the jagged, rugged hills and lush vegetation.

”Let me see who will act by then, and what they want to... do!”

-----------------

Meanwhile, in the concealed area of the hills near High Hill Castle, a group of people was scattered around.

”A shitty Mutant Castle!”

With an iron glove, a rasp was grinding a small shield emblem on the chest of a set of Knight Armor amidst the jarring sound.

The light spots cast from the shadows of the trees illuminated the metal dust flying off, along with the original emblem gradually losing its shape on the small shield.

——A white rose blooming on a red background.

”Veltrest would rather grant such a castle to a lowly mutant than reward his loyal and brave human knights! Ridiculous!”

Originally, this type of small shield emblem positioned on the armor’s chest could be changed easily with a simple replacement by a follower, without having to grind off the original emblem.

Clearly, this knight forgot to bring a replacement shield emblem, forced to painfully rasp off the originally intact one.

”Don’t let anger cloud your judgment, Knight Fawick,” another elder knight said from a tree stump, puffing on a pipe.

He appeared more experienced, with no identifiable insignia on him.

”Save your anger here for chopping off the heads of that Mutant Knight Order, but as for our King... do you know where he is now? He seems to have been running around busily for months without knowing what he is actually doing.”

”Hmph, being so elusive as a King, I wonder how he manages. But it’s not surprising, given that he once declared he would marry his sister and made her pregnant; it’s no shock he commits morally bankrupt and foolishly blind acts.”

Next to the old knight came a warning: ”Be careful with your words, the offspring born from that sibling pregnancy is now sitting in the princess’s seat, and the cause of all this is a man named Geralt, a mutant.”

The old knight grunted, spat to his side, and laughed uncaringly.

”Alright, since we’re all here, what’s there to be cautious about?”

”We are the valiant knights fighting gloriously for justice! Among ourselves, we have long been immensely trusting!”

”Now there’s a mutant making a name for himself, and under his command, there’s a shameless armed force that can be called a Knight Order... The Eternal Fire will not forgive this betrayal of humanity!”

”Today, there’s a Knight Order led by a mutant. What next? In the council, do we have to sit with a bunch of people who kneel to mutants? Must humans now bow to mutants?!”

”This is the world of humans! It is our ancestors who diligently fought with sword and blade to seize it from those contemptible, inferior non-human races and monsters! Now those monsters foolishly dream of taking it back!”

The old knight puffed on his pipe, but his expression was as cold and rigid as if he were biting into the flesh of a non-human race.

”So, we are here now!” Fawick, who had polished the shield emblem on his chest, spoke in a deep voice, ”My brothers have discarded all differences, and we’re about to overthrow that evil castle occupied by mutants!”

”And once we accomplish this feat, we will prove to every kingdom in the Northern Territory that the mutant Knight Order is nothing but inferior rubbish!”

”By then, we can openly fly the banner of the White Rose! Even if it means facing legal accountability, facing the war tribunal, it’ll be worth it!”

The wheels rumbled, and the knights’ loud shouts made this place resemble a giant construction site.

The mountain where High Hill Castle is located isn’t large, but it stretches eastward, leading to the largest, uninterrupted forest wetlands in the Velen Region.

This ancient and damp forest has been growing here since before humanity landed in this world, and due to its remote and rugged terrain, and its moist and muddy soil,

Not to mention the Velen Region’s sparse population, it has not been subjected to large-scale logging or development by intelligent beings to this day.

It is a thoroughly primitive landscape.

Thick logs were transported over and then distributed to five sites on the small mountain, where the knights scattered and stationed there processed and crafted them.

Not to mention those who surrendered to the mutants haven’t noticed them, but even if they did realize there were people on this small mountain, what then?

Do they think they can rely on that human-owned castle to fight an advantaged defensive battle?

Dream on!

The White Rose Knight Order has long figured it out, the supplies from Temeria inside High Hill Castle are completely according to the specifications of their own country’s Knight Order supplied to the Embers Knight Order.

But still, due to the remote and rugged terrain, combined with the subtle joint efforts from the White Rose Knight Order and many like-minded Knight Orders in the Holy Hall Council, siege machinery was converted into monthly salaries instead.

And those laughable mutant knights didn’t even realize anything was amiss and directly took the gold coins.

This further equates to tacit acknowledgment, so for the next two years, as no one from the Holy Hall Council raised objections, this continued to happen.

Until now, the human-owned castle doesn’t have any large-scale machinery present.

Yet here, the siege machinery is almost completed!

According to the planned timeline, just over a week longer... A mere week.

Knights who received intelligence support and fully understood the internal structure of the small mountain area and High Hill Castle, glared through the forest with fierce eyes, accurately fixing their gaze on the castle.

”Why do we have to wait over a week?” a knight, taking a break to gnaw on a piece of bread, asked in confusion, ”They don’t have machinery. We make two machines and go up, kill them all! Why do we have to complete the whole plan?”

”That’s the requirement from the Knight Order. You don’t want to do it? I don’t want to do it either! Go talk to your superior!”

The knight eating bread replied in frustration: ”Isn’t it because the King is pressing? I heard that the Royal Family’s messenger has run to our station several times, saying we need to hurry and assemble by the Yaruga River to switch training.”

”What did the leader say?”

Like an old farmer, the knight squatting to eat bread chuckled, but there wasn’t a hint of the simplicity or crafty cunning of an old farmer in the smile, only... malice!

”The leader said it takes time to gather the knights. Haha!”

”What a pity we can’t openly assemble and raze this tainted castle! Otherwise, with just the money and resources sponsored by the church, we could rally the poor, good-hearted people on these barren lands to help remove this blight sticking to the human territory.”

”It’s enough now as it is.” The old knight stuffed a lump of tobacco into his pipe, smiling likewise, ”Five hundred against sixty—they may be defending the castle, but we have machinery, and they don’t. Haha, I’ll pile up their bodies and burn a big bonfire when it’s done!”

As he spoke, the old knight raised the pipe above his head, making a respectful gesture: ”May the Eternal Fire protect us!”

”And also the leader!” The bread-chewing knight choked a couple of times but quickly added, ”Thanks to the leader’s guidance!”

”Without the leader, we wouldn’t have so many hands and connections now.”

He chuckled heartily, but the surrounding knights, either working or cleaning equipment during breaks, showed varied expressions.

Some agreed, others showing subtle disdain.

Rudolph Valaris, current leader of the White Rose Knight Order.

And it was under his leadership that the Knight Order, once a symbol of honor, character, and noble status, turned into a place where shoemakers’ sons and tailoring apprentices could join if they handed over a large bag full of gold coins.

Many wealthy but low-status individuals draped themselves in knight’s capes during this period, donned the shield emblem of the White Rose Knight Order.

Some within the Knight Order criticized this, but often once the money turned into funds to hire prostitutes, the knights said nothing more.

After all, when lying with a prostitute, men’s minds tend to be very simple.