The Divine Hunter Chapter 2: Messages from acquaintances
The heavy rain that lasted for a day and night stopped, and the sky was washed into an almost transparent blue.
Looking down from the sky, a crowded crowd is lingering in front of the breathtakingly majestic fortress close to the bank of the Pontal River.
Surrounding the Castle of La Valette, there are towering solid walls and towers of more than 20 meters, forming a beautiful city.
The majestic fortifications extend for nearly one-fifth of Temeria in the east-west direction, casting a long shadow 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 group of elite soldiers wearing heavy silver armor and with the coat of arms of the La Valette family on their chests guarded this "mouth". Countless crossbowmen on the nearby walls cast stern shots. look.
The demon hunters were inspected and interrogated honestly in front of the city gate. In order to pass the inspection, their weapons were handed over to Leisuo in advance and put into the space ring.
"Four snake sect demon hunters and a pair of cat sect demon hunters master and apprentice, from Vizima?" The young soldier glanced at the six people in front of him, focusing on the pendants around their necks.
He paused when he glanced at the brown horse led by the witcher. The horse was staring at him with eyes like bells.
"Is there any mistake..."
The soldier felt an inexplicable chill down his spine.
It’s not that he has never seen a demon hunter before, but in his impression, most of these mutants like to live alone. How could so many of them appear at once?
Five witchers traveling together is simply unheard of.
Think about it, with their superb skills, combined together, they are undoubtedly a force that cannot be ignored.
It’s okay to just stay here and cause trouble in the city...
Especially one of them is the Cat Faction. The neurotic Cat Faction witcher's reputation among the people is extremely bad. If something suddenly goes wrong.
"You have to nip accidents in the cradle."
The young soldier’s scalp was slightly numb and he shouted harshly,
"State your name, age, purpose of entering the city, and how long you plan to stay?" The scribe behind the soldier held the quill and prepared to record.
This is the first time a witcher has seen such strict procedures for entering the city, and it is more troublesome than Vizima.
However, they quickly figured out that as the last line of defense between Redania and Temeria, Fortress La Valetti 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 agreed rhetoric.
"We came from Vizima, intending to stay in the city for half a month, wandering around, and then cross the White Bridge to Novigrad..." Leisu concluded in the end.
"Most of the merchants entering the city will go to the Free City..." the soldier said impatiently, "But unfortunately, under the order of the Baron, White Bridge has entered an indefinite blockade, unless there is a special pass. Otherwise, no one will be allowed to pass."
"Why don't you guys go to the port of Wellen in the west and take a boat across the river..."
"You don't want to let us in at all, do you?" Oaks muttered.
The young soldier simply admitted, "According to the Baron's wishes, the whole city has been under martial law recently and no more dangerous people can be allowed in, so please come back..."
"Will we enter or not?" The businessman behind the demon hunter heard the voice and began to urge, "If you can't enter the city, don't block the road, it's a waste of time!"
Roy turned around suddenly and glared at the pot-bellied businessman, who immediately fell silent again.
Then he took out a snow-white letter inlaid with gold from his arms and handed it to the soldier.
"Sir, let's see if we can enter the city now?"
The soldier glanced at the Temerian lily on the surface of the envelope, and his expression suddenly changed. When he read the letter, his attitude changed completely.
"Master Demon Hunter...please forgive Ed's stupidity and recklessness." In just a second, the soldier's sardonic face forced a dry smile, "I didn't know that you knew Lord Verelad beforehand. ”
In order to thank the witcher for helping Princess Yada lift the curse of the bloodthirsty bird, Foltest rewarded the witcher with a large amount of money, and before leaving, Yada asked for this guarantee for them. The letter was handwritten by Vizima Mayor Verelade and stamped with the mayor's official seal.
The letter guaranteed the identities of the witcher Roy and his companions so that they could travel smoothly through major cities in Temeria.
As the administrator of Temeria's capital, Verelad is still somewhat thin-faced. The witchers have his letter of guarantee. As long as they do not take the initiative to commit crimes and trigger the law, most lords and barons can It will be convenient.
"So can we go in now?" Oakes crossed his arms and said with a half-smile.
"Of course!" Soldier Ed lowered his head and handed over the envelope respectfully. As a lowly soldier in the baron, he couldn't offend the mayor of the capital. "Speaking of the Baron and Verelad Your Excellency is also an old acquaintance... He will naturally welcome you to visit."
The witchers exchanged glances.
"Where is the White Bridge? Can this 'pass' allow us to pass the White Bridge?"
"Any time..."
Ed winked at the soldiers behind him, and the two staggered halberds blocking the city gate immediately separated, revealing a passage.
"I have another question..." Before entering the city, Roy paused and said, "You just said that the Baron ordered the White Bridge to be blocked and the whole city to be under martial law. Why?"
Ed's expression changed and he hesitated for a moment, "Come this way and 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, Lady Louisa gave birth to the Baron's second daughter. This was originally a huge happy event..."
"You mean the old baron's daughter?"
Ed nodded and continued, "It is Baron Baron de la Valedi, our lord. He is fifty-four years old this year. He is naturally regarded as a treasure by old women. In order to celebrate the birth of his daughter, your Excellency even pardoned him. Remove some of the inmates in the prison who have committed less serious crimes."
"He named the girl Anais La Valette."
A faint joy appeared on Ed's face, and he was sincerely happy for his master.
Roy observed his expression carefully and made sure there was no trace of sarcasm, sarcasm or teasing. He seemed to believe that the girl was the Baron's flesh and blood.
"It doesn't make sense..." The demon hunter couldn't help but wonder. Even the two drunkards in the chicken coop tavern in the suburbs knew about the scandal - Anais was Mrs. Marie Louisa's affair with the "big shot" An illegitimate daughter born.
Why were the soldiers in the city kept in the dark?
In addition, in the future that Roy knew, Louisa would give birth to a young son for a big shot in a few years.
"Go on..."
"A few days after Miss Anais was born, the Baron's eldest son, Young Master Arrian, suddenly fell ill and fell into a coma in bed. It has been a long time since then. His illness has not improved and there is no sign of waking up. …”
The soldier sighed slightly and said, "Later, after investigation, the Baron discovered that a foreign acrobat had cast a spell on the young master to make him sleep. The nearby witch doctors and doctors were helpless after diagnosis."
"That's why the Baron put the entire city under martial law and blocked the White Bridge, in order to catch the culprit who cast the curse and rescue the young master."
Speaking viciously, Ed suddenly pointed to the side wall under the tower not far away. There was a wanted notice posted on it, depicting a man of medium height, wearing a brown turban and a white silk robe. Hooked nose, thin lips, sinister face.
The facial features have a foreign feeling.
Pedestrians entering and leaving the city gates will be searched one by one by soldiers based on their portraits, and even checked to see if they are disguised.
"The Baron has given an order. If the murderer is not caught for one day, the White Bridge will be sealed off for one day. If anyone can report clues about the murderer or cure Master Aryan's illness, he will be rewarded heavily."
It was inevitable that the demon hunters would enter the city, and Ed's tone also changed. "The five masters are great figures at first glance. If you are good at tracking or curing curses, you might as well give it a try..."
"I still have to teach my disciples, and I don't have the time..." Furius refused calmly.
"Anyway, we have to stay in the city for ten days and a half. Waiting for Roy to recover from his injury, why not take advantage of this time to take over some work?" Oakes put forward the opposite opinion.
Leso stared at the wanted poster and said doubtfully, "This guy looks familiar. Have we met somewhere?"
Soldier Ed was shocked when he heard this.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I recognized the wrong person..." The bald man noticed the disciple's hidden eyes, and laughed, waving his hands, "The big nose and deep eye sockets are quite similar, but there is no similarity in other places. The mouth is too big and the eyes are too long and narrow..."
"Let's take a closer look..." Ed suggested, "If you really can't be sure, it's better to go to the square, where several of the murderer's accomplices are being tortured."
……
The group continued walking inside and entered the center of the La Valette family's territory.
From outside the city gate, you can see the endless, high, thick, yellowed marble city walls, but inside the gate is another world. If you call it simply a castle, it would be a serious misnomer or a joke. .
To be more precise, it is a giant fortress built by the La Valette family after several generations of expansion around a main castle over twenty meters high and countless cylindrical towers. , which is much larger than the central territory of La Valedi that Roy knew before.
A circle of tall houses with earth and stone structures was built against the city wall, with gabled roofs and pointed and straight ridges. There are no extra decorations on the outside of the houses, and most of them are gray-yellow, making them look very simple.
The most impressive thing is their hard walls, which make people wonder whether they are made of the same building materials as the city walls.
The streets are full of people and horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts pulling heavy goods. The ground is only paved with a shallow layer of cobblestones and yellow river sand, and is covered with footprints, ruts, and uneven surfaces. There are convertibles leaning on the roadside. , there is a well in the middle of the road, and there are excrement and urine left by livestock on the road from time to time, mixing a strange smell 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 scoldings of patrolling soldiers.
To sum up, La Valetti Fortress is simply dirty and messy, far less tidy and clean than the Vizima Trading Area. But it is full of vitality and a vigorous vitality that comes from the market.
The witcher looked from a distance, and on the city wall close to the Pontar River in the distance, there were faint outlines of several huge trebuchets and the ferocious outlines of city guard crossbows. This was to deal with the attacks from the other side. Threat from Redania.
They walked through the crowded pedestrians and turned a few corners. The city was also divided into several areas by tall walls: the living area, the trading area, the monastery in the east, and the tower where the baron lived in the north.
About a quarter of an hour later, they arrived at a circular square, which was bustling with people. People passing by stopped here and pointed at a high stone platform in the center of the square.
Roy's gaze crossed the fountain decorated with the statue of Sky Father Cliff and swept across the four burning stakes on the high platform. ~IndoMTL.com~Hiss——" When he saw clearly the prisoner on the burning stake on the far right, his heart sank - a ragged lady with beautiful features, slim figure, and pointed upper ears. Even though his body was covered in bruises and bruises, his bright and charming appearance could not be concealed.
Beside her is another woman with a mohawk haircut, bronze skin, and a body as strong as a leopard. To the left is a middle-aged man as short as a dwarf and with an ugly face.
Obviously, all three of them had been severely tortured, with scars all over their bodies. They looked tired and desperate, struggling between fainting and waking up.
"He is really an acquaintance, the wanted criminal at the city gate," Leisuo crossed his arms across his chest with a flash of understanding in his eyes, "Isn't he the Gwent performer from the Sea Lion Acrobatic Troupe, Yamos!"
"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.
The prisoners tied to the stake are the few remaining members of the Sea Scorpion Acrobatic Troupe: the elf dancer Everin, Zerikan's knife expert Cantila, and the clown Floz.
The man next to Froz, who should have belonged to the fire-eater Corinthius, turned into a dark, cold, and ugly charred corpse at this moment.
He died at the stake.
Roy took a deep breath, and the wound on his ribs began to hurt again. Inadvertently, with a slight murmur, Evelyn opened her eyes, and her empty eyes coincided with the dark golden eyes in the crowd. Right together.