The golden morning sun pours down from the winding mountains, covering the flowing rivers, hillsides, meadows...

Yellow dandelions float by in front of you, dotted white zinnia flowers dot green lanoglin, beautiful butterflies chase among the golden celandineas...

Tap, tap, tap~

Three healthy horses galloped along the main road.

"Yu Yu~"

Hack reined in the steed, stopped at a fork in the road.

The young witcher was still dressed in a simple gray hunting outfit, looking clean and vibrant.

He rolled over and dismounted, and slowly walked to the gallows at the intersection.

It was a makeshift torture rack made of a few tree branches, on which hung three corpses swaying in the wind.

They ranged from Temerian soldiers in blue and white uniforms to Nilfgaard deserters dressed entirely in black.

"Yu Yu~"

"Ril~"

Amid the sound of people shouting and neighing, the two healthy horses behind him came up behind him and stopped.

"Deserters and rebels hanging from trees shall not be buried or assisted in the burial, and if caught red-handed, they will be immediately put to death!

--Governor of Temeria, General Marvin Rosin. ”

Hearing the contents of the announcement, the faces of the two witchers behind him did not change, Geralt put his hand on the pergola, looked at the distance of the road for a moment, and then said:

"Huck, don't bother, there's a white orchard ahead..."

The white-haired white wolf, sitting on his horse and watching left and right, had a melancholy look on his face, and his amber vertical pupils were full of eagerness.

"The Black-clad Legion of the Southern Empire Nilfgaard has reached the Pontar River, and the northern kingdoms have fallen from all south of the river, and the war situation is not in our favor..."

Viselmir looked at the corpse hanging on the hanging rack, sighed softly, and suddenly looked sad when he thought of the recent battle, and the situation in the north was rapidly collapsing and painful.

Months have passed since the Nilfgaard Empire launched the Third Northern War, and the situation is becoming clearer.

Taking advantage of the death of the kings of the northern kingdoms and the chaos in the country, the empire invaded again, annexing the kingdoms of Leiria, Temeria, and Aden in just a few months.

In the north, only the Redanian Empire, led by Radovid V, is still in a confrontation with the Blackcoats across the Pontar River.

Geralt also didn't look good, and he hoped that the North would win, both emotionally and politically.

"Teacher, don't you often say that witchers don't get involved in politics? Do we have to pick sides too? ”

Huck rolled over and asked a little strangely.

"Of course, we are on the side of the north!"

Viselmir moved his stiff body on horseback and looked at the village of White Orchard in the distance.

I don't know what I thought, the melancholy on his face faded away, and then he shouted heartily and loudly: "Let's go, I can't wait to drink a glass of pepper vodka from White Fruit Garden~"

As he spoke, he pursed his chapped lips and a smile appeared on his face.

The White Orchard is located northeast of Vigema, the former royal capital of Temeria, south of the Pontar River, where the North and South armies are facing off.

The trio set out from the depths of the Blue Mountains, crossed the entire Codwin, and crossed the Pontar River to Temeria because of a sorceress Yennefer.

The sorceress wrote shortly after, asking her old love Geralt to meet up with Willobay near Vigema as soon as possible.

It's just that the village has already been destroyed by the army, and they didn't see Yennefa when they arrived.

In desperation, the three of them could only follow the clues and follow her traces, and finally came here.

It was the first time Huck had truly stepped out of the Blue Mountains and started to come into contact with a world of war and disaster.

Along the way, the mountains and rivers, human geography, and even the beautiful scenery of the countryside are fascinating.

If it weren't for the devastation of the war, this season would have been a good time to visit.

"Hey, there's another announcement here, no, it's an entrustment~"

Huck, who had just mounted his horse, noticed that there was still a piece of paper on the other pillar, so he curiously urged the horse to take a few steps forward, and then leaned down and read:

"Commission: Water Ghost

Several water spirits have taken over our fishing docks, and these monsters are so ferocious that they have already injured several villagers.

If you have the courage and skill, help us get rid of them and you will be rewarded handsomely.

--Frank, the elder of Tadi Village"

"Tadi Village? If I'm not mistaken, it's not a long way down..."

Viselmir twisted his neck from side to side a few times, and in a rattling sound of joints, he looked at the fork in the road.

After thinking about it for a moment, he turned to look at Huck.

"Huck, you stay and take care of this for a while, and then come to us at the White Fruit Orchard..."

A few minutes later, the two horses were gone.

Turning an intersection, Geralt turned his head and asked, "Viselmere, are you really relieved that Huck is alone?" ”

"What's not to worry about? It's not like he hasn't killed water ghosts! ”

"You've been in the wrong state since Leo's accident two years ago, I thought..."

"Thought I'd always follow Huck?" Viselmir interrupted the White Wolf, "You're right, he's inexperienced and needs guidance..."

"Actually, it's good for me to go to Ye Naifa alone, you don't need to accompany me!"

"Who said I'm going to be with you?" The old witcher looked at him strangely, "I just want to go get some drink!" ”

“......”

Looking at the distant backs of the two, Huck withdrew his gaze.

From now on, he will go to complete the first demon hunting mission in his life independently.

After walking along the main road for about a mile, turning a small hill, I saw a village 100 meters away, with dozens of households.

Before lunchtime, there were puffs of black smoke, and bright flames could be seen jumping on the roofs of the thatched houses...

You can still faintly hear the cries and shouts floating in the wind, like complaining, like crying, like sadness...

In the war-torn kingdom of Temeria, death is everywhere and disasters are happening all the time.

Bandits and routs are more terrifying than invaders, and they are even more terrifying than the terrifying monsters and man-eating beasts that roam the countryside and forests.

Attacking villages that had no ability to resist, burning, killing, looting, and doing all kinds of evil, their actions were a hundred times more ferocious than the black-clothed barbarians from the south.

Many villages have been attacked, few have survived, and those who have fled to the forest in time have returned homeless.

Most of them end up either starving to death, falling under a butcher's knife, or reduced to the feces of monsters and beasts.

In addition to escaping the flames of war and struggling to make ends meet, the people living in this troubled land must always be on guard against the monsters and beasts that are everywhere outside.

"In this case, I am afraid that my first hunting mission will be aborted..."

Looking at the village that had been sunk into flames a hundred meters away, Huck sighed inwardly and urged his mount to run forward.

When he arrived, he realized that it was too late, and the rebels who had ravaged the entire village had left, leaving behind ruins and a few corpses.

Seeing the arrival of the witcher, the grief-stricken villagers looked angry, as if he was also one of the robbers, and all the misfortunes were brought by him.

The two swords kept people from moving, but they couldn't stop them from spitting on the ground with disdain, as if they could drown the freak in front of them.