In May, the scenery of the white orchard is more and more beautiful, full of vitality, and the birds are singing and fragrant.

You can watch the sun shine through the branches and leaves, order a beer at a village inn, and play a game of GWENT with the famous card masters.

Of course, if you're a Temerian patriot, you probably won't like the atmosphere.

Because it only takes a little attention to notice that the White Fruit Orchard is full of traces of war: collapsed houses, abandoned luggage on the side of the road, damaged vehicles, and terrified residents.

Temeria was already dead, and at the same time as the defeat at the Battle of White Orchard, another army of the Nilfgaard Empire captured the Thai capital [Vijima].

But life has to go on.

Apart from not being able to express condolences to his homeland in public, Nilfgaard did not restrict the behavior of the residents too much, and due to the presence of troops in Nepal, the security situation in the white orchard was much better than before.

With the end of the war and the gradual revival of commercial activity, more and more traders appeared in the White Orchard as a way to the capital.

There was a bald man who claimed to be a mirror merchant who wanted to come here to do a business.

But when he reached the front of the inn, he suddenly stopped and muttered to himself, "No, no, fate tells me that I have come at the wrong time." ”

With that, he immediately turned away without a hint of hesitation.

Leon in the inn seemed to sense something, raised his head and looked out the window, but found nothing.

"What's wrong?" The white wolf, who was sitting opposite, asked.

"It's fine." Li Ang retracted his gaze: "I saw it wrong, I thought it was an acquaintance." ”

"Let's move on."

"What was playing cards just now was just a joke, but you can think of me as a mercenary that Ciri hired to help. But alas, we lost contact when we returned to this world together. ”

Geralt frowned: "So you're from another world?" ”

Leon took a sip of rye wine and said, "Strictly speaking, all creatures in this world come from another world, it's just a matter of time. ”

It is no longer known whether there are protists in the world of The Witcher, but it is known that dwarves and goblins were the first species to land on this continent, followed by the elves, and humans were 2,000 years later than these races.

"Looks like you know a lot about the world."

Geralt looked at the man in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Li Ang said casually: "It's okay, I came here once, stayed in the land of fine wine - Towsente for a while, and worshipped a wolf school witcher as a teacher. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, his round pupils contracted into a bundle and showed a faint golden color.

"When you're out and about, you have to disguise yourself."

Viselmir suddenly asked, "Can I tell you the name of your mentor?" ”

Li Ang avoided answering: "This is not important, let's talk about Xiri." I knew where she was, but I couldn't get there. ”

Geralt, who finally had the whereabouts of his adopted daughter, was overjoyed, but his tone was still flat.

"Tell me carefully, I'm listening."

"Ciri has an elven friend named Avarak who used some kind of spell to hide Ciri in a place called the Isle of Mist. And if you want to climb the Isle of the Mists to find Ciri, you must first find this Avalak. ”

"Avalak." Geralt repeated the elf's name, then asked Viselmir if he had heard of the man.

The old witcher shook his head.

Although no definite news was given about the elf, Geralt was not discouraged.

The man in front of him, who claimed to be a mercenary, gave enough clues, even a little unexpected.

As soon as they meet up with Yennefer and find a way to find Avarak, they will hopefully be reunited with their daughter. As for the authenticity of the clues, Geralt didn't dig into it, because whether it was true or not, he had to try.

"Thank you very much, the information you gave us is very useful, I invite you for this meal."

"By the way, I want to ask you one more thing, have you seen it."

Leon had already guessed what the white wolf wanted to say: "Yennefa of Wengerburg, she used to be here a few days ago, the night was sinking like water, black and white Luo shirt, gooseberry fragrance. She seems to have some cooperation with the Nilfgaards, and as for her current whereabouts, you can ask the garrison commander. ”

"Don't ask me why I know so much, I said, Ciri and I are friends."

Geralt opened his mouth, and everything he wanted to say was said by the other side.

"Well, I'll go to that commander as soon as possible."

"Don't forget to bring a greeting gift." Leon drank the wine in his toast: "Like a griffon's head or something, after all, the Nilfgaard people will not help you in vain." ”

Geralt said meaningfully, "Looks like you have an opinion about Nilfgaard. ”

"I treat all the guys I don't know the same way." Leon said lazily, "My time is precious, so I want to save you some time." As a witcher, you should know very well that you have to pay someone to help, right? ”

Geralt was speechless and simply stood up: "I'll go find the commander." ”

The old witcher, who had been observing Leon, spoke, "I'm waiting for you here, and by the way, I'll have a few drinks with this little brother." ”

Geralt nodded, turned and walked out of the inn.

Leaving Leon and Viselmir to push glasses and change glasses on the wine table.

The old witcher originally wanted to get something out of Leon, because he always felt that this guy was not like a good person, and the wolf school would never be able to raise such a cub.

didn't think about it, Li Ang didn't leak a drop of water, and he didn't say who his teacher was.

Because he intends to save the surprise for last.

The two drank from noon to evening, and Elsa's cellar was almost at the bottom, and Rao was a witcher's body tolerant, and he couldn't help but feel a little drunk.

Fortunately, Geralt was back at this time.

"You guessed it right, the Commander does know Yennefer's whereabouts, but he won't tell me until I kill the griffon."

Li Ang's face was not half drunk: "Then what are you waiting for, go quickly." ”

Viselmir, however, was drunk and said, "My old bone may have to sleep before he can fight." ”

"I don't think it's better to do this, since you're also a witcher, then take Geralt on a trip. I'll give you a sweep of the formation, and by the way, see your swordsmanship. ”

"If you have a sword."

The old witcher was obviously pretending to be drunk, but the purpose was still to test it.

Li Ang knew it, but he still agreed.

Always reveal some real information to Geralt and them, so that the two of them don't have to guess.

After deciding, the three of them left the hotel in the night.

As a powerful high-level monster, even experienced witchers like Geralt and Viselmir need to be treated with caution.

They use their uncanny sense of smell to find their prey, which they kill with their sharp beaks and sharp claws. Worst of all, this extremely dangerous creature has no obvious weaknesses.

And they fly, come and go without a trace.

Geralt plans to use a special plant called Rhamcara grass, whose scent can lure griffons for ten miles.

Viselmir suggested attacking the griffin's wings with a crossbow first, and when it hit the ground, it would be much easier to deal with.

Leon said, "Why bother so much, come with me." ”

With that, he took the two bewildered witchers into the dense forest of cunning foxes.

Viselmir asked as he walked, "Why don't the Nilfgaard people go hunt griffons themselves, it should be simple for an army." ”

Geralt replied, "Although Temeria has been destroyed, there are still many resisters, and if too many forces are divided, it will affect the rule of the Nephgadians." ”

"Well, that's what the Commander explained to me anyway."

Viselmir then asked, "Then why did he have to kill the griffin?" ”

Geralt gave an unexpected, yet plausible reason.

"Defend the people."

"The commander is a farmer, and that's why he stopped his men from plundering the white orchards in the first place, and the griffin attacked Nilfgaard's army."

Viselmir nodded knowingly. I was about to say something more, but I saw Leon, who was walking in the front, stop.

"When we get there, do you see the cliff ahead, the griffon is on it."

"Find a way to lure it over, I'm waiting for you here."

Geralt wondered, "Why don't we go and besiege it together?" ”

Leon shrugged helplessly: "I want to too, but it will run away as soon as it smells me." ”

The witcher's sense of smell, reaction speed, and perception have all been greatly enhanced, but they are still much worse than real monsters.

For example, the griffon can detect Leon's danger, but the witcher cannot.

Of course, it also has something to do with the fact that Leon has no hostility towards Geralt.

"Okay, I hope you have the ability to keep it." Geralt drew the silver sword from his back and slowly reached for the edge of the cliff.

Viselmir didn't move, the griffon was a very vengeful creature, and one bait was enough.

"We should have done some decoration in advance."

"No, I don't."

Leon confidently took out a gorgeous sword inlaid with precious metals and precious stones:

"Didn't the master want to see my swordsmanship? It's a great opportunity to open your eyes. ”

Viselmir looked at the Sword of Night and Fire in his hand, "Hope it's not an ornament. ”

The witcher is used to focusing on practicality, and the old witcher is somewhat disdainful of such a pompous thing, even if this sword is ridiculously expensive.

A few minutes later, with a high-pitched, angry cry, Geralt's cat-like figure appeared in the field of vision of the two.

And above his head is a half-eagle, half-lion hybrid monster.

Although Geralt constantly used the terrain and agile movements to move through the dense forest, he could not escape the griffon's gaze. Interestingly, this monster only has one eye left, and the other has become a hole in blood.

Pain and anger caused the griffon to completely ignore the other two, and only wanted to kill Geralt.

"Let's go!" Viselmir drew his silver sword and prepared to support his disciples.

The next second, however, he heard the air tearing apart.

Leon turned into an almost indiscernible afterimage, and appeared in mid-air in an instant.

The straight sword cut through the moonlight, and the monstrous flames boiled, melting the clouds and reflecting the night sky red.

The griffon, which was swooping downward, could not avoid it, and its body was completely split in two.

Immediately afterward, the flames climbed its wings like a bone-eating maggot, and quickly crawled all over its body.

With a final unwilling roar, two huge fireballs with a scorched smell fell to the ground.

Li Ang, who landed with him, walked unhurriedly to the old witcher and showed off: "How is it, my swordsmanship?" ”

Viselmir, who was dumbfounded, came back to his senses: "You call this swordsmanship?" ”

"Back to basics." Li Ang Zhenzhen said: "You just say whether it was hacked to death by a sword." ”

Geralt stood beside a still burning fireball and exclaimed, "Whether it was hacked to death or burned is debatable." ”

Although the witcher could unleash flames through the Ignyi Seal, neither the range nor the damage could be compared to Leon's sword just now.

"So. Are you actually a warlock? ”

"Although I am very interested in sorceresses, but no, my profession is complicated, it is difficult to explain it to you, and slowly you will understand."

Li Ang's sincere attitude made the two demon hunters dispel the idea of getting to the bottom of it.

For now, everything Li Ang has done is to help them, which shows that they can be trusted for the time being, and continuing to ask questions without knowing what to do is unpleasant.

So Geralt took the initiative to change the subject: "I hope the commander will accept this greeting gift, and not treat it as a roast chicken." ”

Viselmir cut off the blackened griffin's head with his sword: "Let's go back first." ”

Afterwards, the three of them embarked on the journey back.

The Witcher was so relaxed that he even had time to discuss the reason for the griffon's appearance on the way back.

Griffons are known to live in the mountains, hunting marmots, rock sheep, and other creatures until they later discovered an easier prey to catch: domesticated livestock, as well as their owners.

But even so, the behavior of the griffons in the white orchard is still very abnormal.

It attacks humans so often that it doesn't look like it's hunting at all.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have time to find more clues." Geralt said with a little regret.

Viselmir was more open-minded: "We don't have that much time. ”

Demon hunters are not killing machines that kill monsters when they see them, they will study the habits and behaviors of monsters, and summarize their experience so that they can deal with similar incidents in a more appropriate way next time.

Seeing that the two were discussing so seriously, Li Ang was kind and decided to tell them the truth.

"It was revenge, the Nilfgaard killed its mate, or attacked the gonesses while they were sleeping, and smashed their eggs."

Viselmir suddenly realized: "No wonder. ”

Griffins have only one mate for life, and when one of them is attacked, the other will die fighting for it. For this reason, they were widely regarded as a symbol of courage and loyalty, and many princes and nobles preferred to use their image as a family coat of arms.

"I now strongly doubt that your profession should be a prophet or a prophet or something, otherwise how would you know so many things." Geralt swore by it.

Leon paused for a moment and said, "You can understand it that way. ”

He is familiar with the plot, and he can indeed be regarded as a half-hung prophet.

(End of chapter)