In the prayer room, the witcher apprentices who had returned from the trial were chattering with some excitement, and the sound of female elves chattering was everywhere.

Although the ratio of males and females among elves is very balanced, female elves are often more talented than males in terms of fighting spirit and magic.

As a result, two-thirds of Leon's first apprentices were women.

However, even the male elves who were calm on the surface had irrepressible excitement and excitement on their faces, and the sound of discussion was far inferior to that of their female compatriots compared to penetration.

Fringilla led Serena to sit down on a chair in the back row of the prayer room, she was very popular, and someone came to talk to her as soon as she sat down.

"Fryne, why did you two come back so late? ”

Frigila's face darkened slightly, and she sighed: "There is some problem, our two original hunting targets were a brain demon, which manipulated the civilians of a small town and made them exert far more power than mortals, and as soon as we arrived nearby, we were discovered by it, and we were almost overwhelmed by its crowd tactics." ”

"And how did you come back from defeat to victory?"

Frigila smiled bitterly: "How can there be any defeat into victory, dealing with demons, just one negligence is enough to be fatal, if it wasn't for the teacher arriving in time, the two of us would have died a long time ago." ”

"The teacher actually went? He's been watching you?"

Fringilla's face showed a hint of blush, and she said with some uncertainty: "It shouldn't just be that we are observed, although the teacher looks indifferent on the surface, he is actually a good person." ”

"And then?"

"Later..... The teacher eliminated the brain demon and gave us the coordinates of the second demon, which was an ogre. ”

"Trolls?"

"Well, a demonic aberration, which feeds on humans, is capable of disguised human form, like the Skinner. ”

Serena chimed in, "That monster is disgusting. ”

"What's wrong?"

"I saw it take out the intestines of the dead, cut them into pieces and throw them into pots to cook. I was on the verge of throwing up, but we still couldn't tell if he was a blind ordinary person or a real demon. ”

Frynn's face turned pale, and even after being baptized by the Battle of Lothern, she still felt a strong feeling of vomiting when she remembered that scene.

Serena was a little glad and said, "I wanted to kill the innkeeper directly regardless of Thirty-Seven Twenty-One, but fortunately Flynn stopped me." In fact, the innkeeper was just a blinded ordinary person, and the troll's real disguise was actually a guest. ”

Fringira added: "The innkeeper is nothing more than a demon who has come out to test whether there is danger, as the teacher said, the demon is a rather cunning creature, and they must not be treated as unintelligent beasts. ”

Just as he was talking passionately, a cold snort sounded.

"Quiet. ”

The expressionless red knight walked straight in, and the apprentices immediately quieted down and sat down obediently, and the atmosphere became solemn in an instant.

His face was a little pale, but his tone was still stern: "You just completed the most basic trial, and you feel proud?"

"I watched the whole time during your trial - Judy, your mistake in the trial almost killed your teammates;"

"And you, Serena. ”

Leon looked at the optimistic and cheerful female elf and said seriously, "It is true that a fool can be a witcher, but you have to be self-aware. ”

Serena was embarrassed: "I ......"

Even if she's stupid, she doesn't want to be pointed out by others.

Suddenly, a female elf stood up and asked, "Teacher, Magina and Renar haven't come back yet." ”

Li Ang glanced at her and said expressionlessly: "They can't come back, because they were negligent and died at the hands of a blade demon." ”

The atmosphere suddenly fell to freezing point.

Li Ang patted the table lightly, attracting people's attention, and said solemnly: "This is just the beginning, hunting demons is always accompanied by danger. You have one last chance to repent. ”

There was silence in the field.

Leon raised his voice: "No one?"

Still no one came forward.

Leon propped up the table with both hands, and said expressionlessly: "Then get ready for the ceremony, from now on, there will be a new resident in your head, whether you control it, enslave it, or be controlled by it, it's all up to you." ”

...

Bang –

Leon walked out of the prayer room and closed the door.

As soon as he left the door, a series of suppressed cries of pain sounded in the prayer room, which were faint at first, but as the demon soul entered his body, bringing pain like tearing souls, their screams became louder and louder.

Anivia, who was waiting outside the door, couldn't help but show a trace of worry on her face: "Isn't it a problem for them to scream so badly?"

Li Ang said expressionlessly: "It's just a normal phenomenon." Anivia, becoming a witcher is not as simple as inviting guests to dinner, it is just a little pain, and it is not worth mentioning at all. ”

As he spoke, he added, "Help me keep an eye on them, I'm going to draw up a contract, and if there's any problem, call me at any time." ”

Leon plans to sign a contract with each of these witcher apprentices to test the amount of wish he can reap.

...

On the other side, in the northeastern part of the empire.

The whole grassland was dark.

Famine has always been a serious problem in the northeast of the empire, because the climate is bitterly cold, and unlike the Duchy of Stegia in the north, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and as long as the season is bad, there will always be starvation.

This is one of the reasons why Godon, the general of the Trojan Fortress, would order the execution of those orc women and children.

Those big aristocrats would choose to turn a blind eye to the starvation of their own people, let alone a group of alien women and children who had been hostile for many years.

The young officer rode a white horse and led a dozen attendants and knights to gallop wildly on the frozen frozen barren tundra.

Until, a ruined village can be seen in front of you.

He suddenly reined in his mount and stopped in front of a group of women and children who were returning from a trip with baskets.

"Where is this?"

A middle-aged woman with gray hair said, "Lower Valen Village." ”

The young officer turned back to one of his attendants and said, "Urenas, it seems that we are on the wrong track. ”

The attendant replied, "Your Highness, I will correct the course at once. ”

The officer shook his head: "Don't worry, today, we will stay in this Lower Valen Village." ”

The attendant hesitated: "But ......"

The young officer ignored him, and jumped off his horse, and he lifted the basket in the hands of the women and children, only to find that it contained patches of frozen and hard wet soil.

He was surprised, "What is this?"

The middle-aged woman replied, "As you can see, this is soil. A few days ago, a Stegia grain ship sank in the river, and we dug up some soil and sifted it, so that the leaked grain could be used to cook some porridge for the children. ”

"Has the famine reached this point?"

The young officer's face stiffened slightly, and he looked carefully at the group of women and children wrapped in thick clothing, but they must have been scrawny.

He ordered, "Urynas, give them the food we brought!"

Urynas said in a pleading tone, "Your Highness, we don't have time to care about these people, we must rush back to Karad as soon as possible." ”

"Why?"

"Why else? The Senate is about to pass the Four Emperors Co-Ruling Act, and you must fight for one of the thrones, even if it's not Augustus, it's just Caesar!"

Caesar is the official title of the vice-emperor, and the main emperor is Augustus.

This young officer was actually the only legitimate heir of the empire recognized by the Senate when Emperor Arenix was alive.

The young officer was silent for a moment, and then said softly: "To be honest, I don't want to fight for this position at all. ”

"Why?"

"It is true that the empire is too vast because of its vast territory, which leads to inefficient administration, and the localities are controlled by powerful nobles, and it is difficult to implement the central decrees, and it is difficult to do everything. ”

But at this time, the four emperors were co-governed, and the emperors elected could only be the spokesmen of various aristocratic groups, the nominal emperors, and the actual puppets, fundamentally solving the problem. ”

Urynas whispered, "Your Highness, but this is in keeping with our republican traditions. ”

"Two hundred years have passed since the era of the republic, and the empire is no longer the small city-state that was bullied by the barbarians, and at this time, it is really out of place to stick to tradition. ”

The young officer snorted coldly: "At the beginning, when my father was still alive, he desperately reduced the power of the Senate just so that the empire would have only one voice, but now you ask me to support the republican tradition?"

Urynas couldn't help but look sideways, "To be honest, I'm surprised that you could say such a thing. ”

"Hehe, do you all take me for a stupid pig?"

"The subordinates don't dare. ”

"If you have to be dirty in your heart, rotten in your lungs, and full of power and profit, to be considered a smart person, I would rather be stupid for the rest of my life. ”

The young officer's tone paused slightly: "Urinus, to be honest, I like life in the army very much, and I want to be a low-level officer in the frontier more than to be an emperor." ”

"Your Highness, I have to remind you that the reason why you feel that being a low-ranking officer in the frontier is very enjoyable is precisely because you are supported by the Senate and the only de jure heir to the imperial throne. ”

"But I have nothing but legal principles. My father never liked me, and unless I was willing to be a puppet of the nobles, I could no match for my young sister and my titular mother, now Her Majesty the Empress. ”

"But Your Highness, there is no possibility of retreat in the political struggle, you at least have the support of the Senate now, but if you retreat, ......"

"No but. Urynas, all these years of life in the army, I have seen a lot of things, there is no more disgusting creature in this world than nobles and big businessmen except demons, and I will never compromise with them. ”

The young officer remembered the massacre of orc women and children he had witnessed, who were only stronger and darker than himself, but other than that, they were clearly living people like himself.

As a result, there is not enough food...... There are not enough farts, and the granaries of those big merchants and big nobles are piled up, but they still raise the price of food, and watch the refugees starve to death.

In their eyes, there is probably no difference between the Imperial and the orc women and children, right?

It's just pigs and sheep.

The young officer smiled contemptuously, both self-deprecating and mocking the self-righteous magnates.

Urynas sighed lightly, "I don't support it, but I'll still carry out your will." ”

The young officer patted Urynas on the shoulder and smiled, "Thank you for your understanding, my brother. ”