Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 169 The Capital Under the Iron Heel
Vizima, the capital city of Temeria, has a new master.

But the citizens don't like this new owner very much, because it is the army in black, the army in black that is full of evil in the north.

When the Black Army arrived, the city surrendered on the orders of Marshal John Natalis.

Marshal Natalis knew that Vizima could not survive the attack of the black army, so there was no need to let them die.

So it's better to open the city without blood, so that at least everyone can still remember the Lily Dynasty.

Because of this, Vizima was not slaughtered by the Nilfgaardian army, and the local industry was not relocated by the empire, so it was able to maintain its original appearance.

And Nilfgaard seems to intend to make the Vizima camp into a model area. Compared with the harsh behavior of the Empire during the Second Northern War, they can be regarded as benevolent in Vizima now.

But the citizens still didn't buy it, and the people in black couldn't even find many locals who were willing to cooperate with them.

But if the citizens don't like Nilfgaard, what can they do?
There are still golden sun banners everywhere, indicating Emperor Emhyr's unquestionable ownership of the city.

The ubiquitous black flags and black soldiers undoubtedly remind the people who is the master of the city now.

It was Temeria's nobles and knights who once swaggered through the city with large entourages, but now they have all become high-ranking officers of Nilfgaard.

The Nilfgaardians will also let them patrol the city regularly with their armed cavalry every day, demonstrating the powerful force of the empire, and stifling any resistance of the local people.

It shames almost every Temerian to look at those black cavalrymen.

But there was nothing they could do.

However, many young men went into the forest.

"Anyway, Master George, that's the way it is now. The men in black are hanging their flags everywhere, emphasizing their presence all the time. And issuing all kinds of strict orders all day long, damn it, Either hang this one or that one, and I have to tell the men in black that if they do, the whole of Vizima will be against them."

In a Temerian tavern, Sheriff Vincent grumbles about the Man in Black.

His voice was very low, and his eyes looked out of the tavern from time to time, showing great vigilance.

And in front of him was George, the Griffin Demon Hunter. George was still the same, not much changed from back then.

As a demon hunter who once made a feat of slaying dragons in Temeria, George's reputation has already spread throughout Temeria.

No matter where he was, he was always called Master and Dragon Slayer, and he was treated with great respect.

As for why George is here, it is because the Griffin School has decided on the new site of their school castle.

The new site is in Floating Harbor, which is now Pertekt.

Grandmaster Elam realized that the Lord Protector of Aedirn's future was almost limitless.

So he decided to bet on Aden and move closer to Aden.

As a demon hunter master who is proficient in politics, Elan knows very well that only in this way can the reputation of the demon hunter be restored as soon as possible, and some other resources can also be absorbed from it.

Herme welcomed the Griffin School's choice very much, so he generously granted them a piece of hill near Pertekt.

However, the land has been approved, but it will take time to cut down the forest and level the foundation, not to mention the cost of building the academy.

Now the savings of the Griffin School can support the early and mid-term projects. As for the later decoration and various equipment purchases, more money will be needed.

Therefore, even in the winter, the demon hunters of the Griffin School work outside, desperately trying to make money.

Anyway, the griffins are really burning money, so the more money the better.

The current war is also a good time to make money. Once a war is fought, corpses are everywhere, and monsters run around. This is the experience that the demon hunters have summed up long ago.

The atmosphere in the whole pub was gloomy, and George could see that the people were full of complaints.

It was only because of the black-clothed soldiers who were patrolling the streets all the time that they did not open their mouths to comment sharply on current affairs.

The men in black will never show mercy to those who slander the empire behind their backs, and it would be best to receive a ten-whip package by then.

And this also made the atmosphere of the tavern even more gloomy.

George shook his head silently. He didn't like everything in front of him very much, but he was just a witcher.

"So, Vincent, what's it like serving under the Nilfgaardians? What do you think of the men in black's rule?"

"How to live or how to live, many things haven't changed so much, but compared to when His Majesty the King was still there, our work is much easier. Many times, the Nilfgaardians don't trust us at all, just let us stand Standing guard, maintaining law and order, and other things are done by their people. When the Nilfgaardians came in at first, I thought I had to be driven by the men in black as a "traitor from the north", but now, hey, the men in black are all I rushed to do the dirty and tiring work, and I happened to be fishing, and by the way, I provided convenience for some ambitious young men. Speaking of which, some of my ignorant subordinates complained that the men in black robbed them of everything, causing them I can’t go to the street to make money, I would say it’s stupid, and if I still do those things at this time, my reputation as a ‘traitor from the north’ is well established.”

Speaking of this, Vincent is so vivid.

If it were any other captain of the guard, losing so much power would be heartbroken, but Vincent could only be happy.

"So, how's your superhero career going?"

George knew the details of Vincent, knowing that he was the werewolf guardian in the dark night of Vizima.

"Now I don't have the guts. If I don't make it right, I will die."

Vincent drank a few sips of beer to moisten his throat, and his face was full of emotion when recalling those events,

"When the Nilfgaardians first occupied, I tried a few times, and then I was hunted down by imperial soldiers. Damn, those people's muskets used silver bullets, I almost confessed. But I I also found out that I don’t need to play next, the men in black basically wiped out all the gangsters in Vizima, and they hanged most of the gangsters.”

"Well, speaking of it, Sheriff, is there any job suitable for a witcher like me?"

"Work? There are a lot of them, but they are basically issued by the Nilfgaardians. The war resulted in a large number of corpses, and the corpses attracted hordes of corpse-eating monsters. These monsters entrenched on the road and even dared to attack The army's baggage car. The Nilfgaardians hope that someone will deal with the source of these monsters. The few waves they sent basically never returned. How about it? Are you interested in doing it? Although the men in black do not do very well It’s the same, but the remuneration they offer is quite high. Of course, there are several other jobs that are more suitable for you demon hunters, and you can choose from them.”

As Vincent spoke, he pulled out a bunch of yellowed notices from his pocket, rummaged through them for a while, and put a few on the table.

George rummaged through it for a while, and finally stuffed it all into his arms,
"Recently, our school needs money very much, so I took it."

"All? Master George, you are really generous."

Vincent was a little surprised, but didn't say much.

And then he lowered his voice and said with the voice of only two people,

"Some monster attacks, I suggest you don't get too deep into it, because it is likely that the guerrillas did it... In short, you understand what I mean. I know the neutral principle of you demon hunters, don't get yourself involved. If you are attacked by those boys in the forest, just give my name and tell them 'I know the werewolf sheriff'. And don't go too far north, the Redanians are over there, and there I am The relationship is completely useless."

"Thanks, Vincent, don't worry, it's not the first time I've been on a mission in a war zone."

George was glad he could have such a friend, and he knew very well how hard it was to find such a friend.

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the tavern, which attracted everyone.

I saw a large number of black-clothed soldiers swarming the streets, but compared to the heavily armored black-armored soldiers that the Vizima people usually see, the black-clothed men here are all extremely embarrassed.

Moreover, these people discarded their helmets and armor, and there were quite a few wounded. They were either supported by their comrades in arms, or directly lying on stretchers, with blood continuously falling from the bandages.

Clearly, the men in black have lost the battle.

"It seems that the men in black have lost the battle. May they all be infected with the plague. May Marshal Natalis and His Royal Highness come back as soon as possible to celebrate victory."

The failure of the man in black made Vincent very happy, and he gulped down a glass of beer.

And many people in the tavern were like this, quietly celebrating the failure of the Nilfgaardians with their tablemates, and then toasted together.

"May the Marshal and the others call back soon."

"Long live, cheers for the warriors who defeated the men in black."

"I hope these men in black get out of our town soon."

George's witcher hearing allowed him to hear this, but he pretended not to hear it.

"Victory."

George smiled. He was also infected by the atmosphere here, so he raised his glass full of golden wheat waves, and drank the beer in his hand against the strong aroma of wheat.

However, it didn't take long for the atmosphere of victory in the tavern to dissipate, because a few Nilfgaardians with whips walked in.

Under the stern gaze of these Nilfgaardians, everyone lowered their heads.

At this time, outside, a large number of Nilfgaardian soldiers were running across the street, heading for the frontline battlefield.

With so many black armored soldiers, many people lowered their heads subconsciously.

George sighed. Although the demon hunters held high the principle of neutrality, in his heart, he was always standing in the north. Regarding the current situation, what else could he do but sigh?

.

In the former Temerian royal palace, Nilfgaardian craftsmen are busy. They are removing the lily emblem in the royal palace and replacing it with the imperial sun.

In the gardens, the Nilfgaardian gardener is taking a break from the gardening, keeping it as it is, in an attempt to give the emperor something exotic.

The banquet hall is the focus of renovation. It must be more in line with the style of the empire, so as to be worthy of the identity of the emperor.

The Vizima Palace is the palace designated by His Majesty Emhyr, so Marshal Hawat started to renovate the palace after occupying Vizima.

"So, how much is the frontline loss this time?"

In Foltest's former strategic hall, Marshal Hawat looked at the map representing the North-South situation in front of him, and asked the general in front of him with bandages on his eyes,
"Two divisions collapsed across the board, another division lost more than half, and other divisions also suffered losses to varying degrees. It is currently estimated that our losses will reach 1 people."

"Failure, failure, or failure, O Great Sun."

Marshal Hawat was in a very depressed mood, how could he not be depressed?Eldran's disastrous defeat had just happened on the front foot, and was hit hard by the Redanian on the back foot.

Fortunately, the Aedirians did not show any willingness to attack further after going south to Elderland. Otherwise, if they cooperate with the current Redanian counterattack, the situation on the front line will be worse.

Now, in order to block the Redanians, he had to concentrate most of his available troops around Vizima, forming an impenetrable protective net.

Fortunately, this still had an effect. After the Redanians found that the assault was blocked, they began to shrink their offensive.

While rejoicing, Hawat was also a little bit disappointed. It was certainly a pleasure to push the Redanians back, but the big gift he had prepared for the Redanians was in vain.

It seemed that Radovid's sense of smell was much sharper than they thought.

Marshal Hawat thought bitterly.

Originally, he thought that when young people saw the flag flying in the air and the horn shouted, their blood would surge, and they would voluntarily run into him when they saw the loopholes he gave.

As a result, Radovid didn't care about these things at all, and he didn't play tricks at all. Instead, he would play tricks on these old things.

If someone is eager for quick success, they will fall headfirst into Radovid's trap.

Thinking about it now, they really underestimated Radovid. The young king did a series of things that they never thought of.

Regarding Radovid's ingestion of Kovir's crown, the Nilfgaardian officers and politicians all agreed that Radovid would not be able to tame Kovir in a short time.

The people of Nilfgaard are clear about this old opponent of Ke Weier.

You must know that Kevier is almost the only one in the entire continent who can compete with Nilfgaard economically, and they also have a fleet far stronger than the empire.

So, after fighting the Korvir for so long, the Imperials thought it was absolutely impossible for Radovid to tame their old foe anytime soon.

The Redanian army is bound to fall into the stalemate of Kovir. The imperial army can use this to quickly take Redania, and then they only need to concentrate on dealing with that Herme.

But the result was unexpected. Radovid used a speed beyond everyone's imagination to get Keweier's standing army to stand on his side.

Then the young king showed his powerful military skills, and the towns of Kovir, which declared freedom and independence, fell into the hands of Radovid one after another in a very short period of time.

Liberty Town didn't expect Radovid to move so fast. The king didn't give them any chance to gather troops.

Radovid is like a continuously rotating machine. The militia who defeated this town immediately went to attack the next town, and completely eliminated them before the militia from each town gathered.

Even the Free Corps was defeated by Radovid, and they crashed into Radovid's ambush circle.

The Free Corps is indeed a powerful force, and they fought bloody to the last moment.

But this did not detract from Radovid's victory, and most of those killed by the Free Corps were former members of Kovir's standing army, and the Redanians had no losses.

The leader of the most famous mercenary group in the Northern Territory was executed by Radovid. In Radovid's words:

"This is the price they paid for offending the real king."

Even Kevier's side was defeated so thoroughly, Hengfors naturally didn't need to say much, the Restorers over there couldn't survive a single round in front of Radovid.

Because Radovid's generous commission directly made most people in the alliance with a per capita mercenary fall to him.

The Kovir treasury that was taken over provided Radovid with a lot of money, and the powerful Kovir bureaucracy also provided great help to the king.

After integrating Kevier's standing army, Radovid directly pulled out 10 people.

And this is the first wave of mobilization, an army formed by Radovid considering his own abilities and the organizational limits of the Redanian Royal Army.

As long as he wants, he can pull out more people immediately.

Now, when the Empire seized Vizima, they found themselves facing two formidable enemies.

One is the difficult Lord Protector of Aedirn, and the other is the King of Redania who has risen like a comet.

It's hard to face only one of these two people, and now you have to face two, it's really...

In contrast, the Empire is all kinds of hands and feet.

Looking at the map and the black chess pieces representing the army, Marshal Hawat felt a wave of horrible emotions rushing towards him.

Of the 25 Nilfgaardian troops heading north, almost 15 of them were contained in the existing occupied area.

Either to maintain local law and order, or to guard against possible enemy attacks, or to monitor and besiege the existing Temerian remnants.

In other words, Hawat only has 10 troops at his disposal.

These 10 people are not enough to launch an attack on Aedirn or Redania.

Now the several roads that can attack Aedirn all lead to fortifications and castles in the end. It takes a long time to chew on these things, especially when the opponent still has the advantage of firepower.

As for Redania... to break through the Pontar River with the same force as the opposite side of the Pontar River?Isn't this a little whimsical?

In short, although there are a large number of artillery in the hands now, the fact is that the assault capability of the imperial army has seriously declined.

Today's imperial army is no longer the original imperial army. A large number of recruits and private soldiers are filling the ranks, and their combat effectiveness and discipline have been seriously affected.

Even with the strong inertia brought about by the glorious era of the imperial army in the past, it is very difficult to say how long this inertia can last.

Maybe it's already started to rot now, but he didn't see it.

Regarding this, Hawat Mohan felt that it was very difficult to describe it in words. When he was the deputy of Menno Cuhorn, he had great expectations for the position of Marshal.

Now, he is finally the marshal, and the result is nothing but headaches.

Moreover, he felt that his ability was still much worse than that of the marshal, who could handle the affairs of his subordinates in a smooth manner.

In contrast, he just suffers from headaches every day.

Even though his current predicament is due to the increase in the number of troops managed by his subordinates, it is also related to his own aptitude to make it so difficult.

Changing to Marshal Menno, he must not be as angry as he is now.

However, difficulties are difficulties, but there is still one thing to do.

Originally, Hawat was still hesitant about whether to do this, but after encountering the continuous offensives from Adenia and Redania, he finally decided to do so.

That is to push the Redanians to the other side of the Pontar River, whatever the cost.

Facing the threat of Redania and Aedirn at the same time is a passive one for Nilfgaard.

But it would be much better if the Redanians could be pushed to the other side of the river.

It also takes time for the Redanians to cross the river, and they cannot move in sync with Aedirn at all. This will undoubtedly offset a large part of the problem of being attacked by enemies on both sides for the empire.

And there is no need to worry about intervention from Aedirn in this wave of advance. The Lord Protector's forces are mainly concentrated in the Anglin area, and there are only a little over 1 people in the north.

Now Hawat has sent another 3 men there, which is enough to hold the fort in that direction.

Just think carefully about how to fight next. Annihilating the enemy is naturally the best choice, but with Radovid's slippery appearance, it is very difficult to catch him.

But being able to pull the front to the Pontar River is already a victory, both strategically and politically.

Politically, it mainly refers to the safety of Vizima. After all, this is where the emperor's palace is located, and the emperor has already planned to coordinate the northern war here.

Hawat looked at the military map in front of him, and with the help of his staff officers, he was constantly making new military arrangements.

At this moment, an envoy walked in. He had a badge representing the intelligence department of the empire on his body, representing the importance of his identity.

"Marshal Hawat, His Majesty Emhyr has once again gathered 5 people to go north, and the support army will reach the north in a short time. And His Majesty has decided to go to the North in January next year. Marshal, Your Majesty very much hopes that you can bring him good things." information."

The matter of reinforcements immediately raised Hawat's head. He is really short of reinforcements now. With these 5 people, he can liberate a lot of troops and invest in the counterattack.

"Please report back to His Majesty. I will definitely bring him good news. Soon, Radovid's army will be pushed across the Pontar River."

Hawat said affirmatively, with 5 more people in hand, if he can't do it again, he can just find a piece of tofu and kill him.

"Call all the teachers together, I want to hold a meeting immediately!"

With reinforcements, the marshal's voice became louder, and he is now sure to win the next offensive.

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)