Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 171 Emhyr's Going North
The first impression of everyone who comes to Waylon is poverty and desolation.

And the fact is true, Velen is the poorest place in the whole kingdom of Temeria.

So even in peaceful times when there were no bandits and deserters, Velen was an area no one wanted to go to.

Inaccessible swamps, poor villages, and impolite country bumpkins are probably the only impression people have of this place.

In short, this is an extremely inconspicuous part of the Temerian Kingdom.

However, Velen includes Thaned Island, where there is the famous Arethusa Academy of Magic, and next to it is Gos Velen, who thrives on the teachers and students of the academy.

Gos Velen is not so much a city as it is an appendage of Arethusa College, responsible for providing various services to college students and sorceresses—because it can also be seen that this group of people has a lot of spending power. strong.

The combination of these two places is the largest commercial center in the entire region, but these have nothing to do with Weilun.

And now, with the warlocks designated as traitors to the north, Thaned Island and Gos Velen were quickly besieged and looted by the Redanian army, turning them into ruins.

A large number of sorceresses and academy students were taken away, and what awaited them was King Radovid's rope.

But when it comes to this, although in Aden, the warlocks are also regarded as traitors in the north, but the Lord Protector did not attack the Ben Ade College in the territory, but only ordered the arrest of the members of the sorceress assembly.

The open-eyed and closed-eyed attitude of the Kingdom of Aedirn caused many warlocks to choose to flee there.

And the Adian people did not arrest the warlocks. Instead, they hired a lot of warlocks. It's just that the price given by the Adian people is much lower than the market price, but the warlocks have no choice.

Even if it was a job like digging ashes in the Pertek agent field, there were a lot of people rushing to do it, because at present, this is the only way for warlocks to make money in Aden.

Of course, you can also engage in traditional ways of making money, but in the current situation, it is easy to be targeted by Yadian officials who have been worrying about how to complete the tax collection target, and then they will be arrested and "confiscated all illegal income."

In short, the time of warlocks is basically the worst period since the emergence of this profession.

Continue back to Velen, now, this impoverished land welcomes the Nilfgaardians, welcomes the Black Legion.

"This land reminds me of those sacked provinces in the south, but it's the effects of war that have become like this, not here."

Torres, the commander of Les-Lane Division, sighed, what came into his eyes was full of desolation.

The uninhabited wilderness and the forest seem to be connected to the sky and the earth, and the trees are also stained with some abnormal and uncomfortable colors.

The stench of the swamp was everywhere, and beneath the surface of the calm waters there were often devouring pits—he had just seen a soldier swallowed by the swamp.

The roar of various beasts and monsters came from the forest and swamp from time to time, making the environment here even more terrifying.

As the breeze blew, the bone decorations hanging on the roadside made a crisp collision sound, filling this scene with more weird colors.

Torres has been fighting in the north and south for so many years, and he has seen basically all kinds of scenery.

But in such a harsh environment, he was really curious about how the locals survived.

There are forests and swamps everywhere, the land is not fertile, and there are wild beasts and monsters outside the village. No matter how you look at it, no one should survive.

But now is not the time to care about this. For Torres, these are just thoughts in his spare time.

"Master, there are still many infantry who have not yet caught up with our team. Should we wait here or move on?"

Someone asked,

"Go ahead, reaching Novigrad is the most important thing now, other things can be put aside."

"Yes."

Following Torres' order, the Nilfgaardian cavalry who took a brief rest quickly extinguished the campfire, put on their horses, and prepared to follow their division commander.

And everyone here, including Torres, didn't know what kind of fierce battle was waiting for them ahead.

All now move on under the banner of the Great Sun.

.

"It's okay, okay, fortunately, there are still some powerful people in Nilfgaard, so I don't need to write letters."

Herme, who was about to write a letter to Marshal Hawat of Nilfgaard, felt relieved when he heard the news of the fierce battle in Velen.

After all, he still didn't want to do such a thing. Once this letter was written, the Nilfgaardians would have something to use against him.

Although Hemei didn't write his name, he still had someone write it for him, and he could refuse to admit it, but this would be disgusting after all, and it would affect his reputation in future generations.

After throwing the already written "collaboration letter" into the fire and letting it turn into ashes, Hermey read the frontline battle report.

And the more he looked at it, the more the Duke Protector felt a little startled, he never expected the situation to develop like this.

In Velen, the Redanians still had many garrisons.

Twenty thousand Redanian soldiers controlled the various crossings on the Pontar River and were stationed in the important city of Oxfort.

After all, Velen is so close to Novigrad, just across the river is Novigrad.

When the Les Lane division arrived, the Nilfgaardian division with a total strength of 8000 was immediately besieged by the Redanians.

Under such circumstances, most people think that this Nilfgaardian army must be defeated, especially when this Nilfgaardian division actually only brought cavalry into the Velen area.

Duke Protector naturally thought the same way, but the development of the matter surprised him.

Led by the Nilfgaardian general named Torres, the Nilfgaardians took advantage of their cavalry and defeated the Redanian armies at several crossings before they could assemble.

And the Nilfgaardian general's operations were not over yet. After defeating the Redanians, he decisively began to collect all available ships, and quietly crossed in one night.

The Redanian army defending the river bank had not had time to slow down due to failure, so these Nilfgaardians took advantage of the loophole and were able to cross the river smoothly.

Next, Torres' cavalry attacked the Redanian siege battalion and burned all the siege equipment inside.

According to the informant's records, on that night, the siege tower burned brightly like a torch in the dark.

After all this was done, the Nilfgaardians took advantage of the ensuing chaos to break through the ferry, and were able to run back smoothly.

After such an incident, the siege of Radovid would naturally become unstoppable.

He was so enraged that he is said to have hanged several front-line officers, but it did nothing to help the status quo.

The whole of Novigrad saw the failure of Redania, and deterrence was difficult to carry out.

Moreover, as the Nilfgaardian army in the Velen area continued to increase, it was unrealistic for Radovid to continue to maintain the siege of Novigrad.

King Redania had to transfer a large number of troops to the banks of the Pontar River, preparing for a new round of struggle with the Nilfgaardians.

The siege of Novigrad was naturally lifted, and the city resumed normal business exchanges. A large number of business travelers who were unable to enter and exit due to the blockade and refugees from the south continued to pour into the city, making this free city now. A different kind of prosperity.

Seeing this result, Herme breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing could be better than the result now. Radovid's most important strategic task at this stage - capturing Novigrad has completely failed.

You know, in order to capture Novigrad, Radovid almost gave up the entire Redanian occupied area on the south bank of the Pontar River.

Now I have nothing, it can be said that I have lost my wife and lost my army.

However, the Novigrad crisis has been resolved, but a new strategic crisis has also arrived.

The arrival of this incident made Herme feel a great sense of crisis.

Emhyr himself led 8 people across the Manada Steps to the north.

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In January 1272, Emhyr var Enrith came to the north.

Many people call him Desven Arden in Karn Ep Morwood, which is an ancient word meaning "white flame dancing on the grave of the enemy".

He is the emperor of the Nilfgaard Empire, the lord of Medina, Ebin and Jimiria, the supreme ruler of Nasser and Vicvarro, and became the king of Sintra after marrying the royal family of Sintra.

The emperor's team is extremely majestic, countless solar flags fill people's vision, and the guards wearing the best armor in the entire empire guard the safety of the emperor.

After the Guards, there are groups of soldiers in black. Unlike most of the imperial army, they all have the standards of the Entrance family on them, indicating their true affiliation.

Attendants, nobles and ladies formed a tight formation around the emperor according to the Nilfgaardian etiquette, full of luxury and elegance belonging to the empire.

On both sides of the road, there were many northern residents kneeling on the ground, expressing their utmost respect to the monarch of the man in black.

Of course, people are unwilling to bow their heads to this commander in black in their hearts, but when the soldiers of Nilfgaard are standing by your side, what else can you choose besides bowing your head and kneeling?

And at the center of it all, Emperor Emhyr wasn't happy.

But then again, when was Emhyr ever happy?
This white flame always had a straight face, and it was never easy for people to see his true emotions. This also gave Emhyr many advantages in the Nilfgaardian court, which was like a den of poisonous snakes.

"North... Huh, after so many years, I finally came to the north again."

Looking at the land of Temeria that came into view, Emhyr said quietly, with emotion and sigh in his tone.

Unlike the Emhyr in the eyes of the world, Emperor Nilfgaard was actually unwilling to continue the war, and did not want to fight a third Northern War at all.

But the whole empire was pressing him to do so, and the whole of Nilfgaard was built on war.

If you want to keep this machine running, you can only rely on war.

The failure of the first two Northern Wars has already made interest groups, large and small, within the empire very dissatisfied

A few years ago, if he hadn't acted in time, there would already be a new monarch on the throne.

Emhyr understood that to continue the war was risking his own political life, but not to continue the war was also risking his political life.

After all, the empire relies on war to operate. Without the benefits brought by war, everyone is unhappy, and they will find him in trouble in the end.

Moreover, for everyone, since this emperor can't meet everyone's requirements, then just change to a new one.

This is not a problem that can be solved by killing a group of opposition groups. It is the opposition of the entire imperial rentier group.

This was something Emhyr realized at the end of the Second Northern War.

Therefore, Emhyr had to risk his life and had to prepare for a new round of conspiracy and army.

For this war, Emhyr gathered almost all the forces available in his hands, mobilized him and all the loyal supporters of the family, and mobilized an army from the royal private treasury, and finally took out this 8 people.

There are many young faces in this army, many of whom are descendants of noble families loyal to the Entrance family. They sacrificed their youngest sons for the emperor.

However, despite taking such a huge risk, the rewards are also huge.

If Emhyr can conquer the north in this battle, then all problems will be no problem at all.

It's not a problem that he is a series of compromises with the ancient family and the merchant association.

He will become the most wise and powerful monarch in the entire empire, the great unifier of the continent, no one can compare with him.

But in comparison, if he fails, he will be stepped on ten thousand feet, and he will never stand up again.

As for the current Northern War, the battle situation is not favorable for the Nilfgaard Empire.

Failure, as Emhyr saw failure everywhere.

Although they successfully captured the entire territory of Temeria, Redania and Aedirn are still as stable as Mount Tai.

Not to mention, Radovid of Redania also inherited the throne of Kevier, making Redania stronger and more resources available.

It is foreseeable that taking these two countries will require a lot of bloodshed and death, and whether it can succeed is a question.

Although the empire currently has an advantage in military strength, there is also a large field for the empire to spread out.

With so many troops scattered in the occupied area, no matter how advantageous they are, there is no advantage.

For the empire, the current war situation is really difficult.

Now, the only news that made Emhyr feel a little relieved was that the imperial army had finally advanced to the Pontal River, and the palace he had planned was finally not within the range of the Redanians.

Now on the Pontal River, only the fortress of La Valette is still in the hands of the northerners.

And the siege of this fortress was also in full swing. Emhyr knew the situation of that city very well, and knew that the city wall of that fortress had been blown down, and now it was only being repaired urgently.

Therefore, it is only a matter of time before the fortress is taken down, but it is impossible to use the White Bridge after the fortress is taken down, the Redanians will definitely destroy it.

However, he was very dissatisfied with what happened in Novigrad.

Hawat's political sensitivity was completely incomparable to that of Menno. If Menno noticed what was happening in the north, he would definitely lead the army to Novigrad immediately regardless of everything.

From this point of view, Hawat is too unqualified, and the mistakes he made are too huge.

If it weren't for the disobedient general, Novigrad would already be in Radovid's hands now.

But Emhyr couldn't substitute, and he had no other options.

Hawat is the only one among the current generals of the empire who is qualified to lead such a large army group. He is Menno Cuhorn's deputy, and he has accumulated a lot of experience in commanding a heavy army group beside the marshal.

He is the only person with such qualifications in the empire—and more importantly, he is a loyal emperor faction.

In other words, Emhyr could only hold his nose and continue using this person, because he had no one else to use.

If it was the empire before the Second Northern War, there would certainly not be such a problem, but one Brenner killed too many experienced commanders.

It was also this point that made Emhyr more determined in his idea of ​​going north, he had to handle all this in Vizima.

In addition, when mentioning the disobedient general, Emhyr couldn't help but think of two people.

His name was Torres, and there were two people with that name in Emhyr's mind, one was his grandfather, the founder of the Empire, and the other was the damned usurper.

Emhyr thought more of the usurper, even though he knew that person was dead, he couldn't help but think of that person.

Although Emhyr completely denied everything about the usurper, he was very clear about that person's abilities.

If it weren't for him, the empire would never be what it is today, and it would be impossible for him to take over such a powerful army back then.

Out of royal status, Emhyr wants to deny the usurper, but out of his personal status, Emhyr appreciates the usurper.

In his hands, the empire conquered the entire south, built an army that almost surpassed the entire continent, and he also reformed the empire in all aspects.

Although the reforms eventually led to his death, he did not have the courage to challenge the imperial system.

Suddenly, the emperor was surprised and realized that he was thinking about the story of the man whose name was erased.

Isn't that the one who has left?He is not in the habit of thinking about people who have already left the stage.

And then, Emhyr discovered something more wrong.

He actually remembered the name of the usurper, and remembered that he had the same name as his grandfather.

An ominous premonition welled up in Emhyr's heart. This feeling was very bad, and he didn't like it very much.

The emperor shook his head and drove these annoying thoughts out of his mind. He felt a little ridiculous, why did he care about these illusory things?It really shouldn't be.

However, the emperor thought so, but deep down in his heart, he was still deeply disturbed by it.

(End of this chapter)