Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 205 Roche’s Secret Action

Brokleon is a large expanse of primeval forest surrounded by Cintra, Brugg, Thorden and Verden, inhabited by various creatures such as dryads, goblins and wood spirits.

For humans, this place is very dangerous, because the tree spirits will not give any warning before setting off their hidden arrows.

Most of the humans who entered here died at the hands of tree spirits. The edge of Broklon Forest can be said to be littered with human bones.

This forest has experienced many wars, more than once. The human leaders of the countries bordering the Broklon Forest, including Verden, Sidaris, and Temeria, have all made up their minds to conquer this primitive land where tree spirits have settled. The forest burned to a white ground.

They transported tar and straw to the edge of the forest, but before the second silent arrow was fired from the forest, the humans gave up and fled.

The latest war against Brok Leon was initiated by the small country of Kairak, which in turn triggered a new round of siege from surrounding countries.

On the advice of a mysterious advisor, the usurping King Kairak launched a "scalp hunting campaign", encouraging everyone to hunt tree spirits and then use their scalps in exchange for rewards.

(For the story of King Kairak's rise to power, you can read The Witcher's "The Storm". As for the mysterious advisor, he is our Mirror Master.)
Due to the rich reward King Kairak offered, a large number of mercenaries gathered under the king's command. They burned the forest and hunted the tree spirits.

This offensive achieved an unprecedented result, that is, they killed the daughter of the Dryad Queen, but it also led to the anger of the Dryad Queen, and the ruler decided to fight to the death with humans.

In the long struggle that followed, humans gradually lost interest in this forest that was almost immovable, but the hatred of the Dryad Queen was far from disappearing.

Therefore, around the time of the Second Northern War, Brokleon became an important safe house for the Scoia'tael, where the dryads would house the commandos and kill any humans who pursued them.

However, after the Second Northern War, the format changed again.

The power of the Scoia'tael is getting weaker and weaker, the ancient race's resistance this time has ended in failure, and the number of commandos that Brok Leon has supported has become less and less.

What's more important is that human countries have begun to annex each other.

It turned out that the small western coastal kingdoms that had been at loggerheads with the dryads for many years were first annexed by Temeria and then by Nilfgaard.

Although Broccolion is exclusive, it is not isolated. News from all over the north has been gathering in this forest.

Dryad Queen Eisna had to admit a cruel fact, that is, after this war, a unified human government would inevitably emerge.

Years of war have made Eisna realize the difficulty of human beings. Several loose human kingdoms can plunge the kingdom of tree spirits into fierce battles. What about a huge country that unifies the entire north?

Eisna was wondering if their attitude towards humans should change.

She is not afraid of humans, and her hatred for humans has never dissipated, but she is responsible for the entire tree spirit race.

It was also at this time that with the counterattack, the Lord Protector of Aedirn, whose power expanded to Brokleon, entrusted the demon hunters of the Griffin School to send letters to Brokleon.

The Lord Protector of Aedirn expressed his respect to Queen Esna, and then, in the voice of a Temerian ruler, the Lord Protector made a promise and two demands to the dryad.

Herme promised that humans would not invade Broklon Forest during his lifetime.

As for why it's not forever, it's because the Lord Protector doesn't think the oath can last forever.

The Dryad Queen has seen many oaths broken with the change of human rulers in her lifetime, so Hemei also knows that even if such oaths are issued, others will take it for granted.

The two requirements are very simple. The first is to obtain the tree spirit's birth plan, and the National Protectorate Guild will arrange strong men for the tree spirit.

The second one asked the dryads to stop abducting human girls and not to operate outside of Broklon.

Of course, those who take the initiative to send girls into the forest are not included. Those who protect the country can't stop them even if they have intentions.

In order to reproduce, dryads will kidnap human girls, and the human women chosen to become dryads will drink a mysterious substance - the water of Brok Leon.

This will make their senses sharper and their bodies stronger... but it will also erase their memories of being human and become a dryad.

There is also the kidnapping of human men, mainly strong men.

Therefore, the role of these men in dryad society is not difficult to guess.

But when they complete their "duty", they will be banished from the forest forever... Although they always plead hard to stay, no one ever gets their wish.

After all, dryads have beautiful faces and hot bodies.

Moreover, in order to ensure the quality of the "stallions", the tree spirits will also serve them with delicious food and drinks.

The letter sent by the Lord Protector of Aedirn made the Dryad Queen think about it for a long time.

To be fair, the requirements sent by the Lord Protector were not harsh, and were pragmatic enough. There were no empty words or nonsense, which made Queen Eisna feel comfortable.

In fact, dryads don't have to pay anything and can still gain peace with humans.

After fighting the leader of the tree spirits and humans for so many years, Aisna looked at the casualties of her tribe and the strong fighting spirit on the human side. She had to admit the fact that if the war continued like this, the tree spirits would Sooner or later they will all be wiped out.

However, the Dryad Queen did not immediately agree to the Lord Protector of Aedirn's conditions. She wrote a letter of goodwill to the Lord Protector of Aedirn.

The war in the north has not ended yet, and the north has not yet ushered in reunification. It is very dangerous to reach an agreement with a certain family rashly.

However, this also allowed the two parties to establish a good relationship, and through this relationship as an opening, the two parties were able to conduct some cooperation.

Now, a group of humans are traveling through the Brokleon Forest. This was originally impossible, but now that the relationship between the Kingdom of Aden and Brokleon has eased, this has become possible.

This team is none other than the notorious Temerian special forces Blue Guard.

A few years ago, if this "famous" Scoia'tael destroyer had come to Brok Leon, they would have been destroyed immediately.

During the battle with the Scoia'tael, this team forced their way into the forest several times to encircle and suppress the Scoia'tael, killing many tree spirits and forming many conflicts with the tree spirits.

They are also the only team that has been able to storm out of Broklon Forest in recent years and exit completely, which made the tree spirits pay attention to them in those years.

But now, they are led by Queen Blockley's people through this forest.

It has to be said that things are really impermanent.

The once sworn enemy of Brokleon now walks in the heart of Brokleon's forest.

"It's so quiet here, it makes me feel uncomfortable. Even when I sleep at night, it's so quiet..."

"Hey, do you think that woman is really human? Everyone says she's actually a dryad in disguise."

"Who knows what's going on with this guy sleeping with the tree spirit..."

"Quiet."

Vernon Roche's voice suddenly sounded next to the whispering blue-clad Iron Guard, who had a straight face.

"Watch your mouth, because maybe the dryad will hear you."

Roche glanced around thoughtfully, seeing nothing but trees and forests, but Roche knew that things were not what they seemed.

His intuition told him that there must be tree spirits nearby, and there were quite a few of them.

They can annihilate them at any time if they want.

Under Roche's order, the blue-clad iron guards immediately shut up. They were still very temperamental in front of the old leader.

"Roche."

Just then, Weiss came over.

"That Minval wants to see you."

Mivar, this human woman was sent by Queen Broklon to guide them all.

It was said that this man had experienced an adventure with his old friend Geralt, but Roche didn't care. It was something that had nothing to do with him anyway.

Roche immediately walked over, passed through the advancing groups of blue-clad iron guards, and came to Mivar.

The female archer is now sitting on a large rock, waiting for Roche.Seeing her bow and the calluses on her fingers, Roche once again made up his mind not to conflict with this person.

No one would think of such an archer as her enemy...

"We are already reaching the place. This is already the edge of Broklon Forest. Continue going north. You have to walk the rest of the way by yourself."

"Thank you."

Roche expressed his gratitude very simply.

"No, I just completed the task."

After saying this, the female archer stood up and left here.

Roche watched her vigorous figure disappear into the forest, shook his head slightly, and threw out the idea in his mind of asking about Geralt's adventure story back then.

Next, he looked north, and then he was on his own.

He had to do a good job this time.

In front of Roche is the former capital of the Kingdom of Sidaris, which fell into the hands of Redania not long ago and was then occupied by Nilfgaard. Its name is also Sidaris.

After the agreement with the Lord Protector of Aedirn, the Temerian army was able to expand rapidly, and people in the recovered lands were happy to join the Temerian army.

However, no matter how hard the Temerians fought, they seemed like an inconspicuous supporting role compared to the Aedirnians.

This made both Roche and Natalis very anxious. They saw it in their eyes and were anxious in their hearts.

If the Temerian army does not perform well in this war, how can it continue to negotiate terms with the Aedirnians?
But now, although the Temerian army has recovered, it is still a weak force and cannot independently fight against the main force of Nilfgaard.

It is one thing to increase your voice through military exploits, but it is another thing to lose the last bargaining chip in your hand due to defeat.

The current Temerian army is the last source of voice in the hands of the Temerians, and it is also the guarantee for the existence of the current Temerian regime.

If it is also finished, then Temeria will really have no choice but to be controlled by the Aedirnians.

But we always have to compete for military exploits and the right to speak.

So, after several discussions, they finally came up with a battle plan.

This plan is to let Roche lead the Blue Iron Guard to the Sidaris area to organize the local Temerian remnant army and the Blue Iron Guard.

At the beginning of the Third Northern War, that is, during the period when Temeria was retreating steadily, John Natalis asked the remaining Temerian forces to withdraw to two places. One is the current temporary The capital is Carias, and the other is Hydaris.

Originally, this strategy was very successful. These two fortresses were like two nails, firmly nailed on the Nilfgaardians' buttocks, and they restrained a large number of Nilfgaardian troops.

If it weren't for Radovid's manipulations, Hydaris would still be in Temeria's hands, continuing to disgust the Nilfgaardians.

However, after Hydaris fell into the hands of Redania and Nilfgaard respectively, it does not mean that the Temerian power here disappeared.

In fact, there are still many remnants hiding in the forests there, continuing to resist the Nilfgaardians.

And there are many Temerian soldiers who were dismissed by Radovid. They have nowhere to go and can only stay here.

According to the information collected, their lives were miserable due to their past experiences, and they were supervised by men in black. These people could also organize themselves when needed.

As for the blue-clad Iron Guard here, they have entered a latent state on the spot and are still working tirelessly to cause trouble for the Nilfgaardians.

If these forces can be mobilized, taking down Hidalis will not be a problem at all.

In this way, Temeria gained a fulcrum that could move the entire battle, a pure victory that only belonged to Temeria.

As for the failure of this plan, it doesn't matter. At most, it's just a tie-up with the blue-clad iron guard - it's a bit cold-blooded to say this, but it is true.

Natalis had no intention of hiding this, and told Roche very simply, and Roche accepted it readily. He was not just doing these things, he was already used to it.

Even if he failed, it would only be the loss of one of his troops. His life was originally given by His Majesty Foltest, and it was nothing more than returning it to His Majesty.

Next, they contacted the tree spirits of Brok Leon and successfully borrowed the road from the tree spirits.

Of course the Lord Protector of Aden knew about this, and his attitude towards this was supportive.

If the Temerians make a big deal here, then the Nilfgaardians will definitely be even more confused.

Again, the more chaotic the Nilfgaardians are, the more he can benefit from it.

Of course, he also knew that the risk of this action was too great.

With the west side of Broklon becoming the lifeline of the Nilfgaardians, the safety of Hydaris is a top priority for Nilfgaard.

Hydaris was just right, threatening the supply lifeline that was now so vital to Nilfgaard.

Moreover, it is also a port city with complete facilities, and there are not many materials transported to Vizima from here.

If this place falls into the hands of the northerners, unless the city is immediately blocked with heavy troops and more supplies are mobilized from other sources to ensure the supply of the front line, the Nilfgaardian army on the Vizima side will immediately become unstable.

If they were lucky, Nilfgaard might even have to give up Vizima and start escaping to the south.

Once the Nilfgaardians start running, it will inevitably turn into a rout, and they will almost win the war.

But, the danger is very great, isn't that what special forces leaders like Roche do.

If it weren't for the fact that Temeria's relationship was mainly used here, Heme would even want to send Layla to take the Aedirian special forces to carry out this mission.

And for Vernon Roche, Herme had great confidence in his ability. He was Foltest's right-hand man, and he had too many achievements on his resume to count.

And to be honest, he recruited Roche just for his ability. Now that someone else is taking the initiative to carry out the mission, how can he refuse?
So he approved the plan and acted as an intermediary between them and the Dryad Queen.

After all, without the help of the Lord Protector, the Dryad Queen would never be able to deal with them.

But now, near the Brok Leon Forest, the blue-clad iron guards moved very quickly, and they arrived at the edge of the forest in a short time.

Here, they put on ordinary clothes that had been prepared in advance.

If you just wear the clothes of the Blue Iron Guard and operate in the area occupied by the men in black, it is not like fighting guerrillas. To be honest, there is nothing more stupid than that.

What they need now is to lurk in the Nilfgaard-occupied area and then contact the remnants of the army and spies. They cannot fight guerrillas like before.

Next, the Iron Guards were divided into many groups, with each group consisting of no more than seven or eight people, disguised as ordinary farmers and citizens, and then they would take different paths.

The big team was too conspicuous to do activities outside, and it almost said "I have a problem" written on their faces, so they had to form separate small teams.

This is also for completing different tasks.

In this land, the workload is huge if you want to contact so many people.

The moment he left the forest, Roche immediately felt that the feeling of being watched that had been lingering before disappeared, which made him look at the Broklon Forest behind him with deep meaning.

This confirmed his point. They were indeed under the surveillance of the tree spirits all the way.

Roche didn't think much about it. Since he had left Broccolion, he shouldn't think about Broccolion and should focus on the present.

"Espionage work...how long have I not done this kind of thing? I am still suitable for fighting and killing."

With this sigh, Roche took care of his clothes again, and then walked on the path of Sidaris.

The blue-clad iron guards also bid farewell to each other here. There is no need to worry about anyone seeing them here. Because of the tree spirits, there are no residents nearby at all, and the original human village has long been abandoned.

(End of this chapter)