Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 95 The confrontation with the spies
According to the ceremony, the summit went smoothly. After discussing many complicated matters, all this finally came to an end.

At the conclusion of the summit, the five Northern rulers reaffirmed the unity of the North and their determination to stand against Nilfgaard.

At this moment, the crowd around the summit burst into thunderous applause. Some people were happy that all this ended successfully, some people were happy that this boring summit was over, and some people were happy for the achievements they got at the summit. I am happy with so much information, and I am thinking about how to use the time difference to sell the news.

According to tradition, after the day's pageantry, there is a grand banquet in the evening.

The place where the banquet was held was in the main castle of the floating port.

Although the fortress is very simple, it looks so magnificent against the backdrop of countless candlelight and gorgeous decorations.

After all, as long as luxurious decorations and expensive utensils are piled up, even a dilapidated place will look expensive.

Hemei was very happy. Tonight was not the new type of banquet that warlocks advocated. If it was that kind of banquet, he would really vomit.

The so-called new-style banquet means that there are only a few tables distributed throughout the venue, with pitifully small food on them, and there are no chairs to sit on, so they can only walk around foolishly with wine glasses on an empty stomach.

This kind of banquet is used for socializing, not for enjoying food.

If you want to be full, you can only stand at the table and eat non-stop.

And it's easy to become an outlier in the whole banquet, and be despised by people.

He had to wear an annoying tight-fitting dress the whole time. Thinking of that kind of thing made Herme extremely upset.

Therefore, since he entered Wengerburg, he has never held a new-style banquet, and he has shown a deep hatred for it.

And under his influence, there are fewer people holding new-style banquets in the whole of Aden, and this has been supported by many traditionalists. In their view, the new banquets are simply inexplicable, and they should eat well instead of talking about what they have. no.

This is a traditional banquet. The guests sit down in order of status, and the attendants serve delicious meals for people to eat. The tables are full of food.

As one of the rulers of the northern countries, he naturally sat in the most honorable place of the entire banquet hall with other northern rulers, surrounded by the top dignitaries of the northern countries.

All can choose any broth and fish soup, with meatballs and fishballs, or tripe soup with liver meatballs, fish grilled in honey sauce, sea bass with clove saffron, and servants will bring what they need.

On the table there was roast meat with garlic, eggs with stroganoff, duck poached with cherries, capon in fat, roast lamb chops, lamb liver pie with groats.

Salad is an assortment of fresh vegetables, followed by caramel, puff pastry, beignets, assorted preserves and jams and, of course, dried fruit.

There are also seafood that warlocks use magic to catch from the bottom of the sea. These oysters, sea urchins, prawns and crabs are the freshest. Some of them are made into various dishes, and some can be eaten raw.

Of course, wines from Toussaint will continue to be available, including Hermey's favorite East of the East.

Herme is now drinking a ragout, a thick, flavorful stew with mushrooms, broccoli, artichokes and peas as a side.

He was extremely satisfied with this banquet. King Foltest's royal chef seemed to be very good.

At such a banquet, he just needs to toast with people from time to time, and he doesn't need to go hungry for continuous socializing, and he doesn't need to worry about those sorceresses with their heads full of pornographic waste coming up.

There were quite a few female sorceresses participating in this meeting, and Herme met several "acquaintances" during the meeting, and their dresses were naturally full of debauchery that belonged to female sorceresses.

The first time Herme saw them, her eyes were attracted by those tits and long legs. Some sorceresses seemed to be naked.

Then he suddenly realized that he was in a daze. These women definitely had magic ointment on their bodies, the kind of magic ointment that can increase charm.

Naturally, some of these sorceresses are interested in Herme. As a ruler who suddenly appeared on the northern political stage, Herme is undoubtedly very mysterious to many people, and she is still in her prime. Some sorceresses don't mind and He comes for a one night stand.

And Herme looked at them like a plague god. He never forgot what these women did. After thinking of those things, the thoughts in his mind disappeared immediately.

If he slept with these people, he might be cast a spell the next day and become a puppet from then on, or be eavesdropped by those sorceresses from then on.

So he just looked down, and moved away when he saw these women appearing, and let his guards block them.

He was a little thankful that the woman Philippa was not there. As one of the regents of Redania, he had to see that woman, and this guy might play some tricks on him.

Although she wears magic-blocking gold and Cliff's amulet, God knows how the sorceress will use magic, so she has to guard against it.

Without looking at the attendants of King Vizmir of Redania, they were manipulated by the sorceress' magic and assassinated His Majesty the King.

After finishing the broth, Herme ordered another lamb chop and began to cut and share the food.

Well, the craftsmanship of this Temerian is really good. The lamb chops are fat but not greasy, and there is no smell. The taste is very good.

King Foltest is teasing the beautiful lady beside him. The king who has experienced many battles among the flowers has already made the lady smile like a flower. No accident, they should have a happy night today.

Henselt ate very seriously and paid great attention to his manners. The king knew that his appearance was not good, so he kept a serious attitude all the time.

It's just that in Herme's view, it looks like a bear parroting its tongue, which looks very clumsy.

Prince Wilm dined elegantly and calmly, and the elegant and noble temperament exuded from his body undoubtedly attracted many people.

Coupled with the beautiful face inherited from his mother, he was undoubtedly the most eye-catching person in the entire venue, and even overwhelmed King Foltest for a time.

Herme was sure that there were quite a few ladies here who wanted to sleep with this prince, as well as the group of sorceresses and old women, they all wanted to "eat" such little fresh meat.

Herme now only hoped that those women would go to Wilm, and never come to him, because he regarded these women as a scourge.

As for those ordinary noble ladies, forget it, God knows if there are any spies in it.

Lord Protector just wanted to find a woman, and he had to thoroughly check the three generations of his ancestors before looking for a woman.

These women here, he is all flood beasts and potential enemies.

So, just focus on enjoying the food.

Around Herme, there was a scene of banquets everywhere, and most people were enjoying these delicious foods.

However, there are also many people who are still observing everyone on the field after eating, trying to figure out through everyone's behavior.

And Hermey was undoubtedly not among them. He participated in this summit just to go through the process and determine the future strategy of the Northern Alliance.

Now that the goal has been achieved, the next step is to enjoy the hospitality of the Temerians, and then go back to Wenger Castle after eating.

Of course, he knew that he was the center of attention of many people here, but he didn't care.

"Ahem, ahem, that Lord Protector doesn't seem to have anything special, but looks very ordinary."

The elderly, sniffling clerk, Ori Reuven, who was seen by Redaniami, stuffed a sliced ​​meat steak into his mouth, and then coughed several times in a row.

"If he was so ordinary on the surface, the situation in the north would not be what it is today."

At his side was Dijkstra, one of Redania's regents.

The huge spy was wearing a thin beige tight-fitting jacket, with his arms open, and he was constantly stuffing the food in front of him into his mouth.

On the surface, he looked like an idiot with only food in his mind, but the small eyes of the spy had been observing the entire venue and analyzing people's various behaviors.

He still remembers that when he went to Kovier to ask for help, and when he analyzed the situation in the north with King Kovier, he was very surprised by the development of the situation in Aden. collapsed early in the war.

The fighting methods of the Nilfgaardians were never seen by the northerners. Under such a swift and violent offensive, the unprepared Adenites were bound to fail.

Temeria still withstood the southern offensive after negotiating a separate peace with Nilfgaard and gaining [-] days to adjust the front line.

As for the Lord Protector of Aden, he not only withstood the Nilfgaardian offensive, but also defeated the Nilfgaardian army, and the Eastern Group Army was wiped out in his hands.

This surprised everyone. From everyone's point of view, the best thing for the Adian people was to maintain the front line. As a result, Herme directly wiped out the Eastern Army.

This is something that neither the emperor of Nilfgaard nor the rulers of the north expected. A Nilfgaardian heavy army group was actually destroyed in this way.

Herme's annihilation of the Eastern Group Army is a good thing for the North.

The morale of the soldiers and people in the northern countries has been greatly boosted, and the number of soldiers and donations continues to increase.

More importantly, the entire general situation has undergone tremendous changes. Originally, the North was full of pessimistic attitudes towards war, but after the victory on the Eastern Front, this mentality immediately changed, and turned into a fanaticism for victory, and an attitude towards war. Hatred of Nilfgaard.

Right now, the northern countries are seizing this opportunity to mobilize the country and prepare for the next round of war with Nilfgaard.

He also displayed powerful weapons called arquebuses and cannons, which Dijkstra felt had a great influence on the form of warfare.

So Dijkstra will not underestimate the ordinary-looking Lord Protector of Aedirn who is focused on eating and drinking. He is definitely not what he seems on the surface.

"Remember to arrange as many people as possible to go to Wengerburg to go to the Lord Protector. We need more information about him. I have specially allocated a sum of money and a group of people to inquire about the Lord Protector's information. Get as much information about Herme as possible."

Dijkstra was gnawing on a chop as he spoke.

On the surface, it can't be seen that he is arranging the affairs of these hidden fronts at all. This secret agent just seems to be enjoying the food, and he doesn't look smart.

It seems that this secret agent eats everything, but in fact his plate is full of very plain food, and he will not touch the dishes that overuse spices and reconstruct the shape of food.

As a secret agent, he knew that that kind of dish could hide some fierce poison, so he wouldn't even touch it subconsciously.

His voice happened to be the kind that only the two people around him could hear clearly. These two were his confidantes, so there was no need to worry about leaking the secret.

Ori coughed a few more times, looking rather unreliable, but Dijkstra knew he'd taken it all down.

Ori was his old partner, and these things came easily.

"Well, I still like this kind of banquet. Fei likes the kind of banquet where you can't eat much. You can only stand by the table and eat while everyone looks at the fool... Cough, it also reminds me of some bad things. Good memory."

Ori stopped talking here, just continued to cough a few times, and then continued to eat.

He knew what his old friend was referring to. During the coup on Shaned Island, Dijkstra's leg was broken and he could only walk with a limp ever since.

Regarding the reason for the broken leg, the intelligence chief never explained it, and he never mentioned it to anyone, but whenever someone asked about it, his expression would turn bad.

Noticing Ori's reaction, Dijkstra snorted disdainfully, then continued to eat, gnawing off the ribs in his hands.

The meal time was over quickly, and according to the rhythm, the attendants of the king of Temeria moved the tables and chairs.

Next, there was the dance party after dinner, and the men and women began to dance.

It's a moment that many young people look forward to, oh, and the ladies and sorceresses, who want to socialize, or to be attractive, or to be attractive.

Musicians played joyful music, bards began to perform their works, and entertainers also showed their unique skills at the venue, and a picture of a prince's night banquet emerged vividly.

In this era, lighting is a very luxurious thing, and ordinary people have to save money when using lights at night.

And this brightly lit scene is exclusive to the privileged class, and it is also the favorite scene of those revelers.

King Foltest was surrounded by ladies. This handsome king was very popular with the ladies. His hearty laughter kept making them laugh.

Henselt was similar, he was obviously a little drunk, so he still "showed his true colors" after all, no matter how the king looked, he looked like a bandit leader, not a king.

Dijkstra was walking around on the dance floor. Mi Tan's proficiency in etiquette and dancing was enough to surprise many people, and his agility was seriously inconsistent with his appearance.

However, Herme clearly noticed that this guy has actually been paying attention to the rulers on the field.

Of course, some people were not interested in this at all. They all sat on the chairs at the edge of the room, or chatted in small groups, or ate small desserts after dinner, and did not want to participate in the carnival scene at all.

Some of them are discussing hobbies with like-minded people, some are building bridges for their own children, and some are simply passing the time there.

Herme and Wilm were the ones who simply passed the time. The two of them sat in the corner of the room, chatting while eating dessert, surrounded by guards.

Except for the rulers of the other kings, neither of them will be seen, and both will be held back by guards.

Herme is not interested in socializing here, and his status can only be taken care of by others.

And although Wilm was spotted by many ladies and wives, he was not interested at all. He was exactly the same as his mother in this regard.

Both of them belong to young people, and there are still many common topics between them.

What is being discussed now is the topic of war, after all, this is the most important thing right now.

"...Yes, I agree with this, the lethality of a slash attack on the enemy is very effective. In the battle of Anglin, I set traps for the Nilfgaardians several times according to my mother's experience. Successfully defeated the Black Army."

"But the key is still on the front line. If the front line can't stand it, everything is useless. And excellent troops can only be obtained by training and fighting in battle. Now we have to hurry up and train this winter. Although I have dismissed the troops from all over Aden , but the militia training is still very tight, sweat more now, and shed less blood during war."

"Of course I understand this. My mother also issued relevant orders. But the key is to see blood. Soldiers who see blood many times are different from soldiers who see blood for the first time. Soldiers can learn it in 5 minutes on the battlefield." There's more to it than months of training."

"But that's another story..."

The two chatted happily. As for those who wanted to see them, they were all blocked by the guards, allowing them to communicate better.

The conversation between Herme and Wilm was watched by many people. As the ruler of Aedirn and the future ruler of Livia, their every move gave off political signals in the eyes of others.

But now, in their view, Aden and Livia are undoubtedly expressing their willingness to stand in the same camp. After this war is over, the two countries are likely to stand together.

It is normal for everyone to have such speculations. After all, Aden and Livia cooperated so closely in this war, and it is not surprising to reach a further alliance.

In reality, these two were just chatting to pass the time.

But they want to be idle there to pass the time, but some people don't want them to be idle like this.

Soon, someone came to the door.

"Lord Protector, Lord Dijkstra would like to speak to you."

Marondo whispered beside Herme, and Herme showed a surprised expression,

"Oh?"

Dijkstra wanted to see him?Well, it was one of those things he had to see, and it seemed the only thing he could do.

Although the secret agent came in suddenly, Hemei was not annoyed. He is also an outstanding man of a generation, so it's good to meet him.

"Since Dijkstra wants to see you, I'll avoid it."

Wilm knew how to measure, and immediately bid farewell to Herme.

"Okay, let's talk about it later."

After Wilm left, Dijkstra was ushered in by Marondo and sat where Wilm had been sitting.

It seemed that dancing had consumed a lot of energy for Mi Tanzi. There were beads of sweat on the top of his head, and he wiped it off with a towel when he sat down.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Master Dijkstra. I don't know why you came to see me?"

The guards filled two cups, and Hermi drank one of them.

And Dijkstra hesitated a little longer than Herme to drink the wine, which seemed to be a step slower in reaction, but Herme knew that he did it on purpose, to make sure there was nothing wrong with the wine.

It's really cautious.

"Oh, I just admire the prestige of the Lord Protector, and I want to meet you, the great hero who saved Aden, and get to know you a little bit."

Dijkstra's words were very sincere, as if he really came to see Herme because he admired his reputation.

But Hemei knew everything about the big fat man in front of him, what kind of admiration he had, it was almost enough to ask for information about himself.

"Of course, of course, I am very willing to make a friend like you, Redania intelligence chief Dijkstra, I have already admired your reputation for a long time."

On the surface, Herme was smiling, recalling very gently, the so-called diplomacy, isn't that the case.

Since you want to talk nonsense, let's talk nonsense. Herme thought of a way to plant some seeds in Redania.

They first talked about some boring topics, and Dijkstra obviously wanted to knock something out of him, but Herme swayed them all.

And after this conversation had been going on for a while, Hermey began to lead the discussion to something he wanted to instill in Dijkstra...

"Speaking of which, this time I didn't see the jewel of Tretorg's court, that Philippa Erhart. I have admired her reputation for a long time. I really want to meet this beautiful lady."

Herme said it seemingly casually, and his words made Dijkstra slander inwardly, you guys look at those sorceresses like you look at a scourge, do you want to see Philippa?What are you talking about.

"Fey is currently in charge of Tritog's government affairs. Since King Vizmir died under the command of the Scoia'tael assassination, the kingdom's internal affairs cannot be separated from her."

When mentioning King Wizmir, Dijkstra's seriousness flashed a little dark. Together with Wizmir, he created the powerful Redania today. hand.

This incident made Dijkstra blame himself very much. It should have been his duty to protect the king, but he failed to do it well.

And if it weren't for the king's death, the Northern Alliance would not be so vulnerable to Nilfgaard. Wizmir was the commander-in-chief of the North. Once he died, the countries began to act on their own, and a series of ugly farces emerged.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned this."

Herme made a "sorrowful" look, as if he was really saddened by King Vizmir's death, "Tell me why King Redania was assassinated, and why there was a half-elf among his attendants, that's all. I am very puzzled."

"Arranging a half-elf servant is His Majesty the king's kindness to the non-human races in the country. Naturally, the candidates for the servant must be strictly scrutinized. But I didn't expect this assassin to make his resume so perfect that he escaped our review. Three generations of his ancestry have been fine, but he didn't think he was a Scoia'tael."

When this incident was mentioned, some doubts flashed in Dijkstra's eyes from time to time. Whenever he thought of this incident, he would feel that something was wrong.

The half-elf, whose life and family had been closely watched the entire time, showed no Scoia'tael inclinations, and suddenly became an assassin.

This can only be explained by the dead warriors cultivated by the elves, but judging from the life trajectory of this half-elf, something is wrong. He is only in his twenties. Could it be that the elves predicted today's situation 20 years ago?At that time, began to arrange the dead soldiers?
Although this explanation is rather far-fetched, it is the only explanation that is currently acceptable.

Coupled with the many affairs brought about by the outbreak of the war, Dijkstra didn't think too much about them, and could only concentrate on dealing with state affairs and quelling the chaos caused by the assassination of the king.

"Although the king is dead, Redania has you and saved the precarious situation at that time. If it wasn't for this, Redania would have been in chaos long ago."

Herme complimented Dijkstra, and the mention of King Vizmir was indeed correct.

Given Dijkstra's affection for the monarch, it was enough to immerse him in some kind of emotion, thus allowing him to gain the dominance of the conversation.

Next, I will continue to dig into the assassination of the king...

"There is also Fei's efforts. If she hadn't acted decisively and controlled the situation in Cuitoge, the situation would probably have become more difficult to deal with. The death of the king made some ambitious people in the country and traitors who took Nilfgaard's money It's all about to move..."

Dijkstra recalled the situation, and the more he recalled it, the more wrong it felt.

At that time, Philippa's reaction was a little too quick, even faster than his secret agent.

Combined with the doubts about the assassination of the king that I thought of before, Dijkstra's thinking formed after years of intelligence work involuntarily turned in a certain direction...

However, his doubts about Philipa were broken by his admiration and trust for the sorceress in the next moment. He saw Fei's efforts on Redania, so how could she be a traitor.

But after thinking this way in his heart, his thinking logic kept telling him that the problem was serious. You must know that he and Philippa had benefited the most from the assassination of the king.

But the secret agent finally suppressed these emotions.

Then he suddenly realized that the Lord Protector of Aedirn in front of him had been inducing him to think about Vizmir—this words were so obvious.

As a person who is proficient in this way, Dijkstra now really feels ashamed. He hunted geese all year round, but was blinded by geese, which is really shameful.

He immediately turned the topic to other directions, and some of them continued to chat with Herme. The current conversation was obviously not as tentative as the beginning, and the secret agent was obviously tired.

And after a while, a Redanian soldier came and told him something needed to be done, and Dijkstra said goodbye and left.

And now, he has forgotten all the things that Herme induced him to think of. The Lord Protector of Aedirn must be trying to provoke their unity in Redania.

Seeing Dijkstra's leaving figure, Herme smiled.

After this discussion, more or less, Dijkstra must rethink the king's assassination.

As for how much change this can bring, it depends on God's will.

Anyway, this is just an idle game, it would be nice if it could explode in the future, but it doesn't matter if it can't be activated.

Thinking of this, Herme asked the guards to fill him with Toussaint's wine, continued to enjoy it, and then went to Wilm to continue chatting with the Prince of Livia.

(End of this chapter)