Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 510: Vera without reservation! Redemption of sins!

Everyone's eyes were on Vera.

She was silent for a few seconds, then turned aside and ordered, "Mary, take Ms. Ada Emin to the alchemy room. You know where to get the materials you need."

"Yes, mentor."

Mary looked at Arryn reluctantly, then respectfully led the way, taking Ada Emin out of the castle hall.

"Alin, come with me."

Vera nodded to Arryn and turned back to walk towards the stairs leading to the upper floors of the castle.

Arryn glanced at Vesemir, Dante, and Aristo, then followed in silence.

"Boom~boom~boom~"

The dull footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

In the stone corridors connecting the castle floors, there is a coldness and dampness that cannot be dispelled even in the hot summer.

He thought Vera asked him to follow her just to find a secluded place where they could talk about the chief's situation.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the deserted stone corridor and closed the door, Vera did not stop. The sorceress, who always liked to use portals to travel, now patiently walked up the stairs with him.

"You use the Othrop Sign well. There are few demon hunters who can practice the Othrop Sign to your level."

Vera did not bring up the matter of the Chief the first time they were alone.

Ailin didn't know what Vera wanted to say, so he could only humbly say, "Some simple applications are not as good as real spells."

"The best is the one that suits you best," Vera shook her head. "Although normal spells are more practical and powerful, for demon hunters, sigils are more suitable auxiliary means."

"Many people believe that Alzu is the master of genetic modification. In fact, he is also an absolute genius in the elemental destruction school."

"The exquisite structure of Alzu's Thunderfall Technique is the pinnacle of magical aesthetics..."

"Improving magic is not a simple matter. The status of sigils in academia is underestimated..."

Ailin continued the conversation intermittently, and the topic gradually extended from the practice of seals to the development of the entire demon hunter system.

Vera spoke vividly and in detail.

The positioning and development of the Demon Hunting Corps members has always been a question that Ailin has often pondered.

Vera's words gave him a lot of inspiration in theory.

At any other time, he could stay in the alchemy room and listen to Vera talk all day long, and he would even be willing to pay for the knowledge.

But now, Ailin just felt a little uneasy.

What exactly happened to the Chief that required Vera to lay the groundwork like this?
Although he has always had some rebellious ideas, the Wolf School cannot do without the chief as its backbone at this time.

Otherwise, before he could achieve his goals and deeds of taming the great griffins through hunting, defending Elland, and expelling evil gods, and integrate the gradually developing Demon Hunting Corps with it, the Wolf School would have been disbanded.

Soi is the founder of the Wolf School, and he has such a status now.

Besides, why did Vera prepare for him like this and even dismiss Vesemir, Dante, and Aristo?

Is it possible...

[Alin, do you want to be the chief? ]

As Soi's shocking question echoed in his mind, Ailin's heartbeat quickened.

"Da~da~da~"

The sound of footsteps struck the lonely stone steps.

As she spoke, Vera gradually fell silent and stopped in front of a pointed arch window with a pattern of burning flames.

Outside the window, the pale city walls, the scattered training grounds, the staggered roads with tiered steps, and the scenery of half of Kaer Morhen are in full view.

The last time I discussed the Migration School with Soi on behalf of Duke Mason, Soi and Ailin discussed it in detail.

These seemingly ordinary furnishings and roads, in addition to their basic functions, will become sharp swords that open blood grooves and stab the enemies when foreign enemies arrive.

But who among the truly smart enemies would storm a fortress deep in the mountains?
They only know how to deceive, assassinate, and form alliances, cutting the flesh with a blunt knife, piece by piece, and then dying either unexpectedly or out of necessity.

Across a thick city wall, the moat flows rapidly, sparkling, heading eastward.

This unnamed moat rushes down the mountain to meet the Lexila River and eventually merges with the Pontar River, which separates the north and south and flows west to the North Sea.

Vera looked at the sunlight outside the window in silence for a long time.

Ailin did not urge him, and followed his gaze to see the apprentices training on the training ground.

Those are witcher apprentices who are going through the witcher's "choice" stage.

A group of small figures were waving wooden swords and swaying on the training log bridge, dodging the pendulum that was hitting them back and forth, under the scolding of the old witcher in training.

No matter how the death rate of the Grass Trial and the Mountain Trial has dropped, the Demon Hunter Trial is still hard.

But Ailin is not going to change this. Every drop of sweat he sheds now may save their lives in the future.

in fact.

If the death rate of the Trial of Green Grass is excluded, at least in this era, being a demon hunter is still a pretty good career path, respected and well paid, because being neutral will basically not be affected by war.

As long as you survive a little, you can still have a fairly high survival rate and live a long and well-fed life.

Unfortunately, demon hunters are rarely cautious, especially when they are young and energetic. Young reckless men always hope to surpass their limits, challenge more powerful monsters, and seek glory.

But even so, they lived better and longer than many commoners, even knights.

After all, war is the most terrifying monster.

"Erin, what do you think of Shadia?" Vera didn't turn around, and there was no emotion in her voice.

Shadia… Arlin frowned.

He thought that after the long silence was broken, the topic that would come up would be Chief Soi or the future of the Wolf School.

"Shadia..."

Aelin recalled.

Shadia and Ms. Vera used to be good friends, but they became enemies because of the conflicts and wars between humans and elves.

During the war, she was inferior to Vera, and her spellcasting ability was abolished and sent to the Temple of Meliteli.

Then she disguised her appearance and practiced medicine in the northern continent. She fell in love with Viscount Haxor's knight, and was hunted by Kaedwen and Ban Ade because of the fragments of the Gate of Ad Ghaith. Eventually, she caused the destruction of Lysa's family. She struggled to survive for a long time in the abandoned mines and the illusion-woven orchard.

and so……

Which part was Vera asking about?

What is Shadia’s political stance, ability, and character?

Or what impact will the relationship between Shadia and Himles Findabe have on the Wolf School?
"Which aspect?" Ailin asked puzzledly, "I have only spent one day with Shadia, and I don't know her very well yet."

"But she should have a high status among the free elves. Forming an alliance with them will be beneficial to the current Wolf School."

"No need to." Vera was silent for a moment, then said, "Shadia is a pure-blooded royal family of Ain Sheed."

"Tifsof, the last king of Ainhidi, who swore allegiance to Ludovik, the first human king of Toussaint, and laid the last brick of earth for the elves' lifespan of more than 1500 years, was her great-grandfather."

"Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many elves following the white rose of Shayla Wade during the Ailerian uprising." This was the first time he had heard of this. So the claim to the elven kingdom actually lay in Shadia's hands.

Francesca Findaby really is an elf princess... Ailin raised his eyebrows.

Vera continued, "Under the current situation, it is not a bad thing to unite with the free elves. You have done a good job."

"but……"

Vera paused for an inexplicable moment: "I don't want to ask about the alliance..."

She pointed out the window.

Ailin looked over and at the end of his sight was the training ground where the apprentices were training.

What does this have to do with Shadia?
Ailin was puzzled.

Before he could ask his question, Vera took a deep breath and said:

"Do you think Shadia did the right thing?"

"Just because of a prophecy, she sent her blood to Kaer Morhen and planned the path of the demon hunters for them?"

Only then did Ailin notice that there were indeed a few apprentices in the training ground who looked familiar.

Dark blond hair, and slightly pointed ears, but not as pointed as those of a normal elf.

Half-elf!
Those apprentices were all half-elves, descendants of Shadia and Knight Hod.

To be honest, if Vera hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten that there was such a group of half-elves in Kaer Morhen. In addition to the half-elves, he had also forgotten about the "accidental child" he brought to the mountain - Yennefer's biological brother.

After all, he was not the demon hunter responsible for training apprentices. It would take several years for the apprentices to enter Kaer Morhen, pass the trials, and reach the level of joining the Demon Hunting Corps and hunting monsters independently. He did not have enough energy to spend on the training of apprentices for the time being.

and so……

Why would Vera ask such a question?

Vera rested her hands on the windowsill, looking at the half-elves on the training ground, and said, "Shadia could have brought them all to the settlement of free elves, allowing them to live a life that was not necessarily stable, but at least safe and prosperous."

"But now, they have been sent to Kaer Morhen because of a prophecy. If it weren't for your essence, only one or two would have survived..."

"Do you think," Vera turned back and stared at him, "that they will hate Shadia?"

“Being used as a bargaining chip by your closest relatives to bet on your fate…” Ailin looked at the thin figure who staggered to avoid the pendulum. The crisp sound of the wooden sword falling out of his hand was clearly audible even from such a distance.

"Should... should probably..."

Ailin was a little caught off guard. He didn't understand why Vera asked him such a question.

And is this question something that needs to be thought about?

There must be hatred!
Except for the orphans among the apprentices who were chosen by the out-of-town demon hunters, whether they were commissioned as rewards or accidental children following the law of accidents, there were very few who did not hate their parents.

Just like Lambert of the Wolf School in the original book and the game, nearly a hundred years have passed, but he still hasn't forgotten his drunken father, and Geron Moreau, the child of Thomas Moreau of the Griffin School...

Too much is too much.

What’s more, these half-elves had just escaped from the prison cells made of illusions and had not yet enjoyed a normal life, but they were sent to the Wolf School because of the prophecy of the “Son of Miracle” that Shadia firmly believed in.

How is this different from abandonment?
What Shadia did was definitely wrong, and the half-elves must hate her. There is no need to empathize or think about it carefully.

"Yeah, how can I not hate her?" Vera looked at Ailin, sighed in her heart, and murmured softly.

"What's the matter, Lady Vera," Arlin asked tentatively, "Does Lady Shadia want to take them all back? Is this another condition of the alliance?"

If that's the case, it would be really troublesome.

The Wolf School only allows people to enter and never leave. This is the most strict rule of the Wolf School. Otherwise, they would not have offended so many forces in the Northern Continent.

"No," Vera shook her head. "This time when we went to the free elves' base, Shadia didn't even ask this question."

“That’s…that’s really heartless…” Ailin raised his eyebrows.

These half-elf apprentices are really unlucky to have such a mother.

But this is quite consistent with Shadia's usual style.

You say she is heartless.

Shadia abandoned her noble status, settled down to travel around the northern continent, and saved many people.

Not only did she accept the pursuit of an ordinary man whose title was just a knight, she also gave birth to many children for him, and tried her best to protect Lysa, the heir of her benefactor Viscount Hudson.

But you have to say she has feelings.

Because of the difference in ideas and the so-called love that followed, she not only cuckolded her elf sage husband, Himles Findabe, but also abandoned her young daughter, Francesca.

Now several other half-elf offspring were also sent to Kaer Morhen.

It’s hard to comment. It’s hard to comment.

Vera looked at Aelin, who was only fourteen years old but had already made such a great name for himself. She was silent for a long time before she sighed softly.

"Yes!"

"A person who uses his loved ones as bargaining chips to bet on their fate is more than just heartless..."

"If such a person could still pray for forgiveness, the gods would feel it was unfair and would bring down the most cruel punishment."

The candle flame kept jumping and trembling in the darkness, but it could only illuminate half of the sorceress's face.

Before Ailin could ponder the meaning of his words, Vera glanced at the half-elves in the training ground with a complicated and pitying expression, her skirt brushing against the wet stone steps.

"but……"

Vera seemed to have made up her mind, and her dull tone suddenly became particularly powerful: "The sin must always be made public, even if it is difficult to redeem."

"Come on, I'll take you to see Soi."

Sin... Redemption...

This doesn't seem to be talking about Shadia...

And to see Soi?

With a frown on his face, Ailin, who had not yet extracted any useful information from Vera's meaningful words, looked at Vera in confusion as she walked up the stone steps.

Under the dim candlelight, the spiral corridor seemed to have no end.

But there is no end, and this is not the road leading to the chief's residence.

The corridors connected the guest rooms and vacant utility rooms. There were no functional rooms like the library or alchemy room, and no one visited them except in severe winter.

Why is the Chief here?

Why hasn't he seen the messenger of the free elves for three days?
What happened in these short two months?
Why do Aristo and Vera remain silent?

The fragrance of orange mixed with cardamom was blown towards him by the plain skirt, just like when he pried open the door of the alchemy room.

Listening to the echo of the dull footsteps, Ailin was troubled by his uneasy mood, like the dark clouds gathering before a storm.

"Don't ask, Ailin, don't ask." Vera seemed to sense his emotional fluctuations. "I know you have a lot of doubts. After meeting Soi, I will tell you..."

"Without reservation, not a single word is left out..."

(End of this chapter)