Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 565 The Demise of Cordwin's Kingdom Lies at the Foot of the Mountain! (4400 words)
"Boom~"

An orange-red portal suddenly appeared, startling a flock of birds on the fallen maple branches and breaking the silence of the woodland.

Erin hurriedly stepped out of the portal, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the sudden, blinding light.

The situation was urgent, and the "good girl" wasn't around. Upon hearing the news, he dropped everything and immediately teleported back.

This is the spatial coordinate he had stored in advance. It is not far from Kaer Morhen, and because it is near a cliff, witchers usually do not come here, so it is a good coordinate point, but he has never used it.

Because of the visit of the sorcerer Ban Ad at the beginning of the year, Kaer Morhen has a ritual that constantly alerts people to abnormal spatial fluctuations, so he did not set coordinates in the room, and also to avoid being discovered by Philippa Ehrart.

After determining the direction, Erin headed east and soon saw the ancient, gray-white walls of the Ancient Sea Fortress.

The fortress's drawbridge was open, and there were no guards at the entrance or on the walls.

This made Erin frown.

"Are they going to watch the excitement?" he wondered to himself, quickening his pace.

It's not surprising that Wigfordtz clashed with Aresto, Elni, and Klar.

Everything that had been agreed upon should have been resolved cleanly and efficiently in the village of Kel at the foot of the mountain tomorrow. There was no need for others to know so much, so Erin naturally didn't say anything.

Young witchers all vividly remember that sudden and helpless "kidnapping," and Aresto was probably there to help.

He has always had a bad temper and little patience.

Although Mary's voice was panicked and she didn't convey much information through the lovebird, the story's development was logically clear and not difficult to deduce.

He just didn't quite understand.

Why did the schedule for tomorrow, which was just confirmed last night, suddenly change?

And why did they suddenly come to Kaer Morhen?

What are Tissaya de Veres and Wigfortz up to?
"Tap tap tap~"

Stepping quickly out of the shadows beneath the castle gate, the keen senses of a witcher could already detect the bursts of noise in the air.

Fortunately, it was just noise, without any sounds of fierce fighting.

Erin breathed a sigh of relief, but following the direction from which the sound came, he quickened his pace a bit.

After leaving the barbican at the entrance of the ancient sea fortress, we passed through another iron gate.

In the shadow of the distant Kaer Mohammad Castle, a large crowd had gathered and blocked the way.

Erin thought for a moment, then instead of rushing closer, he took out a lovebird from his chest and released it.

The crystal-clear bird circled once in mid-air before flying straight towards the main castle.

Erin followed the direction the bird flew and saw the figure he was looking for.

“Marie, where is Ms. Tissaya de Veres?”

Erin nodded briefly to the apprentices around him who recognized him and greeted him, then grabbed Mary's arm by the yew tree at the bottom of the steps.

Mary shuddered and turned around abruptly.

Upon seeing Erin, he was first delighted, then surprised: "You...didn't you go to find Big Stone and the others? How come you're back so quickly?"

“I finished my business and came back early. I was almost at Kaer Morhen when I saw the lovebirds flying by,” Erin said casually, then quickly asked, “Ms. Tissaya de Veris, where are the other two?”

"Didn't you say they clashed with Aristotle, Elni, and Klar?"

The matter was settled... Mary looked up at the sun, which was not far off in the afternoon and was just beginning to set. She felt something was wrong, because Erin would often spend the whole day at the rock troll camp.

I've never been this early before.

However, upon hearing Erin's question, she put that issue aside: "Oh, back then, Clay and Spencer were almost fighting with the Dean... Dean Tessaya, the male wizard she brought."

"Ms. Vera came first after hearing the noise."

"Then came Grandmaster Soy..."

"Not long before you arrived, inside there..."

Mary pointed to the center of the crowd.

Vera and Soy are here... Erin breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Do you know how they got here..."

"Eirin!"

Suddenly, someone shouted from the center of the crowd in front of Kaer Mohammed's main fortress.

The noise stopped abruptly.

Following the crowded people, a passage was made.

The voice belonged to Tissaya de Veres, who stood expressionless in the center of the crowd, facing Vera and Soy.

Erin looked over, but his gaze didn't linger on Tissaya de Veres for long. Instead, it fell on the two figures behind her.

One was dressed in a black men's suit, and the other in an elegant dress with silver and white stripes.

They didn't seem to be here to discuss some major event that would affect the political landscape, personal safety, and future prospects of the entire continent; rather, they seemed to be attending a banquet hosted by some nobleman.

“The source of the demon, Vigfortz, and his assistant and private secretary, Lydia van Bradwater.” Erin took a deep breath.

Theoretically speaking, this is actually their second meeting, and they ultimately won the last "meeting".

However, when they met again, Erin still felt a strange unease, far less relaxed than when meeting other familiar people.

Perhaps it was because of Vigfortz's astonishing feat in his past life—breaking Geralt's thigh with two blows without using any magic—or perhaps it was because of his shrewdness and political talent that allowed him to wield immense influence in the political arena of the North, manipulating numerous kings, emperors, and sorcerers at will...

Of course, it's more likely that it's both.

Vigfortz noticed Erin's gaze, leaned down slightly, smiled, and nodded at him.

Lydia van Bradwater simply stared at him without making any comment.

However, both of them appeared quite calm, not at all like they had just gone through a conflict.

At that moment, Erin suddenly realized that although the sudden arrival of Wigfordtz and Lydia van Bradwater in Kaer Morhen was an accident for him.

But for them, Kaer Morhen was far from a good place, filled with an overwhelming sense of hostility.

"Who gave them that confidence? Tissaya de Veres?"

In an instant, he had many guesses.

“Erin…” Mary tugged at his sleeve worriedly.

"It's nothing," Erin shook her head.

He walked through the passage left by the apprentices, up the steps, and into the center of the crowd. He paused, then stood next to Vera.

"Aelin! He's that warlock!" Klay whispered from behind Soy, who was being pulled along by Aresto, his face still showing resentment.

The other young witchers were united in their hatred of the enemy.

"I see."

After nodding to Clay and offering a reassuring gesture, Erin glanced at Wigfortz and then addressed Tissaya de Veres:
“I remember we agreed to meet tomorrow, and in the village of Kel at the foot of the mountain.”

"The time was indeed brought forward due to some unforeseen circumstances, but coming to Kaer Morhen was not our intention, but rather..." Tissaya de Veris suddenly paused, turning her head to glance around at the crowd gathered around her: "Are you sure you want to talk here?"

All around him were the apprentices' unwavering, eager gazes.

"Disperse! Disperse!" Aresto roared as if waking from a dream. "Corio, Clay, aren't you supposed to be guarding the city gates today? What are you doing here!"

“Barry, Villa…”

The apprentices immediately started shouting and scattered in all directions.

Soon, only a handful of people remained in front of the main hall of Kaer Morhen. Once the crowd had thinned out, Arryn was about to call Vesemir to take the young witchers to training.

After looking around, he couldn't see Vesemir, nor could he find Dante and Jerón Morlu.

This shouldn't have happened. Dante might have been maintaining order in the village of Kael during the war, but Vesemir and Jerón Morlu shouldn't have failed to notice such a commotion at the main castle gate.

and many more!

Erin suddenly paused in his glance around.

Philippa Ehrert doesn't seem to be here either...

But this isn't the time to dwell on these minor details...

“Fred, take Clay, Ajax, and Spencer to training. I’ll check on them in a bit,” Erin said, turning back to give them a brief instruction before looking at Soy.

Soy nodded, and then spoke his first words after Erin's arrival.

"Let's go, my room is more suitable for discussing things."

Just say it.

Tissaya de Veres looked at Soi in surprise, then at Erin.

If it weren't for Erin's youthful appearance, she might have even thought that the Grandmaster of the Wolf School was Erin, not Zoe.

Moreover, not only did Vera remain unmoved, but Aresto, a veteran witcher master of the Wolf School, also seemed quite used to it.

This……

It seems I need to reassess Erin's position within the Wolf School... Tissaya de Veres's eyes flickered.

Wigford and Lydia van Bradwater were equally surprised as they looked at each other.

The gates of Kaer Morhen's main castle opened, and the crowd filed in.

Seeing that Mary had followed along looking bewildered, Vera waved her hand and said, "Mary, go back and teach Yennefer..."

“Let Mary come too,” Erin interrupted. “She’s also a member of the Wolf Hunting School, and I have something else to discuss with her after this.”

Suddenly being stared at by several eyes, Mary froze, looking helplessly at Erin, then at Vera:
"Teacher, I..."

Vera looked at Erin silently for a few seconds, her eyes flashing: "I'll listen to Erin."

As soon as she finished speaking, she waved and walked into the castle hall. The others exchanged glances and followed closely behind.

“E...Erin…” Mary pulled Erin along, “quietly” falling a few steps behind the group. She cautiously glanced at the backs of the people in front of her and asked in a low voice, “Why…why did you call me along?”

He was like a daydreaming underachiever in class, but after class, he was inexplicably dragged by his top-student classmate to the office to ask the serious homeroom teacher questions.

It's more like a socially awkward little squirrel.

Erin couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile, and whispered back, "You're also an important figure in the Wolf School..."

Mary, a key figure in the Wolf School, tilted her head, stunned, and subconsciously pointed to her pale face with her index finger: "Me?"

“You forgot, you’re also a chief warlock,” Erin chuckled softly, “and later, I have… two things to give you…”

"Huh?" Before Mary could even process that the chief sorcerer in front of her was the chief sorcerer of the Demon Hunter Legion, her face flushed bright red when she heard the second half of the sentence, "Erin is going to give you something."

She lowered her head, stealing glances at the few people just a few steps away, and whispered, "What...what...what are those things?"

"We'll see when the time comes," Erin said, then quickly caught up with the main group.

Mary froze for a moment, her mind filled with the things Erin would give her, and she no longer had time to think about the Wolf School and Aretusa, or why she had to ask him to come along.

Watching Erin act as if nothing had happened, he followed Aresto's retreating figure.

Mary, now a bright red apple from being fished, stomped her foot on the ground, her mind brimming with curiosity and imagination:
"What an annoying person!"

……

Speechless all the way.

The group arrived at Zoe's room, which was actually the main hall of a normal castle.

"boom!"

After Mary, who was the last to leave, gently closed the door, the group did not immediately begin discussing business.

"Crack~"

A snap of the fingers.

Two bottles of Dongzhidong and eight crystal glasses appeared out of thin air, were filled, and then gently landed on either side of a long oak table.

“This is the treatment I deserve,” Tissaya de Veres said, taking a sip of her wine and straightening the lace on her cuffs. She looked at Soi and Vera and said meaningfully, “I thought Kaer Morhen didn’t welcome me, an outsider.”

Soi and Vera didn't speak, but looked at Erin.

Erin hesitated for a moment, then could only say hastily, "I'm sorry, this is not the Wolf School's intention. The just and lawful Tissaya de Veris will always be a distinguished guest of the Wolf School..."

Tissaya de Veres, who was gazing thoughtfully at Soi, countered, "Isn't the unjust and lawless Tissaya de Veres also an example?"

“Of course not.” Erin shook her head gently.

“Oh?” Tissaya de Veris raised an eyebrow. “Because I helped your Wolf School in the Drakenberg affair?”

“No!” Erin shook his head again and said, “Because it is impossible for Tissaya de Veris to be unjust and lawful, you will always be a distinguished guest of the Wolf School.”

Tissaya de Vera paused for a moment after hearing this, then smiled and looked at Vera: "You have a good apprentice."

Vera didn't speak, but gently shook her head.

Aresto's expression suddenly turned strange for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. However, this slight change in expression was caught by Vigforts.

Wigford picked up the crystal glass filled with scarlet wine, his gaze lingering on the oak table, lost in thought.

At this time.

"However, it's not that they're not welcome, it's just that they're targeting someone else."

Erin changed the subject, looking at Wigfordts and Lydia van Bradwater.

“That is indeed my fault,” Wigfordts said frankly, looking up with an apologetic look in his eyes. “I will offer you a gift as an apology in a moment, and of course, even if the gift is not to your liking, we can discuss other ways.”

"But for now, let's talk about business first..."

"After all, time is of the essence regarding the village of Nakel down the mountain."

Regarding the matter in Kael's Village... Erin paused, then looked at Vera, Soi, and Aresto.

Vera and Soy were just as bewildered as he was, but Aresto's expression was strange.

He glanced at Soy several times, his left hand, which was slung over the oak table, seemed about to rise but he hesitated, and in the end he said nothing and did nothing.

This sparked Erin's intense curiosity.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

Tissaya de Veres and Vigfortz exchanged a glance, then said solemnly, "Erin, didn't you ask us why we came uninvited?"

Erin opened his mouth, about to refute Tissaya de Veres's words.

She waved her hand to interrupt him, saying, "Because there are people in the village of Kyle down the mountain that we can't easily see."

"Who?" Erin exchanged a glance with Soi and Vera.

“Rado,” Vigfortz took a sip of his wine, speaking softly before Tissaya de Veris, “the heir to the Unicorn Dynasty, King of Ad Kalai, Grand Duke of Ban Ad, the last ruler of Cordwin—”

"Rado".

(End of this chapter)