Demon Hunter: School of the Wolf.

Chapter 627 The howls of wolves echoed throughout Kaer Morhen!

"Valelio...Valelio..."

The young wizard, Ban Ade, suddenly opened his eyes at his companion's soft call.

The first thing you see is the slightly glaring morning light, and Shaquille's pale face, with dew glistening in his eyelashes, hair, and the lines of aging.

A sleepy Valerius immediately realized that he was no longer on the soft velvet bed in the tower of the mage Ben-Ade, nor in the newly opened pink tavern in the city, filled with the scent of perfume...

He was in Kaer Morhen, an ancient sea fortress, a witcher's sanctuary, a city surrounded by wolves...

As the enemy.

Valerius shuddered; the damp morning dew dripped from the tips of his trembling hair and into his collar, causing him to shudder again.

"His-"

He gasped, quickly clutching his collar, then laboriously rubbed his neck, which was even stiffer than the fallen maple leaf leaning against him, and said:

"Hug...sorry..."

"I think... I accidentally fell asleep..."

“No need to say ‘seems,’” Shaquille raised an eyebrow and said irritably, “You were asleep, and sleeping soundly, snoring louder and louder. You’re not upset that I disturbed your sweet dreams, are you?”

"No, no..." Valery scratched his head awkwardly, quickly changing the subject, "But is it already dawn? Why is a castle on the very edge of Cordwin, deep in the mountains, so heavily guarded?"

He turned his head to look at the still heavily guarded walls of Kaer Mohammed, then buried himself even deeper in the grass.

Shaquille didn't seem to mind Valery's awkward attempt to change the subject.

After all, Valery can't really be blamed for this. Although sorcerers often stay up all night for research, experiments, or simply for fun, that's only possible when they are completely absorbed in their work and in a state of high excitement, without any external interference.

Here, one must seize the opportunity when Kaer Morhen's defenses are lax, and remain constantly on high alert, as fatigue accumulates much faster than usual.

Of course, Shaquille O'Neal is different.

As a sorcerer skilled in tracking and divination, he often searches for rare materials for Hen Gedimidis and secretly tracks the whereabouts of certain people. He has become accustomed to high-intensity hunting and stealth.

Ban Ade doesn't have any dedicated stealth or combat mages, so demanding that a young sorcerer obey orders without question and not even get any sleep seems a bit too harsh.

What's more...

If he hadn't tacitly approved, how could Valeryu have slept until dawn? In fact, if his snoring hadn't become increasingly loud, and if Shaquille hadn't been worried about disturbing the guards at Kaer Morhen, he might have let him sleep a little longer.

It's not that I feel sorry for Ban Ad's juniors, but rather that the young wizard's combat strength fluctuates greatly depending on his own condition.

It's always better to have one less person monitoring than to have an extra burden when something unexpected happens.

“Kaer Morhen’s defenses are indeed unusually tight,” Shaquille nodded slightly. “The guard posts, troop rotation points, patrol routes… are more meticulous than many border fortresses in Kodwin, Temeria, and Redalia…”

Valery breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Shaquille had overlooked the fact that he had taken a nap.

He looked up at the increasingly dazzling sunrise in the sky, then glanced at the ancient sea fortress that seemed to be gradually awakening with the rising sun, and frowned.
"The sun has risen; the castle gates should open soon. Shall we act then?"

“It’s too dangerous,” Shaquille shook his head. “Even if we could sneak in during the day, it would be difficult to cause a major disturbance.”

“Senny only asked us to test the war machine on behalf of the Risberg Civil Cooperative Organization; there was no need to risk our lives…”

He squinted as he surveyed the city walls of Kaer Mohan:

"Let's go down the mountain first, and come back tonight when it gets dark..."

"With the castle so heavily guarded, some things can't be rushed."

Just say it.

Shaquille crawled back several steps before patting the stiff muscles in his thighs and calves and getting up.

Valerius followed suit, then casually asked:
"Should we inform His Excellency Sunny and the Risberg Civil Partnership about the postponement?"

Shaquille bent down to clear away the tangled branches in front of him and shook his head: "Lord Sunny is very busy, dealing with the free elves, settling refugees, preparing for the warlock kingdom, and dealing with other secular and transcendent forces..."

"This is nothing to us. We'll report back once it's done."

"As for the Risberg Civil Partnership..."

Shaquille turned to Valerius: "Let me give you a piece of advice, Valerius..."

Valery stopped and stared blankly at Shaquille.

“You are a male wizard of Ben Ade, not one of those ‘businessmen’ of the Risberg Civil Cooperative,” Shaquille said. “Remembering your identity and position is the only way to survive longer in this world.”

Valerius, still somewhat bewildered, tentatively asked, "So?"

Shaquille stopped, his brow furrowed, and carefully examined the young sorcerer with clear eyes, his face clearly saying, "Are you serious?" and "How can there be such a 'naive' warlock as you in Ban Ade?"...

“I didn’t inform anyone…” Shaquille rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Also, here’s another piece of advice: get involved…”

Before he could finish speaking, the howling of wolves suddenly broke the silence, interrupting Shaquille.

The two Ban-Ade wizards immediately cast magical shields on themselves, and when they looked in the direction of the wolf howl, they were stunned.

Nestled amidst lush greenery and dense forests, the grey and white castle stands like a towering giant among the mountains, and the howling of wolves emanates from within its walls.

what happened?
Shaquille and Valery exchanged glances, and after confirming that they hadn't been discovered, they crouched low and carefully returned to their original positions.

They found that…

The only sound at the walls, gates, and battlements of Kaer Morhen was the howling of wolves; within moments, all the guards had vanished.

At the same time, clear shouts and commotion came from within the towering city walls.

"This is... Kaer Morhen has been attacked?"

"There's no one outside the castle, so it's a portal?"

Valerius thought of the most likely guess, then his eyes lit up, and he excitedly answered himself, "Yes, it must be, Your Excellency Shaquille."

"If there were no powerful enemies, how could a fortress hidden deep in the mountains be so well-defended and heavily fortified?!"

Shaquille did not respond to the young wizard.

He silently squinted, the empty doorway of the ancient sea fortress like a dancer posing seductively on a soft bed, extending an invitation.

The opportunity they had been waiting for all night seemed to have finally arrived!
“What is this?” Philippa Ehrhardt listened blankly to the wolf howls echoing within the castle, her senses suddenly grasping a spatial coordinate, pointing to a location not far behind the Kaer Morhen fortress. “Is this some kind of celebratory ritual by the Wolf School to celebrate the arrival of the autumn equinox?”

"No!" Mary paused for a moment, then excitedly grabbed Philippa Ehrhardt's hand and rushed out of the south tower. "It's an alarm! It's Lady Vera's magical alarm ritual! Someone has broken into Kaer Morhen through the portal!"

"Let's go!"

Is it really something to be so happy and excited about that someone has broken into Kaer Morhen...? Philippa Ehrhardt wondered. But when she thought of the castle's current "residents"—the headmistress of Aretusa, Tisaya de Veris, the Crimson Fox Vera, the Dragon Slayer Soy, Aresto, Vesemir, and Dante—Philippa Ehrhardt was no longer surprised by Mary's excitement.

Even if this lineup were still around and led Ban Ade's sorcerers, they wouldn't have gained any advantage.

There's really nothing to worry about.

Even as she was being pulled along by Mary, panting as they ran, Philippa Ehrhardt felt a surge of excitement.

Leaving aside the three Wolf School witch masters, Aresto, Vesemir, and Dante, it has been quite a while since Tisaya de Veris, Vera, or Zoe have made a move.

Not to mention when all three are present at the same time...

"Which unlucky soul is it?" Philipba Ehrhardt muttered to herself. "Did they offend Lady Fate and suffer divine punishment?"

Along the way, witchers carrying longswords shouted as they came from all directions.

Philippa Ehrert noticed a very strange witcher.

The half-elf had long, sharp ears, and although his eyes were the signature wild beast eyes of a witcher, they were also a mixture of inky black, turquoise, and dark purple, and they also emanated a faint magical glow.

He had an unremarkable and unfamiliar appearance, and was definitely not a master of the Wolf School of Witchcraft.

But when one looked at him, a chill ran down one's spine, as if one had seen some ferocious beast. The Witcher masters of the Wolf School, such as Arestor, Vesemir, and Dante, were no match for him.

Even with his back to Philippa Ehrert, the witcher noticed her gaze, turned his head, and nodded slightly to her.

Who is he?
When did the Wolf School acquire such a figure?
Before Philippa Ehrhardt could respond, Mary had already pulled him closer:

“Philippa, this is Master Jerón Morú, the Witcher Master of the Griffin School…”

“Master Jerron, she is Philippa Ehrert, a sorceress of Aretusa, and a patrol sorceress of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers…”

The Griffin School's master witcher... Philippa Ehrhardt frowned slightly.

She was a patrol warlock of the Brotherhood of Warlocks, so she naturally had a good understanding of witchers. Moreover, the Gryphon School was the closest to the secular nobility and had the best reputation among all the schools.

She knew the names of all the Witcher Masters of the Griffin School, and there were many well-known ordinary Witcher of the Griffin School, but none of them were named Jerón Morlu.

“I haven’t returned to Kael’s Sirens yet, and I’m not a Witcher Master yet…” Jerón Morlü read Philippa Ehrert’s expression and gently shook his head.

Mary waved her hand: "It's only a matter of time."

Philippa Ehrhardt was even more bewildered upon hearing this.

What does it mean that "you're not a master witcher until you return to Kael'thas"?
Could it be that he just hunted a large monster and hasn't had time to return to the school for certification yet? But... how could that be?
Philippa Ehrert did not doubt Jerón Morl's identity or strength. Mary had no reason to lie to her, and the oppressive aura emanating from Jerón Morl far surpassed that of any other master witcher she knew, except for the dragon slayer Zoe.

But if he's so strong, he shouldn't only be able to hunt large monsters now, and he shouldn't have any reputation at all...

However, there was no time to ask questions in detail. After a brief nod and greeting, the three of them walked through the narrow alley, stepped through the open iron gate, and entered the barbican behind the city gate.

To everyone's surprise, no fighting broke out in the barbican.

Tissaya de Vera, Vera, and Soy had arrived at the location before the three of them.

"Boom~"

The orange-red portal disappeared, revealing two disheveled figures, both "acquaintances" of Philippa Ehrert and Mary—Vigorfordtz of the Demon Source Logeven and Lydia van Bradwater.

They looked as if they had just returned from a battlefield, their clothes tattered and their faces covered in dust. The heavy smell of gunpowder, blood, and rust mingled with the sweat of the witchers, lingering and rising in the walled city.

Fortunately, according to Philippa Ehrert's observation, Wigfordts and Lydia van Bradwater may have some injuries, but they are not serious.

The smell of blood should be coming from the dark mage's robes.

what happened?
Philippa Ehrert and Mary exchanged worried glances.

Wigford is key to saving Henry Gedimidis, but their predicament before the plan has even begun is hardly a good sign.

wrong!

This is no longer a sign, it's obvious. Wigford's scheme has probably been discovered by Ben Ade.

Philippa Ehrhardt's heart sank.

Although she declined the mission to rescue Henry Gedimidis for the sake of Rado, she absolutely did not want the rescue mission to be exposed.

The male sorcerers of the Northern Continent are already powerful enough. Once a sorcerer kingdom is established, it will only further squeeze the living environment of female sorcerers, and it will also affect Rado's plan to restore Cordwin's kingdom...

Tissaya de Veris had clearly anticipated this as well. Upon recognizing who emerged from the portal, the usually calm and elegant sorceress's expression changed drastically.

“Wiggeferts, Lydia, why...why are you here in Kaer Morhen at this time…”

"Still so...so..."

"Disheveled?" Vigforts chuckled, but the surrounding crowd could only see a slight smirk on his filthy face.

Tissaya de Veres paused for a moment, then nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Wigfordts looked around and bowed apologetically, “we encountered some unexpected trouble and didn’t expect to involve so many people…”

Tissaya de Veres then realized that there were too many people here, and it wasn't a place to talk.

“They’re not enemies now, disperse…” Soy waved his hand.

The witchers exchanged glances, curious but knowing it wasn't something they should know, and obediently left.

"Vigorfords, Lydia, what happened to you?"

Before the crowd had dispersed for long, Tissaya de Veres couldn't help but ask a question.

"Was...was the mission exposed and failed?"

“On the contrary,” Wigfordts didn’t keep them in suspense, “under Erin’s leadership, we have accomplished our mission…”

“Oh,” Tissaya de Veres sighed, “it’s alright, it’s good that you’re all alive. If the mission fails, we can always…”

"and many more!"

Tissaya de Veres looked up abruptly, staring at Wigfordts in disbelief: "What did you say?"

“Under Erin’s leadership, we have completed the mission…” Vigforts weighed the slightly drooping weight on his back and repeated.

This one action drew everyone's attention to the heavy object covered in black cloth that looked remarkably human.

Erin led...the mission was completed...a heavy, humanoid object covered in black cloth...

Tisaya, Vera, Soi, Philippa, Mary: ?

(End of this chapter)