The Witcher: Make Witcher Great Again

Chapter 422 Secretly Passing Through Nasser

After the arrival of reinforcements from Sintra, the Nilfgaardians' strategic plan to "seize the valley fortress with a lightning offensive before the Sintra garrison could complete its strategic deployment, and then march straight for the capital" was completely shattered.

Before the dust raised by the iron cavalry had even settled, the red arrows meticulously simulated on the Imperial General Staff's sand table had already been thwarted and sunk before the steel defenses forged by the defending troops in blood and sweat.

From then on, the two sides completely turned to a war of attrition.

Meanwhile, the Skellige Islands also received a request for help from East.

Because they were going to fight the Nilfgaardians, and Cintra was now an important ally of the archipelago, the major families of the archipelago united in a rare move.

This time, the archipelago pooled all its resources, forming a coalition of 17,000 men.

Two thousand of them remained on the islands as a reserve force, also to prevent the Nilfgaardian navy from raiding their base in case of an attack.

Another 15,000 people boarded a large fleet of ships and crossed the sea to support Sintra.

The reason Kratz Quat was still in Keldra was because he was one of the people responsible for staying behind.

Hearing this, Lynn breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that Sintra will not perish on this timeline.

Unlike the other northern kingdoms, Sintra is separated from Nilfgaard by the vast Amer Mountains, which almost bisect the continent from north to south.

Unlike the conquest of those southern countries before.

If Nilfgaard wants to conquer Sintra, it must cross the Amer Mountains.

The only place in the Amer Mountains that could allow the army to pass through was the Manada Valley.

In the original storyline, Cintra failed to build a fortress in the Manada Valley, which allowed the Nilfgaardians to easily occupy the valley when they invaded, and then surround them when Calanthe and Ister arrived with their royal army.

But now, everything has changed.

Sintra held off the Nilfgaardian onslaught in the Manada Valley.

As long as the Nilfgaardians remain blocked in the Amel Mountains, they will be unable to use their massive army to overwhelm Sintra in one fell swoop.

Turning the war into a war of attrition is a good idea, and it seems to be more advantageous to Nilfgaard.

The problem is that the Sintra people are the ones defending their homeland, willing to give everything for their country, and unafraid of total war.

Not to mention that Sintra at least has the support of the Skellige Islands, the Kingdom of Temuria, and the United Kingdom of Lyria and Livia.

Nilfgaard, despite its outward appearance as a powerful and vast empire,

However, due to the long-term treatment of the conquered southern countries as colonies, the people in the conquered regions had long been filled with resentment.

If, at this time, the Nilfgaardians' most prized army suffers a crushing defeat in the Manada Valley, the conquered territories will surely become restless and no longer blindly obey orders from the Golden Tower as they once did.

Furthermore, when Emhyr Emreis replaced the previous usurper emperor and returned to his loyal Nilfgaard, the emperor showed no mercy in forgiving the former traitor.

Those hereditary nobles who remained silent when their predecessors were brutally murdered by the usurper emperor, and those imperial clans who fawned upon the tyrant under his iron fist, could not escape the sword of judgment of Emhyr Enris.

When the scepter of the sun once again shone with orthodox brilliance, the chilling blade of vengeance fell with the precision of the Nilfgaardian Code.

A large number of nobles were either sent to the guillotine or the gallows, or demoted to commoners, losing everything they once owned.

But the scales of fate always seem to slip through the cracks.

Some nobles crossed the Koraz Desert to seek refuge in Zerekan, while others went into hiding in the vineyards of the Duchy of Toussaint.

Many more, however, lay dormant, hiding in the newly conquered territories of the empire.

Yesterday, they were like rats crossing the street, living in constant fear.

But now, these scattered sparks are witnessing a turning point in history:
When the myth of the invincibility of the Imperial Legion is shattered, the lurking ghosts of the past will surely awaken from the shadows all around.

At that time, the imperial foundation that Emhyr built with iron and blood will be shaken to its core.

The rusty gears of fate of the northern kingdoms will also turn onto completely unfamiliar paths with the fluttering of a butterfly's wings.

……

At that moment, Kratz suddenly asked a question with a strange expression.

"Lynn, are you here to help Sintra too?"

Lynn nodded: "No matter who's fighting Nilfgaard, I'll definitely lend a hand."

Kratz hummed in agreement and turned to look in the direction of the colonnade.

"Even if you have a griffin, that's still..."

Kratz didn't continue speaking.

But Lynn already understood what he meant.

"Don't worry, I'm not alone, my men are still behind me."

……

News of the invasion of Sintra spread like wildfire to the kings of the north.

However, while the allied forces of Sintra and the Skellige Islands were engaged in fierce battle with the Nilfgaardian army at the Manada Valley fortress, the attitude of the northern kingdoms was ambiguous.

King Foltest of Temuria, the closest country to Sintra, was keen to offer assistance.

However, Temeria's level of centralization was not as high as Nilfgaard's. Even if a mobilization order was issued, it would take at least a month for the nobles to be able to barely assemble their respective armies.

The same applies to Redania.

However, the King of Vizmir did not support Sintra, not only because of the trouble of assembling the feudal army, but also because he had other intentions.

In fact, the King of Vizmir had long coveted Sintra.

If he could acquire Sintra, he could put Temuria in a pincer movement, and Temuria would eventually become his own.

Once that wonderful thing happens, Redania will become the most powerful country in the north, and it will only be a matter of time before it gradually erodes the other northern countries.

Vizmir knew that there was a princess in Sintra named Hiria, who was the only bloodline of the Sintra royal family.

He also happens to have a son, Radovide.

Normally, the rulers of Sintra would not agree to a princess marrying into a powerful nation.

For example, a year ago, Calanther had planned to send Celia to the Kingdom of Viden to marry Prince Christine.

This is because Viden is a vassal state of Sintra. If Calanthe's only bloodline marries into Viden, Calanthe will have a suitable excuse to completely annex Viden and make it part of the Kingdom of Sintra.

However, the plan failed because Ciri, who hated marriage, ran away on her own and even ventured into the Brocleon Forest.

If another girl were to accidentally wander into the tree spirit's territory, according to the tree spirit's tradition, she would also be transformed into a tree spirit—this is one of the ways tree spirits reproduce.

However, Lynn had left a message for Queen Esna: several years later, a little girl with white hair would wander into Brocleion. At that time, please return her safely to the human who was supposed to pick her up.

Queen Essna didn't know why Lynn left such a message, but since Lynn didn't say anything, Queen Essna didn't ask any further questions. However, when Ciri actually appeared, she did as Lynn had instructed, dealt with the enemies who tried to capture Ciri, and returned her to the Sintra people who had been sent to find her.

Queen Calanthe will marry Celia to Viden, but she will absolutely not allow Celia to marry Radovid.

Since Sintra is weaker than Redania, even a fool would know that if Sintra were to form an alliance with Redania through marriage, the only outcome would be that Sintra would be annexed by Redania.

But if Cintra fails to resist the Nilfgaardian invasion and falls, then whether Calanthe likes it or not, she will no longer be able to interfere with Ciriia's marriage.

It is even less likely that they would refuse Redania's protection.

If the princess were to marry Radovid and give birth to a child of the Redanian royal family, that child would possess the poison of Sintra.

Once they had two or more children, the life or death of the Sintra princess became insignificant.

Of course, Vizmir couldn't bear to let such a young princess bear the pain of national subjugation and the heavy responsibility of restoring her kingdom. Therefore, when the time came, Vizmir would give her a cup of poison to end her suffering.

Therefore, Wizmir does not intend to provide any form of support.

King Henset of Cordwin, however, was indifferent to all other matters except his attempt to reclaim Upper Aden.

King Demavi of Aden was unable to provide support due to his need to guard against the invasion of Cordwin.

Only Queen Meve of the United Kingdoms of Lyria and Livia, upon hearing news of the Nilfgaardian invasion, immediately ordered the assembly of troops to prepare to bypass the Mahakan Mountains and come to their aid along the Yaruga River.

……

A coastline in the province of Nasser, Nilfgaard Empire.

The salty sea breeze tore at the cloaks of a group of people on the shore who were carrying torches, wearing hoods, and wrapped up tightly in their clothes.

As countless waves crashed and shattered against the rocks, several carracks appeared in the thick of night, the Cowell flag fluttering in the wind.

Hundreds of dark golden pupils echoed in the night as they silently stepped onto the land, like an army from the abyss.

A cluster of teardrop-shaped flames lit up in the hand of the lead witcher, illuminating the handsome face of Grand Duke Isparden.

The group of people waiting on the shore finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He hurried to greet them and lifted his cloak to reveal the syndicate emblem hidden beneath.

"Lord Lin."

Lynn nodded: "Take me to the nearest outpost."

Many years ago, Lynn had already laid the groundwork in Nasser, sending the Syndicate to Nasser.

Cindy disguises herself through business activities to conceal her true purpose, and constantly uses sweet words and flattery to win over local political, business, and military figures.

Through persistent efforts, the syndicate was finally recognized as one of their own and gained access to more classified intelligence.

Meanwhile, through testing and understanding, the Syndicate also successfully won over a group of Nasser elites who were dissatisfied with the Empire.

These elites who served the empire lived a life of luxury and respectability in the eyes of their compatriots.

But only these people themselves knew that they were also looked down upon by the Nilfgaardians.

Those more lucrative departments can only be filled by Nilfgaardians, and those easier businesses can only be done by Nilfgaardians...

The elite class of Naser couldn't even control their own economic lifeline; they could only watch helplessly as their former homeland's raw materials were hauled away, truckload after truckload, to the City of Golden Towers.

Then the cheap goods from the city of the Golden Tower destroyed local industries.

……

At one of the Syndicate's many strongholds, the stronghold leader unfolded a map of the Nasser province and reported the current situation to Lynn:
"Currently, the Nilfgaardian army besieging the Manada Valley is the Western Army Group, one of the three major army groups of the Empire. Its total strength is about 80,000. The soldiers are all recruited from the conquered territories, but the officers are Nilfgaardians."

"The commander-in-chief of its army group is Menno Kuhun, one of the most famous generals in Nilfgaard and one of the very few survivors who swore allegiance to the usurper emperor but was pardoned by Emhyr Enris."

"Whether this famous general had a premonition or was simply being cautious, he sent all the soldiers from Nasser to the front lines, while those left behind to escort convoys and supply depots were all from Metina."

“Back when Nasser and Metina were still independent kingdoms, the two countries had a lot of grudges. Even though they were later conquered by Nilfgaard, Nilfgaard did not reconcile the conflict between the two countries. Instead, they were happy to see the situation turn out this way.”

"Therefore, to avoid alerting the enemy, Lord Drake instructed us to remain on the sidelines and not to take any action, since the Mettinas might very well inform Menno Kuhun."

Lin En nodded slightly.

"Yes, Drake has thought this through very thoroughly... At least, you have information on the routes of the Nilfgaardian German convoys and the locations of their supply depots, right?"

"Have."

The person in charge took out another transparent film and painted some red markings on it.

He aligned the film with the map and was astonished to find that the red markings were located within the province of Nasser.

"The dashed line represents the transport route of the convoy on odd days, the solid line represents even days, the red dots represent supply points, and the red circles represent important supply points."

Lynn memorized this information.

"That'll be fine."

……

a few days later.

late at night.

Outside an important supply depot for the German army in Nilfgaard.

The campfire crackled and popped.

The guards on the wooden fence were yawning.

But he quickly patted his cheeks.

If the captain catches him dozing off, he's sure to get a beating.

However, even though he stared intently and tried to look outside the stronghold, he did not find any demon hunters lurking outside the stronghold under the cover of darkness.

Lynn was very grateful to the inventors in Oxenford who loved tinkering with gadgets. Lynn bought a gadget called sunglasses from them.

This can be worn in strong sunlight to protect your eyes and vision.

But Lynn's purpose in buying sunglasses in bulk was to conceal the Witcher's eyes, which glowed like a cat's in the night.

At this moment, the demon hunters behind him each had a set of armor.

If this were during the day, the scene would look quite comical.

But it's nighttime now.

Moreover, while the sunglasses obscure the Witcher's cat eyes, they cannot block the dark vision granted to the Witcher by the Cat Potion.

“Argenta will take five men to deal with the guards on the wooden wall and watchtower. Geraint will take three men to infiltrate the base from the back. The rest of you will follow me through the main entrance. Let’s begin.”

Upon receiving the order, the demon hunters immediately led their respective squads and disappeared into the vast night.

Lynn and the rest of the demon hunters also came into the shadows where the brazier at the main entrance could not reach.

At this distance, the Nilfgaardian guards, who are generally suffering from night blindness, cannot see the witchers hiding in the shadows at all.

Lynn and his men could even clearly see the mole on the face of the guard who was yawning repeatedly on the wooden wall.

At the edge of Lynn's field of vision, Argenta and five other Cat School Witchers had already arrived at the foot of the wooden wall.

The five-meter-high wooden wall was no problem at all for the Cat School Witcher who had undergone a second mutation.

Argenta lightly pushed off the wooden wall, and her whole body floated up to the top of the wall.

Whether he stepped on the wooden wall or landed on it, he made no sound whatsoever.

Then, Argenta lowered her body, like a cheetah before hunting, and vanished from her spot in an instant.

The torches on the wooden wall disappeared one by one in the next moment.

But apart from the sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh, the wooden wall was deathly silent.

Three minutes later, the main gate of the stronghold was opened, and Argenta, whose body was covered in blood, made an inviting gesture.

"Walk."

Lynn and the remaining witchers quickly entered the stronghold.

(End of this chapter)