The Witcher: Make Witcher Great Again

Chapter 426 The Enemy in the City of Golden Pagoda
The work for today is not yet finished, even after the representatives of the Northern Allied Forces have left.

Lynn still needs to meet with one last guest.

A middle-aged man dressed in black entered the conference room, with a uniquely designed necklace around his neck—a triangular openwork pendant made of gold, engraved with a star surrounded by flames.

Lynn had seen the same pendant twice before.

This is a token used by the Nilfgaardian Merchants' Guild to identify individuals.

"Sander Chester offers his sincerest respects and blessings to Humphries, Isparden, and His Highness the Respected Grand Duke, the Lord of Nasser."

The members of the merchants' guild bowed very low, making a very impressive gesture.

Lynn took two cups, placed them on the table, and poured some Dongzhidong into each.

“That’s interesting. I thought that given Nilfgaard’s attachment to the land, they wouldn’t be willing to give up Nasser so quickly.”

"It is naturally acceptable to make some sacrifices for a more noble cause."

"Oh, you mean sacrifice?"

"Your Highness's current situation must not be too good, right? After all, your northern neighbor is an ambitious queen who is willing to marry off her granddaughter with the right to inherit the throne to another country in order to completely annex the vassal state."

Lynn remained noncommittal.

"Perhaps we can cooperate."

"Cooperation?" Lynn laughed. "The 80,000 elite troops of the Western Army Group, although not all of them were killed by me, were lost because of me. The hatred of the Empire towards me is probably as vast as the ocean. You want to talk to me about cooperation?"

Sander picked up his glass and drank the contents of the cup in one gulp.

“I come with sincerity, so why does Your Highness have to make fun of me? Whether it is the South or the North, the country is made up of nobles and commoners.”

"Nobles are intelligent, learned, and rational, while commoners are dull, ignorant, and foolish."

"Therefore, a country must allow the nobility to guide the common people in order to make great strides forward. If the common people are to lead, it is tantamount to putting shoes on one's head and hats on one's feet. If this continues, the country will cease to exist."

In plain terms, although Lynn caused many people in the Empire to lose their husbands, sons, and fathers, these nobles could, if they so desired, direct their anger elsewhere and make the common people of the Empire who had lost their husbands, sons, and fathers hate others.

Of course, if Lynn loses his usefulness in the future, they can rekindle this hatred.

To put it bluntly, they hold the power of discourse and the final interpretation, so they can do whatever they want.

However, reaching a ceasefire agreement with the Empire would also be beneficial to Lynn.

Even if it's only temporary, it's good.

"Alright, let's get straight to the point. What exactly do you... or rather, what do those people behind you, those who sent you, want to talk about?"

"Overthrow the imperial power."

"Hmm, you want to overthrow Emhyr Enris?"

"Your Highness is from the North and may not be familiar with the Nilfgaardian system. The difference between an emperor and a king is not just a matter of titles, but also signifies a difference in power. Nilfgaard is a highly centralized empire. For every step the imperial power extends outward, the power of the great nobles will retreat one step."

Lynn stroked his chin, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Don't the Nilfgaardians always look down on the backwardness of the northern system and jokingly say that the kings of the north are nothing more than slightly higher nobles?"

Sander said, “From the emperor’s perspective, you are right, but from the perspective of the nobility, it is not necessarily the case. No nobleman would want to see the emperor concentrate power in one person.”

"Furthermore, although the previous usurper emperor's rule was illegitimate, at least under his leadership, the Nilfgaardian Empire successively conquered the southern kingdoms."

"Moreover, even that ambitious and talented usurper emperor did not excessively oppress the living space of the great nobles."

"After Emhyr came to power, he centralized power and reduced many of the privileges and powers of the great nobles, causing the great nobles who had supported his rise to power to secretly regret their actions. Moreover, Emperor Emhyr suffered an unprecedented defeat in his first military campaign against the north."

Lynn placed the cup on the table.

"So, those people behind you want to elect a new emperor?"

"more or less."

"So your conditions are..."

"We hope that Your Highness will lend us your Witcher squad."

Although no survivors were left when the supply routes to Nilfgaard were attacked, the nobles of Nilfgaard were not fools. Through the subsequent investigation of the scene, they could easily conclude that the Duke of Augustus had a group of super soldiers under his command.

Considering that Archduke Augustus himself was a witcher, and that the previous usurper emperor of Nilfgaard had attempted to "win over" the Viper School to his side.

Therefore, the nobles generally believed that the group of super soldiers must have been composed of witchers.

The Viper School and the Cat School, after all, had been active in the South for a period of time.

The common people might not know, but the nobles were all too aware of the destructive power of these witchers.

Individual witchers are manageable, but the real danger lies in their numerical superiority of dozens or hundreds. Unless tens of thousands of troops are mobilized (heavy cavalry or heavy infantry, not conscripted peasants with pitchforks), otherwise...

Therefore, this was actually one of the goals of the great nobles.

If Lynn were willing to lend them the Witcher army, then overthrowing Emhyr would be a piece of cake.

Lynn shook her head.

Without even thinking, I resolutely refused.

"impossible."

Sander wanted to try again.

“Your Highness, we certainly won’t let you suffer losses for no reason. We are willing to pay double the price of the most expensive mercenary groups on the market.”

"Even ten times that is impossible. If you want to get rid of Emhyr, no problem. I can reach an agreement with you and sign a non-aggression pact to guarantee that I will not invade Nilfgaard's territory from the south. But as for borrowing troops, that is absolutely impossible."

Seeing that Lynn refused to budge no matter what, Sander had no choice but to give up.

Fortunately, the other objective, namely keeping Lynn neutral, has been achieved.

It wasn't a wasted trip.

……

Nilfgaard, the city of the golden tower.

The once prosperous capital city no longer exists.

At this time, the capital was engulfed in flames, rivers of blood flowed, and cries of agony filled the air.

The raging fire engulfed the tightly packed thatched huts and licked at the towering city walls of the capital.

Squads of soldiers in black armor marched through the streets and surged toward the palace.

"The emperor has deceived us; the victory His Majesty promised has turned into tens of thousands of homeless souls!"

Duke Adal Epp Darcy, mounted on horseback, drew his sword and roared.

This duke, from one of the oldest noble families in Nilfgaard, was also a veteran of three reigns.

Before serving Emperor Emhyr, Duke Adal had also served Emhyr's father and the usurper emperor.

Moreover, when Emhyr's father was overthrown, it was Duke Adal who helped the young Emhyr hide and helped him escape Nilfgaard.

Later, when Emhyr returned to Nilfgaard, it was this same old duke who welcomed her back and helped Emhyr reclaim the imperial crown from the usurper.

But now, this nobleman who had done Emhyr a great favor has become a mainstay of the opposition.

Duke Adal had always hoped that Emhyr would make his daughter the Empress of the Empire.

Just like the empire's long-standing tradition.

However, the emperor continued to give Duke Adal a perfunctory response.

Emhyr didn't give him what he wanted; instead, he took some power away from him.

Moreover, the emperor launched an invasion against the north.

Duke Adal was not against war. After all, the previous usurper emperor had brought more land, people, and wealth to the empire.

To ensure that every citizen of the Empire benefits from it.

Duke Adal placed great hopes on Emhyr, expectations of which far exceeded those of the usurper emperor.

He hoped that Emhyr could conquer the north and spread the sun flag to the lands north of the Yaruga River and even the Pontal River.

The result was an unprecedented defeat.

The Western Army Group, which had been cultivated with countless efforts and financial resources, was completely destroyed before it could even cross the Amer Mountains.

They even lost the province of Nasser.

This made Duke Adal wonder if helping Emhyr was the right choice.

Especially when he sensed that Emperor Emhyr, whom he had personally helped to ascend the throne, was actually wary of him, Duke Adal no longer hesitated and joined the opposition.

"The enemy is in Golden Pagoda City, kill!"

Count Joachim de Witte also shouted loudly.

The opposition's troops poured into the palace walls and clashed with the guards who remained loyal to the emperor.

But the number of the Imperial Guard was ultimately too small.

It was quickly overwhelmed by the opposition's army.

Duke Adal, Count Joachim, Count Broni, Count Dalvi, and a host of other opposition nobles entered the palace, surrounded by their subordinates.

Emhyr sat on his throne, with only two guards holding shields and a warlock standing before him.

"Emhir Enris, in the name of us great nobles, you are sentenced for treason. It's over. Surrender, and at least we'll leave you with a whole corpse."

"You think this is the end? A bunch of fools!" The emperor placed his hand on the throne and stood up.

He angrily cursed, "The foundation of the empire will be destroyed by you short-sighted fools!"

“I’ve heard enough,” Joachim shook his head. They had already committed regicide; they had no time for debate. Besides, the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for them. “Archers!”

A group of archers stepped out from the crowd and unleashed a volley of arrows at the emperor.

The sorcerer chanted an incantation, and a chain of lightning shot from the tip of his staff, which not only blocked the rain of arrows but also turned the entire archer squad into charred remains.

The sorcerer chanted the incantation again, and a small tornado rose up in front of him.

But just before the tornado fully formed, a magic-blocking golden arrow suddenly pierced through it and struck the sorcerer in the chest.

The magical shield the warlock cast on himself was completely ineffective against the magic-blocking gold.

Once the caster dies, the tornado loses its magical supply and vanishes into thin air.

Joachim himself took a spear from his men and threw it with all his might.

Pierce the emperor and the throne behind him together.

Opposition soldiers surged toward the two guards before the throne, and the sounds of battle lasted only a moment before ceasing.

……

After Emhyr Emris's death, the noble faction seized power in the empire.

But the situation did not stabilize, because ambitions had been ignited and were not so easily quelled.

When they themselves took away the imperial power, the nobles realized why they had handed over their power and destiny to others.

He clearly had the ability to become emperor.

Thus, the internal strife began.

Nilfgaard was instantly engulfed in the War of the Eight Kings.

The powerful nobles forged alliances and waged war against each other.

In fact, there were insightful people among the aristocratic faction, and some of them tried to rally others to fight against the rebels.

The problem is that, compared to the aristocratic republic where power was distributed equally, the imperial system was indeed more popular in this era.

Moreover, since the founding of Nilfgaard, emperors have always been elected from various ancient noble families.

This is the so-called electoral system.

But now, if we eliminate the other electors and make ourselves the only ancient family, then wouldn't our family be able to be kings for generations, just like the kings of the northern kingdoms?

It was precisely because they realized that this was a period of great change unseen in a century that the nobles joined this chaotic situation with the idea of ​​"taking a gamble and turning a bicycle into a motorcycle".

As for the remaining insightful individuals, with everyone else already involved, it's impossible for them to remain uninvolved.

Even if they don't want to, they have no choice but to get caught up in this chaotic vortex.

Lynn, far away in Les Lane, is listening to Drake's report.

The Syndicate developed numerous contacts in Metina, Gisso, Ebin, and Mechte, continuously sending back intelligence about Nilfgaard.

Nilfgaard is now so chaotic that people's brains are practically being beaten to a pulp.

Because Nilfgaard's population and standing army both exceeded those of the northern kingdoms, the intensity of this war far surpassed that of the noble wars between the northern kingdoms.

In order to weaken their rivals, these powerful nobles ruthlessly burned down their villages and plundered their towns.

They used the same methods that were originally intended for the northerners on their own people.

The effect is certainly very good.

However, it is foreseeable that even after the war ends, Nilfgaard's national strength will be greatly diminished in the future.

But the nobles who were already involved couldn't care less about that now.

So Drake suggested to Lynn that they take advantage of this opportunity to invade Nilfgaard.

Even if a single battle cannot destroy the entire Nilfgaard, at least Metina, which borders Nasser, can be recovered with relatively minor losses.

But Lynn rejected Drake's suggestion.

The reason is actually very simple.

If they move south at this time and make the Nilfgaardians realize the threat, they will reunite.

Lynn would never do something so stupid.

The more fiercely the Nilfgaardians fought, the better.

Moreover, Lynn is not afraid that another great emperor will emerge in Nilfgaard, defeat all his rivals, and unify Nilfgaard.

Because the Nilfgaardians went too far.

They ruthlessly massacred civilians in order to weaken their opponents.

This was the method used by the Union army during the American Civil War.

It's not that it's bad, but even if the victor wins, all they end up with is a country devastated.

It is absolutely impossible to rise from ruins without a very long period of time.

The United States in the 19th century could have ended the civil war quickly in this way because it was not surrounded by powerful enemies and had ample time to recover.

The Nilfgaardian Empire, which shares the same continent as the northern kingdoms, clearly did not have such a favorable environment.

Therefore, Lynn did not need to take the opportunity to attack Nilfgaard. The best time to advance south would be when the Nilfgaardians had turned their own country into ruins.

Before that, what should be done is to develop Nasser, expand its influence, and turn it into a territory under actual control.

Moreover, Lynn's next target location was actually in the north, rather than the south.

(End of this chapter)