I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Chapter 187 This one is even more heavyweight

An hour later.

Horse hooves trampled through the thick layer of humus in the forest, and the group left the open wilderness and entered a forest that resembled a dark green ocean.

As they went deeper, the surrounding light gradually dimmed.

The towering spruce and oak trees block out the sun, their intricate branches resembling giant nets that fragment the sky.

The air was filled with the unique smell of pine resin, damp moss, and decaying leaves.

The roads here are difficult to walk on, with tangled tree roots and mud pits hidden in the bushes everywhere.

But led by Aoda, they followed a very secret animal trail, winding their way into the heart of the forest.

After riding for about ten more minutes, the trees ahead suddenly became thinner.

A faint smell of burning firewood drifted on the wind, mixed with the faint clanging of metal and the rough voices of men talking.

"We've arrived."

Oda stopped his horse and gestured for silence behind him.

Through several dense clumps of hazelnut trees, a camp hidden in a valley depression suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.

It was not a makeshift shack, but a well-organized military outpost.

More than a dozen gray-brown canvas tents were scattered according to the terrain, and the outside was reinforced with sharpened logs to form sturdy barricades.

In the open space in the center of the camp, several campfires were burning brightly, dispelling the chill of the forest.

Even more striking were the people in the camp.

The number of people was not large, only about forty or fifty, but they were by no means a group of ragged, emaciated bandits, but a group of veterans who had truly seen blood.

Most of them wore chainmail shirts that had been repaired many times but were polished to a spotless shine, or thick armor.

They carried heavy battle axes, maces, or finely crafted longswords at their waists.

Some people were sitting around a campfire maintaining their weapons, while others were engaged in intense combat training in an open space.

Even from a distance, one could feel the fierce aura emanating from this group of people, a mixture of sweat and blood.

This was clearly a fully armed mercenary group, or rather, a private army lurking in the forest.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

A low, alert shout came from above.

Two sentries, clad in coarse linen cloaks studded with withered branches and leaves, peered out from the treetops, their crossbows already cocked, the cold arrows locked firmly on the intruder.

"Put away those damn toys!"

Odace stepped forward, pulled back his hood, revealing a familiar face. "It's me."

Upon seeing who it was, the two sentries instantly relaxed.

They quickly put away their crossbows and slid down from the tree, moving as nimbly as two cats.

"Lord Oda!"

One of the sentries, who appeared to be the squad leader, stepped forward quickly, saluted respectfully, and then glanced hesitantly at Sieg and Hans behind Aoda, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.

"Lord Oda, these are—"

"These are my honored guests, and the hope for the future of this camp," Aoda said firmly. "Open the barricades; I'm taking them to see the captain."

"Yes, ma'am."

Since it was the sponsor who spoke, the sentry naturally dared not ask any more questions.

With a dull thud, the heavy barricades were moved aside, revealing a passage large enough for horses to pass through.

Passing through the mercenaries who were eyeing them with curiosity, Oda led Sieg and Hans straight to a huge cowhide tent at the deepest part of the camp.

There was no noisy commotion here, only a suffocating sense of desolation.

The tent flap was lifted.

A burly and robust figure sat with his back to the door on a simple wooden chair.

He seemed to be carefully wiping the knight's sword in his hand, his movements slow and focused, as if he were polishing a fragile sacred object.

Hearing footsteps behind him, the figure stopped what he was doing.

He turned around.

As Oda described him, he was a man who seemed to have been carved directly from the rough rocks of Bohemia.

He slowly swept his gaze over Hans and Zieg with a look that seemed to see right through their souls.

The air inside the tent seemed to thicken, and the invisible pressure even made the usually arrogant Hans Capone subconsciously straighten his back, his right hand quietly moving half an inch closer to the hilt of his sword.

"The sun hadn't even had a chance to climb over the top of the tallest spruce tree before you came back, Oda."

The man's voice was deep and hoarse, like two rough granite pieces rubbing against each other.

He casually placed the knight's sword on the wooden table beside him.

"And you also brought back two strangers."

"In this damned year, bringing guests into this wolf-infested forest is not a wise choice. Unless—you think the stench of blood here isn't strong enough."

Despite the overwhelming aura of menace, Aoda showed no fear whatsoever.

On the contrary, the young nobleman was in a state of extreme excitement.

He stepped forward, blocking the man's view from Zieg's, his face glowing with an almost fanatical red light.

"Put away your murderous aura, J.S. Ka. If you scare away these two distinguished guests, you'll regret it so much you'll want to swallow your tongue."

Auda took a deep breath, turned to the side like a court steward introducing a warrior to the king, and solemnly pointed at Hans Capon.

"Let me introduce you. Although this gentleman looks somewhat young, you should recognize the emblem on his body. He is Hans Capon, the young master of Rattay, the future ruler of that city, and Troski's most distinguished guest at the moment."

Upon hearing the names Rattay and Kapong, the man called Jesska raised an eyebrow.

A look of surprise finally appeared on his face.

He looked Hans up and down, then extended his large, calloused hand.

"Kapon of Rattay—I've heard your name, though mostly from rumors in taverns about your romantic escapades."

Instead of performing the elaborate aristocratic greeting, Jesska extended his hand in a warrior-to-war manner.

"But since you dared to enter this forest, it means you are braver than the rumors say. I am Jan Jeshka."

"Ha! Rumors about me are usually only half true, especially the bad parts."

Hans Capon also extended his hand.

He could feel the iron grip on the other person's hand, but he gritted his teeth and squeezed back forcefully, maintaining the reserved and arrogant smile of a nobleman.

"Nice to meet you, Captain Jesska. It seems the forests of Troski harbor not only wild boars, but also real beasts."

Their hands clasped briefly before quickly separating.

However, when Jessica's gaze shifted from Hans to another person, his expression changed.

Although the man was wearing the most ordinary gray woolen short coat, and although he did not wear any distinguished badges.

But J.S. Ka even had the illusion that what stood before him was not a person, but an unshakeable mountain, and that any attempt to swing a weapon at him would only result in breaking one's own wrist.

Jessica instinctively picked up the knight's sword from the table again, this time his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

"And who is this one?"

Jesse's voice was even lower than before, carrying an unprecedented gravity. "Auda, don't tell me this is also your friend." My intuition tells me that this gentleman doesn't belong to any ordinary knight's manor.

Aoda took a deep breath.

He turned around and bowed deeply to Zieg.

Then, he straightened up and, in a trembling yet incredibly proud voice, declared to everyone in the cramped tent: "Your intuition is right, Jesse. Standing before you is a descendant of the Holy Roman Empire, the grandson of His Majesty Emperor Charles IV, the man most qualified to rally nobles and knights in this land."

Auda's voice echoed in the tent, each word like a heavy hammer blow: "This is His Highness Duke Sieg of Luxembourg."

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