2077: V really knows how awesome he is

He rallied his remaining troops, determined to strike at the heart of the enemy and seize the capital of Redania, Novigrad. However, upon turning back, he discovered that Xu Ling and the Dragon Army hadn't followed at all, causing him to hastily switch from rear guard to front guard, catching up with Xu Ling once more.

"General Xu, this great victory should have been expanded. Why did you retreat without a fight?"

Xu Ling retorted, "What are you trying to say? We Night City are just here to find the portal; we have no intention of getting involved in the Witcher world's war."

The Nilfgaardian generals were greatly disappointed upon hearing this, but the Redanian side was overjoyed.

Radovid V was a madman, not an idiot. After two encounters with Xu Ling, he realized that Xu Ling's intention was to open the portal to Xenide Island.

The island itself was located in the north, within his control. Redania immediately dispatched a fleet to occupy Xenide Island by sea ahead of schedule, and threatened to destroy the portal in an attempt to make Xu Ling hesitate.

Xu Ling is fearless in battle, but she's not good at scheming and plotting.

Left with no other option, Xu Ling made a cross-world phone call to V.

V was also a little surprised when he found out: "What did you do to Redania that made Radovid V so fixated on you?"

Xu Ling innocently replied, "I didn't do anything!"

V didn't believe it, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he said, "Alright, the nanonetwork was supposed to be activated tomorrow, but we'll have to postpone it now. You stay put and wait here, don't cause any more trouble, I'm coming over now."

"What do you plan to do?" Xu Ling asked.

“Of course we should talk to King Joradivravid V first,” V said irritably. “Am I supposed to just go over there and kill him? I’m not that barbaric!”

Chapter 138 The Flying Man

V used the warp drive to return to Kaer Morhen in the Witcher world, and then rode a gryphon to the west to where Xu Ling was.

At this moment, the Night City army had arrived at the coast, while the Redanian army guarded the bridgehead, preventing Xu Ling from advancing.

Of course, this was mainly because Radovid V threatened to "destroy the portal," otherwise, Redania's five legions, with about 7000 men, wouldn't even be enough for Xu Ling to eat one meal.

“That’s the situation,” Triss reported to V. “The Aretusa Academy on Xenide Island has also been occupied by the Redanian army, and the teachers and students are suffering terribly. If you need an inside man, I have a way to contact them.”

V shook his head: "A fight would inevitably damage the portal. I'll talk to Radovid V first. If necessary, I'll just pay to get through."

Since V had made this decision, Triss could no longer persuade him, but she warned V to be careful, as Radovid V was crazy and extreme and capable of anything.

V nodded, taking it to heart, and sent a messenger to Redania to convey his willingness to negotiate.

Upon hearing that the true master of the Dragon Army had appeared, the garrison dared not be negligent and immediately notified Radovid V, who was far away in Novigrad.

Indeed, the emperor, who had personally led the expedition, was terrified by the crushing defeat and fled directly back to Tritorg, the capital of Redania. After receiving V's letter, he pondered for a while and agreed to the request for negotiations, but stipulated that the negotiations must take place in his palace.

Upon hearing this news, Triss, Roche, and the others unanimously suspected a trap and urged V not to agree.

Triss even revealed a secret.

"Right as soon as Radovid V ascended the throne, he revealed his heartless side. He incorporated the Knights of the Flaming Rose into the predecessor of the Order of Eternal Flame. He also took advantage of the assassinations of King Demavi of Aden and King Foltest of Temeria to seize the territories of other countries and kill members of the sorcerer. Under his series of manipulations, the northern countries were shrouded in the shadow of death and conspiracy, and everyone lived in fear."

"Finally, under the interference of various forces, Radovid V chose to negotiate with the sorcerers in Lomuné. As with all conferences in history, many kings and high-ranking sorcerers gathered to discuss the future of the northern kingdoms and the fate of the sorcerers. However, Radovid deliberately framed them, attributing the assassinations of the Kings of Aden and Temuria to the 'Gathering of Sorceresses,' claiming that the recent chaos and assassinations were all the work of the sorceresses in order to regain control and manipulate the northern kingdoms."

"While everyone was still in a state of panic and shock, Radovid V had already ordered the Flame Rose Knights, who had been lying in ambush, to clear the area. It was an unprecedented massacre; all the sorcerers present were slaughtered, and people's hatred and fear of sorcerers reached its peak. From then on, the Flame Rose Knights officially became the Order of Eternal Flame, and Radovid V's witch hunt was recognized by both the government and the people. He even imprisoned his teacher, the sorceress Philippa, subjected this elder to every known form of torture, and personally gouged out her eyes."

Roche chimed in, “Miss Triss is right. Radovid V has a criminal record and is not to be trusted at all. To put it another way, although I have a deep-seated hatred for Nilfgaard, I would rather Emhyr occupy my homeland than have the mad king Radovid V liberate it.”

V stroked his chin: "Do you think Radovid V will resort to the same old tricks and ambush me at the negotiating table?"

Triss and Roche nodded simultaneously: "That's right."

“Don’t worry, Radovid V is a monarch after all, he wouldn’t be so shameless. He only resorted to such ruthless measures because he had a conflict of interest with the sorcerer. He was just passing through Night City, he didn’t need to go to such extremes.” V said, then looked at Xu Ling: “You’re coming with me.”

"What am I going to do?"

“Go apologize,” V said angrily. “But you wrecked their army.”

"Ah, I thought they were bandits." Xu Ling began to play dumb.

In short, the matter was settled. To show his sincerity, V and Xu Ling went to the Redania Palace, making Triss and Roche nervous.

When Radovide V heard that V had only sent two people, he was dumbfounded. Judging others by his own standards, he believed that V must have a conspiracy.

"Double the number of people lying in ambush."

"But if there are too many people, it will inevitably be exposed."

"I can't worry about anything else. As long as I kill that V here, the Dragon Army will be mine!" Radovid V clenched his fist.

So when V and Xu Ling met Radovid V, General Xu discovered that many soldiers were lying in ambush around the banquet hall.

"Sister V, there are axemen!" Xu Ling said to V in her personal communication.

She could see that V's prosthetic eye was more advanced, scanning everything clearly even before entering the room. Radovid V's so-called ambush was nothing but a joke to these two overpowered individuals with X-ray vision.

“Don’t talk nonsense.” V came with good intentions and did not want to cause any trouble, so he tried to make amends for Radovide V: “Those are all waiters.”

Xu Ling: "..."

What kind of waitress would wear heavy armor? But never mind, if the sky falls, Sister V will hold it up. From now on, she's a ruthless apology machine.

When the two parties met and took their seats, V adopted a very humble attitude and first expressed his apologies.

Radovid V dared not underestimate the "Lord of the Dragons" and decided to probe V's intentions first. He asked, "Where do you come from, and where are you going?"

V replied, "We come from the City of Night, and we wish to travel to the Alder World to seek peace of mind."

Radovid V then asked, "How large is the City of Night? How many people live there? Is it as prosperous as Redania?"

V replied again: "Night City is just a small place (compared to the whole Earth), and its population is not too large (compared to all of humanity). Compared to the prosperity of your country, Night City is worlds apart and cannot be compared at all (you are too inferior)."

Radovid V curled the corners of his mouth: "Does President V only have Night City as his territory?"

V answered truthfully: "Just the City of Night."

Radovid V felt reassured, thinking to himself that this Dragon Army must be the elite force that Night City had poured all its resources into. Although it was powerful, even a mighty dragon cannot suppress a local snake. In this northern territory, an isolated army without supplies or support could not be invincible as long as some resources were spared.

But just to be on the safe side, he still asked, "How many men does your army have now?"

V glanced at Xu Ling, who looked up from the imperial banquet: "623 people."

Radovid V was overjoyed. The Dragon Army had wiped out two of his armies in succession. He had thought the enemy had thousands of troops, but they only had a little over 600 men, not even enough to fill his teeth.

It seems that the Dragon Army's strength is entirely based on those war machines called tanks. If we can seize them, our own army will surely be as invincible as the Dragon Army, and the unification of the North will be just around the corner.

However, out of caution, Radovid V remained vigilant and asked, "Are those things called tanks also produced in Night City?"

“No,” V answered honestly, “the tanks were all bought from Night City.”

"From whom did you buy it?"

"The new America. The president of that country is named Meredith Stock, and I'm on good terms with her."

Is the territory of the new United States large?

"It's big."

"Bigger than Night City?"

V laughed and said, "Night City is just one city, but there are dozens of such cities in New America."

Radovid V was alarmed and immediately raised the threat level of New America above Night City. In his mind, New America was the most powerful country in the alternate world, and Night City was only able to defeat him time and time again because it had purchased tanks from New America.

Now all his previous doubts were resolved. Radovid V hadn't been defeated by the "Dragon Army," but by the First Empire of another world, New America. Thinking this way, Radovid V felt much better and began to despise V even more.

The so-called Night City is nothing more than a small city-state that has clung to the coattails of the new United States. It can only act arrogantly by relying on weapons purchased from major powers, and is actually quite vulnerable.

Although V claimed to have a good personal relationship with the new American king, if that were truly the case, he wouldn't have spent money to buy tanks. Therefore, Radovid V viewed V's explanation as nothing more than self-aggrandizement.

Night City is nothing to worry about. The so-called CEO V is all bark and no bite. If she really had any confidence, why would she be so timid and submissive?

Radovid V conjured up a perfect logical loop in his mind, which further strengthened his determination to kill and seize the treasure.

Then V noticed that Radovid V's tone had changed.

From equal dialogue to being condescending.

As for why, V was too lazy to think about it. Let the dog bark a few times, it's all for Night City. She doesn't care if she suffers a little grievance, she can just bear it.

"How do you plan to compensate us for the brutal massacre of tens of thousands of Redanian soldiers?"

Upon hearing Radovid V's question, Xu Ling, who had been diligently devouring the royal feast, couldn't help but look up and glance at him.

You know we killed tens of thousands of your people; we are the victors. How dare you, the defeated party, demand an explanation from us?

But as the saying goes, if the sky falls, Sister V will hold it up, so Xu Ling just glanced at Radovid V and continued eating with her head down.

As for V, she was willing to endure humiliation for the sake of Night City, and immediately said with a smile, "We are willing to compensate you for all your funeral expenses."

Radovid V's face twitched, and he waved his hand, saying, "You don't need to worry about these things. You just need to pay the war reparations."

V continued to laugh: "Then name your price."

"One million taels of gold, one hundred tanks, and in addition, fifty thousand slaves, thirty thousand women, and twenty thousand men must be paid as tribute to Redania."

V frowned: "Money is fine, tanks are no problem either, but Night City doesn't have slavery, so this is going to be difficult for us."

"Difficult to handle?" This was exactly what Radovid V had been waiting for. He immediately ripped the napkin from around his neck, stood up, and with a single flick of his wrist, overturned the table: "If it's difficult, then let's not handle it!"

This action seemed to be a signal, and immediately a large number of fully armored knights, armed with swords and shields, poured out from all directions.

V was stunned for a moment; she hadn't expected that Radovid V would actually dare to ambush her. Xu Ling was also dumbfounded; anyone would be dumbfounded if they were halfway through eating a pork knuckle and suddenly got hit on the head by a pork knuckle.

"Go! Chop them into mincemeat!"

Radovid V issued the arrogant order, knowing it was a shameless tactic, but one that would surely work. Last time he had taken down the sorcerer group; this time he would take down Night City and the dragon army!

As the knights' massive blades came crashing down, V's body moved before her mind could even process it. With a snap, she unleashed her mantis blades, the incredibly sharp polymer blades slicing through the massive blades in a single motion, cleaving the fully armored knight in two at the waist, armor and rider in the process. Blood and entrails instantly splattered all over the ground.

Radovid V was startled by V's ferocity, but even if she was fierce, she was only one person, while he had ambushed her with hundreds of men. He could overwhelm her with sheer numbers. He immediately ordered, "Set up shields and wear her down first!"

The knights quickly changed formation, with several large shields in front, pressing down on V like bulldozers.

V hadn't expected Radovid V to have the talent to command battles. It seems Triss was right; this guy wasn't stupid, just a simple, slightly ill madman.

Most people are afraid of madmen, but V is no ordinary person. Facing the shield wall that was pressing in, V retracted the mantis blade on his right arm and switched it to the thermal gorilla arm, raising his hand to unleash a full-power fire punch.

With a deafening roar, the shield wall was sent flying like a bowling pin, and the thermal arm triggered a violent explosion, turning the knight behind the shield into a fireball that shot out with crackling sounds, crashing into the wall and turning into one red abstract painting after another.

“Ignis, Ognista Kula!”

A mysterious incantation suddenly rang out, and a huge fireball hurtled straight toward V.

But as a plasma missile was launched, the fireball shattered into pieces, but the plasma missile continued its momentum, blasting the caster into countless pieces with a deafening roar.

"Shoot the arrow, shoot the arrow quickly!"

Radovid V was so terrified by V's astonishing fighting power that he almost wet himself. His face turned pale as he shouted, and then countless arrows flew towards V from all directions.

But as the Sianweistan was activated, time seemed to stand still. V strode forward and cut off the arrows and the soldiers who shot them. In everyone's eyes, it was a terrifying scene of her disappearing instantly and dozens of crossbowmen dying instantly.

Radovid V was so frightened that he sat down on the ground, and the surviving fully armored knights crowded around him, trembling like hamsters in armor.

V picked up the expensive silk tablecloth from the ground and wiped the blood off the mantis knife. He was still prepared to remain restrained and treat her with courtesy, but when he looked down, he saw that Xu Ling's forehead was covered in blood.

In an instant, V forgot all restraint and patience; all she knew was that Xu Ling was injured!

This military genius is the apple of Night City's eye, the kind of person they treat like a precious gem. And now he's injured here. You're courting death!

Seeing the murderous glint in V's eyes, Radovid V was truly terrified. He couldn't fathom how many people V had killed to have such a terrifying look in his eyes; he even had the illusion of facing death directly.

"Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"

Radovid V fled in a panic, his fully armored bodyguards protecting him relentlessly. V, worried that Xu Ling, a weakling, would be instantly killed, dared not give chase and could only let the bald king escape.

But the monk can run away, but the temple can't. After sending Xu Ling back, she'll come back to settle the score with this idiot.

Once a plan is formed in one's mind, anger is temporarily stored away.

V turned Xu Ling's head to check her injuries and breathed a sigh of relief when he found they weren't serious.

"I've been careful to protect you. How did you get injured? Did some expert appear?"

Xu Ling hesitated for a moment, ultimately too embarrassed to say that she had been injured by a large elbow, and stammered, "Yes, there was a master, the kind of master who is very greasy."

"Greasy?"

"Amazing! I mean, an extremely amazing expert!"

A truly formidable expert? I didn't see one either.

V thought about it for a moment and figured that this incredibly skilled expert must have been killed by him as a mere foot soldier, so he stopped investigating.

She and Xu Ling walked out of the palace in a carefree manner. At first, some people tried to stop them, but they were all turned into a bunch of mosaics by V. Later, not only did no one stop them, but some people even helped them give directions and open doors.