Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1387 1359. Secret meeting

King Demavi of Aedirn was half lying on a chair covered with bearskin, staring at the wine glass placed on his belly with dark circles under his eyes.

Foltest, the ruler of Temeria, Pontar, Mahakam, and Soden, and who had recently become the senior protector of Brugg, turned his head out of the window, leaving a seal similar to Oron's coin. The same noble silhouette.

Across the table was King Henselt of Kaedwen. He had a bandit-like beard, and his small eyes slit between cheeks scanned the rest of the people secretly.

Queen of Lyria and Rivia, Meve. She was constantly fiddling with the huge ruby ​​necklace on her towering chest, and her plump and beautiful lips curled up from time to time.

"We can't afford to make this mistake again."

Seeing that no one spoke, Vizmir's expression remained normal, but he just repeated his point of view.

"We have no right to make mistakes now. We have to sum up the experience and lessons of our predecessors. When our ancestors landed five hundred years ago, the elves were like ostriches with their heads buried in the sand. They refused because of resistance to change and fear. Face the threat head-on.”

"Every time our ancestors took a step forward and occupied a little bit, they comforted themselves by saying, 'This must be the last time,' and retreated again and again. Then, we became kings."

"And now." Vizmir's face, which was even older than a few years ago, looked at the kings one after another. "We have become the elves of those days."

"I heard more than once that someone in my court said, 'The men in black will stop on the south bank of the Yaruga River' and 'They don't want to fight anymore.' I believe there must be such voices in your court."

"So I have to say it again: let's not make the same mistake as the elves."

Foltest still didn't look back.

This window in the Haji Fortress looks out onto the rapids of the Pontal Rapids.

And he clearly remembered that less than half a year ago, this torrent, which was so fast that it was scary to look at, had been blocked a little further downstream.

In the end, the river itself accumulated three days of water, and the river was opened by Triss Merigold's explosive spell. Let this northern river artery flow again.

The chokepoint at that time was close to Temeria's pioneering territory, the Floating Port.

And according to the information from his loyal intelligence personnel, the huge amount of broken rocks and giant trees that blocked the river were smashed down from the mountain by something!

And what a coincidence was that that happened to be the time when a demon hunter, at his invitation, went to deal with the abnormal situation in the Pontar Valley.

Foltest still remembers the expression on the face of the intelligence officer who submitted the report to him.

'He must have been frightened. ’

This was the first reaction of the Temerian king at that time.

That spy who had experienced hundreds of battles and was able to thrive in the dark, sinister and vicious intelligence world. Did he see traces of something during the investigation that made him so frightened?

Foltest looked out the window and said nothing, but someone didn't want to be silent.

"Don't compare us with elves, Vizmir, it's an insult." Henselt's bandit beard trembled. "The elves don't know how to fight. They didn't teach our ancestors a lesson on Sodden Mountain."

"They will only retreat weakly and retreat again, abandoning cities one after another."

"But we beat the man in black to a pulp!"

"Remember how Emperor Emhyr purged his troops after the defeat of Nilfgaard? There were eight formal large-scale executions, and countless informal or small ones!"

"In order to maintain his prestige after the defeat and distance himself from the defeat, he suddenly changed his identity and became the person who opposed sending troops from the beginning!"

"It really doesn't hurt to take action. The commander was simply killed!"

Henselt looked sad when he talked about the purges after Nilfgaard's defeat, but then he laughed again.

"So, how can he send troops now? The commander has been killed, who will lead his army? Could it be those non-commissioned officers?"

"No, it won't be a sergeant." Demavi from Aden coldly intervened in the conversation. "The troops will be led by young and capable officers."

"Remember Nilfgaard's military school system? This system has been stable for several years now. If you think about it, now is the time for talents to be born."

"We have all heard the names and achievements of those young people."

"They crushed the uprisings in Matina and Nasser, and quickly suppressed the rebellion in Abin. They killed everyone cleanly, much more decisively than the old man."

"In the past, those elderly generals blocked the way for young people to be promoted. They could only continue to be accumulated in the middle and lower levels of the army, accumulating experience and knowledge. They also had the resentment of being unsuccessful."

"Those young people have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time."

"Compared with merit and wealth, how can the blood and tears lessons of those already annoying old timers be able to suppress young people?" "They'd better not be able to suppress them." Henselt grinned. "The military academy system is indeed good. Now I have set up a small-scale one and want to try it."

"But talent is talent. No matter how many talents he has, can he still conjure military supplies and supplies out of thin air?"

Henselt moved his beer glass on the wooden table with his stubby fingers, but he didn't drink, he just grinned.

"If they want to cross the Yaruga River, where will they get the boat and the foothold?"

"The military fortresses on the Yaruga River are all on our side. How dare their ships launch into the water? How dare they land after being launched into the water?"

"You don't want the flanks anymore? You don't care about the logistics supply line anymore?"

"How about crossing by sea? Haha, King Bran of the Skellige Islands is going crazy trying to avenge his brother Esther Tursek! The Nilfgaardians can't even protect their own coastline now. They are about to be penetrated by Skellig's longship, but they still dare to go to sea?"

When he said 'pierce through', Henselt smiled and made a very obscene gesture, obviously describing the longship as another thing.

"Those young officers had better not be silenced," Henselt sneered. "This way, when they cross the river impulsively without thinking, we can easily reenact the Battle of Sodden Mountain."

"But don't worry, they won't cross the river."

At the end of the sentence, Hensel waved his hands in dismay, as if he felt it was a pity.

"But what if," Queen Mewe said suddenly, ignoring Henselt's obscene actions just now.

"If it is true that the men in black will not cross the Yaruga River, they can indeed sit back and wait. Then who is more beneficial to the situation? Who can delay it? Who cannot hold it?"

"Absolutely correct." Vizmir immediately agreed, "Mewei is as sharp as ever!"

The eldest king of the four northern kingdoms paced and walked to the table next to Miwe's seat. Show your attitude with your stance.

He continued: "Emhyr has a lot of time. But you still don't understand the situation?"

"Two years ago, the Nilfgaardians loosened a stone on the hillside, and now they are waiting for the landslide!"

“Two years ago, that little pebble was something that was untouchable to a lot of people, and now it’s gone! It totally lifts the spirits of those guys.”

"From the Gray Mountains to the Cape of Breamwood, there are guerrillas of the inhuman race everywhere! If we wait any longer, the free elves of Dol Bretanna will also have something to say! The dwarf Dominion of Mahakam must be ready to move, The tree spirits of Broklon will also become more and more arrogant!”

Vizmir punched the table.

"The Nilfgaardians are keeping the fire going while they wait for us to become increasingly stretched!"

"The Scoia'tael," Henselt admitted now, "are indeed a big problem. They disrupt trade and transportation and hinder farmers from doing their work. Damn inhuman bastards!"

"The Scoia'tael want war, so we will give them war." At this time, Foltest, who had been standing by the window, also answered. "I have always advocated peace, but this does not mean the abolition of force."

"I hereby make a promise: I will cleanse Temeria of the Scoia'tael within six months."

"As early as when my ancestors fought against the elves, too much blood was shed in that land. In my opinion, it was a tragedy. But since trouble is still coming at this critical juncture, the tragedy will have to happen again. ”

To be fair, Foltest's statement made others sigh in relief.

Because his attitude towards non-human races is indeed quite mild, as shown by Mahakam's dwarf autonomy.

Unlike Kaedwen or Aedirn, he directly made policies that discriminated against non-human races.

Discrimination in Temeria is mostly a matter of folk customs and stereotypes, rather than a policy issue.

But after Foltest expressed his stance, Demavi smiled softly.

"Yes, Foltest. As long as you give the order, your loyal army and the Blue Guard will not hesitate to attack the Scoia'tael or the inhuman race."

The King of Aedirn said easily.

But then, he finally sat up straight from his lazy half-lying position on the chair, lowered his face and asked in a trembling voice.

"But the question is...your army, your blue-clad iron guards, will they attack humans?!"