"Why does this kid have to go to the palace, didn't he find out about our secret operation?" Serret said, looking at Roy's back, "I told that old bitch from Calanthe after entering the palace..."
"Serrit, don't be so dark in your heart," Oakes interrupted his brother's speculation bluntly. "It is because of this suspicious temper that women keep away from you. Besides, before he came to Sintra, our The operation has ceased."
"In short, Roy is his own, give him more trust!"
"Don't make any noise." Leto said in a low voice, "If your previous actions revealed flaws, you should have been surrounded by soldiers. Instead of sending someone to find this kid."
"The specific reason, I guess what the entrustment is... Nobles, royal families, guys with eyes higher than the top and stinky guys, like the appearance of the kid."
"Let's discuss more pressing matters," Leto said, looking inside the house, where the emaciated girl remained motionless on the sofa. "This child may be the target of the Wild Hunt, of course, there is only such a possibility, what should we do with her?"
"It's better—" Serrit raised his palms into knives, and made a downward gesture of wiping his throat, "Even if it is a possibility, the Wild Hunt must not let her get her!"
"I said you were enough," Oaks raised his eyes with his hands on his hips, "Shouting and killing a poor little girl, do you really think you are a mutant killer and inhumane?!"
"Then you have an idea!"
"Send it to Arethusa, and give her to the sorceress to teach her!" Oaks plausibly said, "The Magic Academy is no better than the decaying Gusvid. If the Wild Hunt dares to attack Arethusa, it is estimated that he will not be able to enter the academy half a step. It will be blasted to crumbs by those heavily armed sorceresses with overwhelming magic."
"Good idea!" Serrit's eyes lit up. "This will make them bite the dog. We'll just wait and watch the show."
"Well, but first we have to ask her for her opinion..." Letho's eyes turned to the figure on the sofa, her shoulders shaking in a very slight arc. "Thelma, I know you're awake..."
The three witchers approached the girl like beasts. She felt the terrifying aura coming towards her face, her breathing became rapid, her body curled up more and more, and the thick eyelashes between her closed eyes began to tremble.
"Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you..." Leto stopped in front of her, "Do you remember what you experienced before?"
"I guess it's not the first time, maybe you don't even remember how many times - a group of people brazenly despised your background, insulted your appearance, beat your body... How long have you lived this kind of painful life? ?"
The girl suddenly held her breath.
The witcher said in a very bewitching tone, "If there is a chance, let you change your face, from an ugly duckling to a white swan with enviable beauty, master the power to punish and avenge those despicable people, you will ?"
"Are you the devil who want to take away my soul?"
Hill quietly opened his eyes, with a hint of fear in his pupils and a deep hidden desire,
"I... what do I need to pay?"
…
The sky is clear, and the dazzling sunlight coats the magnificent castle with a golden coat.
Roy stood in front of the main entrance of the Sintra Palace and took a deep breath, calmed down his restless mood, and then walked towards the soldier holding a halberd in front of the door.
"You are the guy summoned by the queen?" The soldier's gaze passed through the gap in his helmet and looked at him from head to toe, his gaze swept over his slightly childish face, dark golden pupils, and tall and straight figure.
"Roy, the demon hunter of the Viper School, you are too young... Don't you mean that you are all carrying swords, your weapons?"
"Can you still carry weapons in the palace?"
The guards searched him again and confirmed that there were no hidden dangerous items, and then let four soldiers accompany him to continue.
The gate of the castle was a full twenty feet high, and was pushed open by two soldiers. Behind the door was the hall of the castle, which was frighteningly spacious.
In the center of the corridor was a luxurious red carpet, and the witcher followed the soldiers at the pace of the slow dead.
On the gray walls on both sides of him are hanging precious oil paintings and specimens of beasts such as deer, tigers, and crocodiles. Near the wall, there are huge vases and armor booths. The windows, which are about to reach the ceiling, are painted with light-colored elegant and dignified ornaments.
Of course, there are also doors, the wooden doors on the wall, I do not know where to lead, so many that my scalp is numb. From time to time servants carrying precious utensils and some well-dressed nobles came in and out of the door.
The whole castle is like a labyrinth, and it is easy to get lost if you are not an acquaintance.
Roy followed the soldier leading the way, turning a little irritated. After an unknown time, his vision suddenly became clear after passing through a door, but he entered the open-air garden in the center of the castle from the interior of the slightly claustrophobic castle.
"Can a few of you tell me why Her Royal Highness called me?"
The soldier didn't answer him, didn't even turn his head, his expression was solemn and serious, and Roy didn't take it to heart.
He followed the soldiers to a clearing in the middle of the garden.
Surrounded by colorful and blooming flowers, a middle-aged man with a slender stabbing sword on his waist, a well-groomed mustache, and oily hair greeted him.
"Witcher, I can make you wait. I am Henrik, the court swordsman of the Hinterland Palace, and I have a swordsmanship with you on the order of Queen Calanthe."
His eyes were as sharp as a falcon, with a hint of hostility, and his tone was indignant, as if the witcher had insulted him.
"Your Excellency, haven't we met?"
Roy is at a loss now. He still doesn't know why he was called into the palace, not to mention the inexplicable hostility of the man opposite.
"I have been working for the palace in recent years, but you have been in the company of wild beasts and water ghosts in the countryside, and naturally you have never masked your face."
Henrik sneered, and began to organize his leather gloves. "As for your question... I'm here to test your strength for Her Royal Highness this time, to see if you are really qualified to serve as the princess' swordsmanship teacher!"
Princess? Swordsmanship lessons
"Ah? So that's the case." Roy instantly cleared his head, "Who actually recommended me to the queen? Did the princess mean Ciri?"
Roy's thoughts changed. Although he couldn't understand the specific reason, he couldn't miss this easy opportunity to get in touch with Ciri, so that he could further contact Geralt, who was entangled with her fate, talk to the wolf school, and start him. s plan.
"Then please give me a weapon... a steel sword will do." Roy stretched out his hand to the side, and a soldier handed over a two-handed steel sword in response.
"Witcher, swords have no eyes. If I accidentally hurt you later, please forgive me." Henrik squinted his eyes and said.
"That can only mean that I am not good at learning." Roy retorted, "Even if you let it go, in order to thank you for your concern, I will keep it properly so that you can lose decently."
The atmosphere instantly froze, and the two opposing swordsmen drew their long swords at the same time.
…
On the viewing platform on the second floor of the garden, the old and the young, surrounded by a group of attendants and guards, were secretly observing the situation below.
"Ciri, remember your promise to me, you can't be fooled when the witcher loses later, don't cry for me!" Queen Calanthe looked at the witcher, "This kid looks like a bad guy. It's not the same as other witchers, but he's still too young to be Henrik's opponent."
"Humph!" A petite girl with delicate features like a doll in a white princess dress next to the queen raised her face high, "My old mother, no matter how young a dragon slayer is, she is not a match for ordinary people, just wait and see. Let's play! When the time comes, don't go back!"
"Damn! Ciri pay attention to your identity, don't say such vulgar words!"
The maids behind the two couldn't help covering their mouths and chuckling.
"Look!" Calanthe suddenly excitedly patted a rattan chair, "This is the 'Dragon Slayer' you have high hopes for? What a joke, even a witcher!"
The battle in the field presented a one-sided situation.
Henrik held a slender rapier in his hand, with a calm bearing and graceful posture. Every swing of his sword gave people a proper feeling, just like his mustache that he took care of every day, full of ornamental beauty.
But his hands are the exact opposite. The young witcher was passive under Henrik's agile stabbing sword,
The whole person was firmly suppressed. Henrik's stabbing sword is not only light and neat, but also faintly gloomy and fierce. Every attack accurately stabs the opponent's neck, heart, eyes and other vital points, and the attack and rhythm are like flowing clouds and water, wave after wave. One wave, without stopping.
Roy only has the power to parry, but has no power to fight back. Fortunately, his swordsmanship skills are still solid, and he guards the sword without leaking.
For most onlookers, however, the witcher's defeat was only a matter of time.
Really
Roy controlled the movements of his body and tried his best to pretend to be in a hurry.
If it is too boring to crush the opponent roughly at the beginning, only the reversal can make people impressive.
Furthermore, excessive force is not necessarily appreciated and is more likely to be seen as a threat.
So he really "keeps his hands properly" while observing Henrik's stabbing swordsmanship that was different from his previous opponents.
After 20 years of practicing swordsmanship, Henrique still has some real talents. Roy's accumulation of swordsmanship for a few months is naturally far inferior to him.
But the difference in attributes is too great, and the fast sword that Henryk is proud of is too slow in the eyes of the witcher!
"Here—" In the harsh friction between the tip of the sword and the spine of the sword, the witcher swayed the stab of the palace swordsman again and again.
Calanthe couldn't help cursing, "Bastard Henrik! Didn't you get enough food? Soft like a bitch! Yes, keep the rhythm, hurry up, stab him in the throat, one move to defeat the enemy, hunt The devil can't escape!"
Beside her, Cilia nervously waved her pure white fist and comforted herself, "Well, the 'Dragon Slayer' is just showing the enemy's weakness. This is a tactic. When the moustache is exhausted, it's time to fight back!"
…
The witcher counted for almost three minutes, and suddenly turned into a beast that escaped the gate, lowered his body and rushed towards the opponent, facing a stabbing sword.
"Wow—" A silver-bright blade drew a half-moon-shaped arc in the air.
The broad sword and the rapier collided head-on. Henrik didn't have time to withdraw the blade, but felt a huge force surge into the tiger's mouth, his body numb, and the weapon came out of his hand.
In the next second, a flickering blade was stuck on his neck. Henrik lowered his head, the sound of "gulugulu" swallowing saliva was clearly audible,
"I lost."
Everyone around was silent.
"No reason!"
Queen Calanthe stood up furiously, turned and left!
"Good job, Demon Hunter." Ciri jumped up without a hint of princess demeanor, waving her palms towards the garden below excitedly, and the Demon Hunter instantly turned her head at the crisp call.
Two pairs of eyes of different colors, one big and one small, met in mid-air.
"Could it be—" The witcher's heart moved, that short-legged, short-handed, and fleshy little girl on the viewing platform was Ciri
Even if she has picturesque features and is an obvious beauty embryo, she can't hide the fact that she is definitely less than ten years old!
"Then Ciri should be eight years old this year."
Now I can't see the heroic royal sister Fan Er in the future, and she is not the "ugly girl" in the rumors.
"Giggle..." At this time, Ciri above looked at Roy with a dazed look, and couldn't help covering her mouth and laughing coquettishly.
"Goodbye, 'Dragon Slayer'!"