"If we don't feel the pain, we can't unite … Forget it, it's too late to say anything now." Calanthe's face was ashen.
"How is it too late?" Aunt May was surprised.
"Those beasts are slaughtering my people, but I don't even have the strength to hold a sword. I'm surrounded by orphans and widows who have lost their husbands and sons."
Calanthe looked at the fire outside the window in despair, as if she could see the barbaric southern soldiers trampling on the people of the capital.
"Aren't you forgetting something? Where's Princess Cirui? "Aunt May looked around.
"I let my trusted knight take her to escape through the secret passage. She can't die, she won't die. She hasn't seen Geralt yet. Fate won't let her die until the Law of Accidents is completed." Calanthe trembled.
"Uh, you're going to entrust her to Geralt?"
"Although I want to defy fate, I haven't succeeded even once. The Law of Accidents can't be violated. Geralt is Ciri's fate." Calanthe said bitterly.
"Ciri and Targaryen are married. Have you forgotten?" Aunt May reminded.
Calanthe was stunned. "My country is gone. How can I marry Targaryen? And it was only a verbal agreement. The candidate hasn't even been decided yet. "
Aunt May smiled faintly. "With all due respect, whether you're a queen or a beggar, it makes no difference to Targaryen.
They won't covet your dowry for Ciri.
On the contrary, Targaryen's words are like a mountain. Everyone in the world knows that. Even if it's just a verbal agreement, they won't go against it. "
"So, what are you trying to say? Oh right, there's a massacre outside. The streets are full of Nilfgaardian beasts. How did you get in? "
"I can't beat the warlock group, but it's easy to come and go as I please." After a pause, she said, "I came to you this time to ask for your help in funding my Red God Cult.
Of course, I hope you can persuade the other kings. But when I came here, I found you so decadent. "
"Hmph, if I could still stand, I'd definitely join the last battle of my life with my sword in hand." Calanthe touched the huge wound on her chest that cut across her torso, her face ashen.
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? You are a relative of the Targaryens by marriage. In theory, you have an alliance with them.
Even if all the northern kingdoms were to fall, your grandson-in-law would be able to help you restore them easily, let alone just Cintra. "
Calanthe's dim eyes emitted a bright light. "Are you sure?"
Her voice was trembling.
"You can try. After all, you have nothing to lose."
"Redwyne, Redwyne!" Calanthe propped herself up and shouted the name of the captain of the palace guards.
A moment later, a sturdy middle-aged armored knight pushed open the door and entered. He knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, I have already distributed the poison as you instructed."
"Gah —" Calanthe's voice was hoarse, and she collapsed.
"What poison? Aunt May asked.
"The enemy is about to break through our defenses. The nobles of Cintra would rather die with dignity than be humiliated by the Nilfgaardian beasts." Redwin's face was full of determination.
"Uh, did you drink the poison?" Aunt May's mouth twitched.
"Of course, we're not afraid of death!"
.....
None of the nobles of Cintra surrendered. Almost all of them committed suicide for their country, including the women and children. Even the babies were fed poison by their parents.
It was heroic and tragic.
Although it was tragic, it also made it easier for Calanthe to escape.
Well, she was determined not to live, but the remaining attendants heard that there was hope for the restoration of the kingdom and forced her to leave with Melisandre.
"It's not difficult. As long as you can go to the World of the Seven Gods and show your sincerity, the Targaryens will at least form a volunteer army of five thousand for you." After a few twists and turns, he contacted the dwarf and said so.
Before going to the World of the Seven Gods, Calanthe had to find her precious granddaughter. Otherwise, who would marry her?
But before she could find Ciri, the final battle between the northern kingdoms and Nilfgaardian — the Battle of Sodden Hill — broke out. Both sides invested a hundred thousand soldiers in this battle. Dozens of warlocks formed groups of warlocks and bombarded each other with war magic.
Almost all the otherworldly people ran to watch.
The sky was covered with dark clouds and heavy rain. The warlocks controlled lightning to illuminate a radius of dozens of miles. There seemed to be firecrackers in the clouds.
Plants grew wildly all over the mountains and plains, entangling the soldiers and crushing them into bloody paste and white bones.
Meteor fireballs the size of houses streaked across the valley from time to time and landed on the ground a few kilometers away, exploding into flames the size of an aerial bomb.
There were also warlocks who propped up a defensive barrier that covered half of the battlefield. The enemy's magic splashed the magic light and shadow like meteors falling to the ground.
.....
"It's spectacular. I didn't expect war to be so magnificent and so cruel." The new generation after the long night was shocked.
"Not bad, not bad. It's getting interesting." The old man who had survived the long night nodded lightly.
The Nilfgaardians who were madly attacking the North were blocked. The Northern Coalition Army won a pyrrhic victory.
The warlocks whose strength was not inferior to the demigods of the World of Ice and Fire alone died fourteen from the northern kingdoms. More than thirty thousand soldiers died. The death ratio was more than thirty percent. Including the injured, the casualty ratio was more than sixty percent!
"It's too tragic. Mortals shouldn't be involved …" Tyrion, who was used to seeing big scenes, could not bear to see it.
From the beginning of the invasion of Cintra to the end of the war, only three to four months had passed. When the armistice was signed, Calanthe was embarrassed and angry.
She was embarrassed because the war had ended before she could ask for reinforcements.
Angry because Cintra was betrayed by the Allied Army. Her country was recognized by the northern kingdoms as a new province of Nilfgaardian.
After the anger, she was even more determined to go to the other world to ask for reinforcements.
Well, before the Battle of Sodden Hill, Calanthe began to hesitate whether she should ask Targaryen for help to restore her country. After the fall of Cintra, the red-robed woman's strategy of joining forces against the enemy was quickly recognized by the northern kingdoms.
Moreover, the red-robed woman was already a member of the Warlock Council, equivalent to a doctor in the old town's school. If she could convince the other doctors, she could convince the lords through the scholars of each territory.
Every country had a court warlock, equivalent to a national advisor. With the Warlock Council appearing, it saved a lot of time for wrangling to form an alliance.
Therefore, while Nilfgaardian's invasion was swift, the northern kingdoms were able to complete the formation of an alliance in just four months. They even sent troops to set up a defense line.
This efficiency was something that even the Dragon Queen, who urged all the countries to unite against the ghosts at night, would be envious of.
"You shouldn't have brought Ciri here. The Warlock Council may be in turmoil in the near future." Half a year later, Melisandre was surprised and worried when she saw little Ciri, who was traveling with the demon hunters.
At this time, Ciri was already thirteen years old. She had short hair and wore the same leather armor as Geralt. She even carried a demon hunter's sword on her back.
She looked like a tomboy demon hunter. Her oval-shaped face still had traces of childishness, but it was completely different from the softness of her early years.
She had some of her grandmother's tough temperament, but there was also a shadow of Geralt's fearlessness and bravery.
"Seeing a ghost in real life, Calanthe's worries came true. You really turned her into a little demon hunter."
Geralt gently rubbed Ciri's little head and sighed. "A lot has happened in the past few years. When I met her, she had already become a strong warrior."
Then, the demon hunter told him about his experience with Ciri.
That day, Calanthe arranged for her confidant to take Ciri out of Cintra. On the way, they met the Nilfgaardian knights, who seemed to be waiting to capture Ciri.
The guards died in battle and Ciri was captured. After seeing the massacre in the capital of Cintra, her blood awakened.
Although she escaped from the capital, she could not control her power. She did not even dare to reveal her identity. She could only disguise her identity and starve with the refugees. She was hunted down and eventually adopted by a merchant.
But she did not have a stable life in the merchant's house for long before her adoptive father "lost" to Geralt. The one who adopted Ciri was the merchant's wife, and the merchant was rescued by Geralt when he was in trouble outside. Geralt wanted to repay the unexpected law.
Since fate was so insistent, Geralt could only take Ciri as his goddaughter on the spot.
He took her to the demon hunter's base camp and trained her in the demon hunter's way. He also taught her the swordsmanship of the World of the Seven Gods until Ciri gradually could not suppress her magic power.
"I brought her to Thanedd Island to join the Sorceress Academy and let the sorcerers help her develop her talent," Geralt said.
"Why don't you just take her to Slaver's Bay?"
Geralt said, "She's still underage. Didn't we agree to arrange for Prince Targaryen to come here for a blind date when Ciri comes of age?
Also, Queen Calanthe is still alive. Without her permission, I can't take Ciri to the World of the Seven Gods without her permission. "
That being said, the demon hunter began to have selfish motives after becoming an adoptive father.
He knew that the Dragon Queen had her eyes on Ciri's ancient blood.
He was worried that the Dragon Queen would take away the ancient blood and keep the Fire Sprite Little Mist as soon as they met.
If Ciri could fully develop the ancient blood and master the power of the Song of Fire, losing the Fire Sprite and a part of the ancient blood would minimize the damage to her.
As a father who truly loved his daughter, it was not surprising that he would be so calculative.
Melisandre looked at him deeply. "I'm afraid your kindness will not end well."
"What's wrong?" The demon hunter was puzzled.
"Why do you think Nilfgaard lost the war in the North?"
"Not really. The North won a pyrrhic victory and lost Cintra as a barrier," Geralt said.
"As long as the Warlock Council exists, Nilfgaard will never conquer the North. What do you think?"
Geralt's expression changed. "Is Emhyr so arrogant that he wants to attack Thanedd Island? This is the Warlock's main camp! "
"A fortress is the easiest to break from the inside," Melisandre said meaningfully.
"A Warlock defected to Nilfgaard?" Geralt's hair stood on end.
"Now the Warlocks are divided into three factions. Those like me who are firmly opposed to Nilfgaard, those who are neutral and those who defected to Nilfgaard.
The scary thing is not how many people have defected to Nilfgaard, but how divided they are.
The Warlock organizations are divided and fighting among themselves. The Northern Kingdom will no longer trust the Warlocks because of those who have surrendered. "
"That Mad King who dances on the grave is not simple!" The red-robed woman sighed.
"Why is it like this? I thought everyone would be more united after winning the war, "Ciri was puzzled.
Melisandre said meaningfully, "The longer you live, the more power you have, the more you fear death. In the battle of Sodden Hill, out of the twenty-two Warlocks in the North, fourteen died … well, thirteen Warlocks.
Every one of them was a Grand Preceptor, and the youngest had lived for more than a hundred years.
Think about it this way. Fourteen kings died in that battle. Do you think the other kings were afraid? "
"I'm not!" Ciri's eyes were firm.
"You should be. Those who are not are all dead." Aunt May patted her little head.
"If you're afraid of death, you can choose to be neutral and not help either side. Why would anyone defect to Nilfgaard?" The Demon Hunter frowned.
"Being neutral is a betrayal to the North. But it's not surprising. The Warlock Council even took in the elves and me. Many Warlocks came from the South."
"As for those who have surrendered, it's mainly because of the ancient prophecy, the prophecy of the Elven Sage Islin.
Emhyr thinks that he can be the savior in the prophecy. He feels that everything he does is to save the world. Some Warlocks agree. "
Melisandre's expression was complicated. She thought of the prophecy of Asha and herself.
"When the human massacre stains the earth with the blood of the elves, when the humans conquer each other for their desires, the white frost and white light will come. The world will die in the frost and be reborn under the new sun.
The ancient blood is the seed of rebirth, and will ignite a new flame for the world.
All humans will perish in the process, and only the elves will survive. They will be saved by the descendants of the ancient blood. "
"This is my understanding of the ancient elven prophecy," Aunt May said.
The original text was very obscure and difficult to understand, even scholars could not understand it.
"Your understanding …" The Demon Hunter's mouth twitched. "I can't believe it."
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