The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

Dandelion began to watch in horror as Lann controlled Myhrman. He stared in disbelief at Myhrman, who answered Lann's every question without reservation. He thought to himself: 'Is this how a witcher should act?'

Myhrman, in his confusion, pulled out a blue amulet. It was made of metal and its design was crude, something that on the street would not attract anyone's attention. No one would guess that it was actually a communication device.

Lann continued to ask: "How to transmit the information to Rience?"

"There is a hole in the center of the amulet. Insert the matching cylindrical pin into it to send a signal."

Curious, Dandelion approached to examine the mysterious device with Lann.

"No, there is no hole in this amulet... Wait, there is, but it has been blocked..." Suddenly, Dandelion's expression changed. He realized something.

Lann's eyes narrowed, and he quickly activated his witcher senses.

Lann heard the fluttering of crows and owls, the meowing of stray cats in heat, the barking of stray dogs, the singing and fighting coming from the taverns.

And also the footsteps of more than a dozen people. Light steps, without armor, therefore fast, and the sound grew louder and louder.

Lann kicked Dandelion in the chest, sending the bard flying into the corner of a wall. He then rolled across the floor just in time to dodge two crossbow bolts that pierced the window, one of which lodged itself in the spot where he had been standing moments before. The other bolt sank into Myhrman's chest.

At this moment, more than a dozen people broke through the door and windows, and some even tore down the roof to get in, surrounding Lann.

They didn't seem to be in a hurry to kill Lann, or they wanted to keep him alive for questioning.

Lann looked closely and saw that these were dressed like street killers or mercenaries, with varying equipment and strange looks. Only two of them were equipped with weapons such as crossbows.

For Lann, these people were not a problem at all. But the fact that they were here was a big problem.

A man in iron armor slowly entered from the door. He maintained a deliberate elegance, but his appearance was brutal. Lann looked at his face, disfigured by a scar that covered his entire right cheek.

It was Rience. The scar on his face was Yennefer's doing.

"It looks like this is a trap, but I have a question." Lann said coldly. “Where are my soldiers? How did they manage to get here without any sound of battle?”

"They're not in danger, but they won't be able to help you. There are too many of them and we plan to take care of you first and then we'll deal with them."

Lann's expression grew even colder. "What have they done to them?"

Rience laughed disdainfully, his voice was hoarse and heartbreaking, just listening to it produced discomfort.

"You are an important figure, Earl Lannister of Cintra. I am fully aware of that, so in order to confront you, I had to seek out other important figures. Otherwise, I would not have the courage to appear in front of you."

Rience smiled evilly, his ugly scar twisting on his face.

"Catch him, I want the earl alive! The bard doesn't matter."

Dandelion’s face suddenly turned pale.

A dozen killers and mercenaries looked at each other and slowly approached Lann.

Lann drew out the sword of the Lady of the Lake, retreated to the corner, and asked Dandelion: "Can you take care of yourself?"

The bardo stammered: "Do you... do you think they'll like my ballad? You said earlier that you could kill several sorcerers in one fell swoop... And now you can't handle them?"

Lann grinned. "It's hard for me to guarantee that I won't hurt you while killing them. So this is my second question for you: Can you swim?"

Dandelion stood stunned, feeling a bad premonition, but also a strange sense of familiarity.

"Hey, hey... Lord Lannister, no, Lann, listen to me...!"

Lann suddenly turned around, and with his left hand he threw a magic-enhanced Aard Sign at the wooden wall behind him, opening a large hole that made the poor house groan dangerously.

He then grabbed Dandelion by the collar of his shirt, and with a strong push, the bard felt his body rise into the air.

In mid-air, Dandelion looked up at the half-moon covered by dark clouds. Apart from that, there was no star in the sky. It was pitch black, just like his heart.

"You and Geralt are really the same~~"

The bard's scream was abruptly cut off by the sound of a splash in the water.

Lann moved his neck, moved his left hand again, and put on the [Quen Seal]. He grinned like a hungry lion.

"I need to save up some magic power, as I'll need it later. So what you see now might be... pretty bloody."

Rience still didn't understand the gravity of the situation and also smiled. "I agree that the situation will be bloody."

The battle did not begin with swords, as the witcher medallion on Lann's chest began to vibrate violently, indicating that someone was using magic to attack him.

He leapt to the side, using the Aerondight sword to deflect and neutralize the powerful magical energy.

Rience raised his arm to cast another spell, but his coordination with the mercenaries was not good. The dozen men rushed forward, giving the sorcerer no room to act. He could only curse and retreat.

The attackers were in several small groups, resulting in chaotic coordination, but they eventually managed to organize themselves. The four fastest ones moved forward, showing professionalism in their stances.

The first thug made a feint with his right hand, but quickly moved away, giving way to a deceptive attack from those behind.

But Lann was incredibly fast and strong. He ignored the feint and lunged at the first thug, slicing into his abdomen with a brutal blow.

Lann was furious, using so much force that he almost split him in two.

Using the momentum, he crouched down, using the steel griffin sword on his back to block the next attack. He then pulled out the sword with his left hand and performed a cross slash, splitting the next opponent in half.

The Aerondight sword glowed even brighter with the absorbed blood, increasing its attack power with each kill.

It all happened in an instant. The two remaining thugs had no time to react to the death of their comrades and were still approaching Lann from different directions.

Lann spun between them, using both swords, beginning a deadly dance.

[Whirl]!

Lann felt his sword cut into someone's spine, then there was a gasp that ended with a cut across his throat. He hadn't practiced much with his left hand, but the system made it feel natural.

With the spinning attack, the small house was soon filled with blood and chaos. The swords cut through everything in their path, leaving the house clear of enemies in no time.

Until only Lann and Rience remained.

The sorcerer was pale. He had heard rumors that wherever the Lion passed, the corpses of Nilfgaardians were left everywhere, but he always thought that these were stories invented by refugees to console themselves.

This man could actually take on a dozen men in a battle! That was something that many sorcerers who had just graduated from the academy couldn't do.

Rience kept retreating, while raising his arms in front of him, and a magical light flowed from his fingers. He was muttering something, but his speech was very slow, and it was obvious that he was not very proficient in the spell he was about to use.

Lann, seeing this, lunged at him without hesitation, frightening the sorcerer. He was unable to finish his spell and ran away.

As he ran, Rience screamed incomprehensible words, without any trace of magic in his body. Lann understood that he was not casting a spell but asking for help. Or rather, begging for help.

Help arrived quickly. Both of them had already left the house and were out on the street. A bright light illuminated the alley, and in the dirty, dilapidated wall of a building appeared an oval, burning portal.

Rience lunged for the portal, but Lann reacted faster. Without time to draw his crossbow, he threw his steel sword like a throwing axe.

The sword spun in the air, piercing the sorcerer's leg with precision, knocking him down in mid-jump.

The way to escape was close at hand, just a few steps away. Rience, crawling with difficulty, left a trail of blood on the ground.

His progress was quickly halted when someone stepped on his hand.

Lann slowly applied pressure, and the chilling sound of bones breaking echoed through the air.

Ignoring Rience's heart-wrenching screams and weak blows to his leg, Lann looked around and saw his attendants and soldiers.

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