The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

Von Everec Estate.

Kiyan had been here before, so his second visit was much easier.

They all mounted the best war horses and, in little more than half a day, they arrived at the von Evere Estate.

Despite it being afternoon, the estate was shrouded in a thick dark cloud. At first, they thought it was just the weather, but as they looked into the distance, they noticed that the sun's rays were still illuminating the forest beyond.

These dark clouds were expanding from the estate outwards.

The walls of the estate were very high, almost as if the designer had wanted to build a castle. As they looked around and moved forward, going along the base of the walls, they found a huge hole in the wall, covered with vines and various climbing plants.

From time to time, a chilly wind would blow from inside, rustling the bushes and other plants that were growing out of control. Looking through the hole, they could see a faint white mist covering much of the estate.

"Okay." Kolgrim shrugged. "I believe what Lann said now. This estate is the kind of place where you can be sure there is black magic at a glance."

Kiyan nodded. "When I came here before, I heard that the villagers around would sneak in when the estate owner was away to rob some property, but the people who went in never came out. Later, there were still homeless people and thieves who wanted to try their luck from time to time, but they never came back."

As a witcher, Kiyan had been drawn to the mystery of the estate since his first visit, but at the time he was busy with the task of awakening Vlodimir and was unable to explore. Now that he was back, he couldn't contain his excitement.

The witchers checked their alchemy backpacks, oiled their swords, and made sure everything else they needed was within reach.

After confirming that the preparations were correct, everyone stepped into the von Everec Estate together.

Although it had only been abandoned for a few years, the estate looked like it hadn't been visited in decades, with overgrown trees everywhere, and the ground covered in broken stones and fallen leaves, forming a new layer of road.

The estate was very large, and everyone turned on their witcher senses and moved forward.

The first thing they found was a fountain, with very cold water.

"Something is wrong." Letho suddenly said. "There are traces of human activity here." His snake eyes glittered as he used his witcher senses to pick up on the subtle clues in the air.

Kolgrim kicked a sack next to his foot and, supporting Letho's words, said: "I found two bags of compost, very fresh, and obviously someone is still taking care of these plants."

Kiyan looked at a recliner thoughtfully. "The wood is very worn. The person who lives here has a lot of free time."

"Lann, you said Olgierd left the estate but locked his wife here, right? Is there really a lady or mistress who can stand this environment?" Kiyan patted the recliner, stirring up a thin layer of dust.

"Is she supposed to sit directly on this layer of dust?"

Lann shook his head and said something puzzling. "I'm afraid it's not 'she', but 'it'."

At that very moment, Lann and Kiyan seemed to sense something and turned sharply in one direction. The [Medium] talent had activated their senses, pointing them in a certain direction.

Under the cover of mist, a shabby easel stood beside a bright flower bush.

Suddenly, a black dog and a black cat came out of the bush, sitting on either side of the trestle. Their coats were shiny, giving the impression of being well cared for.

But everyone knew that they were definitely not ordinary cats and dogs, not only because their harmless appearance was incompatible with this environment, but also because of their eyes: turbid, black and white, like two shabby oil lamps emitting strange light in the dark.

It was at that moment that the witchers' medallions began to vibrate.

And that wasn't all. Lann and Kiyan sensed something again and looked behind the two animals. A tall figure emerged from the mist, walking with clumsy steps but carefully avoiding the flowers on the ground.

The witchers unsheathed their longswords in unison.

The figure, dressed as a guardian, wore a tattered black hooded cloak and waved an equally tattered shovel.

But what really alarmed the witchers wasn't just his clothes. What was terrifying was his face. It looked like someone had torn off his face and then sewn it back together with new skin, leaving a grotesque, red seam in place of a mouth.

Kiyan chuckled. "I don't know whether I should say this guy is ugly, after all, he doesn't even have the conditions of being 'ugly'."

Except for Lann, the other five witchers each pulled two potions from their alchemical backpacks out of pure muscle memory.

A [Swallow] for wound regeneration, and a [Thunderbolt] to increase muscle strength.

Lann, who rarely needed to use potions, was a little slower to draw his own. But the gatekeeper in front of him was already more than a regular enemy.

And the atmosphere has reached this point, and he would feel a little out of place if he didn't take both potions.

He turned his left hand over, and there were two more alchemy glass bottles in his hand. A bottle of magic potion [Swallow]; and another one of a deep dark blue, called [Petri's Philter].

[Petri's Philter]: Increases Sign intensity.

A special potion from the Griffin School brewed by Jerome. Upon ingesting it, Lann felt his chaotic energy awaken.

Not only that, Lann also took out an ordinary mirror from his [Inventory] and pointed it at the guardian, looking expectant.

But the guard, walking towards them, showed no reaction. Lann looked at the mirror and shrugged. "It seems there are no shortcuts."

In the next moment, the Guardian exploded into a blue flame, especially intense on its shovel, even surpassing the brilliance of Lann's runeblade.

"Hide!"

There was no need for Lann to remind them. The witchers had many times more experience in fighting enemies than him. When the guardian began to glow, they turned into black shadows and scattered.

[Boom!]

The blow of the guard's shovel raised dust and debris, as if a meteor had struck.

The white mist in the garden grew thicker, and the guardian, having failed, slowly stood up, looking towards the witchers.

The six witchers looked at the crater left by the guardian. This attack had a tremendous force, capable of killing in one blow.

A light flashed and the witchers covered themselves with the [Quen Sign].

Simultaneously, Lann slammed his palm on the ground and a huge purple magic circle appeared on the ground, an hourglass symbol appeared in his vision, and he directed it at the guardian.

A purple lightning bolt struck the guardian, nearly knocking him down.

Except for Letho, the other Witchers who had never seen this new type of Sign were all shocked on the spot. Are the Signs of the Griffin School like this?

But even though they were surprised, their movements did not slow down at all and with precision, their silver swords attacked the guardian.

Letho blocked the shovel with his sword but was shocked by the enormous strength that erupted from the other party's thin body.

The other three swords pierced the guardian's throat, heart, and abdomen.

The four witchers of the Viper School, accustomed to working together, displayed impeccable coordination.

After such a serious injury, no matter what kind of monster it is, there is no possibility of survival.

But the guard only shook violently twice, and still continued to fight Letho with his shovel.

At the same time, the ground beneath the guardian's feet began to crack, emanating a blue glow.

Lann hurriedly shouted: "Retreat!"

The Viper School's witchers had already noticed something was wrong due to the shaking of their medallions, and they didn't even have time to pull their swords out of the enemy's body, and directly retreated from the scene.

Only Letho was in a dilemma. He was trapped in combat, he couldn't back out, otherwise the shovel in the enemy's hand might split his head. His [Quen Sign] wasn't as strong as the abilities granted by Lann's system.

But fortunately, he is not alone at this moment.

Lann, aware of the situation, decided to intervene abruptly.

[Aard Sign - Magic Burst]!

The violent magic turned into a hurricane and Letho felt as if someone had suddenly struck him with a heavy hammer behind him.

The clash between the longsword and the shovel instantly became unbalanced.

Letho took advantage of the momentum to press his sword directly against the shovel, cutting it and tearing the guardian's shoulder.

However, in the next second, he and the guardian were launched into the air.

The telekinetic impact pushed them out of the area enveloped by the dark blue glow coming from the ground.

[Boom!]

With a rumble, the blue glow finally found an exit, and rushed into the sky, at the same time as the blue light brushed against Letho's heels. He definitely did not want to taste the flavor of being bathed in that light.

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