The Witcher: Wolf School's Hunting Notes

Ianna's sudden outburst stunned everyone present, their expressions somewhat strange.

As the archpriestess of the Melitele Temple, Ianna's reaction seemed a bit over the top.

"Apologies, I was rude," the old duke noticed the issue and mumbled a few words, slightly bowing his head towards Allen, redirecting everyone's attention.

"It's fine." Allen waved his hand, though it was a bit of an offense, the old duke's words were not without praise.

The old duke nodded, glanced at the sky, then turned his head to Arthur. "It's getting late, let's head back."

Arthur nodded, helping the old duke into the carriage.

The others stood at the door, ready to see them off.

Strangely, after Arthur placed the old duke inside the carriage, he stayed in there for a while, as though being instructed on something.

"Bang~"

The door of the carriage was gently closed.

After Arthur got out of the carriage, he walked up to Allen and asked, "Allen, you didn't enter through the city gates of Ellander today, did you?"

Allen immediately tensed up, subconsciously glancing at Ianna, worried that their arrival had been leaked.

"Only a month has passed, and in all of Ellander, there are very few who don't recognize our hero. If you had entered through the city gates, surely someone would have reported it before you reached the temple."

Noticing Allen's unease, Arthur smiled gently and explained.

Allen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could say anything, Arthur's gaze swept over Ianna and Nenneke with a meaningful look, saying: "The mages' teleportation portals are convenient, but they miss a lot of the beautiful sights."

"Lord Mason told you not to rush to eliminate those monsters tomorrow, but to enjoy Ellander."

"Huh?" Allen tilted his head in confusion.

"You'll find out tomorrow," Arthur chuckled brightly, offering no further explanation.

He saluted the two women and nodded at Allen before climbing back into the carriage, whipping the reins to drive off.

"Rumble, rumble~"

The rolling wheels crushed the scattered petals on the ground.

"What do the old duke and Arthur mean by that?"

Allen stared at the black carriage as it gradually disappeared, turning back with a confused look toward Ianna and Nenneke.

"It's not a bad thing. You'll understand tomorrow," Nenneke replied, smiling gently.

"I won't say anything, just now Arthur reminded us with his eyes," Ianna teased, with a knowing smile. "Let Lysa go with you tomorrow. She's familiar with the changes in Ellander."

"A bunch of riddlers!" Allen muttered, definitely curious about the Ellander he hadn't seen in a month.

"Let's go," Ianna patted Allen's shoulder and followed Nenneke, who was holding a lantern. "Lysa should have already saved those seven unlucky witchers from the curse."

"That's about right," Allen nodded, following behind them. "Vesemir should be giving them a good scolding now. He's been holding back for many days."

"Vesemir is wasting his time. There aren't many witchers who've turned into statues, and they'll remember that experience just as well as your witcher master," Ianna laughed a couple of times before suddenly asking, "By the way, I still don't know how you ended up like this?"

"Did you step into some ancient elven ruin and trigger a trap?"

Allen paused for a moment before continuing on.

Ianna noticed this hesitation and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Did I guess right? Although exploring ruins is akin to grave robbing and not exactly moral."

"But at this time, it doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Whether they are from Ban Ader or Arituza, people take pride in it..."

"At least I won't kick you out of the temple for this."

Allen shook his head, thought for a moment, and didn't hide anything.

"It was a male mage. We received a friend's distress signal and went to rescue them. While passing by Ban Ard, we were targeted by a male mage."

"Erni... those seven young witchers... when Vesemir and I were otherwise occupied and not around, they were targeted and cursed by a Artefact compression spell."

Ianna's face changed suddenly, and she abruptly stopped, reaching out to grab his right hand.

Though sudden, it wasn't fast. Allen could have easily avoided it, but he didn't. Instead, he softly said, "Vesemir and I weren't injured, and everything has been resolved."

Ianna didn't budge, but the warm, soothing energy from her hand flowed into Allen, checking his condition. Once she confirmed there were no issues, she let go.

"You mustn't be careless," Ianna sighed in relief, her voice reprimanding. "For the sake of power, they poison, abort, curse, spread rumors…"

"I've seen it all before."

"Most male mages these days are extreme and venomous. It's causing chaos across the northern continent…"

Allen was taken aback by her frankness, his mouth dropping open. 'Ianna, you're the archpriestess of Melitele Temple! Don't you worry that saying such things will cause a stir?'

"Will you tell anyone?" Ianna asked.

"Of course not..." Allen quickly assured.

"Then it's fine," Ianna rolled her eyes, retracting her hand and continuing to walk forward. "Besides, I'm an old lady about to die. What can those cowardly rats do to me?"

"Archpriestess!" Even Nenneke couldn't bear it anymore, though not because of her derogatory remarks about mages, but because of her careless attitude. "You still have a long time to live, how can you say such things!"

Nenneke, with his brown eyes, glared at Ianna.

Ianna didn't care and laughed a couple of times before narrowing her eyes, teasing, "What? You don't want me to have the position of archpriestess?"

"Don't want it? Then I'll just give it to Lysa…"

"Archpriestess!" Nenneke's eyebrows shot up, and he lightly rebuked, "How can you say such things?"

"Serving Lady Melitele, earthly power is meaningless. Only the golden wheat fields of fertile maidens are the ultimate destination…"

"Alright, alright…" Ianna seemed to give in, surrendering, "You're just too serious."

"You're too reckless," Nenneke retorted and continued walking with the lantern.

It seemed like they'd had this irreverent conversation many times before.

However, Allen chose to ignore it and remained silent, following behind them.

Until Ianna suddenly turned back, looking at him seriously: "Really, you won't consider moving to Ellander?"

Allen paused, replying, "That's a decision only the chief can make…"

"Even the Wolf School Witcher Master Blue Death from half a year ago couldn't?" Ianna smiled.

Allen helplessly chuckled, shaking his head in denial.

"What if it was just you?" Ianna asked. "Mason definitely wouldn't mind having another monster advisor in his court, and all of Ellander would welcome you…"

Allen hesitated for a moment before shaking his head firmly. "I'm a Witcher, a Wolf School Witcher."

"Alright." Ianna was not upset by the refusal once again, and her smile became even more comforting. However, even so, the group fell into silence for a moment.

The only sounds in the air were the echo of boots hitting the stone slabs, mixed with the chirping of insects.

"By the way, I haven't thanked you yet for speaking up for me in front of the Duke," Allen suddenly said.

If it hadn't been for Ianna's words earlier, the Duke would not have invested so much.

And judging by the Duke and Arthur's tone, many people—including the Duke's heir—had been complaining about him granting the knight's title to a Witcher.

Without Ianna's words, it's possible that not only would the Duke and Arthur's favor not have increased, but Allen's bluntness might have even caused their opinion of him to drop.

"It seems that the news of our arrival has spread to quite a few people in the Temple," Allen hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Ianna, who was smiling brightly. "Won't there be trouble if the Duke learns the truth?"

"My point is, even if it's exposed, we Witchers can simply leave," Ianna replied. "But the Temple has deep roots in Ellander..."

"Don't you plan to go clear up those ghoul-like creatures tomorrow?" Ianna interrupted, smiling.

"Of course, I will."

"Can't you, as you promised, solve Ellander's problems?"

"Definitely, with two Witcher masters and seven Witchers, dealing with those ghouls is more than enough."

"That's enough then, Allen." Ianna nodded slightly. "As for whether this will affect the Temple..."

"Allen, perhaps you don't know, but the Melitele Temple wasn't built because of Ellander."

"On the contrary," Nenneke, holding a lantern, turned back and smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming with pride, "The Temple was established thirteen years before Ellander began to build its city."

"When Desmond, the first king of Temeria, founded the Kingdom of Temeria and incorporated Ellander, it was fifty years after the Temple was established..."

"Allen, it's not that Melitele needs Ellander, but rather Ellander needs Melitele."

There was no persuasive tone in the words of the two female priests of the Melitele Temple, only a plain and straightforward statement of fact.

Allen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

All this time, it had always been the Duke who personally visited to "invite" the archpriestess Ianna.

Whether it was setting up exorcism rituals or, like today, urging the Wolf School to relocate...

Although he had always regarded the status of the Melitele Temple highly, it didn't seem high enough.

It was only because Ianna and the people of the Temple treated him kindly, while the Duke always wore a stern expression, that he had the illusion that the archpriestess held an equal, or even slightly superior, status to the Duke of Ellander.

In reality, the status of the Melitele Temple had always been very high—higher than the Duke of Ellander's Mason family, even higher than the King of Temeria.

At least... that's how it was now.

Crossing a beautifully decorated wooden bridge over a waterfall, the sound of water gradually fading away.

Ianna suddenly spoke again, "Since you don't want to move to Ellander, let us think of a solution..."

"A solution?" Allen blinked in confusion.

"The hero who saves Ellander cannot be unjustly trapped by the rats in the gutter, right, Nenneke?"

"Of course." Nenneke, holding the lantern, spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, as if he were a judge carrying out divine will. "As the lady said, good deeds will be rewarded, and those who do evil will face calamity."

"Ianna, Nenneke..." Allen felt a warm feeling in his heart.

Nenneke smiled.

"I told you, we are the... true allies!" Ianna smiled kindly, messing up Allen's hair, and gently hugged him like a mother bird protecting her chick under her wings.

She then looked up, furrowing her brows, gazing into the deepest darkness to the north.

"Ban Ard... Ban Ard..."

"Let me think about how to get revenge for you..."

--------------------------------

The next morning.

Underground in Vengerberg Royal Castle.

King Demavend II, wearing a crown, stood in front of the portrait of the founder of Aedirn, his gaze frozen on the figure of the person on horseback, as if admiring the artist's skill.

But although there were candles in the basement, only a few of them were lit.

The dim environment, along with the shadows, made the portrait appear as a blurred mess, impossible to make out clearly.

"Hasn't he come yet?" Demavend placed his right hand on the high-backed chair, not turning around.

"Your Majesty, the Royal Griffin has not yet attacked," an attendant stepped out to inquire, then quickly returned with a respectful reply.

"Not yet..." Demavend's index finger tapped restlessly.

At this moment, he couldn't quite tell if he was hoping the Royal Griffin wouldn't come, so he could stay in his dream a little longer, or if he wished it would come soon to wake him from the nightmare of his revival.

Nobles, bankers, merchants, even common farmers, and perhaps even himself seemed to have reached a breaking point.

At any moment, they could explode like dwarf gunpowder.

He didn't know how much time had passed before there was still no news.

Demavend II, irritated, turned around, about to urge the attendant to go out and inquire again.

"Clomp, clomp~"

Suddenly, urgent footsteps came from outside, and his heart sank.

At that moment, his mind went blank, and a strong dizziness hit him, making him feel as though he was falling into an abyss.

It had come, just as he feared.

Destiny seemed to have never favored him, no matter how frugal he was, how diligent, how respectful of the wise, or how cautious of the unfavorable prophecies... He could never escape the nightmare of being drained and crushed.

It felt like fate was mocking him.

What did it matter if a cruel and violent king like Kaedwen had died?

What did it matter if they replaced him with a mere child?

The surprises from the past few months now seemed like bubbles from a beautiful dream.

But fate was fate; it could not be resisted.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Are you alright..." a voice urgently called, snapping him awake.

Pop~

He seemed to hear the sound of a bubble bursting.

"What happened?" Demavend looked up and saw his intelligence minister, Kurt, standing there, momentarily stunned.

The royal meeting had been postponed to the afternoon due to a monster attack.

"What? The Royal Griffin has arrived and you're here to report?" Demavend chuckled bitterly, his right hand trembling as he reached for the wine glass on the table, about to take a large sip.

"Your Majesty, the Royal Griffin has not arrived!" Kurt spoke quickly. "Your guess from yesterday may be true!"

"And..."

Kurt paused for a moment:

"Ban Ard's sorcerer has infiltrated!"

.....

📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

For advance chapters: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

360. Kaedwen, the Omen of a Fallen Kingdom?

361. The Continuation of the Path of Beast Roar.

362. The Legendary Hero of Ellander.

363. Flying to Ban Ard?

364. The Smoke of Ban Ard.