The group walked towards the depths of the Ice Fortress under the leadership of Claude, and along the way, Claude was talking about the changes on the witcher's side after Hao Ren and the others left last time.“…… Last month, the demons opened the portal, and they evacuated Colpers en masse, as agreed, and walked very simply.To be honest, I was surprised that these demons come across as more honest and reliable than other races.And the demons helped us clear a lot of battlefields when they left, which made our subsequent reconstruction work much easier," Claude said as he walked, "Those temples in Colpers are very strong, and the war didn't destroy those buildings, so the main facilities of the Holy Land are still intact, but due to the shutdown of energy nodes and the bombardment of large-scale magic, Colpers is full of residual energy fields and arcane pollution, and now it is no longer suitable for habitation, and it will take time to clean up those things.""
The Spiritual Clock Tower is still closed.After you terminated the evil ritual, the temporal distortion in the tower has been restored, but the tower itself has been in a state of turmoil in time and space for a long time, the previous events have completely reset the order of the entire tower, and now there are many mysterious new areas in the tower, for security reasons, the Council of Elders announced that ordinary witchers are temporarily forbidden to approach the tower, we have organized some investigation teams to go there, and the Spirit Clock Tower will not be open until a new 'map' is drawn."
In general, the situation is improving, the biggest disaster is behind us, and the biggest problem we face now is the lack of manpower.The Council of Elders has ordered the shrinkage of all witcher organizations in the southern hemisphere and the concentration of manpower in the north: this is where our roots lie.Some other field warbands have also been reorganized, and after the downsizing, eighty percent of the Rangers have ceased to operate, and now the focus is on the Keeper, and we are considering abolishing the Rangers and merging them all into the Night's Watch sequence may be the only option. ”Vivian interjected: "It's supposed to be like this - the hunting war is over, and arranging for the 'safari' guys to go out is it to hunt rabbits." ”"Uh......
Safari doesn't mean that......
Well, it's pretty much the same," Claude smiled awkwardly, "times have changed, times are really going to change." ”"Times have changed," Vivien tilted her head slightly, "have the aliens been in contact with you?"
”The expression on Claude's face changed, and it was obvious that even though the hunting war was over, the habits that had been cultivated over thousands of years still made an orthodox witcher a little at a loss for the current situation: "Six days ago we received a secret letter from the Athenian sanctuary, bearing the mark of Elder Mimir......"
"What did the secret letter say?"
”Hao Ren asked casually.Claude hesitated for a moment: "This ......"
"If you want to say it, you can say it," Vivien glanced at him, "I have people on both sides, and if you don't say it, I can go directly to Athens and ask someone - you are still hypocritical in front of me, and you are talking to me about secrecy." ”Claude coughed dryly: "Ahem, there is actually nothing to be kept secret."
The secret letter mentions a new organization called the Shadow Council.The Council of Elders is considering a direct contact with the anomaly in the near future......
However, there is some controversy over the specific meeting place and who will be selected. ”"Normal, I guess the same thing is being argued on the side of the Athenian shelter," Vivien said with her hands on her chest, "After all, we have been fighting for so many years, and at this time there is a sudden need for peace talks, who is not worried that three hundred axes will pop out from the side when someone sneezes while talking." ”After chatting all the way, by the time he arrived at Tower Square, Hao Ren had basically figured out a series of changes in the witchers after he left, as well as the current situation of this far-northern land.Eventually, they were led by Claude to a tall building next to Tower Square.The building, like its surroundings, is made entirely of huge opaque blocks of ice, with subtle magical glow flowing between the ice, and the ice walls are towering and majestic, reminiscent of an old Gothic church, but with a heavy texture like a military fortress."
The Frost Temple, the seat of the Council of Elders," Claude said, standing in front of the gate, "please follow me, Elder Gregor is waiting inside." ”Unlike the cold appearance, the house built of solid ice was not cold inside, and after entering the Frost Temple, Hao Ren even felt a warm breeze blowing in his face: this may be the power of magic.They walked for a long time in this huge cathedral-like building, and during this time they saw many hurried witchers walking through the corridors, many of whom had met several times, and they stopped to greet Hao Ren and his party, and then continued to hurry.As Claude put it, the Council of Elders is really understaffed today.Eventually, they arrived at Elder Gregory's office.It was a normal room in the Frost Sanctuary, and apart from being quite spacious, it wasn't much more decorated than the rest of the room.In the rectangular room, there was a large bookshelf on one wall, and on the other wall hung a variety of weapons, armor, and ritual items, and these things hanging on the wall were obviously not decorations.A warm fireplace crackled in the corner of the room, and two figures stood in front of it, one of them an elderly Gregor and the other a Hasselblad.The two of them are now considered the top leaders of the Council of Elders.Claude bowed out of the room, and Gregor greeted him: "It's a pleasure to see you again, Your Excellency the Countess. ”"I've become so polite all of a sudden," Vivien looked at the old hunter with a smile, "I'm not used to it." ”Gregor smiled: "After all, the truth of what happened back then has been revealed. ”A few people sat down next to the warm fireplace, and "rolled" immediately took Doudou out of his arms and let the little guy warm up by the fire, and also took out a few small pieces of wood from his pocket and presented them with a groveling face.Hasselblad, who was almost paralyzed, was stunned: he couldn't imagine what the cat had been through to distort his three views like this......
Gregor was also surprised for a moment, but he quickly turned his attention back to Hao Ren: "I have read the message you sent that a demon hunter named 'Zhao Xi' was 'possessed' by the will of the gods?"
”"Say it's possession......
Well, it's not accurate, but it's not bad," Hao Ren nodded, "That witcher has recovered now, but we're worried that Colpers still has the power of the gods, so this time, we just want to investigate." ”"It's not a big deal," Gregor said on the spot, "the Holy Land was preserved because of you, and your army once pacified the whole of Colpers, and then retreated as promised, so I think the witchers can give you enough trust."
And your investigation is also for our safety. ”However, at this time, Hasselblad interjected: "I also think that we can let you go in to investigate, but we must take into account that there are still some people who will be worried about this - Colpers is the home of witchers after all, we have lived here for generations, after the war, what many people want is to live in peace, and if an investigation team comes in at this time......
I'm afraid there will be some people who will be uneasy. ”Vivien waved her hand: "Let them be hypocritical, you witchers have been beautiful for thousands of years, when did you start to coax?"
We didn't investigate this matter to eradicate the hidden danger for you, and no one cares if you regret it when the real person dies. ”Gregovin glanced at Hasselblad, squeezed his eyes and muttered, "I just told you to say less......
Vivien glared, "Can you not pretend I can't hear in front of me?"
”Hasselblad coughed twice without embarrassment, and immediately changed the subject: "Ahem, then this matter is settled."
I don't know if you need our help with your investigation?
”"There's nothing you can help with, we have our own technical means," Hao Ren waved his hand, "just arrange a guide for us, Colpers is a native and familiar with the environment." ”Hasselblad nodded: "That white fire is just right, that kid grew up in Colpers, and she happens to be here at the Ice Fortress today." ”As soon as Lily heard Bai Huo's name, she immediately looked around: "Oh yes, I just wanted to ask, why isn't Bai Huo here, isn't she you and a fart?"
”“…… Bai Huo is just my apprentice, and she has her own business," Hasselblad choked on the words of the "Emperor" for half a second, and his face was embarrassed, "She just came out of Colpers and is resting today."
I'll send someone to call her. ”"Forget it, listen to you......
Let's go over ourselves," Vivien interrupted Hasselblad, "after all, asking for help." ”Hasselblad's face was a little subtle when he heard this, as if he was worried about something, but in the end he didn't say anything, just nodded slightly: "That's fine, that's fine." ”(To be continued.) )