The Witcher masters of the Wolf School looked toward Sol at the head of the long table, their expressions stiff and strange.
"Vesemir knows as well," Sol said, giving a slight nod.
Vera snorted coldly in displeasure.
The Witcher masters immediately steadied themselves. White hurriedly spoke up: "Uh— we're not doubting Lady Vera, it's just— just— this matter… is far too important.
Important enough to change the entire continent's landscape.
Witchers were born and rose to prominence because of the magical tides that lasted for hundreds of years, and it was also because of the tides' decline that both the number and strength of monsters gradually weakened—so much so that the Witcher orders actually saw two Witchers kill each other over a single contract.
Of course, the emergence of Witchers and their hunting was also an important factor in the rapid reduction of monsters, but it was nowhere near as decisive as the decline of magic itself.
Put simply—
In the past, dragons were the most powerful monsters on the entire Northern Continent.
Anyone capable of hunting a dragon was a warrior or mage who stood at the very pinnacle of courage, wisdom, and combat ability on the Northern Continent.
Yet those massive lizards whose power rivaled that of gods gradually disappeared from the Northern Continent not because of Witcher hunts.
Within the Witcher orders, only two individuals had ever hunted dragons at all—Sol of the Wolf School and George of the Griffin School's Kagen branch. The deaths of two dragons could not possibly wipe out an entire species.
It was because of the magical tide.
Dragons are the darlings of magic.
As the chaotic magical tides receded, those infamous, ancient, and powerful dragons fell into slumber one after another, never to awaken again, and never again appeared on the Northern Continent.
In truth, those dragons that were slain—rather than dying at the hands of Witchers—died in the great wave of magical decline.
Other powerful monsters were not affected as severely as dragons—dragons almost vanished in a very short span of time—but under the same ebbing tide, their strength was far inferior to what it once was. Many monsters even 'forgot' how to cast spells, becoming far closer to beasts than to 'monsters.'
After their strength weakened, their reproductive abilities also dropped sharply, causing many monsters to go extinct outright as time passed.
The difficulty of Witcher hunts plummeted, to the point that even lucrative contracts for powerful monsters began to outnumber the Witchers who could take them.
When the magical tide declined even further, even secular kings began to show no respect for the Witcher profession, and even the 'Creators'—the mages who should have been on friendly terms—looked upon them with hostility.
The betrayal of Glutton Henselt, the coveting of the Griffin School's knowledge and spells—while the direct cause was certainly the greed of humans and mages, at the root of it all, everything could be traced back to the decline and stagnation of chaotic magic.
Otherwise, how would secular kings dare to act this way?
In the earliest days, the relationship between mages and Witchers could be described as close.
Without risking their own lives to gather materials personally, they could simply spend a little money and have someone hunt the monster materials they wanted—how could that not be close?
But now, why do mages look upon Witchers with hostility?
Because newly graduated mages, relying only on spells weakened by the declining magical tide, couldn't even earn enough to eat their fill.
They couldn't complain about the magical tide, nor could they protest the senior mages' monopoly on resources, so they could only direct their hatred toward Witchers—who had taken over the monster-hunting contracts that mages once despised the most.
And so they pinned the blame for the decline of the magical tide on Witchers hunting too many monsters—though the logic was, in fact, exactly the opposite.
And what about the Novigradian Union, which once kept the supernatural to the supernatural and the secular to the secular—wasn't that also because the decline of magic was inevitable, and mundane swords and steel were increasingly dominant?
The recent founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom—aside from Sunny and the radicals staking everything on a desperate gamble—how could it gain so many supporters from the Sorcerers' Brotherhood, and even draw in Ortolan of the Chapter of the Gift and the Art, if not because mages rooted in chaotic magic had sensed the revival of the magical tide?
This is the tide of the era.
It can elevate a profession to prosperity—and just as swiftly bury entire professions completely.
By comparison, even revenge seems far less important."
Valerius, Gregor, Dylan, and the other Witcher masters looked at Allen, then at Sol, exchanging glances, wanting to speak yet stopping themselves.
Having heard such massive 'news,' they had countless things they wanted to say—but once they opened their mouths, they didn't know what to say at all.
Sol looked at Allen with a complicated yet proud gaze. He knew that the revival of the magical tide was, in all likelihood, inseparable from his Child of Miracles.
"Let's discuss the matter of revenge first," Sol pulled the topic back.
The revival of the magical tide was simply too great a matter—so great that, for a moment, the Witcher masters were left speechless.
A new era was about to arrive. The Wolf School's future in the next era was not something that could be clarified in a single meeting, nor should it have come so suddenly. It should have been announced in advance, verified, contemplated, and discussed over an entire winter—or even an entire year.
The tense atmosphere in the council chamber calmed somewhat.
"But—" White hesitated before breaking the silence, "what about those abandoned— um— affected civilians? What should be done about them?"
Once the magical tide revived, the first to suffer would certainly not be the true culprits, but the common folk living in the noble territories that fell under the Witcher ban.
Without Witchers, nobles could at least hire mages; they could flee if necessary. Ordinary people, however, could hardly escape.
White could already imagine the hellish scene—villages left abandoned by Witchers, corpses strewn everywhere—after the magical tide revived.
Allen fell silent for a few seconds. "I can't guarantee that civilians won't be affected."
It was impossible to restrict the impact solely to the true culprits.
Put even more plainly, the Witcher ban was bound to affect civilians—indeed, it was precisely by affecting civilians, merchants, and even innocent nobles that pressure would be applied to the true culprits.
Cut off trade routes, cause subjects to flee, earn the contempt of other nobles—
Allen met the gaze of the Witcher master with graying hair and beard, his expression serious. "Against the backdrop of a reviving magical tide, the Wolf School has limited manpower, while the humans who need protection are nearly infinite.
"Master White, we are not the murderers of those dead civilians. We are respecting life—our Wolf School's lives, and the lives of those people who respect us more."
Master White was silent for a while, then sighed and said nothing further.
At that moment, without anyone needing to state their position, everyone had already accepted Allen's reasoning in their hearts.
"Allen," Valerius frowned slightly, "the Wolf School can indeed declare a ban against those despicable and greedy nobles, but even if they can't commission the Wolf School, they can still find the Griffin School, the Bear School, or even the Viper School.
"In that case, wouldn't the Wolf School's ban have no effect at all, and instead become a complete joke?"
"No," Allen shook his head. "Do you think Rogrides was targeting only the Wolf School?"
"The Rogrides family is targeting all Witchers on the Northern Continent."
"That's indeed what Little House and Evenson said," Danti, one of the parties involved, confirmed.
Allen continued, "I don't believe the Griffin School or the Bear School escaped unscathed. At most, due to the Rogrides family's sphere of influence, the Wolf School suffered greater losses."
"On this expedition to Dol Dhu Lokke, I'll also find an opportunity to explain things clearly to the other schools. I believe they won't object."
"No need to approach the Bear School," Danti suddenly said. "They've been altered by potions to care only about profit. They won't join the Witcher ban."
"No!" White disagreed. "Precisely because Arnaghad and his Bear School have had their emotions stripped away by decoctions and care only about profit, they will definitely join."
"The Bear School is even easier to persuade than the Griffin School."
"To Arnaghad, the Witchers of the Bear School are his assets—and extremely expensive assets at that. Taking contracts in regions under a Witcher ban would pose a severe threat to his assets."
"For the other Bear School Witchers, regions under a Witcher ban also mean the same contract rewards, but far more dangerous environments—meaning greater medical expenses and equipment wear."
"Profit will make them join."
"From certain perspectives, the Bear School is even easier to persuade than the Griffin School—perhaps no persuasion is needed at all. Just spread the news and let the Bear School Witchers know."
Hearing White's words, Aristo glanced thoughtfully at Vera, who was hidden in the shadows, and suddenly a flash of insight struck him.
No wonder Vera was so agitated!
To Arnaghad, the Bear School was his asset.
And from a certain perspective, wasn't the Wolf School also Sol's asset?
So—
If Sol were the king of the Wolf School, then Allen would be the prince who inherited the throne.
The entire Old Sea Fortress, along with the Witchers within it, would one day become Allen's wealth and power—his and Vera's child's wealth and power.
And the Crimson Fox had never been a generous person.
Of course—
Aristo casually glanced aside at Allen, who was listening intently to White's analysis, almost like a mage or scholar rather than a Witcher, as if he were just short of pulling out parchment and a quill to take notes. Aristo's gaze softened considerably.
He didn't reject this at all—he even looked forward to the day it would come.
The Holy Son of the goddess Melitele… Aristo sighed inwardly.
Someone acknowledged even by the goddess—what reason did they have to refuse?
"As for the Griffin School—" White hesitated and glanced at Sol before continuing, "I'm actually not sure whether Grandmaster Erland would accept this proposal—"
"It's fine," Sol pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Erland may not approve of our methods, but he won't oppose the Wolf School's decision, nor will he encroach upon the regions where the Wolf School traditionally accepts contracts.
"Mm—once we reach Dol Dhu Lokke, I'll speak with him."
After that, with Sol taking the lead, the Witcher masters discussed the details of the expedition to Dol Dhu Lokke and the ban on Ban Ard.
Allen did not participate much in it; instead, he was almost like an invisible presence.
When it came to details, he would never be more knowledgeable than Witcher masters who had lived for over a century. A great many of them had even taken part in more than one expedition against monsters.
And this credit would not be diminished in the slightest just because he did not involve himself in these detailed discussions.
On the contrary, Allen could already feel that the Wolf School's Witcher masters—especially Aristo, Valerius, Gregor, Dylan, and White, those who had spent the least time with him—had almost immediately changed their attitude toward him.
Every time a detail was finalized, they would habitually glance at him, rather than ignoring him as if he were transparent, like at the very beginning.
This was a good change.
To be honest, trading the temporary relinquishment of the chief seat in exchange for bringing the Witcher Corps along on the expedition to Dol Dhu Lokke had only benefits and no drawbacks for Allen—but to say that he felt no discomfort at all would definitely be a lie.
Especially during several meetings, the Witcher masters had faintly treated him with the attitude they used toward a child.
There was no malice, of course—but wasn't this still a form of underestimation? More precisely, treating him as a child.
And now, after proposing the "Witcher Ban" as a way to resolve the matter of revenge, the Wolf School's Witcher masters were clearly different.
He was a Witcher master of the Wolf School.
Without question!
"Oh, right!" As Allen listened to the Witcher masters discuss the rescue-and-revenge plan, he suddenly remembered something. With a thought, he took several sheets of vellum paper from his chest and had Valerius beside him pass them to Master White.
"What's this?" Valerius glanced at it curiously. "Donato Rogrides, Marquis Hunio Wester, Count Harley McCain, Viscount Mins Isaac, Count Edison Loy—"
"A list?"
"Yes," Allen nodded. "This is a list I had someone investigate. Everyone on it is a noble who has had business dealings with Donato Rogrides, or who has conflicts with the Wolf School—
"Otherwise, even with portals, following seven or eight routes and searching place by place, while also investigating whether Witchers passed through and were framed, would not only be far too troublesome, but would also easily expose us in advance and give the culprits time to destroy evidence.
"More importantly, severely injured Witchers might not be able to hold on until then. You can cross-check the names on these lists with the routes of the missing Witchers. Any overlapping regions should be searched first; if nothing is found, then move on to other areas."
Don't think that just because it was already close to winter when the disappearances were discovered, those Witchers who had been framed would necessarily be dead.
An ordinary person might die within seven or eight days after being injured, but Witchers were different. Their far-superior recovery abilities and rich experience in wilderness survival meant that even when injured and mobility-restricted, they could survive for a long time.
But once the Wolf School's search actions alerted the enemy, it would be a different matter. Locals were far more familiar with the terrain than outsiders, which would instead put the wounded in even greater danger.
"This handwriting—"
When the vellum reached Vera's hands, the sorceress glanced at the elegant and refined noble cursive on the paper, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Allen. "Did Lysa help you investigate this?"
"Lysa—" The distinctly feminine name made the Witcher masters at the table freeze for a moment before immediately realizing something, waggling their eyebrows at Allen.
Damn it! I should have copied it onto another sheet—
Allen awkwardly avoided everyone's gaze and said expressionlessly, "It's Priestess Lysa from the Temple of Melitele. Master White, please take a look first and see whether the routes of the missing Witchers overlap with the names on the list."
White smiled kindly, looking inexplicably pleased. "Mm, alright, I'll do it now—"
Before he could finish—
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz—"
Inside the council chamber, the Witcher school medallions of the masters suddenly all began to hum.
The next second,
A streak of deep violet magical radiance suddenly flew in rapidly through the window.
"It's a magical message," Vera spoke up to stop the Witcher masters' reflexive reactions. She raised her hand to lightly touch the incoming purple glow and closed her eyes to sense it.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and let out a soft sigh. "It's Tissaia urging us—
"The expedition to Dol Dhu Lokke has begun!"
........
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