Chapter 1419 - 1384: Open the Door

That afternoon, Lann donned a hooded cloak and mounted the qilin’s back again.

The qilin had been kept indoors because Lann requested ’everything at High Hill Castle be as usual,’ not allowing it to go out.

Now, being able to run outside, Lann could feel that it was quite joyful.

Running from the southern wilds of Velen all the way to the northeast corner of Temeria at the Elrand Duchy.

Almost a horizontal traverse of the entire length of Temeria, was a suitable stroll for the qilin.

Of course, this was at a level where it could finish running within three hours; if time was extended and speed slowed, for its New Continent Ancient Dragon physique, it would barely even be considered a stroll.

"Whew!"

A breath of hot air was expelled from its wet nostrils, the qilin shook its head, causing the broad silk rune cloth covering it and its pale mane to ripple together.

Having slightly moved its muscles and bones through the running, the qilin felt somewhat refreshed.

This journey specifically avoided populated places, focusing on remote and desolate areas to run, the qilin’s mobility completely disregarded geographical obstacles.

And after Lann’s subsequent physical strengthening, his tolerance for the qilin’s speed became increasingly strong.

It was nothing like when he first traveled with the qilin.

So in the morning, just after Geralt anxiously shared the findings with Lann, Lann injected potions into five Ember Knights at noon, he had already reached within the borders of the Elrand Duchy by the afternoon.

In this world, there weren’t many things achieving this level of movement efficiency.

Wizards’ portals were certainly efficient, but now the fluctuations of the portals were largely being watched covertly; no one could truly appear unexpectedly anywhere.

And the next level of movement method?

Perhaps it was the rumored magic carpets occasionally used by certain mages from Serycania or Ophir.

Exclude these magic flight tools that Lann has not yet seen... and what’s left directly downgrades to ordinary horses.

Extraordinary power has made movement efficiency among people of various identities in this Magical Middle Ages so disparate that it can be considered epochal.

Mages use teleportation technology, even a magic accident causing intercontinental teleportation mishaps, for them it’s nothing but a slightly laborious long-distance journey.

Those particularly with power and money can compel mages to work, hitch a ride with them.

The rest are truly adopting medieval travel methods; if someone managed to step outside their daily living range by tens of kilometers, they would be considered quite knowledgeable.

Except for certain unique monsters as yet undiscovered by humans, no one had seen the conventional movement speed and efficiency of the qilin.

Lann never revealed it either.

Even the intelligence organizations currently surveilling him, at most only knew that during his previous visits to Novigrad, now he had by his side a horse perpetually concealed under a magic horse harness, immensely tall and strong beyond imagination.

And also a suspected ’little cat person roaming outside rare species conservation zones.’

But they had never witnessed the qilin’s divine speed.

That which hasn’t been seen cannot be prepared for or devised against.

No one could have expected that the Demon Hunter, who already displayed outrageous abilities on the battlefield, could appear in the Elrand Duchy outside of Velen within a few hours without mage involvement.

"Don’t let anyone see, qilin."

After dismounting, Lann habitually patted the strong neck of the ancient dragon, producing heavy ’thud thud’ sounds.

"Whew~" The qilin shook its head, releasing a breath.

’What are you thinking? Am I letting anyone see?’

The message transmitted from the transformed [Yakxi Rune] was full of disdain.

Lann didn’t mind.

Even at the qilin’s walking pace, if someone suddenly saw this thing running across their view, they’d likely not be able to see it clearly. It’s more likely to be seen as a drifting demon spirit than a majestic high-headed horse.

Nevertheless, Lann still puckered his lips and pressed down his hair that had fluffed up.

He looked with a bit of resentment at the rows of sharp spines that grew from the qilin’s shoulder and hind leg joints, extending from beneath the skin.

The high-energy crystal-like sharp corners easily broke through the protective silk rune cloth and magic horse harness, poking out amid the intense vibrations of rapid running.

The result was that halfway through, Lann again found himself getting mildly electrocuted by the static electricity naturally carried by the qilin’s body.

"Didn’t Margaret say she would alter the harness design for you?"

The Demon Hunter grumbled.

Luckily, Lann wasn’t a normal person; otherwise, even if the qilin lowered the electrical current strength, it would still be enough to cause issues for a rider on its back.

"...Neigh~"

The qilin rolled its eyes upward, making a recalling gesture.

’...Seems like since the last time you went out on your own, I haven’t been back much, huh.’

Alright...what else could Lann say?

The qilin seldom returned, thus leaving no time for Margaret to measure and modify the design of the magic horse harness.

The Demon Hunter silently raised his fist, ’boom’ rang out as it hammered down on the qilin’s head!

The ancient dragon’s head swayed as if it were a pendulum along its elongated horse neck, wood chips flying, ’crack’ it smashed a nearby tree thick as a bowl’s rim.

But the qilin, having taken a punch, smoothly darted away in the direction of its head’s swing, jubilantly ran off into the distance.

While running, it would meanwhile emit teasing tongue sounds of a challenging horse: "Plop-plop!"

For the qilin and Lann, such a forceful strike was all in good fun.

And as the qilin ran away into the distance, the Demon Hunter turned around, gazing at a castle not far away.

The walls of the castle had banners hanging on lance poles, fluttering in the wind.

One side bore Temeria’s white lily emblem, another side the Elrand Duchy’s insignia, and finally...the blossoming white rose on a fiery red background.

Lann’s cheerful expression after horsing with his friend gradually faded. A cold and hard demeanor covered his face.

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

As autumn deepened, daylight hours were growing increasingly shorter.

The roaring of the Ponta River couldn’t be heard here, but the damp and chill air could reach far.

Now at night, people’s breaths could briefly turn into white mist.

Similarly, people were getting drowsy much earlier.

"Halt!" A soldier sniffled as he leaned out from the tower atop the castle’s gate, shouting, "Who are you? State your identity and purpose! Hurry!"

After yelling outside the castle gate, he shouted impatiently towards the ground below.

"Wake the hell up! Someone’s here!"

Startled by the shout from above, candlelight and shadows flickered from an observation slit on the wall near the gate.

In the sentry room, a soldier whose helmet had slipped, revealing his greasy, tangled hair, walked over to the observation slit, muttering curses.

The night was dark, and the slit was small, making it impossible to illuminate the outside with candlelight.

His eyes could only discern a mass of darkness.

"Sniff~" He first sniffed, then prepared to speak.

But suddenly...

"A Demon-Blocking Gold keychain?" An intrigued voice came from the deep shadows outside the slit, "It seems you’ve indeed received a significant sponsorship."

The soldier, who had been half-asleep, instantly widened his eyes!

This sudden focus was a biological instinct... but it was already too late.

From the darkness outside the slit, a bone-white armored hand suddenly thrust forward!

The abrupt motion drew a sharp, fleeting whistling sound through the air!

With a "swoosh," the hand armor stabbed into the slit, seizing the soldier’s neck, which was already mottled and blackened.

No struggle ensued, as he couldn’t react, and the strength was utterly beyond his reach.

The shout was trapped in his throat, his face flushed with redness but not making any sound.

Swiftly tossing the Demon-Blocking Gold keychain further into the sentry room, a cold white magic glow emerged momentarily from the night, but in that brief instance, it was concealed beneath a wide cloak.

[Yakxi Rune]

The interference of Demon-Blocking Gold on Demon Hunters is far lesser than on Warlocks, due to their differing principles of magic.

Thrown far away and nearly choked into unconsciousness, the sentry was entirely defenseless against the [Yakxi Rune].

"Your identity."

The bone-white armored hand slowly withdrew into the darkness outside the slit.

"White Rose Knight Order... recruit... recruits."

Without a hand gripping his neck, the soldier now responded blankly, with glassy eyes.

The collar and cuffs of his Cotton Armor were black and greasy, and there wasn’t even a single metal piece on the whole Cotton Armor, which indeed suited his recruit status.

"How long have you been enlisted?"

"One... month."

"Tsk."

Hearing the sentry’s answer, Lann clicked his tongue rather displeased.

A recruit only in for a month couldn’t really be associated much with the White Rose Knight Order.

He’d need to be careful when taking action later.

"Hey! What are you two muttering about?!" A voice from the rampart shouted, "Answer! Who is it? Or I’ll shoot an arrow directly!"

The flickering firelight above was the stationed guard leaning over the rampart with a torch, trying to use the light to see clearly below.

Lann’s slightly glowing feline eyes just lifted beneath the hood, not hurrying as he continued to ask.

"Are the knights all inside the castle?"

"Most... of them are."

"Where are they?"

"Main... tower, we stay in the huts."

At this point, a satisfied curve slowly emerged under the shadow of the hood.

Above, the flicker of the firelight grew more frantic.

"Respond up there, soldier. Tell him to open the gate. I’m alone here; come up with any reason. How about a bit of imagination?"

Lann stepped back from the observation slit facing the castle gate. He even spoke with a hint of relaxation.

"Imagination..." The drowsy soldier first mumbled to himself, then shouted up in response, "Open the gate!"

"After all that muttering, that’s the nonsense you tell me? Without stating the identity, how do I open the damn gate? Need I open your anus?"

A vulgar yell echoed from above, but the sentry remained unfazed and calm.

"Seems like he’s sent by Duke Seward, what’s one person even to fear?"

"What’s ’seems’? I don’t want a beating! Explain clearly!"

"I just have this damn candle; what can I see from the slit? Whatever, the badge looks like it, hurry up and open the gate."

The tall, silent figure clad in cloaked hood stood before the castle gate; in the ’creaking’ rotation of bearings, the firelight behind the gate was pinched into a vertical line by the door gap, falling onto the broad cloak.

Lann shrugged his shoulders and wrists, not waiting for the gate to fully open, walking straight forward.