Chapter 1469: Retaliation

With a gentle creak, Lann walked into the headmistress’s bedroom.

Margaret was very worried about Tishaya’s mental state, so previously she dared not leave her side.

A wizard is a mixture of power and vulnerability.

Gedemitis and Tishaya, either of them could confront and crush Viggo Fortez, who had gained unlimited magic power through the Dee Genie.

But at the same time, the aftermath of battle could shake the entire island, and if prolonged a bit, they might even shatter the island, yet they could die from excessive blood loss.

If a wizard wants to harm themselves, it’s not much different from a regular person wanting to hurt themselves; it’s easy.

A piece of broken glass is enough.

And when Lann entered, his expression also became very serious.

Because the room, originally occupied by Margaret, had now become incredibly tidy.

The cashmere bed tidied by magic showed no wrinkles, and the carpet bore no traces of footprints.

Tishaya sat quietly at Margaret’s dressing table.

She did not look into the mirror, only lowered her head, tidying the already neat puff sleeve cuffs.

The candlestick on the table had been rearranged.

She had straightened the tablecloth, aligning its corners with the table corners, and the rectangular base of the candlestick was symmetrical to the table corners.

The gold bracelets on Tishaya’s wrist were lined up in order of size, neatly placed on the smooth tablecloth.

Beside them, a bone-handled small knife was neatly placed.

No fault could be found; everything was orderly and clean, just as she had desired.

“Now,” Lann closed the door, sighed softly, and said, “I would prefer if you were still in the disheveled state, Tishaya.”

“Why?” Tishaya slightly raised her head, watching the entering Demon Hunter through the mirror’s reflection.

Lann noticed that she had applied suitable light makeup.

“You’re not wearing armor,” Tishaya said calmly, “Is it so you can undress easily and get into bed with me?”

“Seems you heard,” Lann’s face showed neither surprise nor embarrassment, only shaking his head, “Of course, you are a Great Mage after all, even now being emotionally intense.”

“Rita has a hedonistic nature, and Triss is also a new generation Warlock; they believe that physical pleasures can help you relax temporarily. But you are an ancient wizard, whether this idea is applicable to you, I do not know.”

“But seeing you now… you certainly need to divert your attention, Tishaya. You will drive yourself crazy.”

Lann left traces on the smooth carpet, walked to Tishaya, and, arms crossed, stared down at her.

“During the rebellion, you were also misled, wanting to maintain stability and justice within the Warlock community, and you hadn’t even had the chance to do anything wrong, just reacted a bit slower.”

Lann said earnestly: “This is not wrong. You bear no responsibility for the rebellion.”

“If you want to relax, do you remember the last Otherworld we visited? That place is very suitable for restoring your spirit.”

“But now, it’s precisely when Warlocks need to consolidate their existence,” Tishaya said, looking at the mirror and locking eyes with Lann’s reflection, “I can’t vanish, nor relax.”

In the mirror, both their eyes were solemn and serious.

“I’m so sad now that I want to cry loudly,” suddenly, Tishaya said in the mirror, “But I haven’t cried for so long, Lann, so long.”

“Maybe you can help me cry.”

Lann sat on the perfectly smooth cashmere bed, as Tishaya stood up, her clothes disappearing like an illusion.

It was their first intimate embrace.

But unlike the pleasure and love of Margaret, or the admiration and affection from Triss.

In Tishaya’s heart now, there was more pain and self-pitying confusion.

Sex was no longer an act of natural love, but a means to suppress and vent pain.

They embraced and kissed each other.

The previously tidy bed turned into a mess.

Until tears of satisfaction and pain flowed from Tishaya, her gloomy emotions seemed to pour out like torrents through the tears.

“Lark.”

Tishaya’s hot breath fell on Lann’s neck.

“What?”

The Demon Hunter didn’t understand what the word meant.

“My name… my real name.”

Her tears soaked Lann.

“Since becoming a Female Warlock, I’ve never used it again; that was a long time ago.”

Only then did Lann truly feel love in the sex.

“I love you too… Lark.”

Lann responded to the affection.

After a moment of silence, they hugged even tighter, almost making it hard to breathe.

—————–

The events at the Wizard Assembly on Sandy Island finally began to spread across the world.

As Lann and Tishaya had anticipated, the warlocks’ betrayal and infighting led the North to start distrusting them.

Since humans from the North landed on this continent, the independent status and political ecology of the warlocks have become outdated due to this betrayal.

Veltrest dismissed all his royal advisors, including Triss and Keira Metz.

Because Feeckart, who stood behind Viggo Fortez in the betrayal, was also his royal advisor.

Thus, he has now lost trust in the warlocks.

The Airetusa Academy has many noble girls, which should have been the academy’s advantage, as students’ networks can easily connect with the school’s.

However, now, those nobles are continuously taking their daughters home, as if not wanting to be associated with the warlocks.

Margaret did not stop these students from leaving with their families; she merely reminded them to stay safe and protect themselves.

Clearly, holding the identity of a warlock is no longer a good thing in the North.

And on the afternoon of the second day after the coup on Sandy Island, Stuart and nine other Ember Knights who had undergone mutation secretly arrived at Airetusa.

Lann met with them and briefly learned about the situation at High Hill Castle.

“No loss at all, just the roads we built earlier are mostly destroyed.”

Stuart calmly said.

“Hmm?” Lann first frowned, then relaxed, “We built only small paths, and it’s normal for them to be damaged by siege weapons.”

“The siege weapons indeed damaged some, but mainly it was magic and lava, sir.”

Stuart’s face remained unchanged.

“Your summoned allies… seemed quite lively due to the excitement.”

Lann whistled a bit nervously and then shifted the topic: “In any case, none of us was injured, and none of them survived, right?”

“That’s the situation.” Stuart nodded, “Just afterward, it was a bit troublesome to dismantle the Demon-Blocking Gold and store it, as they brought quite a lot of it.”

“Besides, we captured that Eternal Fire missionary alive. One of your friends seems particularly skilled at interrogation and got quite a bit out of him. Would you like to hear it?”

“No, I’m not interested in these trivial matters.” Lann shook his head, measuring the gap on Stuart’s face with a ruler.

Stuart came this time, and Lann planned to fix his face.

“Kill him, and all the Eternal Fire personnel he’s named.”

The Demon Hunter’s voice was calm, as if talking about some radishes.

“All Eternal Fire personnel involved in this matter, whether priests, officiants, or high priests, kill them all.”

Stuart kept his face still for easier measurement, but his eyes turned in surprise toward his master.

“Sir… such actions seem a bit excessive.”

“Times have changed.” Lann put down the ruler, “Although the news hasn’t reached Gos Velen yet, I think the North-South War has reignited.”

“I hate when internal issues remain unsolved before war.”

“But given such a sharp situation, reckless agitation of the fanatical force of Eternal Fire seems indeed unwise, their fanaticism might be useful for the war… so let’s do this.”

Lann raised a finger: “Limit the level of retaliation to below Hemelvaart.”

Even Stuart, known for his toughness, couldn’t help but gasp upon hearing this.

Cyrus Engelkaid Himmelhaft, the archbishop of the Eternal Fire Church. The highest clergy of Eternal Fire, an important participant in the peace treaty signed between the North and South after the Sodden Mountain battle.

“Cut off their heads and throw them onto Hemelvaart’s bed, along with a Sintra Double Lion Banner, to make it clear who did it.”

“Can it be done?” Lann looked up at Stuart, “If it’s challenging, I can make a trip over.”

Stuart frowned, contemplating cautiously before replying: “With intelligence support, perhaps we can do it. There are quite a number on the list, and we still need to figure out their activity patterns in Novigrad…”

Lann decisively said, “Let Francis Bealan’s Dark Alley Gang provide intelligence support.”

“Francis Bealan’s Dark Alley Gang? But sir, their issues haven’t been dealt with…”

“Then clean up the Dark Alley Gang too.” Lann said decisively, cutting off Stuart. “They were just a bunch of thugs in Novigrad, things useless for anything.”

In wartime versus peacetime, Lann’s approach to people and matters, his handling style, varies distinctly.

Stuart, hearing now, had started to regain some of the feel from the battlefield.

He understood, Lann had also shifted his mindset to wartime mode: direct, simple, efficient.

So Stuart had no more questions or concerns, just listened quietly.

“My appreciation and regard for the Dark Alley Gang only pertain to Francis Bealan, he’s talented and even retains a conscience in Novigrad’s gangs.”

“The rest, if they dare to act up, kill them. Francis is smart, he knows how much trash he has under him. When the time comes, he’ll proactively give you the list.”