Chapter 108: Times Have Changed
The light of the message box gradually dimmed.
And Prince Adrian's face also darkened.
He rang the butler's bell on the table.
Soon, the door was opened.
An old butler in a neat uniform, his hair combed meticulously, stood at the door and bowed to Prince Adrian.
"Your Highness."
"Send twenty... no, send forty men to the location I specify. Kill everyone there. Remember, leave no survivors. Bring everything from there back to the manor."
The old butler bowed again.
"Yes, your will shall be done."
After the butler left, Prince Adrian returned to his seat.
He didn't know how Kiyan had failed.
But it didn't matter.
He had already had Professor Dijkstra pay the remaining sum to the witcher who could kill Kiyan.
Although he wasn't an expert on witchers, he knew a fair bit about these kinds of people.
Just treat them like mercenaries.
Once the job was done and the payment was settled, the witcher would naturally leave.
Without having to deal with the witcher, only needing to take care of the unarmed professor and students, this was like a dragon riding his face – he really didn't know how he could still lose.
Prince Adrian thought to himself.
...
On the other side, the next morning.
Professor Dijkstra, carrying a heavy bag of gold, approached the witcher.
"Master Lynn, this is your reward."
"So much?"
Lynn didn't count carefully.
But just a rough glance was enough to tell that this definitely exceeded the two hundred crowns they had agreed upon earlier.
"This includes the two hundred crowns we agreed upon earlier. The remaining elven gold coins, equivalent to four hundred crowns, are paid to you by Prince Adrian."
"This was originally the job he was going to give to Master Kiyan, but since you did it all, this money should be paid to you."
Since Professor Dijkstra had said so, Lynn accepted it and put it into his magically enchanted pouch. "Is that so? Then I won't be polite."
Now, his magically enchanted pouch was filled with a large sum of money.
Many witchers didn't possess so much wealth in their entire lives.
"That..."
Seeing the witcher accept the money bag, Professor Dijkstra rubbed his hands together.
He looked hesitant, as if wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Lynn glanced at him. "Well, Professor, is there anything else? Feel free to speak your mind."
"There is indeed one more thing. It's like this, I used the message box last night to inform Prince Adrian. His people are already on their way and should arrive in a few days."
Professor Dijkstra hesitated. "But actually, regarding Prince Adrian, I have heard some unsettling rumors, so..."
Lynn knew what the professor wanted to say and understood what he meant to express.
So he simply helped the other party solve the trouble of choosing words.
"I understand. My companion and I will stay until you have successfully completed the handover."
Dealing with Prince Adrian was already within the witcher's plan.
Of course, he wouldn't naively think that just getting rid of Kiyan would make the other party give up his conspiracy.
From the moment he took on this commission, he understood that only one of Professor Dijkstra and Prince Adrian could live. Moreover, the reason he took on this task wasn't the treasures in the ruins—after all, in the plot he knew, the professor's group's final gain was only those three weapon diagrams.
Those elven gold coins were purely unexpected wealth.
What the witcher had been eyeing from the beginning was actually Prince Adrian's money.
As a descendant of the Seahawk Dynasty, even a starved camel was bigger than a horse.
Due to the prior agreement, the witcher could only take one share of the treasures in the ruins.
But Prince Adrian's savings, he could justifiably take all of it.
...
A few days later.
"Someone's coming, Professor. They're carrying weapons."
Through the Eye of Knowing placed around the camp, Triss discovered a group of soldiers approaching them.
So she informed Professor Dijkstra of this matter.
"Carrying weapons? Are they Prince Adrian's men?"
Triss shook her head. "I don't recognize the Seahawk Dynasty's crest. It's possible, but they could also just be ordinary bandits."
Lynn suggested, "Professor, I suggest you go into the ruins to hide first. I'll go out and see what's going on."
Professor Dijkstra said with some worry, "Just you alone?"
Lynn nodded. "Yes, don't worry. Triss will provide magical support for me from the shadows."
Professor Dijkstra hesitated for a moment.
Then, as if making up his mind, he said,
"No, Master Lynn, you have already done enough for us. At least this time, we shouldn't let you risk yourself alone again."
"Let my students and those workers go into the ruins to take refuge. I won't go in. I'll stay with you. Whatever comes, let's face it together."
Since Professor Dijkstra insisted, Lynn didn't say anything more.
So the two of them came outside the camp to wait for the arrival of the group of soldiers.
Triss, on the other hand, ambushed herself in a place hidden from outsiders.
Soon, the group of soldiers that Triss had previously discovered appeared before Lynn and Professor Dijkstra.
They all wore helmets and chainmail.
But neither on their armor nor on the shields they carried were there any obvious family crests that could identify them.
When the group of soldiers stopped in front of the two, Professor Dijkstra asked somewhat nervously, "Who are you?"
A man with a goatee, who looked like the captain, stepped forward and said, "We are sent by Prince Adrian. You must be Professor Dijkstra?"
Professor Dijkstra nodded slightly. "That's me."
The captain turned his head to look at the witcher with two swords on his back.
"And this is..."
Lynn also nodded. "My name is Lynn. I'm the witcher responsible for protecting Professor Dijkstra."
A look of surprise flashed in the captain's eyes, only lingering for a brief moment before quickly disappearing.
"So you are Master Lynn. His Highness mentioned you to us, but I thought you would have left after receiving your reward."
Lynn lied without even blinking an eye. "These ruins are in the wilderness. Monsters, bandits... anything could wander over. Therefore, Professor Dijkstra asked me to stay until you arrived."
The captain suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. People say witchers are heartless and tearless monsters. It seems the rumors are wrong."
Lynn looked at him and said meaningfully,
"Rumors also say that humans a thousand years from now will completely abandon swords and instead use sticks that can shoot projectiles to fight."
"They will also invent a super-powerful weapon with the power comparable to the combined spells of sorcerers, capable of destroying a city with a single shot."
The captain immediately retorted without thinking, "How is that possible? Only swords can determine the course of war. It was so a thousand years ago, and it will be so a thousand years from now."
(End of this chapter)
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