The Witcher: Make the Witcher Great Again

Chapter 396 396: Jacques of Aldersberg

"Lord Lynn, I am Jacques of Aldersberg, the commander of this unit. I am at your service."

Lynn nodded and poured him a cup of coffee. "How many men did you bring?"

"One hundred and ten knights and twenty-two priests. Enough to ensure that every village is assigned five knights and one priest."

Jacques of Aldersberg.

In the letters Shappelle had sent Lynn, this young man was described as his most capable subordinate—passionate, ambitious, and driven by ideals. Shappelle wanted to give Jacques an opportunity, assigning him to Velen to hone his abilities and, depending on his success, grant him greater responsibilities later.

However, Shappelle was unaware that this young man, whom he favored, had, in another timeline, caused an enormous upheaval. Princess Adda—Foltest's beloved daughter, whom Geralt had risked his life to cure—was his ally; moreover, he had plunged the city of Vizima into chaos and catastrophe.

Yet, to call him a complete villain was inaccurate. In truth, like Ciri, he was a Carrier of the Elder Blood. He simply witnessed terrifying visions, leading to devastating consequences and ultimately driving him to commit a string of crimes.

Of course, in this current timeline, Lynn would ensure he did not stray into that path.

Lynn allowed them a day of rest at the outpost.

The next day, he personally led the company to the various villages in Velen, assigning personnel and mapping out patrol routes. The Hospitaler Knights were primarily responsible for securing the villages and roads; Lynn would handle the monsters in the forests and swamps separately. However, anticipating potential monster attacks on the villages, Lynn equipped each unit with silver weaponry and alchemy bombs, ensuring they were not entirely defenseless when facing creatures. Meanwhile, the priests stationed in each village were tasked with educating the populace and preventing ideological backsliding.

In this manner, the face of Velen, which Baron Vissarad had failed to improve over many years, was completely transformed within a few short months under Lynn's guidance. Village security saw vast improvement; bandits and brigands vanished from the land; and after the death of the Crones, the remaining monsters either fled or retreated into the deeper reaches of the swamps and forests. The villagers' lives were also slowly improving, achieving stability and no longer suffering from hunger. Consequently, the people were profoundly grateful to their new Lady.

Lynn selected a group of young men from these villages to form a Guard Corps to assist the Hospitaler Knights.

Thus, time flew.

Another three months passed quickly.

The witchers sent south also sent good news via the speaking box (magic conduit). The witchers who had left Kaer Morhen that spring had now arrived at Lynn's Toussaint estate, Corvo Bianco.

Accompanying Oaks, Serrit, Gerd, Eskel, and Lambert were the witchers they had successfully recruited during their months in the south:

First, Aiden and Gaëtan of the School of the Cat.

After abandoning the original witcher order, the founders of the Cat School had traveled south, eventually settling in the fortress of Stygga. Sorcerers there developed a new mutation formula, intending to dull the witchers' emotions. However, the formula failed to suppress their feelings; instead, it amplified them, causing an entire batch of new witchers to lose their reason. Later, a half-elven witcher named Gezras managed to escape his confinement and free his brethren, fleeing Stygga. To evade the sorcerers' search parties, these witchers joined the Free Elves (who later became the Scoia'tael), offering their services in exchange for help.

Once they had gathered their strength, they returned to Stygga and assassinated the sorcerers in their sleep. After recapturing Stygga, the Cat School did not settle there but instead made a large caravan their base of operations, starting a nomadic life. However, their history with the Free Elves seemed to inspire them, leading the Cat School witchers to completely abandon the traditional method of earning money through monster contracts, switching instead to assassination contracts.

Lacking understanding of the rules of noble warfare (which essentially dictate that peasant losses are negligible, but noble blood must never be shed), the Cat School witchers quickly earned a terrible reputation among the noble circles of both North and South. Eventually, an army composed of soldiers and sorcerers found the Cat School's caravan base. Most of the Cat School witchers were killed, and the caravan was abandoned.

Aiden and Gaëtan were the last two surviving Cat School witchers. Aiden's personality was least like a Cat—more akin to a Wolf—while Gaëtan fit the Cat archetype better: easily provoked, yet reasonable if approached correctly. Crucially, Gaëtan was aware of his own temper and character, and when dealing with friends, he tried to control himself and avoid negative assumptions.

Aiden and Gaëtan were constantly hiding in the South, and it took considerable effort to track them down. Neither objected to joining a larger witcher family, but what sealed the deal was the promise of generous pay and a working environment free from the threat of pitchforks.

Compared to the two Cat School witchers, finding Coën of the School of the Viper, the only Viper active in the South, was less troublesome. Oaks and Serrit used the Viper School's special contact signals, and Coën showed up the very next day.

The bonds between Viper School witchers were much stronger than those of the Cat School, second only to the Wolf School. Therefore, when Oaks and Serrit suggested Coën travel North with them, Coën only asked a token question about the compensation before readily agreeing. In his view, if his comrades, Oaks and Serrit, were satisfied with the terms, he certainly wouldn't have an issue.

Finally, they also managed to recruit a witcher from the School of the Bear, Iwo of Behaiven. Unlike Gerd, Iwo was the archetypical Bear School witcher: caring neither for his School nor his brethren. He only cared about himself. This wasn't driven by malice toward others; rather, the Trial of the Grasses had scoured his emotions bare.

Initially, Gerd tried to appeal to Iwo's emotions, but it was useless and nearly spoiled the negotiations. In the end, it was Gaëtan, who had already joined the company, who convinced Iwo. Gaëtan's reasoning was simple: as a fellow witcher from a School that prioritized rewards over rigid witcher codes, Gaëtan deeply understood Iwo. So, he cast aside all pretense and simply talked to Iwo about the profit involved.

.......

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