Chapter 1184 1166. Arrival
“This conclusion is not necessarily true, is it?”
Lan said with his hands folded behind Sakia, and the bald knight turned around and frowned at him .
"Your Excellency, most non-human races are also condemning the activities of the Scoia'tael and do not want to have anything to do with them. Most of them just want to maintain a stable life, and they have paid for it A serious price. "
"There was a half-elf as the mayor of a town not far from Vizima. He often called for peaceful coexistence and cooperation between the two races, and he was eventually killed by an assassin."< br>
"And the assassin who shot that arrow was undoubtedly one of his harmless neighbors. A halfling or a dwarf." The bald knight sneered.
"If you ask me, none of them are loyal. Don't mention the loyalty of the inhuman races to me again! They are all our enemies, but some of them are better at pretending!"
< br>Seemingly out of concern for the warriors on the barge chartered by Duke Seeward, the bald knight turned around and spoke seriously to the frowning Sakia and Lan behind her.
He spread his hands, trying to increase his credibility with his actions.
“Dwarves and halflings have been living with us in human society for centuries, in a way that is almost harmonious. But look at it now!”
"The elves just picked their heads, and then they all picked up their weapons with a roar and ran into the forest!"
"If you ask me, ignoring the free elves and dryads in order to maintain social stability is simply a shame. What a stupid move! They shouldn't be allowed to keep the mountains and forests! "'Drive humans back into the sea'! If you want war, give them war!" "
Sakia's lips murmured a few times, as if she wanted to say something, but then she sighed. Anyway, what she said in the end was definitely not what she wanted to say at the beginning.
"It would be unwise to pursue elves in forests and valleys, your lord."
Sakia said.
"And I don't recommend hunting down dwarves and halflings assisted by elves in these places."
The bald knight nodded in agreement: "This is to the point."
"You are all excellent mercenaries and warriors, obviously very experienced. Chasing them through the bushes and woods is pointless and ineffective."
"The best way is to cut them off Their supply lines, isolate them. Arrest the inhuman races who help the Scoia'tael, so that they lose the basis for fighting guerrilla warfare. Right! We must arrest them in cities and towns."
"The problem is." Lan En calmly interjected, "How do you judge who is the inhuman race who helps the Scoia'tael?"
"Then arrest them all! No one will be left behind!"
"Ha!" Lan En's calm laughter was almost seamlessly followed by the bald knight's response, as if he had already known that the other party would say this.
“I understand, I seem to have heard this argument somewhere. Pinch the back of the neck of every non-human race and throw them into quarries and mines, including innocent people, including old people. Weak women and children, right?"
"This sounds similar to Bloody Falga's policy, except that Falga targets those who oppose her, regardless of human or non-human races. In one aspect, you look better than her, but in terms of fairness, she is better than you.”
The bald knight angrily slammed the leather gloves he was holding on his hands.
“Okay, don’t think I didn’t hear that you were ridiculing me. But what else can you do?”
“You are a soldier and should pay attention to the recent war atmosphere. Right? The armistice agreement between Nilfgaard and us is as fragile as an eggshell! Will we still have to face such a rampant Scoia'tael in the rear when the Southern Empire comes again?"
"And it goes without saying that you should know that as the war progresses, both we and Nilfgaard will become weaker and weaker. When the time comes, those 'loyal neighbors' in your mouth will see our weakness. How many have joined the Scoia'tael?"
"The Nilfgaardians are just pointing at them to bleed our backs!"
Suddenly there was a burst of cheers outside the house, and the wooden door of the sentry box was knocked.
The sergeant who boarded the boat to ask for someone stuck his head in, looked around first, and then continued: "The waterway has barely cleared a hole, which should be enough for the barge to pass through. Do you want them to sail the boat, sir?"< br>
The bald knight sighed and waved his hands.
"They are the manpower that the Duke is eager to need. They cannot be wasted here cleaning up the river. Let them go, and we will do the rest slowly."
Finally, Sa Qia and Lan En turned and walked outside the house. The bald knight in the blue coat said coldly.
"May you arrive smoothly and not be killed by the insidious elf arrows. I can only wish you this, ladies and gentlemen."
——
The barge weighed anchor again, and Slowed down.
The captain, who was casually holding the dried fish in his mouth, was now looking attentively at the wreckage of wooden boats that occasionally protruded from the water around him.
This temporarily cleared waterway is really not spacious, barely enough for a barge of his size to pass through.
Sachia and Lan En were still standing on the bow, looking at the wreckage falling behind from both sides of the bow.
On the wreckage protruding out of the water, there are occasionally residual limbs and blood stains of humans or non-human races remaining on them.
The flesh and blood also attracts fish and shrimps of all sizes in the river.
“Tragic and complicated”
Sachia held her hand on the railing, frowning and murmuring.
She was not shocked by the battle debris on the river in front of her. She was used to seeing these things. What really shocked her was the seemingly ordinary conversation just now.
Lan En stood quietly by the railing, his palms gently tracing the hair on Velvet Ball's back as he squatted on the railing.
He didn't speak, but Sachia seemed to want to express her desire to talk to him because she had discussed books with him before and participated in the conversation together.
The female warrior with a red and white cotton rope headband on her head turned her head and looked at the witcher's profile, which showed only the corners of his mouth and chin under the hood, but was still delicate.
"Is this world always so complicated?"
Lan En did not respond to Saskia's question first, but instead turned to look at her strangely.
“Look at the tone of your voice, as if you are seeing this world for the first time?”
“No!” Sakia immediately instinctively denied it, but then it seemed He also thought that this categorical denial was too suspicious, so he calmed down and looked for supplements.
In Lan En's opinion, her performance was quite strange and jerky.
"I just, I just haven't understood something as profound as racial issues so deeply, you know, right? I used to just wield a sword without using my brain, but now I'm reading books and debating with people."
The witcher chuckled softly.
"Unfortunately, the book you are reading has been carefully 'edited' by the author. It simply and brainlessly attributes the lack of racial problems in Nilfgaard to their so-called 'unity under the banner of the Sun'" . ”
“But today, you are in a scene that was attacked by the Scoia’tael and both sides left casualties, so the complex but real situation comes to mind. ”
Sakia sighed, regaining her calmness and melancholy. She scratched her dark golden hair in distress and ecstasy.
"I originally thought that racial peace could be achieved only with slight concessions from the stronger race, that is, humans. But now?"
"What should the non-human race do if they are not satisfied after receiving concessions? Humans can still Do you want to continue to give in? What if the hatred cannot be suppressed? "
"The non-human race has indeed been treated unfairly, but what if they in turn implicate innocent people?"
"Humanity also has its own problems. The Nilfgaard Empire in the south is about to move. How can we tolerate the instability in the rear at this time?"
Sakia said to herself, But as I spoke, I got a headache and sighed.
But when she was covering her head in distress, she turned around and saw the person next to her leaning against the railing with her arms folded, tilting her head to look at her.
Even if he is wearing a hooded cloak, he can still feel the other person's interesting mood.
She suddenly got a little angry.
"Look at how you are so at ease." She said in a strange tone, "It seems that you have the same profound insights as when you taught me what a 'credible book' was yesterday, right?"
“It’s hard to say what I think.” Lan En shook his head, “But I think you are very powerful.”
"Huh?"
Sachia frowned in confusion.
“First of all, you want to change the status quo by doing things. What surprises me is that you have no idea of giving up after experiencing setbacks.”
“Secondly, you realize that , and acknowledged the complexity of real problems, and even began to use his brain to try to understand and solve this complexity. "
The demon hunter raised his hands from his cloak and counted his fingers one by one.
"You really look like a big shot now who can do big things, Sakia."
"But the 'big shot' now only thinks you are teasing her." The long dark golden hair fell between her neck, Saskia frowned dissatisfied.
“Or” under the dark golden hair, looking at the other party with blue pupils, “do you really have an opinion on this matter?”
Inexplicably, Although Sakia has not even seen the real face and body of the person in front of him through the magic cloak, and has not even told each other his name.
But she always felt that when faced with this complex racial issue, this person did not seem as clueless as she was.
Lan En didn't say anything afterward, and just looked in the direction of the bow of the ship with Flannel Ball.
The terrain on both sides of the Pontar River gradually rises, and the plains turn into mountains. The soil turns into rock.
The Pontal Valley between the Kestri Mountains and the Mahakam Mountains is a long and narrow area, and even a barge would take a whole day to cross it.
But fortunately, the gathering place established by Duke Seeward is outside the river valley.
More than an hour later than the expected dinner time, the barge arrived smoothly.
(End of this chapter)