Chapter 1470: Vanguard

A few sentences decided an earthquake that could sweep through all of Novigrad, but Lann and Stuart didn’t feel anything was amiss.

Speaking of Novigrad, the situation within it is extremely complex, and everyone in the world wants a piece of it.

But the so-called Free City State, without the support of power, can naturally maintain its image of independence and autonomy in peacetime.

However, the sparks of war have already been ignited, and all the delicate things that are not solid or heavy enough will be crushed under the wheels of war.

The petty squabbles within the city, normally no one overturns the table because they care about the interests on it.

Once the city is in chaos, what is there left to fight for?

The ultimate goal of fighting is money, and to destroy the money-making city for the process of fighting—how stupid must one be?

But war will sweep everything onto a bigger table.

This exquisite and expensive ‘small table’ of Novigrad, when necessary, can be overturned on the spot.

Stuart nodded, indicating he accepted the order, and at the same time, he took a very rough bound book from his backpack and handed it to Lann.

“This is…” Lann looked down, “Oh, Comicus asked you to hand it over? Thanks.”

Calling it a bound book was generous—it’s really just a few sheets of slightly trimmed parchment loosely sewn together with thread.

Back when Lann summoned the Soul Body of Comicus to greet him, this Elder Curse Master from the Great Swamp of the Flame World had already told him.

On their way from the Profound Church to Ilyushil, they discovered some ancient and profound knowledge, particularly with great discoveries in the field of curse techniques.

In that decaying world, the knowledge and secrets once buried within the entire world began to surface before the collapse.

And when Lann got this set of spellbooks, upon seeing just the first page, he nonchalantly flipped through it.

[Casas’ Beacons], [Casas’ Curved Fire].

This seems to be curses obtained from the Casas people trapped in the underground passage connecting the Profound Church and Ilyushil.

[Curved Fire] isn’t significant; it only wraps curse flames around a weapon.

And Lann, long ago, could achieve the same with his swordsmanship skills, known as [Water-shaped Sword – Flowing Fire Blade].

[Beacons] started to appear intriguing, as it slightly enhanced the strength of the subject with each continuous attack.

It was like slowly and in stages, triggering the inner strength of the subject’s body.

This undoubtedly confirmed Lann’s understanding of [Curse Flames]: this spell system, born in the Flame World, manifests as flame but inherently is more about the manipulation of life.

But that was all; it merely confirmed Lann’s theory.

Then, while casually flipping through a few more pages, Lann’s pupils suddenly constricted!

Because what met his eyes was… [Chaos Fireball]!

The power of Chaos Flame!

The origin power of curses, capable of distorting and losing control over the entire life, including the flesh and soul, of the ancient gods of the Flame World!

If the essence of curse flames is the manipulation of life, then the origin and pinnacle of this manipulation is undoubtedly [Chaos Flame]!

This time, Lann didn’t see any new extraordinary fire seed.

But with this spellbook, he could train himself to produce this flame!

The power of Chaos Flame, and its ability to distort life, are terrifying things. But actually, it wasn’t what excited Lann so much.

He, after all, wasn’t a traditional curse student fully devoted to and pursuing curse techniques.

But the key is…

Mentos was of one mind with Lann, and upon seeing the [Chaos Fireball],

The bio-intelligent mind automatically transferred the feasibility of this knowledge into the ‘Enhanced Organs Plan’ that had been planned long ago with the main body.

Then, the analysis progress bar for this plan shot up significantly!

At the same time, during the slow process of analyzing the spell [Alzur’s Double Cross], incorporating the variable of Chaos Flame brought a visible improvement!

“My lord?” Stuart frowned at Lann, who started pondering after receiving the spellbook, “Is there any problem with this book?”

“No, nothing, it’s just that the knowledge in it came at the right time.” Lann happily patted the spellbook and placed it into his Alchemy Pouch.

This isn’t something that can be learned and thoroughly understood in a short time.

And at the same time, he seemed to feel something else in the alchemy pouch at his lower back, and he pulled it out.

It was a steel staff, entirely covered with patterns resembling black smoke and water ripples.

“I remember,” Lann positioned the staff horizontally between Stuart and himself, “you always kept Hacksaw’s wand, right?”

Hacksaw’s wand, though called his wand, is actually proof of the mayor’s identity and power in Sintra.

The mayor of Sintra, HackSaw’s brother-in-law, died in that massacre.

And the Palace Steward, once powdered up and alarmed at the slightest cut on his hand, has since taken up the wand to resist the Niflgaard people.

In the end, that wand turned into an instrument of punishment, executing Hacksaw and leaving Stuart disabled.

Stuart always kept the relic of his father, which was also the instrument that made him disabled.

He would lean on it daily after his disability.

“You seem accustomed to using a staff now.” Lann handed the long staff to Stuart, “I took this trophy from an enemy, it might suit you well.”

Stuart reached out with both hands, but due to his strength, he unexpectedly raised the staff sharply when accepting it.

The Ember Knight looked at Lann with an expression of surprise.

“It’s infused with magic.” Lann shrugged, “It used to be even lighter, the swing inertia was greater.”

“But with your magic power, you probably can’t activate the magic on it, so Lady Margaret modified it a bit. Lowered the effect, but also reduced the consumption.”

The magic on Viggo Fortez’s staff is very different from market enchantments.

Market enchanted weapons don’t require users to input magic power inside, because people with magic power are either mages or demon hunters.

Mages would be foolish to use weapons in close-quarter combat, demon hunters would be crazy to spend their entire fortune on an expensive enchanted weapon.

And this magic staff, clearly tailored by the genius mage for himself.

“Master, please help me thank Lady Margarita.” Stuart spun the staff with vigor, indeed showing a bold style, he expressed his gratitude according to etiquette. “But the enemy you mentioned is…?”

“Speaking plainly, it’s Viggo Fortez, that master mage leading the rebellion. Don’t disclose it, now’s not the time to reveal the details of the coup.”

“So you’ve already killed him?”

“After dealing with the aftermath, I went to rummage through our battle ruins right away, but only found this weapon, his body I cut has no trace, to be honest, he should still be alive.”

Lann spoke without surprise and calmly.

“He was still holding a Wishing Technique of the Djinn at that time, and how he got that Djinn is also very concerning. So either way, he remains a lurking threat.”

“You must first go to Novigrad, complete my mission, then promptly head to Sachia in Yaden to stabilize the Rebel Army’s situation. The Niflgaard people’s offensive will sharply increase the Rebel Army’s pressure. External pressure reflected internally results in further division.”

“I need you to suppress the Rebel Army’s division trends.”

“But others, their primary task will be to find traces of Viggo Fortez. Letting him successfully hide is very dangerous for anyone.”

Stuart saluted: “We have no further objections. We will comply with your will. Just one more thing…”

With that, Stuart furrowed his brows, looking quite stern.

“I’ve already assigned tasks.” Lann tilted his head, “So I need you to speak directly if there’s a difficulty. Only then can I resolve it.”

“We need a commander, master.”

Stuart spoke directly, unceremoniously.

“Your occasional disappearances are truly critical, especially for the army, an organization that views timing as life.”

“Of course, we are your loyal Ember Knights, so we can run ourselves with confidence.”

“But our fighting style… To be honest, we need an exceptionally strong vanguard. Just like on Sodden Mountain, when you led us.”

“He doesn’t need to be as perfect as you, comprehensive in decisions, judgment, bravery but at least able to fight… astonishingly able to fight. Thus can maximize the combat efficiency of Ember Knights. Because we are trained under your command this way.”

“We are confident, given time, the Ember Knights can demonstrate maximum combat efficiency in more varied battlefield situations. But for now according to your words, the flames of war have reignited, it’s best to focus on reality.”

“A vanguard, an invincible vanguard.” Lann pinched his temples with a headache, “I do have a way to solve this issue, but unfortunately, Stuart. Really unfortunately.”

“You’re off to save the world again?” The Ember Knight sarcastically reacted with a cold face, quite the contrast.

“Not every time is that urgent.” Lann scratch his cheeks embarrassedly, “But the Gatekeeper’s work time has arrived, absenteeism is very risky… for everyone.”

“Next time. Next time when I return, I will find you a vanguard.”

Stuart questioned with a frown: “A strong vanguard?”

“Not just strong.” Lann confidently nodded, “She’s simply unbeatable.”