Chapter 98: You Have Chosen the Path of Death
The study was not dimly lit.
Candlelight illuminated the room as if it were daytime.
It naturally also cast a clear shadow of Kiyan, the Cat School witcher with two swords on his back, standing before Prince Adda.
"I thought I had made my requirements very clear."
Prince Adda didn't look at Kiyan.
His gaze was fixed on a square wooden table in front of him.
On that wooden table sat an exquisitely crafted city model, reduced countless times in size.
It was the former capital of the Seamaid Dynasty, now taken by the Redanians as their own capital.
That city was called Tríog.
"Things have changed," Kiyan said in a low voice.
Prince Adda's face darkened.
"Changed? Are you telling me you can't even handle a few students who couldn't catch a chicken, and an old man with one foot in the grave?"
Kiyan shook his head. "No, it's that Dijkstra fellow. He paid for and hired another witcher himself."
Kiyan's words finally caught Prince Adda's attention.
He looked over.
"Your colleague?"
"Yes."
Prince Adda took a deep breath.
"Can you find a way to win him over?"
He had money.
He had plenty of money.
Although compared to other princes, he didn't have vast territories to inherit, nor did he have vassals enough to fill an entire hall to swear allegiance to him.
Nor did he have a harem of concubines waiting for his favor.
But even so.
He was still a prince.
If possible, he even planned to give Kiyan a long-term, stable contract after this commission was over.
To make Kiyan, this Cat School witcher, kill only for him from then on.
Kiyan shrugged.
"It's hard to say. He's not from the Cat School. Witchers from other schools have a stubborn streak."
"A streak? What kind of streak?"
"They don't swing their swords solely for money. They have their own bottom line, a bottom line that can't be measured by gold."
"In that case, that's a pity. We'll just have to find a way to make sure he doesn't interfere with us." Saying this, Prince Adda made a throat-slitting gesture.
This time Kiyan nodded.
"Alright, but that's extra. Killing a witcher is much harder than killing a dozen ordinary people. My fee will have to double again."
Prince Adda didn't even blink. "I'll pay you double the reward, but you must do it cleanly."
Now that the matter was settled, there was no need to linger.
Kiyan intended to turn and leave.
"Wait."
Kiyan, who had already reached the door of the room, stopped upon hearing this.
"Wait until that old codger Dijkstra digs out everything of value before you make your move, understand?"
"I've invested so much money in them. What I want is the treasure in the elven ruins. Their heads are just secondary targets."
"As for your colleague, find an opportunity and get rid of him as soon as possible to avoid any complications."
...
When the group set off again the next day, Kiyan specifically sought out Lynn and solemnly apologized to him.
He said frankly that the Trial of the Grass he had undergone was incomplete, so he could always hear things that others couldn't.
Those voices tormented him.
They often demanded that he do terrible things.
He had been trying his best to resist.
Sometimes he gained the upper hand.
But sometimes he would be temporarily defeated.
Just like yesterday.
And now he had recovered. Therefore, he hoped Lynn wouldn't hold a grudge against him for yesterday's events.
Seeing Kiyan speak so sincerely,
Lynn also magnanimously said that the past was the past.
To outsiders, the two suddenly seemed as close as brothers.
But after Kiyan left, Lynn's expression gradually turned cold.
"Humph, he speaks as if it were the truth."
What Kiyan didn't know was that Lynn not only knew the things he was about to do but also knew his tragic fate afterward.
...
Late the next night.
The moon bathed the prairie in a pale, bright light.
In the very center of the prairie was a campsite.
The campsite was surrounded by a makeshift fence for basic protection.
Although these fences were crude, they could at least provide some rudimentary defense.
In the very center of the campsite, a bonfire burned brightly.
A circle of tents was pitched around the fire.
Everyone was lying in their tents, fast asleep.
Only one person was walking around outside the campsite.
He was the Cat School witcher responsible for the night watch—Kiyan.
Even without using Cat potions, witchers could see more clearly than ordinary people on moonlit nights.
"Calculating the time, it should be about right. It's so late, even a witcher should be asleep."
Prince Adda wanted him to eliminate the other witcher in their group.
Even if the prince hadn't asked, he would have done it anyway.
Because witchers from schools other than the Cat School wouldn't approve of his actions.
Therefore, since his ultimate mission was to eliminate all witnesses after discovering the treasure, he had to remove the stumbling block in his way.
Through the two days of observation yesterday and today, Kiyan had noticed that the Wolf School witcher who called himself Lynn never ate food from the same pot as the others.
He only ate the food he brought himself.
This made it even easier for Kiyan to make his move.
During dinner, he secretly added something to the large pot.
It wasn't poison, of course.
But it would make everyone else sleep like dead pigs.
Although he was confident in his skills,
before taking action, for insurance, Kiyan still drank a potion that could further enhance his abilities.
Then, he smeared a layer of poison on his sword.
Actually, the Cat School wasn't skilled in making toxins and poisons. That was the specialty of another major witcher school—the Viper School.
But just because he couldn't make it didn't mean he couldn't spend money to buy it.
In Novigrad, with enough money, almost anything could be bought.
According to the merchant who sold it to him, this poison came from a place far away from the Northern Kingdoms.
It was in a wild and hostile land called the Korath Desert, beyond the Tir Tochair Mountains.
Beneath that yellow sand were too many venomous creatures.
This poison was extracted from those creatures.
It would take effect instantly. The target would first feel paralyzed, their body out of control.
Then they would lose their life in a very short time.
They wouldn't even feel any pain.
After completing all the preparations, Kiyan walked towards a tent in the campsite.
Soon, he stood before a tent.
This tent was where Lynn slept.
"Don't blame me, fellow witcher."
Kiyan muttered softly.
Then he stabbed down without any hesitation.
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