The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

A flash of golden light—

Lann appeared midair, arms raised high above his head. The strength of his core held him aloft for a fleeting moment as stamina, adrenaline, and magical energy surged into his hands.

The Sword of the Lady of the Lake flared with radiant brilliance.

[BOOM!]

A blinding golden slash shattered the massive ballista bolt. The resulting explosion turned splinters of metal and wood into a volley of razor-sharp projectiles, pelting Lann's body and sending out thick, earthy-yellow ripples like shockwaves.

[Quen Sign – Exploding Shield]

Another deafening blast erupted as the protective sign burst, and a second shockwave slammed into him—like an invisible hand yanking Lann out of the deadly shrapnel zone, one akin to a cluster bomb's detonation.

Even for Lann, both arms trembled afterward. Blood streamed down his palms, trailing from the edges of his sword-gripping hands as it dripped through the sky.

That was a siege ballista, after all—and he had actually cleaved its bolt with a sword.

No matter how strong his core was, there was no way to maintain stable control in such conditions. His body flailed wildly through the air like a tossed sack of flour.

But that was hardly enough to stop him.

[SWOOSH!]

He vanished once more in a flash of golden light.

[Blink]!

The next second, Lann crashed into the ground and tumbled violently, rolling across the battlefield like a rag doll until finally slamming into something solid with a heavy, reverberating [THUD!]

When he looked up, he found himself face-to-face with a ballista—currently unloaded.

Though unable to stabilize midair, the temporal deceleration from his active skill allowed him to roughly orient himself.

And right now, his top priority was obvious: destroy the heavy artillery and give the dragons free rein to go wild.

But Lann frowned slightly at the sight of the dazed crew still staring skyward.

Someone come hit me already, he thought bitterly. So I can activate [Active Shield] and regenerate. I can't even grip my sword properly right now…

Screw it.

He let out a quiet sigh—and got to work.

Up on the battlements, Duke de Wett nearly popped his eyes from their sockets.

He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

A man as seasoned as him, who could regain composure even while facing dragons, was now completely stunned.

What had he just witnessed?

A man—with a sword—had cleaved a siege bolt in midair!

Wasn't that supposed to be the other way around?!

And then, in the blink of an eye, the same Lannister who had flashed from the dragon's head and split a ballista bolt midair... vanished again.

Where did he go?

Duke de Wett didn't need to wait long for the answer—the thunderous noise that followed from a nearby part of the wall made it clear.

[Aard Sign – Aard Sweep – Piercing Cold]!

[BOOM!!]

Another explosion—he'd lost count of how many there had been already today.

The ballista and its crew were flash-frozen, then torn to shreds by a blast of howling wind. A thick sheet of ice spread rapidly across the ground.

Lann slammed his hand to the earth—and a dozen glowing emerald sigils materialized around him.

[Teleportation]

From those sigils emerged fully armed warriors, roaring Skellige war bears, Witchers—

—and two women who stood out sharply from their surroundings.

One had fiery red hair.

The other: violet eyes like blooming violets.

Triss and Yennefer.

They were ready. The moment their feet touched the ground, they exchanged a glance and began chanting in unison, channeling chaotic energy together.

A portal of unprecedented scale opened before them.

From within it, troops clad in reinforced armor began marching out.

This was Cintra's City Guerrilla Force.

Wave after wave emerged through the portal—they were here to begin the second phase of the operation.

Lann took a deep breath, raising a solid, earthen-yellow barrier around himself. He turned to the newly arrived Witchers.

[Quen Sign – Active Shield]

"Alright—someone slash me, quick!"

...

Once the guerrilla squads were in position, they quickly dispersed within the fortress.

According to the original plan, their mission was to follow their respective Witcher leaders to eliminate the siege weapons on key vantage points—creating ideal conditions for Saskia and Keltullis to wreak havoc.

At this moment, the interior of the fortress was already in complete chaos, thrown into disarray by the red dragon's rampage. There were simply no troops available to intercept these small, highly mobile elite squads.

With Triss and Yennefer's magical support—offering occasional long-range aid or even opening portals to enhance the guerrilla squads' mobility—the threats atop the battlements were swiftly neutralized.

Lann himself kept appearing near the siege crossbows and massive catapults, though his goal wasn't to kill.

…

With a flash of golden light, Lann landed, still gripping his Lady of the Lake sword tightly.

Thanks to the 'recovery' assistance from the Witchers just moments earlier, his physical condition had returned to peak form.

"Lannister!"

Seeing their fellow marksmen on nearby high points fall to his blade, the siege operators immediately panicked. Some abandoned their controls and bolted without a second thought; others, more stubborn, drew their weapons and charged straight at him.

To Lann, both types were treated the same.

Golden light shimmered from his runed longsword, tracing arcs through the air. Moving with the agility of a lynx, Lann weaved effortlessly through the Nilfgaardians. Whether they rushed at him with blades or fled in terror, all were caught within the sweep of his sword.

The sound of slicing flesh rang out in succession—splurt—as blood sprayed like a fountain into the air before cascading to the ground.

Every siege operator was reduced to a corpse.

Lann flicked the remaining blood off his blade with a sharp motion, then pressed his left hand against the massive siege crossbow. In the next instant, the weapon vanished from the field, as if erased from existence, leaving only a shallow impression in the ground.

With a satisfied raise of his brow, Lann mentally noted that this marked the tenth siege crossbow he had stored in his Inventory. In addition, he'd already secured eight of Nilfgaard's giant catapults.

These enormous machines, built from steel and ancient timber, cost as much as several noble estates—and their embedded technologies were even more valuable.

It had already been said: the war between Nilfgaard and the North wasn't just a conflict of eras—it was a clash of civilizations. This disparity was evident not only in tactics and military doctrine, but in technological advancement.

These siege weapons had several times the range and power of anything the North currently possessed. Back during the ambush in Skellige, the trebuchet that attacked Torgeir had nearly leveled an ancient fortress with just three volleys—proof enough of their might.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear a hundred battles. If these siege weapons could be brought back and carefully reverse-engineered, Cintra's military strength would be significantly bolstered.

Now, as Lann glanced around once more, it was clear that Nilfgaard's anti-air capabilities had been thoroughly dismantled.

With no threats remaining, the two dragons dove again and again at low altitude, wantonly spewing fire upon the soldiers below.

It was time for them to withdraw.

Suddenly, sensing something, Lann raised his hand. His gaze landed on a distant Nilfgaardian battle standard.

"Heh."

…

"My lord, all the siege crossbows and catapults have been destroyed. We can't do anything about those two dragons!"

The adjutant, pale-faced, reported to Duke de Wett. Cold sweat from fear mixed with heat-induced perspiration from the flames, drenching him as if he'd just been hauled out of the Yaruga River.

"I saw it…"

At this point, Duke de Wett had become eerily calm.

His eyes were fixed on a golden-haired knight in silver-black armor at the edge of his vision.

From the moment Lann had blinked into the fortress, only one thought had occupied de Wett's mind—news of Duke aep Dahy of the Eastern Army being beheaded and his banner taken. So he had immediately summoned all of his royal guards to encircle and protect him.

That disordered command was part of the reason Lann's guerrilla squads had been able to move through the fortress unhindered, freely destroying its siege weapons.

Yet despite the banner being right there, Lannister seemed to deliberately ignore it. Not just Lannister—none of the summoned guerrilla fighters, nor even the dragons raining fire from above, showed any intention of targeting him.

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