Chapter 328: Triss Is So Beautiful
"Let's begin."
As the final word left Geralt's lips, his eyes narrowed. Lynn, who had taken the Wolf School's starting stance, launched forward like a crossbow bolt, shooting toward him with terrifying speed.
So fast!
The thought flashed through Geralt's mind, leaving no time to vocalize his surprise. Still, Geralt was a master of the Bear School; he wasn't about to be unable to block a single strike. Although he was shocked by Lynn's superhuman speed, his battle-hardened body instinctively made the optimal choice. He stepped back to create distance while raising his sword to block.
CLANG!
The screech of clashing steel was deafening. Missing with his first strike, Lynn flashed to Geralt's side and swung his sword again. The two blades met again and again, like two fierce beasts separating and devouring each other. Because Geralt was not as fast as Lynn, he was forced to play defense more than offense. But he expertly used the length and width of his greatsword, adjusting his angle and position just enough to block Lynn's torrent of attacks without being led by the nose.
He then seized an opportunity. As he parried an attack with his blade, he grabbed the unsharpened part of the sword just in front of the crossguard, changing his stance to smash the pommel at the end of his hilt at Lynn. Though Lynn quickly brought his sword back to block, he felt a powerful force jolt through his blade, making his hands tingle and almost causing him to drop his sword.
But it wasn't over. Using the brief moment of respite from the frantic assault, Geralt raised his greatsword above his head.
Then came the Bear School's most iconic move:
Rage Explosion!
A terrifying wave of sword energy arrived before the blade itself. Lynn felt his face being cut by the fierce, killing intent. An ordinary soldier might have been frozen in place by the sheer force of the move, unable to move and only able to watch as the sword came down.
But Lynn was no ordinary soldier.
THUD!
Dust billowed. When the dust finally settled, the two figures reappeared. Lynn stood in front of Geralt, holding his sword in a reverse grip and pressing it against Geralt's neck.
He wasn't unscathed, though. A gash had been cut into the chest of his Grandmaster Wolf School armor. This wasn't because Geralt had held back, but a testament to the quality of the Grandmaster armor itself.
"I lose," Geralt said, a hint of apology on his face. "Thank goodness you're alright. I'm sorry, I should have warned you. When I use that move, I always tend to go all out."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Lynn waved his hand. He was confident in his ability to protect himself and had accounted for the possibility of Geralt getting carried away in the fight.
Through this spar with Geralt, Lynn confirmed his suspicions. The Bear School was not the Cat School; even with their incredible destructive power, they still lacked in speed. They were perfect for fighting large and medium-sized monsters and people, but against smaller, more agile foes, you had to be careful.
The Cat School, in contrast, was fast enough but lacked raw power. Lynn had felt this particularly during the recent battle against the Nilfgaardians, where he had felt constrained when fighting heavily armored enemies. If he hadn't also possessed powerful magical abilities, he would have been at a severe disadvantage.
Therefore, if he wanted to be truly unstoppable on the battlefield, he would have to use heavy armor to defeat heavy armor.
After a few days of persistent practice, Lynn finally locked in the Bear School's sword style to his stat panel. But before he could allocate any points, a Skelligan soldier ran up to him with a report.
A merchant ship flying Temeria's white lily banner had arrived at Ard Skellig. They claimed they had come specifically to meet with a witcher named Lynn.
So, Lynn and the soldier who had brought the message went to the nearest coast, accompanied by a few other soldiers. The soldiers waved a flag, and the Temerian ship anchored in the distance lowered a longboat. A few cloaked figures sat in it and slowly rowed toward the shore.
As the longboat approached, the Skelligan soldiers around Lynn instinctively tightened their grips on their weapons. The merchants in the longboat, in turn, raised their hands to show they were unarmed.
"Lynn."
A small figure emerged from the group. She took off her hood, revealing a fiery red mane of hair. It was Triss.
Seeing it was a friend, Lynn signaled for the Skelligan soldiers to lower their guard. He walked forward and embraced the red-haired beauty. She, in turn, gave him a sweet kiss.
"I thought you would just teleport here."
"I've never been to Skellige, so I had to come by ship," Triss said, glancing at her escorts. "They are all part of a guard detail most loyal to King Foltest."
Lynn nodded at them in greeting.
"I can't wait to see the thing you told me about."
"Come with me. It's in the castle... They can come, too."
"No need. You wait on the ship for me. I'll be back by tomorrow at the latest."
"Yes, ma'am."
The Temerian soldiers had no objections, bowing their heads in obedience. Then they rowed the longboat back to their ship as everyone watched.
Lynn and his party returned to Kaer Tursach. Once back at the castle, they no longer needed the Skelligan guards. Lynn sent them to attend to their duties and accompanied Triss alone to the dungeon.
The jailers who guarded the dungeon all recognized Lynn, a hero to the Tursach clan and all of Skellige. The path was naturally unobstructed.
They walked through the dark, eerie passage and found a much cleaner-looking solitary cell, where they finally saw the imprisoned Chalamire. Lynn had previously instructed them not to abuse the knight and to ensure he had two full meals a day.
Aside from having his hands and feet bound in shackles and not being able to leave the cell, the knight's treatment was far better than what most people in his situation received.
Even so, when Lynn saw Chalamire again, he almost didn't recognize him. Although it had only been a few days, Chalamire was visibly haggard and frail. His hair was messy, his beard was unkempt, stained with food scraps and broth, and his body reeked.
He no longer looked like a knight in any way.
(End of Chapter)
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