Beast Slayer Online: Initialization
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 124: Firelight Across the Harbor
Foltest departed Dark Water with his guards at his back. Roche rode close behind the king, and only after the village had faded well into the distance did he spur forward slightly and lower his voice.
“Your Majesty, the witchers’ strength is still a danger.”
Earlier that day, the characteristics of witchers had already become required reading among Temeria’s nobility.
Stessa had stood second only to the king within the kingdom, yet even the estate and defenses of such a man had proved as full of holes as a sieve before a witcher.
No one had cared much about witchers before. Partly because of their low standing, partly because no one had imagined they could become something like this once they truly acted in earnest.
No one could ignore a force capable of killing Count Stessa by brute force.
Even across the entire Continent, the man had counted among the great nobles.
Roche himself had never disliked witchers. He too had crawled out of filth and poverty. For Lannor, who had hacked his way through Stessa’s estate for the sake of a group of children, he even felt respect.
But in the end, he was still a patriot ruthless enough to put reason before sentiment.
Emotionally, no one disliked a hero who stood against power.
Rationally, he could not accept a man this dangerous walking freely inside Temeria.
Foltest, however, did not share his subordinate’s concern.
Even though he was king, even though every piece of information and every broader view before him pointed toward the danger of an uncontrollable warrior, he merely rode on in silence for a while, speaking his thoughts without turning back.
“The times are changing, Roche. Especially quickly of late.”
“Before today, nobody on this Continent knew that a man with basic magic, paired with the skill and physique of a top warrior, could single-handedly slaughter his way through a great noble’s fortress-estate. Because no one had ever done it.”
“The sorcerers who wield magic prefer wrestling for power in court. Druids and priests stay far from worldly affairs. Witchers cling to neutrality and rarely even enter towns.”
“You read the reports too, Roche. Before Lannor, there were only two famous examples of witchers slaughtering humans. Geralt of Rivia, called the Butcher of Blaviken ... gods, what a gentle age that was. He killed seven thugs in a marketplace and earned the title butcher. The witcher we shared ale with today cut down more than two hundred men in a single night.”
“The other was called the Cat of Iello. His record was wiping out a small village. Funny thing is, both of them once tried to earn the bounty on Yada’s curse. One died, the other got paid.”
Roche listened in silence.
He had always understood his place. He possessed intelligence, but not enough to rival men who shaped kingdoms. He was suited to execution more than strategy.
Foltest was a wise and formidable king. When the king made decisions, Roche did not interrupt.
“The times have always been changing, Roche. They simply change too slowly, sometimes even stumbling backward, so people without access to wider information fail to notice.”
Foltest continued, voice carrying across the lakeside wind.
“Humans have only stood upon this Continent for a little over five hundred years. We discovered Chaos magic here, and from that moment the world split between those who wielded magic and those who did not.”
“For more than five centuries, those two groups have struggled, compromised, and finally shaped the order we have today. Kings and sorcerers.”
“People think history settled there, that the balance stabilized. But for kings, for those who truly influence the workings of nations, compromise, conflict, struggle, and change have never ceased.”
“Can you believe it, Roche?”
Foltest turned to glance at his loyal warrior.
“Just four years ago, when Geralt came to break Yada’s curse, that was the first time I had ever seen a witcher. I even had to ask Triss what sort of creatures they were.”
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