After the Thanedd Coup, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers was severely damaged, with many core experts sacrificing their lives. Even the high-ranking sorceress Tissaia, the former rector of Aretuza Academy, perished.
The power of kings and nobles, however, became even more authoritative, freed from the constraints of the sorcerers.
If, in the past, royal advisors and kings had a relationship of mutual supervision and cooperation, then now, without the support of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, royal advisors have almost been reduced to subordinates of the kings, only able to act on command.
The next morning, while Guilliman was still eating breakfast, Triss's maid specifically invited him to meet at the sorceress's home.
After two weeks apart, Triss was still as charming and lovely as ever. She wore a red, form-fitting pair of leather pants, fashionable round-toed leather shoes, and a turquoise leather vest that was plump at the chest. Her beautiful red hair was tied into a ponytail, giving her a more capable and spirited look, rather than a ladylike one.
"Hi, Guilliman, long time no see."
Her sweet smile was endearing, and she showed no hint of the contempt or suspicion that ordinary people often held for witchers; she treated him as warmly as a friend.
Such a smile also infected Guilliman. He unconsciously smiled back and said softly, "It has indeed been two weeks, Triss."
"I heard you've been very busy lately, researching the plague."
"However, I'll have to trouble you for the next few days."
Seeing him being so polite, Triss waved her hand, her face slightly flushed, and said with a smile, "It's no trouble at all. This is also to protect Temeria."
"Temeria is my homeland, and I have a responsibility to protect it."
Indeed, if any other sorceress said such words, you might doubt her insincere intentions. But coming from Triss, one of the Fourteen of Sodden, who nearly died protecting Temeria, it was absolutely heartfelt.
Her gaze flickered across the witcher's handsome face, then she covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "Do you know, you really angered Keira yesterday."
"She came to my place last night to drink her sorrows away, complaining that you looked down on her abilities, which is why you chose me to assist you instead."
"Heh heh, Keira is one of Margarita's most outstanding students."
"Her skill in barrier magic, dispelling curses, and breaking magical formations is among the best of all sorcerers, even now."
"I think you could take some time to give her a gift. She's not one to hold a grudge and should forgive you quickly."
So that was it. Guilliman finally understood why he had offended Keira.
It was because the little hothead was too arrogant and couldn't tolerate others looking down on her.
Hmph, a gift! If he had the chance later, he'd give her billions, hundreds of billions of gifts, and fill her up!
For such an arrogant sorceress, what he liked most was making her do all sorts of shameful things; it was far more stimulating than conquering ordinary women.
Guilliman smiled inwardly, then said to Triss, "We'll see when the opportunity arises, Triss."
"However, I chose you precisely because I feel we have better chemistry, and I enjoy being with you."
The witcher's casual flirtation made the red-haired sorceress's face flush as she averted her gaze.
Afterward, he began to recount his experiences during this period and the methods he planned to use against the merfolk.
"The merfolk all live in the water."
"Unless under special circumstances, they won't come ashore even during the day."
"These little monsters swim very fast in the water, and their bodies are covered in scales, which act like a layer of leather armor. It's very difficult to shoot them from the shore with either bows or crossbows."
"Therefore, unless these monsters are willing to come ashore and confront us directly, ordinary soldiers' attacks against them are almost useless."
"I only managed to inflict considerable damage on them in previous battles by using alchemical bombs, exploiting their unfamiliarity with the bombs' properties."
That's how it was. Although aquatic creatures fighting land creatures needed to overcome the difficulty of dehydration and couldn't stay on land for long, land creatures wanting to actively fight aquatic creatures had to enter the water, which was definitely more difficult than being attacked by them.
Only a few powerful spellcasters or special magical items could achieve this.
That's why Guilliman hadn't prepared to recruit a large number of combat personnel; a squad of Skellige warriors and a few elite witchers were already sufficient. Any more people would only become a burden.
After listening to Guilliman's analysis, Triss nodded thoughtfully.
Unlike other sorceresses who are more skilled in defense, detoxification, dispelling curses, or indirect attacks like hexes, the seemingly charming and harmless Triss was actually a genius sorceress skilled in destructive magic, especially fire and lightning magic.
Not only could she use the top-tier third-level spell, Azur's Lightning, but she had even created several advanced offensive spells named after herself, which were recorded in the academy's magical texts. This demonstrated her high magical talent.
The two discussed the attack methods of alchemical bombs for a long time.
After the discussion ended, Triss, as if having made some decision, said to the witcher a little shyly, "Guilliman, could you let me study your witchers' alchemical bomb schematics?"
"Just as you said before, whether it's the beehive bomb that explodes with gunpowder, the Dragon's Dream bomb that emits toxic gas, or the expensive North Wind bomb that relies on freezing power, they aren't really suitable for fighting merfolk underwater; they can only be used with difficulty."
"I've always specialized in lightning and fire magic during my time at the academy."
"If I had the witchers' alchemical bomb schematics, I should be able to quickly create a lightning explosion bomb that releases a large amount of electricity underwater, electrocuting merfolk within a certain range."
"This type of bomb should be more suitable for underwater combat."
Was this for electrofishing?
After hearing Triss's idea, Guilliman's eyes lit up, and he immediately felt that this idea was excellent and might turn the tide of the battle.
A lightning explosion bomb – this might become a new weapon for witchers, specifically designed to deal with aquatic monsters.
Moreover, even without this pretext, if Triss wanted to examine the witchers' alchemical schematics, he wouldn't mind showing them to her.
After all, he wasn't a conventional witcher who wanted to rely on keeping these ancient crafts secret to ensure the continuation of the witcher profession.
In fact, later, once his influence grew stronger and he built more connections, he would improve and evolve all existing witcher technologies.
For example, changing potion drinking to potion injection, finding professional enchanters to enchant all witcher weapons and equipment, and continuing to research witcher mutations, delving into secondary, tertiary, and even more mutations.
And soon, once Black Gull Island was in his possession, he would establish potion factories, alchemy factories, sword oil factories, and more on the island.
He would transform the original small-scale workshop operations into more efficient and higher-quality factory production.
As long as the death rate for mutating into a witcher could be reduced, the witcher profession could easily flourish and gain popular respect.
At that time, becoming a witcher wouldn't involve old witchers stealing children, adopting orphans, or begging others to continue the profession. Instead, people would be crying and shouting, offering large sums of money, begging the Witcher Academy to take them in.
After all, just the longevity aspect, even if life expectancy only doubled, would be worth many people fighting for.
Guilliman didn't say much, smiling and nodding at Triss, fully expressing his trust in her.
He then found several schematics and, without reservation, drew up diagrams of the various alchemical bombs he knew, handing them over to the sorceress.
Alchemical bombs were not really a secret in this era; many alchemists could make them. The only reason this powerful weapon hadn't become widespread among various nations was primarily due to its extremely high production cost.
This was especially true for the materials used to make gunpowder.
Perhaps due to the influence of natural laws and magical factors, they were not as easily obtained as on Earth, and their content in various mineral veins was very scarce. They had to be processed through complex and intricate steps by professional alchemists to be purified and made.
This was also one of the reasons Guilliman wanted to build a factory.
Alchemical bombs were his powerful weapon and one of his main combat methods as a 'pay-to-win' witcher.
If the production cost of alchemical bombs could be reduced, it would implicitly be an enhancement to his combat power.
If, in the future, every witcher could be equipped with several bombs, then the combat power of the entire witcher profession would significantly increase.
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