The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! - Chapter 159 - Meeting of All Northern Kingdoms 03.

[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV

Northern kingdoms.

...

...

The next room, as everyone entered, revealed itself to the mages. It was richly decorated, far more than it should have been for a city like this.

The place was even larger than the previous hall, and while there was an area where everyone could gather upon entering, a higher platform held a crescent-shaped table facing them. Behind each seat stood the banners of the northern kingdoms, with the respective kings and queens seated there, each accompanied by a mage from their court.

There were more people in the room—guards, renowned knights from each kingdom, and other important court officials—all observing the group of mages who had just arrived.

“My king...” Sigismund Dijkstra approached the King of Redania. “Fringilla and Francesca are here, claiming to represent Nilfgaard...” he informed his king, Vizimir II.

“What?! They dare to come here after everything?” The King of Temeria immediately exclaimed upon hearing the man from Redania.

“This shows a great deal of respect for us,” another queen remarked.

“We should imprison them or even execute them!” one of the kings suggested, rising from his chair.

“Calm down!” The King of Temeria commanded, his gaze turning to his intelligence officer.

“What do you suggest, King Vizimir? They are our enemies, traitors to the North!” another asked openly.

This discussion did not go unnoticed by the rest of the assembly, the conversation echoing through the grand hall as they all waited to see what the kings would decide regarding the two sorceresses in the other room.

“We should at least hear them out... after all, we still have one common interest—to understand what has been happening. We have a potential enemy we know nothing about, and I doubt anyone can stop a blue monster almost the size of a mountain!” another king spoke up.

They continued debating for a while, trying to decide what to do, until finally, a decision was made.

“Then bring them in. Let them share their ideas and experiences in this meeting,” was the final decision, and soon after, the two sorceresses were summoned.

It didn’t take long for them to appear.

No one in the hall looked at them with any warmth or kindness, but they stood in a corner quietly while the others turned back toward the kings.

“Well, it’s time to begin...” the King of Sodden said.

“Let’s go... As you know, we are perhaps just coming out of one crisis and heading straight into another, even greater one,” King Foltest began, with Keira Metz at his side, along with his queen.

“As we know, Nilfgaard invaded the North, starting with Cintra. They marched northward from the south, invading Cintra. At the same time, part of their army invaded Sodden, while men from Skagos, who are not present here, fought against Nilfgaard at sea as allies of Cintra,” the King of Sodden began.

“Cintra fell when an army of more than 90,000 Nilfgaardians entered the North. The kingdom was conquered in the first assault. The capital put up some resistance, but it was only a matter of time before it fell completely. Queen Calanthe perished, along with her husband, Eist Tuirseach, King of the Skellige Isles, who was killed in battle at sea.”

He paused as everyone in the room listened intently.

“Then, as you all saw... Nilfgaard was not satisfied with that. The next target was my kingdom. They quickly organized their army, barely stopping in Cintra, and as soon as they had minimal control over it, they marched east—to Sodden.”

The King of Sodden continued, “Despite fighting against the southern Black Army, I had to mobilize my troops against Nilfgaard’s main force to the west, below the Sodden Hills.”

He paused, observing the attentive faces in the room.

“I admit it was a difficult situation. We were just one kingdom, facing an enemy with far superior numbers. However, we received help from the chapters of the mages, as well as an army from Temeria.”

He nodded in gratitude toward the Temerian representatives.

“Had it not been for that, my kingdom would have been devastated. But let’s be clear—everyone acted not out of compassion for Sodden, but because they feared Nilfgaard’s advance into the North. Otherwise, they would have helped Cintra earlier.”

Meanwhile, King Foltest nodded at the King of Sodden.

“So...” Thorne began speaking again. “For two months since the fall of Cintra, Nilfgaard's army advanced, and we finally met them on the battlefield. We fought small skirmishes every day, with neither side fully committing their forces. Both armies tested each other's strength with about ten thousand men in battles without magic, waiting for the right moment.”

“Talk about the boy!” someone shouted from the back of the room, interrupting the king. “You sent him into the final battle, and we all saw the result he caused! That boy turned the tide of the battle in favor of the North in just a few minutes. In the end, he even gravely injured our generals using magic!”

Fringilla spoke up then, with everyone staring at her in surprise. “When the battle wasn’t even supposed to allow the use of magic!”

“Don’t be foolish, Fringilla!” someone retorted. “Don’t try to play the moralist here in this hall!”

“Silence!” one of the kings shouted, immediately silencing any further discussion. He turned his cold gaze toward the two Nilfgaardian sorceresses. “I don’t want either of you interrupting any king here while they are speaking. If you do, you will be forcibly removed from this meeting. And if necessary, we will send your heads to your emperor. So, be quiet.”

Fringilla pressed her lips together, clearly furious, but she said nothing more. Even so, she had touched on a sensitive subject.

“It seems that was the boy’s first action...” the Queen of Lyria commented, looking directly at the King of Sodden. “How did he appear in the war? Or was he with you before?”

The King of Sodden sighed deeply. He was still shaken and even a bit frightened by what he had seen during the war. After all, no one in the world knew how to stop that... thing that had appeared out of nowhere on the battlefield and cut through mountains.

However, he continued speaking firmly. “Madara Uchiha... so let’s talk about him. That’s the name that began to surface in Cintra. He gained authority as he carried out various actions within the kingdom. He rose from being a simple orphan to becoming a special guest of Queen Calanthe. He even lived in the castle for some time.”

Conversations and small discussions began to spread among those present. Some exchanged suspicious glances, while others murmured quietly.

“They say he studied alongside Princess Cirilla...” the King of Sodden concluded, casting a somber look over the crowd.

“Calanthe must have lost her mind!” one of the queens remarked arrogantly. “She took in an orphan, raised him, and even placed him beside her granddaughter? I never imagined she would be so foolish.”

The King of Sodden ignored the comment and continued, aware that everyone in the room already knew most of the information he was about to share.

“These details have already been made public, but it’s important to reinforce what we know before making any final decisions,” one of the kings said.

Many of those who had investigated the boy quickly began to gather more information. Then Thorne began recounting the events involving the gangs that plagued Cintra’s capital, mentioning that the situation almost ended in tragedy, with a confrontation against a mage at the end.

“But I don’t know many details about that,” he said. “Only Queen Calanthe and the mage Mousesack truly know what happened on that occasion.”

The King of Sodden, therefore, couldn’t provide much more information. He simply explained that there had been a plan involving a noble hunt in an illegal arena.

Then, he began to comment on his own father’s actions. His father had wanted him to marry Cirilla after his fiancée at the time had died. It had been a very sad period for him, and he immediately refused the marriage, but his father had been resolute in his decision. He wanted to seize control of Cintra through that alliance.

The conversation continued, and the king recounted how a war had been waged after his father had sent a messenger to be executed during a banquet, accusing Cintra of a diplomatic crime. It was during that time that he met Madara.

He couldn’t give many details about it. The only thing he could say was that Madara had won the war by using an impressive strategy that outmaneuvered the Sodden army, making them lose the battle easily.

The king paused before continuing. Madara’s last action, after he became a great noble and administered an entire region, happened during the war against Nilfgaard. It was in that battle that he publicly displayed his abilities, which left everyone terrified.

The king, however, stated that he couldn’t provide many details about this episode, as he wasn’t familiar with it, and no one there really had accurate information on it.

“If you allow me, let me speak about what happened during that battle,” Francesca said, interrupting. It was important for her to contribute some information, or she and Fringilla might end up dead.

All the kings nodded, granting her permission to continue.

“The first time I saw the boy,” Francesca began, “he threatened the commander of that squadron. He said he would kill him.” She paused briefly before proceeding.

“When the battle began, he used strange powers—something no one was prepared to face. He managed to burn more than two thousand men at once. He advanced across the battlefield like a monster, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, far faster than any creature I’ve ever encountered.”

Francesca glanced around, observing everyone’s reactions, and continued.

“That speed... It shouldn’t be human. Not even a witcher could achieve it. He ran toward us, and I tried to protect my commander. But it was useless.”

“The boy named Madara Uchiha used elemental abilities, similar to magic. But at the same time, they weren’t ordinary spells. They were so powerful that I was defeated myself.”

“I saw what he had said before. But... understand one thing. The only feature that truly terrified me were his eyes.” The entire room fell silent, waiting for Francesca to explain further.

“His eyes turned red. A shade of red I’ve never seen before. They resembled the eyes of vampires. But I don’t know if it was an illusion. Because his eyes were clearly black before... and suddenly, they turned red. His eyes are not human in some way, and they are special,” she explained.

The mages and kings present exchanged glances. The room was filled with a heavy silence.

“I don’t know of any creature capable of doing that. But...” Francesca added, “he himself said that he could face gods.”

“You’re saying Queen Calanthe was raising a monster?” someone asked, breaking the silence.

More questions began to arise as everyone reflected on Francesca’s words. Yennefer remained silent, unwilling to say anything. This wasn’t exactly what she had imagined.

Madara was truly different. But was he a monster? Perhaps he was, to his enemies. However, he never displayed a monstrous nature when he was with her. He protected Ciri at all times. To Yennefer, he seemed just like any other person.

‘Perhaps it’s that unique energy he possesses...’ Yennefer thought to herself, pondering what truly made Madara strong. ‘Both Madara and those strange people he killed... They also seemed to possess something unusual.’

“Now I want to know how he got involved in the war of Sodden!” King Henselt of Kaedwen spoke, drawing everyone’s attention back to the King of Sodden.

“Madara appeared in the middle of the battles while speaking to me, looking for Tissaia...” the King of Sodden explained, and everyone turned their gaze toward the mage at that moment. The sorceress beside Yennefer nodded, confirming it.

“In any case... you know him... After all, my general said that you put him in charge of the battle where he stood out,” King Foltest said.

“It’s true... After all, he spared my life during the western battle against Cintra... I owed him when he came to me, saying he would fight against Nilfgaard as well, seeking revenge for what the Black Army did to Cintra,” the King of Sodden admitted.

“Well... now let’s hear about that battle then...” the King of Redania commented, as everyone paid close attention, eager to hear more.

Because it was at that moment, truly, that the legend of Uchiha Madara was born in this world.