Princess Sibilla's residence.

She was holding young Baldwin, gently reciting to him the Song of Winter and Fire—a novel currently popular among the noble circles in Jerusalem.

Judging by the writing style, the author seems to be the same person who wrote about the Demon Hunter, only this time the prose is more fluid, and the descriptions even more delicate.

In his writing, Sibilla seemed to see another continent named "Westeros," a world where nobles engage in deceit and open or hidden conflicts.

"Mom, Jamie is so bad, he actually pushed Bran down the tower, it's a murder!"

Princess Sibilla solemnly shook her head: "No, child, you must understand what drove Jamie to commit such an act that disgraces the way of the knight by pushing a child down from a high tower."

In her view, the one truly deserving to be called "bad" should be "Queen Cersei."

Greedy and arrogant, self-righteous.

Clearly a top-tier fool, yet believes she is skilled and deserves supreme power.

Such a foolish woman dares to covet the Regent Empress's throne? Her holding power is a "wickedness" against the people, those around her, and herself.

Sibilla silently added another remark in her heart: "Just as detestable as that Isabella!"

The popularity of Song of Winter and Fire did not surprise Losa.

With the illustrious Demon Hunter as a precursor, the new book featured more exquisite illustrations and cover art, and wasn't too pricey; it would be strange if it didn't sell well.

But Losa wasn't expecting to make money from book sales, just enough to break even and keep the printing workshop running.

Moreover, during the wave of enthusiasm for Song of Winter and Fire sweeping through Jerusalem, Kurs quietly carried out his plan.

…

Jerusalem.

Inside the tavern.

The minstrel elegantly accompanied by the lute's melody, slowly reciting a new story.

The decoration of this tavern was noticeably more high-end, and most of the patrons here belonged to the knight class or were well-off artisans and merchants. They were also quieter, not as noisy as the taverns in the marketplace.

A pilgrim from Gaul, Baron Fulk of Languedoc, accepted with a sense of wonder a green glass wine bottle handed to him by the bartender.

He marveled, "In Languedoc, only churches still preserve such large pieces of green glass."

The bartender smiled, "Sir, this is Jerusalem, filled with all sorts of rare treasures. It's just glass, after all. We preserve every kind of named wine in such a bottle."

Bang—

At that moment, the sound of tables and chairs colliding reverberated.

Immediately, the crowd burst into an uproar.

Fulk observed the scene with interest: "It appears that, even in Jerusalem, there will always be drunkards who fight each other after drinking too much."

The bartender shrugged, "That's probably the allure of alcohol."

On the scene.

Two tall knights were confronting each other.

One of them shouted, "Scoundrel, how dare you insult the great Van Helsing. I will have a duel with you, you disgrace!"

Who is Van Helsing?

A thought arose in Fulk's mind.

He inquired to the bartender beside him, "Is this Van Helsing a very famous noble?"

The bartender, with a solemn face, replied, "No, but he is nobler than nobles, a great Demon Hunter who often waives fees for the poor and travels the world spreading the will of the Heavenly Father."

"Ah, does Jerusalem truly have such a person?"

Fulk was taken aback, "Where is he now? I truly wish to meet him in person."

The bartender displayed a teasing smile, "Sorry, Sir, I'm afraid you won't have the chance because Mr. Van Helsing is a character from the most popular novel at present, Demon Hunter."

"A novel?"

Fulk felt a sense of anger at being fooled.

The bartender quickly explained, "Though just a story, Van Helsing is perceived by the people of Jerusalem as no less than a real hero. Many genuinely admire him, though others see this behavior as blasphemy, leading to frequent conflicts between the two camps."

Fulk found it hard to believe.

Is this Jerusalem?

People fighting over a fictional character?

At this point, the man confronting the knight on the other side shouted, "His Holiness the Pope once said, wasting precious life in duels is a sin."

"If you truly feel I insulted the hero in your heart, we can duel with these cards!"

The man took out a stack of cards preserved in an iron box, the back of the cards adorned with elaborate golden patterns and luxuriously bordered with copper.

"What is this? It looks like the cover of 'Demon Hunter'!"

"Demon Hunter's Gwent card?"

"Someone actually made this!"

"Heavenly Father above, is the scene described in the novel really happening before me—Knights dueling with Gwent cards?"

The people in the tavern whispered in astonishment.

Fulk felt like a country bumpkin with mud-covered feet, completely unable to understand the changes on the field at this moment.

Why not draw swords?

What are they going to do with these cards?

The Knight smiled arrogantly: "Don't tell me you don't know how to play Gwent. What I have is a complete Jerusalem deck."

The man opposite was equally unyielding and took out a stack of cards with copper borders: "Compete then, who's afraid of you? I must warn you, whether on the dueling ground or the card table, I can't lose to you."

The two of them posed around the table.

The crowd gathered around, and Fulk hurriedly squeezed inside with his attendant, relying on his sturdy physique from eating meat to finally secure a good spot.

The two Knights were already serious, setting up their positions on the table.

Along the center line, the Knights placed cards on their respective sides, attracting his gaze with the exquisite illustrations on the cards.

"Is this a Witch on it?"

He whispered to himself.

The Knight laughed: "That's right, it's the Witch, an elite with a point value of twelve in the ranged profession, the strongest card I got after buying ten packs."

The Knight opposite showed a cold attitude: "Huh, you think Gwent relies on money to buy cards? No, it's about wisdom!"

As he spoke, he played a card depicting a black cloud.

Among the spectators, those in the know exclaimed: "It's a Weather card, just like in the novel. Ha, in the overcast weather, your Witch's attack power drops significantly, you're going to lose!"

Fulk thought, Witches wouldn't fail to see things just because it's dark and cast spells erratically.

But... it seems quite interesting.

The Knight showed a cold expression: "Alright, even if you win this round, so what? You've used far more cards than me, let's see how you win the next round."

Sure enough.

In the second round, the Knight changed tactics, no longer obsessed with throwing cards in the same lane, but placing them separately in melee, shooter, and siege weapon lanes.

Although the Knight opposite played another Weather card, reducing all siege weapon combat power, he couldn't turn the tide and lost by three points.

Going into the third round.

The spectators were already enraptured, standing on both sides of the card table, offering strategies for their side.

"Play this Great Knight card, a whole ten points, we're bound to win."

The Knight was furious, his face turning red: "Fools, stop announcing my card to the other side."

But now, he had no other cards to play.

The scores were fiercely close.

The only card left in his hand was a Weather card that had a detrimental effect on both sides called "Scorching Sun," which, if played, would drastically weaken his melee lane cards.

Thus, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and play the "Great Knight" card.

But immediately, he saw the opposing Knight laughing and lay down a card depicting Losa wearing exquisite plate armor, with a black double-headed eagle cloak fluttering behind.

The card name was—Grand Master Losa.

Point value: 6

In terms of points, it was inferior to the opponent's Great Knight card.

But the effect of this card was: Destroy the opponent's melee lane card with the highest point value.

Instantly, the tavern roared with joy: "Ha, it's Count Losa leading us to defeat the evil Heretics, now he's turning the tide again, defeating the villain who insulted Van Helsing!"

The Knight opposite turned red-faced, cursing: "No, this is unfair, you don't respect card-viewing etiquette. If you hadn't announced my card, I wouldn't have lost."

What followed were incomprehensible phrases like "announcing doesn't count" and "opponent lacks wisdom."

However, by now, nobody cared what he was saying.

Almost everyone was asking where to buy these Gwent cards and how much each card was worth.

Fulk was enthralled as well and asked: "Mate, where can I buy these Gwent cards? I've never seen such a novel gameplay before."

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