Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 402 The Land Where Flames Dance
Where there is tyranny, there will be resistance.

In this era where there are no evil gods and the Demon King has been banished by the Holy Mages, people can only take up arms themselves, leave their homes, and hide in caves in the forests to escape the Imperial Army's search.

This was the rebels' temporary encampment. In the dark, deep cave, torches were the only means of illumination. The rebel leader kept his promise and no longer made things difficult for the nobles and wealthy merchants, but a disagreement arose between the crew and the nobles' private soldiers.

Some of them followed them deeper into the woods, including the airship's captain.

He knew the character of the nobles in the capital. Although they promised not to let bygones be bygones, they would definitely change their tune once the imperial army arrived. And if they couldn't find the attackers, the most likely scenario was that they would vent all their anger on these people.

The airship they were on was attacked, and a nobleman was killed.

When have they ever suffered such humiliation?
There were some simple living facilities around the cave. Women, children and the elderly welcomed the return of the main group. Only when they confirmed that their relatives and friends were safe and sound did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

With the disbandment of the rebels, the anticipated conflict arrived as expected.

A menacing woman followed him into the deepest part of the cave. Once they were alone, she demanded menacingly, "Why did you let those go?"

She absolutely disagreed with the leader's decision. If it were her, she would have ordered the execution of all the nobles and wealthy merchants present, and the surrendered sailors and private soldiers should have had their weapons confiscated and been placed under quarantine. This would have been the greatest mercy she could have imagined.

This was not just for revenge, but also to protect the safety of everyone in the camp.

The people living here are the lowest-ranking commoners of the Silver Glow Empire. Most of them have lost their homes and have no choice but to rely on you to escape to this desolate wilderness. "They all depend on you! When those nobles encounter the Imperial Army, they will definitely launch a large-scale search in the woods. Even the Golden Fleet will come. You should know what happened to Riverside Town. Everyone in that town died, and only a few survivors were left!"

“I know, Evelyn, they won’t let this go.”

The burly, masked man spoke in a calm manner, not confronting the agitated Evelyn directly.

"Everyone here has staked their lives on you, Lance!"

Ethan had no intention of getting involved in their argument, but the mention of that name filled him with a sense of awe.

This is a familiar yet powerful name. When Old Sen's Magic Technology Shop first opened, it was a major customer who wanted to use the magic scrolls he made to protect her beloved. Not long ago, Bi'an also mentioned Lance's performance at the Netheril Sanctuary.

Lance completed all the basic training excellently and earned the appreciation of a high-ranking knight with his outstanding performance. He passed the second-rank knight assessment and is now moving towards the third rank.

That child is born to be a knight; that's already top-tier talent.

A rumor circulated among the knights: "A young man has come to the Sanctuary, and everyone believes that given time, he will surely become a high-ranking knight who can stand alone in the Sanctuary."

Ethan vaguely sensed a sense of familiarity from the tall figure in front of him. Since the Silver Empire was almost identical to theirs, could there be a mirror version of them in this world?
In this world, Lance's name is even more renowned.

The ace swordsman in the hero squad, known as "the strongest man in the empire".

He possesses immense strength and can hold his own against large monsters.

“I know that’s why I have to do it.”

"Then tell me why?"

“Evelyn, we shot down a transport ship full of imperial nobles. Half of them have their own networks in the capital. Do you really think that if we kill them to silence them and hide the bodies, the imperial army will let it go?”

Lance's question left Evelyn speechless for a moment. She opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

"In any case, the Imperial Army will come here and search this woodland. If we kill them, there will really be no turning back."

"Lance!"

Evelyn suddenly realized what was going on. She was filled with shock and anger, and her hand even reached for the rapier at her waist. "Now that things have come to this, do you still intend to grovel before the nobles of the Empire?"

"It's to secure the possibility of negotiation."

"negotiation?"

“We have the leverage they are interested in.”

"You mean... Hero?"

"And me." The tall man smiled. Some of the empire's high-ranking nobles were very concerned about my movements. If I were missing, many of them would be unable to eat or sleep. "Using two people as bargaining chips to buy you time to escape, isn't that a good deal?"

"you--!"

Evelyn said incredulously, "You should know very well what they would do to you if you fell into their hands, right?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have many options."

Lance sighed, "But you're right, I'm not a good leader. This action was too hasty, putting everyone in danger... But we must not miss this only opportunity. Do you remember the question you asked me when we first met?"

"...Why would someone like you come to a place like ours?"

"If we never come back, I originally planned to let life continue like this. With my abilities, I can protect you from the monsters and help you evade the Imperial Army's pursuit as much as possible, but that's the limit. With our strength, we ultimately cannot change this country."

Lance said, “One day I will grow old, so old that I can no longer wield a sword… But now, the one who can truly change this kingdom has come before us!”

As Lance spoke with a slightly excited tone, Evelyn looked at the hero Solan, who was studying the "magic wand," and felt two burning gazes. Solan turned to look at Ethan, which in turn drew their attention to Ethan as well.

"I didn't have a chance to ask just now, young man, who are you?"

At first, Lance thought Ethan was a private soldier under the nobleman's command who had come to join them. But after observing him carefully, he found that the young man was extraordinary. In particular, he did not show any fear of coming to the rebels' headquarters and the Imperial Army that could arrive at any time. Instead, he was calm as if he had returned home.

Along the way with them, they even had the leisure to greet the children in the camp.

He could also tell that Solan seemed to trust the young man a great deal.

"I am Ethan."

Ethan said, "You can call me Senzi."

He decided to keep the new nickname that Xiao An had given him.

Moriko?

Lance and Evelyn pondered the matter carefully, but realized they had never heard of this person before. The young hero, however, was displeased. His arrogant, aristocratic air, typical of a young noblewoman from the capital, was on full display. He tossed his non-existent long hair and said, "Brother Solan, you're joking again! And Lance, you'd better explain why you called us here!" This was truly awful!

The reunion with his old teammates seemed to have caused the young hero's old illness to relapse, this time with as many as three victims. Even though Lance and Evelyn had most of their faces covered, Ethan could still feel their shock.

"Actually, it's like this..."

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain the whole story to the two of them.

Compared to the Imperial Army and those covetous nobles, Ethan felt that the young hero was the real problem. If he continued to speak in this way, his mental state would face great danger.

Imagine a burly, hot-blooded young man calling you "brother" in a whiny, affected tone. That kind of mental pollution is far more terrifying than those orthodox evil gods like the bastard.

"So, Solan is currently under the influence of hypnosis and mistakenly believes he has become...Ilya?"

Ethan noticed that Lance's tone was very unnatural when he mentioned the name. It was obvious to anyone that after the Demon King was defeated, his former companions had long since parted ways and were very likely to have become enemies.

"This should be the Ilya he knows."

After examining it for a long time, Lance came to a conclusion.

The holy mage who was not very frank in the team, but always took good care of everyone, and always followed the hero like a little shadow.

But precisely because of this...

Therefore!

Lance suddenly clenched his fists, veins bulging on his arms, his eyes bloodshot. "As promised, I'll tell you what happened in the days after he disappeared."

"The next evening, we returned to the capital and met with Henry VI. He commended our achievements and asked Ilya to arrange our life in the capital. That night, Ilya hosted a victory banquet. She brought a lot of wine and carefully prepared everyone's favorite food."

They all thought they knew Ilya well, so they weren't on guard at all.

They talked about their vision for the future over drinks. Although the Demon King had been defeated, their ideals had not been realized, and there were still many things in the kingdom that needed to be changed.

Even if Solan disappears, they will continue to fulfill Solan's ideals.

"But Ilya poisoned the food. She is very meticulous and knows each of us well, so she also knows each of our weaknesses."

Lance gritted his teeth as he thought about what happened that night. "Zoffy fell into their hands, and I fought my way out and escaped from the capital."

He was lucky; the turmoil in Gear City distracted the Imperial Army, and when news of the death of the Grand Summoner Hetia spread, the number of pursuers decreased significantly. "I escaped all the way here and was rescued by Evelyn and the patrols here."

It was from this point on that Lance truly understood the lives of the lower classes in the empire and learned about the actions of the nobles towards them. During the adventure, Ilya skillfully concealed these things from him.

Lance was lost in confusion.

He suddenly realized that he and Zoffy, who was now missing, were the odd ones out in the team. Unbeknownst to them, Ilya had already conspired with the others to "clean up the mess".

The mission to defeat the Demon King has been accomplished; they no longer need to concern themselves with the rest.

But they knew very well that, given his and Zoffy's personalities, they would never turn a blind eye to their actions, so Ilya decided to strike first.

The only variable was Hetia's death, which was outside Ilya's plans and threw the Imperial Army into chaos.

They were all wary of the murderer who killed Hetia, and they had to consider the possibility of the Demon King's return, after all, he was one of the few powerful enemies that Ilya could not control.

“Ilya must have heard that Solan has returned, and she may already be on her way to Gear City.”

Lance gave Evelyn his final order: "She is skilled in divination and will find this place faster than we expect. So, Evelyn, I want you to take your men and head east immediately. Once you get out of the Empire's borders, you will be safe."

With that, Lance handed Evelyn a thick envelope. “This is where I learned swordsmanship. Find the person on the letter, tell him my name, and he will provide you with a new place to live.”

"……how about you?"

“I’ve said it before, Solan and I are key to buying you time.”

Lance said, "As long as we are here, Ilya will not divert her forces to hunt you down. She values ​​her life much more than we do and will never put herself in danger."

At this point, he looked at Ethan again, "It's just that Solan's condition is a bit different from what I expected. If it were the old him, he would definitely stay and fight alongside me."

But now, their team has an imposter Ilya, a lousy mage who can't cast any spells at all.

It seems he has used up all his luck on his journey to defeat the Demon King.

"I am very grateful to you for saving Solan, but I never expected that you would end up in such a predicament..."

Lance hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He couldn't let Ethan travel with Evelyn's group. As long as Solan was still outside, the Imperial Army's pursuit would not stop. "I will buy you as much time as possible. You can take Solan and escape to the west. I left two griffins in the cave to the west. They should be able to take you wherever you want to go."

Lance could already smell the approaching danger in the air. He used to only have this premonition when he was about to face the Demon King. This time, however, he would use his skills and power to deal with his former comrades.

Lance untied the greatsword that was wrapped around him, and he felt his blood boiling.

"It's almost dawn, let's leave as soon as possible."

"We're just about to go to the capital."

Lance was stunned at first; he could hardly believe his ears. He believed that even if Ethan was an outsider, he should understand their current situation.

The capital city is the source of all danger.

"After Ilya captures you, she'll probably take you to the capital, right?"

Ethan said, "You just mentioned that you plan to negotiate with the Imperial Army. I may not be good at much else, but I am quite good at negotiation. Staying here might be of some help."

(End of this chapter)