My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 368 I'm on Fire

West Tower, a border town in Pratiya.

Considering the need for supplies and logistical support after the legion's arrival, and with the consent of Princess Andreep, the First Border Legion of Isfar began to occupy the deserted city, transforming it into a forward base for the transfer and storage of supplies.

The First Legion, which arrived in Xita City, also began to divide its forces and take a temporary rest here.

Even though a terrifying tremor had come from the north just five minutes ago, they could feel the intense impact even hundreds of kilometers away, and could even see the huge magical cloud forming on the horizon.

However, these anomalies did not affect Elson's ability to issue commands.

Regardless of what happens in the north, the most crucial thing at this stage is to build a safe and reliable logistics base.

Xita City is undoubtedly the most suitable location.

First of all, this place is only 200 kilometers away from Isfar. Even without the magic train line, given the current foundation of the empire, as long as we send a few more teams of mages who are skilled in earth elemental magic and metal manipulation, we can build a bidirectional line that can operate normally in half a month at most.

Although the proposal has not yet been approved, Elson can understand.

After all, although a railway for transportation can be built in a short time, the resources it consumes will be an astronomical figure.

If war is not necessarily going to break out, it would not be surprising if the decision to build this route were to be put on hold for the time being.

After all, given the current efficiency, the route from Isfar to West Tower is not particularly long.

Thanks to Master Toran for recently miniaturizing the engine used in the magical train. Although the speed and load capacity have decreased, it no longer requires the use of rails.

All that's needed is a relatively flat road surface.

It is said that Master Toran was inspired by the Aslan Territory's branch of the Society and the Battle of Blackthorn Territory.

The new type of vehicle with its tracked design and massively amplified cannon barrel not only showed this master of magical technology how future imperial war machines should be designed, but also gave him ideas on how to improve transportation.

There are also simplified versions of armored personnel carriers with five pairs of wheels, which are not equipped with protective armor but instead increase the carrying capacity of trucks.

As the military commander, Elson was eager to see the day when these weapons were deployed on a large scale.

Unfortunately, there are only ten of these vehicles in total, and they are still in the experimental stage.

Taking advantage of this unusual period, we conducted experimental tests in the frigid North. We ran the route from Isfar to West Tower, which has some risks and difficulties, but is not particularly challenging overall.

If the experimental results are good, then we will consider partial deployment.

Just as Elson was envisioning the future, his adjutant Truk walked into his temporary office with an extremely grim expression.

After entering, he looked around, seemingly to make sure there was no one else in the room.

Elson immediately saw through his subordinate's thoughts, turned around and drew the curtains, activated the magical device he carried to block the transmission of sound and magic, and then went forward to close the door for his subordinate.

"What happened?"

Truk swallowed hard, then said in a trembling voice, "Please don't be afraid of what I'm about to say."

"...Grand Duke Roland was ambushed by four bishops of the Chaos Brotherhood."

"Among them, the Evil-Eyed Bishop Barrow led his men to use the city of Heria as bait to draw away the attention of the Great Sage and Cardinal Clark."

"After the attack began, the remaining five prototype units of the Demon King's Hand, which had been missing for a long time, also appeared on the battlefield and began to help Lord Roland and his companions fight against the Chaos Brotherhood. It is speculated that this was likely the work of the remnant soul of that Demon King."

"Furthermore, according to the intelligence provided by the Great Sage and Cardinal Clark, the infamous Dracula the Impaler provided assistance to Lord Roland in this assassination attempt and revealed the final outcome of the battle."

“The bishop of terror, Ayka, who had been wanted by the Holy See for many years, personally committed countless massacres, and whose hands were stained with countless sins, was beheaded on the spot by Lord Roland.”

"After his death, the evil god's blessing within him went out of control, and the Hellfire Archbishop Clive and the Immortal Archbishop Rauschney fled the scene immediately."

"The piercing officer did not leave immediately, but chose to observe the situation."

"Lord Roland attempted to stop the spread of the evil god's corruption... but with little success."

"After that... the prototype underwent unknown changes, followed by a spatial tear."

"At the critical moment, the Piercing Duke chose to activate the escape scroll, teleporting himself back to Heria City and conveying the result to Cardinal Clark."

"Lord Roland... was unable to escape in time and was caught in the spatial turbulence; his whereabouts are unknown."

"The mountain range where the group fought completely disappeared into the spatial tearing phenomenon."

Elson felt like his head was about to explode after hearing this: "So you came in just now to see if Her Highness the Princess was in my office, right? And Miss Kalia and Ms. Flam? And even Lord Kefas?"

Truk nodded: "That's right... I wouldn't dare report this kind of news to these people right away."

Upon hearing this, Elson slammed his fist on the table: "Damn it! You think I'd dare just because you don't?! How's the intelligence blackout going?"

"Apart from me and a few of your trusted confidants, no one else knows for the time being."

Elson took a deep breath, then waved his hand wearily: "Go do your thing. I'll talk to Her Highness the Princess about this... but I need to report to His Majesty first."

Ten minutes later, after a brief report, Elson, facing the old emperor's death order to find Roland at all costs, found Iluvia with a deathly pale face.

"Your Highness, this is what happened..."

However, after Elson relayed the news he had heard in its entirety, the princess's reaction was surprisingly calm.

Could it be that she finally couldn't stand Lord Roland's philandering anymore, and their relationship broke down?
Just as Elson's mind began to wander with all sorts of gossipy thoughts, Iluvia spoke up: "I marked Roland with my abilities, and his life force is still relatively stable." "And don't forget, he possesses the Boundary-Breaking Spear that the Demon King once wielded. Even if he gets caught in the turbulence, he has a way to tear through space and escape. It's just a matter of where he might end up."

"However... the markings I applied indicate that he should still be within the mainland... Let's keep it a secret internally for now. The task of finding him has been entrusted to the Hatter and the Inspectorate... no, for the Inspectorate, we'll only entrust it to the elites of the headquarters, and they need to keep their mouths shut."

"Don't worry, Roland is fine. With his abilities, he can definitely escape if he can't win. Even if he was accidentally teleported to Enva... he'll definitely have a way to get back!"

Elson glanced at Iluvia with a complicated expression, then left as ordered.

After Elson left completely, Iluvia, who had been calm and composed, could no longer maintain her composure.

She waved her hand and used magic to close the door, then slumped helplessly into a chair.

She was telling Elson the truth.

Roland is indeed still alive, and he has not been swept away by the spatial turbulence to any strange place; he remains within the continental boundaries.

But... what she didn't say was that Roland's life force was extremely weak, like a candle placed in a biting cold wind, at risk of being completely extinguished at any moment.

But there's nothing she can do right now...

After taking a few deep breaths to calm her chaotic thoughts, she began to think about how to tell Kalia the bad news.

……

It's so cold... It feels like I'm back home.

Even the powerful physiques of the demons cannot completely withstand the terrifying cold and year-round snow of the far north.

Humans can hardly imagine why the demons would be willing to make such a harsh and cold place their base.

But the reason is actually quite simple—the concentration of the Great Source Magic here is far higher than in areas where humans live.

Even some monsters whose bodies are directly formed from chaotic magic, such as elemental spirits and slimes, will receive epic-level enhancements here.

High-level elemental spirits like the Flame Demon cannot even leave this high-concentration magical environment before they have fully matured, otherwise their forms will disintegrate and they will perish.

The voice of her childhood tutor began to appear in Cellina's mind.

Beside the fireplace burning with firewood stood the squinty-eyed teacher from the Moon Fox Clan, a lean middle-aged man.

His voice was slightly hoarse, which made it very memorable.

At least Celinina hasn't forgotten it to this day.

Through her blurry vision, she seemed to have returned to her childhood, a time of heavy schoolwork and constant training.

"!!!"

As if realizing something, Cellina suddenly opened her eyes and forcibly used the power of the Sun Rune.

The intense heat of the sun melted the snow that had almost buried her, allowing her to see Roland lying beside her, unconscious on the ground, his veins ruptured and his breath faint.

Even worse, Roland was now covered in flames, as if he were on fire.

If she hadn't sensed the power and characteristics of the primordial runes within the flames, Cellina would have almost lost control and tried to extinguish the fire.

This must be Roland's trump card for survival...

At that moment, memories from not long ago flashed through Cellina's mind, and she quickly realized their current predicament.

We must leave here as soon as possible and find a place that can temporarily shelter us from the wind and snow.

At the very least... we can't let Roland stay here any longer.

But... what about Polycia?

The Demon King transformed back into the gauntlets on Roland's hands, but what about the child?

Cellina searched anxiously, the scorching sun melting patches of snow, but to no avail.

It wasn't until Roland's Soul-Gathering Orb began to emit faint magical fluctuations and laboriously relayed three words to Cellinina that Cellinina belatedly realized where Polysia was at that moment.

I...am...here...

After gathering all the team members, Cellina breathed a sigh of relief.

At least now I only need to carry one person.

Cellina crouched down and effortlessly hoisted Roland onto her back, spreading the power of the runestone onto Roland's body.

Although he was literally burning with passion, in the extreme cold of the far north, where a drop of water can turn into ice in a second, no amount of warmth was too much.

With Roland on her back, Cellina looked up at the overcast sky, realizing she couldn't even use the method of determining her location by the stars anymore.

Then we can only rely on intuition.

Hopefully... I can find a place to stay soon.

(End of this chapter)