Witch Redemption

Currently, a high-level magical core from a demonic creature, sent by his direct superior Ivan Hank, has been made into a faith imprint and is awaiting human transplantation at the end of the month.

At other times, he would quietly enter the Forest of Giants in Olma with his servant Yu Hui and his slave Thomas to hunt down monsters. He accumulated quite a lot of materials and did not have any conflicts with the clergy of the Dark Order or other adventurers.

Currently, both Yu Hui and Thomas have successfully reached level five, and each has unlocked a new talent.

Yu Hui's new talent is "Magic Control", which allows him to release magic power and unleash destructive sword or blade energy with the help of his weapon. This reminded him of the "Crescent Moon Sky Slash" he witnessed when he faced the Archangel Angel.

Of course, when this little guy is used, the effect isn't actually that strong.

Thomas's new talent is "Fighting Skills," which, combined with his "High-Speed ​​Learning" talent, allows him to directly learn the fighting techniques of other adventurers, unleashing 10% more power than the original. This makes him, who should be genderless, increasingly resemble a true human.

"It's a bit of a shame. Why does the life-forging process keep failing? Could there be something wrong with it?"

Li Lan truly couldn't understand it, since the success rate of life-forging was quite high back in Mori City on the border of the Empire.

As a result, now that they've arrived at the border of the Viana theocracy, the success rate is ridiculously low, with only two successful examples so far: the little girl Yu Hui and the big guy Thomas.

"Even using low-level monsters for life alchemy failed. Could it be because we left Lana and the others that this is happening?"

Before Lana transmigrated, she was incredibly lucky. Li Lan wondered more than once if she had benefited from Lana's good fortune, which led to her high success rate before.

"Mimetic Chaos is a unique monster found only in the Imperial City of Mori, so we can't get it here... Oh well, let's keep trying. It doesn't matter if the success rate is low, there's still hope."

While deep in thought, he worked with the two guys beside him to skillfully cut open the body of the man-eating vine, remove the magic core and the intelligence core, and sort and store them into his spatial backpack.

Only when he enters the Forest of the Giants of Olma alone does he dare to take out his natal magic book and the Libra Cross Greatsword without being noticed. Normally, he would not dare to expose these items, which are the most obvious symbols of a witch.

Only with the help of the magic book could he find out the exact locations of these mid-level monsters, making the hunt much more efficient.

"Life is so peaceful. I wish it could stay this way forever..."

As if in a dream, Li Lan looked up at the sky, which seemed to have darkened, and once again missed her comrades, whose whereabouts she did not know.

Time flies so fast; a month has already passed in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go, guys. After we get back to the city, we'll be going to the food market later."

...... ...... ......

Killing often leads people to lose themselves, and unjust killing can cause even a highly educated person to feel a severe sense of guilt.

Just because her identity as a "witch" was discovered by chance, she mobilized the low-level skeletons she had accumulated over nearly a month and used the zombies of the "Dominator" to completely destroy the village built on the ruins of a small temple.

She brought the fear of death to the border of this small country far from the British Empire.

"Everything is for the sake of survival, for the sake of meeting Karen and the others again... for the sake of saving them!"

When Lolina raised the Libra Cross sword and took the life of the human child huddled in the cupboard, her near-collapse caused her to burst into tears.

She was lonely and helpless.

That night, after leaving all her companions, she frantically headed north. She didn't know how long she had been running, only that she absolutely could not stop.

If she hadn't been spotted by a local villager in this remote village today, and her identity hadn't been exposed, leading to a large-scale attack by the villager, Lorina wouldn't have gone berserk and splattered the entire area with her serum.

This is the border of the Kingdom of Kandama. Because it is too remote, there are not many adventurers. The people living here are mostly native inhabitants who are both military and civilian.

They never imagined that this seemingly delicate and powerless woman could bring them such a terrifying catastrophe, as if a real Grim Reaper had descended, turning this small area into a dead zone in less than ten minutes, with no one able to escape this misfortune.

After an unknown period of emotional catharsis, Lolina finally managed to calm down, wiped away her tears, and her complexion returned to normal.

"It will be night soon. I can settle down here for the night. I'm running out of food, so I need to think of something as soon as possible."

Living among the dead, spending each terrifying night in solitude, seemed to be the necromancer's destiny, leaving her feeling utterly lonely.

Whenever this happens, she misses her former comrades terribly, especially that very special Karen Elf. That guy has a strange charisma, and the composure he once displayed still influences Lorina to this day, bringing her a powerful psychological comfort.

"Karen, Lana, Della... they should still be alive, right? They are also continuing to fight for tomorrow. We will definitely meet again someday. I can't give up."

Lolina's strong determination to be the first to reach everyone's destination spurred her to act resolutely.

"First, we should plunder all the food in this area and make a long-term plan. Second, my Dominator class might be useful. This is the territory of the Kingdom of Kandama, thousands of miles away from the British Empire. Temporarily stationing here, using the zombies to maintain contact with the kingdom, and then hiding here to hunt monsters and slowly grow stronger isn't a bad idea. Finally, not only killing monsters provides me with experience for magic books, but killing humans also yields a considerable amount of experience. If I want to advance to a Gold Magic Book as quickly as possible..."

A terrifying blueprint unfolded in Lorina's mind; she had never been so afraid of her own thoughts, so afraid of her own madness.

A ruthless desire, like wildfire, burned uncontrollably, propelling her into an abyss from which there was almost no turning back.

She actually plans to destroy the entire country! She intends to wipe out this small nation single-handedly! She wants all the intelligent beings and monsters here to become stepping stones for her to grow stronger!

Of course, this crazy idea only lasted for a moment before she forcibly suppressed it, and then looked terrified.

"What am I thinking? This isn't like me at all!"

After a long silence, she finally muttered, "If I can continue to hide, I shouldn't have the thought of killing again, as long as the local inhabitants don't harm me."

Killing is ultimately wrong; it is a moral dilemma.

...... ...... ......

The campfire illuminated the horrified faces of the four humans; they had never felt the darkness of the night to be so terrifying.

Of course, compared to the terrifying darkness, what was even more terrifying was the superhumanly strong woman who had saved them.

This woman was beautiful, with an amazing figure, but she had strange, jet-black antlers on her head and vertical pupils like those of beasts. This reminded them of the "witches" of the legendary three great kingdoms, a mysterious being.

"Hey guys, stop putting on that smug face. Shouldn't you be prepared to die if you're in this business? Don't be such cowards."

The woman casually picked up their food and wolfed it down, her eating manners extremely uncouth, as if she hadn't eaten for a long time.

The strange lizard on her shoulder made a few "cooing" sounds, then happily swallowed a piece of jerky as its owner teased it, and then rubbed against its owner's cheek like a cat.

"Um... Big... Big Sister... Our rations will only last for three days, until then..."

The gold-level adventurer, who had just been rescued that day, looked on with a mournful face as he pitifully watched his rations being completely devoured.

"Don't worry, after eating your food, I will naturally act as your bodyguard and escort you to the end. If there isn't enough food, we'll just catch a few more unlucky souls along the way," Lana said indistinctly while wolfing down her food. "I've only been awake for a short time, and I didn't expect that after so many years, you humans are still just as weak."

Having tossed the grimoire and the Libra Cross Greatsword into her spatial backpack, Lana could now boast wildly, "Did you witness my strength today? Let me tell you, I am a Dragonborn! Do you understand what a Dragonborn is? Dragon Girl! I am currently searching for my way home. My homeland is that floating continent, the distant Floating City That Never Sleeps. Does anyone have any information about it? Tell me."

"So she's not a witch... But, weren't the Dragonborn extinct a long time ago?" The four human adventurers looked at each other, even trembling slightly, because the strength this woman displayed was truly unbelievable, explosively powerful.

Little did anyone know that in the nearly one month since escaping the British Empire, Lana had single-handedly fought her way through various monster-infested areas with her own strength. Now, her magic book level had been raised to thirteen, and her power had increased even further.

Of course, luck is also a factor.

Lana originally planned to escape discreetly, but then she thought she could use the unique advantages of the Dragonborn to deceive people, so she took the initiative to approach human adventurers.

If you can fool him, great; if not, don't blame him for being ruthless and killing you on the spot.

He's been lucky these past few days, and he's finally managed to fool these four people. He managed to fool them by using his powerful strength and his pure goodwill. He's currently going to follow these people to a small kingdom called "Gastanaha". If he can use these four adventurers who believe in him as a cover, he might be able to take advantage of the chaos.

"Actually, the Central Floating Continent has long since disappeared. I heard this from other adventurers. It's said that many great nations are searching for this continent, hoping to obtain the treasures of the ancient dragon race, but it's not that easy..."

Seeing that this strong woman was quite easy to get along with, the adventurer, who had just been rescued that day, mustered his courage and began to chat.

After Lana's actions, the group gradually accepted the possibility that she was a descendant of the dragon race. After all, she had indeed shown signs of dragonification, so there was no doubt about it.

...... ...... ......

In the ruins of an abandoned temple, two worried figures are guarding a woman with horns on one side of her body that has been mutated.

They are Peggy, Matilda, and Sherry, three witches who should have gone their separate ways, but because they all went to the Ancient Forest of the Four Sacred Mountains, they ended up coming together again by chance.

Unfortunately, when they met, Peggy's body had undergone an astonishing change.

"Peggy has been unconscious for three days. What should we do? And what about his body? Why did it become like this?"

Shirley's words were filled with fear, because Peggy was truly terrifying at that moment. One half of her body was normal, while the other half had turned dark, resembling rough cowhide, with numerous grotesque and eerie wrinkles, radiating an indescribable aura of oppression.

Furthermore, the fingers of his left hand had completely transformed into blackish-gray tentacles, easily reminding them of the former Abyss God, Ann Gnath.

“I don’t know either. Let’s just take it one step at a time,” Matilda finally managed to squeeze out, at her wit’s end. “We should be more worried about food than Peggy’s situation. Our food reserves won’t last much longer.”

"The nearest country should be a small country. If that doesn't work, we can consider attacking..." Attacking the indigenous people there and directly seizing necessary supplies, although that might expose their whereabouts, there really isn't a better way right now.

Even though they were prepared to kill innocent people from the very beginning when they escaped the empire, they are now truly powerless to do so.

Even though they were nearly 10,000 kilometers away from the Empire, they were still afraid of being recognized as witches. In fact, they tried to contact the adventurers more than ten times, but were recognized, which eventually led to a fierce battle between the two sides.

“I’ll go take a look first. My race is the fairy race. If I pretend to be blind, I might be able to fool those humans. Peggy still needs someone to protect her at this stage. Sherry, you should stay by her side. Otherwise, I won’t feel at ease.”

"Um......"

During the conversation, Peggy, who should have been in a deep coma, suddenly opened her eyes. Her eyes had become completely red and were bloodshot.

“Peggy…”

"Ah, Sherry and Matilda, what are you doing here?"

Peggy made a weak sound, but he was too weak to get up.

"We met by chance, and then found you collapsed in a monster-infested area, so... why did you end up like this? What kind of monster attacked you?"

Peggy stared blankly at the sky, her hazy memories causing her to murmur, "I was always running away. I don't know how long I ran, and then a guy caught up with me. He wanted to kill me, but the man next to him refused, saying he wanted to show him a secret about witches, and then... and then..."

After her dreamlike ramblings, Peggy's face gradually turned terrified, then calmed down, and her mind became completely clear!

"I...I met Ann Gnath!"

“He’s already dead? You…” Sherry and Matilda both looked incredulous.

"No! He's not dead, he's immortal! He joined a powerful organization, and that organization saved him. The man who appeared with him is very strong, so strong that even Ann Gnath is afraid of him. That man said that a witch's body is the best vessel for an ancient god, and the witch's soul is the key to sealing that vessel. Once the seal is broken, the witch can regain the power she should have as an ancient god. The price is... the price is..."

Peggy raised her mutated left hand as if she had seen a ghost, but in the end she was speechless and choked with sobs, unable to utter a single word.

“Peggy…”

Faced with her companions' words of comfort, Peggy shook her head sadly, and a rare tearful voice escaped her lips. "I'm fine."

The atmosphere remained silent for several minutes before Peggy, finally regaining her composure, spoke again, "Where are Karen and the others?"

“I don’t know. They must have chosen a different path from us. I think they’ll be alright, and everyone will definitely survive!” Matilda said in a deep voice, even though she knew that her words sounded more like platitudes, but she had no choice but to say them.

Because he had keenly sensed that for a moment, Peggy, who had become neither human nor ghost, felt a sense of despair and wanted to commit suicide!

"The Empire wants us dead, and Ann Gnath, as one of their former comrades, is now plotting to wipe us all out. From their conversation, I learned that they don't know where Karen and the others are; they just happened to run into me. But that doesn't mean they won't deduce from me the possibility that others have successfully escaped the Empire. They will surely turn against us again someday!"

“Ann Gnath and his organization, like the Empire, are hostile to witches. Even in my current state, I cannot give up. If I abandon hope, what about Sherry and Matilda… No, isn't this what I initially sought? If I can gain power through this, even the darkest power, I will seize it by any means necessary! Right now, my body is just out of control. If I can master this power, and even seize the divine status of an ancient god in the future…”

Peggy closed her eyes, but when she opened them again, her gaze was more determined than ever before.

“Sherry, Matilda, we need to plan ahead. To fulfill our promise to meet again in the Ruins of Annihilation, we need to become stronger! Then we will destroy the Empire and destroy Ann Gnath! For this, I will pursue the power that does not belong to witches. You must never follow in my footsteps. Continue to pursue the method of unlocking secondary professions.”

"Please be very careful. The witch's body is not as simple as we imagine. Our bodies might be a ticking time bomb!"

Chapter 18 Ten Minutes of Long-Distance Communication

The border town of Kobe was filled with an eeriness after nightfall, with noisy sounds coming from outside the locked doors.