Witch Redemption

However, it is said that in some small countries there is a profession similar to "witch doctor". This profession is different from the so-called modern doctor. It mainly treats some "curses" or "poisons". It uses auxiliary medicines, but it relies more on the witch doctor's own magic.

"A profession I've never heard of."

"Indeed, my profession only exists in the wilderness, which is extremely dangerous and has many infectious diseases that cannot be treated with medicine. Moreover, because the monsters there are too dangerous, they often cause many external injuries that are difficult to treat with medicine."

Li Lan fabricated a story based on the limited information she had, without batting an eye, fully displaying the ugly face she had shown as a former salesperson.

“I see,” Arnold said, glancing around one last time. “There’s not even a chair. It’s hard to believe you’re a normal person.”

"Indeed, I am not a normal person, but an adventurer. As an adventurer, I often go out and live in the open. No one knows if they will die in the monster area at any moment, so I don't need to prepare any fancy furniture, right? This is fine. In the ancient saying of the dark elves, there is a saying: 'It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.' Once you get used to enjoyment, it is easy to not be able to go back."

If it were a little over a month ago, Li Lan would never have imagined that she would speak to an Imperial Major General like this; now, thinking about it feels like a dream.

Arnold was deeply moved by this and did not insist any further, but instead slowly walked up to the second floor.

The area was completely empty, and no valuable information could be found. The third floor and the rooftop were also empty, and it was impossible to tell what was hidden there.

Little did she know that as she climbed to the second floor, then the third floor, and finally to the rooftop, Li Lan's expression subtly changed.

"Wait a minute! Wasn't she seriously injured and unconscious? How could she suddenly disappear?"

Frustratingly, he couldn't extract any more valuable information from this girl. Fortunately, she disappeared; otherwise, Li Lan would have had no choice but to sell her if he couldn't provide a valid explanation. Although he risked everything to save this brat in a perilous situation, he would never hesitate to abandon her when faced with a situation truly involving his own safety.

In the next hour, the large number of Imperial soldiers, clergy from the Dark Order, and Ivan's men turned the entire South 12th Street upside down.

They tried to find any clues on the street that might be related to Virginia's death, but unfortunately, they found nothing.

When the adventurers living here were asked, their accounts were almost identical: a lot of strange noises had been heard outside last night, accompanied by several large earthquakes. Given the curfew rule in the Viana Theocracy, they dared not go out to check the situation, no matter how intense the commotion was outside.

Anyone who has lived here for a while knows that this strange country is a place where life and death are most blurred, and the danger outside at night is no less than that of monster-infested areas.

After 7 p.m., you can occasionally see wandering ghosts floating in the dark corners of the city, which is terrifying.

A series of realities are laid out before all adventurers, and no matter how daring an adventurer is, they dare not risk their life. Breaking the taboo might mean dying peacefully the next second.

The group returned empty-handed, bringing back only the body of Virginia Palmer, an Imperial Major General. They had no idea what would happen next.

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

Life returned to its usual peace and tranquility. Li Lan, who was temporarily safe, stood with her two subordinates in the empty room on the first floor.

"feel......"

Just as Li Lan was about to express his gratitude, Ivan raised his hand to interrupt him, "I do indeed regard you as my honored guest. You don't need to be polite with me in this regard. As long as you can provide me with the most valuable benefits, in this city of Kobe, as long as I am alive, it is not a problem for me to continue to protect you."

In other words, Ivan did indeed regard this witch as a crucial trump card.

Li Lan understood what her boss meant and nodded. In addition, she felt a little embarrassed because she thought the room was still a bit shabby.

“In the near future, Kebei City will likely be quite turbulent, with many outside forces arriving one after another. Before that happens, I hope you won’t leave here easily. What do you think?”

If Ivan hadn't received the message from his inside source early in the morning, he wouldn't have known that Kobe City was in such a dangerous situation. The forces that appeared in the Night Realm last night included the Empire, the headquarters of the Dark Order, the Ross royal family, and a powerful force of unknown origin. Who knows, more and more unmanageable forces might come one after another.

Ivan could only guess that the arrival of these guys was likely related to some powerful and mysterious being, but what kind of variables it would bring was something he couldn't control.

Moreover, since these imperial lackeys have begun to suspect the witch's true identity, the subsequent investigation will definitely not stop, and it is still unknown what extreme actions they may take.

Li Lan understood her superior's meaning upon hearing this. "I won't be leaving for a long time. Besides, now that this shop has been leased to me, I hope to expand it. I do lack some funds and connections at the moment. I wonder if Viscount Ivan could help me in this regard?"

Since the crisis was resolved, Li Lan has been pondering how to make good use of his side job. Now, partly to repay his boss's kindness, and partly because he has come up with a more reliable method.

As a witch, if she doesn't go out to hunt monsters, her level will remain stagnant. Stagnation means regression, and not becoming stronger means no future. Therefore, given the extremely special circumstances, and with a powerful backer, Li Lan can indeed hide in this city without restraint. What she needs to do is make good use of the Creator of Life.

Within a certain range, Thomas or Yu Hui can provide him with magic book experience when they go out to hunt monsters, so he doesn't need to go out in person.

On the other hand, whether it's the Empire or the Viana Theocracy, pharmacies, food stores, and the like are all controlled by the government. In Li Lan's original world, they would be considered "state-owned enterprises." Now that he wants to make his "pharmacist" side profession work, he definitely needs Ivan Hank's help.

"Oh? Tell me your requirements."

"First, I can produce a variety of medicines, including recovery potions, and their quality is definitely better than most medicines on the market. Of course, I also know that Viscount Ivan is involved in that kind of business, and if a certain aphrodisiac is needed, I can also make it. However, I am currently lacking a large amount of medicinal materials, and I'm afraid Viscount Ivan will have to take the lead in this regard."

Upon hearing this, Ivan's expression finally changed. The reason he initially took a liking to this witch was that she could transplant the magical core of a demon into intelligent beings with magical power, thereby forcibly increasing the strength of the intelligent beings. This had been confirmed by Wood and Austin, and it had been preliminarily determined that there were no major side effects.

What he didn't expect was that this witch also had the ability to make medicine, a skill that was basically controlled by the Dark Order and had become a near monopoly.

If we could really break this monopoly with the help of this witch... no! There's no need to break the monopoly! Everything will remain the same. Just send all the medicines she makes to the black market. This will protect her safety to some extent and bring me unprecedented huge profits!

Ivan immediately had a plan. "Sure, give me a list of the medicinal herbs you need, and I can get them."

The Beicheng Chamber of Commerce lacks nothing but talent.

However, he added, "Only, the handover of the drugs must be done in my personal capacity and must not be known to any third party. This must also be a secret between you and me."

“That’s no problem. I don’t care how much profit these drugs can generate. If Viscount Ivan can give me a share of the profits, I would like to exchange them for some special substances.”

Li Lan already had a rough blueprint in his mind, which would become a breakthrough for him to continuously grow stronger, and might even form a force that belonged only to him. But the question was whether his current superior, who was protecting him, would agree to it.

"What do you want?" Ivan was excited about the impending break from the Dark Order's monopoly and was indeed thinking about a profit-sharing agreement between the two sides.

"I would like to exchange it for the corpse of a monster, whether it is a low-level or mid-level monster. In addition to the monster's corpse, I also need the monster's intelligence core and magic core. There are no requirements for the rank, as long as it is a monster, the type is not limited."

Ivan hadn't expected the witch's request to be so bizarre, and was momentarily stunned. "You need materials from monsters because you want..."

"If the experiment is successful, it can create many helpers for me, just like this Thomas you see here."

Ivan glanced at the somewhat simple-minded, large man beside him, and was momentarily speechless with shock. "You mean he is...?"

“He is someone I created, my servant. Of course, in my eyes he is not just my servant; in a sense, he is my companion and even family. He is very strong. If he is allowed to grow, one day, perhaps even the Imperial Major General we see today will not be his match.”

Since Li Lan dared to reveal her secrets and expose her two trump cards in front of Viscount Ivan without any restraint, it meant that she was willing to lay bare all her sincerity.

It wasn't until today, after witnessing Viscount Ivan dare to confront the Empire's soldiers head-on and offer him protection, that Li Lan realized just how sincere this collaborator truly was.

Everything that happened last night was absolutely accidental. Li Lan was certain that a battle involving god-level beings could not possibly be a trap set by this superior. If that was the case, why not treat people with sincerity?

Li Lan was even more certain that if it weren't for Viscount Ivan today, he would have had to prepare for the worst!

What he wants to do right now is to let this boss know what kind of value he has and what kind of terrible benefits he can bring!

“I remember Viscount Ivan mentioned that what you want to do is take revenge. Well, my creations might be able to help you do that, provided you give me time. I need a lot of time!”

In reality, Li Lan didn't know how much time he would need, because he didn't know how unlucky he was; all that was limiting him was this damned success rate.

"Good! Very good! Your intention is appreciated, but unfortunately, I don't need your help to any extent," Viscount Ivan said, delighted. "Since the flow of funds is monitored by higher-ups, I will deduct the amount of profit from your share of the earnings regarding monster-related materials, ensuring that every transaction goes unnoticed. Rather than using your creations to strengthen our forces, I value your confidentiality more. Yes, you are indeed a gold mine for my Beicheng Merchant Guild and my Hank family!"

"In this regard, I will send my trusted confidant to personally hand over the reins to you this afternoon. After that, no matter what kind of monster you create, as long as it resembles an intelligent being, I can use my power to obtain the relevant identification for you. I know your identity and your difficulties. Keep your creation to protect yourself."

What Ivan didn't say was that he had always known: how could he, with a mortal body, possibly fight against this terrifying theocracy? His revenge was destined to fail, and all his preparations were merely for that moment of triumph. For that final stage of revenge, he would spare no effort to make himself the sole protagonist on that stage!

Li Lan was surprised that her boss would say such a thing.

He was suddenly moved, but he didn't insist too much on it. "One last thing, I hope Thomas can join the merchant guild's hunting team and participate in monster hunting."

“No problem, but I would prefer him to join Wood Annason’s team rather than my chamber of commerce. I’ll arrange it for you later, how about that?”

"this......"

Ivan whispered, "If anything happens to me someday, I need your men to kill Wood Annason immediately. He's a smart man, and sometimes being too smart isn't a good thing; there will always be times when you can't control him."

These were words that surprised Li Lan greatly. She hadn't expected that her superior meant for her to infiltrate Wood Annason's team. "Okay."

"Very well, then, once my trusted confidante arrives, whatever other requests you have, she can handle them personally! Especially since this place of yours is far too shabby!"

With a perfectly apt sarcastic remark, Ivan pressed his gold-rimmed glasses one last time and began to bid farewell to the witch.

After leaving this place, he still needs to go to the Dark Order in person to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Chapter 25 The Handover

Unlike before, at this moment of reunion, Wood Annason, as the leader of the mercenary group, appeared spirited and full of confidence.

After a brief exchange, remembering Li Lan's past life-saving grace, the guy quickly agreed to let Thomas join the team and assigned him to Austin's team, repeatedly stating that he would take good care of him.

Soon, at his signal, Thomas was taken away.

Only Li Lan and Yu Hui remained in the building, which felt unusually quiet and deserted as it approached noon.

"From this day forward, I have established a long-term partnership with Ivan Hank. If all goes well, this partnership may last for several years. With a bit of luck, I might even be able to advance my Gold Tome here. Roman Hydra, this is my publicly known identity for now. So even if I can't say this name aloud myself in the future, I must become the real Roman Hydra, all in order to be able to integrate into this world."

The three identities of Li Lan, the transmigrator, the witch Kallen Elf, and now the dark elf Roman Hydra, represent his three states of mind and three wishes.

As Li Lan, he longs to return to his hometown, misses his relatives on Earth, and yearns for that peaceful and idyllic world.

As Karen Elf, he bears the heavy responsibility of saving most of the witches. He will inherit the will of his witch predecessors and vow to fight against this damned cruel world.

As for Roman Hydra, he would have to take responsibility for his own life and thus enter a long period of forbearance, no matter how long it took, all to leave a clear path for the witches to follow, and to fulfill his promise to his former comrades.

Returning to one's homeland seems a long way off, the struggle continues, but accepting reality and integrating into the human world is of paramount importance.

"The past cannot be forgotten, but we must also live in the present. From this day forward, I am Roman Hydra!"

He secretly made up his mind that the names "Li Lan" and "Karen Elf" would be buried in the past, waiting for the day they would reappear.

Li Lan watched Thomas leave with reluctance, then quietly closed the door. He needed to find out more about the strange girl he had rescued today.

"what?"

As soon as Li Lan stepped onto the second floor, she was immediately surprised.

This strange girl, who should have disappeared, was lying flat in the corner once again. Her body, bound like a mummy, barely showed any signs of breathing. Apart from that, her eyes were closed, and she was probably still seriously injured and unconscious.

"How did she disappear?"

Quietly approaching, Li Lan instinctively used the priest's exclusive "first aid" technique. New information began to surface in her mind: "Her injuries have worsened, mainly in the chest area. The sphere formed by her bones has cracked, probably due to some powerful suction force."

As far as monsters are concerned, the brain is the core of intelligence, while the chest is the core of magic. Could it be that the chest is missing a core of magic?

After some contemplation, the information he received next was equally unexpected: "To repair the internal damage, life elements alone are not enough; a faith imprint needs to be implanted again. Moreover, the so-called faith imprint can only last for one month, after which it needs to be re-implanted."

"Is this part of her body, which should be her heart, actually something like a power source? The magic core, or rather the faith imprint, doesn't serve as her heart; it's more like fuel?"

Li Lan's guess was right by accident, but he was unaware of just how terrifying the body's power was.

To put it another way, the girl's body is like an airplane, and the faith imprints he can currently create are at most like the diesel fuel needed for a motorcycle to run. The kinetic energy generated is only enough to put the airplane into standby mode for a short time. To actually make her fly is definitely a pipe dream.

Just as he was about to help the strange girl again, the little girl Yu Hui stopped him once more.

This time, the little guy took out a pen and paper and wrote several words in crooked handwriting: "She is not human."

Li Lan was somewhat amused and exasperated, thinking to herself, "Isn't this obvious?"

"She is dangerous."

"Ok?"

"I've met people like that before, but I don't know when it was."

As creations, all beings lose their past memories and are reborn. Li Lan was well aware of this. He knew more or less about Yu Hui's past; this girl was a super monster from tens of thousands of years ago. Since she dared to assert that she had seen similar people, it meant...