Witch Redemption

Li Lan didn't know that people could be deceived, especially in this completely unfamiliar world. No one who had just transmigrated would easily trust anyone. Once trust was gained, it would become a strong first impression, and no one could easily change that impression.

He still vividly remembers how loyal the witches he sent to the border after him, including Della and others, were to the Empire at first.

If it weren't for that series of coincidences, Li Lan wouldn't have been able to so easily bring Della to his side and make her an extremely valuable teammate.

Furthermore, Li Lan had no doubt that if the Empire had given him a sweet-talking bomb when he first transmigrated to this world, given his upright character, there was a high probability that he would have been deceived by the Empire and sold out without even realizing it.

Fate loves to play tricks, full of countless coincidences. The reason he has always been extremely grateful to his predecessors number 47 is that they helped him understand this world, understand this hatred, and pass on this unbearable responsibility.

Furthermore, Li Lan, who rarely loses her mind, was unusually conflicted when considering the perspective of an ordinary person: what should they do if one day in the future all the witches they summoned became their enemies?

"I am not a saint. I will uphold my own beliefs. All those who believe in me and agree with the will of our predecessors will become my teammates. What does it matter if I go through fire and water for them? But if they stand against me..."

After a moment of confusion, killing intent filled his heart. "Then eliminate them all!"

No one can convince a contrarian. People can never truly understand each other. Even if they are both transmigrators, standing on different sides and serving different factions, there's no way to expect either side to show mercy. Either one side changes their stance and chooses a side, or it's a fight to the death—there's no other way!

How many witches have died from ten thousand years ago to the present? If this hatred, passed down through generations, can still lead a witch to choose a side as a rational observer, is there any justice left? Is there any semblance of fairness?

The blood of our predecessors must be repaid with the same blood. Anyone who stands on the side of the empire should not blame Li Lan for being ruthless in the future.

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

After nearly ten minutes of conversation, the slime's words became intermittent and then fell completely silent.

Fortunately, Li Lan had already gathered most of the necessary information and hadn't missed any instructions. All that was left was to hope that the slime would have a smooth journey.

"The future is not optimistic."

After closing his natal magic book, Li Lan's expression was more solemn than ever before. He never doubted the Empire's methods.

No, not only the Empire, but all the major powers in the world involved in "witch summoning" are not to be underestimated. They all have witches firmly under their control, only their methods of control may differ.

What he is most worried about right now is not only that the empire might send someone to hunt down these high-profile witches scattered in various places, but also that the empire might not take all the escaped witches seriously, but instead change its policy and make subsequent waves of witches their biggest enemies.

Nothing is more thrilling or more despairing than fratricide.

"We must endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens until we have sufficient strength before considering how to counter the great powers' countermeasures. Hopefully, one or two of these witches will be rebellious. If they are all captured by the Empire's sincerity, then no one can be blamed."

There isn't enough free time to help these people "turn over a new leaf" or "repent." Li Lan and her group of witches are already struggling to survive.

After pondering for a while, a familiar knocking sounded on the wooden door behind me.

"Come in."

He already knew who had arrived.

"You don't look well."

Mira poked out her cold face, speaking emotionless words like a doll, giving the impression of being no different from a robot.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some upsetting things, it's nothing serious."

After carefully hiding her personal magic book, Li Lan turned slightly away, looking with some regret at how the little guy had once again taken over her bed.

Fortunately, since transmigrating, Li Lan has been used to sleeping sitting up, and she keeps all weapons within easy reach so that she can defend herself or fight back immediately in case of any unusual situation.

"Hmm? The Dark Goddess Shub didn't show up tonight?"

As soon as you speak of the devil, he appears. A wisp of black mist gathers behind Li Lan and transforms into the petite figure of Yu Hui with black hair in just a few seconds.

"My servant, why have you ordered me to come so late tonight? This is disrespectful!"

With a wicked smile and an infuriatingly smug look, the black-haired Yu Hui took a few quick steps and sat down on the bed that belonged exclusively to Li Lan.

"You should be happy. I was originally planning to skip tonight."

"Gone?"

"A pigeon means I'm breaking the contract!"

"How could this be?"

Li Lan loved watching Yu Hui, with his black hair, make such exaggerated facial expressions. This guy was really amazing; he was perfect as a comedian. Just like his expression earlier, it always reminded him of the amazing facial expressions of a character named Hai Ye from "Lala Man".

"So, where did we leave off last night?"

Burying her inner turmoil, Li Lan gradually regained her former peaceful state of mind.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; never underestimate a young man's potential. It's time for revenge!"

Black-haired Yu Hui immediately showed unprecedented anticipation. Clearly, she liked this kind of routine and enjoyed the feeling of getting excited.

"oh oh......"

Over the course of an hour, Li Lan gave a rough outline of what would happen next. To be honest, most online literature is long and tedious; if he were to tell a story in a straightforward manner, he didn't know how long it would take. In addition, many of them are heavily padded with unnecessary details, so he knew when to stop, wrapping things up when it was about right, and then ending the story.

"What happened next? Did it end after the sect was destroyed?"

"That's all. Let's talk about something else tomorrow night, like the story of a mortal who stays up all night!"

Li Lan said somewhat guiltily, embarrassed to admit that he really didn't remember much of what came after. Over five million words! How could he remember so much? He wasn't a god.

"Damn it! You damned servant! Are you playing me? What happened to the old man in the ring? You laid so many traps, and then you just take your revenge and that's it?"

Yu Hui, with his black hair, was furious and was about to jump down, grab his collar, and yell wildly.

“That’s all, Miss Shub. Revenge is all about the fleeting pleasure, and after that comes only endless emptiness. So,” Li Lan said, feigning seriousness, “it’s better to stop here, leaving something to ponder. As for all the foreshadowing and setup beforehand, consider it a sweet treat to leave room for imagination. What do you think?”

In other words, we can justifiably abandon the project, since abandoning it is better than leaving it unfinished, isn't it?

"Ahhh! I don't want it! I don't want it! I want this! Tell me about this!"

The somewhat frantic black-haired Yu Hui clenched his small fists for a while, and finally dissipated into black mist amidst a series of resentful sighs.

Li Lan was certain that this guy would be tempted to buy it again tomorrow night.

The room fell silent once again. Li Lan noticed that Mira's eyes flickered on her small face, which was partially hidden behind the blanket, and she was clearly dissatisfied with what Mira had just said.

"And then... what happened next?"

Sure enough, this guy cares about it a lot too.

"That's all. In reality, revenge is often the only ending, and once it's over, there's not much more to say."

Just like Li Lan's desire to take revenge on the empire, he has no doubt that even if he were to grow strong enough to rival the empire in the future, the outcome of his revenge would not be good, and he might even have to pay with his life.

After taking revenge, won't you lose everything?

"But the story only begins after the protagonist successfully takes revenge..."

“That’s right, but if a revenge story has the best ending, doesn’t it lose its soul? Continuing to tell it won’t have a good core, at most it will just give you some fun in terms of setting.” With a wave of his hand, Li Lan finally gave in to this sincere expression. “Okay, I surrender. The reason is that this novel is too long, and I can’t remember the rest. I might as well tell you the best part. If nothing unexpected happens, the next story will be the same. Don’t let her know.”

Li Lan is determined to be the king of eunuchs!

"Your original world was wonderful."

That was Mira's assessment; before this, she had never imagined that the world could be so wonderful.

"Peacetime is an era of entertainment to the death, which is normal. In fact, these things have only developed in a few decades."

This is a magnificent miracle, the world's number one entertainment!

In contrast, this vast alien world is fraught with danger, and it would be truly strange if entertainment could even develop there.

"I remember that Della and many of her friends are not from Earth. Could they be from other intelligent races in the Milky Way? I wonder what their entertainment is like."

After thinking for a while, just before Li Lan was about to turn off the lights and rest, Mira suddenly asked, "Roman, do you want to go back to your original world?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Li Lan concealed her inner elation and asked, "Is there a way?"

“Yes,” Mira hesitated for a moment, not revealing her identity directly, “Near the city of Kobe, there is a hidden temple ruin. A secret is buried there. If a witch wants to return to her homeland, she can use the secret buried there. Of course, there is a prerequisite: she needs to use the corpse of an apostle. And I cannot be sure how many witches can return to their homeland through that place.”

An apostle? Could it be that Mira means...?

Li Lan's heart trembled. The switched-off magic crystal lamp quickly concealed all his expressions. For the first time since they met, he evaded the question, saying, "It's too difficult. Let's consider it in the future."

Chapter 73 Discussing the God-Slaying Plan

After several months of calm, the various foreign forces that had been eager to make a move finally gathered together under the guidance of the Empire and arrived at this location in the western region of Kobe City.

It's already early April, and the weather is gradually getting warmer, but the nights still come quickly.

In the brightly lit hall illuminated by the magic crystal lamps, gathered around a large round table were Imperial Major General Arnold Hopkins, one of the Seventy-Two Pillars of God, Lerakin, the giant Leander, Archbishop Luciara of the Theocracy, and two other tall, veiled men.

"On behalf of the Empire, I thank you all for coming!"

After a few brief pleasantries, Arnold cut straight to the point, "The reason I invited everyone here today is to try and reach another cooperation on slaying a god. Last time, our attempt to eliminate the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, failed, and we lost a powerful warrior, paying a heavy price. Our cooperation with all parties ended as a result. Now, as the Sixth Apostle Kalamiti recovers his strength day by day, the Empire believes that continuing to drag this out will only lead to unforeseen complications. What are your thoughts on this?"

Archbishop Luciala remained silent, her face completely hidden under her hood, dressed in a pure white robe, as cold as ever.

She had anticipated this gathering three months ago, but she didn't expect it to come so soon. She had thought that these various forces would continue to wait until the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, was truly exhausted before making their move.

"It seems they've lost patience. Well, whoever it is, they still know too little about the Apostles. Losing their divine status and still being able to slowly recover their strength? It's normal for them to be afraid of that."

Luciara's visit represents the power of the theocracy. After the disappearance of the Goddess of Darkness, the country's faith in her has been waning. Furthermore, in accordance with the Lord's will, she has been constantly promoting "de-faithification," so the situation of the Dark Order is not as optimistic as it used to be.

At the very least, no one knows that this fanatic has already found the Goddess of Darkness and has become an unstable factor.

She obeys only the commands of the Great Lord, and she will tell her Lord face to face everything that has happened today without reservation, and then ask for the Lord's commands.

To kill the Sixth Apostle, Carametti, for the sake of the nation's interests? What a joke! The Lord's command is absolute truth! Everything else is secondary!

“Now that the Dark Goddess’s domain of life and death has completely disappeared, if we want to get rid of this apostle, we either have to enter the apostle’s domain to fight, or I have to take action myself,” Pillar God Lerakin, the tall and beautiful woman, slowly spoke, her words revealing nothing but self-interest. “I might as well be frank, my strength has not yet recovered to its full strength. I can unleash my domain without any problem, but I cannot face the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, directly.”

Besides the interests involved, there was also a certain degree of escapism. Everyone knew that the Sixth Apostle, Karamiti, had recovered considerable strength. No matter how hard Lelakin fought, she couldn't possibly die here. However, the subsequent recuperation would take a very long time. Lelakin also had a series of plans to unseal her comrades, so she didn't want to be the first to fight this apostle to the death, which would only benefit others.

In addition, the disappearance of the dark goddess's avatar that descended last time was too mysterious, making Lerakin extremely wary.

In her memory, all the great creators were beings whose thoughts were unfathomable. Even they, the pseudo-demons, were regarded as ants. On the other hand, the great creators were also divided into many factions. The goddess of darkness had always been the low-key type since ancient times. She only created the goddess of the underworld of the "Kingdom of the Dead" lineage. Later, unlike other great creators, she left behind an avatar to provide protection for this small country.

This was what Leragin couldn't understand. She wondered if this great Lord might betray her, or if he might just be hiding.

Leragin's exorbitant demands made Arnold frown. He glanced away and asked the two tall, heavily bundled-up men, "Emissaries of the Blood Demon King, Lord Gureia, what is your opinion?"

“We don’t need anything else, all we need is the death of the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti. We don’t mind becoming cannon fodder as long as we can kill her.”

The two men stood close together, their voices muffled and deep, as if they were conjoined twins.

Their true identities are likely those of abyssal demons. Like previous messengers, they are willing to stop at nothing to kill the Sixth Apostle. It's unclear what deep-seated hatred exists between the Fifth Apostle, Bloodstained Gurea, and the Sixth Apostle, Karamit, that has led them to this point where they are willing to fight to the death, regardless of personal gain.

Arnold then turned his gaze to Luciara. "Archbishop, what is your country's opinion...?"

"The instructions I received from above were simple: take at least one arm from the Sixth Apostle's corpse, no problem, right?"

Luciara truthfully conveyed the opinions of the Viana theocracy's high-ranking officials. In reality, she was a double agent and had long lost interest in the Sixth Apostle. Her only expectation was what kind of order her great Lord would issue.

"Ahhh! Will we need to kill all these powerful figures present? I will die for my great lord! I will embrace great death! Great glory!"