Witch Redemption

Faced with these impatient words, Li Lan couldn't help but raise her hand and stroke the little guy's head. "Don't worry, you can rest for a while. I'll sit here and give you a decision this afternoon."

There is still time, there is still room for maneuver, everything needs to be planned carefully.

Even though there was a huge age gap between them, Mira's eyes were so clear that she looked like a naive young girl, innocent and without a trace of guile.

No wonder we've fallen to this state...

Li Lan naturally wouldn't say that to this guy outright, because that would be mocking her as an idiot.

Perhaps influenced by Li Lan's composure, Mira, who gradually calmed down, finally succumbed to the exhaustion of staying up all night under his protection and soon fell asleep.

"Is it already nine o'clock in the morning?"

At this point, Li Lan finally pieced together the whole story. "First of all, it's certain that the initial intention behind the witch summoning was good. To put it bluntly, the space goddess Chronos intended to create a god. Theoretically, witches have the power to restrain extraterrestrial evil gods, and perhaps they can even kill gods... No, killing gods is impossible. The space goddess's actions were most likely intended to pique the interest of the gods, hoping they would give this world more time to recover. The witch summoning was actually an alternative measure to save the world!"

Through this ritual, sentient beings of this world can be continuously transported to another peaceful alien world, where they can survive and preserve the flame of this world.

What the body is is not important; what matters is the soul, for the soul is the most important spark.

"Damn! That's incredibly corrupt! To save the people of this world, they're willing to send people from another world to their deaths?"

Even though Li Lan was indignant, she didn't know how to evaluate the two goddesses who created "witch summoning." One was willing to become a sacrifice to achieve her goal, and the other chose to commit suicide to preserve the secret of witch summoning. Neither of them left any last words.

"Secondly, regarding the future of us witches who successfully escaped, leveling up is still necessary. Only by becoming stronger can we control our own destiny. And it's certain that our enemies are no longer just the Empire. The Empire's high-ranking officials and the high-ranking officials of other major powers are definitely in cahoots, sharing common interests. If we become enemies with the Empire in the future, we will also be enemies with the world. In other words, before we are fully developed, it's best for us witches to keep a low profile."

Knowing so much only makes my heart feel heavier, and the future seems bleak.

"Finally, it's about Mira..."

Strictly speaking, she is both the witch's enemy and her benefactor. She is an enemy because she indirectly killed countless witches, even though she was always forced into it. As for her benefactor status, in order to fight against those great creators, she spared no effort in leaving behind countless methods, even nearly facilitating the Flame Witch's successful escape, and giving Li Lan and the others a final hope.

Li Lan couldn't bring herself to hate her. In fact, without her, Li Lan and the others would have perished in the empire last year, just like the other witches.

“Fenrir, the Icefield Wolf, is dead and has already paid the price for killing her predecessors numbered 93 and 94. But her master, Mira…” She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly. “We must save her! Compared to the deaths of her two predecessors, the debt of gratitude she owes us is the hardest to repay!”

Li Lan had always known that the four seniors who received them back then were all destined to die; the only difference was which faction they would die at the hands of.

He cannot therefore ignore the real enemy.

"We must make plans immediately, or we might have to flee today! This situation is beyond my control!"

There are four forces plotting to eliminate the Sixth Apostle, Karamit. No matter how arrogant Li Lan is, he wouldn't be so arrogant as to think he can fight against so many powerful people at once, or that he can easily take down the Pillar God, Leragin.

"..."

Thinking about it this way, Li Lan realized that she had been exaggerating! Besides being handsome, she was utterly useless!

How do I fight in this situation? I'll beat you to a pulp!

Chapter 76 Strategizing Within the Tent

Four forces have issued challenges to each other. How should we respond?

Li Lan was unaware of this; he simply opened his natal magic book silently.

He is now a witch with a level 19 magic book, and he doesn't know how much experience he still needs to reach level 20 magic book, which is an astronomical number.

In the past, when he was at a lower level, he would worry about experience points and carefully calculate them, but now, after a year, he no longer cares about such data.

I'll take as many as I can, as long as they can be upgraded and made stronger. Who cares about anything else?

The level 19 natal magic book currently possesses a total of twelve priest-type skills: Blessing, Prayer, Courage, Protection, Faith, Grace Domain, Swiftness, Holy Light, Potential Activation, Holy Light Domain, Divine Revelation, and Soul Soothing.

Most of them are support skills that don't have much effect, and it's a bit of a shame that many of them have been upgraded to proficiency level 4, but the actual effect is not that ideal.

What truly determines the capabilities of an Elven priest is not his primary profession, but rather his secondary profession: the Creator of Life.

"Currently, I have created about a thousand servants, of which about eight hundred are of the same rank as myself."

Each servant is different in some way, mainly in terms of their talents. They are all humanoid creatures with little intelligence and can only instinctively obey Li Lan's orders.

In fact, it was only later, through continuous experimentation with this secondary profession, that he gradually realized that creations made from different monster materials and intelligence cores had significantly different growth potential.

What puzzled him was the Star Constellation series he had created in the Empire. Although the servants created using simulated chaos had low intelligence, they were able to gradually awaken and eventually even become independent, forming a new subordinate system.

Of course, Li Lan would never have imagined that this was all thanks to the slime, the "leader." The slime successfully helped the servants form a unique outlook on life and the world, and then stand out from the crowd.

This is also one of the reasons why the slimes and so many servants were able to maintain the same level of faith as Li Lan. Later, after Li Lan fled to the border of the Divine Kingdom, none of his subsequent creations, except for the servant Yu Hui, maintained the same level of faith as him. They all started accumulating faith from 0.

"These eight hundred servants all have the Faith skill, and it is currently confirmed that Faith will not level up. This value will continue to accumulate. Since these servants have different Faith values, their strength will also vary when I use Divine Grace to amplify them."

Li Lan's own "faith" has a proficiency level of 13,000, which is equivalent to 13,000 faith points.

This was accumulated from his casual prayers whenever he had free time. And most of his followers, except for the earliest ones, had a "faith" skill proficiency of several thousand.

"If we use divine revelation to amplify their strength, they can only deal with Platinum to Diamond-level adventurers at most. It would be very difficult for them to deal with Imperial Major General Arnold and those Abyss monsters. If they face a demigod like Pillar God Leragin, then no matter how many there are, it would be meaningless."

No matter how she thought about it, the situation was not optimistic. Li Lan had been studying the contents of the magic book for a while, but in the end, she was at a loss.

"Thomas and his two companions, along with Rebecca and the other two elves, are currently hunting in the monster-infested area, and each time they set off, they don't return to Kobe City for a long period of time. It's probably too late to recall them now."

After all, this world doesn't have cell phones or telephones; daily communication relies mainly on letters or entrusting special messengers. It's said there are other, more advanced magical methods, but those are too expensive to use, so very few people would use them.

"So, right now, the only ones who can actually take action are me, Yu Hui, and Lachesis? Mira can also take action, but her physical condition is not optimistic. Although I can still ask Archbishop Christian for help, these opponents are too powerful. Even if the Archbishop takes action, he may not be able to turn the tide."

Li Lan also noticed the most crucial point in the intelligence: in order to kill the Sixth Apostle, Karamit, these forces had decided to sacrifice the entire population of Kobe City. He didn't know the specifics of the measures, but he was certain of one thing: anything involving "sacrifice" was definitely not something to be taken lightly.

"What should we do? If we take Mira and try to escape right now... no, according to Mira, this area has been under surveillance since last year. More and more suspicious adventurers are gathering here, waiting for the day they can kill her. No matter how I get her away from here immediately, the most likely outcome is that our whereabouts will be discovered, causing the enemy's plans to be brought forward."

Li Lan had considered using the "Book of Fate's Judgment" to leave Kebei City undetected. This was a viable option, but it also had a significant drawback.

On the one hand, the "Book of Judgment" needs to be plausible. Creating a condition for his and the Sixth Apostle Karamit's "death" is not easy. At most, these forces can be convinced that they have left the city, which means they are still alive. If they are alive, they will definitely continue to hunt them down.

On the other hand, if he were to leave without a second thought, the subsequent investigation by this group would definitely involve everyone related to him, including Thomas and others who are still outside, as well as Archbishop Christian, all of whom would become the focus of the investigation. At that time, all the preparations made so far would be in vain.

"No, we must kill as many of these forces targeting Mira as possible. Simply running away won't solve the problem. If we can't convince these forces that we are dead, then using the Book of Fate's Judgment will only be a temporary escape, not a permanent one, and will lead to endless troubles."

Unless Li Lan gives up on Mira, but how could that be possible?

Just as he was frowning in despair, a wisp of black mist rose around him and quickly coalesced into a petite and alluring figure with black hair. This suddenly appearing person gradually curled up an exaggerated smile at the corners of their mouth.

"What's wrong? My dear servant, you seem troubled?"

"Tsk—what brings you here?"

Although Li Lan didn't dislike this guy who always had a mischievous smile after spending so much time together, she was still a little puzzled by his teasing right now.

“Of course I have to come, otherwise your cute toy will break, and I can’t allow that,” Black-haired Yu Hui waved his hand. “Of course, if you kneel down before me, beg for my help, and lick my toes, maybe I can give you some advice and help you get through this difficult time, how about it?”

"No, I've never seen you take a bath, I don't even know how smelly your feet are."

However, being teased by this guy made Li Lan feel much more relaxed, so she just sighed silently.

"You... what did you say...?"

Well, the term "stinky feet" really did inexplicably hurt the pride of this ancient will, causing her to puff out her cheeks in annoyance. "Hmph, I am now a pure energy being! An energy being is..."

"Yes Yes Yes."

After pulling the blanket up to cover the sleeping little girl Mira, Li Lan sat down on a wooden chair nearby, still pondering what to do next.

"Let me finish! Damn it!"

Seeing the usually easy-going witch looking so worried and pale today, even the dim-witted Hei-haired Yu-hui could guess what had happened recently. Her wicked smile returned, and she adopted her self-proclaimed title, "Judging by your appearance, this puppet has told you everything, huh? Hehehe. I'm in a good mood today, so I might as well tell you. I was the one who first gave her all this information, letting her make her own choice. And then what did she say? Did she try to persuade you to kill her? And then take her corpse to that temple?"

"Going back to your original world is certainly not a problem. Her corpse can be used as a sacrifice to open a passage between the two worlds. But please remember, if you do this, it will inevitably turn this one-way passage into a two-way passage, and the outcome may be different."

Facing the black-haired Yu Hui, who seemed to have something in mind during the conversation, Li Lan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your world is the domain ruled by the Supreme Father Azathoth, and all other gods are forbidden from entering. He would not allow a two-way passage to the edge of the universe to exist in His realm. In other words, the most likely outcome of opening that passage is to provoke that terrifying being. At that time, it won't just be a simple matter of this world being destroyed instantly; you, as an unstable factor returning to your homeland, will also be eliminated by the Supreme Father. Heh, you don't actually think that you can return to your original body by going through that passage, do you?"

Sure enough! Here comes the important part!

"Of course it's impossible. Matter is conserved, and there's the principle of equivalent exchange. As long as it doesn't affect the Supreme Father God's rule over the world, He will turn a blind eye. But if you use the apostle's corpse as a sacrifice to forcibly open a passage between the two worlds, then you will not be bound by the principle of equivalent exchange. The result would be that you would travel back in your current body and still be able to use all your powers as a witch. This would not be allowed in any world, right?"

Civilizations also vary in strength, and different civilizations can never truly converge. All true gods who rule over a particular universe maintain balance, turning the universe into a dark forest, leaving each civilization to journey alone.

Rest assured, these civilizations, under deliberate guidance, will never cross paths in their lifetime.

Any signs of instability will be nipped in the bud.

"..." Although she didn't quite understand, Li Lan did get a piece of information: if she did what Mira said, she would definitely be doomed. "Don't worry, I'm not interested in going home. What I'm thinking about now is how to take down these guys who want to get rid of Mira. That's the key!"

The world's many great powers have made things so bad for the witch. Until this debt is settled, Li Lan has no intention of going home, even though he has longed to do so for a long time.

"Huh, did I hear that right? Hahaha! A trashy witch like you thinks she can take down so many powerful people? Hahaha! Interesting! You really are an interesting guy!"

“Miss Shub, could you please stop laughing so tastelessly?” Li Lan muttered, then said righteously, “Even you, an avatar of an evil god, have been captured by me. What are a bunch of mortals compared to that?”

"you......"

The smile gradually disappeared, and Yu Hui's face turned angry. A few seconds later, the smile that bloomed again gradually turned lewd. Who knows what this guy was thinking?

"I'm saying, how about we team up?"

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

With his hands on his hips, Yu Hui began to analyze the situation for Li Lan, explaining, "First of all, there are only three real forces that can deal with this puppet for the time being: the weaklings of the Empire, the pillar god Lerakin and the giant Leander of the Ross royal family, and the abyssal monsters numbering over a thousand."

"Holy crap! A thousand?!"

Li Lan wondered if she had misheard. Good heavens, a thousand? This was different from what Mira had agreed on. Mira hadn't mentioned any quantity at all; she had only been urging Li Lan to give up resistance, flee, and return to her hometown.

"Yeah, uh, that's strange, didn't she tell you?"

"without......"

Li Lan was a little dejected, and really thought, "I'll beat you to death."

When they fled from Mori City on the border of the Empire, there were only three powerful beings at the level of Abyss Demons, yet they were already trembling with fear. Now, with more than a thousand of them and a terrifying Pillar God, they really couldn't fight them. Sure enough, they had no choice but to flee.

"But it's alright, it's only a thousand. The container you used to capture me is a good thing. If it can unleash its true power with the help of my magic, hehehe, let alone these thousand or more abyssal monsters, even that trash Pillar God Lerakin might not be able to fight it."

"how do I say this?"

Li Lan immediately realized that Yu Hui's predecessor was the archangel Angel, that extremely terrifying being. Now that this ancient goddess Shub-Nicholas had said this, there must be a reason.

"I've already figured everything out about you, servant! You, with the ability to create life, are practically half a god from beyond the realm. That's quite an amazing ability. Yu Hui, this guy's core is definitely not simple. It's a product of the ancient times, isn't it? The biggest reason is that her magic power doesn't match her strength, which is why she can't become stronger."

That's true. The faith imprint that provides Yu Hui with magic power is actually just the magic core of an abyssal monster. To use Earth terms, Yu Hui is like a mobile phone, but this phone is powered by a single Nanfu battery. How long can a single Nanfu battery last?

"However, if I were to use my source power directly, everything would be different. That might require you to grant me a tiny bit of access! A small amount of privileges!"

Li Lan's intuition told him that this guy was full of bad intentions and shouldn't be trusted, but he really didn't have any other choice at the moment. "How should I give it to him?"

"Make Yu Hui fall in love with me, stop being distant from me, accept my magic, and let me control her entire body..."

"You're dreaming."