Witch Redemption

"There's no other way. We can only spend the night in the monster area. We need to make sure we can reach the temple ruins in the monster area on time tomorrow night. Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen."

The border between the eastern and western continents is deserted, devoid of any small kingdoms. While numerous temple ruins exist, few adventurers venture into this area. At most, some regular caravans travel between the two great powers, driven by profit.

Therefore, for the foreseeable future, Li Lan may no longer need to worry about interacting with adventurers.

Moreover, to be honest, Li Lan had indeed obtained a lot of valuable information from his time with this elven caravan, and this information was ultimately revealed by the young man "Joseph".

One piece of intelligence is that Skandar, the border town of the Elf Kingdom, has been given a very capable lord named "Adrian Hal". This man may have a significant relationship with the false gods in the upper echelons of the kingdom and knows the specific secrets of the witch's summoning. After being transferred to Skandar, he has been investigating a long-standing case.

This long-standing case is related to two missing witches.

Li Lan had encountered Rebecca and Susan on the border of the Viana Theocracy. At that time, he already knew that two witches had been rescued by these two elves and were eventually sent to a secret passage in the city that led to the monster-infested area outside the city, which was basically the city's sewers.

The fact that these two witches are still registered as missing suggests two possibilities: either they died in the monster-infested area long ago, or they are still alive and hiding in this border city, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they cannot stray too far from the border.

The reason they couldn't leave the Elf Kingdom, according to Rebecca and Susan, was that the entire border of the Elf Kingdom was teeming with spies. Even slaves would be under close surveillance if they tried to leave the border, let alone young witches who were still developing their powers.

Another point is the lack of necessary conditions.

In order to lead everyone away from the British Empire, Li Lan had accumulated a lot of information from generation to generation of witch predecessors, and even collected countless witch ashes, which were of utmost importance.

As for the other countries, Li Lan simply couldn't imagine the fate of these witches.

"The Elf Kingdom is similar to the British Empire, and it must also have a method like the 'Codex of Causality' that can monitor witches. To break through this method, apart from using the Book of Judgment of Fate to escape, it would probably require the intervention of a god-level being to forcibly defy fate."

The reason those two witches were able to escape was related to the Sixth Apostle, Caramiti. Li Lan suspected that this apostle, who lived in despair his whole life, might have left something for the two witches.

The second piece of intelligence has come true; the thing that had been troubling Li Lan the most has happened.

Two years ago, at the beginning of the year, three alien witches infiltrated the western continent. Along their journey, they slaughtered countless intelligent beings, becoming infamous as the "Gods of Slaughter" of the monster-infested region. To subdue these three elusive and elusive gods of slaughter, both the Elf Kingdom and the Naga Kingdom in the western continent dispatched numerous informants to conduct a comprehensive manhunt.

As expected, in the middle of the year 10004 in the new calendar, a great battle began between three foreign witches and the armies of two great nations. The battle ended with the deaths of 30,000 soldiers from both kingdoms, and the three witches disappeared once again.

This matter was suppressed in the western continent. If it weren't for the fact that "Joseph," a legendary low-ranking adventurer, had an extensive network of connections, he wouldn't have known so much about the ins and outs.

In other words, this information was known only to a small number of powerful individuals in the western continent.

Furthermore, from their words, we can learn that the three witches could no longer be called witches, but rather terrifying monsters, as if demons from ancient times had descended.

Then came the events of early 10005 in the new calendar. The three witches reappeared, and on the very day they were captured, the false god, who should have been high and mighty, met his end.

The so-called "false gods" are said to be ancient beings who have lived for tens of thousands of years. They are the most intelligent beings who stole the power of the gods in ancient times. They have never appeared on the stage for tens of thousands of years and have almost lived in legends. Only the top leaders of many great countries know how many god-level beings with incomparably strong power stand behind them.

With these overwhelming, god-like beings personally taking action, the fate of those three foreign witches was predictable.

They were all killed that day, and no one knew what exactly happened. Only a few people learned that two of the god-level beings who had intervened had suffered a powerful curse and had returned to the divine realm to heal.

After the three witches died, their corpses became heavily polluted, transforming into a terrifying foggy domain. Any intelligent creature that approached that fog would be forever lost within it.

That area is known as the "Lost Wasteland," located at the border between the Elf Kingdom and the Naga Kingdom.

Li Lan had always known that the only foreign witches who could truly be active in various places in this world were probably this group of escaped witches from the British Empire. They were the first and definitely the last.

Based on the information he currently possesses, he has managed to guess the identities of these three foreign witches from the western continent.

"Lana is definitely at the crossroads of the four continents right now. Only she possesses the characteristics of a dragonborn and would be searching for the legendary site of the skyfall. Moreover, it is said that she also founded a mercenary organization called the 'Transportation Society' and calls herself 'Clark'. I haven't heard from him in so long, I wonder how he is doing now."

"The Ghostly Consort who destroyed the kingdom is probably Lorina. She should be in the direction of the northern continent. I was sealed in the underground temple of the Rune tribe for a year due to special reasons, so I haven't heard from her for a long time. I don't know how she is now, or if she is also in grave danger."

The most low-key of them all is probably Della. Of all the anecdotes about the mainland that Li Lan knows, there's no trace of anything that suggests Della's characteristics. Or perhaps that's precisely why Della is the one Li Lan trusts the most.

The female time traveler who almost collapsed because of her best friend Britney's death has unknowingly become the most stable one. If it were her, perhaps she could have gone even further.

Li Lan's biggest worry right now is the "old trio": Peggy, Shirley, and Matilda.

Li Lan didn't know much about the three of them. She only knew that they were all successful men in their careers before they transmigrated, and that they even had grandchildren. Matilda was a 65-year-old teacher who was already past the age of 50.

They were good people, but at the time of their parting, they were the only ones among the Seven Witches who had not yet unlocked a secondary profession, and their combat strength was also a cause for concern.

Li Lan didn't know the specific reason why they couldn't unlock their secondary professions, given their hasty separation at the time. Now, thinking back, could there be more complex factors behind the numerous dangers they faced?

“Those three couldn’t possibly have died so easily. In any case, once I’ve rescued the two missing twin witches and investigated the situation regarding the Star Goddess, I need to go to that Lost Wasteland. If Peggy, Sherry, and Matilda are all too injured to leave, then with my abilities, I’m sure I can…”

For a fleeting moment, Li Lan recalled the nightmares that had haunted him countless times. He had dreamt that these three witches had become terrifying monsters, and that even he would be instantly killed if he dared to approach them rashly.

A heavy, oppressive gloom settled over Li Lan, making her face turn slightly pale.

"No, we must go to that Jedi, but we need to plan this carefully!"

There's too little information. Even those high and mighty false gods were defeated by these three. What exactly happened?

To enter that area, Li Lan needs to be wary not only of the three accomplices who might harm him, but also of the god-level beings monitoring the area from the sky. That veritable "dead zone" may not only be the burial place of those three witch accomplices, but may also be a trap that devours everything!

No matter how you look at it, the outlook is not optimistic.

"Sigh! Let's finalize the itinerary first, and then take it one step at a time!"

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

Late at night on July 21, 10006 (Gregorian calendar), Li Lan and his four little ones camped out in an empty temple ruin. By now, he had made a thorough travel plan, aiming to sneak into Skandar, the border of the Elf Kingdom, before the end of the year.

Over the blazing campfire, Li Lan, acting as the chef, prepared a delicious dinner for the four little ones. Afterward, the carefree black-haired Yu Hui, together with the blonde Yu Hui and Leviathan, began a series of personal creations, while the elf girl Juliet began her daily studies and magic training.

Speaking of which, Hei Fa Yu Hui rarely pesters him to tell her web novel stories anymore. It's not that the little one is tired of it, but rather that she has a more ambitious goal.

That is, she also wanted to be an author, a comic artist, and to draw out everything she had experienced. So, without realizing it, blonde Yu Hui and Leviathan became her capable assistants, while Li Lan became this guy's loyal reader, responsible for reading and giving advice.

"How's today's comic strip?"

Black-haired Yu Hui excitedly handed over a stack of papers, covered in scribbles and doodles, which were quite detailed.

"Hmph, this was once a dream of mine. I witnessed the destruction of a nation, the fall of a civilization, so vast and profound..."

Li Lan dismissed this guy's boasting as nonsense. He carefully flipped through the comic for a while and found that it had no plot twists; it was simply "cannibalism." He couldn't tell who the main character was, only that a group of insane bystanders wanted to obtain the strongest power and then prayed to the great goddess Shub-Niggurath.

Then the true god descended. His enormous body was a form of pollution that the world could not withstand, and thus caused the destruction of that world in an instant.

The things drawn by this true god are just different. They feel as boring as stepping on a nest of ants. Except for the corrupting body of this true god, he is indeed somewhat interested.

"This...that..."

"How is it?" Yu Hui's eyes lit up.

Do you want the truth or a lie?

"Of course it's the truth! Don't worry, as a great god, I won't be angry!"

"Oh, so I'll say it then? There's absolutely no sense of immersion. A story, a story, a story definitely needs time, place, and characters, right? At the very least, there needs to be a protagonist, the main character who drives the plot forward, so that the audience can empathize with the protagonist and think about things from their perspective. Hmm, let's try a different approach. Why don't you try presenting the scene from your own first-person perspective, making yourself the protagonist?"

Li Lan couldn't bear to say that what he was watching was just a pile of toilet paper, and that the viewing experience was probably even worse than the shows he had seen before, such as "Arifureta" and "Cell Phone Hero".

"Hmph, you just don't know how to appreciate things. Fine, I'll keep your suggestion in mind for now!"

Feeling good about himself, the black-haired Yu Hui carefully put away the stack of comics as if they were a precious treasure. Li Lan suspected that one day this guy would consider this a dark history of his life.

Honestly, this black-haired Yu Hui isn't unintelligent, but his creative talent is shockingly low. Anyone can accept plain, uninspired writing, but this is utterly illogical, which is just embarrassing.

Considering that this brain is made of who-knows-what, and can be capricious at times, seeking pleasure wherever it goes, this extremely willful ancient will really has that flavor.

Completely illogical; that's a perfect description of this guy.

After excitedly giggling for a while, Hei-fa Yu Hui pulled the two little ones beside him and started playing chess or cards as usual.

Li Lan recalled her student days in her previous life, when she could spend the whole weekend playing chess or cards with her roommates without getting tired of it, and even feel like she hadn't had enough.

Those were truly the happiest times of his life. Looking back, they were probably even more enjoyable than many of the mobile games that followed, and he never felt a sense of emptiness.

With a wry smile and a hint of nostalgia, Li Lan took out the sharp claws he had obtained from the abyss monster a while ago, intending to craft them into the simplest weapon.

You should know that the power of those claws is many times stronger than ordinary iron swords and knives, and they were able to withstand Yu Hui's "magic control" head-on, so they are definitely not trash.

Although it's only about a meter long, it's good enough as long as it works.

In the silent space, only the crackling of the campfire remained, and the darkness of the night grew deeper and deeper, as if it would devour the only light of hope in the world.

Sleepless nights like these have been playing out repeatedly in Li Lan's relatively long life, and he himself doesn't know where the end is.

At some point, he had gradually become accustomed to this kind of life, but he could never forget his ideals or his hometown. So no matter how bumpy the road ahead or how dark the path, he would always live in the past and would never lose sight of his former self because of today.

Hopefully, everything will go smoothly from here on out...

Chapter 11 Infiltration

On December 22, 10006 of the Gregorian calendar, the elf Gian led a large caravan and arrived on time at Skandar, the border of the Elf Kingdom.

Since the upheaval in July, with the death of his son Joseph, he unusually turned a blind eye to the witch whose identity had been revealed, and the two went their separate ways.

Although there were many dangers along the way, fortunately, we did not encounter the terrible situation that happened that night.

Even today, when he led a large number of elves back to the kingdom's border, he only lost about thirty men, a loss far less than in previous years.

As the massive procession, pulling nine supply wagons, crossed the colossal stone gate, the elves, who had endured a long journey and faced life-or-death situations every day, all showed expressions of relief.

"We'll be staying at the Sebia Hotel tonight, Mr. Marvin. That's your territory, so please show us around."

The reason for issuing such an order was that Gian saw a middle-aged man dressed as a city lord, leading more than a dozen elven soldiers, standing not far from the city gate, presumably having been waiting for a long time.

Marvin and the other two elves gave a shout, then led the weary caravan deeper into the city, while Gian broke away from the group.

"Hello, I am Adrian Hal, the lord of Skandar. Are you Gian Hobert, the leader of the White Night Mercenary Group?"

Adrian, also an older man, extended a friendly hand. His hands were not the delicate hands typical of nobles, but rather hands covered in calluses.

"Yes, Lord City Lord, I've kept you waiting!"

Gian had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, but he didn't bring it up at the moment.

"please!"

Adrian turned and walked toward a high-class restaurant not far away. Having come prepared, he simply signaled the soldiers accompanying him to stand guard at the restaurant entrance, and then led Gian Hobert inside, past the noisy crowd, straight to the secluded private room on the top floor.

The elves have always had the habit of discussing business and matters at the dinner table, so Gian was not surprised by the city lord's actions.

The two, now alone, started drinking and bringing up their own topics of conversation.

“It’s just routine, so I’ll keep it short,” Adrian was clearly having a headache about this matter, since he had received the intelligence months ago, but it had dragged on until today. “In July of this year, we received intelligence from the United Duchy of Ries that a foreign witch may have infiltrated your group and fled the border of the United Duchy of Ries with you, intending to come to the kingdom’s territory. Is this true?”

For beings at the demigod level and above, the transmission of information may indeed be somewhat delayed, but compared to beings below the demigod level, the flow of information is certainly many times faster.

Moreover, Adrian's message was actually delivered directly from the divine level above, which shows how much importance the higher-ups attach to this matter.

“Indeed, it wasn’t until mid-July that I learned that the woman was the witch…” Gian didn’t hide much in general, but omitted details, such as that they had the strength to deal with the witch at the time, and that his son “Joseph” betrayed them at a crucial moment, which ultimately led to the duel between father and son.

The meaning behind his words was similar to the intelligence Adrian had, which pleased the city lord greatly. "Your Excellency is truly a loyal citizen of the kingdom! I express my deepest condolences for the warriors who sacrificed themselves at the hands of this evil witch!"

"It is our honor to dedicate ourselves to the kingdom!"

After exchanging a few polite but meaningless words, the conversation shifted again. "I need more detailed information about this witch, such as her physical characteristics."