Witch Redemption

Of course, like him, there are nine other lieutenant generals still wearing their serious uniforms, all veterans with extensive experience, and appearing to be around fifty years old. Perhaps it is the authority that comes with age and seniority that makes these veterans' words seem authoritative.

The elven generals around them, who were much younger than them and respected them, nodded in agreement. In particular, the elven woman leading the group, Jannafer, immediately said that it was no problem and turned to signal the highly respected city lord to continue.

"The second thing is that the foreign witch 'Roman Hydra' has appeared. My nephew, Major General Kowell, led about three hundred other major generals to surround and kill her half an hour ago, but unfortunately, they are all dead. This witch is an extremely rare summoner, capable of summoning a large number of powerful humanoid monsters. These monsters alone can conceal their presence and assassinate many major generals. And this is only one of the witch's trump cards. This witch also controls a sealed artifact!"

“A sealed artifact?!” Richie and the other nine veteran lieutenant generals exclaimed in surprise.

As people get older, they naturally gain more experience, especially Richie, who used real "sealed artifacts" when he was young and knows that so-called "sealed artifacts" are things that witches absolutely cannot touch.

Let alone witches, any intelligent being would have to pay a price to use "sealed artifacts".

"That's right, it's a sealed artifact! Her sealed artifact seems to be able to fuse with the corpses of the dead within a certain range, transforming into a monster with an evil form. This monster can unleash the full power of all the fused corpses in life. Note that this power is probably two to three times stronger than the corpses in life, and the more corpses fused and the stronger they are, the more terrifying the monster becomes."

It was precisely because of this that Adrian, who had received relevant information not long ago, urgently withdrew all the kingdom's troops that had rushed to the north of the slums, leaving only those three monsters to wreak havoc in the slums.

He even began to suspect that Roman Hydra was far more troublesome than the three foreign witches who had already died; this guy was a hundred times more cunning than Gian, the leader of the White Night Mercenary Group, had described.

If the "Dark Plague" was orchestrated by her from the beginning, in order to make Adrian, who lacked sufficient information, order the lockdown of the city and prevent the intervention of other powerful figures in the kingdom, then just how far did this woman plan?

Thinking back, to avoid the predicament faced by the three foreign witches, this incredibly clever guy didn't hesitate to reveal the "sealed artifact" as his trump card during the escape, completely eliminating Adrian's idea of ​​using numerical superiority to encircle and annihilate the opponent, so that in the end, they had to fight "soldier against soldier against general."

How could this sense of coincidence and crisis, which seemed to be linked together, not make the ever-cautious Adrian feel like he had a thorn in his side?

"In short, all you need to know is that this girl is ridiculously strong. If nothing unexpected happens, only a being at the demigod level or above can personally take action to completely destroy her. In other words, you all must be prepared to die today. I will give you ten minutes to prepare your wills before I go down with you."

Quickly glossing over this topic to give the veterans some time to prepare, Adrian swiftly moved on to the third matter: "The third thing is that after the coup in the Kingdom in 10003 of the New Calendar, the location of the two witches who went missing has been confirmed!"

"What!" This time, not only the veterans, but even the younger lieutenant generals were all shocked.

Those two guys are so rare that even the gods themselves descended to earth and couldn't find them. How could they possibly be exposed at this time?

“I suspect that everything is related to this foreign witch, Roman Hydra. Her sole purpose in coming here is to rescue these two witches. Perhaps the three foreign witches before had the same goal. The difference is that the three foreign witches before may have lacked information and therefore went in the wrong direction. But Roman Hydra is different. She had a clear objective from the beginning and then planned all of this. She may not know the intelligence of our kingdom, but her thinking is extremely clear, and she has enough experience and countermeasures to counter all our actions.”

The "Dark Plague" caused them to lock down the city, revealing the true power of the "Sealed Artifact" and forcing them to fight a head-on battle with their main force, thus avoiding the predicament of "too many ants to kill an elephant". Then she began to reunite with the two witches who had deliberately exposed their whereabouts. If all of this was not the scheme of Roman Hydra, then what could it be?

It's possible that this alien witch, like the three alien witches of the past, has a strategy to deal with demigods, and even the gods of the present world would have to pay a price to eliminate them.

Coincidence, countless coincidences. Neither side actually knew much about the other, but that's how it is. Insufficient intelligence coupled with many coincidences created the image of each side as superior.

The foreign witch, far to the north of the slums, never imagined that she had become such a coward. Her only intention was to eliminate the kingdom's soldiers chasing her; she hadn't thought much beyond that, just wanting to kill them one by one, taking as many as she could. Yet, it was precisely this series of coincidences that made her a "wise woman" in the eyes of the city lord, an unknown being with immense power.

This was absolutely not because Adrian was inherently suspicious; rather, it was the combined effect of the fear that the three foreign witches had instilled in the Elf Kingdom and the Naga Kingdom, leading this mature and composed city lord to be so cautious. And without a doubt, it was precisely because of this that he was prepared to face death.

Willpower is not omnipotent, but once you possess willpower—a willpower that never turns back even when faced with a dead end—it will make your opponent even more difficult to deal with, and make this life-or-death battle more brutal than ever before.

"This is the information I need to inform you, and it must be truthfully conveyed to the higher-ups. From now on, we will split into two groups. Your mission is to go directly to the destination, remove this blockade barrier again, and contact the messenger from above. Our mission is to do everything we can to hold off these three witches, not to kill them, but to buy as much time as possible for our country. We absolutely cannot allow the tragedy of the 'Lost Land' to repeat itself here!"

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

Li Lan, far away in the ruins of the northern slum, immediately used "Soul Soothing" to try to remove the mutated state of the two witches.

But then his natal magic book emitted a faint emerald green light, and in the blink of an eye, these countless rays of light completely enveloped the two ferocious-looking "fox-like monsters".

Their first instinct was to avoid the light, and they let out painful screams. But the radiance seemed to be a natural enemy of their bodies, spreading like a poisonous weed across their hideous flesh, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.

Where the emerald green light of life passed, the pitch-black flesh trembled wildly, turned gray, and then, like dried charcoal, quietly fell away, revealing the snow-white skin of a normal woman.

This agonizing situation, which was too painful to look at, lasted for half an hour.

Li Lan was initially terrified, thinking that the large number of Kingdom soldiers were about to catch up and were constantly thinking of ways to fight. He wanted to protect these guys first, but unexpectedly, everything was calm and peaceful, so calm that he began to doubt his own existence.

Li Lan didn't think he could intimidate the kingdom's elves right now. As the weakest witch in terms of raw power among the group, and with the two powerful figures he relied on unable to help, he was easily crushed by any general or lieutenant general with divine artifacts, let alone a demigod-level expert.

"This is good. Although I don't know what happened, it's truly a stroke of luck!"

What Li Lan lacks most right now is time. Before encountering the Twin Witches and intending to perform "soul soothing" on them, he had already confirmed the specific direction and exit of the underground passage with them for the sake of the related arrangements. If he could have enough time, the probability of escaping would greatly increase.

After pondering for a while, the twin witches, who had finally returned to their normal appearance, stared at each other with a look of shock, enduring the excruciating pain.

Chapter 25 Overall Planning

These were two identical girls, slender and petite, only about 1.5 meters tall. Apart from their eye-catching dark purple hair, what was most incredible were their unique inhuman features. Near their long, pointed ears were a pair of crimson spiral horns that extended out and coiled three times.

These crimson spiral horns, similar to sheep horns, have many elegant patterns. They look smaller than when they mutated, but they still spiral three times. The area formed by the two spiral horns is almost the same as their small heads.

Li Lan didn't know how heavy their horns were, but he was certain of one thing: these two witches must also suffer from the same "illness" as him, which prevented them from lying on their side.

Seeing the two girls looking at each other, their beautiful faces showing shock and joy, Li Lan sensed that something was wrong with their expressions, but there really wasn't much time left for them to rest, so she took the initiative to ask.

How are you feeling?

"Very...very good, how did you do that?"

The older sister, "Snow Antelope," was filled with gratitude. They had been mutated for who knows how long, and if it weren't for their mutual support, they probably would have committed suicide years ago.

She never imagined that in this dark and hellish place, such a witch would suddenly appear before them today, pulling them out of their misery. At this moment, they completely believed everything this strange witch said; to them, this strange witch was an "angel" of this world!

“Priest, this is my profession. Whether it’s saving a human or a witch, as long as there is a breath left, I have a way to pull her back from the brink of death.”

When it comes to fighting and killing, Li Lan admits he's not quite up to par, but when it comes to saving people, he's a first-rate expert. As long as the person isn't completely dead, even if they're a pig, he can save them however he wants.

"priest?"

Amazing! Absolutely amazing!

The twin sister, Bai Ling, curiously raised her right hand, only to see a green thorn mark on the back of her hand. Currently, only the skin around this mark remains black, indicating that they have not yet recovered from the mutation and are still at risk of going out of control.

"Um, Grandma Karen, could you do me a favor?"

Xue Ling's voice, now back to normal, sounded quite urgent.

"Grandma... Grandma?"

Li Lan was stunned for a moment before she suddenly remembered that she was now infiltrating the city as that old woman, Caitlin Nasa. What else could she be but her grandmother?

Forget it, I'll explain when I regain my true identity in the future.

"Let's be frank. After we solve your problem, we'll need to talk some more. We don't have much time left."

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

It was truly a coincidence. Li Lan never imagined that the little imp he saved, named "Fu," and the elven children she led had such a deep connection with the two witches hiding in this place.

Although only Fu and the other "leader" Natalie had actual contact with the Twin Witches among these children, it was clear from their words that they also liked the other children very much.

Unfortunately, not long ago, in order to get rid of these sick brats, the secret agents took action on their own initiative for some unknown reason. In the end, only Natalie, who had fled for help, survived. And if left unattended, this little guy probably wouldn't last much longer.

Although time was of the essence and the information provided by the Twin Witches was brief and not very detailed, Li Lan felt a heavy heart as she rescued the elven girl Natalie.

The reason is simple: he already knows that a terrible "plague" is happening in the city, and that this "plague" is definitely related to his previous actions. In other words, it was his actions that directly killed countless intelligent beings here, including these children whom he had only met once before.

There was definitely self-blame, but more than that, there was helplessness.

He originally only wanted to quietly integrate into society and slowly look for opportunities in the future, but reality did not allow him to do so. The series of anomalies caused everyone around him to be on edge, to the point that he finally became fed up and simply threw out a "Pandora's Box" of indiscriminate attacks.

And to his dismay, his identity was quickly exposed the moment he stepped into the city. What was originally planned to be a year and a half of acting was shortened to three weeks, forcing him to embark on a new escape. It was absolutely terrible.

"This is a rare secret, so I'll keep it in my heart forever."

Considering the twin witches' feelings for these children, and the fact that the two parties involved, "Fu" and "Natalie," had survived, Li Lan was also open-minded. He didn't want to explain anything to them, but instead kept his past reckless actions and sins a secret for the rest of his life.

Even knowing that his actions might stain his hands with blood, he would never regret it, nor would he ask for anyone's forgiveness; that's how "selfish" he is.

For a witch who has already killed countless natives, what does killing tens of thousands, or even a million or ten million, matter?

Li Lan's goal has always been the same: "to save her compatriots and return them to their hometown."

If he could achieve this goal, even if it meant facing the entire world alone and bearing the "sins" of all his compatriots by himself, he would not hesitate for a moment.

“She’s alright.” With practiced skill, Li Lan transplanted a faith imprint onto the elven child Natalie. She then summoned a humanoid follower and gestured for it to hold the child. Yao then looked towards the distant south and said, “I won’t waste any more words. Next, I want to take you away from this city. If nothing unexpected happens, this underground passage will be our only option.”

Li Lan wanted to leave, but he faced many problems.

The first problem is that he doesn't know how many experts are hidden in this city. To be precise, any expert at the level of lieutenant general or above could pose a huge threat to them, and might even lead to their deaths.

Li Lan is very powerful now, with many subordinates, but there is one regrettable thing: he originally planned to stay here for a long time, so he left tens of thousands of humanoid followers in the monster area to be hunted down by them, without bringing them into the city.

This obviously leaves him with one less trump card, which he can't use for the time being.

Furthermore, with the black-haired Yu Hui and the blonde-haired Yu Hui bound together, and Leviathan also being an ancient creator, they had repeatedly instructed Li Lan before he approached the city that he should not reveal himself unless absolutely necessary. Although they had never explained the specific reasons, Li Lan could guess the seriousness of the matter.

Perhaps they have already sensed something, and no matter when Li Lan summons them, it could very well lead to unpredictable and serious consequences. These consequences have nothing to do with the soldiers of these kingdoms; Li Lan has been speculating whether they are related to those elusive false gods.

What are "false gods"? They are intelligent beings who stole the power of the gods in ancient times, possessing the strongest ambition and wisdom in the world. The death of the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, may have been orchestrated by these most powerful intelligent beings.

With their formidable power, it's not impossible for them to covet the power of these ancient gods from beyond the realms; Black-haired Yu Hui has hinted at it more than once before.

For many reasons, Li Lan currently only has two trump cards at his disposal: the "Book of Dark Fusion" and the "Book of Fate's Judgment." Even so, he is not arrogant enough to be able to confront the kingdom's army of this small border city.

What he fears most now is that the kingdom's army will keep pouring large numbers of troops into this godforsaken place. He has already witnessed the long-range magic combination before, and the threat it poses to him is unimaginable.

The second problem is the so-called "ghosts," which, according to the Twin Witches, are puppets created by the "magic technology" unique to the Elf Kingdom. Their numbers are so vast that physical damage cannot affect them. The biggest reason is that they do not exist in this world at all, but in "dreams."

The twin witches couldn't explain the specifics, only mentioning that the Elf Kingdom was a peculiar place, divided into the real world and the dream world. These two worlds were independent yet intertwined, and all creatures lived at the boundary between them. The numerous demonic guardians filling the dream world served as "surveillance cameras" for the kingdom's demigod-level and higher powerhouses, monitoring everything within the kingdom.

Of course, it would be a big mistake to simply regard these "ghosts" as "eyes." Once these "ghosts" reveal their true forms and enter the real world from the dream world, their power will soar to the level of demigods or higher.

What is this concept?

Li Lan had always known that the world's superpowers were unimaginably powerful, but he never had a clear understanding of their strength until today, when he was truly stunned.

"The British Empire and the Elf Kingdom are superpowers of equal caliber. If the Elf Kingdom has such advanced 'technology' and such a strong foundation, then could the British Empire's 'magic crystal technology' be ten thousand times more powerful than I imagine?"

It was terrifying, truly terrifying. Li Lan now knew that these "ghosts" were very powerful, but he was even more worried that their whereabouts might have already been discovered by the kingdom's powerful figures.

The Twin Witches looked quite unwell when faced with Li Lan's question. "I don't know, but by using this, we won't be discovered by these ghosts for the time being."

Xue Ling touched the black cross pendant on her chest. Although she didn't know who the benefactor who left them this life-saving item was, she would never forget the gratitude she felt towards that benefactor. They would remember it forever and even pray for the day when they could repay the kindness.

"This one?"

Li Lan thought for a moment, then hung the string of cross pendants around her neck. "Well, Rebecca and Susan told me about this. We'll talk about them later. In short, we have no way of knowing whether we've been caught by those really strong people. Be prepared. If we really can't escape, don't worry, I'll stay with you until the end, and at least take a few more enemies down with me."

In fact, the two ancient creators had already paved the way for Li Lan's consideration. The pollution of this land was not just for slaughter; more importantly, they had to help Li Lan sever the connection between the real world and the dream world, so that those high and mighty demigods and false gods could not use the demonic spirits protecting this place to detect the specific situation of this city.

In other words, these "surveillance cameras" have been "hacked".

However, even without these demigods and false gods at the boss level, the "security guards" here aren't just sitting idly by. While those bosses are out enjoying their travels and have lost the means of remote monitoring, they naturally don't know how the "shops" are doing. But these kingdom soldiers, posing as "security guards," are standing right inside these "shops."

How could they not see Li Lan dining and dashing here? Isn't this just asking for trouble?

If the cities behind Scandinavia were likened to "shops," they would certainly have known about the conflict and would have sent reinforcements.

So what Li Lan is most worried about now is this: after the Kingdom's army on the border has located their position, they have also detected the secret passage through the "ghosts". Now a large number of "ghosts" are guarding the area around the secret passage, and they have no way to deal with this invisible thing.

Furthermore, will reinforcements from neighboring cities continue to pour into this area?

In other words, if they don't resolve these hidden dangers here today and rashly enter this secret passage, Li Lan suspects they will soon be intercepted. After all, the space inside the secret passage is very small. If they enter like this, the enemy could easily figure out the direction of the passage and unleash some massive spells, or completely block the exit, and they would surely die inside.