Witch Redemption

"For the Kingdom!"

Faced with despair, his only target was that lone figure under the sun, a figure that was the kingdom, no, perhaps the greatest threat to the future of this world!

Even if it means death, he must make this guy pay with his life!

Even if he lost his hands and his feet, as long as he was alive, even if all that was left was his mouth, which could still move, he would...

The scene freezes on the final, desperate moment, where Frien watches helplessly as the kingdom's general holds out for a full twenty minutes amidst a horde of humanoid monsters. Even though half of his body has been chopped into pieces, and even though he is left with only his arm and head, he continues to fight back, carving a bloody path through the enemy lines.

"Summoner, priest-type skills?"

"I retract my previous statement. Lord Adrian did not make a mistake. This foreign witch alone has already reached the strongest level below demigod. She is indeed a huge threat, and her danger is probably no less than that of the three foreign witches before!"

Frien could tell that this foreign witch, who had revealed her strongest trump card, had indeed gone all out. Although in Frien's eyes her attack was only at the level of the strongest below demigod, if she was allowed to continue to grow, she might one day even surpass demigods.

When did a summoning witch become so powerful?

What surprised Frien even more was that this witch was extremely cunning!

Of the ten lieutenant generals and one general present, along with a total of eleven divine artifacts and one sealed item, the foreign witch chose not to take any of them, leaving them behind.

After checking for a while, Frien found that only the "Thunderous Ephemeral Flower" next to the general showed signs of being touched, while the others were scattered around in disarray.

Unbeknownst to many, it wasn't just the Elf Kingdom; any superpower involved in "witch summoning" would have sealed artifacts and divine weapons marked by the gods of the mortal realm when incorporated into their systems. These marks were recorded in magical items similar to "codes of cause and effect." Regardless of where the holder perished in battle, these superpowers had ways to track these marks and retrieve the artifacts or sealed weapons.

Frien didn't know if the witch was aware of this, but judging from her ability to resist the temptation of these powerful items, she was not to be underestimated!

"You should handle Adrian's remains. Leave as soon as possible this afternoon. I will grant you access privileges in my personal capacity. At that time, I require you to submit Adrian's remains and related intelligence to the Royal Capital Intelligence Bureau overnight."

“Then, Grand Duke Frien, you…” Jananif calmed her grief; their primary task was to escort the Grand Duke.

"I need to follow the clues about those three witches. This is the mission I was given. I will return to Margaret City with you later, and we will part ways there."

Frien did not reveal any more information; he simply followed the numerous footprints and slowly walked to a place that should have been overgrown with weeds.

"strangeness!"

Indeed, this place should have had a huge crack, but at some point, the crack completely disappeared, and all clues about the three witches ended here.

Even so, with the help of the information presented in the strange book in front of him, Frien was able to make a preliminary guess about the so-called location of the foreign witch and the twin witches.

"It seems we need to get those reinforcements involved. We don't need to capture them, we just need to keep track of their movements."

It was as if the same drama involving the three foreign witches was playing out again, which made Frien unconsciously smile. "Indeed, only true members of the same kind are truly adept at dealing with witches! I finally understand what those higher-ups are thinking!"

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

It was already late at night. Having barely escaped, Li Lan, along with the exhausted twin witches, arrived at the depths of the monster area. They temporarily constructed a protective barrier using the witches' ashes, hoping to await the dawn of a new day.

It must be said that the situation we experienced today was extremely dangerous. Even at the last moment, when Li Lan used "divine revelation" to empower the tens of thousands of followers who arrived in time to their peak strength, he still almost failed to defeat the general of this kingdom. In the end, it was only with the help of the twin witches Bai Antelope's sneak attack that he was able to kill him step by step.

Upon closer reflection, it's clear that a mere general could be this powerful. For Li Lan to confront the Elf Kingdom with her current strength would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

In addition, there was something that surprised Li Lan: the secret passage leading to the outside of Skandar City.

Indeed, this secret passage was built using the sewers of Skandar, and it was extremely long, with its final exit being the moat outside the walls of Skandar. Li Lan had learned the approximate location of this exit through the Twin Witches, and was able to use her natal magic book to notify a large number of her scattered humanoid followers to gather in advance, but an unexpected incident occurred later.

That is, these followers did not find the exit of the secret passage around the moat. In the end, they found the real exit in a hidden monster area by relying on their perception of Li Lan, the creator.

In other words, this secret passage holds a hidden secret and may very well be an independent space created by the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti.

Later, Li Lan confirmed with the Twin Witches that the secret passage did indeed fork in the last 300 meters or so. One path led to the moat, which was what they had initially thought was the correct exit. The other path, however, was blocked by an invisible barrier when they tried to enter, so they had always assumed it was inaccessible.

Later, the Twin Witches underwent a severe mutation and encountered the elven girl Fu during that time. They never went to that area again.

"It seems that Mira had considered this from that time onwards. Before the Twin Witches were strong enough and fully prepared in all aspects, they absolutely could not leave that area. That's why she deliberately left two directions open. The correct direction would never be opened to them until the time was right. Although it was to protect them, what happened afterward was complicated."

That's just how the world is. No one can see their own future destiny clearly. No matter how good the plan is, it can't withstand all kinds of unexpected changes.

For example, Li Lan originally intended to lie low for a long time, but he really didn't expect to be exposed so quickly, and from now on he must plan a new escape.

"Let's rest for a bit and recover our strength. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it later."

Seeing the twin witches hesitate to speak, Li Lan, who was also extremely sleepy, hastily distributed some food to them and then sat down to doze off. "So tired!"

With slightly drowsy eyes, Li Lan looked at the three still fast asleep elven girls, Juliet, Fu, and Natalie, and immediately felt a headache coming on.

"With three more burdens, this is really troublesome. There's still tomorrow. Which direction should we escape in? Shouldn't we be able to summon Shub and the others by now?"

With an uncertain future and endless despair, the two twin witches, now back to normal, were filled with gratitude as they finally escaped. Even though they were exhausted, the happiness of being able to eat these delicious rations and look forward to a brighter tomorrow was enough to bring tears to their eyes.

Even if such happiness may only last for a short time...

At that moment, Li Lan really wanted to comfort the twin witches, but in the end he didn't say anything.

People need to vent their emotions, otherwise they will be overwhelmed by them.

"I will definitely rescue you, whether it's you or Peggy and the others far away on the border between the Naga Kingdom and the Elf Kingdom. I will never give up, and I must do it!"

Chapter 33 Walking on Thin Ice

Around three in the morning, an inexplicable fear jolted Li Lan awake from his hazy dream. He could only feel that the ground still seemed to be trembling with aftershocks, and the terrifying scene he had seen in his dream not long ago gradually became clearer.

"What exactly was that just now...?"

He dreamt that not long ago, the "Abhos body" he had personally discarded transformed into numerous veins, encompassing the entire underground of Skandar. His departure acted as a catalyst, causing this terrifying body to completely spiral out of control, ultimately triggering a horrific explosion after expanding for over ten hours.

The explosion was like an expanding, pitch-black mass opening its enormous maw, instantly swallowing the entire Skandar whole.

No matter which area or building, no matter how many spirits remained, they were all reduced to nothing in an instant, completely annihilated in this terrifying explosion. Only a crater tens of thousands of meters deep remained, a shocking sight.

"I feel like I've seen a similar scene somewhere before..."

After waking up, Li Lan pondered for a while before suddenly remembering an old game she had played in her previous life. She immediately slapped her forehead, "The Seventh Fish Head, the Evil God's Bharashtra! That scene really looks like this effect!"

Upon closer reflection, it's utterly absurd that the two-dimensional skills from the games I played in my past life would appear in three dimensions in my dream!

Li Lan ultimately attributed this to her homesickness. How could that tiny "Abhos Body" possibly produce such a powerful effect? ​​If it were really that powerful, wouldn't Li Lan be carrying a nuclear bomb?

Having cleared her mind of many complicated thoughts, Li Lan began to focus her attention back on reality.

Right now, the twin witches are snuggling together, fast asleep. On the surface, they have returned to normal, but in reality, the thorny marks formed by "soul soothing" are still constantly suppressing their frenzied physical state. Moreover, the twin sister, Xue Ling, is in a much more serious condition, and one of her wrists still cannot be restored to its original state.

This is probably a side effect of her entering that state before.

Strictly speaking, the posture that Xue Ling showed before should be considered "semi-divine" rather than "true" "divine". The "divine" transformation of a witch would directly change her appearance to that of Ann Gnath, and if she did not possess "divinity", once a witch enters "divine" transformation, it is an irreversible loss of control.

"In the upcoming itinerary, we must avoid letting Gemini enter that state no matter what. Although that state is very strong, using it continuously is tantamount to playing with fire."

Li Lan had enough self-awareness to know that he was there to rescue people and act as a caregiver, not to find free labor.

"Although we have used the Book of Judgment today to initially conceal our tracks, the Book of Judgment is not omnipotent. It can only temporarily cut off our clues, and it has a one-week usage period. Secondly, such a big incident has occurred at the border, with so many elves dying, and even a city lord of the general level dying. Any high-ranking official in the kingdom who is not a fool will send out a large number of troops to encircle and suppress us."

It was a case of "what's the use of trying" for Li Lan; he hadn't initially expected things to escalate to this extent. He began to sense that what followed might be the most intense pursuit he had ever faced in his life. All sorts of monsters and demons might come out in droves, and if he wasn't careful, not only would he die, but the twin witches he had painstakingly rescued would also perish.

Just as I was hesitating whether to summon both Yu Huis at the same time, the long-silent black-haired Yu Hui suddenly spoke in my mind.

"Don't summon us, or something terrible will happen!"

The familiar sound of boiling water... It's true what they say, a day apart feels like three autumns. Li Lan suddenly missed that guy's mischievous grin.

"I need help. Could you give me some information?"

They were already old acquaintances, and Li Lan, who felt somewhat desperate, didn't stand on ceremony with her.

"Of course, consider it a reward for your service. Be grateful!"

Li Lan recalled how she had haggled and haggled over every little thing when she wanted to ask Yu Hui for help before. But today he was so agreeable, so something extremely serious must have happened.

"First, let me briefly explain why we can't be summoned. The reason is simple: the false gods of the Elven Kingdom are indeed powerful. They have found the best way to deal with the Creator's avatar, and that way is this 'dream world' they created. You've already guessed the identities of those 'ghosts' from before, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Lan felt a chill run down his spine. This elven kingdom was a million times more ruthless than he had imagined. "They're all witches."

"That's right. Do you want to know why the souls of witches were left behind in the dream world and then enslaved by this kingdom?"

Get to the point!

"Hehe, because this dream world is the shared domain of these false gods. They truly deserve to be called geniuses. The gods of the ancient times were so scheming and incapable of uniting that they could never work together. But the later false gods are different. They not only divided up the power of the gods, but also formed a powerful alliance on this basis, merging their respective domains into one and creating a unique world of their own. It is a world that only soul energy can enter. This method truly represents the highest level of achievement at the 'soul' level, only slightly inferior to mine."

Just how big is that tiny bit that a true god speaks of? Is it the size of the solar system? Or the size of the Milky Way?

Li Lan didn't know that this so-called "dream world" might be more than just the nemesis of these creator avatars.

Sure enough, Yu Hui's next words confirmed his worries, "Leviathan and I were originally very optimistic about the scope of this 'dream world,' thinking it would only cover the border cities of the kingdom at most. However, some small accidents happened later. Did you notice that you were detected as abnormal just before you entered the city?"

"Regardless, I personally have high hopes for your acting skills as a servant. You shouldn't have been exposed so quickly. So, when you were almost at your wit's end, Leviathan and I decided to take action after discussing it. One reason for taking action was to leave you a backup plan, and the other was to see the true nature of this country. The result was completely beyond what Leviathan and I expected."

The idea of ​​using "Abhos's body" to pollute certain areas was originally Leviathan's. If successfully implemented, this ancient will could use the spread of "Abhos's body" to probe the territory of parts of the Elven Kingdom and obtain valuable information.

Furthermore, for these two ancient wills that regard human life as insignificant, as long as Li Lan does not die, the deaths of others are of no concern to them, so they did not mention what serious consequences this action would bring.

The conclusion is important; the process is not.

"To put it bluntly, the Dream World covers a much larger area than we imagined. Half of the vast monster-infested region, from the United Duchy of Ries to the Elf Kingdom, is covered by the Dream World. Just how exaggerated is that?"

Upon hearing this, Li Lan gasped in horror, utterly horrified. "So, we're still in the realm of these false gods? Then what about our..."

"Don't rush. Do you know that the dream world is so vast? To these false gods, it's like a boundless ocean. How can they so easily control it? Can one god control the domains of ten, twenty, or even hundreds or thousands of gods? They can't do it; they don't have that ability. They're not true gods. So, they've realized this, and they're quite clever. All the false gods have relinquished their absolute control over this merged common domain. In other words, this dream world is now an independent alternate dimension, and the false gods are the managers of this alternate dimension, with their jurisdiction being extremely limited."

The territory they truly controlled was only the interior of the Elf Kingdom; it wasn't that they didn't want to manage the outside, but rather that it was too much trouble.

Black-haired Yu Hui likened the dream world to a vast ocean, and Li Lan was currently in the deep sea, with the Elf Kingdom's territory acting as a traversable inland area. The false gods on the shore couldn't see the commotion in the deep sea, but if Li Lan stirred up any ripples in this calm ocean, he would be doomed.

Just because you can't see it doesn't mean the other party has no ability to make a move.

“Leviathan and I are special. The fluctuations of our own souls can cause ripples in the dream world to a certain extent. So after confirming with the kingdom, we finally suspected that the kingdom had actually detected your approximate location a long time ago. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent so many troops to besiege you multiple times, and even forced you to the point of having no way out on several occasions. Such a situation has never occurred on the border of the United Duchy of Ries.”

Indeed, upon hearing this, Li Lan suddenly understood. From the moment she stepped onto the outskirts of the Elf Kingdom, everything had been incredibly strange.

It was only after recalling both Yu Hui and Leviathan to their natal magic books that Li Lan was able to have some peace and quiet for several days.

"Since the kingdom can sense my location, why not send out demigods or even gods to take action? Wouldn't that allow them to wipe me out in one fell swoop?"

"Fool, the other side can only know a general area in a few seconds at most, not even that precise. The reason why the gods don't take action is because those pseudo-gods need certain conditions to come down, and I don't know those conditions either. The demigods can't even get close to you. Do you think Leviathan and I are pushovers? Do you know how many crises we've avoided for you? For that alone, if there's an opportunity in the future, hmph, you'll have to give us double the reward!"

Tsk, isn't it because you guys exposed our location? And you still have the nerve to bargain?

Li Lan thought for a moment, then decided not to dwell on it. "So what should I do now?"

"Escape, escape this area, head southwest. There's a strange place there that's peculiarly isolating this dream world, allowing you to temporarily avoid the storm. You'll probably only be able to summon us once you get there, and then we'll figure out a solution together."

The reality was indeed quite hopeless. Hei Fa Yu Hui dared not say it outright. If they fled from here in the direction of the United Principality of Ries, they didn't know how long it would take to escape the coverage of the dream world. By then, all the false gods who were supposed to descend to the mortal realm would have already come down, and Li Lan would definitely have no chance of escaping.

Little did they know, when the Elf Kingdom faced three foreign witches, they initially couldn't gauge their true power, so they repeatedly sent large armies to test them, resulting in their complete annihilation. This ultimately angered the false god in heaven, who descended to earth and resolved the situation in less than a week.

The two ancient wills have done everything in their power to secretly help Li Lan, but now they are at a loss. Moreover, the "Abhos Body" itself is a terrible landmine, which has now completely blasted Skandar apart, with far worse consequences than those of the three foreign witches. This is undoubtedly a provocation!

Those false gods will likely descend to the mortal realm soon, so fleeing directly towards the United Kingdom of Ries at this time would be tantamount to courting death.