Witch Redemption

In their view, there is no friendship among adventurers, only interests. Right now, there is no conflict of interest among them, so it shouldn't be too difficult for them to unite. The main question is who will lead.

"What do you think about cooperating with those guys who seem to be witches?"

Franklin glanced at the edge of the area, seemingly casually.

"Hey, are you serious?"

"If they really are the wanted group, and their purpose is also to investigate the Death Tide, then they are the best partners. They are ruthless characters who were able to escape from the Elf Kingdom. I suspect that their strength is even more exaggerated than that of us legendary adventurers."

Franklin was a straightforward man. For the sake of his safety, he didn't care what the other party's identity was. As long as they shared a common goal, he wouldn't mind even if it was an intelligent abyssal monster he wanted to cooperate with.

Because his intelligence and intuition both told him that this wave of death was not simple!

Chapter 3 Preliminary Intelligence

Adventurers from large countries and those from small countries have very different mindsets. Adventurers from large countries, no matter how weak they are, will have a certain degree of arrogance, while adventurers from small countries, no matter how strong they are, will have a sense of humility ingrained in their bones.

This is not simply a matter of status.

Furthermore, all intelligent beings have differences in talent, intelligence, and emotional intelligence. The gap between the lowest-level bronze-level adventurers and the legendary-level adventurers is exaggerated.

The general dividing line is the Platinum level. Adventurers below the Platinum level are mostly short-sighted and will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs for a little immediate benefit. In terms of cooperation, they are not only petty and bully the weak, but they are also very likely to do things that harm their teammates.

Above Platinum level, which adventurer who reaches Diamond level isn't exceptionally talented? Which one isn't intelligent enough to weigh the pros and cons of all aspects?

Of course, this specifically refers to adventurers from small countries, especially those who can reach legendary strength. They are few in number, but all of them are meticulous individuals who, while pursuing profits, are also concerned about their own future.

For example, the legendary adventurer Franklin guessed that the group of women were likely related to witches, and he also knew that witches would give birth to so-called "artifacts" after their death. As long as an adventurer could gain the approval of an "artifact", he would have a great chance to enhance his strength or even awaken his true nature.

However, Franklin was not as short-sighted as those adventurers below the Platinum level who would rashly choose to fight after guessing the other party's identity; on the contrary, he was.

Those who can advance to the level of legendary adventurers are extremely rare, even in small countries, and the information is not limited to this.

It is said that only military personnel with the rank of major general or higher in all superpowers are allowed to participate in the ceremony of bestowing divine artifacts, and this ceremony has an extremely high mortality rate.

Soldiers with the rank of Major General are classified as Diamond level or higher according to their adventurer strength. The reason for selecting soldiers of Major General rank or higher is that only those with this level of strength have enough magic power to handle the risks brought by the "artifact".

Strength is merely the starting point. To put it bluntly, relying on "divine artifacts" to enhance oneself is a gamble with one's life. Even if one wins, there's no guarantee of joining the ranks of the immortals, but if one loses, annihilation is certain. And as far as Franklin knows, even among the great powers, the probability of a soldier successfully gaining the recognition of a divine artifact is less than three percent—it's far too low!

Of these less than three percent of soldiers, very few are able to directly awaken their innate essence.

There are other, safer ways to awaken one's true nature, especially for legendary adventurers who are stronger. They are less likely to gamble their lives on a sliver of a chance to become stronger before they are truly driven to desperation.

Therefore, to low-level adventurers lacking information, the witch and artifact, which were highly sought-after, were not as desirable as simply capturing or killing her to obtain the artifact and then exchanging it for rewards with their respective countries.

However, since this might be a witch who escaped from the Elf Kingdom of the Western Continent, she likely possesses strength far exceeding that of legendary adventurers. Naturally, Franklin and his group of aware adventurers would not provoke her; pretending not to know would be the wise thing to do.

"No, these colleagues have no intention of cooperating."

Despite spending several hours trying to persuade them, Franklin, Ruda, and Nig, three adventurers from the same small country, failed to win over the team.

The reason is simple: everyone is of similar skill level. If a team is to be formed, there must be a captain. But why should you be the captain? In short, there is all sorts of wariness. In the current relatively safe atmosphere, it is naturally a bit difficult to gain mutual trust.

"I'm going to go and have a chat with those guys."

Franklin added, "We are too few in number. If we don't travel in large groups like the others, things might get difficult once we actually get into that area."

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

When Li Lan was awakened, it was probably around midnight. The quiet approach of three unfamiliar presences quickly pulled him out of his hazy dream and made him instantly awake.

"Karen, they came from inside."

The twin witches, White Antelope and Snow Antelope, had already placed their hands on the adventurer's longsword beside them, their vigilance at its peak.

"Don't be nervous, servant. You go ahead and have a good talk. I'm going to sleep with them." Before Li Lan could even speak, the black-haired Yu Hui grinned mischievously and pulled the blond Yu Hui and Leviathan to a nearby blanket, whispering, "In this world, many things can be used, and people are no exception. Don't you think Kebei City is a bit short-handed?"

Li Lan felt that this ancient will, which always loved to watch a good show, was hinting at something, so she said to the twin sisters, "You two rest for a while, I'll check the situation first."

He looked up at the three middle-aged men who had walked more than ten meters away, confirming that they were indeed coming for them, and their expressions did not seem hostile.

"Hello, is it convenient for us to talk privately?"

"Purpose."

Li Lan spoke up directly, not intending to beat around the bush at all, and began to observe the appearances of the three middle-aged men.

The middle-aged man at the head had long brown hair, casually tied back, giving him a dashing appearance. His stubble-covered face held a natural smile. Behind him were two other middle-aged men: one was bald and looked menacing, while the other was short and stocky, his skin as dark as charcoal, but overall, he didn't seem hostile.

"You also want to go to the northern continent to investigate the death tide, right? I wonder if you need our cooperation?"

The leader of the adventurers was straightforward and stated his purpose directly.

"..."

Li Lan was silent for a few seconds. In fact, he had heard the rumors of "the Ghostly Concubine who destroyed the country" a long time ago. This trip to the Northern Continent was also for this reason. He did not expect that these three adventurers would suddenly come to them tonight to discuss things and even throw out a term they had never heard before, "death tide".

Li Lan thought to herself, "After leaving the Elf Kingdom, I have tried many times to get some information about this world from the adventurers, but unfortunately, the weak ones know very little, while the strong ones are too dangerous for us to provoke. Now, these three seemingly powerful adventurers are taking the initiative to get close to us, which is indeed a good opportunity to gather information."

Fighting and killing won't solve all the problems, so after a few seconds of contemplation, he spoke again, "We can talk."

The middle-aged man at the head of the group nodded, snapped his fingers, and pure white magic emanating from his fingertips instantly created a soundproof barrier.

"Please allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Franklin, and the two behind me are Ruda and Nig. We are from a small country called the Kingdom of Nova, which is not far from here."

Franklin sat cross-legged by the campfire, briefly introduced his group, and then asked, "You ladies must be witches, right?"

This one sentence put Li Lan and the twin sisters on edge, their nerves instantly tense. The twin sisters, in particular, even considered striking first.

At this moment, both Li Lan and the Twin Witches possessed the Crimson Jade Eyes. If he openly denied it, the effect of this magical item could be triggered, providing some degree of concealment of their identities.

Unfortunately, what Hei Fa Yu Hui had said earlier made Li Lan hesitate for once. "These guys have been guessing our identities from the beginning. I can certainly choose to deny it now, but that denial might affect the outcome?"

In his mind, witches were treasures from head to toe, and every adventurer wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. Could it be that this legendary adventurer was different?

"What if I say no?" Li Lan asked, just to be on the safe side.

"Don't worry, we have no hostility. As ruthless individuals who managed to escape the pursuit of the Elf Kingdom, we have no desire to be your enemies. Our guessing about your identities is merely a way of showing our sincerity. I think there's no need to answer this question; we know what's going on in our hearts."

Franklin and his two companions exchanged glances and wisely stopped the conversation. After all, judging from the other party's hesitant appearance, this test should be pretty much the truth.

This uncle is quite unusual, that was Li Lan's first impression. He's very cunning, unlike any of the adventurers she's encountered before.

To be precise, this was the first time Li Lan had witnessed an adventurer from a small country who was also a top-tier legendary adventurer. She felt there was an indescribable difference between him and adventurers from large countries or those with lower strength.

"I'll keep it short. Our mission this time is to enter the snow-covered mountains of the northern continent to investigate the dead tide, and we've heard that the number of dead tide members may be an astonishing tens of millions. We are outnumbered and outgunned, so we naturally need teammates to look out for each other. We've seen that you are strong, and since we share the same goal, we'd like to see if we can help each other out."

Legendary adventurers are not fools. Sometimes, it's not that the stronger a person is, the more they like to work alone. On the contrary, the stronger a person is, the more they like to strengthen themselves and concentrate their efforts on great things.

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

Three months ago, a massive "death tide" appeared in the snow-capped mountains of the northern continent. This death tide can be understood as an army of the undead, numbering at least three million. This exaggerated figure was revealed by the "Desolate Ancient Kingdom," the only large kingdom in the northern continent's wilderness. Some adventurers suspect that the number may be much larger, possibly ten or even a hundred times greater, otherwise, there would be no need to alarm powerful figures from all over the world.

After the death tide occurred, almost everyone on the northern continent lived in fear. Even though the army of the desolate ancient kingdom had used special magic to seal off the entire area within a radius of one thousand kilometers, the number of people who died in the death tide was as high as two hundred thousand. Among them were soldiers of the ancient kingdom who possessed divine artifacts and adventurers whose strength had reached the legendary level.

What followed was a three-month-long global mobilization. Major powers successively decided to send troops, and smaller countries, having received promises of benefits from the major powers, began to mobilize adventurers of Diamond rank and above through the Adventurers' Guild, sending these adventurers to the northern continent to provide support.

In any case, it's similar to the death tides that have occurred in history. The reinforcements arrive in batches. Generally, the first batch consists of the participating adventurers and the armies of various countries with certain strength to conduct probing, find out the situation inside the death tide, report the intelligence to the higher level, and launch targeted attacks.

Franklin bluntly joked that they were the first batch of cannon fodder, but there was nothing they could do because the reward offered by the other side was too generous.

Anyone who participates in this "Death Tide Investigation" and survives will receive a super prize from a major power, and they can choose one of two options: one is to obtain a method to awaken their true nature and become a demigod; the other is to obtain citizenship and a title from the major power, becoming a member of its army, but they must swear an oath of allegiance.

Judging from the intentions of these three legendary adventurers, their goal was simple: they only wanted a way to awaken their true nature.

It can be said that most of the powerful individuals who know about the "Prophecy Day" do not truly believe that the end of the world exists. What they want is to break free from the shackles of lifespan and become stronger. As for the future, they will deal with it in the future.

From the three adventurers, Li Lan also learned about the secrets of various small countries. Basically, each small country has many demigods, and they must have their own methods or experiences on how to "awaken their origin." However, they basically only pass on their methods and experiences to their descendants, while other unrelated people can only explore on their own.

Some small countries have demigods with a strong desire for control. Even if a legendary adventurer successfully explores and awakens their origin, they still have to consider leaving their original country and going to other small countries in order to avoid being persecuted.

Franklin and his companions are among the most hardworking and talented adventurers, but because they don't have a deep connection with the demigods of their respective countries, they are still stuck at their current level, desperately searching for a way to break through.

Perhaps, adventurers with such strength are far beyond what Li Lan imagined those low-level adventurers could compare to.

Legendary adventurers are also intelligent beings; they can be selfish and possess various desires. They can be easily persuaded to risk their lives for sufficient benefits. However, they differ from lower-level adventurers in one key aspect: a unique arrogance. They often prefer genuine cooperation and are more trustworthy than their counterparts.

Li Lan listened to these reports, as it was his first time encountering such a powerful circle, so he naturally wouldn't believe everything. The only information he cared about was the Death Tide and the Destroyer of the Kingdom, You Ji.

"You mean, armies from all over the world will arrive next?"

"Yes, based on the historical death tides, that's exactly how it is. For us adventurers who are relatively close to the northern continent, the first wave of us entering the snow-covered mountains can only be considered as reconnaissance. As long as we live inside for three days and gather relevant information, we've completed our mission."

Franklin did not hide anything and told the truth.

In any case, there are quite a few diamond-level and legendary adventurers all over the world. They are all here to strike it rich, so it shouldn't be a problem for a large number of people to venture into the snow-covered mountains.

"Historically, have there been adventurers who survived after participating in a death tide?"

Li Lan asked again, feeling that this might be a trap.

He only just learned that a death tide had broken out in the area where "Destroyer of Kingdoms" was located, and that this death tide had caused all the world's superpowers to intervene. This was not a good sign. He either had to immediately consider changing his course and not get involved, or he would have to bite the bullet and continue on his way.

However, there was one thing that made Li Lan uneasy: what if "the Queen of Destruction" was really her former comrade-in-arms, Luo Lina?

Previously, on the outskirts of the Elf Kingdom, he watched helplessly as the three elderly people passed away. Was he destined to experience the death of his comrades again this time?

Undoubtedly, one problem after another has arisen, and the current situation is putting unimaginable pressure on Li Lan. After all, he is not powerful enough to control everything, and now he has the Twin Witches and the three little elven girls by his side. So many lives are in his hands, and he must be extremely careful.

"This... I don't know." Franklin thought about it carefully. There was no record of this in history. After all, legendary adventurers were not considered important. The credit for annihilating the death tide would ultimately be attributed to the major powers that took action, while they, as nameless nobodies, did not deserve to be recorded in history.

"You guys are really going all out to awaken your origins." Li Lan wasn't being sarcastic; he just personally felt that gathering adventurers of a certain strength was odd. With the power of those major powers, they wouldn't need adventurers from these smaller countries. Besides, that was a death tide where the more intelligent beings died, the more trouble would ensue. Gathering so many cannon fodder was just sending them to their deaths, wasn't it?

"By the way, do you have a map of the northern continent?"

In response to Li Lan's question, Franklin quickly took out a detailed map made of monster hide from his storage space and placed it on the ground.

Because of the many informants around him, Li Lan didn't dare to take out his natal magic book to copy the map information, so he just observed the map's contents by the campfire.

"We are currently on the edge of the eastern continent and have not yet entered the true northern continent. After entering the northern continent, it will probably take another month to reach the outer edge of the snow-capped mountains."

The snow-capped mountains are the very site where the legendary "Destroyer of Kingdoms" and numerous smaller states once clashed in a great war. Originally known as the "Death Zone," the area was roughly a thousand kilometers in radius. Now, due to the deadly tide, the truly dangerous area will undoubtedly expand. In Li Lan's understanding, the actual restricted area of ​​this hellish place is probably half the size of the Celestial Empire in her previous life—truly an exaggeratedly large size.

"Beyond the snow-capped mountains, if we continue north for over a thousand kilometers, we will reach the only superpower on the northern continent. It is rumored that this superpower may have a significant connection with the First Apostle, 'Cassanara of the Void,' and also controls a special witch summoning ritual. For us, the existence of this superpower is extremely dangerous. If we expose our presence in this snow-capped mountain area, our fate will probably not be much better than that of the Elf Kingdom."

Therefore, if you are really determined to infiltrate this place, you must never reveal your identity as a witch.

The Elf Kingdom possesses unique magical technology and is spies everywhere, making entry into their territory extremely dangerous. In contrast, this desolate ancient kingdom, which has long preferred seclusion, seems much safer. After all, this power has always remained hidden in the remote icy plains, rarely extending its reach into the snow-capped mountains; otherwise, it wouldn't have allowed the "Destroyer of Kingdoms" to act with impunity.

"It's not that we can't go to this place, but the soldiers from all over the world who will follow are quite difficult to deal with."

What is the quantity? Is there any additional purpose?

Li Lan knew nothing about this vast amount of information; it was all a blank slate. All he knew was that he needed to confirm who the "Destroyer of Kingdoms" really was. If it was indeed Lolina, he would do everything in his power to save her and escape. If not, he would have to take the Twin Witches and the three little elves and flee far away as soon as possible.

After pondering for a while, Li Lan, who had finally decided to take the risk, accepted the three adventurers' offer. "I think we can cooperate, but there's a lot of information you need to tell me, how about it?"

“Of course, we won’t be stingy with anything we know,” the three legendary adventurers finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much safer about their upcoming trip to the northern continent. “Just ask!”