Witch Redemption

This was the first time Li Lan had encountered a situation that even the Creator's physical body couldn't resolve, and she couldn't figure out the reason for it yet.

Just as Li Lan was at his wit's end, the six witches in the distance finally stopped arguing. Rosa, the witch who looked distraught, must have made up her mind and turned around to walk towards him.

"Sorry, something came up and I kept you waiting..."

When facing Li Lan again, the witch Rosa's expression was still not very good, but she was obviously no longer as bewildered as she had been at the beginning.

Originally, the witch Rosa wanted to remind Li Lan about the situation in this space and ask if there was any solution, because she estimated that almost half an hour had passed and she was afraid that something bad might happen.

Before he could explain the whole story, he felt a sudden weakness in his body, his legs staggered, and he almost collapsed.

"What... about my body...?"

Not only the witch Rosa, but everyone present experienced this, including Li Lan.

"Something's not right! My energy is draining away rapidly!"

Li Lan had experienced a similar situation before, namely the special domain "The Garden of Exhaustion" cast by the Twin Witches White Antelope and Snow Antelope. All intelligent beings within this domain would have all their physical strength slowly absorbed until they completely lost their fighting ability.

This kind of physical exhaustion is no less rapid than the "Depleted End Garden," and it would probably only take two minutes for Li Lan and all the witches around her to become lambs to the slaughter.

"So, if the two sides marked by the sealed object cannot determine a winner before the time limit expires, then the outcome might be that this sealed object will devour all intelligent beings within the area?"

Come to think of it, how could such a unique space possibly exist indefinitely? Until eternity?

That's really despicable!

Li Lan could even foresee that the biggest reason these witches were dragging things out like this was probably because the Empire had instigated something, but hadn't told them the true effects of the Book of Duel to the Death.

In any duel, the outcome is either life or death, or both sides are severely injured.

"What should we do now? If we summon our minions and wipe out everyone here..."

While lost in thought, the surrounding environment suddenly underwent a tremendous change. All the gray mottled spots in sight began to dissipate into fluorescence, revealing the writhing flesh within. Countless folds transformed into waves, like the stomach of a giant beast, about to boil in its writhing motion.

The astonishing change left the witch Rosa horrified and momentarily at a loss.

"That moment hasn't come yet. Right now, I'm the only one with different markings, which means I can still use this method to cheat..."

Her brain was working at high speed. In just a few seconds, feeling her strength rapidly draining away, Li Lan had already caught a glimmer of hope in the midst of the crisis.

"Miss Witch, this is the last question: Do you want to leave the Empire and obtain the true truth?"

Whether or not he answers the question, Li Lan no longer cares. The situation has changed, and at this point he no longer intends to kill Lily Williams, so it's fair to say that these witches got off easy.

Li Lan simply didn't want to miss any opportunity to turn people against her; she was simply hoping that even the witch who was originally on the opposite side would have someone who could see through the true nature of the world.

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” Rosa asked.

"I can't guarantee that. As I said, I won't force you to take my side. I just hope you won't oppose me, that's all. All the truth, what is real and what is false, can only be judged by yourself, by your own eyes."

“Indeed, it’s impossible for people to be without lies. Looking at the situation now, it seems I’ve been deceived by the Empire as well. Oh well,” Rosa said, as if she had come to terms with it, stabilizing her rapidly weakening body. “After today, I will have essentially betrayed the Empire. I will witness with my own eyes the truth you’ve mentioned!”

"Alright, that's enough!"

Li Lan raised the Libra Cross Greatsword. "Before we resolve this crisis, let me tell you something. The Seven Witches who fled back then never feared death, just like they do today. You'll get used to it from now on."

A sharp pain ripped open his chest, and gushing blood, along with the violently pulled greatsword, shot out again, turning into a torrent of blood.

The astonishing scene made the witch Rosa's eyes widen.

Since he transmigrated to this world, he has never seen a witch so ruthless that she would choose to harm herself in order to change her desperate situation.

What is there to fear about death?

The pain had already numbed her. With her blood-stained greatsword pinned to the blood-soaked ground, Li Lan barely managed to steady herself, her strength rapidly waning.

Just before he truly lost his fighting ability, his right hand had already touched his natal magic book, and a large number of followers were about to appear at this moment to fight for their master.

"coming!"

The strange, blood-red scene receded rapidly as Li Lan teetered on the brink of death, revealing once again the setting sun and a host of long-awaited witches and imperial soldiers.

"Just as I thought! I'm risking my life to turn them to the enemy!"

This was a trap, a trap set for him, but luckily he gambled correctly and has a powerful trump card that can break the trap.

Chapter 12 Stance

"It's almost time."

The user of the Book of Duels, Imperial Lieutenant General Alexim, after activating this sealed artifact, his own consciousness will become part of the duel space, serving as the sole spectator of this space until the end of its duration.

Therefore, he saw and heard everything that was happening in this space.

Whether it was the defection of the traitorous witch Karen Elf, the betrayal of the witch Rosa, or the unwavering loyalty of the other five witches to the empire, none of it escaped his notice.

Unfortunately, once this sealed artifact is activated, the situation will no longer be under his control.

"Two minutes. In two minutes, the resentment of this sealed artifact will go berserk, and then..."

The Empire's true reinforcements are still on their way, and the powerful witches at the intersection of the four continents have not yet fully assembled. At this moment, if there is any way to kill Karen Elf, perhaps it can only be found in this magical sealing artifact.

If any intelligent being trapped in the deathmatch space cannot determine a winner within thirty minutes, then the resentment of this sealed artifact itself will personally intervene, breaking through the limitations of time and space, forcibly killing anyone in the deathmatch space and devouring their corpses.

Judging from the current situation, if these witches can stall for just two more minutes and make the most of their remaining strength, then this rogue witch will surely die.

Indeed, in the eyes of Lieutenant General Alexim of the Empire, this situation was already a foregone conclusion, but then...

The spurting blood, along with the sword piercing the heart, shot skyward.

At that moment, it wasn't just the demon witch Rosa who was shocked by this sword strike, but also the Imperial Lieutenant General Alexim, who had been observing all along.

Ruthless! Utterly ruthless!

Because this sealed artifact only marked the rogue witch Karen Elf alone, intending for all the designated witches and the human woman to gang up on this guy, no fight occurred. In the end, the rogue witch chose to harm herself instead.

incredible!

As Alexim watched the witch's pupils begin to dissipate in the torrential red rain, the sealed artifact, the Book of Duel, quickly dispelled its spatial effects due to the witch's defeat, and his own consciousness returned to his body after a brief moment of confusion.

Is it over?

All intelligent beings that are defeated in the Deathmatch Space will be directly devoured by the Book of the Deadly Duel. Alexim seems to have already seen the future of this witch.

However, shortly afterward, the situation took another unexpected turn.

He was horrified to see the book in his hand, which was bursting with blood-red threads, begin to transform into a raging black flame and burn completely within three seconds.

"Strange substances from that time!"

Alexim would not forget the strange behavior of the traitorous witch Karen Elf in the deathmatch space. This girl took out an extremely strange black substance that initially could not affect the space, but instead floated strangely in the space.

Unexpectedly, after the deathmatch space was dispelled, this strange substance was able to affect the sealed artifact in the real world, directly causing the sealed artifact to be completely destroyed.

"shit!"

The witch Kallen Elf is indeed not simple! This girl won't choose to commit suicide so easily!

"Everyone! Kill this traitorous witch immediately! She's not quite dead yet!"

Just three seconds after the Deathmatch Space was released and the sealed artifact, the Book of the Deadly Duel, was destroyed, Alexim, who quickly regained his senses, issued his first and most urgent command.

At that very moment, the eighty witches present made their move.

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

Li Lan made the right bet.

This terrifying sealed artifact is indeed unsolvable for him at the moment. If he hadn't chosen to come alone, he probably wouldn't have had such an easy time ending this.

The Empire's use of this sealing artifact wasn't actually wrong; from the beginning, they were simply gambling on how long these witches could hold out, and not long ago they even thought the opportunity to kill Li Lan had arrived. However, no one expected that Li Lan wouldn't choose to kill anyone else, but instead chose to kill himself to break the deadlock.

"..."

So painful that she couldn't speak, Li Lan only remembered a game she used to play where a demon would often have a greatsword stuck in his chest and act like nothing was wrong. But now, trying to imitate it was so painful that she couldn't breathe, let alone show off.

However, the goal was achieved. In his final moments, Li Lan saw the dissipation of the bizarre death battle space and the countless fierce witches rushing towards him.

Without the slightest hesitation, the open natal magic book unleashed an incomparably dazzling light, and countless humanoid followers appeared one after another on this grand field, quickly protecting Li Lan, who was about to faint, the human adventurer Lily who was still in a daze, and the witch Rosa who was filled with shock.

"Give me three minutes!"

Before losing consciousness, Li Lan used her last bit of strength to press her hand on her natal magic book and activate a final blessing, a blessing that contained Li Lan's trust.

“A gift from her real name, Matilda Fonso.”

The natal magic book of the demon witch Rosa opened itself in front of her, and then strange words were engraved on a blank page.

Furthermore, the very next second after the unique skills "Teaching" and "Accumulation" of the secondary profession "Mentor" were officially bestowed upon the witch Rosa, the witch Rosa's consciousness fell into a daze, and she felt as if her soul was resonating with some magical thought.

Immediately, countless hallucinations flashed through my mind like a fleeting glimpse.

It was a hallucination of three strange witches, whose accumulated emotions from their time travel to their deaths all erupted in the witch Rosa's heart.

"He is our only hope. We will protect him and them, right?"

Three phantoms of strange witches appeared in the sea of ​​consciousness of witch Rosa. Their words were not interrogations, but rather whispers of obsession. Before witch Rosa could answer, the phantoms vanished without a trace.

At the same moment, the witch Rosa's grimoire level increased by ten levels, leaping to level forty.

What exactly am I seeing...?

Unable to comprehend, the witch Rosa, upon returning to reality, felt an overwhelming sadness. Just moments before, she seemed to have witnessed the lives of three unfamiliar witches after their transmigration. Though the memories were hazy, the unwavering determination and resolute resolve seemed to speak of the injustices of their past and the indomitable will they never yielded until their deaths.

The truth is, the witch Rosa has inadvertently come across the truth of what happened in the past.

Only a witch who can resonate with the three witches who are already dead—Matilda, Peggy, and Sherry—can receive this special gift and perceive their feelings for each other.

"The Empire! It has been deceiving us all along!"

The answer is obvious. After seeing such an illusion, how could the witch Rosa still stand on the side of the Empire?

Just as the large number of followers and the surrounding witches were engaged in fierce combat, Rosa, the witch who had finally come to her senses, called out to her five bewildered former teammates not far away, "Dani! We've all been deceived! Believe me, the Empire..."

Ignoring him, his former best friend now stood there blankly, his gaze filled with resentment.

They resented his choice to defect to the enemy, and they resented that he caused all his team members to lose the empire's trust, their former benefits, and their status.

Despair filled Rosa's eyes. She could only watch in agony as all the witches around her came to kill her, and she roared loudly, trying to gain their understanding and trust.

"All witches! Stop! Stop right now! Listen to me!"

No one would listen to him. In their eyes, the traitorous witch Karen Elf was already an evil being, the empire's number one enemy, and their greatest foe.

The truth is never important. As Karen Elf said before, everything is just a matter of perspective, and pale, powerless words can never change anything.

Humans always tend to believe their first impressions and everything they see at first glance, but who can know the hidden depths within?