Witch Redemption

Chapter 10 Return to the Border Town of Mori

Time passed peacefully on the journey.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Li Lan and Luo Lina had traversed a long journey and finally arrived at the border of the British Empire.

First, there's the Hazan Stone Forest, the last gathering place where the seven witches successfully parted ways ten years ago. Then there's the Nasha Great Forest and the Dawn City Hills. Finally, there's the familiar monster area that holds countless memories for the witches: the Mori Defense Forest.

"I really miss those days!"

As dusk fell, looking at the familiar primeval jungle, Lolina couldn't help but sigh.

She recalled the past, and although the empire had left them with no good impressions, only unbearable despair, the painful time they spent struggling in that despair with their comrades forged their strong will and became the spiritual support that enabled them to persevere.

Adversity sees the truth.

Despair and pain brought them together, and it was also despair and pain that made them share a common will, harbor a common hatred, and vow to join hands and move forward together to make a final and most intense struggle against this world.

"really."

Li Lan casually raised the Libra Cross Greatsword and cleaved a mimicry Chaos that had ambushed him, killing it instantly.

He recalled that on the second day after he transmigrated to this world, he and Lana almost lost their lives at the hands of a low-level monster that mimicked Chaos. However, ten years later, when they returned to this place, they found that it was just a chaotic mowing down of grass, even more chaotic than Musou.

Perhaps because they were approaching the border city of Mori, and given that it was already late, Li Lan and Luo Lina could still see many adventurers belonging to the Empire hurrying around, trying to enter the border before sunset.

Furthermore, since Li Lan and Lolina both possess the characteristics of witches, including the Libra Cross Greatsword and their natal magic book, the adventurers around them couldn't help but focus their attention on them at this moment.

These adventurers are all bronze to silver level adventurers, and their activities are mostly limited to the Mori Forest area, where they outwit and outfight these mimicking chaos.

Seeing these two witches effortlessly slaughtering the surrounding simulated chaos, they were so shocked they couldn't utter a single word.

Incidentally, since the Empire implemented the Witch Reform in 10004 of the New Calendar, many areas outside the Empire's borders that contain low-level monsters are no longer training grounds for witches. It is said that the Empire has other ways to help these witches quickly improve their spellbook levels, so there is no need to hunt such trash monsters at all.

Therefore, most low-level adventurers today only know the witch's name, but rarely witness her true appearance and strength.

"Hey! Really?! He just casually wiped out the mimicry chaos like that?"

Several small groups nearby couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"They look like witches, don't they?"

"It seems so, but the clothes she's wearing don't look like those of witches in our country. I remember that witches in our country wear very distinctive clothes."

"Yes, from other countries?"

"They're probably too strong. What level would they be in terms of adventurer rankings?"

"Diamond-level? Or Legendary-level?"

For low-level adventurers who haven't seen much of the world, their understanding of the strongest power is limited to the limits achievable by adventurers. As for the so-called demigods and gods, most of them might never witness such power in their entire lives, let alone know how that level of power manifests.

Therefore, seeing those two witches dressed in foreign attire killing indiscriminately, the strength they could judge was only at the peak of ordinary mortals.

Faced with the awe-inspiring gazes and murmurs of these ordinary adventurers, Li Lan and Luo Lina felt a pang of sadness.

To be honest, based on Li Lan's current understanding, the growth potential of these witches can be described as "cheating".

Among all intelligent beings, only a very small number possess extraordinary talent, or are geniuses among geniuses, who can leap across several power levels in a mere ten years, awaken their innate abilities, and become demigods. And to become a true god-level being, there is only one path: to enter the Celestial Realm, seize the corpses of the ancient gods, and take their place.

In particular, the time and effort required to become a god-level being are extremely exaggerated, and one must also bear enormous risks.

In contrast, Li Lan and his group spent a full ten years to reach the maximum level of their natal magic book, and their strength and physical attributes were comparable to those of ordinary god-level beings. This was simply outrageous, utterly outrageous.

Sometimes, when Li Lan thought about it carefully, she could understand why many major powers in the world wanted to suppress witches. If all the witches had survived tens of thousands of years of witch summoning, countless "monsters" would have been born, enough to threaten the rule of any country.

While Li Lan understands, it doesn't mean she will forgive the ugly actions of many major powers.

While lost in thought, Li Lan and Luo Lina began to follow the direction in their memories, embarking on the main road leading to the city gate of Mori City.

Soon, at dusk, they arrived at the familiar, towering city gate and saw a large number of Inquisitors stationed near it.

Normally, the troops stationed on the border would be loyal lower-ranking soldiers of the empire, and there would be no need to deploy such a large force.

But today is different. Several days ago, the Empire's spies had already spotted two extraordinary witches approaching the British Empire. They were presumably the Dark Kingdom envoys that the higher-ups had previously notified them of, and were very likely terrifying beings at the demigod level or even above the god level.

That's why the Imperial Witch Order and the Holy See dispatched their true elites—imperial warriors with divine artifacts—to take over the border defense, to welcome, or rather, to guard against, these two powerful enemies that could arrive at any moment.

At present, all the heretics judges were at least lieutenant generals in strength. They wore huge trench coats with red trim and had solemn expressions, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Such a scene terrified all the adventurers who planned to enter the border. They didn't know what was going on these past few days. The empire had suddenly imposed martial law on several border cities, and it was said that soldiers from the Imperial Survey Corps were crossing the border every day, looking for something.

Fortunately, although these heretical judges were terrifying, they did not make things difficult for these low-level adventurers, did not obstruct them, and did not even question them.

Even today, when these heretical judges spot two witches strolling towards them from afar, they are all on edge, their hands clenched, ready to summon their own divine artifacts at any moment to deal with external enemies.

It can be said that anyone with a bit of status or power in the British Empire knows about the Seven Witches who defected, let alone the Inquisitors, who are members of the empire's core power.

Karen Elf, the Emerald Witch, and Lorina Yuffie, the Dark Witch, two traitors who successfully escaped ten years ago, have returned to the British Empire. This time, they are envoys representing a newly emerging nation.

This emerging nation is called the "Dark Kingdom," and it is rumored to be an evil land connected to an ancient creator.

Besides their extremely special identities, witches Kallen Elf and Lorina Yuffie are rumored to have dabbled in the forbidden power of an ancient creator, and are now terrifying beings at the demigod level or even beyond. This is why the Empire attaches such importance to them.

At this moment, the leader of all the heretics present was named "Cotton Taylor," with the military rank of Imperial General and the strength of a true demigod after awakening his origin.

Although Cotton Taylor was a demigod, he could clearly feel that the two witches walking towards him had a terrifying pressure, and were obviously a notch stronger than him. This was really terrifying!

No wonder the Empire initially sent so many heretics to the Inquisition, but still felt it wasn't secure enough.

"Lieutenant General Boswell, please proceed to the witch's residence immediately and inform Priestess Monica that the rogue witches Karen Elf and Lorina Euphemia have been confirmed to have returned. Please have Priestess Monica dispatch the relevant witch guards as soon as possible."

Rumors circulate that as many as thirty living gods, the current limit of the empire's power, have descended from the heavens, and are all concentrated in the imperial capital, Kate. Furthermore, dealing with the witches who previously defected requires either deploying a large number of demigods or gods, or employing witches with similar growth potential.

This is why Leader Cotton Taylor needed to notify the Witch's Abode immediately; currently, only the Witch's Abode could provide strong support to the border city of Mori.

As for the other powerful figures in the empire, they are said to be stationed in important areas within the empire's territory, especially in the capital.

"Lieutenant General Smith Leap, please immediately notify the Imperial Royal Family, the Witch Cult, and the Holy See by telegram that the target has arrived and that they should prepare accordingly."

"Lieutenant General Misen, please enter the inner city immediately and arrange a VIP room. Do not neglect him."

The border city of Mori is divided into five districts. The border defense district, near the Mori Defense Forest, is a vast area including the Witch's Residence. The inner city, beyond the border defense district, is a secondary area further inland. Due to the lack of direct threat from monsters, it is quite prosperous.

Beyond the inner city, those three areas are called the inner city: the lord's inner city where lords and nobles reside, the pilgrimage area belonging to the Holy See, and the sanctuary open to the people whenever the Crimson Night Flood arrives.

Although these two witches are "envoys of the Dark Kingdom," the empire can only place them on the periphery, in the slightly more prosperous inner city, until their true purpose is determined.

Furthermore, for these two evil witches to enter the imperial capital, they will need to negotiate with higher authorities at various levels, which will likely take a long time.

After General Cotton Taylor gave the relevant instructions, the two witches who had been strolling over arrived in front of them, and the atmosphere suddenly turned icy.

Cotton Taylor had a strong feeling that if these two witches really intended to make a move here, they could kill everyone present in less than a minute, and they wouldn't even have a chance to use their artifacts.

He swallowed hard, finding his chest soaked with cold sweat, and for a moment he didn't know how to start the conversation.

These traitorous witches felt only hatred for the existence of the empire, and the empire's soldiers felt the same way.

The soldiers of the Empire are loyal to their country for life and will dedicate everything to it. However, over the years, countless soldiers of the Empire have lost their lives at the hands of these traitorous witches, and the enmity between them is also unsolvable.

It was precisely because they had a life-or-death feud that their reunion was so awkward.

Loyalty and justice told Cotton Taylor, and all the inquisitors present, that these two were the enemy, and that they had to fight these two evil people to the death, and that they had to kill these two witches no matter what the cost.

In reality, however, these two individuals represent envoys from the Dark Kingdom, who have come to beg for mercy. To avoid meaningless war and sacrifices, the Empire needs these soldiers to temporarily endure and see what other tricks the forces these two represent are up to.

The conflicting emotions of hatred for the enemy, a slight fear of the enemy's terrifying strength, and the need to suppress his feelings made it difficult for Imperial General Cotton Taylor to speak.

"Hello, my name is Karen Elf, and this is Lorina Yuffie, both of us are envoys from the Kingdom of the Supreme Dark Goddess, also known as the Dark Kingdom."

As it turned out, it was the elven witch who approached them who spoke first.

A smiling tiger!

Cotton Taylor learned from past records that this witch named "Karen Elf" was no ordinary person. Long before she betrayed and fled the British Empire, she often hid a knife behind her smile. Who knows how deep her scheming was hidden behind that seemingly smiling face.

The escape of the Seven Witches, the destruction of Skandar on the border of the Elf Kingdom, the Great Explosion in the North, and the great witch battle on the outskirts of the Abyss Rift—many infamous upheavals were orchestrated by this witch. It is precisely because of these brilliant achievements that she has been placed on the Empire's most wanted list, making her arguably the most dangerous of the Seven Witches who renege on the alliance.

Unfortunately, although he knew in his heart that this witch was a major threat to the empire, Cotton Taylor could only manage a very ugly smile at the moment.

"Hello, I am Cotton Taylor, commander of the 38th Division of the Imperial Witch Cult's Judgment Army. I have been waiting for you two envoys for a long time. Please!"

Cotton Taylor quickly gave his men a signal, and then an Imperial general who was in charge of leading the way walked in front, with all the Inquisitors surrounding the two witches like stars around the moon.

On the surface, it was an escort mission, but in reality, they were all on guard against these two witches who exuded a terrifying aura.

Li Lan nodded. He wasn't unaware that the atmosphere wasn't good, but he still suppressed his inner restlessness, followed the group of imperial soldiers, and got into the steam car they had arranged in advance, heading to the inner district of Mori City in the shortest possible time.

Returning to the familiar place, everything was different from before. In the past, Li Lan and the others could only be obsequious to the heretics of the Witch Cult, but now, it was these heretics who truly needed to be obsequious to them.

It's like a dream.

On this day, October 3, 10013 in the new calendar, late at night, Li Lan and Luo Lina were arranged to stay in a villa in the city of Mori, on the border of the British Empire. At the same time, a large number of high-level witches belonging to the British Empire were stationed around the villa.

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

"It seems the Empire doesn't trust us."

Looking out the window, Lorina could keenly sense many witches around her. Judging from their aura, they were all at least level 40 or higher in their grimoires, with a few even reaching around level 50.

It seems that while Li Lan and the other witches are rapidly leveling up, the witches from the British Empire are not lagging far behind, and their level increases are also quite significant.

"Indeed, there are three acquaintances over there."

Upon hearing this, Li Lan glanced over and her gaze met that of three orc witches huddled together downstairs. Li Lan could barely remember that the three witches were named "Astana," "Ruthmar," and "Kochi," and they had all been teammates of the demon witch Rosa.

Unfortunately, after the demon witch Rosa was "turned" by Li Lan, they parted ways completely and became irreconcilable enemies.

At this moment, Li Lan could clearly see the resentment and wariness in the eyes of the three witches. He was even certain that if it weren't for the Empire's orders, these three witches would have attacked him the moment they met.

"Uh, you mean those three?" Upon hearing this, Lorina followed Li Lan's gaze and saw three witches with fiery eyes. She immediately felt displeased and glared fiercely at the three of them, neither side showing the slightest fear.

I'm inexplicably angry!

Li Lan didn't say anything, but silently drew the curtains. "They're just small fry; the real trouble is yet to come."

Seeing the Empire's witch again, and even more powerful than the one he had seen before, deepened Li Lan's worries.

At this stage, he doesn't know how many witches are still in the empire, or how many more will be summoned. He only knows that if he doesn't abolish "witch summoning" as soon as possible, things will only get more and more difficult in the future.

After all, a witch with a fully upgraded spellbook possesses power comparable to a god, and to some extent, she is an immortal being.

Given that the number of Imperial Witches summoned might exceed four figures, it's normal for Li Lan to feel anxious; it might even be more than four figures.

Only a fool would believe the empire's past claims that there was a limit to the number of witches that could be summoned each year.

Li Lan wouldn't believe anything the empire said; she would just remain skeptical.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, it's still the same witch who's good at turning on her own people.