Witch Redemption

The second matter mentioned in the document involves a deal between gods: the three ancient creators of the Dark Kingdom wish that the Empire and any other power in the world would not disturb their peace, and in return, they promised never to be the first to attack any power in the world.

If the Empire dares to promise to maintain peace with the Dark Kingdom thereafter, then these three ancient creators will promise that when the "Prophecy Day" arrives, they will not only not join the ranks of those destroying the world, but will also help to eliminate the greatest threat, the Chaos Creator.

"A worthless check?"

The ancient creator is untrustworthy, and no one knows whether the ancient creator will break his promise.

Having reigned as emperor for so many years, William 46 was no fool; he naturally knew that there were no eternal promises in this world, only eternal interests.

The third thing is a piece of intelligence, or more precisely, intelligence that the empire itself is aware of.

The origin of "Witch Summoning" is very mysterious. Many great powers only know that it is a special spacetime array created by the space goddess Chronos, and one of the materials needed to construct this special spacetime array is the remains of the space goddess Chronos.

Therefore, there is also a theory that the remains of the goddess Chronos, after her death, were decomposed into countless special substances, which constructed material conversion channels between this world and multiple other worlds.

The goddess of space's divinity and soul became the energy needed to maintain the spacetime array. Whenever major powers used "witch summoning," they would incur additional losses of this special energy.

In other words, strictly speaking, there is a limit to the number of "witch summons," but the upper limit of this number is ridiculously large.

Even with such an absurdly large limit on the number, it is not inexhaustible. After ten thousand years of "witch summoning," this ritual is almost coming to an end.

That's why the empire chose witch reforms in recent years, keeping a backup plan for itself.

The information that the ancient creator Shub Nicholas brought to the Empire was that the deadline for the "witch summoning" was the end of this year. If the Empire trusted the Dark Kingdom, it was requested that the Empire carry out the final batch of witch summoning ahead of schedule.

Is there a trap involved?

Ann Gnath once brought the Empire information on "god-killing" and "prophecy." The information on "god-killing" was true, but unfortunately, the so-called "prophecy" was very problematic. If the Empire had not followed the "prophecy," the avatar of the present god Michael Gle wouldn't have died in the Abyss Rift, and it would have later led to the resurrection of the dragon god Reggios and the dragon god Kassania.

After all, since the resurrection of the Moon God many years ago, the Empire has realized that the most important condition for the resurrection of the ancient god is the witch's corpse.

The fact that so many witches of the empire died in the abyss and ravines is, no matter how you look at it, related to the resurrection of the two dragon gods and the escape of the two rogue witches. The most important part of the calculation was the "prophecy".

"Very well, the truth or falsehood of the intelligence can only be determined after much thought and investigation."

Whether it's true or false is not important. What's important is that the two things mentioned later are actually about the secrets of the ancient apostles and the true weakness of the creator of chaos. The unexpected development caught Emperor William 46 off guard.

He had only heard that in the ancient Dark Ages, there were signs of dogs fighting among the ancient creators, but he never expected it to be true.

First, the Chaos Creator revealed the weaknesses of Shub Nicholas, Abkhos, and Cthulhu, along with specific methods for defeating them. Unexpectedly, these three Creators have also begun to uncover the weaknesses of the Chaos Creator.

What exactly is the purpose behind this?

"Do the creators of both sides hope to use the Empire to eliminate one of them? This is a disguised way of forcing the Empire to take sides. The Empire cannot easily express its opinion on this matter!"

Moreover, the most troublesome thing is not the infighting among the creators of Chaos, but the secrets concerning the ancient apostles.

If this secret is true, it means that the apostles who made an eternal vow to humanity were ill-intentioned from the beginning, and if they want to prevent the "Prophecy Day" in the future, they must find a way to kill the five remaining apostles.

Killing these five apostles would mean one thing: making an enemy of the Creator of Chaos and the Kingdom of Ross!

Chapter 14 Spy from an Enemy Country

Emperor William 46's thoughts drifted back to a distant past, nearly three hundred years ago. Having just awakened his true nature and become a demigod, he was finally qualified to access the truth of this world—the complete truth.

At that time, the god of the present world who was in charge of receiving him was named "Twilight". He earnestly revealed all the secrets to him, from the origin of all things in the world to the battle between the gods, and finally to the despairing future of the inevitable destruction of mankind, without holding anything back.

Most of these secrets remain unknown to the world.

For example, above the god level, there are even stronger beings that transcend all common sense. These inexplicable and powerful beings are called "Ancient Creators," the "Creators" who created this world. They are not the "extraterrestrial demons" or "extraterrestrial evil gods" that are slandered in legends, but rather the true rulers behind this world.

These ancient creators created this world, the gods, and all things out of interest, but also out of interest, they decided to destroy everything on the "Prophecy Day," bringing everything to its end.

For example, all the ancient gods were servants of the ancient creators. They ruled the entire world and manipulated all intelligent races, all to please these ancient creators. Even their final mutual slaughter was in accordance with the wishes of these ancient creators.

Secrets like these have long been buried in the dust of history, and only demigods who have successfully seized the status of gods or possess a certain identity are qualified to know them.

Wilhelm 46 was the Emperor of the British Empire, the future leader of the nation, and therefore he needed to know the truth of all this. Only by accepting everything and recognizing reality could he sit on the throne and make the right judgments about the future.

He has forgotten how long he remained withdrawn after learning the whole truth, and how much effort it took to overcome his fear.

However, there is one thing that William 46 will remember for the rest of his life.

That is, neither the ancient gods who will be resurrected in the future, nor the ancient creators who are high above and regard humans as ants, can determine the fate of the empire or humanity.

Ten thousand years ago, during the Dark Ages, the world should have come to an end. However, the appearance of the "Witch Summoning" changed the minds of the ancient creators who intended to destroy the world. They destroyed the rule of the gods and returned the fate of mankind to humanity itself.

Now that they have the ability to control their own destiny, neither humans nor the many intelligent beings in this world will ever let go again!

"William, do you believe in the future of humanity? Do you think we can save the world?"

At that time, the present god "Twilight" asked him this question.

"Yes! We have replaced the ancient gods and gained equal power, so in the future we will surely replace them along with the ancient creator!"

The bold words spoken in the past have remained unchanged to this day.

Emperor William 46 of the Empire never forgot this strong will: "To save the world and to control our own destiny, the Empire will spare no sacrifice, no matter what it takes. We will never sit idly by and wait for death like the gods of ancient times!"

Slightly snapping out of his reverie, William 46 seemed to be in a dream, his mind a little dazed. His gaze once again fell upon the document in his hand, which contained the very same "Six Apostles" that had just pulled him into his memories.

Ten thousand years ago, it was six extremely powerful god-level beings who ended the rule of the gods; they were collectively known as the Apostles.

They are the First Apostle, Kassanara of Nothingness; the Second Apostle, Nyarrexa of a Thousand Transformations; the Third Apostle, Saint Zagalli of Despair; the Fourth Apostle, Itminne of Destruction; the Fifth Apostle, Gurea of ​​Blood; and the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti of Plague.

After slaughtering all the ancient gods, these six apostles swiftly betrayed the ancient creator and sided with all intelligent beings in the world, thus establishing an "eternal covenant" with all the great powers of the world.

No one knows who initiated the "Eternal Covenant," only that all its terms are beneficial to the intelligent beings of this world.

One of the terms of the "Eternal Oath" is that the Apostles can only teach the true method of "Witch Summoning" to the great powers that have made the oath, and will never interfere with the nations of intelligent beings again. In exchange, the nations that have performed "Witch Summoning" need to offer a certain number of witches as sacrifices, which are then given by the Apostles to many smaller nations, giving them "the hope of becoming stronger".

The second clause of the "Eternal Oath" stipulates that the Apostles will become the nominal guardians of this world, eliminating all powerful beings who might surpass the strength of gods. These powerful beings, referred to in the oath, are none other than the ancient creator who intends to reappear in this world.

The third clause of the "Eternal Oath" states that, in order to save this energy-depleted world, the Apostles will launch the "Crimson Night Torrent" every full moon to replenish the dead monsters in this world. Furthermore, all nations that participate in the Eternal Oath and obtain the qualification of "Witch Summoning" must directly endure the negative baptism of the "Crimson Night Torrent" and gain immense benefits from it.

The fourth clause of the "Eternal Covenant" states that the Apostles and all intelligent beings in this world will appear to be on opposite sides, but in reality, they must adhere to a certain degree of peace and will not truly fight each other even on the day the world is destroyed.

In any case, judging from the provisions above the "Eternal Covenant," the six apostles are undoubtedly on the side of all intelligent beings, especially one of them, a workaholic named "Sixth Apostle Kalamiti," who has been diligent and active for tens of thousands of years.

It wasn't until ten years ago that the Sixth Apostle was eliminated by the other five apostles after he instigated internal conflicts within the Elf Kingdom and violated the Eternal Oath.

The death of the Sixth Apostle, Kalamiti, and the grievous injuries of the other five apostles triggered a series of chain reactions. First, the Dark Goddess, the Creator Shub-Niggurath, who had been absent from the Viana Theocracy for millennia, made her first appearance, leaving the five surviving apostles with no time to attend to her. Second, the apostles vanished from the stage of history; even the Fifth Apostle, the Bloodstained Gurea, who was supposed to inherit the eternal oath of the Eastern Continent, ceased contact with any major power.

It can be said that after the year 10003 of the New Calendar, the Fifth and Sixth Apostles, who should have been active in the world, disappeared without a trace, and the other four apostles also vanished without a trace. The Empire had speculated that the five apostles were recuperating from injuries, but just how serious were their injuries that they would take ten years to heal?

It was precisely because of this suspicion that Emperor Wilhelm 46 appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly his mind was in turmoil.

"The Eternal Covenant was orchestrated by the Chaos Creator. The six apostles appear to stand on the side of many great nations, but in reality, they each have an ancient creator behind them. They once saved the world, but when the prophesied day arrives, they will not hesitate to become enemies of all intelligent beings."

Absurd! Utterly absurd!

"If this is true, then what exactly is the purpose of the Chaos Creator? What was the purpose of the six apostles going to such lengths to end the Age of Gods and exchange fate for all intelligent beings? And what about the future?"

A multitude of questions caused Emperor William 46's expression to gradually turn serious, and his mind to become a jumbled mess.

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

Li Lan and Luo Lina had no idea what the document given to them by the black-haired Yu Hui contained. They only remembered that the black-haired Yu Hui had mentioned that once the Empire read the contents of the document, it would soon let go of the Dark Kingdom and would not easily provoke war.

As long as the Dark Kingdom doesn't recklessly provoke us, a large-scale conflict won't break out.

After all, the world is about to change, and the end is near.

Based on what Hei Fa Yu Hui had said and the final change in the emperor's expression, Li Lan vaguely sensed that the things involved in the document might not be so simple, and might even be related to intelligence at the level of the Creator.

I don't know, but their task is simply to deliver this document; they don't need to worry about anything else.

"Emissaries from the Dark Kingdom, indeed, I have read the documents sent by your mastermind. However, the conclusion of peace still requires careful consideration. It is getting late. Now, I invite you two to accompany this warden of the Witch Cult to the banquet. The Empire will certainly give a reply before evening!"

These were the last words of Emperor William 46. After that, Li Lan and Lorina were taken out of the Imperial Council by the Undying Iris, the head of the Witch Cult, and taken to other parts of the Imperial Palace.

It is said that after that, Emperor William 46 urgently convened the Imperial Senate and the Holy See, and the discussions lasted for a full five hours.

Li Lan and Luo Lina weren't in a hurry either. Since the emperor had made this arrangement, they would obediently follow behind the old woman.

Who would have thought that the old woman who could have crushed them with a single finger, the immortal Iris, would now stand on equal footing with them? And who would have thought that these witches, who harbored deep-seated hatred, could now stand calmly with their greatest enemy, even chatting and laughing together?

The hatred has not been forgotten, but revenge still needs the right opportunity.

Li Lan and Luo Lina showed no hostility whatsoever throughout the event. As usual, they participated in the state banquet hosted by the Empire for them, the envoys of the Dark Kingdom, and enjoyed the luxury and wealth of the Empire's high society.

After two hours of reception, Li Lan and his group once again arrived at the outer perimeter of the Imperial Council Hall with the Undying Ilis. Unfortunately, the internal discussions within the Empire were not yet complete, so they would have to wait for a long time.

At this moment, Iris the Undying, the warden of the Witch Order who rarely spoke and whose emotions were unreadable, suggested, "Since you two envoys are new to the capital, I'm sure you're quite interested in it. Why don't we take this opportunity for me to show you around the capital?"

Just as Li Lan was about to refuse to avoid any complications, the old woman added, "The purpose of your trip must also be related to a few spies, right?"

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Realizing the old woman's implication, Li Lan immediately thought of the long-lost slime and the Heart series maids, thinking, "Should I take this opportunity to ask about the slime's whereabouts, or continue to remain silent? No, the slime and the others can indeed be called spies of the Dark Kingdom, but today's situation is special, and I cannot admit my relationship with them."

Li Lan came for the peace between the Dark Kingdom and the British Empire, hoping to buy the Dark Kingdom time to develop. If he admits that the slimes are spies sent by the Dark Kingdom, it will be very detrimental to today's peace negotiations.

Thinking about this, Li Lan felt a little frustrated. He stared at the serious-looking old woman and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what the warden means..."

"Nothing much, just a few spies from an enemy country who have committed countless crimes on the Empire's side. Today just happens to be Judgment Day," the old woman said after another hint, taking a step forward with an air of unquestionable authority. "Please follow me, envoys. I will show you the sights of the capital, especially the Empire's highest inquisition, the place that represents the Empire's authority. It is indeed worth seeing."

Especially for a mischievous witch.

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

The Imperial Inquisition, located on the northern edge of the Imperial Palace, is the only place that has broken through the Holy See's encirclement and is in contact with the outer districts.

This area is essentially a massive execution ground, jointly controlled by the Holy See, the Witch Order, and the Imperial Family. Furthermore, it possesses a unique, large-scale magical array capable of suppressing the magical power of all death row inmates and transforming all execution scenes into illusions, transmitting them to various cities throughout the empire to warn the public.

Therefore, some heinous death row inmates were sent to the Inquisition for their final moments and beheaded.

For example, Reiner Litt, the border human who colluded with imperial spies many years ago, died in this very place. His body was left to dry for a full month after being beheaded, before being completely devoured by the carrion crows that lived in the Inquisition.

Today, at 10 PM on October 14, 10013 (Gregorian calendar), nearly a hundred witches and nearly a thousand inquisitors escorted another batch of death row inmates to the Inquisition.

"This place makes me instinctively feel disgusted!"

Faced with the overwhelming stench of decay, the witch Crosanne frowned.

But in the vast, empty field, there were piles of strange, rotting blood everywhere. Every few steps, there were also many fragments of white bones. These broken bones looked as if they had been bitten and crushed by iron pincers, which was quite shocking.

Furthermore, with the arrival of a large number of humans and witches, the entire arena resounded with flapping sounds. Countless black carrion crows soared into the sky and fled in all directions, bringing another gust of pungent, fishy wind before the entire huge space fell silent once more.

"Lord Lucas, are you ready?"

The witch Krossanne glanced away and asked the tall, blond man with a scar on his forehead beside her, General Lucas of the Empire, who was also a close confidant of the Witch Cult's warden.

In response to this question, General Lucas simply raised his hand, signaling his men to bring forward the eleven wanted criminals.

After calculating the time, it's about time. If those two witches dare to step into this area, it will surely be their death!

Seeing this, the witch Crossanne nodded and then went to one of the monster prisoners.