Witch Redemption

This special intuition and judgment makes them exceptionally good at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, enabling them to better lead the main force away from the powerful monster army under the apostles' command.

It is precisely because of this that the legions led by the two of them are practically the "scouts" of the Dark Kingdom, and the missions they carry out are often the kind that take them away from home for extremely long periods of time.

For example, this trip to the vicinity of the Kingdom of Ross to make contact with an inside agent who had been placed there fifteen years ago was originally scheduled to take two months, and they arrived as planned.

During this time, the troops led by Thomas and Cozmo spent every night in the perilous temple ruins area, where the slightest mistake could lead to the annihilation of the entire massive army.

Given the perilous nature of this mission, the soldiers who went out with us were all those who had written their wills, and their strength was at least at the legendary level. They also had another powerful team of helpers with them.

This powerful team of helpers consisted of 110 shadowy demigods, who came from the ranks of three "beggar demigods": the human Xiumen, the orc Tagore, and the elf Salamander.

These three beggar demigods had once been indebted to the witch Karen Elf and Lana Sivir, and were considered staunch "revenge-seekers." After fading out of the political circles of the Dark Kingdom, they began to live in seclusion in the royal capital, Kobe City, and handed over the many shadow demigods under their control to Thomas.

The initial reason was to provide protection for three underdeveloped Servants.

Later, when the three Servants, Jeanne, Uri, and Ora, reached their peak strength, these easy-to-manage "henchmen" began to become Thomas's strongest fighting force.

It was this incredibly powerful group of henchmen who helped Thomas and Cozmo overcome this greatest challenge.

"Regarding the inside agents, it's really a pity that most of them who were sent out chose to betray us."

Thomas is telling the truth.

In the year 10014 of the New Calendar, shortly after the four witches disappeared due to the intervention of the Kingdom of Ross, the high-ranking officials of the Dark Kingdom were furious and quickly dispatched many spies to secretly infiltrate the Kingdom of Ross.

The majority of these spies were devout followers of the Dark Order, while the remaining five were actually followers left behind by Thomas's master, those who only had numbers and no real names.

After the global catastrophe that erupted in the year 10015 of the New Calendar, these devout believers who should have belonged to the Dark Order gradually abandoned their original faith and betrayed the Dark Kingdom under the daily threat of death.

In other words, in the end, the only people who could truly provide Thomas with intelligence were his original accomplices.

It turned out that Thomas was right not to directly contact those traitors; otherwise, they would never have been able to return to the Dark Kingdom.

"It's alright, we anticipated this from the beginning, otherwise we wouldn't have secretly arranged for our companions to go there."

Debbie seemed thoughtful. Time and environment can often change a person, especially in a dark country like the "immigrant nation" of Dark Country. It is not surprising that people lose their sense of belonging.

After all, the cataclysmic event fifteen years ago was truly earth-shattering, and even now, when Debbie and the others recall it, they feel a chill run down their spines.

Putting yourself in their shoes, the fact that those dispatched spies' faith collapsed because of that disaster and they eventually surrendered can only be considered their fate.

"So, what intelligence did you obtain there?"

Debbie had sensed it not long ago that Thomas and Cozmo's return hadn't been in a good mood from the start.

"First of all, the true strength of the Kingdom of Ross is probably more than ten times stronger than we imagine. According to our inside source, there are currently four main forces in the Kingdom of Ross. The first force is the royal family, led by King Kayara Nyasto of the Kingdom of Ross. His capable assistants are mainly the pillar god Leragin and a large number of ancient artifacts that have survived from prehistoric times."

Pillar God Leragin—this is a name that Thomas and his friends are extremely familiar with. This guy was once their enemy; it's truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road.

"The second force is the Chaos Order, led by its leader, Ann Gnath. Under his command is an extremely large number of Abyss Gods, exceeding five figures. As for Ann Gnath's identity, I think everyone knows, and it is also worth noting that there are rumors that Ann Gnath is very likely to be at the level of a Creator."

In other words, they are above the gods of the present world and belong to an existence beyond the norm!

What's even more suffocating is that this very person is their master, Karen Elf's mortal enemy, burdened with a blood feud.

"A third-party force, the floating continent above the Kingdom of Ross, has now given birth to a large number of dragons. These dragons are directly ruled by the Dragon God Regius and the Dragon God Kassania. The dragon forces are under the jurisdiction of the Chaos Creator, forming an ironclad defense with the Kingdom of Ross, which can be said to be completely unsolvable."

Thomas had heard his master mention information about the Dragon God Reggios and the Dragon God Cassanea before; in any case, it was a tragic love affair.

"There is one last force, the Second Apostle, Nyarlathotep, who has been confirmed to be affiliated with the Creator of Chaos. He is currently leading a large-scale demon army in a war against the United Kingdom of Kazan. It is said that the Second Apostle has only one demand for a ceasefire: the United Kingdom of Kazan must cede half of its territory, either through a peaceful transfer or through a bloody plunder."

The United Kingdom of Kazan is, after all, one of the superpowers of the Eastern Continent. Although a large number of gods are trapped in the Celestial Realm, it doesn't mean that this country will swallow this insult.

The result was that after five years of war, the country was gradually eroded through defeats day after day.

It is said that the Second Apostle Nyarlathotep, fearing that the United Kingdom of Kazan would unleash its trump card prematurely, resulting in mutual destruction, has recently begun to gradually reduce its military strength after nibbling away at a quarter of the United Kingdom of Kazan's territory, shifting from offense to defense.

"A quarter of the territory of the United Kingdom of Kazan, combined with the original territory of the Kingdom of Ross, means that if our country were to actually engage in conflict with them now, we would have no chance of winning."

Thomas made his judgment.

In fact, not only is there no chance of winning now, but there was no chance of winning even 15 years ago.

Fifteen years ago, the only visible forces in the Kingdom of Ross were the royal family and the Chaos Order, with an unfathomable Chaos Creator in charge. The predecessor of the royal family's power was a mysterious assassin organization called the "Ross Royal Family." This organization was not just composed of the demigod Leragin, who was causing trouble outside; its foundation, spanning tens of thousands of years, was of unknown depth.

At that time, the high-ranking officials of the Dark Kingdom held a meeting overnight, and the final conclusion was that even if they used all the power of the Dark Kingdom, they might not be able to wipe out the Kingdom of Ross.

Even the superpower, the United Kingdom of Kazan, which is right next to the Kingdom of Ross, is helpless, let alone the Dark Kingdom, which is thousands of miles away.

Because they had no chance of winning, the Dark Kingdom implemented various reform and development measures, intending to grow to a point where it could rival them in the future.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The subsequent catastrophe that changed the entire world situation, coupled with the changes in people's hearts, caused the Dark Kingdom's development to deviate from the plan.

At the very least, the revenge plan against the Kingdom of Ross was put on the list of plans to be cancelled as early as ten years ago, and the reason it has not been implemented for so long is because of the will of the country's supreme leader.

"Should these be reported to Her Majesty the Queen truthfully?"

Debbie's expression was grave. She had realized the seriousness of this information, because Thomas's statement that the Kingdom of Ross was ten times stronger than the Dark Kingdom was actually a polite way of putting it.

The power gap between the two nations is no longer simply tenfold; the Dark Kingdom might even be thankful that the Kingdom of Ross didn't directly launch a war against it.

After all, having a powerful apostle in charge means that although we need to go through the baptism of the Crimson Night Torrent, we don't need to be too afraid of the "God-Slaying Tide," which is a huge advantage.

“It is necessary to report the truth. After that, I will visit Lady Violet and the others to see what they think. Our Lord has been missing for so many years. Although the reason given to us by Lord Slime is that they have returned to their own world, I always feel that it is not that simple.”

Thomas wasn't a fool; he believed in something temporarily but not forever. "It's not that I don't trust Lord Slime, but if Lord Slime's initial purpose was simply to appease us followers, and in reality, our lord and the others all met with misfortune, and their enemy was the Kingdom of Ross, then what should we do next?"

After so many years, Thomas, Cozmo, and Debbie, as True Name Followers with high intelligence, all knew what was going on.

In that situation, if the first Servant, the Slime, had collapsed directly, the 30,000 followers left behind in this world would likely have faced a massive self-destruction crisis.

A long silence fell over the three attendants, who all felt an unusual sense of oppression.

"If things continue like this, the first line of defense left by Lady Trish will eventually break down, and then a large number of people will probably die."

This is Debbie's response.

The greater good must prevail; everyone is caught in the middle, even if they carry the deepest grudges.

“Sigh,” Thomas knew his accomplice would say that, he sighed and didn’t continue the topic. “Cozmo and I will rest first, and then head to the capital tomorrow night to report on the matter.”

“Oh, right,” Debbie suddenly remembered something and called out to Thomas and Cozmo, who were getting up, “avoid conflict with those in power. In the current situation, we are still useful to them, and they need us too. Just maintain a certain level of understanding between us.”

"I understand, it's just a simple report."

It was only a matter of time before they parted ways. Putting aside others, if these followers of the witch Kallen Elf ever really couldn't think straight, they would all rush to the Kingdom of Ross and end their lives in revenge.

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

The elves Rebecca and Susan, stationed on the border wall, looked at the slowly swirling vortex in the sky, a hint of fear appearing on their faces.

"Strange, why is the falling of the heavenly stars lasting so long tonight?"

"I'm used to this kind of thing," said Susan the fairy. "I just feel that something is really wrong tonight."

Normally, the "falling star" phenomenon lasts for less than an hour, but tonight it has already lasted for two hours.

Although no more objects were falling into the vortex, it remained suspended in the air, refusing to close.

"I don't know, it's hard to say what will happen in the future."

The elf Rebecca also looked up at the sky, but she was more worried about the condition of the first line of defense than the Gates of Heaven in the sky.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Rebecca realized that something must have fallen into the enormous vortex, and the entire vortex burst open in all directions, once again engulfing the entire sky in boundless darkness.

Minutes later, a deafening roar shattered the stillness of the night, erupting in a residential area on the southern border.

"problem occurs!"

After a brief commotion, Rebecca shouted, "Silence!"

"Susan, the border security is your responsibility. We absolutely cannot allow the Crimson Torrent to breach the first line of defense! Deputy Marshall, immediately dispatch twenty men to come with me!"

The incredibly calm Rebecca made a decisive move, quickly leading a group of elite elves away from the towering border walls and heading straight for the scene of the incident in the residential area.

It was around 8 p.m., and the entire southern border was brightly lit. If it weren't for the shocking events that had just occurred, the streets would probably still be deserted.

"what happened?"

"I don't know, shall we go and take a look?"

One by one, humans, elves, orcs, soldiers of all kinds of intelligent races walked out of the room, all looking at the scene of the incident. A considerable number of the bolder ones had already begun to surround the area.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Rebecca, bursting with astonishing speed, traversed an incredibly long distance in a minute and arrived at the scene of the incident.

She slowed her pace, and all the soldiers who saw her approaching made way for her.

What they saw ahead was what appeared to be a large activity area in a residential area. The entire area was now filled with dust and smoke, and a huge crater had been created by some strange object, with scattered rubble all around the crater.

"Squeak-"

The sound of flesh writhing came from the depths of the giant pit, followed by several strange thuds, indicating that some strange creature had crawled out.

"woman?"

Enveloped in smoke were three strangely familiar female figures, the tallest and most voluptuous of whom had a pair of unusual antler-like outlines on her head.

Chapter 4 The Strange Lost Land

I was in a hazy, dreamlike state, having gone through countless long years, as if I were in eternity.

I was suddenly awakened to an utterly profound darkness, and the sound of howling wind filled my ears.

"..."

Li Lan was stunned for a few seconds. Only when all the thoughts in his mind gradually cleared did he realize with shock that he was in the air and was falling wildly.

"Isn't it?"

I experienced this once when I returned to Earth, but now that I've returned to this other world, am I going to experience the same high-altitude fall again?

Unable to stop his descent, and unfortunately, Li Lan had no foothold in the air. He could only wave his bare arms slightly, trying to adjust his falling posture.

Of course, this is useless; falling from that height is basically a death sentence.

In the blink of an eye, a sudden pain spread wildly across Li Lan's back. Before losing consciousness again, he only heard a loud bang, mixed with the crisp sound of flesh and blood bursting apart, which made his scalp tingle.

On her first day back in the other world, Li Lan, a goddess-level witch, tragically died once. Even more tragically, this time, she seems to have been separated from all her companions...

Resurrection doesn't actually take too long.

When she regained consciousness, Li Lan's body had already healed through wriggling movements and she quickly returned to normal.

After shaking hands, a long-lost power began to surge from within her body, and her open natal magic book radiated a soft glow. This meant that Li Lan had completely broken free from her shackles and once again possessed all the power of a max-level witch.