Miss Witch, please don't leave your fragrance everywhere

Edward rubbed his painful wrist and couldn't help complaining to Angelica that her strength was too abnormal. Experienced teams can complement each other, and the same is true for magician teams. The power of a tacit magician team is definitely not as simple as 1+1=2. But facing Angelica, they only fought a few moves before being easily defeated by Angelica.

Edward and the others were unwilling to admit it in their hearts, but they all knew one fact: in front of Angelica, they were like unarmed commoners facing the chief magician of the kingdom's court, with no power to resist; the reason they were able to fight back a few moves was purely because Angelica was in a playful mood, and their defeat was doomed the moment Angelica got tired of playing.

In fact, Edward was just complaining. He felt that Angelica wouldn't tell him, so there might be some trick in it.

"It's very simple. The global blockade of Temperance Sequence 1 determines that I can insert the calculation before your magic takes effect. The Sands of Time of Horologium Sequence 1 can stop time. The rest is to find a countermeasure in the field of stopped time."

Angelica's method is simple and boring. The global blockade allows Angelica to chant first and then take effect. The Sands of Time is a magic that Angelica inserted into the calculation. It stops time before the magicians' magic takes effect, and then slowly selects countermeasures. Therefore, the so-called immunity to the poison fog and escape from being buried alive in the pit are nothing more than Angelica using time to stop taking the antidote first and escaping.

From the magicians' perspective, it looked like Angelica did nothing because she accomplished everything in a realm where time stood still.

“Sequence One…!”

Edward, Emily and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. If she could use Sequence One magic, their defeat would be explained. Magicians all knew that high-sequence magic had absolute suppression over low-sequence magic in terms of power. Since Angelica could use Sequence One magic, there was no way they could defeat Angelica.

There was no conversation along the way, but fortunately the journey was not far. Not long after, Edward and others brought Angelica to the deepest part of the forest. Unexpectedly, there were some scattered huts here.

In the open space in the center of the hut, there stood a skeleton that showed no signs of life but could move freely. He was dressed as a human magician, and the wizard's robe was particularly new, as if someone often took care of it.

Emily stepped forward and said respectfully.

"We are back, and we have brought your guest back with us...Father."

"Well, my good children, you have worked hard, go and have a rest."

The lich nodded slightly. His tone was not vicious and was no different from that of a human wizard.

Lich Albert, one of Angelica's old friends.

"They call you father?"

Angelica was a little confused, this was not Emily's habit. There were elderly people and young girls in the magician team, and they all called Albert father.

But the body of a lich is already a skeleton, no matter whether it was male or female in life, there is no gender difference after death. Of course, a lich does not have the ability to curse a girl to make her pregnant, at most it can only curse the fetus that is already in the belly.

Liches can never have descendants, as they themselves are people who sold their souls for a longer life.

"Yes. I have to state in advance that I did not brainwash them."

"I can see that they all admire you from the bottom of their hearts."

"Oh? I thought you were going to say, you know I'm not that kind of person."

"You were in the past. But liches are a race that will degenerate over time."

"You're still as harsh as before... But knowing that you came here for this, I feel relieved."

The lich Albert was probably smiling bitterly, but unfortunately the skeleton's face had no facial nerves, so it was impossible to judge the lich's facial expression and could only be inferred from the tone of voice.

The lich Albert invited Angelica to sit down. There was an open space in the middle of the hut similar to that used for bonfire parties, and there were some seats made of horizontal tree trunks placed next to it. Edward, Emily and others were busy with their own things. At this time, Angelica found that there were two or three children in the hut. They were still young and had not learned magic very well, so they did not participate in blocking Angelica.

"It has been more than a hundred years since we last met. What happened to you during this period? Why do they call you father?"

"You have so many doubts. Why not take some time out in a hundred years to visit me once."

"No, the bed at home is so comfortable."

"Haha... You haven't changed at all. Let me answer your last question first. I opened an orphanage in the mountains. They are all children raised by me, a lich, so they call me father."

87 Miss Witch and the Avengers

A hundred years ago, Gardelegen was not as prosperous as it is today.

Galdelegen is nominally an earldom, but its operation is different from other traditional earldoms. Instead, the ruler is elected by the citizens. Of course, commoners are not eligible to participate in the election, but they have the right to vote and can cast their precious votes for the family they favor.

To this end, the noble families make some promises after they are elected in every five-year election. Citizens feel that this is an advanced system that allows people to no longer be subject to unilateral rule and have their own say. Having said that, if the ruler cannot be re-elected, the new ruler will sometimes overturn the policies of the predecessor. After all, what does the national policy of the previous election have to do with my current one?

His successor at that time promised to implement benevolent policies before being elected. In that era when the crime of stealing could result in the loss of one's hands, the benevolent policies that almost abolished the death penalty were particularly popular among citizens.

But during that period, a serious case occurred in Gardelegen.

An old woman was killed by three teenagers, who tortured her cruelly before she died. The teenagers had no grudge against the old woman, and they did it just for fun. Before this vicious case, they had extorted children from the same village more than once.

However, the ruler of Galdelegen promised that there would be no death penalty during his term. In this era, most countries only have one chance to judge a case. In other words, there is no second trial. The chance of trial is only once. Generally, conflicts between families will not go to court, but will be handed over to the village governor for judgment.

They generally feel that a single trial can better demonstrate the sanctity of the gavel than a false or wrongful conviction.

Against this background, the three criminal teenagers were only 14 years old at the oldest and 11 years old at the youngest. They were considered to have the possibility of reformation, so they were neither sentenced to death nor imprisoned indefinitely.

The old woman was a kind person. She adopted a homeless child, and that homeless child was Albert.

"…So, you decided to take revenge on them."

"Galderagen's law has forgiven them, but I will not forgive them. I must send them to hell with my own hands."

"It's difficult. They are imprisoned in the most secure prison in Gardelegen. You can't break into the prison and kill them alone."

Ironically, what was originally a place to hold criminals has now become a shelter for Albert to protect his enemies.

Albert had been an adventurer in foreign lands for many years and had accumulated some connections, but attacking a prison in an earldom was tantamount to being hostile to the country, which was not something that could be accomplished by simply using connections.

"So you found me, expecting me to help you get revenge?"

In front of Albert's bed, the witch tilted her head. Among Albert's acquaintances, only the witch could break through the prison of Galdelegen alone.

Albert denied it flatly.

"No... This is the only thing I must do myself. But I don't think I will live to see them leave the prison."

Albert was seriously injured more than once during his adventures, and his physical condition was far worse than that of middle-aged people of the same age. Although he could enjoy his old age with the savings from his adventures, the targets of Albert's revenge were too young. They were only in their thirties when they left prison. Albert had a lot of health problems, and he felt that he could not live for twenty years.

"I hope you can let me complete my revenge after death. You are the only one I know who can do it."

"Unfortunately, even though I'm a genius and beautiful magician, I can't resurrect the dead. Unless... you mean to sacrifice your soul."

"That's exactly what I need. Tell me the ritual of selling my soul and becoming a lich. For revenge, I will become an ugly monster no matter how ugly it is."

……

"We never saw each other again after that."

Angelica recalls the last time they met.

"How was it? Was the revenge successful?"

"Of course I couldn't fail. After those bastards were released from prison, I killed them one by one. But after I completed my revenge, I suddenly didn't know what to do."

It was not the endless emptiness after revenge that Albert felt, but the unprecedented joy of killing his enemy with his own hands. However, in order to take revenge, Albert sold his soul and became a lich. He had no interest in studying magic. When Albert completed his revenge, the limitation of the lich's long life that was of no benefit to Albert became apparent.

"I choose to live in seclusion in the mountains, waiting for the day when I go completely crazy, until the church sends the paladins to defeat me."

"So these children you raised...?"

"They are children who were abandoned in the forest."

The lich Albert replied calmly. This was also a surprise for Albert.

"This forest is often infested with wild animals. It is a very dangerous forest, so it has become a place where many families abandon their children."

Abandoning children is actually not an uncommon thing. Families in rural and urban areas generally have several things in common: low fetal survival rate, high risk of death during childbirth, and... no plans for family planning at all.

No matter how poor a family is, they will not consider whether they can afford to raise so many children. Therefore, once the family's ability to raise children is exceeded, they will choose to abandon some children without hesitation, which is one of the reasons why there are so many street children. Some families who can't bear it will try to find a family willing to adopt them, or send the children to the church to ask for help from the priest, but more will choose to send the children to the forest and treat them as if they never had this child.

"Most of them are weak and will have difficulty surviving without help. I have become a lich and have no way to go to the town for help. In the end, I can only try to save them myself."

The lich Albert's gaze fell in a certain direction. Angelica looked over there and found that there was a small cemetery nearby with many graves. The lich Albert could not save everyone, and many people died during the period. Despite this, he still tried his best to save every abandoned life.

"I see... Even though you've become a lich, you're still human at heart."

Angelica understood the lich Albert's thoughts. For the children who were successfully adopted by Albert, the lich Albert was their real relative. Compared to their biological parents who abandoned them without any memory, they were more willing to give the lich who took them in a truly respectful name -

Father.

88 Countdown to the Mad Lich

That night, the orphanage held a big party to welcome the father's friends.

Edward and Emily served as hosts and held various celebratory ceremonies in front of the bonfire. They said that their father's friends had never visited them before, so this experience was very novel.

"I have a question, Albert."

"Oh?"

"Everyone who stays here is a magician? You taught them well."

Angelica and Albert chatted while enjoying the magicians' performance.

"But the magical talents of several young children are not very good. There should have been children with mediocre magical talents before, right?"

"I sent them all away. I hope that every child can return to human society, but these accomplished magicians are reluctant to leave. A long time ago, I was discovered by a traveler who accidentally strayed into the deep forest, so everyone in the town knew that there was a lich living here. For decades, the people in the town have repeatedly sent people to fight me, but they were all repelled."

Due to the terrain advantage and the large number of magicians, no team has been able to see the lich for decades. However, because of the past confrontations with invaders, the magicians believe that once they leave, their father, Albert, will definitely be killed by the invaders.

"No matter how I persuaded them, they refused to move. They are such silly kids. Edward and Emily should have been married long ago. Their talents would have been very useful in any position, but they are willing to stay here."

Albert looked at the group of people who were as close as brothers and sisters around the campfire. Angelica couldn't tell from Albert's expression, but Angelica felt that Albert must be proud of these children in his heart.

Angelica was hosted as a guest in an orphanage in the deep forest for a few days. During her stay in the orphanage in the deep forest, she was able to observe the lives of these people who were almost isolated from the world.

The lich Albert was taken care of like an elderly elder in the family. Magic could solve many inconveniences in the isolated life, but sometimes he still had to go to the town to buy things. In order not to be discovered or followed, the magicians would use magic to transform into small animals first, and then transform back when approaching the town.

Life in the orphanage is not prosperous, and the magicians work hard to make the environment here better. According to the oldest magician himself, it was not like this when he first came to the orphanage, because liches do not get sick and have no requirements for the living environment.

In order to adopt and take care of the children, the lich Albert had to build a large-scale building and use his bones to study how to make the meals delicious. Fortunately, the lich Albert knew some magic to increase the temperature, otherwise it would be difficult for Albert's cold body to provide warmth for the children in the snowy winter.

“No wonder you are willing to stay and protect Albert.”

In her spare time, Angelica asked Edward and Emily about Albert's experiences over the past few decades, and after listening to them, she made such an exclamation.

"People in the town are unwilling to understand father. They think liches are evil people."

"We won't let anyone hurt our father... He is our most important family member."

Edward and Emily's views were also shared by the other wizards who volunteered to stay. They knew the identity of the witch Angelica and were very happy that their father had a friend still alive.

Time passed quickly, and seven days later, Angelica planned to say goodbye and leave.

Albert and the magicians saw the witch off. Angelica had no extra luggage. She only carried a wand when she came and when she left.

So... when it comes time to express your attitude in the end, just hold the magic wand horizontally and show a hostile attitude.

"My Lord Witch, what do you mean?"

"You guys are really forgetful. Didn't I tell you? I accepted a commission, and the request was that I be the one to defeat the secluded lich."

"But, but you are not father's friend?"

"We are indeed friends, but being friends and me wanting to attack him are two different things."

Seeing Angelica's casual attitude, Edward, Emily and others felt angry that they were fooled. During the week Angelica stayed here, they tried their best to treat Angelica as a senior, but no one expected that Angelica would say such words before leaving.

Angelica sighed. The magicians were on high alert and surrounding the lich Albert, but she didn't feel panicked at all.

"I say... you are magicians, right? You really can't see that? Albert has reached his limit."

"...!"

Several magicians with little knowledge were still confused. Edward and Emily, who were the backbone of the team, had unnatural changes in their expressions when they heard Angelica's comments.

"Even if you become a lich, your mind can still maintain a human mentality, but humans choose to refuse to accept liches, not just because of xenophobia. The condition for becoming a lich is to sacrifice your soul, get a longer life, and a body that will not get sick, hungry, or tired. But there is no free lunch in the world."

There are so many benefits to becoming a lich, but what is the cost?

"Lich is different from me who has become a Beyonder. Although they will not die of old age, their souls are destined to be corrupted. Their end will be to be conquered, or to fall into madness and then be conquered. By then, no matter how pure their hearts are or how much they love the people around them, they will become indiscriminate killing monsters."

"That's enough! I won't allow you to insult my father! My father was never a monster!"

Edward stopped Angelica from continuing her story with a loud scolding.

This is why the lich is notorious. Its existence is destined to make the lich unable to be a good person. The lich is destined to usher in a mad monster, and this change can be either transformation over time or its soul can be completely burned out. Albert's situation belongs to the latter. He is still like an elegant sage, but his soul is on the verge of exhaustion.

In this case, he would be like a spring compressed to its limit, turning into the most terrifying killing machine. As kind and gentle as Albert was before, the crazy Albert would be as cruel and ruthless.

"Love, brother Edward! Is what she said true?"

A young magician wavered and asked Edward for confirmation.

"That's fake! She just wants to kill my father and get the damn reward..."

"--No, child, Angelica is telling the truth."