Release That Witch

Chapter 234: [The Door]

quot;This… how on earth did you do this?” Thunder’s mouth was agape in amazement.

The walls were dotted with dozens of holes. Each hole was positioned in a piece of stone and emitted a pure white light. Moreover, even on the edge of the ceiling there was a circle of this amazing Stone of Light. They could see every detail of the hall under this soft light.

It was the first time that Ashes had seen the explorer make such an expression. She could not help but feel pleased. “Didn’t you know? When a witch forces power into the Magic Stone, it can stimulate the extra ability.”

“Are these Magic stones?”

Thunder carefully picked up a piece of glowing stone. Holding it in his hands, even without the holes, its light did not diminish in the slightest.

“I don’t know.” Tilly shook her head. “These stones may have been glowing here for hundreds of years, if the relics had such a long history. They were all hidden behind the slates, so nobody could find them. Only witches can operate this special switch.”

“You didn’t light them up?”

“No, they can glow on their own.” Tilly grabbed a piece of the Magic stone, closing her eyes. The white light reflected on her beautiful features. “If it’s a device that requires magic to keep it going, it would be impossible to take it down so easily, just like candlelight can’t easily leave a candle. The holes in the wall are only the positions of the Stone of Light, they’re nothing special.”

“Assuming you’re right, and they can be luminous on their own, and continually bright for hundreds of years, then their value is simply immeasurable,” Thunder said, “The snow crystal produced in the Kingdom of Everwinter, isn’t half as bright as this. A piece the size of a fist can be sold for hundreds of gold royals.”

When the sailors heard this, they all stared at the stones. The expression in their eyes suddenly changed.

“As we agreed, you can take half of them,” Tilly said vaguely. This was not her focus. Now that there was plenty of light, she could explore the hall more carefully. Ashes did not want her to pull down the seaweed with her hands, so she simply picked up the sword, and cut all of it from the wall. Soon they found the second hidden Magic Stone.

Tilly poured her magic power into it in the same way. Accompanied by the crisp sound of a metal crash, everyone was surprised to see a huge slate appear above Tilly’s head. Both sides were held by copper cords, it appeared to be a ladder. The bottom of the slate slowly fell to the ground, the other side led to the top of the ceiling. When Ashes looked up, she saw a metal door at the end of the channel.

“Tilly,” seeing Princess Tilly go up the stairs on her own without any hesitation, Ashes could not help saying, “let me go first.”

“Go ahead, this isn’t a treasure land.” She climbed to the top of the stone ladder, holding a Magic Stone next to the door. The metal door opened quickly.

Seeing Tilly enter through the door and disappear into the ceiling, Ashes had no choice but to keep up with her. She kept her sword in her hand.

Ashes could not help staring at the ceiling. She saw that there was a room much smaller than the hall, and the wall in the room was embedded with the Stone of Light just like the wall below. What surprised her more, was that there was no water damage.

There was a wooden table, a chair, a bookshelf, and a cabinet. All the furnishings were intact, covered with thick dust, and one could even see a broken spider web. A row of books was neatly placed on the bookshelf. Everything was covered in gray dust. An old book sat open on the table, as well as a cup, a kettle and a penholder. The quill pen was merely a pole, and the ink had long dried up. Compared to the hall which was full of algae and shells, this room seemed to belong to another world.

Thunder climbed up thirdly, then looked around after pouring cold lump. ‘here is…’

“It’s an abandoned residence,” said Tilly. She opened the book on the table, patted the dust, and read it page by page. “Someone lived here for a long time.”

“What does it say?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head and showed them the book. “I’ve never seen these words before.”

“The book on the shelf seems to be the same.” Ashes wiped the dust on the spine off with her finger. The words contained strange wavy lines, and no one could comprehend their meaning.

“We can take it back and examine it,” Tilly laughed and said, “and according to our agreement, the books and the Magic Stones belong to me.”

“Of course,” Thunder said, touching his beard, “but I hope that when you find something out about this place, you can share this old story with me.”

“No problem.”

…

The three of them searched the second floor carefully and soon had a general idea of the place.

They did not find any new Magic Stones, but on the other side of the room they found something strange. At first glance, it looked like a thick metal pipe—one side was embedded into the stone wall, and the other side shrunk gradually to the size of a wrist. At the end, there was a glass lens.

“What’s this?” Ashes knocked on the pipe, and a series of crisp echoes came out from it. Apparently, the middle was hollow.

“It looks like a telescope for sailing, maybe the people living here used it to observe the outside world.” Thunder brought it closer to her eyes for a better look. “You can’t see anything through it. Perhaps it’s broken.”

“I’m not sure.” Tilly pointed to the wall behind the metal pipe. “Look there.”

Ashes looked in the direction Tilly pointed, and saw a copper board with a handle on the wall. There was a small hole below the handle, it appeared to be a keyhole. Princess Tilly went over and tried to pull the handle. The board did not budge. “It’s locked.”

“Let me try.” Ashes held the handle and pulled hard. The entire copper board suddenly fell from the wall.

“Ha, you’re right.” Thunder applaud. “It’s also a Magic Stone switch.”

A huge Magic Stone was stuck in a groove behind the copper board. It was different from the former two, looking much larger and slightly purple.

“Do you want to activate it?” Ashes asked.

“Yes.” Tilly nodded her head without hesitation. She held the stone with her two hands, but nothing changed.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s too big,” she said, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead, “I can feel it’s absorbing magic power constantly. It seems that the installation behind it is huge.”

“How about you forget it,” Ashes said frowning. She knew that once the magic power exhausted, the witch would likely go directly into a coma. Spending all her magic power in such a dangerous place was clearly not a good idea.

“No, it’s almost finished, I can feel it.” The words had barely left her lips when a thunderous crash came from the wall and the whole room began to shake.

“Is this… an earthquake?” Thunder held the metal pipe to prevent himself from falling down. Ashes seized Tilly into her arms at once. Dust had fallen down, and everyone was coughing.

The vibration lasted nearly 15 minutes, and then gradually calm was restored.

Molly leaned out from the stairs. “What just happened?”

“A new installation,” said Ashes, “is everything okay downstairs? ”

“Everyone was freaking out, and some parts of the roof collapsed, but fortunately, I used magic power to cover them.” The little girl walked closer to her and asked, “Lady Tilly, what’re you looking at?”

To her surprise, Tilly did not answer her, her eyes were focused on the end of the metal pipe. After a long time, she sighed. “It is simply incredible…”

Curious, Ashes came forward to look. What she saw was so shocking that she could not speak.

At the other end of the “telescope” emerged a vast land, the edge of which seemed like a cliff, so deep that you could not see the end. A huge stone arch stood in the middle of the cliff, and the door was deep and dark like an enormous mouth that could eat anyone.

Chapter 235: An unexpected Letter

oland opened the letter, and handed Maggie a piece of beef jerky.

“Coo!” She took the meat and swallowed after chewing two or three times, and then she obediently groveled on the table, burying her head in her feathers.

“Nice to hear from you, my dear brother, or ‘Roland Wimbledon Your Highness.'”

[I have received your letter, for your opinion, I deeply agree. I’m not clear about why you suddenly changed your temper since you were once a playboy. But now you are even willing to help the witches. Since you have done so, the church becomes our common enemy. ]

“You may already know that I’ve become a witch, which is why they’re willing to believe me. While you’re a prince, a real noble, it’s quite incredible for you to have gained the trust of so many witches. Since I heard your news, I’ve often wondered how you were able to manage this? If you were using the witches as a tool like other nobles, it would be impossible to get the recognition of Ashes and she would not have chosen to let Maggie stay in Border Town.”

“In addition, I’m also very interested in what Maggie mentioned about the steam engine, as well as the theory of promoting our ability with knowledge, especially the latter. I hope to have the opportunity to talk to you in detail.”

” As for your invitation, I’ve thought carefully, and found that I have no reason to refuse. The establishment of an alliance requires trust and effort, and if we’re all hesitant and timid, then only the church will benefit. So, I’ll list most of the assistant witches in Sleeping Island along with their ability in a form, and include it with my letter. You can choose the ability you need most and notify me through Maggie. If everything goes well, they’ll depart next month for your territory. For security reasons, it’s best that you don’t choose more than five.”

“In addition, please provide a reliable transfer program, and protect every witch when they’re on their way. The loss of any witch would be a major loss for Border Town and Sleeping Island, and it would cast a shadow on our cooperation. I hope you’ll take care of these witches as you take care of your witches. If it’s all right, please also let them participate in the evening classes, I believe that, for us, any witch’s ability to become more powerful is good news.”

“As you mentioned, the church has shown its true colors and it’s only a matter of time before they take over the four kingdoms. I hope that when the day comes, you’ll be ready for it. If it’s too difficult to resist, then Sleeping Island will be your harbor. And of course, I’ll assist you with everything I’ve obtained during the church’s invasion.”

“Finally, I hope that we can end the oppression of the church and build a new order—a new kingdom, in this kingdom, not only witches but also everyone will never be persecuted.”

“Your sister, Tilly Wimbledon.”

Roland put down the letter, with indescribable pleasure in his heart. He smiled and put the letter away. He took out a piece of beef jerky and gave it to Maggie.

She immediately stretched out her head and pecked at the food. “Coo, coo!”

He touched the smooth feathers on her neck and she squinted her eyes warmly.

“You’ve had a long day. Lightning went to the king’s city with the sailing platoon, and it should be a few days before she comes back,” Roland smiled and said, “you can go play with Nana or Leaf, or take a bath and have a good night’s rest.”

“Coo, coo!” Maggie lifted her wings, and then jumped from the table, flew out the window, and soon disappeared.

Roland realized that she just said that she was not tired and would go play with them. Although speaking in the pigeon state, he could understand what she had said.

Was this the power of habit?

Anyway, he had never imagined that Tilly would actually agree with his invitation, and even never mind provide a list of the witches’ abilities. What a treasure! Although the letter did not state how long they could stay, it would take at least half a year to finish the primary education course. If he added “A Hundred Thousand Whys”, the course would extend to a year. How many changes could these witches bring to Border Town in that time?

The benefits of their evolution were far greater than the disadvantages—if they stayed in the town, they would promote the development of efficiently, even if when they returned back to the Sleeping Island, it was also a lively publicity. With these switches’ words, more and more witches would be willing to go to Border Town, and Tilly could not stop this trend. Roland believed that, compared with the inducement or coercion, sincereness was the real long-term plan.

In general, the surprise brought to him by this letter was far greater than he expected. Her enlightened and positive attitude made him have a feeling of meeting a super hero partner. Thus in the fight against the church, he was no longer alone. As for the safe shuttle route, he considered properly a long time ago—to avoid Port of Clearwater and Seawindshire, directly landed from the uninhabited bund at the edge of Border Town in the south. After arriving in the mountain area, they could take the hot air balloon to over the mountain, directly access to the hinterland of the town, and they would not care about the church, the forces of Timothy or Garcia in the whole process.

The more he thought, the more Roland felt excited. He eased his strong impulsion to immediately browse the appendix to choose the witch. He focused on the matter which had to be done now—after all, the witches from Sleeping Island would come in next month, and now the most important problem in Border Town was the housing construction.

Since the First Army had gone to the king’s city, the fugitives from the other side had been escaping to the town continually. In order to prevent the recurrence of demonic plague, Roland had arranged them in the city wall of the Western Region. They had put up a long string of wooden sheds for them to live in. With the addition of the serfs who were farming along Redwater River, the total number of the two groups would be more than 8,000. This figure would likely break 10,000 once the fugitives arrived.

It was possible to supply food to these people. After all, since the Months of Demons, there had been no interruption to the food supply in Border Town. The accommodation, however, was clearly a big problem. It was summer now, so living in simple wooden sheds would be okay for them, if it could shelter them from rain and sunshine. The only issue was that there were many mosquitos and insects. But once winter came, the wooden sheds would be almost the same as being out in the open air. The temperature inside the sheds would be the same as the temperature outside. If he did not move them into brick houses, it was likely that most people would not make it through the long winter. In other words, Border Town needed housing for at least 10,000 people within six months.

Roland spread out a piece of paper and began to write.

He intended to move some of the workers who were building the Kingdom Main Street road to the housing construction. After all, a delay of 10 to 15 days to finish the road would not create any problems. But if people in his territory froze to death, it would be a stain on his accomplishments. Even when he had first arrived here, when faced with no money or aid, still nobody had frozen or starved to death during the first Months of Demons. And now he had the Witches Union and the steam engine, as well as considerable income and staff. He could not allow such a thing happen.

Carter entered the office.

“Your Highness, I have bad news,” he said, looking serious, “your chemical lab just exploded.”

Chapter 236: The Chemical Accident

fter Roland arrived at the lab on Redwater River, he soon found that the damage was not as serious as he had imagined. The main lab where acid was prepared had remained intact with only two of the glass windows broken in half.

“Your Highness, please help our mentor. He’s heavily hurt and dying.”

Upon Roland’s appearance, a crowd of anxious students tried to gather around him, only to be stopped by the guards. Roland made a hand movement, signaling everyone to calm down for a moment. “Where’s he now? Let me have a look first.” Then he turned to Carter, asking in a low voice. “Where’s Nana?”

“I’ve asked someone to send for her. She’ll come soon.”

“Good.”

Roland nodded and entered the lab with his guards.

Kyle Sichi lay on the ground with blood trailing off from his body in a manner that suggested he might have been dragged to the main lab from the accident site. His face was smeared with blood and pus, which should have been caused by the sputtering strong acid during the explosion and a few fingers were gone from his hands, leaving white bones visible.

The students had given him some first aid. It seemed that they had gone through similar accidents in Redwater City, and so they could perform the procedures of taking the injured person away from the accident site, stopping the bleeding and seeking help in a proper fashion. However, the injury would have been incurable if it were only treated with herbs and left for self-recovery as usual.

Roland asked his men to guard the door and wait for Nana while he and Carter sought to retrieve the chief alchemist’s fingers. Otherwise, even if the little girl cured him, it would be impossible for him to continue the chemical experiments. That would also mean a great loss for Border Town.

“It looks as if it a storm has hit,” Carter held his nose and said, “and it smells so bad, so strange!”

“It’s the smell of nitrogen dioxide.” Roland glanced around the small room that had its windows all thrown open. They were unlikely to be poisoned by the remaining gas. The glass bottles on laboratory rig were all shattered, acid water trickled down and formed tiny streams on the ground.

“Remember to look for the fingers with tools. Never touch them with your own hands.” The prince warned. “There’re gloves in the cabinet.”

Since Soraya’s power evolved, he sent a dozen thin corrosion-resistant gloves to the labs. But he could tell from the alchemist’s condition that he had performed the experiment without gloves. If he had worn gloves, they would have kept his fingers inside despite the explosion.

One item in the cabinet above the laboratory rig caught Roland’s attention. He found to his amazement, after taking it out, that the bottle with a peculiar design contained actually the white liquor sold in Convenience Market. There was no more than a half of its content left in the bottle.

Kyle went so far as to bring white liquor into the lab! It was hard to imagine that an experienced chief alchemist would drink during an experiment!

“Your Highness, Miss Nana is here!” one of the guards said.

“Okay, continue to guard the door and keep the students out.” Roland returned to the main lab while Carter kept looking for the fingers among glass fragments.

“Is it him?” Nana gradually got used to treating serious injuries. She had grown from being the little girl who did not dare to look at blood or fainted in the face of horrible wounds. She had grown a lot, both in terms of competence and courage.

“Please treat the caustic burns on his face first.” Roland nodded. “Carter’s looking for his fingers. You’ll help reattach them back to where they were.”

“There’s no need to do that.” Nana gave a small complacent smile. “I can cure such tiny injuries directly now.”

Roland was startled as he watched in a daze. Nana put her hands on the alchemist’s chest, closed her eyes and then a dramatic change immediately took place upon Kyle. Within a few seconds his face resumed its former look and his missing fingers grew back slowly. First bones, then flesh and skin, at last nails and hair. After a quarter of an hour, his fingers were completely the same as before.

At this moment, Carter came out of the side lab. “Your Highness, only three were found. I think the other finger might have been blown to pieces… Uh?”

“Since when could you do that?” Roland asked in surprise.

“Around a week or so. When I did the training on chicks, I found that I could make broken limbs grow back as long as I put enough magic power into it.” She stuck out her tongue. “I might have remembered what you said. That human body parts are composed of cells. So there must have been a loss of cells where limbs are lost. If magic power can compensate for the loss, why couldn’t they bring the lost body parts back? Then I tried it out.”

“Any body part can grow back?”

Nana shook her head. “It’s too exhausting to treat the broken limbs this way. It’s okay to make fingers grow back. Yet I can do nothing to bring back arms or shanks since my volume of magic power is far smaller than Anna’s.”

[It’s because you haven’t come to adulthood,] Roland thought to himself. Was this change a sign of her power’s evolution or was it the result of the training? He could not tell if there was any change in the characteristics of her power without Nightingale’s presence. If this change was only due to the increase in her magic power, Nana’s capacities after adulthood would certainly be exciting.

“Your Highness, he woke up,” Carter said.

“What happened… to me?” Kyle looked at his hands, both intact. He touched his face in bewilderment and began to say, “Should I…”

“You should have died from serious injuries caused by a chemical accident. But a witch has saved your life. Here’s the person who cured you of your wounds, Nana Pine.” Roland decided to tell him things about Nana, a man who came to Border Town for chemical equations could not be beyond enlightenment. Even if he detested witches, he would not go so far as to desert his work at hand to report to the church. Besides, with the presence of Lucia in Border Town, the cooperation between alchemists and witches must happen sooner or later.

“God, you’re saying this witch could cure the injury caused by alchemical… no, chemical experiments?” Kyle’s reaction was quite unexpected. “Hahaha, it couldn’t be better, Your Highness. I’ll not have to take dangers into consideration and I’ll be able to test the reactions in any way I like!”

“So what happened?” Roland was relieved. “Why did you bring white liquor into the lab?”

“No, Your Highness, it was used for the experiment,” Chief Alchemist Kyle exclaimed excitedly, “I’ve made what you asked me to experiment on.”

“You mean… mercury fulminate?”

“Yes, Your Highness, the lacking reactant is actually alcohol!” he said quickly, “I had tried dozens of chemicals without any progress before I went to the market to buy some liquor to chill out. Then it suddenly occurred to me that ‘Elementary Chemistry’ had mentioned that alcohol is an organic solvent and also an indispensable chemical in certain reactions. So I tested on distilled white liquor as a new reactant and succeeded the sixth time… In several test tubes, gray crystals were formed. I remember that I noted down the heating time and reaction temperature and took out some of them for a test, which had shown exactly the same qualities you described, pale gray needle-like crystals or powders that were extremely sensitive and violent. Just as I tried to filter all the residues in the remaining test tubes, the test tubes suddenly blew up.”

Now it occurred to Roland that mercury fulminate was usually made by adding mercury and ethanol to an excessive amount of nitric acid or made directly by the reaction between mercury nitrate and ethanol.

“Nice job.” He patted Kyle Sichi on the shoulder. “Your achievement can win you the highest honor and reward in Border Town.”

In this way, the solution to the percussion primer in a self-contained cartridge had emerged.

Chapter 237: The Invitation

oland started out on drafting the new machine as soon as he got back to the office.

With the First Army and the witches out for the king’s city, he was not unoccupied. In contrast, he found himself busier than usual despite the absence of Nightingale and the lack of private time with Anna. He had to make arrangements for the refugees that came continually by ship, supervise Anna and Lucia to determine the composition of the smelting products, and build a new smelting furnace.

In the past, iron or steelmaking depended solely on experience and intuition. There was no way to analyze the composition of the products. Now with the help of Lucia, Roland finally had an accurate determination method for metal ingot composition analysis. He can get detailed data about smelting, for example the required time for blending, the proportion of charcoal, or whether he should use additives like limestone to remove sulfur and phosphorus or add other metals to obtain alloys, through comparison with her power of decomposition.

Based on all of the data, Roland could generalize a standardized workflow for the smelting industry, which would then enable the mass production of stable-quality iron ingots or steel and solve current problems in material technology.

The new smelting furnace was being built for that exact purpose.

It was a four-meter wide and two-meter high square furnace with a tilting bottom. It had a thick foundry-iron shell covered with clay bricks on the inside and Soraya’s “earth” coating on the outside to make it extremely heat-resistant. The lower bottom had a movable valve that was pulled by a steam engine. Considering that the fancy ways of heating like blowing oxygen or using electric arcs were impracticable, the furnace was not equipped with any external combustion unit, that meant that it would completely rely on Anna’s Blackfire to produce liquid steel. After the raw materials were added according to the determined proportion and smelted, liquid steel would be directly discharged from the valve.

The furnace could produce 50 tons of liquid steel each time. Anna could finish the whole smelting process in a quarter of an hour. Including the time for adding materials and casting steel, every round of production would only take an hour. This capacity could fulfill the production needs of firearms and cannon. The blast furnaces and shaft furnaces in the little town were now responsible for producing a large amount of pig iron, which would be useful for everyday ironware, steam engines or could be further smelted as raw materials to produce wrought iron or steel.

…

Roland was about to draw a draft design for a set of bullet punch production facilities. The stable supply of steel served as a good prelude to the process and assembly of punching machines while the successful production of mercury fulminate had made the mass production of new bullets more urgent. Though Anna’s Blackfire cutting was efficient and accurate, it would still take a long time for her to complete all the procedures on her own. If a punching machine assembly line was put to use, over 30 ordinary people would be able to operate it after a short training period, and they could produce ten thousands of bullets a day. That was to say, the soldiers would then no longer need to reload the bullets manually.

After dinner, he drew until the midnight bell struck. He finally made up his mind about the big picture. Of course, the design was only conceptual and tentative. He would not know if certain details could work until the design was tested.

Roland would have yawned endlessly in his usual manner, but he was far too excited to sleep today.

He put away the drafts and from a drawer, took out a parchment from Princess Tilly and lay it on the table. He now could do what he had long awaited—he could now select the visiting witches.

The list included the powers of more than 60 auxiliary witches. According to Maggie, there were around 200 to 300 witches on Sleeping Island. It was obvious that Tilly had not included all the powers of the auxiliary witches on the list. It corresponded with the usual manner of a leader. Reaching out her hand in a friendly gesture without fully revealing her capacity. She had already shown enough sincerity to form an alliance. Roland replaced the candle and looked at the powers of the witches listed on the attachment with his full concentration.

It was a hard choice. After giving it his full consideration and careful comparison, he listed the names of five visitors.

Roland spread out a piece of paper and began to write back.

“Dear sister, I’m so glad to hear from you.”

“I’m so gratified and encouraged by the choice you made. With your aid, it would be more likely for me to stand against the attack of the church.”

“I’ve received trust and support from the witches for the same reason. In the whole Kingdom of Graycastle, only Border Town is free from the influence of the church. The natives have not only accepted witches, but also fought side by side with them against the demonic beasts and the church. My subjects and the witches have formed a united whole. Now you could see their participation everywhere in the town. The steam engine which made you curious was also realized with their help. This is a good sign. What I have to do now is to make this a common scene in the whole Western Region, and even in the whole kingdom.

“To this end, I must destroy the whole church, eliminate the statement that witches are evil and pull my people out of stupidity and ignorance. This is a hard process, and I shall need more of your help.”

“As for what made me have this decision and what made me no longer indifferent to everything like in the past, I’ll explain it in detail to you later.”

“I’m looking forward to the visit of the witches next month. Please don’t worry about safety. I’ve planned a route that goes directly to Border Town. This would make the trip totally invisible to the church and doesn’t require any stops. The only risk lies in the voyage itself. But if Maggie leads the way, the ship will be unlikely to get lost. The route will be marked out in an attached map which Maggie will bring to Sleeping Island.”

“When these witches arrive at Border Town, they could, of course, participate in the courses of primary knowledge, and such knowledge can help a witch’s powers evolve. I’m inclined to think that a deeper understanding of the world will contribute to their transformation. Whichever knowledge will do, whether knowledge of nature, magic or self, it’s all included. Undoubtedly, one more witch with an evolved power would mean a greater chance of beating the church. I totally agree with you on this point.”

“Lastly, I’ll include a list of five witches in hope of seeing them soon.”

“Terrain Modeler—Lotus.”

“State Preserver—Candle.”

“Winemaker—Evelyn.”

“Beast Tamer—Honey.”

“And Eye of Truth—Sylvie.”

“All the best, Your brother, Roland Wimbledon.”

Chapter 238: How Could I Regret?

week later, the First Army and the witches finally arrived at Border Town. It had taken more than half a month to finish this mission, which was delayed five days more than they had expected.

The main reason was that Petrov Hull, the agent of Longsong Stronghold, had reported the occurrence of an unknown epidemic that had appeared in Longsong Stronghold.

Fortunately, because Roland had reminded him before, Petrov tried his best to take quarantine measures and closed the whole town when the disease occurred. They sent word to Border Town at once.

Upon receiving the message, Roland sent Maggie east along Redwater River to find the First Army’s fleet and inform them to change their route to Longsong Stronghold at the Redwater River fork. And they could not return to the town until the plague was stamped out.

Roland led the rest of the First Army and the families of the expedition to welcome them back successfully. With the familiar military march, soldiers excitedly saluted the prince. Many of them imitated knights by getting down on one knee, and shouting hooray. After walking down to the harbor, they hugged their families tightly. At this moment, Echo made a salute sound. The atmosphere was lively and extraordinary, attracting lots of serfs and wanderers.

Iron Axe gave the prince a comprehensive report about the task.

“Do you mean that some of our enemies attacking the First Army are witches?” Roland thought a moment. “It’s not possible that Rats and their men did that.”

“Theo thinks so too. He even thinks that other powers gave the Rats the order. Normally, these pariahs rarely leave headquarters. In the king’s city, aside from Timothy, only the church is able to order the Rats and own witches,” Iron Axe said, “as the biggest underground organization, even the nobles can’t appoint them to come out of their headquarters in full strength.”

“What’s more, they appointed the witch to fight alone and Timothy was in the Eastern Region. The church is more likely to do that.” Thinking of Wendy’s and Ashes’ encounters, Roland thought it was not surprising that the church had developed a batch of witches secretly. “Are you sure she’s dead?”

“She was hit in the chest by Nightingale and shattered.” Iron Axe nodded. “We buried her corpse in the cornfield, where the sentry’s remains were found.”

A soldiers’ troop of 300 had suffered a night raid made by a large number of Rats on the last day, causing one death and four injuries. The only casualty was killed by the enemy’s witch. Four injuries were caused by the hand crossbows of the enemies who had drawn near accidentally. Because of the continuous shooting of the revolving rifles, the war was over before entering the melee stage. Their wounds were tightly strapped up. And they received timely treatment of Nana after coming back to Border Town. Because of the existence of Nana, as long as bolts missed the vitals and their wounds were not infectious, they were likely to be cured after Nana helped them stop bleeding.

In general, Roland was very satisfied with the First Army’s first warfare expedition. As for the night raid, he did not know much about arranging both converts and undercovers for keeping watch. Iron Axe would need to think it over.

“Thanks for your hard work. I’ll host an Award and Honor Ceremony in the central plaza of the town. You can tell all members of the First Army.”

After Iron Axe left, Roland let out a sigh of relief.

“Good job.” He took out a bag of dried fish from the drawer and placed it on the desk. “If it were not for you, I’m afraid they would have been in danger.”

Nightingale revealed herself and accepted the dried fish with a smile, “I told you before we left to leave everything to me.”

“How strong was the opponent?”

“She was very decisive and had a graceful skill. I’m guessing she may have been trained for several years. If I hadn’t entered my Mist the instant she turned around and tried to strike back, I might have been hit with the smoky powder.” Nightingale shrugged and briefly described the encounter. But he knew it had all been a blur to her. “I didn’t mean to kill her. But, when I saw her eyes when she stabbed Wendy, I knew that only death would stop her.”

Roland was silent for a moment. “Do you remember what you said to me when we came back from the stronghold after defeating Timothy?”

Nightingale thought for a moment. “It’s not your fault?”

“It’s true.” He nodded. “If she was adopted by the church as a child, she’ll consider you traitors and fallen people, and it would need to take years to change her mind. At least you saved Wendy and the others.”

Nightingale laughed. “Are you comforting me?”

“Um… “Roland coughed. “I think so.”

“Don’t worry. Even though she’s a witch, I can’t feel sad for enemies. The road she chose is quite different from the future I expect. I figured it out on the ship back to the stronghold.” Nightingale put a slice of dried fish into her mouth. “Taking down enemies and protecting my sisters is my duty. I just do it.”

“That’s an encouraging thought,” Roland was glad to say. It seemed he had misjudged her. He had thought she would be lost and depressed because she had killed a witch. He had not expected her to recover in such a short time. Therefore, either her mind or faith had matured.

“But I have a question to ask you.” After swallowing a filet, she hesitated for a few moments before continuing.

“What?”

“Did you do anything with Anna during these days?” Nightingale stared at the prince, her voice growing lower and lower. “You know what I mean.”

Roland nearly knocked over the cup in his hand. “Ahem. Why would you ask me that? I’ve been busy arranging for the fugitives. I have no time to spend alone with her.”

Her eyes lit up immediately. “You didn’t lie to me.”

“Of course not, I’m…”

Roland did not get to finish his sentence, but Nightingale disappeared immediately. Then he felt a soft lip touch his. The sense of touch was fleeting, only leaving the saltiness of fillets.

“Wait…”

Two slender fingers touched his mouth slightly before he spoke. Roland could not see her, but he knew she was at his side.

“I know what you want to say,” she whispered in his ear, “I don’t want to change the affection between you and Anna. I just want to stay with you. That’s all. Please forgive me. I’m afraid to reveal myself right now, and I don’t know how to face you. Your Highness, You don’t hate me, do you?”

Roland opened his mouth. It would be impossible to say that he hated her. The obstacle in his mind came from 20 years of knowledge, not just lust. At this point, he could not deceive himself.

“Even so.” She said slightly, “Don’t say anything. That wasn’t your fault. I just did what I wanted to do.”

Chapter 239: The Midnight Snack

fter dinner, Anna carried a big bag of Bird Beak Mushrooms to the kitchen.

The white mushrooms had been picked from the Misty Forest by Maggie. Different from typical mushrooms, the Bird Beak Mushrooms usually grew at the top of huge trees and survived by absorbing the tree’s nutrition. It was also the favorite food of birds. Their thick stems were smooth like tender meat, they were delicious. It was difficult to find the Bird Beak Mushrooms due to their elevated location. There were not many people willing to climb up the huge tree to harvest the mushrooms.

Her mother had always picked some Bird Beak Mushrooms on her birthdays and they celebrated her birthday with a couple of mushroom dishes. Compared to the molded coarse bread and bland oatmeal, the delicate taste of these mushrooms was simply unforgettable. Although she no longer had to worry about starvation and the meals were much fancier, she still wanted to make these two special, regional dishes and share them with the busy Prince Roland.

The stove in the kitchen had already extinguished. However, this was not a problem for Anna. She summoned Blackfire and very soon flames rose in the hearth.

At that moment, Nightingale jumped through the wall. “Uhh? What are you doing?”

“I’m making some food for His Highness. He has been staying up very late recently. What about you?”

“Haha.” Nightingale scratched the back of her head. “I’m looking for a snack… I’m a bit hungry.” She paused and peered over in curiosity. “What are you planning to make?”

“Umm… honey roasted mushrooms and mushroom soup.” Anna opened her bag and showed Nightingale the Bird Beak Mushrooms. “These dishes are a specialty in Border Town. Do you want to try some?”

Nightingale nodded, and very soon asked, “Could you teach me this? I want to learn how to make these dishes.”

“Sure.” Anna smiled. “It’s pretty simple.”

Anna cut the mushrooms into slices and handed a large piece to Nightingale. “First you smear a layer of butter on both sides of the mushroom and roast it on the fire slowly and carefully until both sides of the mushroom are golden. Be careful not to caramelize the mushroom too long or it’ll be burnt.”

“Alright.” Nightingale took some slices of the Bird Beak Mushrooms, and imitated how Anna had spread the butter on both sides of the mushroom. “His Highness has been working very late recently?”

“Yes, to settle the refugees and also draw some new engineering drafts. He stays up until midnight almost every day. Many times, when I walk by his office, I can still see the light shining out the crack of the door.” Anna nodded. “You’ve been away for more than half a month. You miss His Highness a lot, right?”

Nightingale’s hand shook, and the mushroom almost fell into butter. “Umm… not that much…”

“Not only you. Lightening, Lily, Echo, and Wendy all missed His Highness very much. They said that there was not even a bathroom over there. They’ve wanted to come back for a long time.” Anna felt that Nightingale’s expression was a bit weird. “Umm? What’s wrong?”

“No.” She shook her head, and picked up the mushroom. She smiled with red-tinged cheeks. “I see, indeed… we missed him.”

“Right.” Anna pinched a mushroom that was covered in butter and put it near the stove fire. “If I left His Highness for more than half a month, no, maybe only for a few days, I could hardly wait to see him.”

The first time she’d met Roland Wimbledon in the dungeon had been the most incredible moment of her life. Anna still felt grateful when she thought about that day. If it was not for Prince Roland, even if she were able to survive, she would only live in bewilderment just like regular citizens.

Prince Roland had taught her the beauty of this world. Whether it was the sauced black pepper steak, or the book “Natural Science Theoretical Foundation”, His appearance filled something new into her life, and that made Anna feel like she was unique, different from anyone else.

The other sisters must have felt the same way. The longer that they spent time with Prince Roland, the more that they were attracted to his unique charisma and incredible ideas. Anna firmly believed that point.

“Ahh, did I roast it too long?” Nightingale lifted her iron fork, finding a side of the mushroom was burnt.

“Yeah, a little bit…” Anna could not help laughing. “The Bird Beak Mushroom is very tender, so you need to roast it for just the right amount of time. You’ll manage it once you’ve tried a few more times. I’ll prepare ingredients for the soup.”

Nightingale put honey and salt on the slightly burnt mushroom and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm, it’s pretty delicious.” Staring at Anna who was swiftly mixing the herbs into various sauces, Nightingale asked in curiosity, “Did you used to make these before?”

“Yes, pickling food, grinding flour, doing part-time jobs for nobles, washing and shaving the neighbor’s sheep,” Anna said. “Besides going to Professor Karl’s class, I spent most of my time doing those things.” She paused and said, “but after my mom passed away, my father didn’t allow me to go to school anymore, and even forbade me to leave the house.”

“Sorry…”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s all in the past.” Anna’s eyes were shiny like a blue lake under moonlight. “Compared to most witches, I’m very lucky, aren’t I?

The mushroom that was smeared in butter curled up slightly under the fire and made crackling noises. Anna spread some salt on the mushroom and roasted it again. She inhaled its pleasant, earthy scent. The creamy aroma of melted butter mixed with the savory taste of Bird Beak Mushroom. It aroused the appetite. Lastly, she swirled the mushroom in the honey jar and completed the process of roasting a mushroom. Both the Bird Beak Mushrooms and the honey could be gathered in the Misty Forest. To the locals, it was a lucky day if they encountered a tree that had both honeycomb and Bird Beak Mushrooms hidden in its crown.

When the crock that was used to make soup spouted white steam, Anna and Nightingale completed the roasting and saucing.

“All done! It looks pretty good.” Nightingale ate one more slice. “I’m pretty gifted regarding cooking… umm, this slice is a bit too salty.”

“It’s just on time too.” Anna stared at the night view through the window. “Let’s deliver these to His Highness.”

“Would you give the mushrooms I cooked to him for me?” Nightingale put her hands together and said, “Please.”

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

“No.” She smiled. “Because I don’t know what kind of expression I should have when I see him again.”

Anna was dazed for a moment. Nightingale disappeared into thin air without giving Anna time to inquire. Did the expression matter? Smile, despondent, or no expression at all would be fine. His Highness hadn’t even disliked her desperate appearance when she first got out of the dungeon. Why would Nightingale avoid him? Anna could not understand. She shook her head as she carried the dishes and soup to Roland’s office.

Chapter 240: The Honors Ceremony

oland was designing the pattern of the medal for tomorrow’s honors ceremony. This peripheral job should have been finished long ago. However, Roland had been in a state of anxiety since this afternoon.

More accurately, after Nightingale kissed him.

Roland had been vaguely aware of Nightingale’s affection for him before, but because she did not confide, Roland did not ask. However, it was certain now. How should he reply to her feelings?

Nightingale’s behavior made him know that he did not hate her, but even at that he felt a bit pompous. Who would hate a beautiful, composed girl who spent every day with him? Roland could not respond to her because of how his thoughts had developed over 20 years, the real problem that he would face… and Anna. Especially the last point, he would not be able to ignore Anna and only follow his own wishes.

Or he would have to entrust these problems to time.

Suddenly, there were sounds of knocking at the door.

“Come in. It’s not locked,” Roland called out. He was a bit surprised. Who would come to his office at this hour?

It was Anna who pushed open the door. She held two dishes in one hand and a small jar in the other hand. Roland could smell the savory aroma before she even spoke.

“Food?”

“Yes.” Anna smiled and placed the dishes on the desk. Then she took off the bowl covering the jar and poured the milk-white soup. “This is called ‘honey roasted mushrooms’. Some were made by me and others by Nightingale. And this is mushroom soup, made from the spices of common vanilla.

“It looks delicious.” Roland licked his lips. “Sit down and let’s eat it together.”

Anna nodded and sat down against the desk.

“Where’s Nightingale? Why didn’t she come?”

“She said that she doesn’t know what kind of expression she should use to face you,” Anna answered, “I don’t quite understand why she would care about this.”

I see. Roland sighed discreetly. Even though Nightingale had seemed confident when she’d said the words and shown no regret, and even said that, “This isn’t your fault. I just did what I wanted to do.” However, she was actually just like a squirrel that had finally taken up the courage to come out of the hole. Oh dear, was that courageous or timid? “Then, let us eat first.”

Roland pinched a slice of mushroom and put it into his mouth. The sweetness of honey melted in his mouth instantly and then his mouth filled with the succulence of the mushroom. In this age without MSG, this rich, juicy flavor was incredible… and perhaps the salt enhanced its flavor. Finally, he felt the texture of the mushroom. It was smooth and chewy. It was perfection.

“These aren’t normal mushrooms?” Roland swallowed the mushroom and detected the differences. Normally, it would be good enough to keep the smooth and chewy texture of the mushroom after roasting it. How could a mushroom be so juicy? It was not boiled in soup.

“Yes, it’s the local specialty from the Misty Forest, the people in the town call them Bird Beak Mushrooms,” Anna smiled and told Roland the history of the mushroom, “That’s why I wanted for you to taste it too.”

Roland ate another mushroom that was soaked in soup. It was also very delicious and even more delectable than the last. He felt as if he was eating soup dumplings, there was even a slight crunchy texture when he chewed it. Such flavor made Roland recall the very common and multi-purpose seasoning in the previous world—MSG. Before sodium glutamate had been discovered, chefs could only enhance the flavor of the food indirectly. For example, chefs would use hens, bones, mushrooms, or beans to make soup stock. Although future chefs preferred to use original ingredients to demonstrate their exquisite skills, Roland had to say that even for newbies, with MSG they could take it up a notch.

If the Bird Beak Mushroom was naturally juicy, it would be the perfect extraction ingredient for MSG. Perhaps the Bird Beak Mushroom was not promoted because it grew on trees and was difficult to pick. However, that would not be a problem for Roland.

“Are there a lot of this type of mushroom?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Quite a lot I think.” Anna took a bite. “Maggie said that she flew around the border of the forest and picked a whole bag of the mushrooms for me.”

“That’s a piece of good news.” Roland soon ate all the roasted mushroom slices that Anna had made, and stretched his chopstick to the other dish. “I’m concerned that the steak is always seasoned with either pepper or honey. I’ve grown tired of eating that… Oh gosh.”

“What’s the matter?”

“No… nothing.” Roland was crying inside. Oh dear, this slice was really salty. Did Nightingale accidentally throw it into the salt jar? Despite his thoughts, Roland still swallowed the mushroom. After that, Roland discovered that the rest of the mushroom slices were either burnt or still somewhat raw. There were mushroom slices that were half burnt and half raw. Fortunately, the Bird Beak Mushroom itself was very delicious, and that largely concealed her clumsy cooking skill.

“I’m… full.” Roland put down his chopsticks. He tried hard to finish the second dish and ate all the soup. Roland’s stomach was bloated. “Thank you.”

“Yes, and Nightingale too.” The way Anna smiled was extremely adorable. Roland could not help but pinch her nose. Anna cried out softly and leaned forward to kiss Roland on his cheek. “I’ll go to wash the plates now. Remember to rest early.”

Roland sighed lightly after Anna left.

Although he did not want to ignore Anna’s feelings, some things were hard to talk about. Roland thought helplessly, perhaps it was because he’d been a mechanical engineer. When Roland was still a student, he rarely acquainted himself with any females. Even though he’d gone on to a large-scale design institute and began to have considerable income, that part of him remained unchanged.

Luckily, they were still on a long journey to eradicate the church. He could take time to ponder what he should do next. Right now, he should focus on his work.

…

The next morning, Roland climbed up to the temporary wooden stage in the square. There were already swarms of people around him.

Border Town looked completely different now compared to its previous poor and dilapidated look. It could be said that the town had been completely renovated.

The old houses in the town had all been torn down and replaced with operating construction sites and uniform brick house. The latter was constructed according to the urban planning of the neighborhood. The area looked neat and organized. Although it only took up one-third of the land of the town, it was able to inhabit 2,000 locals.

By the time the three and four story houses were put into construction, with the further development of the neighborhood, the same land would be able to contain more and more people. Right now, the name “Border Town” did not seem to fit its actual performance. No town was able to hold 20,000 people and a professional army of 600 soldiers. Roland planned to promote the town as an actual city the following spring.

Under the power of Echo, Roland’s voice soon made the crowd calm down.

“Today is the first Honor and Awards Ceremony in Border Town. Today’s ceremony is to award and encourage people who’ve made a major contribution to the town. It has been more than half a year since the first day I arrived here. We’ve defeated the demonic beasts, conquered the duke, and many people have sacrificed for all these achievements. There were strong performers among all the contributors. These people aren’t the noble or rich merchandisers. They are normal people like you, all of you, before you started to work for me.”

He looked around and said loudly, “Right now, they’ll receive plentiful returns! Each of them will receive a medal that’s crafted by myself, 100 gold royals and a land of 0.8 acres!”

The news caused waves of impacts among the crowd. Not to mention the medal and land, only 100 gold royals was a huge sum of money that would make people envious.

“This isn’t a one-time ceremony. From now on, every year we will have an Honor and Awards Ceremony. Regardless of your background or wealth, as long as you make great contributions, you can receive this highest honor!”

As soon as Roland finished his sentence, the gun salute that Echo imitated started to reverberate in the square. Among the continuing roar of the gun salute, Iron Axe, Kyle Sichi, and Nana Pine walked on to the wooden stage with the cluster of the First Army.

Chapter 241: The Liberation

ven though there were only about 2,000 people gathered in the public square, yet the noise they were making could be comparable with those big gatherings of more than tens of thousands of people. Roland silently sighed, Echo’s ability was really handy in this case.

By choosing these three people, he intended to set an example for the civilians–none of these three belonged to the nobility. Iron Axe came from Sand Nation of the Southern Territory; Kyle was a chief alchemist, but his family background was not prominent and he reached his position step by step starting as an apprentice; as for Nana, she was a witch.

A foreigner, a civilian, and a witch; as the later generations would say, this was an unmistakably wise political choice.

Roland hoped to use this ceremony to instill his ideas into his subjects—The only thing that mattered in Border Town was your accomplishments, not where you came from.

The first one to receive the medal was Iron Axe. Roland personally handed him the gold tooth-edged medal, which had the emblem of the Kingdom of Graycastle carved on it. At that moment, the soldiers of the First Army in the audience raised their hands to applaud while others started to whistle.

“You must all know his name already, Commander of the First Army’s Flintlock Squad, Iron Axe!” Roland turned towards everyone. “Before the Months of Demons, he was just a common hunter of the town. But in each of the battles of Border Town afterward, Iron Axe had never been absent, and just a month ago, he led the First Army soldiers to the king’s city, saving those Eastern Region refugees who were affected by the demonic plague! More than 6,000 people who temporarily stay outside of the city wall right now were all brought back by him!”

Most people in the square were either Border Town’s natives or First Army soldiers, while there were only hundreds of serfs and refugees, but under Echo’s encouragement, the atmosphere in the square was far from cold. The moment Roland stopped, the refugees immediately started cheering, and their passion did not seem to be less than that of the First Army.

Iron Axe was clearly moved, he probably had never expected that even though he was a member of the Mojin Clan, he would still be able to win the prince’s appreciation. He first saluted Roland in a military manner and then kneeled down on one knee, making the kingdom’s salute for knights. If Roland had not stopped him, he might have continued with a salute of Sand Nation by throwing himself on the ground.

“Stand up, as a soldier, the military salute is enough.” Roland laughed.

“Thank you… Your Highness.” His voice slightly trembled, as if it was extremely hard to control his emotions.

The prince patted Iron Axe’s comforting him, placed 100 gold royals into his hand, and then let Kyle Sichi come up.

“This one, you might be seeing him for the first time, from the central area of the kingdom, the Chief Alchemist of Redwater City’s Alchemical Workshop, Mr. Kyle Sichi!

Hearing these words, all the civilians exclaimed with wonder.

“A chief alchemist? Isn’t he a sage that even the king himself has to treat with respect and courtesy?”

“You mean like a royal astrologer?”

“No, the position of an alchemist is even higher than that of an astrologer. After all, there’s no certainty in the predictions of the latter, whereas the work of an alchemist is definitely real.”

“Not to mention that he comes from the Alchemical Workshop of Redwater City. I heard that only the Alchemical Workshop in the king’s city is on par with it!”

“…”

In the four kingdoms, alchemists and astrologers possessed an extraordinary status, and for the civilians, those alchemists who were considered as sages, had even more credibility than the lords and the great nobles. Roland was very pleased with the reaction of the crowd, he raised his hands and continued, “Even though Mr. Sichi didn’t personally participate in a battle, his chemical work is firmly connected with the continuous improvement of the firearms, from single shots to continuous burst shots, and it was an important reason in guaranteeing the First Army’s victories. Without these alchemical—chemical products, peace and safety would not be feasible in Border Town.” The prince paused for a moment. “As a matter of fact, the chemical laboratory is currently recruiting trainee alchemists. Any civilian who’s completed the town’s elementary education and passed the examination can enroll. The successful candidates won’t only receive a generous salary but also gain the opportunity to become an outstanding alchemist just like Mr. Sichi himself!”

The cheering from the crowd started once again, but yet Kyle himself had an impatient expression. He received the medal and said in a bad manner, “You called me over just for this? What a waste of time, I could have used this time to perform a few more experiments instead.”

“This is a great opportunity for advertisement, didn’t you complain that you were short-handed?” Roland shrugged. “Once the scale of the alchemical laboratory has doubled, I intend to write the ‘Intermediate Chemistry’ and pass it on you.”

“Intermediate… Chemistry?” Kyle immediately bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness!”

Although passion was important, training a successor was equally important. The better the foundation of the people the easier to accomplish a project. This was also applied to scientific research. Roland never intended to put all of his eggs in one basket, so he would definitely not pass on such an advertisement opportunity.

The last one was Nana.

Looking at the nervous little girl coming over to him, Roland could not help but lament.

In contrast to the days before the Months of Demons, he finally intended to let everyone know of the existence of witches—after nearly six months of preparation, the town was finally ready. Furthermore, choosing Nana as their representative was a decision he had considered carefully. She was being called as an angel by the First Army and her reputation was even higher than that of Iron Axe, second only to his own. There were also many civilians who had received her treatment, including mining or mechanical accidents. Everyone had developed the habit of visiting the little angel whenever they needed treatment.

After watching the play “The Story of a Witch” repeatedly, the attitude of the serfs towards the witches had improved. The braveness of the troubled girl in the play and her will to resist giving a good impression to the people and won their sympathy.

The refugees also owed their survival to Lily’s ability, and even if some of them disliked witches previously, they would never badmouth them after that. Not to mention that they were no longer the weak individuals that the church hunted—at least in Border Town, these women with their extraordinary abilities were under the protection of the lord.

And the most important thing was that even if some believer of the church wanted to expose them, it would be totally useless in the Western Region. The town was completely under his control, the church in Longsong Stronghold had been completely destroyed by Timothy, and thus the church had lost the ability to monitor Western Region. Unless they went further to places like Fallen Dragon Ridge or Redwater City, they would not even be able to find an appointed priest.

“This is..” Before Roland could speak, the whole square burst into cheers.

“Miss Nana! Miss Nana is here!”

“Miss Angel, thank you for treating my husband!”

“Little girl, if you have time to come to eat at my place, I have two chicken, no matter if it’s eggs or meat you can have whatever you want!”

“Nana looked at me!”

No, she looked at me!”

Nana covered her mouth and her eyes became wet. Roland believed that the rest of the witches would be feeling the same as her—they were finally free from the evil identity the church had forced upon them. From now on, they would be like normal people. Roland stroked her head smilingly. “Don’t be afraid, just reply with a few words to everyone’s enthusiasm. Don’t forget, you are now representing the whole Witch Union.

“Yes…” She sniffed, wiped her tears and bowed. “Thank you, thank you all!”