Release That Witch

Chapter 408: The Conundrum

e couldn’t believe that she was digging holes for him using the books that he wrote himself.

When faced with such complicated information, most people struggled to even understand it, let alone to notice its flaws—it was pretty unbelievable that there was no mention of magic power at all in a science book studying the nature of everything in the world.

Roland had also completely wiped the Fourth Prince’s memories from his mind, and besides trying to mimic the Prince during his first month after traversing the space and time, he never considered it ever again. His ministers were afraid to question him, and he didn’t have to hide who he was from the witches, so he became more and more careless.

However, Tilly was no ordinary witch.

Besides being Prince Roland’s sister, she was also an Extraordinary.

Not only was she able to quickly finish all of his books, but she also shrewdly noticed this inconsistency. Her logic was just as clear as that of any modern person who had undergone universal education. In addition, she used leading questions to prove her point so that he had no chance of arguing his way out.

This was a disaster.

Roland’s brain was spinning with frantic thoughts, but he had no idea how to respond to her. Any forced explanation to someone who could notice this inconsistency would only arouse more suspicion, and lying to cover a lie would only create even more issues.

Tilly broke the awkward silence and said gently, “You don’t have to answer me right now. It’s late, and I’m going back to the Witch House. You should get some rest too, Your Highness.”

“Um… Okay.” Roland stared into the eyes of this grey-haired woman, trying to understand her thoughts, and forgot to send her off.

Tilly stopped at his office door, turned around and asked, “I can trust you, right?”

Usually, Roland would have confidently agreed, but in that moment, he found himself struggling to respond and could only manage a slow nod.

After the door closed, Nightingale said, confused, “How could she just leave like that?”

“Why do you look so upset?” Roland scoffed at her.

“I was so close to hearing about your true life story!” Nightingale stuck out her tongue. “Why didn’t she press on you harder?

“Because she didn’t want to risk our friendship.” The Prince heavily sighed.

“What?”

“No… nothing.” Roland leaned back in his chair and felt a chill on his back. Tilly’s behavior was absolutely perfect because she didn’t push him too far. Border Town was definitely the biggest ally to the Sleeping Island, and allies were more important than identities in the face of their enemies. If she strained their relationship by asking too much, it would only mean bad news for the witches of the Sleeping Island.

That was why Tilly left him some time to recover after posing her question. However, this didn’t mean that she didn’t need an answer, and if he kept dragging his feet, he could also lose her trust right after they defeated their enemies together. She had made her move, and it was time for him to respond.

However, Roland couldn’t tell Tilly the truth, at least not at the moment—Anna and Nightingale were different because they knew only him from the very beginning, but Tilly was Prince Roland’s little sister. Until he figured out what her real thoughts on her brother were, he would have to keep this secret to himself.

He shook his head and dismissed these annoying thoughts. Roland turned to Nightingale and said, “You heard our conversation earlier, too. What do you think about checking out the situation with Maggie and Lightning?”

“No problem, Your Highness.”

“It’s not just going to be a simple chat… To be honest, I’m a little worried about you,” he slowly said.

“Wha… what’s there to be worried about?” Nightingale stuttered. “I… I’m fine, even if I have to drag her back… ”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about!” Roland slammed on the table. “What do you mean drag her back? Are you trying to have her tear us to shreds? Listen, you have to be careful this time and check out the situation before you confront Spear Passi. It’s alright if she refuses; just don’t threaten her—as a fellow witch, she’ll be no stranger to you.”

“Uh… is that all?” she asked disappointedly.

“That’s all in regards to witches.” Roland frowned. “Additionally, you need to help Lightning record the layout of Fallen Dragon Ridge’s surroundings, fortifications, sentries, and armies, and then return as quickly as possible.”

Nightingale murmured in acknowledgment.

“And finally,” Roland said, pausing, “be safe. This’s the most important thing.”

“Can we get another pint of ale over here?”

“Hey, is my oatmeal ready?”

“Coming, coming! Sorry for the wait!”

Otto Luoxi entered the pub, Covert Trumpeter, and was instantly surrounded by chaotic chatter. A crackling fire warmed him, and a smell of sour and musty body odor made him cringe. As a nobility, Otto rarely set foot into commoners’ areas and was not used to being in close quarters with them. If not for his appointment with the Rats, he wouldn’t be caught dead in this backalley pub in the outer city.

Following local rules, he quickly found his target—a skinny man wearing a hood sitting in an unlit corner of the pub, enveloped in the shadows. A small piece of bone lay next to his hand.

Otto sat across the man and said, “Cheers to Skeleton Fingers.”

“You don’t have liquor to give cheers.”

“But I have the thing measuring all things on earth.” He spoke the code word.

The man shrugged. “Call me Hood. I heard you’re here to get some information?”

Otto nodded. While Timothy was stalling on giving him a response, he hadn’t been able to rest and was busy asking around about the rebel king—someone who could hold the Western Territory for half a year after the king’s ascension and completely stump Timothy was surely with a force to be reckoned with.

The fastest way to gain as much information as possible was through the Rats.

This was the sixth Rat Otto had spoken to, and the information he had gained startled him. The legendary rebel king, Roland Wimbledon, fourth son of King Wimbledon III, was not showing any signs of weakening and was even challenging the new king with the threat of an attack to dethrone Timothy.

This man was also true to his word—although Timothy went to great lengths to hide the news, Otto was still able to find out about the strange collapse in King’s City. If this news was true, an alliance with Timothy was questionable at best. He needed to get to the bottom of all this to protect the Kingdom of Dawn.

“That’s right,” Otto Luoxi whispered. “I want to know about the giant crash and collapse in the King’s City palace three months ago.”

Chapter 409: A Reliable Ally

quot;You’ve come to the right man,” Hood smiled and said in a raspy voice that made it hard to tell his age. “Even though I live in the outer city, I happened to be near the palace on the day of the incident, and as soon as I heard the crash, I ran to the palace gate. You have no idea how terrifying the crash was, because it sounded like lightning hitting the earth. All the surrounding windows, whether paper or glass, were shattered by an invisible force, and some people were even scared to death by the sudden sound… ”

Every Rat claimed to be nearby and to have witnessed everything, but each person’s story was different from the other. “Okay, no need to ramble on about unimportant things. How did it happen?” Otto Luoxi interrupted and asked. “Was this incident really related to the Fourth Prince… Roland Wimbledon?”

Hood cleared his throat and stretched out his right hand. “I can answer that, but… ”

“You need the thing measuring all things on earth, right?” Otto opened his wallet. “How much?”

The so-called “thing measuring all things on earth” was nothing more than a gold royal. Only uncultured people like Rats would use such an obvious code word or phrase to appear mysterious.

The Rat stuck up two fingers.

Otto took out two gold royals and placed them in Hood’s hand. “This is not a small fee, so I hope your information lives up to it.”

“Of course. The reputation of Skeleton Fingers rests upon this.” The Rat smiled greedily and pocketed the gold royals.

“A Rat’s reputation is as ridiculous as a ruler’s mercy.” Otto sniffed. “Go ahead.”

“I’ll start by answering your first question.” After his payment, Hood’s posture was much more relaxed. He sipped his ale, leaned back in his chair, and pointed towards the ceiling. “Thunder comes from the sky.”

“What do you mean?” Otto frowned.

“Didn’t you want to know what caused the crash?” the Rat whispered. “All thunder comes from the sky, and this was no exception. I saw it with my own eyes. Before the crash, a white rock floated into the palace, and then the incident happened.”

“Nonsense! You mean to tell me that a huge rock fell from the sky and smashed the palace into pieces?”

“Hehe, everything I said is true, or else Skeleton Fingers wouldn’t assign me this task. If you think I’m lying, you can leave right now.” Hood shrugged. “But you won’t get your fee back.”

“… Keep going.” Otto tried to repress his annoyance.

“The rock entered the palace only seconds after it appeared, but I could clearly tell that it wasn’t that big or fast and didn’t like something that could destroy the Hall of Sky Dome, which is why I said it ‘floated’. Also, when the crash and smoke appeared, I saw a menacing flash of fire that definitely wasn’t caused by the collision,” Hood said, smacking his lips. “I mean, His Highness Timothy’s search afterwards proved this very point—he closed off and cleared the Inner City multiple times without arresting any suspects, and the palace is heavily guarded, so where else could the attack be from if not the sky?”

He took another sip of ale. “As for the fire and smoke, they resemble the phenomenon caused when an alchemy solution called snow powder burns, which is why I’m certain that this was an attack. By the way, I also have some information about snow powder, but you’d have to pay only a little more… ”

“No need, I don’t want to know.” Otto interrupted. He had already heard through other channels about snow powder, which was originally used in celebrations but could be modified into a weapon. Rats probably didn’t know anything about its specific content, so he didn’t feel like wasting his money.

“Alright, now I’ll answer your second question,” Hood said, splaying his hands indifferently. “This incident was certainly related to Prince Roland.”

“Why?”

“When did you arrive in King’s City? Of course, I’m not trying to ask about your background or… identity, since that’s a rule of Black Street, so you don’t have to answer me.” The Rat smiled. “What I mean is, if you arrived in King’s City in early autumn, you’d know this: His Highness sent thousands of soldiers to attack Western Region, but only very few returned, all bearing letters from Prince Roland to His Highness.”

All six Rats had mentioned this, which meant that it was probably true, but he continued to ask, “Are you talking about the warning of revenge? It sounds quite scary. Are you sure it’s not pure folklore?”

“Most letters were brought by the soldiers into the palace, and the few that were leaked were mostly seized by the City Hall, but Skeleton Fingers always surprises its clients. I actually have a preserved ‘warning’ with me.” Hood stuck up five fingers. “Considering it’s a very rare letter from Prince Roland himself, the price is slightly higher. What do you think?”

…

Otto Luoxi returned to the palace, and Belinda immediately stood up to greet him. “Any news?”

“Not much, but I did get my hands on a letter from Prince Roland.” He handed the wrinkly piece of paper to her, took off his coat, sat next to the fireplace, and told her all about what he had learned. “All six Rats gave similar answers to the second question, and this paper proves them right—Roland Wimbledon is not as weak as the King says he is, but the complete opposite. If the Kingdom of Dawn allies with Timothy, we may benefit very little and gain a tricky enemy.”

“But all the Rats’ answers to the first question were different,” Belinda said with a frown.

“This proves that the attack was very mysterious and difficult to understand, and I kind of believe what the last Rat said.” Otto sipped his hot tea and sighed. Spending too much time in the cheap pub made him very uncomfortable.

“From the sky?” Belinda gaped at him. “Are you crazy?”

“Of course not. If I hadn’t seen this letter, I wouldn’t dream of it either. Roland was very confident about the time and location of the attack, and only an attack from the sky would be able to pass the high city wall and strong fortifications, confusing even the shrewdest Rats.” He frowned. “However, what’s more important is what we do next.”

“With the imminent threat from the Church, they should stop fighting each other and join forces against their common enemy.”

“That’s not for us to decide.” Otto shook his head. “The only thing we can do is to find a reliable ally for the Kingdom of Dawn. His Highness Timothy Wimbledon seems a little… unreliable.”

“Are you really going to go to Western Region?” Belinda was shocked. “Isn’t that a place currently facing the dangers of the Months of the Demons?”

“It’s nothing compared to the danger of our kingdom collapsing,” he said after some silence. “You can stay here and wait for the new king’s response, while I travel alone to Western Region.”

Chapter 410: Expectations

he water vapor formed an even layer of white mist resembling thin gauze on the window pane. Chilly wind blew on the windows with a popping sound, which contrasted with the tranquil fireplace burning in the room.

Scroll sat in front of a long desk in the City Hall Office, reading rolls of thick documents.

Those documents were not about education but were statistics reported by various departments. She used her free time to memorize such information in case someone needed it. This was recently the main part of her work since there was not much to deal with in the Ministry of Education. After all, the second round of assessment ended not long ago, and another round wouldn’t be carried out before next summer.

Having worked for His Highness Roland for half a year, she found out His Highness was particularly interested in statistics—he liked it when his subordinates described things with a long series of precise numbers; he frequently used terms such as horizontal ratio, year-on-year ratio, and chain relative ratio. Subsequently, all the staff in the City Hall had picked up this habit from him.

As the township population grew, the related statistical work increased correspondingly. Therefore, His Highness entrusted this work to Scroll and jokingly called her the “database” of Border Town. Although the nickname made her sound like a warehouse, His Highness described it as something extremely important. With the help of a database, he said he could estimate the development of next year and make economic and military plans. He even said all his future decisions concerning the territory would be based on the data analysis.

“Lady Scroll.” A woman dressed as an apprentice pushed open the office door and entered the room. After bowing to Scroll, she handed her an application form. “Hello, my name is Freya. His Excellency Carter from the Department of Justice wishes to acquire the information on refugees who passed the resident verification within the last week.”

Due to her limited ability to derivative skills, His Highness ordered that anyone who wanted to inquire complex data must get consent from Barov first. As for individual data, one could ask Scroll at any time.

“Wait a minute!” Scroll glanced at the signature on the application form, summoned the Book of Magic, and showed the corresponding contents on its pages. “Alright. Give this to Mr. Carter.”

“Thank… thank you.” Freya carefully held the book that came out of thin air as if it was a demonic beast.

“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt you.” Scroll could not help but laugh. Most people had such an expression when they saw the Book of Magic. “You do not need to return the book to me because it will vanish four hours later. However, according to the Constitution of Confidentiality, you aren’t allowed to give it to anybody other than Carter.”

“Yes …My Lady.”

Freya bowed and retreated. While she pushed open the door, Scroll saw a sea of people in the hall, and a chattering sound instantly rushed into her room, quieting down again when the door was closed.

This was a weekend, which was supposed to be a rest day, but the City Hall was still as busy as on workdays. Everybody was excited about the upcoming construction of Border Town, so they worked particularly hard. With the salary reward for overtime offered by His Highness, no one was willing to stay at home.

Scroll didn’t understand His Highness’s decisions. To her, there wasn’t that much work to be done in the City Hall, and compared to the labors of miners and furnace workers, writing official documents, collecting data and making reports took much less effort – yet these were the main jobs of the City Hall. His Highness only had to give orders, and everyone would easily comply. There was really no need to raise the salary in this regard. Compared to most of the nobilities, His Highness appeared to be too benevolent.

Truthfully, Scroll didn’t think His Highness Roland seemed like a real Lord. Yet, it was exactly such a person who led everybody to this stage, which was nearly a miracle.

She didn’t come to this conclusion due to her respect and trust for Roland, but due to clear data; compared with one year ago, when only miners had a stable income in Border Town; the wages of miners, furnace workers and handymen had doubled now, although they used to earn the least; some emerging occupations such as assemblers in the steam plant and operators in the acid plant had had their wages raised eightfold, and the number of workers was still on the rise.

The changes within the town itself were so obvious that if a person hadn’t lived here one year ago, he might find it very hard to believe that such changes were possible.

Scroll touched the words on the document. She couldn’t imagine how the territory would continue to transform under His Highness’ leadership, but she firmly believed it would have a future full of hope and surprises.

“Miss Scroll.” The wooden door was pushed open, and His Highness Roland’s guard stepped in. “His Highness wants to see you.”

…

When she returned to the third floor of the castle, Scroll saw that His Highness was organizing pieces of the manuscript.

“Would you like me to record these things?” Tying her black hair up, which was messed up by the cold wind, she stepped up and asked the prince.

“That’s right. It took at least half of my brain cells to finish this book.” The prince massaged his neck, murmuring words that were difficult for Scroll to comprehend. “Even for the knowledge that was commonly used at the time, I could only remember them generally, and I even had to deduce several formulas myself.”

Scroll had gotten used to this behavior. She ignored his weird terms, picked up the manuscript, realizing the letters on its cover were in an unprecedented orange color that formed the word “calculus”.

She flipped through a couple pages, and found it impossible to understand what the book title meant. She then focused on memorizing its contents—compared to the equations she had learned previously, she found these new formulas didn’t even have numbers, but a series of bizarre symbols, like a whole set of new characters. They looked like things only Anna and Tilly would be interested in.

“Right,” Roland asked, “what’s the average income of the residents here?”

“The minimum was 10 silver royals per month, and the maximum was 40,” Scroll answered without stopping her memorizing of calculus, “but to calculate the average income I would need the Book of Magic, which has been used once today.”

“That’s alright. You can give me the statistical result the day after tomorrow.” Roland waved his hand. “I need this number to determine the fee for water and heating supply. The collective heating supply project is about to begin in a week. On its completion, this place would be as warm as spring, even through the longest winter.”

A city without fear for the cold. This is one of the miracles that could only happen in His Highness’s territory. “If I don’t get extra work, I’ll give you the result tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow …It would be nice if you could turn the Book of Magic into a storybook.” Roland shook his head with a smile. “Or any book that Anna hasn’t read.”

“Storybook?” Scroll was slightly startled before quickly understanding his reasoning. “Tomorrow is Miss Anna’s …”

“Day of Awakening,” the Prince nodded and said.

Chapter 411: The Vow

..

With no swaying candlelight or crackling burning fire, the room was made so warm and pleasant by the heater that one wouldn’t feel cold even when only wearing thin clothes. The Stone of Light at the bed stand brightened the room—the stable and gentle yellow light shone on the bedsheet and carpet, producing a wonderful nostalgic scene.

Sitting at the bedside and listening to the occasional slight chirps from the caliducts, Roland felt as if he was in a dream. It was like he wasn’t in a backward monarchy nor a modern society full of electronic products, rather somewhere in between… his childhood.

His childhood memories very much resembled the scene in front of him—everything was covered in a faint shade of yellow, whether it was a light bulb, a movie, or a developed photo.

The only difference was that Anna wasn’t in his childhood memory.

At this thought, he turned and looked at the girl sitting at the edge of the bed.

She was reading a storybook. Her blonde hair on her forehead glimmering under light and her long eyelashes occasionally trembling, made her look extremely moving. Yet, the most extraordinary part was her sapphire eyes, which were still as blue as a clear lake even under the reflection of the Magic Stone. The only difference from one year ago was that this pair of eyes weren’t such a peaceful lake anymore.

Her existence alone made the whole picture vivid. Anna is not only a different color from the rest of this whole setting, but also a marker that separates my reality from memory. Seeing her assumes me that everything is real.

“What are you looking at?” Anna had already put down the Book of Magic and was staring at Roland. “Me?”

“Ahem… ” Roland shifted his eyesight eyes subconsciously, but quickly shifted them back again. “Uh-huh…That’s right.”

After spending about a year together, the two of them had been quite familiar with each other. Roland wasn’t as passive as he had been, and since they were alone in the room, he was more open about the emotions he had been holding back all this time.

They looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time.

“Do you think my demand is a little too stubborn?” Anna shook her head and smiled. “Clearly everybody cares about me, but I pushed all of them away.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Roland said with his hands laid out, “They were only surprised by your reaction at that time.”

“If it weren’t for the ‘ancient methods’ suggested by Miss Agatha, I wouldn’t have made this request,” Anna said, sticking out her tongue – a cute move that she rarely made. “But I assume other sisters would do the same. You’ll be busy then.”

Roland smiled resignedly and said, “I think they would only ask for a few more pieces of ice cream bread.”

After learning that Anna was going to have her Day of Awakening, Agatha instantly contributed her experience gained in the Holy City of Taquila—according to the research of the Union, on the Day of Awakening or the Day of Adulthood, a witch needed to drain her magic power to decrease the influence of bite. Additionally, the witch’s emotions were also very important – positive emotions as happiness and contentment would greatly increase her resistance. For some outstanding witches, the Union even dispatched personnel to fulfill their wishes on their Day of Adulthood.

After knowing this, Anna requested that Roland accompany her on her Day of Awakening.

“Thanks to Miss Agatha, I’m having a good time.” She confessed. “I couldn’t spend my Day of Adulthood with you, but I can make up for it on my Day of Awakening.”

Watching Anna’s sincere expression, Roland almost blushed. He cleared his throat, took out a thin book tied with a colorful ribbon from his back, and handed it to her. “A gift for your Day of Awakening.”

The reason why he rushed to write down the advanced calculus knowledge that he remembered was to finish it before this day. To a witch, the Day of Awakening was more important than a birthday and could almost be seen as a rebirth. Roland had always had difficulty choosing presents for holidays, and this time was no different. After racking his brains, he decided to give Anna new knowledge as a present—Anna had a talent for learning and an appetite for new knowledge, so he chose her gift accordingly.

However, after receiving the book with orange cover, she didn’t open it instantly as she used to. Instead, she put it down together with the Book of Magic. “Thank you.”

“The storybook… Have you finished reading it?”

“Not yet.” Anna slightly shook her head. “But I want to hear something special.”

“Special?” Roland was slightly astonished.

“Yes.” She said with a smile, “Your story—last time I fell asleep too soon while listening to it and today I hope to continue hearing about it.”

“Does she mean the day when we lay in bed together?” Roland pursed his lips. He suddenly had an impulse to tell her about his true identity, and to not hide it anymore. “Do you still remember that I once told you I used to live in a big city? By a big city, I didn’t mean Kingdom of Graycastle.”

“I know.”

“Huh?” Anna’s reply was shocking to him.

“When I thought about it, I found those stories you told me couldn’t have happened in the palace of King’s City,” she said with a smile. “Don’t forget, I have repeatedly read through Chronicles of Graycastle.”

“Is that so?” Roland hesitated for a moment. “I actually …”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Anna stopped him. “You are hesitating, which means it’s not easy to tell, right? Then don’t. Besides, it’s not hard to guess. I believe I’m not the only one who has this feeling. The closer we get to you, the easier to feel this way—you are different from everybody else.” She paused. “What if… we take a bet.”

“Bet… on what?”

“Let’s bet how much I can guess about your life story.”

Roland suddenly recalled a game he used to play when he was little: time capsule. “The game works like this: write down your words to the future on a note, put it into a can, and take the can out a certain number of years later… Although most of the cans would be missing, a few of them would be retrieved, and looking at the note you wrote years ago would give you an unspeakable sensation.”

He didn’t ask about the wager. “It doesn’t matter who wins and who loses, since she probably proposed it to comfort me, rather than to figure out my true identity.” He must admit, among all the witches, Anna was the one who understood him the best.

“Deal.” He nodded.

“Where did we stop last time?”

“I finished my study under the guidance of my mentor …” Roland laughed. “Let’s start from here.”

When the light of dawn lit up the skyline, Anna peacefully passed through the first Day of Awakening since her adulthood.

Chapter 412: Sneaking into the Fallen Dragon Ridge

he entire world was gloomy, from the sky to the land and sea.

Although the south central area of the Kingdom of Graycastle wasn’t covered by endless snow, the impact of the Months of Demons was inevitable—the sun was hidden by an expanse of gray clouds which filled the whole sky. A pale fog rose from the earth, shrouding the land, rocks, and jungles. All that was revealed was the black and gray mountain peaks above the clouds, which stretched towards the southern end of the continent, and acted as the visual guide for Nightingale and her companions.

While flying in the sky on Maggie’s back, Nightingale intensely experienced just how terrible the cold wind was in the open air. Even with a set of customized windproof clothes on, which were given to her by His Highness before they left, she could still feel the cold penetrating her body from her scarf and cuffs. In particular, her ears and fingers would soon get numb due to hypothermia. They often had to stop and rest for a while, making the normally half-day journey eventually extend to the next day—even flying at full speed.

“Here we are.” Lightning approached her.

Nightingale peered out and realized the ridge had become much lower, as if it was sinking into the ground. A city built on the hillside emerged faintly from the fog, which should be their exact target—Fallen Dragon Ridge.

“Let’s land.” She patted Maggie’s back. “Be careful and don’t let anyone see us.”

“Awh!” Maggie nodded, folding her wings as she glided down. The Mist soon enveloped the three of them as they landed. Nightingale found that the visibility around them was so low that she couldn’t see clearly what was only 50 steps in front of them, let alone over a great distance.

This was a good sign for the witches—at least they wouldn’t be easily noticed.

After entering into the Mist, the true colors of the world would be revealed, but she wasn’t worried about running into the church’s Judgement Army due to the thick white fog.

“You just wait here, this shouldn’t take long,” said Nightingale.

“His Highness asked me to keep a lookout from the air.” Lightning shook her head.

“And he asked me to be the emergency contact in case you kidnapped the target. Coo!” Maggie transformed into a fat pigeon, crouching on the top of the little girl’s head.

“His Highness gave some meaningless commands,” Nightingale thought. “In that case, let’s go.”

Suddenly, the world became black and white—the fog disappeared, or transformed into something else, which no longer hindered her vision. All of a sudden, the view became clear. The dark city wall was 200 meters away, extending out of the mountain side, and linked the city and the mountain like a dome. The stone wall was much shorter compared to the outer wall of Longsong Stronghold, and there were no sentry guards on it.

Nightingale went to the side of the wall and found the entrance through the curved lines. She stepped forward and realized that she was already on the other side of the city wall.

The city was half the size of Stronghold, and it was more like a small town in this area just outside of the mountain cliffs. But Fallen Dragon Ridge was located within the rocky mountains, and the Lord’s castle built on the hillside could be seen from far away.

Nightingale assured that Lightning and Maggie were following her into the city, and then she went straight towards the castle.

This mission wasn’t new to her and she was very proficient at it.

When she served old Gilen, it was a common assignment to infiltrate into other nobles’ mansions and castles. Most of the buildings were similar in structure, and the owners always liked to live in the most spacious house right in the center. Back then, she was unable to go in through walls freely and could only conceal herself—while carefully avoiding any possible traps and the God’s Stones of Retaliation—before stealing the letters and documents hidden in the cabinet.

Now with the help of the Mist, she could easily do these things, since the lightless black hole presented by the God’s Stone of Retaliation, embedded at the corner of castle’s aisle, seemed as attractive as the moon hanging in the dark sky. The hidden traps could be seen clearly, as their twisted contours were like creeping earthworms, and she could easily destroy them after passing through the walls. While under the influence of her ability, Nightingale was perfectly free to move—the walls, doors, and roofs were just inconsequential to her.

Walking into the largest house at the top, she found her target.

Although they had never met before, Nightingale identified Marquess Spear Passi, the Lord of Fallen Dragon Ridge, at first sight because a magic blue light was rotating in her body, which was the only color visible in the world of the Mist.

Sitting in front of a desk with a quill in her hand waving back and forth, the Marquess seemed to be writing something. She was about 30 years old with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and the silver curls of hair and plain robes she wore made her look older. Nightingale examined the room carefully and found that there was no God’s Stone of Retaliation or trap, and that Parcy’s only weapon was a delicate and luxurious short crossbow hidden inside her sleeve.

After leaving a mark on the side of the window, she dissolved the Mist and revealed herself.

“Greetings, Marquess Spear Passi.”

Shocked by the unexpected voice, Spear Passi raised her head swiftly and saw Nightingale. She quickly calmed down and asked, “Who are you?”

Nightingale remembered the scenario of her first meeting with Prince Roland一his first reaction was to try to escape and she had to stop him by using a dagger, which in hindsight was really funny.

“I’m Nightingale and I’m from Border Town of the Western Region. As you can see, I’m a witch.”

“I thought so, as no one can come here without an invitation, except a witch.” Spear Passi pretended to be calm, as she moved one of her hand slowly into her sleeve. “You should knock on the door before coming in.”

“Then I’d be welcomed by your guard, not you.” Nightingale laughed softly. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to hurt you. I just want to have a talk—so you won’t need that crossbow inside your sleeve.”

This surprised Spear Passi and her face got more serious. “You know quite a lot.” She took her hands out and crossed them in front of her chest. “Well, why are you here?”

“I bring you a message from Lord of Border town, Guardian of the Western Region, the fourth prince of the Kingdom of Graycastle, His Highness Roland Wimbledon.” Nightingale bowed slightly. “He’s creating a new order of the world that allows witches to live together with average people peacefully, and he hopes you can assist him.”

“Prince… Roland?” Marquess frowned. “The incompetent nobility who was always laughed at by everyone?” With an absurd look on her face, she said, “This is ridiculous, Lord of Border Town? He’s just a rebel banished to a waste land!”

“Timothy was the real usurper,” Nightingale said, “and Prince Roland will soon dethrone him. But that’s beside the point… His Highness needs your magic power to strengthen the ability of a witch. Would you mind making a trip to Border Town?”

Chapter 413: The Incident

pear Passi was silent for a while before saying, “Are you threatening or inviting me?”

“I’m inviting you, of course,” Nightingale said. “His Highness doesn’t believe in coercing witches. In fact, I don’t either.”

“In this case, I refuse,” Spear answered without hesitation. “If he really needs my help, he can bring the witches to the Fallen Dragon Ridge to visit me for the ritual of the nobility. No need to send someone sneaking in my castle. Of course, if a witch attracts the church’s attention I can’t ensure her safety.”

The answer was just as Nightingale had expected. It was difficult to get a stranger to agree to such a difficult request. Generally, there were two means of handling the situation—coercion and inducement, but she didn’t want to perform either option. Marquess Passi was the Lord of the city and would be the guardian of the realm once promoted. However, His Highness did not plan to flatter her in any way. Instead, he would withdraw power from the nobles. According to His highness, this was called the centralization of authority. In this instance, she would be degrading herself in the eyes of nobility if she was at His Highness’ service.

In regards to following Roland, to create a brand new world and defend in the Battle of Divine Will, she would not believe it from word alone.

“I understand.” Nightingale pouted. “In this case, I shall leave.”

“Hold on…” Spear looked surprised. “That’s all?”

“I’m responsible for bringing His Highness’ messages to you. Now that the message has been delivered and you’ve given me your answer, my task is complete.” She grinned. “Were you expecting me to tie you up and bring you back with me?”

“How did you know about my ability to channel magic?” Marquess hesitated. “Did you talk to the witches who planned to go to the Fjord Islands?”

“Yes. The leader of the witches is Lady Tilly Wimbledon. She’s currently in Border Town, fighting the Demons with her brother.” Nightingale shrugged. “His Highness heard about you from her.”

“They didn’t go to the Fjords?”

“No, they didn’t know His Highness had gained such a firm foothold in the Western Region. They only got in touch after settling down on Sleeping Island.” She gave a brief outline of the alliances on both sides. “Just like you, Lady Tilly was invited to the Western Region by His Highness.”

“Prince Roland really established a system of coexistence for witches and ordinary people in his territory?” Spear frowned and asked. She was having a hard time believing it.

“Not only that, he also evicted the church from his territory.” Nightingale smiled. “Currently there are more than 10 witches living in Border Town. The locals are accustomed to their existence. I’m not lying about this.”

Marquis stood up and poured her a cup of tea. “Can you tell me more about it? How did he do it?”

“If you want to know.” Nightingale turned and sat at the table. It might not change her decision but it was never a bad thing to deepen her understanding. Nightingale decided to tell her about the Witch Union His Highness had built, the war with Duke Ryan and the political run after the recovery of Longsong Stronghold. If Spear could understand the witches’ situation, hopefully she would not resist too much when His Highness eventually unified the Kingdom of Graycastle.

A sudden rush of percussion was heard.

“This is…” Spear looked at Nightingale in shock.

Nightingale opened the window. It was Maggie squatting outside. “Danger, coo! Lightning discovered an accident, coo!”

“What happened?”

“A troop of Judgement Army soldiers is rushing towards the castle, coo!” The pigeon patted its wings and said, “There are at least 20 people, coo!”

“The Judgement Army from the church?” Nightingale turned around and frowned. “Did you summon them?”

“No… I didn’t have an appointment with the church Priest today,” Marquis looked particularly puzzled, “could it be your whereabouts have been exposed?”

“That’s impossible.” She shook her head. “Unless the church has the ability to monitor every bird in the sky.”

“That’s weird…” Spear murmured, “if they were coming for me, they wouldn’t need so many Judgement Warriors. It’s almost the entire force!”

“What are you waiting for? They’re almost at the entrance!” A golden figure darted through the window and landed lightly beside Nightingale. It was Lightning.

“I’m not sure about the situation, I suggest that you avoid it,” Nightingale said, “or get the guards to stop them outside the castle and find out why they’re here before proceeding.”

“This is my castle. Where would I hide? Don’t worry, these people can’t enter without my permission. Otherwise, I would not have been able to protect the witches.” Spear sighed. “However, this meeting may have to end here… If you’re not in a rush, I think…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a series of chaotic footsteps were heard just below the castle. The sound of swords fighting could be heard clearly in the castle, echoing in the mountains. Marquis expression changed. “Who let them in?! Guards!”

Spear called a few names but no one responded from outside. The footsteps were approaching closer and closer.

“It looks like they’re here for you.” Nightingale made a gesture towards Lightning, indicating she should leave first, “You still have time to leave, we can protect you.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere! This is my territory; how could they be so presumptuous… ”

She hardly finished speaking when the door was broken down by a group of heavily armed Judgement Warriors. The Lord was fully surrounded by warriors holding up their swords and shields.

Nightingale hid in the Mist, taking a step back into the corner where it was both convenient to escape and suitable for observation. She noticed that neither Lightning nor Maggie left. The former was peeking her head out from the top of a window, the latter was simply squatting on a beam, arranging her wings.

“These two brats are totally reckless. I’ll get His Highness to discipline them well when we’re back…” She shook her head helplessly and shifted her eyes to the Judgement Warriors. Every one of them was wearing the God’s Stone of Retaliation. The dark holes were intertwined and totally obscured Spear. She could only hear the Marquess’ angry rebuke. “Redwyne, are you crazy? You let them into my castle without permission?”

“Of course not, wise sister.” A man’s voice raised within the crowd. “Father was wrong to give the title to one of the Devil’s minions. I’m simply correcting his mistake.”

Chapter 414: The Conspiracy

quot;What… What are you talking about?” Spear asked in disbelief. “The devil’s minion? This is a complete fabrication!”

“Fabrication or not, His Reverence will draw his own conclusion,” Redwyne raised his voice and said. “Just because you managed to deceive Father, it doesn’t mean that you can deceive everyone else! Soon, people will know who you really are. You belong in hell!”

“Did you make all these up?” Spear’s tone suddenly became icy cold. “Or someone else put you up to it? I think the latter is true. After all, father chose me because you and our third brother were completely useless.”

“Shut up!”

Nightingale heard a rattle and the Marquess groaned in pain.

“Enough, bring her to the church for questioning,” someone said, “but she’s still a member of the nobility before her verdict, so maintain your etiquette.”

As Spear Passi was carted away, the Judgement Warriors followed right behind her, and soon there were only two people left in the room. Nightingale couldn’t see their faces clearly because of the effects of God’s Stone of Retaliation, but she could tell that one of the voices belonged to Redwyne, the man who spoke to the Lord. If she was not mistaken, this person seemed to be Spear’s younger brother.

“You’re doing really well, Mr. Redwyne; perhaps, I shall address you as Earl going forward.”

“So that’s it, Mr. Rosad?” Redwyne could not hide his excitement. “I really can inherit the title of Earl and become the Lord of the Fallen Dragon Ridge?”

“Of course. As long as you abide by our agreement, you may even go further,” came the reply.

“So, what should I do next?” he asked eagerly. “Can I move into my sister’s room? She won’t leave her cell, right?”

“Spear Passi will soon be hanged to death as a witch in the square as per the terms of our cooperation.” The other man hesitated for a moment, and continued, “As for what to do next, I suggest you relay this incident to all her ministers, knights and men and divide the rights of the Marquess.”

“Do… do I really have to do that?”

“If everyone can benefit from the incident, your position will be much more secure, which will help our future plans to proceed smoothly,” Rosad said. “If you’re still confused, I can always assign a priest to you. He’s very good at handling government affairs and can always advise you on any questions you may have.”

“Yes, please,” Redwyne replied quickly.

“It’ll be very helpful for us if you can hold the Lord’s position, so the church is happy to help with these issues.” His peals of laughter filled the room.

After the men left, Nightingale emerged from the Mist, followed by Lightning and Maggie.

“We’re in trouble.” She stared at both of them and said, “How could the church show up at precisely the right time and place?”

“I thought they said her brother found her true identity and revealed it to the church,” Lightning said, her eyes flashing with excitement. “Now we have something to do.”

“Why didn’t they find it out earlier? Why right now? I feel like something’s wrong.” Nightingale frowned.

“No matter what, we are not going to watch them execute Spear.” Lightning held her head up high and said, “We must save her and annihilate the church!”

“Annihilate it, coo!”

“The confidence of this blonde girl has inflated since defeating the demons. This is not a good sign.” Nightingale shook her head and responded, “We can’t defeat the church for the time being. They must have participated in this conspiracy, so if we removed these people, Spear would naturally return to her position as Lord. This might be an opportunity for us. If we sneak her out, she’ll probably agree to go back to Border Town with us under these circumstances.”

“Awww, we’re not fighting the church?” Lightning asked, disappointment in her voice.

“Battling will be the very last resort since they outnumber us and have a large amount of the God’s Stones of Retaliation. It’s pretty risky to try routing them all at once.” Nightingale contemplated for a moment and said, “I’ll go to the church first and find out what’s going on.”

There was one concern that she didn’t mention. Spear Passi might be thinking that His Highness was the one framing her if the situation wasn’t explained clearly. That, Nightingale knew, should be avoided at all costs.

“What about us?” the little girl asked.

“Just be ready to meet me outside.”

…

The church of the Fallen Dragon Ridge was located on the outskirts of the city. It was small and had a prayer hall, a residential area for the believers, and a three-story tower surrounded by a wall with only one exit. None of these obstacles posed a problem for Nightingale.

She had familiarized herself with the entire area by the time all of the faithful had departed in the evening. Although there were many more God’s Stones of Retaliation here than in the castle, Nightingale still managed to find her way. There was a huge God’s Stone placed right in the middle of the hall to stifle any magic in the room, and the same was true for some corridors. However, she could always take a detour or even hop over the floor.

Nightingale found the place where Spear Passi was imprisoned in the basement of the tower. She didn’t seem too hurt, just a little frustrated. She intended to rescue the Marquess during the middle of the night.

Nightingale snuck back into the tower after sharing her plan with Lightning and Maggie. She ascended to the top floor and hid in a magnificent room.

“This,” she thought, “would be the Priest’s room. He would probably spill the beans if he found me here with a dagger.”

When the bell of the Fallen Dragon Ridge struck nine, swung open.

She drew out her dagger stealthily but didn’t attack. She judged from the footsteps that there were two people.

“What an unexpected joy!” said a woman’s voice. “Little did we know that Marquess Spear is actually a witch. It seems that we need to tweak our plan.”

“Uh… Lady Saint,” Rosad answered with a very respectful tone, “isn’t it more convincing if she’s a witch?”

“It’s different from before, because according to the will of the Supreme Pontiff, any new witch who comes to realization shall be handed over to be executed in the Holy City as soon as possible,” The woman said. “As for the execution, let’s not hang her, but burn a masked death-row criminal with a similar build.”

“Yes,” Rosad answered. “But why did His Holiness set such a troublesome rule of delivering a witch to Hermes?”

“I’ve no idea, but according to my superiors, it’s simply returning to tradition,” she replied.

“Returning to… tradition?”

“You don’t need to know too much. Just fix the matter at hand.” The Saint said brusquely. “I’ll have to head towards the Redwater City once everything is done here.”

“Understood,” Rosad answered crisply.

“Who is she exactly? How come even the Priest is so respectful towards her? It seems they didn’t know that Spear Passi was a witch before they captured her. Could it just be all a conspiracy to seize the throne of the Fallen Dragon Ridge?”

Nightingale couldn’t help but come out from her hiding place and looked at the lady while hidden in the Mist, only to find that she was not wearing a God’s Stone of Retaliation. The magic power inside of the Saint was as bright as a fluorescent light in her world of black and white.

“She’s a witch!”

“Who’s there?” She responded in an instant, and a dazzling silver light shot towards Nightingale!

Chapter 415: The Fight

ightingale’s years of fighting experience kicked into gear, and her body immediately responded before she could even think.

She leaned back instinctively, and the silver light grazed her cheek. Even in the Mist, she could feel the immense power of the light—extraordinarily scorching and intense. After dodging the sudden attack, Nightingale tucked into a roll and distanced herself from her opponent.

“What… what’s happening, Lady Saint?” Rosad asked frantically.

“It seems like a rat has snuck in.” The witch licked her lips. “Find somewhere to hide and protect yourself.”

“You mean… there’s a witch here?!” The priest’s expression suddenly changed. “I’ll summon the Judgement Warriors!”

“No need. I haven’t hunted a witch for a long time. How could I let someone else have this priceless opportunity? Just stand by and watch me.”

Nightingale was observing the so-called Saint during the conversation. Although she knew that the church was probably secretly raising their own witches, it still broke her heart to see the proof of this theory. This witch had entirely owned by the church, she may even have a high rank, and it sounded like she enjoyed hunting witches and did not see herself as one of them.

Nightingale could not help but remember the determined eyes of the witch who attacked them at the harbor outside the King’s City and stabbed Wendy.

These people were no longer witches since they had chosen a completely different path.

With this thought in her mind, Nightingale did not hesitate to pull out her revolver—although she hated this kind of battle, she had no choice but to kill to stop the killing.

“Where do you come from?” The Saint tilted her head and stared towards where Nightingale was standing. “If the priest can’t see you, you have the power to conceal yourself; if you can dodge my attacks, you have been trained for battle or you have fought in many wars. Either way, it’s quite rare for wild witches like you.”

“Wherever I come from is none of your business,” Nightingale said coldly. She noticed the ribbon that blindfolded the opponent, and it was what a blind person would do. The “silver whip” in the Saint’s hand was still curled by her side with its tip raised like a snake, waving at her.

Only magic power displayed color in the Mist. Was she using this strange whip to locate her?

“Maybe you are not aware, but the church has crowned a new Pope who is compassionate, forgiving, and believes that even wild witches deserve to be saved. As long as you are willing to serve the Lord, the church can cleanse your sins off and accept you as a Pure Witch,” the Saint said with her hand on her chest. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you. If you didn’t come alone and are accompanied by other fallen witches, you can all go to the Holy City of Hermes together to seek your rebirth.”

“Wow, that sounds great.” Nightingale chuckled. “But if awakening as a witch is a sin, and you had a way of cleansing it, why would you establish this law now instead of helping all my lost sisters from the beginning? Do you think I’m a toddler who has never heard a blatant lie before?”

She inhaled deeply and narrated. “I have not sinned!”

As she said this, Nightingale broke out of the Mist and pulled the trigger, and the barrel erupted in flames with a thunderous roar.

The “silver whip” immediately flicked upwards and blocked it off the Saint, spewing sparks everywhere. Then, the tip of the whip relaxed and tossed a twisted metal nugget onto the ground which was the bullet that Nightingale just shot.

This thing could block a revolver!

“Oh?” Her opponent raised her eyebrow. “What kind of weapon is this?” Her voice cooled down suddenly. “I’ve changed my mind. It looks like you’ll be dying here tonight.”

The silver light lunged towards Nightingale once again, this time it was divided into dozens of whips that completely surrounded her.

Nightingale used her Mist to swiftly back away. Unlike common objects, the whips containing magic power were immune to the Mist, so she couldn’t pass through them and could only try to avoid them. However, her enemy’s range of attack was far too big, and the silver light struck by her side. She felt a slight numbness on her shin and she lost her balance, crashing onto the ground. The magic whips pierced into the ground behind her and pulverized the stone floor into dust. If she had been hit directly, she would have immediately lost her fighting power.

Nightingale ignored the wound on her shin and shot all the bullets in her gun at once from the ground.

The silver whips recoiled and turned into a spinning band of light, blocking all the bullets.

She knew she had no time to reload her bullets in the Mist and that once she wasn’t able to hold off her enemy with her revolver, she would be in huge trouble—it was too cramped to distance herself from her enemy, and not being able to dodge any attacks would only shrink her range of movement. She pulled out another gun in a panic, shot all the bullets randomly and ducked into the Mist, and fell two stories down through the floor.

“She escaped!” The Saint screamed. “Summon the Judgement Army to lock down the church, and send guards to the Marquess’ cell as well since the witch might be here to see her!”

“Escaped?” Rosad glanced around him, not seeing any damage in the doors nor secret exits. “Through what?”

“The walls, the ceiling, or the floorboards—her powers go way beyond invisibility. There isn’t any magic power left in the room!” The Pure Witch gnashed her teeth and said, “Do exactly what I told you to, She’s injured and won’t make it too far. Tell all your men to put on the God’s Stone of Retaliation bolts!”

“Yes!”

After the priest left hurriedly, the Pure Witch immediately collapsed helplessly to the floor, her hands trembling powerlessly.

Damn, what kind of weapon is this?

Her abilities were all-powerful, and her defense power, the magic light that could block any attack, was seen as the strongest among Pure Witches—no sword or bolt could ever penetrate it.

In order to strengthen her powers, she was constantly using her magic light. After more than ten years, she was able to carry such an immense amount of magic power that hundreds of arrows were futile, and she had never exhausted her magic power due to blocking anything.

However, her opponent’s attack drained her magic power instantly, and she was no longer able to even maintain her abilities. She felt an extreme fatigue that she hadn’t experienced in years.

“I must get my hands on this Fallen Witch, dead or alive,” she thought vengefully.

Chapter 416: Retreat

ightingale followed the path she had scouted out before, passed through three rooves, and landed straight in the dungeon that the Marquess was held.

Spear Passi heard the sound and stared up with wide eyes. “How… did you get in?”

Nightingale raised a finger to her lips as a sign for silence and limped out of the steel door. Judging from their clothing, the two guards in the pathway were probably followers of the church. She used the Mist to instantly move behind the two men and slit their throats with a dagger—they would never have expected an attack from within the dungeon, so they didn’t even turn their heads as they lay dying.

After returning to the dungeon, Nightingale finally had a chance to examine her wound.

The wind-resistant pants that Soraya made for her were cut open, and blood was gushing from a wound on her shin that was half an inch deep. Her enemy’s magic whip must have scraped through the pants and cut through her flesh, but thankfully it had not damaged any bones. If not for the sturdy coating on her pants, she would have been injured even more seriously.

“You’re hurt,” Spear said with a frown.

“It’s not too bad. We have to leave before you turn into a corpse.” Nightingale did not tell the Marquess about the Saint’s plans of taking her to Hermes, for it seemed just as bad as dying, or even worse. “They had no idea that you were a witch before they captured you, so it must be the church’s conspiracy to gain control of Fallen Dragon Ridge.”

“How about my brother…”

“He’s probably already become the church’s puppet. There’s no time to waste, so I’ll explain to you on the road.” Nightingale tightly tied a sash right above the wound. “Where is the God’s Locket of Retribution?”

The Marquess pointed at her neck. “At first, they only tied my legs with a chain, but then they replaced it with this.”

Nightingale’s heart immediately sunk upon seeing the metal ring as thick as her thumb—this kind of God’s Locket of Retribution was made by stuffing magic stones into a metal tube and sealing it with a special technique, making it practically impossible for someone to undo it.

“Do you remember where the locking device is?”

“It’s inside the dungeon near the entrance, where they brought me to be locked.”

It was obvious that after discovering the Marquess’ real identity, the Saint decided to use the strongest restrictions that could almost trap any witch except an Extraordinary.

She would have to remove this contraption in order to take Spear into her Mist and escape.

“Let’s go to the first dungeon,” Nightingale said decidedly. “Come with me.”

She fought against the stabbing pain in her shin, returned to the fallen guards, took their keys, and opened the cell door.

Suddenly, the tolls of ringing bells broke the silence and echoed throughout the tower, which made her heart race.

“That’s the church’s alarm,” Spear said with a panicked expression.

“I knew they would come eventually,” Nightingale whispered. “Our only chance of surviving is to move faster than our enemy.”

The alarm might have actually helped her because all the men in the basement would swarm towards the only entrance at once, making it easy for her to eliminate them together.

She descended on them with her Mist and aimed her gun at these men. After her bullets pierced her first target, they immediately struck her second, splattering blood everywhere. The God’s Stones of Retaliation that they wore served as clear targets in her black-and-white vision, while her invisibility rendered the men clueless about where to attack. After two rounds of shooting, there was not a single living guard left in the dungeon.

However, she knew that these were the lowest-rank followers and that an armed Judgement Army was headed their way soon. If she couldn’t take off the God’s Stone of Retaliation before their arrival, it would be very difficult to escape.

“Come here!” She quickly spotted the locking device—a metal instrument resting against the wall with two rusty clamps stretching outwards, resembling a terrifying torture device.

Spear pressed her neck against the clamps, and Nightingale fastened the device onto her and furiously turned its handle. With the help of the pulleys, the clamps pulled in opposite directions and created an opening in the God’s Locket of Retribution.

At the same time, the sound of the Judgement Army’s armor rattled near the cell door.

“That’s them right there!” Someone yelled.

“Take aim—shoot!”

“Let’s go!” Nightingale brought Spear into the Mist, but small black holes shot towards her and tore her Mist apart.

There were God’s Stones of Retaliation on the bolts! Nightingale felt a cold sweat break on her forehead as she and the Marquess became completely visible to the Judgement Warriors—it was clear to see that these men were trained very differently from regular followers. They shot their first round of bolts all throughout the passageway to close off their exit, and only half of the men participated in the first attack.

Meanwhile, the other half waited for the witches to expose themselves.

After spotting their target, the second wave of arrows flew towards them.

Nightingale heard the buzzing of arrows behind her and pulled the Marquess in front of her body, yelling. “Duck!”

A searing pain spread like fire through her back as she was hit by countless arrows, but she didn’t stop running.

As they rounded a corner, Nightingale tasted blood in her mouth, probably from biting her lip in pain before. “Are you OK?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” the Marquess said blankly. “Did, did you just block the bolts for me?”

“If you were shot, you would be gone for, but I might make it.” Nightingale reached behind her and found that none of the arrows had pierced through Soraya’s windbreaker—although her back hurt like it was on fire, there were only bruises, and no stone powder had entered her body.

The Judgement Warriors hurried towards them. They probably did not expect the two witches to survive the second wave of bolts without a shield, so they were a considerable distance away.

After escaping the binds of the God’s Stone of Retaliation, Nightingale grabbed Spear and entered her Mist. She rushed upwards through the floorboards and soil to the outside of the tower, took a bamboo tube from her bag, and pulled the string on its end.

A blinding red light shot out of the tube into the sky and exploded into a shower of sparks that looked like stars dotting the sky.

When His Highness gave this to her, he kept boasting about how one flare would summon a thousand troops to her aid. Right now, she didn’t need a thousand troops and only prayed that Maggie could see her signal.

Soon, a giant shadow descended from the sky as Maggie landed next to the tower, her large body crushing its walls and her wings fanning away the fog around them.

“What… what is that?” Spear Passi stared in awe.

“That’s my friend.” Nightingale had Lightning fastened the Marquess onto Maggie, used the last of her strength to crawl onto her back, patted her body, and said, “Let’s fly.”

“Aooooo… aoooo… ” Maggie roared at the incoming Judgement Warriors, flapped her wings, took off, and disappeared into the night with the two witches.