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1Chapter 729: Recasting the Broken Sword
2Translator: TransN  Editor: Meh
3
4"Welcome to the Witch Union."
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6Wendy unrolled the contracts on the desk and said to the witches from Wolfheart smilingly, "sign after you read the sworn words at the back of the contract. Then you'll officially become a member of the union."
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8They should have gone through this procedure earlier had Princess Tilly not suggested a hunting contest. Wendy did not care about who the winner would be, but she had indeed been concerned about whether all the preparation work for the hunting had been completed. On the very day of the contest, she had been restless. Every minute had been suffering for her. Because of this, she had complained about it to His Majesty for quite a while. The subsequent cannon exercise further postponed the matter. To her surprise, however, Annie, who was always the more self-controlled one, ventured to see her first.
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10"Wendy, why don't you test our abilities first?" Amy asked.
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12In about 10 days after they arrived at Neverwinter, this airy, dainty little girl had won everybody's affections. Due to her innocent character, Amy soon established bonds with the other witches. She now felt very comfortable calling Wendy "sister".
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14"We normally test your ability after you sign the contract," Wendy answered in a soft voice. "If you have any questions or concerns regarding the terms of the contract, please don't hesitate to ask me now."
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16"Alright!"
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18Out of the four witches from Wolfheart, Amy was the only literate one. So, Annie, Broken Sword and Hero all sat around her to listen to the terms while exchanging their thoughts.
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20Wendy studied the murmuring witches attentively. She recalled the day when she had signed her contract.
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22At first, she had thought the terms were a little too generous for its own good, and they were very likely just an empty promise through which the lord showcased his benevolence. The terms would probably be changed completely shortly afterward, or there would be another set of implied rules that actually regulated the witches' activities. But later, she had discovered she had been totally wrong. The basic frame of the contract had not gone through many modifications in the past two years. In view of this fact only, Wendy believed that she had made the best decision in her entire life.
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24"Wow, one gold royal for us each month!"
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26"Can we buy whatever we want?"
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28"A paid vacation... Is it true?"
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30"Witches are entitled to terminate the contract in the event that His Majesty fails to fulfill his obligations to provide safety, food or accommodations... Is it really not considered to be a betrayal?"
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32Wendy answered all their questions with a smile like she had done to herself. She pretty much knew exactly when the four witches would utter an exclamation of surprise, as she had been equally astonished by the contract when reading it back then.
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34His Majesty had granted what witches desired the most, which were freedom and acknowledgment. The fate of the Witch Union had been intertwined with that of Roland Wimbledon. Wendy believed nobody in the union would ever part His Majesty even in the event of a crisis when Roland could no longer shelter or support them.
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36Such a bond was not expressed in the contract explicitly but was much stronger than any plain words or language.
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38However, she could also foresee that these sentiments and feelings of contentment would gradually diminish, as newly awakened witches would have a completely different living environment, where there was no threat from the church and no hostility from their relatives or even from their close family members. Given that, new witches would naturally feel less grateful for the new life than old witches.
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40Following the terms came the oath and the signature line.
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42There were no mandatory rules of any kind in the oath. The part only stated that Roland and the Witch Union should act with honor and utmost good faith. It was totally voluntary to join the union. After the four people read and signed, Nightingale pinched Wendy to confirm to her that they had signed the contract with a genuine intention.
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44"Now, we're sisters." She hugged everyone smilingly.
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46The Witch Union thus had four more members.
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48…
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50The ability test location was outside Witch House where Leaf's "Yard Forest" was.
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52Annie was the first to take the test. Wendy had learned much about her ability beforehand from Amy. Although Annie could increase the temperature, she could not create fire like Anna. Only her palms turned warm. During the early stage after Annie had awakened, the best she could do was to make the object as warm as a torch. After entering her adulthood when her ability had consolidated, she could heat up ironware until it glowed red. In addition, she could also melt lead and bronze.
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54During the entire process, Annie looked sullen. Wendy could tell that she had not much confidence in her ability. Wendy fully understood why she felt that way because Annie had once been rejected by the Bloodfang Association. In fact, Wendy had seen many witches like Annie who seemed to only have some useless abilities, for example, Mystery Moon and Echo. Yet no matter how futile their abilities appeared to be, they all eventually found a suitable position in Neverwinter and put their abilities to good use in the end.
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56"A great ability." Wendy encouraged her. "The machining plant in the industrial zone would love to have you."
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58"Re, really?" Annie replied in dismay, "Even if I can only warm up my own palms?"
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60"Of course. The furnace area and the chemistry lab will also be glad to have you... You'll certainly become a busy girl in the union." Wendy wrote several advisable positions down on the notebook. As far as ability assessment was concerned, King Roland had a better insight into each witch's ability. Wendy knew she was not the perfect person to do the evaluation. Therefore, she would often record her thoughts and ask His Majesty to review. In this way, she could, little by little, improve herself and thus do a better job in the future.
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62Her ability was not as powerful as most sisters', and her grades were not the best either. His Majesty, nonetheless, entrusted the Witch Union to her. She dreaded failing him.
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64Annie stepped aside, looking dubious. The second one who took the test was Amy.
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66Wendy felt reluctant to conduct a full assessment of her ability because Amy actually had to hurt herself in order to showcase her power, notwithstanding that self-healing sounded very appealing. The only good thing about Amy's ability was that Amy did not need to worry about the negative impact of magic power bite, for she constantly got some minor injuries and used her power all the time.
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68After a brief interview, Wendy noted down a position as a healer. It appeared that Amy's ability could only be used for healing.
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70The same applied to the third witch, Hero.
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72Since she could only transfer diseases rather than offer treatment, the only place she could work at seemed to be the hospital. Wendy remembered that the so-called plague was actually caused by microscopic creatures. Perhaps Hero could help Lily conduct research on microbiology. At this thought, Wendy marked Hero's name with a circle. She believed once Hero received universal education and gained a basic understanding of Natural Science Theoretical Foundation, her ability might experience some changes.
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74The last one was Broken Sword.
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76Unlike the previous three witches, the silver-haired witch had never shown her ability to Yorko or Phyllis. As such, Wendy had never heard anything about her power.
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78"You can go ahead now." She nodded to Broken Sword.
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80Broken Sword took a deep breath and closed her eyes. As she summoned her magic power, her body started to glow and radiate. Soon she was surrounded by blinding, flaring light.
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82Wendy squinted her eyes and stepped back a few paces. Judging from Broken Sword's performance, Wendy judged that she was stronger than the other witches from Wolfheart.
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84When the light dissipated, Wendy gasped. She could not believe her eyes.
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86The silver-haired witch had vanished into the thin air. In the snow where she had stood erected a strange-looking sword.
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93Chapter 730: News from the Mountains
94Translator: TransN  Editor: Meh
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96"This is... your ability?" It took Wendy quite a long time to recover from the shock.
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98Annie answered, "she can't hear you. After Broken Sword becomes a weapon, she'll be completely cut off from the outside world. Only when you hold her can she regain her senses through you."
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100"I didn't know it worked this way," Wendy thought. She held up the hilt gently after a moment of hesitation. In a second, she sensed another mind in her head. The blade acted with her as one as if it had become a part of her body. Meanwhile, Wendy also felt her sight and hearing improved a lot. She was full of energy and strength.
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102"Wow, this is..."
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104"Co-existence." Broken Sword's voice popped up in her head. "When you hold me, you'll gain all the strength and senses I have." There was a hint of regret in Broken Sword's voice at this moment. "The sad thing is that I've been always weak since I was a kid, so what I can give you is very limited. Even if I'm fused with you, I can't be of much help."
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106Wendy now knew that it was Broken Sword's ability that made her feel powerful.
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108Wendy held up the weapon and studied it carefully. The hilt felt warm and soft like a living thing. The shape of the blade appeared weird. It was at an arm's length but was as slim as a finger. The front part was flat and the part close to the hilt round. It looked more like a magnified needle than a sword. If taking a closer look, she could see dense stripe patterns on the blade, as though the sword were tied up with numerous fine threads.
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110It reminded Wendy of Broken Sword's distinctive silver hair.
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112"How long can you maintain the sword shape?"
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114"If I don't constantly switch back and forth, I can be a sword as long as you like."
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116It seemed that Broken Sword's ability worked the same way as Maggie's. Only the transformation would consume a large amount of magic power.
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118"Maggie? Are you talking about that giant pigeon?"
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120Wendy did not realize what had happened until a moment later. She was a little uneased to learn that Broken Sword could read her mind when they were combined together. There was always something she did not want anybody to know.
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122"You seemed to be a little perturbed... What's this? A cloth strap?"
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124"Nothing." Wendy put the blade back to the ground immediately and looked to Annie. "Ahem, can anyone merge with Broken Sword?"
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126Annie inclined her head. "Technically, yes, as long as she's willing to accept that person, even if he's just an ordinary man. However, in that case, Broken Sword will simply act as an extremely sharp and deadly weapon. Only witches could demonstrate her real power."
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128"Witches?"
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130"Yes." Annie seemed to perceive what Wendy was thinking and replied placidly, "By the way, the connection between you and Broken Sword doesn't mean that she can read your mind. As long as you don't concentrate on your thought, Broken Sword won't know what you're thinking."
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132"I see." Wendy managed to calm herself down and once again reached the hilt.
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134"Did I say something that upset you? I'm... sorry. I won't recklessly ask you such questions again." Broken's Sword anxious voice came to her head at once.
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136"No, nothing..." A question suddenly flashed across Wendy's mind. "What will you see if I put you down without notifying you?"
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138"It'll be pitch-dark. I can neither hear anything nor sense anything like I'm floating in the air."
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140"It must be terrible to be deprived of all senses," thought Wendy. At this thought, she tried to sound as friendly as possible. "It's me that has to make an apology... Don't worry. I won't abandon you at random anymore."
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142Broken Sword appeared to be struck. She responded a "yes" in a soft voice at last after a long silence.
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144"Right. Annie just said that only witches can demonstrate your real power?"
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146"That's right. If I just fight as a normal weapon, I'll also get hurt when the person using me strikes too many blows. But witches could sharpen the blade or expand its attacking range by filling it with magic power. In that case, I'll be able to stab enemies without even touching them."
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148Wendy started to apply her magic power to the blade as Broken Sword had instructed. The silver steel was instantly obscured by a thin layer of white light that stirred like milky fog. In the meantime, she felt the magic power in her body was decreasing rapidly. Apparently, she could not keep things going like this for very long.
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150Urged by Broken Sword, Wendy swung the long sword at a branch of an olive tree. A gust of air streamed from the tip of the sword and cut the twig in half brusquely.
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152"This is... wind?" Wendy asked in surprise.
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154"The magic power you put into the sword will more or less reflect your strength. I didn't expect you're a combat witch." Broken Sword was also a little astounded. "If Annie holds the sword, her power range won't exceed the length of the sword."
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156"I see." Wendy somehow thought of Anna's Blackfire. What would happen if Anna gave the sword a full swing with all her strength? It would probably be an earth-shattering explosion as intense as the Sigil of God's Will that summoned thunderbolts. Nevertheless, Anna was the most crucial witch in the union and also the beloved one of His Majesty's. It was very unlikely that she would partake in the war personally.
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158As to the other combat witches... Wendy contemplated for a while but could not find a perfect match. Therefore, she put a circle next to Broken Sword's name as well and decided to let His Majesty determine which one Broken Sword should pair with.
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160***************
161
162Roland put down the quill in his hand and stretched himself when he heard a high-pitched whistle from the dock.
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164The whistle blew thrice, one long and two short. Its sound reverberated across the whole shipyard. That was the signal that commanded the army to get ready for the journey.
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166After the preparation for the war was completed, the expedition corp of the First Army spent the whole morning boarding the boat. Accompanied by the roar of the whistle, the concrete boat carrying the first batch of soldiers departed the city of Neverwinter and officially commenced her voyage for Fallen Dragon Ridge.
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168There would be more boats transporting supplies and ammunition later. Indeed, the battle to retrieve the Southernmost Region would not start until both new recruits and veterans assembled at Fallen Dragon Ridge.
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170But at least, he had taken the first step.
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172Roland glanced at his desk covered with draft plans of the internal combustion engine. As the second generation power source that had fully replaced steam engines, internal combustion engines had played an irreplaceable role in the development of industries. They had even, to some extents, changed the course of history. Whether it was the simplest piston compressor, the more complicated combustion turbine or the latest jet, they were all powered by internal combustion engines. Roland could confidently say that internal combustion engines had, at one time, dominated the entire industry, until they were later substituted by electric motors.
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174Beyond a doubt, as one of the most significant machines in the history of time, internal combustion engines would definitely benefit Neverwinter a great deal in the near future. The oil project at Blackwater in the Southernmost Region was pivotal to the whole program. If they could, by any chance, extract fuel oil, the subsequent industrial development would be a matter of course. If they, unfortunately, could not, he would then have to consider alcohol as a substitute. In that case, the industrial expansion would be greatly limited even with advanced technologies.
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176Just at that moment, Agatha pounded the door and entered the room.
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178"Your Majesty, Taquila's witches have gotten back to us."
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180Chapter 731: The First Contact
181Translator: TransN  Editor: TransN
182
183In the center of the main hall, the phantom instrument had been completely laid out. With magic power filling it, its core gave off a somber and cold purple light.
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185After the instrument had been activated, it would activate a light curtain thousands of kilometers away. Unfortunately, such an ability was way beyond the power of the witches. This was directly endowed by God.
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187Pasha looked back and found that all of the blobs were hanging down and touching the ground. The God's Punishment Witches stood abreast the mounds with serious looks on their faces. The dead hybrid demonic beasts were deliberately placed on opposite sides and under the purple light, their light blue blood reflected fluorescent spots, it looked gloomy and terrifying.
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189If a group of common people witnessed this, they would have been frightened by such a hellish scene.
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191Pasha did not want things to turn out like this either. After the start of decomposition, the demonic beasts' remains were going to become sticky and disgusting, and difficult to clean up. Even though the God's Punishment Witches would be unable to smell it, she would sense it with her tentacles. Over 400 years, the hall had come to be their home and no one wanted to mess it up, but she had to prepare for the worst.
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193That was to say, Phyllis ran into danger and the ring had been broken by someone else.
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195If such a disaster really happened, it would be necessary to create the most horrific atmosphere to intimidate or even threaten those who might pose threats to her.
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197The western region of Graycastle was near the entrance of the Fertile Plains, so each year many lost demonic beasts would attack it. Whoever put Phyllis in danger, whether it was witches or common people, would conclude from the stockpiled dead demonic beasts that they were very difficult to deal with.
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199Only by making the other side clearly realize that the survivors of Taquila possessed great power, would they be able to bide time for a rescue.
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201"Activate the instrument," Celine said, "we need to figure out Phyllis' situation."
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203Pasha touched her main tentacles and gave an order to the instrument.
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205Everyone immediately noticed the purple light dim as a huge purple curtain made of light enveloped the whole hall and an illusion of a scene appeared on the other side of the phantom instrument and in it the Five-Colored Stone had been broken into pieces.
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207Pasha was stunned and puzzled.
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209The place in the scene was not a murky dungeon, nor a remote wilderness, but an open and spacious hall.
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211The hall was very bright and clear and a long wooden table stood in the center of it, topped by a white tablecloth that held flowers and teacups. There were no signs of fighting, so it looked like the place had been deliberately chosen to just destroy the Magic Stone.
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213Phyllis was currently standing by a window as she chatted with another witch. She noticed the light curtain and turned around with a very surprised face as she asked, "What happened? Was the hall attacked?"
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215"Uh..." Pasha didn't know how to respond at the moment. Phyllis' situation did not match her assumptions. Phyllis had not been attacked or tortured, and she wasn't even in danger. In fact, she was in higher spirits now than when she had departed. Looking carefully, Phyllis wasn't wearing that cheap and vulgar maid suit. Instead, she was wearing a fine fluffy cloak and against the gorgeous clothes, naturally, she had a good complexion.
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217Everyone was as shocked as Pasha. They glanced around at one another, but no one opened their mouth to speak. Luckily, they became expressionless after they became blobs, otherwise, it would have been very embarrassing.
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219"Recently, the demonic beasts launched an attack, but the magic core and the relics of gods are safe and sound. We're also all alive, so don't worry." As the most seasoned, Pasha was the first to regain her senses. She then added, "But, the bodies are many and we haven't had enough time to clear them out."
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221"Really?" Phyllis doubted.
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223"Of course, ahem..." Pasha waved her tentacles towards the God's Punishment Witches behind her for emphasis. "Well, you continue to clean up the remains and remove them from the labyrinth before their fluids dry to the ground."
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225The witches, who stood abreast with their serious looks, appeared to be extremely disappointed.
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227"How can we throw away so many bodies?"
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229"It takes us the whole day to pile them up."
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231"I don't want to touch those sticky and disgusting bodies."
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233"You're right. Although we can't smell it, they look incredibly disgusting."
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235"Stop complaining. Are you really willing to sleep with those bodies?"
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237"Can we throw them into the lava? At most, it'll only smoke like a fire."
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239"I can't believe you! Do you want to turn the entire ruin into a chimney?"
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241"Pfft..." The blue-haired witch standing beside Phyllis couldn't keep from laughing. "My guess is, they thought that you were in danger, so they arranged this scene to intimidate us."
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243Pasha found her voice somewhat familiar and when she looked at her carefully, her name suddenly came to her mind.
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245"Are you Agatha?"
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247"What?" Celine questioned in surprise. "The youngest Senior Witch in history?"
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249"That's impossible. She fell with Taquila, didn't she?"
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251"Even if she managed to escape from the Holy City, how could she still have the same appearance as she did over 400 years ago?"
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253Both of the promoted people temporarily living in the meat lumps and the God's Punishment Witches made sounds of perplexity.
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255"She's indeed that senior witch," Phyllis stated. "After she had been attacked by the demons in the research tower of the Misty Forest, she used the multi-layered frozen coffin to completely freeze herself and it killed all of her pursuers at the same time. When the Witch Union discovered the stone tower ruins, she was rescued."
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257And, that was what had happened.
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259As she heard this, Pasha felt instantly excited and an encouraging idea aroused from her deep heart. Phyllis had not fallen with Taquila and she quickly revealed her identity to the witches of Graycastle. Besides, she also encountered a promoted person from Taquila, so Phyllis must have a clear purpose to contact the maze. Perhaps, this Senior Witch would be the Chosen One they had been looking for.
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261Upon hearing this, Phyllis gave them a look of embarrassment and she hesitated.
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263She first glanced at Agatha before saying in a low voice, "Could you give us a moment? It won't take long."
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265Agatha nodded. "When you're done, I'll inform His Majesty." Having finished, she turned around and left the hall.
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267Then Phyllis took a deep breath and looked at Pasha again. "I've indeed found the Chosen One claimed by the Magic Stone, but he's different from the people in our plan."
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269"Wait a moment, he?" Pasha was stunned. Before she could ask further about it, Phyllis began to tell her about her absurd experience.
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271About how the witches could closely collaborate with common people.
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273About the powerful army that defeated the church.
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275About the powerful gunpowder weapons.
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277And, the most incredible thing... The Chosen One was one of the common people.
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286Chapter 732: An Ideal Beginning
287Translator: TransN  Editor: TransN
288
289When Phyllis told them the news, all the witches in the hall were excited.
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291"How can common people contact God?" Alethea's voice was full of astonishment and incredulity. "You must be wrong about that!"
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293"Are you sure that the orange beam of the light was from his body? Have all of the witches in the western region of Graycastle checked it?" Celine directly asked the key point.
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295These two questions were the exact thoughts of everyone.
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297"I've seen it personally. Besides, his Key is so much more complex than Pasha's requirements that the Five-Colored Stone can't contain the mountain-like orange light." Phyllis uttered her words slowly, "I couldn't believe it at the beginning either, but it's the truth."
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299"Does he have magic power?" Pasha asked with the last shred of hope in her heart.
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301"It's a pity that he can't activate the Instrument of Divine Retribution."
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303It was a great surprise to find the Chosen One, who has such a sophisticated key, in such short time, but what Phyllis had said disappointed all of them. Now that the surprise unexpectedly arrived, no one would have predicted that the Chosen one had the key, but did not have magic power, a discovery that completely overturned their previous idea.
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305Although the Chosen One had the Key, he could not connect to the core due to the absence of magic power, not even with the help of witches. They had fully proved in the Taquila age that common people could not endure the harm brought by magic power, even the tough ones could only sustain for about 30 minutes. They were unable to master the key points of using it.
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307She had thought that Senior Witches were likely to become the Chosen One and that it would be easier to find dozens of eligible candidates in the age when the Union controlled the Fertile Plains. However, what worried her the most was that the news brought by Phyllis totally broke her illusions. There were over 10 higher ascendants living in the small city of Neverwinter.
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309With such a surprising number of higher ascendants, the Witch Union was equivalent to some core organizations of the Union, such as the Quest Society and the Blessed Army that did not have more higher ascendants. Even so, Phyllis could not discover another Chosen One among them.
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311There were two totally different ideas in her mind. One was that it had been easier to eliminate the demons and that they had missed the opportunity, for they discovered the ruin too late. The other one was that they, in fact, did not have access to their targets at all and that it totally was their one-sided will to execute the plan of the Chosen One. If those Senior Witches could not meet the requirements of the Chosen One, would they be right to follow Lady Natalia and to determinedly resist the God's Punishment Army plan of the Queen of Starfall City?
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313Pasha felt terrified when thinking of this idea. She shook her head to calm the surging thoughts down and then asked, "Did you mention that the king of the common people wants to cooperate with us?"
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315"He wants to know us and is willing to fight against the demons with us," Phyllis said, "but I'll only know the detailed requirements after a negotiation."
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317"Do you think that he's capable of fighting against the demons?"
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319"I'm not sure... his weapons are astonishingly powerful, but I pitifully know little about that." Phyllis hesitated for a while and comforted them, "But Agatha is very sure about that. In her view, if Neverwinter is given two or three more years, it's very likely to confine the demons to the west of the Impassable Mountain Range."
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321"What does she think of the relationship between us and Neverwinter?" Alethea asked in a deep voice.
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323"In Agatha's view, she's a witch of Taquila, but she'll work for Roland Wimbledon, the king in the secular world." Phyllis paused and spoke out her thoughts of the New Union, "She thinks that the most urgent mission at the moment is to defeat the demons. Additionally, all forces on the continent should be unified and fight together to face the third Battle of Divine Will."
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325"Working for common people? Has she lost her mind?" Alethea shouted, "Did she forget how we lost to the demons in the first Battle of Divine Will?"
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327There was a discussion amongst the crowd. Almost all members of the Union must learn that period of history. There might be one extraordinary person amongst the common people, but as a whole, they had behaved badly.
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329For example, they opened the city gate to surrender to the demons and they were all killed. The army of witches marched on from thousands of kilometers away to rescue them, but they were rejected outside the gate by the lord, who then witnessed those witches being killed by the demons. In many cases, common people were clambering to escape from the battlefield. Sometimes, a huge army had as many as 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers, but its fighting capacity was no better than that of a witch team with about 100 people. In some places, common people even utilized God's Stone of Retaliation against witches, which exacerbated the breakdown between them.
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331If not so, the human beings would not have been forced to withdraw from the big Land of Dawn to the Fertile Plains.
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333With such bad behavior and their struggle to get food and resources, it was quite reasonable for witches to completely replace the regime of common people.
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335Seeing Alethea wriggling the whole body to express her dissatisfaction, Pasha had the same concerns in her heart. From the descriptions Phyllis gave, Roland Wimbledon, the king of Graycastle, was probably an extraordinary person, but he alone could not change the entirety of common people. If other kings committed stupid and rudimentary mistakes, which side would he back? If the war lasted for 20 or 30 years, would he be as determined and energized as he is now?
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337Not all people would be willing to possess an empty body so as to lengthen their lives at the expense of senses. Even if he was willing to do it, would his offsprings agree with this in 40 or 50 years? Would they be willing to be heirs all of their lives?
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339These were all the questions that Pasha needed to think about.
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341Generally speaking, any cost would be worthwhile if they could defeat the demons. Both Alice and Natalia firmly believed that as long as the human beings and witches were alive, the witches would regain their glory one day, which was exactly the innate difference between God's Honors and common people.
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343However, what she was concerned about was that even though they paid a price, would they still totally defeated? After all, they would not get another chance to try.
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345"Let's first talk with Roland," Celine pressed on the indignant Alethea with her main tentacles. "When I was in the Quest Society, I had dealings with Agatha. Though she was sympathetic to common people, she would think twice before an action. Additionally, given that we were planning to communicate with the kingdoms in the secular world, now that there is a king such as Roland who doesn't discriminate against witches and makes preparations for the Battle of Divine Will in advance, isn't this an ideal beginning for us?"
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347"I agree with you. We alone can't defeat the demons."
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349"We can also expand our influence among all witch organizations with the help of common people."
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351"What's more, he's helping to rope witches in... so Phyllis is more likely to find another Chosen One."
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353"I'm curious about those gunpowder weapons. If we're equipped with them, will it be as easy for us to kill the demons as it is to kill demonic beasts?"
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355The God's Punishment Witches talked it over with each other.
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357"Celine was right." Pasha sighed and thought that since they had to collaborate with common people, such an open king like Roland, was the most suitable counterpart to discuss the matters with, regardless of the idea of the New Union. They could not decide their road afterwards until the discussion. Perhaps, Roland held the same thought.
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359Thinking of this, she nodded her tentacles toward Phyllis and said, "I know. Please let's talk to His Majesty Roland Wimbledon."
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361Chapter 733: The Time Before the Past
362Translator: TransN  Editor: Meh
363
364...
365
366When Roland stepped into the living room, his attention was suddenly drawn by the light curtain that sheltered half a wall.
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368The edges of the light curtain exuded a flickering purple light as if a passageway connecting with different planes was dug through the wall. On the other side, the scene was quite dark, which looked like a huge hollow cavity under the ground. The reflections of the red river which flew in thin streams like cobwebs, lightened the rocky walls and the dome, vaguely showing the ancient ruin and its silhouette. Judging from the vivid visual effect, it should not be a built-up illusion, but a live broadcast transmitted from tens of hundreds of kilometers away.
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370A giant sarcomatoid monster with its tentacles spreading was facing Roland. A strange voice sounded in Roland's head.
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372"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, my respected king of Graycastle, Your Majesty Roland Wimbledon. I'm Pasha, one of the survivors of Taquila. I think you must've heard of us from Phyllis."
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374"Ah, this is what direct communication means." Roland sat down facing the light curtain while being joined by Nightingale, Tilly, Agatha, Wendy and Scroll. "It's good that you've talked to each other, I don't have to introduce myself."
375
376"You don't seem to be surprised by my appearance at all." Pasha was a little surprised. "I thought it would take quite some time before you could accept the idea that I am indeed a witch."
377
378"Because I'm really not a stranger to the sort of concepts such as appendages and prosthesis," Roland thought to himself, but he said in a peaceful voice, "With the Bloody Moon drawing near, time is precious for both of our sides. Rather than concealing from each other and suspecting each other, it's better that we just be honest with each other from the very beginning. Since you've been the rulers of the continent, I guess you all agree with me?"
379
380Pasha was startled for a moment, then burst into a light laughter. "Phyllis was right. You're indeed a rare and extraordinary person."
381
382"Only because I stand on the predecessors' shoulders," Roland said with his hands laid out. "Let's get to business. We have a common goal, and that is to fight against the demons. The purposes you sent Phyllis out with were, to search for the Chosen One and to communicate with the worldly kingdom, am I right?"
383
384"Totally," Pasha admitted frankly. "At first we wanted to infiltrate secretly, then gradually recruit or control some common people to search for the Chosen One. But the failure of the church made us realize another way to success, which is to show ourselves above board and gather all the witches."
385
386"So you chose Graycastle as your destination?"
387
388"According to the information that we collected, the Sleeping Island in Fjords possesses the hugest witch organization, the leader of which is your younger sister. Moreover, Graycastle is a big country which defeated the church, so choosing it as our first destination in search of the Chosen One was quite plausible. But I didn't expect that Phyllis would connect with you so soon and bring us an astonishing message. To be honest, I thought it'd take us two to three years to achieve this."
389
390"Great. It seems we've saved two to three years of precious time. Our meeting is worthy of being written into history for this accomplishment alone," Roland said, smiling.
391
392"It seems so," Pasha also smiled and said, "but the premises are that we defeat the demons and then live and prosper in the Land of Dawn."
393
394"Sure, as long as the commoners and witches could drop the misunderstandings and cooperate hand in hand, demons aren't an indestructible enemy." Roland paused and said, "I could also help you in your search for the Chosen One. After all, it's not a bad thing to have one more powerful weapon to compete with the demons, but our cooperation must rest on mutual understandings. What do you think?"
395
396"Agreed." The tentacles on Pasha's body waved tidily. "If there is anything you want to know, please just ask, Your Majesty."
397
398Roland turned around, looked at Tilly and all the other witches, then said slowly, "After hearing about the buried history, my biggest confusion is, what on earth did you find in the ruin? For that, Taquila took on the huge cost of breaking with Starfall City, which then led to the collapse of the Union."
399
400This was also one of the key reasons why Roland decided to actively contact the survivors. The technique of Soul Transfer was something that even modern science and technology could not tackle. The Instrument of Divine Retribution which the witches believed could replace the God's Punishment Army plan and thoroughly destruct the demons, must be extraordinary. He would not blindly believe the scientific and technological knowledge he possessed was perfect. Drawing on each other's merits and raising the level together was common sense to modern people.
401
402As a matter of fact, he had always wanted to combine this seemingly omnipotent magic power with science and technology. When he saw the witch precisely transmit live images onto the western region castle with the aid of the objects taken from the ancient ruin, he was determined that this meeting was absolutely necessary.
403
404There was no doubt that this must be beyond the witches ability limit.
405
406"Pasha!"
407
408"Are you sure you want to tell him all about it?"
409
410"That's God's secret!"
411
412"We made a big sacrifice to..."
413
414Instantly, several voices full of worries or dissatisfaction rushed through his mind. Roland then realized that many other Taquila witches were also witnessing this meeting.
415
416"It's exactly because we've made a big sacrifice... We shouldn't do that in vain." Pasha interrupted the crowd's discussion. "If we can't withstand the demons massive invasion, do you wish for us to bring this secret to the grave, like those tombstones we found?"
417
418Her loud retort quietened the crowd. It was probably because she made a crucial point, nobody else stood out to object to her anymore.
419
420This reaction drew Roland's attention. "It seems that what Phyllis said about the survivors was mostly true. They have, to some extent, eliminated the influence of class and status, otherwise, they wouldn't have argued about such a major issue on the spot. But generally speaking, Pasha remains of relatively high prestige among them."
421
422"Sorry, this information is indeed of vital importance..." Pasha's tentacles drooped toward the living room as though they were expressing an apology. "Under these circumstances, it can't remain a secret anymore. At least not between each other." After a moment's silence, she added, "To be precise, it wasn't that we found the ruin, but it was the ruin which reached out to us."
423
424Roland frowned, "It reached out to Taquila?"
425
426"Not Taquila, but a time prior to ours... approximately not long after the beginning of the first Battle of Divine Will."
427
428"By 'us', does Pasha mean the entire human race?" Somehow, Roland felt a chill spreading from under his feet. "That was almost 800 years ago."
429
430"That's true. Unfortunately, we didn't get its meaning then." Pasha sighed. "What reached out to us was a civilization. One that had disappeared underground."
431
432Chapter 734: The Root of the Divergence
433Translator: TransN  Editor: TransN
434
435"Underground... civilization?"
436
437Roland could not help but think of the turnoffs on the North Slope Mine and the cluster of grottos running through the Impassable Mountain Range... In his memory, no geological movement could create such unique landforms. At first, he thought that they were created by some sort of mutant hybrid demonic beasts. But according to what Pasha said, maybe they were traces left by the underground civilization?
438
439"At that time, people didn't realize it, nor did they intend to communicate with it. Our forms were so different that we even considered them as a new type of demon, which was why there was a huge deviation on the recorded history. It wasn't until the final phase of the second Battle of Divine Will that there was a breakthrough discovery." Pasha's voice was low and deep. "By then, Taquila was the only city left of the three holy cities. The Union had reached a vital moment of survival or extinction."
440
441"What do you mean by a breakthrough discovery?"
442
443"With the help of the remaining lithograph, the Quest Society figured out the way to store souls and verified it on an unhatched original carrier. Since then, the Three Chiefs embarked on the research for the transformation of the God's Punishment Army."
444
445"I know nothing about that..." Agatha said surprisingly.
446
447"Soul Transfer was the top secret of the Union. Its classification was even two levels higher than that of the God's Punishment Army plan in which witches were used as the experiment mice. At that time, only the Three Chiefs and a few senior officials knew of it," Pasha replied. "I only learned this astonishing information with the fall of Taquila."
448
449"So Natalia supported the God's Punishment Army plan in the beginning?" Roland asked, frowning. "What's an original carrier?"
450
451"Because she was left with no choice. As to the latter... it's what we look like right now." Her tentacles drooped more and her body got closer to the light curtain. "My weird, ugly shell is the evidence that the underground civilization existed. It's the only tombstone that it left. It's a long story. Your Majesty, please allow me to slowly tell you."
452
453Roland nodded, poured himself a glass of Chaos Drink, leaned back in the chair and began to sense the consciousness transmitted from Pasha.
454
455"According to the clues on the lithograph, the evanescent civilization left a city in the Impassable Mountain Range. The Quest Society searched for a long time without gaining anything. Then one day it occurred to them that since this civilization was used to moving underground, could this city be built underground as well?"
456
457"After extending the search area, the witches finally found this magnificent city. It consisted of four layers with an area of about half the size of Taquila. On each layer there were countless turnoffs and hollow cavities, which were as complex as a maze. Without the guidance of a witch who could sense directions, one could easily get lost and never get out. For this reason, the Quest Society also called it the maze ruin."
458
459"Unfortunately before the Quest Society could carefully explore it, Taquila was occupied by the demons. Everybody had to escape from home. After paying a heavy price, we finally arrived at the maze. According to our plan, the Union would take away the original carrier stored in the maze, leave for the Hermes Plateau, and then build a new Holy City to restore orders at the east coast of the continent."
460
461"But no one would've guessed what would happen next."
462
463Pasha paused and the scales on her body dimmed. Even without looking at her facial expression, Roland could sense the grief in her heart.
464
465After quite a while, she resumed transmitting. "Although it was after an interval, the Quest Society found the maze ruin that had been preserved in good condition. One can even say that it was an entirely new city. Besides the original carrier, the bottom layer of the ruin stored many unconceivable secrets, the most important three of which were the magic core, the central carrier, and the record of the evanescent civilization. Afterwards, the idea came to our minds that as early as the first Battle of Divine Will, the underground civilization had intended to lead us here." Pasha inhaled deeply. "The maze ruin was prepared for us."
466
467"What for?" Tilly could not help but ask.
468
469"For revenge." Another voice appeared in everybody's head. Compared with Pasha, this witch's tone was much colder. "It hoped that we could destroy the demons and take revenge for its clan's extinction."
470
471"It's only Lady Natalia's speculation. It wasn't recorded in the document." Pasha waved her tentacles like shaking a head. "It could be that they simply wanted their civilization to be passed down. Anyway, from the remaining record, the Quest Society retrieved many research materials related to God's will and magic power. In order for us to understand the details, most of its conclusions were expressed in lithographs."
472
473"And the record about the magic core is the very root of the divergence between the Queen of Sunchaser and the Queen of Starfall City. One of the most important messages in the lithographs is, 'magic power offers infinite possibilities and the pursuit of God's will is the ladder to mastering magic power'."
474
475Roland sensed the key point coming. "What's the magic core? Does it have anything to do with the Instrument of Divine Retribution?"
476
477"You can take the core as an artificial Magic Cyclone. It's not confined to a witch's body and can adjust its forms at any time. This bizarre device almost overturned the Union's knowledge system." Using one of her tentacles to point at the light curtain, Pasha said, "For example, the phantom instrument we're using for our communication is a minor scaled magic core. When necessary, it can be converted into other instruments. As to the Instrument of Divine Retribution, it's the biggest magic core in the ruin."
478
479"I see..." Roland instantly realized the superiority of this instrument. Compared with the witches abilities which were inherently unchangeable, the magic core was virtually a universal terminal. Most of all, its effective distance far exceeded the five-meter limit. Either for production or for military use, it was way more powerful than the witches.
480
481"But it's just the primary usage of the magic power. Just as the relationship between the original awakening and the high evolution, the lithograph predicted that with the deepening of the development of magic power, one day we could finally be equivalent to God..." Pasha said with a sense of loss as if she was not saying something significant. Instead, she sounded like someone who had lost their way.
482
483Roland realized the point of her last words.
484
485"But you ran out of time."
486
487"You're right. At first, we didn't know how long it would take for that day to arrive. It could take a century or a millennium. In order to approach the magic core, several Quest Society members had lost their lives. Obviously, witches can't touch those bizarre instruments. We wanted to solve the problem, but didn't know how to do it, so our exploration came to a dead end. The lithograph could only show very limited information. If we were to carry out our research, we had to follow their instructions. Only when there were enough people integrated with the central carrier, could we comprehend their language so as to further read their more profound documents and records."
488
489"But we didn't have enough time. We'd spent three years figuring these things out. Many common people who had joined us earlier tried to get rid of our control and knowing how many witches were needed to integrate with the carrier remained unknown. But at that time, our resources could only sustain one attempt of research. If it went on like this, the great plan of the Union to restore order would have lost its foundation."
490
491"The most important thing is that Lady Alice's plan of the God's Punishment Army has an irreconcilable conflict with the concept recorded in the underground civilization's documents. If a witch abandons her body to become a God's Punishment Warrior, she'll not only lose the chance to be promoted," Pasha paused, then said, "but also lose God's Will forever."
492
493Chapter 735: Legacy of the Civilization
494Translator: TransN  Editor: Meh
495
496Roland could easily guess what had happened next.
497
498After knowing that God's Punishment Army was not the only way to compete with demons on the battlefields any more, the Taquila survivors who didn't want to reduce their own kind to the materials for shells must have caused a great conflict with Alice.
499
500Given that, the Battle of Faiths recorded in the written history of the the church probably is just a story made up to cover the truth of this dispute.
501
502As for the root of this disagreement, it did not just lie in the difference between the faith in God's Punishment Army and that in the Chosen One. At that moment, all the leaders of the Union must have been very clear that neither of the choices was able to guarantee their victory in the war against demons.
503
504According to Phyllis, the plan proposed by the Queen of Starfall City to have God's Punishment Army rest in an everlasting sleep would indeed create 3,000 to 4,000 powerful, experienced extraordinary warriors before the third Battle of Divine Will, but the survivors of the Union had also noticed a fatal defect in this plan. As souls needed lots of time to adapt to their shells, once this army suffered an inevitable loss during the wartime, it would be impossible for the Union to replace casualties with new warriors in a short time. As a result, this army might only be able to block demons for a decade, or even, by any chance, retrieve the ruined Holy City of Taquila, but they could never recapture the whole Land of Dawn.
505
506As for the choice to search for the Chosen One, they had thought it as an even more risky plan because of its extremely slim chance of success. However, they had also seen the benefit of it. If they found the one, human beings would be able to win the war at little cost and would even get closer to the deities based on the records on the lithograph.
507
508For the survivors of the Union, searching for the Chosen One meant betting on the future while the God's Punishment Army plan the present.
509
510"What about the result? Did you defeat the Starfall City?" Roland asked.
511
512"Taquila was not the final winner. No one would be in this conflict. When both sides lose their Transcendents, Lady Eleanor stood out to stop this internal disaccord and integrated herself into the central carrier. She was the first witch merging with it."
513
514Shocked, Agatha asked, "You mean, in the ruins of the maze, all the Three Chiefs were..."
515
516Pasha said plaintively, "Yes, the Union lost all the three Transcendents in this internal struggle. It was also the end of the Three Chiefs system. As a result, the ruins of the maze became an indispensable part of the Union. Both sides decided to stop fighting and then reached an agreement through negotiation. As agreed, the survivors of Taquila stayed in the ruins studying the magic core and those of the Starfall City went to Hermes and built a new Holy City there. Due to the limited number of the original carriers, the survivors of the Starfall City also agreed to offer us a certain number of empty shells in the next 100 years. "
517
518"We also agreed that if we failed to make a breakthrough in the Chosen One plan or found no leads of her, they would have the right to take back all the research results in the ruins, including the soul containers and the original carriers. They claimed that by then they would come with their God's Punishment Warriors and that if we broke the agreement, they would never compromise again."
519
520Notice something was wrong here, Roland interrupted, "wait... After 100 years, the church didn't come to you, did they?"
521
522Based on what he knew, in the past hundreds of years, the witches of Taquila had hid underground and never had a say in the world. Meanwhile all the church's God's Punishment Warriors had been soulless. Despite the defect in the warriors, the church still greatly outnumbered the Taquila witches, yet it had never sent any troops to the ruins of the maze. Roland wondered whether the church people had totally forgotten about this agreement.
523
524Pasha sighed. "For a long time we were unable to know what was going on in Hermes or any other things that happened outside the ruins of the maze since the original carriers could not be exposed to the sun and the witches who transferred their souls into new bodies needed a long time to adapt to them. When we were able to go outside, we were surprised to discover that they didn't follow lady Alice's will when building the new order."
525
526Agatha said through her teeth, "I knew that! I knew lady Alice would never create such rules. As compared to her plan of God's Punishment Army, what the church did was destroying the foundation of the witches!"
527
528All the Taquila survivors agreed with her at once.
529
530Roland waited until they calmed down and changed the subject. "What's a central carrier? Is it different from the original carriers?"
531
532Another voice started to explain, "They're all shells. As the living beings of the underground civilization were extremely fragile, they had to live in shells. These things were immortal, but we can't find any detailed information about where they came from in the documents left in the ruins. Based on what we know now, the original carriers are the most common shells, whereas the central carrier which looks similar to them stores many unconscious memories. You can consider it as an original carrier which had been used for many years but had no self-awareness. We need to integrate all the memories into it to understand the remaining documented experiement records in the ruins." She sounded soft and elegant, different from Pasha and the angry witch.
533
534Listening to this voice, Roland quickly pictured in his head an academic woman who had a long thick braid and wore a pair of black-framed round glasses. He said to her, "Thank you for explaining this to me, you're..."
535
536"My name is Celine, Your Majesty. I was a member of the Quest Society and used to work with Agatha."
537
538Agatha got closer to him and whispered in his ear, "I'm not familiar with her. We worked in the same research tower but on different floors. I heard that she was a quiet girl, but every time when it came to magic power, she would become passionate, acting like a totally different person."
539
540Hearing this, Roland thought, "Only someone like this woman would become a faithful follower of Natalia." He cleared his throat and asked her another question, "So, are the witches who merged with the central carrier still alive?"
541
542Celine replied, "not really. Apart from the dozen witches who severely injured in the internal battle, there was another thirty-six of us who volunteered to follow lady Eleanor to merge with it. Not everyone was willing to turn into such a monster or spend the rest of her life trapped in a body that can't feel anything. Their sacrifice finally activated the central carrier, but unfortunately, it can only say yes or no in a dialogue but can't make a normal conversation."
543
544Roland was intrigued at once. "It can answer yes or no to any question?"
545
546Celine also grew a little more excited. "It only answers a question it understands and it'll respond more quickly if you specify your question. It enables us to mend or adjust the magic core. It's essentially a combination of all the Taquila witches' willpower. The more witches merge with it, the faster its reaction is. For us, to accompany Lady Eleanor was the last we can do to contribute to the search for the magic power."
547
548Meanwhile, Roland was excited about something else. "Doesn't the mechanism of input and feedback sound like a primary bio-computer system? If I set all the conditions, will the central carrier be able to solve an equation or complete some complex calculations by itself? I really want to take this thing to Neverwinter and thoroughly study it here!"
549
550Knowing that it was not the time to make such a request, he decided to put those thoughts aside at this moment and express his wish in future negotiations.
551
552He drank all the Chaos Drink in his cup and said, "I see. Now I've got a basic understanding of your situation, but I still have one question. You, the church and those ancient books have repeatedly mentioned the Divine Will, and I heard that one could even feel the existence of the deities in a secret chamber exclusive for the Pope on the top floor of a secret temple under the Hermes Plateau. Could you tell me what the Divine Will is? "
553
554Chapter 736: The Giant Paintings and the Divine Will
555Translator: TransN  Editor: Meh
556
557Pasha was astonished at Roland's question for a moment and then said, "Phyllis is right. You do know lots about us. As for the Divine Will, we didn't know much about it until the fall of Taquila, so it's impossible for you to get this information from Agatha."
558
559Roland put on some airs by propping his chin with interlaced fingers and said, "Don't forget it, the church was defeated by me. All the Pure Witches who held management positions in the Holy City of Hermes now are imprisoned in Neverwinter."
560
561"I see."
562
563With these words, Pasha became silent, as if she were looking at Roland carefully. Even though she had no eyes, he could still felt her gaze. After a long time, Pasha's voice appeared in his head again. "I can tell you what the Divine Will is, but you have to promise you'll keep this secret forever and so do the others in this meeting. If people are running after or protecting something intangible, they won't easily fall into despair, but when this something becomes tangible, they'll probably get stressed out. I mean if this information is leaked out, it'll do no good to human beings."
564
565Roland made an eye contact with all his witches to confirm that they would keep this secret and then asked in a deep voice, "So that's to say, the Divine Will is something tangible?"
566
567Pasha slowed down, as if she was talking while recalling. "Yes, it looks like a transparent God's Stone of Retaliation, shaped like a spindle apparatus, but it can't affect the use of magic power or has any other special function. As long as you open your heart near it, you'll truly feel the call of the deities and see something incredible."
568
569"Like what?"
570
571"You'll see an infinitely spacious hall with the Bloody Moon high above your head and four giant paintings around you. The paintings seem to be alive and change all the time..." The ancient witch described the illusion created by the Divine Will in detail.
572
573Tilly could not help asking, "What do those paintings stand for?"
574
575Hearing this question, all of them held their breath waiting for the answer.
576
577Pasha's tentacles stood up at once. "This question baffled the people for nearly 1,000 years. The Quest Society kept on looking for the answer but failed. We had no idea about it either until we decoded the contents in the documented records in the ruins of ruins. The four paintings the deities showed us respectively represent the mankind, the demons, some unknown enemy and the underground civilization. The shape of the Divine Will corroborates this speculation, as it's not a complete spindle apparatus but a quarter of a sphere which we called the relic of the deities."
578
579Roland knitted his eyebrows. "Four Giant Paintings and a quarter of the relic of deities... Do you mean every civilization pictured in the paintings has a relic like this?"
580
581"Not everyone. The underground civilization lost its part of the Divine Will. As a result, one of the paintings showed by the deities is always black. It turned black right after the end of the first Battle of Divine Will. According to the documented records in the ruin of the maze and those in the ancient documents of the Union, we surmise that the underground civilization is already removed from the Battle of Divine Will forever." Gooseprickles crawled up everyone's arms when they heard Pasha's answer.
582
583They were shocked to learn that all the civilizations had fought for hundreds of years just for some relic, and more importantly, for each civilization, losing its part of relic would mean losing everything.
584
585Hearing such a shocking news, Roland knitted his eyebrows even more tightly together. As compared to some unknown enemy in this war, what he cared more about was who had set up the whole thing. He wondered, "is it merely an accident or carefully arranged. Did it happen randomly or due to human being's doomed fate? What's the purpose of leaving behind this relic? Does it have anything to do with the Bloody Moon which emerges periodically? More importantly, did the Taquila survivors understand these things correctly?" He was lost in thought and meanwhile felt he caught a vague clue...
586
587He thought,"What if I replace the word 'deities' in this story with something else?"
588
589When he was absorbed in thought, Tilly asked, "If we collect all of the four parts of the relic, what will happen? Didn't the deities give you any guidance?"
590
591Pasha calmly replied, "No one knows the answer, and the deities have never responded to our calls. The deities don't love people. They only favor the winner."
592
593Wendy exclaimed in disbelief, "How come... we've fought for hundreds of years just because of a useless stone? The Divine Will is... so cruel."
594
595The ancient witch tried to comfort her. "So it appears. I hope these words in the documented records in the ruins of the maze will solve your question, although they are quite hard to understand. 'All of us are the deities' children, but only a few of us will be able to see the dawn. Since we sensed magic power, we've been destined to lead a life uncommon. This competition has lasted for a long period of time. We are already one-in-a-thousand elite. Birds weren't birds, and we weren't us. Fighting makes things thrive, and competition makes living beings eternal.'"
596
597Something flashed across Roland's mind like a bolt of lightning.
598
599He abruptly interrupted, 'What did you say?"
600
601"All of us are the deities' children?"
602
603"No, something after this."
604
605Scroll replied, "'this competition has lasted for a long period of time. We are already one-in-a-thousand elite.' Your Majesty, I've memorized all of it."
606
607What does that sound like?
608
609This thing described by the underground civilization resembles the process of evolution! From barbaric period to civilized age, every civilization that exists now has defeated numerous opponents during its development course.
610
611And all the four different civilizations we know have a thing in common, which is they all know how to use magic power.
612
613Among human beings, witches are the ones who can use this kind of power, and demons and the underground civilization seem to be even better at controlling it. Given that, the other unknown enemy must also be able to use it.
614
615If that's true, everything will be consistent with the underground civilization's description. The "children" in the sentence "All of us are the deities' children" probably refers to the species who were gifted to manipulate magic power.
616
617In this way, the Battles of Divine Will aren't caused by the deities' relic. Instead, they are just a means of accelerating evolution or the basic rules of this magic world. This also corroborates the underground civilization's conclusion that elevating magic power is the way to get closer to the deities.
618
619Pasha's voice reverberated across Roland's head. "Your Majesty, are you all right? I feel your mind is a little out of order."
620
621"Oh? Are you able to see what I'm thinking?"
622
623"No, I can only know what you are thinking when you are ready to communicate with me through your mind. For example, now I'm willing to talk with you through my mind, so you are able to hear what I'm thinking." Pasha paused for a while and asked, "It'll be more efficient to communicate that way. Do you want to give it try?"
624
625Roland shook his head, smiling. "No, I prefer to express myself using my throat and my tongue. As for the confusion... I just thought of something interesting. But relax, it won't affect our communication."
626
627Thinking that sometimes rules were just rules and there might not be a reason for them, he felt it was acceptable to consider them as something created by the deities. As far as he knew, the origin of life and the Cambrian explosion on earth were also puzzling things. Life is said to form out of lightning and boiling water where organic molecules constantly collided, merged and split and then formed a molecular chain which could reproduce itself. The chance of that is as slim as that of a hurricane assembling a Benz sports car by whirling lots of metal parts into the air.
628
629As for the Cambrian explosion, it was even more mysterious. A sea which only had had some simple creatures such as algae and mollusc for several hundred million years seemed to be filled with various kinds of animals overnight. In a short span of time in the Cambrian period, most major animal phyla of the earth appeared in a sudden. No matter how living beings on the earth evolved in the following years, they can all be traced back to their origins that formed in this period of time.
630
631As these two great changes which gave a strong impetus to the species evolution on the earth are both events of extremely low probability, some people attribute them to some mysterious power beyond description. They believe that it's an invisible hand that pushed the world on the earth to develop into what it's like today. What about this strange magic world? Does such power really exist in here?
632
633Chapter 737: The Leader
634Translator: TransN  Editor: Meh
635
636Roland was clear that it was nothing but his own speculation.
637
638I can't jump to a conclusion based solely on the documentation of the underground civilization since their contents still need further verification. For example, the underground civilization thought that they successfully survived a series of competition, but what about their opponents who probably were also able to use magic power? Where did they leave their traces? What about human beings? Did witches first appear before the first Battle of Divine Will— or rather, was the mankind gifted with the sense of magic when they were still primates or even at the beginning of the Mammalian age?
639
640Maybe, human beings in this world didn't go through such a long process of evolution at all. Could they directly become what they are now through mutation after gaining a victory?
641
642He was afraid that to answer these questions, he would need a great number of outstanding explorers like Thunder.
643
644As compared to those researches, his top priority still remained to be human survival, but he believed that it was just a matter of time for him to find out the answers.
645
646He looked at Pasha, asking, "Before you moved this part of relic underground, had it been kept by the church... no, I mean the Starfall City all the time?"
647
648Now that he knew the importance of the relic, he started to care about its safety.
649
650"Yes. Due to the existence of the giant paintings, burying it underground can't prevent the Divine Will. Therefore, it's always kept by the most powerful witch organization. During the Months of Demons when magic power reaches its peak, demonic beasts will come for it. That was why they launched frenzied attacks at Hermes during those months before." With these words, Pasha moved her giant body away, revealing the scene behind her. Two piles of dead bodies of demonic beasts stood there with light blue blood dripping down and flowing all over the ground. Pasha continued, "After we knew the Starfall City had suffered a serious setback, we took back the relic as soon as we could. Now it's very safe in our hands."
651
652Wendy gasped at the sight. "How did you kill that many hybrid demonic beasts?"
653
654"The Instrument of Divine Retribution can deprive the targets of their magic power, and these monsters will die soon without the power in their bodies." Pasha briefly described how this instrument worked and continued. "But it'll only become a mighty weapon when it's activated by the Chosen One."
655
656Roland caught the keyword immediately. "Deprive them of their magic power? So does it mean that it'll do no harm to normal animals? Can God's Stones influence the instrument?"
657
658"No, it directly affects magic power, and God's Stones can't do anything about it at all."
659
660Learning that this instrument could affect an area within a radius of over 5,000 miles without causing any side effects to living beings without magic power, Roland had to admit it was really an environmentally friendly weapon. Unfortunately, however, its start-up requirement seemed too harsh.
661
662He wondered whether the underground civilization had really tested this instrument's power or not. "Maybe they've just done it in theory? Otherwise, they wouldn't end up losing its relic in the war. Wait, did they create something they couldn't use? This kind of absurd things will only happen in this strange magic world."
663
664Thinking that the underground civilization had an advanced magic theory and demons were able to cultivate various kinds of abilities, he realized human beings seemed to have no advantage in manipulating magic power at all. The witches were not a stable group. Their awakenings happened randomly among people and their abilities were hard to predict and control. Given that, he believed they still need a long time to evolve, but now there was not much time left for human beings.
665
666Roland suspected that by the time the Taquila witches found the Chosen One, Neverwinter's armies equipped with advanced steel weapons had already gained an upper hand in the war against demons.
667
668Despite all those thoughts, he would never try to deny the existence of magic power in this world.
669
670He decided to carry out research on both science and magic power at the same time. In this way, the new findings of magic power would increase their productivity. In the meantime, the development of productivity would generate more resources for the studies on magic power.
671
672He believed all research projects could be successfully carried out as long as there was plenty of money and manpower, including the one on magic power.
673
674Now that he knew the basic situation of the Taquila survivors, he thought it was time to negotiate with them.
675
676He said, "Pasha, thank you for telling me your situation and research results. As demons are obviously our common enemy, we should work together and pool our resources to fight against them. How about we building a united front of Divine Will to further our cooperation and coordination?"
677
678Pasha tapped with her tentacles. "I agree. We only hope Your Majesty will continue your policy to gather more witches. All the Taquila witches want is to find the Chosen One among them. We'll send another God's Punishment Witch to bring you a new Five-Colored Stone."
679
680"I'll continue the policy anyway. Even if you don't say that, I'm still going to expand the witch organization in my kingdom, but..." He paused for a while. "I think you'd better move to another place, such as the western mountains near Neverwinter."
681
682"Well..."
683
684Before Pasha gave her answer, all the witches in the reception hall stirred. "Your Majesty?"
685
686"What about demonic beasts?"
687
688At this moment, all the witches were staring at him. Some seemed worried and some nervous. Only Agatha gave him an approving look as if she had known that he was going to make such a request.
689
690Roland surveyed them and signal the witches to calm down and relax. After that, he turned to look at Pasha on the light curtain again and said, "To be honest, I can't agree with your plan to protect the relic on your own. Once you lose it, all human beings' efforts will be wasted. Demonic beasts aren't tough enemies, but without the defensive line in Hermes, are you sure you can protect the relic when demons launch a surprise attack on you?"
691
692Having heard that the underground civilization diminished probably because they lost its part of the relic, he thought it was better to put this thing under his own protection or somewhere near him. He would feel better if he would be able to send an army to support them immediately when they were attacked.
693
694Celine seemed to be disagreeable. "As long as we change the annihilation core, demons will become easy targets as demonic beasts."
695
696"No, they won't. Demons are way more powerful and intelligent than demonic hybrids. I can tell from the packed dead bodies that those demonic beasts were once very close to your core region. If I guess correctly, the Instrument of Divine Retribution isn't far away from the phantom instrument." Roland noticed that the little tentacles on Pasha stiffened for a moment when she heard this sentence. "If some Mad Demons who can throw spears attack you guys, how many magic cores will be able to remain intact?"
697
698"But..."
699
700Roland continued to explain patiently, "If you still think I won't do any better than you or worry about that demonic beasts would be attracted by the relic, you can settle down on the side of the western mountains close to the Fertile Plains and I'll build a road to connect your place with Neverwinter. In that case, I'll be able to help you whenever you're in trouble: Trust is the foundation of cooperation, and placing the relic where both parties regard as safe is the first step to build our mutual trust, isn't it?"
701
702Pasha remained speechless with her tentacles intertwined with those of the other blobs. They seemed to be communicating with each other rapidly in this way. After seven or eight minutes, she started to talk again.
703
704"Before I give our reply, I'd like to ask a question first. If we do form a united front of... Divine Will as you said, who'll lead us to fight against demons?"