Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 147 Hymn
Hagrid and Ivy discussed for a whole day and made many battle plans, but none of them seemed to be useful.

After Brown Egg was shot, the invading bandits became chaotic. Under the firepower of the electromagnetic crossbow, most of them were killed or injured in the first encounter. The remaining small group of people could only flee in panic.

The battle situation was completely different from what they expected.

This should have been an effortless victory, but until the end of the battle, the high-level monsters promised by the witch did not appear. The witch also never mentioned to them the highly penetrating crossbows used by the town guards, which could kill or cripple anyone who was hit by one.

The militia temporarily formed by Ximu Town lay in ambush for half the night, but suddenly learned that the bandits in Wolf's Head Fort were completely defeated and had been repelled.

Baron Gretin was particularly excited. This group of bandits had always been a thorn in his side. Now was the perfect opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop. He wanted to lead the team himself and head straight to Wolf's Head Fort. According to the information brought back by the caravan, in addition to the bandits, there were also many slaves kidnapped by them.

He gave a speech in the town square. The residents of Creekwood Town united as one and split into two groups. One group stayed to deal with the bodies, while the other group went to Wolf's Head Fort to wipe out the last rebels.

Ethan took the initiative to join the anti-bandit army, allowing Lindong and others to stay in Ximu Town.

He always felt that all this seemed to be too easy. Brown Egg and the bandits he led were killed or injured before they could organize any effective counterattack.

The witch who caused the plague has not yet appeared, and no one knows her next plan.

Before dawn, the expeditionary force led by Baron Gretin himself arrived at Wolf's Head Fort, and everyone was ready for a bloody battle.

only……

Wolf's Head Castle looked a bit strange. The gates were open and there was no sign of any bandits. The castle was dead silent. From a distance, there seemed to be some unusual figures wandering around the castle. They moved very quickly and seemed to be crawling. They had strong jumping abilities and could almost jump onto the roof in one go.

Getting closer, they finally saw signs of human activity.

Due to the distance, it was difficult to tell whether they were slaves or fleeing bandits.

They seemed to be being chased by something, and when they passed a house, a strange creature came out of the broken window and knocked down one of them. It sat on the man and ripped him open with its sharp forelimbs.

"retreat."

Seeing this, Ivy reminded the somewhat dazed Baron Gladin.

What was happening in Wolf's Head made the Baron hesitant. It was a scene he had never seen before. The people who were fleeing were ultimately unable to escape. When they were about to run out of the castle, it seemed that some sharp object cut off their heads. The headless bodies still kept running, taking one or two steps forward before falling heavily to the ground.

If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of gunfire coming from deep inside the castle.

"retreat!"

Baron Gladin gave the order immediately, thankful that the unknown object in the castle did not target them.

Ivy winked at Ethan, covering him as he quietly left the team.

After the militia from Ximu Town left, Ethan hid in the woods and entrusted the ice element to gather intelligence.

"It's metal men... and animals."

The ice element brought back some unexpected news to Ethan. The scene in Wolf's Head Castle was worse than he had imagined. He asked, "Are you referring to the magic technology?"

"What is magic technology?"

The ice element was unable to understand overly complex knowledge, so Ethan could only ask, "Besides the metal men, what else is there?"

"There was a woman who was commanding those metal men. Well, she asked the metal men to peel off people's skin. How cruel!"

“No need to describe the details.”

Ethan didn't like the detailed description of the execution and asked, "Does she look like a witch?"

"Witch? What does a witch look like?"

"It should be the type that... uh, wears a mage's robe and a mask and looks bad."

Ethan felt that this description might not be accurate. The only witch he had ever seen was Winter. He could only try to use Winter as a template and add some evil elements.

"She wasn't wearing a mask, and she was dressed similarly to the people you met in the church. She seemed to be looking for someone, which was strange. She had obviously peeled off the person's skin, but she was still interrogating them."

The Ice Elemental eavesdropped for a while and said, "She seems to be looking for the person you mentioned, a bad woman wearing a mage uniform and looking bad."

Someone from the Vatican?

Ethan pondered for a moment, and as he was unable to determine the identity, he suspected that this was a conspiracy by the witch to lure him into a war with the Church, and decided to return to Ximu Town temporarily.

When they returned to the town, all the bodies, including the brown boiled egg, had been burned. Baron Gladin was giving a victory speech in the town. The residents of Creekwood Town raised their weapons and cheered. This was a great victory without any casualties. For a long time to come, the bandits of Wolf's Head Fort would no longer be a threat.

Baron Gladin decided to hold a celebratory banquet to reward everyone. This was the happiest day of his life. After repelling the invading bandits, he felt that he had become a hero like his grandfather. He had successfully defended the honor of his family.

He ordered the butler to prepare for the banquet, and asked those who were tired after a whole night to go home and rest. When evening came, he would invite everyone to visit the manor.

Ethan returned to the apartment, washed up and lay down on the bed. Before he could even warm up the quilt, he was awakened by a hurried knock on the door. Mao Mao was very dissatisfied with this and pulled the quilt into a ball.

Ivy stood at the door and glanced into the house furtively, successfully earning a glare from the cat.

"Baron Gladin asked us to go to his manor as soon as possible. The maid's voice sounded very nervous, as if something had happened."

Ethan immediately put on formal clothes and followed Ivy.

The good news is that Baron Gladin is still alive. When I entered the room, he was sitting upright at the table. Opposite him was a short blonde girl who looked only thirteen or fourteen years old. She sat there like a porcelain doll, with a metal dog lying beside her legs. The metal dog was bathed in blood, and there seemed to be some meat in its teeth. No wonder Baron Gladin was so nervous.

Ethan had roughly guessed the other party's identity.

"This is the judge of the Holy See Choir. I am here to investigate a case and hope to have your cooperation."

Baron Gladin said quickly.

When Ivy heard the word "choir", her face changed slightly, and the golden hair on her head shrank into her hair nervously. She clenched her fists and her breathing became a little rapid.

The porcelain doll had a blank expression on her face. She looked at Ethan and said, "The gravedigger from the shelter mentioned you and praised you for being very capable and for helping him a lot."

"Is it about Master Esoke's case?"

Ethan asked. He always felt that this combination was a bit strange. According to the faction, Aesok was the future successor of the Imperial Military Industry. The Imperial Military Industry and the Lophik Consortium were from the same faction. The two factions had a long history of grievances. The Holy See was so happy about Aesok's death that it was too late to explain why they would help with the investigation?

"You could say it's related to him."

Porcelain Doll calmly took out a portrait of a voluptuous woman wearing a black magician's uniform. "She is a fourth-level magician certified by the Astrology Guild. You should have seen her."

Ethan didn't comment.

"On the day when Master Aesok was unfortunately infected with the Red Death, the magician went to the branch office and conducted some simple handovers on behalf of the Imperial Military Industry."

"Well, now it matches."

The porcelain doll seemed to be thinking about something, and then asked, "Did she show any abnormality?"

"What do you mean?"

"For example, the skin is pale and there are corpse spots on the skin."

Ethan felt that the choir's messenger was telling a ghost story, which made him feel chilly.

Seeing this, Baron Gladin took the initiative to make room for the three of them, letting Ethan and Ivy sit at the same table with the porcelain doll. Ethan recalled for a moment and said, "No, she looked normal that day."

"That's the Transfiguration Potion."

Hearing this, Ethan was suddenly frightened. Fortunately, he was in disguise when he went to the pharmacy to buy the ingredients for the invisibility potion, otherwise the messenger from the choir would probably have found out about him right away.

"Your heart rate has increased. Why are you so nervous?"

The porcelain doll looked at Ethan with her emotionless eyes.

Ethan responded fluently, "Because you seem to be suggesting to me that what I see is not the real her."

"Her name is Amy. According to the time, she had been dead for two days when you saw her. We found her buried in the wilderness of Gear City. Her face was destroyed, so we could only infer her identity from her belongings. The maid at the Esoke Mansion saw her appear on the night when Talon left. That was also the day she was killed. Not long after she left the mansion, someone killed her and dumped her body in the wilderness, then used a transformation potion to disguise her appearance."

The porcelain doll seemed to be organizing her thoughts while speaking. "The murderer purchased the ingredients for the invisibility potion under Amy's identity, which shows that she is proficient in alchemy."

Then, she took out the second portrait. The man in the priest's robe in the portrait looked very familiar. It was this man that he saw when he and Winter sneaked into the St. Hillman Library.

Ethan hid his emotions well this time.

"This is the second victim, one of the librarians at St. Hillman's. The priests found his body in his bedroom. He died of poisoning."

Then there is the third portrait, of a grey-haired male magician.

"This is another great magician from the Astrology Guild. He was killed while investigating the murder of Amy. I found his rotting body in the dungeon of Wolf's Head Castle. He was Amy's mentor. He used some magic to locate the murderer's movements. He mentioned Riverwood Town and Wolf's Head Castle in his last letter."

The clue ends here. "The bandits in Wolf's Head Fort said that their commander had been in contact with a witch. The witch asked them to attack Riverwood Town, saying that a plague had broken out here."

"That was a day ago, and for some unexplained reason, the sick person recovered."

Ethan's tone was full of doubt. "The hospital in Riverwood couldn't give an explanation. People just witnessed some golden beetles burrowing into the bodies of the sick, and then they recovered. We also launched a corresponding investigation, but found nothing."

The porcelain doll said, "This has nothing to do with me. I just need clues related to the witch."

"What crime did she commit?"

Ivy asked quietly.

The choir envoy mentioned many charges just now, but these were not enough for the Holy See to send out the choir. She realized that there must be deeper reasons behind this.

"She stole a book."

The chief priest of Gear City was severely punished for failing to supervise the city properly.

The porcelain doll put away the three portraits and said, "I will stay in Riverwood Town for a few days. If you think of anything, come and find me."

After coming out of Baron Gladin's manor, Ivy finally breathed a sigh of relief. The golden-haired girl on her head poked her head out and straightened up after making sure that there was no porcelain doll.

"Are you afraid of her?"

Ivy's performance surprised Ethan. He noticed that Ivy had been tense the whole time and her expression was very unnatural. He asked again, "What is the origin of the choir?"

"Go back and talk."

Ivy didn't want to make irresponsible comments on the street, so she went back to the apartment and locked the door before lying on the sofa. "To put it simply, these people are killing machines trained by the Church. After they were selected at a young age, their emotions were eliminated by the Holy Word and they were trained to be machines that obey the Church's orders."

When talking about the Holy Word, Ivy had a complicated expression.

"You have also been cast under this spell."

Ethan understood.

From the first day I met Ivy, this girl's emotional fluctuations were a little abnormal. Her face always lacked expression, which was in sharp contrast to the tuft of golden hair on top of her head, which was even a little too lively.

"This is essentially a sealing technique to ensure that they are not swayed by emotions and think like machines. Even if the church orders them to kill their relatives, they will do it without hesitation."

Ivy seemed unwilling to expand on the topic of Holy Word. "You just need to know that they are very dangerous. And unless it is absolutely necessary, you must never attack them. If a member of the choir dies somewhere, the royal family will most likely send out the Golden Fleet."

"Don't worry, I'm not some perverted murderer."

Ethan comforted Ivy, "Besides, this is a good thing for us. With the choir tracking down the witch, she should be much quieter recently."

"I'm going back to rest first."

Ivy crossed her arms across her chest, her golden hair drooping listlessly, and she seemed to shrink when she learned of the choir's arrival.

Ethan was also a little tired, and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he returned to the bedroom.

But for Baron Gretin and his guards, this busy day was not over yet. The porcelain doll brought news from Wolf's Head Fort. The bandits there were completely wiped out, leaving only the slaves they kidnapped to Wolf's Head Fort. Many of them were imperial citizens, and some of them had lost contact with their families for several years. They had also suffered humiliation and abuse. How to resettle them became an urgent problem.

Baron Gretin personally led his men to Wolf's Head Fort. He was almost immediately frightened by the mutilated corpses seen everywhere. However, compared to the bandits who were being interrogated, being able to die quickly was the greatest mercy the Holy See could give them.

Most of the slaves were hiding in the buildings, and they knelt down and begged for mercy like frightened birds the moment they saw Baron Gladin.

Baron Gladin suppressed his fatigue and spent a morning learning about the situation in Wolf's Head Fort. Most of the slaves wanted Creekwood Town to accept them as they were eager to get in touch with their lost families. A small number of slaves wanted to take some supplies with them and go to the nearby neutral city-states as they had heard about the recent situation in the empire and seemed to feel that it was not safe there either.

It was already evening when Ethan opened his eyes. The cat had woken up long ago and was riding on him as if sulking.

She said angrily, "My sleep schedule is totally messed up too!"

Ethan suddenly found Winter's angry look very interesting. The cat became angrier and angrier. After a loud annoyance cry, it simply rolled over on the bed, messing up the quilt.

The fun level increases when he thinks that this cat that scratches and soothes his skin is his teacher.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with staying up late."

From the past to the present, Ethan has always been a staunch late night sleeper. He even feels that his concentration at night is much higher than that at dawn.

The cat stopped rolling around, pricked up its ears, and glared at Ethan, "Not good, not good at all!"

She didn't used to be so averse to staying up late, but recently, she discovered the many disadvantages of staying up late.

The books exploring the mysteries of life in the library of St. Hillman's Church mentioned that night was the best time, but once Ethan got up at night, he would run around everywhere, and when it was daytime, he would lie down on the bed and fall asleep immediately. Sometimes he would not even respond when tickled!

Winter realized that if he developed this habit, the time he would spend exploring the mysteries of life would be greatly reduced.

Although they have not yet progressed to that stage, they must prepare for a rainy day, which is in line with the witch's wisdom.

Maomao sat on the bed, straightened up, and had some dignity of a teacher.

She said in a serious tone, "So how do you plan to spend your time exploring the mysteries of life?"

“Explore the mysteries of life? Now is the time.”

"Now!? Here?"

The majesty that she had accumulated with great difficulty was gone. Maomao was immediately furious. Her tail stood up and her voice couldn't stop trembling. "What can we do now? They are all awake, especially Rowena. If you ignore her for a while, she will definitely come and peek. Besides, I'm not fully prepared yet, but if you really can't help it..."

The voice became softer and softer, and only she could hear the last sentence.

"What does this have to do with Rowena? Isn't this about exploring the mysteries of life?"

A lot of things have happened recently, and Ethan really wants to find time to have an in-depth discussion with his knowledgeable teacher. His current knowledge of mysticism is not enough to answer many questions.

"Since we are talking about the mystery of life, teacher, I actually have a question."

"Ok?"

The cat stepped back, seeming to be expectant.

"Tell me, is witch just a title, or have they transformed into a new species?"

As a witch researcher, Ethan's research has been stuck recently. "I think there is no clear conclusion in the academic community yet."

"Bam—!"

A slight sound interrupted Ethan's discussion. He looked up at Winter, who had suddenly turned into a human form, and felt the other's cold eyes.

Although still wearing a maid uniform, the teacher's authority reached its peak at this moment.

"Is this the mystery of life you want to explore?"

"Teacher, this may be a major discovery related to new species! More importantly--"

Ethan's words stopped abruptly.

He was attacked by the teacher, and Lindong turned over and sat on him, looking down at him.

She raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile that was perfectly suited to being the Empire's top criminal.

——"You traitor, you think I'm a new species, right?"

(End of this chapter)