Millennium Witch.

Chapter 68 - Investigation
The early winter snow fell lightly, like a layer of grayish-white gauze, covering the rusty edges of the container apartments. A thin layer of snow accumulated on the shed roof, which had been repaired with rivets, and occasionally the tired groans of metal could be heard, as if the town was gently turning over in its sleep.

After disembarking from the shuttle, "Elite White Dove," dressed in a gray trench coat, tidied her appearance before stepping forward to an old, rudimentary puppet that looked like it was pieced together from scrap metal.

He said politely, "I am Elite White Dove, a gracious person sent by the Holy Church to investigate the strange events in Agasher. Please inform the administrators and the Holy Church on my behalf. Thank you very much."

"By the God of Machines! It's actually a God of Grace!" The old golem was taken aback. This was the first time he had ever seen a legendary God of Grace, and he subconsciously took a second look.

But then he discovered that this benefactor didn't seem as extraordinary as he had imagined. Especially after meeting the traveler named Yvette, he seemed even more ordinary.

As the old puppet quickly left, Elliott smiled. As a recipient of divine favor, this was the moment he enjoyed most. He didn't know why, but whenever he saw others in shock at him, he couldn't help but smile.

This, to some extent, troubled his cultivation, because in his cultivation plan, he was supposed to be a polite, humble, cautious, and exceptionally intelligent human detective, always dressed in impeccable formal attire, always serious, and always exuding a reliable and mature aura.

Now, every time I go on a mission, I can't help but feel smug and proud in front of the amazement of others. Is this what the gods mean by the boundless karmic obstacles on the path of cultivation?

"Long time no see, Detective White Dove." After a while, Elliott heard someone call his nickname. He turned his head and saw the elder and the nun. The one who greeted him was the nun, whose face looked somewhat familiar.

"It's... Miss Sunflower? How did you get assigned here?" Elite asked in surprise.

“It’s the same everywhere, as long as you can do your job of serving God well,” the nun said with a smile.

"Alright... Hmm, this must be the 'Elder'."

"Yes, it is indeed I. You've finally arrived, Mr. Divine Grace. Would you like me to describe the details to you further?"

"I've reviewed the case file, but there are some issues I'd like you to clarify..."

After a detailed interview that lasted two hours, Elite, believing he had obtained all the necessary information, left the Puppet Town and entered Agasher.

He didn't go alone; he summoned his companion. It was a two-story-tall magical mech named "White Blaze."

Typically, Elite and Bai Zhi are long-term partners, working together. Elite's elegant, anthropomorphic form allows him to conduct more detailed reconnaissance, while Bai Zhi specializes in combat, dealing with higher-level mutated creatures.

However, once they entered the depths of Agash, Elliott, who was full of confidence in his investigation, immediately showed a solemn expression.

As a professional investigator among the God-givers, this was the first time he had ever seen such a terrifying scene. Even though he was in the scorching cockpit, he still felt a chill run down his spine, as if a piercing coldness was creeping along the magic wires and drilling into the core of his mind.

He subconsciously tightened his red scarf, then began to recall the information the Grand Elder had given him, looking for clues to break the deadlock in the current situation.

Speaking of which, the Grand Elder mentioned that the day before the first incident, two travelers of high cultivation levels temporarily stayed in the kingdom and left three months later. Coincidentally, the second incident also occurred three months later... Is there any connection between these events?
Elliott pondered for a moment, then decisively shook his head, skipping over this useless information.

Obviously, the kind and gentle mechanical race would never do something so evil and perverse, since they weren't infected by the mutants.

The source of the anomaly is definitely not related to those two innocent travelers; this is the judgment of a professional detective!

But this would clearly lead to the conclusion that there were "insufficient clues," he thought, and then decided to stay in Agashdo for a while to investigate all the surrounding areas of the city.

Yes, as a mature and reliable professional detective, he enjoys these kinds of challenging tasks the most.

Let's set a small goal first: figure out this incident within a month, then find the source of that evil mutation and eliminate it.

Otherwise he won't leave!
……

A few days later, on a crisp early winter morning.

This is a narrow valley ski trail, with mountains on both sides resembling sleeping giants, covered by glaciers that never melt. Through the low birch forest beside the trail, one can vaguely see railway tracks left over from centuries ago, like a reddish-brown snake skeleton, winding and disappearing into the mist.

Wearing warm little leather boots, Yvette stood on a bare black rock ridge, gazing at the natural landscape for a while before turning her head to see the powerless RV being dragged forward by a black dragon by a rope.

The reason why this situation suddenly occurred can be traced back to the night before last.

That night, as dusk deepened, not wanting to miss any of the marked aberrations of interest, she returned to the previous area while the black dragon and the puppet girl slept in the snow, harvesting some aberration magic. However, to her surprise, upon returning, she discovered that a powerful third-stage aberration had attacked the camp and was locked in battle with Dugrabi and Ice Rain.

Although Yvette hadn't even made a move before the mutant was killed by the combined efforts of the dragon and the puppet, her RV, being so close, was accidentally damaged by Dugrabi's dragon breath. The magical energy transmission structure inside melted, and the RV broke down on the spot.

So, in order to get the car to its destination, "Cooks," to find repair parts, the task of towing was naturally assigned to the instigator, Dugrabi, resulting in the current bizarre sight of a black dragon pulling a car.

Damn it... How dare you humiliate me like this! Even if you are the legendary Silver Witch, I will remember this grudge... At the same time, Dugrabi was secretly furious.

After all, for the proud dragon race, pulling a cart is something that only lowly beasts would do, so how could they be allowed to do it?
As a young dragon, it lacked the ability to rebel. If its biological father, the Flame Dragon King, were here, not only would the Silver Witch be an unknown minor god, but even the three most famous true gods on the Radiant Continent would dare to fight it to the death.

Although not a god, he possesses the ability to fight against true gods—this is the Dragon King! And the Dragon Kingdom has a total of six such Dragon Kings!
"Hmph, when I grow stronger one day, pass the Dragon King's Trial, and carve my true dragon name, I will definitely come back here and teach you a lesson..."

Dugrabi struggled to pull the cart while muttering to itself, but when Yvette suddenly turned and glanced at it, it immediately jumped in fright and stammered, "Is...is something the matter, Witch..."

"what did you just say?"

"What? I just spoke? How could that be?" Dugrabi exclaimed. "Did you hear me wrong?"

"Pull the cart well."

"Yes~"

Dugrabi responded meekly and dared not complain in secret any longer. Although the witch was a benevolent deity, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't do something drastic if she got angry.

As the saying goes, one has to bow one's head when under someone's roof. Long Sheng not only has the pride of the distance, but also the hardships of the present. In terms of experience, his father, the Flame Dragon King, taught him quite a lot of valuable lessons.

As for why his father knew so much, and how he knew it, Dugrabi wasn't curious at all.

……

The snow valley came to an end, and the dim, yellowish light of the setting sun, like spilled cheap oil paint, splashed onto the snow, creating a sickly layer of gold.

Just then, a low, muffled hum, unlike the sound of wind, suddenly gripped everyone's nerves.

Yvette stopped and looked at the mountains in the distance. A gigantic, distorted monster covered in tumor-like growths and exposed bone spurs was silently gliding across the peaks, leaving a brief but enormous shadow in the thin twilight.

It didn't notice the few tiny creatures in the snow below and quickly disappeared into the deeper folds of the canyon.

After the enormous creature had completely disappeared, Bingyu finally dared to take a deep breath and exclaimed in shock, "Kind lady, what was that? A flying... whale? Was it a mutant creature? Or, uh, a wild animal?"

“Aberration.” Yvette was certain, because she could clearly see the details of the other’s body: exposed flesh, deformed bones, and a mutated head, all of which matched the characteristics of a first-order aberration.

However, she soon became puzzled again. The infection of the aberration was based on real creatures, and the direction of evolution was closely related to them. If the infected creature was really a whale, then no matter how it evolved, it would be an aquatic species, without a doubt.

But that whale just now, first of all, had a very low level of evolution, it seemed to be at the first stage, yet it had mastered the technique of flying in the sky, an ability that only a third-stage aberration possesses.

Furthermore, there are almost no whales in the northern icy sea of ​​Kuroshio Island, and even if there are whales that have mutated, they shouldn't be venturing into this area.

Such a contradictory situation made her suspicious, wondering if there were any unnoticed misunderstandings in her years of observation and summary of aberrations.

Just as she was filled with doubt, accompanied by a tense low growl from Dugrabi, more giant whales emerged from behind the mountains, like countless Kirov airships that filled the sky, casting huge shadows down.

Seeing this, Bingyu gasped, and Dugrabi instinctively lowered his head in fear, like an ostrich hiding its head, not wanting to attract the attention of those giant evil demons.

Fortunately, Yvette reacted faster, immediately using earth magic to create a wall from the ground as cover, blocking the gaze of those pale, cloudy eyes; otherwise, she might have been attacked by the whale pod.

It was unclear how much time had passed—it felt like minutes, or perhaps several long winters—but the whale pod gradually receded into the depths of the snow-covered mountains. The shivering puppet girl and the black dragon finally breathed a sigh of relief, experiencing the feeling of surviving a catastrophe.

(End of this chapter)