Lord: I have built a witch's sanctuary.

Chapter 213 Advance

The biting wind, carrying the pungent smell of frozen earth, stung my face like a knife.

Hans wrapped his patched, worn-out linen robe tighter around himself, his chapped lips trembling slightly.

He stood beneath the tall, majestic walls of Frostwolf City, gazing up at the gray walls that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, his eyes filled with shock and barely concealed terror.

That's a living metal city wall.

Under the sunlight, the entire city wall seemed to have a life of its own, flowing with a mercury-like luster, and one could even faintly hear the low rhythm emanating from within the metal.

"Don't push! Line up! Register one by one!"

At the city gate, several Frostwolf City guards, clad in heavy armor, shouted orders.

The line behind Hans stretched as far as the eye could see. These were all civilians who had fled from the southern plains and central regions.

Their faces were etched with exhaustion, hunger, and a deep-seated fear.

"Hans, can we...can we really survive here?"

Beside him, his old neighbor Pete asked in a trembling voice, still clutching his emaciated son tightly in his arms.

"Yes, it's definitely possible." Hans nodded vigorously, but his voice was a little weak. "This is Frostwolf City, the territory of Earl Lorraine. I've heard it's the only place in the entire kingdom that hasn't been affected by those monsters."

The thought of the word "monster" sent a chill down Hans's spine.

Those bloody scenes flashed through his mind again.

The royal army stormed into their village, but instead of looting food or property, they forced the villagers to swallow a black, foul-smelling liquid.

He watched as his uncle writhed in agony on the ground, his skin cracking open and eventually growing black scales and sharp claws, transforming into a monstrous creature that only knew how to bite and roar.

My uncle's once gentle eyes turned blood-red, devoid of any human reason.

On his very first day of reign, the eldest prince, Sersmir, actually plans to transform all the common people into mindless monsters!

"They've gone mad...they've all gone mad..." Hans murmured in bewilderment.

He doesn't want to become that kind of thing.

He would rather die in the snow than become a walking corpse.

But can the Earl of Lorraine really win?

Hans looked up and saw that although the soldiers patrolling the city walls were elite, Frostwolf City was too small compared to the massive state apparatus of the royal city.

He heard that the prince had ascended the throne as the new king, gathered an army of 500,000 demonized soldiers and countless powerful warriors, and begun to attack Frostwolf City.

Hans swallowed hard, feeling a void in his heart.

Such a massive force is about to attack Frostwolf City.

Can the only sanctuary in the North truly survive this battle?

……

Unlike the panic among the common people at the city gate, the Alchemist's Guild headquarters in the inner city was bustling with activity.

The fireplace in the hall was burning fiercely, and the heat was intense.

President Pym stood with his hands behind his back by the second-floor railing, looking down at the busy apprentices in the first-floor hall.

"Get your hands and feet moving faster! Double-check the stability of the explosive agent! If the agent sent to the front lines explodes en route, I'll skin you alive!"

Pym's voice was a little hoarse, but full of energy.

He watched as boxes of alchemical potions, sealed and labeled with red safety tags, were loaded onto the magic-powered truck, and the wrinkles around his eyes relaxed into a smile.

"President, we've brought out all our best materials this time."

The vice president stood to the side, wiping the sweat from his brow, and said in a low voice, "We've used up all the dragon blood grass, magic crystals, and even the mithril powder that was just delivered a few days ago. If... if the Earl loses, our Alchemist Association will be completely bankrupt."

"Defeat? What nonsense are you spouting!"

Pym whirled around, glared at the vice-president, and hissed, "What do you know! The best and most correct investment I've ever made was sending supplies to Earl Lorraine on the snowfield!"

He stretched out a finger and poked the vice president's chest hard.

"Look at Frostwolf City now! Look at those witches! Have you ever seen a lord transform a nearly frozen outpost into a behemoth that even the royal family fears in just two years?"

Pym took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with a mad and shrewd light.

"This is a high-stakes gamble, but the only winner can be Lorraine! That royal prince has gone mad, turning commoners into monsters—this self-destructive approach won't last. And the Earl… he possesses far more valuable items than you can imagine!"

He walked to the table, picked up a glass of red wine, and took a sip.

"Pass on my order: all branch workshops must cease regular production and operate on a 24-hour shift system. Even if it breaks my old bones, I will gather another 100,000 high-purity magic energy recovery potions and 5,000 boxes of fire-scale explosive bombs for the Earl within ten days!"

Pym swirled the wine in his glass, leaving streaks of crimson liquid on the glass.

"Since we're going to place a bet, let's go big. Once the Earl conquers the royal city, our Frostwolf City Alchemist Guild will be the sole legitimate authority in the entire kingdom!"

……

Frostwolf City, Third District.

In a spacious and bright stone bungalow, a huge blackboard hangs on the wall.

The top was covered with densely packed magic circuit formulas written in white chalk.

This is the first witch preparatory school in Frostwolf City.

Ellie sat in the front row, clutching a staff woven from mithril threads tightly in her hand.

She is a newly promoted third-tier witch and one of the first outstanding graduates to emerge after Lorraine implemented compulsory education for the common people.

Six months ago, she was just a wild girl scavenging through garbage in the slums, on the verge of starving to death.

It was a decree issued by Lorraine that brought her and a large group of girls with similar tragic fates here.

Here, they were not discriminated against. Instead, they were well-fed, dressed in warm clothes, and even sat in warm classrooms, learning magical knowledge that had once been monopolized by nobles.

"Ellie, is Lord Lorraine really taking Babel Tower with her?" a younger girl in the back row asked softly.

Ellie turned around and tied her red hair into a neat single ponytail.

In her bright, sparkling eyes, there was no fear whatsoever, only an almost fanatical adoration.

"Yes, the army will set off in three days."

Ellie slammed her staff down on the lectern, the sound crisp and powerful.

"Sisters, our lord gave us life, dignity, and wisdom. Now, those scum of the kingdom want to destroy our homes and turn us into mindless monsters. Will you allow it?"

"No way!" the classroom shouted in unison.

Dozens of young witches stood up at the same time, and colorful elemental magic began to fluctuate violently around them.

"This is our chance!"

Ellie took a deep breath, her little face full of determination.

"It's time for us to repay our lord! We'll show those noble lords in the capital that even a witch of commoner origin, under the Count's tutelage, can tear their noble knightly orders to shreds!"

She clenched her fists.

"Prepare your wands. In three days, follow me to the Tower of Babel!"

The Tower of Babel, second level.

Titan Forge District.

Inside the massive steel cavity, blinding flames illuminated the entire space as bright as day. Molten steel flowed slowly along hundreds of enormous stone troughs, radiating a suffocatingly high temperature.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Heavy impacts rang out one after another as a giant hydraulic forging machine hammered the dark red alloy armor plate.

Countless pale blue arcs of electricity danced in the air, emitting a dense crackling sound.

Ohm stood on the high control platform, his small hands on his hips, his long silver hair flying behind him with the heat.

Her silver eyes reflected the endless line of steel behemoths below.

Knight-class Titan.

These war machines, standing over ten meters tall, with four thick mechanical legs and covered in heavy living metal armor, are neatly arranged in the dock.

Their massive magic cannons were pointing diagonally upwards, gleaming with a cold light.

"Big brother's going to fight, we can't let him down!"

"Ohm, you're too excited."

A cold voice sounded from behind.

Messiah slowly walked onto the platform, her delicate face still bearing the usual seriousness and vigilance.

"This is just a routine maintenance check."

"That's not normal, sister!"

Ohm grabbed Messiah's arm and pressed himself against him, chuckling.

"Big brother said that this time we're going to build the Tower of Babel right up to that wicked prince's head. We're going to mass-produce Titans and fill the warehouses!"

She pointed down at the eighty Knight-class Titans that had already been assembled, her tone full of pride.

"Back in the old era, we could only watch as monsters destroyed the city. But things are different now. Big Brother upgraded our energy furnace, and the production speed of the All-Purpose Mechanical Repair Factory has increased fivefold!"

Ohm released his grip and waved his little fist.

"Forget about their 500,000-strong army; before our Titan Legion, they'll all be crushed into pancakes!"

Looking at his sister's vibrant appearance, Messiah's previously tense and cold expression softened somewhat.

She turned her head and looked into the void deep within the furnace zone.

In that direction, within the energy storage zone of the Tower of Babel, surging magical energy flows ceaselessly like the tides.

"Lorraine... is indeed unlike anyone we've ever met before."

Messiah said softly, her hands unconsciously gripping the railing tightly. "He didn't treat us as cold weapons, nor did he treat the civilians here as expendable resources. This time, I will do everything in my power to assist you."

"Um!"

Ohm nodded vigorously, his silver eyes filled with anticipation. "After we beat that wicked prince to a pulp, big brother promised to take me to eat the best roast suckling pig in the royal city!"

She turned around and gently tapped her small hand in the air.

Countless blue-white data streams composed of 0s and 1s instantly gushed out from her fingertips and connected to the control chips of the eighty Titan machines below.

"Buzz—"

A dull starting sound rang out at the same time.

The massive infrared eye monitors of the eighty Knight-class Titans lit up simultaneously, emitting a crimson glow.

The roar of steel echoed endlessly throughout the inner layers of the Tower of Babel.

……

Frostwolf City Inner City, a building area exclusively for witches.

Evelyn stood in front of a towering sonic resonance tower, looking up at the constantly vibrating metal tuning forks at the top.

This is her witch-exclusive building, the Sound Resonance Tower.

As a sixth-order Sound Witch, Evelyn can use these towers to spread her power throughout Frostwolf City and even further afield.

With a flick of her finger in the air, the tuning fork at the top of the tower immediately emitted a deep hum.

It was a frequency that ordinary people couldn't hear, but in Evelyn's perception, these sound waves were spreading outwards at an extremely fast speed, covering every corner of Frostwolf City.

The royal city has only three buildings exclusively for witches.

There are now seven Frostwolf Cities.

Evelyn smiled faintly.

She once thought that she would never be promoted again in her life.

As a sixth-order witch of the Desa family, her path had been damaged many years ago, preventing her from progressing any further.

But Lorraine changed everything.

That man not only helped her repair the circuit, but also enabled her to successfully advance in rank, gaining unprecedented power.

Now, Lorraine is about to attack the royal city.

Evelyn knew what this meant.

That means the Desa family will completely side with Lorraine and break with the royal family.

But she doesn't care.

Or rather, she had already made this preparation long ago.

The royal family is corrupt.

The newly enthroned Prince Thursmir went mad, turning commoners into monsters, ostensibly to ensure their survival during the upheaval.

But Evelyn knew the truth.

Those who have been corrupted are not "surviving" at all, but are being completely wiped out.

They lost their thoughts and emotions, becoming puppets in the prince's hands.

This is not salvation, this is slaughter.

Evelyn took a deep breath and withdrew her finger.

"Lord Lorraine will win."

She silently repeated this sentence to herself.

It wasn't because of blind trust, but because she had personally witnessed Lorraine's power.

That man possesses the power to change the rules of the world.

He was not only a powerful lord, but also a being capable of creating miracles.

Does the royal city have three buildings exclusively for witches?

There are seven cities in Frostwolf.

Does the royal city have a sixth-tier expert?

Frostwolf City also has them, including fifth-tier Anna and Ohm Messiah, as well as other fourth-tier witches and two hundred knight-class Titans.

Evelyn turned around and looked towards the inner city in the distance.

There, Lorraine was discussing battle plans with the other witches.

"We will win this battle."

"We now possess everything that can lead to victory!"