Witch Redemption

Wesley growled sharply. This was the second time the young queen had uttered such blasphemous remarks to him. He knew that this was a matter of national faith, and even in the current critical situation, he would not allow the queen to be so disobedient.

To this, the Queen simply sighed, "Very well, my life has come to an end. I'll let you see this last bit of power."

The way to persuade an old-fashioned person is definitely not to have a long talk with them, but rather to lay the facts bare before them!

..................

The sky fell, and endless, destructive darkness eroded the earth.

Faced with the impending apocalypse, the surviving citizens of the Feather Kingdom and the descendants of the gods sent the severely wounded Feather God to the deepest part of the underground palace, where he eked out a living under the protection of the temple's barrier.

On the second level of the underground palace, the God's Palace, which was temporarily used as the command center, was where many descendants of gods and humans gathered to hold a meeting concerning their final life and death.

"The Dawn Goddess of the Dawn Kingdom has been confirmed to have fallen, and all her followers have perished. I believe we cannot sit idly by and wait for our demise."

The leader was a man with a human body and a snake tail, with long, jet-black wings on his back. His exposed upper body had explosively muscular muscles, and his bronze skin was engraved with numerous lightning-shaped patterns, giving him an extremely dangerous and oppressive aura.

Faced with this pointed question from the first servant under the Feather God, the entire palace erupted in chaos.

Among the surrounding high-ranking officials, some believed that self-preservation must be the priority, and that they must not follow in the footsteps of the Dawn Kingdom; others believed that they should try to seize the power of the dying Feather God so that capable strongmen could continue to fight against the descending evil god; still others believed that they must contact the seventy-two pillar gods under the evil god as soon as possible to negotiate peace, arguing that the people were innocent and that the culprits of this destruction were the gods they believed in.

In the midst of their conversation, not a single person stood on the side of the Feather God, and not a single person was willing to swear to protect their god to the very last moment.

Indeed, reality is cruel. Those who are truly loyal to their country and their own gods, and those with lofty beliefs, have all rushed into the battlefield of the gods without hesitation, sacrificing everything to save their country and their own gods.

Those who live under protection are not only afraid of death, but also blame the war on the strong who refuse to compromise.

In order to survive, they are even willing to betray everything, using dying gods as bargaining chips in their negotiations.

This meeting, filled with an atmosphere of fear, lasted for an entire day. The main focus gradually shifted from survival to changing their beliefs, with the rumored evil god "Satorgia" becoming their only hope...

The dying god lay flat on the cold, rough rocky ground, its emerald green beast eyes, gradually losing focus, staring blankly at the sky.

That gloomy area was a jagged rock formation with traces of human excavation. If given another year, perhaps this rock cave could be developed into an exquisite and magnificent underground palace, becoming a new underground paradise.

Unfortunately, she never got to see that day.

Fate came too quickly; even though she had anticipated it, she still couldn't fight against it.

When the bizarre, dark red greatsword, which resembled a multitude of twisted tentacles, pierced her heart, she knew that her life was coming to an end. Little did she know that the final moments of her life would be so desolate and lonely.

This mutilated body was arbitrarily abandoned in the "cage" of the third underground level, while the palace used to praise the gods was enacting a lavish feast of how to divide up the gods' power.

For a moment, the intense pain in her heart made her question what all she had done was for, whether it was worth betraying a great being just to protect this world.

However, that intense inner struggle lasted only a moment before her emotions gradually calmed down.

What flashed through my mind were the deaths of countless believers who, even to their last breath, did everything in their power to protect her, even at the cost of their lives, to send her back to the Land of Blessing.

"This is..."

The feeling of being alive!

As a monster created out of thin air, she never imagined that one day she would be able to experience such incredibly warm feelings.

Only in the last moments of her life did she realize that she was still alive and that she was not a puppet of fate.

Silently calculating the countdown of his life, he finally held on until the sound of chaotic footsteps came from outside, footsteps that were more calm and powerful than ever before.

This may be the instinct of humans, or rather the instinct of all intelligent beings: the will to survive can become a firm belief, making these weak creatures more resolute than ever before.

"The power of God... is the madness and curse bestowed by a great being... to bear its price... requires willpower..."

Wanting to survive at all costs is also a kind of will, and it is not shameful.

These were the goddess's last words before her complete demise; there was no resentment in them, only a calm acceptance.

Unfortunately, no one responded to this merciful deity. They simply stood firm before the goddess's remains, pulled out the strange tentacle sword, and pierced the goddess's heart.

Within that shattered heart, a clump of writhing, dark red blood created an indescribable, maddening visual impact.

"This is the divine essence of the Feather God! As long as we possess this, we will be able to survive this apocalypse!"

..................

The power that merely seized half of the ancient Feather God's divine essence brought about an extremely terrible curse, causing all the descendants of the gods who participated in the power-grabbing to lose their proud long lifespans, shortening them to only thirty years; and weakening all humans affected by the power, causing them to lose the magic that humans are born with.

There are no historical records of how the kingdom survived that dark war of the gods. All that is known is that the evil god "Satorgia" became the new faith of all the underground inhabitants after that, and only the kingdom's inhabitants with extremely strong wills were able to withstand this terrible curse of weakness.

This is the real reason why there are no fearful people in the kingdom; those with weak wills will only perish young.

Queen Greta Toltec learned of this terrible history of the kingdom from a series of strange dreams that lasted for a month. Later, she vaguely realized that what guided her in the strange dreams was probably the will left behind by the ancient feathered god.

That year was the year 10000 in the Gregorian calendar, the eve of Greta's twelfth birthday wedding, the most rebellious moment of her life...

For Greta, the capital was like an inescapable cage, devoid of any joy. Having read many books, she had a deep longing for the outside world, especially after having that dream about the kingdom's history. This dream caused her to develop a rare sense of aversion towards the kingdom, and under this double influence, she harbored many negative thoughts about it.

Moreover, the man she was to marry in two days was her cousin, a boorish and uneducated man who didn't know anything about manners, which made her really unhappy.

"If only we could escape..."

Although she had this idea, she didn't dare to put it into practice.

That day, around three o'clock in the morning, Greta was passing by the council chamber as usual when she overheard her parents discussing something with other members of the royal family. So she quietly peeked through the crack in the door to observe them.

“Those three women have already penetrated to the first level. Even if the Holy Land guards were to launch a large-scale operation, it would still come at a considerable cost to take them down. Should we decide who should make the move?”

The man in his early twenties who posed this question is the current supreme ruler of the kingdom. He possesses ancient lightning-based abilities, and his bare upper body is etched with numerous lightning-shaped patterns.

"Do you think it's worth trading a member of royal blood for the lives of those three women?"

The first to object was Greta's cousin's father, whom she was about to marry. He was a lecherous man who always wanted to argue about everything and had even made advances toward Greta, which she found extremely repulsive.

"Their goal might be to rescue that ancient being from the Origin Holy Land. It seems the Empire is planning to attack us. For now, we'll define them as the minions of an evil god. We can't let them succeed. Personally, I think it's best to deal with them as soon as possible, because they have the ability to evade the Holy Land's guards, as you've all seen."

The king—clearly displeased—added at the end, "For hundreds of years, the empire has secretly sent people to probe the kingdom's strength every now and then. They clearly have ill intentions. It's time for us to give them a warning, before we decline to a certain extent. Besides, it doesn't matter which royal family makes the move. I think it's worth it to exchange a year or two of my life for the deaths of those three women."

Loving one's country and its people is the true responsibility and obligation of a royal family!

“Your Majesty, I recently received news,” a young man with a human body and a snake tail spoke up. He was Greta’s father. “Those three women stayed in the first level of the Holy Land for a while. After that, only one red-haired woman remained. It is said that she killed the other two, and even their bodies were burned to ashes. I suspect that they may not have been sent by the Empire to test us.”

It's impossible for spies to break up and kill each other after arriving on the kingdom's territory.

"how is this possible?"

The king remained silent for a long time. "Very well, since you all value your lives so much, I have no choice but to go and investigate myself. I believe their purpose in coming here this time is definitely not simple!"

..................

That night, Greta dreamed again of the ancient being who had revealed the kingdom's history to her. In the dream, the woman, who had the same features as her—a human body, a snake's tail, and white wings—had an indistinct face but was always smiling.

"After tonight, I will shatter the false destiny of these saviors and put them on the right track. In the future, whether they become saviors or destroyers is no longer something I can interfere with."

"This world owes them too much, and this is the last thing I can do for them as I am about to die."

“Greta, the kingdom is just a dream bubble. It has nothing to do with the curse of killing gods. The power of madness is ultimately beyond the control of human will. I'm sorry, if only I could have stopped them that day. If they had given up my source power and hadn't actively sought the protection of the evil god, perhaps the kingdom would still have a chance.”

"Greta, do not fear death. I have foreseen your fate. If you can relinquish the power of Satogua, one day you will be reborn, and one day the one who will save you will reappear..."

Awakening from a terrible nightmare, young Greta scrambled to her feet from her jade bed and was met with the pungent smell of blood. In that instant, she saw the figure of a beautiful and tall young girl, her long, fiery red hair flowing gently behind her, sparkling like tiny sparks.

"As expected, according to the agreement, killing these royals of the Goblin Kingdom will allow me to upgrade my level to Gold Magic Tome. He didn't lie to me. Any creature that touches the goddess's divine essence can bring the witch a huge amount of experience points. It seems that what I need to consider next is how to continue to hide my strength."

She drew her blood-stained greatsword, leaving the two lifeless corpses sprawled on the ground. The woman, with a huge grimoire floating before her, fixed her fiery red beast eyes on young Greta.

In an instant, young Greta felt a terrifying, malevolent aura, so heavy that it made her feel suffocated.

"Well, it's already been added to the Golden Spellbook, killing one more won't make a difference. I've already decided to respect His agreement, so I can't go too far now. After all, I was able to enter this hellish place thanks to His help, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to kill these royals."

The woman was muttering something to herself. Greta, overwhelmed with fear, finally mustered her courage the moment she saw her father's killer about to leave. "Who are you?"

The terrified voice, trembling with sobs, sounded incredibly clear and loud in the quiet space.

"The Flame Witch, Vesta Hestia."

The woman turned her head away, and Greta saw in her profile an eye filled with despair. There was no pleasure or joy in that eye, only despair, grief, and an inexplicable, strong will.

"Hate me if you want. If one day you can break free of the curse and obtain the power that a god should have, you can come and take revenge on me at any time."

"Provided that I can live to see that day."

Chapter 114 Guidance from the Magic Book

This is the truth of everything.

The origins of the ancient existence of the Holy Land of Origin, the reasons why the inhabitants of the Goblin Kingdom were cursed, and even the clues to the sudden death of all royal bloodlines three years ago were all presented to Elder Wesley.

When he finally woke up from that hallucination, the faith he had always held onto collapsed in an instant. Tears streaming down his face, he staggered a few steps and almost fainted to the ground.

At that moment, the young queen stepped forward and helped him up in time.

"Karma! It's all karma!"

Wesley muttered to himself, his mind incoherent. Even though he had vaguely sensed long ago that all the inhabitants of the kingdom were originally human, he never knew that the reason why the inhabitants of the kingdom needed such a strong will was to fight against the curse of killing gods in ancient times.

Three years ago, he initially thought the reason for the sudden death of the royal bloodline was the infighting among the royal family members. However, he never expected that it was the remnant will of that ancient being in the Origin Holy Land who personally took action, stripping them of their consciousness in a short period of time, causing them to be killed in their sleep.

"Didn't you say that ancient being was once our protector? If she is now protecting this kingdom, why is she so cruel to us?"

Desperate Wesley was rambling incoherently, his mind blank, as if he had lost the will to continue living.

"I don't know," Greta said, setting aside all her queenly airs. At this moment, she was like a helpless young girl, supporting her dying body as she helped the frail old man. "I only know that God has given us guidance. He has never abandoned us, and even in this final moment, He has left us a way to survive."

"Elder Wesley, you are the true ruler of the kingdom. You cannot fall yet. Lead the last embers of the kingdom to the East, where there lies the hope guided by the gods. By abandoning the power of the evil god and the kingdom, you are also abandoning the curse brought by the ancient god-slaying, which will allow the kingdom's descendants to obtain true salvation."

The young queen, comforted in this way, was nearing her end, and starting from the wings behind her, she gradually turned into dust and vanished.

This is the price of using power, the fate of every member of the royal bloodline. When they die from exhaustion, they turn to dust, leaving nothing behind, as if they had never existed.

The old man, slightly awakened by the Queen's words, gripped her withered, dark green hand tightly, as if afraid the kingdom would lose its last hope.

What he saw instead was the Queen's calm, emerald-green beast eyes. Those eyes held no sadness, but were filled with hope for the future and a strong will. Even at the very last moment, the Queen did not compromise with her fate.

A few seconds later, Wesley suddenly released his grip, and a large amount of dust scattered in all directions, almost causing him to collapse to the ground.

Fortunately, the immense responsibility ultimately allowed him to stand firm, though his legs were still trembling. "I can't fall down yet!"

The queen has indeed passed away, and the last royal bloodline of the kingdom has been wiped out. But perhaps, as the queen said, the kingdom has lost hope, but that does not mean that the inhabitants of the kingdom have lost hope.

"Fate has played a cruel joke on me!"

In the final moments of his life, the old man not only witnessed the fall of the kingdom, but also a ridiculous chapter of history.

Staring blankly at the empty palace, Wesley remained silent for several minutes. Then, his once dormant, crimson-yellow beast eyes gradually ignited with fighting spirit. This was the strong will that the inhabitants of the kingdom had honed over tens of thousands of years of survival—a will to never admit defeat, never compromise, and to dedicate everything to the kingdom.

“Even the guardians of the Holy Land created using the Scepter of Satogua are unlikely to withstand the Empire, that much is certain. So it’s better not to use such power. Her Majesty is right, we should preserve the embers of hope. Since the Empire’s goal is the remains of the ancient gods in the Holy Land of Origin, let’s give them to them.”

Originally, the plan was to launch a holy war against the Empire. The biggest trump card was that Elder Wesley could use the Scepter of Satogua to temporarily open the gate to the outer realm, at the cost of sacrificing most of the kingdom's people, to summon divine servants to assist in the battle.