Witch Redemption

This is the empire; no one knows how deep the waters run within it, layer upon layer, where a single move can affect the whole.

At this moment, Gabi had no idea just how terrifying the Undying Ellis was. As one of the top ten, even a single word from her could make countless people below tremble with fear, and then, adhering to the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," they would be swiftly eliminated.

Even though the immortal Ellis had no intention of crushing a small insect, the Dick family, fearing repercussions, did not hesitate to take action and strip Gabby Dick of everything.

"It must be those six guys' fault!"

Determined to take revenge on those six people, Gabi was extremely angry. In the moment when his anger clouded his judgment, he did not hesitate to calculate his current possessions and then headed straight for the Adventurers' Guild in the border region.

"Find a few scapegoats, and after that, I refuse to believe my father won't protect me!"

………………

Adventurers' Guild.

This is a tall building located near the steam train terminal. Unlike its quietness during the day, it is almost always crowded with people at night.

After a busy day, many adventurers would choose between the bar and the guild.

Among them were many diligent individuals who would come here every evening to confirm the general mission information, working hard for the next day's livelihood.

Ryan, too, is a man who was sold once and lost his left arm, and has become more mature than before.

Of course, it's about my own sense of maturity.

"Brother, why can't we go to that bar? What are you doing here causing trouble?"

With his keen eye, Reiner grumbled a few times. Compared to gathering intelligence here, he preferred to go to bars at night to enjoy himself. Occasionally, he could watch beautiful women perform striptease or pole dancing, or gamble in the bar, hoping to get rich overnight.

"XXX!"

Without saying a word, Ryan immediately cursed his mother, "You can't even make ends meet and you still have this kind of leisure? If it weren't for the fact that we can't go out to hunt monsters at night, I would drag you out with me, ptooey!"

"Ah, are there any easier jobs? I don't want to work hard anymore!"

Ryan wanted to beat this lazy, good-for-nothing bastard to death.

At that moment, a young man in formal attire suddenly burst into the crowded throng. The young man had a distinctly fierce look on his face, suggesting he might be a nobleman.

Generally speaking, adventurers or thieves wouldn't have any ill intentions towards well-dressed people like this. Who knows what kind of power these people have behind them? Getting caught and killed by them might be worse than dying at the hands of monsters.

The young man, perhaps seeing Ryan's fierce appearance and imposing strength, bluntly asked, "Hey buddy, need a job? Be my bodyguard, let's go over there and talk."

The man pointed to a sparsely populated open space in the distance.

Ryan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and beckoned Reiner to follow. He was puzzled, though, "Accepting commissions directly without going through the guild? That doesn't seem very secure!"

In this world, "black orders" also exist among adventurers. These are commissions made verbally without going through a guild. Commissioners usually promise higher rewards, but many renege on their promises after the job is done. In short, these commissions are all about luck; you can only hope the commissioner is in a good mood and doesn't cause trouble.

The young man not only called out to Ryan Reynard, but also pulled together more than a dozen burly men, directly dispersing the surrounding crowd.

"I have a request: kill six people for me..."

Before the young man could finish speaking, the gathered adventurers' expressions changed, and they immediately wanted to retreat.

Are you kidding me? Even in the chaotic borderlands, no one dares to ignore the existence of imperial law. Look at how well-dressed this guy is. If he were to kill some nobleman, wouldn't that be pushing them into a sea of ​​fire?

"Wait! Let me finish explaining my request before you decide!" the young man hurriedly called out to them. "I'll give you a reward you can't refuse!"

Money is the most useful thing in the world, as long as you're alive to spend it.

These muscular adventurers stopped in their tracks.

"I'm going to kill six witches. Don't worry, according to the Imperial Law, witches are prohibited from harming ordinary people, so this will be a one-sided hunt on our part! After it's done, each of you will receive five Williams. To show my sincerity, I can give you one William as a deposit in advance!"

Sure enough, everyone was tempted. Everyone living in the empire knew the rule that "witches must not harm ordinary people," but because everyone had the common sense that contact with these people would bring bad luck, they did not easily provoke them.

Upon hearing the word "witch," Ryan immediately pulled Ryan back into the crowd, ignoring how the people behind them were discussing things.

"Wait! Big brother! Wait! Five William! How much Brown? Five hundred! One mission is worth half a month's salary for you!"

Reiner was clearly blinded by greed; his original timidity had vanished. "And those people are witches, witches, serious criminals without the protection of imperial law."

Annoyed, Ryan couldn't help but curse Ryan's mother again, "Idiot! Did you really think witches were easy to deal with?"

Ryan had witnessed countless witches take action. Some witches were even stronger than silver-level adventurers, their strength approaching that of gold-level adventurers. They could slaughter bronze-level players like cutting vegetables.

No matter how you look at it, those witches couldn't possibly be pushovers, and Ryan didn't want to take his foolish brother to his death with him.

After walking for a while, Ryan suddenly realized that there weren't many witches still alive at the witch's abode. There were only a few left. Could it be those guys? He quickly recalled the three hooded guys from that day, two of whom seemed to be novices.

A little worried, Ryan felt like he must be going crazy. Why was he suddenly concerned about the life or death of these witches?

As he tried to enter the Adventurers' Guild building, he passed by the bar next door, and Ryan was somewhat distracted.

He suddenly said, "Foolish brother, stop thinking about those five Williams," swearing a few times. He then pulled out five Browns from his purse, pointed at the bar, and said, "Go home after you're done partying! I'll see what missions I have."

Reiner's eyes lit up, and he didn't care about anything else. Anyway, he would only accept missions with his older brother, and he wouldn't accept missions if his older brother didn't accept them.

"Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!"

Ryan watched Rainer disappear into the brightly lit bar, hesitated for a long time, and then walked down a side street.

"Five Browns, that's enough for ten beers, ptooey! You little bastard!"

………………

It was nearly 10 p.m. when Li Lan and Lana, having enjoyed a hearty meal in the inner city, embarked on their journey home, led by four witch seniors.

In this border region where monsters live, most places are quiet at this time of day, and most shops are closed.

It's likely that only the Adventurers' Guild near the steam train station will remain, where a large number of adventurers will be making a ruckus until dawn, unable to sleep all night.

Li Lan had never seen the Adventurers' Guild before, and she had asked number 47 if she could become an adventurer. The answer was, of course, no. Witches don't have much autonomy, and the doors of the Adventurers' Guild are not open to them.

Perhaps because tonight's dinner was a bit too heavy, the four seniors, who seemed to be hiding something, tried to change the subject along the way, especially number 86, who kept the atmosphere lively like a clown.

However, after they had walked for a while, they all chose to remain silent, which Li Lan and Lana found somewhat strange.

“There are quite a few people who came along, fifteen in total. What are you planning to do?” Number 86 suddenly whispered.

Number 47 was silent for a while, then said, "Isn't this perfect? ​​Let's get rid of it."

Number 93 reminded, "To lure out four assassins at the same time, we need to make these two guys avoid them first."

"Hmm, we'll make arrangements near the witch's residence and take them all out at once. This is an opportunity; we're willing to gamble, but they might not." Number 47 began to smile slightly, but this smile was different from his usual gentle one; it was a smile tinged with murderous intent.

"But I'm afraid the two younger ones might be implicated..."

In response to the question raised by number 94, number 47 simply said, "It's easy to crush an ant, provided that the ant is worthless."

Unsure of what the four seniors were whispering about, Li Lan and Lana both felt a chill. Just as they were about to ask, number 47 suddenly approached their ears.

"You know the way back, right? You go ahead and keep a safe distance from us. Don't look back. Once you're inside, close the door. No matter what you hear, don't come out."

As soon as the words were spoken, the four of them instantly reached a consensus, and their right hands were already touching the Libra Cross greatsword on their backs.

This will be the first real killing since the four of them came to this world!

Chapter 16 Massacre

Under the dim moonlight, fifteen fully armed men quietly followed six witches dressed in the same attire, patiently following them for an hour.

Soon, they were about to enter a relatively open area. This desolate ruin was the territory of the legendary witch's residence. Both Gabi and the fourteen bronze-level adventurers who had been bought off for money realized that "it was time to make a move."

Given the common sense that "witches must not harm ordinary humans," they simply abandoned their plan to sneak behind and swaggered up to them.

"Those sons of bitches! They made me lose everything!"

Gabi smacked his lips viciously and pulled out his steam revolver. The fourteen burly men around him also drew their daggers and short knives, their dark eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty glint.

However, just as they were about to make their move...

The cool, silvery moon made the road very clear.

Because of the instruction given by number 47, Li Lan and Lana quickened their pace, not paying attention to what was happening behind them.

All they heard, besides the footsteps of the four seniors, was a sudden cacophony of chaotic footsteps from behind, and they had no idea who was approaching them.

Immediately afterwards, four loud thuds of greatswords cutting through the air came from behind. It was unclear what had happened. The thuds were mixed with the horrifying sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh and the crisp sound of liquid splashing on the ground. After the splashing, silence returned.

Li Lan and Lana dared not turn around, even though they were very curious and felt inexplicably uneasy.

They walked straight to the tower of the first witch's dwelling, opened the wooden door, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped inside...

There were no screams; they were killed instantly without warning, before they could even make a sound.

Only the gushing blood shot into the sky, adding vibrant color to this gray world. Severed arms, organs, every inch of flesh and blood, along with tattered clothes, collapsed helplessly.

Then came a long silence, like the calm before a storm.

Suddenly, four shadows around them twisted, as if a dark vortex had appeared out of nowhere. White gloved hands emerged from the vortex, pressed against its edge, and struggled to break free.

Killing intent! Instantly filled this vast space!

The four fully revealed human figures were all dressed in black noble tailcoats and black top hats, with white smiling masks on their faces. Their limbs twisted several times like marionettes before they suddenly grabbed the hilts of silver short swords on their backs.

"These are the Order-Guarding Death Squads mentioned in the Witch's Code. They appear promptly after we overstep the rules and kill ordinary people, and then completely eliminate us. How long ago was the last time I saw them?"

Recalling the past, Number 47 sighed with emotion. While he was warning the three people around him to be careful, the four guys who surrounded him had already drawn their silver short knives and were holding them tightly in their hands.

"To these wretched sinners, let justice be served as atonement!"

The four assassins who appeared just in time all spoke in low, emotionless voices, and then suddenly held the silver daggers in their hands to their chests, forming a cross shape.

Bloodshed is imminent!

"Just punishment? If you call yourself righteous, then you should be the one to stop us from killing these people."

Number 86 muttered something, then grabbed the magic book from his waist and opened it.

"Although they are already dead, they are very strong. We are definitely no match for them in a one-on-one fight. Proceed according to plan!"

Number 47 quickly grabbed the magic book from his waist, letting it float beside him, then gripped the Libra Cross Greatsword and launched a direct charge.

………………

Ryan was walking toward the witch's abode. The surroundings were now completely silent, with all the doors closed. He could only barely make out the road by the moonlight.

"I didn't want to warn them about the danger; I just wanted to see how those unlucky guys who attacked them died."

After calming himself down and quickening his pace slightly, Ryan suddenly stopped as he approached an intersection.

Because, at this intersection, there were two men wearing black trench coats standing there.

The two men were very tall, around 1.9 meters, wearing top hats and high-end black trench coats that fluttered gently in the night breeze. Although Ryan couldn't see their faces clearly, he could sense an extremely terrifying aura emanating from them.

He had felt this way before from witches who confronted demons head-on, but these two were ten times stronger than the strongest witches he had ever seen! No! A hundred times stronger!