Witch Redemption

Red trim?

Ryan's trembling gaze lingered on the blood-red trim on the black trench coat, instantly recalling the rumors of the past.

Those are the heretics of the Holy See of the Empire!

There are rumors that the heretics inquisitors are dressed in similar attire, hiding in the shadows. They show no mercy to anyone and will personally send anyone who blasphemes to the guillotine!

This terrifying organization is, in the eyes of normal people, a hundred or a thousand times more terrifying than those witches who spread disaster and misfortune.

No one dares to provoke this mysterious organization unless they truly wish for a fate worse than death!

"Goo-"

Ryan swallowed hard in horror. Neither his night watch on the border during his military service nor his near-death experience yesterday when facing the shape-shifting Chaos was as terrifying as tonight's situation.

He felt an unprecedented chill the moment he saw the two people, a chill that ran through him from head to toe.

What are you doing out here?

One of the men, wearing a black trench coat, turned around and directly questioned the suddenly appearing weak but strong man.

The voice sounded like it belonged to someone in their early twenties, but it was so stern it made people uneasy.

"I...I'm sorry, I...I'm lost. Could you...could you tell me how to get to the Adventurers' Guild?"

Ryan was speaking without thinking, and his back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

"Back up, at the next intersection, turn left!"

"Uh, okay, thank you, thank you!"

Feeling utterly guilty, Ryan turned back without hesitation and retraced his steps. His thoughts of informing the witches had completely vanished; all he could think about now was how to escape.

"You're an idiot with no sense of direction," the young man giving directions grumbled irritably.

“Jenno, don’t you think he’s a bit suspicious?” another young man in a black trench coat asked.

"What could be suspicious? What could a mere bronze-level adventurer with such rudimentary skills possibly do?"

"No, it's just that I thought it was a bit strange to be out wandering around so late."

"Ha, that's why they say it's mentally challenged and directionally challenged. We've seen people like that before."

The young man named Jeno clicked his tongue and slowly walked towards the witch's residence. "Eisen, those four guys not only killed ordinary people and broke the rules, but now even the assassins within the witch's protective barrier have been taken out. What do you think we should do?"

"This isn't a matter of turning a blind eye. Whoever breaks the rules must pay the price!"

The other young man spoke sharply, his voice filled with murderous intent.

"The biggest problem now is how to deal with the Crimson Night Torrent tomorrow night after we take them out. If we want to get rid of those abyssal demons and apostles, their sacrifice is essential. Although we can use other forces, I don't think the warden is willing to do it."

"However, if we allow them to break the rules, the situation will become uncontrollable once the news gets out."

Upon hearing what Jeno said, the latter began to hesitate.

"We need to learn a lesson, but their death shouldn't be tonight. The fact that they were able to kill those assassins shows that when they join forces, they can even directly threaten us."

"You mean they're very strong?"

"This batch is stronger than any batch in previous years. After all, they are linked to the lurking Flame Witch, which will make them the best harvest in the history of the Witch Prison!"

The young man named Jeno, wearing a white glove, lightly pressed down on the brim of his top hat with his right hand, concealing his expression in darkness, and added, "Since we can't eliminate them to maintain order, the best way is to prevent the rules from working on them. The traces of these dead ordinary people and assassins must be erased first!"

………………

I've lost count of how many times we've fought side by side, from getting to know each other to becoming almost inseparable.

Watching his comrades fall one by one, becoming nightmares in his memory and in his daily recurring nightmares, he firmly believed that he could fight with everything he had to survive for tomorrow, and that he would surely usher in the final hope, but he never expected that fate would be so cruel.

This is not time travel, it's a cage, a cage of death!

The witches failed to grasp their own hope, so all they could do was leave hope for those who came after them!

Everything was quietly progressing according to their plan.

Even if these ill-intentioned followers hadn't been there tonight, they would have still sacrificed other innocent people. This was their own awareness, an awareness unknown to others, an awareness that permeated all their beliefs, even if it meant falling into the deepest hell after death.

The raised Libra cross greatsword cleaved open a head rolling on the ground, shattering the smiling mask and revealing a man's face with unseeing eyes.

The man possessed the characteristics typical of the upper echelons of the British Empire: a hooked nose, blue eyes, and a red cross holy mark exclusive to the Vatican on his forehead.

"So these are the faces of those suicide soldiers, martyrs who were willing to die for the noble God."

Number 47 took a deep breath, ignoring the injury on his left arm, and waved his hand to slightly move the magic book floating beside him. After checking the experience points and skill counts on it, he had already made a judgment.

"Is everyone alright?"

"I only suffered a minor injury. If I hadn't simulated how to deal with them many times before, I probably wouldn't have been able to handle it so easily just now."

Number 86 laughed, revealing a gruesome knife wound on his neck. Fortunately, his major artery hadn't been damaged, or he would have become one of the corpses on the ground.

However, in the large open space amidst the ruins, besides the large pile of flesh and blood that was no longer recognizable as human, there were also four very well-dressed corpses. Without exception, they had all been beheaded, and their only weakness was that of a single person.

That's a head!

The four witches who had successfully killed the group still carried their respective Libra Cross Greatswords, not daring to relax their vigilance in the slightest, because they all knew that this was like the butterfly effect, and what they were affecting at this moment was not even the tip of the iceberg.

The real threat is yet to come!

Sure enough, before they could even rest and treat their injuries, two ghostly, tall men slowly walked out from the darkness under the moonlight, their cold gazes fixed on every witch present.

"You have broken the rules."

Why kill them?

The biting chill of early spring, amplified by the night wind, made everyone's hands and feet incredibly cold.

"This is the Inquisitor of Heresy!"

In an instant, faced with this overwhelming momentum, the four people numbered 47 knew that they were no match for these two. They had no way of knowing which organization had sent them. At this moment, they could only gamble that these two would not actually kill them.

"Because they shouldn't have provoked a group of hopeless witches. People who want to die are happy to take anyone down with them. If you two gentlemen insist on interfering, we might as well send you two on your way together."

Number 47 calmly said, "Fortunately, it's not a full moon tonight. I think the higher-ups will be very happy to have acquired four sealed artifacts."

"Such an arrogant tone. No wonder you are the witch whom the warden specifically requested to see. It seems we have no choice but to put an end to your arrogance."

The four witches, bound by life and death, made their choice the moment they locked eyes!

Chapter 17 A Sleepless Night

In less than twenty minutes, all sorts of commotion came from outside, as if the four witch seniors were fighting with someone.

Li Lan and Lana, who were sitting anxiously in the living room, stared at each other for a while before falling silent, unsure of what to do in this situation.

It wasn't until the outside suddenly became quiet, and remained quiet for more than five minutes.

Li Lan finally couldn't help but ask with concern, "Should we go out and check on the four seniors? Who was following them just now?"

Lana hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Since the four seniors deliberately sent us away, I don't think we can go out rashly without sufficient information."

Even if they went out, it wouldn't change anything. Both he and Li Lan knew very well that they had only just transmigrated and their magic books were only level 1, while the seniors were at level 10 or 20 if nothing unexpected happened. Going out would only be a hindrance.

"Could they have been robbed?" Judging from the footsteps they just heard, it seemed like quite a few people were following them.

"I don't know, after all, witches are of low status," Lana thought for a moment but still couldn't figure it out, "and witches don't have anything good to steal, right?"

"Abuse of sexual favors?" Li Lan thought of the most likely possibility.

He had barely uttered his question when the wooden door to the living room creaked open, and a beautiful woman with cat ears, covered in blood, was helped inside.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm the only one who ever robs other people of their virtue. If any blind man dares to touch me, I'll fight him to the death."

Number 86 grimaced and complained, then groaned, "It hurts so much, it feels like I'm on my period."

"Witches don't have periods."

With a gentle smile, number 47 helped number 86 to the side and hurriedly applied medicine to him.

Following number 47, numbers 93 and 94 also suffered considerable injuries. As soon as they entered the room, they took out their respective recovery medicines and silently applied them to their wounds.

What happened? Why are they all covered in injuries?

Moreover, number 86 was seriously injured. Li Lan and Lana gasped when they saw the hideous wound on his neck. They felt a chill run down their spines. What terrible thing had these four people just encountered?

"Karen, Lana, you two go up and rest first. Tomorrow, I will take you to prepare for the Crimson Night Flood."

Number 47's upper face was still hidden under the hood, making it impossible to see what her emotions were. The pale and gentle smile on her lower face gave people a sense of reassurance, but this reassurance could not dispel the fear in Li Lan's heart.

Li Lan hesitated for a moment, realizing that now was not a good time to ask questions; Number 47 was clearly trying to get them out of the way.

"Yes, seniors, take care."

Lana thought for a moment, then wisely said goodnight, before dragging Li Lan up the stairs first.

Good night, sweet dreams.

Soon, only four witches remained in the huge hall, tending to their own wounds.

"The injuries aren't serious, and they'll recover in a few hours." Seeing that their wounds were healing slowly at a visible rate and that they would be able to fight again tomorrow, number 47 visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "We made the right bet and escaped with our lives."

"Yeah, I thought I was going to die, but after seeing my injuries, they didn't attack me. You guys are in trouble."

Number 86 shook his head with a wry smile and leaned weakly against the wall.

“They are too strong, we have no chance of winning,” said the gloomy No. 94 in a cold voice, which seemed to tremble slightly. “They are more terrifying than any monster I have ever encountered in my life.”

"After all, he is a hero who has mastered a divine artifact. We cannot deal with the guy who serves as the Inquisitor of Heretics. Even if we have the power of the Golden Spellbook, no, even if we have the legendary Dawn Spellbook, we may not be able to fight against the Empire."

Number 47's eyes, hidden in the hood, revealed despair. After struggling for a whole year after being transported to this world, she finally discovered that she was truly powerless and could not even put up the slightest resistance.

"So, is it really only possible to place our hopes on future generations?" After the silent cry, the despair in his heart quietly dissipated, replaced by a firm belief. Number 47 walked slowly to the side of the bookshelf and casually took out one of the books, "The Constitution of the Empire".

At this moment, number 93, who also felt utterly hopeless, asked helplessly, "Is there really no way out?"

Number 47 opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say anything. He could only silently pick up the quill pen and a blank sheet of paper.

"Sigh," said 94, looking at the gruesome knife wound on his lower abdomen that had almost ripped him open, enduring the excruciating pain as he murmured, "There's really no way. It's too unfair. As long as he has that artifact that can seal our magic books, we have absolutely no chance of winning, not even a sliver."

The memory of how all four of their spellbooks simultaneously lost their luster, fell to the ground, and became unusable during the confrontation filled all four of them with lingering fear.

This was the first time any of the four had ever encountered a situation where they had lost their trump card, and it would likely be the last time in their lives.

"The only weapon we can use is this Libra Cross Greatsword, or we can try a different approach," said Number 86, who seemed more optimistic than the others. "What if we abandon our profession and fight them hand-to-hand? We can use physical methods."

"The problem is, time doesn't allow it!"

Number 93 looked dejected, his emotions nearly out of control. "We spent a whole year slowly figuring things out and gradually raising the level of the magic book to level 15. We all know that the advancement level of a silver magic book is level 10, but what about the advancement level of a gold magic book? Level 30. The gap of 15 levels is probably hard to bridge even if we had another year. I don't even know what I've been working so hard for."