Witch Redemption

Speaking of this magic book, it's truly a magical thing. Once opened, it will stay within 20 centimeters of its owner, following them wherever they go, always within reach.

On the spellbook, after selecting "Survey", the circular map that appears has no red dots.

Li Lan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but just then, he suddenly heard Lana exclaim in surprise.

"Quick, look at the sky!"

"Ok?"

Li Lan only slightly raised her head, but she gasped in shock.

But then they saw that the swirling blood moon had stopped rotating without them noticing, and changed into another form. The center of the swirling vortex suddenly expanded, turning into a deep, bottomless blackness, expanding as if it were a lunar eclipse.

Like a black hole, it devoured everything around it. Only the surrounding red light and the ripples spreading outward reminded Li Lan that this was the same blood-red moon from before.

Of course, what terrified him most was not the strange changes in the moon, but the objects that kept falling into the black hole.

At first, the massive black objects resembled countless falling dust particles. After passing through the black circular door, they gradually grew larger until they were the size of sand. Then, unexpected changes occurred! The countless black objects transformed into a meteor shower at an alarming speed, rushing out in all directions and unleashing a dense and sharp sound of air being torn apart!

This jet-black meteor shower lasted for a full three minutes...

"That is……"

“Monsters, a huge number of monsters,” number 47 answered Li Lan’s surprise. “You asked me before, are there no monsters in this world that can’t be killed? The answer is yes, because every night of the Crimson Night Flood, just like you see, a large number of monsters from outside the realm refill all the monster areas. This phenomenon also has a name, called ‘Heavenly Star Fall’.”

"Furthermore, let me tell you a little secret: the reason why most of the demons that crashed into the protective barrier in the so-called Crimson Night Torrent did not have intelligence cores or magic cores is because they were all resentful spirits left behind by demons that had already died. After these resentments solidified into physical forms, they could only act on instinct. That's why they were able to occupy human bodies, merge with humans, and begin a second life."

The astonishing truth left Li Lan somewhat bewildered. "In that case, we won't hunt monsters..."

"If the monsters are not hunted down, they will also go berserk and attack the protective barrier this night, and those that have physical bodies will only become stronger."

What was not mentioned in number 47 at this time is that there are also higher-level beings among the so-called monsters. These beings are the species that survived and evolved in the repeated torrents of the Crimson Night. At the end of their evolution, they all possess the highest level of intelligence and terrifying power, and are called "Abyss Monsters" and "Super Abyss Monsters"!

Just one minute after the "black meteor shower" ended, a violent commotion, like a tidal wave, came from the direction of the distant border area.

Before Li Lan and Lana could recover from their shock, they heard a series of loud booming sounds in the distance.

According to number 47, it was the Sacred Magic Crystal Cannon from the border region that made its move.

Next, some "escaped fish" will launch a frontal attack on the inner city.

Chapter 20 The Long Hour

With the help of the faint red moonlight, I could barely make out the surrounding scenery.

The terrified old man lay motionless in the pool of blood that was spreading uncontrollably, his eyes wide open.

What killed him was not the raging monsters, but two witches who concealed their faces.

"Killing people is like killing monsters; if you kill too many, you will gradually become numb and then gradually lose yourself."

Number 47 spoke in a cold voice, continuing to hold the blood-stained Libra Cross Greatsword in his hand, and slowly walked towards the door of the hut.

Number 93 said with some regret, "Sigh, we didn't have to kill him. If only it could have been like the accident three years ago..."

"That was just good luck. For us, whose real names have been discovered, there is no way we can leave safely like her at this stage, because we still have karmic ties to us, making it difficult to escape this damned cage in a short time. Unless we have countermeasures, but unfortunately we don't have much time to prepare."

As they talked, the two arrived at the city gate side by side.

Unlike usual, a large number of soldiers have gathered near the city gate today. These regular soldiers are all wearing various military uniforms and soft armor, with uniform steel longswords at their waists and thick, long steam rifles on their backs.

Noticing the arrival of the two witches, the stern-faced soldiers silently made way for them.

Shortly after the two men disappeared into the darkness, two soldiers, unable to contain their curiosity, whispered among themselves for a moment.

"Those two witches probably won't be coming back, right?"

"Yes, there are only a few left. I wonder what the Witch Cult will do with them."

"Judging from their choice to go outside the city gates this night, they intend to fight off the monsters as usual, but their numbers are far too small?"

"I don't know. Anyway, many witches died in the previous Crimson Night Torrents. Let's not worry about it too much. God said that they were all sinners and were redeemers. Death is their best release."

"Ugh, here we go again. Always resorting to that theological explanation, it's so boring."

As they were talking, the clock tower in the inner city rang out loudly, and the two soldiers who had been whispering immediately turned pale.

"Go! Keep up! They're about to seal off the city gates!"

"I hope tonight goes well. After I retire, I will never come to this godforsaken place on the border again."

Meanwhile, in the Moli Border Forest Area, numbers 93 and 94 stopped on the road leading to the jungle.

"It is said that abyssal monsters and apostles are attracted to witches, but I don't know if it's true."

The voice of number 93 carried a strange excitement, while his gaze remained wary as he scanned his surroundings.

"Anyway, it's a notification from the Witch Cult, so it's probably not fake."

Number 94 responded in this way, then unfolded the magic book and let it float beside him.

Just as the two had made all the necessary preparations, the Crimson Night Torrent officially arrived, with the blood moon in the sky triggering the "Heavenly Star Fall." The next second, a heart-wrenching roar suddenly resounded from the depths of darkness. From the pitch-black depths as far as the eye could see, streams of black energy surged from the ground to the surface, transforming into countless strange beasts that madly charged towards the border defense barrier of Mori City.

The flood was like a real, pitch-black flood!

No matter how many times I see it, I feel a chill from the depths of my soul, making my legs tremble!

"coming!"

The two were preparing to defend themselves against a direct attack from these resurrected monsters, but to their surprise, the massive, surging torrent of black energy deliberately avoided them and continued to rush towards the protective barrier.

"It's weird!"

The unusual situation surprised both number 93 and number 94, until the torrent surged onto the protective barrier, and the roar of the magic crystal cannons began to echo from behind.

Then, unusual sounds arose again from the peaceful area ahead.

"This is……"

"Footsteps!" A very ominous premonition arose in the heart of Serial Number 94.

As soon as he finished speaking, two humanoid figures emerged from the darkness. Although Number 94 and Number 93 couldn't make out the faces of these two figures, their experience from countless battles with monsters over the past year was ingrained in their very bones. They had already determined the true identities of these two uninvited guests the moment they met.

The aura of a monster!

These two are monsters! And they're very strong!

He's even stronger than those two heretical judges we confronted earlier!

The fear of death drew ever closer with each step of the two dark figures, suffocating them so much they could barely breathe.

Just by looking at them, one can feel the almost overwhelming difference in strength between the two sides. What a desperate situation this is.

"Number 47 once said that there are two ways to return to the original world, right?" Number 94 pulled over the magic book floating to the side and checked the remaining uses of the job skill. "One is to withstand the Red Night Torrent for this world a hundred times, and the other is to choose a way of dying that you want to end this absurd time travel."

"I didn't expect you to still remember this. I always thought you were just joking." Number 93 shook his head helplessly, suppressing the fear and tension in his heart.

"People always need faith, especially when facing death."

This is the answer from number 94. This introverted person, who has been quiet and reserved for many years, possesses an open-mindedness and resilience that are no less than others.

"Ah, it was only at this time that I began to understand the meaning of what No. 47 had said."

With a wry smile, Number 93 raised the Libra Cross Greatsword in his hand, "This should be the last time we work together, partner."

It's impossible to win, absolutely impossible to win.

Miracles don't exist in this world; they knew their death was imminent better than anyone else.

But at this moment, they had no choice!

………………

Silver claws traced a path of death in the darkness of the night. Afterward, two bodies gushed out a shocking amount of blood, and the grimoire that had been floating beside them and emitting a faint glow seemed to lose its life, falling heavily to the ground and its light gradually fading.

"So weak!"

The owner of the silver claws let out a strange cacophony. Her wolf-shaped head, barely discernible, revealed two rows of gleaming white teeth. She shook off the blood from her claws, bent down, and used them to grab one of the magic books.

A few seconds later, the magic book, which had completely lost its luster, turned into dust and vanished. Then, a pure white longsword was fully revealed along with the dissipating dust, lying quietly in the palm of the claw.

Another silent, barely recognizable female figure bent down and picked up another magic book. After this book dissipated, it revealed a pitch-black single-edged sword.

"My...My lord, the artifact has been retrieved, so what do we do next..."

The owner of the silver claws approached eagerly, with a furry object seemingly swaying merrily from side to side behind him.

"go back."

After uttering a cold voice, the woman turned and stepped back into the darkness.

According to the eternal oath between the Empire and the British Empire, the empire would send two witches with silver grimoires as sacrifices every year. She was supposed to come and collect them with her subordinates last month, but this year it was delayed until now due to an incident in the Elf Kingdom.

"But……"

The owner of the silver claws also mentioned that she smelled the scent of witches in the city, and one of them even smelled quite delicious.

"Do your job well."

After a brief exchange, the two people, one in front of the other, had already walked further and further away. The woman, whose true identity might be an "Apostle," suddenly stopped and turned her gaze into the darkness in the distance.

It was a dense thicket of bushes, and hidden behind them was a liquid-like monster that seemed to be trembling with fear at the arrival of the "Crimson Night Torrent." The fear emanating from the monster could be felt from afar.

"Master, that is..."

"Mimicking chaos, it will soon become a new abyssal monster."

The woman casually looked away and continued walking.

"Ah, that's quite rare..."

She had never heard of such a low-level monster being able to advance into an abyss monster. No matter how she thought about it, it was very novel and even made her look forward to witnessing the advancement process of such a low-level monster with her own eyes...

Shortly after the two dark figures left, two men wearing black overcoats slowly approached the two corpses. These two men were Jeno and Eisen, heretics inquisitors of the Witch Cult.

Fear still lingered on Jeno's handsome face. "Just who are these two guys?"

Just by coming into contact with that aura, one feels their entire brain tremble, as if facing a higher being, with their life entirely in the other's hands, as if the other could crush an ant at any moment.

“The sixth apostle, the Plague Demon King Kalamiti, and the other is the Abyss Monster, the Icefield Wolf Fenrir,” Eisen said, his expression still showing lingering fear, though he was much calmer than his accomplice. “Rumor has it that the six apostles are all at the god level, and each of the Abyss Monsters possesses the strength of one of the Empire’s top ten. If it weren’t for the eternal oaths that all the nations of the world have made with them, the calamities that would befall this world are terrifying to even think about.”

Those apostles were all beings capable of destroying nations. In this present age, with all the ancient gods fallen, only the living gods who have ascended to heaven can stand against them. Of course, they can only fight each other; neither can kill the other. Therefore, they can only secretly cooperate to each other and get what they need.

Thinking about it this way, the two suddenly admired the courage of the two witches. Even though their opponent was an invincible being, the two of them were still able to raise their swords to face her, and in the end, they even managed to grab a few hairs of her.

“Sigh,” Geno shook his head as he looked at one of the corpses, whose right hand was tightly clutching a tuft of icy blue hair. He bent down to collect the bodies. “So tragic.”

Five gruesome wounds cut across their chests and abdomens, each only four or five centimeters away from severing their bodies. Through the black wounds, obvious signs of corrosion could be seen, and pus was oozing out.