Witch Redemption

The "Imperial Constitution" and the "Witch Code" make absolutely no mention of what would happen if a witch attacked another witch.

Lana ignored Monica's stern gaze and focused her attention on the eight witches' angry faces, especially the werewolf girl who was covered in sweat and whose arm wound had almost healed. Lana then became somewhat disappointed.

"In the witch's abode, I am the rule! Attacking your own kind is a grave offense!"

When Monica heard that this big-breasted rascal was trying to exploit loopholes in the law, she immediately sneered. She usually turned a blind eye to conflicts between witches, but this guy's disobedience was a different matter.

Seeing this situation, Li Lan thought to herself, "Right now, we are all low-level noobs, and we have no strength to challenge anyone in the Empire. We can't let Lana continue to defy us like this."

Without hesitation, Li Lan immediately pulled Lana behind her and stepped forward with a smile, saying, "I'm sorry, Chairman, it wasn't our side that made the first move. You can ask that guy if you don't believe me."

"But these two despicable criminals broke my room door lock, they intend to..."

Before Monica could even speak, the werewolf girl immediately began to defend herself, her golden beast eyes glaring fiercely at Li Lan and Lana, who stood there nonchalantly, as if it were all their fault.

Monica's face darkened completely. No matter how well she thought she had, it couldn't withstand the idiot teammate. She couldn't help but curse inwardly, "This moron! The best thing to do at a time like this is to shut up and let me handle everything!"

It was Britney Spears's explanation that completely reversed the situation.

"Even if she made the first move, it was only to stop you, but you intended to kill her. What does that mean?"

Monica, being a seasoned veteran, immediately launched into a stern and accusatory questioning.

“I’m sorry, Chairman, as you know, we’re different from them. We’re in the perilous Mori Defense Forest every day, and these past few days we’ve even ventured deep into the North District, almost dying there. It’s normal for us to become a little neurotic. I can assure you that neither Lana nor I intended to kill her, otherwise she wouldn’t have only lost one hand, would she?”

"Besides, these two rooms were originally occupied by the two of us. We just returned and were unaware of the situation, which led to the misunderstanding. I apologize to everyone in advance. We will definitely follow any instructions you give, Chairman. Please forgive us!"

Li Lan felt as if she had returned to the situation when she first joined the company, cursing her boss in her heart while expressing appropriate flattery and compromise through words.

He was more clear-headed than ever at this moment. The guy in front of him must have been sent to monitor the witch, and his strength was definitely extraordinary. It was best not to provoke her.

………………

After a brief interlude, Li Lan and Lana received their due punishment: they were expelled from the witch's abode and allowed to go wherever they pleased, as long as they reported to Monica, their liaison, once a week.

When they returned to the deserted street, the chill of early spring made them shiver.

"Lana, you seemed to have acted too impulsively just now."

Li Lan sighed, realizing that the bastard had really gone all out. He knew it all too well; if Lana hadn't helped him in time, he wouldn't have doubted that he would have been beheaded in the next moment.

What could possibly be the reason that these new witches are so hostile?

Moreover, it was so intense that it aroused murderous intent.

“Sigh,” Lana shook her head, her mood seemingly turning somewhat low. “Maybe so, but I also managed to probe out some things because of it. Do you remember? Most of the people who played our game were hardcore otaku, and many of them were quite veterans. They were familiar with some old anime, like Guilty Crown and IQ Machine. I originally wanted to use a meme to get her attention, but her expression didn’t change.”

"No wonder your probing won't work." Li Lan hadn't expected Lana to be so funny all of a sudden. Shouldn't a normal person lose their mind after having their hand cut off? They wouldn't listen to anything anymore; Lana's probing was completely pointless.

"Didn't you say they were real girls? They might not even have played this game before. Maybe you can test them with some palace drama or Korean drama."

“Oh right! How come I didn’t think of that?” Lana’s expression turned bitter again. “But I never looked at these things in my past life…”

"I won't watch it either..."

How to test these people, how to convey their goodwill, and how to get both sides to cooperate became the biggest problem facing Li Lan and Lana. Judging from today's situation, the two were clearly at a loss.

“I said, Karen.”

After walking for a while, Lana suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Ok?"

"Do we really have to unite all the witches to survive, just like our four predecessors said?"

Lana's expression was one of confusion and disappointment.

"Perhaps. Even those four powerful predecessors would only die in a single night, let alone us? If we follow their advice, we'd better try to win over all of these new witches."

When Li Lan said those words, she also felt a sense of powerlessness.

"But Karen, you saw it too. Those witches are all dressed as rich young ladies, and they have the strength to crush you right away. I estimate that their magic books are at least level three, which is extraordinary. What if they aren't transmigrators from the same world as us? Even so, do you still think it's possible to cooperate with them?"

What Li Lan didn't say was that number 47 had once given her a very important secret.

That is, all witches only have death as their fate, it's just not their time yet. But at this moment, he has no way to tell this secret to anyone, including Lana.

“Karen, in this world, even I am powerless at times, like the day I almost died. For me, the only person I can trust now is you. If they hadn’t tried to kill you today, there would still be room for cooperation, but they did such a thing.”

Lana's gaze gradually hardened. "Anyone who harbors murderous intent towards you is my enemy, even if she is a transmigrator from the same world as us."

"Even if she was framed, leading to a misunderstanding with us?"

“Yes!” Lana responded firmly, taking another step forward. “As adults, if someone doesn’t even have a shred of reason and assumes we’re bad people from the start based solely on someone else’s word, then I don’t think they’re worth cooperating with. What do their lives or deaths have to do with me?”

As far as Lana was concerned, the fact was that neither she nor Li Lan had shown any malice towards the witches, while they had displayed all their hostility without reservation.

Li Lan opened his mouth slightly, but he was afraid that Lana would notice his almost desperate emotions.

Thinking of this, Li Lan shook her head and swallowed her complicated thoughts. "Today's matter is extraordinary. We need to plan this carefully. The most urgent thing is to find a place to spend the night."

………………

After a week of living outdoors, Li Lan and Lana were practically homeless.

During this time, the witches did not cause any trouble for Li Lan and her companion. The two of them continued to hunt monsters to improve their strength and did not contact the group again. They only learned from the residents of the border area that one of the witches had been swallowed by the mimicry of chaos due to carelessness.

On April 2, 10003 (Gregorian calendar), Li Lan and Lana arrived at Monica's place in the evening to check in, as previously agreed.

"I have a task for you tomorrow, so be on time."

Chapter 33 A Tricky Mission

"First, some bad news: three days ago, one of your comrades was killed in the southern part of the Mori Defense Forest."

Upon hearing Monica's words, Li Lan was shocked and thought to herself, "The area south of the Mori Defense Forest, bordering the ruins of Mo City, is a place that Senior No. 47 has repeatedly emphasized as dangerous, explicitly stating that Lana and I must not approach it if our strength is insufficient."

This is the difference between having enough and not having enough intelligence. Coupled with the fearlessness of a newborn calf, problems can easily arise.

"That area is near the ruins of Mo City. Occasionally, some low-level monsters called Shadow Monsters wander to the southern edge of the Moli Defense Forest. Those monsters are quite difficult to deal with and require multiple people to cooperate. The witch who died was codenamed 073. She suffered a loss there because she was too confident in her own strength."

It would have been better if she had died at the hands of the Shadow Monster, but the most fatal thing was that the witch met her end at the hands of the Mimicry Chaos on her way back. The Mimicry Chaos's strongest abilities are devouring and transforming, meaning that the monster had completely become the witch's avatar, and since the day before yesterday, it had been hunting down all sorts of lone adventurers in the Mori Defense Forest, causing a lot of trouble.

"Your mission this time is to escort a group of medicine merchants to the Southern District to collect herbs, and on the way back, eliminate this mimicry Chaos. The caravan's reward is 50 Browns and a bottle of recovery potion given by the medicine merchants. The reward for eliminating the mutated mimicry Chaos is separate."

After Monica finished speaking, she handed them a card that looked like a business card, which contained information about the client and the task.

After taking it, Li Lan glanced at the "blackboard" next to her. It had cards on it. Unlike the mandatory tasks assigned by the Witch Cult's chairman, the tasks on the "blackboard" were optional.

Basically, the tasks are things like "how many mimicking chaotic magic cores are needed", "collecting a certain herb in a certain area", and "obtaining a complete monster intelligence core", which are all within Li Lan and her companion's capabilities at the moment.

"We also plan to take on these tasks. What are the time limits for completion?"

Li Lan asked, noting that he saw the rewards for these tasks were around ten browns. The two were currently in dire straits, and earning some extra money was better than nothing.

Monica frowned upon hearing this. This mission was no simple task, and these two witches actually wanted to take on more?

That's far too greedy!

"These commissions must be completed on the same day. Once accepted, they must be handed over here before midnight on the same day. If they are late, they will be treated as failures, and a penalty of half the commission amount will be imposed for each failed task."

Is there such a regulation?

Li Lan and Lana exchanged a glance. The latter stepped forward and took the tasks of "handing in five simulated chaotic magic cores" and "obtaining a complete intelligence core." They had the materials for both tasks readily available and could deliver them at any time.

The equivalent of thirty browns was enough for the two of them to support themselves for a while.

"All these tasks start tomorrow. You must gather here before 5 a.m. tomorrow. Remember not to be late."

Li Lan and Lana nodded. They had long remembered the Witch's Code perfectly. Any act of disobeying the orders of the Witch Cult would be treated as treason, so they could not and dared not disobey such a direct order.

………………

At two o'clock in the morning, it was still pitch black outside.

Because the residents of the border city seem to have a better attitude towards the witch recently, Li Lan and Lana were able to stay at a hotel in the border area, which is rare for them, and at the normal price of five browns a day.

After washing up, they began to pack their belongings and do a final check.

Name: Karen Elf

Race: Elf

Occupation: Pastor

Secondary Profession: Life Creator Pharmacist

Level 3 Experience: 5111

skill:

First Aid LV1

Prayer LV1 Proficiency: 5330

Blessing LV1 Proficiency: 5330

Courage LV1 Proficiency: 2000

Guardian LV1 Proficiency: 700

Binding artifact:

Revelation LV1 Proficiency: 101

Libra's Cross Sword LVMAX

After a considerable period of effort, Li Lan finally raised her level to level three in the past two days, and the "Guardian" skill was added to her magic book. The effect was somewhat lackluster, increasing the user's defense for one minute.

The so-called "defense" is ambiguous and cannot be measured by data in reality. After some testing, Li Lan found that it is actually just putting a weak invisible barrier on others or herself. To some extent, it does reduce damage, provided that the attack does not break through the strength of this invisible barrier too much.

Then Li Lan embarrassingly discovered that this skill was as fragile as paper...

On the other hand, Lana has accumulated 30,000 experience points, but she is still stuck at level 4, with level 5 a long way off. Because she has no healing potions, and is afraid of getting injured, her experience gain is much slower than before.

"Dragon Power, Berserk Assault, Crescent Sweep, Killing Whirlwind, the number of uses has been restored to ten. I hope today will go smoothly."

Lana muttered to herself, then complained that she didn't know when she would reach full proficiency with these skills and level them up.

Since skills without usage limits can be used anytime, anywhere, Lana was unaware that, apart from first aid, all of Li Lan's other skills were at a terrifyingly high level of proficiency, just like his "Mind's Eye," yet they hadn't been upgraded yet.

"Besides us, I wonder if there are any other witches involved." Because Li Lan's strength is too weak, he is currently focusing on this aspect. The southern part of the Mori Defense Forest is definitely not something they can handle with their current strength.

Both Li Lan and Lana had almost complete trust in Senior Number 47 on this matter.

"They should have some, but if they don't, it's okay. Those medicine merchants will definitely hire extra adventurers to protect them. Let's see if we can cooperate with them."

"Yes, that's what I think too."