Witch Redemption

According to the Witch Code, witches must never stand idly by and watch the people of the empire perish in areas teeming with monsters. Therefore, witches must never stand idly by when adventurers are in danger.

Otherwise, Senior Number 47 wouldn't have rushed back to help when Ryan was in danger.

"Regardless, it's best if this mission succeeds."

The reward includes a bottle of recovery medicine, which will give Li Lan and Lana a lot more confidence to go out, and they won't have to be as restrained as before.

"It doesn't matter if we fail. This is a great opportunity. Anyway, the only medicinal material we need now is the Mist Grass. I plan to find a chance to collect it. Let's take a risk."

Li Lan had a sudden inspiration and thought that it was time to put the relevant attempts to become a secondary professional pharmacist on the agenda.

"Oh right, I forgot you had this side job."

The thought that things would get better after today made Lana's gloomy mood of the past few days quietly disappear.

He straightened his gray-white bodysuit, put on the black hood of his cape to cover half of his handsome face, leaving only a pair of forked dragon horns protruding from the hood.

A black-covered grimoire with dragon patterns hung at his waist, and a long Libra cross greatsword was carried on his back with a special sword ring.

Li Lan, who had also made preparations, concealed her face under her hood and followed along.

After advancing to level three and undergoing several days of training, Li Lan can now easily show off the muscles in her hands, and the six-pack abs on her lower abdomen have begun to show some definition.

………………

As dawn broke, all the witches who had participated in the mission had gathered in the open space in front of the witch's residence.

There were mainly eight witches, codenamed 013 to 020. In addition to these eight, there were two others that Li Lan and Lana were not familiar with. One of them was a rare beauty with long, straight black hair, and her cold and beautiful face exuded an aura that kept strangers at a distance. The other was a petite girl who was a little closer to the one with long, straight black hair, but it was still possible to tell that she kept her distance from everyone.

"Now that everyone's here, let's set off together."

Chairperson Monica took the lead. Despite being an elderly woman nearing sixty, she walked with a more steady gait than any of the witches present, and exuded an aura of great authority.

So the witches followed quietly, without exchanging many words or even glances with each other.

However, Li Lan was very clear about one thing: when they met not long ago, the werewolf girl had cast a hateful look at him and Lana, and her other companions were even more united in their hatred.

However, they both controlled their emotions very well and did not have any intention of having further conflict with Li Lan and the other person.

An hour later, Li Lan followed the old woman to the city gate on time. The place was bustling with people, who must have been waiting for a long time.

“Priestess Monica, hello. I am Cole Frank, the president of the Mori Trading Company.”

A thin gentleman in an expensive tuxedo immediately put on a smile and came forward to greet the old woman upon noticing her arrival.

It was the respectful attitude of a lower class towards a higher-ups. Monica simply nodded at this, then got straight to the point, "The same as before, everyone will receive fifty browns and a recovery potion after completing the task."

"Yes, yes, thank you for your help."

Monica left quickly after explaining the relevant matters.

Cole's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an extremely serious expression. This renowned guild president of Mori City was known for his strictness when dealing with his subordinates.

He quickly organized the more than fifty people in the area, who were in a chaotic state, and arranged them neatly on both sides according to his instructions, whether they were merchants or adventurers who were escorting them.

"Who's in charge?"

Cole then asked the witches standing nearby.

"it's me."

Della stepped forward, and because her image as a "divine messenger" somewhat subverted people's impression of witches, Cole's expression quickly softened because of this beautiful woman.

"We need to split into two groups and head in two directions to the southern part of the Mori Defense Forest. Please make arrangements for your teammates."

"it is good."

Della nodded, then pulled her small group aside for a brief discussion.

“Mr. Cole, it’s decided that there will be eight of us, including myself, in one team, and the other team will consist of the four of them.”

“This…” Cole frowned. He had originally planned to divide the twelve witches into two teams of six, but the result was beyond his expectations.

"Mr. Cole, please rest assured, the witches' greatest strength lies not in their numbers, but in their teamwork and individual strength. Those two companions over there who dare not show their true faces are very strong and could easily kill any one of the eight of us."

Della refers to Li Lan and Lana. To this day, not only her, but also her seven companions still hold a grudge against the two of them.

After all, on the first day they met, the two behaved exactly as Major General Abbott had said: they were malicious, easily tempted by evil, and would not hesitate to kill their comrades if there was any profit to be made.

She and her teammates never intended to associate with such despicable people, fearing that they might be stabbed in the back by these two on the way.

With Della's affirmative answer and time running out, Cole immediately slammed his hand on the table. "You guys come with us. We'll go ahead first." He then turned to Li Lan and the other three and said, "You guys follow that fat guy. His name is Robin, the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce."

Chapter 34 Heading Deep into the Jungle

Reiner had never gotten up this early before, and he rubbed his sleepy eyes several times on the way before he could barely muster his energy.

In contrast, Ryan was incredibly excited. He had finally received a commission to escort a caravan, which would earn him 250 Browns a day. He wouldn't have to work hard for a long time. How could he not work hard?

After accepting the businessmen's instructions with his chest puffed out, Ryan muttered a few curses under his breath to his younger brother, "You better watch your attitude! If you accidentally anger these bosses, I'll get you!"

"Waaah..."

Reiner felt a little wronged when he heard this. His older brother only knew how to criticize him and never gave him a kind look.

The sky was beginning to lighten, and in about ten minutes it would be six o'clock in the morning, which was the time to set off.

Ryan looked around listlessly, when he suddenly noticed a group of somewhat familiar figures approaching from the end of the road. "Hey, aren't those witches? That makes sense. This time we're heading to the southern part of the Mori Defense Forest. If we're lucky, we won't encounter any dangers along the way, but there's always the possibility of bad luck. With the help of these people, the merchant guild won't have to pay too much, and their strength is guaranteed."

The older woman walking ahead spoke something to the president of the chamber of commerce, and then quickly left.

The guild leader quickly divided the group into two teams, and led one team along with eight beautifully dressed witches out of the city gate. Within minutes, they were nowhere to be seen.

Another high-ranking, overweight man, Robin, the vice president of the trading company, shouted at his subordinates, "Keep up! Keep up! We must be there in an hour, don't be late! Richard, have you arranged the team assignments with the adventurers you found? Stop dawdling!"

After a while of noise from the crowd, the three pharmacists and the two caravan leaders took the lead and headed towards the city gate.

The middle-aged man, whom the fat man called Richard, looked very haggard, with a lot of white hair. Although he seemed unreliable on the surface, he was extremely experienced in giving orders.

There were fourteen silver-level adventurers and six bronze-level adventurers present. Twelve of them were acquaintances of Richard, and he quickly divided them into two teams and headed towards the city gate. "There are also eight and four witches. We don't have enough drivers."

"Guys, is anyone else who has obtained an Imperial driver's license? Step forward, we need to use a vehicle now."

Soon, Ryan and another burly man stepped forward. Ryan came from a fairly well-off family and had obtained his driver's license while serving in the military, making him a seasoned driver.

"Alright, which of you two will carry those four witches?"

Richard had barely finished speaking when the other burly man looked troubled.

Although their attitude towards witches has improved slightly due to the witch reforms, they are still unwilling to deal with these people.

"I'll do it."

Ryan took the initiative, earning Richard's praise.

"Newcomer, what's your name?"

"Ryan Little".

“Good, I’ll give you an extra fifty browns as a reward after the mission is completed.” Richard liked this kind of action-oriented person who didn’t waste words and just got things done.

"Thank you, Team Leader Richard!"

Ryan was overjoyed. No one would complain about too much pay, but he never expected that this unintentional act would earn him extra money.

………………

Five steam-powered cars were parked outside the city gate. The three pharmacists and two merchants who had arrived first had already boarded the enclosed vehicle in the middle. That dark thing looked a lot like the armored vehicles that Li Lan had seen many times in her previous life.

The other four vehicles were all open-tops, and the two teams of adventurers who arrived first had already gotten into them, adjusting themselves to be ready to attack at any moment, with all their weapons placed in easily accessible locations.

"They'll clear the way ahead, and you'll be responsible for guarding the rear."

Richard spoke to Ryan and the other burly man driving, then walked straight to the middle "armored vehicle."

Ryan then called out to Li Lan and the other three, "Let's go, get in the car first."

Ryan got into the driver's seat, while his younger brother, Reiner, took the passenger seat. Reiner seemed a little unhappy about the four witches behind them, but after being glared at by his older brother, he didn't dare to say anything.

Li Lan and Lana both felt a strong connection with the inhabitants of these two empires, having encountered them many times outside, which sometimes seemed like an unusual coincidence.

"I didn't expect you could drive." Li Lan was quite surprised and curious as she looked at the vehicle beneath her.

He and Lana had seen steam vehicles several times in the capital city of Kate and in the border city of Mori, and thought they were just antiques. But as soon as they got on board, they realized that this vehicle was no ordinary one.

The center console visible from the driver's seat doesn't have a fuel gauge, radio, or navigation system; it just has a simple steering wheel, below which are the choke and brake pedals, and to Ryan's right is an ordinary gear shift lever.

What actually caught the eye of Li Lan and the others the most was the diamond-shaped slot in the center console, from which a large number of radial circuit structures extended outwards, with the endpoints of the circuits all located in the vehicle chassis below.

"He's a seasoned driver, with nearly ten years of driving experience."

Ryan became unusually confident, and then skillfully checked the energy box next to the driver's seat, took out a fist-sized pure white magic core, and pressed it into the diamond-shaped slot structure on the center console with a click.

In an instant, the prismatic, pure white magic core emitted a faint glow, and then the numerous radiating circuits seemed to be truly "energized," emitting a soft light that amazed everyone.

Soon, Ryan quickly shifted gears, stepped on the choke, and the engine in front of the steam car roared, with another plume of white steam shooting out from the exhaust pipe on the right side.

“Technology completely different from ours,” Lana said softly.

"Yes, the power comes entirely from the magic core, which can be derived from monsters or minerals."

Thinking about it this way, it's impossible for the world to have an energy crisis.

Soon, five steam-powered cars broke the morning's tranquility and sped toward the newly opened roads outside the city gates. It was only today that Li Lan and Lana learned that the many wide roads that appeared in the Mori Defense Forest were actually for these caravans to pass through.

"Is our destination very far away?"

Li Lan's brows twitched slightly.

Ryan was focused on driving, and Li Lan's question was casually answered by his younger brother, "Of course, the Mori Defense Forest is very large. It takes a whole day to walk to the south and back. It's impossible to get there in an hour without transportation."

"So that's how it is," Li Lan suddenly realized, and secretly decided that she must take this opportunity to collect the relevant herbs, otherwise she didn't know when she would have to wait for the next time.

Lana, however, was somewhat frightened. She had had the urge to go south many times before, and now she realized that Senior Number 47's advice was absolutely right. They should only consider going if they reached a certain level of strength, since such a long distance would have too little room for error for them in their early stages.

The two exchanged a glance, then opened their magic books and selected the "Investigate" option before becoming wary.

Because this is an area teeming with monsters, who knows what might happen next.

………………

Lolina and Ann both felt a little embarrassed. They had been ostracized during the previous training camp because they didn't fit in, and the ostracism only got worse after they came here. In the end, they were just casually sent to this team.

Lorina had heard about the two somber-looking guys' infamous reputation a week ago.

据闻这个代号001以及代号002在与代号013黛拉等人相遇不到数分钟之后就起了冲突，其中那个头上有角的代号002一个爆起斩断了代号015布兰妮的右手，甚至试图将布兰妮斩杀。

She simply couldn't understand why the chairpersons of the Witch Cult would continue to let such unreasonable and ruthless thugs run rampant.