Witch Redemption

However, seeing so many witch corpses for the first time, all of them of the same kind, the three of them were so frightened that they dared not even breathe, their minds going blank for a short time due to intense unease.

Li Lan, who had been standing still, was the first to calm down. After all, the "courage" she had gained helped to dispel some of her fear.

He lowered his head slightly to check the condition of the witches' corpses around him. They were definitely dead, but their identification documents should still be there, right?

Soon, Li Lan found a Libra Cross Greatsword lying quietly among the nearby corpses.

Sure enough, this greatsword is the same style as the one Li Lan and the others are currently using, except that the engravings on the blades are different.

As for the witch's natal grimoire, it's unclear what happened. It wasn't found at the scene, or perhaps the grimoire disappeared along with the witch's death.

Li Lan's guess was indeed correct, but he didn't know how long the magic book would remain after the witch's death.

To be precise, the Gray Mist Grimoire will completely dissipate when the witch dies, but the Silver Grimoire is different; it can remain for an hour after the witch dies, and will also completely dissipate after that time.

"Everyone, please help me see if there's any valuable information."

Li Lan felt a pang of sadness and began to slowly search the surroundings.

Those who died here were all our predecessors. It's one thing to die tragically, but to make matters worse, no one even came to collect their bodies after they died. It's too tragic!

Upon seeing them, Li Lan couldn't help but think of her own future, feeling a pang of sadness while constantly encouraging herself.

He knew that in the face of such a great crisis, the most important thing to do was to calm down and find every possible way to escape safely.

Lana and Lorina never expected Li Lan to be so audacious. They covered their noses as they searched the surroundings, displaying a fearless attitude.

Perhaps it was a rare moment when they felt a competitive spirit, but they mustered their courage and slowly walked to the other two sides.

………………

The three of them spent an unknown amount of time searching this area, which was about half the size of a football field, and in the end, they only found four Libra Cross Greatswords. Judging from the owner of these Greatswords, he probably died last year, in the same batch as Senior No. 47.

Furthermore, the condition of these four greatswords is unknown; their texture has become very porous, most likely corroded by some strange aura. This explains why the previous witches lost their Libra Greatswords, as they had all been eroded away by time.

Okay, that's all.

After thinking for a moment, Li Lan threw the four Libra Cross Greatswords into her natal magic book.

"Let's see if there's any other intelligence."

Judging from the witch corpses in this area, the witch corpses near the secret passage were piled up in a mess, as if they had been thrown in like garbage by some strange being.

But the witches near the wall were different; they all died sitting down, and before they died, they tried to leave some message on the wall.

After finishing their tasks, Li Lan and the other two slowly checked the information on the walls.

In fact, the information engraved on the wall was quite bizarre. There were calm last words, self-pity and blaming others, and some records of information about the world before the transmigration. But most of them were resentful curses and endless regrets about this world, the empire, and this absurd transmigration.

Li Lan could understand this feeling, but he was more fortunate than these deceased predecessors. He had trustworthy comrades, kind-hearted seniors who cared for them and thought of them in every way, and he also knew some of the secrets of this world.

The empire is untrustworthy, the Witch Cult is untrustworthy, the only thing he can do is become stronger and escape this terrible purgatory!

To avenge their predecessors? Or to avenge themselves?

Li Lan certainly had this thought, but he was more rational than ever. He was a reliable adult male, a single uncle who had mastered advanced arm strength, and he could distinguish between what was urgent and what was important.

Survival is their top priority!

Revenge and uncovering the truth of this world must be carried out slowly, provided that one can survive!

With complicated thoughts, Li Lan slowly walked along the wall, silently looking at the words left behind by these witch predecessors, hoping to glean some useful information from them.

This search continued for several hours, until they reached a corner.

The familiar diary format came into view once again.

"June 21st, 1001 (Gregorian calendar). The food is all gone. I'm a little impressed with myself for actually being able to eat in this godforsaken place. I must be crazy. If I were crazy, at least I wouldn't be in so much pain. But I'm perfectly lucid now. I miss home, I miss my several wives, I want to go back…"

Oh my god, I get hungry so fast. I've only carved a few words and my stomach is already growling.

Today I spent the whole day checking the information left on the walls by these predecessors, and I've pretty much finished reading it all. There was some valuable intelligence, though. It's a shame some people are just idiots. I'm happy to see you criticize the Empire, but couldn't you at least leave me, the newcomer, some hope? Wouldn't leaving me some intelligence be better than this self-pity? They have absolutely no spirit of contribution!

There are roughly three pieces of useful information. First, every year in mid-June, just before the Crimson Night Flood, Dawn City sends witches into the Sunset Temple. Most of them die there, and it's unclear whether anyone escapes. Based on this extensive information, and considering that the fallen archangel Angel is sealed here, it's highly likely that the witches sent in are sacrifices; their lives are used to reinforce the seal.

There's one thing I don't understand: the ancient gods of this world have long since fallen. Could it be that the one who sealed the fallen archangel was a god of the present world? To speculate a bit more from a conspiracy theory perspective, the fall of the gods wasn't an accident, but rather the present god's doing, eliminating the ancient gods to seize power. But that doesn't make sense either. If the gods were all killed, shouldn't their apostles be able to be killed as well?

Or rather, Archangel Angel is an exception! You know, the other divine messengers were all killed long ago, so why didn't the other temples have the same troubles as Dawn City?

The second piece of information: the location where the fallen archangel Angel is sealed is in the central main hall. It's inside that black box-like coffin. I've never seen what it looks like, but those four poor bastards said that Monica, that old bitch, made them stab three of their teammates there, and afterwards the coffin became even more sinister. Something's definitely fishy.

I was initially terrified, thinking I would be attacked by that thing, but then I couldn't even open the coffin lid. How am I supposed to play like this?

The third piece of information is that the Flame Witch who escaped last year was truly skilled. One of the witches who died here was her friend, and that person left behind a series of steps to escape the Empire's control.

1. Escape must be chosen on the night of the Crimson Night Torrent. A witch with only a year of training possesses at most a Silver Magic Tome, which is no match for the Heretic Inquisitors under normal circumstances. Therefore, the choice must be made on this extremely dangerous night, using the precious hour of the Crimson Night Torrent to try and survive. Two things are essential for escape: a large amount of food and the witch's ashes!

2. After being summoned, the witch became entangled in a karmic connection with the Empire. To leave without being tracked down, she must sever this connection. The specific method is unclear, but it's certain that the Flame Witch possesses relevant clues. Her current location is 23 degrees 26 minutes, 180 degrees; I don't know the significance of this.

3. Even if you manage to escape the empire and cross the border, you must be extremely careful when entering other countries. The reasons are self-evident.

It's a pity I'm going to die here, so there's no way I can put this intelligence into practice. I can only write it down like this, hoping that one day someone will be able to take it out. If any lucky young man does manage to escape this hellhole, don't even think about avenging me; just focus on surviving.

Look at me, I'm almost dead, and I'm still so brave. You can't lose to me.

The diary ends abruptly here. Li Lan doesn't know the name of the witch senior who left so much information, and it's impossible to tell which of the many skeletons in this corner belong to this senior.

He was deeply moved, but as he sighed, he suddenly realized that he couldn't even collect the bodies of these witch predecessors.

Silently memorizing this information, Li Lan glanced back and saw Lana and Lolina still looking at the contents on the wall on the other side. He thought for a moment and decided not to call them over. "This involves the biggest secret left to me by Senior Number 47. It's better not to let them know, lest something unexpected happens."

With this thought in mind, Li Lan took a few steps and suddenly another long piece of text came into view.

"Thank you for your sacrifices, seniors. The eight of us will carry on your wishes and, even if we are unable to escape, we will pass on all opportunities to those who come after us."

This concludes the supplement to the predecessor's last words.

First, the only way to leave this temple is to awaken Archangel Angel. Passing her trials will grant us a path back. This is a deduction based on a game we played before, and it's also the experiment we're about to conduct.

Secondly, if we are unable to escape the empire's clutches in the future, we will place our hopes on those who come after us and will never defy any of the empire's orders. In order to prepare in advance, I discussed with seven others, including No. 54, No. 55, No. 86, and so on, and decided to use what we had on hand. We apologize to the predecessors who have offended us for this. I will make two sets of your ashes, one for us and the other for the lucky young man who comes after us.

Finally, I suspect that there is a very high probability that all of us witches in this batch will perish. If any new witches see this information, take these ashes with you and consult the relevant world map before the time is right. The coordinates mentioned by our predecessors hold the self-redemption that we and you seek.

June 15, 10002 (Gregorian calendar), serial number 47.

In that instant, Li Lan's mind went blank, and all sorts of emotions surged up from the depths of her heart.

Ever since he learned that all four seniors, number 47, had died, he thought that he would never have any contact with them again. However, Li Lan never expected that he would encounter the message left to him by seniors number 47 and the others again today.

It all seemed like fate, guiding Li Lan onto the right path.

Feeling moved, grateful yet unable to repay the debt, indignant about the fate of the empire and the witch, and convinced of his own capabilities... Li Lan no longer knew exactly what he was feeling, but one thing was certain: he had found his own path!

These predecessors were willing to fight so hard for strangers like them, so what about Li Lan?

Chapter 55 Sneak Attack from Behind

Li Lan's mind suddenly cleared up. The effect of the priest's exclusive skill "Courage" had faded, but he was still unable to calm down because he was extremely excited by the information from his predecessors.

"I will do everything I can to survive! Even if I can't survive myself, I will leave every chance for Lana and the others who believe in me! If we all lose our chance, then I will be just like my predecessors!"

Unable to resist clenching his hands, Li Lan seemed to have found his own will. He no longer felt much fear of this eerie and terrifying "witch's tomb." He walked calmly to the corner of the wall and saw faint traces of ash beneath the pile of witch's bones.

He carefully and with reverence moved the bones aside, and finally saw the "witch's ashes" among them.

Just as rumored in number 47, he prepared a great gift for Li Lan and the others: a large amount of jade ashes piled up on the ground.

"These ashes are probably the ritual items used by Major General Abbot that night. What these witch predecessors were considering was how to survive in the monster area."

Li Lan truly never expected that what she learned in her hallucination was actually the truth.

According to this line of thinking, the witch is practically a pig waiting to be slaughtered, and she's very useful.

"I can't take all of these ashes with me. Taking half will be enough to sustain us for a long time. Besides, we can't rely on ashes every time, can we? Once we escape the empire, we must find other ways to seek refuge."

No matter how Li Lan thought about it, she felt that she couldn't directly target those living witches for her own survival; she had to think of another way.

"The ashes of a witch" or "the ashes of a saint" are not a panacea.

This year, Li Lan and her group entered the Sunset Temple. What if other witches enter next year as well?

So, Li Lan rummaged through the storage of the magic book and found another large bag. She filled it halfway with "witch ashes," sealed it carefully, and then solemnly put it back into the magic book. She then moved the skeletons on the ground back to their original position to conceal what lay beneath.

"Senior No. 47 and the others also went directly to the central main hall on the night of the Crimson Night Torrent. It seems that their group did not experience infighting as usual. Does this mean that we must rush there as soon as possible?"

Thinking of this, Li Lan did not hesitate at all and immediately walked towards Lana and Luo Lina's location.

Of the eight senior members who didn't fight amongst themselves, four still died here. This Archangel Angel is probably no pushover; we must be on high alert! We might even need to find other witches to join forces!

………………

The central main hall is located in the underground area of ​​the Sunset Temple.

Unlike the previous eerie and terrifying atmosphere, when Della, codenamed 013, and her six witches stepped into this area, they were greeted by a scene of light.

The entire hall was constructed of a material resembling white jade. From the ceiling above to the surrounding walls and even the ground they were standing on, everything appeared as one and emitted a soft glow.

At this moment, Della felt as if she were in a virtual space, and her heart was filled with an indescribable tremor.

"It seems this is the sealed place that Major General Aibo mentioned."

Della's gaze quickly settled on the ominous object in the center.

Lying there quietly was a pitch-black coffin, perfectly square and three meters long, exuding an eerie black aura. At the very bottom of the coffin, Della could vaguely see some golden patterns, as if some sacred liquid was rapidly flowing along these patterns, suppressing the terrifying intent emanating from the coffin.

Della fell into deep thought. The task that Major General Abbot had assigned her was merely to confirm the status of the seal here. She wasn't quite sure how to confirm it; she was just to look at it with her eyes.

Della dared not approach the coffin casually, after all, it looked really ominous, and she didn't want to risk her life.

"Della, there are living things inside."

Britney looked a little unwell at this moment, and she leaned closer to Della and whispered something.

"Living thing?"

No matter what, Della had only ever seen monsters that had been sealed away for thousands or tens of thousands of years before, and now being able to witness them in person was truly awe-inspiring.

"Yes, I can hear a heartbeat coming from inside, and it's not a very faint sound."

Britney also mentioned that the flowing liquid was making a faint buzzing sound, which she guessed was probably something ominous, and advised her to be careful.

“Hmm,” Della nodded, then turned to her companions and said, “The mission that Major General Abbot gave us should be considered complete. The seal here is functioning well. Now that it has been confirmed, we should head back as soon as possible. I feel very uncomfortable here.”

Della was telling the truth; she didn't want to stay in this place at all right now.

It's important to know that every witch is distinguished by race, and with race comes different talents. For example, Britney Waugh (codename 015) and Julie Haggai (codename 013) are both werewolves, which means they possess physical strength, hearing, and a sense of smell far exceeding those of ordinary people.

Della's race is the Feathered Race, which in Earth terms would be equivalent to an angel, an apostle of the gods. Her talents are mainly manifested in her affinity for light magic and her perception of divine attributes.