Witch Redemption

The dazzling flames, like the sun at dawn, seemed like the end of the world to the inhabitants of the empire, but to Li Lan, they were like a beautiful ephemeral flower in full bloom, the last brilliant colors of life...

Early morning, Witch's Residence, Building Number One.

"Witch Code Name 001, Karen Elf, tell me where you were yesterday!"

Monica, whose face was rather pale, sat solemnly, while Li Lan, who stood in front of her, was somewhat reserved.

"During the day, I hunted mimicry Chaos in the Mori Defense Forest and didn't return to Mori City until about six o'clock. Then... I rested not far from the Witch's Abode until dawn."

Li Lan spent a sleepless night thinking about many things. As an adult with extremely strong mental fortitude, he had already judged from the previous night that these matters were extraordinary and that he had to keep quiet no matter what.

Since she couldn't lie, Li Lan remained calm and explained the signs that had appeared throughout the day. Finally, she gave a slightly evasive answer regarding her journey to meet a strange witch senior, saying that she had initially planned to find a place to rest in the slums, but when she couldn't find one, she had to turn back and ended up near the witch's residence.

In fact, Li Lan had been near the witch's abode for quite some time when the terrorist attack occurred.

Monica simply nodded at Li Lan's statement, while writing something in her notebook on the old desk.

Indeed, the Witch Cult would not blindly believe a witch's one-sided story. They have relevant lie detection measures. For example, all the information points that Li Lan mentioned were recorded by Monica using special magic, and then many changes occurred in the notebook.

"The statement that the witch codename 001 had no contact with the Flame Witch is true."

The result surprised Monica. After pondering for a while, she had no choice but to let Li Lan leave and question the other witches again.

Wandering witches like Li Lan and her companions, who live a carefree life, are thus homeless. The witch cult doesn't have any spies monitoring them, because there's no need...

Li Lan had managed to avoid the first hurdle, but as he continued his journey to the monster-infested area, he learned a terrifying truth from the many other people he spoke with.

Last night, an evil witch who had been hiding for more than three years finally appeared and attacked the slum area, causing a large number of casualties and turning an area within a kilometer radius into scorched earth, which will probably be difficult to rebuild in the short term.

Li Lan sighed and slowly walked out of the city gate of the defense zone.

"Not enough, not enough! I need to become stronger!"

The Book of Fate's Judgment had been hidden by Li Lan in her natal magic book, waiting for the day it would see the light of day again. At the same time, Li Lan's mind gradually began to make sense of things.

No matter what happens, life goes on. In the time to come, he plans to devote himself to monster hunting and life alchemy, and he must find ways to make all the products of life alchemy stronger.

Moreover, he will not set foot in the ruins created by that witch for the rest of his life, lest he reveal any clues.

"The Flame Witch, an evil witch?"

Silently remembering this rather ironic title, Li Lan once again felt a strong sense of alienation and disgust towards this world.

………………

On May 5, 10003 of the Gregorian calendar, Lana and her two companions, who had gone out to train in other regions, finally returned to Mori City. They had only been back for a short while when Lana, Lolina, and Della were taken to the witch's residence by the heretic inquisitors of the Witch Cult. It was not until very late that Lana and Della were released, while Lolina experienced a small accident.

When Monica asked again, Lorina answered affirmatively, "Yes, I went to the protected area of ​​the Nazan Temple six days ago to hunt monsters there. The guards there can probably testify for me."

"Do you know this person?"

Monica took out another photo and placed it on the desk. Lorina glanced at it briefly and was somewhat bewildered.

"I know her. She's a fortune teller, and I occasionally go to her for readings."

Lolina only went to help the blind old woman every week out of compassion, without any ulterior motives.

Although the old woman was indeed quite capable, and could see some illusions more or less every time she did a divination, Lorina was the kind of person who didn't really believe in superstitions. To her, theories like fate and luck were just nonsense.

She was a more quintessential "human will can conquer nature" person than Karen, so she always laughed off those hallucinations and understood them as the old woman's means of making a living.

It's not that Lolina is oblivious; it's more likely that she's quite naive in certain aspects.

What kind of things do you usually ask for divination about?

"Like fate, love, and things like that," Lolina said without hiding anything.

The first time was a fortune-telling session, and what she saw was her own tragic death, as well as the tragic deaths of Karen and Lana, which almost made her believe it was real.

The second time was for love divination, such as lecherously looking at whether she and Karen had a chance, or whether she and Lana had a chance, etc. The blind old lady's expression was quite interesting, and she did indeed show her the divination results.

The glass ball then revealed a sentence: "Don't ask me, I'm just a little fortune-telling ball."

The old woman's true nature as a freeloader was laid bare, leaving Luo Lina speechless.

"Is that really all? Did that old woman give you anything else?"

Monica was now absolutely certain that Witch Code Name 099, Lorina Yuffie, was the only witch who had ever been in contact with the Flame Witch, and that she was the most likely to have received some kind of help from the Flame Witch or obtained some magical item.

"No, that old poor wretch needs to be helped by others to make a living, what kind of things could he possibly give me?"

Lolina's face remained as cold as ever, showing no sign of emotional fluctuation.

"..."

The old woman, Monica, questioned them for a long time, and finally came to the same conclusion: none of the witches were lying.

Yes, none of them lied!

"Impossible, this is impossible. The warden has already made it clear that the sealing artifact possessed by the Flame Witch has been lost. It must have been given to some witch. It's impossible that we can't find even the slightest clue."

Chapter 82 Mission Change

Outside the Witch's Abode Building No. 1, Li Lan and her two companions, looking rather worried, finally waited for Luo Lina to come out.

Also emerging from the group was the chairperson, Monica, whose face appeared somewhat pale.

"Due to this sudden terrorist attack, the mission at the Mo City Ruins will be postponed. You will be notified of the details at the Witch's Residence in three days."

After giving the relevant information, the old woman Monica didn't look at the four witches again and went back into the room.

The four of them set off for the nearest hotel, and along the way, each lost in their own thoughts, they remained silent for a long time.

"Karen, you don't look well. What has happened these past few days?"

Luo Lina was the first to break the silence. As a "typical pervert," she always liked to linger on the breasts, thighs, and faces of beautiful women. In a sense, she did have a bit more "observational" skills and noticed Li Lan's low mood.

“These days, the ‘life-forging’ process keeps failing, which gives me the illusion of being exhausted. I’ll feel better after a while.”

Li Lan forced a smile and said that he had always been very clear that no matter what happened, he could not show negative emotions in front of anyone. This was not only to better protect himself, but also to hide those countless secrets.

No one but Li Lan herself knows the extent of the responsibility and pressure she bears.

“I see,” Lorina vaguely sensed that Li Lan might be hiding something, but she didn’t ask. “Since Karen is short so many monster corpses, why don’t we help her out?”

"That's right. Anyway, my secondary profession, Life Creator, has already disappeared, so there's no point in keeping the subspace cargo bag."

Lana responded quickly. In fact, Lana probably knew Li Lan better than anyone else, having known her the longest and having vaguely come into contact with the truth about the witch. She could guess that Li Lan was definitely plotting something in secret.

However, he wouldn't point it out; he would only silently support and believe in Li Lan.

Della, who had become somewhat taciturn, spoke up for once, "I have no objection, but I might need to buy some space storage equipment. Do you have any suggestions?"

The witch's grimoire does indeed have a storage function, but unfortunately, it cannot directly store the corpses of monsters; a storage medium is required, which is somewhat troublesome.

"Okay, let's go to Mr. Ryan's place first."

At this moment, Li Lan would not refuse the help of these accomplices. Right now, not only do Lolina and Della need related spatial storage devices, but Li Lan also has the idea of ​​increasing the amount of storage items.

You can never have too many monster corpse materials.

“By the way, Karen,” Lana asked curiously, “what happened in this city while we were away? Why were we brought in for questioning so soon after we got back?”

Moreover, judging from the large number of imperial soldiers on the border, the atmosphere was rather oppressive.

"A witch who had been lurking in Mori City for more than three years was exposed. In the end, she committed suicide by exploding in the slums, creating a deep crater that killed a large number of imperial soldiers. Even a priest of the witch cult was killed in that attack."

Li Lan had not witnessed the actual intensity of the battle firsthand. He only knew that the crimson fiery sun that night lasted for a full twenty minutes. He had only heard rumors about the casualties that followed and did not know the truth of the matter.

"A witch who has been lying in wait for three years?"

Not only was Lana surprised, but Lorina also showed an expression of disbelief.

"The Flame Witch, a rare witch with a title, although I'm a little curious about what she looks like."

At this moment, Li Lan tried his best to act as if he didn't know this person at all. Only by completely distancing himself from all relationships could he avoid being questioned by some watchers hiding in the shadows.

Moreover, Li Lan was not mistaken; the Flame Witch was the only powerful witch mentioned in the dying words of a senior in the "Witch's Tomb," who seemed to have successfully escaped but actually hadn't.

"What happened to her in the end?" Lana had already guessed what had become of this witch, but she still held onto a sliver of hope.

"He died, and before he died, he caused a terrible explosion that reduced his body to ashes."

It also left behind a terrible scorched earth in the slums, and the Empire is currently sending relevant personnel to carry out emergency repairs.

Explosions are art.

However, the witch's art did not bring joy to those present; in fact, it made them feel somewhat sad.

"Let's not talk about such hurtful topics. By the way, how was your trip?"

Li Lan took the initiative to change the subject.

Upon hearing this, Lana's eyes lit up immediately. "I went to the outer area near the ruins of Mo City, where the city of Charlotte, protected by the Feather Kingdom Temple, is located. I've also figured out how to deal with the Shadow Monsters in the monster area nearby. I'll explain the specific route to the outer area of ​​the Mo City ruins and the weaknesses of the monsters tonight using maps. Perhaps we'll need this information when we accept the mission from the Witch Cult."

“I went to the protected area of ​​the Nazan Temple in the South District. According to the map, if you keep going in that direction, you can reach another country on the continent, the United Principality of Ries. Speaking of the Nazan Temple, the city in that area is quite large, even larger than Dawn City, which I visited before. However, the monsters around it are not easy to deal with, and the price of magic cores is ridiculously high.”

Lolina also shared her experiences with great enthusiasm. Although she spoke eloquently, her face remained as cold as ever, which was probably Lolina's most distinctive feature.

Finally, Li Lan shifted the topic to Della.

This somewhat pitiful witch has lost her former joy after suffering a series of blows, and seems to have become taciturn. Although she occasionally follows Li Lan and the others, her personality has become very repressed.

"I went to the abandoned mines of the Empire, where there is a city protected by the Hill Temple. The mines are inhabited by a large number of crystal-like monsters, which are a bit difficult to deal with, but the magic book gives a lot of experience. You can get 50 experience points for each one you kill."

In other words, killing just one Crystal Monster is equivalent to killing five Mimic Chaos Monsters, which is indeed not to be underestimated.

Of course, Li Lan and the other two were unaware at this moment how insane Della had become. Each time she hunted a monster, she used a morbid killing method, rapidly increasing her experience level through near-self-harming suicidal attacks.

"I see. Della, what's your current level in magic books?"

After hearing about such an exaggerated experience, Li Lan couldn't help but ask.

Level 7.

"So tall?"

Not only was Li Lan surprised, but Lana and Lorina were also astonished, wondering how this last accomplice had leveled up so quickly. Could the abandoned mines of the Empire be a holy land for leveling up?

"I will advance to level 10 as soon as possible and break through the Gray Mist Magic Book to advance."

Driven mad, Della silently added one last sentence in her mind, "Then, when I become stronger, I will personally kill Major General Abbot! I will take revenge on this empire!"

"Don't rush to go up. Stop when you reach level 9 of the magic book and advance with us."

Li Lan did not explain why she did this, but simply offered some advice.

"Ah."