Witch Redemption

Normal goblin blood is blackish-green, and the color becomes darker after it coagulates. However, to Li Lan's surprise, in addition to these blackish-green bloodstains, there were also many places around it smeared with dark red bloodstains, and the dark red was mixed with some golden spots.

"Red blood with gold spots?"

Upon noticing this feature, Li Lan's mind went completely blank.

This kind of blood isn't unique to the witch codename 013, Della Bertie.

Li Lan remembered very clearly that when Della was on the verge of death, he was the one who personally performed the "emergency surgery" on her. Li Lan knew better than anyone what kind of peculiar blood flowed through her body.

"Calm down. Maybe it's not Della. What if other witches have similar blood?"

Moreover, Della's grimoire class is Archer, yet of all the goblins who died in this area, none were killed by ranged attacks. They all had injuries from melee weapons, definitely not from arrows.

After hesitating for a long time, Li Lan instructed a servant to enter the underground space to confirm, and the feedback was as follows.

Below is an underground passage leading to some unknown area. Besides the corpses piled up here, you can see a large amount of dark red blood mixed with gold splattered all the way forward, spreading to some unknown place.

"This witch is seriously injured!"

Faced with this information, Li Lan made a judgment on the spot. It's no wonder. With such a huge number of goblins, how long could a witch hold out on her own? If it were Lana, she would probably just use a combo to wipe out a wave of unlucky guys and then quickly retreat.

After all, the two of them had collaborated many times, and long ago, under the guidance of senior No. 47, they adhered to the principle that they should never get injured unless absolutely necessary.

Often, even a minor injury can lead to a fatal crisis.

Especially after Lana had a near-death experience, she dared not joke about her own life.

But the guy standing in front of Li Lan now sent chills down his spine. "This guy must be insane! Is he risking his life for another? Why would he go to such lengths for the empire? He's being sold out without even realizing it!"

She denied from the bottom of her heart that the seriously injured witch was not witch codename 013 Della, but for some reason, after seeing this strange bloodstain, a sense of worry began to rise uncontrollably in Li Lan's heart.

Should we retreat now?

But what if it really is Della? If we let this seriously injured guy continue to venture deeper into that unknown underground area, there's a high chance he'll lose this accomplice forever.

Although she became despondent and taciturn after the incident in Dawn City, she was not unlikeable during the time we spent together.

"Slime, if—and I mean if—I accidentally die, how long can you still exist?"

Li Lan harbors countless secrets within his heart; he absolutely cannot die easily.

Given that the heavily injured witch who entered this place is very likely Della, his best course of action is to completely ignore this place, leave directly, and then pray that he can encounter this former accomplice again tonight on the outskirts of the Mo City Ruins.

Unfortunately, Li Lan couldn't do it.

Because this escape will be related to the original intention he has always upheld since he came to this world!

He knew that all witches were destined to die, and he had witnessed many witch predecessors calmly face death in order to leave behind hope. Li Lan decided to inherit their will.

At this moment, whether for public or private reasons, Li Lan had to leave. However, he questioned himself from the bottom of his heart: if he turned a blind eye to the possible death of his comrades this time, what about next time?

Death is not scary, nor should it be feared. What is scary is that the sacrifice of his comrades has shaken his original intentions. He wants to leave the empire alive, but what he wants even more is for all his comrades who believe in him to leave the empire together.

No matter which one of them died, it was absolutely unacceptable to Li Lan.

"My lord..."

The slime sensed that its master's emotions were very strange, but being simple-minded, it couldn't understand Li Lan's motives. After hesitating for a moment, it honestly pointed to its head and heart, "As long as these two parts are not fatally injured at the same time, I am immortal... I don't understand the master's question, but I have always believed that the great master is an omnipotent being and will never die."

The slime looked serious.

Chapter 91 The Witch Devourer

After receiving a positive reply from the slime, Li Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made a decision.

He would never abandon any of his comrades until the very last moment; this was an insurmountable bottom line in his heart.

The slime is very strong now. If it really encounters a crisis that is difficult to deal with, it can at least be ordered to escape. All the secrets that Li Lan knows now can be entrusted to Lana or Lolina.

This is Li Lan's last resort.

Having this backup plan would allow Li Lan to have fewer worries and also allow him to face the possibility of death with confidence.

"No! I won't die, and neither will this badly injured guy!"

In previous encounters, none of these suspected "goblins" were a match for the slime, so why should he feel pessimistic?

"It's almost 3 p.m. If the witch who entered is really Della, by the time I rescue her, it will definitely be too late to get back to the outskirts of Mo City. As night falls, Lana and the others won't be able to come here to meet us either, and I'm afraid I'll have to spend the night in this city."

In other words, Li Lan had to inform Lana and the others to prepare in advance so that they could come to his aid as soon as possible after dawn the next day.

Her brain started working quickly. Li Lan first took out paper and pen from the magic book, determined her current location, circled a special area on the paper map of the Mo City Ruins, and then wrote a note.

"Don't worry about me not joining you. Tomorrow, come to this position to support us."

After finishing writing, Li Lan summoned Servant Number One, one of the green humanoid flowing monsters he had first created using "Life Forging." "Number One, I will not be able to continue buffing you for the time being. I hope you can do something for me."

Servant Number One nodded. It still clearly showed fear when facing Li Lan, even though it was now at level three, it was still as timid as ever.

"First, this contains the ashes of a saint and the fiery blood of a phoenix. Here's how it's used... If you can't deliver it before nightfall, to be on the safe side, you can stay where you are and deliver it at dawn. The target is my two friends, the ones you've met. They're probably outside the city walls where we first entered the city, not far away. Also, be careful along the way, and prioritize your own safety!"

After instructing the creature to be extremely careful, Servant Number One took the item from its hands, nodded vigorously again as if deeply moved, and then began to run away until it disappeared from Li Lan's sight.

"Slime, you're in charge of guarding the area. Everyone, follow me and prioritize your own safety!"

Emboldened by her "courage," Li Lan stepped down into the dark underground area without hesitation, opened her magic book, and grabbed her signature Libra Cross Greatsword.

At that moment, the slime that was tightly protecting Li Lan made a strange "cooing" sound, which quickly resonated with the other humanoid monsters around them.

"This is our Creator, how great and gentle He is!"

Even when facing these inferior beings, this great Creator never belittled or discriminated against them, but gave them equal gentleness and love. What does it matter if one is willing to dedicate everything in this life to such a Lord?

What Li Lan didn't know was that it was precisely his consistently gentle attitude and his unwavering resilience in the face of countless difficulties and obstacles that caused the "monsters" he had created to change without him even realizing it.

This change will undoubtedly bring about immeasurable qualitative changes in the future.

..................

The southern area of ​​the city of Mocheng Ruins.

After a horrific massacre, only sixteen goblin corpses remained in the ravaged streets, surrounded by scattered pieces of flesh.

"This is it, the smell of fresh flesh and blood."

At the end of the long street, a short witch dressed in a black gothic dress strolled over, her long gray-blue hair flowing gently, and her sea-blue beast eyes under her bangs revealed a variety of complex emotions such as caution, longing, and pleasure.

This witch is none other than Ann Gnath, a lone wolf who no longer communicates with any witches.

An hour earlier, he had used the stealth skills unique to professional "gunners" to hide in a secluded corner nearby, concealing all his presence.

In other words, he witnessed the attack on the five witches, but watched helplessly as one of them died tragically on the spot.

Ann Gnath never considered helping them throughout the entire ordeal. Even as he witnessed the deaths of numerous witches, he remained indifferent, coldly watching them approach the end of their lives.

For him, are there really people in this world who are trustworthy and worth saving?

No, none at all.

Since there is none, what does the life or death of others have to do with him?

Slowly approaching the flesh and blood of Witch No. 078 Maria Benger, Ann Grenas raised her left hand, and a ferocious mouth suddenly opened in the palm of her left hand, revealing sharp white fangs, a forked tongue like a snake, and countless drops of saliva secreted due to hunger.

Faced with such a horrific situation, Ann Gnath remained expressionless, as if he had never seen anything like it before. He reached his strange left hand towards the witch's flesh on the ground, and the next second, the gruesome left hand began to devour everything below it with a frenzied squeak.

Then, in less than ten minutes, with each new area Ann Grenas moved into and each piece of the witch's flesh he consumed, his expression grew increasingly blissful, as if he were about to ascend to heaven...

It all started more than a month ago when the witch codenamed 099, Lorina Euphemia, who was supposed to be with Ann Gnath, had a disagreement on one thing.

The matter concerns whether or not to sacrifice one's own life to support two other wandering witches who are called "traitors".

To be honest, Ann Gnath had no liking for those two guys from the very beginning, and instinctively disliked them for their pretentious behavior.

If he didn't like them, why would he risk his life for them? Besides, did that fat otaku like Lolina have no idea how dangerous it was back then? Staying in the southern plains of the Mori Defense Forest would most likely have resulted in a very rhythmic death.

Ann Gnath did think that way, and he did make his choice, but he never expected that this choice would deepen the rift between him and Lorina, ultimately leading to their separation.

In Ann Gnath's view, everyone is a time traveler who has come to this dangerous, godforsaken world. If it's just to survive, what does it matter if they resort to any means necessary?

To put it bluntly, this stupid, fat otaku is a hypocrite who falsely pursues so-called morality. That's not naivety, that's stupidity.

Ann Gnath wasn't upset about Lorina's departure; she just felt sorry for her for a while. After all, they were on different paths and could simply pretend she had never met him.

However, before the two parted ways, there was something that made him furious, and he still can't get over it.

Since that mission, Ann Gnath had repeatedly suspected that Lolina was hiding some secret, which was most likely told to her by the other two "wandering witches".

Amidst a series of suspicions, he began to secretly observe Lorina's actions while living under the same roof, eventually even resorting to spying.

It was during those many spying sessions that Ann Gnath finally learned the biggest secret of the fat, nerdy Lorina.

"The witch's grimoire has the function of storage!"

Furthermore, this storage function was successfully tested by Ann Gnath in several subsequent experiments, which led to his uncontrollable resentment towards Lorina and the other two wandering witches.

"How could these two traitors and this fat otaku be so selfish? This grimoire contains such secrets that could greatly increase our chances of survival as witches, and they didn't utter a single word?"

In Ann Gnath's view, Li Lan and the others were extremely selfish, only wanting to watch them, these witches, die. Weren't these aloof, pretentious bastards the most despicable of all? Did they even deserve Ann Gnath's help?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his initial choice was correct. Moreover, this double standard-like resentment escalated further after he learned that the two guys might also be from the same world.

Even though they are all time travelers from the same world, why are they still so secretive and wary of him? What does that mean?

This proves that these two guys are scum! A bunch of trash who wouldn't even help someone in distress!

Despite his resentment, Ann Gnath was overjoyed to discover that the grimoire held such a great secret. After that, he stored all sorts of items in the grimoire. Unfortunately, he didn't trigger any secondary professions, nor did he know how to unlock the secondary professions of the grimoire.

Until April 15th, the night of the raging torrent, one of his unintentional actions had irreparable consequences.

On that lonely night, Ann Grenas ignored the death of a witch in order to protect himself, and afterwards even coldly threw a piece of the witch's flesh into the storage space of his magic book. It was this cold-blooded act that caused his left hand to mutate and unlocked an evil secondary profession, "Witch Devourer".

At first, Ann Gnath was terrified of this "side job." Bound by the normal ethics and morality of his original Earth, he began to feel a strong sense of guilt. However, he soon realized the horror of this "side job."

The Witch Devourer possesses two secondary job skills: "Devour" and "Manifestation".

"Devour" manifests as a demonic mouth growing from the left hand. If it is allowed to consume more than 80% of a witch's flesh and blood, one can gain that witch's profession and all the experience from her current magic books.

"Manifestation" transforms one's own grimoire into the grimoire of the devoured witch, allowing the user to use any of the witch's class skills.

This was an extremely terrifying and powerful evil secondary profession, which Ann Grenas knew from the beginning, and he hesitated about whether to use it.

Using this secondary profession requires other witches to become stepping stones for his power. Once this secret is exposed, Ann Gnath will have no doubt about his fate...

However, having survived the devastating flood, he ultimately succumbed to his desire to live and his fear of death. Driven by the "Wang Jingze Theorem," he took a desperate gamble and became a corpse-keeper hiding in the shadows.

He won't save any witches who might be on the verge of death. He'll just use witches as stepping stones to grow stronger and plunder everything from them. What does it matter?

If you've decided to use any means necessary from the beginning, why be so soft-hearted?