Witch Redemption

Today, they were ambushed by goblins and were on the verge of despair. In the end, Lana came to their rescue, and now every time they think about it, they don't know how to repay her in the future.

Before this, they had always listened to the words of the chairpersons of the witch cult and tried to avoid contact with these "traitors." But today, it seems that these "traitors" are not nearly as difficult to get along with as the other witches, which really surprised them.

Perhaps realizing she might have overreacted, Lana calmed herself down and was about to say something when a strange "thud" sound from the depths of darkness made her frown.

Something's coming...

Could it be a monster?

In an instant, sensing the danger, Lana and Lorina quickly stood up and grabbed the Libra Cross Greatsword beside them...

"..."

Lana's greatsword, which she had intended to strike first, was abruptly stopped a second before it was even swung. She never expected that the monster that had broken into this protective barrier would be so familiar.

But then a green, flowing humanoid figure, holding a map with slightly tattered edges, stood trembling at the edge of the protective barrier.

Upon seeing the ferocious dragon-born witch and the cold-faced black-haired witch, it seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, its trembling hands raising the map.

"Coo-coo—", "Coo-coo—"

The sound was like boiling water, and it was impossible to understand what the flowing humanoid figure was saying.

"Lana, this is Karen's..." Lorina had only met this familiar, flowing humanoid monster once before, and all she remembered was that this guy was related to Li Lan.

“That’s right, it’s a product of Kallen’s life transmutation.”

He felt a sense of foreboding rising within him, and quickly reached out to take the flowing, humanoid map.

"Finally, the Lord's task is complete. In that case..."

No one could understand what the green, flowing humanoid figure meant. Just after handing over the extremely important map to Lana, its body suddenly leaned forward and crashed onto the rough rocky surface.

The sound of flowing water suddenly erupted.

Dust to dust, dust to dust.

Lana and Lorina were horrified to see that the green, flowing humanoid had a large number of dense, charred marks on its back. The two most fatal marks had pierced through the back of its head and its back, destroying the magic core and intelligence core that represented its heart and brain, respectively.

A large amount of green liquid turned into fluorescence and evaporated and dissipated in less than two seconds. With a few crisp sounds, the shattered wisdom core and magic core rolled three times on the ground and quickly turned into pure white powder, eventually merging with the entire earth.

It was as if nothing had ever existed.

Lana and Lorina both felt an indescribable sadness, and even had a slight guess about what was going on.

After hesitating for a moment, Lana finally sighed and opened the map, whose edges were already torn. Fortunately, the middle section was intact, with the approximate area circled on it.

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

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

The second level of the underground area of ​​the Mocheng Ruins.

Unlike the deathly stillness and desolation of the first underground level, the second underground level is brightly lit all year round, with bustling streets and pavilions that seem to recreate the grandeur of ancient times.

But there were a large number of short, dark green humanoid figures bustling about on the bustling streets, transporting all sorts of goods to various areas. They were the lowest rungs of society, yet they supported the entire logistics of the kingdom.

In the Goblin Kingdom, the ranks are divided from top to bottom as "Junior Guardians", "Holy Land Guardians", "Natives", and "Royal Bloodline".

The junior guards are all goblins with strong physical abilities. Most of them are stationed on the first underground level of the Mo City Ruins, responsible for fighting against the demons, obtaining the "magic crystals" needed by the holy land, and fighting against the terrifying night outside the holy land's barrier. Together, they form the kingdom's first line of defense.

The "Holy Land Guardians" are warriors blessed by the god "Satoguya," possessing far greater strength and willpower. They are mainly stationed at the entrance from the first underground level to the second, especially in the capital city. When necessary, they can also support the battle on the first level. They are the kingdom's most elite troops, forming the kingdom's second line of defense.

The "native inhabitants," these much shorter goblins, are more in line with the impressions of many transmigrators. They are engaged in production and transportation work on the second level, using the land to produce a variety of edible foods and transporting them to the warriors who protect this kingdom.

As for the "royal bloodline," they are a very small number of anomalies who possess ancient genetic characteristics. They not only have great power but also extraordinary wisdom and are proficient in "prophecy." They guide the future of the entire kingdom.

According to the records of the British Empire, the "Goblin Kingdom" at the center of the Mo City ruins was a tribal chieftain system, but this was not actually the case.

The social system here is more like an ant hierarchy. The "royal bloodline" is equivalent to the existence of the queen ant. They are few in number, not responsible for the so-called reproduction of the colony, and have a lifespan of only thirty years. However, as the highest rulers of the kingdom, they have the heavy responsibility of maintaining the survival of the entire colony.

"Primary Guardians" and "Holy Land Guardians" are like soldier ants. Their existence has only one purpose: to protect the entire kingdom and all its inhabitants. They are willing to pay any price for this, even their own lives.

As the lowest level of the kingdom, the "original inhabitants" are like worker ants, silently dedicating their lives to maintaining the kingdom's existence, becoming the most basic cogs in the kingdom's smooth operation...

Dragging his weary body, Peng Sheng hurriedly crossed the bustling long street and arrived at the central capital city on the second level of the underground area.

Before it lay a large palace, about five meters high, separated by a wall. Unlike the flat-roofed structures of other buildings, this unique building was entirely constructed of pure white jade. The surface of the jade was carved with numerous inscriptions, snakes, and wing patterns, making it look magnificent and solemn, and radiating a soft glow.

Outside the magnificent palace and beyond its walls stood numerous "Holy Land Guardians" clad in jet-black armor. Compared to Peng Sheng, they resembled towering humans, their entire bodies covered in armor and topped with heavy helmets, exuding an imposing aura.

"I need to see Elder Wesley! There is an urgent matter to report!"

Upon arriving at the front of this magnificent palace, Peng Sheng bowed and explained his purpose directly to the group of "holy land guards" who were guarding the gate.

The latter did not make things difficult for the warrior from the first underground level. Soon, a holy site guard who was two heads taller than him turned around and went into the palace. Less than a minute later, an old man with gray hair quickly came out.

"Captain Nikolai hasn't returned?"

These were the old goblin's first words, but after seeing the hero's silence, it had a bad feeling. It shook its head and asked, "Speak, what's going on?"

Peng Sheng quickly explained everything that happened in the northern section of the first level of the underground area, and revealed the characteristics of the four most important henchmen of the evil god.

"I understand. You may step back now, and I will make a decision after consulting with the king."

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

Wesley was old. In the three hundred years that had passed, he had seen countless warriors of the kingdom become dust in history, becoming the cornerstone for the kingdom's long-term development.

However, no matter how many warriors or residents of the kingdom there are, their impact is far less than that of the entire royal family.

Three hundred years of decline, it watched helplessly as the royal bloodline, which once numbered nearly a hundred, perished until only one remained. It had always known that the kingdom was cursed from ancient times, and that one day it would be burdened by this curse and fall into destruction.

He never expected that fate would play such a cruel joke on him. With one foot already in the grave, he was about to witness the destruction and end of the kingdom's history at this very last moment.

With a somewhat hunched figure, Wesley walked through the empty and desolate corridor, trying to suppress his sadness, and went straight to the bedroom of the current queen of the kingdom, Greta Toltec.

"Your Highness, I have something important to report."

The voice was devoid of any emotion, so cold that Wesley didn't even recognize himself.

"Please come in."

The girl's clear and melodious voice came from inside the room. Although it was also a language with various "zir" syllables, it sounded like heavenly music compared to the other goblins' pronunciation, with an indescribable elegance.

Wesley slowly stepped through the door, and what came into view was a huge jade bed. Coiled on the jade bed was the long tail characteristic of serpentine creatures, with crystal-clear yellowish-white scales arranged regularly and revealing some gray stripes. Continuing to look up along the long tail, one could see the body of a girl sitting upright and the large white wings behind her that enveloped her delicate figure.

Clearly, the anomaly presented to this old goblin was neither a goblin nor a human, but rather more like a descendant of the Feathered God from ancient mythology. Moreover, this anomaly possessed an extremely weak girlish aura, as if she were seriously ill.

"According to the battle report from above, the evil god's minions have descended upon the outskirts of the holy land, with a confirmed number of over one hundred. In recent days, the warriors have eliminated nearly thirty of them, while paying a certain price."

Wesley hesitated for a moment, then did not ask for further instructions.

He knew that every time the royal family used their prophetic abilities, it inevitably depleted their own life force, and the already dying queen probably didn't have the extra strength to deal with the kingdom's crisis.

"I understand. I will leave everything to the Elder."

The girl's face was pale, and her emerald green beast eyes revealed a variety of emotions as she dared not look directly at the kingdom's elder.

Wesley nodded. Having ruled from behind the curtain for so long, he had always understood the king's passive resistance.

But just as it was about to leave, the king, who held the highest position in the kingdom, called it back for the first time ever.

"Elder Wesley."

"Your Highness."

"I'm afraid I can't hold on much longer. There's a secret that my clan has hidden for tens of thousands of years, and I hope..."

Chapter 96 Before Dawn

"Impossible! How could the ancient being of the Origin Holy Land be our original god of worship? According to the kingdom's ten-thousand-year history, He is an evil being who has brought terrible curses upon our people. How could He be our god of protection?"

The old goblin let out a shocked, hoarse, and incredulous voice, filled with intense despair and fear at the collapse of faith.

"Our only protector is the great being Satogua! It is He who gave our nation the scepter symbolizing power and strength, and He who gave our nation the last hope to survive in this damned underworld. He is our true god of faith!"

After a brief moment of shock, a stern rebuke followed. Wesley's dark green face, etched with deep wrinkles, contorted with rage as he declared, leaving no room for argument, "Even if Your Highness is one of the last remaining members of the royal family, I will not allow Your Highness to utter such rebellious words. This is a grave sin of blasphemy!"

Faced with the elder's stern questioning, the young Queen Greta closed her eyes in pain.

She should have known long ago that the truth buried in the long river of history could never be accepted by her own people.

Because it was a curse that killed a god, a dark history of betraying the gods, and all of that was for the sake of the continuation of this kingdom.

But now that the kingdom has come to an end, how can anyone accept such an absurd secret?

Perhaps realizing that it was extremely impolite for someone of his status to say such things, Wesley remained silent for a few seconds, suppressing his anger, and began to explain the arrangements one by one.

"Your Highness, you may be overworked these past few days. Please rest more. In three days, I will select the kingdom's strongest warriors to serve you. I hope that for the sake of the kingdom's future, Your Highness will give birth to a promising offspring. As for the matter of the evil god's minions, I will make the decision on my own. Your Highness need not worry about it."

In any case, the royal bloodline is related to the future of the entire Goblin Kingdom. For three hundred years, this elder in a high position has tried his best to encourage intermarriage among the few members of the royal bloodline, ignoring ethics, in order to produce more offspring. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

The number of royals decreased year by year until a massive flood three years ago wiped out all but the smallest of the royals, Greta Toltec, and the other thirty royals who remained perished overnight.

Shocked, Wesley single-handedly suppressed all the news, and now no one else in the entire Goblin Kingdom knows just how terrible the events in the capital were.

What he needs to do now is to do everything he can to keep Queen Greta alive. Since all the royal family members except the queen have perished, he can only try other methods, such as selecting the best warriors in the kingdom to mate with the queen, to see if he can resolve the current crisis.

A few minutes later.

As Wesley walked out of Queen Greta's white jade palace, his face pale and grim, he gritted his teeth and finally suppressed all his negative emotions. "I bear the future of the kingdom on my shoulders!"

In order to save the future of all the kingdom's people, it was willing to bear everything, even if the future was nailed to the pillar of shame in the kingdom's history, resented by the queen, and cursed by the people.

A solitary figure traversed the long, winding corridor and passed the desolate gates of the capital. At that moment, Wesley had regained his usual imposing and awe-inspiring demeanor. "Nash, inform Commander Roland to lead the main force to the northern area of ​​the first level of the Holy Land to wipe out the evil god's minions that have invaded the outskirts of the Holy Land. Their goal is to rescue that ancient evil being; we cannot let them succeed."

One of the ten fully armed Holy Land guards standing at the gates of the capital stepped forward, indicating that he accepted the order, and then quickly headed to the northern region. Next, the elite of the Goblin Kingdom would make their official appearance.

"Martin, inform Commander Derek to gather all the kingdom's warriors and explain to him that the time is ripe. If we want to resolve the kingdom's current crisis, we must take the initiative and launch a holy war against the empire. The holy war will be held on the first day after the Crimson Night Flood!"

According to the Queen's prophecy, the destruction of the kingdom would be caused by the many evil gods' minions. However, Wesley, a cunning old fox who had lived for three hundred years, naturally understood that the Queen was worried that he would escalate the conflict between the two countries. Therefore, she did not reveal that the empire was behind the evil gods' minions.

Now that the Empire is ready to deal with the Goblin Kingdom, how could Wesley sit idly by and wait to die?

He is an elder of the kingdom and currently the most powerful governor. From the very beginning, he realized that the queen's prophecy was definitely not a coincidence. The biggest reason why the humans in the empire have not attacked the kingdom for tens of thousands of years is the large number of royal bloodlines. Each member of the royal bloodline can use the power of the god Satogua, making them incredibly powerful.

Now, only Queen Greta Toltec remains of the royal bloodline, and she is weakened by this prophecy. Therefore, the Empire's intervention is likely for other purposes.

Given the current disparity in strength between the kingdom and the empire, this elder decided to strike first, even if it meant the destruction of the entire kingdom!

"Scott, go and contact the kingdom's ten greatest warriors. Summon them to me. Whoever passes the test will become the royal family's personal guards and be sent to the capital. This is the highest honor!"

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

The night passed peacefully. Li Lan, who had been unable to sleep all night, estimated the time to be around 5 a.m. She figured that the creeping darkness would soon dissipate.

At this moment, Della, who had regained consciousness, was still lying flat on an old blanket that had been temporarily laid out. Because her injuries yesterday were too severe, she, who had barely survived, was probably unable to move today.