Millennium Witch

She pondered for a moment, but wasn't too anxious. After all, in a high-magic world like the Radiant Continent where true gods exist, Rosalin's current strength level, which allows her to become the strongest person in the mortal realm, is probably far ahead of hers. Even if there is trouble, it might not be something she can handle.

If it weren't for her life and safety, then whatever the reason, she must have her reasons for not rushing back. Yvette had already left letters before she left, so now she could simply focus on her journey.

……

As Yvette fell into deep thought, the roar of an engine soon interrupted her. She turned around and saw Ice Rain had already returned on his motorcycle, clutching a rune pistol, and shouting, "Kind lady! I'm here to help you!"

"No need, it won't hurt anyone anymore."

"What?" Bingyu exclaimed in surprise. "How did you do that?"

"A little communication skill."

"Communication? Can mutated creatures communicate?"

"No, it's not actually a mutant creature, it just looks a bit like one."

"Then what is it?"

"A type of...domesticated wild animal...very intelligent."

After saying that, Yvette looked at the bewildered Dugrabi and said in the Radiant Language, "Considering that you gave me some valuable information, I will not hurt you, but I also hope that you will have some self-awareness and not make me force you to cooperate."

"...Whatever you say goes." Dugrabi actually hated the alchemical creature that had attacked its rear while it was sleeping, but since the creature had a witch backing it up, what could it do? It could only obediently lower its head and show its submission.

Moreover, it decided to try its best to reverse the bad impression it had on the Silver Witch, so that it could find an opportunity to test whether she could give it a chance.

It also aspires to be a legendary mage—no, a legendary dragon king!

“Look.” Yvette turned to look at Bingyu.

"So amazing..." Bingyu said blankly. Although she couldn't understand what dialect the two were speaking, the respect shown by the black dragon bowing down was very obvious.

She couldn't help but glance at the black dragon a few more times, then was glared at by Dugrabi, and shrank back in fear. She then looked at Yvette, who had a calm expression, and was secretly shocked.

When she last met her, she felt that the kind lady was a bit mysterious, but it was only reflected on the surface of her human-like behavior. Today, when she met her again, she realized that the kind lady was so amazing that she could even tame such a fierce and terrifying creature. This must be a human-level animal taming ability.

Is this the power of a high-level expert?

That's terrifying!

……

Instead of staying in the forest, Yvette led Dugrabi towards the RV, while Ice Rain pushed the vehicle alongside. The way Ice Rain looked at the strange creature made Dugrabi extremely uncomfortable, and he struggled to keep his mouth shut to control his urge to breathe dragon's breath.

Yvette did not intend to let Dugrabi leave, mainly because she hoped to continue to extract information about the legendary mage from the black dragon.

However, to her surprise, Black Dragon was so enthusiastic about following her that he brought it up before she could even speak.

She naturally went along with it, while also speculating on the Black Dragon's thoughts—perhaps it was because they both spoke the Radiant Language, which made her feel at ease and could relieve her boredom? Or was it a case of admiring strength?

Perhaps both are true, but why be so proactive? Does she seem like such a trustworthy person? Yvette didn't quite understand.

"Kind lady, where are you headed next?" Yvette asked Ice Rain as she approached the RV outside the snow forest and prepared to get into the driver's seat.

Perhaps fearing rejection, she emphasized, "I was just asking! I have my own destination! I'm going to the ruined city of Cux!"

“I’m going to Cooks too,” Yvette said slowly, glancing at her.

In her dream, she stored a detailed world map in her ring to plan her travels after leaving, so theoretically, she could visit every city ruin in Black Tide Continent without missing a single one.

This certainly involves a need to devour, because compared to the wild, cities harbor a greater number of aberrations and are more likely to contain mother lairs or higher-level aberrations, allowing her to gather them and eliminate them all at once. By clearing out all the aberrations in the city, she can ensure a stable increase in aberration magic power.

A secondary reason is that Cooks was once a famous tourist city in the United States of New Eden, with beautiful northern scenery and endless snowfields, which is naturally not to be missed by a traveler.

"Huh? You're going too?" Bingyu blinked, then remained silent for three seconds before turning her face away, snorting, and saying softly, "Anyway, you probably still prefer someone, right? Sigh, I won't disturb your cultivation. You go straight, I'll take the long way."

Yvette shook her head: "This time I can go with you."

"Eh? Why?"

“Because… I can’t be alone now.” Yvette glanced at the black dragon beside her.

The biggest advantage of traveling alone is that you can devour any mutants you encounter without restraint. But now that the black dragon Dugrabi is with you, all the devouring activities will be carried out secretly at night if you don't want to expose this. So you don't mind having another puppet.

“That makes sense, with this fierce-looking guy around.” Bingyu nodded thoughtfully.

"?" Dugrabi couldn't understand their conversation, but his intuition was surprisingly sharp, and he immediately asked, "Witch, is this nasty woman talking bad about me? Can I beat her up?"

"No, she just complimented you on your good looks," Yvette said dismissively.

Dugrabi was somewhat surprised: "I never expected her to have such a valuable quality as honesty..."

I never expected you to be so shameless… Yvette thought.

……

At the same time, in Agasher, in the town of Puppet.

The peace of Puppet Town lasted less than two days after the departure of the two travelers from afar before being shattered once again.

The incident started with an archaeology enthusiast named "Film Roll," who originally wanted to conduct what seemed like the umpteenth exploration of the ruins in the nearby urban-rural fringe to see if he had missed anything. However, after exploring for a long time, he found nothing, not even a single aberration.

This strange silence and security was highly unusual. Although mechanical puppets weren't on the mutants' menu, that didn't stop them from launching sudden attacks and giving people a fright. Adding to this, the film itself was also involved in an incident three months prior, so it quickly realized something, returned to the puppet town, and called upon its old buddy, the gunman.

With an expert leading the way, the film crew became much bolder, intending to conduct some in-depth explorations. However, they encountered no danger along the way, allowing them to delve deeper and deeper...

Finally, they witnessed a scene they would never forget—countless shriveled corpses lay scattered across the heart of Agash, like a slaughterhouse that had just finished its work. The pungent stench of decay mingled with the biting wind of early winter, sweeping across the surface of the buildings, which had solidified into dark brown slurry. The scene was so horrifying and gruesome that even the eighteenth level of hell might not have been as striking as it appeared.

This naturally caused a huge shock to the two mechanical puppets, who were so frightened that they fled in panic and immediately notified the Grand Elder.

The elder, who had experience with such incidents, was also curious about the two's reactions. In addition, even if he reported it to the gods, the result would likely be "investigate on your own." So this time, the elder organized a large group to go deep inside, intending to see for himself how big the difference was between the actual scene and the verbal account.

then……

The exploration team of more than a dozen people all fled back in a panic. The Grand Elder was greatly shocked and immediately contacted the Holy Temple Headquarters—the headquarters is the agent of divine will and can also handle related matters—demanding that the headquarters must send someone to investigate. If they did not send someone, he would keep making harassing phone calls until the Holy Temple Headquarters sent someone!

Yes, this time we can't just give a perfunctory answer!

Chapter 68 Investigation

The early winter snow fell lightly, like a layer of grayish-white gauze, covering the rusty edges of the container apartments. A thin layer of snow accumulated on the shed roof, which had been repaired with rivets, and occasionally the tired groans of metal could be heard, as if the town was gently turning over in its sleep.

After disembarking from the shuttle, "Elite White Dove," dressed in a gray trench coat, tidied her appearance before stepping forward to an old, rudimentary puppet that looked like it was pieced together from scrap metal.

He said politely, "I am Elite White Dove, a gracious person sent by the Holy Church to investigate the strange events in Agasher. Please inform the administrators and the Holy Church on my behalf. Thank you very much."

"By the God of Machines! It's actually a God of Grace!" The old golem was taken aback. This was the first time he had ever seen a legendary God of Grace, and he subconsciously took a second look.

But then he discovered that this benefactor didn't seem as extraordinary as he had imagined. Especially after meeting the traveler named Yvette, he seemed even more ordinary.

As the old puppet quickly left, Elliott smiled. As a recipient of divine favor, this was the moment he enjoyed most. He didn't know why, but whenever he saw others in shock at him, he couldn't help but smile.

This, to some extent, troubled his cultivation, because in his cultivation plan, he was supposed to be a polite, humble, cautious, and exceptionally intelligent human detective, always dressed in impeccable formal attire, always serious, and always exuding a reliable and mature aura.

Now, every time I go on a mission, I can't help but feel smug and proud in front of the amazement of others. Is this what the gods mean by the boundless karmic obstacles on the path of cultivation?

"Long time no see, Detective White Dove." After a while, Elliott heard someone call his nickname. He turned his head and saw the elder and the nun. The one who greeted him was the nun, whose face looked somewhat familiar.

"It's... Miss Sunflower? How did you get assigned here?" Elite asked in surprise.

“It’s the same everywhere, as long as you can do your job of serving God well,” the nun said with a smile.

"Alright... Hmm, this must be the 'Elder'."

"Yes, it is indeed I. You've finally arrived, Mr. Divine Grace. Would you like me to describe the details to you further?"

"I've reviewed the case file, but there are some issues I'd like you to clarify..."

After a detailed interview that lasted two hours, Elite, believing he had obtained all the necessary information, left the Puppet Town and entered Agasher.

He didn't go alone; he summoned his companion. It was a two-story-tall magical mech named "White Blaze."

Typically, Elite and Bai Zhi are long-term partners, working together. Elite's elegant, anthropomorphic form allows him to conduct more detailed reconnaissance, while Bai Zhi specializes in combat, dealing with higher-level mutated creatures.

However, once they entered the depths of Agash, Elliott, who was full of confidence in his investigation, immediately showed a solemn expression.

As a professional investigator among the God-givers, this was the first time he had ever seen such a terrifying scene. Even though he was in the scorching cockpit, he still felt a chill run down his spine, as if a piercing coldness was creeping along the magic wires and drilling into the core of his mind.

He subconsciously tightened his red scarf, then began to recall the information the Grand Elder had given him, looking for clues to break the deadlock in the current situation.

Speaking of which, the Grand Elder mentioned that the day before the first incident, two travelers of high cultivation levels temporarily stayed in the kingdom and left three months later. Coincidentally, the second incident also occurred three months later... Is there any connection between these events?

Elliott pondered for a moment, then decisively shook his head, skipping over this useless information.

Obviously, the kind and gentle mechanical race would never do something so evil and perverse, since they weren't infected by the mutants.

The source of the anomaly is definitely not related to those two innocent travelers; this is the judgment of a professional detective!

But this would clearly lead to the conclusion that there were "insufficient clues," he thought, and then decided to stay in Agashdo for a while to investigate all the surrounding areas of the city.

Yes, as a mature and reliable professional detective, he enjoys these kinds of challenging tasks the most.

Let's set a small goal first: figure out this incident within a month, then find the source of that evil mutation and eliminate it.

Otherwise he won't leave!

……

A few days later, on a crisp early winter morning.

This is a narrow valley ski trail, with mountains on both sides resembling sleeping giants, covered by glaciers that never melt. Through the low birch forest beside the trail, one can vaguely see railway tracks left over from centuries ago, like a reddish-brown snake skeleton, winding and disappearing into the mist.

Wearing warm little leather boots, Yvette stood on a bare black rock ridge, gazing at the natural landscape for a while before turning her head to see the powerless RV being dragged forward by a black dragon by a rope.

The reason why this situation suddenly occurred can be traced back to the night before last.

That night, as dusk deepened, in order not to miss the mutated creatures she had already marked that were worth hunting, she returned to the area she had been in before while the black dragon and the puppet girl were sleeping in the snow, and harvested some mutated magic.

However, to their surprise, upon returning, they discovered that a powerful aberration of the third stage had ambushed the camp and was engaged in a fierce battle with Dugrabi and Ice Rain.

Although Yvette hadn't even made a move before the mutant was killed by the combined efforts of the dragon and the puppet, her RV, being so close, was accidentally damaged by Dugrabi's dragon breath. The magical energy transmission structure inside melted, and the RV broke down on the spot.

So, in order to get the car to its destination, "Cooks," to find repair parts, the task of towing was naturally assigned to the instigator, Dugrabi, resulting in the current bizarre sight of a black dragon pulling a car.

Damn it... How dare you humiliate me like this! Even if you are the legendary Silver Witch, I will remember this grudge... At the same time, Dugrabi was secretly furious.

After all, for the proud dragon race, pulling a cart is something that only lowly beasts would do, so how could they be allowed to do it?

As a young dragon, it lacked the ability to rebel. If its biological father, the Flame Dragon King, were here, not only would the Silver Witch be an unknown minor god, but even the three most famous true gods on the Radiant Continent would dare to fight it to the death.

Although not a god, he possesses the ability to fight against true gods—this is the Dragon King! And the Dragon Kingdom has a total of six such Dragon Kings!

"Hmph, when I grow stronger one day, pass the Dragon King's Trial, and carve my true dragon name, I will definitely come back here and teach you a lesson..."

Dugrabi struggled to pull the cart while muttering to itself, but when Yvette suddenly turned and glanced at it, it immediately jumped in fright and stammered, "Is...is something the matter, Witch..."

"what did you just say?"

"What? I just spoke? How could that be?" Dugrabi exclaimed. "Did you hear me wrong?"

"Pull the cart well."

"Yes~"

Dugrabi responded meekly and dared not complain in secret any longer. Although the witch was a benevolent deity, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't do something drastic if she got angry.

As the saying goes, one has to bow one's head when under someone's roof. Long Sheng not only has the pride of the distance, but also the hardships of the present. In terms of experience, his father, the Flame Dragon King, taught him quite a lot of valuable lessons.

As for why his father knew so much, and how he knew it, Dugrabi wasn't curious at all.

……

The snow valley came to an end, and the dim, yellowish light of the setting sun, like spilled cheap oil paint, splashed onto the snow, creating a sickly layer of gold.

Just then, a low, muffled hum, unlike the sound of wind, suddenly gripped everyone's nerves.

Yvette stopped and looked at the mountains in the distance. A gigantic, distorted monster covered in tumor-like growths and exposed bone spurs was silently gliding across the peaks, leaving a brief but enormous shadow in the thin twilight.

It didn't notice the few tiny creatures in the snow below and quickly disappeared into the deeper folds of the canyon.

After the enormous creature had completely disappeared, Bingyu finally dared to take a deep breath and exclaimed in shock, "Kind lady, what was that? A flying... whale? Was it a mutant creature? Or, uh, a wild animal?"

“Aberration.” Yvette was certain, because she could clearly see the details of the other’s body: exposed flesh, deformed bones, and a mutated head, all of which matched the characteristics of a first-order aberration.

However, she soon became puzzled again. The infection of the aberration was based on real creatures, and the direction of evolution was closely related to them. If the infected creature was really a whale, then no matter how it evolved, it would be an aquatic species, without a doubt.

But that whale just now, first of all, had a very low level of evolution, it seemed to be at the first stage, yet it had mastered the technique of flying in the sky, an ability that only a third-stage aberration possesses.

Furthermore, there are almost no whales in the northern icy sea of ​​Kuroshio Island, and even if there are whales that have mutated, they shouldn't be venturing into this area.

Such a contradictory situation made her suspicious, wondering if there were any unnoticed misunderstandings in her years of observation and summary of aberrations.

Just as she was filled with doubt, accompanied by a tense low growl from Dugrabi, more giant whales emerged from behind the mountains, like countless Kirov airships that filled the sky, casting huge shadows down.

Seeing this, Bingyu gasped, and Dugrabi instinctively lowered his head in fear, like an ostrich hiding its head, not wanting to attract the attention of those giant evil demons.