《The witch thought I am a Demon God》 Chapter 1 - 1 1 Sweating Sickness and the Old Witch (Please ?Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Sweating Sickness and the Old Witch (Please Follow) _1 Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Sweating Sickness and the Old Witch (Please Follow) _1 In a small cabin in the Black Forest, in Truffle Town. The old witch surveyed the young man lying on the bed. His entire body was burning with heat, his face and chest were covered with an abnormal amount of sweat, and his cheeks were redder than apples. In the room, a Demon Hunter with a twin-sword slung over his back inquired, ¡°Can he be saved?¡± ¡°This chap is my mission target to protect. If he dies, where will I get my commission.¡± ¡°Sigh.¡± ¡°This is the biggest lose-lose deal for me. I originally thought that I just had to deliver him to the kingdom to receive my reward, but who would have known that a rebellion would break out in the kingdom and that he would also fall seriously ill.¡± The old witch bent over to closely examine the boy on the sickbed when she suddenly sneered. ¡°It¡¯s a fever disease.¡± ¡°To my understanding, this was created by one of my peers. The ordinary people think it¡¯s a naturally occurring plague, but they don¡¯t know that it¡¯s a vicious curse.¡± The Demon Hunter sneered. ¡°More than half of the plagues on this continent have been created by you witches.¡± The old witch stated frankly, ¡°I can save him.¡± ¡°However, I want the manor that you currently occupy.¡± The Demon Hunter didn¡¯t object, after all, the manor belonged to the young man, it had nothing to do with him. ¡°I agree. When he wakes up, you can get him to sign the legal document yourself.¡± ¡°Let him transfer the manor to you.¡± ¡°However, you need the priest of The Church to witness the contract transfer of the manor, are you sure you can pass that hurdle?¡± The old witch nodded. ¡°I have ways.¡± ¡°People from The Church are the most corrupt. As long as you give them money, they would even let demons trade within the church. I am just a mere witch, what could that amount to?¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll cure this boy now. It could be considered as the last good deed of my life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s laughable, the day has come when we witches save people.¡± ¡°This is a complete insult to my entire professional career.¡± Of course, this was all nonsense. Because in reality, the one who surreptitiously cursed the boy on the sick bed was the old witch herself. Upon meeting a helpless destitute prince, she had set her sights on his last piece of property¡ªthis manor. She discretely devised a scheme just to cleverly seize the manor. The old witch looked down at the young man on the bed in contempt. This person was already dead, his heart had stopped beating. Even if she was a witch, it was impossible to revive someone who was already dead. However, it didn¡¯t matter, she could use necromancy to summon a low-level undead into the body and manipulate this undead, enabling this body to move. Anyway, as long as the body could move a little in front of the Demon Hunter, it would be fine. Once the Demon Hunter had left, she could do as she pleased. Witches never keep their word! Why adhere to agreements for things that can be gained through deception? The old witch extended her hand out of the window. She twisted her wrist, and instantly, a chicken from the coop outside the window was summoned by her, breaking the window glass, and landed in her hand. ¡®Cluck~¡¯ The chicken¡¯s neck was snapped by her single-handedly, and the chicken¡¯s blood sprayed out. The old witch leaned over to sniff the chicken¡¯s blood. ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s an old hen that hasn¡¯t been bred.¡± She dipped her fingertip in a little chicken blood and had the Demon Hunter¡¯s Black Wolf tear open Ivita¡¯s neckline, revealing the boy¡¯s chest. She drew an inverted hexagram pattern on Ivita¡¯s chest with her bloodied finger and then drew an eye in the middle of the hexagram. This eye was the Witch¡¯s Eye. The inverted hexagram was the Fallen Magic Array. So the combined magic array language was¡ª [hereby, I willingly renounce all the protection that the gods have given to humans and invite all things to enter this body]. ¡°Cough cough ¡­ alright.¡± the old witch chuckled evilly, she just had to chant a regular spirit-summoning spell and call a low-level undead into this corpse, and let the naive Demon Hunter next to her mistakenly believe that the prince had been revived. Heh heh. He can actually be a Demon Hunter with this IQ. The old witch swiftly withdrew her finger, ready to chant the necromancy spell, but who could¡¯ve anticipated that at this moment, Ivita, who was supposed to be a corpse, suddenly opened his eyes. ¡®Ivita¡¯ held his head and got up from the bed. ¡°Ouch, my head hurts.¡± ¡°Where is ¡­ this place?¡± ¡°Is this a movie set? Where is my phone?¡± The old witch¡¯s dry smile became stiff on her face as she incredulously observed the boy who has suddenly revived from death, risen from the bed. She was utterly flummoxed. The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, turned towards the witch, marveling at the sight. ¡°I never thought witches could actually cure people, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a nice witch like you.¡± The word ¡®nice¡¯ almost made the old witch feel nauseous. She had never done a good thing in her life! Doing good deeds would ruin her reputation and would result in mockery from her peers. But the key issue here was not this, the old witch incredulously looked at the dead chicken in her hand, then at her bloodied finger, and for a while, she was a bit dazed. Did she just chant a spell? No, right? Then why did the body on the sick bed move? Could it be that she had actually chanted a spell, but forgot about it? No, that¡¯s not right. She didn¡¯t utter any spell at all! A terrifying guess appeared in the old witch¡¯s mind, and cold sweat began to slide down her forehead. The Fallen Magic Array and the Witch¡¯s Eye just now actually had the potential to summon other entities to inhabit this corpse, but the probability was too low. Usually, specific incantations were needed to summon specific ghosts. But every magic comes with risks! Could it be that her magic trail attracted the attention of some subspace entities, who then followed her magic trail to possess this corpse? The mere thought of this made the old witch feel the urge to pack up and run away. She didn¡¯t want this manor anymore! Meanwhile, on the sickbed. Ivita had no idea what was going on. As far as he knew, he was seriously ill and should have been stuck in bed with a fever of forty degrees. Why then did he wake up in a strange environment with a man and an old person? Simultaneously, the previous host¡¯s memories kept flooding in. Ivita absorbed the previous host¡¯s memories, which helped him to understand his current situation. This world was somewhat like the Middle Ages, but more like a setting from Grimm¡¯s fairy tales, with witches, Wolfmen, Vampires, giants, goblins, Elves, and other strange races. Humans and monsters coexisted. The original host was a kingdom¡¯s only prince and sole heir. However, he was ousted from the kingdom by the rebel forces during an uprising. The rebels declared his throne invalid, and the original host was driven out of his homeland. Rumor had it that some influential people instigated the uprising. Now, the vacant throne was up for sale to the highest bidder. According to the previous host¡¯s memories, a large-scale cotton trader ended up buying the throne. During this process, the guards around him had fled one by one, and the loyal old servant who had stayed with him died of sickness. The original host had run to this manor, far away from his kingdom. The manor was inherited from his mother and was not a property of the kingdom, allowing him to retain this last piece of property and barely survive here. But it seemed that this last piece of wealth already caught someone¡¯s attention. Ivita clenched his fists, feeling the original host¡¯s resentment in his dying moments. The original host¡¯s soul wailed and screamed, resenting the capitalist who used money to buy the throne that should have been his. Perhaps it was this grievance that brought Ivita to this body. Ivita was responsible. Since he had taken someone else¡¯s body, he should undertake the original host¡¯s duties. He thought, ¡®Since I have come to your body, you are me from now on.¡¯ ¡®I will help you reclaim our throne!¡¯ Thinking of this, he felt much lighter, as if his body was a cloud, extremely light. He swallowed the body¡¯s last lingering obsession and perfectly controlled the body, making the soul and the body perfectly fit. Ivita glanced at the Demon Hunter and the witch in the room and began to contemplate. He would reclaim his kingdom sooner or later. However, to do so, he couldn¡¯t rely on himself alone; he must have an army and a territory. He needed to put together a force to take back his kingdom! The Demon Hunter and the witch in front of him seemed to be potentials. He should find a way to make them stay, and it would be best if they could swear loyalty to him, not obeying him just for the sake of money. ¡°You¡¯re burning up, little master!¡± The Demon Hunter said as he touched Ivita¡¯s forehead. ¡°Your Highness, can you please pay me my wage before you die?¡± ¡°Your condition worries me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll end up with nothing.¡± The old witch who was standing aside and planning to secretly cast a spell to probe ¡®Ivita¡¯, had a drastic change of expression. She immediately stopped casting the spell. Because she noticed something terrifying. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. That is, a dead person couldn¡¯t possibly have body temperature. The old Ivita must have died of fever, she knew better than anyone, after all, she was the one who had cursed old Ivita. Whether Ivita was dead or not, no one knew better than her. But, a dead person could not have body temperature. Usually, even if a ghost or an evil entity possessed a body, they could not make the body warm. Let alone inducing fever, something so complex and challenging. How far could an evil spirit who had entered a corpse and revived it have to go, to be able to do this? The old witch anxiously stared at Ivita, her muscles stiffening as she stood still like a wooden mannequin. Could it be an evil spirit from subspace? Or an old outer god attracted by magic, coming from outer space? Anyway, this wasn¡¯t the first time a magic incident had summoned a terrifying existence. Each magic required an equal price and assumed a certain risk! ¡®Bang~¡¯ The sound of a door being kicked came from outside. A rough voice rang out from outside the door. ¡°Wicked Hearthstone Witch, I, the righteous Wild Boar Knight, have discovered you and will punish you!¡± ¡°In God¡¯s will, face your death!¡± ¡°And the owner of this manor who is harboring the witch, you cannot escape either!¡± Chapter 2 - 2 2 Evil Law and the Wild Boar Knights Group_1 ?Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Evil Law and the Wild Boar Knights Group_1 Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Evil Law and the Wild Boar Knights Group_1 Just as Ivita, Black Wolf, and the Old Witch were stunned, the door was crashed open by a warhorse clad in full-body steel armor. A knight who was almost plump from his multilayered iron armor, rode on the warhorse, a Decapitation Sword in his left hand and a knight¡¯s spear in his right, furiously glaring at the three in the room. ¡°Hearthstone Witch, you will pay for the people you¡¯ve killed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent twenty years looking for you, today marks your end.¡± ¡°You and your accomplices will all perish today!¡± The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, drew his broad sword, ¡°It¡¯s a knight from the Church. This man must be the local lord.¡± ¡°He could possibly be the lord of the Black Mountain Kingdom.¡± Ivita is the prince of the Alsace Kingdom, while the Black Mountain Kingdom was famed for its interior mountains. Yet the Black Mountain Kingdom differed from the Alsace Kingdom, its true ruler was said to be the Archbishop of Black Mountain, the head of the most influential branches under the Church. The Demon Hunter blocked the secondary weapon slash of the Wild Boar Knight with his broad sword, ¡°Neither I, nor my lord have anything to do with this witch, if you want to kill her, go right ahead!¡± The Wild Boar Knight burst into laughter, ¡°Evil gathered together must be cut down in unison, to showcase my merits.¡± ¡°Because of you, I may step further towards becoming a stronger holy knight.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Ivita¡¯s heart sank. I thought you were a righteous knight, but you want to lump us together, treating our corpses as accomplices of the witch to boost your merits. How twisted! Are all Church personnel so corrupt? After several bouts with the Wild Boar Knight, the Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, was finally kicked over into a cabinet in the room by the knight. Meanwhile, the Old Witch took advantage of the situation, chanting incantations and threw a jar of peas onto the floor. The peas on the ground sprouted tiny shoots which then wildly grew into thick vines as thick as an adult¡¯s wrist. These vines lashed towards the Wild Boar Knight like a whip. The lashes left dents in the Wild Boar Knight¡¯s solid chest plate, and he was thrown off his horse. The Old Witch cackled, ¡°Each of these vine lashes can smash rocks.¡± ¡°If you weren¡¯t a knight, a normal person would have already turned into minced meat.¡± Ivita looked at the Wild Boar Knight, who was breaking off one of the vines with his secondary weapon and nailing it to the wall. It seems neither the witches, knights, nor demon hunters are ordinary people. Their fights were extremely dangerous, even for a mere participant, like myself. The Wild Boar Knight coldly looked at the Old Witch, whistling, and horse hooves echo outside the manor. The Old Witch screamed, ¡°No good, he¡¯s actually called over a Knight Regiment.¡± ¡°I am no match for them¡± ¡°Each individual in these Knight Regiments has consumed a Seed of Life, has undergone organ sublimation, and possesses an Extraordinary Heart.¡± ¡°I need to escape!¡± The Old Witch turned around and crashed through the glass window, jumping off from the second floor to escape. In the severely damaged room, only Ivita, the Demon Hunter Black Wolf, and the Wild Boar Knight remained. With a gaze as cold as looking at the dead, the Wild Boar Knight looked at Ivita and Black Wolf, ¡°Gentlemen, for my promotion, could you allow me to kill you under the witness of God?¡± ¡°Is it alright?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Thanks my foot! Ivita rolled his eyes. As if I would be willing to be the stepping stone for a sinister knight like you. ¡°Black Wolf, let¡¯s escape together!¡± Ivita told the Demon Hunter he had hired. Black Wolf rushed over, carrying him and leapt out through the window, jumping down from the second floor. Behind them, the Wild Boar Knight¡¯s dark words echoed, ¡°Just a useless noble and a filthy Demon Hunter, where can the two of you escape to!¡± ¡°Everyone below is mine.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t escape.¡± Demon Hunter Black Wolf, holding Ivita, landed steadily on the ground. Looking around, he saw that the manor was filled with ironclad knights riding war horses, each of them, their faces hidden behind helmets that left only their bloodthirsty, greedy eyes visible, wreaking havoc in the manor like ruthless ghosts. The knights unflinchingly pocketed the silver and gold cups and plates from the manor. The wooden fences and walls of the houses within the manor were destroyed by these extraordinary knights. Ivita was speechless. He only had one manor at the start and barely woke up for long when it was ruthlessly destroyed by these knights. ¡°My Lord, what should we do now?¡± Black Wolf, the Demon Hunter, was also at a loss. ¡°Which way should we run?¡± Ivita spotted the Old Witch who had seized an ox cart from the manor preparing to charge out of the manor¡¯s gates. ¡°Black Wolf, let¡¯s go to that old witch¡¯s ox cart.¡± He shouted at the Old Witch, ¡°That ox cart is my property, hey hey, stop!¡± Originally just giving it a try, he did not expect that the Old Witch would turn around in fear upon hearing his words, and returned to their location while still driving the ox cart. Demon Hunter Black Wolf, surprised, hopped onto the ox cart with Ivita. Black Wolf wondered, why would these witches known for their lack of credibility, risk their lives to rescue us? That being said, this witch was neither a subordinate loyal to Ivita nor an employee. She had no obligation to return. Could it be just because she felt embarrassed about stealing a cart? The old witch screamed in a sharp, piercing voice, ¡°Your Majesty, I have absolutely no intention of violating your property.¡± ¡°I owe you a cart, I will certainly repay you what I owe.¡± ¡°Under the witness of the gods of hell and the demons of the abyss, I make you a promise of repayment!¡± Upon hearing this, Ivita and the Demon Hunter Black Wolf noticed something odd about the old witch¡¯s unusual behavior. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It seemed that the old witch saw Ivita as some sort of entity, showing great respect and fear to him. So much so, that when Ivita claimed the cattle cart as his property, the old witch took his whimsical words seriously. Anyway, at this moment, in the old witch¡¯s mind, Ivita seemed to pose a bigger threat than the Wild Boar Knights Group. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the old witch to risk returning to take them onto the cart and run away again. Because the cattle cart had circled back, it was chased by the knights of the Wild Boar Knights Group. In a high-speed chase, the cattle cart was gradually surrounded by five war horses. Five knights raised their cold knight spears, ready to tear down the cart. Ivita was somewhat worried. But at this moment, the witch suddenly stood up, raised her right hand. A jade-green ring on her right hand was emitting a cold and eerie glow. ¡°As the Hearthstone Grand Witch and the Guardian of the Hearthstone City, I command you¡­¡± The flesh of the old witch¡¯s right hand withered at a rapid rate. Just uttering this sentence made her arm look twenty years older. ¡°I command you, you are unable to pursue any cart or carriage I drive,¡± ¡°You cannot see me or those around me, you cannot touch me or those around me, you cannot track me or those around me!¡± ¡°The evil law is protected by the Dark Queen!¡± When she finished speaking, her entire right arm instantly aged and withered and then fell apart. However, a green flame suddenly burst from her jade-green ring. The air around them became icy cold, and the light dimmed, as if covered by a thick cloud. A woman¡¯s harrowing scream came from inside the emerald ring. [The law is established!] The ring fell onto the wooden floor of the cart. Suddenly, a woman¡¯s hand, so dark it appeared black, appeared out of thin air beside the ring, grabbed it, and disappeared back into the depths of the carriage. The persistent knights, at this moment, had their pupils unfocused, it was as if they couldn¡¯t see them and they allowed their horses to stop, then aimlessly searched around. The old witch turned around and continued to steer the cart with her remaining left hand, muttering, ¡°This is a loss, a total loss. This trip was completely unprofitable. I didn¡¯t get anything, and I lost twenty years of my life and my right hand.¡± ¡°I also lost the ring that the Queen of Stars gave me. That ring increased my mana for at least ten years!¡± ¡°And, I have stirred up a huge trouble.¡± She sneakily glanced at Ivita. You are that big trouble. Ivita, oblivious to her intent, waved at her. The mysterious and magical spell just now was a real eye-opener for him. Ivita even had the idea of learning magic from the old witch. Ivita asked the old witch, ¡°So, under your spell, those knights can¡¯t catch up, right?¡± Before the old witch could answer, Black Wolf rebuked immediately, ¡°The man is a Great Knight, higher than ordinary knights and the leader of the Wild Boar Knights Group. I¡¯ve heard of his vengeful nature.¡± ¡°The Seed of Life he took should be the ¡®Giant Flower Arashiyama¡¯, the Seed of Life from the Duke of Black Mountain. I¡¯ve heard that knights who take this Seed of Life become stronger and their temperaments are affected, making them more violent.¡± ¡°The road of the knight that the Wild Boar Knight has taken should be the family tradition ¡®Wild Boar Knight¡¯, the secret medicine he took should be the Wild Boar series.¡± ¡°He is a Great Knight and possesses at least six extraordinary organs. Don¡¯t be fooled by our recent escape from him, that was just due to good luck, sooner or later he will be able to catch up with us.¡± The old witch, driving the cattle cart, chuckled sinisterly. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you modified magic species to have such insight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. The magic I casted just now was at best a potent illusion technique. It won¡¯t hold off them for long, if it did, I wouldn¡¯t have to keep fleeing.¡± ¡°The Wild Boar Knight possesses the pig nose, an exceptional life structure element, he can sniff out anyone he wishes to track. He will catch up with us sooner or later, and since he¡¯s already seen you and smells your scent.¡± The old witch was thinking about the possibility of using the Subspace Demon God to eliminate the Wild Boar Knight Group. She kept throwing glances at Ivita. Out of the blue, Ivita said to the old witch, ¡°I want to learn magic, can you teach me?¡± Reacting instinctively, Black Wolf interjected, ¡°Your Majesty, all magic comes with a price.¡± ¡°Look at the pitiful state of this old witch now.¡± ¡°Learning magic is not a good idea, and besides, learning magic costs a lot of money. When will you be able to pay back the money you owe me!¡± The old witch was about to refuse. ¡°This¡­¡± Ivita stated, ¡°You stated earlier that you would compensate me, for stealing my cart.¡± ¡°Now is the time for you to fulfill your promise!¡± The old witch suddenly remembered the effective pledge she had made earlier. What a nuisance, just what is this demon up to? The old witch was somewhat nervous, always feeling that teaching this demon posed a danger to her life. But compelled by her previous commitment, she reluctantly said, ¡°Your honorable Majesty, I agree to teach you magic. But remember I am a subordinate of the Dark Queen. Can you understand that?¡± This was to emphasize once again that she has a higher authority. Ivita looked towards the Demon Hunter, what did she mean by that? The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn¡¯t know either. Chapter 3 - 3 3 The Origin of Magic_1 ?Chapter 3: Chapter 3 The Origin of Magic_1 Chapter 3: Chapter 3 The Origin of Magic_1 The old witch cast a spell on the oxen pulling the wagon, enabling them to travel thousands of miles overnight. At first, Ivita was a little worried that the knights from the Wild Boar Knights Group would catch up. But as they got further and further away, she found herself wondering where they were. By the time they stopped, they had left the main road and were deep in the winding paths of the forest. Even the ox cart had fallen apart from the long run. The Black Wolf and Ivita disembarked from the cart. Ivita looked around the Black Forest in confusion, ¡°Where are we? Why are there Black Forests everywhere?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because the Black Forest¡¯s environment, is particularly suited for witches, magic, and magical creatures.¡± The Demon Hunter Black Wolf unfastened his pack from his back and began to check his weapons and gear. Unfortunately, most of the weapons and equipment had been lost in the process of their escape. This undoubtedly added more to Ivita¡¯s tab. He explained to Ivita, ¡°The Black Forest stretches across dozens of duchies, kingdoms, and empires. It hides many unknown wizard towers, witch schools, and griffon knight training camps.¡± ¡°It is said that in the Black Forest, one¡¯s magic gets a boost.¡± ¡°We seem to be at the southernmost edge of the Black Forest. Your highness, see that mountain in front?¡± Ivita looked in the direction indicated by Black Wolf, only to see a soaring mountain range in the distance. ¡°That¡¯s the Alps, the legendary Holy Mountain. So, we must be in the Viscount Ambros¡¯ Country, a very unique, independent viscountcy,¡± The Demon Hunter Black Wolf said. ¡°We¡¯re quite close to the Papal Country.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to be okay?¡± He looked over at the old witch. The implication was, are you really okay being this near the hub of the church as a witch? The old witch let out a sharp, awkward laugh. ¡°No problem, I can even go to the church to buy indulgences.¡± ¡°I came here because one of my beloved apprentices is in Viscount Ambros¡¯ Country.¡± ¡°I heard she recently did something big, a very big deal, but it¡¯s also caused big trouble, so she wrote to ask for my help.¡± ¡°So here I am.¡± Of course, the old witch¡¯s words couldn¡¯t all be trusted. Truth be told, she never planned to help the apprentice who asked for her assistance. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have had time to scheme and take over Ivita¡¯s estate. But who could blame her, deeply embroiled in trouble with the Subspace Demon God as she was? Now, she recalls her apprentice. Embrace beauty in good times, share troubles in hardship. It was her life motto, after all. While Ivita looked around, unsure of her next move, the old witch went up to her. ¡°Your highness, you previously requested magic lessons from me, and of course, I must comply.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°We have temporarily escaped danger, so let¡¯s find a quiet place where I can teach you magic.¡± ¡°First, let me assess your magical talent.¡± The old witch cautiously took Ivita¡¯s right arm, massaging it, before moving to Ivita¡¯s back. Her fingers rested on Ivita¡¯s shoulder blades, revealing a puzzled expression and muttering to herself, ¡°You¡¯re still burning up. But that doesn¡¯t make sense. A body possessed by an Outer God from Subspace should have magical talent.¡± ¡°But you have absolutely no magical talent.¡± ¡°According to the history I know, mortals who were possessed by entities summoned by magic that caused great calamities would all become natural spellcasters.¡± ¡°If I killed this body with plague, and then allowed the Demon God to enter¡­¡± The Old Witch had a look of doubt and malice in her eyes. Ivita, standing nearby, heard her mumbling and felt a chill run down his spine. Damn, I thought the Wild Boar Knights were already bad enough. But it turns out, it¡¯s you. The original owner was actually killed by you. You¡¯re over here playing a game of Werewolf. Damn it. Ivita didn¡¯t expect that he would escape from the Wild Boar Knights only to fall into danger because of this witch. Subspace, the Demon God, he really had no clue about any of it. ¡®This old witch is a suspicious, cowardly, and malicious person. She wouldn¡¯t do anything unless she was absolutely sure of success,¡¯ Ivita thought, ¡®As long as I don¡¯t show any fear, she definitely won¡¯t dare to harm me.¡¯ Ivita snorted coldly. ¡°Just because I don¡¯t have a magical talent, does it mean I can¡¯t learn magic?¡± The Old Witch was startled by this snort. She realized that Ivita¡¯s ¡®resurrection¡¯ must be real, and the historical knowledge she had might not be without errors. However, this also prompted her to continue probing Ivita¡¯s intentions. The Old Witch shook her head, saying, ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true, you might still have a chance to learn magic.¡± ¡°In those low-level worlds, people often cannot learn magic due to a lack of wizard talent, but this is the Magic Black Forest, where anything can happen.¡± ¡°Those who aren¡¯t natural spellcasters but wish to learn magic need to undergo a Magic Talent Enlightenment ritual, which requires expensive materials.¡± Ivita was curious about these ¡®low-level world¡¯ people she mentioned. ¡°Low-level world?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the Old Witch said, ¡°When I used to use summoning magic, I often encountered lower beings from low-level worlds.¡± ¡°The most interesting case was when I summoned a Ninth Ring Wizard who claimed he was from the ¡®Great World of Wizards¡¯. He boasted that he would immediately summon all the rulers of our world to provide him with experimental materials.¡± ¡°The result was that he snarled at one of my servants¡ªa farmer¡ªand ended up getting knocked out with one punch by that farmer, dying on the spot.¡± ¡°It was then that I realized the strength of our world far exceeds that of other worlds. Even an average person from our world could possibly cause drastic changes in another world, even bringing about the apocalypse.¡± The Old Witch said, ¡°For a while, I was really interested in summoning creatures from other worlds to use as my experimental materials.¡± ¡°I learned that they seem to refer to our world as¡ªthe origin of magical power.¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter. In our world, ordinary people are just that¡ªordinary people. I don¡¯t understand why in some worlds the wizards can browbeat legally recognized kings.¡± ¡°They claim to rule.¡± ¡°Perhaps lower beings are all like this.¡± The Old Witch seemed to be lost in her memories, ¡°But our world itself is like a book, and each plane is a page of our world. From what I know, the subspace and outer space of our world are the most terrifying pages.¡± With that, she sneaked a glance at Ivita, as if implying that he should know more about this than her. Black Wolf, the Demon Hunter, couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Old witch, with all your experiences, how many years have you lived?¡± The Old Witch gave Black Wolf a displeased look, but she begrudged Ivita and didn¡¯t dare go too far. She forced out a few words. ¡°I am already over two hundred years old.¡± ¡°The experiences I was talking about earlier were from my youthful years in Hearthstone Castle, when I was a witch.¡± Chapter 4 - 4 4 The Explorer and the Burnt Wine Inn_1 ?Chapter 4: Chapter 4: The Explorer and the Burnt Wine Inn_1 Chapter 4: Chapter 4: The Explorer and the Burnt Wine Inn_1 At this time, the sky had already darkened, and they had no idea what time it was. Because there were no watches or clocks, Ivita couldn¡¯t determine exactly what time it was in the evening. After all, most people in this era couldn¡¯t accurately distinguish time either; they could only rely on the sun to judge morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Ivita glanced at the Old Witch and found that she was indeed very old, so old that he hadn¡¯t envisioned a person could live to such an age. She was over two hundred years old and yet still hale and hearty, full of ambition. Thereupon, he became even more eager to learn magic. The three of them were traveling through the forest when they came upon a four-story wooden house in the dense woods, with a lantern on, and a crooked sign hanging on top. Upon seeing the light, the Demon Hunter Black Wolf instinctively drew his greatsword, but when he saw it was an inn, his expression relaxed. ¡°Whew, finally we can rest a bit.¡± Glitter appeared in the Old Witch¡¯s eyes as well, ¡°Your Majesty, we can conduct the ceremony there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s relatively safe.¡± In the end, she had always wanted to confirm Ivita¡¯s identity. Witches are both suspicious and cruel. Ivita curiously asked, ¡°Why would someone open an inn deep in the woods instead of alongside a major road?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean missing most of the potential customers?¡± Slicing through thorny bushes with the back of his sword, the Demon Hunter Black Wolf said, ¡°Your Highness, you sure have a naive way of speaking, as if you¡¯ve never been outside before, completely unaware of the world.¡± The Old Witch stiffened momentarily, casting a wary glance at Ivita. Black Wolf explained, ¡°That¡¯s because the owners of these sorts of inns are specifically looking to avoid the average person.¡± ¡°These inns cater to adventurers.¡± ¡°There¡¯s only so much land within the kingdom to grant, and because the land available for feudal allocation is limited, many nobles and sons of big capitalists become adventurers, seeking opportunities as mercenaries and brigands in various regions.¡± ¡°Over time, full-service facilities catering to these adventurers begin to emerge.¡± ¡°Inns like this one, located deep within the forest and away from the main roads, are one such establishment.¡± Ivita nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, recalling from the original owner¡¯s memories that the mob that had usurped his kingdom and the Imperial Guard seemed to have also employed quite a few adventurers. These adventurers were like bandits scurrying across the Black Forest, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake wherever they went. In fact, many towns maintained professional patrol squads explicitly to guard against these roving adventurers. He remembered that in the Middle Ages of his original world, there were several instances of adventurers roaming around, usurping territories, and even kingdoms. The most famous were the Normans of the Duchy of Normandy and the Seven Kingdoms of England, as well as the House of Auterville of King of Sicily and the Antioch Duchy. So, the adventurers of this world are probably a similar bunch of dangerous folks. The trio knocked on the inn¡¯s door, and immediately an old man with a hunchback, his face hidden by a black hood, opened the door and peered at the guests, ¡°How many rooms do you need?¡± ¡°Do you require food?¡± ¡°Well-acquainted with the place, Demon Hunter Black Wolf said, ¡°Give me a plate of beef stew flavored with extra rosemary and Centaurium, a slice of lemon, and some wine to season it.¡± ¡°Also, bring me the cheapest glass of wine.¡± ¡°Three rooms for us, for one night.¡± The hunchback saw that the Old Witch and Ivita had no intention of ordering anything and indicated, ¡°Three beds, sixpence. For three separate rooms, that¡¯s three pence. Three cupboards, three pence.¡± ¡°Hot water for bathing and drinking, three pence.¡± ¡°For feeding the ox, two pence.¡± ¡°And for the meal ordered, that¡¯s four pence.¡± ¡°That brings the total to twenty-one pence!¡± He paused, then added, ¡°Of course, you can choose to pay one shilling and nine pence instead.¡± The Demon Hunter Black Wolf rolled his eyes, ¡°Why do we have to pay separately for the beds, cupboards, and hot water when we¡¯ve rented three rooms?¡± Unmoved, the hunchback spoke as if he were a robot, ¡°These are the rules of our humble establishment. You can choose not to purchase and instead sleep outside in the bone-chilling cold of the night.¡± ¡°I spend about the same amount on armor maintenance each time,¡± Black Wolf grumbled. ¡°The prices at your establishment are indeed too high.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Unperturbed and indifferent, the innkeeper listened as patrons inside began to jeer. Ivita then addressed the hunchback, ¡°Sir, if that is the case, we will not need the beds and cupboards in the rooms we¡¯ve reserved.¡± ¡°Could you please have someone remove the beds and cupboards from our rooms?¡± ¡°We do not require the services of the beds and cupboards, nor the hot water.¡± The hunchback was taken aback. ¡°This¡­¡± The jeering patrons inside the inn instantly fell silent, for they had never imagined someone could be so penny-pinching and shamelessly thrifty. The hunchbacked old man frowned. ¡°Can it be done this way?¡± Ivita nodded very matter-of-factly and said, ¡°Hmm, first of all, we all dislike hot water, beds, and cupboards.¡± ¡°If you provide us with such services, it would be detrimental to our interests.¡± The hunchbacked elder seemed to still be pondering when someone behind him said, ¡°Fine, okay, I agree.¡± ¡°Hunchie, go help the guests lead the cattle into the stable and lay out some ordinary quality fodder.¡± ¡°You may come in, guests.¡± ¡°In this case, you only need to pay 9 pennies.¡± The speaker should be the inn¡¯s owner, a man with a scar running across half his face, his expression fierce. He stood behind the wooden bar, poured three glasses of wine, then called a human beauty dressed in a bikini and bunny ears to serve the drinks. ¡°This is a gift for the three of you, free of charge.¡± ¡°I hope you have a pleasant evening at our establishment.¡± ¡°Dusser, you take the three guests to their room.¡± Black Wolf took the wine served to him, downed it in one gulp, not one to pass up a free drink. He pulled out money from his pocket, handed it to the beautiful waitress, and then said to Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, this bill should be added to your tab, I have advanced the payment for you.¡± ¡°Also, the bill for the weapons I lost in the battle while protecting you, you¡¯ll need to pay me for that as well.¡± ¡°However, congratulations to you for just saving yourself 12 pennies.¡± Ivita blushed slightly at that, well, I owe you money, so be it. How does the saying go, if you owe enough money, you become the other person¡¯s god. If I were to die, Black Wolf would never get the money that belongs to him. As Ivita passed by the wooden bar, he also thanked the owner behind it, and the owner returned the gesture. The adventurers inside the inn, they all looked at the owner in amazement. After Ivita and his group had gone upstairs, the other patrons, raising their glasses, began to question the inn¡¯s owner. ¡°Heartless Rayli, this isn¡¯t your usual style of doing things, you¡¯ve never allowed such behavior before!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no beauty among them, what¡¯s the matter with you? Are you drunk?¡± ¡°Could it be that Heartless Rayli wants to change his nickname? To Foolish Rayli? Ha ha ha¡­¡± Rayli glanced at them indifferently. ¡°Go drink your drinks, you have no insight at all.¡± ¡°The three who just entered here, let¡¯s not speak of the young kid for now, but the two by his side are big shots.¡± ¡°That black-haired Demon Hunter is the notorious Black Wolf, it¡¯s said that he once killed all his associates at Fort Regen over an uneven divvy of loot.¡± ¡°That Old Witch, by my observation, should be The Great Witch of Hearthstone Castle.¡± ¡°I have no life to spare to provoke these people.¡± The patrons were stunned. Some even dropped their glasses on the floor without noticing. One murmured in fear, ¡°The Witch of Hearthstone Castle, her reputation is not good; who knows how many people have died at her hands.¡± ¡°I¡­ we¡­ were so close to her just now.¡± A brawny man beside him chuckled and looked at him. ¡°Such a coward, and you call yourself an adventurer. But I also didn¡¯t expect, we were so close to these important figures.¡± At this moment, the Old Witch who had scared a whole bunch of adventurers silly on the first floor was spreading out a map in front of Ivita. ¡°Your Highness, we can start the ritual now.¡± ¡°But the ritual can¡¯t be performed in this reality, so we need some additional steps.¡± ¡°Moreover, the ritual is quite lengthy and can¡¯t be disturbed.¡± Ivita said, ¡°We can let Black Wolf protect us.¡± ¡°To prevent any accidents¡ªI¡¯m a little uneasy about your Demon Hunter guard, I feel his capabilities might be inadequate.¡± The Old Witch, recalling how the original Ivita died at her hands, could not trust Black Wolf. In her eyes, this Demon Hunter had a shady history. The Old Witch said, ¡°Your Highness, so let me ensure your safety.¡± Ivita frowned. ¡°But aren¡¯t you supposed to be conducting the ritual for me? In that case, how can you do two things at once?¡± The Old Witch raised her remaining left hand to her chin, then pulled hard with her left hand, and with a ¡®crack,¡¯ her head actually separated from her body. Holding her head in her left arm, her body stood up and said, ¡°Your Highness, to conduct the ritual, my head alone will suffice.¡± ¡°My body can keep watch around us.¡± ¡°This is also to prevent the Wild Boar Knights Group from catching up with us.¡± Chapter 5 - 5 5 Portable Carriage and Treasure Vault_1 ?Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Portable Carriage and Treasure Vault_1 Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Portable Carriage and Treasure Vault_1 The Old Witch looked at Ivita with profound meaning. ¡°With me here, there¡¯s no need for Black Wolf, Your Highness.¡± ¡°You can let him go to sleep¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± Ivita felt a chill crawl up his scalp; this witch was indeed harboring ulterior motives. He dared not let Black Wolf go to sleep. As soon as the witch discovered he was no Demon God, she would certainly make her move against him. Just by looking at the adventurers on the floor below, he knew all too well the tactics this witch employed in her usual dealings. Despite her seemingly harmless demeanor in front of him, acting as a guide, the moment she realized he was not a Demon God, she would likely turn into the terrifying BOSS of a horror movie. Ivita said, ¡°I think it would be safer if you and Black Wolf both guard this room together.¡± ¡°What I need is absolute safety. Do you understand?¡± He had to try his best to act the part of a ¡®Demon God¡¯. ¡°Do you know what the consequences would be if you fail?¡± The Old Witch shivered, and her complexion turned pale. ¡°If, the Awakening Magic ritual fails, what will you do to me, Your Highness?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Good question. I too would like to know. Even if the Awakening Magic failed, I probably couldn¡¯t do anything to you at all. Ivita sat down nonchalantly, his hands gently rubbing his knees; he was a bit afraid. And because of the fever, he felt groggy. The more serious issue was that he could not be certain whether the high fever could subside on its own. Based on his experience from his previous life, a fever of this severity would require antipyretic medication to subside. But right now, he couldn¡¯t possibly get his hands on any fever-reducing medicine. If he sought help from the Old Witch, she might detect a flaw in him, leading to even greater suspicion. So right now, undergoing the Awakening Magic ritual was his most likely chance at reducing the fever. After Ivita¡¯s warning, the Old Witch immediately became more cautious and restrained. She put down her head and turned to leave the room, running outside. Outside, Black Wolf also shouted into the room, assuring that he would take good care of his employer. Because Ivita owed him a great deal of money, and if Ivita died, Black Wolf doubted he would be able to avoid bankruptcy. Therefore, Ivita absolutely could not die. The poor Demon Hunter was thus ensnared by the ever-accruing debts of Ivita. Inside the room, the Old Witch¡¯s head stared at Ivita. ¡°The Awakening Magic ritual requires a unique environment, one that even the Black Forest cannot provide.¡± ¡°Because the environment required for the ritual cannot be influenced by physical laws.¡± Ivita looked at her in astonishment. ¡°You know ¡®physics¡¯?¡± ¡°Hmm, I learned it from people from other worlds,¡± the head of the Old Witch explained. ¡°That¡¯s not important. I just find their definition of the world intriguing.¡± ¡°But the Awakening Magic ritual absolutely cannot take place where physical laws exist.¡± ¡°Because what we call physics is the summary of things that appear in the same place, at the same time, following the same rules or methods.¡± ¡°And what we call magic is the miracle that occurs in the same place, at the same time, but yields different results in the hands of different people.¡± ¡°These are in complete conflict.¡± ¡°If you were a born spellcaster, you would not have to worry about being disturbed by physical laws, but your body is not that of a natural spellcaster.¡± ¡°So we need to perform the ritual in a different environment.¡± Ivita asked, ¡°How do we enter such an environment?¡± The Old Witch replied, ¡°We just need to create laws.¡± ¡°Law is the most powerful Illusion Technique in this world; you see, many people still abide by the laws of their nations even when there are no armies or police nearby.¡± ¡°That is the charm of the Law.¡± The Old Witch said, ¡°Using the powerful illusion of Law, we can temporarily deceive the world and create an environment suitable for us witches.¡± ¡°Is it like the Law you previously cast on the Wild Boar Knight Regiment?¡± Ivita immediately understood. The Old Witch confirmed, ¡°Your Highness, you are quite correct.¡± ¡°Exactly like that.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Legend has it that even the Magic Black Forest is a creation of the laws of a powerful source of magic power, or perhaps multiple powerful sources, but there is no evidence.¡± ¡°That is closer to being nonsense or mythical tales.¡± ¡°Nonetheless, many witches, stronger than I, enjoy creating their own laws for this world.¡± ¡°However, that kind of magic is not ordinary law; it is much more complex and requires many people and territories.¡± The Old Witch came back to her senses, and Ivita could see that she too desired to establish the Law she spoke of. The Old Witch said, ¡°I am now going to break the physical laws here and temporarily set new laws for this space.¡± ¡°Only then can we officially begin our ritual.¡± ¡°Fortunately, I brought my Portable Carriage this time, inside of which is my treasure chest.¡± ¡°I have enough resources to initiate the best possible ritual for you.¡± Suddenly, a carriage appeared on the floor of the room, unattached to any mount, its doors draped with silk curtains and its wheel hubs made of gold. Inside the carriage were cubbies of treasure chests, and within the carriage floated three dainty and fair hands of young girls. Ivita blinked; this must be another one of the witch¡¯s magic tricks. Chapter 6 - 6 6 Magic Awakening Ritual and Tree of Life ?Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Magic Awakening Ritual and Tree of Life Spirit Energy_1 Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Magic Awakening Ritual and Tree of Life Spirit Energy_1 Ivita asked a crucial question. ¡°But last time you enacted the law, it cost you 20 years of your life.¡± ¡°And an right arm.¡± ¡°This time¡­now¡­ you only have your head left.¡± The Old Witch chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Majesty. I have stored Magical Hearts.¡± ¡°I can make up for the cast cost and casting risk that I should have borne by consuming these hearts.¡± The grid drawers inside the magnificent carriage were sequentially opened by three soft and tender palms of young girls floating in the air. Inside were beating red hearts, one after another! As if introducing exhibits, the Old Witch introduced her treasures. ¡°These hearts, Majesty, are dug out from the bodies of young girls using Heart Digging Magic.¡± ¡°The value of these precious hearts lies in the fact that they all come from girls who were born with the ability to cast spells but were too weak to become witches.¡± ¡°Moreover, when I took their hearts, they were very young and beautiful, and didn¡¯t feel any pain.¡± Ivita¡¯s mouth twitched slightly. You don¡¯t have to emphasize how young and beautiful the owners of these hearts were at me. Ivita had to change the subject to the Heart Digging Magic. ¡°What is Heart Digging Magic?¡± ¡°Only official witches and regular wizards can perform that magic,¡± the Old Witch casually replied. Clearly, she was more interested in discussing the beauty and youth of these heart owners with Ivita. Unfortunately, Ivita was only interested in magic. As a result, she had to endure the dullness and say, ¡°Majesty, a heart removed by Heart Digging Magic would automatically turn into a Magical Heart.¡± ¡°Magical Hearts are tougher than regular hearts. Even if the owner is separated from the heart, they will not die.¡± ¡°This is the main area of magic I have studied, and it is also the magic that allowed me to upgrade to an official witch.¡± ¡°Most of the Magical Hearts in my treasure trove, their owners are still alive in this world, and they are lively and radiant.¡± The Old Witch snatched a heart with one of the floating hands and squeezed it hard, producing a desolate scream from a girl. ¡°But only if I gently squeeze their hearts, even if they are thousands of miles away, they will experience extreme pain, even death.¡± Ivita felt perplexed. This old witch, she¡¯s truly merciless. If she finds out that I¡¯m not the Demon God, but only a mere mortal, wouldn¡¯t she torment me to death? The Old Witch said, ¡°With the Magic Awakening Ritual, your body will directly become a wizard apprentice.¡± ¡°But advancing to a wizard apprentice requires meeting three conditions.¡± ¡°The number 3, is a spiritual number.¡± ¡°The first condition, you must be recognized as capable of using magic by at least 300 ordinary people, or by three official professionals, because the cognition of the official professionals is more stable.¡± ¡°The second condition, you must take the Spirital Medicine Potion.¡± ¡°The third condition, complete the ritual.¡± The Old Witch said, ¡°You have fulfilled the first condition.¡± ¡°The Black Wolf and I are both official professionals, who perceive you as a person capable of using magic.¡± ¡°The third person is my beloved disciple, who is also an official witch.¡± Ivita felt something was wrong. Wait a minute, he could understand the the Black Wolf and the Old Witch herself, But why would a witch who had never met him also believe he could use magic??? Seeing that Ivita was troubled, the Old Witch explained, ¡°Majesty, in order to have my disciple welcome us, I had already written to her during our flight, introducing you as a strong and gifted wizard. She responded to my letter.¡± ¡°She greatly admires you and is looking forward to seeing your brilliance. She is meticulously preparing to attend to you.¡± No matter how Ivita thought about it, something seemed off. He suspiciously observed the Old Witch. I¡¯m hardly what you¡¯d call gifted. You checked my talent earlier and said that I didn¡¯t have the ability to cast spells, right? How did I suddenly become something else in the letter between you and your disciple? But now is not the time to quibble over these details. The three-girls¡¯ hands flew over, each holding a Magical Heart, as the Old Witch¡¯s eyes ignited with deep green flames, ¡°This is a profound magical art from ancient times.¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The wooden floor of the inn room suddenly erupted into a circle of green flames. The eerie green flames burned fiercely. The entire room was reflected with a green light, bizarre and eerie. ¡°By the name of the Hearthstone Grand Witch, the Guardian of Hearthstone Castle, I hereby give the following command-¡± The first heart suddenly shrank rapidly, then exploded, turning into a cloud of black powder scattered in the air. The now free hand of the one young girl immediately flew back, retrieved six candles from the treasure chest in the carriage, and lit the six candles with a touch of her fingertip. ¡°Before these six candles go out, there should not exist any worldly laws in this room!¡± ¡°There should not exist any laws of mortals in this room!¡± After the Old Witch finished saying these words, almost all the Magical Hearts inside the treasure chest exploded. A piercing, tragic scream from a woman resounded: ¡°I decree the following order, the law is established!¡± The Old witch was sweating profusely, seemingly under great pressure. ¡°That¡¯s about it. I don¡¯t have the ability to completely expel the physical laws here, but it¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°This environment is now suitable for the ritual.¡± ¡°Damn it, my stock of more than a hundred years has all been burned up, and I¡¯ve lost an additional thirty years of life! If this guy is not the Demon God¡­¡± If he¡¯s not, she¡¯ll resort to the cruelest means to make him wish for death! Make him regret ever living! This Magic Awakening Ritual is in itself a test for the Demon God! Ivita didn¡¯t notice the doubtful, cruel, and apprehensive look in the witch¡¯s eyes when she looked at him. The room, now free from worldly laws, felt like a bottomless well of darkness. Ivita felt as if he were in an elevator, constantly descending rapidly without an end in sight. It was empty. It took him a while to adjust to the environment. The Old Witch said, ¡°There are no more mortal laws here.¡± ¡°Majesty, next is the key to whether or not you can learn magic!¡± A silver tree appeared within the circle of green flames, forming the symbol of an inverted hexagram. That¡¯s the Tree of Life Spirit Energy! At the same time, the Old Witch used the three hands to fetch three magic potions from the treasure chest. Perhaps it was all the magical backlash they had suffered, but the three girls¡¯ hands were ragged, and had aged to resemble the hands of a 90-year-old woman. Chapter 7 - 7 7 The Witchs Trap and the Threat of Death_1 ?Chapter 7: Chapter 7: The Witch¡¯s Trap and the Threat of Death_1 Chapter 7: Chapter 7: The Witch¡¯s Trap and the Threat of Death_1 ¡°These three magic potions required at least two hundred types of herbs to make, and even so, they¡¯re still just semi-finished products.¡± The old witch, with her decapitated head, said, ¡°The synthesis of these semi-finished potions is a very complex procedure.¡± ¡°It requires experience and skill, which must be honed over a considerable length of time. As it happens, I¡¯ve spent thirty years learning to make Magic Awakening Potions.¡± ¡°As a middle-aged person like me, there¡¯s always enough time to perfect oneself.¡± ¡°What I need to do is synthesize these potions.¡± ¡°But, Your Majesty, there¡¯s also something you need to do. Do you see the Tree of Life Spirit Energy that emerged on the wooden floor through the magic flame?¡± Ivita looked down and indeed found the tree pattern. The entire tree pattern is divided into three layers, each layer having different branch forks. The bottom layer of branches reads ¡®health¡¯, but the leaves on these six branches are slightly curled and somewhat reddish. It seems to suggest that his health has been compromised at the moment. After all, he was still running a high fever. The middle six branches represent wealth and good luck, unfortunately, all the leaves representing wealth on three of the branches have withered, not one remains. Indeed. Upon thinking of how his only estate at the start was looted by the Wild Boar Knights Group, and how his kingdom was bought out by a cotton factory owner, his wealth was literally withered away, wasn¡¯t it? However, the leaves on the three branches representing his good luck were lush, indicating that his luck is excellent at the moment. The six branches at the topmost part, however, remained in a state that seemed half-real, half-illusory, as if they had not yet come into existence. At the top, there¡¯s a line of text ¨C ¡°Spirit Energy¡±. The old witch gave Ivita a crafty glance. This Magic Awakening Ritual was a test for Ivita, and the most significant test lies here. She strived to control her emotions, saying: ¡°The Tree of Life Spirit Energy of Katala, this pattern represents Your Majesty¡¯s luck, health, wealth, and magic power.¡± ¡°This is a spell combined with divination and alchemy, ordinary witches don¡¯t know this.¡± ¡°As it stands now, if you inscribe the name of a ¡®spirit¡¯ at the top of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, you can harness the power of these entities to generate your own magic power at the top of the tree.¡± ¡°Since this tree can reflect your magical state, by modifying the tree¡¯s pattern, it can make you possess magic power.¡± ¡°So, use your finger to inscribe the name of a Spirit on the tree.¡± Ivita hadn¡¯t expected that could be done. This was effectively like directly modifying one¡¯s own attributes, just like opening a file on a computer and then changing the file attributes. The Hearthstone Witch now wants him to directly modify his own Tree of Life Spirit Energy, using this method, to transform himself into¡ªpossessing magic power. The problem is, what name of a spirit should he engrave on this tree? There must be a specific spirit who does this, right? Ivita asked the old witch, ¡°What name of a god should I write on my Tree of Life Spirit Energy?¡± The old witch¡¯s face stiffened. The next moment her eyes widened like copper bells, fiercely intimidating, ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°How could you not know?¡± All this while, the old witch had been like a maid in Ivita¡¯s presence, mostly not daring to offend. It was the first time Ivita saw the old witch, speaking hysterically in his presence. It was as if she was about to pounce on him. Ivita was startled, feeling as if he had inadvertently revealed something that the Demon God should have known. Was it because he asked her about which spirit to engrave? As a Demon God, should he know the names of the spirits? Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In this critical moment, Ivita¡¯s mind began to whir rapidly, he even felt that in his feverish state, his thoughts were moving quicker. However, just as Ivita was pondering on what to do, the old witch¡¯s face changed drastically again, as if she hadn¡¯t threatened him at all in the first place. She said gently, ¡°Your Majesty, allow me to provide a name of a spirit for you.¡± ¡°How about using the name of the ¡®March Goddess¡¯? The March Goddess governs three moons ¨C the Blue Moon, Blood Moon, and White Moon. She is a deity worshipped by dark beings, witches, and even mortals. She is closely associated with magic power. Having the name of the goddess at the top of your Tree of Life Spirit Energy could make your magic power even stronger.¡± Ivita was extremely astonished. He did not know why, but the Hearthstone Witch¡¯s attitude towards him had changed again, seeming as it was before. The Old Witch spoke softly, ¡°Your Majesty, you should inscribe the ¡®March Goddess Mitra¡¯ atop your Tree of Life Spirit Energy.¡± Ivita turned, squatting at the top of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, preparing to write this name first. Anyhow, he could only take things one step at a time. Given the Old Witch¡¯s suspicious and timid nature, she would not take action against him without complete assurance. ¡°Hurry up! Hurry up!¡± The Old Witch urged him. Ivita was about to write the name of the March Goddess with his finger, but then he was suddenly taken aback. This wasn¡¯t right. The Old Witch was rushing him. But previously, the Hearthstone Witch dared not speak to him with such a tone. Wait a minute. Ivita suddenly became alert and the chill ran up his spine. He suddenly realized why the Old Witch¡¯s tone with him had changed again. This time, the Old Witch had no respect for him at all. Her tone was the same as before he woke up when she spoke to the original owner and the Demon Hunter Black Wolf. This was the tone the Old Witch used on her prey. She was tricking him! She wanted him to inscribe the name of ¡®March Goddess Mitra¡¯ on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy. Ivita glanced around, noticing a pattern of a black eye had appeared on the wooden floor behind him. He had seen this pattern before. Yes, it was the pattern the Old Witch had drawn on his chest. During his escape, he asked the Old Witch, supposedly, it represented the ¡°Eye of the Primordial Witch¡¯s Fall¡±. So, this witch planned to cast magic on him secretly. Although he had no idea what sort of magic it was, it would definitely not be anything good. Ivita continuously racked his brain, trying to figure out what he had said wrong or done wrong that made the Old Witch suddenly change her attitude towards him. He had just asked her what god¡¯s name he should inscribe, and she said he should know the god¡¯s name and then suggested the name of the March Goddess. So, in the eyes of the Old Witch, he shouldn¡¯t need to ask for the god¡¯s name. Then, under no circumstances could he inscribe the name of ¡®March Goddess Mitra¡¯ on his Tree of Life Spirit Energy. Ivita was stumped. If he could not inscribe the god¡¯s name provided by the Old Witch on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, whose name should he inscribe then? He couldn¡¯t just keep dragging things out, could he? Eventually, the Old Witch would notice something was amiss. Ivita¡¯s heart raced, he felt as though he didn¡¯t have a fever at all now, his mind was running even faster, he might be even smarter than usual. His attention was incredibly focused. ¡°Faster, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do I need to teach you how to write? Can¡¯t you write Mitra¡¯s name?¡± The Old Witch behind him urged again. Her eyes were incredibly venomous, and the floating Magic Hand behind her head started to glow, a sign of using magic. Ivita suddenly remembered something: he knew other god¡¯s names! In his past earth life, many mythological tales existed, like Zeus (God of Thunder) from Greek mythology, Ra (Sun God) from ancient Egyptian mythology, Odin (War God) from Norse mythology, Taiyi Supreme God (Sky God) from traditional China¡¯s ceremonies for imperial enthronements, Feathered Serpent God (Rain God) from Central American mythology, and Shiva (God of Destruction) known for his dance of destruction. He actually knew quite a number of god¡¯s names! Chapter 8 - 8 8 Writing the names of the 6 Divine Kings ?Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Writing the names of the 6 Divine Kings (Part 1)_1 Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Writing the names of the 6 Divine Kings (Part 1)_1 In the room, the Old Witch seemed to be unable to suppress her impatience. Her voice became both coarser and sharper, filled with mockery. ¡°Hurry up, do you need me to teach you how to write? My little crown prince?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It was a trap. Reasonably speaking, a subspace Demon God would reject the power of other gods. If Ivita genuinely served as a subspace Demon God, his name would be on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, rather than asking for the name of other gods. Of course, the March Goddess Mitra is real. Yet, if Ivita dared to write this god¡¯s name on his Tree of Life Spirit Energy, it would confirm that Ivita is not actually a subspace Demon God. There is no deity who would tolerate their body being polluted by the power of another god. But now that the Old Witch had already sacrificed so much for Ivita, she had to find a way to recoup her losses. The first was losing twenty years of lifespan to escape from the Wild Boar Knights Group, and then she lost another thirty years to launch this ceremony. However, that doesn¡¯t matter. She could take over the body that Ivita, who had become a wizard apprentice, possessed. She could seize these years directly from Ivita¡¯s body as he was still quite young. He can afford to lose fifty years of lifespan. She also gets a puppet that possesses an abnormal ¡°resurrection¡± ability. This is why the Old Witch wanted to draw a Witch¡¯s Eye behind Ivita. It is a parasitic spell to usurp a body. All in all, if things developed in this way, she would not be at a total loss. Perhaps, she might discover something else from Ivita¡¯s body. The Old Witch¡¯s head, fiercely glaring at Ivita, taunted, ¡°Hurry up and write the name of the March Goddess.¡± ¡°Do you need me to write it for you?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Ivita suddenly squatted down, placing his index finger on the top of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, and began to write. The malice in the Old Witch¡¯s eyes was almost about to pour out. This bastard. He is indeed a liar. He fooled her. This bastard is not a subspace Demon God at all! Using her floating hand from behind Ivita, the Old Witch¡¯s palm exhibited an extremely dark magic light, which was the usurpation spell. Bastard. I want you to wish you were¡­ Uh¡­ The Old Witch¡¯s pupils suddenly shrunk because she discovered that the name Ivita wrote on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy was not the March Goddess Mitra. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t a continental alphabet. Instead, it was a type of text that resembled small squares, like a series of paintings. What is¡­ What? The Old Witch¡¯s pupils were about to shrink to the size of a needle¡¯s tip. She realized she had become arrogant too early, even before the results were out. Something seems to be off about this situation. The situation seems to deviate significantly from what she had imagined. What Ivita wrote on the first branch of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy was the Taiyi Supreme God, who had been worshiped as the deity of Heaven and ancestors in ancient China since the Zhou Dynasty. As recorded in the rites of the Zhou Dynasty, emperors worship Heaven, princes pay homage to the Earth, and scholars worship their ancestors. Taiyi Supreme God is a god that only the emperor and emperors of all generations have the right to worship. If anyone bypasses the emperor to worship the Taiyi Supreme God at the Altar of Heaven, it¡¯s as if committing treason. Although Taiyi Supreme God is not well-known in folk tales, it is the most important god in China, unsurpassed, since even Buddha and the Three Purities were not worshiped by all emperors. He is a god considered as heaven. Ivita could only pray that writing this god¡¯s name on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy would be effective. If it¡¯s ineffective, the Old Witch would still want to kill him. After writing the first name, the pattern of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the wooden board became somewhat distorted. It was as if it couldn¡¯t bear the burden; the original straight tree twisted and bent, seemingly on the verge of being torn apart by the powerful force. The whole room turned yellow. An unknown substance has appeared in this room. Ivita saw a white light flowing on the branch of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, where he wrote the name of the Taiyi Supreme God. A voice seemed to echo in his ear ¡°Heaven attains One to be clear, Earth attains One to be calm, and how can Man attain One?¡± Like a mighty bell, the voice caused his eardrums to ring. Moreover, his Tree of Life Spirit Energy seemed unable to bear the pressure due to the writing of this name, and thus began to twist. At this moment, Ivita felt lightheaded and dizzy. His vision was all red and turned upside down. He thinks that his fever has risen even higher. But it might also be because he wrote the name of the Taiyi Supreme God on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy. No matter what, he had to finish writing all of the names on the upper branches of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy and see what happens then. He doesn¡¯t have other choices now. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He can¡¯t explain the situation to the Old Witch for help and can¡¯t stop the ceremony to find death. The only thing he can do now is one thing. It is to make an all-out effort to write the names of divine kings he knows on his Tree of Life Spirit Energy. Next, the second name he was going to write was the name of the Divine King Zeus from Greek mythology. Behind Ivita, the Old Witch had her mouth gaping and eyes wide open. She saw Ivita write down an unfamiliar god¡¯s name, this god¡¯s name was written in a script she had never seen before. She was like a chicken stupefied by a lightning strike, standing still on the spot. What happened? Could this kid actually be a subspace Demon God? Then she had spoken too soon with her arrogant words¡­ Now it¡¯s terrible. She gambled her life away just then. ¡®That god¡¯s name¡­ I had never seen it before¡­¡¯ the old witch trembled. ¡®But why would he ask me what god¡¯s name to write beforehand?¡¯ ¡®He could only write his own god¡¯s name!¡¯ ¡®Could it be that he learned this god¡¯s name from somewhere else?¡¯ ¡®Or did he make it up?¡¯ ¡®Ah, the god actually responded. This is a real god¡¯s name and it seems quite intense. This level of attention¡­ this doesn¡¯t seem like borrowing the name of another god.¡¯ ¡®Is he going to write a second one? One is enough.¡¯ The Old Witch suddenly remembered that she might have not told Ivita that actually, this ritual only needed one god¡¯s name. Because only borrowing power from one god is sufficient for his body to gain magic power and possess a magic talent. On the second branch at the top of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, Ivita wrote the second name, ¡°Zeus¡±. He actually remembered a little English. Although the original version of Zeus should be in ancient Greek. But at least compared to Chinese, English would be closer to the original Greek. Chapter 9 - 9 9 Writing the names of the 6 Divine Kings ?Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Writing the names of the 6 Divine Kings (Part 2)_1 Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Writing the names of the 6 Divine Kings (Part 2)_1 ¡®Boom~¡¯ A thunderous sound suddenly echoed in the room, but there was only the sound of thunder, without actual lightning. However, a reflection of lightning unexpectedly appeared on the wooden floor. At this moment, a calm and commanding voice appeared by Ivita¡¯s ear, ¡°Unity is powerful, while conflict is easily conquered.¡± ¡°People rarely encounter kindness, but are hurt by evil every day.¡± ¡°Thus, any fair excuse made for an evil person is invalid, as the thunder will make its own judgment!¡± Unlike the commonly known image of Zeus, in Homer¡¯s epic, Zeus is depicted as a fair judge. Even if all the Greek gods and humans joined together for a tug-of-war, he could haul them all up with one hand and lift them halfway up Mount Olympus. In Homer¡¯s epic, Zeus was only temporarily defeated by Typhon, the symbol of the volcano. Beyond his role as the god of thunder, Zeus is above all a just arbiter, a protector of justice, and a punisher of the wicked. The Old Witch¡¯s pupils dilate, she has now canceled her magic occupation, and the eye pattern that appeared on the wooden plank behind Ivita¡¯s heel has also disappeared. ¡®This is the second different form of a divine name.¡¯ ¡®And it¡¯s written in the second kind of script I can¡¯t understand.¡¯ ¡®There couldn¡¯t possibly be so many coincidences in this world, so many gods I don¡¯t know. So this must be his divine name, just that it seems to be called differently in different races. This guy¡­¡¯ ¡®He really is a genuine Demon God.¡¯ ¡®His previous ignorance of this world must be because it was his first time entering the Magic Black Forest.¡¯ ¡®Dark Queen, why was I so impatient just now, it¡¯s all over, now I¡¯ve done it.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m asking for my own death.¡¯ People like the Old Witch are both suspicious and timid. Because of their cruelty, they fear others treating them the way they treat others. So she is very timid. ¡®Although the Queen of Stars can rival the gods, and the Dark Queen even killed a spirit, is this guy really just an ordinary spirit?¡¯ ¡®Was I wrong from the beginning?¡¯ ¡®He used the body of an ordinary person, so he needs to accumulate power in this world, does he need an army to conquer the world and reclaim his kingdom?¡¯ The Old Witch quickly thought to herself. Even a god wouldn¡¯t change the balance of the Dark Magic Forest as there were too many magical accidents. After so much time has elapsed, no one knows what kinds of creatures or monsters are hiding within the forest. However, Ivita has clearly shocked the Old Witch, causing her to become fanciful. The Old Witch saw Ivita preparing to write a third name, and her pupils suddenly constricted again. ¡®How many aliases does he have!¡¯ ¡®But the power amplification of these divine aliases is limited, after all, they only point to one existence.¡¯ The Hearthstone Witch didn¡¯t expect someone to be ready to write the names of six Divine Kings in a single ceremony. She didn¡¯t expect that because Ivita was the only one in this world who possessed the knowledge of these gods, she essentially drew all attention to herself. Ivita wrote the word ¡°Odin¡± on the third branch of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy. Odin is the Divine King in Norse Mythology. The characteristic of Norse Mythology is that gods can die. Unlike the main gods in other mythologies, Odin¡¯s main function is ¡°war and death¡±, seemingly a foreshadowing of the wars in the Nordic region, which determines whether the Nordic tribes can survive. Ivita heard a voice, ¡°Do not ask from the masses, conquer them, demand from them!¡± Then, under the horrified gaze of the Old Witch, Ivita wrote the fourth name ¡°Ra¡± on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy. All of a sudden, the branch of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy was wrapped in gleaming flames. The flames curled and burned as if they were a fruit on the branch, yet also like a small flame. The ancient Egyptian Sun God King ¡°Ra¡± is a well-known Sun God. It is rare in mythologies to have a god of the sun as the king of gods. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Perhaps because the sun is so common, in various mythological systems, the sun always holds a secondary god¡¯s position. But in the ancient Egyptian desert oasis environment, the importance of the sun is immeasurably elevated. Because in that environment, the power of the sun is obvious. A majestic voice appeared in Ivita¡¯s ear, ¡®In the grand house, in the house of fire, in the dark night of counting the years, in the dark night of calculating the years, I return your old name to you!¡¯ ¡®When the divine rises on the Eastern stairway, I grant you the privilege to sit beside me, as all the gods report their names, May you also remember your real name!¡¯ The Old Witch¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed, because the shape of the branch of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy now is very unique. It resembled the fruit on the branches, very similar in form to the Sun Tree in ¡°Ancient Plants from Outer Space.¡± However, the Sun Tree is one of the sources of the Seeds of Life and an essential resource to sustain a nation. Now a part of Ivita¡¯s Tree of Life Energy Spirit has morphed into the Sun Tree in its form. No matter whether it possesses the partial supernatural abilities similar to the Sun Tree. This is enough to prove that Ivita is a Demon God! ¡®Damn Demon God, how can I get rid of him!!¡¯ ¡®I just challenged him.¡¯ The Old Witch¡¯s eyes turned red, feeling engulfed by danger, she missed her beloved apprentice more than ever at this moment, and just thinking about her apprentice gave her comfort. ¡®No, I can¡¯t handle this alone. I must have my beloved apprentice come. Together we can devise a way to shake off this Demon God!¡¯ ¡®Teacher and student together, we can face any difficulty.¡¯ ¡®But wait.¡¯ The Old Witch showed a trace of seriousness. ¡®The more substantial the divine power that the Tree of Life Spirit Energy borrows, the higher the quality of magic power it brings.¡¯ ¡®Although in theory, it is indeed possible to borrow divine power from six gods using the ritual of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, ordinary people dare not be arrogant enough to let six gods lend him their power at the same time.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s seeking death.¡¯ ¡®Blasphemy.¡¯ ¡®But this Demon God at the top of the Tree of Life Spirit Energy can actually write four god names, even if these names only represent his side, his innate magical talent I fear¡­¡¯ ¡®I fear it would be terrifying, even surpassing the witches who are inherently gifted in casting spells.¡¯ Just as the Old Witch thought Ivita would stop at the fourth, he wrote down the fifth name. [Kukulkan]! This is the name of the Feathered Serpent God! By this point, Ivita couldn¡¯t stop. Because having written the names of four gods, the Tree of Life Spirit Energy had achieved a barely stable equilibrium. On the wooden floor, Ivita¡¯s Tree of Life Spirit Energy seemed to be tugged in four different directions, thus breaking free from its twisted state and appearing strikingly normal. But as time went on, the Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the wooden floor was still slowly twisting in one direction. The forces had not achieved a stable equilibrium!! Ivita could only continue writing, finishing the last two names of the gods. See if real equilibrium could be achieved and escape his current predicament. The Old Witch was in turmoil. ¡®Is he going to write the names of six gods?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve never seen¡­ a Tree of Life Energy Spirit that borrows magic power from six god names.¡¯ ¡®How powerful would that be!¡¯ At this moment, the entire inn suddenly began to shake, fighting sounds and arguments drifted in from the window on the fourth floor. ¡°We are the Wild Boar Knights Group, we suspect that witches and their companions are hiding here, the Church wants to sanction this place.¡± ¡°What? Compensating for goods? And I have to abide by the adventurer¡¯s code? Can¡¯t attack the inn? Haha, it¡¯s a joke. Take your life as compensation!¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch was taken aback. ¡°Damn it, those fools from the Wild Boar Knights Group are showing up at the critical moment of this witch¡¯s apprentice¡¯s promotion.¡± ¡°What a pain.¡± ¡°Right now the person under the crown can¡¯t move. If the ritual is interrupted, the backlash will instantly twist the human body he¡¯s using, turning a human into a magic monster.¡± Chapter 10 - 10 10 The Dragons Eye_1 ?Chapter 10: Chapter 10 The Dragon¡¯s Eye_1 Chapter 10: Chapter 10 The Dragon¡¯s Eye_1 The entire inn was shaking. The old witch made the magic hand remove one of her eyes from its socket and placed it on the fourth-floor window to spy below. Her face suddenly changed because the knights of the knight regiment below had chosen not to fight inside the inn. Instead, the knights let their war horses circle the inn at high speed, slashing the load-bearing walls of the inn with their 1.6-meter-long knight swords. (note 1) The cold knight swords scraped against the load-bearing walls, creating intense friction and sparks. The building trembled with terrible cracking sounds, creating a trend of collapse. The inn seemed to be inside a crushing machine, about to be shredded alive by this array of knights. The old witch¡¯s hand and eye were peering out of the window while she was speaking to Ivita who was beside her. ¡°Your Majesty, they¡¯ve chosen a favorable battlefield!¡± ¡°Those guys deliberately chose not to enter the inn!¡± ¡°They don¡¯t want to fight me inside the inn.¡± ¡°The knight profession is always the most powerful profession on the battlefield.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not on the battlefield, I will have a hundred, a thousand ways to kill them.¡± The old witch noticed something odd about their numbers. ¡°The total number of the Wild Boar Knight Regiment is 600. Only twenty or so have come now, which suggests they have not yet confirmed our location. The law I have enacted has indeed interfered with the Extraordinary Organ ¡®Pig Nose¡¯ of the Wild Boar Knight. These people are only scouts. It¡¯s likely that they got too close to us and discovered our trail.¡± ¡°But just at this moment!¡± Ivita naturally noticed what was happening below. He thought to himself, it¡¯s true that where there is extreme luck, misfortune is not far away. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. First, it was the old witch causing him trouble, then his Tree of Life Spirit Energy began to twist. At this critical moment, the scouts of the Wild Boar Knights arrived. After writing the name of the Feathered Serpent God, Ivita felt even worse. His eyelids were very hot at this moment. He couldn¡¯t tell if the fever had worsened, or it was because he had written the name of the Feathered Serpent God. Ivita knew that the key to breaking the situation was still with the old witch. The old witch wanted to borrow the power of the Subspace Demon God to help her deal with the Wild Boar Knights. But in fact, now he has to borrow her power to deal with these intruders and by the way, keep this treacherous woman from eyeing him at every moment. That¡¯s right, he can¡¯t let his Demon God persona drop before the eyes of the old witch. To him, this woman was no safer than the Wild Boar Knights. Ivita held back his pain and said in the calm way of a big boss in his previous life movies, ¡°Hearthstone Witch, go down and deal with those riff-raff.¡± ¡°They¡¯re too noisy.¡± ¡°Go destroy them.¡± After hearing this, the Hearthstone Witch was stunned for a moment, and then a deep sense of fear arose in her heart. This guy. Well worthy of the name of the Demon God. His true nature has finally been revealed. You¡¯ve been pretending to be a good commoner for so long, and now at last, you¡¯re impatiently showing your true thoughts! This guy wants her to destroy the scouts of the Wild Boar Knights. But it¡¯s not because these people might disrupt the Magic Awakening Ritual, nor is it because they are after them. It¡¯s just because this Demon God thinks they¡¯re noisy. The Hearthstone Grand Witch suddenly ¡®realized¡¯ that Ivita possessed a disregard that was more brutal than hers. This ¡®disregard¡¯ rose from an upper-tier will that didn¡¯t abide by any human moral standards. Destroy them¡­ It had nothing to do with the actions of these people. It was just because this Demon God was not in a good mood and found them annoying. Hold on! The Hearthstone Grand Witch suddenly realized that she had just deeply offended Ivita. Would such a terrifying Demon God really let her off the hook? No, wait. This seemed to be her chance to make up for her mistake, and maybe her only chance. The Hearthstone Grand Witch narrowed her eyes and suddenly found that the current situation was not that bad. To her, the Wild Boar Knights who had been after her were dangerous, but weren¡¯t the Demon God at her side a bigger threat? Especially after what she did just now¡­she had been dancing on a knife¡¯s edge. If not for the stupid Wild Boar Knights suddenly breaking in, she would have faced a furious Demon God. Now that Ivita had ordered her to do something, it meant that Ivita couldn¡¯t possibly kill her afterwards. She¡­she had dodged a bullet. The Hearthstone Grand Witch immediately put up a fawning smile, and she excitedly said, ¡°Your Majesty, I will certainly keep all these bumbling fools at bay for you, and feed their bodies to the Carnivorous Flower, leaving not a single bone!¡± ¡°How dare these people disrupt your ritual!¡± ¡°They¡¯ve literally eaten a bear¡¯s heart and a leopard¡¯s gallbladder.¡± ¡°Your respected Majesty¡­.¡± Ivita glanced at her, ¡°I remember, that was not how you just spoke.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve changed back now?!¡± ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± The Hearthstone Witch suddenly felt a chill run down her back. She wanted to say something, but she couldn¡¯t utter a word. Because there was really no way to explain, and no way to cover it up. Just now, she had mistakenly thought that Ivita was not a Demon God, and then she had become excessively arrogant. Ivita looked up at the old witch. The old witch suddenly froze and opened her eyes wide, saying, ¡°Your Majesty, your eyes¡­this¡­¡± ¡°Did the God name you wrote earlier possess a dragon-like nature?¡± At this time, Ivita¡¯s eyes had unconsciously turned into a bright red color, just like a pair of red copper bells, and his pupils had turned into a certain golden vertical form. That golden vertical pupil reflected the image of the old witch¡¯s skull. But it looked extremely brutal. Ivita blinked. His eyes were very dry now as if he had dry eye syndrome. He thought that if he could get some eye drops for his eyes, he would feel comfortable. He shook his head and said: ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°What does this have to do with dragons.¡± He bent down to write the last god name. Looking to see whether he could restore his Tree of Life Spirit Energy to a balanced state. The old witch took a look at the Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the floor, which she was beginning to fail to understand due to the excessive power being utilized. She placed the Magic Awakening Potion on the wooden floor. ¡°Your Majesty, as long as you write down the last god name and drink this potion according to the special method, the ritual will be completed.¡± ¡°During this process, the candles around you must not be extinguished, at least one must remain lit.¡± ¡°Otherwise, the environment would revert to a real environment, and the ritual would fail.¡± ¡°The etiquette for drinking the magic potion is to circle around the potion three times to the left, and four times to the right, representing taking a step forward.¡± Due to the destruction of the load-bearing walls by the Wild Boar Knights, the wooden floor of the fourth floor was at this point, noticeably tilted. Chapter 11 - 11 11 Emperor Charlemagnes Army Formation and ?Chapter 11: Chapter 11 Emperor Charlemagne¡¯s Army Formation and The Great Witch¡¯s Magic: The Carnivorous Flower¡¯s Garden_1 Chapter 11: Chapter 11 Emperor Charlemagne¡¯s Army Formation and The Great Witch¡¯s Magic: The Carnivorous Flower¡¯s Garden_1 Downstairs, the Black Wolf Demon Hunter, having discovered the enemy¡¯s intentions, immediately untied the crossbow from his back and, through the wall severed by a knight¡¯s sword, aimed it outside at the four leading official knights and an attendant knight for continuous shooting. The leader of the official knights, Manuel of Wild Boar, grabbed the incoming short arrow with his left hand. The kinematic visual abilities of the official knights are terrifyingly strong, their superhuman stature allowing them to catch arrows barehanded. ¡°Isn¡¯t this from the Marquis of Clocks? A five-shot crossbow like this is worth two standard knight swords.¡± ¡°Good, I didn¡¯t expect such a surprise. Mine now.¡± He sneered at the archer, then suddenly noticed that the man was dressed as a Demon Hunter, only then did he realize the weight of the short arrow was off. ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°A magic potion trap from the Griffin School¡­ how is this possible¡­¡± ¡°No ordinary Demon Hunter could pull this off. Quick, drop the short arrows in your hands!¡± But it was too late. The superior dynamic visual abilities and reflexes of the knights led them all to catch the short arrows aimed at their faces. Attached to the tail end of each short arrow was a magic potion bottle no bigger than a fingernail. Then they exploded. This kind of magic potion bottle, a combination of chemical and magic techniques, when detonated, produces a shockwave covering an area of 10 square meters. The four official knights and seventeen knight apprentices of the Wild Boar Knights Group, due to their tactical formation and the destruction of the bearing wall of the post house causing them to stay too close to each other, were all overturned from their horses when the five shockwave bottles exploded. The headless body of the Old Witch walked down the stairs. She didn¡¯t have a head so she couldn¡¯t see anything. However, her head was at the window on the fourth floor where it had a view of the scene below, so her body naturally reacted to it. She saw the panicked patrons in the inn, the hunched old man and the innkeeper, Rayli, cowering in the corner. She also saw the Wild Boar Knights Group. She traced lines of words in the air with her finger, these words creating sound by vibrating their surroundings. ¡°A magic potion trap from the Griffin School¡­¡± ¡°How many of the nine trials of the Demon Hunter have you passed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you to be following a declining noble, you¡¯re also not being honest, huh.¡± ¡°We should form an alliance, it¡¯s the wish of His Majesty. It wouldn¡¯t be good if these knights anger His Majesty.¡± ¡°The wrath of His Majesty is far more frightening than these knights.¡± Manuel of the Wild Boar Knights Group crawled up from the ground, he pulled down the face shield of his helmet, revealing a face twisted in anger. ¡°An alliance between a Demon Hunter and a witch, huh.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always known that Demon Hunters are no good.¡± ¡°Everyone, ignore these two.¡± ¡°The witch¡¯s head is not here, she must have hidden her heart too. Killing a body here means nothing, she can always find another.¡± ¡°Her head must be upstairs.¡± ¡°Change of plans, stop wrecking the building, cover me, I¡¯m going to go upstairs and kill the defenseless witch¡¯s head.¡± The Black Wolf and the Witch were simultaneously taken aback. Because Ivita was performing a ritual upstairs. They absolutely cannot let them go up there! Manuel of the Wild Boar mounted his steed and with a whistle, twenty war horses charged into the inn. At the same time, the knights and attendants threw away their excessively long knight swords, substituting them with short swords, trailing behind the herd of horses. This strategy, of horsemen as the vanguard followed by warriors, came directly from the battlefield. This is a real battlefield tactic! The Demon Hunter Black Wolf drew his great sword. With one sweep of his blade, he beheaded three horses charging towards him. The horse heads fell to the ground like sacks, splashing blood all around. Black Wolf was puzzled, ¡°These are superior war horses bred from common horses and magical beasts, why are they being sent to their deaths?¡± The Old Witch¡¯s remaining left hand was gesturing, and although her head was chanting spells from the fourth floor window, her headless body was the one executing the magic. She suddenly traced words in the air with her left hand, which caused the air to vibrate and produce sound. ¡°This is the Emperor Charlemagne¡¯s military formation, specifically designed to deal with loose troops. Damn, it is tactical, watch your left front.¡± But the Witch¡¯s warning was too late. One Knight Attendant suddenly sprung out from under a warhorse and drove a sword into the thigh of Black Wolf. Then, another Knight Attendant popped out from beside the horse, jabbing his sword into Black Wolf¡¯s left arm. Black Wolf was an experienced Demon Hunter, but he had never experienced battle on a battlefield before. However, the members of the Wild Boar Knights Group were entirely different from him. They were experienced in battling heretics, cultists, merchants and various enemy groups. The art of war was something a single individual could never compare to. In pain, Black Wolf managed to block a few stabs aimed at his vital wounds with a greatsword. However, his body was already littered with injuries. With her left hand, the witch quickly scribbled some words. ¡°Luckily they didn¡¯t bring crossbows. The Emperor Charlemagne¡¯s formation consists of vanguard horsemen, warriors in the middle, while some fire arrows from the back.¡± ¡°In an era centuries ago, Emperor Charlemagne used this method to kill many professionals.¡± ¡°But the Church strictly forbids using bows and crossbows in the Dark Magic Forest, it can only be used when fighting heretics.¡± ¡°The Wild Boar Knights Group takes money from the Church, so it¡¯s unlikely they would openly disobey their commands.¡± ¡°And now my spell is ready.¡± The Old Witch suddenly stretched her left hand upright, raising it high above and spreading her fingers apart. A cloud gathered inside the room, appearing above her palm. She waved her hand, and thousands of seeds fell on the stairs, wooden floor, between the bars, beside the hiding customers, as well as amongst the horses and knights. The cloud also followed, and astonishingly, rain started falling inside the room. This was The Great Witch¡¯s iconic spell ¨C The Carnivorous Flower Secret Garden. With the falling of the grey rain, sprouts began to emerge from the wooden floor. These seeds took root, germinated quickly, and in a short amount of time, evolved into flora taller than a grown man ¨C the carnivorous flower. The top of these flowers sparkled with a strange purple hue, as if covered in a beautiful mist, and their mouths were full of shark-like inverted fangs. Within moments, the first floor of the inn had become a carnivorous flower garden. These hundreds of carnivorous flowers swallowed the precious warhorses in one bite and began attacking the knights. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Our horses have been eaten by the carnivorous flowers! Those horses¡­ they were valuable!¡± ¡°Crap, these carnivorous flowers are attacking us too. Pay attention to defense, do not break formation! No matter how expensive the horses are, they¡¯re not worth more than our lives!¡± ¡°Defense! Defense! Defense! Do not break formation!¡± ¡°Someone got swallowed! There is no way to save them now. What on earth are these things? I¡¯d rather fight official knights than witches!! I don¡¯t want to become flower fertilizer.¡± The carnivorous flowers lunged towards the knights, but their discipline remained unbroken. While frantically retreating, they only sustained minor injuries somehow. Only five attendants, who were unable to rejoin the formation in time, were swallowed by the carnivorous flowers. Their sharp teeth, growing backwards like millstones, ground his body into pieces. These Knight Attendants only had the Seed of Life within them, they didn¡¯t possess the Extraordinary Organs. Their overall defense wasn¡¯t much stronger than that of ordinary people. Which is why they needed armor. Unfortunately, these Knight Attendants didn¡¯t have the money to buy chain mail or plate armor. They merely wore a helmet and a padded armor filled with cotton and patches. All were cheap articles, inferior to the full-body armor of the official knights. Being swallowed by the carnivorous flowers at this moment, and without decent protection, their fate didn¡¯t look very promising. After all, this was the magic of The Great Witch. Chapter 12 - 12 12 Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness_1 ?Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness_1 Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness_1 The formal knight Laplace, who was at Manuel Wild Boar¡¯s side, rode his horse around the carnivorous flower garden, shaking his head. ¡°As long as that witch is still casting spells, we can¡¯t approach the tavern.¡± ¡°Manuel, I think it¡¯s better to retreat for now and notify the Captain (Wild Boar Knight) when we get back.¡± Manuel Wild Boar¡¯s face turned livid. ¡°We¡¯re just one step away.¡± ¡°Laplace, you coward.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you all see that the witch is cornered!¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°She¡¯s risking her life to prevent us from going upstairs, wanting to face us head-on. This means we can surely find her weakness if we can just get upstairs.¡± Laplace decisively rejected this idea. ¡°That magical spell¡­as long as she¡¯s casting that spell¡­we can¡¯t get close.¡± ¡°It would be better for you to be more realistic.¡± Suddenly, the situation took a dramatic turn. The humpbacked old man, the tavern clerk cum waiter cum horse tender, who had been cowering and trembling in a corner as if terribly afraid, suddenly stood up. A sharp knife emerged from his hump, tearing through it. A small youth squeezed out from the old man¡¯s hump. He was dressed in light leather armor, holding a strangely shaped dagger in his hand. The old man himself had fallen to the ground. The tavern owner¡ªHeartless Rayli, feeling hit hard by the death of his loyal old servant, tried to help him up, but touched the hollow area where the old man¡¯s entrails had been removed. This old man had been dead for a while! It was the assassin who had been manipulating the old man¡¯s corpse! Heartless Rayli immediately recalled this notorious assassin group¡ªthe Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness! This was their infamous Corpse Hiding Skill, an extremely terrifying assassination technique. Disgusting indeed, but undeniably very hard to guard against. But who was he attempting to assassinate here? The assassin was seen to strike the spell-casting headless body of the old witch with lightning speed, disrupting her spell casting. The carnivorous flowers around them drooped their heads, as if left without direction, sinking into strange silence. Manuel Wild Boar, Laplace, and the other knights and attendants were all stunned by this. No one had anticipated such a twist when the battlefield was at a stalemate. Who was this invading assassin? Why did he suddenly attack the witch, interrupting her spell? Manuel Wild Boar reacted the fastest. He spurred his horse, leading it to jump over the carnivorous flowers now dormant, and passing the witch and The Black Wolf, he ran towards upstairs. Simultaneously, the knights who had been blocked outside also stormed in, intending to head straight to the fourth floor. The old witch and assassin were entangled. She scribbled furiously with immense anger, ¡°Fool, who are you?¡± But the young assassin spoke in a tone devoid of emotion: ¡°This humble one is but a nameless little man.¡± ¡°I was indeed startled when I saw Hearthstone Grand Witch and Demon Hunter Black Wolf together with my target.¡± ¡°I never thought that a down-and-out prince, a powerless waste, chased out of his own country and stripped of all his possessions, would even be with you.¡± ¡°How could I ever hope to assassinate him successfully with you there?¡± ¡°However, opportunity always favors the prepared.¡± ¡°The arrival of the Wild Boar Knights Group is my opportunity.¡± ¡°Should I bring back Ivita¡¯s head, I can report back to Prince Jalen of Alsace.¡± ¡°The Wild Boar Knights Group are charging upstairs, so it seems they will not only take the witch¡¯s head, but also kill Ivita along the way.¡± ¡°Anyway, since that waste is going to die, telling you about the situation doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He got one thing wrong. Seeing Hearthstone Grand Witch and Ivita together, he subconsciously assumed that Hearthstone Grand Witch had kidnapped the destitute prince. But he did not expect that the actual relationship was the other way round. That¡¯s why the assassin thought that Ivita was on the fourth floor guarding the witch¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t foresee that the witch was stopping the knights from disturbing Ivita¡¯s ritual, rather than defending her own head. The old witch rapidly scribbled in the air with her left hand. ¡°Black Wolf, what are you doing, hurry up and stop them.¡± ¡°Hurry!¡± The Demon Hunter Black Wolf was tangled by more than a dozen knight attendants, unable to fight them off. On the rooftop, the Old Witch¡¯s head, was thinking that this is bad. The Old Witch¡¯s head jumped off the windowsill and turned to stare at the door. She was guessing how long it would take for them to reach the fourth floor and open the wooden door. The Old Witch looked at Ivita next to her, Ivita had already written down the sixth god name ¨C Mahakala Shiva. Mahakala Shiva is the head of the three aspects of the god from the Polodo Cult, his main role is destruction. After inscribing the name of Mahakala Shiva, the Tree of Life Spirit Energy turned from a green color to a deep red color. Each branching limb turned into a dangerous shade of blood-red. At the same time, the Tree of Life Spirit Energy showed previously unseen drastic changes, every second the Tree of Life Spirit Energy was changing into dozens of shapes. A burst of drum sounds appeared near Ivita¡¯s ears, along with indescribable impact sounds. This seemed like the dance of destruction from the god of destruction. The Old Witch shouted, ¡°Your Highness, quickly drink the Magic Awakening Potion.¡± ¡°Those fools are coming soon.¡± Ivita gritted his teeth, he felt his eyes getting hotter and hotter, it seemed as if his mouth was cut open by a knife, he even found his mouth was cracked, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was just an illusion due to the fever. At the same time, his back felt as if it had been slashed by ten thousand knives. What is going to happen? What¡¯s wrong with me? No, I can¡¯t die. The strong survival instinct made him extend his hand to the Magic Awakening Potion on the ground. The door opened at this moment. A strong airflow rushed into the room, in an instant, the six candles around Ivita were all blown out by the wind. The Old Witch opened her mouth wide. It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over. Ivita didn¡¯t have time to drink the Magic Awakening Potion! Manuel Wild Boar kicked open the door with the legs of his steed, he glanced around the room triumphantly and found the Witch¡¯s head and a boy with his head down, as well as an unfinished ceremony. ¡°Aha, look what I found, what kind of harmful ceremony is the witch doing again?¡± ¡°I happened to catch it in time.¡± ¡°Hearthstone Witch, today is your day to die!¡± ¡°Without a body, you are not my opponent.¡± ¡°The great Knights in the church will kill you, and then I will become a hero in the mouths of the wandering poets.¡± Manuel Wild Boar was immersed in a beautiful fantasy. When he saw the witch, he subconsciously ignored the second person in the room ¨C Ivita. In his view, that was just a pitiful person kidnapped by the Hearthstone Witch, an insignificant minor character. In their confrontation between these two important figures, the only outcome for such a small character is to be affected and die. Pitiful, meaningless, and unremarkable. The Old Witch¡¯s head roughly stared at Manuel Wild Boar. ¡°You self-righteous fool, what have you done!¡± ¡°Do you know what you just did?¡± ¡°Do you know what existence you have provoked!¡± Manuel Wild Boar scornfully laughed. ¡°Are you trying to confuse me? There are only you and that kid in this room, who else could I have offended? Give up, I finally caught you at your weakest. Hahaha¡­¡± ¡°You¡­¡± The Old Witch suddenly fell silent and looked at Manuel Wild Boar in horror. ¡°How could¡­..this be¡­¡± Manuel Wild Boar suddenly felt something on his shoulder, which filled him with fear and rage. Because a knight¡¯s back cannot face an enemy! Once it happens, it is the knight¡¯s shame and also his crisis. And when did a third person appear in this room, and when did he appear behind him? Why didn¡¯t he notice any traces beforehand? Chapter 13 - 13 13 Arrival of a Terrifying Entity_1 ?Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Arrival of a Terrifying Entity!_1 Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Arrival of a Terrifying Entity!_1 Manuel the Wild Boar stiffened as he sensed a presence behind him and lifted his head. It was then he realized that the second occupant of the room was no longer in their previous position. In their place was a snuffed-out candle, strange markings on the wooden floor, and remnants of a green flame. Where had the young man gone? Was the young man behind him? But how had he appeared behind him in the blink of an eye? Even if the young man had been lightning fast, such a feat seemed impossible! Eerily, Manuel the Wild Boar turned around. Gazing back at him was a blood-red eye. Within the light of that crimson glow, a golden vertical pupil mirrored his face, indicating an imminent death. Beneath the eye, terrifying fangs and chilling dragon scales were visible. Behind him was not a human at all! It was a dragon! Then what was resting on his left shoulder was¡­ Manuel the Wild Boar stole a glance at it. His heart seemed to be in his throat. The thing on his shoulder was a claw from the dragon¡¯s paw. Simply resting on his shoulder. However, his shoulder was covered in a steel armor, forged from volcano¡¯s magma by a dwarven master. But it was sliced open by the dragon claw as easily as cutting through tofu. The dragon¡¯s claw had easily cut through the armor, the padding beneath it, his shirt, and his skin. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Without a doubt, Manuel the Wild Boar knew that if the dragon behind him applied even a bit more force, his arm would be violently torn off. Swallowing, Manuel the Wild Boar struggled to maintain his position, dreading provoking the dragon. ¡°Hearthstone Witch, why is there a dragon in your room?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not something that you can control!¡± ¡°Who is he¡­¡± The Hearthstone Witch glanced disdainfully at him. ¡°The dragon behind you, no, the young man you dismissed as insignificant before, that¡¯s him.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Some noise came from behind Manuel the Wild Boar, startling him so much that he dropped his sword hilt, allowing it to clang on the floor. This was a dragon. A mere knight couldn¡¯t possibly fight against such an existence. Realizing that a dragon was standing behind him, Manuel gave up any will to fight. All he could think was that he was the unluckiest knight in the world ¨C to be stuck with a dragon standing behind him. The chivalry, the rule of not turning one¡¯s back on the enemy, seemed insignificant now. It was not a question of whether to fight or not, it was more like he was doomed. One moment he was readying to rise to glory, the next he had fallen into a pit of despair. The Hearthstone Witch watched in terror as Ivita turned into a dragon with six purple-red dragon wings on his back. As a witch, her powerful spiritual power allowed her to sense Ivita¡¯s terror more acutely. In her spiritual knowledge, Ivita was even more terrifying. Centred around Ivita, a sitnatural pressure more powerful than [Aura of Fear]had formed. Like a whirlpool, or a black hole, it was drawing everyone¡¯s attention. In other words, Manuel hadn¡¯t willingly turned to look behind him, but was forcibly drawn to it. Just like a ship near a deep-sea whirlpool, being drawn towards the abyss of the ocean, as if step by step into certain death. The Hearthstone Witch also noticed an enormous monster with overturned purple-red wings looming behind Ivita, indicating a more terrifying existence within Ivita¡¯s dragon body. This dragon¡¯s body was merely a vessel, a veil, to carry this horrific entity. How could a Magic Awakening Ritual that was only half finished spawn such a terrifying entity? Was it because he wrote the names of six gods? The witch felt scared to death. She wanted to strangle the stupid Manuel the Wild Boar; he had let the Demon God go out of control to this degree. She¡¯s going to get crushed in the collateral damage. The Old Witch, her face rigid, turned to look at the six extinguished candles. She was brainstorming, calculating, figuring out how to escape. But how could she possibly run from such a terrifying dragon? What should she do now? Suddenly, the dragon picked up Manuel the Dark Boar. His once glistening armour melted from the dragon¡¯s claw¡¯s heat, dripping onto the wooden floor. ¡°Mortal¡­¡± Manuel the Wild Boar was terrified to his very core. His survival instinct pushed him to keep begging, ¡°I¡­spare me, I won¡¯t be a warrior anymore.¡± ¡°Please, spare me.¡± ¡°I will farm and fish, I won¡¯t hold a sword again¡­¡± ¡°Mortal~¡± ¡®Ivita¡¯ looked at him, seeming to grow infinitely larger, turning into a sky-high dragon. Manuel the Wild Boar, on the other hand, seemed as tiny as an ant. ¡°Mortal, tell me your name¡­¡± Mortal, tell me your name! Mortal, utter your name! This sentence echoed incessantly in Manuel¡¯s ears, and he suddenly realized that things might be more complex than he had imagined. This was no giant dragon, it might not be a dragon at all but an evil god! Could it be possible that the Hearthstone Witch was performing a ritual to summon the evil god in this room! And now, the evil god had successfully descended! But he couldn¡¯t think much right now, under the coercion of these words, he was forced to say: ¡°My name is Manuel.¡± As he uttered these words, he found himself extremely uncomfortable and began coughing up blood frantically. Initially, his blood was red, but it turned blue, and after a while, it turned green. In reality, his internal organs went through an upheaval, he had reached the knight¡¯s limit with three extraordinary organs. But, these extraordinary organs were wilting rapidly, wildly mutating. His liver and kidneys had quickly become unrecognizable. Next, his extraordinary heart that contained the seed of life began to grow deformities resembling a dragon¡¯s arm, wings, tail, and even started sprouting scales. Manuel reached out in horror to the scales growing on his arm. He had no idea what was happening, but it was a complete disaster. His whole body was breaking down, his blood was being replaced. The dragon clinging onto him was turning him into a different creature, like a subordinate species to a higher entity. The old witch had fallen silent in the face of this terrifying transformation. Suddenly, as the dragon grabbed Manuel¡¯s arm, a bolt of lightning shot out from his shoulder. The dragon¡¯s frightening eyes expressed regret, as if lamenting something. Then with a slight exertion of force, Manuel was crushed into a pulp. Meanwhile, the door of the room slammed shut automatically, and the extinguished candles, one by one, ignited again. The remaining green flames rose magnificently, turning into purple ghost fire. The old witch exclaimed in surprise, ¡°The ritual¡­ It was reversed, it failed initially, but the outcome was changed.¡± The dragon walked to the center of the ritual, picked up the magic potion on the ground, and drank it. Then, the scales on his body fell off in large patches, his wings disappeared, and his body gradually regressed from a real dragon to a human, but still retained dragon features. The Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the ground, severely distorted, had inexplicably flipped ¨C its head was on its original tail-end, and its tail at its former top. But after flipping, the Tree of Life Spirit Energy maintained a balance and returned to its original tree shape. Moreover, its color changed from blood-red to pure purple. Ivita was half kneeling on the ground, clutching her head. ¡°What happened just now? An overwhelming desire for destruction is welling up from the bottom of my heart.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the enemy? Where¡¯s the enemy?¡± The witch hurried over and flatteringly said, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve performed a significant feat¡­¡± ¡°The over-ambitious fool is dead at your hands¡­¡± Ivita looked at the witch in confusion, no, she couldn¡¯t recall anything just now. She felt as though she had fallen into a deep sleep, and someone had been shouting at her constantly, telling her not to sleep because if she fell asleep, she would never wake up again. As she was about to wake up, the voice slowly faded. Until she was fully awake, the voice disappeared. She looked at the remnants of Manuel¡¯s body. Did she kill this guy just now? No. That¡¯s wrong. She was definitely unconscious earlier. Then who was fighting just now? Did she hire a stand-in? Ivita gazed at the six names of the Divine Kings on the Tree of Life Spirit Energy, the first time these names have appeared in this world. The mutation from earlier must be related to these six names. Luckily, her Magic Awakening Ritual was finally successful. The witch remembered, several knights had come in succession too, but she had no idea where they were now. So, she went to open the door and witnessed a terrifying scene. Indeed, there were three official knights outside, but they were all dead. Their horses were nowhere to be seen, but these three knights maintained a crawling position on the stairs, reaching out their right hands like pilgrims, trying to touch the wooden door on the fourth floor. Their bodies had turned into charred corpses, the expressions on their dead bodies were filled with fear. Only a bit of the Last Dragon Flame remained on their bodies. In an instant, the old witch felt a deeper sense of fear towards the Demon God standing by her side. Chapter 14 - 14 14 The Balance of Power and Four Ornaments_1 ?Chapter 14: Chapter 14 The Balance of Power and Four Ornaments_1 Chapter 14: Chapter 14 The Balance of Power and Four Ornaments_1 Four official knights were killed silently behind a wooden door. The servants of the Wild Boar Knights Group downstairs probably suffered the same fate. In any case, the supposed fight downstairs had ceased. The Old Witch¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight, Dragon Flame was indeed a rare treasure. This substance could be used to make potions, forge weapons, create magic wands, and research new magic. It was incredibly useful but nearly impossible to acquire. She immediately used her Magic Hand to remove a small glass cup and tweezers from the carriage, gently scraping some Dragon Flame from the three bodies. The moment the tweezers made contact with the tiny Dragon Flame, the area changed to a burnt-black color. A little Dragon Flame fell into the glass bottle. The glass bottle started making ¡®crack¡¯ and ¡®crack¡¯ noises. The initially empty bottle¡¯s surface sported half-moon-shaped spell patterns and displayed signs of breaking. Three seconds later, the cracks in spell patterns healed automatically, and then these magic patterns disappeared. The surface of the glass bottle returned to transparency. The Old Witch quickly used her Magic Hand to attach a cap to it. ¡°Whew, it has barely been sealed.¡± The Old Witch sighed. ¡°Legend has it that Dragon Flame holds a power to break spells, which is terrifying. I never thought it would be real.¡± ¡°These items imbued with Black Magic couldn¡¯t even accommodate the Dragon Flame.¡± ¡°It looks like one bottle can only contain a small piece of Dragon Flame.¡± ¡°Ah, the tweezers can no longer be used either.¡± The tweezers, originally used to scrape Dragon Flame from the corpses, were now charred and melted at the ends. ¡°It seems that I can only slowly scrape these Dragon Flames from the corpses.¡± Just as the Old Witch was about to continue, she suddenly felt a terrible energy coming from behind. She looked back at the room on the fourth floor and saw Ivita leaning against the wall, clutching his chest, his body fluctuating between transforming into a dragon and reverting back to its original form. ¡°Your Highness? Your Highness, what happened?¡± The Old Witch never missed an opportunity to show her loyalty. Ivita opened his eyes and glanced at the witch. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but a force has been surging from my heart, which is growing stronger and stronger¡­¡± The Old Witch looked at Ivita¡¯s Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the wooden floor. ¡°Your Highness, your Tree of Life Spirit Energy has turned over.¡± ¡°Very peculiar, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a turned-over Tree of Life Spirit Energy, I¡¯m not sure what it denotes.¡± ¡°But the current situation should be unrelated to it being turned over.¡± The Old Witch noted that two branches on Ivita¡¯s Tree of Life Spirit Energy had grown slightly longer, about the length of a pinky joint, ¡°Grown a bit¡­¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The Old Witch¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It is Your Highness, your power has become too strong, resulting in a loss of balance.¡± ¡°Could you tell me the names of the gods inscribed on the fifth and fourth branches.¡± Ivita had no intentions of hiding anything since it concerned his physical well-being. ¡°They are the Rain Dragon God and the Sun God.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± The Old Witch exhaled joyfully and admired the Demon God¡¯s tremendous powers. Can any ordinary god meddle with the Rain Dragon God and the Sun God? However, the Old Witch assumed that Ivita implied he had some connection with the Rain Dragon God and Sun God. Many Evil Gods and Demon Gods would intrude on certain domains in order to usurp divine powers and thus manifest some pseudo-divine positions. If one god were to completely absorb these two divine powers, it would be a horrifying situation. Ivita wouldn¡¯t need to descend into the world using a mortal body to meddle in worldly affairs then. The old witch said, ¡°The body of the Alsace royal family has a dragon bloodline, specifically that of a fire dragon.¡± ¡°It is said that the third-generation king of Alsace fell in love with a dragon, hence his descendants carry the Fire Dragon Bloodline.¡± ¡°This bloodline is what disrupted your balance of power.¡± The Old Witch explained, ¡°During the Magic Awakening Ritual, your Fire Dragon Bloodline was activated, causing the branches representing your Sun Power and Rain Dragon Power to become disproportionately strong, losing their balance with the other branches.¡± ¡°Therefore, your original form is constantly transmitting the leaked Rain Dragon God¡¯s power and Sun God¡¯s power.¡± ¡°Good thing it¡¯s not much, otherwise, your mortal body would definitely be permanently mutated as a magical creature.¡± ¡°However, if this continues for long, you might revert back to the state you were in just now.¡± The Old Witch trembled at the thought of the dragon she had just seen. Ivita glanced at the Old Witch. Her theory was built upon the assumption that she was truly a Demon God. But she wasn¡¯t. Then who was the source of the constant influx of divine power? The Feathered Serpent God and the Sun God Ra don¡¯t exist in this world, right? Ivita realised that because she carved the names of six divine kings during the Magic Awakening Ritual, she seemed to have developed countless connections with them. Ivita asked, ¡°How can this be resolved? Do you have a solution?¡± The Old Witch contemplated for a moment. ¡°Yes. Actually, the solution is pretty simple. Since the problem lies in the mortal body¡¯s bloodline given by His Highness, which disrupted the original balance.¡± ¡°All we need to do is remove the bloodline.¡± ¡°Or alternatively, enhance other attributes of your mortal body to a similar extent.¡± ¡°What are the main responsibilities of your other four divine titles?¡± The Old Witch asked, testing the waters. Ivita responded bluntly: ¡°The divine responsibility of the first branch is the sky, the second branch is thunder and lightning, the third branch mainly involves war, the sixth branch is about destruction.¡± There was a moment of silence in the room. It was Ivita, anxious about her condition, who broke the quiet. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t you help?¡± The Old Witch pursed her lips and looked deeply at Ivita. ¡°Your Highness, I have a solution.¡± Okay. What the hell are these perversion deity jobs? Don¡¯t normal god¡¯s responsibilities involve things like mountains, rivers, looms, and love? Shouldn¡¯t the multiple divine responsibilities of a normal god be similar to those of the March Goddess, involving three different types of moons or rivers? Each of your six divine responsibilities, if broken down individually, could make a strong god. The Old Witch comforted herself. These divine responsibilities must be the fabrications of the Demon God, an attempt to invade and seize new territories. They probably were not complete divine responsibilities. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Otherwise, she could not explain why such a powerful spirit deity needed to resort to underhanded methods, arriving in the Magic Black Forest through a mortal body. Couldn¡¯t it just come in directly, wouldn¡¯t that be more comfortable? Plus, she was just a humble Great Witch, usually just causing mischief in various territories. She wouldn¡¯t have used magic to summon a destructive world force, would she? The Old Witch rummaged through the treasure chest in the illusionary carriage and found four ornaments. ¡°Your Highness, these are magical items. Wearing them will enhance your abilities in certain areas.¡± ¡°This way, you can counterbalance the Fire Dragon lineage within your body.¡± ¡°They are, respectively, the Malsgo Desire Ring.¡± ¡°The Greya Thunder Eye Ring.¡± ¡°Jordan¡¯s Triple Crown Bracelet.¡± ¡°Weimar¡¯s Iron Sword Necklace.¡± The Old Witch had tears in her eyes. It was only just that she couldn¡¯t bear to give them up right away. After all, her loyalty was a facade, but the treasures truly belonged to her. She pleaded pitifully, ¡°Your Highness, you will return these to me, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Or is it on credit?¡± ¡°After all, I noticed that you even offered credit to the Black Wolf, not just taking their stuff.¡± Ivita laughed inwardly, so you knew it was credit, huh? Those four treasures looked very expensive, and she certainly didn¡¯t want to owe money for nothing. Ivita said, ¡°I saw you take the Dragon Flame earlier.¡± ¡°Two Dragon Flames in exchange for one treasure.¡± ¡°How does that sound?¡± Anyhow, the Dragon Flames were free. ¡°Alright¡­¡± The Old Witch calculated quickly. The count of Dragon Flames was already in the dozens. If so, she actually ended up owing Ivita quite a sum of money! This¡­ Chapter 15 - 15 15 The Weimar Scholar Republic and an Entity ?Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Weimar Scholar Republic and an Entity More Powerful than Ordinary Mana_1 Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Weimar Scholar Republic and an Entity More Powerful than Ordinary Mana_1 After the Old Witch agreed, she used her magic hand to place the Malsgo Desire Ring on the little finger of Ivita¡¯s right hand. The base of the square ring was made of gold, embedded with a black square ink diamond. When Ivita put on the ring, a cluster of wrapping black haze appeared above his head. Meanwhile, the third branch(Odin) from the Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the wooden floor grew a little. ¡°The Malsgo Ring is a Ring of Desire.¡± the Old Witch said. ¡°It has a Charm Mortal Spell of an apprentice wizard level built-in, ordinary people can¡¯t focus their minds after seeing this ring. I found it in a relic.¡± ¡°Legend has it that the wizard who crafted the ring cast a very wild spell on it.¡± ¡°After thousands of years, the level of the spell has gradually dropped, that the quality of the ring itself could still be preserved to this level¡­¡± ¡°Considering the preservative environment, this is a miracle in itself.¡± ¡°The ring can enhance the battle attributes of your mortal body.¡± Then, the Witch put the Greya Thunder Eye Ring on the middle finger of Ivita¡¯s right hand. The ring of this ring was composed of tiny Mithril. It was embedded with a pure sapphire that was half the size of a finger. The Witch introduced carefully: ¡°The Thunder Eye Ring is from the deceased master Greya dwarf. It was forged with Mithril and Sapphire that was struck by lightning for a hundred days, storing the apprentice wizard¡¯s ¡®Lightning Spell¡¯.¡± ¡°This ring can enhance your mortal body¡¯s thunder attribute.¡± ¡°Next is the Threefold Bracelet.¡± The Witch put on Ivita¡¯s right-hand arm, which was a bracelet made up of three thin gold rings, silver rings, and aluminium rings intertwined. Gold, silver, and aluminium are all expensive metals in this era. ¡°Jordan¡¯s Triple Crown bracelet, which contains a ¡®Damage Curse¡¯ of apprentice wizard level.¡± ¡°It comes from¡­nevermind¡­you wouldn¡¯t want to hear such a bloody story. All I can say is that the end of each owner was tragic.¡± ¡°It can enhance the destructive attributes of your mortal body.¡± On the wooden floor, the third branch and the second branch both grew a bit. Ivita raised his right hand speechlessly. He was only a civilian in his previous life. Not long after he crossed over here, he was going to wear a lot of jewelry. This was too extravagant. Ignoring the practicality of these trinkets, just looking at the materials used to make them, they were all very expensive. Ivita asked: ¡°Each owner of the Triple Crown bracelet had a bad end?¡± The Old Witch was suddenly choked up. ¡°No no no¡­You¡¯re different, because such a trivial bracelet can¡¯t resist you.¡± ¡°You will truly own it instead of just wearing it.¡± The Old Witch explained: ¡°These magical items have some of their own will and would choose their own master.¡± ¡°Some magical items with very strong will may even kill their last master to find a way to change their master, in order to find their real master.¡± ¡°And I strongly believe, you are the true master of this bracelet!¡± Ivita just nodded casually. Taking into account the current situation, he could only wear these magic items first, so that the various forces in his body could balance. It was only in this way, that the ritual could be truly successful, and he could truly become an apprentice wizard. The Old Witch lifted Weimar¡¯s iron sword necklace reverently, and carefully used her magic hand to put it on Ivita. ¡°I don¡¯t know what magical items can increase the sky attribute.¡± ¡°Except for this one.¡± ¡°This is a personal ornament of the last leader of a destroyed republic. Even though no wizard, witch, dwarf master, or alchemist from the East, druid from the North, desert sacrificer from the South, or a priest from The Church, had touched the item. This item is still legendarily magical. It is magical!!¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Ivita looked at the old witch in confusion, at this moment his body¡¯s dragonization process was very low, only the dragon horns grew on his head. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The Old Witch explained: ¡°This necklace is from the fallen Weimar Scholar Republic.¡± ¡°Its owner was the first and the last leader of the Weimar Scholar Republic. Because of the lenient laws made by scholar leader, the country was overthrown by the nobles.¡± ¡°This necklace was once the most beloved object in the center of that nation¡¯s powers and was even used as a totem,¡± Ivita touched the necklace on his chest, studying it closely. In the middle ages, being used as a totem meant that this object had been recognized as a symbol of the Weimar Scholar Republic¡¯s authority for a considerable period. ¡°The Weimar Scholar Republic is a kingdom-level country, the most important artifact of such a nation¡¯s leader, has a great magic power because it was imbued by destiny and the era,¡± ¡°Through prosperity, great attention, to decadence, and abandonment¡­¡± ¡°This magic power even supersedes a witch who was born with magic.¡± The old witch said, ¡°So, if it cannot enhance the ¡®heaven¡¯ attribute of your mortal body, I don¡¯t know what magic item can.¡± Ivita turned his head to look at the Tree of Life Spirit Energy on the wooden floor, finding all the branches have grown to an almost similar length. His dragon transformation had also receded. His power was balanced, no longer was there any mysterious power rushing to deform his body. Ivita felt relaxed for the first time in a long time and even smiled. Perfect! He touched his forehead and his smile froze. Damn it. I am still having a fever! So even after I became a wizard¡¯s apprentice and completely transformed into a dragon, I still haven¡¯t cured my fever. Well then. It seems that I will have to rely on a doctor. The old witch noticed that Ivita was still running a fever, but she didn¡¯t care because a wizard¡¯s apprentice wouldn¡¯t die from a fever. Such a minor illness was not a big deal. The old witch smiled. ¡°Congratulations, Your Highness, you have officially become a wizard¡¯s apprentice!¡± ¡°Now that you are a wizard¡¯s apprentice, you should have some magic power, which can be used to create anomalies.¡± ¡°But these anomalies are somewhat uncontrollable and the strength is not high.¡± ¡°So, you still need to learn how to use magic, of course, learning to use magic items is also a shortcut to using magic in advance.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Ivita snapped his fingers. ¡°Let¡¯s go downstairs and have a look, Black Wolf is still there.¡± The old witch hastily interjected, ¡°Your Highness, I haven¡¯t finished collecting the Dragon Flame yet.¡± ¡°Moreover, before Manuel, the Wild Boar Knight, died, his body underwent a transformation with some of his organs even being incredibly valuable.¡± ¡°The materials from his body are also very valuable; I need to collect them.¡± Ivita headed to the stairs. ¡°Nobody here will compete with you for the materials. Given the extent of the events that happened, we need to give the tavern owner an explanation, plus I remember that there are still enemies downstairs.¡± ¡°I wonder how those enemies are doing.¡± ¡°There should be materials on those enemies.¡± The old witch¡¯s eyes lit up instantly; she almost forgot that there should still be a dozen knights and an assassin downstairs. She wondered how they were doing. ¡°Wait,¡± Ivita suddenly halted on the stairs and turned to the witch. ¡°I think we need to discuss how to divide the spoils, why do I have a feeling that I should take the majority of these materials? Hearthstone Witch.¡± The restoration of the country needs money and an army. Since he had none at the moment, naturally he wouldn¡¯t be generous enough to give precious materials to others. The old witch was taken aback. She knew the Demon God would not just let her take away treasures. Especially the body of Manuel, the Wild Boar Knight, from which could even possibly be extracted Dragon Blood. Chapter 16 - 16 16 Gaining the Power of Loyalty and the ?Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Gaining the Power of Loyalty and the Wizard¡¯s Apprentice_1 Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Gaining the Power of Loyalty and the Wizard¡¯s Apprentice_1 Ivita made her way down to the first floor, only to find that the inn¡¯s ground level had been mostly torn apart, with just a few load-bearing walls standing rather desolately. The innkeeper, the ruthless Rayli, glared at Ivita, seemingly regretting his earlier decision to let her and her party stay at the inn. His property had been demolished now! The adventurers who had been drinking here, seeing the disturbance subside, hastily crawled out of their hiding spots and, cursing under their breaths, took their bags and fled. These adventurers, who tended to stir trouble wherever they went, were themselves outcasts in their hometowns, reduced to exploring and looting due to their inability to make a living. These folks were incredibly cautious and good at avoiding danger. Like, for instance, this place right now. ¡°Your Highness¡­ you seem different.¡± Black Wolf was in the process of tying up the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness¡¯ assassin to a pillar with a rope. Given the likelihood that the assassin from the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness could shrink his bones, Black Wolf had cut the tendons on his hands and feet with a dagger to prevent him from escaping. The assassin¡¯s mouth was stuffed with cloth, rendering him unable to speak, and much less to bite his own tongue in suicide. Ivita looked at Black Wolf quizzically. ¡°Oh? How am I different?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a few hours since we last saw each other.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve grown any taller.¡± Noticing that the twelve knight attendants on the ground floor had already been destroyed by the Dragon Flame, Ivita relaxed a bit. It seemed that the vanguard of the Wild Boar Knights Group had been wiped out by her substitute. ¡°It¡¯s a change in your demeanor, you have become more confident. As you descended the stairs, you had the air of a king surveying his territory.¡± All of a sudden, Black Wolf pulled out the giant sword on his back and struck at Ivita. His speed was lightning fast. In the blink of an eye, the sword was already close to Ivita¡¯s forehead. Ivita reflexively raised her hand; using her thumb and index finger, she caught the large sword ¨C it was stopped between her fingers and could advance no further. Ivita was stunned for a second, but soon realized that Black Wolf was just testing her abilities. What¡¯s surprising was, since when did she respond so quickly? Black Wolf¡¯s face showed a slight change. With his left hand, he quickly pulled out a small crossbow from his chest, pulled the trigger and aimed it at Ivita¡¯s left eye. If this arrow hit, Ivita would become a Cyclops. ¡°Black Wolf, I hope you understand that you¡¯re my subordinate. Even if it¡¯s a test, you need to seek my permission.¡± Ivita raised her left hand, amazingly catching the short arrow shot at point-blank range in her palm. The adventurers who had not yet left watched the scene and whispered amongst themselves. ¡°Who is that guy? He just caught a crossbow bolt fired directly at him with his bare hands! He¡¯s literally a monster.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you get it yet? Black Wolf and Hearthstone Witch are both monsters, so that youth must also be a monster. Let¡¯s get out of here quick!¡± S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Yes, if we stay here any longer, we¡¯ll have bad luck.¡± The remaining adventurers, after seeing this, all deemed this place too dangerous and ran for the door at full speed. Black Wolf looked at Ivita admiringly. ¡°Your Highness, congratulations on becoming a wizard¡¯s apprentice.¡± ¡°I must say, I would find it hard to believe that you would choose the hardest career path of all ¨C the path of the wizard.¡± ¡°I have heard that Magic Power can strengthen the flesh. But the extent of your strengthening seems far beyond ordinary wizard apprentices. Merely in terms of physical strength, you can pretty much hold your own against the Hearthstone Grand Witch.¡± ¡°Your late father, the true king of Alsace, would have been proud.¡± ¡°Even without the support of your kingdom¡¯s resources, you have become a wizard¡¯s apprentice through your own efforts.¡± The Old Witch¡¯s body connected to her head that just came down the stairs. She looked at Ivita, feeling highly apprehensive inside. ¡®She is merely a wizard¡¯s apprentice, but the strengthening caused by her magic power has already reached the level of a great witch.¡¯ ¡®The quality of the magic power entwining around her is astonishingly high.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know how much more her magic will be amplified and how it will change when she borrows the power of the six gods.¡¯ ¡®But all that will be known later.¡¯ Ivita appeared somewhat surprised, ¡°I thought that by becoming a wizard¡¯s apprentice, I would only be able to use magic.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that my physical fitness would also be enhanced.¡± The Old Witch walked over and explained, ¡°Your Majesty, as I have said earlier, even wizard apprentices with magic power alone can perform some feats beyond the abilities of normal people with their magic power.¡± ¡°There are many uses for magic power. The reason a common farmer can¡¯t kill a newborn wizard apprentice with just a pitchfork, is because magic power enhances your perception, muscle strength, self-healing ability, magic resistance, and physical resistance.¡± ¡°However, even so, the profession of a Knight still reigns supreme on the battlefield.¡± So even in such circumstances, is the knight still the most formidable profession for frontal combat? Ivita thought that if this was the case, it indicated that the knight profession held superior capabilities in direct battlefield combat. She couldn¡¯t belittle the profession just because she had killed a few knights by using substitutes. After all, that substitute had appeared when she was in the most dangerous situation. Who knew, next time, if the appearance of that substitute might have irreversible damage towards her. Ivita ordered her companions, ¡°You two deal with the bodies of the Wild Boar Knights Group, witch, you go and collect any useful materials from the corpses.¡± The innkeeper behind her, ¡®Heartless Rayli¡¯, suddenly spoke up in anger, ¡°Madam, due to your actions, our tavern has suffered serious losses. A servant who has been with our family since my father¡¯s time also died because of this.¡± ¡°I might even go bankrupt from this!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t your esteemed selves intend to compensate?¡± ¡°From the stature of your identities, it is beneath you to let such things occur!¡± Ivita looked around at the destroyed ruins and felt somewhat guilty. This innkeeper seems to have been severely impacted by their mishaps. Black Wolf shrugged his shoulders at Heartless Rayli. ¡°I sympathize with you, but we were only being hunted down. You should ask the money from the Wild Boar Knights Group.¡± The Old Witch snorted disdainfully, not treating it as a concern. Heartless Rayli retorted angrily, ¡°But I can only hold onto you guys for now.¡± ¡°Factoring in the manual labor, material costs, and the historical value, my house is worth at least 40 gold pounds. I request that you compensate.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s not even considering the other losses!¡± The Old Witch scoffed, ¡°Madam, I can deal with him.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t owe a dead person money.¡± Heartless Rayli trembled with fear upon hearing these words. Ivita squinted slightly, thinking that the innkeeper¡¯s attitude towards her was problematic. She shook her head, ¡°Hearthstone Witch, I am not one to kill my debtor. Heartless Rayli, consider it as if I owe you money.¡± ¡°After all, it was because of us that you ended up in your current predicament.¡± ¡°But for now, I don¡¯t have the money to repay you. But I believe I will eventually have enough to repay you.¡± ¡°However, if you continue to invest in us, I believe my speed in returning the money would be much quicker.¡± Heartless Rayli blinked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The Old Witch and Black Wolf were also dumbfounded. What was she implying? Ivita spread her hands, stating: ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. I am the sole heir of the Alsace Kingdom, and those assassins are after me for this reason.¡± ¡°Right now, I am preparing to restore the kingdom.¡± ¡°We are currently in a vagabond stage, but if you invest all your remaining assets in us, once I become king, I will return to you 1.5 times the amount of your current investment and the returns that you rightfully deserve.¡± The Old Witch glanced at Ivita. She believed in the Demon God¡¯s ability to carry out this plan, so was the Demon God planning to overthrow a kingdom that had been inherited for thousands of years? That sounded¡­ quite stimulating. She loved evil schemes. On the other hand, Black Wolf was sweating. This was something anyone would disagree to. A normal person would only think you¡¯re boasting and exaggerating, who would even lend you money! ¡°I agree.¡± Heartless Rayli suddenly changed his face, from grim to grinning. ¡°But I have one more request, this is a demand from the creditor to you.¡± ¡°You can not refuse, otherwise I will demand immediate repayment.¡± ¡°My request is that I want to pledge loyalty to you. You must hold a loyalty ceremony for me.¡± Black Wolf was dumbfounded, and even the Old Witch didn¡¯t expect that things would turn out this way. Ivita looked at Heartless Rayli. Indeed, this cautious innkeeper dared to ask her for a debt because he wanted to make a non-monetary request to her. However, she didn¡¯t expect that he would make such a request. Chapter 17 - 17 17 Threat from the Kingdom of Alsace_1 ?Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Threat from the Kingdom of Alsace_1 Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Threat from the Kingdom of Alsace_1 In the Magic Black Forest, the so-called oath of loyalty ceremony is generally used by non-knights who pledge their allegiance to a particular lord. However, for the oath of loyalty ceremony, a priest from The Church is required to be present. Ivita wanted to wait until they reached the town before finding a priest to perform the ceremony. But to her surprise, the witch pulled out a book of church scriptures, confidently stating that she could act as a witness. Ivita looked at her skeptically. ¡°You really can do this?¡± After all, you are an enemy of The Church ¨C you are a witch. The Old Witch patted her chest. ¡°I have no issues, I know all the words that the priest needs to say in the ceremony.¡± ¡°Moreover, I have a copy of church scriptures.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, I can do everything that a priest is supposed to do in this ceremony.¡± Fearing complications might rise the longer they waited, the cautious Rayli advised, ¡°Your Majesty, as long as we follow the procedure, it doesn¡¯t matter who plays the role of the priest.¡± He knelt on one knee at Ivita¡¯s feet, his forehead nearly touching her shoes. Ivita had no choice but to give in: ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why you want to pledge your loyalty to me, or why you are in such a hurry.¡± ¡°But if this is what you desire, then I am willing to help you.¡± As a rightful prince seeking to reclaim his throne, it certainly would better to have more people pledge loyalty to him. He felt there was no harm in demonstrating some leniency at this time. The Old Witch tried to summon a solemn and sacred voice but only managed to produce a croaky sound like a crow, ¡°Rayli, before the Father of All ¡ª God of All Things, are you willing to pledge your unconditional loyalty to your master, Ivita, from the bottom of your heart?¡± ¡°Regardless of what status Ivita holds, you will follow her faithfully, and protect your master¡¯s dignity with your life and sword!¡± ¡°I am willing!¡± Rayli did not hesitate at all. The Old Witch then turned to Ivita. ¡°Great Ivita Alsace, under the witness of the God of All Things, are you willing to accept the allegiance from Rayli?¡± ¡°You shall return Rayli¡¯s future contributions with worldly wealth.¡± Ivita nodded her head. As a superior lord, there is no need to speak during the oath of loyalty ceremony. This is a characteristic of the oath of loyalty ceremony. It represents the difference in status between both parties. Then, following the process of the oath of loyalty ceremony from her memory, Ivita took the broadsword handed over by Black Wolf and gently tapped Rayli three times with the flat of the blade. The Old Witch closed the church scriptures. ¡°Under the witness of the Father of All Gods, the ceremony is established. Those who violate it will be despised by all things. Amen~¡± When she spoke the last two words, the Old Witch rolled her eyes in disdain. And so, a simple oath of loyalty ceremony was completed. This sort of oath of loyalty would be taken seriously by all and has legal binding significance. From now on, Rayli will be as though he is her own vassal. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Ivita didn¡¯t currently hold any rank or title, the ceremony should have been more complex. The choice of words used in the ceremony also had to be more cautious. For instance, since Rayli was a commoner, he didn¡¯t have a surname, and since Ivita didn¡¯t have a position or title, the Old Witch could only add the word ¡°great¡± to show respect. This was a choice made out of helplessness. Therefore, Ivita felt that to secure her position should be more urgent. Ivita reflected that this seemed to be the first subordinate she had gained since she came to this world. Black Wolf and the Witch hadn¡¯t sworn loyalty to her. Black Wolf was simply a mercenary she had hired, and the Old Witch was essentially coerced into staying by her side. Now, this wandering prince finally had the first person who truly belonged to him. After the ceremony, Ivita seemed to be closer to Rayli. She asked, ¡°Rayli, why are you so eager to pledge your loyalty to me?¡± Rayli gave a bitter smile. ¡°Because I want to become a noble, and you, master, might be my only chance. My father was once a noble of the Viscount Ambros Country.¡± ¡°Just because I backed the wrong side, standing against the Martini Aristocratic Family, I was stripped of my noble status, even my surname was taken away.¡± Rayli was somewhat sad and resentful. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to restore my noble status. When I was young, I became an explorer, hoping to seize a territory with others, to restore my noble status.¡± ¡°To reclaim my surname.¡± ¡°But reality tells me that it¡¯s all just wishful thinking.¡± ¡°During a battle with the mercenaries of Pisa City, my leg was injured. Even after healing, I was somewhat lame.¡± ¡°A lame man cannot be an explorer, so I had no choice but to invest all my savings into this building and become a small businessman here.¡± ¡°I thought this was my life until I met you.¡± Black Wolf coughed awkwardly. A lifetime of hard work and ultimate hope exterminated by their hands. Ivita comforted Rayli with a few words. At this point, the assassin tied to a wooden pole behind them suddenly laughed coldly. Ivita looked over curiously, ¡°Black Wolf, go remove the gag from our uninvited guest¡¯s mouth, it seems he has something to say.¡± ¡°Your Highness, this guy previously claimed he was under the command of Jalen, the false crown prince of Alsace, to assassinate you,¡± Black Wolf said as he went over. Ivita laughed. ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll ask him where this Jalen is.¡± As soon as Black Wolf removed the gag, the assassin started speaking with a resolve to face death: ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you. If I don¡¯t return to Prince Jalen within the designated time period¡ªeight months¡ªwith your head, you¡¯ll be hunted down by the Prince and his army.¡± ¡°Restoration of the country? Ha ha ha¡­ With just you few? Daydreaming.¡± ¡°That is the Alsace Kingdom, the most centralised state.¡± sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°As an assassin born in Alsace, I know that you¡¯re on a path to destruction.¡± He looked at Rayli. ¡°I know that you are, in despair, betting on someone randomly. Unfortunately, you¡¯ve bet on the wrong person. Just like your belief that becoming an explorer can regain your surname, you¡¯ve chosen this worthless master of yours as a form of self-deception.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t do any good. Ha ha ha¡­¡± Ivita looked at him, puzzled. ¡°If you are from Alsace, then you should know that the person currently on the throne is nothing but a usurper.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you speak ill of His Majesty,¡± the assassin said, seemingly provoked. ¡°His Majesty is governing the country very well.¡± ¡°Much better than your father.¡± ¡°He has allowed the army to engage in commerce, and opened land for sale, making everyone wealthy.¡± ¡°Under your father¡¯s rule, the citizens of the war-torn kingdom can finally enjoy life again.¡± Ivita keenly seized the key point. ¡°How did your Majesty avoid war?¡± ¡°Just by ceding a few insignificant territories, uninhabited lands,¡± the assassin sneered, ¡°the most important wealth of a kingdom is its people. Your father could have avoided the suffering of war for citizens by simply ceding some lands, but he plungrd our kingdom into a war that lasted for thirty years.¡± Black Wolf interjected, ¡°I heard that one fourth of the territory has already been ceded.¡± The assassin retorted, ¡°They¡¯re just forests, deserts, barren wastelands, and uninhabited islands. Giving up these lands doesn¡¯t affect much.¡± ¡°We can even exchange these economically worthless lands for real money!¡± ¡°At least His Majesty is making us prosperous again! We can trade wool and spices all the way to the Bohr River basin!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ivita was speechless. She had no mood to argue with the assassin anymore because they held different values. In her memory, the territory of the Alsace Kingdom was paid for with the lives of countless soldiers. Those border territories, although not financially valuable, were strategically valuable. Without these lands, what could the kingdom use to protect its prosperous economic regions? They surely couldn¡¯t resort to fighting wars in their wealthiest cities when war breaks out. From this perspective, it seemed that the usurper of Alsace was a person who only considered the economic value of the territory while ignoring its strategic defensive value. For a rapid recovery of the economy, he even resorted to such a method of draining the pond to get all the fish, letting the army engage in commerce and opening land for sale. The repercussions of these two methods, once the effect hits in the future, will no doubt be bitter. One cannot only consider the current results in everything. Chapter 18 - 18 18 The Alsace Kings Covenant_1 ?Chapter 18: Chapter 18 The Alsace King¡¯s Covenant_1 Chapter 18: Chapter 18 The Alsace King¡¯s Covenant_1 The assassin looked at Ivita with hatred, ¡°Alsace Kingdom is doing pretty well right now, we don¡¯t need you and your father.¡± ¡°I have already told you what I know.¡± ¡°The reason why I told you is because I know your ambition to reclaim the throne, and it will lead you to your death.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it better for you to live out your days, Ivita, just as you are now? Ah!¡± Before he could continue, the next moment, the sword of Blackheart Rayli pierced through his skull from his left eye. Rayli twisted the sword handle, killing the assassin in a very brutal manner amidst extreme pain. Blackheart Rayli sheathed his sword and used a checkered dining cloth to wipe his blade. If the blood-stained blade was not wiped, it would stink soon. Maintaining one¡¯s weapon is also an art indeed. Rayli looked at Ivita and bowed slightly, saying, ¡°My Lord, preserving your dignity is my duty.¡± ¡°Since this guy has spewed out the information you needed to know, I could not tolerate his nonsense in your presence, polluting your ears.¡± Ivita was somewhat moved. This was a subordinate who had pledged loyalty to him. Unlike Black Wolf and the Old Witch, they would not protect her like this. Blackheart Rayli has put all his cards on the table for him. ¡°Rayli, I don¡¯t care about the pointless ramblings of a man about to die. But what¡¯s your capacity?¡± Ivita curiously asked, Rayli drew his sword very quickly just now. He didn¡¯t seem like an ordinary man. Rayli replied, ¡°My Lord, I have taken the Warrior¡¯s Secret Medicine and am a formal warrior. However, the profession of a warrior is incomparable to a Knight, I am not even a formidable opponent for a Knight Attendant.¡± ¡°What¡¯s more, my leg is still a bit lame.¡± ¡°Warrior¡¯s Secret Medicine?¡± asked Ivita. Black Wolf explained to Ivita, ¡°To become a Knight, one must obtain the Seed of Life.¡± ¡°But the extraterrestrial material that can produce the ¡®Seed of Life¡¯ is in the hands of the major nobles and kings, and many civilians cannot obtain the ¡®Seed of Life¡¯.¡± ¡°However, in the Hamburg City Union in the north, some people have simplified the Knight¡¯s Secret Medicine formula and created a Warrior¡¯s Secret Medicine formula.¡± ¡°Although there is no ¡°Seed of Life¡±, those who take the Warrior¡¯s Secret Medicine will possess power surpassing ordinary people.¡± ¡°It can be said that warriors are simplified and degraded versions of knights.¡± ¡°These secret medicines are very effective, so they spread to various places. Despite this, the materials for crafting the Warrior¡¯s Secret Medicine are still very expensive and not something an ordinary person can obtain.¡± Ivita nodded, and changed the subject, asking, ¡°Why is this assassin so confident that my desire to reclaim the throne is a suicidal act?¡± ¡°Because he is ignorant.¡± The Old Witch sneered immediately. This is a Demon God. Do you think he is some worthless prince? If the Demon God wants to do something, it will inevitably happen. The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, bitterly smiled, ¡°Your Highness, indeed, reclaiming the throne is incredibly difficult.¡± ¡°Since adventurer Conqueror Nicholas Arnold conquered a poor and weak overseas kingdom three hundred years ago, no one has been able to conquer a kingdom.¡± ¡°In Alsace, you won¡¯t get the help of any Dukes or Marquises.¡± ¡°Because the Alsace Kingdom is different from the Black Mountain Kingdom and all other kingdoms, it is one of the most centralized kingdoms.¡± ¡°Your Highness, you must be aware of the King of Alsace¡¯s oath, right?¡± The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, gave a bitter smile again, ¡°In other places, the king cannot control the Barons, Viscounts, and Earls under the Dukes, nor can he control the Barons and City Mayors, and the Bishops of the Monasteries under the Earls.¡± ¡°For the vassal of my vassal, is not my vassal.¡± ¡°But in Alsace, the king has the power to manage all the nobles, because all the nobles are the king¡¯s vassals.¡± ¡°This is because the feudal system in Alsace is different from other places.¡± ¡°Alsace has the King¡¯s Oath of Alsace!¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°In this oath, every Earl, Baron, and Knight, all pledge allegiance to the king.¡± ¡°Instead of pledging allegiance to their superior Lord.¡± ¡°In Alsace, there are no Dukes, only a few Earls, and those Barons, and Great Barons (lords with larger territories), who only obey the King¡¯s orders.¡± The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf said, ¡°This is the centralized Alsace Kingdom, where the king can command all subordinates.¡± ¡°The current king commands resources greatly surpassing yours.¡± ¡°Even the Wild Boar Knights, in front of the current king, would be determined weaklings that could be beheaded by a single command the next day.¡± ¡°Right now, the current king, with just one command, could order military organizations like the Wild Boar Knights to hunt you down.¡± ¡°Or even order Senior Knights and Divine Knights, who are more formidable than the Great Knights, to hunt you down. Even those knights in the legends would be your enemy to protect him if you become his enemy.¡± Hunter Black Wolf earnestly said, ¡°I suggest you to find a place, use the power of a wizard apprentice to carve out your own territory, then get married and have children, and train your successor.¡± ¡°Let the Alsace Family continue to thrive in another small territory.¡± ¡°Since Prince Jalen of Alsace is coming to hunt you down in eight months, you should leave here¡ªViscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country.¡± ¡°Go to the edge of the world; find a way to survive.¡±. Black Wolf was genuinely worried about Ivita¡¯s death. If Ivita died, he would indeed go bankrupt. But if Ivita obediently went to a far-off corner of the world, developing even a small territory in an unobserved corner, even if it was just a small knight¡¯s fiefdom, it could potentially return all the money owed to him. An old witch sneered contemptuously, mocking Black Wolf¡¯s ignorance. Who do you think stands before you? She was filled with confidence under the crown of the Demon God. Ivita bowed his head in thought, then shook it. ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Black Wolf. No matter where I run to, I¡¯ll just end up being hunted.¡± ¡°If the successor to a kingdom gives up his own rights, thinking he can enjoy another kind of life¡ªthen death and humiliation are all that await him.¡± He thought of a historical account he had read in his previous life¡ªthat of Yekaterina¡¯s mother-in-law, Elizabeth I. She had consistently resisted becoming Tsarina, leading to continuous persecution by successive Tsars, regardless of how she showed weakness. It was all pointless. Such examples were too numerous to count. It was the same across all times and places. Having enjoyed the status of this position, there was no room for you to take a step back. In the struggle for power, no one would stop attacking their enemy; they would only destroy their opponents. ¡°But I think I¡¯m not without hope,¡± Ivita raised his head and said to Black Wolf. ¡°First, Alsace is currently threatened by enemy countries and is in a precarious position. They can¡¯t possibly mobilize their high-tier combat forces for me.¡± ¡°Because compared to the relatively small threat I pose in their eyes, the enemy country¡¯s army undoubtedly attracts their attention more.¡± ¡°Secondly, they probably wouldn¡¯t believe that I still have hopes of restoration. This attempted assassination was clearly more casual. Otherwise, more people would have come.¡± ¡°Third, my father¡­ father could be overthrown, then the current king¡¯s rule can also be overthrown.¡± ¡°The centralized power in Alsace can indeed concentrate resources for significant initiatives, and it leaves no openings for me to exploit. I can¡¯t provoke a war amongst the vassals, but centralizing resources for significant tasks can also lead to collective blunders.¡± Ivita shrewdly noticed that the policy implemented by the current King of Alsace was a ticking time bomb. Time would be on his side. As long as he didn¡¯t give up and continued waiting, the opportunity for a counter-attack would eventually arrive. Ivita calmly spoke. ¡°Time is on my side, Black Wolf.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re very right about one thing. Opportunities are for those who are prepared.¡± ¡°Before the opportunity to restore the kingdom arrives, I should seize more territories. Yes, we should perhaps seize some lands from the Viscount Ambros¡¯s Independent Country.¡± The old witch¡¯s eyes sparkled: ¡°Your Highness, I support your idea.¡± ¡°If we want to seize territories, participating in missions released by the Explorers¡¯ Association and the Church could offer some opportunities.¡± She was fond of meddling in wicked affairs. Black Wolf incredulously looked at Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, I didn¡¯t expect you to grow so wise. You now have your own vision. You¡¯re a completely different person from who you were before you fell ill¡­¡± ¡°Nevermind, I¡¯m merely a mercenary. I don¡¯t really have much insight.¡± ¡°I respect your decision.¡± The truth was he didn¡¯t believe in Ivita. He was out of options and felt trapped. He just had to take things one step at a time. In his view, Ivita¡¯s defiance against the Alsace Kingdom was fruitless. It was just like using his arms to stop a chariot. He could only wait until Ivita realized the discrepancy between the two sides and changed his mind. As for Rayli, he didn¡¯t care about what Ivita wanted to do¡ªobeying Ivita¡¯s orders was all he needed to do. Ivita turned to the witch. ¡°Hearthstone Witch, you seem to have the ability to manipulate the undead, right?¡± Hearthstone Witch¡¯s smile instantly froze. What the hell! Why would the Demon God bring that up? Ivita said, ¡°Control the assassin¡¯s undead spirit, enter his body. I don¡¯t trust the information he told me before he died!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll interrogate him after his death!¡± Hearthstone Witch sighed with relief. So, that¡¯s what it was. He was worthy of being a Demon God. Indeed, he was ruthless enough. Rayli blinked. The assassin was quite miserable; he was still going to be interrogated by his master after death. Black Wolf seemed to remember something and stared at Hearthstone Witch in a daze. ¡°So, you actually have the ability to manipulate undead spirits and allow them to enter corpses.¡± ¡°Then you¡­¡± The old witch immediately turned her back on him, pretending not to hear. Chapter 19 - 19 19 Strongman of the 4th Sequence Reaper_1 ?Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Strongman of the 4th Sequence: Reaper_1 Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Strongman of the 4th Sequence: Reaper_1 The Old Witch picked up a candle and drew the Witch¡¯s Eye and the Inverted Hexagram on the chest of the assassin¡¯s corpse. Then, she recited several spells in front of the body. As the air around them grew colder, the head of the assassin, who was part of the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness, was immediately raised, his remaining left eye looked blank and vacant. Demon Hunter Black Wolf watched with goosebumps. He realized that he had made a grave mistake. ¡°Who is calling my name? I¡­ how am I alive again?¡± The assassin was close to going mad. He remembered dying painfully, but he was alive again now. He tried to struggle wildly, but was completely bound by ropes. The Old Witch said to Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, he is a spirit I have summoned; thus, he cannot refuse my command. He will truthfully answer any question you ask.¡± ¡°But only for the time it takes a candle to burn out.¡± ¡°Because I forcibly brought him here, when the time is up, the spirit will leave this body.¡± They had to hurry. Ivita looked at the panicked spirit of the assassin. ¡°I ask you, did you say that if you failed to bring my head back, Jalen would come to kill me after eight months, is that true?¡± ¡°I¡­¡±¡±I don¡¯t know.¡± The spirit of the assassin was scared. He clearly didn¡¯t want to speak, yet he found that he had no control over his mouth. ¡°Before I left, Prince Jalen did indeed say that. But I don¡¯t know if he would execute this plan.¡± ¡°You cursed witches and sorcerers, you will all go to hell!!¡± The assassin closed his mouth and watched Ivita cautiously, fearing that she would ask any more inconvenient questions. This time, he was genuinely afraid. Ivita thought for a moment. ¡°Then, apart from Jalen, who else would try to kill me?¡± Black Wolf and Rayli realized that throughout the whole event, the assassin only mentioned Jalen would try to kill Ivita; however, that didn¡¯t mean there were no others who would try to kill Ivita. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Both of them admired Ivita¡¯s comprehensive considerations. The spirit of the assassin struggled, ¡°Yes, there are others who will try to kill you, the demon. They are stronger assassins, official assassins; the great assassins of the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness!¡± ¡°It is¡­¡± He tried hard not to speak, but couldn¡¯t resist the magic. ¡°It¡¯s Basang, a powerful assassin from the Alsace Kingdom branch of the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness.¡± ¡°If I fail, to prevent damage to the reputation of the Alsace Kingdom branch of the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness, he personally will come and take your life.¡± ¡°The organization has its ways of judging members¡¯ life or death; when I die, it is his moment to move.¡± The Old Witch and Black Wolf exchanged a glance. Black Wolf felt that there was great trouble looming. ¡°I have heard of this man; they say he kills in broad daylight, attracting everyone¡¯s attention.¡± ¡°Even though he is a second-class professional official assassin, many third-class professionals have suffered due to their carelessness.¡± ¡°He is a difficult man to deal with.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t always be on guard.¡± Ivita continued to question the spirit of the assassin, ¡°How many operatives are there in the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness?¡± ¡°And why do they want to hurt me?¡± The spirit of the assassin was forced to answer, ¡°There are our people in many kingdoms. I don¡¯t know the exact details. But the Brotherhood has its principles: everything is unreal, only money is paramount.¡± ¡°We are always neutral.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that the King of Alsace paid us. But if we fail, it would tarnish the reputation of our branch, so Basang would take action against you.¡± ¡°If Basang still can¡¯t handle you, the Brotherhood will give up on the target and tell the client that the mission has failed.¡± Ivita continued to ask, ¡°What is the organizational structure of the Small Brotherhood?¡± ¡°The¡­¡± The spirit of the assassin tried to bite off his tongue, but he couldn¡¯t do that. ¡°Each official assassin leads a team, and Basang is my team leader. Each team has about 7 to 8 people. Above the team leader is the great team leader. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s above the great team leader, that pertains to the headquarters.¡± ¡°We are merely peripheral people of the Small Brotherhood.¡± Ivita glanced at the half-burned candle and asked, ¡°Why are the assassins of the Small Brotherhood seemingly willing to die?¡± ¡°For death will return to the master¡¯s embrace.¡± The undead assassin¡¯s eyes were fanatic. Ivita had a thought. ¡°Do you believe in the God of All Things from The Church?¡± ¡°No belief.¡± The undead assassin¡¯s eyes were rabidly fanatic. ¡°The power of an assassin comes from truth, by repeating this truth, our strength rises. The reason to speak of the master is merely to disguise our faith, to prevent The Church from realizing that the Little Brotherhood consists of heretics.¡± ¡°Our faith is¡­¡± Suddenly, the candle held by the witch burned out at a surprising speed. Black Wolf hurriedly reminded everyone. ¡°Quick, look at our shadows!¡± Ivita lowered his head to look, and found that their shadows on the ground were swiftly converging towards the assassin. The shadows of Black Wolf, Rayli, and the bunny girl who worked for Rayli on the first floor, were all converging at the wooden board in front of the assassin. Originally, Ivita¡¯s shadow also had a tendency to detach from him and drift over. But for some unknown reason, his shadow seemed to be stuck firmly, and eventually returned to normal. As for the Old Witch, upon discovering that her shadow had separated from her, she immediately bent over, grabbed her shadow, then stepped on it with her foot to prevent the shadow from leaving her. The shadows of the three of them converged, merged with each other, and then the shadow unexpectedly rose from the wooden board. The shadow transformed into a skeleton head clad in a black robe, holding a large black scythe in its hand. This floating skeleton turned around, looked at Ivita with some surprise, because it didn¡¯t expect Ivita¡¯s shadow to remain unaffected. As for the Great Witch? It¡¯s not so easy to move the Great Witch¡¯s shadow. Ivita was puzzled. ¡°Asking them about their faith seems to be a sensitive issue. But what is this thing?¡± Black Wolf and Rayli gripped their swords tightly. The Great Witch hurriedly stopped them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is the brotherhood¡¯s confidentiality measure. When a member of the Brotherhood speaks the organization¡¯s secrets, the Reaper appears.¡± ¡°The Reaper is a fourth-level strength, but of course, this is just a death curse he imposes on the Brotherhood members with a trigger condition.¡± ¡°This is not his main body.¡± ¡°We are not the cursed ones, he can¡¯t harm us at all, even an uncursed ordinary person can annihilate him.¡± The Reaper turned around, raised his scythe, brought it down and removed the head of the undead assassin¡¯s head. Then, it disappeared before their eyes. The Old Witch looked strange. ¡°Not only his head was chopped off, but also his soul. The Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness¡­ intends to disperse the betrayer¡¯s soul, leaving no chance to go to the Afterlife World.¡± ¡°So cruel.¡± ¡°Anyway, it has nothing to do with us.¡± Ivita sighed with relief, and at the same time became more curious about this world full of unpredictable tactics. ¡°How about hiring an assassin from the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness to kill the Wild Boar Knight?¡± The Old Witch was excited. ¡°Good idea.¡± Seeing the death of a sworn enemy is indeed a very good thing. Black Wolf reminded Ivita, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a good idea, but the problem is, we can¡¯t afford it!¡± Ivita nodded. ¡°True.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s make money first.¡± ¡°Hearthstone Witch, go upstairs to get Dragon Flame and materials, Rayli, you clean up your assets.¡± ¡°We need to get ready to leave.¡± Old Witch immediately rushed upstairs, she had been itching to go for a long time. Chapter 20 - 20 20 Inferior Dragon Heart_1 ?Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Inferior Dragon Heart_1 Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Inferior Dragon Heart_1 In order to learn magic better, Ivita stood by as the old witch harvested dragon flame, observing her actions. But also, he was making sure the old witch wasn¡¯t taking more dragon flame than necessary. After all, honesty is a luxury good to witches. The Hearthstone Grand Witch filled thirteen glass bottles with dragon flame from the corpses of three official knights. After she finished, she was sweating heavily. ¡°Phew~¡± ¡°Finally collected it all.¡± ¡°These three bodies are useless now. The dragon flame has destroyed all their extraordinary organs. Even I wouldn¡¯t be able to extract anything extraordinary,¡± said the witch. She kicked one of the knight¡¯s body, causing a domino effect, knocking the other two to the ground and shattering them. Then, she found a somewhat incomplete and deformed heart from the shards of Knight Manuel¡¯s body. The Hearthstone Witch¡¯s eyes burned with passion. ¡°This thing is imbued with powerful dragon magic. It could be an inferior dragon heart.¡± ¡°Incredible, just incredible. You touched him once and his bloodline mutated to this extent!¡± Such great power astounded her. At this moment, the old witch felt both fear and adoration for Ivita¡¯s power. The old witch excitedly said, ¡°The other organs are useless now, but this alone is an invaluable treasure!¡± Ivita interrupted her excitement, saying, ¡°That sounds good. You can keep this heart for me. I¡¯m not ready to sell it yet. It might come in handy later.¡± After all, he had once turned into a dragon, so a dragon heart might be very useful later. As for the dragon flame, it is better to use it to gain money and trap the witch for now. The old witch deflated upon hearing this. But she also knew that the dragon¡¯s heart might indeed be of great use to Ivita in the future. Especially during the stage when a wizard apprentice advances to become a full-fledged wizard. Ivita went on, ¡°Hearthstone witch, the four pieces of magic jewelry you gave me can only offset eight dragon flames, but there are still five left over.¡± ¡°These extra five, you need to pay for.¡± The Hearthstone witch stiffened, since she was broke. As a witch, she did not have the habit of saving money, and her magic reserves had been almost depleted in the Magic Awakening Ritual. However, she did not have the courage to bargain with the Demon God. Moreover, her interest in the dragon flame was irresistible. If she could study the dragon flame, it may lead to the mystery of advancing to a forth sequence practitioner. Hearthstone witch asked, ¡°Your Majestic, Dragon flame is priceless on the market, so it¡¯s hard to price. How much are you asking?¡± ¡°But dragon flame is only priceless to those who need it, to those who don¡¯t, it¡¯s nothing but a dangerous and difficult substance to handle.¡± Ivita had no intention to make things difficult for the Hearthstone witch. After all, she was somewhat of his subordinate. He pondered the prices of this world. ¡°Rayli said this house was worth 40 gold pounds, so one dragon flame should be about the price of a house.¡± ¡°So, you should pay me 200 gold pounds.¡± The old witch nodded her head. ¡°Okay.¡± This price was very cheap. She even felt that the Demon God was giving her something for free. If the witches in the witch assembly knew about this price, those old hags would definitely go crazy and accuse the Demon God of destroying market prices. The rarer the goods, the higher the price. Dragon flame was difficult to obtain, so its price could not be cheap. ¡°Your Highness, I don¡¯t have any money right now. I can owe you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be with you for a while anyway.¡± The old witch wanted to weep but had no tears left, she wanted to escape. At present, she could only play it by ear, hoping to find her apprentice in Viscount Ambros¡¯ Independent Country, and then figure out how to get rid of this big trouble the Demon God represented. Ivita was somewhat touched. Why? Because he owed a lot of money to Black Wolf and Rayli, but anyway, there was someone who owed him money. This made Ivita feel like he was not the King of Debts. The next afternoon, Rayli had prepared to head to the Viscount Ambros¡¯ Independent Country with Ivita. Since the house couldn¡¯t move, he decided to sell the ruins of the house to the village head at a cut-price deal. He practically sold it at material cost, for just 18 shillings. But Rayli didn¡¯t care because this house had been exchanged for a great future. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As long as Ivita could seize the territory and become a Lord in the future, he might become a lower nobleman and regain his family¡¯s surname. As for the employee¡¯s at the inn, most of them had already been dismissed by Rayli. These employees were villagers nearby and wouldn¡¯t come along with Ivita. Only one employee was left. Rayli brought this employee to the carriage and said to Ivita who was in the carriage, ¡°My respected master, this is Alysia.¡± Ivita sat in the carriage that Rayli had prepared. He looked down and saw a woman with fair skin, light linen hair, dressed in coarse clothes, standing next to Rayli. Behind her was a timid boy aged 4-5 years. Rayli looked embarrassed. ¡°The thing is, my master, Alysia is my old employee. Because of some reasons, she has been kicked out of her house by her father.¡± ¡°She has nowhere to live now and usually stayed in the inn.¡± ¡°She wants to ask if she could go with us?¡± Ivita glanced at the woman, and it was not hard for him to guess why she was kicked out. A young girl with a child, but no father. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess. However, he had no need to bring unnecessary trouble. The old witch turned her head away, indifferent to the matter. Black Wolf, the Demon Hunter, immediately countered. ¡°Rayli, you should be aware that we¡¯re being hunted. We¡¯re going to Viscount Ambros¡¯s Independent Country to look for land and an army.¡± ¡°We are not going on a sightseeing trip.¡± Rayli opened his mouth but remained silent. Alysia suddenly said to Ivita, ¡°Sir, I can do a lot of things, and I think it¡¯s worth it for you to take me along. If you could provide us shelter, I could prove to be very useful.¡± ¡°I can do bookkeeping.¡± ¡°I can do all the jobs that a servant can do, cleaning the room, washing clothes, even driving the carriage and feeding horses. I know the difference between good and ordinary oats. I know how to maintain weapons.¡± Thanks to previous work with adventurers, she also picked up knowledge on maintaining weapons, which could be considered a useful skill. ¡°If you hire me, I won¡¯t take any wages as long as you can provide us with a meal.¡± Alysia had seen Ivita and the old witch haggling, so she knew she had to demonstrate her value to be taken along. She needed a sanctuary. Chapter 21 - 21 21 The Holy Mountain Desert and The Ominous ?Chapter 21: Chapter 21 The Holy Mountain Desert and The Ominous Curse_1 Chapter 21: Chapter 21 The Holy Mountain Desert and The Ominous Curse_1 Ivita fell into deep thought. Should she bring her along? The child seemed to be grown-up enough to have some rations and didn¡¯t need special care. Moreover, such a multifunctional servant could be a big bargain if she could be taken in. Black Wolf reflexively said, ¡°I can drive the carriage too, I don¡¯t need you.¡± Alysia promptly said, ¡°But for a strong warrior like you, you shouldn¡¯t always be driving. These tasks should be left to the servants.¡± Black Wolf blinked, he had actually been persuaded. Indeed, a warrior like him shouldn¡¯t always be doing a servant¡¯s work. Ivita noticed this woman¡¯s sharp mind. He wasn¡¯t the real Prince Alsace, so he didn¡¯t have any noble thought patterns. He didn¡¯t truly believe that bloodline determined everything. There could also be talented individuals among the commoners; they just lacked opportunities. ¡°You¡¯ve convinced me, Alysia.¡± ¡°Rayli, how much wage did you give her before?¡± Rayli, relieved, replied, ¡°Master, I used to give her 1.2 liters of wheat every eight weeks and pay her 5 shillings a year.¡± Ivita nodded and told Alysia, ¡°I can provide for your meals, but you¡¯ll have to perform all sorts of chores.¡± ¡°In addition, due to our current lack of a place to stay, I cannot pay you the original money or food. However, if we find a territory, I¡¯ll pay you according to these wages for your labor.¡± ¡°Can you accept it?¡± After all, his current funds consisted only of the financial aid that Rayli had provided ¡ª 34 golden pounds. He was short on money now, which was inconvenient for anything. Alysia¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Of course I agree, kind sir, the Lord of All Things will bless you.¡± ¡°Thank you for your generosity.¡± She immediately held her child and sat down on the carriage, starting to drive it. Everyone together boarded the carriage. Additionally, Ivita didn¡¯t forget to take their ox, as it was a fellow survivor and should not be forgotten. And so, they embarked on the road to the Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country. Soon, the path ahead shifted from a forest to mountains, with sparsely distributed trees standing between the mountains and highlands. After crossing ten interconnected hills, Ivita felt a sudden surge of Magic Power within him; his body started to feel uncomfortable. It was as if he was pinned down by some heavy object. The Old Witch apparently felt something similar, mumbling and cursing to herself, ¡°Damned Holy Mountain Desert phenomenon!¡± ¡°How can anyone live in such a place, they have such bad taste.¡± Ivita sensed carefully, realizing that the quality of his Magic Power hadn¡¯t decreased, but the total amount decreased and felt somewhat blocked when used. It was akin to having one¡¯s hands suddenly shackled, making movements quite inconvenient. Ivita was puzzled. ¡°Why do I suddenly feel that Magic Power is somewhat challenging to control?¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Not only you, both Rayli and I feel the same.¡± Demon Hunter Black Wolf was somewhat restless. After the carriage crossed those ten interconnected hills, he suddenly started to feel weak and spiritless. ¡°Hmph, you Demon Hunters only operate north of the Alps, naturally you wouldn¡¯t know about the Holy Mountain Desert. Those ten small hills earlier are the famous Ten Peaks Mountain Range.¡± The Old Witch said gloomily, ¡°Most witches and wizards hate this place, the Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country.¡± ¡°Because this country lies between the Magic Black Forest and the Church¡¯s Thirty-Three Heavenly Mountains, the collision of these two supreme Laws creates a forbidden zone, which is this crappy place, the Viscount Ambros¡¯ Independent Country.¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch spat resentfully, ¡°In this godforsaken place, all the extraordinary powers people possess will be suppressed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a fish that had been swimming in the water and accidentally beached itself.¡± ¡°My Mana has been suppressed by at least fifty percent.¡± ¡°Because of this particular phenomenon, in the Viscount Ambros¡¯ Independent Country, Magic materials are extremely scarce.¡± ¡°Magic is not prosperous here, and other power systems are also relatively weak.¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s Magic Users, or people of The Church, or even the noble knights of other regions, they all dislike coming here.¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch drew back the carriage curtain, looked past Alysia and her child towards the distant mountains. ¡°The good news is, under normal circumstances in the Viscount Ambros¡¯ Independent Country, only up to Great Knights may exist, and very few official witches will come here, like my beloved disciple.¡± ¡°The Great Witches wouldn¡¯t enter such an accursed place.¡± A look of comprehension appeared on Black Wolf and the others. Black Wolf said, ¡°No wonder the ruler of such a vast area of mountains and hills is just a Viscount, and this Viscount is even officially independent.¡± The Old Witch nodded. ¡°As extraordinary powers are suppressed here, the arts of ordinary people have instead flourished tremendously.¡± ¡°The Viscount Ambros¡¯ Independent Country is one of the countries with the densest cities.¡± ¡°Also, it¡¯s the capital of art, literature, and music, according to my beloved disciple, people in this country hold novelists, musicians, painters, and dancers in high esteem.¡± Ivita expressed confusion, ¡°But the professionals in this country are so weak, the third-tier professionals being the most powerful among them.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t there be higher-tier professionals from outside coming in and causing a massacre?¡± The Old Witch lowered her head to Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve keenly detected the issue.¡± ¡°Because this is an accursed place.¡± ¡°For some unknown reason, as long as any Fourth-tier professionals and above ¡ª that is professionals beyond the third tier, enter this territory.¡± ¡°The end result would not be good.¡± ¡°Some contracted a strange severe disease, some died unexpectedly, and some went mad. Over time, no high-level professionals wished to set foot here.¡± ¡°However, these are just legends, occasionally some fourth-tier professionals do briefly pass through here.¡± Black Wolf commented, ¡°This sounds like something you witches would do.¡± The Old Witch sneered. ¡°It might have been done by people from The Church. After all, this place is to the north of the Papal Country; it¡¯s the northern gate of their territory. I can understand if they wish to stabilize the situation.¡± ¡°There must be a profound secret buried beneath this land.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s none of our business.¡± Ivita stopped their argument in time. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s actually beneficial for us that this land cannot accommodate high-level professionals.¡± ¡°It means we can make a big scene here.¡± ¡°See, right ahead is the first town we¡¯ve come across!¡± Everyone immediately looked out; they saw a town situated on a small plain among the mountains. Chapter 22 - 22 22 Small Habits of Twirling Rings and Sacred ?Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Small Habits of Twirling Rings and Sacred Purification Movement_1 Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Small Habits of Twirling Rings and Sacred Purification Movement_1 In the not-too-distant town, wooden fences stood around, typical for a small-scale settlement that was positioned between a village and a city. This was sufficient and thus conformed to the economic capabilities of the small town. Expensive city walls may suspend one¡¯s financial status as the cost of maintenance alone exceeds the public annual tax revenue of the town. This indeed is a money-devouring beast. Income drains into it, only to be wasted away. City walls are incredibly useful during wartime, but they are nothing more than a fiscal drain during peacetime. Behind these wooden fences, a wooden tower stands, equipped with a lookout and two archers. Black Wolf lifted the curtain on his carriage and took a glance at the soldiers on the watchtower. ¡°This town probably only has around two or three thousand residents; surprisingly, they also have a tower.¡± ¡°They even have two archers up there, such a luxury! Maintaining an archer is more costly than maintaining three light infantry. This small town must indeed be affluent.¡± ¡°Seems the head of this town knows how to make money.¡± ¡°Hearthstone Witch, how do you plan to get in?¡± ¡°You¡¯re wearing a witch¡¯s robe, the city guard would be able to identify you immediately.¡± ¡°If they find out a witch is trying to enter the town, I don¡¯t know if they would permit us.¡± ¡°Even if we were allowed entry, we would be subject to numerous restrictions.¡± Unabashed, the old witch replies, ¡°our kind keeps quite an honorable reputation.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s time for you to cast your first spell.¡± ¡°I need your help to enter the town! I¡¯ve never learned charm spells, only you have the Ring of Desire that can conjure a charm spell.¡± Ivita willingly asked, ¡°What should I do?¡± The Old Witch replied, ¡°Generally, it takes an ordinary wizard several years to learn a new spell, which involves a lot of knowledge.¡± ¡°But with magical items, you can learn a spell within a few minutes, which is one reason why magic items are costly.¡± The Witch instructed, ¡°Your Majesty, remove the Malsgo Desire Ring from your little finger, read the text on the inner side.¡± Ivita did as instructed, and indeed, on the inside of the black ink diamond ring, she saw a line of text. The Old Witch added, ¡°This is magic text, only witches and wizards can see it.¡± ¡°And there is no need for studying, you will automatically know how to pronounce the words.¡± ¡°The accompanying spells of magical items are generally engraved in magical text, but that doesn¡¯t exclude some wicked witches and alchemists that deliberately use difficult or even extinct dead languages as the activation code for their magical items.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Old Witch said, ¡°Of course, people like that are few.¡± ¡°Because they face divine punishment.¡± The Great Witch confidently assured everyone that those who take joy in fooling others will face divine retribution. Unable to bear looking anymore, Black Wolf turned his head away. Just as Ivita was about to verbalize the enchantment inside the ring, the Old Witch quickly stopped her, ¡°Your Majesty, you must not recite it in the carriage.¡± ¡°Once recited, the spell will take effect.¡± Ivita nods, her lips pursed. The Old Witch suggested, ¡°When you cast this spell, you may want to add a small movement, such as rotating the ring twice with your thumb.¡± ¡°My teacher once told me this might enhance the spell¡¯s power.¡± ¡°BUT¡­¡± The Old Witch hesitated, appearing lost, a rare expression for her, ¡°I¡¯m actually not sure if this is useful because I can¡¯t be certain my teacher wasn¡¯t tricking me at the time.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been dead for far too long.¡± ¡°So, I can¡¯t call her soul with necromancy magic to pry the truth out of her.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Ivita stayed silent. Everyone in the carriage fell silent too. They all were pretty sure if she could, the Hearthstone Grand Witch would definitely dig her teacher out from her grave. Ivita curiously asks, ¡°Hearthstone Witch, how did your teacher die?¡± ¡°You¡¯re already over two hundred years old, your teacher must have been even older. How did such a capable person die? Was it of old age, or was she killed?¡± The Old Witch sighed, ¡°My teacher was a fourth-level witch, also known as a high-level witch, but she was killed by the Church.¡± Both Black Wolf and Rayli were rather surprised to hear this. In their minds, the Church had not taken such drastic measures for quite some time. The Old Witch sneered, ¡°What¡¯s there to be surprised about? You never witnessed the Church going mad, so mad that I suspect they were all possessed by demons. Except for Your Majesty, the rest of you are just children. Have you heard of the Saint Purification Movement 800 years ago?¡± ¡°Even when the Church was not as powerful, they sought to establish their authority by hunting witches and wizards.¡± ¡°Most of the victims were ordinary women as real witches were not easily found, let alone hunted.¡± ¡°Usually, the Church has to pay a huge price to kill a true witch, so they became quite content hunting down fake witches. As long as the public can¡¯t tell the difference, it doesn¡¯t matter much.¡± ¡°In your minds, the Church seems weak, but it¡¯s only because they¡¯ve become too powerful.¡± ¡°Having become powerful, the Church has also become more compassionate.¡± ¡°They no longer wish to harm ordinary people, nor do they wish to combat witches at large cost, not even willing to fight all magic users to the death.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± ¡°The Church has become the ruler and the Pope, the King of Thousands Kings.¡± ¡°A ruler, well settled in power, must become gentle and kind to discourage rebellion among his subjects.¡± ¡°Pretending to be a lamb.¡± The Old Witch mockingly stated, ¡°This is nothing more than hypocrisy from the ones who rule.¡± Before the Old Witch could continue her blasphemous speech, Alicia, who was driving the carriage, artfully said, ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, we are approaching the town gate.¡± The old witch immediately shut up. Blasphemies cannot be heard by the mindless soldiers. The witch may face rage from the true believers and could easily end up in a deadly fight. Ivita prepared to rotate the Malsgo Desire Ring with her left hand. She was ready to give the ring two rotations before reciting the spell. Better safe than sorry. In any case, this action did not require physical strength and was not a waste of time. She figured she might as well comply. What if the Old Witch¡¯s master didn¡¯t actually deceive her? Before their carriage, there was a group of small traders with ox carts loaded with agricultural products such as potatoes and beans. These traders were being inspected by the guards, who were counting the value of the agricultural products. As they needed to pay the border taxes. Chapter 23 - 23 23 Charm Spell and Transit Tax_1 ?Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Charm Spell and Transit Tax_1 Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Charm Spell and Transit Tax_1 At the entrance of Kari Town, a somewhat rotund middle-aged tax inspector standing next to a few soldiers chastised, ¡°The town mayor is wasting his time feeding you guys.¡± ¡°Are you serving the Lord of All Things? Are you merciful priests?¡± ¡°Are you carrying out charity work?¡± ¡°The group of merchants who just passed by, you guys definitely undercharged them by at least a silver penny in taxes.¡± The tax inspector shouted neglecting his appearance, ¡°You¡¯re assigned at the town gate because you know the prices of local produce and trades within the town, it¡¯s because you¡¯re all connected. But now you¡¯re acting like a bunch of rag dolls.¡± ¡°Do you understand that if we tax well, we can establish a fortune? That extra money, it will be who¡¯s pocket it goes into.¡± ¡°Stop with your charity.¡± ¡°Look, another gullible one is coming, I¡¯ll demonstrate how to levy a transit tax.¡± The five soldiers guarding the town gate exchanged glances. A soldier looked indignant, ¡°But¡­sir, it¡¯s just a carriage, clearly carrying only passengers.¡± ¡°People aren¡¯t coming to our town for business, how can you charge them a transit tax?¡± A transit tax is actually a kind of business tax. Implementing such a tax is an art. Because if the business tax is too high, no small or medium merchants would choose to come to your town, it would be like shooting yourself in the foot. But if the business tax collected is too low, far much lower than the nearby towns, then you¡¯re simply a fool. It¡¯s like paying an intelligence tax to the Lord of All Things. But generally, passing travelers do not have to pay a transit tax, because they¡¯re sure to consume something in your town, they have to eat and lodge. They contribute to your town¡¯s economy just by being there. Only an exceptional few and rather odd noblemen chose to tax passing travelers through their lands. Finally, their lands turn into barren wastelands that travelers avoid like the plague. The tax officer rolled his eyes at the soldier, ¡°Trying to do things by the book, and you won¡¯t get anything done. Next time you spout nonsense, you¡¯ll be removed from this post and sent to guard the public latrines in the town.¡± The accused soldier¡¯s face went pale with fear, and he fell silent. The tax officer, with a cold smile, addressed the other soldiers, ¡°It¡¯s the ones with only a carriage in tow that are good for transit tax.¡± ¡°How many people can fit in a carriage? I reckon at the most they can fit five.¡± ¡°One of them, even, is a servile maid driving the carriage, without any fighting strength.¡± ¡°The weak and powerless are the exact type I bully. We need to be a little aggressive, exploit them, if they don¡¯t comply, we can even kill them.¡± The soldiers¡¯ faces bore varied expressions. In a world without surveillance cameras or telephones, killing for loot and concealing the evidence was quite straightforward. The tax collectors and soldiers often adopted the disguise of robbers when there were fewer people around. Maid Alysia made the carriage stop at the entrance of the town, her little son looking fearfully at the soldiers. ¡°Watch and learn.¡± The tax inspector walked over to the carriage and peeked inside after pulling back the curtain, his eyes scanning the interior while his mouth started moving. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Transporting chili peppers, hmm, I think you need to at least pay a tax of 10 silver pennies.¡± The soldiers at a distance, after hearing him, thought to themselves that he was really ruthless. That amounted to robbery. It was an outright bullying. Inside the carriage, four people looked at each other, dumbfounded. Black Wolf and Rayli never expected they would be robbed at a town gate someday. On second thought, if they had come out of the carriage, they¡¯d clearly appear as elite warriors and no one would dare meddle with them. The Great Witch, on the other hand, was looking at the tax inspector with a ¡®you¡¯re courting death¡¯ gaze. Ivita took a moment to process the situation, wondering where the chili peppers had come from in the carriage. Then he realized, someone was trying to rob them. Rob a carriage carrying warriors, a Demon Hunter, a witch and a wizard? ? The moment the tax inspector clearly saw the people in the carriage, his first thought was, ¡®ah, the carriage indeed has only four people.¡¯ Add the maid driving the carriage to the count, and you get five people in total. As he had guessed, he would indeed make an experienced middle-aged warrior. This tax inspector conveniently ignored Alysia¡¯s little boy. In his eyes, boys under seven didn¡¯t count as people and could be overlooked. Then, the tax inspector¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he noticed something amiss. True, there were five people. But something was wrong with the situation. On seeing Rayli¡¯s shortsword and callused hands, his pupils contracted. When his eyes fell on the exaggerated two-handed sword the Black Wolf carried on his back, the sharp dagger at his waist and the characteristic leather armor of a Demon Hunter, his mouth fell open. When he saw the Hearthstone Witch, he almost let out a scream. A witch! And the sparkling jewelry on Ivita, that made his identity seem anything but ordinary, sent a chill down the spine of this middle-aged soldier. A witch and a Demon Hunter! They were actually entering this little town with just over 2000 people! Moreover, he actually dared to approach this dangerous carriage! Good heavens! Lord of All Things, please protect me, I promise to pay an intelligence tax every day from now on¡­ No, I will give donations to The Church every month. The inspection officer trembled in fear, he wanted to shout for the five soldiers behind him for backup, he wanted to signal the city guards with a whistle. His mouth opened, tongue moved, and the sound was just about to pass through his throat and get out. Hearthstone Grand Witch: ¡°Your Grace.¡± At this moment, Ivita twirled the ring on her right pinky twice, simultaneously chanting an incantation. The square obsidian on the ring, in the process of twirling, shone with a strange hue. The inspection officer instinctually looked down at the ring on Ivita¡¯s hand, then a flash of surprise passed through his eyes, the brown pupils were quickly infiltrated by the pitch-black color of ink, turning completely black, then his pupil color restored back to brown. The inspection officer¡¯s pudgy face went through multiple struggles, and in the end, he finally became slightly stupefied. The Hearthstone Grand Witch congratulated Ivita: ¡°Your Grace, you have successfully used your first magic.¡± ¡°Now the Charm Spell has taken control of his mind, he will act according to your will.¡± Ivita looked at the inspection officer, after using this ring, she understood that this magic item could only be used once a day. But now, the inspection officer was indeed different, the expression of a terrible god no longer on his face. The ferocious mien on his face, due to his dazed expression, even looked a bit cute. This guy seemed like a dog trapped by her snare, completely submissive to her. There seemed to be some faint psychic connection between them, she could give him some very vague commands. But at the same time, she noticed this connection was rather weak, after half a day the effects of this spell would dissipate on their own. Simultaneously, if this guy was suddenly stimulated by an external force, he should also break free from being mind controlled. Moreover, his dazed expression could easily be discovered by others. But it was enough. Anyway, as long as they could enter the city without any trouble. Inspection officer dully said: ¡°The inspection is complete, there is nothing wrong with the carriage, and there are no goods, the ones sitting inside are all noble gentlemen who must not be offended.¡± ¡°Open the town gate, let the lords pass.¡± The soldiers not far away were stunned, looking at each other in disbelief, they didn¡¯t even move to open the gate for a while because the order was too odd. Just moments ago, the inspection officer had passionately talked about displaying his art of collecting taxes. But now, his attitude had suddenly changed. The inspection officer turned around, climbed out of the carriage, and started yelling angrily. ¡°Aren¡¯t you men gonna go and open the gate?¡± ¡°You dare to refuse the orders of an officer! Do you want to be restroom guards?¡± The soldiers hurried to open the gate. In the carriage, Black Wolf and Rayli were astonished by the effects of the Charm Spell. This spell was too powerful! An idea sprung into Ivita¡¯s mind, she needed money. Now that she had control over this inspection officer, she should get the most out of him, squeeze out all his value. Under Ivita¡¯s instruction, the inspection officer lifted the carriage curtain, humbly said: ¡°My lord, this is all the money I have on me¡ª12 shillings and 8 pennies.¡± ¡°Please accept it.¡± Ivita warmly took the cloth bag he offered. Just like that, the carriage slowly entered through the opened town gate, not only did they avoid paying any fee after entering the town, but they even received 12 shillings and 8 pennies from the town officer. After the carriage left, the five soldiers stared at the inspection officer, all giving him a you¡¯ve-gone-mad look. Didn¡¯t he say he would teach them how to make underhanded money? Why did the officer end up giving money to others? Was he paying intelligence tax to the Lord of All Things? One soldier suddenly thought that the officer was probably crazy, he needed to seize this once in a lifetime opportunity. If he didn¡¯t do something while the officer was in a crazed state, he wouldn¡¯t be a human. He said rubbing his hands: ¡°Sir, my family is also short on money, could you also give me som money?¡± ¡°You actually gave money to a stranger, I am your confidant.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t forget about me¡­¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The inspection officer widened his eyes as if he was seeing this soldier for the first time, he even took two steps back. ¡°You want me to give you money? Did I hear that right?¡± ¡°You actually dare to ask me for money!¡± ¡°Are you crazy, or do my ears have a problem. Who gave you the guts to ask me for money!¡± ¡°I never gave money to strangers.¡± ¡°And you¡­ from now on, you can sweep the restrooms!¡± The soldier was about to go mad, what is happening! He was almost in tears, ¡°No no no¡­ Sir, there is a misunderstanding¡­ this is a misunderstanding¡­¡± What the soldier didn¡¯t know, was that Ivita had already undone the Charm Spell as soon as they entered the town. Because maintaining the Charm Spell state would inevitably make others suspicious, so she simply undid it. After the Charm Spell was undone, the inspection officer naturally regained his consciousness, no longer looking dazed. Chapter 24 - 24 24 - Is the Demon God Bewitching People_1 ?Chapter 24: Chapter 24 ¨C Is the Demon God Bewitching People??_1 Chapter 24: Chapter 24 ¨C Is the Demon God Bewitching People??_1 The old witch observed Ivita¡¯s spell from inside the carriage and became perplexed. ¡®The power and duration of the spell are average.¡¯ ¡®Had the dimwit at the door been a bit tougher mentally, the charm spell might even have failed.¡¯ ¡®Although, being able to successfully use a magic item on the first try is remarkable amongst ordinary wizard apprentices.¡¯ ¡®But this one is royalty.¡¯ ¡®Did the Demon God hold back intentionally?¡¯ The old witch stealthily glanced at Ivita. ¡®After using the Magic Awakening Ritual involving six divine names, there must be more secrets. I need to continue observing.¡¯ ¡®Looking back at the history of magic that I¡¯ve read, no one has ever borrowed power using six divine names.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m also very curious about what will happen.¡¯ S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When they entered Kari Town, Ivita was sitting in the carriage and saw that the buildings in the town were a blend of wood and stone structures, and he even saw something familiar ¨C streets. This was the first time Ivita had seen part of urban life in this world. However, the streets here were rather narrow. The width of the streets could barely accommodate a horse-drawn carriage. The narrow streets were filled with shops and stands set up by the houses on both sides. The people living in the town were mostly workers and small business owners, so the houses here were essentially commercial residences with storefronts. To allow more residents in the town to use their front and back yards to sell goods, the width of the streets was sacrificed to make as much room as possible for everyone to set up a stall. Along the way, there were cloth shops, leather workshops, farmers¡¯ markets, food stalls, and places selling farming tools. All of these products are generally produced within the houses. In other words, the town itself plays an important role as the market center and workshop hub for the nearby villages. When passing by a small pie stall, Ivita asked Alysia to stop the carriage, and he bought a meat pie as big as a cake with two pennies. Rayli exclaimed, ¡°Oh, Master, this meat pie could buy ten loaves of black bread.¡± ¡°If you want to eat, Black Wolf and I can help you hunt a wild rabbit in the mountains, sprinkle some salt on it, and it tastes much better than this meat pie.¡± He was a bit stingy. Rayli is usually quite thrifty. Generally speaking, he only spends about a penny per meal. That¡¯s why he has been able to save so many pounds. Ivita said to Rayli, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I just want to celebrate the first step of our restoration plan.¡± ¡°Rayli, think of this pie as a gift from the town¡¯s inspector to us.¡± Rayli thought of the twelve shillings and eight pence, a smile flashed in his eyes. Yes, with the twelve shillings and eight pence gifted by the official, they felt like they were spending someone else¡¯s money. Anyway, it feels really good. Ivita stepped off the carriage. Rayli drew his sword and followed. ¡°Master, you are still a target of the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness. Please stay alert.¡± Ivita nodded at him, then turned to the owner of the meat pie stand and said, ¡°Could I borrow your knife for a moment?¡± As soon as the meat pie shop owner saw the luxurious adornments on Ivita¡¯s right hand that were enough to make anyone feel inferior, he immediately handed him the knife. Unlike the serfs and boorish drinkers on the plantation, the citizens in the town seem shrewd and competent. That¡¯s the benefit of working for oneself. If work becomes an unrewarding public duty, people would become like the serfs in the plantation, only doing the bare minimum, with no motivation to work harder. Ivita held the knife and cut the meat pie into six pieces. He gave the first piece to Black Wolf, who had been following him from the start. He gave the second piece to the old witch and the third piece to Rayli. Then, he ate a piece himself, got out of the carriage, and gave the remaining two pieces to Alysia and her child. Alysia was a little astonished as she accepted a piece of meat pie. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± she said. ¡°The God of All Things will certainly repay your generosity and kindness, allowing all your plans to proceed smoothly. But my child and I only need to eat one piece. If we have more, it would be ¡­¡± Ivita ignored her, handing a piece of meat pie to the child hiding behind her. ¡°Alysia, don¡¯t refuse the lord¡¯s kindness arbitrarily.¡± ¡°What I say goes, and that¡¯s your duty to me.¡± The child shyly accepted the meat pie. ¡°Thank you¡­brother¡­¡± Alysia quickly grabbed his shoulder, whispered angrily, ¡°You should call him sir, you need to show respect!¡± After returning the knife to the owner of the meat pie stand, Ivita turned around and said to the people in the carriage, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, now we have just entered a town in Viscount Ambros¡¯ country, and all we can share is a meat pie.¡± ¡°But I believe, by the time we leave Viscount Ambros¡¯ country, we will be able to share the wealth of a territory.¡± Black Wolf and Rayli exchanged knowing smiles, while Alysia felt a warm feeling in her heart. The old witch, of course, did not fall for the meat pie trick. Her heart sunk, thinking, ¡®As expected of a Demon God, a real charmer.¡¯ In certain ancient myths and legends with unknown origins, these Demon Gods are said to manipulate the hearts of people, incite rebellion, and plunge kingdoms into war. Now it seems, the rumors are not unfounded. Despite her curiosity about Ivita, the old witch still fears being around the Demon God and invites tremendous bad luck. She spoke up, ¡°Your Highness, we should head to the capital of Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country ¨C Ambros.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a city with tens of thousands of inhabitants.¡± ¡°It has the most opportunities, and my beloved apprentice will welcome you there.¡± Ivita looked at her with some confusion. He didn¡¯t know what this witch was scheming, why she kept urging him to go to Ambros. Black Wolf suddenly spoke. ¡°Before we head to Ambros, why not visit the Adventure Association¡¯s branch in the town.¡± ¡°Firstly, we can earn some money for traveling expenses and the purchase of weapons and supplies.¡± ¡°Secondly, this town may have some interesting tasks.¡± ¡°Since we are already here.¡± Ivita¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Good idea.¡± The old witch glared at Black Wolf. ¡°Damn the Demon Hunter.¡± ¡°Your Highness, what you want are tasks that can get wealth, even territories. What kind of tasks can a small broken-down town like this have?¡± Black Wolf said, ¡°Not necessarily. This town is so prosperous because it is the gateway into the Viscount¡¯s country. Although the town is not populous, it is strategically important.¡± Ivita said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the Adventurer Guild in the town.¡± The old witch glared at Black Wolf, suddenly feeling an urge to create a voodoo doll of him and jab a few steel needles into it. She must come up with a new plan to make Ivita go to Ambros as soon as possible so she can meet up with her apprentice. Chapter 25 - 25 25 Mirror Divination_1 ?Chapter 25: 25 Mirror Divination_1 Chapter 25: 25 Mirror Divination_1 After asking about the way, Alysia drove the horse-drawn carriage towards the Explorer¡¯s Guild branch in the town. Because the streets were so narrow, the carriage moved slowly, often having to retrace its path when the narrow streets impeded its progress. Basically, driving a carriage in this town was an awful experience. There were no clearly defined streets in the town, only roads trodden out by foot. Maybe they could be called half-formed dirt roads. Aboard the carriage, the old witch suddenly spoke about divination. ¡°Your Highness, did you know every wizard and witch must learn divination?¡± Ivita shook her head. ¡°I had no idea, why is it so?¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Because it is one of three prerequisites to graduate to a full-fledged witch or wizard.¡± The old witch chuckled, her own skilled divinations were few, mostly offensive to normal tastes, and her genuinely talented apprentice was who excelled at divination. Her apprentice¡¯s gift in divination was so strong; it had landed her a viscount! The reason she mentioned divination was merely to hasten Ivita toward Ambros. A silent shiver ran down Ivita¡¯s back. Did wizard apprentices have to study divination to become full-fledged wizards? This reminded him of how in his past life, old Daoists living in the mountains could all read fortunes. The old witch smirked: ¡°Ordinary wizard and witch apprentices might need to serve me for 20 to 30 years to learn this piece of information.¡± ¡°And that depends on my mood that day.¡± ¡°On the days when I¡¯m feeling rotten, I might mislead them with false information.¡± As if remembering something, the old witch smirked creepily. ¡°I once told a petulant young sorceress that to become a full witch, she¡¯d need to swallow ten thousand live eels. The idiot took me seriously and only caught on to the joke about four months later, after swallowing over three thousand eels.¡± ¡°However, in the end, she just remained an apprentice witch, because I forgot to tell her that to advance to a full witch, she needed to learn divination.¡± Black Wolf and Rayli edged away a little bit at this. They were starting to regret the single carriage decision, they and the witch obviously lived in different worlds. This woman was terrifying. No wonder she suspected her teacher had deceived her ¡ª this was what she¡¯d done in the past. By being consistently villainous, she¡¯d found it difficult to trust genuine kindness when she encountered it. Ivita ignored the old witch¡¯s boastful recounting of her evil deeds, he was more interested in something else. ¡°So, why did you reveal the true method to your favored disciple?¡± The old witch suddenly fell silent, then said: ¡°That is the thing I regret the most in my life.¡± ¡°I was too young, too soft-hearted then.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t mature enough, I wasn¡¯t bad enough.¡± So are maturity and being evil related in any way? Black Wolf and Rayli couldn¡¯t help but roll their eyes. Ivita was also speechless. However, the problem was that the old witch seemed to think demon god was her confidant and started to discuss some of the other evil deeds she had done. Ivita quickly coughed to regain the reins of the conversation, his tone tougher. ¡°So why is divination key in becoming a proper wizard?¡± ¡°Remember to not include any extraneous or useless information.¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch realized she had been gloating too much. ¡°Yes, your Highness, I swear by my professional reputation that I will not deceive you.¡± ¡°The practice of divination is necessary because in order to ascend to being a proper wizard, one needs to improve and transform spiritually.¡± ¡°Divination can create a unique Spirit Knowledge Mist in a wizard apprentice¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°This special spiritual form of Spirit Knowledge Mist, even gods like you don¡¯t possess. So you not knowing is perfectly understandable.¡± Ivita nodded, more or less understanding. ¡°What kind of divination do you know?¡± The old witch said: ¡°I don¡¯t know many. When I was learning from my teacher, I didn¡¯t pay much attention to divination.¡± ¡°Even magic spells of a Great Witch level can¡¯t predict the results accurately, they have a success rate of only around 30%.¡± ¡°This is also in ideal situations without external influence. The time and place of divination, the identity of those being divined, their locations, all can affect the accuracy rate.¡± ¡°Divination is somewhat like metaphysics, you know?¡± ¡°Sometimes when someone is in a good mood, the predictions tend to be a bit more accurate, so I never really studied it seriously.¡± ¡°Oh, and if it were divination spirits, I clearly predicted that I could succeed. Who could have thought that you would appear in that manor.¡± The old witch muttered under her breath, somewhat deflated. Turning to Ivita, she conceded, ¡°I only know three types of divination spells.¡± ¡°Organ divination.¡± ¡°Toad divination.¡± ¡°Mirror divination.¡± ¡°But my disciple has a real passion for this line of work, I¡¯ve heard she¡¯s collected dozens of divination spells, she even neglected her magic training for it.¡± Ivita ignored the look in the old witch¡¯s eyes, which clearly read ¡®let¡¯s go find my apprentice¡¯. Even though he wasn¡¯t sure what the old witch was plotting, he didn¡¯t have to let her lead him and go to Ambros right now. ¡°Introduce me to the three types of divination you know,¡± said Ivita. ¡°Since I have you as a resource nearby, there¡¯s no need for me to go looking further afield.¡± ¡°If the number is fewer, then so be it.¡± ¡°In any event, I only need to learn one type.¡± A bird in the hand is worth ten in the bush. He didn¡¯t need to be greedy. The old witch¡¯s face changed slightly, she quickly recovered a smile, but it was clear she wasn¡¯t very pleased. ¡°Your Highness, organ divination uses the internal organs of animals to predict outcomes, it¡¯s suitable for war or when dealing with mortal enemies. However, it does not work well for minor domestic issues or predictions relating to wealth and luck.¡± ¡°In toad divination, we use a toad, it is most suitable for discovering the correct path. If you want to hunt for treasures, this could be useful. It¡¯s just that dealing with toads can be somewhat disgusting.¡± ¡°Mirror divination involves confining a ghost in a mirror, and through black magic we allow it to possess extensive knowledge to aid in divination. This divination is the most comprehensive, but because it can be applied everywhere, it often gives a lot of false answers.¡± ¡°Some of these false answers could even lead you towards death, almost no witch chooses this magic.¡± Just as Ivita was about to speak, the carriage suddenly halted. Maid Alysia announced, ¡°Sirs, there appears to be a brawl up ahead.¡± ¡°We are planning to take the detour.¡± Unexpectedly, the roof of the carriage was smashed in, and a battered, bloody man toppled in. From outside came the chatter of spectators. ¡°Really now, this is such a trivial matter.¡± A crow perched on the carriage, with one eye as black as coal and the other blood-red. It stared straight at Ivita. Then it spread its wings and flew away. Rayli and Black Wolf quickly drew their swords, for they believed that the chaos might have been instigated by the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness or the Wild Boar Knights Group. Chapter 26 - 26 26 Knight Paradigm Gastrot Mysterious ?Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Knight Paradigm: Gastrot, Mysterious Treasure_1 Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Knight Paradigm: Gastrot, Mysterious Treasure_1 Ivita told them to put away their weapons, as the situation ahead did not seem to involve any assassins or Knight Regiments. Instead, in front of a stall, there was a young and robust man in chain mail who had knocked down five men that looked like vagabonds. The stall owner was an old woman in her seventies, ancient and dressed strangely in a cloak made of fox fur, with silvery-grey eagle feathers as decoration on the collar. At a glance, one could tell that wearing the cloak would provide warmth. From the crowd of onlookers, Ivita learned what transpired. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It seemed that the five vagabond-looking men accidentally smashed the old woman¡¯s pottery as they passed by. The old woman asked them to compensate her, but was met with rudeness. The young man in chain mail, who happened to be passing by, couldn¡¯t bear to see them lay a hand on the old woman, so he beat them. The vagabond in the carriage was kicked out by Black Wolf. ¡°It¡¯s already cramped enough.¡± ¡°Get out.¡± On the street, the vagabonds frantically hurled insults at the young man in chain mail. ¡°How dare you hit people! You¡¯re done for, we¡¯re going to notify the town mayor! We¡¯re going to inform the town¡¯s guild officials!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t let you off, we¡¯ll report you as a troublemaker!¡± ¡°My name is Gastrot Nubis,¡± the young man calmly stated, ¡°I tell you my name so that you can report me easily.¡± ¡°I am a knight on a journey.¡± The vagabonds¡¯ faces changed drastically, their arrogance dissipating as they realized he was a nobleman because he had a surname. If he was also a knight, they wouldn¡¯t be able to afford offending him. They felt they were only able to bully the elderly woman because of her advanced age and lack of lucidity. ¡°Even so¡­ this is a town, not a nobleman¡¯s territory!¡± stammered a vagabond. ¡°This is the western territory of the Viscount nation, not your eastern territory.¡± ¡°I am a foreign knight, I don¡¯t know the difference between the West and East territories.¡± Gastrot Nubis scoffed, ¡°But I do know one thing: do you have castle rights?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that in a town, for one to be protected by town law and receive citizens¡¯ treatment, one needs to have castle rights.¡± ¡°Do you have that?¡± The vagabonds turned pale and were speechless. Gastrot Nubis drew his sword, stepped forward, ¡°Ah, so you don¡¯t have castle rights and are not citizens of Kari Town, then it¡¯s not a problem if I kill you here.¡± ¡°The town court would just make me pay a little money.¡± The faces of the vagabonds turned ashen. A vagabond quickly took off his shoes and took out three pennies from within. Perhaps this was all his belongings. He didn¡¯t care whether it was enough or not, he just threw it on the ground and turned to run. The other vagabonds also started running when they saw this. Ivita turned to Rayli and others and asked, ¡°What are castle rights?¡± Rayli responded, ¡°Master, castle rights refer to the ownership of houses and small plots of land in a town. Only the owners of these are considered town citizens.¡± ¡°However, even passersby are protected by the law.¡± ¡°That man is mainly a nobleman.¡± ¡°And if a nobleman kills a commoner, as long as that commoner is not a citizen of the town, the town¡¯s court will certainly side with the nobleman.¡± Rayli, always yearning to regain his noble status, was very knowledgeable about the privileges a noble held over the common people. ¡°In principle, secular courts always try to minimize the sentencing of nobles.¡± ¡°On the other hand, The Church courts are slightly more just, but not by much.¡± Ivita nodded. It seemed that the economic and political structures of towns and manors were completely different. The manor only housed farm slaves, nobles, and hired workers. However, in the towns, there were concepts of citizens and guilds. When those vagabonds talked about the West and the East, it seemed like the West and East of this Viscount¡¯s country were completely different worlds. Ivita thought about it and figured it was probably similar to the difference on Earth before the American Civil War. The old woman in front of the stall looked up, smiled, and said to Gastrot Nubis, ¡°Thank you, young knight.¡± ¡°May the God of All Things bless you and fulfill all your wishes.¡± ¡°You can head east. You may find what you need there, but most likely, you¡¯ll only find disappointment.¡± ¡°No one can help the child in your carriage, only God can save him now.¡± ¡°Give up resisting fate. Sometimes, the pain of humans comes from the desire to go against destiny, and the desperation of being powerless. Let the child have a happy childhood in his last moments.¡± Gastrot paused, instantly looking back at the carriage behind him, startled. No one should know about his friend¡¯s child¡¯s condition. Maybe the old lady was just rambling. Gastrot knew, every additional minute his friend¡¯s child spent in this town was a great irresponsibility to other people¡¯s lives. They had to leave here immediately. Gastrot nodded slightly to the old woman. ¡°I must be leaving due to some urgent business, please forgive my rudeness.¡± He pulled out two coins from his pocket and threw them towards Ivita. However, upon seeing the lavish adornments on Ivita¡¯s right hand, his pupils suddenly contracted. Clearly, he had realized Ivita was either rich or noble. Gastrot bowed to Ivita. ¡°Please forgive my rudeness, this is my compensation. If it weren¡¯t for my urgent business, I would have apologized properly.¡± With that, he drove his carriage away. Ivita watched his retreating figure. ¡°That knight was polite and had a sense of justice, completely overthrowing my impression of knights. I thought they were all like the Wild Boar Knights Group.¡± ¡°He seemed capable and had his own principles, it would be great if he could swear loyalty to me.¡± Rayli gave a bitter smile. Black Wolf suddenly reminded Ivita. ¡°Your Highness, that guy¡¯s chain mail could exchange for a small manor. The white-fronted horse pulling his carriage could be traded for half a town. You won¡¯t be able to recruit him.¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s too wealthy. Unless, he¡¯s willing to become your creditor.¡± Ivita rolled her eyes speechless, good thing, you just need to label ¡®King of Debts¡¯ on my forehead. This is mocking me. The old woman suddenly walked to the front of the carriage and said to Ivita, ¡°Young man, you have a likable look, I want to give you a treasure.¡± ¡°This can be considered my gratitude.¡± Ivita was taken aback, never mind the treasure, Gastrot helped you just now, but you didn¡¯t give him anything, and you want to give me? ¡°You¡¯re thanking me? But you didn¡¯t give anything to the knight just now.¡± The old woman shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± ¡°When I said ¡®thank you¡¯ just now, it was already a reward for his help.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t need his help, so I only said ¡®thank you¡¯.¡± ¡°He even attracted attention to me, which is actually against my interests. It¡¯s only because of my kindness and experience, I didn¡¯t get angry at him.¡± ¡°But I will give the treasure to you, because you¡¯re worthy of this treasure.¡± ¡°Therefore, I thank destiny for bringing you to me.¡± Ivita felt dizzy, he suddenly realized at some point, the Old Witch had not said a word, merely staring intently at the old woman with the stall. Chapter 27 - 27 27 Divination for me Its very difficult _1 ?Chapter 27: Chapter 27 Divination for me? It¡¯s very difficult! _1 Chapter 27: Chapter 27 Divination for me? It¡¯s very difficult! _1 At this time, the people standing around to watch the excitement had all left. Ivita hesitated for a moment, ¡°So, what treasure will you give me?¡± He stepped down from the carriage, cast a glance at the old woman¡¯s stall, and found that the wares on it were merely some inexpensive clay pots. ¡°Child, are you belittling these pots? You can¡¯t judge everything by its appearance.¡± The old woman coughed. Without even looking, she casually picked up a brown pot. ¡°This is a pot from an ancient civilization. It is said that the tyrant Shaw, hated by the Church, once used it to drink water, and it disappeared after surviving ten consecutive days and nights of a terrible city fire.¡± ¡°Later, tyrant Shaw accused the Church of arson at the time and killed many people indeed.¡± The old woman picked up another small pot. The pot¡¯s surface was adorned with human figures painted with black pigment. ¡°It was the first Great Emperor¡¯s mouth rinse pot.¡± ¡°That Great Emperor marched across the Empress of Ten Thousand Cities, advancing towards a massive Empire, and lost it along the way.¡± ¡°These goods at the stalls are priceless antiques, devoid of any mana, but indeed priceless.¡± ¡°A mere three pennies and two shillings cannot possibly compensate for these.¡± Ivita silently gazed at the so-called antiques, which looked like junk, casually piled up on the ground. He turned to look at the old witch who shook her head. He looked at Rayli and Black Wolf. This was a lost cause. Rayli and Black Wolf were merely warriors and didn¡¯t know many words, so they naturally shook their heads too. Black Wolf softly uttered, ¡°Your Highness, I believe we might have encountered a fraud.¡± ¡°If these were truly antiques, then they wouldn¡¯t just be tossed on the ground like this. These are all clearly just some broken pots.¡± ¡°I think her head isn¡¯t quite right.¡± Maintaining his forced politeness, Ivita awkwardly inquired, ¡°So you are planning to give me these items?¡± A thought occurred to Ivita: Why not try to sell these things? What if they could actually be sold? Wouldn¡¯t that be funding for his restoration? The old woman firmly refused. ¡°I refuse, these items are part of my collection.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t give them to you. What I am giving you is this ring.¡± A ring was tossed over by her. Ivita caught it in his hand and found it to be an ancient-looking obsidian ring (a type of volcanic rock). The old woman said to a stupefied Ivita, ¡°You must keep this ring safe. It¡¯s very useful.¡± ¡°Remember, it can only be worn on the thumb of your left hand, nowhere else.¡± All Ivita could reply was, ¡°Thank you, then.¡± The old woman continued, ¡°As a gift, I can give you a free divination as well, and ask about your fortune, the auspicious and inauspicious, and the temperament of the seasons.¡± ¡°What do you want to divine?¡± Ivita¡¯s heart stirred. He had just heard about divination practices and wanted to learn about Spirit Mirror Divination. Even though he didn¡¯t know who this old woman was, he was genuinely interested in watching someone perform divination, whether it was magic or not. Even ordinary divination seemed rather interesting to him. Ivita thought for a moment. ¡°Hmm¡­I want to know how I should take on a task from the Adventure Guild in Kari Town that can get me a territory or loyalty from powerful individuals.¡± The old woman seemed not to find this request strange. Without even lifting her head, she picked up the six sheep knuckle bones inscribed with symbols that were lying at her feet. She grabbed the six sheep knuckles and tossed them into the air, caught them and then threw them again, and then caught them once more. The old witch suddenly sneered, her gaze filled with malice as if she was foreseeing that she was about to be embarrassed. The old woman threw them three times in total, catching them each time before finally scattering the six sheep knuckles on the ground. She bent down and looked at the distribution of the sheep bones on the ground. ¡°It seems like this, yes, it tells me¡­it wants me to tell you¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± She suddenly raised her head, looking incredulously at Ivita. ¡°It actually shows two contrary outcomes.¡± One urges her to stay away from Ivita quickly because an unfathomable malice surrounds Ivita, making it impossible for anyone to see his true identity. The other one indicates that she can trust Ivita, but still, his identity remains unclear. So, who on earth is he? She originally thought he was just a young man worth investing in. But now it seems that things aren¡¯t that simple. Moreover, what¡¯s terrifying is that this divination result was actually made for her. Typically, only the presence of an incredibly powerful spiritual source could disturb a divination to such an extent that it turns the focus of the divination upside down. However, this kid in front of her should just be an ordinary boy, a wizard apprentice. Whilst an apprentice of his age indeed has great potential, it baffles her as to why his existence would cause such interference in the divination results. The old woman casually picked up six sheep bones, pretending like nothing had just happened, ¡°I want to divinate once more.¡± ¡°This way, it will be more precise.¡± Black Wolf frowned. ¡°Your Highness, are we not just wasting time here?¡± Ivita said: ¡°Give the old lady some time.¡± The old witch seemed to have expected this result, divining for the Demon God? Ignorance. Suicide. Such a powerful being disrupts the course of events, much like how a stream of fate changes its course when flowing around a mountain. Avoiding beings with powerful spirituality and immortality during divination should be common knowledge. If one of her apprentices dared to make such a mistake, she would turn him into a toad. Embarrassed, the old woman could no longer maintain her mysterious facade. She became serious, and her gaze grew focused. She took out a small, thumb-sized white flower from her pocket and adorned it on her coat pocket. The old witch glanced at it. ¡°Julius Caesar¡¯s summer flower! It can shield spells from disruption. But didn¡¯t it become extinct?¡± ¡°Hmph, in witches¡¯ eyes, nothing is ever extinct.¡± The old woman shot back at the old witch, even though the two had never met, they seemed to share a deep-rooted grudge against each other. ¡°Tsk.¡± The old witch didn¡¯t want to argue with her. ¡°It¡¯s nothing but a relic from the past. This era is no longer yours. In mainstream civilization, there is no space for your kind. Even though we witches, too, are targets of the Church, we still hold absolute dominance in the Magic Black Forest.¡± The old woman repeated the act of throwing sheep knuckle bones. This time, after viewing the pattern of the scattered bones on the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief. The divination was back to normal. ¡°It tells me that you should take the last task pinned on the adventurers¡¯ last signboard.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m off now. I need to figure out some things.¡± The old woman hurriedly departed, picking up her belongings from the ground. Seeing how she roughly handled the supposed antiques, Ivita found it hard to believe that the pots were indeed rare treasures. Was it because she herself was too poor? Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After the woman left, Black Wolf said to Ivita: ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t actually believe her, do you?¡± The old witch said: ¡°You can trust her. Her divinations are more accurate than those of witches, because the spirits of all things will tell them the result.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, they are on the verge of extinction, with only a few left.¡± ¡°Most of them lead miserable lives.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to encounter one of the last remainders here.¡± Curious, Ivita asked, ¡°Who exactly is she?¡± The old witch glanced at Ivita. ¡°Your Highness, it appears your fever has subsided. Ah, this is where we wizards are superior to them.¡± ¡°Magic gives us supernatural powers, enabling us to heal quickly.¡± ¡°Common diseases will heal over time on their own.¡± So, I recovered before I could see a doctor¡­ Ivita thought in silence. However, the question remains, who exactly was that woman we just saw? Chapter 28 - 28 28 The Conference Ring and the War of Three ?Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The Conference Ring and the War of Three Civilizations_1 Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The Conference Ring and the War of Three Civilizations_1 Ivita asked the Old Witch, ¡°So who exactly is that woman?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Old Witch hesitated, got up into the horse cart herself, and invited everyone to get on and continue the conversation. Ivita ordered her maid Alysia to continue driving the horse cart, and the ox that had been following them trailed behind the cart, led by a rein. On the cart, the Old Witch murmured, ¡°This name isn¡¯t quite suitable to mention on the streets.¡± ¡°That woman¡­ is a member of the Green Sect.¡± Black Wolf and Rayli all looked in surprise at the Hearthstone Grand Witch. Rayli exclaimed in shock, ¡°I thought the Green Sect only existed in fairy tales.¡± ¡°This sect is depicted as both just and evil in fairy tales, children are very afraid of these people.¡± The Old Witch shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not the case, the Green Sect really did exist once. The Church just erased all records of the Green Sect and burned books related to it.¡± ¡°Most people who know of the existence of the Green Sect only know the name and don¡¯t even know what its doctrines are.¡± ¡°Humph, as for being terrifying, who can be more terrifying than the Church?¡± Ivita was getting more and more confused. ¡°What is the Green Sect?¡± The Old Witch looked at Ivita with surprise. ¡°Well, Your Majesty, you may have heard another name for them, the Druids.¡± Ivita was taken aback. Druids? He recalled the odd-eyed crow that overlooked them from the hole in the cart, and the old woman¡¯s fox fur and eagle feathers. ¡°Yes, I know the Druids.¡± ¡°Why say the Druids are outdated, and their existence cleansed by the Church. Is the Church particularly against Druids?¡± The Old Witch nodded. ¡°Your Honorable Majesty, because the Druids draw their power from nature while the Magic Black Forest is a magical world.¡± ¡°In the Magic Black Forest and the Church¡¯s territory, Druids are almost extinct because their lineages were severed. The radiance of the Black Forest and the Thirty-Three Heaven Mountain are rejecting Druids. Druids¡¯ communication with the spirits of all things in the Black Forest is very difficult.¡± ¡°But, what was even crueler for them is that the Church considered them heretics that worshipped foreign gods.¡± ¡°According to the Church¡¯s law, a person who kills a Druid not only commits no sin, but all his previous sins are allowed to be absolved, and he will go to the Heavenly Land after death.¡± ¡°Even in his life, this person can also receive a large bounty from the Church.¡± ¡°There was a time when the tradition of cutting off the ears of Druids to exchange for rewards at the Church was prevalent.¡± ¡°And all kingdoms are extremely against Druids, secular authorities have also issued arrest warrants against them. Even the most benevolent King would not allow wandering Druid heretics.¡± Ivita frowned. ¡°I can understand why the Church opposes Druids.¡± ¡°I can also understand why Druids can¡¯t adapt to the environment of the Black Forest. But why do all the kingdoms want to kill the Druids?¡± ¡°Is the reputation of the Druids even worse than witches?¡± That really surprised him. As a future king, he also wanted to know the reason. The Old Witch explained, ¡°Because the Druids made the most terrible mistake, they chose the wrong side in the civilization war. It involved the struggle of at least three civilizations, I don¡¯t know the specifics because the era of the Druids¡¯ failure is very close to the era of the ancient civilization. So I don¡¯t know very clearly.¡± ¡°But in any case, the civilization supported by the Druids failed, and their race was almost wiped out, all their nations were destroyed.¡± ¡°I heard they were first forced to leave the continent and went to the Seven Big Islands in the north.¡± ¡°But they lost there, and then there were rumors that some of them went further north.¡± The Old Witch shook her head. ¡°But north of the Seven Big Islands is the Despair Fortress, where there are even more terrifying things, so I¡¯ve always had doubts about this part of history.¡± ¡°But that Druid just now was at least at the fourth level.¡± ¡°She is the Druid High Priestess.¡± ¡°It appears the Druids indeed haven¡¯t been wiped out.¡± ¡°They likely found a new land during their escape, the limited resources however cannot support a high-ranking Druid.¡± ¡°True indeed, the power of nature, even suppressed to this state, still poses a formidable threat.¡± The Old Witch sneered. ¡°But I¡¯m not afraid of her, because the era of the Druids has passed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what her intentions are in giving you this ring, Your Majesty, we might as well throw it away.¡± While speaking, the Old Witch seemed to want to reach for Ivita¡¯s thumb, possibly intending to throw away the ring. But it was just a feint. Ivita shook her head. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what the Druid High Priestess intends, I feel it would be wise to observe a while before deciding whether to sell the ring.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you try divining using Organ Divination?¡± Why throw it away? what a waste. Even if it¡¯s dangerous, it¡¯s a treasure given by a fourth level Druid. If it really isn¡¯t needed, it should be sold.¡± An irritated expression crossed the Old Witch¡¯s face. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t divine. A witch¡¯s divination skills could never surpass that of the Druids¡¯, they have the aid of the Spirit of Nature.¡± ¡°However, the divination results given to you by that woman should be trustworthy.¡± After thinking, Ivita nodded. It felt like a cheat had been enabled. Black Wolf surprisingly agreed with Ivita¡¯s decision. ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s no need to throw it away, because in comparison, I think the witches are less trustworthy than the Druids.¡± Black Wolf glanced at the Old Witch, who coldly returned the sneer. Idiotic Demon Hunter. While they were talking, they finally arrived at the entrance of the Explorer Association branch. Ivita got out of the carriage, noticing the association was just a small wooden house with few occupants, much different from their earlier expectations. ¡­ At the outskirts of Kari Town, the old woman, who Ivita and the others encountered previously, clutched her package. An odd-eyed raven perched on her left shoulder and a little ferret on her right. She felt something was off, and threw a sheep astragalus bone again. The result startled her. ¡°My prophecy was wrong.¡± ¡°The person I was supposed to meet and give the Conference Ring to in Kari Town should have been Knight Gastrot!¡± She remembered the honorable and sincere Knight. ¡°Both my prophecy raven and my prediction had misidentified the person!¡± She rarely felt panic. Who in the world was Ivita? Why were all divination powers not only nullified around him but also caused the results to be chaotic? A more horrifying fact was-. The number of individuals possessing the Conference Ring was always limited, and the qualifications to have this ring were prophesied by the Spirit of Nature a thousand years ago. By right, it should never change again. Did the Spirit of Nature, because of Ivita, suddenly change its decision? She looked in the direction where Gastrot departed, gritting her teeth. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s good or bad, I should catch up with Gastrot first.¡± ¡°As it stands, Ivita¡­that child equates to squeezing out the tenth person who was predetermined a thousand years ago way before.¡± ¡°I truly don¡¯t know, whether this is good or bad.¡± ¡°This seriously jeopardizes the survival and revival of the Druids!¡± Chapter 29 - 29 29 Guilds and Accepting Tasks_1 ?Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Guilds and Accepting Tasks_1 Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Guilds and Accepting Tasks_1 Inside the Explorers Guild¡¯s branch office, a fat woman scrutinized the newcomers. ¡°What brings you here?¡± she asked. ¡°To accept a task,¡± Ivita briefly responded. The fat woman continued, ¡°Have you ever joined any guilds in Kari Town?¡± ¡°The Fur Maker Guild, Weaving Guild?¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯ve joined any guild in Kari Town, you only have to pay ninety percent of the service charge for accepting tasks here.¡± ¡°If you have joined this branch of the Explorers Guild in Kari Town, you only need to pay fifty percent of the service charge, but there is an annual membership fee of eleven shillings.¡± ¡°However, if you fail to pay your membership fee on time, you will lose your guild membership.¡± ¡°We have not joined any guilds in this town,¡± Ivita responded succinctly. ¡°And we have no intention of joining your town¡¯s Explorers Guild.¡± They didn¡¯t often stay here, so joining a guild and paying a membership fee was simply a waste of money. The fat woman nodded. The explorers were known for their nomadic lifestyle, so Ivita¡¯s choice wasn¡¯t unusual. ¡°In that case, there is a two-penny service charge for each individual task you accept.¡± ¡°All the tasks available in this town are posted on these boards. You can take a look for yourselves.¡± Her eyes darted around as she started to count. ¡°One, two¡­ six¡­¡± ¡°Hmm, you will have to pay twelve pennies in service charges, assuming you only plan on taking one task today.¡± Ivita glanced at his companions. Damn, this fat woman even counted the maid and her barely four-year-old child. Was the town¡¯s wealth due to the townspeople¡¯s greed? ¡°Black Wolf,¡± Ivita called. Black Wolf plunged his great sword into the wooden table, splitting it in half with a resounding crack. ¡°Are you going to charge us for this table too?¡± Black Wolf growled menacingly. The fat woman¡¯s face turned several shades as she realized she had picked a tough crowd. ¡°No¡­ no need,¡± she stammered. ¡°Actually, there are only four of you¡­¡± She wanted to protest, but her strong survival instinct held her back from doing anything foolish. That seemed reasonable. Ivita nodded. There were indeed only four of them: the DemonHunter Black Wolf, himself, Rayli, and the Old Witch. If she was including the maid and her toddler in the count, how black could her heart be? Ivita suspected that the fat woman had swindled others in this way before, but that was not his concern. He scanned the wooden boards. There were six in total, covered in papers detailing available tasks. The first four boards clearly contained tasks from Kari Town or nearby villages, such as hunting wild boars that were ruining farmland. The last two boards had fewer papers. It was clear that there were fewer tasks, and the locations were spread all over; they were likely tasks from throughout the Ambros Viscountcy. ¡°Hearthstone Witch, paper seems to be commonly used in this world,¡± Ivita observed. The Old Witch replied, ¡°His Majesty, paper used to be expensive and only utilized by the nobility. However, as universities sprung up, things changed. The scholars invented and improved the paper-making process.¡± Ivita nodded. That makes sense. He glanced at a task on the fifth board. The first paper was a call to arms. The second paper was also a call to arms. However, the first paper was initiated by the town council of Ambros City, while the second paper was surprisingly initiated by a viscount named Francesco. Ivita read the enlistment benefits on the first paper. ¡°A monthly payment of six shillings and two liters of wheat.¡± He looked at the benefits on the second paper. ¡± A monthly payment of two shillings and four liters of wheat.¡± He recalled that Rayli paid Alysia only 1.2 liters of wheat every eight weeks and five shillings a year. These enlistment benefits seemed quite substantial. But it wasn¡¯t surprising. If the benefits weren¡¯t high, who would enlist? After all, explorers were generally opportunistic people. ¡°It seems like there¡¯s going to be a war, both sides are recruiting explorers,¡± Ivita surmised. ¡°I just don¡¯t understand why the city is offering more money, while the viscount is offering more grain.¡± Rayli explained, ¡°My Lord, that¡¯s because the cities have more money, but the price of food is high.¡± ¡°The viscount¡¯s territory has less money in circulation. They don¡¯t have enough resources to pay the soldiers with money, but they have plenty of food. Furthermore, a lot of it is locally produced, so the cost is negligible.¡± ¡°So, the viscount prefers to pay the soldiers with food.¡± ¡°However, these conditions seem really good, almost surpassing the wages of many local jobs. I suspect that once the explorers truly join the military, these conditions will be discounted.¡± Frowning, Rayli pointed to a task on the fifth board, ¡°Master, look! There¡¯s a conscription task from Pisa City.¡± ¡°There are also many tasks for barons who are recruiting.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Looking at these numerous conscription tasks, Ivita suddenly felt a storm brewing. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The fat woman interrupted, ¡°The messengers brought these tasks here at the beginning of each month, so they are at least two months delayed.¡± ¡°Kari Town is on the outskirts of the Viscount¡¯s territory. Whatever conflict arises, it doesn¡¯t concern us.¡± Ivita blinked, it may not concern you, but it does concern us. We originally planned to enter the heart of the Viscount¡¯s territory. No matter, overthinking has no benefit. As the saying goes, where there¡¯s a will, there¡¯s a way. Ivita moved towards the sixth board, according to the Druid¡¯s prophecy, he would find what he needed in the last task. However, the tasks on the sixth board were evidently not from around Kari Town. He found the last task on the sixth board ¨C a Baron named Kong was seeking blacksmiths to forge weapons for his realm. Was this the task? Did blacksmiths have anything to do with what he needed? Just as Ivita reached out to take it, his pupils constricted suddenly. There was a piece of paper underneath the sixth board ¨C on the floor. He picked up and checked it. It was indeed a task. ¡®The prophecy says I need to accept the last task, but honestly, the task that fell under the sixth board is the actual last one.¡¯ ¡®It seems that even the most accurate prophecies require experience and wisdom to interpret.¡¯ Reading the fallen task, Ivita found ¨C My sister has gone missing. I need explorers to find her. She might have been killed by the ogre, or she might not. But she is in a dangerous situation. I would prefer to discuss the price in person because of some unique circumstances. Moreover, I cannot accurately estimate the difficulty of this task. Posted by: Branton, the eldest son of the Moro barony. Chapter 30 - 30 30 Once youre immersed in the magic money ?Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Once you¡¯re immersed in the magic, money becomes insignificant_1 Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Once you¡¯re immersed in the magic, money becomes insignificant_1 Ivita threw 8 pennies at the fat woman. ¡°Is this enough?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it is.¡± The fat woman quickly said, stealing a glance at the ferocious Demon Hunter, Black Wolf. ¡°You can take this mission bounty list to the employer.¡± The fat woman handed over the task list, then stamped the guild ring on her right thumb on the red ink, and then stamped it on this mission bounty list. ¡°After stamping with the guild¡¯s seal, you can prove your identity to the employer.¡± Ivita took back the mission bounty list and left the place with his people. They continued on their carriage, spending 4 shillings in town for enough black bread to feed six people for six to seven days, spent another 3 shillings and 6 pennies on some liquor, another 2 shillings repairing the roof of the carriage, and used the remaining money to buy some inferior quality fodder for their cattle. In the meantime, the old witch found three spare right arms from her magic portable carriage, meticulously chose one, and fitted it onto her shoulder. Lastly, they bought a 3-shilling cotton coat for the old witch, persuaded her with sweet words, and had her put it on to avoid any unnecessary trouble. This way, she won¡¯t attract too much trouble. Now, Ivita¡¯s small treasury is left with only 32 pounds and 2 shillings. Don¡¯t think that¡¯s a lot. It¡¯s mainly money sponsored by Rayli, and the money he swindled using a charm spell in the past. However, Ivita knew clearly in his heart that this money could not sustain his current team for even a few days. Firstly, the daily magic research cost of the old witch totals up to an astronomical amount, she consumes resources at the rate of one manor after another. The Black Wolf¡¯s dual-handed sword and secondary weapon have not been maintained until now, and he still owes him a lot of money. Rayli¡¯s weapons also haven¡¯t been maintained. Apart from the maid Alyssia and her child being particularly energy-saving, everyone else is following him in a tight spot. But he couldn¡¯t always let this situation continue. That¡¯s why Ivita dares not propose the loyalty ritual to the Black Wolf, if the Black Wolf were to truly become his vassal. Great, he simply doesn¡¯t have the money to support him. Does it mean, he must really be deemed the King of Debts, and go around borrowing money to support his vassals? After they left Kari Town from the east gate, Alyssia, who was driving the carriage, respectfully said to Ivita, ¡°Sir, the territory of Baron Moro is only about twenty kilometers from our current location. I¡¯ve heard that if we follow this official road, it will take about half a day to reach Baron Moro¡¯s territory.¡± ¡°I also heard some interesting things from the townspeople. They say, Kari Town was ordered to be built by Baron Moro over sixty years ago.¡± ¡°Initially, Kari Town was situated at a key route, so it collected a lot of transit taxes and brought the baron a substantial profit.¡± ¡°Later, the then Ambrose Grand Viscount, [Greedy Arthur], coveted Kari Town and made Kari Town a directly governed town of the Viscount Independent Country.¡± ¡°Baron Moro of that time, [Poor Burfan], disagreed and wanted to convene a full-assembly meeting with the townspeople to resist the Grand Viscount, but little did he know that the Grand Viscount had already liaised with the town mayor and guild presidents of the town.¡± ¡°Grand Viscount [Greedy Arthur] promised them independent autonomy, local judicial power, and the right to independently recruit a guard team.¡± ¡°And so, Kari Town became independent.¡± Rayli exclaimed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there to be such an interesting story.¡± Ivita nodded, it seemed his initial decision to take in this maid was correct. This maid is truly talented. In just half a day, she got acquainted with the townsfolk and learned so much news. It¡¯s just that her status is humble, lacking the opportunity to do bigger things. The mountain road is difficult to travel on and it¡¯s harsh on the horses¡¯ hooves. Therefore, they moved slowly. The others ate some things. Ivita was just on the carriage, studying his magical items. Except for the iron sword necklace of the Weimar Scholar Republic, the remaining three magic items all have apprentice-level curses. He memorized the curses on the three accessories. Then, he asked the Hearthstone Grand Witch about the incantation and casting technique of the Spirit Mirror Divination. The Hearthstone Grand Witch was surprised that Ivita did not ask her about other offensive magic, such as a death spell. Aboard the carriage, Ivita declared, ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned this before.¡± ¡°Often, learning a single magic spell requires quite a long time.¡± ¡°Now that I have a magical item, I can use offensive magic directly, so I should first learn divination.¡± ¡°After all, every wizard must learn divination.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Hearthstone Grand Witch said, ¡°I see. But, Your Highness, to advance to a full-fledged wizard, three conditions must be met.¡± ¡°One, learn more than three spells and choose one to develop as your Destiny Magic, meaning you need to learn at least four spells.¡± ¡°The more powerful the magic, the more it will benefit you in advancing and after.¡± ¡°Two, find a source of magic power. The amount of magical power intrinsic to an individual is limited. Even a wizard¡¯s apprentice, no matter how experienced or knowledgeable, has a wide gap when compared to a full-fledged witch in total magical power.¡± ¡°Three, cultivate your divination to the point where your soul produces Spirit Knowledge Mist. Generally speaking, the more perfect and strong the structure of the Spirit Knowledge Mist, the less risk there is when advancing.¡± Ivita frowned, ¡°I see. It seems I must find a time to concentrate on learning spells, but we are in danger now, so I might as well take some shortcuts.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t advancing to a full-fledged wizard very risky?¡± ¡°Mm, it¡¯s about ten times riskier than becoming an apprentice.¡± The Old Witch said, ¡°I once had a very talented disciple who could have become a full-fledged witch in just ten years.¡± ¡°But in the end, she turned into a monster with a lion¡¯s head, a snake tail, and a sheep¡¯s body.¡± ¡°Although she failed to advance, she transformed into a monster only after becoming a full-fledged witch, causing havoc in that area to this day.¡± ¡°The people there called the monster she turned into a Chimera. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s regained her sanity by now, but it would be better if she hasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Every magic spell carries risks and costs. Your Highness, magic is not a toy that you can manipulate at will.¡± Ivita took a sharp breath in. She had not realized how dangerous it was. The Old Witch nodded and said, ¡°Therefore, some people strongly despise magic, and it¡¯s not without reason. Because every time there¡¯s a magic accident, it¡¯s the civilians nearby who pay the price. But what does this have to do with me? Those who fall by the wayside on the road to magic are nothing more than failures.¡± Black Wolf couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°But since you were her teacher, why didn¡¯t you get rid of her?¡± ¡°You¡¯re The Great Witch.¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch shrieked as though her tail had been stepped on. ¡°Of course I ran away under the cover of night.¡± ¡°That was a monster transformed from a full-fledged witch.¡± ¡°I am not obligated to risk my life, especially when there¡¯s no benefit.¡± Black Wolf looked at the Old Witch with contempt. ¡°In the end, you¡¯re just cowardly. As far as I know, some witches do take responsibility and clean up their own mess.¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch pretended not to hear and began telling Ivita the incantation for the Spirit Mirror Divination. She repeatedly stressed that her beloved disciple, who was more proficient in this divination, should be given the chance to serve Ivita as soon as possible. Ivita learned that to use this Spirit Mirror Divination, the first thing she would need to prepare was a mirror worth more than 100 gold pieces¡­ Ivita exclaimed in disbelief, ¡°100 gold pieces! What kind of mirror could be that expensive?¡± ¡°Is the mirror made of gold?¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch answered nonchalantly, ¡°Yes, and this is only for apprentices. A mirror priced lower than this cannot be subjected to the Black Magic needed to trap the Mirror Spirit.¡± ¡°This is the rule of this spell!¡± ¡°This is already the cheapest price.¡± ¡°If you want to delve more deeply into this divination, you¡¯ll need to buy an even more expensive mirror.¡± ¡°But you can change the mirror later.¡± Ivita looked at Black Wolf, finally understanding why he had tried to prevent her from learning magic in the first place. It seemed that getting into magic was like throwing money in the sea, from that point on, money became irrelevant! Alysia, outside the carriage, said, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the territory of Baron Moro.¡± ¡°Please alight from the carriage.¡± Ivita pulled back the carriage curtain and saw a small castle nestled not too far away on a hillside, surrounded by some residential buildings and a large manor. Chapter 31 - 31 31 A Strange Commission_1 ?Chapter 31: Chapter 31 A Strange Commission_1 Chapter 31: Chapter 31 A Strange Commission_1 The large manor near Baron Moro¡¯s castle is actually a large village built by farmers around his castle. There were no free farmers, everyone here was a serf. The buildings here are obviously a level lower than those in Kari Town. All Ivita could see were thatched houses and no large buildings. The surrounding fields were well tilled, growing crops like cabbages, radishes, fava beans, cucumbers, onions, pumpkins etc. Some farmers with darkened skin were working in the fields. Some middle-aged men were chopping trees in the adjacent forest, and some were straining to move the cut logs. Unlike the bustling merchants and vibrant workers in Kari Town, the farmers working in the fields and forests appear simple, slow and even a bit dazed. These people were actually the serfs of the Baron Moro, the lord of the manor. A sturdy farmer walked past them, pulling a cart full of carrots. Ivita suddenly saw his own ox secretly eating the carrots in the cart. This scared the hell out of Ivita. Not for any other reason, but because he seemed to need to compensate for it. Ivita called to the farmer. ¡°Sir, look at the carrots behind you, I will compensate for it.¡± The cart-pulling farmer looked back at the thieving ox, expressionless, thought for a moment, picked up three more carrots, and threw them on the ground. ¡°Ox, eat more.¡± Then, he turned back, continued pulling the cart forward. ¡°No need to compensate. After all, these carrots are from the lord¡¯s fields, it¡¯s a waste not to eat them.¡± ¡°The lord is a fool who can¡¯t do math, he won¡¯t settle for a few carrots.¡± Ivita: ¡°¡­¡± He had seen the state of mind of the serfs in the manor. Once the man had gone. Ivita complained to Black Wolf and Rayli, ¡°Here and Kari Town are like two different worlds. Can you believe those greedy guys in Kari Town would not demand compensation from us! The most terrifying thing is that the distance between these two worlds is just twenty kilometers.¡± Probably just like walking a few more streets on his former earth. So close, yet so far! Black Wolf said, ¡°There must be quite a few runaway slaves. These people would escape to Kari Town and become freemen.¡± Rayli shook his head. ¡°Mr. Demon Hunter, you are oversimplifying it. Firstly there¡¯s the Seven-day Pursuit Law, which gives the lord the right to recapture runaway serfs within seven days.¡± ¡°Generally, towns do not want to invite trouble.¡± ¡°Secondly, towns are close-knit communities, without neighbors or kin, it¡¯s impossible to settle down.¡± ¡°Moreover, freedom has a price. The citizens of the towns do not have a lord. They are their own masters and only serve the guilds and town councils, but they could starve to death, die of thirst.¡± Rayli explained, ¡°These serfs have no freedom, but their living conditions may not necessarily be worse than the citizens in the town.¡± ¡°Even during seasons of disaster, the lords will try to protect them, because they are the lord¡¯s property.¡± ¡°A territory with few people is not an outcome the lords desire.¡± ¡°But the citizens in the town have to fend for themselves, if they starve or die of thirst, except for loan sharks, no one would care for them.¡± ¡°So many people, even if they have the opportunity to become citizens of the city and town, they will not use this opportunity.¡± Rayli suddenly had an analogy. ¡°Although this does not seem quite apt, but this is somewhat like the difference between a domestic dog and a wild wolf.¡± Ivita laughed, and then they continued on their way. This time, Ivita let Rayli watch the ox to prevent it from eating anything else. Rayli however said that the silly ox had already eaten four carrots and should be full for now. Unlike the orderly Kari Town, they walked around the manor for a long time and no one cared about them. The serfs did not want to meddle in other people¡¯s affairs. The soldiers also seemed somewhat lax in their duties. Later they met some guard soldiers. After explaining that they were explorers, and being checked and passed, the soldiers no longer bothered them. They only warned them not to cause trouble or steal anything from the fields, because all those belong to the lord. If they caused trouble here, they would, at best, be banished forever, at worst, be executed by hanging on a tree by Baron Moro. Then, after many inquiries, they asked a young man guarding the castle to notify Branton, the eldest son of Baron Moro. After getting approval, the young man arranged for their cart and ox, and led them to a small side hall on the second floor of the castle. Apparently, because it was only a small baron¡¯s castle, there was no outer city and moat, only an inner city. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The most important rooms inside the castle were actually the spacious living room and the chapel, with the rest being a series of small rooms crammed together. Ivita followed a lead servant, climbing up the spiral staircase, and he keenly observed that it ascended clockwise. Yes, the staircases within these types of castles usually ascended in a clockwise fashion. For instance, if an intruder wanted to attack the second floor of the castle, they would have to ascend the staircase. But since it spiraled clockwise, it posed a significant disadvantage for anyone attempting to climb from below. This meant that those descending the stairs could do so with well-practiced habits. Conversely, for the ones climbing from below, their chests would be directly exposed to the weapons of those at the top position. In simple terms, it¡¯s similar to being on an imbalanced game map, where one side holds the familiar perspective, and the other side is presented with the unfamiliar one. Once they reached the second floor, they weren¡¯t led into the main reception room, but instead to a small side room. However, this was expected. At this point, Ivita and his companions were merely humble explorers, not nobility visiting other nobility. Already waiting inside the side room was a young man of about eighteen, adorned in a robe decorated with intricate patterns. That man was likely Baron Moro¡¯s eldest son, Branton Moro! Ivita handed over the task document, and a somewhat jittery Branton Moro responded, ¡°You finally came, you¡¯re sincerely helping me out.¡± ¡°My sister has been missing for more than three and a half months.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Ivita frowned. ¡°It¡¯s been over three and a half months?¡± Could there be any chance of survival? ¡°Didn¡¯t you send people to look for her?¡± To everyone¡¯s surprise, Branton Moro began crying on the spot. ¡°No because everyone keeps telling me I don¡¯t have a sister. They say I¡¯ve imagined her, but I remember distinctly she was taken by an ogre right in front of me. We were hunting and stumbled upon an ogre.¡± ¡°No, it might¡¯ve been a group of them.¡± ¡°Next thing I knew, my sister was seized by the ogres, but for some reason everyone around me insists that I have no sister.¡± Ivita and the others were taken aback. Ivita turned to look at Rayli and Black Wolf, Rayli shook his head, Black Wolf shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve never encountered such a bizarre request.¡± ¡°Perhaps our client¡¯s mental state¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, my son has indeed gone mad, he doesn¡¯t have a sister!¡± A forceful voice abruptly echoed in the room. Walking in from the outside, there appeared a robust man. With short hair and radiant eyes, his square face gave off a potent aura of power and authority. Obviously, this was Baron Moro. Baron Moro looked at Branton Moro with disgust. ¡°Bastard, do you know how many people will covet our land if the news of your madness gets out?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the heir to this place, and as Baron Moro you bear the responsibility of guarding important paths and scouting enemy intelligence for the Viscount. If your situation is made known, many will suggest to the Grand Viscount to replace the heir. I hope you stop playing the fool.¡± Branton Moro was incensed. ¡°No, father! Have you forgotten about your daughter? You have a daughter, and I have a sister. She used to be your favorite!¡± Baron Moro sighed. He turned to Ivita and the others helplessly, ¡°Guests, you can actually ask around, whether I even have a daughter.¡± ¡°However, let¡¯s not discuss that right now.¡± ¡°This task is nothing but a hoax.¡± ¡°You may leave now, and I hope you depart from my land at first light tomorrow. Otherwise, I shall have my guards arrest you.¡± ¡°Now, please leave.¡± Ivita was thoroughly confounded. What¡­ Didn¡¯t that Druid promise that I¡¯d get what I wanted from this mission? What on earth is happening here? Neither Black Wolf nor Rayli had anticipated this, and both wore puzzled expressions. All they could do at this point was to leave temporarily. As they left, they heard Baron Moro muttering, ¡°I suspect some witch has cursed my son.¡± And so, everyone turned to look at the Hearthstone Grand Witch. The Hearthstone Grand Witch exclaimed, ¡°What are you all looking at me for!¡± Chapter 32 - 32 32 Master Leonardo Michelangelo_1 ?Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Master Leonardo Michelangelo_1 Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Master Leonardo Michelangelo_1 After Ivita and company left the castle, they inquired with some farmers, and everyone said that Lord has only one son and no daughters at all. This made Ivita start to think that the mission was a prank. Or perhaps, he had totally misinterpreted the meaning of Old Druid. Perhaps the quest to recruit a blacksmith, stated in the last piece of wood, was indeed the quest in prophecy! Hopefully, they could still accept that quest if they returned now. However, even in this case, plenty of resources and 8 pennies of service charge would have been wasted in vain. The sky gradually darkened. It was the time to decide whether to leave or stay. Black Wolf suggested that it did not make good sense to stay in such a weird place for the night, not to mention that they were unwelcome by the host. It would be better to spend the night in the wilderness than stay here. The Old Witch unusually agreed to his decision and suggested it would be better to leave immediately. Ivita also thought that Baron Moro would mind if anyone knew about his son. What if he wanted to silence them by killing them? Although the possibility was little, they had to guard against it. Thus, they got on the carriage, led the ox, and hit the road again, leaving the territory of Baron Moro. Being very well-behaved, Alysia¡¯s child seemed to understand his mother¡¯s difficulties. So even being jolted on the journey, he still did not make any noise. He was just sound asleep. Feeling grateful, Alysia rewarded Ivita for letting her child sleep inside the carriage. It was getting completely dark when they were about to leave the territory of Baron Moro, suddenly, there was a rustling in the nearby bushes by the roadside. Responding quickly, Black Wolf grabbed the crossbow on his back and jumped out of the carriage, aiming the crossbow at the bush. ¡°Who is there?¡± The Old Witch opened her tightly closed eyes abruptly, revealing a cold light. Ivita also touched the Greya Thunder Eye Ring, getting ready to cast the ¡°Lightning Curse¡± at any time. Was it the Wild Boar Knights Group or assassins from the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness that had followed them up? ¡°Wait a minute, it¡¯s¡­it¡¯s me¡­¡± A head popped out of the bush. It was surprisingly Branton, the eldest son of Baron Moro. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing the arrow loaded on the crossbow in Black Wolf¡¯s hand, Branton looked serious, shaking his hand and saying, ¡°No, no¡­it¡¯s me.¡± Black Wolf put away the crossbow and frowned, ¡°We were driven away by your father before, and now you are stopping us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your intention?¡± ¡°People of Moro family are lacking in hospitality.¡± Branton anxiously replied, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I swear to the Gods that I didn¡¯t mean to play tricks on you, warriors.¡± ¡°I posted the quest because I really have a sister, and she has been captured by the ogre.¡± Ivita came out, ¡°But your father said you don¡¯t have a sister. People around here also said that your father has no daughter.¡± ¡°Can a single person tell a lie, and can everyone tell a lie?¡± ¡°So how can you explain this?¡± Blushing, Branton took out half of a picture. In the picture, Baron Moro was holding a girl and a boy¡¯s hand. The boy looked similar to Branton but was a little bit younger. ¡°Look, this is a famous painting that I have kept secretly.¡± ¡°This is a masterpiece of Ambros¡¯ art master, Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo. You can even see his signature in the corner. You may not believe in my words, but you should believe in this art master.¡± Ivita came over and sceptically took the painting. Indeed, the painter¡¯s name was decorated below the painting. There was also a blessing: ¨C [Dedicated to the happy family of Baron Moro. You have a smart son and a lovely daughter.] Black Wolf took a look at the painting, then unbelievably looked at Branton, he said to Ivita, ¡°If the signature is not forged, we can trust the words of this master.¡± ¡°Is Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo well-known?¡± The Old Witch scornfully said, ¡°Couldn¡¯t the son of the Baron force the little painter to make a fake for him?¡± Black Wolf and Rayli looked speechless at the Old Witch. Branton was directly shocked, looking at the Hearthstone Great Witch with a stunned face. ¡°You call him a little painter?¡± ¡°You know what his status in Ambros is?¡± The Old Witch was never interested in anything among mortals that did not involve money. Rayli coughed softly, reminding her, ¡°Sir Leonardo Michelangelo is one of the most esteemed painters of Ambros. It is said that the mayor of Pavila once spent three thousand six hundred gold pounds to commission him to paint an iconic painting on one wall of the city¡¯s landmark church.¡± ¡°To make this painting, along with the church, the pride of Paravi city.¡± ¡°However, halfway through the painting, Sir Leonardo Michelangelo suddenly felt that the sum of three thousand six hundred gold pounds was too little to cover his exceptional painting skills.¡± ¡°Therefore, Sir Leonardo Michelangelo only painted half of it and left, proclaiming that his painting on such large a wall of the church should at least be worth seven thousand two hundred gold pounds.¡± ¡°The mayor of Paravi was nearly frustrated to death, but this incident only solidified Sir Leonardo Michelangelo¡¯s renowned reputation.¡± It was then that the Old Witch understood that this was not just some small-time painter, but a master with a reputation across the Viscount¡¯s land. She grunted in response. Ivita found the situation becoming increasingly peculiar, and it seemed likely that this task was indeed the one foretold in the prophecy. He looked at Bran Tun. ¡°But how did you get hold of this painting? You shouldn¡¯t be able to afford such a high fee.¡± Having asked around for some general knowledge and adding his own memories, he knew that the annual income of a small baron¡¯s territory was only between seven hundred and a bit over a thousand gold pounds. If it¡¯s an exceptionally poor place, it might be even less. Bran Tun felt something was amiss, as he realized the people in front of him were not ordinary adventurers. Ordinary adventurers were usually uneducated and easy to manipulate. But, these people, each one of them spoke eloquently and showed extensive knowledge. While talking to them, he even felt as if he was speaking with a group of nobles. This made Bran Tun unconsciously lower his own status, ¡°It¡¯s a series of fortunate events, my grandfather had some connection with the master, so he painted this for us. But it¡¯s the only painting.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened that caused everyone to forget my sister, but thankfully we still have the painting left by the master.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s the only evidence.¡± Ivita furrowed his brows, looking down at the painting. ¡°But if we help you, find your sister, or rather, your sister¡¯s corpse, what commission should you pay us?¡± Bran Tun originally wanted to be cheeky and take advantage of the adventurers¡¯ lack of knowledge to lower the commission fee. But he changed his mind now, fearing that it would irritate Ivita and his friends and drive them away. The situation was now firmly under the control of Ivita and his team. After thinking for a bit, Bran Tun named a huge sum, ¡°75 pounds!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all the money I have saved.¡± ¡°Is that alright?¡± Ivita pondered for a moment. Honestly, this price was already several dozens times the average for a normal task. Under normal circumstances, no one would offer such an outrageous price were it not for a special situation or the urgency to find one¡¯s sister. In other words, the reason he could offer such high remuneration was because it was a life-saving amount for Bran Tun¡¯s sister. And now they are Bran Tun¡¯s only hope, the only mercenaries he might be able to hire. But this was not his goal. What he wanted was something other than money. But he decided to watch the situation first. ¡°120 gold pounds.¡± Ivita said. ¡°We¡¯ll not go lower than this.¡± ¡°And if new circumstances arise necessitating an increase in our price, then we must raise it.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Bran Tun gritted his teeth. ¡°Alright, afterwards, I could borrow some money from the merchants to reward you.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re worth this price.¡± ¡°To help me find my sister.¡± Ivita tried his best to curb any undue optimism, reminding him, ¡°That is, assuming your sister is still alive. Otherwise, we could at most find her corpse for you.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the ability to bring the dead back to life.¡± ¡°You should understand that.¡± Bran Tun let out a sigh, knowing full well that Ivita was speaking the truth. ¡°Um, I understand.¡± Chapter 33 - 33 33 Difficult to Lead the Team they are all ?Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Difficult to Lead the Team, they are all Actors! (Please follow) _1 Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Difficult to Lead the Team, they are all Actors! (Please follow) _1 Blantun gave Ivita ten gold pounds as a deposit, while also entrusting a ruby ring from his own hand to her. This was a deposit. The side of the ruby ring bore the emblem of the Moro family, a roaring wolf, which represented the duty borne by the Moro family for generations to guard the only major road leading into the viscount¡¯s domain from the west. In this era, the seal of a ring could represent its owner¡¯s identity, and could even be used to write letters on the owner¡¯s behalf. Thus, offering this as a deposit was essentially a gesture of utmost sincerity. In terms of Ivita¡¯s previous life, this was equivalent to giving her his identity card. This way, Ivita didn¡¯t have to worry about him not paying afterwards. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Blantun led them off the road, ¡°I will take you through the mountain path, to the forest where my sister disappeared.¡± ¡°We are easily discoverable here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but my father abhors me searching for my sister. Perhaps he thinks I¡¯m going mad.¡± Rayli worryingly said, ¡°What about the carriage, horses and cattle?¡± The old witch replied directly, ¡°I will cast a human repulsion curse. This spell will make any approaching human unable to see our carriage and cattle.¡± While speaking, she had the black wolf tie the carriage and cattle next to two trees. She then found some rocks from the ground and took a few dry branches. Using the dried branches, she drew symbols on the rocks and then arranged the rocks into a circle, encircling the carriage and cattle. ¡°This will do the job.¡± Blantun looked somewhat fearfully at the old witch, ¡°Is she¡­ a witch?!¡± ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch looked at him disdainfully. ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t.¡± Blantun, his mind in disarray, didn¡¯t expect one of the adventurers he¡¯d hired to be a witch. Was he maybe getting too much value for his money? Was this a good thing, or perhaps not? Ivita said, ¡°Enough. You¡¯d better lead us to the place where your sister went missing.¡± Blantun responded, ¡°Ri¡­ Right!¡± Blantun led them through the mountain road to a rare small patch of forest in the highlands. Within it was a darkness, eerie and dangerous at night. The place was filled with wild beasts. Fortunately, the beasts were not foolish enough to attack humans armed with iron. That was wisdom bought with the blood of their ancestors. Along the way, they conversed in whispers, learning that Blantun was a first-class attendant knight, with an extraordinary heart. The problem was, according to him, he had only recently become an attendant knight and his combat power wasn¡¯t strong. Rayli informed him that he was a warrior who had used the secret medicine of warriors. Whereas the black wolf indicated that he was a demon hunter who had passed four trials. The old witch said, ¡°I see. When you used the magic potion trap of the Griffin School in the inn, I knew you were not an ordinary demon hunter.¡± ¡°Heh heh, your highness, he is quite extraordinary.¡± Ivita looked at the black wolf in confusion. ¡°Passed four trials?¡± ¡°What level does passing four trials correspond to? How does it compare to the stages of knights and witches?¡± The old witch respectfully explained to Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, the first class of knights starts with attendant knights, followed by the second-tier full-fledged knights, and the third-tier great knights.¡± ¡°The fourth tier includes superior knights, with fifth-tier, sixth-tier and so on¡­.¡± ¡°And a demon hunter who has passed one trial is equivalent to a first-tier professional.¡± ¡°Equivalent to the level of an attendant knight.¡± ¡°Passing two additional trials as a demon hunter is equivalent to the level of an official knight.¡± ¡°The black wolf has passed four trials, and as soon as he passes one more, his demon hunter level will be equivalent to that of a great knight.¡± ¡°So, his strength should be at the peak of an ordinary knight.¡± Ivita didn¡¯t realize that the demon hunter black wolf was so capable. The old witch took the opportunity to backstab the demon hunter black wolf. ¡°This guy has never given us his all, serving your highness while harboring ulterior motives.¡± ¡°Even contemplating betrayal.¡± ¡°He does not have my loyalty.¡± Someone said this without a blush or pant. In fact, she has always been looking for someone to take the fall, and then plan to distance herself from Ivita. The Demon Hunter Black Wolf¡¯s face darkened, and he immediately looked at Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t listen to her nonsense.¡± ¡°I was trapped by the military formation composed of seventeen knight attendants in the inn the other day. Even if I was a little Demon Hunter who had passed four trials, let alone a Demon Hunter who had passed seven trials, I still wouldn¡¯t have been a match for them.¡± ¡°Those are tactics used by the Knight Regiment in war. Knights are the strongest profession on the frontlines; we independent Demon Hunters could never compete with them.¡± Ivita frowned. ¡°But Black Wolf, could a ruined prince really afford to hire you?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± said Black Wolf, ¡°I swear by the God of All Things, I will never harm you.¡± ¡°If you died, I would go bankrupt.¡± ¡°The small amount of wealth you have now isn¡¯t enough to compensate me for the many weapons I¡¯ve lost trying to help you!¡± When he first helped Ivita escape from the manor, he had to leave behind a large stack of spare weapons, only taking a few personal ones with him. His losses were so massive that the Black Wolf spent his nights dreaming about how to make Ivita repay him. Ivita suddenly moved from being expressionless to laughing. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go that far. I was just asking a few more questions.¡± With that said, he seemed genuinely unconcerned. In fact, Ivita was thinking that the Black Wolf was, after all, a mercenary. He didn¡¯t have the right to determine whose man he was. He wasn¡¯t in any position to manage that. In any case, the Black Wolf was better than the Old Witch, who had tried to kill him before and seemed restless even now, insisting that he hurry to Ambros. Who knows what kind of tricks she was up to. Ah, such a problematic party. After all that, only Rayli and Alysia could be counted as his own. Everyone else had their own agendas. By now, he understood the hardships of being a lord. Unless it was someone he had known and trained since childhood, it was really hard to ensure their loyalty. Bulleton, on the other hand, was listening with his ears perked. Something about a Demon Hunter who passed the fourth trial, a prince, and an assassination¡­ He was speechless. Had he hired adventurers or a bunch of immortals from the Fairy Group? By this time, his attitude towards Ivita had become a little more respectful. No wonder the witch, the Demon Hunter, and the warrior all deferred to this teenager. He came from a noble background after all. Bulleton was a bit afraid. He suddenly stopped in the forest. ¡°Your ¡­ Your Highness, please forgive me for not knowing your identity earlier. We have reached the place where my sister disappeared. I¡¯m deeply embarrassed to trouble you with such a matter. I was so impolite.¡± The nobles of this age take hierarchy very seriously. Even if he is a foreign prince, even if he seems to be in a bad situation, he is still a prince. Ivita waved him off. ¡°Right now, we are just adventurers.¡± ¡°Have we arrived? Let¡¯s check this place first.¡± Bulleton was deeply moved. The results of different people doing different things are different. If a commoner helps a lord, the lord won¡¯t express much gratitude. But if a prince helps a lord, the lord will be extremely grateful. In this era, Ivita doesn¡¯t have the pressure of hiding his identity, because he is the rightful inheritor of the kingdom. Even if the King of Alsace puts a bounty on him, he can only resort to the dishonorable and less glorious assassins of the Brotherhood. There is no other reason except that Ivita is a royalty. No noble dares to take on the bounty task to kill Ivita. In an era where nobility is highly valued, barely anyone would dare to do this outright. On the contrary, if Ivita had enough money, he could try to put a bounty on the current King of Alsace. He¡¯s nothing but a usurper. But he doesn¡¯t have money, and the King of Alsace has an army, so basically no one will accept such a crazy bounty. Ivita has no intention of revealing his identity ostentatiously, as it may attract some ambitious individuals with ulterior motives, which would be bad. Chapter 34 - 34 34 Ogre_1 ?Chapter 34: Chapter 34 Ogre!_1 Chapter 34: Chapter 34 Ogre!_1 The Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, pricked up his ears, crouched down and pressed against the grass, listening carefully to all the sounds between the trees and grass. The first trial of the Demon Hunter, the ¡®Dandelion Trial¡¯, not only enhances their physical bodies but also imparts them with extraordinary perception abilities, however, these perceptual abilities are actually only effective towards magical creatures. For an average person, they do nothing more than improve their hearing sensitivity. In dealing with monsters, the profession of Demon Hunter is the most formidable. Each profession has its own forte, just as society is composed of everyone, not just one type of individual. The profession of the knight indeed prevails over this continent. However, in hunting monsters, the knights fall vastly behind the specialized training of the Demon Hunters. ¡°There¡¯s a sound, yes, this sound is indeed a huge creature, possibly a troll, but it could also be an ogre.¡± ¡°They¡¯re¡­in¡­¡± All present listened attentively. Ivita curiously looked at the Demon Hunter, Black Wolf, unsure of where the monster might be? The expression of Black Wolf turned rather odd, then he turned to face everyone. ¡°They are right beneath our feet.¡± ¡°There should be a natural cave beneath this piece of land.¡± ¡°Follow me.¡± Everyone followed Black Wolf into the depths of the forest, after about a hundred meters, they found a deep opening upfront. The diameter of this entrance was as wide as half a carriage. Black Wolf said, ¡°Right here. The place where your sister disappeared is less than a hundred meters away from this ogre cave. It now seems very likely that they¡¯ve taken your sister.¡± ¡°But ogres shouldn¡¯t have the ability to cause an entire manor to lose specific memories.¡± The Old Witch sneered. ¡°His father is a formal Knight. It¡¯s very difficult even for a formal Witch to erase a formal Knight¡¯s memory, let alone causing an entire manor¡¯s people to lose their memories, that¡¯s simply an outlandish occurrence.¡± ¡°This is impossible.¡± ¡°To make an entire manor¡¯s people lose their memories, that would require extremely strong magic power. Neither ogres nor trolls have such power.¡± ¡°Neither do I.¡± Ivita fell into thought. If even the Old Witch doesn¡¯t have that ability, then ogres definitely wouldn¡¯t either. So exactly what happened that caused Brandon to fall into such a bizarre situation? ¡°Stop worrying about it. As long as I save my sister, won¡¯t everyone remember her again!¡± Brandon was very agitated. ¡°So it was this close.¡± ¡°I wander around here all day, yet I had no idea.¡± His face twisted in rage, his eyes gleamed with deep-red ferocity as he drew the sword from his back. ¡°I will slaughter the ogres beneath this cave.¡± After saying so, he jumped into the pitch-black cave without any hesitation, disappearing into the darkness. Ivita was taken aback, the others too had not expected the son of a baron to make such a rash move. Ivita: ¡°This guy¡¯s a bit impulsive, Black Wolf, what do you think we should do? You¡¯re the expert when dealing with monsters.¡± Black Wolf nodded. ¡°Regardless of whether they are ogres or trolls, these creatures are of the magical creature races that don¡¯t set traps.¡± ¡°And their living environment needs are similar to humans. Since they are able to live in this cave, it¡¯s safe.¡± ¡°We can follow immediately.¡± ¡°Your highness, use this.¡± Black Wolf threw a short sword which was a little longer than a dagger to Ivita. ¡°This is my last backup weapon. Your highness, your physical strength is good. After entering, not only can you use magic, but you can also use this short sword for self-defense. I will teach you swordsmanship when I have time.¡± Ivita took the short sword. ¡°Thank you.¡± Black Wolf was right. Magic enhances his body, even in terms of endurance; he is at the level of superhumans. It would indeed be wasteful not to use this advantage to his benefit. They entered the cave in succession. The entrance of the cave does not lead to a vertical drop, but rather it¡¯s a slope which stretches for about two hundred meters. It was dark all around. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, the Hearthstone Grand Witch lit a candle, illuminating the cavern. Ivita kept her head down, careful not to step into any deep pits or on any rubble that might cause an accident. They walked for a while, but there was no sign of Branton. ¡°Branton shouldn¡¯t have gotten far that fast,¡± Ivan remarked. Black Wolf didn¡¯t seem surprised. ¡°Of course, he couldn¡¯t have. Even with a candle, we are moving slowly. It is impossible for him to disappear without any source of light.¡± ¡°In my experience, as soon as he entered, he was probably grabbed by an ogre,¡± Black Wolf speculated. ¡°The ogre must¡¯ve led him deeper into the cave.¡± Ivita said nothing in response. Alright then. Turns out you guessed from the start that Branton could be caught right away. But it¡¯s understandable. Black Wolf has probably encountered countless similar situations, so he has a feel for them. After walking for a while longer, they heard the murmuring of a stream and a sound resembling a volcanic eruption, yet also like the low rumble of a tractor starting up. Black Wolf quickened his pace. Ivita and the others swiftly followed. They discovered an underground river up ahead. This cavern was connected to the underground river, and the source of the terrifying sound ended up being several massive creatures sleeping near the river. The sound was merely these gigantic beasts snoring. The behemoths appeared like small giants, with skin that was a mix of pale and blue. Their faces were like large plates, and when they opened their mouths to breathe, remnants of meat could be seen stuck between their teeth. The strangest thing was their hands. The final segment of their fingers looked swollen, as if stung by a wasp, making their second and third segments seem incredibly slender. Black Wolf whispered, ¡°Yes¡­ they are indeed ogres.¡± ¡°Ogres are nocturnal beings. They fear light and become virtually blind in the sunlight. That is why they move through underground rivers and caverns when resettling,¡± He explained. Rayli questioned, ¡°But these creatures haven¡¯t been seen in Viscount Ambros¡¯ territory for many years. Why would they appear now?¡± The Old Witch smirked. ¡°It¡¯s human arrogance.¡± ¡°Who among you still remembers that in ancient times, the Ambros Basin was a haven for magical creatures, and ogres were one of the dominant tribes here?¡± ¡°Indeed, you humans have defeated these tribes. But you never eradicated them. They merely hid when they saw human power growing stronger.¡± ¡°If the ogres have reappeared, one has to wonder what great issues have gripped Viscount Ambros¡¯ territory, prompting these creatures hiding in the sewer pipes to feel that they can court trouble.¡± Ivita frowned. He had a knack for catching the main points in people¡¯s remarks. This skill was already present in his previous life and had brought him significant debating prowess. Just now, he noticed that the old witch seemed to be subtly implying that she knew what had been happening in Viscount Ambros¡¯ territory. Considering the old witch¡¯s mention of the big stir her disciple had caused in Viscount Ambros¡¯ territory, there could be a connection between the two incidents. Just as Ivita was about to ask, he saw two ogres stripping Branton of his armor and then tying him to a large tree. One ogre began to make a fire from the wood at Branton¡¯s feet. The other Ogre sprinkled some chili peppers, coriander, and garlic over Branton, muttering, ¡°Can¡¯t eat raw, resist, can¡¯t eat raw, resist. Cooked meat tastes good, cooked meat doesn¡¯t have parasites, cooked meat is delicious¡­ Can¡¯t eat raw, resist¡­¡± Branton began screaming for help. ¡°Help! Somebody save me! Your Highness, are you there?¡± Ivita was speechless. You idiot, you insisted on doing things your way, and look what happened! Without even fighting, you¡¯ve already turned into a skewer-to-be for the ogres. To think that you, a knight attendant, were touted as a notable fighter, yet now here we are, needing to send people to your rescue. Ivita placed his fingers on the Greya Thunder Eye Ring and rotated it twice, chanting an incantation. In an instant, the sound of thunder filled the underground river chamber. The intensity of this spectacle was alarmingly high! Chapter 35 - 35 35 Soul Hidden in Fingertips_1 ?Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Soul Hidden in Fingertips_1 Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Soul Hidden in Fingertips_1 The old witch quickly noticed something was wrong with the Lightning Curse that Ivita was casting. The high-quality Thunder Attribute Magic emanating from Ivita flowed continuously into the ring, causing a change in the potency of the curse. A faint blue light emanated from a rock at the top of the underground river, followed by a stream of lightning. ¡®Aside from the quantity of Magical Power, the quality of his Magic is very high, making a spell of apprentice level virtually as powerful as a spell cast by a professional wizard.¡¯ The old witch noted, ¡®My previous guess wasn¡¯t wrong.¡¯ ¡®The reason why the previous Charm Spell¡¯s power was mediocre was because the attribute didn¡¯t entirely match with the Magic Power under the crown.¡¯ ¡®So, the Magic Power under the crown was rejecting the Ring of Desire. I was too hasty back then, couldn¡¯t find a magical item that perfectly matched the attribute for the crown, and had to make do.¡¯ ¡®Something¡¯s not right.¡¯ After Ivita finished chanting that spell, an almost instinctual feeling drove him to repeat the spell over and over again. Soon, some new words astonishingly appeared within the spell. Unconsciously, Ivita added the word ¡®Zeus¡¯ into the original spell. A bolt of lightning shot across the rocky top, temporarily illuminating the cave. The shadow Ivita cast on the ground was not his own. It was a terrifying figure with four arms, gripping thunder and lightning. The old witch was taken aback. ¡°This spell is quickly strengthening his Thunder Attribute Magic regardless of the risk of losing energy balance.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not the worst. The shadow under the crown just now wasn¡¯t human nor the six-winged dragon.¡± ¡°Could it be that if the balance of different attributes of power under the crown is disturbed, he will take on different forms?¡± The dragon from before would presumably be due to an overwhelmingly powerful dragon attribute Magic Power¡­ No¡­ The old witch quickly realized that the six-winged dragon Ivita transformed into was not the result of the dragon attribute Magic Power breaking balance but the image resulting from both dragon and Fire Attribute Magic Power breaking their balance. In other words, if only the dragon attribute Magic Power broke the balance, Ivita could change into a different dragon form. The old witch muttered to herself. ¡°As expected of the powerful Demon God.¡± ¡°Every attribute breaking balance results in a different form.¡± ¡°While multiple attributes breaking balance together will result in a new form.¡± Such a big commotion would undoubtedly alert the ogres. An ogre, about to disembowel Bran, suddenly startled by the passing lightning, immediately dropped his knife, covering his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s daylight, I¡¯m blind, too dazzling.¡± ¡°Who is going to close the window.¡± ¡°I am also blind, let the tree spirits help us close the window.¡± ¡°Stop your nonsense. We are in a cave, there are no windows. We are not on the surface!¡± When the flash of lightning went out, the light dimmed. At this time, the ogres had sharp eyes, their anger now had a target, and they spotted Ivita and others hiding behind the rocks. When they realized they were humans, anger turned back into drool. ¡°Gulp~¡± an ogre drooled. ¡°Great, these humans are unlike the tender village women; I love how tough human warriors taste.¡± It greedily pointed at Ivita. ¡°This smaller one should be steamed to fully exploit the natural flavor according to those Treants. The old woman behind him is no good for the head, too aged, might make for better red-cooked meat. Red-cooking can mask any deficiencies in the meat.¡± The old witch flared, ¡°Quit spouting nonsense, you stupid pig¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Your meat stinks the worst, there isn¡¯t a single human willing to eat ogre¡¯s meat!¡± She launched a fireball at the ogre, which hit its head. The ogre suddenly clasped its head, wailing loudly. ¡°It¡¯s a sneak attack, it¡¯s a sneak attack!¡± ¡°Get them, kill these bad guys.¡± Seeing it still alive, the old witch said with disgust: ¡°Ogre¡¯s anti-magic constitution is truly disgusting. I originally wanted to take your head right off.¡± But it actually was because of the Sacred Mountain Ruins that she could not fully utilize her powers. In an instant, all 21 ogres resting across the dark river began stirring. They picked up sticks from the ground and crazily charged at them. Black Wolf stepped back half a step. ¡°Each ogre is naturally born with the constitution of a human knight¡¯s attendant, these guys¡­¡± ¡°How could there be so many here! Considering their appetites, they should have already devoured all the local residents, something is fishy, they couldn¡¯t have naturally existed here.¡± ¡°Who is feeding these ogres!¡± Black Wolf¡¯s experience let him realize that someone was assisting these ogres. Ivita was still chanting his spell, but the incantation in his mouth had completely changed, except for the original key structure, the rest had been replaced by Zeus. The old witch also noticed that the spell, which was already amplified to a power close to an official wizard, seemed to surpass the spells of ordinary official wizards. Although many wizards have had the experience of creating new spells with instinct and intuition. However, Ivita hadn¡¯t learned the lightning curse at all, he was just using a magic item. Yet, he still altered the spell, elevating the power of the magic up a notch. This left the old witch doubtful, as she had never encountered a similar situation. The lightning on the rock fell suddenly, and in the old witch¡¯s eyes, it fell on Ivita, which startled her. Could this be a backlash from the spell? All magic must come with a price and the risk of the spell. The old witch hesitated for a while and did not dare to intercept the lightning for Ivita. However, the lightning fell into Ivita¡¯s hand and it became a zigzag-shaped thunderbolt wand, as if it had physical form. Ivita was shocked because this thunderbolts wand was very similar to Zeus¡¯ weapon, and he just instinctively added Zeus¡¯s name to his spell. So what will happen if he also adds the names of other gods into his spell? Ivita threw the thunderbolt wand out, and it turned into a speeding lightning in the air, piercing through the stomach of the first ogre, then the lightning spread, piercing the stomachs of the second and third ogres, and a total of twenty lightnings spread, hitting all the ogres behind the first ogre as well. This was a spell more potent than that of an official wizard, and it drained one-sixth of Ivita¡¯s magic power in an instant. That is, all his Thunder Attribute Magic Power. At the same time, it also restored the energy balance that was about to be broken. And all the twenty-one ogres were seriously injured under this powerful spell. The most crucial issue was that the bright light of the lightning once again blinded them, and Black Wolf promptly chopped off the heads of the three closest ogres with his broadsword. Rayli also stabbed his sword into the hearts of the ogres. The old witch seemingly disdained using magic on the ogres, summoned her portable carriage, took out two Mithril swords from the carriage, and used a fast and sharp dual swordsmanship to kill the two ogres that approached her. Ivita looked surprisingly at the old witch, not expecting her swordsmanship to be so powerful. She was so swift with her two one-handed swords that no one could clearly see her moves. Six out of the twenty-one ogres were killed in the blink of an eye, leaving only fifteen, all of which were severely injured. The ogres now realized the strength of Ivita and the others, completely different from the villagers they had eaten before, and they started to panic. ¡°We¡¯re done for, we must have been discovered by the human army, otherwise why would they be so powerful, we can¡¯t defeat them.¡± ¡°Are these people coming to eat us!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, didn¡¯t the old woman say that humans think our meat stinks, and they won¡¯t eat us! This is our racial advantage, we think human meat is delicious, but humans think our meat stinks, so humans won¡¯t eat us. If humans thought our meat was delicious, we would have been eaten by humans long ago.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ve seen a tiger who liked to eat humans before, and then it was eaten by humans.¡± ¡°Stop talking, we¡¯re going to be wiped out!!¡± ¡°We need help from the Treants!¡± ¡°They¡¯re all gone, I told you they¡¯re all liars, they¡¯ve deceived us. We need to use that¡­¡± Black Wolf and the others, who originally wanted to charge after their victory, found that five suits of armor suddenly stood up beside the dark river. There was nobody within the helms of the armor, yet they could move on their own. Black Wolf reminded Ivita and the others, ¡°This is the racial ability of the ogres, Soul Hidden in Fingertips.¡± ¡°These are the undead servants killed by the ogres.¡± ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t attack the armor, it¡¯s useless, wasting time, quickly kill the ogre using this ability in the ogre horde.¡± Chapter 36 - 36 36 A Conspiracy_1 ?Chapter 36: Chapter 36 A Conspiracy_1 Chapter 36: Chapter 36 A Conspiracy_1 Ivita and the others bypassed the five ghost armors and rushed directly to the five ogres dancing beside the dark river. However, these five ogres were also protected by their companions. Black Wolf was the first to jump on an ogre¡¯s shoulder, his two-handed sword plunged directly into the ogre¡¯s skull, and brain matter instantly gushed out. When the nearby ogre attempted to grasp him, he spun around and chopped off its hands with his sword. He then drew the dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the neck of the ogre on his left, killing it. Demon Hunters who have undergone four trials have physical speed and agility beyond ordinary people. Not to mention, these ogres had already been severely injured by Ivita¡¯s magic spells. So, the Demon Hunter, rushing into the group of ogres, was a brutal display of aesthetic violence. He cleanly and neatly killed two ogres and crippled another. Meanwhile, the Old Witch, wielding two mithril swords, moved like the fast-spinning blades of a helicopter. The tip of her sword drew elegant and complex arcs, each stroke precisely slicing the tendons all over the ogres¡¯ bodies, leaving countless wounds and causing the enemies to die in fear and pain. The ogres were all terrified by the cold and terrifying witch amidst the carnage. The witch¡¯s killing pace was slower than Black Wolf¡¯s, but her endless flurry of knives dazzled in front of your face, imposing fear and dread before death, which was almost preferable to being killed by Black Wolf¡¯s swift stroke. Rayli and Ivita¡¯s battle achievements were roughly the same. After all, Rayli was just an ordinary warrior. He was even slightly at a disadvantage while fighting one of the ogres. As for Ivita, who fought the ogre with a short sword, well, his swordsmanship¡­ It¡¯s best not to mention it. There are no words to describe something that doesn¡¯t exist. Ivita originally intended to overcome the ogre with sheer strength, but to his dismay, he was the one getting overpowered. The ogre on the other side swung its wooden stick, creating a fierce wind, while he was wildly wielding a short sword, making an utter mess. He quickly found himself in the awkward situation of desperately dodging the incoming wooden stick. The ogre on the other side was having more and more fun beating him and even reared up, ¡°I¡¯m going to eat you.¡± What the hell. The guy even got cocky, he had been planning to escape previously. Ivita glanced around and saw that no one could support him, so he reluctantly raised his right hand, and the Ring of Desire on his pinky flashed a strange light. Next, the ogre, who thought he was winning the fight, had a dumbfounded look in his eyes. It struggled a little, but its mind was quickly controlled by the spell. It was even smoother than when he used the charm spell to control a human before. Ivita used the mysterious connection to order the ogre to raise its hand, and it really did. Then, he ordered the ogre to stand on the human side and protect them. The next moment, the ogre suddenly attacked behind Ivita, and the ghost armor, which had been behind him, was completely dismantled by this blow, with part of the chest armor severely deformed. Ivita instantly felt a chill down his spine. He had overlooked the ghost armor lurking behind him. The situation just now was extremely dangerous! He saw Black Wolf rushing towards him from the side. Black Wolf had clearly also realized the danger just now. Black Wolf parried the swords of two ghost armors and repelled them. ¡°Your Highness, I apologize, I forgot this is your first battle.¡± ¡°I should have protected you by your side. I was too focused on killing the five ogre sacrifices and neglected to protect you.¡± Ivita said, ¡°Luckily I managed to control an ogre in advance.¡± Black Wolf solemnly looked back. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve done exceedingly well for your first battle. You¡¯ve seriously wounded twenty-one ogres.¡± ¡°Next, I¡¯ll protect you by your side. You order the ogre you¡¯ve controlled to kill those five sacrifices.¡± Ivita nodded and issued this command to the ogre he had controlled. The Ogre lunged at the five sacrifices, while the other Ogres had already been restrained by the Old Witch. Black Wolf and Rayli were blocking the five phantom armors. The five sacrifices danced around while maintaining the state of summoning phantoms, unable to stop. As a result, one of them was immediately smashed to death by the Ogre under Ivita¡¯s control. Clearly, the Ogres were losing the battle. Ivita originally wanted to use the Damage Curse, but the Old Witch on the other side had also finished dealing with the Ogre warriors and was now heading towards the Ogre sacrifices. Without much time, all of the Ogre sacrifices were killed by the Old Witch and the Ogre controlled by Ivita. Soon, the bodies of twenty Ogres lay on the ground, and the phantom armors were scattered, falling onto the ground. Green blood was flooding the ground. This was the fresh blood of humanity¡¯s enemies. Ivita sat on a rock, gasping slightly to dispel the excitement and tension of his first battle. He checked his Magic Power. The Charm Spell had only consumed about a third of the magic Odin had given him. His problem now was that he could cast too few spells, not that he lacked Magic Power. At the same time, he should also learn some swordsmanship. The Old Witch kicked the body of the previously cursing Ogre into the water, and Black Wolf rescued Branthon from the barbecue rack. Their injuries were not serious. The Old Witch was hit by an Ogre, injuring her left hand. Black Wolf had some sword injuries on his body, which were left by the phantom armors. Rayli and Ivita didn¡¯t sustain much damage. Branthon survived the ordeal and thanked Ivita and the others for their help. He had previously thought that he would be barbecued by the Ogres. After apologizing to Ivita for his reckless actions, he started looking for his sister, Sharon. ¡°Where¡¯s my sister?¡± ¡°Sharon, where are you!¡± ¡°The Ogres are all dead. Sharon, where are you!¡± Seeing no one responding, Branthon¡¯s voice became more and more mournful, filled with guilt and sadness. Ivita walked around the area where the Ogres had previously settled. There were many bones on the ground. But he found that the bones of these corpses didn¡¯t look like human bones, but more like sheep¡¯s. Ivita¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. ¡°Black Wolf¡­¡± ¡°Rayli, you guys come and verify the source of these bones.¡± Black Wolf came and took a look. ¡°Most of them are corpses of sheep and dogs, with a few adult human bones. There are some linen clothes around. I guess these adults are probably refugees.¡± Black Wolf looked at Ivita. ¡°Your Highness, you are different from before, your guess is correct. The reason why these Ogres didn¡¯t rush to the surface to eat people is that someone has been raising them.¡± Ivita quickly thought about many things: the nobles¡¯ conspiracy, Baron Moro raising Ogres. With so many Ogres in Baron Moro¡¯s territory, the Baron should have noticed. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But it doesn¡¯t make sense. Can a human noble really control these untamed, violent and stupid Ogres? Furthermore, based on the Ogre¡¯s eating habits, the mere Baron would be eaten out of house and home in just a few days. Why would he keep these Ogres? Could it be that because he couldn¡¯t afford to feed them, he used his own daughter as Ogre food? Ivita said to Black Wolf: ¡°Check to see if there are any bones of a little girl. This is getting more and more complicated.¡± The Old Witch suddenly stood by the river, ¡°Your Highness, you may be about to make a fortune. I found the Ogres¡¯ treasure trove! It¡¯s in the river! Thanks to me throwing the corpses down earlier, I was able to discover it!¡± Chapter 37 - 37 37 Ancient Books The Alien Appearing in the ?Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Ancient Books, The Alien Appearing in the Cave_1 Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Ancient Books, The Alien Appearing in the Cave_1 At the mention of treasure, everyone gathered by the riverbank. They looked towards the bottom of the river in the direction the old witch was pointing and found a square shadow in the middle of the river. This shadow bore obvious traces of human activity. Because it was too square. It definitely wasn¡¯t eroded by the water. Black Wolf got excited. ¡°Ogres have a habit of accumulating treasure. I saw nothing in the cave earlier and thought it was because they had just moved in.¡± ¡°Turns out they hid the treasure beneath the dark river.¡± Suddenly, he realized that extracting the treasure from the rapidly flowing dark river would be very difficult. Moreover, with so many of them, how should the treasure be divided? Ivita noticed everyone suddenly go silent. He initially did not realize what had happened, only feeling that he was about to get rich, capable of hiring soldiers and buying horses. But when he noticed this eerie silence, he instantly understood. It was a moment of reckoning. What makes a team a team is not how armed they are, but their capability to share wealth and jointly shoulder responsibilities. Now they were faced with the Ogre Tribe¡¯s treasure. It was time to test the team that Ivita had assembled. How to share the benefits was a matter of utmost importance that every lord needed to learn. Because if it was not distributed well, even if that person does not voice out, there certainly would be resentment. In the long run, trouble is bound to arise. Noticing everyone willingly waiting for him to speak, Ivita said, ¡°Finders are keepers, we are all a team.¡± ¡°The treasure is surely to be shared.¡± At this moment, Branthon came over feeling uneasy, saying, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t contribute in the fight.¡± ¡°So, I won¡¯t take any share of your wealth.¡± ¡°And I appreciate your assistance.¡± ¡°Now, what I want is just to find my sister.¡± After saying this, he crouched on one side, starting to search through the bones on the ground. Previously, Black Wolf said that most of the bones on the ground were from livestock, only a few were from grown-up humans, but there hadn¡¯t been a thorough check. Branthon feared seeing his sister¡¯s bones but he was more afraid in case his sister had indeed ended up bones, he would miss and not be able to take her home. Rayli also spoke out, ¡°Master, I don¡¯t need a share of the wealth.¡± ¡°Because I belong to you wholeheartedly.¡± Rayli bowed out conscientiously as he had not exerted much effort in the battle. This left the old witch and Black Wolf. Black Wolf said to Ivita, ¡°Your Highness, I only want ten percent of the treasure.¡± This was reasonable. As a mercenary, he was entitled to the spoils of war. Ivita understood; in this era¡¯s war, the lords themselves carry the duty of allocating the spoils of war to their vassals. The old witch opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to say that she wanted eighty percent, which had always been her habit. Then, she immediately realized that Ivita was her Lord Demon God. Next, she looked at Black Wolf and had to suppress her greed. ¡°Your Majesty, I also only want ten percent of the treasure.¡± Ivita nodded. That was also reasonable. Becuase the old witch was neither his vassal nor his mercenary, she¡­ it was unclear what she was. In any case, she was just following him. She had contributed a lot before, so she has to be considered in the division. The old witch said, ¡°Black Wolf, cut off all the fingers from the ogres and the sacrifices.¡± ¡°The fingers of the ogres contain the spirits of the warriors they have killed, and with a little simple treatment, they can be used as a tool to summon disposable spirits.¡± ¡°If the quality is exceptional, they might be used as research materials for Spirit Mirror Divination.¡± Ivita suddenly thought of it, right, the Spirit Mirror Divination required spirits of outstanding quality. Miraculously, the materials were readily available. The old witch claimed, ¡°I will fetch the treasure from under the water.¡± Black Wolf looked at her somewhat doubtfully. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± said the old witch angrily. ¡°You think I want to embezzle? No, it¡¯s because out of everyone here, only I can breathe under water freely. Even if I stay underwater for an entire day, I won¡¯t die.¡± Black Wolf shrugged. After dividing the work, the old witch began hauling up the Ogres¡¯ treasure from the water. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. And Ivita, to the best of his abilities, helped Branthon turn the bones in the soil. As time passed, Branthon became increasingly agitated. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Absolutely nothing.¡± ¡°There is no trace of a little girl¡¯s bones here. Could my sister really not be here? But how is that possible?¡± ¡°Where on earth did my sister go?¡± Black Wolf put the five ogre fingers containing spirits into a sack. ¡°The person raising the ogres specially chose refugees to feed them.¡± ¡°So, there definitely won¡¯t be a little girl¡¯s bones.¡± ¡°Refugees can do anything, they won¡¯t run around with a little girl. On the journey, she would have been sold off long back, or eaten¡­¡± Ivita warned Black Wolf with his eyes, preventing him from continuing and upsetting Branthon. Branthon shook his head and gratefully said to Ivita, ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t have to consider my feelings. She must still be alive. Since she is not here, she must be somewhere else.¡± At this moment, the old witch climbed out of the dark river, throwing three rusty iron boxes onto the ground. Instantly, things spilled out from the three iron boxes. The first iron box had some unknown currency, but Ivita recognized them as silver coins and some gold coins, just that they didn¡¯t seem like shillings or pounds. Ivita was planning to study magic and needed a lot of funds. This pile of money was just the right pillow for his sleepiness. The second iron box spilled a pile of swords. Although most of the swords were rusty, there were a few which laid among the pile of rust, exuding a faint glow. And what fell out of the third iron box happened to be a thick book. The cover was filled with a kind of pictorial lines. All the lines were connected and it was unclear what they meant. The old witch ignored the gold coins and weapons, picked up the book and looked slightly surprised. ¡°This is¡­ an ancient book written in Epirus characters, with magic protecting it. Such ancient magical power, I have no idea which era or school it¡¯s from.¡± The old witch said, ¡°Your Majesty, this book is enough for me.¡± Ivita curiously asked, ¡°Can you understand the text in this book?¡± The old witch nodded, opening the book. ¡°Hmm, the first page says ¨C For our descendants to always be victorious, I have recorded in this book our fight and victory over the Ogre Tribe and the Sons of Forest, it contains knowledge for the perpetual victory of mankind, and I hope our future generations can see this.¡± The old witch looked up, suddenly looking pale as she stared at Ivita¡¯s back. Unbeknownst to when, a woman sat crouched behind Ivita, looking at the stone wall with her head down, hair scattered, giving off a sense of horror. Chapter 38 - 38 38 The Curse of Blood_1 ?Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Curse of Blood_1 Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Curse of Blood_1 Ivita noticed the woman behind her as well. Rayli even stood in front of herself, using herself as the meat shield for Ivita, this was much more loyal compared to some witches. The Black Wolf also pointed his sword at the woman. ¡°Who are you?¡± Ivita prepared to unleash the triple ring damage curse at any time, and after turning to face this squatting woman, she slowly retreated. The old witch pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Rest assured, this thing won¡¯t harm you. It¡¯s just a phantom.¡± ¡°The era when she really existed, probably from thousands of years ago. But she left a magic on this rock wall, and I¡¯m afraid the switch to trigger this magic is the book I have.¡± ¡°And she doesn¡¯t seem to be human, she is a humanoid creature similar to the Blood Bird and the Eagle Man.¡± ¡°Hehe, thousands of years ago, there were all kinds of races in Ambros Basin, but later they were killed off by humans. In the end, humans had their final victory.¡± Only then did Ivita notice the ¡®woman¡¯ squatting on the ground. There were some black and silver feathers between her neck. This thing was indeed not human. You wouldn¡¯t find out unless you paid close attention. The woman suddenly spoke. ¡°When did witches start to love humans so much? Has the world changed after a millennium?¡± The old witch stood tall and said with great pride, ¡°We witches have done all kinds of bad things, but we never betray humans!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Druids were hunted down to near extinction, while we witches thrive despite being despised by everyone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the reason.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The squatting ¡®woman¡¯ was silent for a while. She said: ¡°In fact, we did betray them, but¡­¡± ¡°The druids didn¡¯t side with non-humans either, the civilization they chose at the time was just a bit special, but they were still human. It¡¯s a pity¡­¡± The old witch fell into confusion. Because the things from thousands of years ago, she does not know very clearly either. About the civilization supported by the Druids, her teacher was very reluctant to talk about it. But after all, it was a phantom from a thousand years ago who said this, she snorted and chose not to believe it. The woman suddenly looked at Ivita, at the obsidian ring on Ivita¡¯s thumb,¡±Druids¡¯ conference ring, since you have this, maybe we can be friends.¡± ¡°The order of Viscount Ambrose¡¯s country is about to be in chaos.¡± ¡°Everything here will soon be overthrown, do you want to join our Sons of Forest Alliance?¡± Ivita looked at the old witch, the old witch had mentioned that her disciple did something great. The key thing is, what on earth did your apprentice do to cause such a huge upheaval in Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country? The ancient enemy from thousands of years ago revived because of this. Ivita, shook her head at the ¡®woman¡¯. ¡°I am the future king of Alsace, I will not betray humans for a defeated race!¡± Who would have thought that after hearing this, the woman actually started laughing. ¡°Hahaha¡­. no wonder the druids would give you the conference ring.¡± ¡°It turns out to be a descendant of the sinful Alsace family. Hahaha¡­ there are still people alive in that family, and they even still exist now.¡± ¡°This wasn¡¯t easy.¡± ¡°But I guess they probably won¡¯t¡­ let you Alsace sin tribe people lead a good life.¡± ¡°Someone from the Alsace family is actually saying they¡¯ll never betray anyone, hahaha¡­¡± Ivita was baffled. Was the royal family of Alsace a sinful clan? What did the Alsace royal family do to be called the Sin Tribe? Thousands of years ago, it seemed that humans hadn¡¯t fully occupied the mainland, and they were struggling with all races. So what role did the royal family of Alsace play at the time? Could it be that there¡¯s more hidden behind the Alsace family losing their kingship?! And this conference ring is so famous that even a long-dead person could recognise it at a glance. What exactly is this conference ring? Is it okay for me to run around with the Druid¡¯s conference ring¡­? There¡¯s a ton of problems with myself now. The Alsace royal family, Druids, the old witch around me, yes, the old witch also thinks I am a demon god from subspace. I¡¯m becoming a walking symbol of anti-human forces. The Grand Hearthstone Witch said to Ivita: ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t listen to the nonsense of a phantom from a thousand years ago.¡± ¡°Her time has long stopped at thousands of years ago.¡± ¡°Your Highness?¡± The woman turned around, showing a stunningly beautiful face that could even attract souls. She looked at Ivita with confusion, ¡°You¡¯re using the title for beings from subspace to address this human child, that¡¯s odd. Wait, my eyes can¡¯t see through his soul, I can only see his physical body.¡± ¡°Even if it has been two thousand six hundred and twenty-two years, it shouldn¡¯t be this way.¡± ¡°The only possibility¡­¡± Suddenly, her face changed, and she bowed to Ivita, performing a standard salute. ¡°The Duke of the Forest salutes you, Your Excellency, I didn¡¯t notice your identity before. It seems you¡¯ve also noticed that the Thousand-Year Fire has reached its limit, so you chose a descendent of the Sin Tribe as the incarnation.¡± ¡°The law has weakened, order will soon be overthrown.¡± ¡°Originally, I had intended to kill the reader who opened the ¡®Ambros Forbidden Book¡¯ so that this book would never be seen by humans. My curse was not cast on the rock wall, but on the book.¡± ¡°But, since it fell into your hands, that means humans will never get the book.¡± ¡°Thank you for keeping the forbidden book.¡± Ivita: ¡°¡­..¡± Don¡¯t talk about me as if I¡¯m some ultimate anti-human force. This woman from a thousand years ago has also been managed to be led astray by the old witch. I mean, it¡¯s because I borrowed the names of six divine kings, which caused some abnormalities, but I¡¯m not a demon god. This old witch just goes around telling people I¡¯m a demon god and she keeps misleading people, what if this spreads and attracts the Church?!! Hearthstone Grand Witch! By that time, will you take responsibility to explain to the Church?! The woman suddenly tilted her head back, her eyes bleeding, and her body started to crack, as if it was a shattered mirror. The blood trickling from the corner of her eyes turned into blood drops that strangely floated upwards. She screamed hysterically. Her voice was as hoarse as a man, not at all like her beautiful soft female voice just now. ¡°Using the name of the sixth-level Grand Duke, the ruler of the Sons of the Forest, the Duke of the Forest, I make the following prophecy.¡± ¡°Next, Ambros will leave the era of peace and enter a time of blood, fire and betrayal, a time for human degeneration.¡± ¡°The following disasters will appear on this land.¡± ¡°The first disaster is the beginning of the land¡¯s withering, humans won¡¯t get the food they deserve.¡± ¡°The second disaster is the Bohr River turned red by human blood.¡± ¡°The third disaster is the rats invading Ambros City, and the bones of our people who had been suppressed for a thousand years would come out from under the land of Ambros.¡± ¡± The blood of the Sons of the Forest for a thousand years must be compensated with thirty times the blood of human.¡± Chapter 39 - 39 39 Son of the Forest_1 ?Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Son of the Forest_1 Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Son of the Forest_1 The old witch¡¯s face drastically changed. ¡°This is not just a prophecy, it¡¯s a curse. The prophecy she made interferes with the future.¡± ¡°Ah, she left her projection on the ¡®Ambros Forbidden Book¡¯, not just to prevent humans from reading it, but also to use it as an anchor to curse the humans of a thousand years later.¡± ¡°I believe the humans at that time were so powerful that they brought the Sons of the Forest to despair, so they chose to time-travel and curse the humans of the present.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Because they know, no matter how powerful, everything fades with time. For example, there isn¡¯t a single fourth-level professional in Viscount Ambros¡¯ Country now!¡± ¡°But wait, this is the realm of magic of the Dark Queen, this is the high-end application of law. She has to pay a price to the Dark Queen!¡± Upon finishing this prophecy, her eyes blew up. At the same time, she seemed to have ¡®seen¡¯ something truly terrifying, shrunk against the wall and screamed in fear like any other young girl. ¡°Who will save me¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come closer¡­¡± ¡°I regret it, I shouldn¡¯t have done it, I truly regret it. I know I was wrong.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, please¡­ can you intervene with the Dark Queen? I don¡¯t want to go there, it¡¯s even more terrifying than Hell, I beg you, Your Majesty¡­¡± A voice resounded within the cave. ¡°I declare the law established.¡± A pitch-black hand suddenly appeared, grabbing the woman¡¯s neck like a chicken, effortlessly dragging her into an illusory space. Ivita, Rayli, the old witch, and Bran were all stunned. The situation changed too quickly. The old witch said blankly: ¡°The most powerful witch, the Dark Queen, has caught her and taken her into the realm of black magic where time and life don¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where black magic is most concentrated.¡± ¡°This is the price she paid for cursing the Ambros Plain, the entirety of a sixth-level power¡¯s life and time.¡± ¡°I guessed wrong before, I thought it was just a high-level witch leaving an illusion with no attack power. Who knew she was the Duke of the Forest, a sixth-level ritualist. It was too dangerous just now, I shouldn¡¯t have rashly opened an ancient book. If she truly wants to deal with us, a thousand years ago, a glance from her and we all would have died.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s here, if she really wanted to kill us just now, we¡¯d absolutely have no way out, except for Your Majesty, of course.¡± ¡°She must have been frightened by your reputation.¡± The old witch looked at Ivita with admiration. She was increasingly in awe of Ivita¡¯s power. Ivita was speechless; you have too much confidence in me. However, if the old witch hadn¡¯t calmed the woman just now, they all would have died. Ivita said, ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve gotten ourselves into quite a predicament.¡± The old witch quickly responded, ¡°Your Majesty, we¡¯re not involved.¡± ¡°These events resulted from actions the Ambros people didn¡¯t handle properly a thousand years ago. If we leave Ambros immediately, we can avoid getting involved. I don¡¯t believe these so-called Sons of Forest dare to venture out of Ambros.¡± ¡°They only dare to bully the humans on the fringe of power, the weakest, in the Independent Country of Viscount Ambros.¡± ¡°The Duke of the Forest was indeed formidable just now, but if she dares to act insolently in front of the Alsace Kingdom, the kingdom¡¯s army would surely suppress her quickly.¡± ¡°A sixth-level ritualist is akin to a Duke, but the Alsace Kingdom is a kingdom-level force.¡± Bran timidly said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we notify the Grand Viscount?¡± The old witch glared at him: ¡°If you want to, go. I don¡¯t wish to get involved.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Ivita was deep in thought. He suddenly realized that everything he encountered in this mission was due to the divination the old druid did for him. The divination stated that he would gain territory and talents from this mission. It was indeed the old druid¡¯s divination that led him to accept this mission. So, according to the prophecy, the war between the Viscount Ambros Country and the Sons of the Forest is my opportunity to acquire a large amount of territory? I guess that makes sense. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t be able to acquire much territory. Where would you find opportunities to gain territory in peaceful times? Only in a chaotic era of war, an era of sword and fire, could one achieve greatness. The Viscount Ambros Country¡¯s military strength isn¡¯t that high, actually. In this place, at most, the third sequence level of military strength will show up, the Sons of the Forest, too, are likely on par, perhaps even weaker. Otherwise, they would have attacked Ambros long ago, instead of messing around with curses, conspiracies, and other petty schemes. The Duke of the Forest from earlier, he must have been the ruler during the most prosperous period of the Sons of the Forest more than two thousand years ago. Compared to the current Sons of the Forest, they¡¯re worlds apart. The current Sons of the Forest are no more than beings driven to the brink of extinction by humans. Ivita said: ¡°Alright, Hearthstone Witch, let¡¯s help Branton find his sister first.¡± ¡°How can we have enough money to leave Ambros if we don¡¯t complete the task?¡± The Hearthstone Witch narrowed her eyes, she had no idea what Ivita was up to. In Hearthstone Witch¡¯s imagination, Demon God¡¯s plan is like an unpredictable snake, she wouldn¡¯t be able to guard against it. She originally wanted to use the power of Demon God to get rid of the Wild Boar Knight Regiment for her, but unexpectedly, staying by Demon God¡¯s side, she got involved in one terrifying incident after another. The Hearthstone Witch opened the Ambros Forbidden Book. ¡°I suspect that Branton¡¯s sister¡¯s disappearance has something to do with the Sons of the Forest.¡± ¡°So the contents of this forbidden book should be able to help us.¡± ¡°Your Highness.¡± Branton looked at Ivita with gratitude. ¡°Your Highness, thank you for coming.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine, without your arrival, how I would have faced these ogres, let alone the Duke of the Forest.¡± ¡°These matters have long exceeded the scope of our baron¡¯s management, only a naturally born royal like you can resolve these matters.¡± Branton even looked at Ivita with eyes like those looking at a demigod hero of ancient times. ¡°If I were not a vassal of Viscount Ambros, I would have sworn allegiance to you.¡± Looking at what they did just now, taking out twenty ogres with a small team, and confronting the Duke of the Forest who ruled the Sons of the Forest in legends. This is simply a scene that could only be found in knightly fiction. Ivita nodded at him, then said to the Old Witch, ¡°You check to see if there is any useful knowledge in the Forbidden Book that can explain the situation of Branton¡¯s sister¡¯s disappearance.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The Old Witch quickly turned the pages of the book. ¡°The Sons of the Forest are a kind of humanoid creature, but the difference between them and us is like the difference between chimpanzees and human beings.¡± ¡°Although we are all humanoids, the Sons of the Forest and humans are two different species.¡± ¡°On the path of evolution we guess that we and the Sons of the Forest have a common ancestor, however, we left the forest, established villages and cities, while the Sons of the Forest established civilization in the forest. At the most dangerous times, even our children couldn¡¯t get near the forest.¡± ¡°Until the emergence of the Dark Magic Forest, everything changed¡­¡± The Old Witch turned the pages of the book. ¡°These are introductions to the Sons of the Forest, but the Sons of the Forest is a unified term for a coalition of various humanoid races, in fact, there are many types of humanoid races inside.¡± ¡°The Sons of the Forest is a union of all forest-dwelling humanoid races opposing humans. Huh, it turns out they are all some kind of inferior races relative to humans that failed in evolution, no wonder they are no match for us humans.¡± Ivita urged: ¡°Hearthstone Witch, don¡¯t be arrogant, find out which one of the Sons of the Forest is the most likely to have taken Branton¡¯s sister.¡± ¡°I will look for the Son of the Forest humanoid race most likely to have taken his sister.¡± The Old Witch turned the pages of the book, and a few minutes later, she exclaimed. ¡°Got it! It¡¯s the Treants.¡± ¡°Legend has it that the Treants have formed a profound connection with some ancient trees, which caused them to break off the evolutionary path towards humans, and instead, they have developed a peculiar resonance with trees. They spend half their lives in a tree hole, until they come of age and find their coming-of-age ceremony target, then they will leave the tree hole, darn it, it¡¯s actually like this.¡± The Old Witch¡¯s face changed dramatically. ¡°Your Highness, we should retreat from this baron¡¯s territory immediately.¡± Chapter 40 - 40 40 Ancient Tree and Sacrifice and ?Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Ancient Tree and Sacrifice and Sacrificial offerings_1 Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Ancient Tree and Sacrifice and Sacrificial offerings_1 Blanton¡¯s face was ashen, because while Ivita and the others could choose to leave Baron Moro¡¯s territory, he couldn¡¯t. Panicked, all he could think of was rushing back to inform his father of the situation. Blanton swallowed. ¡°My lord, if there actually are so many enemies, we should alert my father immediately.¡± ¡°He could summon nearby knights and peasant troops in the name of Baron Moro.¡± ¡°We need to gather an army quickly.¡± Ivita acknowledged Blanton¡¯s suggestion. Currently, within Baron Moro¡¯s domain, there was only one readily available guard unit and low-ranking noble apprentices taking knight training. Indeed, they should promptly summon the Peasant army and feudal forces from all the manors in Baron Moro¡¯s domain. Although the fighting ability of the Peasant army and feudal forces was in question, their sheer number was a force to be reckoned with. Just as Ivita was about to respond. The Old Witch placed her Mithril sword against Blanton¡¯s neck. Blanton looked at her incredulously, wanting to question why she would do such a thing. But a glimpse of the Old Witch¡¯s terrifying eyes turned his words to ash. There was genuine killing intent in her eyes. Her eyes were as wide as brass bells she hissed threateningly, ¡°If you dare do this, I¡¯ll kill you on the spot.¡± Blanton trembled and fell to the ground in disbelief. ¡°My lord, the witch has revealed her true colors. She¡¯s in league with the Son of Forest.¡± ¡°Blanton, hold your tongue.¡± Ivita was confident that as long as the Hearthstone Grand Witch didn¡¯t discover her true identity, she wouldn¡¯t dare betray her. The Hearthstone Grand Witch feared the Demon God. She was frightened of Ivita. He turned to the Old Witch. ¡°Can you tell me why you¡¯re doing this? Does it have something to do with what¡¯s in the Forbidden Book?¡± The Old Witch saw Black Wolf, Ivita, and Rayli staring at her. The Forbidden Book, cradled in her right hand, started turning its pages on its own accord. ¡°Based on this book¡¯s description of the Son of Forest, I finally figured out why everyone forgot about Sharon.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t amnesia.¡± ¡°It¡¯s replacement.¡± Ivita looked puzzled. ¡°Replacement?¡± Upon hearing news related to his sister, Blanton immediately focused his attention. The Old Witch explained, ¡°This book describes the characteristics of the Treants. They have a natural ability similar to Druid spells. Born of tree hollows and returned to them upon death, they have a racial talent ¨C Skin Changing.¡± ¡°On the day of their coming-of-age ceremony, they would kill a target and wear their skin. Consequently, their muscles and bones would morph to imitate the victim¡¯s physique.¡± ¡°They can almost perfectly imitate the original. Only a couple who has lived together for decades could possibly detect the difference.¡± ¡°From then on, the Treants would live as the human victim, hence their other name ¨C Skin-Changers.¡± For some reason, Ivita was reminded of the Skin-changing aberrations from her previous world. The Old Witch continued, ¡°According to this book, Baron Moro has long been replaced by a Treant.¡± ¡°If we let this boy go and tell the imposter Baron that we¡¯ve discovered the plot of the Son of Forest, who do you think the Baron will mobilize the troops against: the Son of Forest, or us?¡± Ivita nodded, ¡°I see.¡± Everyone turned to look at Blanton, with a trace of sympathy in their eyes. The Old Witch¡¯s assertion implied that Blanton¡¯s father, Baron Moro, was long dead, and the current Baron Moro was nothing more than an impostor, a Skin-Changer. Blanton shook. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. What you¡¯re saying can¡¯t be true. Then how would you explain that even the villagers have forgotten about my sister?¡± ¡°Could it be that every person is a Skin-Changer, a Treant!¡± The Old Witch reasoned, ¡°That¡¯s precisely the issue.¡± ¡°This book records that during a battle with the Treants over two thousand years ago, our human ancestors discovered a strange trait of the ancient tree the Treants worship.¡± ¡°When the Treants sacrificed human children to their ancient tree, a phenomenon known as ¡°Memory Distortion¡± would occur ¨C those who were distantly related would slowly forget about the captured child.¡± ¡°But the child¡¯s immediate relatives and those who frequently interacted with the child would not.¡± ¡°The current situation is that almost everyone around your sister has been replaced by a Treant, leaving only you.¡± ¡°And the villagers have forgotten about your sister Sharon because of Memory Distortion.¡± Stunned, Blanton managed to stand up and back away, avoiding the Mithril sword. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s true, as you said, the Son of the Forest has long controlled Baron Moro¡¯s territory. Why would they merely leave me alive instead of killing me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much fighting power!¡± The Old Witch sneered coldly, mockingly, ¡°What are you that they should kill you? You¡¯re just a pig waiting to be slaughtered.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only nineteen to twenty years old, right?¡± ¡°Just right. In the eyes of the Treants, one is considered an adult at twenty-two¡±. ¡°You too are considered a valuable offering to them.¡± ¡°The Treants believe that only the blood of the nobility can be sacrificed to the ancient tree.¡± ¡°This ritual, however, can only be conducted once every three months. Hence, you have been lucky enough to escape.¡± ¡°However, in my view, since your sister disappeared three months ago, your original death date should be the fifteenth of the next month.¡± The Old Witch showed no compassion, continuing to add salt to the wound. She has always believed that the pain of the weak is the source of artistic beauty. Therefore, many famous artists have the habit of self-harm, which is the Old Witch¡¯s understanding of art. The Old Witch mockingly said, ¡°The fact that you can walk with us now is your good fortune.¡± ¡°I advise you to accept reality.¡± ¡°I do not accept this.¡± Bran Mercer was about to run out of the cave. But the Old Witch suddenly threw her Mithril sword in her left hand. The sword barely grazed Bran Mercer¡¯s ear and then embedded itself in the rock wall in front of him. The Old Witch said, ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to stir up trouble.¡± ¡°If you dare to take one more step forward, my next sword will be thrown at your head.¡± Bran Mercer was gasping for breath. He didn¡¯t dare to move forward, but he didn¡¯t want to retreat either. He even gritted his teeth, with tears welling up in his eyes. ¡°Hearthstone Grand Witch, I order you not to speak with Bran Mercer again.¡± Ivita warned her with her eyes. ¡°This is my command, and if you dare defy it¡­¡± The Old Witch¡¯s proud face suddenly stiffened. This was a threat from the Demon God. Of course, the Old Witch would feel fear. ¡°Your Majesty, in my heart, your command is above the law.¡± ¡°I will certainly obey.¡± Ivita nodded in satisfaction. It¡¯s not something else. Firstly, Bran Mercer is still their employer. Running him off would, in essence, be financial suicide. Secondly, a teammate who loses control of his emotions is a nightmare. As someone destined to be king, managing the emotions of his team members is a very important and necessary skill. Ivita said to Bran Mercer, ¡°If you want to cry, just let it out.¡± ¡°But if you run over there recklessly like this, if your father is not a Treant, at most, you will only make your father think you are a coward.¡± ¡°But if it is a Treant, you might also lose your life.¡± ¡°Bran Mercer, I know that no matter what I say, it will not matter to you now. But I still want to tell you that I will stand by your side no matter what. If you are scared, remember that I am standing with you.¡± ¡°Calm down, let¡¯s discuss a plan to deal with the Treant.¡± Upon hearing this, Bran Mercer¡¯s body shook again. He turned around, tears streaming down his face. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In this era, the demand for men is particularly high, especially for men of nobility and knight attendants. They cannot cry, as it would only invite ridicule from others. But Ivita told him that he could cry here at this moment. Nobody would ridicule him! Bran Mercer let out his cries, venting his emotions. ¡°Your Highness¡­.I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± ¡°Even if the God of All Things from The Church could solve my situation now?¡± ¡°When I was young, I prayed in front of the god statue for a thousand days and nights. But now, why am I faced with such a disaster!¡± ¡°Your Highness, I really¡­.don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡± ¡°Your Highness, now I only have you. Please order me, for I do not know what to do.¡± Bran Mercer¡¯s personality is undoubtedly on the weaker side. The Old Witch¡¯s expression shifted subtly. ¡°Your Majesty, the Treants have completely occupied Baron Moro¡¯s territory.¡± ¡°They have an unknown number of Treant warriors and priests, and they can mobilize the human army in the territory using Baron Moro¡¯s identity.¡± ¡°They even have an ancient tree that has been worshipped for an unknown amount of time.¡± ¡°We would simultaneously become enemies with the Treants and humans in the territory, and have to deal with an ancient tree,¡± The Old Witch explained, ¡°The Forbidden Book says that after an ancient tree of the Treants receives enough offerings, it turns into a Treant. Our ancestors guessed more than two thousand years ago that these ancient trees are related to the Druids¡¯ Treant experiments at that time, which were closely related to the Sons of Forest.¡± ¡°Perhaps the Druids were the masterminds behind the retreat of the Sons of Forest from the evolutionary path of humanity.¡± ¡°But in any case, you are strong, but you are trapped in a human body. Look at your right hand.¡± Ivita lifted her right hand, finding a faint mark of lightning on the back of her hand. The Hearthstone Grand Witch said, ¡°You just invented a new Lightning Curse, but the unbalanced energy left a mark on your body.¡± ¡°If this continues, your human body will be deformed into a Magical Creature.¡± ¡°You can no longer push the limit of your Divine Power.¡± Chapter 41 - 41 41 Renowned Swords Executioner Broken Steel ?Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Renowned Swords: Executioner, Broken Steel Sword_1 Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Renowned Swords: Executioner, Broken Steel Sword_1 Ivita furrowed her eyebrows, the situation was even more dangerous than what the old witch had predicted. She was not a Demon God. She was just borrowing the power from six Divine Kings. Yet for some reason, once her six types of magic power lost their balance, the Tree of Life Spirit Energy would continuously release leaked divine power. The previous time she transformed into a dragon, there was already a risk of eternal slumber. It seemed that in the future she needed to pay attention to the balance of magic power, she could no longer let it lose balance casually. Ivita suddenly recalled what the old witch always mentioned, ¡®all magic comes with a price and its corresponding risk. This was a kind of law in itself, which every wizard needed to adhere to. These laws ran deep in every corner of the Black Forest, but she didn¡¯t know where the origin of these laws came from. Could they have come from the Dark Queen and the Magic Domain? Ivita snapped back to reality, saying: ¡°Hmm, I understand now.¡± ¡°Now the Hearthstone Witch wants to leave here, while I want to get involved in this operation.¡± ¡°Since we are now a team, every person should make their own decision. Therefore, to be fair, we should all vote by raising hands.¡± ¡°The minority must obey the majority.¡± ¡°Let us begin.¡± Ivita stepped back and raised her hand. ¡°I think we can participate in this operation. Don¡¯t forget, our aim is to acquire territory.¡± ¡°The foundation to oppose Alsace.¡± ¡°Look¡­¡± She pointed to the ogre she had controlled at the edge of the dark river. ¡°This fellow is my first spoil of war from this operation.¡± ¡°I believe in the prophecy of the old Druid.¡± ¡°Those who support my decision can raise their hands.¡± Brandon also raised his hand. ¡°My father has already died. I genuinely do not have the ability to serve as the lord of Baron Moro¡¯s territory.¡± ¡°If you are aiming to acquire territory from this trip, I am willing to present the Barony to you.¡± ¡°This is my reward to you, and also because I am now helpless to bear the responsibilities of the Baron.¡± ¡°This is possible according to law, because if the treants really have replaced all important individuals in the castle, then all of the Moro Family members are now dead.¡± ¡°I am the only successor. I will swear before the God of All Things of my purity, serve The Church for my whole life as a single man, I will become a knight of The Church, and automatically lose the right to inherit the territory.¡± Brandon said: ¡°The territory of Baron Moro is a stronghold that guards the only road entering the Ambros Basin from the west. So there has been a tradition since ancient times, that if an insufficient lord manages here, he should recommend a more powerful lord to the Ambrose Grand Viscount.¡± The crowd looked at him in astonishment. Nobody expected Brandon to make such a decision. But after careful thought, the Moro Family, which has almost been entirely slaughtered by the Sons of the Forest, was certain to lose this territory. It would be better to give it to Ivita in exchange for her protection. Seeing this, Rayli immediately raised his hand to show his support. ¡°Even though this trip is dangerous, if it¡¯s not dangerous, how could we obtain a territory.¡± ¡°I support my master.¡± Now only the old witch and Black Wolf were left. The old witch looked at Black Wolf who had not raised his hand, and showed a smile. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t raise your hand, we are both very cautious.¡± Black Wolf looked down and then suddenly lifted his head and raised his hand. He looked at the old witch, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, this is not against you. But I just gave it some serious thought and I believe it¡¯s too late for us to run.¡± ¡°We must have already been targeted. Experience tells me that escaping at this time would be inviting disaster.¡± The old witch grumbled: ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t know how to escape. Whenever I¡¯m in trouble, I scamper off.¡± ¡°There won¡¯t be any consequences at all, let others clean up the mess. Why should I bother?¡± Seeing that everyone was siding with Ivita, she could only raise her hand in agreement, ¡°Then I also support the crown¡¯s decision.¡± ¡°But have you decided how to proceed, Your Highness? It¡¯s ironic that the current Son of the Forest can summon the human army against us at any time.¡± Ivita said to her, ¡°First, let¡¯s divide the ogre¡¯s treasure chests.¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I need a little time to think about the plan.¡± There remain two treasure chests from the ogre, a stack of unidentifiable currency, and a pile of rusty swords. Only two of the swords were faintly glowing. Black Wolf sharply picked out a great sword from the pile of rusted iron. It had a heavy weight ball as the hilt, meticulously crafted sword guard, and three carvings of decapitated alien life heads on the blade. The first carving depicted a human cutting off a Tauren¡¯s head with this sword. The second carving showed the decapitation of a creature somewhat resembling a pig-man. The third carving depicted this sword impaling the heart of a centaur, a creature with a human¡¯s upper body and a horse¡¯s lower half. Black Wolf overjoyed, ¡°It¡¯s actually the Executioner. This famous sword once belonged to Henry, the traveling Great Knight of Sarson Duchy. He reportedly killed many alien races with this sword.¡± ¡°This sword was forged with special materials. Wounds inflicted by it would heal slower.¡± ¡°This is a very famous weapon.¡± ¡°Your Highness, this is the reward I want.¡± Ivita nodded. This sword was indeed most suitable for him, and it could greatly increase Black Wolf¡¯s combat power. Ivita asked him, ¡°What about the other sword left, do you recognize it?¡± Black Wolf picked up the other sword, it was plain and unadorned. It had a round counterweight head, a square sword guard, a high-quality wooden hilt, and the body of the sword was relatively slender. It looked more like a ceremonial sword for personal wear. Black Wolf nodded, ¡°It is also a famous sword. If it wasn¡¯t, it would have rusted a long time ago in the water.¡± ¡°This is the Broken Steel Sword.¡± ¡°Look at the inscription near the hilt of the blade ¨C ¡®The Sword that Cuts Everything, infused with a special meteorite¡¯.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t know its origin.¡± The old witch spoke, ¡°Legend has it that the Broken Steel Sword of the landless Ambrose Grand Viscount Elan, who died in the battle of the Bohr River, disappeared without a trace, and it¡¯s been over two hundred years since.¡± ¡°So it ended up in the hands of the ogres.¡± ¡°While it¡¯s ridiculous to claim that this sword can cut everything, it certainly can cut through many swords. Because it was forged with meteorite from outside world, and this sword was forged by a witch.¡± ¡°So it contains the magic power to cut through all other swords.¡± The old witch said, ¡°In short, although this is a knight¡¯s weapon, it can also be considered a magical item.¡± Ivita laughed, ¡°Then this sword is quite useful.¡± ¡°Branton, when I don¡¯t need it anymore, I will bestow it to you.¡± Branston was flattered. ¡°Your Highness¡­.¡± Ivita said to everyone, ¡°I have come up with a way to deal with the treants.¡± ¡°Branton, I want you to negotiate with the current Baron Moro. Tell him that you are ready to succeed him, and you want the barony.¡± ¡°We have to kill Baron Moro in a room.¡± ¡°Remove the Sons of the Forest¡¯s control over the barony, and during this process, we also need to win over the human army of the barony.¡± ¡°Killing the Baron and gaining control over the human army is the only way we can defeat the Treants.¡± Ivita told everyone, ¡°But we should always prepare for the worst. I memorized an escape route this afternoon, Rayli, you need to prepare several quality warhorses on the route we designated for escape.¡± ¡°I am not stingy with money anymore, all our money can be freely used for our plan to reclaim the human barony!¡± Faces looking at one another. Honestly, Black Wolf didn¡¯t expect a naive prince to plan as far as this. Ivita said to everyone, ¡°Actually, this is also my first time doing something like this, so if things go wrong, we¡¯ll just have to adapt.¡± ¡°Rayli, you are our only way out, you must be ready to escape.¡± Chapter 42 - 42 42 Sudden Changes and Quick Thinking_1 ?Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Sudden Changes and Quick Thinking_1 Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Sudden Changes and Quick Thinking_1 They left the dark river. Because besides the ogre controlled by Ivita, the rest of the ogres in the underground cavern had been wiped out. Ivita decided to take action that night. Otherwise, the Sons of the Forest would soon notice something awry with the ogres, discover the Forbidden Book of Ambros they carried, and realize that they had found out about the secret control of Baron Moro¡¯s territory by the Sons of the Forest. Ivita and her party unhitched the two horses from the wagon for use as mounts, and they wrapped the two named swords in cloth to prevent them from being recognized by the Sons of the Forest. They also left the pile of coins, with origins and period unknown, on the wagon. As for the pile of rusted iron, it didn¡¯t have much use, but Ivita still took it along just in case they ran into a merchant dealing in recycled iron. Iron in this era was not cheap; even smelted iron ore could be sold again. Let alone these swords that were merely rusted. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Then, she had the ogre she controlled pull the wagon, serving as labour for Alysia and Rayli. The Hearthstone Witch reinforced the Charm Spell with magic, preventing the ogre from escaping the controlling state. Therefore, they mounted the two horses, left the woods, and returned to a small plain near Baron Moro¡¯s castle. When they returned to the castle in the middle of the night, they noticed something wrong. First, candles had been lit everywhere inside the castle, illuminating all the window openings. The castle was fully lit. Secondly, in contrast to the day, the number of patrolling soldiers had increased, and there were many foot soldiers and cavalry in cotton armor or lamellar armor entering Baron Moro¡¯s castle. Involuntarily, a sense of dread formed in the hearts of Ivita and her party. Had Baron Moro already sent out a conscription order to his various territories? The old witch¡¯s face changed dramatically. ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s run away. They¡¯ve already discovered us. We don¡¯t have an army to fight them!¡± ¡°I never fought in a war before. That¡¯s not something a witch of my level should be doing!¡± Bran swallowed, looking afraid. ¡°Why would the Sons of the Forest suddenly summon the military forces of various vassals? Why would the castle suddenly be on high alert? Did they find out about my disappearance? Your Highness, the soldiers over there have spotted us. They¡¯re coming this way.¡± ¡°We¡¯re doomed.¡± Not far away, five gate-keeping soldiers were approaching with weapons, with a very unfriendly look on their faces. Ivita brainstormed rapidly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°If the baron issued a feudal conscription order to his territories, even if the vassals set off immediately, it would take at least half a day to get here.¡± ¡°And the time you sneaked out of the castle was in the evening, the timeline doesn¡¯t match.¡± ¡°Besides, it¡¯s impossible for vassals to set off immediately, they need preparation. Their simultaneous arrival at the castle at this time means an prior agreed upon time.¡± Ivita finally realized and said to the group: ¡°Everyone, these armies entering the castle have nothing to do with us.¡± ¡°This is probably a command that was given a long time ago, at least a week ago.¡± ¡°We just happened to walk in on it.¡± Seeing everyone¡¯s worried faces, Ivita tried to encourage them: ¡°Have you heard the saying, ¡®Bravery wins when paths cross in a tight passage¡¯? ¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re already here, don¡¯t be so easy to back off.¡± ¡°Push through!¡± ¡°We must have strategic confidence and continue with the plan.¡± Bran said anxiously, ¡°Your Highness, but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll give myself away.¡± ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Ivita said. At this point, the soldiers were standing in front of them. Seeing the man at the front, Bran¡¯s heart jolted. ¡°Uncle Anger, why are you here too?¡± Anger, with a scar on his face, kept looking over at Ivita and the others, a cold light in his eyes. ¡°You have the audacity to ask, Baron was furious when he found out you sneaked out of the castle.¡± ¡°Where the heck did you go?¡± ¡°Speak!¡± Yelled by Anger, Bran instinctively said, ¡°I went looking for my sister, I¡­¡± ¡°Looking for your sister? You actually went out in the middle of the night looking for someone who doesn¡¯t exist, and you involved so many people. These adventurers even went along with your crazy game.¡± Anger¡¯s eyes turned in a weird circle, revealing a strange expression, ¡°You don¡¯t even have a sister, don¡¯t you know?¡± ¡°Guests, I¡¯m sorry for the laugh. This kid actually has problems here.¡± He pointed to his own head. Black Wolf immediately nodded in understanding. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± The old witch echoed deeply. ¡°Well, you should control this kid, don¡¯t let him run around. Since the kid¡¯s brain is not right, you should lock him up.¡± ¡°Save yourselves the trouble.¡± ¡°Then you wouldn¡¯t know how you died when the time comes.¡± Like a certain Demon God, for example. Uncle Anger did not notice the mockery from the Old Witch and sighed in relief. ¡°This lady speaks the truth.¡± Poor Branton became an imbecile in the span of a few exchanges. This just shows the terrifying aspect of facing trouble in the skin of a loved one. These Sons of the Forest can easily slander you. If one wasn¡¯t aware of the existence of Treants, many people would immediately believe the judgement made by a close relative about you. Anger said: ¡°Dear guests, please leave. I need to take this worthless fellow home.¡± ¡°Tonight is also the gathering day for the vassals of Baron Moro¡¯s land.¡± ¡°It would be best if you leave.¡± Ivita suddenly realized, today was likely the day the Treants planned to completely control the human army. That¡¯s why they were weirdly summoning the army at night time. However, they could have taken a few years to slowly replace the heads of the Baron¡¯s army, why did they need to forcefully control the army in such a hurry? In other words, why did they want to control Baron Moro¡¯s land, and what made them so eager to strengthen their control over the human army? Ivita said to Anger, who was preparing to take Branton away: ¡°Please wait.¡± ¡°After our team of adventurers made a great deal of effort, we indeed found out that Branton does not have a sister.¡± ¡°But we¡¯ve found something new, we discovered an Ogre.¡± At these words, Black Wolf and the others were all shocked to look at Ivita. How could you say that yourself? Didn¡¯t we agree not to expose this? Anger suddenly turned his head, his expression warped for a moment. ¡°You said, you found¡­ what?¡± ¡°Sir, we discovered an Ogre.¡± Ivita calmly said. ¡°It was in the forest over there, we had a battle with it, hence we¡¯re injured.¡± ¡°I and Mr. Branton want to report to Baron Moro about the Ogre that appeared near the territory.¡± The flash of murder in Anger¡¯s eyes went unnoticed. But at this point, the four human soldiers behind Anger all responded with surprise. ¡°An Ogre? It¡¯s been a long time since that creature has appeared, is this news true? Explorers, you can¡¯t just spout nonsense.¡± ¡°If it is like this, then we can understand why the Baron has summoned the army, it seems that he wants to suppress the Ogre.¡± Realising there were four human soldiers behind him, Anger immediately composed his expression, trying his best to look like a normal officer. ¡°Tell me the situation in detail.¡± ¡°I will tell the Baron.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go.¡± Ivita shook his head. ¡°The situation is too complex, I would like to directly tell the Baron.¡± ¡°And Mr. Branton is also a witness to this matter.¡± ¡°I want to meet the Baron with Mr. Branton.¡± Seeing Anger¡¯s hand resting on his sword hilt the whole time, Ivita pretended not to, instead curling up the corner of his mouth. ¡°If we discovered an Ogre and alerted the Adventurers Association, we can get a reward, right? Additionally, Baron Moro should also provide us a reward.¡± ¡± Branton did not give us the money he promised earlier. It seems that Branton really does have some problem with his head, he actually promised us a reward he simply couldn¡¯t afford.¡± ¡°So you wanted to claim a reward, how greedy.¡± Anger revealed a knowing smile, his eyes filled with disdain and sarcasm. ¡°Alright, I can bring you to meet the Baron, you can tell him in detail about how you met the Ogre. Remember that liars are hanged. I hope you won¡¯t regret your decision.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t regret it.¡± Ivita smiled. ¡°Sir, please lead the way.¡± Anger laughed coldly. Damn greedy adventurers, you¡¯ll pay for this, go to hell and regret it there. The moment he heard Ivita planning to report to the association and claim the reward, he already made up his mind not to let Ivita and the others leave. Everyone sighed in relief at seeing Anger agreeing to let them meet the Baron. The plan has taken another big step towards success! Black Wolf and Rayli looked over admiringly at Ivita, the prince was quick on his feet, managing to tell a convincing lie with nine truths in the midst of this unexpected development. Ivita followed him. He knew he had miscalculated before. Originally, he had planned to return to the castle with Branton and seize the opportunity to invite the Baron to meet, and then assassinate the Baron. But who would have thought that tonight of all nights was when the Baron called the army. In that case, they would surely refuse to meet him and others. They were busy. Therefore, Ivita, out of desperation, suddenly revealed true information about the Ogre with a small part being false. This would certainly attract the attention of the Sons of the Forest, and they would surely be curious to know how much they had discovered about the Ogre. Chapter 43 - 43 43 Make Your Enemy Guess Your Move_1 ?Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Make Your Enemy Guess Your Move_1 Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Make Your Enemy Guess Your Move_1 Anger led them into the castle, on the first floor. He instructed Lord Branton to go upstairs to the great hall on the second floor to meet with the Barons Moro. Branton was somewhat frightened, for it meant he would have to separate from Ivita and the others. However, he had no choice but to go upstairs first. Otherwise, it would seem too strange. Anger led Ivita and the others to a side hall on the first floor. In the side hall, he expressionlessly pushed away the incoming maidservants and said to Ivita and the others, ¡°Before meeting the baron, you must first disarm and remove your armor, and pass through my inspection.¡± Ivita was taken aback. Because disarming would be extremely disadvantageous for them. Moreover, their opponents would quickly discover the Executioner, the Broken Steel Sword, and the Old Witch¡¯s expensive Mithril twin swords. Just then, Black Wolf suddenly sneered. ¡°Even when meeting a king it is not necessary to disarm and undress.¡± ¡°How special your baron must be.¡± ¡°Your demand is too outrageous.¡± Anger¡¯s face changed slightly. Ivita instantly realized. She remembered that this was not ancient China. The custom here does not require disarming when meeting important figures. This Son of Forest masquerading as a human officer was simply causing them trouble. Moreover, it was uncertain that if they really disarmed, the other side might attack them the next moment. Anger stubbornly said, ¡°This is the rule here.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Black Wolf said, ¡°Disarming is fine too. But we require spices, soaps, and warm spring water for bathing, as well as four young and beautiful maidens, along with clean clothes suitable for gentlemen and ladies.¡± Ivita estimated that according to the prices of this world, this setup would cost at least a hundred gold pounds. Maybe even more. Anger was obviously taken aback. He asked incredulously, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Black Wolf was blunt. ¡°Indeed, when you meet the King of Alsace, you have to disarm, take off your armor and change your clothes, but they would have a dedicated protocol department teaching you how to learn proper manners for meeting the King.¡± ¡°They would also provide hot spring water, lovely clothing, and food.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s the Frank Empire next to the Alsace Kingdom, the cost of a single audience with their sovereign is astronomical, and these are all paid for by them for us, the audience.¡± Ivita took over, ¡°Since you¡¯re asking us to disarm, we also request that you provide us with the same or similar treatment.¡± Anger fell silent. He was silenced by poverty. A few minutes later, a dangerous look flashed in his eyes. ¡°I see, okay, I¡¯ll take you to meet the baron now.¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± Ivita heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. It looks like they managed to overcome this hurdle too. She hoped there would be no more surprises after this. Anger led them out of the side hall and into the great hall on the second floor. The hall was surprisingly full of people. Some middle-aged men sat on high wooden stools provided by the baron, while some young attendants stood beside these middle-aged men. These people should all be the vassals of the Moro Family. In the crowd were many formal knights and squires, which were the entire strength of this baron¡¯s territory. Upon arriving here, Black Wolf and the others became nervous. Because the irony was that the Son of Forest, who had replaced Baron Moro, could command these human vassals to attack them using the feudal law. Baron Moro was seated in the middle chair, scolding the dumbfounded Branton. ¡°As I have said, there are no Ogres.¡± ¡°You understand?¡± ¡°I will say it again, there are no Ogres in the territory of Baron Moro!¡± Poor Branton was berated to the point that he didn¡¯t dare to retort, and his palms were trembling. Ivita walked over and calmly stated, ¡°No, I saw the Ogre with my own eyes in your territory.¡± ¡°As the one who warned you, you must reward me. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can find a place and I can tell you in detail what happened.¡± She walked over and the moment Branton saw Ivita, it was as if he had seen a lifesaver, and his eyes were glowing. Surrounding knights, who were vassals of the Moro Family and had taken a keen interest in the spectacle, were murmuring to each other. ¡°Whose child could he be? So audacious! He dares speak against the Baron!¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t appear to be from our Baron¡¯s territory. Could he be from nearby nobility?¡± ¡°He looks like an adventurer to me. Perhaps it¡¯s the boldness of inexperience, or maybe he is a second son of a noble family, gaining experience.¡± ¡°I admire him, nonetheless, haha¡­¡± Baron Moro¡¯s face darkened, and he glanced at Ivita. After hearing the Knights chatter, his anger had been ignited. It seemed that he should have captured these adventurers this afternoon. Unexpectedly, as he was about to confront the army, these adventurers had caused such a significant issue. How infuriating. Baron Moro said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you¡¯ll join Branton and I in the side hall.¡± ¡°Now, immediately, Anger, you are in charge.¡± As Baron Moro stood up, his imposing stature was reminiscent of the tallest pillars, underpinning the atmosphere and dynamics of the situation. He led the way into the side hall, with Branton, Ivita, and the others following suit. Upon entering the small side hall adjacent to the main hall, the wooden door was immediately closed. In the room were only a maid, Baron Moro, Branton, Ivita, Rayli, the old witch, and Black Wolf. Baron Moro looked infuriated at Branton. ¡°What on earth are you thinking? I told you before, you don¡¯t have a sister, now you¡¯ve conjured up a fake ogre sighting?¡± ¡°Guests, do not believe his words.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all have a drink. All expenses are on me; I¡¯ve prepared plenty of wine in the castle. Celebrating with wine is much better than wasting time on this idiot.¡± Ivita noticed the maid but had positioned herself to block the exit without anyone realizing. Nevertheless, he went along with it, ¡°No need, Baron Moro.¡± ¡°In reality, we didn¡¯t see any ogres.¡± ¡°Yes, we lied.¡± Baron Moro was taken aback, as were the others. Especially Black Wolf, Rayli, and Branton, who felt they couldn¡¯t keep up with Ivita¡¯s train of thought. What was this all about? Baron Moro gave a puzzled look. ¡°You do understand that you can be hanged for spreading false news, right? Since you didn¡¯t find any ogres, why lie¡­¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Ivita pretended to laugh coldly, initiating his plan. ¡°But what of it! You are on your last leg.¡± ¡°Lord Branton is going to force you to relinquish your place as Baron and the castle.¡± ¡°Whether or not ogres exist is irrelevant. What matters most is the position of the Baron.¡± Baron Moro looked at Branton as though he was seeing his son for the first time, ¡°So¡­this amounts to a rebellion?¡± ¡°Your purpose for seeing me privately¡­ was to kidnap me?¡± Branton hesitated for a moment, ¡°Yes, that seems to be the case.¡± Baron Moro was speechless. In his view, the position of the Baron was barely better than nothing. He didn¡¯t care about the human hierarchy; the Sons of the Forest were relatively equal, with no concept of lords or vassals. He spoke to Branton in an exasperated tone: ¡°You are my only heir. After my death, my position will be yours.¡± ¡°If you are so eager for it, well, I¡¯ll cede it to you in a few days.¡± ¡°Would that prevent your rebellion?¡± Branton: ¡°That would give me something to think about.¡± Baron Moro completely eased up. ¡°Well then, think about it.¡± Ivita noticed that the maid at the entrance had stepped away, looking at them with an incredulous expression. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She yawned and casually took a seat on the chair, watching them as if they were characters in a farce. At that moment, Ivita rushed toward the Baron, deciding to launch a surprise attack when the enemy least expected it. ¡°No, we are going to hold you hostage and make you publicly renounce your title, ceding it to Branton!¡± Branton also instinctively dashed forward, and the others followed suit. The former maid tried to stand up, but it was too late. Once she considered the Baron¡¯s strength compared to the adventurers¡¯. She sat back down. In her eyes, this had become nothing more than a childish farce. An impractical fantasy of rebellion. Chapter 44 - 44 44 Father-Son Battle_1 ?Chapter 44: Chapter 44 ¡®Father-Son¡¯ Battle_1 Chapter 44: Chapter 44 ¡®Father-Son¡¯ Battle_1 Ivita, the Old Witch, Black Wolf, and Branton fiercely pounced on Baron Moro. Clearly, Baron Moro had underestimated the combined strength of these four. The physical strength of Ivita almost equaled that of the Hearthstone Grand Witch. Black Wolf even relied on ferocity to survive, and Branton was not weak either. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Baron Moro was knocked back onto the wooden door, which burst open with a loud snap. In the spacious hall, Anger was distributing wine to the maidens when the door was suddenly broken down. Baron, Ivita, and the others tumbled out, still scrapping among themselves. Anger was stunned for a moment, an absurd thought crossed his mind ¨C ¡®Were the adventurers dissatisfied with Baron¡¯s reward and therefore they¡¯ve started a fight with him?¡¯ ¡®How could there be such absurd adventurers!¡¯ ¡®But to replace the baron is our leader. Why would their leader, with so much strength, be thrown out by minor characters!¡¯ When the knights of the Moro family saw this, they almost all stood up and drew their knight swords. ¡°What happened? Did the adventurers attack the Baron? In our castle?! This is outrageous! Let¡¯s go; we have to support the lord.¡± ¡°Hold on, the one who attacked the Baron seems to be¡­Branton, the Baron¡¯s only son.¡± ¡°Is this a father and son quarrel?¡± ¡°Hahahaha¡­. Good, this boy Branton finally showed his potential. I¡¯ve always considered him too timid to protect the survival of our Moro territories. But this is how it should be. Fellas, don¡¯t interfere with this matter, it¡¯s just a father-son conflict, let¡¯s not poke our noses into it.¡± Only then did Baron Moro realized something was amiss. He tried to stand up but was pushed back down by the combined force of Ivita and others. His eyes widened with a savage look. These people are not ordinary adventurers. Their strength is too great. He was irritated, humiliated as the Baron lying down in such a dreadful condition, with a bunch of his vassals laughing at him, standing still without helping him. ¡°What are you all doing? Help me kill these rebels¡­¡± Ivita quickly replied, ¡°My Lord Baron, weren¡¯t you promising us in the drawing-room? Didn¡¯t you say you were going to abdicate in favor of Lord Branton?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this, have you regretted it as soon as you stepped out?¡± ¡°As long as you keep your promise to God, we will cease fire immediately, without a single soldier necessary!¡± Branton also came around at this point. The knights who were currently watching the spectacle didn¡¯t intervene purely because they saw it as a father-son conflict and wanted to wait and observe. He had to make the event look like a little farce. And before anyone could react, expose the true face of the Son of the Forest. At the same time, this was also his way to avenge his family! Branton glared intensely at the Baron of Moro beneath him. ¡°Step down from the position!¡± Baron Moro looked utterly confused. I don¡¯t even care about your stupid throne. He was speechless and bewildered, their plan was unexpectedly disrupted by such an absurd rebellious act. What in the world was going on. Ivita let the Old Witch and the Black Wolf stand up and let go of the baron, leaving only herself and Branton to deal with him. This would make people even more off their guard. After all, Ivita seemed young. The knights of the Moro family were laughing heartily. ¡°Oh Baron, don¡¯t let it be that you can¡¯t even beat two kids. If you¡¯re beaten, might as well just surrender your position to Branton.¡± ¡°Let Branton witness our Western Wolf¡¯s demeanor!¡± Taville, a middle-aged knight and an old comrade of Baron Moro, laughed, ¡°Old buddy, It¡¯s been a long time since I saw you in action.¡± Baron Moro was at a loss for words. These humans clearly treated this seemingly ridiculous rebellion as a farce. But in reality, setting aside Lord Branton for a while, the strength of this young boy named Ivita in front of him was monstrous. Black Wolf handed the Broken Steel Sword to Ivita. Ivita took the sword, and then tore off the cloth wrapped around the Broken Steel Sword. The Broken Steel Sword in the hall was faintly glowing. The surrounding knights and their attendants all noticed the extraordinariness of the sword. They were whispering, discussing the sword, amazed that such a treasured sword was in the hands of an adventurer. With the true form of the Broken Steel Sword revealed¡­ Baron Moro¡¯s eyes suddenly contracted as he recognized it. This was the Broken Steel Sword that fell into the hands of the ogre. It was once the secondary sword of the Ambros Grand Viscount, Landless Elan. About two hundred years ago, Landless Elan fought the Centaur tribe, the Son of the Forest, in the upstream region of the Bohr River. He was unexpectedly shot through the heart by an arrow from a Centaur God Shooter while on horseback. The Broken Steel Sword, stained with the fresh blood of the Son of the Forest, fell into the Bohr River basin and was eventually picked up by the Ogre tribe living across the dark river. Baron Moro realized a serious problem. After his pupils shrank, they dilated again, and he was momentarily dazed. ¡®They didn¡¯t just discover an ogre, they discovered an entire ogre tribe.¡¯ ¡®Since the Broken Steel Sword is in their hands, the ogres have probably already been annihilated.¡¯ Only then did he recover, understanding that he had been deceived, by Ivita and the useless Branton in front of him. ¡°This isn¡¯t a rebellion, you know the truth!¡± Baron Moro roared, staring intently at Ivita. ¡°Who are you!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t possibly be an adventurer!¡± ¡°Are you one of Winchester¡¯s obsessive ones?¡± ¡°Or are you a mercenary hired by Ambros City Council?¡± ¡°Do you come from Capania¡ªFlorence Republic, or the Alsace Kingdom?¡± Ivita looked at him in confusion. ¡°Alsace Kingdom? I remember it being very far from here.¡± ¡°Ah ha¡­¡± Baron Moro stared intensely at Ivita. ¡°Stop pretending. Since you¡¯ve made it here, you must be aware that the Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country is about to split due to the conflict between capitalists and nobles! You must¡¯ve known that the nobles invited Prince Jalen to enter this country! If you know nothing, why are you against me?¡± Ivita frowned, wondering what the Old Witch¡¯s apprentice had really done. It felt like a huge pit was waiting for him. Speaking of hosting him, they weren¡¯t just trying to get him to take the blame for something, were they? ¡°It¡¯s not me who wants to be your enemy, it¡¯s you who wants to be the enemy of mankind. I come from Alsace, but I¡¯m just an adventurer now.¡± He lunged forward with the sword. At this time, Baron Moro was calling for help from the knights. However, the knights still treated this as a farce, even if some felt something was off, they were still hesitating and watching. In their understanding, a baron who had fought all his life on the battlefield couldn¡¯t possibly be defeated by two children. Besides, even if he were to be defeated, it would take some time, right? So they could continue to watch. The maids who wanted to come over to help were blocked by Black Wolf and the Old Witch. So, Baron Moro was left alone, dodging Ivita¡¯s sword in a panic. Ivita sneered at him. ¡°Go on, shout! Shout until your voice breaks, no one is going to save you.¡± ¡°How does it feel now that you know what it¡¯s like to be betrayed by your own kin?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve put on the skin of a baron.¡± ¡°You thought this would let you take full advantage, but you forgot that it¡¯s easy for a father to want to betray his own son.¡± ¡°However, it¡¯s just as easy for a son to want to betray his father.¡± ¡°This is what you call hanging yourself!¡± Chapter 45 - 45 45 The Abilities of a Second-Class Priest_1 ?Chapter 45: Chapter 45 The Abilities of a Second-Class Priest_1 Chapter 45: Chapter 45 The Abilities of a Second-Class Priest_1 ¡°This is the first time someone¡¯s called my racial talent, ¡®Skin Changing Technique¡¯, a self-inflicted trap.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t say you¡¯re overconfident. You are indeed impressive, a great actor. However, you overlooked a key issue: the gap between your power and mine.¡± Evading Ivita¡¯s attacks Baron Moro noticed something seriously wrong with his swordsmanship. At first, he was wondering what style Ivita¡¯s swordsmanship was. Since Ivita claimed he was from Alsace, Baron Moro compared Ivita¡¯s swordplay with the famous swordsmanship styles of Alsace he remembered. He initially thought Ivita¡¯s disorganized swordsmanship belonged to a specific style, even suspecting that it was an assassin¡¯s style. Although most assassins were from the Small Brotherhood of Trustworthiness, there were also some minor, relatively unknown assassin groups with sparse membership. In the south across the sea and within its desert, another infamous group of assassins known as the Assassin Cult Ritual Group existed. Unable to identify the style, this veteran Son of Forest became more apprehensive with each attack, hence he continuously evaded. Soon enough, he realized from Ivita¡¯s repetitive movements that the boy had no swordsmanship skills at all. And because he didn¡¯t know swordsmanship, he couldn¡¯t identify any distinct pattern in it. He had overestimated this boy due to his adaptability. An angry Forest¡¯s Son, feeling manipulated yet again, thrust his knight sword at Ivita¡¯s left eye, saying ¡°Your swordsmanship is terrible! A good plan needs competent execution!¡± Just then, Ivita¡¯s left hand gripped a ring and rotated it twice, a black light flashed from the ring. He began to recite a spell. Yes, I had no intention of relying on my abysmal swordsmanship to defeat you. But sometimes, your weaknesses can be turned into strengths. No one can excel at everything. An excellent person tends to use his weaknesses to his advantage, turning them into his strengths. Ivita was well aware of how bad his swordsmanship was. But it didn¡¯t matter. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. What he wanted was for his opponent to let down their guard upon seeing his lack of swordsmanship, because he never intended to win with swordplay. He still had one more spell to use. The Triple Ring Damage Curse! A blade-like black light tore through Baron Moro¡¯s chest, cutting his clothes and skin, revealing his true form underneath. The Baron looked down in delayed comprehension ¡°A wizard! You¡¯re so young!¡± The next moment, he was flung away by the blade-like black light, crashing into a wall. When he stood up again, the skin he had worn like a cloak had rotted away. Emerald blood flowed from his body, clearly not the color of human blood. A creature whose skin looked like bark stood up. A skin-like cloth was draped over its shoulder, its human-like face vaguely recognizable as Baron Moro. The head on its neck, however, had the face of a completely unfamiliar treant. All the human knights present gasped. ¡°A monster! That¡¯s not the Baron, where is our Baron!¡± ¡°The castle¡¯s been invaded! That¡¯s why Lord Branton was trying to assassinate the Baron! Be on guard, prepare for battle!¡± Someone got up in a hurry, knocking over a table by accident. A wine jug on the table fell and shattered on the ground, its contents spilling everywhere. The clear liquid rapidly turned into a grey-black viscous liquid once it hit the ground. The knights cried out in shock. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the wine they tried to make us drink! Did anyone drink it?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t drink just now¡­¡± It was then that everyone realized that they had been unwittingly poisoned. Many people only discovered the terrifying truth at this moment. After they drank the first suspicious drink, they were compelled to continue drinking the second cup, the third cup, as if addicted. Unless their eyes could not see these drinks, they would instinctively drink them. And if they resisted this instinct, they would feel as uncomfortable as if their entire body was being bitten by ants. Because everyone was busy drinking and having fun before, this went unnoticed. Only when they stopped drinking did they realize something was wrong, but by then it was too late. The leader of the Son of Forest pressed a hand to his chest wound and regretfully glanced at the ruined Baron Moro skin on his body, tearing it off and discarding it on the ground. ¡°I thought I could use it for a long time.¡± ¡°The plan failed, how am I going to explain this to the Forest Ancient Souls! We¡¯ve been exposed!¡± ¡°Our tracks mustn¡¯t be revealed!¡± ¡°We can only kill everyone here!¡± Since the leader had exposed himself, the guards in the hall also stopped pretending and began to attack the humans around them. The entire hall immediately descended into chaos. One knight, while decapitating a treant, also knocked the pile of tinder from the fireplace in the hall. Sparks flew out like a shower of stars. In no time at all, the carpets and furniture in the living room were aflame. Meanwhile, the human knights in battle, having cut open the skin of their opponents, discovered that these creatures posing as human guards were all humanoid beasts with skin like tree bark. The entire hall had become a stage of fire and sword, witchcraft, and alien races. At this moment, Ivita suddenly remembered the prophecy of the Duke of the Forest ¡ª wasn¡¯t it said that the era of peace had passed and now was the age of the sword and fire? The treant leader approached Ivita, one hand covering his chest, the other picking up a Knight¡¯s Sword from the fire which someone had dropped. He pointed the sword at Ivita. ¡°Humans, contemptible. Why do all good things always end up in the hands of your kind?¡± ¡°A brat your size, in an utterly disadvantaged situation in terms of strength and stature, managed to foil our plan.¡± ¡°Thousands of years ago, such people easily emerged among you humans. Thousands of years later, is history to repeat itself?¡± ¡°Are we, the sons of the forest, destined to fail?¡± ¡°Why are you humans the correct path of evolution, while we are deemed as the failed path?¡± Meanwhile on the other side, the maid who was battling the old witch ripped off her human skin, revealing a skin that looked like tree bark. She was extremely irritated. ¡°Ji, you must take full responsibility for this failure!¡± She took out some white powder from her body, squatted halfway to the ground, and quickly drew a triangular pattern with the white powder. Then, suddenly she bit into her wrist, dripping her blood onto the triangular pattern. Instantly, the center of the triangular pattern seemed to sink, creating a pit on the originally flat ground. The emerald-green blood that fell into this pit evaporated into a rising plume of green smoke. The woman then threw her head back and sang a hymn in an inhuman language, commonly used in religious rituals. This hymn, formed by this strange language, was extremely unusual. It was as if tanks were marching forward, each word standing out on its own; rigid, primitive, coarse, yet with a raw and violent beauty. Moreover, the melody was eerily dissonant and unsettling to hear. The old witch¡¯s face changed. ¡°Stop her quickly.¡± ¡°She is a formal priestess of the ancient tree, a second-tier practitioner, typically a priest among these Sons of the Forest.¡± ¡°She is performing a ritual for the ancient tree.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let her complete this ancient spirit ritual.¡± Chapter 46 - 46 46 Thousand-Year Fire_1 ?Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Thousand-Year Fire_1 Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Thousand-Year Fire_1 There¡¯s no time left to stop the ritual. Along with the religious hymn of the Priest, the Son of Forest¡¯s second-rank professional. A giant tree shadow appeared on the ground of the hall. The Son of Forest priestess¡¯s body became taller and bigger, standing on the altar-like pattern on the ground, she surprisingly turned into a small giant. She was originally a bit shorter than an ordinary adult male human. But now, she was over 5 meters tall, fortunately, the hall was tall enough, or else she would have broken through the castle. Confronted by such a large giant, both Black Wolf and the Old Witch backed off for a moment. The priestess searched the hall and found a broom in the corner, the broom in her hand was like a toothpick and was easily snapped by her. She then grabbed the broken broom¡¯s head, the broom¡¯s head spontaneously combusted without fire, emitting white smoke. Swinging the makeshift ritual tool made from the broom, the priestess enveloped the hall in white smoke, her eyes emitting a bizarre bluish-green spectral light. The combination of white smoke with fire was like a dream. It was as if a foreign religious spirit had descended to the world. It must be said that the profession of a priest is full of mystique and is exceptionally suited for creating an atmosphere. The priestess mumbled in human language, ¡°Great ancient soul, I offer you the flesh and blood of an adversary, please take away these humans¡¯ Hani.¡± With her left hand, she grabbed a petrified boy nearby, the boy had no power to resist and was held by the small giant who then squeezed his chest till it burst. Blood splashed onto the ground. The tree shadow on the ground became frantic, as if the branches and leaves of a tree were being blown by a violent wind. The tree shadow began a wild dance. After the sacrifice, the white smoke seemed to contain a certain magic, causing the human knights and attendants present to grow drowsy. On the other hand, the Treants were all invigorated, absorbing the white smoke was like taking a stimulant, boosting their combat effectiveness. The Treants gradually turned the tide. The knights had to fight against the Treants while also watching out for the suddenly appeared priestess-giant. Ivita was unaffected by the white smoke, but the priestess-turned-mini-giant, gazed down upon the humans and Treants battling in the hall, like a deity in a temple. This made Ivita decide to observe the situation first. Moreover, he had magical powers now, but the limited daily use of his magic items had all been depleted. He could only hope that the Hearthstone Witch and the human army here could hold off the Treants. Ivita looked at the Old Witch. ¡°How did she become so tall? And what is that white smoke?¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch was quickly reading through the Forbidden Book, seeking an explanation for the current situation: ¡°Your Highness, just now she used her own blood and the flesh of her enemy to offer sacrifices to the Ancient Tree Spirit. Treants believe that with their own flesh and blood, they can appease the rage of the ancient trees, and in return, the ancient trees would bless them. Before humanity entered the Ambros Plains, the Sons of Forest lived in the woods, at that time, they seemed unable to distinguish between deities and people.¡± ¡°In those times, any strong beast or alien creature was worshiped as a god by the Sons of Forest.¡± ¡°A powerful tree, an unusually strong bear, or even a peculiar natural phenomenon. All these would be treated as spiritual beings by them, and even the forest itself was regarded as the foreign god that all Sons of Forest worshipped together.¡± ¡°The Sons of Forest once referred to the ancient forest they inhabited as¡ªthe Great Redwood Tree God.¡± Ivita thought, redwood trees are indeed a very ancient species. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, among the sparse trees on the Ambros Plains, redwood trees are not often seen. So, the Ambros Plains were originally filled with a sea of redwood trees, and with the arrival of humans, not only did the number of trees decrease, but even the species of trees changed? The old witch continued: ¡°Human arrival also brought the faith of true gods. Humans took these false ¡®spirits¡¯ from the barbaric primal religions and collectively referred to them as Ancient Souls.¡± The old witch paused upon reading the following part of the book. ¡°In the war between the Sons of the Forest and the humans, the Sons of the Forest gradually accepted the human definition of god.¡± ¡°Because they were influenced by humans and they lost to human civilization in terms of cultural influence, causing some discontinuity in their heritage, they later started using the name ¡®Ancient Soul¡¯ to call their god.¡± ¡°However, the ¡®Great Redwood Tree God¡¯ is said to be different; the Sons of the Forest persisted in their belief that the Tree God was a real spirit. The book mentions that a fourth-level witch had once dared to infiltrate the Son of Forest¡¯s worship ceremony of the Tree God. She died not long after returning and left a message before she died, ¡®Do not worry about the Great Redwood Tree God¡¯.¡± ¡°In any case, this Great Redwood Tree God remains a mystery till this day.¡± ¡°No one could clearly say why a fourth-level advanced witch suddenly died, and before death, she told everyone not to worry about the Great Redwood Tree God.¡± The old witch looked up at the small giant, an incarnation of the female priest who was fighting with a proper knight, ¡°The Treant¡¯s ritual is to worship the ancient tree.¡± ¡°Then, the white mist she released should be some kind of spell that saps energy.¡± ¡°Treants have a superstition about humans having three souls, one of which is the Energy Soul ¡®Hani¡¯. They believe that the Soul Mist summoned by the priest can take a person¡¯s soul. But in reality, it¡¯s just a spell that drains human energy and there¡¯s nothing extraordinary about it.¡± The old witch said, ¡°These Sons of the Forest, they are too superstitious.¡± Ivita frowned as he noticed that the knights in the hall were starting to lose ground. The physical nature of the Sons of the Forest was far beyond that of ordinary humans. Under the white mist of the priestess, the human knights were phenomenally getting suppressed. Ivita asked, ¡°Hearthstone Witch, didn¡¯t you say knights were the most powerful profession in the frontline battle? So why are they being suppressed by an enemy whose numbers do not hold any superiority!¡± ¡°Do you have any solution for the white mist?¡± ¡°Or any way to deal with that priestess?¡± The Hearthstone Witch shook her head and said, ¡°There¡¯s no way to kill that priestess, nor any solution for the white mist. These white mists are not real fog but Soul Mist. I haven¡¯t studied the field of souls yet. The book only says that the correct response to seeing a legitimate priest who has offered up his own flesh for the ritual¡ª is to retreat.¡± So, to run away? Ivita raised his eyebrows, for the first time feeling frustrated with the author¡ª the human ancestor ¡ªof this book. It was said that the book contained knowledge that would lead humans to eternal victory. Seeing Ivita¡¯s displeasure, the old witch added, ¡°Your Highness. The priestess is not a regular profession within the human system.¡± ¡°These rituals may appear to grant them power far beyond their enemy¡¯s but in reality, they are simply burning their life force and inviting Ancient Souls into their own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why the book states that the best course of action is to retreat, as there¡¯s no need to tangle with someone whose path is narrowing. Even if the result of consuming their life force is to become unusually powerful.¡± ¡°Another point is, the barrenness of Ambros¡¯s Holy Mountain will not suppress the power of the priests.¡± The old witch turned her head to look at the small giant¡ªa female priest who had managed to suppress three human knights and seven knight attendants, ¡°In Ambros, the power of the priests is suppressed by the Thousand-Year Fire.¡± ¡°But it seems that the priestess¡¯s power has hardly diminished at all.¡± ¡°Is the Thousand-Year Fire really about to be extinguished?¡± Chapter 48 - 48 48 The unified law of the ancient ?Chapter 48: Chapter 48 The unified law of the ancient civilization has been shattered, and the knights have lost their sanity_1 Chapter 48: Chapter 48 The unified law of the ancient civilization has been shattered, and the knights have lost their sanity_1 The chaotic scene gradually began to regain order. The original servants of the castle had all fled, but now they were being called back one by one to work, cleaning up corpses, repairing walls, and so on. The panicked residents kept their doors shut all night, ignoring the fighting outside their doors all night, burying their heads in the ground like ostriches. But in reality, if the Sons of the Forest really wanted to slaughter them, their houses, made mostly of wood, wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. By morning, things began to take on some semblance of order. Ivita and his group were the greatest contributors in exposing the plot of the Sons of the Forest, and he holds the authority of the sole surviving heir of the Moro Family, Branton. Therefore, Ivita took control of the situation. With his merits and Branton¡¯s authorization, he can command the servants, stewards, serfs, and guards of Baron Moro¡¯s castle. When he told Black Wolf to go to the edge of the territory to call back Rayli and Alysia who were waiting in the carriage, a worried Rayli could hardly believe his ears. Black Wolf told him that the Sons of the Forest had been driven out of the castle, and that Ivita was in control there. Only after asking repeatedly about the process did Rayli finally believe the current situation. However, he also lamented the danger of the situation at that time. If anything had gone wrong, we would have seen a terrifying situation where all of humanity and the Sons of the Forest were besieging Ivita and his group. When Rayli met Ivita in the castle, he shook Ivita¡¯s hand excitedly and said, ¡°Master, please don¡¯t take such risks again, you¡¯re behaving like a gambler. No one can ever be sure that they will definitely win the gamble.¡± ¡°If a man gambles continuously, sooner or later he will slip up and lose everything.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Ivita sighed and said comfortingly, ¡°But when a person has nothing, he almost has no other choice but to gamble.¡± ¡°But what you said, it¡¯s not wrong either.¡± ¡°If I can completely control this barony, I will have my first territory. Being a lord and being an adventurer are different.¡± ¡°Lords shouldn¡¯t take risks.¡± In fact, Ivita hasn¡¯t completely controlled this territory yet, he still lacks an official identity. Furthermore, many of the knights in this territory haven¡¯t sworn loyalty to him. Since they haven¡¯t performed this ceremony, they can¡¯t be considered as a lord and his vassals. They won¡¯t obey Ivita, it¡¯s just that due to the sudden crisis, they temporarily took Ivita¡¯s advice. Now, with the death of the Baron, the territory is on the verge of breaking up. Rayli suddenly mentioned something else. ¡°Master, when I was at the edge of Baron Moro¡¯s territory, I saw some strange people with tree-bark-like skin fleeing towards the outside of the territory. But I also saw another army in the forest.¡± ¡°The members of that army were not humans.¡± ¡°They were all creatures that only appear in fairy tales in Ambros.¡± ¡°Taurens, centaurs, deermen, even ogres, I saw a double-headed ogre.¡± ¡°I also saw a person with the upper body of a goat, the lower body of a man, but with goat hooves, sleeping with his eyes closed on a bamboo carriage. When I saw him, I felt my heart beat very fast, as if it was about to explode.¡± Ivita sighed in his heart upon hearing this. This is bad. As he suspected, for some reason, the Sons of the Forest seemed to need this territory badly. They were indeed planning to take it by force with an army. The Old Witch¡¯s face changed sharply, and she even looked Rayli up and down. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you¡¯re a waste of a warrior who¡¯s been at your master¡¯s side.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen an Ancient Soul and lived.¡± ¡°The Forbidden Book records that among the Ancient Souls that rule the Sons of the Forest, one is a goat-headed creature.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky, if it had its eyes open when you saw it, your soul would have been sucked in and you would have become its puppet.¡± Ivita frowned. ¡°Old Witch, who is that fellow?¡± ¡°Your Highness, he is not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as you. He was once referred to as the Agricultural God by the Sons of the Forest, and later as the Agricultural Ancient Soul.¡± The Old Witch bowed and said, ¡°You have once again shown me the art of seizing territory. You knew all along that Baron Moro was not a human, yet remained silent, allowing the situation to develop beyond control.¡± ¡°Then, you can rightfully seize this human territory.¡± ¡°You are truly a Demon God among Demon Gods!¡± Ivita: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You knew that Baron Moro was not human as soon as you entered the territory? Why didn¡¯t you mention it sooner?¡± The Old Witch replied, ¡°Since you didn¡¯t say anything, how dare I? But if it weren¡¯t for this Forbidden Book, I wouldn¡¯t have known he was a Treant.¡± Ivita finally understood that the moment they entered the barony, she knew that the Baron was not human, but she couldn¡¯t identify the Baron¡¯s identity at that time. Yes. From the Old Witch¡¯s perspective, as a Demon God, how could I not know that the Baron was not human? However, from her point of view, my silence indeed seemed like a calculated move by an ambitious conspirator. And now, the Old Witch believes that I have achieved a complete victory. ¡°¡­¡± Ivita. Ivita stopped paying attention to this matter and walked over to inquire about the Moro Family¡¯s butler, Akaranda. Braneton had already informed Ivita about this guy. He was a serf of the manor. His parents were different from others. They always managed to save some money from their meals, which was used for Akaranda¡¯s literacy and arithmetic lessons. So, Akaranda was one of the few educated serfs. This gave him an advantage. After the first three outsider nobles who managed the manor under Baron Moro were forced to step down due to public resentment, the real Baron Moro employed Akaranda, the son of a serf, to quell the public¡¯s anger. Additionally, he granted Akaranda the status of a freeman. Braneton had told Ivita that there have been two major serf rebellions in the Viscount Ambrose Country. The current serfdom within the manor system resulted from legal reforms after these two serf rebellions. The serfdom in Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Country is more lenient than that in any other country in the world. There are two reasons for this. First, the old witch said that for some time, the rule of an ancient civilization, even older than the mystical civilization supported by the Druids, was situated in Viscount Ambrose¡¯s Independent Country. Even after this ancient civilization collapsed due to unknown reasons, remnants of an ancient city system, tradition of freemen, governorship, and tradition of tribunes remained. Second, the urban class of Ambros is becoming increasingly powerful, causing the originally harsh serf system to be on the verge of collapse. The number of runaway serfs is increasing. In the end, the lords of Ambros had no choice but to repeatedly improve the treatment of the serfs. Ivita asked Akaranda, ¡°How many troops do we have left in the castle?¡± Akaranda glanced at Braneton. Seeing the admiration and dependence in Braneton¡¯s eyes when he looked at Ivita, he immediately understood that there was a new master here. He was from the serf class and didn¡¯t possess the useless stubbornness of small nobles. ¡°My lord, we still have a military unit of 121 men inside the castle.¡± ¡°Is that all? What about feudal soldiers?¡± Ivita asked. He recalled that the Ambros family had summoned eleven knights. Even if some knights died in the previous battle in the hall, there were still a few left, and these knights had brought their own foot soldiers. ¡°Moreover, what about the squire of the knights in the castle?¡± Akaranda¡¯s face turned ugly. ¡°My lord, those knights simply won¡¯t take orders from you.¡± ¡°They are currently on the side of the stables, under the leadership of Knight Taville. They intend to lead the troops out of the city to chase after and attack the routed Treant Troop, to avenge Baron Moro.¡± Thinking of his former master, Akaranda showed a look of sorrow. Upon hearing this, Ivita¡¯s face turned grim, ¡°Fools.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t even understand the principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy, not to mention there is an army led by the Ancient Soul outside.¡± Law, the Demon Hunter, and Rayli reflected on this phrase and felt that it made sense. Ivita said, ¡°Akaranda, take us to the stables!¡± ¡°Stop them quickly!¡± A serious Ivita said, ¡°With their current forces, they are utterly unfit to leave the city to pursue the enemy.¡± ¡°These pieces of shit, they are even worse than a novice like me.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Black Wolf said, ¡°Your highness, this is normal.¡± ¡°The church¡¯s knight regiment, like the Wild Boar Knights, is already considered an elite.¡± Black Wolf said, ¡°This era lacks tactics. Emperor Charlemagne¡¯s tactics were from hundreds of years ago.¡± ¡°But even such a thing, most of the knights in the small places don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°When they go to war, they just blindly rush in first. Either they win or they lose.¡± ¡°It seems to be because with the collapse of the ancient civilization, human civilization underwent a severe cultural retrogression, from which they are still recovering.¡± ¡°Most of the cities have been abandoned as the ancient civilization mysteriously collapsed. The present cities are either recovered based on the big cities of the ancient civilization or were rebuilt.¡± The old witch also sighed. ¡°My teacher once told me, there used to be only one country in human civilization, just like there is only one true god in the world ¨C the God of All Things.¡± ¡°That country was the ancient civilization.¡± ¡°The ancient civilization was the only spokesman for the God of All Things on earth. But as the ancient civilization strange collapse, it turned into countless small countries, each with their own characteristics, cultural traditions, and laws. What was once a unified law has now turned into fragmented laws of independent kingdoms, principalities, duchies, special small countries, and republics.¡± Ivita could sense the sadness of everyone after the collapse of that colossal force. But he didn¡¯t have the time to lament. He had to go to the stables to pull back the foolish knights who considered themselves brave. They were simply mindless. Meanwhile, the old witch was paying attention to the bodies of the Sons of the Forest on the ground. She spotted Human Pus on these bodies. The old witch squinted her eyes, watching Ivita¡¯s retreating figure. ¡°The Demon God¡¯s damage curse is not as simple as it appeared¡­ its contagious nature¡­ ¡± ¡°No, I should study it further. Something is not right.¡± Chapter 49 - 49 49 Suicide Lords Rights and Obligations_1 ?Chapter 49: Chapter 49, Suicide, Lord¡¯s Rights and Obligations_1 Chapter 49: Chapter 49, Suicide, Lord¡¯s Rights and Obligations_1 The old witch stayed in the castle to study the corpses of the Children of the Forest infected with Human Pus, while Ivita led a group to the castle¡¯s stable. In front of the stables, a group of knights were waiting for attendants to lead their warhorses out of the stable. Ivita counted and found that the middle-aged Knight Taville had seven knights following him, and they were also followed by forty-five armed infantry and more than two hundred peasant soldiers that they had brought along. Currently, with only more than one hundred and twenty guards in the castle, these troops were extremely important. Ivita couldn¡¯t possibly let them go to their deaths. Ivita moved to the side of Knight Taville, who arrogantly didn¡¯t even give him a glance. Ivita said, ¡°Knight Taville, let your servants go to the stable to feed your warhorses. We will soon face a tough battle. My men saw an army belonging to a different race in the forest. If you go out now to pursue them, you are only courting disaster.¡± ¡°My suggestion is that we rest while they travel.¡± ¡°We stay inside the castle.¡± ¡°Let the peasants take refuge in the castle, let your villagers hide in the manors, or come to our castle for refuge.¡± Knight Taville looked at Ivita with a cold smile. ¡°Who gave you, just a mere explorer, the right to command and dispatch.¡± ¡°Your men saw an army in the forest? Based on your measly explorers?¡± ¡°Chasing the retreating soldiers can bring the greatest victory and the greatest military merits. You people are not knights, you don¡¯t understand these things.¡± ¡°Explorer¡¯s methods are of no use in battle.¡± Ivita frowned, he really didn¡¯t have much experience. A person with experience could easily persuade others by citing examples of wars they had participated in the past. But right now, his strange identity and young age made it impossible for a middle-aged knight to accept him wholeheartedly. Knight Taville even spoke rudely to Ivita, ¡°Get out of the way, explorer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to pursue and kill those bastards who killed Moro, my comrade. I grew up with Moro, we studied swordsmanship together, I can¡¯t accept¡­ I can¡¯t accept that he¡¯s just gone like this!¡± Ivita found this difficult. He couldn¡¯t convince such a fool. Looking at Taville¡¯s reddened eyes, Ivita tried one last time, ¡°If you go after them, you¡¯re certain to die.¡± ¡°They have already regrouped their forces in the forest¡­¡± Knight Taville suddenly drew his knight sword and struck at Ivita. ¡®Clang~¡¯ The Black Wolf¡¯s sword intercepted Knight Taville¡¯s sword. The Black Wolf felt that the other party was not using all his strength, the strike was merely an act of intimidation. However, it also angered the Black Wolf. ¡°Taville, don¡¯t push your luck.¡± Ivita glanced at the crossed greatsword and knight sword in front of his eyes, fearless. ¡°Taville, are you going to raise your sword against the people who have shown you kindness?¡± Taville¡¯s face changed several times, he knew he owed Ivita a favor. If it were not for Ivita, he would have fallen into the traps of the Children of the Forest long ago. Taville knew he was in the wrong, ¡°Whoever dares to stop me, I will cut him.¡± His attendant brought him his horse, Knight Taville mounted up. He rode off directly, leaving this place, his troops followed him. Ivita furrowed his brows and said to the departing troops, ¡°Think about your families, gentlemen.¡± ¡°I guarantee you, the army of the Children of the Forest outside has already regrouped completely. Going out this time is nothing short of sending yourselves to your deaths.¡± ¡°If the standing army dies outside, it could be said to be glory of a warrior. But among you, many are just peasants who have been drafted by feudal obligation.¡± ¡°Your wives and children are still waiting for you at home. Don¡¯t leave the castle to court death!¡± Some of the peasant soldiers began to hesitate. The lord of Ambros could conscript the serfs in his territory for ten days of war labor each year. In other words, these peasants could only be drafted for ten days a year. This was because the serfdom in Ambros had become too weak. When Ivita said this, many of the reluctant serfs began to hesitate. Many of them stayed in place and did not follow the troops to leave. These serfs had not received any war training, and they were actually not willing to follow Taville to chase the enemy. They simply were unable to resist the call of feudal obligations from their lord. Now, seeing Ivita, who apparently has become the de facto ruler of the baron¡¯s territory, speak like this, a considerable number of more audacious serfs really wanted to stop following the troops. Knight Taville turned and sneered, ¡°Those who wish to stay behind are nothing but cowards.¡± ¡°The spoils of this battle will all be yours, those ¡®Sons of Forest¡¯ left a lot of things behind when they fled.¡± Wealth tempts the heart. Hearing him say this, some of the serf soldiers, who originally wanted to stay behind, now wanted to follow him again. Eventually, fifty or so peasant soldiers were left. This was not bad. With this, the number of soldiers in the castle was close to two hundred. Though the quality might not necessarily be high. The service time for peasant soldiers is indeed only ten days, yet if the forest children truly besiege the city, they won¡¯t be able to leave the castle and return home. These fifty-something men are at least all healthy and robust adult males. Their stay in the castle can still be of substantial use. Ivita has managed to retain some soldiers. He asked Rayli and butler Akaranda to assign suitable positions for these soldiers on the castle walls. Then, he ordered Black Wolf to check on how many arrows, armors, and how much food was left in the castle. If the forest children really do besiege the castle in the future, these things can be lifesavers. Ivita, taking Branton with him, returned to the second floor of the castle, and called upon the Old Witch to come to the former baron¡¯s study. In the study, Ivita sat in the baron¡¯s usual chair with a backrest and asked, ¡°Branton, do you think we can use the name of the Moro family to write a letter to Ambrose Grand Viscount, asking for his support?¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Branton immediately responded, ¡°Of course, sir.¡± The Old Witch didn¡¯t mince her words. ¡°It was possible before, after all, this was the country of the Grand Viscount, but now it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Because¡­ look, the Viscount¡¯s country seems to have split into two factions now, they¡¯re too busy dealing with their own issues, and that¡¯s probably why the sons of the forest dared to show up again.¡± Ivita frowned. ¡°What level of profession does that Ancient Soul equate to?¡± ¡°Barely a third level, same as me,¡± the old witch said. ¡°Because of the presence of the Thousand-Year Fire, the Sons of Forest can¡¯t wield force beyond the third level here.¡± ¡°Though, even among all third-level professionals, everyone¡¯s strengths are different, and their power isn¡¯t necessarily the same.¡± Branton suddenly grew curious. ¡°So what are you good at?¡± The Old Witch was blunt, and said somewhat proudly, ¡°Running away is my best skill.¡± Branton¡¯s eyes widened, and he looked at Ivita, then at the Old Witch. ¡°This¡­¡± Ivita sighed. ¡°Since they can only muster third-level power, I don¡¯t have to worrying too much.¡± The old witch said, ¡°Your Highness, are we really going to have a hard fight with the Sons of Forest here? Originally, this should be the responsibility of the nobles and city council of Viscount Ambros¡¯s Independent Country. What does this have to do with us!¡± ¡°Hearthstone Witch,¡± Ivita looked at her very seriously. ¡°Rights and responsibilities are equivalent.¡± ¡°Those who enjoy the rights must fulfil the corresponding responsibilities.¡± ¡°A lord who abandons his territory and subjects will also be abandoned by his subjects.¡± ¡°If I leave now, the baron¡¯s territory that we obtained with such difficulty will slip out of our hands.¡± Upon hearing these words, Branton instantly felt that Ivita was a very responsible royal family member. Indeed, entrusting the territory to someone like him was the right decision. The Hearthstone Grand Witch rolled her eyes, ostensibly paying no heed to it. But then, she suddenly thought of Hearthstone Castle, and for the first time had the idea of returning to Hearthstone Castle. She wanted to go back and see what the castle looked like after so many years. But soon, she restrained this idea. For them, witches, the entire world was their home! Ivita asked the Old Witch, ¡°What exactly is the Thousand-Year Fire? You¡¯ve mentioned it before, and the Sons of Forest are also scared of it.¡± The Old Witch replied, ¡°Well, the Thousand-Year Fire, this pertains to the history of Ambros.¡± ¡°What I know are merely some legends, but I can narrate them to you.¡± Chapter 50 - 50 50 The Declaration of War from the Sons of ?Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Declaration of War from the Sons of the Forest, The Tale of the Millennium Fire_1 Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Declaration of War from the Sons of the Forest, The Tale of the Millennium Fire_1 In the study, the old witch said, ¡°I think the information I¡¯m about to relay is not known even by Branton.¡± ¡°Generally, the people of Ambros are unaware of the origin of the Thousand-Year Fire.¡± Startled, Branton laughed. ¡°Madam, your words do amuse me. Am I not an Ambrosian? Would I know less about the customs of Ambros than you do?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the Thousand-Year Fire just a distinct local belief?¡± Branton explained to Ivita: ¡°Your Highness, we Ambrosians have a particular fetish for fire; we believe it can bring us good fortune.¡± ¡°Therefore, almost every castle is adorned with items inspired by fire.¡± ¡°We call this the Thousand-Year Fire.¡± ¡°The Church turns a blind eye to this, likely because they deem a mere flame insufficient to overthrow the faith in the God of All Things.¡± Ivita noticed a red flame insignia, still aflame, hanging at the center of the study¡¯s wall. The old witch paid no attention to Branton¡¯s interruption and told Ivita, ¡°In fact, it¡¯s the opposite.¡± ¡°The Church willingly accepted the existence of the Thousand-Year Fire.¡± ¡°Your Highness, when the Church first entered this region, they adopted the local tradition of the Thousand-Year Fire, making it part of their own customs to ease the spread of their doctrines in Ambros.¡± ¡°This is a tradition of the Church.¡± ¡°Every time they enter a distinct region, they actively adopt the local beliefs and customs so the locals can more easily welcome their faith.¡± Branton¡¯s face reddened a little. He glared at the old witch in indignation, her words conflicting with the knight¡¯s education he had received since childhood. Isn¡¯t the God of All Things the only true God, and why would the Church of All Things need to make efforts to spread belief in the God of All Things? Isn¡¯t it that wherever the Church goes, everyone voluntarily accepts the correct faith? Knighthood education encompasses not only warrior training but also education in etiquette, rhetoric, and theology. However, since the Moro family met its terrible fate, Branton¡¯s faith in the God of All Things had begun to waver which was why he remained silent. Ivita glanced at Branton. In some sense, the old witch could be considered a partial atheist. After all, witches don¡¯t have a particular belief. The old witch said, ¡°All this knowledge I acquired from the library of my old teacher. The library has fallen into disrepair, its content no longer current, but it still holds many books chronicling these ancient incidents.¡± ¡°The Forbidden Books primarily record the affairs of the Sons of the Forest, without so much as a mention of the humans of the same era. I speculate that our human ancestors, out of fear that the Sons of the Forest might uncover humanity¡¯s secrets, deliberately concealed a lot of things.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying that even the average Ambrosian would be oblivious to these matters.¡± ¡°As to the origin of the Thousand-Year Fire, it involves a story.¡± Ivita said, ¡°I would like to know more. We must understand what matters most to our enemies.¡± The Old Witch nodded and walked over to the window. She looked down at the courtyard, and her pupils suddenly contracted. ¡°What is the matter with those two redwoods in the courtyard, one tall, the other not so much?¡± Branton walked over and gave the redwoods outside the window a once-over. ¡°Oh, they sprouted out of the courtyard in the most mysterious way.¡± ¡°But my father¡­he kind of liked them, so he let them be.¡± ¡°They¡¯re only two trees, one of which is even only as thick as my pinky. What about them caught your attention?¡± ¡°Tree!¡± The old witch spun around abruptly, glaring at Branton, her eyes filled with uncontrolled rage. Branton drew back, frightened. He didn¡¯t know why the old witch had suddenly acted that way. Impassively, Ivan gently rapped on the table and said, ¡°Get to the matter.¡± The strong emotion in the old witch¡¯s eyes vanished instantly, and she forced a smile. ¡°Certainly.¡± ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s been over two thousand years since a redwood sapling last sprouted on the plains of Ambros.¡± ¡°This involves the ¡®Law¡¯!¡± ¡°More than two thousand years ago, the Ambros Plains were originally a vast redwood forest where all the Sons of Forest lived.¡± ¡°The law that governed the Ambros Plains at that time was the redwood forest. Until humans arrived, our ancestors cleared the forest, and used the felled redwood to light fires, driving away beasts, providing warmth, and roasting food¡­¡± ¡°Who knows when or why, the Thousand-Year Fire suddenly ignited from the felled trees.¡± ¡°This is the human ¡®Law¡¯ in Ambros.¡± ¡°Its appearance marked the arrival of the human golden age in Ambros.¡± ¡°From the day the Thousand-Year Fire began to burn, this land never grew a single redwood sprout.¡± ¡°Because no new redwood sprouts appeared, and with humans deliberately felling, the vast redwood forest quickly disappeared without a trace.¡± ¡°The Ambros Forest turned into the Ambros Plains.¡± ¡°This represents that human ¡®Law¡¯ now governs here.¡± ¡°And later, the Law of the Dark Magic Forest suddenly expanded to the northern part of Ambros, while the God of All Things also descended his prophet in the City of Ten Thousand Cities ¨C the location of the Papal Seat, the divine light reached the southern part of Ambros.¡± ¡°Thus, the law of the ¡®Holy Mountain Desert¡¯ was set upon the Ambros Plains.¡± Upon hearing this, Ivita nodded. So, the land of Ambros is primarily governed by two Laws. And, right now because the Thousand-Year Fire is about to extinguish, the Sons of the Forest have appeared, and the Viscount Ambrose Country has fallen into chaos. Ivita looked at the two redwood trees in the courtyard. ¡°So, if redwood trees are appearing on this land now, it means that the Thousand-Year Fire has weakened to a certain extent?¡± ¡°What if the Thousand-Year Fire completely extinguishes?¡± The old witch shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe the long lost redwood forest will appear again, and the Law of the Sons of the Forest that had faded away may come back.¡± ¡°The history of ¡®Law¡¯ seems particularly ancient, so ancient that it appeared before the ancient civilization.¡± ¡°No one can fully comprehend the things about ¡®Law¡¯.¡± Ivita gently tapped on the table, deep in thought. The waning of the Thousand-Year Fire has such a broad impact that it¡¯s beyond my need to think about it. High shoulders could support the falling sky. After all, the Papal Country is right to the south. If it really came to it, if this place were really ruled by foreigners, would the Papal Country tolerate a foreigner to occupy their land? Thus, I¡¯ll temporarily not consider this. Even if the sky really falls down, presumably everyone can ask for help from the Papal Country, let them eliminate the evil and kill the wicked ¡®Law¡¯.¡± All I need to do is to think about how to hold onto my initial property, and find a reliable status in this world.¡± It seems that the redwood is a primitive plant, a kind of gymnosperm, while the trees on the Ambros Plains now are angiosperms. This indicates that the human ¡®Law¡¯ is more advanced than the ¡®Law¡¯ of the Sons of the Forest.¡± The Sons of the Forest attempting a restoration is actually a violation of the law of nature.¡± However, I don¡¯t know why the Thousand-Year Fire is about to extinguish suddenly, isn¡¯t it because the time has come?¡± The old witch said: ¡°Your Excellency, I have one more thing to tell you. The damage spell you previously cast had a problem, it¡­¡± At this time, the door of the study was suddenly pushed opened. The butler, Akaranda, entered and said nervously to Ivita: ¡°My lord, the Sons of Forest have issued a declaration of war.¡± ¡°You are now in charge here.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Please take a look.¡± Chapter 51 - 51 51 Fight Behind Us Stands All of Humanity_1 ?Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Fight! Behind Us Stands All of Humanity!_1 Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Fight! Behind Us Stands All of Humanity!_1 Ivita tapped the table. ¡°Calm down.¡± ¡°Akaranda.¡± ¡°Let me have a look.¡± Akaranda placed an arrow and a sheepskin on the desk, with the arrow piercing the sheepskin. This letter must have been delivered by bow and arrow. The text was written in fresh blood on the sheepskin. The old witch sniffed, ¡°This is human blood. The son of the forest used human blood to write a war letter to his majesty, such a arrogant race.¡± ¡°Just a race that was eliminated by humans a thousand years ago.¡± Anger flashed in Branton¡¯s eyes, he clenched his fists and glared at this heavily provocative war letter. This blood must be from his people. The Sons of the Forest killed his clan and now treated his former people so arbitrarily. He closed his eyes, filled with anger and helplessness. He was indeed not a qualified lord. He was too weak, in both strength and wisdom. Ivita bowed his head and scanned the text on the sheepskin. There were seven different types of text on the sheepskin, one of which was the text of the humans of this world. Ivita, who possessed some memory of the original host, read the human text. And as a literate servant, steward Akaranda had to read the declaration of war. Because you need to know, some lords may focus solely on martial arts, so they may not be very literate. There were many such lords. Therefore, stewards and those in charge of documents have a duty to read the text proactively. This was a custom and a rule of courtesy. Akaranda said: ¡°It says here¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°I, the 145th Duke of the Forest, the legitimate ruler recognized by all sons of the forest, the leader appointed by the ancient souls, the lord of the Ambros forest, the high priest of the redwood tree god [Bishe Pan], I demand the following reasonable request from Ivita, a humble human wo¡¯s an unnamed junior who illegitimately seizes the territory of Baron Moro, not recognized by the people and not favored by the tree god.¡± ¡°We need to borrow the territory of Baron Moro for eighteen months.¡± ¡°After eighteen months, we will return your territory to you and let you serve us, the Sons of the Forest.¡± ¡°If you agree to lend us your territory for eighteen months under witness of the Tree God, you will be able to save your life and the lives of your soldiers.¡± ¡°Consider the lives of your innocent soldiers, either choose a surrender with a future, or choose a shameful death in a futureless battle!¡± Ivita squinted his eyes. What an arrogant guy. The old witch was immediately angry. ¡°The remaining six types of text should be Horseman¡¯s language, Pan God¡¯s language, Snake Man¡¯s language, the rest of the languages I don¡¯t recognize, but they are probably the languages of the Sons of the Forest. These texts all mean the same thing, only written in different languages. This world actually has such foolish people.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so arrogant in front of His Majesty, not knowing death.¡± She secretly looked at Ivita, angering the Demon God was undoubtedly the greatest foolishness. ¡°Your Majesty, they are too arrogant. Do they think they have us in their grasp?¡± Branton smiled sorrowfully. ¡°This is just a baron¡¯s territory, and it¡¯s a baron¡¯s territory that can¡¯t even control all its land. The Sons of the Forest are so arrogant only because they see us as weak.¡± ¡°Your Highness, what should we do now?¡± ¡°Do we need to retreat for now?¡± Ivita shook his head, leaned back in his chair, suddenly laughed, and shook his head. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°Turns out it¡¯s like this.¡± Branton and Akaranda were stunned, they looked at each other in confusion. What was Ivita doing? Was he angry? Ivita said to everyone: ¡°If you had the ability to quickly conquer a city, would you still write a war letter to the enemy?¡± ¡°Would you try to persuade them to surrender, or intimidate them?¡± Everyone suddenly realized. Indeed. If you were strong enough, you could just strike directly. ¡°What kind of provocation to war is this?¡± This is something you write before the onset of war, not something you write after the exposure of a plot.¡± ¡°So it seems the Forest¡¯s Children are not determined to quickly take over this place.¡± Ivita raised an eyebrow. ¡°There is one thing you¡¯ve been misunderstanding all along.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood the balance of power between us and the Forest¡¯s Children.¡± Bran and Akaranda looked at Ivita curiously, waiting for him to continue. Ivita said: ¡°You think we are weak, and the army of the Forest¡¯s Children is strong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± ¡°We are strong and the Forest¡¯s Children are weak. Regardless of whether the Ambros human era is declining, it is still the era of humans.¡± ¡°The number of soldiers defending the city is indeed small.¡± ¡°But, however numerous the Forest¡¯s Children army may be, it is pointless if they can¡¯t occupy here within a few days.¡± Ivita said, ¡°Because it is now the human era.¡± ¡°The Forest¡¯s Children, who were so fearful of exposing themselves before, are still fearful now. If a protracted war ensues, all human forces will take notice of them.¡± ¡°Then, faced with the forces of all humans, it is the Forest¡¯s Children who will be the weak ones!¡± Ivita said to Bran and Akaranda, ¡°The power of all mankind stands behind us, it¡¯s the era of mankind, and all the victories that our ancestors achieved here.¡± ¡°So, we are not the weak ones, but the strong ones.¡± Bran and Akaranda were taken aback. It was only under Ivita¡¯s analysis that they realized that it was not they who couldn¡¯t afford a protracted fight, but actually the Forest¡¯s Children. The ones who really had their plans wrecked and were already panicking were the Forest¡¯s Children. Ivita said: ¡°Akaranda, get some of the blood from the Treant who died in the castle.¡± About ten minutes later, Akaranda brought the ink bottle filled with the treant¡¯s green blood. Ivita was satisfied with his efficiency and praised him: ¡°That was fast.¡± ¡°Well done.¡± Akaranda immediately replied humbly, ¡°I am in service to Lord.¡± Without knowing it, he had already accepted Ivita as his Lord. Ivita said: ¡°Write this on the back of the parchment with the blood of the Treant -¡± ¡°King Alsace, the Protector of Mankind Ivita, from a fledgling leader to the primitive tribe on the verge of extinction, first our faith is in the God of All Things, and the Ancient Soul of the Great Redwood is not the True God.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Secondly, if you want to attack the castle, come ahead. Don¡¯t just boast on paper.¡± ¡°I am waiting for you here.¡± ¡°But think about the lives of your few remaining people. Don¡¯t lose the last Forest¡¯s Child without achieving your goal.¡± ¡°For the sake of your people¡¯s lives, you better withdraw immediately to avoid calamity.¡± ¡°How long can you continue to confront us in the wilderness? It is still the human era, and the law of the Thousand-Year Fire endures.¡± ¡°Understanding your place, is the only way to live long.¡± Akaranda and Bran listened excitedly to Ivita¡¯s words. They hadn¡¯t expected that even in the face of the Ancient Souls and the army of the Forest¡¯s Children, Lord Ivita would still be so domineering and take the initiative. This is the Lord they wanted to follow! They are not the weak who are bullied! Who knows, what kind of expression would be on the face of the reigning Duke of the Forest¡¯s Children when he sees this response? The Old Witch had a smile at the corner of her mouth. Worthy of being the Demon God¡¯s Crown. By the way, the treant leader ¡®Ji¡¯, who was the victim of the problematic Damage Curse from the Demon God¡¯s Crown, seems to have returned to the Forest¡¯s Children. And from him, the Forest¡¯s Children learned about the current situation. But that guy was cursed with the Demon God¡¯s Damage Curse, and that curse is very strange, it seems to have a strong infectiousness. I wonder how things will develop. She was about to speak just now, who knew she would be interrupted. But it doesn¡¯t matter, she will find another suitable opportunity. There are too many people now, and the Hearthstone Witch doesn¡¯t want to expose the Demon God¡¯s secrets, which could lead to the Demon God¡¯s rage. She is not that ¡®stupid¡¯. Chapter 52 - 52 52 The Knights with Homeward Hearts_1 ?Chapter 52: Chapter 52 The Knights with Homeward Hearts_1 Chapter 52: Chapter 52 The Knights with Homeward Hearts_1 Ivita handed the task of delivering the challenge to war to Blanton. But actually, this task wasn¡¯t hard to do. Because it only required Blanton to stand on the city wall, attach the parchment to an arrow, and then shoot the iron-tipped arrow onto the deserted ground below the city wall. At that time, the Sons of Forest would pick it up by themselves. The reason Ivita handed this task to Blanton was also to give him an outlet for his anger. Because Blanton¡¯s family had been virtually wiped out by the Sons of Forest. For this kind of small matter that could win people¡¯s hearts effortlessly, Ivita was only too glad to take advantage of it. Sure enough, after Blanton finished this task, he felt satisfied for the rest of the half-day, feeling like he had vented his spleen. He even went to the study, took the initiative to find Ivita, and spoke about how liberated he felt when he personally delivered Baron Moro¡¯s challenge to the Sons of Forest on his behalf. After he left the study, Ivita tapped on the table, murmuring to himself, ¡°Sure enough, when people are together, what they remember most is not what you say to them, but the mood when they are with you.¡± ¡°I see that Blanton is in a good mood. This is good, and I didn¡¯t even have to spend an extra penny.¡± Knowing how to be thrifty makes a good lord. Those who know how to spend money are the ones who earn it. Ivita realized belatedly, ¡°That¡¯s not right. A grey goose feather arrow from the Baron¡¯s territory is worth three pennies! I did spend three pennies. What do you think, Hearthstone Grand Witch?¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch laughed awkwardly. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re right.¡± The old witch has been silently observing Ivita¡¯s behavioural logic, the more she observed, the more fearful she became. She wasn¡¯t scared of the Demon God not understanding human hearts, but feared that he understood it too well. Looking at the degree of Ivita¡¯s familiarity in winning over people¡¯s hearts, the Hearthstone Grand Witch guessed that Ivita was not encountering humans for the first time. Otherwise, he was not a human at all, yet how could he understand human hearts so well. He even understood it to a very terrifying extent. It was almost as if Ivita had always been a human. But the witch knew, the Demon Gods of Subspace will never empathize with humans. She believed, all of Ivita¡¯s human emotions were just a disguise to deceive humans. This was terrifying. But when could she escape from the Demon God¡¯s side like this! The Hearthstone Grand Witch remembered her beloved disciple again, she had to quickly find a scapegoat to take her place. Soon, the Black Wolf came to the study to report the current food situation in the castle. About the food, they don¡¯t have to worry for the time being, because Baron Moro¡¯s castle cellar stored a lot of food. As for the water source, there is also a two hundred meter deep well behind the castle. But the situation of weapons was not positive. Out of all, there were only just over two thousand arrows left in the armory. It seemed that after the Treant took over from Baron Moro, he had frequently found excuses to transport weapons to the outside, thinking about it now, it was probably all sent to the Sons of Forest army now on the outskirts. ¡°It seems the Sons of Forest are not short of food, but they seem to be short of weapons,¡± Ivita started pondering. ¡°There were not many armors in the castle to begin with, and even the ones there were just barely passable as leather armors, merely cotton or cloth armors.¡± ¡°So, I guess even if the Sons of Forest now have enough bows and arrows, the rate of their armor use is still a problem.¡± The Black Wolf suggested, ¡°This is quite normal, as far as food is concerned, perhaps they can gather some wild fruits and beasts from the mountains to replace wheat.¡± ¡°But if they want to improve the armor usage rate, they need a vast hinterland to support the trades and industries, with enough fields and farmers to support blacksmiths, tanners and other craftsmen.¡± ¡°This needs a sizeable market town and developed agricultural civilization, but¡­¡± ¡°The Sons of Forest, don¡¯t have such conditions.¡± Ivita nodded, ¡°We need to strengthen the city defense, and this task is most suitable for the Hearthstone Grand Witch to do, you go and check if there are any loopholes in our city defense.¡± The old witch was a very insecure person. So, she didn¡¯t trust the people around her, even if slightly suspicious, she would harm those around her. This kind of person with such traits was very suitable to review whether the city defense had any loopholes. Because it related to her own safety, she will double her effort to prevent any loopholes in the city defense. The old witch said, ¡°Your Highness. I need your permission to mobilize fifty able-bodied laborers to dig trenches in front of the city wall.¡± Although Ivita was puzzled, he nodded nonetheless. The old witch felt somewhat happy at Ivita¡¯s trust, the Demon God even agreed without asking why. But she still felt the need to explain out of courtesy, ¡°There are only a few methods in a siege.¡± ¡°Without large-scale siege equipment, they could only besiege and assassinate the city¡¯s senior officials to create chaos. With large-scale siege machinery, they could directly impact the city walls.¡± ¡°The castle of Baron Moro is too small, lacking moats and outer walls, there are not enough towers for defense, if the Sons of Forest really have large siege equipment, then there¡¯s a big problem.¡± ¡°Therefore, we should dig pits and trenches outside the castle walls and fill them with wooden spikes. This can prevent the enemy from pushing large siege machines over and effectively prevent their cavalry troops.¡± The old witch said, ¡°Add to this, our castle is located halfway up a hillside, where we have the upper hand, not to mention an abundance of food and water sources.¡± ¡°In such a situation, even if the enemy¡¯s forces are ten times ours, they will definitely not be able to capture such a castle.¡± Ivita secretly admired in her heart. As expected of the old witch, when it comes to survival ability, no one can compare to you. The old witch thought and continued: ¡°Ah, the troops of the Son of Forest may have a small number of treants. When necessary, we should have a team to fill the trenches with torches to keep the treants from approaching the city walls.¡± ¡°The treants pose a real threat to the relatively low walls of Baron Moro¡¯s fortress.¡± ¡°Luckily, this is on a mountain. The rocks are hard, so we don¡¯t have to worry about the treants damaging the castle¡¯s foundations.¡± ¡°These are all basic city defenses.¡± Black Wolf seemed to see the witch in a new light. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you witches to understand such things, I am sorry for my ignorance.¡± The old witch sneered. ¡°General witches don¡¯t understand. But I am the Guardian of Hearthstone Castle. When I was the Guardian of Hearthstone Castle, I learned city defense techniques on the side. However, in my opinion, this tattered castle, really can¡¯t compare to Hearthstone Castle.¡± ¡°The moat of Hearthstone Castle is a majestic river of flame. It was my teacher¡¯s teacher who stole a spark of Hellfire from Hell and added a special magic to it, creating a bed of alien flames that burns life.¡± When it came to Hearthstone Castle, the old witch paused again. She didn¡¯t know why, but she always thought of Hearthstone Castle. Ivita said to the Black Wolf: ¡°You and Rayli lead trusted people, let the villagers from the three villages near the castle evacuate into our castle in batches.¡± ¡°As for how to do it in batches, how many people at a time, that¡¯s up to you.¡± Black Wolf said, ¡°Alright, your Highness.¡± After everyone left, Ivita sat in a chair, twirling the Ring of Desire on her pinky. ¡°I hope to reduce the number of deaths.¡± Wars inevitably incur deaths. He was not naive enough to hope that no one would die. If a person tries to do something that he cannot do, then he will only experience failure. On this night, the war letter that Bran sent out disappeared, probably picked up by the Sons of the Forest. Who knows what the Sons of the Forest¡¯s reaction will be after reading it. Meanwhile, Ivita received another piece of information that was somewhat good news for him, but bad news for Bran ¨C Knight Taville died, four out of the six knights who went with him died as well, over fifty soldiers were all killed in battle, and over two hundred serf soldiers only eleven had escaped and returned. It was said that they encountered an ambush by a Horseman Squad and a Snake Man Squad while chasing the Treant Troops. The enemy deployed thousands of soldiers and at least eight official sacrifices, plus some knights who had drunk the water given by the treants and were turned against them by the treants¡¯ ancient tree juice, resulting in a near-annihilating defeat. While shocking, this news wasn¡¯t surprising for Ivita. Instead, from the two surviving knights, she learned that what the treants had added to the water originally was ancient tree juice. Rather, Bran was deeply saddened as he had lost some of his elders again. But he knew he could not blame Ivita for it. Ivita had done her best, and it was Knight Taville who stubbornly went his own way, even harming the troops that followed him. All Bran could do was direct his hatred towards the Sons of the Forest. That night, the two surviving knights and another knight who had been watching from the sidelines and did not follow Taville out of the castle came to the study on the second floor. Behind them, seven knights¡¯ attendants followed. The group of people barged into the study, startling Bran who thought they were revolting. Ivita sat calmly in her chair, seemingly oblivious to the knights who were fully armored and brandishing sharp knight swords, she seemed to have forgotten that she was just a novice wizard. The three official knights suddenly drew their knight swords, then lifted them up high over their heads. Bran screamed, ¡°What are you doing! I voluntarily gave my territories to Ivita.¡± The knights glanced indifferently at Bran, then they plunged their swords into the floorboards and knelt on one knee in unison before Ivita. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re here to pledge loyalty to me?¡± Ivita looked at them indifferently. ¡°But¡­what if¡­I refuse?¡± The knights were silently amazed at young Ivita¡¯s composure. Was she really just a common adventurer? This kind of composure was beyond the reach of Bran, the son of a Baron. Even the former Baron Moro did not possess such a demeanor. Even the knights had a feeling that they were just the starting point for the soaring eagle, who would be heading to a higher and bigger stage next. Even if they were to accompany this eagle for a short journey, it would be a legendary story for them. ¡°Please, Lord Ivita, consider the lives of tens of thousands in the Baron¡¯s territories and accept our loyalty,¡± one knight said. ¡°The current Baron¡¯s territories are very dangerous, we are in desperate need of an excellent leader, we cannot continue to be divided.¡± ¡°Taville is dead, the baron is also dead, all the people who could lead us are dead.¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°We must obey you so that we can continue to resist!¡± Ivita was silent. This was the benefit that Taville¡¯s death brought to him. Although cruel, this is reality. Chapter 53 - 53 53 Flame Berry Seed of Life and Pan Yangs ?Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Flame Berry, Seed of Life, and Pan Yang¡¯s Dream_1 Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Flame Berry, Seed of Life, and Pan Yang¡¯s Dream_1 In the study. Ivita pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, ¡°Though I have accepted Lord Branton¡¯s goodwill and become the temporary commander of this castle.¡± ¡°But you are free. With the Moro Family gone, you are free.¡± ¡°Your knight¡¯s territory can be independent. So, you don¡¯t need to pledge allegiance to me.¡± Branton was somewhat bewildered. Why is it that while everyone is actively pledging loyalty to the lord, Lord Ivita is rejecting it? Such a great opportunity, it would be such a pity to miss it! Branton worried for Ivita in his heart, please agree, my lord! Ivita swept over the conflicted expressions on the faces of the three knights, an independent knight¡¯s territory without a lord, being their own king, it should be a good thing for many knights. In this study, people¡¯s thoughts flowed like undercurrents. Ivita spun the Ring of Desire that he wore on his right pinky, his head lowered as if he was leisurely resting. Facing such a situation, the old witch initially showed confusion, then revealed understanding and admiration. What Ivita wanted were not people who pledge allegiance to him out of desperation in a crisis, nor did he want to be like a schemer, just sitting here waiting for knights to come and pledge allegiance, and then being as delighted as a clown. Today, he wanted to make these knights understand. It¡¯s you who begged to pledge allegiance to me. You begged for me to be your lord. It wasn¡¯t my manipulation that led you to pledge allegiance to me! The three knights quickly awoke from their beautiful fantasies of an independent knight¡¯s territory. Especially the two who had seen the scale of the Son of Forest¡¯s troops, they came to the realization fastest, they knew it was a matter of their survival. ¡°Lord Ivita, our allegiance to you is not because of the Moro Family, but because we want to pledge allegiance to you.¡± The Knight Griffin, who had not left the city, said, ¡°We now pledge everlasting loyalty to you and your family in the name of free knights. Please accept our loyalty.¡± The other two knights also responded. ¡°Lord Ivita, you have proven that you have the ability to resist the Son of Forest. We have witnessed a priest of the Son of Forest die by your hands.¡± ¡°We have also seen how orderly you have organized the territory.¡± ¡°You saved us, according to the spirit of a knight, we should reciprocate. Now Lord Branton also supports you.¡± ¡°So we are here to pledge allegiance to you and your family.¡± Ivita did not raise his head to look at them, but he softly voiced his opinion, as if suggesting something negotiable. ¡°But I have not yet received the authorization from the Grand Viscount.¡± ¡°I have no status here.¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± The three knights immediately started talking. ¡°We can jointly ask the Grand Viscount to confer you as the Baron of the Moro barony. The name of the Moro barony should also be changed to your family name, along with the family crest and seal.¡± ¡°Yes, please accept our loyalty and lead us!¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s just for the sake of tens of thousands of lives, you should accept our pledge of loyalty.¡± Branton never expected things to turn out this way. The knights, who should have been arrogant, were humbly asking for allegiance, and Lord Ivita seemed unsatisfied, continuously rejecting. Branton felt as if his small mind could not comprehend what was happening. The Hearthstone Grand Witch, on the other hand, felt once again the art of manipulating hearts by the Demon God. Ultimately, Ivita seemed to half-heartedly, and reluctantly, agree to the knights¡¯ proposal and accept their pledge of loyalty. But this time, he could not possibly have the old witch act as a priest again, to conduct an austere and bleak ceremony of allegiance. The castle has its own chapel, and within this chapel is a true priest. Sixteen torches were lit inside the church at night, bathing it in light. The priest, holding the holy book of the church, declared that the God of All Things was watching this ceremony of loyalty. This oath of loyalty would be legally binding! S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After experiencing so much in this world, Ivita knew that the laws of this world were not that simple. When Ivita tapped each knight¡¯s back and cheeks with the back of his sword, and they gladly received the swords bestowed upon them by Ivita, he knew that the ceremony was successful. Three official knights are now his men. The seven knight attendants did not swear allegiance to him. Because the knight attendants are not real knights, they are still apprentices in their learning phase. They only possess extraordinary hearts, giving them their combat abilities. Under normal circumstances, even without a ceremony of loyalty, a lord does not need to worry about the loyalty of his knight attendants. The Seeds of Life of these seven young men were obtained from the Baron. Because the Baron has the authority to apply for a Seed of Life from Grand Viscount Ambros every once in a while. Because they need the resources of the Seed of Life and other resources for knight training, it is necessary for the knights to swear allegiance to a specific higher-ranking noble. However, since Ivita took over an unowned knight¡¯s territory, control of his territory is still not perfect in many ways. He hasn¡¯t spent day and night with the young men (the knight attendants), establishing an emotional connection, but there is no choice. But these knight attendants who want to become knights in the future still need to get various resources from him. Many resources for making knightly secret medicine are only available to a baron. So, there is no need to worry too much about their loyalty. Ivita asked the Knight Griffin and the others, ¡°What extraordinary organs do you all have, what Seed of Life have you taken, and what secret medicine do you use?¡± The Knight Griffin answered, ¡°My lord, I have three extraordinary organs, they are the extraordinary heart, super fiber muscle, and psychic structured skin cells.¡± The extraordinary heart improves our overall quality, but the super fiber muscles greatly enhance our instantaneous burst of power. Psychic structured skin cells greatly increase our defense, making us impervious to ordinary high temperatures and cold, and can even resist normal cold weapons.¡± Of course, it¡¯s useless against the Broken Steel Sword in your hand.¡± The Seed of Life I took is the Flame Berry, a specialty of Ambros, and the secret medicine is the Wild Wolf Potion from the Moro family.¡± As for the other two officially knights, they each only have two extraordinary organs. They do not have the psychic structured skin cells organ, only the extraordinary heart and super fiber muscle. The cell division speed and self-healing ability of knights who have taken the Flame Berry Seed of Life seem to be a bit higher than that of ordinary knights, and it does not greatly affect the personality. It is not like the Giant Flower Arashiyama Seed of Life used by the Wild Boar Knights Group, which increases power while affecting a person¡¯s personality, making them slightly irritable. ¡­ Under the cloak of night, Pan stretched out like he had just woken up. The centaurs, snake women, ogres, taurens, and treants who surrounded him came forward when they saw that the Agricultural Ancient Soul had awakened. Pan yawned. ¡°I spent one dream¡¯s time making a prophecy.¡± ¡°Conquering this territory is indeed very important for us.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the response to my war letter be back by now? Did that human surrender?¡± ¡°Even if he doesn¡¯t surrender, he should be scared by now. As soon as he starts negotiating with us, we can assassinate all their leaders and create chaos.¡± ¡°We can still quickly take over the territory without attracting too much attention.¡± Chapter 54 - 54 54 (Revised) The Center of the Ancient World ?Chapter 54: Chapter 54 (Revised) The Center of the Ancient World, the Angry Sons of the Forest_1 Chapter 54: Chapter 54 (Revised) The Center of the Ancient World, the Angry Sons of the Forest_1 Upon seeing this, the Sons of Forest surrounding the Agricultural Ancient Soul became hesitant, delaying for a while before a Son of Forest dared to present the parchment to Pan God. Pan God received the parchment, initially expressionless and seemingly uninterested. This was because the strength of Baron Moro¡¯s territory was too weak. This place was the border region of the viscounts, located among the mountains, with virtually no resources, incomparable to the prosperous Ambros Basin. The only value of this land was that it was the only pathway from the west into the Ambros Plains. The Sons of Forest must intercept some human forces trying to enter Ambros here, so that the Thousand-Year Fire will never have the chance to recover. However, his eyes suddenly became serious when he saw the first sentence. ¡°The King of Alsace Kingdom?¡± Pan God frowned, his eyes reflecting both cunning and worry. ¡°Has the King of Alsace Kingdom personally led the expedition? If so, how many Superior Knights, how many Champion Knights, and how many Dukes does he have in his command? Is he planning a massive Crown War?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we must lay low for now. With our current strength, even if the Thousand-Year Fire is extinguished, we won¡¯t stand a chance against the Alsace Kingdom.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°The Franks, Aleppan people, and Lower Burgundians just waged a war against the Alsace Kingdom. The Alsace Kingdom¡¯s army should not be able to mobilize.¡± ¡°The Lower Burgundians are a water tribe, they could engulf Alsace in floods at any moment, while the untrustworthy Franks may well take advantage of the situation to invade Alsace.¡± ¡°The people of Aleppa, based in a fragile location, also won¡¯t miss this opportunity. They will seize any chance to expand their squeezed territorial land, for they, like us, are a race whose living space has been squeezed.¡± ¡°At this time, the Alsace Kingdom cannot possibly send a large amount of troops across the Alps to enter the Ambros Plains.¡± ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± Next to the wooden frame where Pan God was sitting stood a Snake Woman. This Snake Woman wore a rudimentary wooden crown on her head, possessing human beauty but with the lower half of a snake¡¯s body. The Snake Woman Chieftain suddenly said, ¡°Ancient Soul, the person who wrote you this letter should indeed be a claimant to the throne of Alsace.¡± ¡°But the people of Alsace have broken their oath to their king.¡± ¡°They overthrew the Alsace royal family. The current King of Alsace is a descendant of a minor warlord family.¡± ¡°The people of Alsace have lost their own souls.¡± ¡°I believe the ¡®King of Alsace¡¯ mentioned in this war letter should be the remnant of the Alsace royal family.¡± Pan God breathed a sigh of relief; it turns out it was not a direct intervention from the Alsace Kingdom¡¯s army. But even so, the opponent was a bloodline of the Alsace royal family. Just this alone made Pan God take the matter seriously. However, as Pan God continued to read the war letter, he immediately erupted in intense anger. The opponent actually demanded him to comprehend his own position and actually wanted him, an Ancient Soul, to cherish the lives of his people. The opponent even thought that the noble and mighty Ancient Soul was the weak one in the face of a mere human. What a scoundrel! If this were 2300 years ago, he would have immediately been put to death. It is just that now, the tribe of the Sons of Forest has fallen from grace and their Ancient Souls have done the same. When Pan God showed the war letter to the chiefs of the Sons of Forest, they all became furiously angry. In their views, a small mountainous vassal territory that does not surrender and open its gates is one thing, but to actually dare to threaten an Ancient Soul and the Sons of Forest! A disgrace! Arrogant and ignorant! The Centaur Khan said with a cold humph, ¡°Ignorant one, if this were 2300 years ago, he wouldn¡¯t even have the privilege to speak with an Ancient Soul.¡± ¡°He is barely twenty years old, while you, Ancient Soul, have lived for thousands of years.¡± ¡°For a green youth to actually converse with us on equal footing, and insult us.¡± ¡°Damn it. Are they mocking us, saying that the era of the ¡®Son of Forest¡¯ has passed?¡± ¡°I will kill him!¡± Pan God shook his head, ¡°The era of the ¡®Son of Forest¡¯ has temporarily passed, we are now indeed on equal footing for a dialogue.¡± ¡°What a nuisance, such people appearing. It seems not all humans defending the city are weak.¡± The eyes of Pan God flickered, after he calmed down, suddenly he understood that the people defending the city right now are no ordinary folks. The enemy has precise vision. Because the reality is indeed as Ivita stated. The side that can¡¯t afford to delay, are the ¡®Sons of Forest¡¯. Even if the era of humans under Ambros is declining, the Thousand-Year Fire hasn¡¯t extinguished completely, so now still belongs to the era of humans.¡± One has to say, worthy of the bloodline of the Alsace royal family. Not to be underestimated. An individual who can garner insults from the enemy, is truly the one receiving the highest praise.¡± Otherwise, if the enemy praises you, you should reflect on what you have done that makes the enemy so happy.¡± Pan God understands, the curse of the ¡®Son of Forest¡¯ right now is because Ivita has truly posed a threat to them.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Pan God said: ¡°It seems they do not intend to negotiate with us, begin the siege, severing all their contacts with the outside.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate they did not negotiate or fall for our trap. If it weren¡¯t for Ivita causing mischief, perhaps the humans would¡¯ve fallen into our trap by now.¡± ¡°But our army holds the numerical advantage, we will find a way to deal with them. I will make him regret giving me a declaration of war, and let him understand the true difference in our standings.¡± The Centaur Khan and Snake Woman Chieftain, along with the high priest of the two-headed ogres, the temporary leader chosen by the treants, and the Grand Union Master of the Tauren, all half-kneeled on the ground, expressing their respect to the Agricultural Ancient Soul seated on a wooden frame.¡± The Centaur Khan reported, ¡°They are making the human farmers nearby retreat into the castle.¡± ¡°I suggest that we can intercept these humans before they enter the castle and slaughter them!¡± The leaders of the ¡®Son of Forest¡¯ were eager to try. The hatred between them and humans runs too deep.¡± The Agricultural Ancient Soul immediately denied the suggestion, deeming Centaur Khan to be too foolish. ¡°No. My friend, I know your Centaur race is inherently cruel, and your troops are also the main source of our cavalry. However, I initially wanted to acquire the barony peacefully because the Thousand-Year Fire is yet to extinguish.¡± ¡°If this land of Ambros is coated with the blood of many humans before the Thousand-Year Fire extinguishes, it would have severe consequences.¡± ¡°Before the Thousand-Year Fire fully extinguishes, we can¡¯t induce much killing.¡± ¡°Once the Thousand-Year Fire goes out, my power, the power of other Ancient Souls would all peak, and by then, the humans living in this land would easily be destroyed by us.¡± The Snake Woman Chieftain raised her head, suddenly questioning. ¡°What if we killed a large number of humans before the Thousand-Year Fire extinguishes? What would happen?¡± Pan God shook his head. ¡°We should share intel, you ask me, I should answer. However, I can¡¯t, because I also don¡¯t know what would happen.¡± ¡°This information comes from a friend of our allies.¡± The Snake Woman Chieftain looked puzzled. ¡°Do we have allies in Ambros?¡± ¡°Yes, on the snow mountain located at the northernmost part of Ambros, the Ice Witch and the Snow Monster tribe are also quite dissatisfied with humans.¡± Pan God stated: ¡°Under their string pulling, I got a chance to receive a prophecy from the Prophet Base, the center of the ancient world, and the leader of polytheistic faith before The Church, the Olive Wreath Virgin.¡± ¡°She conveyed the oracle to me, which is related to the Barony of Moro.¡± ¡°Even I, could only obtain a chance for the prophecy from the temple. As you all know, those prophets are so arrogant, proclaiming druid prophets and priest prophecies as mere tricks.¡± ¡°The witch¡¯s prophecies, are not much better than nonsensical.¡± The Snake Woman Chieftain sneered. ¡°How haughty. But Your Excellency Ancient Soul, indeed the prophecies of the prophets can predict the fate of a nation, and the destiny of the gods.¡± ¡°Normal prophecy abilities, simply can¡¯t predict the existence of such immense spiritual beings.¡± Chapter 55 - 55 55 Temple Prophecy (Modified)_1 ?Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Temple Prophecy (Modified)_1 Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Temple Prophecy (Modified)_1 In the midst of the dark night forest. Pan God declared: ¡°However, I can tell you the contents of the prophecy. We Sons of the Forest are different from humans, we always share all information.¡± ¡°If a Son of the Forest learns something and doesn¡¯t share it with the others, then they are considered a traitor amongst us.¡± The Sons of the Forest listened attentively, eagerly awaiting, as this concerned the key to starting the Era of the Sons of the Forest. Every single one of them was focused. With satisfaction, Pan God said, ¡°The following is the prophecy from the temple¡ª¡± ¡°If the army of the Sons of the Forest sets out when the Thousand-Year Fire is about to extinguish, we will get everything we desire. However, beware, for an important figure from the West will bring a dreadful army to take everything back that was previously taken by the Sons of the Forest.¡± ¡°This time, the Sons of the Forest will lose their chance to resist again.¡± ¡°The Sons of the Forest will be ruled by humans until the end of time.¡± ¡°Beware, if the Sons of the Forest soak the earth in human blood before the Thousand-Year Fire extinguishes and turn the Bohr River into a river of blood, then an unavoidable nightmare will come for the Sons of the Forest.¡± ¡°On that day, even time will mourn the impending tragedy.¡± ¡°The choice of the Sons of the Forest will hail a different destiny.¡± After Pan God had finished speaking and there was silence all around, he added, ¡°That is the entirety of the prophecy. It contains many vague areas, the specific indications are unclear.¡± ¡°Such is the bad habit of those prophets.¡± ¡°Hmph, isn¡¯t it just to avoid bearing our fate?¡± ¡°Those Virgins in the temple sit at the spinning wheel every day, combing the thread of fate with golden scissors that could cut golden fleece, yet they still feel it¡¯s not enough. If they can avoid directly warning us, they won¡¯t.¡± The Snake Woman Chieftain, Centaur Khan, Two-headed Troll High Priest, Treant Leader, and the Great Alliance Leader of the Taurens all looked horrified after hearing the prophecy. They were struck speechless for a long time. They originally thought that their action this time was merely to seize a critical pass, a strategic location. But they didn¡¯t expect that this action would involve the future of their race according to the prophecy. Stumbling over her words, the Snake Woman Chieftain asked, ¡°No more chance to resist, does this mean if we fail this time, the Sons of the Forest will be annihilated?¡± ¡°At least we will be ruled by humans until the end of time¡­¡± ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°This is horrifying!¡± The Centaur Khan stood up from the ground, his four hooves uneasily pacing on the ground. The veins in his horse legs bulged, he was furious, unable to calm down. ¡°If so, we should attack Baron Moro¡¯s castle immediately and slaughter every human there.¡± ¡°Kill, kill, kill! Exterminate them all!¡± ¡°Then, we occupy here and wouldn¡¯t let any human enter Ambros territory from the west! Then the prophecy would never come true.¡± ¡°Oh Ancient Soul, command me, even if I have to sacrifice the last offspring of the Golden Khan Centaur, I will have no complaints.¡± ¡°I want to kill all the humans here.¡± ¡°We have the advantage in numbers!¡± All of a sudden, Centaur Khan lost control of himself. He was about to lose his mind. The Centaur Khan had already drawn his Knight Sword, eager to go, even to the point of disregarding the existence of the Ancient Soul. Pan God¡¯s sinister gaze fell on the Centaur Khan. ¡°Golden Khan is indeed an excellent Son of the Forest, even though he is a descendant of mixed blood between centaur and human.¡± ¡°He established a massive kingdom which even in the peak period of the Sons of the Forest, could not be reached.¡± ¡°During that period, we, the Ancient Souls, were nothing before the Golden Khan.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s dead now, and was disgracefully killed by a bottle of wine.¡± ¡°And did you not hear what I said before? The key point is that as long as the Thousand-Year Fire has not extinguished, we cannot slaughter the humans.¡± ¡°Do you understand!¡± Centaur Khan felt embarrassed and bowed his head in submission, bending both his front legs to kneel to Pan God. ¡°Great Ancient Soul, I have no intention of questioning your authority nor would I disrespect your status.¡± ¡°The Golden Kingdom only existed for twenty years.¡± ¡°The descendants of Golden Khan have already scattered all over the world, existing among various tribes.¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Golden Khan of those days did not discriminate against women of different races. Every race he conquered had to offer him a bride, so the golden lineage was widespread among all races. Unfortunately, it later faced suppression from the King of Thousands Kings and other beings. This lineage had long since declined and did not carry any title. The Snake Woman Chieftain asked, ¡°Ancient Soul, does the prophecy imply that if we fail this time, our race will be wiped out?¡± ¡°Do you have any leads about the person who will march into Ambros from the west and destroy us, Ancient Soul?¡± The Agricultural Ancient Soul nodded contentedly. ¡°Based on the prophecy, if we fail, this rebellion will be our last.¡± ¡°But why should the Sons of Forest forfeit rebellion as long as they are alive?¡± ¡°And we¡¯d be ruled by humans until the end of time. According to the prophecy, if we fail in this endeavor, we¡¯ll all be slaughtered.¡± The Agricultural Ancient Soul said, ¡°Just like if we succeed this time, we¡¯ll exterminate all humans.¡± ¡°Otherwise, I can¡¯t imagine a scenario where the Sons of Forest would be ruled by humans till time¡¯s end.¡± ¡°Prophecies from the temple are always tricky to interpret,¡± ¡°But they are usually quite accurate.¡± Pan God continued, ¡°I have some idea who that man might be.¡± ¡°Coming from the west, leading an iron army.¡± ¡°Not many meet these criteria.¡± ¡°The faction of the city class in Ambros has invited the Republic and independent city states from the south for assistance; they will enter Ambros from the south.¡± ¡°The Piercing Duke of Wallachia, where the nobility carries vampire blood, should enter Ambros from the east.¡± ¡°They are here to help the noble faction of Ambros.¡± ¡°I heard that Alsace will also send someone, a Prince named Jalen, who will lead his soldiers from the west into Ambros to support the noble faction of Ambros.¡± ¡°Additionally, the first citizen among equals and the mayor [Diodos] of the autonomous states of the Marquis-level powers, will also lead his troops from the west into Ambros.¡± ¡°The autonomous states coalition will, of course, come to help the city¡¯s merchants.¡± ¡°So, our target according to the prophecy should be one of the last two men. We have to kill them.¡± The Sons of Forest now had a target, their eyes filled with murderous intent. They will not let the prophecy come true! Pan God suddenly remembered something. ¡°Right, what happened to those knights I saw chasing the Treant troops, just before I went to sleep?¡± ¡°How are they?¡± The Centaur Khan said, ¡°We¡¯ve killed them all.¡± Pan God¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Idiots. If you had let those knights return to the castle, they would quarrel over leadership rights with Ivita.¡± ¡°While killing them does indeed weaken the human forces, it also solidifies the unity among the remaining ones!¡± The Centaur Khan opened his mouth but finally just hung his head in shame. Pan God shook his head. ¡°Never mind, we¡¯ll officially start besieging the city from tonight.¡± ¡°We are going to burn down all human buildings, all farmland, so that they have to come out of the city and fight!¡± ¡°Our army has an absolute advantage, capturing the castle is just a matter of how much price we are willing to pay.¡± ¡­ Inside the castle, Ivita was drafting a letter to the Grand Viscount, asking for endorsement and assistance. The Old Witch was constantly pacing behind him, and after a while, Ivita, feeling annoyed, asked her what she wanted. The Old Witch gritted her teeth, faltering. ¡°Your Excellency, well¡­ that is¡­ do you think¡­ could the Grand Viscount be dead?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ivita. He turned towards the Old Witch, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Your apprentice killed him?¡± ¡°Is this the grand act your apprentice committed?¡± ¡°Your apprentice is a terrorist then.¡± The Old Witch shook her head, ¡°It has a bit to do with her, but she¡¯s definitely been framed.¡± Chapter 56 - 56 56 Magic Power Brought by War_1 ?Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Magic Power Brought by War_1 Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Magic Power Brought by War_1 Ivita wanted to confront the Hearthstone Grand Witch and find out what her apprentice had done that led to the death of Ambrose Grand Viscount. Especially since she had been coaxing Ivita constantly to go to Ambros City to find her troublesome apprentice. It felt like she was being set up. Ivita even suspected that in the end, the Hearthstone Grand Witch might tell the people of Ambros City Council that she and her apprentice were commanded by a Demon God¡­ such as herself. With that said, this was actually plausible. But before Ivita could ask, Rayli, Black Wolf, and Griffin, the three knights, had returned to the castle with a large number of villagers from nearby villages. It was already dawn. However, they brought back two disconcerting pieces of news. The first was that the Sons of Forest had attacked three villages directly under the jurisdiction of the Barons near the castle, burning all crops in the fields and wooden houses in the villages. The second was that the base of the small hill where the castle was located was teeming with the army of the Sons of Forest. From the castle walls, Ivita looked at the stationed army of the Sons of Forest not far away. Based on the scale of their formation, they had at least nearly ten thousand people. There was a large regiment of centaurs, at least two thousand in number. Furthermore, there were Taurens, who, despite not wearing armor, were muscular, like tendon meat. These Taurens were naturally infantry. There should be around three thousand of these Taurens. There were also ogres, treant troops, and a small number of snake women troops. It was clear that they had already sealed off the castle and were ready to attack at any moment. However, they would probably start the attack in the morning. After all, they were Sons of Forest, not Children of the Night. Attacking in the dark would not benefit either side. Only the weaker party in need of a surprise attack would resort to this tactic. But right now, the Sons of Forest were the dominant party. Encountering this situation for the first time, Ivita could only try to remain calm. It didn¡¯t matter that the enemy outnumbered them, as the Sons of Forest could not besiege this castle for long. Knight Griffin spoke loudly, ¡°If we can win this battle, even by merely holding out, not only can we protect the tens of thousands of farmers inside the city, but you, sir, will also become a rising star in Ambros.¡± ¡°By then, you should be able to receive the title of Baron.¡± Ivita nodded. In other words, this could very well be her first major battle. Of course, most people¡¯s first battles typically end in failure, so this war might be the Beer Hall Putsch (the Fuhrer¡¯s first failed campaign)¡­ Ivita ordered, ¡°Prepare the arrows. Attack as soon as the enemy forces approach.¡± The Old Witch began to chant a spell on the castle wall. Ivita was familiar with this spell because she had once heard it at the Burnt Wine Inn. This was the Old Witch¡¯s Witch Level Destiny magic, Carnivorous Flower Secret Garden. As there were fifty peasant soldiers digging trenches below the city wall, she planted the seeds of the carnivorous flowers two hundred meters away from the trenches in advance. Under the Old Witch¡¯s spell, these magic flowers started to grow gradually, emitting a dangerous aura in the dark. This carnivorous flower defensive line spanning hundreds of meters made the Old Witch, who kept chanting spells, turn extremely pale, having exhausted too much magic power. Perhaps in a short time, the Hearthstone Grand Witch would hardly be able to do anything. Seeing this, the Demon Hunter Black Wolf sighed. ¡°After all, she is only a third-level professional. Even a witch can¡¯t possibly face an army.¡± ¡°Using individual power to confront collective power is indeed too difficult.¡± ¡°Even the most powerful witch would quickly consume her life force in this way.¡± ¡°Who knows how many first-level priests and how many second-level priests are in the army of the Sons of Forest.¡± ¡°Your Highness, war and demon hunting tasks are two different concepts. From now on, we are no longer solo explorers, but lords leading a war.¡± ¡°This is the first time for both you and me, as it is for many here.¡± For a moment, everyone felt uncertain about the future. Ivita glanced at everyone, ¡°Have you ever heard of a saying from my hometown? ¡®A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger, but grows afraid of a wolf once it grows horns.¡¯ ¡°So what if it¡¯s the first time! It is precisely because it is the first time that we will win this victory!¡± Everyone was startled, deriving a strong sense of confidence from Ivita¡¯s words. A good lord should act as a backbone for the people. Rayli quietly admired her, certain people were born leaders. Their existence, it seems, had been crafted by The God of All Things specifically to prevent his flock from being leaderless. Rayli saw it clearly that Ivita was very novice in many ways, he was just slowly learning and thinking, and then led everyone to move forward. The most worthy of praise was Ivita¡¯s courage. Knight Griffin said, ¡°Your Highness. We don¡¯t know why they didn¡¯t attack us when we were retreating with the villagers.¡± ¡°But we saw that they spread a large amount of quicklime on the farmland and watered it.¡± Ivita was taken aback. However, Bran was almost angry to death. ¡°Spreading quicklime on our farmland, they want our farmland to turn into salinized land, incapable of producing anything.¡± ¡°These ¡®Sons of Forest¡¯ have gone too far.¡± Ivita thought to himself, ¡°Where did they get the quicklime from? To produce so much quicklime, it requires a complete mining industry and ore crushing factory. ¡°Oh, I know, it¡¯s the Treants.¡± He remembered the twenty Ogres that they had obliterated previously, who mentioned in the fight that they had lived in houses with windows. He had guessed at the time that these Ogres were being domesticate. He originally thought it was a conspiracy of some sort of nobility. But now, it seemed likely that after the Treants substituted the human nobility, they hosted their allies. Perhaps the Treants had also invaded other human territories and brought them a large amount of quicklime. Since the opponent could produce so much quicklime in such a short time, they must have been prepared to spread quicklime on human farmland in advance. That¡¯s right. Ivita realized that these ¡®Sons of Forest¡¯ obviously lived in the forest. They didn¡¯t need farmland at all. Suddenly, a sharp arrow was shot over, and Ivita instinctively reached out his hand to grab it. He stood on the city wall, looking down, and saw a few ten Centaur warriors, under the reckless leadership of Centaur Khan, trying to bypass the Ogre defense line and ditch formation, and launched a round of shooting at the soldiers on the city wall. Centaur Khan showed a provocative expression to Ivita. He recognized Ivita on the wall at a glance, despite his young age, Ivita was the leader of this enemy. The soldiers on the wall quickly drew their bows and arrows, ready to shoot. ¡°Stop.¡± Ivita immediately said, ¡°The position of the Centaur cavalry is at least four hundred meters away, far beyond the effective distance of our bows and arrows.¡± ¡°Our arrow reserves are limited.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by them.¡± ¡°They must be here to consume our arrow reserves.¡± As such, only a few people who didn¡¯t have time to stop and fired a few arrows as a kind of retaliation. Most of the soldiers didn¡¯t shoot. Knight Griffin said, ¡°In the fairy tales of Ambros, Centaurs are natural cavalry, the best kind.¡± ¡°Sir, is it really okay to leave them unattended as they approach?¡± Ivita shook his head. ¡°How can cavalry attack a city? I think if cavalry want to attack a city, they can only dismount and fight. But can those Centaurs dismount and fight?¡± ¡°They have racial advantages, but they also have insurmountable racial disadvantages. The most powerful thing about us humans is that we can always find a way to exploit our advantages in any environment.¡± ¡°But these Centaurs can¡¯t do this!¡± The old witch looked at Ivita in surprise. ¡°Your Highness, you are right. Cavalry can¡¯t attack a city, to attack a city, they need well-equipped infantry troops, as well as siege equipment and scaling ladders.¡± ¡°The forces of the ¡®Sons of Forest¡¯ unfortunately lack too many armored rates and siege equipment.¡± ¡°Their forces are unsuitable for city attack. However, sometimes the cavalry can also attack the city.¡± ¡°If the cavalry troops can capture the city gate quickly, take control of the streets of the city, it is possible to attack the city with cavalry. But few people know this.¡± Ivita had learned a lot, worthy of being the Hearthstone Great Witch who had been a castle guardian before. Ivita suddenly said, ¡°Right, why do I feel very comfortable since the opponents officially declared war on us, and my magic power is also growing?¡± ¡°Great Witch, can this battlefield amplify the magic power of a witch?¡± The old witch turned pale with fright, she saluted Ivita and then touched his hand, sensing the changes of Ivita¡¯s magic power. Her expression was extremely strange. She didn¡¯t expect this to happen. The old witch said, ¡°Your Highness, I now have a good news and a bad news, and a neutral news to tell you.¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°A witch or wizard who can gain magic power in war. This is rare among witches and wizards.¡± ¡°This kind of witch, it¡¯s very easy to break through the level limit, become a high-level witch, transform into a dangerous witch lord!¡± Chapter 57 - 57 57 You Need 6 Sources of Magic Power_1 ?Chapter 57: Chapter 57 You Need 6 Sources of Magic Power!!_1 Chapter 57: Chapter 57 You Need 6 Sources of Magic Power!!_1 The Centaur Khan looked at the city¡¯s defenders on the wall, who were showing no reaction and behaving as if they were shooting arrows like a bunch of clowns. This made him feel ashamed. At this distance, they could shoot, but their accuracy was very low. They were basically shooting blindly. It was essentially pointless. The reason why the Centaur Khan could shoot at Ivita from a distance of five hundred meters was because he was a God Shooter. He didn¡¯t follow the path of the Ancient Soul Priests of the Sons of Forest, but adopted the profession of a God Shooter, a legacy carried on from the Golden Khanate. Unfortunately, in Ambros, the Centaur Khan couldn¡¯t receive the complete legacy path of a God Shooter, thus he only reached the second level and became an official God Shooter. He had heard that the complete legacy of this path still remained on the distant Eastern Grassland. However, burdened with the responsibility of the Sons of Forest, he couldn¡¯t leave this place to venture into an unknown and uncertain faraway land. ¡°Retreat,¡± the Centaur Khan ordered, returning to the camp of the Sons of Forest. He knelt before the Agricultural Ancient Soul. The Agricultural Ancient Soul was still sleeping; he opened his eyes. ¡°Did the enemy shoot arrows at you?¡± ¡°I think the human defenders should have approximately three thousand arrows left.¡± ¡°Once we neutralize this threat, we can launch an attack tomorrow morning, minimizing our casualties.¡± The Centaur Khan shook his head and said apologetically, ¡°I am sorry, Lord Ancient Soul.¡± ¡°The enemy did not take the bait. I used the Far Sight ability of a God Shooter to spot Ivita and stopped the city defenders from shooting at us.¡± The Agricultural Ancient Soul tightened his grip on the bamboo chair he was sitting on, which creaked under his grasp. ¡°An interesting human child.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I last encountered such an interesting human child.¡± To Pan God, Ivita was indeed just a child, not even a fraction of his age. ¡°We are indeed unfortunate to have run into him during our siege.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry my friend, I¡¯ll deal with this.¡± ¡°You go and stage several feigned attacks.¡± ¡°Let them let their guard down, then we¡¯ll launch the real attack tomorrow morning, aiming to breach the city in one go.¡± After the Centaur Khan left. The Agricultural Ancient Soul pondered. ¡°Ivita¡­¡± ¡°He probably has no relation to the prophecy. He does possess an important and noble status, but he doesn¡¯t have an army. The prophecy clearly stated that the person in it would bring an army from the West.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t meet the requirements.¡± ¡°But should I ask a third-tier priest to interpret the prophecy regarding him?¡± ¡­ On the city wall, Ivita wondered what the Old Witch wanted to say. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°As for whether the news is good or bad, I¡¯ll be the judge of that.¡± The Old Witch thought for a moment, indeed, a Demon God should be able to dictate his own fate. ¡°Your Majesty, your magic power is indeed increasing in both quantity and quality.¡± ¡°You are gaining magic power from this war. Generally speaking, wizards who can reach this level will become very formidable in the future.¡± Ivita nodded. The world was never short of wars. If someone could gain magic power from wars, they would certainly thrive. The Old Witch said, ¡°This probably has something to do with the six god names you borrowed magic power from previously.¡± ¡°I told you before, if a wizard¡¯s apprentice wants to advance to a full wizard, he needs to meet three conditions.¡± ¡°First, his divination skills must reach a certain level.¡± ¡°Second, he must find his own source of magic.¡± ¡°Third, learn a certain number of magics and own a Destiny Magic.¡± The Old Witch said: ¡°The current situation lies in the second point. In fact, witches in the distant past used to think that the source of magic power always came from powerful magical creatures and powerful magic energy.¡± ¡°Like the heart of a dragon.¡± They do physically own a substandard dragon heart now, which was the heart of Manuel after he was mutated one day. ¡°Another instance is stardust vein, fairy magic powder, sun well water, eternal magic stone, heart of the stars ¨C these well-known objects containing magic power.¡± ¡°But later we discovered that our understanding of magic power was too superficial.¡± ¡°There are many sources of magic power, and war is one of them, while my magic power comes from¡­¡± The Old Witch paused suddenly and for some unknown reason, she didn¡¯t continue, ¡°You¡¯re drawing magic power from the war right now. Not all wizards can do it ¨C only an extremely small number can.¡± ¡°Moreover, because the quality of this war is extremely high, your improvement is also extremely significant.¡± ¡°We need not mention it on this side, but actually there are many distinguished figures among the Sons of the Forest. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s not their era now.¡± ¡°They are dragged down by the decline of their race.¡± ¡°If we were to switch places with them, perhaps, besides you, Majesty, we would live worse lives than they do.¡± Black Wolf frowned and said: ¡°I¡¯ve also heard that there was a witch who slaughtered many villages with a plague in order to gain more magic power.¡± ¡°That plague is called Smallpox.¡± The Old Witch sneered. ¡°Plagues indeed are a source of magic power, and a rather formidable one.¡± ¡°It runs deep. Because, we, the lower-level wizards and witches are still drawing magic power, while those witches are already drawing Laws from it.¡± ¡°Do you know about Black Death?¡± Black Wolf gave an awkward smile. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. How could he not know? The Old Witch said: ¡°Black Death has a deep connection with a Witch King known as the Yellow Black Queen. As for detailed information, I do not know. These are mere personal speculations.¡± Both Knight Granfen and Rayli were left speechless. What are they listening to? Why does this Old Witch seem rather dangerous as well!¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch said to Ivita: ¡°Majesty, a high-quality war can also serve as a source of magic power.¡± ¡°Of course, one war isn¡¯t enough; at least two wars like this are needed to lay the foundation for your promotion to a fully-fledged wizard.¡± ¡°This is the good news that I was planning to tell you.¡± ¡°The bad news is, if your magic power continues to lose balance, the balance of the magic power within your body will fail again. Consequently, your body will begin to mutate rapidly.¡± The Old Witch recalled the giant dragon that Ivita had once transformed into. The shadow had transformed into a certain kind of titan wielding thunderbolts. Ivita was alarmed. Indeed. For others, an increase in magic power is a good thing. But for those like himself who need to maintain a balance of power, if magic power loses control, he might be in danger. The Old Witch had always thought herself to be a Demon God. Yet, she wasn¡¯t clear about her own status. What exactly is the relationship between her and the six Divine Kings who shouldn¡¯t exist in this world? Who knows what will happen in the end? He had previously lost consciousness because he had transformed into a fire dragon! The Old Witch said: ¡°Finally, I need to tell you that your promotion to a fully-fledged Wizard is different from others. According to the current situation, you will probably need to obtain the sources of magic power required for six fully-fledged wizards.¡± ¡°And six Destiny Magics.¡± ¡°Because you once¡­¡± Borrowed the power of six divine names! Ivita: ¡°¡­¡± Seeing Ivita fall silent, the Old Witch said: ¡°The good thing is, you will become unusually powerful.¡± Chapter 58 - 58 58 The Iron Son Shepherd and Animals ?Chapter 58: Chapter 58 The Iron Son, Shepherd, and Animals¡¯ Betrayal against Humans (Please continue reading)_1 Chapter 58: Chapter 58 The Iron Son, Shepherd, and Animals¡¯ Betrayal against Humans (Please continue reading)_1 In the darkness of the night, from the heights of the castle, Ivita and others could see three nearby villages being consumed by tongues of fire. Even further away, there were places where the fires seemed to reach up and merge with the sky. Ivita knew, this was the work of the sons of the forest setting the land on fire. And if their plan succeeded, this scene they saw tonight would happen all over Ambros. The fires were still burning as the sky began to lighten, and smoke billowed into the dawn sky. At the same time, the sons of the forest had finally launched their first attack. First, a volley of arrows from the centaur troops was aimed at the horde of carnivorous flowers. The simultaneous barrage from over two thousand centaurs clouded the sky. Like a rain of arrows, they struck the Old Witch¡¯s magic. Atop the city walls, the Old Witch, who hadn¡¯t slept all night, kept her eyes wide open, vigilantly watching the army of the forest children. At that moment, she burst out laughing, her shrill voice startled awake some drowsy farmers. ¡°Carnivorous flower magic cannot be undone by arrows.¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡­¡± ¡°Only weapons of the iron children can harm my carnivorous flowers.¡± Ivita asked curiously, ¡°Who are the iron children?¡± The Hearthstone Grand Witch said, ¡°As recorded in the forbidden book, when humans first brought iron weapons into Ambros, the sons of the forest called humans ¡®iron children¡¯.¡± ¡°Only iron can break my magic.¡± The first round of the arrow shower fell on the horde of ogre flowers. The moment the arrows landed on the ogre flowers, the wooden stems of the arrows seemed to come to life, turning into a type of flexible plant and merged with the ogre flowers. After this wood stem merged with the ogre flower, half of it sunk into the leaves of the ogre flower while the other half stuck out. The ogre flower needed some time to merge with it. But they didn¡¯t get that time. Because the second round of arrows was already here. Under the second round of arrows, more than half of the ogre flowers still in the merging phase could not withstand and were directly severed. Then came the third volley, almost annihilating the remaining half of carnivorous flowers. After three rounds of arrow showers, the magic carefully arranged by the Hearthstone Grand Witch was surprisingly broken. Demon hunter Black Wolf crossed his arms and said, ¡°You seemed to have forgotten that the children of the forest stole their weapons from humans. The arrows¡¯ tips are made of raw iron.¡± The Old Witch looked displeased, but retorted, ¡°They wasted over six thousand arrows just to counter my magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s three times the amount of our arrow reserve.¡± Black Wolf was speechless. ¡°They only consumed about sixty gold pounds of their materials, I¡¯m sure they have a lot more. This place is in the middle of the mountains, their materials are likely transported through the mountains.¡± Ivita stopped their quarrel. ¡°They are coming to siege the city.¡± Luckily, a half-dug trench had been dug the previous night. It was not very deep, just over one meter deep, and two meters wide. But it was enough to stop the cavalry from freely coming and going beneath the city. The first to siege the city were the Tauren warriors. Under the command of the snake women¡¯s flutes, the Tauren roared with all their might and pressed towards the city walls step by step. Among them, some started to use their hands to dig the earth and fill the trenches that were dug by humans the day before. Seeing this, the Old Witch fell silent. ¡°The one giving commands for the forces of the Sons of the Forest is truly cunning! I prefer straightforward people!¡± ¡°The physical strength of these Tauren far surpasses that of adult humans. I must admit, in terms of physical strength, the Sons of the Forest indeed have an advantage over humans.¡± Ivita was not concerned about this; humans were able to defeat the Sons of the Forest not because of their physical superiority. In war, individual bravery is no longer the most important factor. Tactics, organization, legacy, faith, and economy: these are what determine the course of a war. What concerned him was, without any siege equipment, how were they planning to capture the city? If it were a regular human army, ladders, shields, and catapults would be essential for a siege. However, it seemed that the Sons of Forest were not adept at utilizing engineering techniques combined with military tactics. How were the simple-minded Tauren and centaur troops supposed to siege a city? The next moment, Ivita got her answer. Some Snake Women emitted remarkable power, so much so that it warped the air around them. Among these were novice and formal priests. Under their serpentine tails were ritual patterns of ram heads drawn with human blood. On the pattern were also the blood and flesh of the Sons of Forest and humans. This was the priestly ritual. However, the object of their worship wasn¡¯t the ancient tree soul of the Treants, but instead¡­ the Agricultural Ancient Soul! The Snake Women started to grow larger, as if they were mini-giants. The novice priests were about three meters tall. The official priests were a staggering five meters tall. They stood out uniquely among the army, with the Tauren and centaur troops looking weak and small by their sides. The Snake Women began to play the flute, and the sound seemed to possess a magical allure, making people want to join them. A multitude of animals began to gather from the surrounding mountains towards the town wall including tigers, boars, black bears, hunting dogs, forest wolves and even sheep and cattle that had escaped from the countryside. A Knight Griffin trotted over quickly and said to Ivita in a low voice, ¡°Sir, the horses in the castle start to behave erratically after the snake women started playing the flutes. They are trying to break out of the stable.¡± ¡°We might not be able to use our horses.¡± ¡°We have no cavalry.¡± The Old Witch opened the Forbidden Book. ¡°This is the work of the priests of Pan. Pan¡¯s priests are known as the ¡®Shepherds¡¯. They have the ability to guide the animals.¡± ¡°During the era of the Sons of Forest, Pan could make animals cheer, follow him, and even urges trees and rivers to dance to his song.¡± ¡°In the era when humans and the Sons of Forest were friends, Pan often guided humans who lost their way in the forest.¡± ¡°Among the Ancient Souls worshipped by the Sons of Forest, Pan is definitely the most special Ancient Soul, other than the Tree God. The Forbidden Book even says that our ancestors suspected Pan is neither a Son of Forest nor an original Ancient Soul because his earliest footprints appeared in the territory of an ancient prehistoric civilization.¡± The Old Witch suddenly grasped something. ¡°That¡¯s right, the ancient prehistoric civilization was most famous for their temples. It¡¯s been so long since the temples were active that everyone has almost forgotten about them.¡± Ivita turned and saw the animals, who had been lured by the whistle, stormed the walls like they were committing suicide. The dead bodies began to pile up. Ivita immediately realized the opponents¡¯ plan: the Sons of Forest¡¯s troops would step on the piled up animal corpses to climb the city wall! This was the answer given by the Sons of Forest. A siege method unique to the Sons of Forest. Ivita said, ¡°If the horses are temporarily being unreliable, so be it. After all, we only need to hold the castle, we don¡¯t need cavalry. If the horses are too disobedient and uncontrollable, simply kill them and use them as food.¡± ¡°Prepare the catapults, aim and drop the rocks.¡± The human side of the city wall began their counterattack. In Moro castle, there were ten catapults left in the warehouse. The Sons of Forest had no interest in these, so they were left untouched. The fact that they had learned to use iron-headed arrows was already a step towards learning human civilization. But for them, a catapult was a step too far. The militia loaded the counterweight catapults on the city wall with rocks, triggered the switch, and launched the rocks. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The rocks landed among the Tauren troops, killing and injuring many. The troops of the Sons of Forest, in fact, lacked practitioners of career pathways other than priestly ones. At a distance from the castle, the Agricultural Ancient Soul opened its sleepy eyes. ¡°Humans, feel the wrath of the forest and animals. You have occupied this land for too long, have you ever considered the existence of the animals?¡± Chapter 59 - 59 59 The Nature of Pan God and the Path to ?Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The Nature of Pan God and the Path to Becoming a King (Please Follow)_1 Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The Nature of Pan God and the Path to Becoming a King (Please Follow)_1 Half an hour later, aided by their numerical advantage, the Tauren Warriors quickly filled the trenches. The number of animal carcasses continued to pile up. The melodies played by the Shepard Priests summoned more animals. The bodies that accumulated beneath the walls could be utilized by the Tauren to infiltrate the city. If the Taurens were to conquer a section of the city wall, they could use it as a foothold to seize control of the entire wall. The castle where Ivita and his comrades were stationed was indeed just a low-level, small castle. At that point, their only option would be to fortify the main building of the castle. Therefore, the Griffin Knight, accompanied by two official knights and seven knight attendants, fought to the death on the main battlefield where the Taurens were concentrated. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The human city¡¯s defenses¡ªcatapults and archers¡ªresulted in numerous casualties on the attacker¡¯s side. The Griffin Knight charged at a Tauren with his Knight Sword, sending the Tauren sprawling backward, toppling onto its comrades. The Taurens roared in anger, exerting their strength to counter the Griffin Knight¡¯s brute force. However, under the power brought by the ultra-thin muscle structure, three Tauren that had climbed the city wall were actually pushed off by a single Griffin Knight. The Griffin Knight swung his sword, transforming it into a Whirlwind Slash that left a dazzling trail of motion in its wake. As another Tauren climbed the wall, it was met with the Griffin Knight¡¯s onslaught. Its neck was slashed in two directions, and it was cut three times across its body before being kicked away by the knight. The Griffin Knight realized that there were more Taurens attempting breakthroughs on various parts of the city wall. It¡¯s just that they were primarily concentrated on his front. The Knights who were previously at his side had spread out to different parts of the city wall to defend the city. The battlefield was completely chaotic. He could not even determine if the enemy had successfully occupied a section of the city wall. The Griffin Knight felt more and more desolate. In the face of such circumstances, if one does not know the current status of their comrades or the state of the battlefield, it is indeed a form of torture. People with weak commitment would have already given up. Even those who hadn¡¯t given up would have significantly lower combat strength. At this moment, a horn sounded. This horn was like a command to the warhorse, a beacon for a fleet sailing in the dark ocean. It is the horn of continuing to defend! The Griffin Knight instantly knew that the city wall had not been breached and that Lord Ivita was still persisting in defending the city. The evidence was the operational granular structure of the defending human army. In this era, once chaos ensues, communication becomes difficult. Fighters will not know when to attack or when to retreat. Thus, musical instruments and flags were used to assist in command and direction. As the Sons of the Forest had no banners, only musical instruments, and because of the previous treachery of the Treants, the human side defending the city was in some chaos. Therefore, the Banner Soldier System of the Moro family could no longer be used. The allay Griffin Knight patted the shoulder of a peasant soldier beside him. ¡°Behind us are our fellowmen.¡± ¡°Our unwavering faith in God and our loyalty to our lords are behind us! Soldiers, hold on, you will be great because of this!¡± Suddenly a bolt of thunder crossed the sky. Despite the clear sky, a robust flash of lightning struck down from the heavens right onto the Tauren climbing the animal carcass pile. Many of the Tauren were hit, falling down from a 20 meter height onto a pile of rubble. Many Tauren were severely injured by the fall. This bolt of lightning turned into a streak of electricity, merging with the outer surface of the city wall, specifically, the part the enemy would touch if they were to scale the wall. The residual magical energy was not enough to continue to deal grave harm to the Tauren, but it was sufficient to numb their bodies. This left the Tauren that had bravely weathered the rain of arrows and rocks, only to climb atop the city wall, completely exhausted. At this point, even the peasant soldiers dared to fight them. The Griffin Knight was slightly stunned, but he rejoiced soon after. On another part of the city wall, Ivita leaned against the wall and took deep breaths. Ever since he added the name of Zeus to his Lightning Curse, it has become not only significantly more powerful but has also grown somewhat peculiar. The lightning from this curse seemed to easily change shape and would produce variations according to his will. For example, he had just attempted to allow the residual Lightning Magic to twine around the city wall, which instantly increased the defensive power of the degraded little wall. However, it also depleted his magical energy of the lightning attribute. ¡°I might be able to use this modified Lightning Curse as Destiny Magic in the future,¡± Ivita said while panting. ¡°Hearthstone Witch, by the way, what is Destiny Magic?¡± ¡°Your Highness, Destiny Magic deals with astrology. Precisely because of this, the Church used to view matters related to divination and horoscopes as superstitions, and anyone who conduct research on astrology must be excommunicated by the Church,¡± the Old Witch replied with some amazement. The effect of the new spell created by the Demon God was truly comprehensive, and its power was even slightly stronger than the last time. This rate of progress was certainly abnormal. Taking into account that he was the Demon God, it was somewhat reasonable. Chapter 60 - 60 59 The Nature of Pan God and the Path to ?Chapter 60: Chapter 59: The Nature of Pan God and the Path to Becoming a King (Please Follow)_2 Chapter 60: Chapter 59: The Nature of Pan God and the Path to Becoming a King (Please Follow)_2 However, if placed upon a human, that would be a potential pathway to the evolution of the Wizard King. Individuals usually find it hard to counter the masses. Therefore, the kings are the noblest of people in this continent. However, there is a very select few, who, through individual power alone, can claim kingship ¨C and they, without exception, are the aberrations among aberrations. The Queen of Stars, the Yellow Black Queen, the Dark Queen ¨C all of them possess powers to enact laws, rules on par with those of the world itself! The Old Witch frowned, ¡°Even if you did cast the Lightning Curse, this spell is far stronger than regular wizards¡¯ magic, yet it may not be able to turn the tide of the battle.¡± ¡°We may not be able to hold out. Your Majesty, I found a secret passage in the castle leading to the back of the mountain, we may escape through there.¡± Ivita shook her head, with a smile. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Hearthstone Witch.¡± ¡°The Agricultural Ancient Souls will soon retreat, they won¡¯t attack the city for now.¡± Ivita sat on the ground with a smirk which she couldn¡¯t contain, raising her right hand full of extravagant rings. ¡°Some spells are indeed quite useful.¡± ¡­ The Agricultural Ancient Soul watched as the lightning bolt struck down, injuring a number of taurens and knocking them down, their faces grim with shock. Let alone a group of injured tauren warriors, they were even leading a number of healthy Tauren troops back to the Sons of Forest¡¯s camp at the foot of the mountain. Pan God wanted to chastise the injured soldiers for their cowardice, but the Sons of Forest don¡¯t have a strict caste system. Even an Ancient Soul, could not readily insult the Sons of Forest. This is the downside of not having a hierarchical system. The more critical issue is, the Ancient Soul that the taurens worship is the ¡°Ancient Bull Demon Spirit¡±. These Taurens don¡¯t possess much reverence for him and lack the tenacity to carry on. The Taurens, lacking a sense of hierarchy and the temperament to fight fiercely, tend to opt for escape when faced with a crisis. The injured Tauren soldiers incessantly complained to the Tauren chief that they¡¯re being sent on suicidal missions, they are not sacrificial offerings. They intended to complain to the Ancient Bull Demon Spirit to seek justice on their behalf. The Tauren chief, tongue-tied, was already at his wits¡¯ end. He looked pleadingly towards Pan God for help. Pan kept a smile on his face, despite his growing unease. ¡°My friends, we are the attackers, naturally our casualties will be more.¡± ¡°Your casualties are already very minimal.¡± ¡°Alright, since the other party is using magic to aid their warriors, we can retaliate with an ancient sacrificial ritual.¡± Pan God lifted his left hand, to summon the wasps from the surrounding mountains to attack the defenders of the city, delivering to them an almighty blow. Let them feel the power of an Ancient Soul. So that the young Ivita knows how naive it was of him to provoke him, underestimating the power the passing years have given to the elders, underestimating the remarkable things the time has left on the Ancient Spirits. He chanted an ancient syllable, the language of the once Agricultural God, an heirloom that hadn¡¯t been uttered for over two thousand years. The ground around the Sons of Forest began to sprout fist-sized seedlings of sequoia trees. The Sons of Forest were amazed by the power of the Agricultural Ancient Soul. ¡°It¡¯s the Tree God! Our Supreme God has returned!¡± ¡°We have once again seen the Tree God!¡± Some Sons of Forest were even crying, some were cheering, some expressed their desire to slaughter all humans. The Agricultural Ancient Soul summoned a swarm of hornets, which flew to the sky above the Tauren troops. The intention was to fly toward the city wall so that every human defender would be stung by the hornets. But at this moment, the Agricultural Ancient Soul was suddenly struck by inexplicable trepidation. Turning around, he saw a Tauren warrior with a chest wound at the foot of the wooden frame behind him, he didn¡¯t know when the Tauren had climbed up there. This Tauren¡¯s gaze was dull and foggy. Pan God was surprised. ¡°You¡­ are under a spell? A Charm Spell!¡± His face turned pale, but by then the Tauren had already lifted his axe, aiming for Pan¡¯s chest. A trace of blood, from the Agricultural Ancient Spirit, flew across the sky against the astonished gazes of the Sons of Forest, landing on the ground. The ground couldn¡¯t bear the blood of the Ancient Spirit, turning charcoal black with vegetation withering at an alarming rate. However, the most important thing was that the Agricultural Ancient Soul¡¯s sacrificial ritual was interrupted, and the unnavigated swarm of hornets, out of fear, chose to attack their nearest moving creatures ¨C the Tauren Troops. And the controlled Tauren was thrown back by a beam of bright light, by the time he got up again, he had already returned to his senses. Just didn¡¯t know what had happened. The Tauren warrior looked at Pan God innocently, ¡°The Ancient Soul is injured! The Ancient Soul is injured! Why?¡± The Sons of Forest were enraged. Humans had actually injured the Ancient Soul. Shameful humiliation! They were at an absolute advantage in power. Due to their oversight, a Tauren controlled by a charm spell had come close to the Ancient Soul! Just when the Sons of the Forest thought that the Agricultural Ancient Soul would rage, they were at a loss, silent. However, the Agricultural Ancient Soul lowered his gaze to the wound on his chest and began laughing, the sheep-headed elder laughed with great delight. ¡°A wizard apprentice has hurt me amidst my mighty forces, even though greatly outnumbered.¡± ¡°Even if I let this secret out, nobody would believe it.¡± ¡°My friends.¡± ¡°How many¡­ many years have passed.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I have once again encountered such an interesting human boy, initially perceived to be an overly accomplished human being, but never expected to be capable of such. ¡± ¡°Where have you been all this time, being driven out of your kingdom by your own subjects.¡± ¡°Made me think of you just as an ordinary mediocrity.¡± A long, long time ago, Pan God had never been an enemy of humans. Back then, he was a guide for exceptional heroes. He liked to foster interesting human boys. And it had to be boys. Pan God, at the moment, was not angered by Ivita¡¯s betrayal but instead, it had served to ignite his suppressed true nature. But soon, Pan¡¯s expression changed, he had his responsibilities. These responsibilities involved many things. His expression hardened, his gaze turning sinister, he said: ¡°It was my mistake, I shouldn¡¯t have taken you as an ordinary boy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what allowed you to get the chance to attack me.¡± ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone use a Charm Spell like this, so the previous lightning was just a diversion for the Charm Spell.¡± Seeing that the hornet swarm he summoned was attacking the Tauren troops, the Agricultural Ancient Soul had no choice but to order a retreat. ¡°Withdraw the troops.¡± ¡°The situation is unfavorable for us now, retreat and regroup.¡± ¡°I will destroy this city, I want to see how long can these humans cling on!¡±