Release That Witch - Chapter 608

Chapter 608: Coldwind Ridge

..

Soli Daal satisfactorily went through the broken castle gate and entered the castle of Coldwind Town.

Just three days to take Coldwind Ridge? Apart from the two days he spent on the road, it only took him several minutes to break through the little town’s city wall. Of course, that muddy fence could hardly be called a city wall. The few guards just fled without making any official resistance after two of them were slashed by the Judgement Army and fell to the ground.

Is this the town guarding the border area?

The Kingdom of Graycastle is nothing more powerful than that.

The only thing that upset him was when the church army was only halfway down the mountain, smoke came out of the Beacon Tower below as if they had known the church army was coming to attack the town.

Although sooner or later residents in the other domains of the Northern Region would be alerted, what made Soli angry was the disrespect the townsmen held toward the church—they had treated the army from Holy City as enemies beforehand, which showed their long-held sacrilege. Soli dispatched a squad of Judgement Army to head to the Beacon Tower, in order to arrest some soldiers for interrogation before hanging them.

“This way please, my lord.” The knight leading the way said in a trembling voice. With swords placed upon their necks, those knights did not show any courage, nor did they try to protect their lord. Instead, they instantly knelt down and pledged alliance to the church.

Those soldiers without a belief are just ugly, weak, and hapless. They’re nothing compared with the Judgement Warriors who fight for the deities.

After killing several guards on the way, the Judgement Army broke into the study of the Lord of Coldwind Ridge and sealed every window which might serve as an exit, although Soli did not think the lord had the courage to escape through a window at all. Soli slowly walked into the study, looking at the lord gradually slump on a chair with a pale face.

“Good afternoon, Lord Kevan Matten.”

“How, how dare you break into Coldwind Ridge… Does Holy City want to make enemy with Kingdom of Graycastle openly?”

“He’s done,” Soli thought, “Fear has completely possessed him.” Through the decades of defending against demonic beasts at Hermes, the archbishop had developed a unique ability, which was to relish fear. Some people could convert fear into the desire of survival, while others would only be devoured by fear. Converting fear into the desire of survival was regarded as the essential quality for a Judgement Warrior to be promoted to a member of the God’s Punishment Army. Those who were devoured by fear would be eventually obsolete in the endless atrocious wars.

Kevan was obviously among the latter.

“That’s right. Haven’t you known it long before?”

“What? No! I don’t know what you mean…”

“It’s too late to regret, my lord.” Soli interrupted him. “You offered high prices for grains and forbade merchants to go to Holy City. Don’t tell me you did that on a whim. The King of Graycastle wants to turn Coldwind Ridge into an outpost for the war against Holy City. So, naturally, you can’t blame us for an early counterattack.”

“This is a groundless accusation.” Kevan shook his head repeatedly. “I didn’t do any of what you accused me of. The king has never sent ambassadors to Coldwind Ridge, not to mention to launch an attack against Hermes!”

“It’s OK that you don’t confess. Supreme Pontiff has his methods to find out the information he wants in your head. It’ll do you no good if things have to go that far. So, you’d better tell me everything you know now.”

“I, I really didn’t do that. You can’t wrongfully accuse me.” He shrunk his obese body a bit and said, “I’m the Lord of Coldwind Ridge, an Earl of Kingdom of Graycastle! What you did has violated the ‘Agreement on the Months of the Demons’!”

“Enough. You deserve it.”

Soli Daal waved his hand in dread. The Judgement Warriors immediately dragged Kevan out of the study.

After the archbishop sat on the lord’s chair, he vaguely felt something was wrong. “The lord has obviously been destroyed by fear, why did he refuse to confess? Is he so loyal to Roland Wimbledon that he would rather be interrogated in Holy City than disclose the king’s plan?”

At that moment, a chief justice went into the room. “Milord Bishop, Pitsos has sealed the granary, but…”

“But what?”

“There isn’t much food there, probably only enough to last the townsmen for one or two months. There is no way it could sustain a large army.”

“Are you sure?” Soli frowned immediately.

“Pitsos searched every corner of the granary and asked the keepers. They said recently there was not a large amount of grain coming in and the wheat there was just the stock from last year,” The chief justice reported in full detail.

“Why was there news about offering high prices for grains in the town?” Soli meditated for a while. “Go ask the merchants.”

“Yes.” The chief justice nodded. “Besides, we did a thorough search of the garrison camps in the west of the town. Most of the rooms there are empty. The surrendered knights said since the border army was completely annihilated at Hermes, no new soldiers have been recruited.”

“That means Coldwind Ridge isn’t ready for a war, which contradicts the information that Zero supplied.” The archbishop’s brows deepened. After a long silence, he ordered. “There must be believers of the church in this town. Call them together and ask about the changes in Coldwind Ridge in the last two months in detail. Question the local Rats and those who voluntarily submitted to the church. I want to know what’s going on as soon as possible!”

The chief justice bowed and said, “I’ll go ask them right away.”

Soli leaned back on the chair and deeply sighed. The plan of attacking Kingdom of Graycastle had been made a long time ago. The process and the result did not matter, but yet he did not like any accidents.

What went wrong?

The next day, the chief justice put a report on the archbishop’s desk, which was full of information he collected.

Soli opened it and went through the testimonies on the first page. “Two local merchants offered high prices for grains. Did they hoard wheat as much as 5,000 pecks?”

“That’s only the two merchants’ testimony.” The chief justice said in a low voice. “After getting the information, I searched their houses right away. I did find a large quantity of grain, but it sufficed to requirement of only one person. In their basements, there are merely 100 pecks of grain in total. Besides, there was no one in their houses. I guess all fled after they saw the beacon fire.”

“Do you mean… collusion?” Soli immediately got what he meant.

“Yes, my lord. Only when they collude with the peddlers outside the town, pretend to sell grains to those pedlers then secretly transport the grains back, could they create such a false image.”

“Where do these pedlers come from?”

“From all the other towns in the Northern Region, such as Deepvalley Town, City of Evernight, Wuthering Castle… The purchase at high prices started a month ago. At first, not many people paid attention to it. Later on, the trade volume increased so much that it drew merchants’ attention. We’ve put all the pedlers in the town into custody, but failed to find those who were in charge of transporting the grains.”

If they’re in collusion, there is a small chance of capturing them. Yet… what did they do this for? Just to draw the attention of Holy City to make Supreme Pontiff attack at an earlier date?

Soli skipped to the last few pages of the report, and then a piece of information caught his eyes.

“Are the patrollers on the Beacon Tower… dead?”

Chapter 609: Entering the Battlefield

p>”All three died in a shack at the foot of the Beacon Tower,” The chief justice nodded and said, “and the guards on the Beacon Tower take their shifts once a week. So when they were found dead, their bodies had begun to smell.”

“Alright. It seems it was not them that kindled the beacon, but some others.” Soli punched the desk angrily, and then burst into laughter. “Are they deliberately teasing us or provoking Holy City to wage a war?”

“The specific reason is not clear. But Milord, one Rat’s testimony is interesting.” The chief justice pointed to the report. “I deliberately wrote it on the last page.”

Soli turned the report to the last page and hastily skimmed through it. “Two weeks ago, people set a barrier on the road beneath Coldwind Ridge, forbidding anyone to go to the Impassable Mountain Range, but allowing people to leave there?”

“Exactly. The Rat had planned to take his chance in Deepvalley Town, but he saw some merchants who should have headed for Hermes were stopped by soldiers.”

“It seems the lord really didn’t do this,” Soli thought. “Wait a moment… two weeks ago? When was the last time the group of pedlers who sold grain appeared?”

“Three days ago.”

The archbishop’s face instantly clouded over. “That’s to say, those pedlers were allowed to pass the Impassable Mountain Range which was alleged to be inaccessible?

The answer was clear as daylight.

“They’re accomplices,” the chief justice said, “at least they look like so.”

“How many were guarding the barrier?”

“The Rat only dared to take a quick glance from afar. He estimated there were several hundreds of them.”

“As long as we spot their weak point, we’re fine,” Soli Daal stood up and said, “Order the Judgement Army to gather here right away!”

“Milord, do you intend to go down the hill?” The chief justice was surprised, but he quickly explained. “Supreme Pontiff ordered us to station in Coldwind Ridge after seizing it, to ensure the road is clear and wait for the main army to come… If you want to inquire more about the situation, ask a small detachment to capture a few enemies for interrogation. That’ll be sufficient.

“Not only will I catch a few of them for interrogation, but I’ll also crush their barrier. This is the price they have to pay for making fun of Holy City.” Soli waved hand impatiently. “If we start off now, by the day after tomorrow I’ll be able to see their heads overhung above the city gate. This won’t affect the Holy City’s attacking plan, so His Holiness won’t blame us.”

“But if this is a trap the enemy set…”

“A trap?” Soli glanced at him. “I used to lead an army and attack Broken Tooth Castle of Kingdom of Wolfheart. It was a very tough battle. They took advantage of the geography and set up numerous traps. However, traps set up by commoners could only bring limited trouble to God’s Punishment Army. So, what can a trap set up in the open field at the foot of a mountain do to us? Any attempt to ambush God’s Punishment Army will be in vain. On the other hand, I kind of hope they have the courage to fight instead of fleeing.” The archbishop paused, and then said, “Now you’ve understood it. Go and do what I ordered.”

“… Yes, Milord!”

Looking at the back of the chief justice, Soli Daal sneered. “I’ll never pardon these blasphemers.”

“Is there a large troop taking off from Coldwind Ridge?” Iron Axe asked, looking at the fluffy pigeon which just flew into the tent.

“Around 1,000 soldiers, coo!” Maggie said while flapping her wings, “and there are no vehicles shipping grains or a militia. They’re all armored. Some of them are carrying big shields and short spears, coo!”

“Big shields?” Iron Axe said in surprise, “How big are they?”

“Um…” Maggie looked at Iron Axe while tilting her head. “About the same size as yours, coo.”

“I see. Well done.” Iron Axe handed over the pigeon a piece of dried meat as usual, and then called for the guard who was standing outside of the door. “Ask Gun Battalion commander Brian and Artillery Battalion commander Van’er to come to my tent for a meeting. The enemy is in action.”

…

After hearing the information provided by the witches, Brian could not help frowning. “How can they come so soon? It will take between two to three days for His Majesty to reach Deepvalley Town. The Longsong Cannons aren’t in place yet…”

“The church indeed reacted faster than we’ve expected, but whether His Majesty is here or not, we need to stick to our posts and never step back,” Iron Axe calmly said, “and no matter what, the enemy mustn’t cross our defensive line at the foot of the mountain.”

“Yes!” Brain and Van’er said in unison.

“Good. Here is my battle arrangement.” Iron Axe licked his lips. “It’ll take the enemy at least one day to arrive at the foot of the mountain, which gives us enough time to prepare. We have over 2,000 pieces of God’s Stones of Retaliation. Assign them to as many soldiers as possible at the front rows. The machine gunners need more protection than anyone else, so they must wear God’s Stones too.” He roughly explained the plan he’d been conceiving. “In addition, I’ll arrange 10 good gunners and a machine gun team to protect Miss Sylvie. They’ll follow Miss Silvie’s instructions based on her investigation of the scene to take care of the enemies who pose greater threats. Other soldiers will act in accordance with the instructions set out during the maneuver.

“I have a question,” Van’er said in hesitation. “In the enemy’s team, can the soldiers carrying big shields be…”

“They’re most likely God’s Punishment Army.” Iron Axe nodded. “Judging from Miss Maggie’s description, commoners won’t be able to march carrying shields of such a size.”

“Can a bullet penetrate it?” asked Brian.

“We won’t know it unless we try,” Iron Axe answered without hesitation. “If a flintlock can’t harm the enemy effectively, your people just try to stop the God’s Punishment Army marching forward and leave them to the artillery to take care of.

“Yes!”

“Eventually you have to rely on the artillery to solve the problem,” Van’er said smilingly. “Leave it to me, Your Excellency.”

Two days later, Danny jumped into a trench in the early morning, holding his beloved rifle.

According to the instructions yesterday, he quickly came to his spot—the right wing of a trench in the center of the battlefield. The shrubs and bushes in the surrounding areas had all been cut, leaving an open space for him to overview the entire battlefield and aim precisely.

Danny picked up a few stones from the ground, created a small rack on the side of the trench, put his rifle on the rack, and aimed at the front.

Through the sights, Danny saw dew drops suspending on leaves above the ground, a spider clinging to a wire fence, a red clay road full of horseshoe prints, and the Impassable Mountain Range at a distance.

An excellent sniping position.

He opened the bolt, pushed the first bullet into the chamber, and waited for enemies to appear.

As a hunter, Danny had always been patient.

Since he joined the Militia in response to His Majesty’s conscription, he had participated in a series of battles, such as the defense battle in the Months of Demons, the operation` against the Duke of Longsong Stronghold, the attack of King’s City, etc. The weapon he used had updated from flintlock to the newest bolt rifle. In terms of combat experience, he must be one of the most experienced soldiers in the First Army. If he had not insisted on staying at the front, he would have been most likely an officer of the Gun Battalion only second to Sir Brian.

Compared with commanding others, he preferred the feeling of hunting a prey.

Ever since the day he laid hands on a flintlock, he had deeply been in love with such a weapon.

It was handy and powerful. One only needed to have a good eyesight and a little bit of gift to master it.

Holding a gun in hands, Danny could feel the power surging from the bottom of his heart.

Chapter 610: The Hunter

hile Danny was waiting, a short guy ran toward him along the trench.

“Captain, you’re early.” He panted, took the sack off his shoulder, and put it at Danny’s feet. “Here’s your ammunition.”

“If I was hunting in the mountains, I’d have come back by this time already,” Danny said carelessly. “How much ammunition for me?”

“30 bullets.”

“So few…” Danny murmured. “Bloody machine gunner.”

The short guy was the youngest soldier in the army, only 16 years old. His name was Malt. He came to “protect” Danny.

Every sharpshooter was paired with a protector so that when enemies drew close, they could quickly suppress the enemies and buy themselves time to run away or switch to bayonets.

Danny did not think that he needed a protector, especially not an underaged one. The reason he accepted Malt was that he could not turn down Karl Van Bate’s implore. He had been neighbors with the Minister of Construction for years, and they had lived in the same street of the New District. Naturally, he understood that Karl viewed all the kids graduated from Karl College as his own children.

Since the sharpshooter’s position was usually at the back, the protector was actually at a safer place compared with the soldiers at the front line. Danny knew that His Majesty hated his employees covering up or colluding with each other, so taking Malt as his protector was one of the few things that he could do without offending His Majesty.

Looking at Malt who was squatting there picking bullets, Danny could not help asking, “Have you thought of changing for another job?”

“Leaving the First Army?” Malt answered without raising his head, “No, I like it here very much.”

“But this isn’t a game,” Danny said, raising his eyebrows. “We could be killed at the battlefield anytime. You don’t have to take this risk. As a Karl College graduate, you’re totally qualified for a job in City Hall. There you can work quite decently and earn more than here in the army.”

“But I don’t like running errands for the officials every day. I just want to hold a gun to protect His Majesty.” Malt put the 8 mm bullets he picked before the trench. “Besides…” He suddenly paused and seemed to be blushing.

“Because of Miss Nana?”

Malt did not reply, yet his cheeks reddened.

Danny could not help bursting into laughter. “At least half of the soldiers in the First Army admire Miss Angel. I don’t think you even have a chance. Besides, her father is a baron. Even he currently doesn’t have lands, his daughter isn’t someone you can dream of.”

“I, I’m not thinking like that,” Malt said, craning his neck. “I’m satisfied as long as I can see her every day.”

Danny shook his head and stopped persuading Malt. He knew how strong or stubborn one could be once he was in love. He himself was no exception.

Whenever he had time, the image of a green-haired woman would appear in his mind as soon as he closed eyes.

If she had not reached out to save him, he might have lost his life in the forest.

But at that time, she was still a minion of the demons’, the embodiment of evil. Danny buried his affection deep in his heart and dared not to tell anyone. Unexpectedly, the second time they met, witches had been proved to be innocent. Consequently, she had moved into the Witch Building in the castle area and opened up various experimental fields in Misty Forest.

He could not enter the castle area as he wished, so whenever he was on a vacation, he would always pick up his bow to hunt in Misty Forest. He even decided that when he no longer served as a soldier, he would apply to the City Hall for the forest ranger job and take Misty Forest as his new home.

“Woo… Woo…!”

At that moment, he heard the blare of the horns.

It signaled the arrival of enemies.

Danny stopped his wandering thoughts and fixed his gun holder.

No matter what, he was still a warrior at the moment. He should fight to protect His Majesty and overthrow the church who was hunting witches.

…

As the sun rose above his head, a troop with shimmering armors appeared at the foot the mountain.

In order to siege the only road leading to the mountain, their defensive line was less than one kilometer away from the Hermes Mountains. The moment the enemies went off the mountain, they had stepped into the First Army’s cannons’ shooting range.

Danny knew full well that Iron Axe would not miss any chance to strike the enemies.

As if to prove his thoughts were right, a series of dull roars burst behind him, which sounded like thunders coming from far away. Danny vaguely saw lines of shadows flying over his head towards the enemies.

The battle started without a sign.

From a distance, Danny could clearly see the landing points of shells, where dust was sprung up like bunches of wildflowers. The enemies which were marching like a line of ants instantly went into a panic. That was a normal reaction, considering it was the first time they were stricken by opponents whom they could not even see. If it were for the mercenaries or militia, their morale could probably totally collapse after a few rounds of shooting.

But the troop of the church did not retreat. It began to accelerate. The soldiers seemed to be not as neatly lined as before.

By the time they got closer to Danny, they had suffered three rounds of cannon attacks. The combination of 50 field artilleries was enough to bombard continuously, which was a torturous experience to the enemies. Without war horses, they had to trod on this hellish road on foot.

The God’s Punishment Army, which was said to have prodigious strength, held big shields upright and advanced in the front row. They formed a gray iron wall 500 to 600 meters away from the First Army’s first trench.

But it did not mean much in front of bullets. As soon as a bullet hit a big shield, it would break the shield into pieces and threw the shield holder on the ground.

“This isn’t good,” Danny said while shaking head. “I’m afraid they will be annihilated before they even reach the first trench.” He understood the First Army’s fire arrangement: first, they took care of the enemies from 1,000-1,500 meters away with cannons; then when the enemies gathered before the wire fence, they swept the battlefield with machine guns; if the enemies got within 200 meters and began to rush forward, they used revolving rifles in close range combat.

“Why is it not good to destroy them?” Malt peered over the trench, standing on his tiptoe.

“Well, because then there’ll be nothing for me to do.” Danny collected the bullets he laid out into the waist pocket, lifted his gun, and prepared to leave.

“Where are you going?” Malt hurriedly pulled him.

“I’m going to the trench in the front row.” Danny got rid of Malt’s hand. “You stay here.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t follow. This is a captain’s order”

With these words, Danny bent over to walk along the communicating trench.

The sounds of landing shells got louder and louder. At every dull crashing sound, crumbs came off the trench walls and fell into his collar.

He then knew that he was approaching the forefront bit by bit.

After crossing three rows of trenches, before a new round of shells landed, Danny stuck out his head to watch over the trench, regardless of the fact that other team members were looking at him confusedly. He could clearly see the big shields of the God’s Punishment Army, and even hear the enemies’ desperate shouting and yelling.

He was about 300 meters away from the enemies.

This is close enough.

Taking a deep breath, Danny set up his rifle, aimed the sights at somewhere a little over a shield, and pulled the trigger.

Accompanied by a crisp sound, some blue blood spilled behind the shield, which, together with the shield holder, fell to the ground, revealing the bewildered Judgement Warriors hiding behind.

Danny pulled open the bolt, took off the steaming bullet shell, and pushed the bolt back again.

The loading sound thrilled and exhilarated him.

“The first one,” Danny thought.

Chapter 611: Protected

anny was constantly aiming, shooting, until the clip emptied. Another two big shields fell down. Danny would not waste his bullets on the Judgement Warriors. With the thin armor, the Judgement Warriors looked martial, but yet they could not even withstand the flintlock. Lord Iron Axe once said that the God’s Punishment Army was a dreadful opponent because one of its soldiers could fight against 10, but at the same time, they were scarce and troublesome to train, so they were the targets worth hunting.

The reason he disliked the machine gunners was that he felt those arrogant fellows, although they used exactly the same bullets as he did, shot with an astonishingly low efficiency.

During the only two times of live practice, a machine gun squad fired several chests of bullets within one hour, which even made Lord Iron Axe’s heart ache. But while checking the bullet holes, only around 100 bullets actually hit the targets. Danny felt it was totally a waste of resources.

Of course, he also understood the significance of the Mark I machine gun. At least while faced with swarming enemies, it could stop their attacking momentum. But in terms of hunting results, sharpshooters were more reliable.

One bullet for one enemy.

This was his aim for strict training.

Danny pulled out the clip, and skillfully reloaded it. When he was about to stand up and start shooting, he heard someone gasping. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Malt.

“Damn it! Didn’t I tell you to stay where you were?” He shouted at Malt, “You violated a military order!”

“Lord Brian said that a soldier can never leave his position lest for exceptional cases, so you’ve violated a military order,” saying this, Malt wiped the sweat on his forehead. “As your protector, I must stay by your side!”

“…” Holding back the impulse to beat Malt, Danny grabbed a handful of bullets from his pocket and threw them in front of Malt. “Fill the clip. Stay down unless there’s an emergency!”

“Yes, Captain!” the short guy saluted and said smilingly.

After Danny killed five enemies, there appeared to be some changes in the enemy’s troop.

The church commander probably believed that they would not make it to the trench if they kept on charging that way and so they made a change. The God’s Punishment Army abandoned their big shields and charged toward the trenches. They moved at such a fast speed that even horses would not outrun them. They were getting closer and closer!

The sound of revolving rifles and machine guns rang out at the same time.

Suddenly, some blood fog appeared in front of Danny. The dust rising from the ground was denser than the time when the cannons bombarded. It looked as if there was an invisible giant hand severely beat the group of charging warriors. Facing this unstoppable force, the enemy’s charging speed was greatly slowed down. Anyone touched by this invisible force was torn into pieces with blood splashing everywhere.

A soldier of the God’s Punishment Army kept running forward even after one of his arms was shot by a bullet. When Danny aimed his gun at him, a ‘sand snake’ composed of dozens of lines of dust sloppily passed through the soldier’s body, which was the unique trajectory of a machine gun. The soldier’s chest suddenly waved like a pool of water, blue blood splashed out of his back, and his ribs were even broken by the scorching airflow of the passing bullets.

The soldier, though he lost his balance and was wrinkled up like a piece of rag, still managed to run for another three to four steps before falling to the ground due to the inertia. Danny noticed that his back had gone rotten.

“Watch out, Captain!” Malt shouted suddenly.

Danny was shocked. When he turned his head, he saw another soldier from the God’s Punishment Army, appearing from the boundless dust and holding a spear upright.

Then the soldier bent over and threw the spear at Danny.

He barely saw how the soldier threw the spear.

“Too careless. I’ve been so focused on observing the enemies that I attracted their attention. A hunter shouldn’t expose himself under the prey’s eyesight for too long,” Danny thought.

Before he could react, Malt heavily hit him on the body. Both of them fell on the trench ground. At the same time, a loud sound came above their heads.

Danny felt a pain came from the back of his head, and his body was completely covered by dirt.

Danny felt the sound of gunfires suddenly faded away, and an unbearable buzzing kept echoing in his ears.

After a long time, Danny recovered his senses. Touching the back of his head, he felt something sticky. “I must have hit on something hard when I fell on the ground. Since I could remain sober, it must be nothing serious.”

With his blurry eyesight, he saw a teammate coming to him.

“Are you alright?”

Danny could only vaguely hear it. He managed to wave his hand, indicating he was fine.

“Give me a hand. Two people are wounded,” the teammate shouted.

Soon, Danny and Malt were surrounded by more teammates and were dragged out of the collapsed pile of dirt.

At that moment, Danny noticed that the short spear had torn apart the edge of the trench, creating a crescent-shaped gap. It did not fly away over his head but instead it hit the trench edge, penetrated the thin soil, and struck into the trench wall. The dirt that fell on their bodies was from the spot where the spear’s hit.

When he looked at Malt, his heart suddenly clenched.

He saw there was a bleeding wound as big as a bowl on Malt’s shoulder, and his arm almost fell off, only a few strands of skin connected the shoulder, his white bones exposed.

“The spear wasn’t thrown in vain. It hit Malt.”

The teammates went back to the battle, leaving one soldier to take care of Malt. All the soldiers in the First Army understood that as long as a wounded soldier could survive till the end of the battle, Miss Nana would make him fully recover. So hemostasis and dressing was a compulsory course in the First Army. The soldier left pulled out a dagger, decisively cut Malt’s arm off and then sprinkled the herbs in his pocket on Malt’s wound before he wrapped the wound with gauze.

After suffering this treatment, Malt awoke from his coma, murmuring a faint groan.

“Lie still. You’re not going to die.” The soldier consoled him.

“Where is Cap-Captain Danny?”

“I’m here.” Danny clenched his teeth, upheld his weak limbs, and climbed to Malt’s side. “Why would you do that for me…”

“Because I’m your protector. Of, of course, I won’t leave you behind.” Malt’s mouth slowly opened and shut. “How did I do? I fulfilled my duty, didn’t I?”

Danny suddenly felt an unspeakable guilt surging from the bottom of his heart. “Sure… you did very well.”

“Really?” Malt smiled with a difficulty. “This will pave my way to meet Miss Nana.”

“That’s right. Both of you can meet her.” The soldier looked at Danny. “You can take care of him, right? I need to go back to my position.”

“Yes, I can… Thank you,” Danny said, nodding.

After the soldier left, Danny slowly picked up his gun from the ground, dusted off the dirt, and managed to stand up.

“I can still fight!”

“The enemy must pay for this wound with blood!” Danny thought.

However, the approaching army of the church was no more. In the pervading dust, the enemies were retreating in panic, and only their backs could be vaguely seen.

Cheers burst out from the trenches.

They had won!

Chapter 612: Battle’s End

p>…

Roland walked out of the cabinet as the gunboat staggered to a stop. He was fascinated by what he saw.

The arch-typed mountain rocks, which extended out from both sides, wrapped around the entire town like two huge arms. The rays of sunlight slanted along the finger-wide crevice, forming a wall of golden shimmers.

Numberless vines, which looked like green hair, grew out of the bottom of the rocks. Some bulky ones even reached the ground, tempting people to climb up.

When the sun rays sifted through dense twigs and branches and splintered up into glints of the muttering brook, Roland felt like he was in a untraversed forest. However, the area was not completely uncultivated. Along Soundless River stood different types of buildings constructed by men. Townsmen passed through waist-high bushes back and forth. Streaks of smokes could be detected from the distance. Everything around this area was in perfect harmony with nature.

Due to a lack of sunshine, the temperature in this town was slightly lower than that in other places. The colors of plants, naturally, were in much deeper shades. No wonder the town was called Deepvalley Town.

Roland and the witches stepped on the dock covered with mosses and met the people who had been waiting there for a long time. The three at the front were obviously the general commander of the First Army, Iron Axes, the Duke of the Northern Region, Calvin, and his daughter, Edith.

“We’ve met again, Your Majesty.” Edith performed a curtsy. “Congratulations on the victory of your first battle.”

“I’ve heard the news on my way here. You did a good job.” Roland gave an approving nod. ” Iron Axes told me you not only smoothed out the transportation of food and ammunition, but also successfully lured the enemies.”

“These are the obligations of Kant Family,” she replied with a faint smile. “The tradesmen in the Northern Region are happy to be at your service.”

“But the owner of this town was still Timothy Wimbledon half a year ago,” Roland said within himself. The tradesmen in the three cities probably had never heard of the new king. They were willing to offer their services and carry out his plan was simply because of Edith’s advertisement and her tremendous personal influence over the Northern Region.

After giving a few words of encouragement, Roland turned to Iron Axes and asked, “Have you obtained the casualties?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Iron Axe administered a military salute and continued, “The detailed report has been sent to your office.”

“O-office?”

“I’ve discussed this matter with Earl Haier. We’ve decided that you should use his castle as your palace during your stay at Deepvalley Town.” Edith further explained. “Also, I’ve had the study refurbished, making it look like the one in the Border Area. Miss Maggie told me that you like a bright room. So, I knocked down a wall with a sunny exposure and replaced it with a floor-to-ceiling window.

“Really?” Roland asked with interest. “Then where will the earl stay?”

“In order not to disturb your work, he’ll live in his mansion in the suburb.” The Pearl of the Northern Region paused for a moment and then asked, “You want me to summon him?”

“No, that’s fine. I bet he doesn’t like partake in politics.” Roland waved his hand. “Let’s get into the castle first.”

“Alright. Please follow me.”

“Is this the wonder of power?” Roland thought while smacking his lips. “It isn’t bad to have a taste of it from time to time.”

…

Roland thought he was back at Neverwinter upon his entry to the study. The large mahogany desk, along with the coffee table and the recliner at the corner was exactly the same as those in the Border Area. The only big difference was the sceneries outside the French window. Here, he could see the green dale through the window instead of the somber Impassable Mountain Range.

He wondered what the previous owner, Earl Haier, would think about the renovation after he left.

Roland sat back to the desk and started to read the report.

Although he had learned how the battle had progressed, he felt exhilarated when he caught sight of the church’s casualties.

This was definitely a victory worthy to be remembered.

His concern about God’s Punishment Army dissipated when he saw 156 deaths among the God’s Punishment Warriors. It appeared that these powerful, fearless killing machines were not at all unconquerable. After all, flesh and blood could not compete against bullets and fire. Roland believed there should not be many God’s Punishment Warriors left, as every conversion required a witch’s blood. Agatha estimated the army should consist of no more than 1,500 warriors, provided that the Bloody Moon did not arrive.

A casualty ratio of one to ten was already high enough for the church to lament their loss.

In addition to the God’s Punishment Warriors, there were over 300 members of the Judgement Army killed in action, more than 20 of them severely injured and four commanders captured. These numbers were trivial. Despite the fact that Judgement Warriors were mostly strong-willed and skillful combaters, Roland did not take them seriously, as they were essentially the same as knights.

What was really lucky was that they had not encountered any pure witches who were extremely difficult to deal with. If they unfortunately had, they probably would not have won that easily just with Sylvie and Iffy taking charge. In fact, Sylvie had instructed the machine gun team to specifically tackle permeating pure witches.

“What about the casualties in the First Army?” Roland folded the report.

“Two killed and 21 severely injured,” Iron Axe answered in a low tone. “All resulted from a close-range spearing from the God’s Punishment Army. The wounded has now recovered and returned to service.”

After learning that the church had launched the attack, Lightning brought Nana to Deepvalley Town in no time. Nobody could provide a better treatment than Miss Angel.

Roland knocked on the desk and ordered. “Arrange a boat to send the bodies of the killed soldiers to City of Neverwinter for a burial.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” After a short pause, Iron Axe asked, “What will you do with the unit leader of the fourth premium shooting unit, Danny, Your Majesty?”

“That old hunter who shot five members of the God’s Punishment Army?” Roland took up the teacup and sipped the tea that tasted exactly the same as the premium tea in the palace. “What’s your opinion?”

During the rescue, Brian noticed that the injuries Danny and his protector sustained appeared to be inconsistent with their positions. The news soon reached Roland that very night via the Sigil of Listening. At that time, the war had just ended. Considering that the First Army was still absorbed in their celebration and that the protector was in a critical condition, Roland simply asked Iron Axe to first treat the wounded. Now, since they had arrived at Deepvalley Town, it was time to bring up this matter.

“I think although Danny disregarded the instruction and left his post without permission, he did make a big contribution to the victory. He shot five God’s Punishment Warriors down by himself. Such a remarkable performance would be more than enough to make him a celebrity in the Army. Therefore, I reckon his merits offset his demerits.” Iron Axes said slowly, “In the Iron Sand City, a fighter like him will even be rewarded by his master, so…”

“But the First Army was not any old-school army that rewards their soldiers based on how many they’ve killed.” Roland interrupted. “Do you remember what I taught you during the first training session?”

Iron Axe swallowed hard. “You taught us discipline, Your Majesty.”

“Only a well-disciplined army can become invincible.” Roland rose to his feet and paced to the French window. “I hope you bear this in mind all the time. Now, tell me, how are you supposed to deal with him?”

Chapter 613: Interrogation

Suspension without pay and a detention of 15 days if no further harms are caused; dismissal and bring him to your trial, if further harms are caused, Your Majesty,” Iron Axes replied immediately.

“Correct. You memorize it well. Do what you just said.” As there was no military tribunal at this point, Roland had to try cases of serious misconduct in the army by himself. In this case, Danny’s behavior was apparently not so serious as to put him on a trial. “In view of the upcoming great war, we’ll first detain him for five days and have him serve the rest in City of Neverwinter.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You don’t need to worry about the reactions among other soldiers. This sets a good example and tells them that everybody will be subject to punishment if he breaks the rules, regardless of how great his contribution to the army is.” Roland paused for a moment and then continued, “Of course, we won’t forget what he’s done for the army either. If somebody ever asks, just tell him that I have my own arrangement.”

In fact, Roland knew that he was also partially responsible for such a wrong conductive behavior. Although he had created a premium shooting unit of 50 people, he did not separate those talented, experienced snipers from the soldiers of the ordinary gun battalion. He simply instructed all of them to serve as flanks and shoot with revolving rifles from a farther distance, for the purpose of stopping enemies who tried to sneakily enter the machine gun bunker from the marginal area.

Danny, however, actually acted more like a professional sniper. He chose his position and fired based on his own judgement to eliminate the enemies who posed the greatest threats. Roland had thought about specifically forming a sniper team, and yet such a team had higher requirements for guns, ammunition and especially its team members. He had to, at the same time, keep an eye on the snipers to make sure that every one of them was proactive and productive.

Perhaps, he would make some improvements in the current premium shooting unit after this war concluded.

“By the way, Your Majesty, the captured church’s commanders have disclosed some… particular information.” Iron Axes was carefully choosing his words. “It’s about the God’s Punishment Army.”

“What’s it?”

“They said the members of God’s Punishment Army can’t fight on their own. They can only complete the most basic mission after a commander orders them to do so.”

Roland turned around. “Really? Anything else?” Ashes had already told him about it, which was the reason he dared to take his armies to the north and provoke the church. If God’s Punishment Warriors could fight independently, only a very few of them would be enough to cause riots across the kingdom and bring him trouble.

“A commander can be an ordinary person or a pure witch, and can’t be changed once appointed.” Iron Axes recollected. “Any new members of God’s Punishment Army will attend a ceremony to pledge allegiance. One captive admitted that he attended such a ceremony once.”

Roland instructed immediately. “Take me to them. Also, bring Agatha.”

…

Roland met the four separately-confined captives down in the dungeon.

Deepvalley Town was overall pleasantly cool and refreshing above the ground. Its underground surroundings, however, was freezing and damp. All four were blindfolded, drenched, with their hands tied behind their back. Although no visible wounds could be detected, they were all shivering. Apparently, Iron Axes had applied some unique interrogation techniques, which, as he suggested, few people could endure for one day.

Yet the church’s believers were not ordinary prisoners. Their ardent piety made them extremely strong.

“Only the two on the right are willing to speak up.” The man from the Sand Nation said in a low voice. “One of them is the chief justice of the church, while the other is the priest in Holy City. The other two refuse to tell us anything. Of course, they don’t know their friends have already confessed.”

Not really familiar with the institution and hierarchy of the church, Roland asked directly, “Who attended the ceremony where the God’s Punishment Army pledges allegiance? Take him to the interrogation room.”

The jailor soon dragged the priest to a small chamber next door. Iron Axes poured some cold water on his head to awaken him. “Farat, I. have a few questions to ask you.”

He quivered violently and started to speak feebly, “I’ve told you… everything I know. Please kill me now.” The priest’s voice was weak and faint as if he were in great agony.

“Tell me about the ceremony for the God’s Punishment Army.”

Farat did not respond but simply shook his head.

“Listen. This is the last round of the interrogation.” Iron Axe bent over and whispered in his ear, “I’ll let you go once you’ve answered all the questions.”

It took him quite a while to speak again. “The ceremony… is usually held in the Tower of Babel, which is only accessible to God’s Punishment Warriors, the pope and commanders. Everybody… must be completely silent during the process. Even the slightest sound will ruin the whole ceremony.”

“Why’s that?” Roland questioned.

“Because new warriors recognize their commanders by sounds.”

“The first sound they hear?”

“It can be more than one.” Farat gasped. “The chosen commanders will read hymns together. God’s Punishment Warriors will accept everyone during that time period.”

“What about you? Are you also a commander?”

“I’m responsible… for a group, a group of ten God’s Punishment Warriors.”

“But that ten people also need to follow the orders issued by your superior, correct?”

The priest nodded. “All the God’s Punishment Armies should obey the supreme pontiff’s orders.”

“That’s how it works,” Roland thought. He had thought they commanded this unconscious army telepathically or via brainwaves, but they actually controlled them through sounds. To him, it appeared to be a very unnecessarily complex and less efficient method. Not only did soundwaves easily diminish, but there was a big chance of issuing contradictory orders as well. Either of the problems would cause confusion to the God’s Punishment Army.

“You said once a commander is appointed, he can’t be changed. What if God’s Punishment Warriors lose all their commanders?” Agatha ventured suddenly.

Hearing it was a lady, Farat was stunned.

“Answer!” Iron Axe got some more water.

“I… don’t know.”

“You’re lying.” Roland immediately received Nightingale’s hint. “You’d better not play any tricks on us if you don’t want to stay here for another half a month.”

The priest clenched his teeth and finally said, “They, they’ll go to Barbarian Land themselves. That’s all I know.”

“Barbarian Land?” Agatha echoed in surprise.

“It’s just a hearsay… Usually, when this happens, some other warriors will stop him. But…” He hesitated for a moment. “It’s rumored some God’s Punishment Warriors, who weren’t properly managed, fled to Barbarian Land many years ago, and have stayed there ever since.”

“Do you know how the God’s Punishment Army is converted?”

“Well… Only the supreme pontiff can host the ceremony…”

“When the pope retires, how does he assign his authority to control the God’s Punishment Army?”

“I, I don’t know…” Beads of perspiration started to appear on his forehead.

“Four hundred years ago, how was the church founded?”

“Have you heard of the name ‘Alice’? How about the Union and Taquila?”

The priest was just irresponsive to any questions Agatha put forward afterwards.

“He truly doesn’t know. Let’s go. There’s no need to continue with this interrogation anymore.” After receiving the confirmation from Nightingale, Roland said.

When the three of them were about to leave the dungeon, Iron Axes trotted to them and asked, “Your Majesty, what about these captives from the church…”

“Do what you’ve promised earlier.”

Chapter 614: Agatha’s Prediction

hen they returned to the castle, Roland turned towards Agatha and asked, “Have you recalled anything?”

“Most likely, the God’s Punishment Army was only successfully researched after Taquila fell completely. I don’t understand it much,” she replied, shaking her head. “But… it’s definitely not as simple as what the church priest said. At least, it doesn’t explain how a newly-crowned pope is able to take over control of the God’s Punishment Army from the previous pope.”

“Also, it’s very odd that a runaway God’s Punishment Army would actively advance towards the Barbarian Land.” Agatha continued after a brief pause, “The Barbarian Land that you people speak of should be the Fertile Plains of 400 years ago. There’s nothing there apart from the ruins of the holy city. And it’s too far-fetched to say that they were enticed by the demons.”

“Who knows.” Roland casually commented. “You’ve also seen that their blood is blue in color. They can’t be considered the same species as us.” He was not highly interested in what exactly attracted the God’s Punishment Army. What he most wanted to know at present was their Achilles’ heel, and how to effectively guard against an assault on his lines. As could be seen from the previous wave of spear throwing, the lack of fortifications made the God’s Punishment Army quite threatening. “If they’re truly vulnerable to noise, maybe Echo’s ability can…”

“I don’t approve of doing this.” The ancient witch rejected his idea. “There are a lot of risks that way.”

“Indeed, it’s quite risky to sneak close to their commander, but we can…”

“No, I’m not talking about Echo.” Agatha interrupted his words. “I’m talking about you.”

“Me?” Roland was surprised.

“If Echo is to sneak up to the commander, she would need Nightingale’s Mist. When so, you would be left without protection. The church would only need to send forth a pure witch with special abilities to claim your life easily,” she replied unhesitatingly. “Although you’re a normal person who’s weak and powerless, we can’t do without you at present if we’re to defeat the demons. So, protecting you is still the most important thing to do. We can’t take any kind of risk with that.”

“I really can’t tell if you’re praising or insulting me.” Roland laughed bitterly. “When that time comes, I’ll put on the God’s Stone of Retaliation.”

“The God’s Stone of Retaliation is only a means of insurance. It’s not a completely secure barrier.” Agatha stated bluntly. “Even Nightingale isn’t completely failsafe, but we don’t have a better way.”

“As long as I’m still alive, His Majesty won’t come under any harm.” Nightingale could not restrain herself from revealing her figure. It was apparent that she did not take kindly to Agatha’s words.

“I hope so.” The ancient witch did not dispute this point further. She turned to leave the study but stopped when she reached the door.

“What’s the matter?” Roland asked.

Agatha remained silent for a while before she replied, “I don’t know whether to talk about these things… Her immense power aside, the reason why Lady Alice was able to become Queen of Starfall City and also the Head of the Three Chairs was that her intelligence and methods were superior to most witches. On a few occasions, her decisions saved the Union from the verge of collapse. Without her, Taquila wouldn’t have survived until then. Many people believed that if she was born before the first Battle of Divine Will, she would have ended this hopeless war early on.”

“What’re you trying to say?”

She turned her head back and frowned slightly. “What I mean is, the powerful warriors in whom she placed her hopes of saving the witches shouldn’t have turned out this way.”

“You feel that the present God’s Punishment Army may not have been the same as the one 400 years ago?” Roland asked in surprise.

“The God’s Punishment Warriors aren’t afraid of magic power, never panic, and are extremely powerful. They indeed seem to possess a great advantage over the demons. But… they won’t be able to make the decisive difference. Furthermore, they need a commander wherever they go, and don’t have the ability to perform long-distance attacks. I feel that Lady Alice shouldn’t place high hopes on this kind of warrior.” Agatha sighed. “Of course, these are just my speculations. Only the church knows what exactly happened to the Union after Taquila fell.”

A long time after she left the room, Roland was still stuck in his thoughts.

Agatha’s words were indeed reasonable. Was it really possible that the God’s Punishment Army project, which required the Queen of Starfall City to pay such a huge price to carry out, was only intended to produce an expensive yet cumbersome killing machine?

Just as he was about to head out of the castle to get some fresh air, the Sigil of Listening that Nightingale was wearing suddenly rang.

“This is Lightning here. My position is in the northwest, in the sky above Coldwind Ridge! I’ve just observed that the enemy is now retreating. I repeat, the enemy is retreating!”

“Retreating?”

“They’re all running towards the holy city, coo!” Maggie added.

“I see.” Roland immediately summoned a guard from outside. “Inform Iron Axe, Edith, Duke Calvin and all members of the Adviser Department to report here for a meeting.”

“This is undoubtedly good news,” Roland thought excitedly. He had not thought that the church’s army would abandon Coldwind Ridge and retreat directly to the highland of Hermes. In this way, he would have a chance to evacuate all of the townspeople before the holy city recaptured Coldwind Ridge.

“They’re afraid.” Nightingale laughed.

“Perhaps so. But their retreat suggests that the church is unable to send out reinforcements on short notice.” Roland surmised while stroking his chin. “Our earlier predictions weren’t wrong. This contingent of more than 1,000 people was probably an advance force which the church came up with last-minute. If they don’t take the initiative to attack our lines, I really don’t know what to do with the church.”

When he decided to use this tactic, he had already, in a sense, decided to give up Coldwind Ridge. After all, it was much closer to Hermes. Now that he had the chance to prevent the townspeople from becoming victims of the Pill of Madness, he felt considerably relieved.

The relevant members quickly gathered in the reception room. Roland retold Lightning’s intelligence report to them and looked around at everyone present. “Are there any questions?”

“Your Majesty, why don’t you guard Coldwind Ridge directly?” Duke Calvin asked in puzzlement. “It’s strategically located, and there’s only one route that leads to the holy city. Isn’t it more advantageous than guarding the foot of the mountain?”

“It only appears so. In reality, it’s surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the slopes pass directly over its top. The enemy only needs to use a rope to infiltrate our line of defense.” Roland shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve discussed this in detail in City of Neverwinter. You can ask Edith for more specifics. Anyone else?”

Seeing that no one responded, he issued his order. “If so, the evacuation campaign will be carried out by the First Army. The grain reserves and gold royals can be left behind. Our concern is regarding the residents—whether by coercion or force, I don’t want a single person to be left behind in Coldwind Ridge. In addition, the local nobles may have a better persuasive effect. I’m referring particularly to the famous Pearl of the Northern Region.” He paused at this. “Iron Axe and Edith, you two will be in charge of this matter.”

“Yes!”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“As for the Adviser Department.” He glanced towards Earl Eltek and the others. “Your task is to assist the Duke of the Northern Region to make arrangements for the evacuated people. This will include computing the number of people, registering their identities, and finding food and lodging for them. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the crowd replied in unison.

“Excellent, let’s begin immediately!” Roland thumped the table and exclaimed.

Chapter 615: Wavering Faith

n the Tower of Babel of Hermes Cathedral.

The hurried footsteps of a guard spoiled the peace and quiet in the ring hall. Somewhat unhappy with this, Tayfun placed his breakfast down and glanced at the frantic comer. “Is there a problem?”

“Your Eminence, something’s up in Coldwind Ridge.” The guard moved close and whispered in Tayfun’s ears. “It seems that Lord Soli Daal has been badly injured over there.” He proceeded to explain everything that he had heard about the incident quickly.

“What!” Tayfun could not believe his own ears. “Our advance force has lost more than half of its men, while Soli was seriously bloodied?” The old bishop grabbed the guard by the neck and asked, “Where’s he now?”

“Sent to the hospital.”

“How about the God’s Punishment Army?”

“They were ordered to hold their positions and await further instructions. Right now, they’re gathered in the cathedral.”

“Inform His Holiness and Lady El immediately about this matter. Also, gather and look after all those who took part in this expedition. Close the doors of the cathedral and prevent other believers from entering or leaving for now!” Tayfun seemed to forget about his breakfast. “I’ll head to the hospital straight away.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

How could this happen?

He could feel his heart palpitating non-stop. In principle, a 1,300-strong platoon, of which 300 were God’s Punishment Warriors, should not have had problems dealing with Coldwind Ridge. Before Soli was promoted to bishop, he was a veteran chief justice, and one of His Holiness Mayne’s most able subordinates. Even if they encountered demons or beasts, there should not have been so many victims!

Although fear clouded his heart, the old bishop remained very clear that the most important thing to do at the moment was to block the news from leaking out, so as to prevent the believers’ faith from being shaken. The next most important thing was to find out exactly what happened to Soli Daal in Coldwind Ridge.

When he reached the hospital, El was already there—it was evident that the latter had an alternative source of information. The two of them exchanged looks and walked together solemnly into Soli’s medical room.

A pure witch was tending to the archbishop’s wounds. Soli was missing an arm, and the wound around the remaining flesh had been tightly dressed with cotton. When he saw the other two archbishops, his dazed eyes seemed to focus again, and he struggled to sit up.

“You may leave first.” Tayfun urged the pure witch to depart and then assisted Soli to sit up. “How’s your injury?”

“I want to see His Holiness!” Soli growled. “Bring me to the Pivotal Secret Area at once!”

“Tell us what happened first,” El replied coldly. “Only then we’ll consider whether to bring you to see the pope or to throw you in jail and await trial.”

“Scoundrel, now it’s not the time to quarrel.” Soli gnashed his teeth. “Coldwind Ridge was a trap. Roland Wimbledon’s firearms are far more terrifying than Timothy’s. I have to let His Holiness know…”

“I don’t want to be kept in the dark while covering your ass, Mister Soli Daal!” El raised her voice several notches. “Do you know how embarrassing your return was? When passing through the city gate, anyone could see how incomplete and defeated our advance force was. People in the holy city have already begun asking questions. If I didn’t get the tribunal to detain a few busybodies, the whole city will be talking about these rumors tomorrow!” She grabbed him by the collar. “You should know how serious this will be!”

Tayfun knew that El was perfectly right. The loss of over 100 God’s Punishment Warriors was equivalent to the loss over the past two years. And the enemy this time was only a small town in the mountains. This was an absolute disgrace to the church.

More critically, if the news spread, the faith of the believers would be immensely affected.

Ever since the God’s Punishment Army started being sent to fight demonic beasts, there had been hearsay that it was all-conquering and invincible. It even appeared so. If even the enormous and savage demonic beasts were no matches for the God’s Punishment Army, what kind of enemy could defeat it?

Just as Tayfun was about to give a few lines of advice, the room door was suddenly pushed open.

“Hope I’m not late.” The white-haired witch, Zero, walked into the room. “The pope wants to see you, and requests that you don’t divulge the specific circumstances of the battle. Are you able to walk on your own?”

“Lady Zero, we can’t…” El protested.

Zero cut her off quickly. “Don’t worry. The pope is only worried that the secret of the God’s Punishment Army may be leaked out. After he has finished his inquiry into the matter, I’ll tell you everything.”

“What secret?”

“Forgive me, but I can’t say.” Zero laughed. “Because I don’t know it myself.”

“I… can walk.” Soli struggled off the bed and took two steps before he fell down.

“No need to act tough.” The pure witch snapped her fingers, and instantly, two Trap Area guards wearing blue cloaks walked in and lifted the archbishop up. “Once we’re in the Pivotal Secret Area, you’ll have a wheelchair to move freely in.”

“Fcking bitch.” After Soli left with Zero, El spat on the ground angrily and walked straight out of the medical room.

Tayfun watched grimly as the pure witch’s figure slowly disappeared into the distance, and did not say a word for a long time.

…

As Soli walked down the stone steps to the deep abyss below the cathedral, there was a look of excitement on his face. This was the first time that he entered the core area of the church. Even his breath became shorter and hurried.

“How do you intend to explain the heavy losses of the God’s Punishment Army to Pope Mayne?” After he sat down on a wheelchair, Zero personally pushed him toward the Trap Area.

“The defeat this time was indeed caused by my carelessness. I’m willing to accept any punishment.” The archbishop hesitated for a moment. “And, I… wish to apply to His Holiness to become a God’s Punishment Warrior myself.”

“Are you sure? You want to give up your archbishop position and become a minion?”

“They aren’t minions!” Soli could not help arguing. “Every God’s Punishment Warrior is a brave and steadfast soldier. That’s why they are willing to sacrifice their lives and fight for the glory of the church! I’ve let them down and caused immeasurable loss to the church. The best way for me to compensate and make up for my mistakes is to throw myself into the fight!”

“Is that so?” Zero shrugged her shoulders. “I feel that the pope won’t agree.”

“I’ll do my best to persuade him. I believe that Pope Mayne will definitely…”

“That’s not the reason.” She shook her head. “Converting into a God’s Punishment Warrior requires witch blood, and every witch isn’t easy to come by. Now that you’ve lost an arm, your fighting ability is much weaker than before even if the conversion is successful. Do you think the pope will waste witch blood on a handicapped person?”

“What’re you saying? Wait… Stop!”

As Zero pushed the wheelchair along the long corridor, she paused at the end of the Trap Area.

“Is there a problem?”

“The incarnation ceremony of the God’s Punishment Army is a secret that only the Supreme Pontiff knows. How do you know what the ceremony requires?” Soli’s eyes widened. “It’s impossible that Pope Mayne told you!”

“You’re not wrong, he definitely wouldn’t.” She waited for the guards to open the cage and calmly placed the archbishop inside the cage. “But I don’t need him to tell me, because… I’m the pope.”

“That’s… blasphemy!” Soli turned his head back in disbelief, only to see a beam of light heading in his direction.

Chapter 616: The Violent Tide Rises

..

Harsh and piercing booms were everywhere.

All that Zero could hear between these booms were faint cries of pain.

The frontline was a vanguard formed by God’s Punishment Warriors, while the backline was the slowly advancing Judgement Army. This was the “Big Shield” formation that was rehearsed to deal with the swarm attacks of demonic beasts, but it was equally effective against crossbows and flintlocks. The iron shields, which were each only as thick as a finger, were able to deflect volleys of arrows, and could not be penetrated by Timothy’s imitation flintlocks. Their only disadvantage was that they were excessively heavy, and thus only the God’s Punishment Army could carry them into battle.

However, this time, it lost its effectiveness.

Every now and then, a God’s Punishment Warrior would be split into two by iron balls that came whizzing towards him, and even the people standing behind could be struck by the same ball. Blood quickly burst out of the bodily punctures created by these balls. Those warriors who did not die on the spot would clutch on to their innards or limbs and scream in pain, unintentionally sapping the morale of their comrades who were still fighting.

“This can’t continue. Get the God’s Punishment Army to charge!” an assistant shouted.

“I agree, Lord Soli.” Another commander seconded while clutching his fists. “These iron balls can only travel in a straight line, and can’t be fired too quickly. The right thing for us to do is to spread out, and then we won’t be easily targeted anymore!”

“Got it. Pass down my orders to spread out our formation and perform a full charge!”

Zero heard Soli Daal issuing an order to attack.

However, right at this moment, a new kind of weapon entered the battlefield.

It sounded like an incessant sequence of raindrops, yet also like the buzz of gold daggers striking against one another. A cloud of smoke suddenly rose up in front of the charging warriors and caused them to fall on the ground like cut wheat. It was impossible for Zero to see where the attack was coming from.

The commanders’ faces turned white all at once.

Everyone knew that the outcome of this battle was decided.

Zero heard a sudden hissing sound piercing through the air. It was sharp yet cryptic, like the utterance of a viper.

Danger!

She turned her gaze towards the direction that the sound was coming from. She subconsciously wanted to hide from it, but quickly remembered that the body she was in did not belong to her.

Unfortunately, Soli Daal did not have a fraction of her alertness.

A single iron ball fell from midair and bounced on the ground directly in front of him. As it rebounded up high, it brushed across his body.

Zero could only feel her vision spinning in circles before she fell on the ground.

Fresh blood gushed out from Soli’s shoulders. The place where his arm should be had become vacant. He clenched his teeth to prevent himself from crying in pain.

The people around him frantically gathered around.

“Your Eminence!”

“My goodness gracious, your hand…”

“Retreat, get all of them to retreat!”

“Bring Lord Soli away from this place, and I’ll stay behind!”

Her recollection broke off at this point.

Zero opened her eyes. In front of her once again were God’s stone prisms and the Pivotal Secret Temple deep underground.

“So that’s what happened.” She lowered her head and grinned uncontrollably.

In this case, everything makes sense now.

Why Roland Wimbledon was able to become from the low-profile lord of Border Town to the new king of Graycastle; why he was able to defeat the duke’s knightage and the 2nd Prince’s crazed army time and time again, and was even able to seize King’s City within a day—this was the reason.

The continuous booms, the smell of gunpowder smoke in the air… these things proved the existence of a new kind of firearm that was vastly superior to Timothy’s imitation snow powder pipes.

If Zero had not “personally witnessed” it, she would never have imagined that snow powder weapons could be so powerful.

Of course, she knew that it was not a secret passed down within the Wimbledon family, or else Timothy and Garcia would not be ignorant of it.

Without a doubt, Roland had encountered something in Border Town which allowed him to have today’s success.

Another possibility was that he had mastered the ancient tricks of some secluded family—ever since the Union was dissolved, a few builders and designers who had aided the local people were no longer in touch. Many of them possessed specialized skills and crafts, and therefore it was possible that one of them had devised these ingenious weapons.

Or, perhaps, the weapons were found in some ruins hidden deep in the Impassable Mountain Range. The historical records in the library had mentioned that there were a few strange ruins of unknown origin located around the border of Barbarian Land. In fact, it was the discovery of an underground labyrinth that had led to the eventual division of the Union.

But Zero was more inclined to believe that it was the ability of some witch that gave regular snow powder such deadly power.

This would also explain why Roland had changed his attitude, recruited witches in large numbers, and helped to clear the injustices they faced.

“Forget it, my speculation doesn’t matter at all. No matter what the reason was, Roland Wimbledon knows best about it,” thought Zero.

Zero knew that if she devoured Roland, she would get to understand everything about these weapons.

“Lady… Zero?” The guard captain standing at the cage exit asked worriedly, having not heard a sound from her for a long time.

Zero suppressed the excitement in her heart and waited until the grin on her face completely disappeared before she walked unhurriedly out of the cage. “I’m fine. Inform the intelligence agency to call back all of the pure witches that are still in Kingdom of Dawn.”

“All?” The captain seemed astonished. “But the plan that you laid down before…”

“The decisive battle is about to begin,” Zero explained slowly. “I want to see everyone.”

There was no question that compared to Roland’s knowledge, the Kingdom of Dawn’s situation was insignificant.

“So powerful, such an amazing range of fire, and able to be used by anyone.” Zero could understand its importance just by thinking about it.

If this weapon could be mass assembled before the Bloody Moon arrived, the Holy City’s chances of defeating the demons would be significantly increased.

As for herself, she would be able to move one step closer to the divine will.

---

Deepvalley Town, the Northern Region of Kingdom of Graycastle.

After dinner, Iffy returned to her bedroom in the castle and immediately let out an uncontrollable yawn. In the past fortnight, apart from executing the Tooth Extraction Campaign, there was also no time for rest after reaching the small town. She not only had to assist the First Army in guarding their camp, but also then followed Edith and her entourage to Coldwind Ridge to resettle the local residents. Although she was extremely busy, she felt that her life was rather meaningful like this.

After her mood calmed down, she realized that the non-combat witches indeed possessed their own unique strengths. She also began to feel that aside from her abilities, she was not really different from most normal people.

As observed from her daily interactions with people, she was slowly being accepted by the members of the Witch Union. While she was performing a vigilance task, Maggie even said hello to her for the first time ever—despite Lightning looking unhappy about it.

Iffy did not expect them to forgive her, and instead, she hoped to make up for her wrongdoings through action. In fact, she did not care whether she could ultimately become a sister to them. She only focused on atonement.

Atonement for her one and only friend, Annie.

Just as she was about to go to bed, someone knocked on her door.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see that it was the leader of Sleeping Island, Lady Tilly Wimbledon.

“I wish to talk to you about the Bloodfang Association.” Tilly sighed softly. “As well as Heidi Morgan and… Annie.”