Release That Witch - Chapter 617

Chapter 617: The Rose of Coldwind Ridge

ffy silently listened as Tilly explained the whole story of the founding of the Bloodfang Association, as well as Heidi Morgan’s real intention. When she heard that Annie was given to the noble by Skyflare, she felt as if something was squeezing her heart.

“Heidi… where’s she now?”

“She has been served her due punishment.” Ashes, who was standing behind Tilly, answered. “During the arrest, Skyflare attempted to resist and thus had gone down the same path as Heidi.”

“Oh… thank you,” Iffy said softly.

She unclenched her fists involuntarily and suddenly felt at a loss.

Even though those who were responsible for all of this had got what they deserved, she could still not feel at ease. Instead, now that there was no more revenge to exact, she felt purposeless. Furthermore, as the only person involved who was not punished, she felt even more guilt.

“I hope you can help Sleeping Island to get back on the right track,” Tilly said after a period of silence. “Like you, the surviving members of the Bloodfang Association were also deceived and framed by Heidi. They should not be implicated and discriminated against. While the combat witches were wrong to bully the assistant witches, it wouldn’t be right to bully them in return.”

Iffy nodded without too much hesitation and said, “I’m willing to help you, Lady Tilly.”

Tilly seemed a little surprised, as though she did not expect Iffy to reply so promptly. “It’s great that you’re willing.”

“What should I do?”

“Talk to the other members of the Bloodfang Association about your story with Annie. I’ll tell everyone about Heidi’s crime,” Tilly replied. “After the church is completely wiped out, I’ll send people to Wolfheart to find the witches imprisoned by the noble. If they’re still alive, Roland will rescue them.”

“I see.”

She was determined to do her best in anything that could lighten her sin.

“Are you… alright?” Tilly suddenly stooped down and rubbed Iffy’s cheeks. The latter immediately felt a warm feeling spread out across her face.

“I’m fine.” She blinked her eyes a few times. “I’m just feeling a little… tired already.”

Tilly gazed at her silently for a long while. “Don’t be too upset. Get a good rest.”

Iffy only lay down on her bed after the two witches’ footsteps could no longer be heard.

She did not cry.

“This is just my body’s natural response,” she told herself.

It was neither sorrow nor cowardice.

It was simply proof that she missed Annie.

Tears flowed faster and faster.

---

Roland sat in front of his desk reading through the Adviser Department’s evacuation statistical reports. He had not read under lamplight for a long time and thus felt not used to it. He once thought that he had brought civilization close to modernity, but now in Deepvalley Town, everything was back to square one.

There were no showers, no scented soap, no electric light… this place was not much better than Border Town when he first arrived there. The beginnings of industrialization had only just sprung up in the Western Region. He still had much work to do before chimneys and boilers became common throughout the kingdom.

Roland placed the reports down. Just as he was going to rub his eyes, a soft pair of invisible hands reached out to his forehead and massaged it softly.

“Thanks.” He tilted his head and mouthed before he continued to read through the reports.

When Barov was not around, Sir Eltek took up the role of office assistant very well. At least, he did excellently in computing statistics and preparing reports, and was nearly as good as the staff in the city hall who had received specialized training.

“How many people here are willing to go to the Western Region?”

“At least 70 percent, Your Majesty,” Eltek replied. “Coldwind Ridge is not really a suitable place to live. I have asked the duke about this, and he told me that if it wasn’t to monitor the whereabouts of the church, there wouldn’t even be a town there. The remaining 30 percent are mostly people who have their own farmland or factories in the Northern Region.”

“Okay, great. You may now begin the planning. Try not to let the ships return empty. Have them bring along a number of people every time, so that more people may go earlier to the Western Region.”

“But, over at Duke Calvin’s side…”

“I’ll explain it to him.” Roland drank a mouthful of tea. “Anyway, after the war ends, no matter whether we win or lose, there’ll be no need to station people at Coldwind Ridge anymore…”

“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?” Eltek asked.

“No… nothing.” Just after he said “whether we win or lose”, Nightingale abruptly covered his mouth softly so that he held back those words. “Anyway, just do as I say and it’ll be fine.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Just as Eltek was about to leave, a personal bodyguard, Sean, opened the door and walked in.

“Your Majesty Roland, there’s a woman outside the castle who wants to see you. After she was stopped by the guards, she knelt on the ground and vowed never to leave until she sees you.”

“Now?” He subconsciously took a look out of the window. The entire town was in the midst of a quiet night.

“Yes. It seems that she deliberately chose to come at this time. I have seen her twice before in the castle area during daytime. And…” Sean paused and hesitated. “She claims that she’s Mrs. Wimbledon.”

After hearing this reply, Roland nearly choked on his own saliva. “Impossible!” As far as he knew, the fourth Prince had never been to the Northern Region before.

When the woman walked into the study, Roland was impressed.

Her looks were not particularly outstanding, but her facial features possessed a peculiar charm. Her small and thin body had an inexplicable sense of steadiness and gentleness about it. To use a common expression, she was obviously not big in size but looked like a very capable housewife. The mud on her long dress even more brought out this blend of femininity and strength.

“Dear Your Majesty.” The woman curtsied and greeted. “Olivia of Coldwind Ridge pays her respects.”

“May I know what you mean by Mrs. Wimbledon?” Roland went straight to his question. “I heard from my guard that you deliberately waited until night to enter the castle? Are you clear about the consequence of using this name for deception?”

“Pardon me, Your Majesty. If I didn’t do so, you won’t even see me.” She bit her teeth. “I can’t be considered your elder brother’s real wife, but we were once in love.”

As expected, it was just a fraud. “Wait…” Roland suddenly shook. “What did she say? My elder brother?”

“You mean Timothy?”

She shook her head.

“Gerald?”

Olivia’s face reddened, and she immediately knelt on the floor. “I know that Gerald had designs on the throne, but he’s now dead… Your Majesty, can you please help me on his behalf? I beg you!”

Chapter 618: A Posthumous Child

earing what Olivia said, Roland could not help sighing with mixed emotions.

It was not a complicated story. When Gerald Wimbledon had served as the commander of the frontier guards, he had made his customary visits to Coldwind Ridge during each year’s Months of Demons to assist the church in fighting against demons. In one of his stays here, he had met a bar girl called Olivia in a tavern and fallen in love with her.

Given Olivia’s status, it had been impossible for Gerald to marry her or make public their relationship. In the end, he had secretly bought a residence in the town as their love nest. Roland could not judge from the story whether it was true love or not, but he knew from Prince Roland’s memories that Gerald had indeed refused marriage alliance with other nobles and had had no other lovers in King’s City. As what Gerald had done was quite incredible for an adult prince, there was even a rumor remembered by Prince Roland that Prince Gerald was a homo.

The content of the encrypted letter that was presented by Olivia was even more incredible. According to the bar girl, Gerald had determined to make her his queen, and instead of just paying lip service, he had even written it down. If the written evidence had leaked out, King Wimbledon III would have given Gerald a really hard time.

Good times had not lasted long for Olivia. Quickly after the news that Timothy had sentenced Gerald to death had reached the Northern Region, her quiet life had come to an end and miseries weighed on her life continuously. The guards left by Gerald had left without saying goodbye and then her house had been burgled. With no source of income, she had had to go back to work as a bar girl in the tavern again.

Yet her bad times was not over. The owner of the tavern was still bitter about her sudden leave before and started to paw her now and then. He even coerced her to sleep with him.

During the most recent six months, Olivia’s life was terrible. The owner’s wife did not dare to complain in the owner’s face, so she vented all her anger on Olivia. The owner often ignored what had happened, and sometimes even joined his wife in bullying and humiliating Olivia.

Roland would never criticize her for being weak-minded, as it was not surprising to him at all that she submitted to the unjust treatment. As a helpless ordinary woman, she had to face the biggest challenge in her life now, which was surviving. As for the disappearance of the guards and the following theft, Roland thought that it was not a coincidence. Given that the thief had been able to break into her house precisely when she had been away and had easily spotted the place where she had hidden her money, it must be an inside job.

“So what can I do for you?” Roland asked Olivia.

He decided to help her. It was not because of Gerald, a person who he had never met and could even be considered a half enemy based on Prince Roland’s memory, but because Roland just wanted to help this remarkable woman who had endured such a misfortune but still waited patiently for a chance to save herself.

Besides, for Roland now, helping her was a simple task.

He did not covet his elder brother’s wife as one would expect.

He swore!

“I want to leave the tavern… Your Majesty. Could you find a new job for me?” Olivia answered in a low voice.

“Are you sure you still want to stay in the Northern Region? If the owner of the tavern can’t forget about you, he won’t let you off easily. You can go to the Western Region by ship. You’ll get a job, food and even a house there,” Roland said while spreading out his hands. He did not want to degrade himself by getting involved in a civil dispute like this.

After a little hesitation, Olivia replied in an even lower voice, “Your Majesty… I, I want to stay here.”

“I think she’s afraid of you. As an ordinary woman, she’s at least half as beautiful as Edith. It makes sense for the tavern owner to drool over her,” Nightingale whispered in Roland’s ear.

Roland said in silence, “Nonsense.” After talking to Nightingale with the lip language, he nodded to Olivia and said, “Alright, I’ll tell Duke Calvin to fetch you to City of Evernight. It’s getting late now, Sean can find a hotel for you to sleep tonight.”

“I shall never forget your kindness, Your Majesty.” She knelt down again and said, “But… I have to go back tonight.”

“It’s up to you,” Roland raised his eyebrow and said. He turned to Sean and ordered. “Give this lady a ride.”

When Olivia reached the door, Roland suddenly asked, “By the way, do you have… any child with Gerald?”

She seemed startled and after a while answered, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty… I didn’t have any child to carry on his family name.”

…

After she left with the guard, Nightingale stepped out of the Mist and said, “Her last sentence is a lie.”

“Uhm, I know.” Roland twitched his mouth and said. “She isn’t a good liar, and that explains why she was forced by the tavern owner.”

“For the kid?”

“The owner must know that it was Prince Gerald Wimbledon who took her away. He was also clear about what would happen to the kid if Timothy found out the truth. To protect the kid she had with Gerald, she had to do what the owner wanted. I’d guess that’s probably the case.”

“Do you need me to investigate it for you?” Nightingale asked.

Roland stared at Nightingale for a long time and then summoned up a meaningful smile gradually curl his lips. He said, “Are you worried that I’m planning to bury this secret forever like Timothy? Relax, I won’t harm innocent people. Even the family members of Duke Ryan are still under a house arrest in City of Neverwinter.”

A feudal ruler would spare no one in his enemy’s family but Roland did not like this idea of collective punishment, let alone killing a bastard child of a civilian woman, who apparently was not a threat to the throne.

“No matter what you say, I’ll carry out your commands,” Nightingale said slowly.

“I see. Well… give me a massage now,” Roland took her hand and placed it on his shoulder and said.

---

Olivia went back to her wooden cabin which was built for immigrants. Her footsteps woke up the sleeping baby.

“Wah-wah-wah.”

The baby cried.

The tavern owner’s wife immediately started to shout in the next room. “Damn it, make him shut up! Otherwise, I’ll put him down in the toilet and dump him into Soundless River!”

“I, I’m sorry. I’ll quiet him down right away.”

Neglecting the coolness of the night in Deepvalley Town, Olivia hurriedly took off her dirt-stained dress and held the baby in her arms. The baby instantly pressed close to her, skillfully searching for the nipple.

She finally let out a sigh of relief.

She felt lucky, as she was right about the tavern owner who had not come back yet.

Since they left Coldwind Ridge, he had become more and more ill-tempered. He spent most of his time in the local taverns and gambling houses, and seldom touched her. That was why Olivia had the chance to slip out of the cabin in the evening to ask Gerald’s younger brother for help.

She did not dare to tell Roland that she had a child with Gerald or to go to the Western Region which was under complete control of the king. She was afraid that His Majesty would not want this child to exist. When that happened, she would be unable to protect her child anymore.

Olivia gently touched the baby’s head. In the dim moonlight, she could see gray hair on his head, which was the feature of the Wimbledon family.

She felt it was a great pity that Gerald had not got the chance to meet his own child. She had not known that she was pregnant with the prince’s child until she had received his letter in Coldwind Ridge.

After being fed, the baby happily hummed and fell asleep again.

Olivia lowered her head to kiss the baby on his forehead.

She made up her mind to raise him up alone, no matter what she had to sacrifice.

Chapter 619: An Unstoppable Path (Part ?)

he red bricks and gray tiles of the cathedral gradually came into Isabella’s sight, as her ship was slowly approaching the old Holy City.

It looked fairly prosaic. Unlike the new cathedral on the plateau, it did not have a magnificent chapel or a lofty building similar to the Tower of Babel. It might even be smaller than the churches located in the capitals of the Four Kingdoms. Despite that, in the heart of most believers, this old cathedral together with the cloisters, the Hall of Military Affairs and the Hall of Arbitration formed the palace of deities on the ground.

They considered this old cathedral the source of the church and the beginning of everything.

Isabella, however, rejected this saying.

She knew that the real place of origin for the church located inside the high mountains behind the old cathedral and that the truth was always kept as a secret from the believers.

As for the old Holy City?

It was just built to cover the secret.

After the sailing ship was anchored off by the dock, Isabella walked down the trestle bridge alone with light bags. Seeing this, the guard who came from Pivotal Secret Area to fetch her was taken by surprise and asked, “My Lady, where are the other pure witches?”

“They’ll come one or two days later. I know His Holiness is rushing for us to return, but they still need some time to make some arrangements,” she shrugged and replied.

“But Lady Zero said…”

“She wanted to see everyone.” Isabella interrupted the guard. “I knew, but she didn’t say that she wanted to see all of us at the same time.”

She was puzzled by the recall order. Requiring all the pure witches to come back to Holy City would apparently ruin the plan to control Kingdom of Dawn. Without the medicine, the king would die in endless sleep. She could not think of a reason for Zero’s abrupt change of plan, nor did she receive any explanation in the order.

“She’s getting more and more like a real pope,” Isabella thought, feeling a little unhappy.

Nevertheless, she had to still hit the road as soon as she had received the command. It had taken her a whole week to rush back to Hermes.

She turned around to ask the guard while boarding the cart, “By the way, do you know what happened in Holy City?”

“The advance force of the church fought a battle against the army of Kingdom of Graycastle at the foot of Coldwind Ridge,” the guard hesitated for a while and answered, “and I think you’d better ask Lady Zero for the details.”

“Did… the advance force lose?”

The guard slightly nodded to her without saying anything. He quickly left to mount a war-horse and then shouted to the coachman, “Let’s go!”

Inside the carriage, Isabella let the curtains down and she was lost in her thought.

There were certainly many God’s Punishment Warriors in the advance force, as top leaders of the church only reacted when there’s a heavy loss to God’s Punishment Army.

God’s Punishment Warriors aren’t immortals. They’ll also suffer from heavy casualties, facing the harms more than they can bear. Since the church launched the attack at Kingdom of Everwinter, Holy City has already lost nearly 100 of them. I thought Zero had already got used to this situation, but maybe I was wrong. What heavy loss could it be in this battle, which led to Zero’s decision to recall all the pure witches.

The coach traveled through the busy streets of the old Holy City and came to a battalion near the cliffs of the Impassable Mountain Range. Like the cathedral, this place was also heavily secured. Isabella got off the coach and stepped into a tunnel which was cut into the cliffs. She passed through many iron gates, walking into the mountain.

In the cold light of the God’s Stone prism, the towering silhouette of Pivotal Secret Temple was presented in front of her.

Guided by the guard, she directly went up to the library on the top floor. When she opened the door of the circular hall, the present pope was standing by the window and looking out, who seemed lost in thought.

“What’s this sticky business that makes you forget about Kingdom of Dawn?” Isabella came up to Zero and whistled to her. “No matter what it is, why don’t we leave Gentlewoman and Blackveil there to stabilize the situation?”

Zero did not answer her question. Instead, she pointed down to the people, asking, “What do you think they look like?”

Isabella frowned and asked, “Is that related to what I’m asking?”

Zero ignored Isabella’s question again and said, “Those humble, ignorant people are on the go all day long without knowing what for, just like ants. Maybe that’s also how deities think of us… We devote ourselves to bloody wars and then die on the battlefields, knowing nothing about the cause of this situation. Only standing on the top will give one a view of the whole world. Fortunately, now I get one more step closer to Divine Will again.”

“What… is your point?”

“As long as I can devour the new king of Kingdom of Graycastle, my chance of winning the Battle of Divine Will will significantly increase.” Zero smiled, her eyes were shining with an unusual excitement. “I somehow feel that… it’s deities who send him to me.”

After a moment of silence, Isabella said in a deep voice, “I just want to know how many God’s Punishment Warriors were killed in the battle at the foot of Coldwind Ridge.”

“150 were killed on the battlefield and 11 died on the way back to Hermes. However, the enemy hadn’t even got a scratch. Neither big shields nor spear throwers could break through the defense line of Roland’s army,” Zero said while staring at Isabella with her gleaming eyes.

Isabella’s heart vibrated in a sudden and her mind was in a tumult. “How come the God’s Punishment Army suffered even a heavier loss in this single battle than it did in the battles during the Months of Demons and the actions of capturing Kingdom of Everwinter and Kingdom of Wolfheart? What makes the Prince of Kingdom of Graycastle so incredibly powerful?”

The witches? The knights? No, not them. Even a mountainous Fearful Beast of Hell will die when it’s besieged by God’s Punishment Warriors. How did he manage to do this?

“A dreadful snow powder weapon,” Zero said as if she saw through Isabella’s mind. “Even mortals could operate this kind of weapons. They could shoot targets a thousand steps away. They broke the armors plates and iron shields, and they’re firing non-stop. Our warriors became easy targets for them.”

After hearing the process of the battle, Isabella took a deep breath and the look on her face was uncertain. After a long while, she said, “So, you’ve lost.”

“It’s indeed a defeat for the church, and Soli Daal took the enemy too lightly…”

Isabella suddenly interrupted and said, “No, I didn’t mean the battle. Do you remember? You told me only the winner was the deities’ chosen one, and now you’re clearly not the one.”

“You think… Roland Wimbledon is the one who can win the Divine’s Smile instead of me?” Zero peacefully asked.

Isabella could not help but raise her voice, arguing, “Don’t forget about our goal! We must defeat the demons in order to enable mankind to survive. I don’t care whether the church is the one to realize that goal! Given what happened during that battle, it’s clear that even if you pool all your strength to defeat and devour Roland, it’ll do no good to our goal. His army and witches will be slaughtered, God’s Punishment Army will also suffer a heavy loss and in less than half a year Months of Demons will arrive again!”

For one split second, Isabella thought Zero was going to kill her, but Zero did not react until she finished.

“So what do you want me to do?”

The pope asked softly after a long silence.

Chapter 620: An Unstoppable Path (Part ?)

Tell Roland Wimbledon our goal, the truth about Battles of Divine Will during this 400 years and the secret of the church… No, I mean secret of the Witch Union,” Isabella said explicitly.

Since Zero became the pope, all the pure witches who belonged to the Pivotal Secret Temple had been able to come to this library and know the true facts about Battles of Divine Will.

“What if he doesn’t believe us?”

“He will! Bring him to the Illusion Room in the Reflection Church. He’ll believe everything we say!”

“Or, he’ll consider it a trick of the witches. Are you sure he’ll devote all his time to fighting demons, once he knows the truth about the Union?” Zero said slowly.

Isabella was stunned. She opened her mouth but failed to say anything.

“Both of us know those nobles very well. They’re interested the most in expanding their domains, increasing their wealth and enjoying their lives. Maybe they’ll lead their people to fight against demons when the Bloody Moon arrives, but how can you be sure that the dandy prince will fight till death facing an adverse forecast?”

Zero held Isabella’s hand and walked with her to the roundtable at the side and continued, “Isabella, he’s just a fragile, weak mortal. His life is short and his willpower will vanish as time goes on. A common cold plague can easily end his life. Even if he believes in us and chooses to fight to his death against demons with the Union, nobody can promise that his people and successors will do the same thing. Are they willing to give up all their comforts and pool all resources of the kingdom to fight such an endless, brutal war? Only the church can do this, as our believers have a strong faith in deities and in us.”

“At least… We should first send a messenger to talk to him.”

Zero shook her head and said, “Negotiations can’t solve problems like this. Indeed, devouring Roland will cause heavy loss to Hermes, but giving in to a secular lord will also crumble the people’s belief in the church and destroy Holy City. Roland won’t spare us or our God’s Punishment Army as a way of stabilizing his own witch organization. These two choices aren’t very different in terms of the outcome. Given that, why do you rest your hope on a mortal man?”

Isabella hesitated.

She saw the point of Zero’s argument. Fighting against the prince would probably lead to a lose-lose scenario, but surrendering to him could not prevent Roland from seeking revenge for his witches. If he did so, the church would pay a heavy price and things seemed to return to the beginning.

Zero continued to say, “The knowledge of weapons isn’t exclusive to a mortal, but a mortal can never have a body like that of a witch. Winning each Battle of Souls, I’ll get my opponents’ knowledge and lifespan. I’ll stay energetic and determined for all my life and I’ll be able to prevent our efforts from being ruined by later generations, no matter how long Battle of Divine Will will last. In the past 200 years, I’ve witnessed too many talented people being consumed by the time. No matter how brave and brilliant they were when they were young, they would become dust in the end. This fact alone suggests that I’m much better than him.”

“But…”

“And most importantly, I’m the deities’ chosen one, Isabella. No matter who’s my opponent, I’ve never lost a battle. Thousands of souls absorbed by me can testify!” Zero emphasized the fact that could not be controverted.

Isabella heaved a long sigh.

She was persuaded.

“Well, what’s your plan? If we can’t get close enough to him, I can’t eliminate the effect of God’s Stone of Retaliation for you.”

“Don’t forget about High-Level Sigils left by the Union,” Zero answered with a chuckle.

“No one can use ‘Divine Will’… and ‘Infinite’ is a one-time sigil. Are you sure that you’re going to use it for this?” Isabella said, frowning.

“It’ll turn the tables on Roland. It’s not a waste to use it on ordinary people or demons, as long as it can ensure our victory,” Zero said with finality.

“I’ll exhaust all my magic power. It’s not a good feeling at all,” Isabella twitched her mouth and said.

Zero nodded, adding, “And, you’ll faint. Yet it won’t do any harm to your body. Once I can approach Roland Wimbledon, the war will end soon.”

“If you lose, we’re finished.”

Zero disapproved Isabella’s guess, saying, “I never lose. When you wake up, you should be lying in the bedroom of the cathedral.”

With these words, Zero poured a cup of red tea for Isabella and comforted her. “I know you’re still hesitating, but don’t forget you’re raised by me. I chose you as His Holiness O’Brien’s pure witch after your awakening and taught you knowledge and combat skills. You know my strength and my determination to defeat demons better than anyone. Generally speaking, I’m the better one to lead human beings in the coming Battle of Divine Will.”

“Well… I hope so.,” Isabella took a sip of tea and said, “but according to the books, ‘Infinite’ is not really limitless, and the magic power can only remain effective for a short time when you’re in the soul form. If you fail to catch him, you won’t have another chance.”

“So what we need to do first is to find him,” Zero said with a smile.

---

“Finish reloading!”

“Angle 22, pitch 13, fire!”

Immediately after the order, the 152mm Stronghold Cannon set at the very back of the battle line gushed out bright orange flames and a strong airflow which kicked up the dirt and dust in the front into the air. Roland could still hear the deep roar of the cannon with his ears plugged.

The soldiers were tiptoeing and stretched their necks to look at the distant mountains, but they still could not see the falling point this time.

“This is Lightning speaking, the shell landed at… almost the middle part of the slope.” The little girl’s report came to him through the Sigil of Listening.

“Good, mark it down,” Roland replied.

He was busy with directing a long-range shooting amending of two new fatal weapons, he started after all the residents of Coldwind Ridge left. As it cost a lot to make these ultra-long-range cannons, he won’t let his artillerymen shoot them after spotting the enemy, thus creating the first beyond visual range strike in this era.

Roland was clear that he could not rely on the soldiers to correct the angle of the cannon according to the position of the target, so he used this basic shooting amending method. He recorded the point of fall and angles of the cannon for each shooting after the shell landed on the slope. With these recordings, Lightning would report the file number to the artillerymen once she found enemy stepping into the shooting range of the cannon in a battle, and then the artillerymen would adjust the cannon accordingly and fire directly.

These two Stronghold Cannons were enough to give a crushing blow to the enemy when they were moving down the mountain.

Chapter 621: Sleepless Night

This is simply… God’s Punishment.” Iron Axe sighed. “They can only be passively attacked as they can’t even see the shadow of their opponents. There’s no way for the ordinary enemies to complete the mountain path with the gunfire on their heads.”

Witnessing the power of howitzer, the chief commander of the First Army naturally knew the amazing effect when it fell within a densely gathered marching platoon. The first shell landed as far as five kilometers away in front of the battlefield. The enemy was running madly throughout the way, or consuming all their energy before the war, or moving forward fearlessly with the incomplete platoon to the battlefield. Of course, the most likely scenario was dispersing in an uproar and turning into escape instead of marching in.

“Unfortunately all the enemies we have to face is not normal,” Roland smiled and said, “and not to mention that there’s only a limited amount of shells, otherwise, we can easily wipe out the enemy with the two Longsong Cannons.”

As Longsong Cannon was firing with the complete ammunition, the firing speed was as high as eight shots per minute. The firing efficiency could definitely be considered as an absolute insanity in this era. Since the alchemist from King’s City moved into Neverwinter with a large batch of apprentices, the production of double base propellant had been rising steadily, and the number of shells had become the biggest limitation—the fuze trigger could only be manually produced by Anna currently, and its extremely precise mechanical structure had restricted the production of howitzer.

“Your Majesty, all the 20 cannons have been completely fired,” Van’er, the battalion commander reported after several repeating fires. “A total of six valid target data was obtained, and most of them were roughly distributed in the second half of the mountain road.”

“That’s good. That’s all for today.” Roland nodded.

Afterall, the test shells required customized production. Although it was utilizing the solid bullet, the shape and counterweight were exactly like the grenade with the fuze installed—only Anna could handle such an exquisite task, so she would make time to produce a certain amount of test bullets every day for the Artillery Battalion test shooting purposes.

“Do you need to go anywhere else to have a look?” Iron Axe asked.

“No, I’ll go back to the camp first, and you continue to arrange the training for the soldiers,” Roland contemplated for a moment before he shook his head and said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he bowed and said.

Returning to the campsite, Roland sighed extensively while leaning back against the couch. He realized that there was nothing much left for him to do, or perhaps, he had done what he could and the rest could only depend on the fate.

The church finally responded five days ago. According to Maggie’s report, the city door of Holy City was opened, and countless men and horses gushed out from the city, heading towards Coldwind Ridge in an orderly line. Looking down from the sky, the shining silver armors of the warriors looked like a river of striking waving light flowing through the Impassable Mountain Range.

At the same time, the spy placed around the area of the old Holy City and Hermes highlands had sent a secret letter, stating that the scale of action of the church was unprecedented, even the crowd in the city activities was dramatically decreased.

Obviously, the enemy was swarming over.

After receiving the news, Roland immediately rushed to the front line. And his arrival had boosted the morale of the First Army to the maximum, the war that decided the future of both parties was approaching.

There were more than 4,000 elite soldiers: one team of reserved knights offered by Duke of the Northern Region, the preliminary investigation group organized by Lightning and Maggie, Sylvie’s fire guide that never missed, and the combat witch who scattered around the campsite. It should be a complete preparation. Even the movement of the church was totally in accordance with the battle plan formulated by the Adviser Department, and the residents in Coldwind Ridge were evacuated. Thus, even if the enemy intended to use Berserk Pills, they would only consume the believers in Holy City or the forced residents in the other kingdom.

The opening was considered pretty perfect.

However, Roland was a little worried.

He was worried about the pure witches.

It was still unknown for the form they would appear to be and in what capacity would they intervene in this battle.

In order to prevent the casualties caused by the enemy’s sneak attack, the witches in the front line had to be very cautious these few days. They were all gathered in a hall. Sylvie and Nightingale were divided into two groups to take a turn on night watch. The entire camp would be awakened by Echo’s siren once the magic reaction was encountered.

As a result, the church had not taken any further action other than sending soldiers to take over Coldwind Ridge. Roland did not even see any pure witch.

He was not sure whether the enemy was planning an earth-shattering conspiracy, or simply disdained to disturb, and planning to crushed him into pieces on the official battlefield.

Anyway, all he could do now was to continue to wait.

…

Roland was lying on the bed early after dinner. However, he could not fall asleep until the bright moonlight was shining through the window slit onto his bedside. He put on his clothes and walked out of the bedroom. Nightingale who was staying outside the house immediately flashed over to him.

“Is there anything wrong, unable to fall asleep?”

“Slightly, it’s probably due to too much straw below the bed.” Roland rubbed his neck and pulled out a wheat leave from his clothes. “It feels like something is poking my back when I lie on it.”

“I feel the same.” Andrea who was on the same early midnight team agreed. “Not to mention moving a big comfortable bed over but at least it should be layered with two extra silk pads. Duke of the Northern Region is too stingy.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re at war, not on an outing,” Ashes angrily said, “It’s considered good to have a shelter, don’t be so demanding.”

“Of course, it makes no difference for someone who has thick and rough skin.”

“It’s better than being weak and fragile.”

“I think we’ll need to have another duel to see who the weak and fragile one is.”

“You’ll understand after we finish with the church.”

“Hold on… Can I place a bet?” Shavi put her hand up and said.

Nightingale pulled Roland aside and said, “Don’t bother about them, it’s a nightly routine.”

Roland shook his head while smiling. “I would not put them together if I knew it earlier.” Due to the fact that Nightingale’s scope of investigation was far smaller than that of Sylvie, the combat mission of the early midnight team was handed over to the three poker players group. They would be the strongest offensive group with Nightingale. While those who were arranged for the late midnight team were mainly defensive-based. The members were Agatha, Breeze and Iffy, no one could manage and block the enemy better. “What about the others? Can they adapt?” Roland asked.

“Sisters from Witch Cooperation Association aren’t as picky as you are,” Nightingale blinked and said, “and they had experienced the days without shelter and food during their escape, so they could simply close their eyes and fall sleep in this situation.”

“Well, looks like I’m the most impatient one…” Roland sat on the step and kept quiet for quite a while, looking up at the stars and finally said, “What will we do when all these come to an end?”

Nightingale sat beside him and said, “You’re getting nervous, aren’t you?”

Roland touched his nose in guilt and said, “I’m just being a little emotional. If we can’t defeat the church…” He then thought, “Will Neverwinter continue to run under the current order? Will the kingdom be completely devoured by the church, or will it return to the previous path of the noble ownership? And what about Anna and the rest of the witches… Can they really safely flee to Sleeping Islands?”

He had devoted to forging the land and developed a strong feeling towards the people unconsciously.

“Don’t worry,” Nightingale held onto his hand and softly said. “As I mentioned before… You won’t be hurt as long as I’m still alive,” she paused and said, “not to mention that our story has just started.”

Chapter 622: The Flames of Thunder

oland had just come to the command post with his breakfast when he received Maggie’s report in the next morning.

“The church is on the way, coo!” Her nervous voice could be heard from the magic stone. “A team has left Coldwind Ridge and it’s moving forward to the defense line, coo!”

“How many of them?”

“One, two, three… five of them in total!”

Roland who was preparing for the frontline battle conference sat back down and said, “What? Five?”

“They’re dressed in shimmery armors, holding the Holy City’s flag up high. What a show-off, coo! Do I need to report to the cannon markers?”

“Uh… No, you just continue to keep an eye on what Coldwind Ridge will do.” Roland put the bread into his mouth, wondering, “What’s the church thinking?”

“They’re probably coming to beg for mercy?” Nightingale twitched her lips and said.

“If this is the case, the church shouldn’t send the army to invade Coldwind Ridge.” Roland frowned.

One and a half days later, the platoon reached the frontline of defense. The priest who led the troop claimed that they were the emissary delegation sent by the church to meet with Roland, His Majesty. At the same time, there was a hand-written letter from Supreme Pontiff for the young King of Kingdom of Graycastle.

“What do you think?” Roland gathered the Adviser Department and the witches, and asked, “Could it be a trick of the pure witches?”

“I’d like to ask for your thought before this,” Edith spoke, “Will you accept their peace negotiation if the church wants to surrender?”

Roland rejected the possibility without any hesitation, “Unless they dismiss the God’s Punishment Army and bring all the senior management and those who kill the innocent to trial. However, I don’t think the church will accept terms like these.”

“Indeed,” Edith instantly answered, “In this case, you shouldn’t meet the emissary delegation. Not to mention if there’s any conspiracy, the negotiation process may affect your determination.”

“I agree with you.” Agatha nodded. “Even though there’s no magic reaction on five of them but a witch’s ability can be quite strange, no one can be sure what’s going to happen next.”

“Perhaps we should just capture them for interrogation and get rid of them secretly after we know the actual purpose of them coming here,” Iron Axe made a cut-throat gesture and said.

“Your Majesty, Kingdom of Graycastle isn’t Iron Sand City,” Sir Eltek quickly advised, “It’s better not to do so, it’s going to ruin your reputation when the news spread.”

“I know.” Roland contemplated for a while and looked at Iron Axe. “Get them to leave the letter and send them off.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Roland could not help but wonder. “What would the supreme ruler of Hermes say?”

“Is that going to be an advice or an inducement?”

After several inspections by Sylvie and Agatha, the hand-written letter by the Pope of Holy City had finally reached Roland.

Opening up the exquisite cover, the handwriting on the letter was surprisingly graceful.

And the content of the letter surprised Roland.

The Pope described the origins and purpose of the church in an honest note and revealed the existence of the great enemy of mankind—the demon.

If he did not know the four-hundred years old secret before this, the content was probably enough to make him confused and inconceivable.

Is this the strategy of the enemy?

Confusing the opponent with the dust-laden history truth and taking it as the sincerity for peace negotiation?

As a result, after the first platoon returned, Coldwind Ridge sent another platoon of soldiers. And there were also five of them.

Of course, Roland did not meet up with them as well but asked them to simply leave the letter behind instead.

The content of the letter was more in-depth this time, and it had mentioned the Battle of Divine Will other than the brief introduction of the Union before the church was formed—the pope believed that the 400-years cycle battle of the different races was a deities ‘ test towards the mankind.

Roland was contemptuous towards this idea but he could feel a slight uneasiness in his heart.

Coldwind Ridge had continuously delegated several emissary delegation troops to send a few hand-written letters by Pope to the frontline battalion within a week time after that. The letters did not reveal too much new information, and the content was getting shorter and shorter. Roland simply turned a blind eye to the suggestion to combine the efforts from both sides to confront the demon which was written behind the letter.

The church only stopped sending any new messenger when the hot summer days arrived.

The enemy had come in full force this time.

---

“This is Lightning, the enemy has entered the ninth zone! Repeat, the enemy has entered the ninth zone!”

Hearing the voice that came out from the Sigil, Cat’s Claw nervously flipped through the booklet in his hand. “Uh… Ninth, ninth…”

“Quick!” Rodney shouted, “The shell is already installed!”

“It’s already at the fastest speed!” Cat’s Claw shouted, “Ah… It’s here, angle 26, pitch 15!”

Nelson quickly swang the handle. “26… 15, complete!”

“Ready to shoot!”

Cat’s Claw quickly covered his ears upon hearing the order.

“Fire!”

Jop quickly pulled the matchlock, the 152cm Longsong Cannon instantly issued a stirring roar, the sound wave mixed with the air flow blowing in the face. it was like a hammer beating on the chest of the Cat’s Claw, making his blood boil. He could feel the ground below his feet started to tremble under the activation of the huge recoil.

“This is power,” Cat’s Claw thought to himself, “Longsong Cannon is the weapon that’s more suitable for the men to operate, comparing to the 12 pounds of small metal pipe.”

The only regret was that he was not able to see the scene when the shell landed.

Acting boldly, Cat’s Claw came close to the Magic Stone in Leaf’s hand and said, “Uh… Miss Lightning, did we hit the target?”

“Ah ha… Nicely hit,” the little girl replied.

…

Comparing to the rear cannon operator, Lightning and Maggie could observe the enemy’s movements and strikes taken more directly.

Lightning was floating at an absolute safe height and looking down with the telescope in her hand. She realized that the howitzer launched just now fell on the west area of the ninth zone about four meters deviated from the estimated falling point. It was probably due to the change of wind. However the actual effect was not too bad. The mighty army of the church had filled the entire mountain path. Given that, a scarlet flower would instantly blossom as long as the shell fell on top of the army.

It was just like the previous hit.

She could not see the entire process of the flight of the shell until the landing. The first thing that came into her eyes was the dark red light, following by the highly-sprung dust and gravel and a fleeting ripple spreading from the light, leaving a trail of dust. The sound of the explosion would not be heard until a while later as if both did not happen at the same time.

When the smoke was blown away, the shell’s point of fall was left with a burned black mark, and around it was a hideous mess of dead bodies; the residual limbs could be seen everywhere, and the sticky blood and organs had dyed the shiny armors with a touch of bright red color. The Judgement Warriors at a further distance looked totally different, and there were no obvious wounds on their bodies, but they were still spitting out blood and fell on the floor. Some of them could still walk for a few meters before falling, and the crooked way they walked made them looked as if they were drunk.

Only one shelling could cause the church to lose nearly 50 men.

Lightning was waving her fist happily and said, “You deserve it!”

And she shifted her gaze to the next shelling zone.

“Attention, the enemy is passing through the twelfth zone, please fire, repeat, please fire!”

Chapter 623: Battle to the death

nder the artillery bombardment, the church disorganized and gradually separated, while the God’s Punishment Warriors, who were unaffected, hastened their advance and left the Judgement Army behind.

Suddenly, Lightning noticed a strange scene.

A rider dressed as a priest, shining with yellow light, quickly traversed the rugged hill road from behind and stabilized the scattered army again. The army proceeded along with the rider’s guidance. This time, instead of being lined up in orderly rows, they were dispersed so that the later grenades failed to achieve the first significant results.

That was a pure witch.

She was preparing to arrange two cannons to attack the area where the pure witch of the church would soon pass, when she heard Maggie screaming.

“Careful!”

Lightning suddenly pulled her figure more than 10 meters upward, before a swarm of locusts passed beneath her feet like a brown cloud.

After failing to attack, they twisted together to form the vague appearance of a man. “Rotten bastards, how dare you to go against the church? Go to hell!”

“Maggie, continue to guide the cannons!” Lightning pulled down the windbreak, pointed a pistol at the swarm and said, “Killing compatriots make you feel so glorious? Go die!”

…

Enemies entered Danny’s vision. This time they had many more warriors than previously. The misty mountains were covered by the sheen of armors. The God’s Punishment Warriors did not use the tactic of a slow forward covered by shields, but rather charged right from the beginning.

Looking at the ocean of rushing enemies, he could feel their great momentum. His sweaty palms made his gun sticky. He had only seen this scene on the wall when the Months of Demons came, thousands of demonic beasts, regardless of death, insanely charged at the walls. Anything in their way would be ruthlessly torn apart. But now, the First Army was facing enemies more powerful than the demonic beasts.

But Danny did not fear it. The demonic beasts could not break that low stone wall that the Militia was fighting atop of, and now the corps of the church would be barricaded by the First Army’s defense in flesh!

What was more, the woman he wanted to protect was just behind their position.

When Danny stepped into the trenches in the morning, he saw a familiar figure in green that turned around and smiled at him. Despite knowing that it was out of courtesy, that smiling face was still like a blooming flower bud rooted in his heart.

He had never thought that she would come with Roland to this battleground.

Anyway, he would not allow the enemy to break through the line of defense.

It was a pity that Lord Iron Axe expelled him from the precision shooting team after he violated military discipline. If his weapon had not been replaced with a revolving rifle or he would have taught the God’s Punishment Army a lesson.

“They just crossed the 300-meter line!” Malt reported the distance of the enemies. “Spear throwers!”

“I see it.” Danny patted the little man on the head. “Take care of yourself.”

Malt, who was the victim of his own actions, after his injuries had healed, was demoted back down to normal flintlocks. However since he was an accomplice, rather than confinement, the commander-in-chief was lenient and only docked him a month’s salary.

The truth was that this time the enemy’s offensive charge was so rapid that four machine gun forts failed to completely suppress the God’s Punishment Army. As dust in the wake of the God’s Punishment Army and smoke from the field artilleries filled the air, several loopholes in the interlaced fire network appeared.

The God’s Punishment Army soldiers that rushed ahead crossed the musketeers’ red warning line.

“200-meter line, throwing spear!”

“Lie down!”

“Lie yourself down!”

Continuous cries came from the trenches. Danny shot all five bullets in a round at a stretch and then fell down to the ground. At the same time, he reloaded the gun. After the attack of the spears, he got up and pulled the trigger, firing toward the nearest enemy.

At that distance, revolving rifles were as powerful as the new weapons. Danny could almost see the stony faces of the God’s Punishment Warriors which looked as if the surrounding artillery and gunfire had nothing to do with them. Until a bullet penetrated the God’s Punishment Warrior’s chest and neck and blew his head, did he tremble to stop and spray the blue blood.

As more and more enemies crossed the line of fire, Danny quickly used up three preloaded cartridges. According to the predetermined plan, he quickly brought a gun to the second trench.

Just as he got into the trench and saw his team-mates, a black shadow fell from the sky. Suddenly a God’s Punishment Warrior jumped up and crossed the barbed wire in front of the trench waving a big sword to split him apart!

“Run!!!” He caught Malt behind him and pulled him to his bosom.

There was a loud noise!

Danny suddenly felt that his hand was numb and fell down.

When he opened his eyes, Malt, who was in his arms, was cut off at the waist.

Malt watched him, with his mouth open. He spat blood but could not speak anymore.

Danny felt a buzz in his brain and shouted, but the God’s Punishment Warrior had already rushed over him. Danny’s arms were sliced off and his face was nearly split by the God’s Punishment Warriors.

Suddenly Danny could even see the rough blade, stained with his blood.

Just as he thought he was going to die, another cold light flashed in his eyes. The two swords rubbed burst into flame and the God’s Punishment Warrior’s weapon was dropped to the ground!

A woman with a long black ponytail that hung down to her waist and eyes flashing with a golden light appeared above the tunnel like an insurmountable mountain.

The God’s Punishment Warrior that lost his swords did not flinch at all and punched to at her.

In an instant, he fell to the ground dead. Without any resistance, his head was crushed.

The blue-white mixture splashed on Danny’s face.

“Let’s go.”

She glanced at the frightened soldiers and spat out her words coldly before engaging the other two God’s Punishment Warriors that had rushed over.

“This guy is hurt!”

“Get him out of here!”

“With Malt,” Danny said in a hoarse voice, hugging the little man in what was left of his arms.

“He’s dead!” Someone shouted. “Do you want to kill us all?”

The teammates behind him grabbed his severed arms and pulled him towards the back of the trench as the lifeless Malt gradually disappeared from Danny’s vision.

…

Lightning flew to the back of the swarm at full speed and pulled the trigger.

She had figured out the details of the enemy. Killing every insect in the swarm would be an arduous task, and the pure witch had already lost some magic, especially given that Maggie metamorphosed into the natural enemy of the locusts, a swallow. Maggie kept herding the swarm over and forced it into a ball before pulling out a pistol shooting it. Finally a vicious curse and then a roar entered her ears.

The pure witch could not survive for too long.

When Lightning was to about to withdraw and reload, the locusts suddenly turned around and rushed toward the ground.

“Maggie!”

Cried the little girl.

“Owh!”

A goshawk folded her eagle wings and swooped down to the swarm below with her ferocious mouth.

“What’s this? It’s… impossible!” The sound of the locusts turned into a cry. It wanted to turn around to escape but it was too late.

Maggie swallowed the swarm effortlessly and chewed twice. “Terrible!”

Lightning shrugged and stuck her pistol in her belt. “Because they aren’t roasted or seasoned.”

Until then, she had not noticed that there were more bloodstains on her body. During the first explorations, she came into contact with the swarm several times and the teeth of these locusts were like hard rasps. If they were ordinary people maybe they would not easily avoid this flexible attack.

Looking at the camp covered with craters and corpses, Lightning took a deep breath. “We don’t need artillery guidance here. Let’s support His Majesty.”

“Awh!”

Chapter 624: Devastation

p>“This is an absolute slaughter.”

Nail thought sitting on the top of the tower, hands on his machine gun grip.

As long as the trigger was depressed, this steel weapon would keep spouting out the flames and shoot bullets toward the enemies. The position targeted by this weapon would be covered by a network of death; where all lives would become fragmented like fallen bowls from the table.

Being able to dominate the battlefield from such a high position left him feeling passionate.

So did his comrades in his team.

“The 66th! Look, that poor guy has been disintegrated.”

“What’re you counting? That’s obviously the 68th!”

“Look over there, a guy is still rolling on the ground. Just kill him.”

“His intestines have already spilled out, save your ammunition and let him slowly struggle!”

With a click, the fabric tape slipped down and another box of bullets had come to its end.

“Cover the third trench. I’m going to reload!” Nail cried to a machine gun team in the tower.

“Don’t worry, and just leave it to us.”

His teammates quickly brought over a box full of bullets. He put on a single thick glove and gripped the smoking barrel of the machine gun with a special caliper. He held the pipe with one hand, disassembled it easily, and placed it lightly in the open space.

According to the requirements of training, soldiers could not fire continuously except under extraordinary conditions. So the barrel must be replaced after a box of bullets was shot to avoid barrel deformation with overheating. It was said that this kind of black steel pipe which could fit the thread of the gun chamber perfectly was made by the witch, Miss Anna. Every pipe cost about 50 gold royals, which made the team members treat their guns like their children.

After they installed the cooled barrels, the jarring percussive sound once again rang out from the tower.

“Look, there’s a witch in the east of the first trench!”

Suddenly a cry rang out around him.

“That’s not a witch, idiot! That’s a pure witch, Miss Nana’s enemies!”

Nail also saw the target his teammate pointed out.

The woman in a red robe might have been hit on the leg by a flying bullet. She was on the ground and slowly crawling forward. The robe behind her dragged a light blood stain.

He aimed the gun at the pure witch but a feeling left him feeling a little overwhelmed and he did not pull the trigger.

From her figure, she looked as though she may have not yet grown up.

“Shoot, what’re you waiting for?”

“I…”

A string of sand quickly swept over her body the moment he hesitated.

She stopped struggling and blood spread from her belly, like a small red flower.

“Hell, we just lost a result!”

“Stop saying that.” Another one interrupted him while patting Nail on the shoulder. “You’re tired, leave it to me.”

He took a deep breath and said, “No, I’m fine.”

Nail recomposed himself.

This was a war with the church. Regardless of age, the enemy was the enemy and they were still not strong enough. Nail secretly clenched his teeth and left his compassion behind him.

“Wait, what happened in the middle of the third trench?” The observer in another team suddenly exclaimed. “The ground collapsed?”

“My god, what’s that?”

“Damn… pure witches! More than one, just kill them!”

Nail quickly turned the gun and saw a square pit suddenly appear in the middle of the third trench. Its walls were flat as though they had been cut by a knife. A woman in a black veil jumped out of the trench and stood straight with her hands behind her back.

When he fired, he faintly heard a sharp sound of wind.

The moment he turned his head, the butt of a rifle hit him in the face.

Nail suddenly felt everything go black and fell to the ground. Before losing consciousness, the last scene he saw was that his teammate raised a rifle toward him.

…

Roland stood on the command platform with a telescope, watching the defense line where the situation gradually became clear.

Some of the enemies had crossed the first three trenches and were making their way to the fourth. However, soldiers retreating from the front line made the subsequent defensive firepower more and more concentrated. Under the continuous fire of two machine guns that were occupying the high spot on the towers, the God’s Punishment Army’s offensive momentum obviously showed a decline.

By such a trend, they were not likely to make it to the remaining five trenches and artillery positions. The fire on the ground was too fierce and many church corps had been bogged down into a trench. The First Army would inevitably set up a blocking point at each exit of all longitudinal grooves, the advancing speed of the enemy would be drastically reduced and the speed advantage of the God’s Punishment Army would no longer be obvious.

At this moment, the Judgement Army gradually stepped onto the battlefield. This army suffered heavy losses under the attack of the Longsong Cannon, but had not yet been totally routed, which this was out of Roland’s expectations. It was due to the pills of madness that made the soldiers berserk. But compared with that of the God’s Punishment Army, their threat was clearly much lower. The pills of madness could not make people immune to fear. When the Judgement Army soldiers were subjected to the double attack of field artillery and machine guns, the will of Gods could not save them.

In fact, the greatest contributor to this battle was the bunkers on both sides and the eight Mark I type heavy machine guns in the tower. In order to ensure that they could fire continuously, not only did they need enough bullets but each team was equipped with nearly 10 barrels.

The only problem was that in order to employ this strategy, they had emptied their reserve of bullets. Of course, it was extremely economical to eliminate all the main forces of the church here.

During this time, Sylvie sometimes observed their magic reaction. But those pure witches had not played a significant role in the war. They followed the God’s Punishment Army marching forward, but soon disappeared into smoke and artillery fire.

The outcome had been set!

Church of Hermes would soon become the dust of history.

Just as Roland thought that, suddenly there was an emergency!

“Pure witches ahead of us!” Sylvie, who also stood on the high platform, warned. “Four, no, five!”

The surface of the third trench suddenly rose, as if something was lifted up, and then it quickly fell down pulling the surrounding barbed wire and stakes together into the ground.

A woman in black veil appeared in the collapsed position. She did not take any action, she just looked straightforward.

A strange scene then occurred.

Numerous soldiers in the trenches turned their guns, aimed at their chin and then pulled the trigger.

A mass of mist burst from the trenches like a red fountain.

Four machine guns forts misfired at the same time.

Soldiers who were not affected shot her as if they just woke up.

Suddenly there were several shots in her body and she fell into the pit on her back.

Seizing this chance, the Judgement Army, under the effect of the pills of madness, rushed toward the defense line.