Volume 3, Chapter 11 – The Witches Converge

Byrne City, the largest city in the Barony of Khesa and the most prosperous in the entire northern territory of the Alfrieg Kingdom. Due to its special geographical location, bordering five countries simultaneously, trade within its territory was exceptionally frequent. In addition, to protect himself, Baron Khesa had fortified the entire city like a fortress, surrounding it with three inner and three outer layers of high, thick walls, which had attracted people from almost the entire northern territory of the Alfrieg Kingdom to come and live there.

Someone had once roughly estimated that the population of Byrne City should be close to three hundred thousand, not the fifty thousand that Baron Khesa reported to the kingdom. However, because the baron disliked anyone investigating the population on his turf and always secretly obstructed them, no one knew the exact number. People only knew that the city they lived in was exceptionally prosperous; they were ignorant of everything else.

Such a city might sound wonderful at first, but for those who actually lived there, if you didn’t have money, your life was worse than that of the beastmen in the Cold Moon Alliance to the south.

This place was a melting pot of good and evil. Fugitives on death row, nobles from failed rebellions, despised necromancers, human traffickers, and even witch covens and the Darkborn all gathered in this city. Consequently, the city’s order was maintained only at a bare minimum. If you accidentally offended someone on the street during the day, it was not at all surprising to end up as a corpse that night. People had grown used to it.

Baron Khesa had thought about changing the status quo, but his strength was insufficient to control such a chaotic city. Leaving aside the Darkborn and the witches, just the nobles from failed rebellions were enough to give him a headache.

Although these nobles had fallen from grace, they still had some resources, especially those of the prince or grand duke level. Their bodyguards were so strong that a single one could break into the baron’s home and take his head. Therefore, Baron Khesa could only turn a blind eye. As long as everyone honestly paid their taxes and gave him some face, everything else was fine.

This was a city where countless sins converged, a city where anything could be bought as long as you had the money.

A gilded carriage bearing the emblem of the church was slowly approaching the city gate. People who had been hurrying along with their heads down all turned to look at it. Traces of the Milcandis Holy Kingdom were not uncommon in Byrne City, but to enter so brazenly, especially with a female elf driving the carriage, was a first.

Of course, the people in the carriage did not know that they had attracted the attention of countless passersby. Fia was currently asking about the Holy Tree.

A giant golden tree soaring into the clouds—this image was not new to Fia. Long before the Shining Era, people could build equally tall structures. But for it to appear in another world based on magic filled Fia with curiosity.

“Such a massive sacred tree, can’t the people living here see it?”

In response to Fia’s question, Anastasia nodded seriously.

“That’s right. Only the royal family and elves favored by the Holy Tree can see it from this distance. Otherwise, one can only admire its splendor from within a hundred kilometers of the royal capital.”

At this, a look of joy appeared on Anastasia’s face.

“That Your Highness can see the Holy Tree from the border proves that you are indeed you. It’s one more piece of evidence of your identity.”

“Hmm… but I feel like the Holy Tree is withering.”

As Fia said, although the Holy Tree she saw was straight, the branches extending from its trunk had only a few sparse golden leaves, like a dying plant.

“Withering… I’m not sure about that. I’m ashamed to say I cannot see the Holy Tree from this distance.”

“The Holy Tree has been like this since I was born. Although I’ve heard from Father that a long, long time ago, the Holy Tree had lush branches and leaves and could be seen clearly even from the southern continent, for some unknown reason, the leaves have been getting fewer and the branches have shortened a lot recently.

Both Father and the kings before him have issued decrees that whoever can find out what happened to the Holy Tree will be granted the title of prince, but after several thousand years, even those Saints have returned without success. But somehow, I feel that if it’s you, sister, you’ll definitely be able to figure it out.”

Reαԁ οո KαtRеаⅾingСаfе

“I agree with Her Highness Liti. I also feel that if it’s Your Highness, you will surely be able to find out what happened to the Holy Tree. We’ll rest here for one night, and tomorrow we can step into Silvar. It will take less than two weeks to reach the royal capital from there.”

“If I could have figured out what happened to the Holy Tree, I would have done so long ago…”

From Renee’s words, she could vaguely guess that the former elf princess was no less intelligent than she was.

Putting aside the topic of the Holy Tree, Fia leaned back against the carriage wall and let out a long sigh. She was finally about to set foot in the elf territory. Although there were surely many complicated matters waiting for her in the royal capital, her heart was filled more with anticipation than annoyance.

Did elves actually live in trees? For a city of a certain scale, living in trees like in a village was obviously not suitable. And with the Holy Tree being so massive, how would the elves climb it? Ordinary [Flight] magic had a height limit; it usually couldn’t go higher than two or three thousand meters.

Did they have to climb it manually? In terms of physical strength alone, even a Fourth Rank individual would probably find it difficult to reach the top. In the end, just how tall the Holy Tree was, was a question in itself. It couldn’t possibly extend beyond the atmosphere into outer space.

While Fia was brainstorming, the carriage, which had been gradually slowing down, finally came to a stop. The sound of Renee conversing with the guards came from outside.

The gist of it was the guards asking about the group following the carriage and whether they had heard any news about the Flame King. Fia subconsciously lifted the curtain and looked out the window, discovering three or four hundred serious-looking guards gathered in front of the city gate. The city walls were also lined with large siege weapons, their dark muzzles causing a sense of dread.

No matter how you looked at it, they were in a state of high alert, as if a defensive battle was imminent.

“These people are bandits we encountered on the road. You can check them against the wanted list one by one.”

Renee, wearing a cyan hood, jumped down from the carriage, her eyes extremely cold.

“As for the Flame King, we know nothing. Can we go in now?”

“P-please wait a moment!”

In contrast to Renee’s coldness, the soldier’s attitude was respectful. Both the carriage behind Renee and her attire and aura indicated the owner’s extraordinary status. Even if he was just doing his job as a soldier, the consequence of angering a noble was death.

In fact, next to Fia’s carriage, there was another line of about a hundred people. There was one road for commoners to enter the city, and another for nobles. Nobles did not need to queue.

“Please give us some time to confirm the number of bandits. We will issue you a bounty corresponding to the number of people!”

“Hurry up.”

“Yes!”

Rather than a person waiting to enter the city, Renee seemed more like the soldier’s superior, Fia couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. It was also worth noting that these soldiers did not ask Fia’s group to get out of the carriage, nor did they enter it to check for contraband. They simply collected an entrance fee of one silver coin and asked no further questions.

Rеαⅾ οn KαtRеαdіnɡСafe

Fia took this opportunity to step out of the carriage and inquire with a soldier why there were so many of them at the gate. The soldier replied that a short while ago, a group of strangely dressed people had gone into the desert, saying they were looking for the Flame King who had turned the jungle into a desert. After some time, the desert environment outside Byrne City had suddenly been covered in green.

The city’s administrator, Baron Khesa, believed this might be the result of that group’s battle with the Flame King. The soldiers at the gate were to prevent the Flame King’s minions from attacking the city.

According to precedent, whenever adventurers or monster hunters went to fight the Flame King, his minions would always launch a retaliatory siege. Moreover, the commotion this time was much greater than before, so it was certain that thousands of Fire-striped Frogs would come to attack the city, hence the current state of high alert.

The soldier also added that every time the Fire-striped Frogs attacked the city, it resulted in huge casualties. For example, the last time more than ten thousand of them had launched a retaliatory attack, they had even broken through the city’s first and second lines of defense. The people had only managed to repel their army by relying on the third line of defense and the barbican. At least a thousand soldiers had died that time.

“Since every expedition against the Flame King invites his retaliation, why does Baron Khesa still send people to fight him?”

In response to Liti’s question, the soldier became extremely talkative—both Liti and Fia were quite cute in appearance, and no man would refuse to say a few more words to such beautiful girls, not to mention that they were clearly high-ranking nobles.

Normally, these soldiers would never have the chance to speak to noble ladies of this level. As evidence, the other soldiers around them had expressions of wanting to answer enthusiastically but being too shy to speak up.

“How can we not fight the Flame King! Every year, his minions either slaughter villages or attack passing merchants, giving the baron and us military leaders a huge headache.

And on top of that, the Flame King demands that we send him several hundred people as sacrifices every month. How could we not think of getting rid of him? That’s a man-eating monster.

Although the adventurers and monster hunters have always failed, there will always be someone who succeeds. Once the Flame King is dead, everyone can live a good life.”

“Sigh, I don’t even know if the people who went out that day will come back alive.”

“More than that, I hope they can take care of the Fire-striped Frogs while they’re at it. If the Flame King really dies, and those hundreds of thousands of Fire-striped Frogs under the desert rush over, we’ll definitely be in for it.”

The soldiers began to discuss among themselves. From their dejected expressions, it was clear they didn’t think the Flame King had been defeated.

During this time, the soldier who had been counting the bandits returned to his captain’s side.

“Captain, the count is complete. Twenty-five people in total, including two Third Rank bandits.”

“Give the bounty to these two young ladies. Take the two Third Rank ones to the slave trader, and send the rest to the old place.”

The old place probably means the prison, Fia thought.

Rather than guessing, Liti directly asked what the “old place” was. The soldier’s answer made Fia’s expression turn strange.

The so-called “old place” was actually where sacrifices were held. Because the Flame King required several hundred living people as sacrifices every month, and they had to be young and “tasty,” Baron Khesa would get a headache every time it was time to hand them over. Over time, he decided to use the criminals in his territory as sacrifices. If the number was not enough, he would buy some from the slave market.

Since the soldiers did not lower their voices when they answered, the bandits who heard they were to become sacrifices immediately turned pale. Some began to cry and beg Renee, who was standing beside them, to spare them, but Renee simply stomped on their heads, burying their faces in the dirt.

Reαⅾ οո КatRеαdingCafе

Although becoming a sacrifice was tragic, thinking about the “deeds” of these bandits—burning down a village and selling the villagers as slaves—Fia felt it was karmic retribution.

I hope they can be good people in their next lives, Fia prayed in her heart.

Just as the soldier was handing the money to Anastasia, a soldier on the city wall suddenly shouted.

“Those people are back!”

The soldier’s shout instantly attracted everyone’s attention. Both the soldiers below the wall and the commoners queuing up turned to look into the distance—at the end of the road, a group of people in black robes was walking towards the city gate. Behind this group of black-robed people was a large team of nearly two hundred men, whose posture showed signs of fatigue.

“The group is so long!”

“I don’t see any wounded.”

“Could it be that the Flame King was really defeated by them?!”

“The people at the front are a group of women. They can’t be witches, can they?”

“But the people behind them are men. Why would witches be with men?”

It was as if a bomb had been dropped in the crowd. Everyone began to discuss animatedly. The city guards immediately went to welcome them, while the remaining commoners waited for the distant group to return with the expressions of people watching heroes come home.

“Tch, it was sister who killed that big turtle called the Flame King.”

“Your Highness, perhaps you feel there is no need to be revered by these humans, but we should at least step forward and clarify the situation to prevent impostors from appearing…”

Following the indignant Liti, Anastasia suggested, choosing her words carefully.

Fia nodded lightly.

“Yes, let’s wait and see what they’re going to do first.”

Fia neither confirmed nor denied it. She did feel that no one should take credit for what was not theirs, but since she couldn’t be sure that her [Spatial Rift] had indeed killed the Flame King, it was better to hear what this group had to say before making a decision.

Soon, the group of over two hundred people arrived at the city gate. People craned their necks to look at the women in their cat-eared nun habits, afraid to miss any detail, until the group stood before them.

Seemingly having read the thoughts of the people and soldiers from their hopeful faces, the leading black-haired woman, who was about twenty-four years old, hesitated for a moment, then said in a slow, low voice.

“The Flame King is dead.”

Rеaԁ оn KatRеaԁіոgСafe

“The Flame King is dead?”

“The Flame King is really dead!”

“What about the Fire-striped Frogs? What happened to them?”

“How did you kill the Flame King?”

In an instant, all sorts of questions flew towards the lead black-haired woman. People cheered and ran to spread the news of the Flame King’s death. The sound of weapons hitting the ground, the sight of hats being thrown into the air—everything indicated the joyful surprise in everyone’s hearts.

Especially the bandits, who, upon hearing they would not be used as living sacrifices, were already crying with snot and tears, praising the women’s deeds.

But in contrast to the excited crowd, the black-haired woman’s face showed no joy. Not only that, but the women behind her also had the dejected expressions of defeated soldiers.

“Many of the Fire-striped Frogs are also dead… They died tragically, all of them without their heads.”

“You even took care of the Fire-striped Frogs! Who are you? C-could you be high-rank magic casters who can use forbidden spells?!”

The soldier’s eyes widened like a bull’s, his voice almost cracking.

However, the black-haired woman just slowly shook her head, biting her lip lightly, appearing very hesitant.

“I don’t know who killed the Flame King. By the time we arrived, where the Flame King should have been, there was only a cross-shaped canyon… The one who killed the Flame King and the Fire-striped Frogs was not us.”

“Ah?”

The woman’s words left the soldier stunned. The people in the distance, unaware of the truth, were still cheering, but here by the soldiers, it was as quiet as water.

“Then who killed the Flame King?” the soldier asked the obvious question.

The black-haired woman frowned tightly.

“I don’t know either.”

After saying this, the black-haired woman finally seemed to have a weight lifted off her shoulders, letting out a long sigh. She began to look around at the cheering crowd, but her gaze soon fell on Fia. Following the lines of Fia’s body, her eyes locked onto the short dagger at Fia’s waist, and a syllable full of doubt escaped her lips.

“…Lady Witch of Hope?”