Chapter 466: This Is Good News

Chapter 466: This Is Good News

After an unknown amount of time, Augusta encountered the thing he least wanted to happen. He woke up from unconsciousness once again. This time after waking, he saw the person he least wanted to see… that demonic woman!

“Um… I’m awake?” Seeing the woman seemed distracted, Augusta lowered his voice and put on a flattering expression. The woman with the hollow expression snapped out of her daze, glanced at Augusta somewhat blankly, raised her hand, and gave him a whip strike…

“Ahhh!!”

While he was screaming, a second strike followed closely, then a third—a beautiful three-hit combo that sent Augusta writhing in pain on the ground. Then came a two-hit follow-up, leaving Augusta utterly confused. Why did this scene feel like he had experienced it before?

What the woman said next made Augusta’s eyes widen. Damn it, this was exactly the same situation he faced before he passed out! Can’t they just be friends properly? Please let this dragon go!

“You demon! You’re definitely doing this to torture me on purpose!!”

“Ah… yes.” The hollow woman nodded blankly. Seeing Augusta could roar with such vigor, she thought he had mostly recovered, so she delivered another whip strike.

“Just kill me!”

“No… I want to torture you. I… really hate dragons.”

“Wait, wait! If I tell you where the other dragons are, after you catch them, you can torture several at once! You don’t have to keep focusing on me! Three dragons at once, how exciting is that, right?!” To avoid the whip, Augusta had once again abandoned all his dignity.

No new whip strike came. Augusta breathed a slight sigh of relief. It should be fine now, right?

Then came another strike!

“I agree.”

“If you agree, then don’t hit me!!” Augusta roared in grief and indignation. The woman shook her head.

“I really hate dragons.”

“But I’m cooperating with you now!”

“That’s a separate matter. It doesn’t change my hatred for dragons…”

Augusta found it strange. This woman seemed to have no memory from before he passed out, but now she was speaking much more fluently. She wasn’t stuck stammering out one word at a time anymore, though she was still just as annoying to a dragon!

“Then… could you hit me later…”

“No.” As the woman spoke, she made the same raising-hand motion he had encountered before passing out. This move directly sent Augusta flying. Whether intentionally or not, this time she struck the other side of his face. Probably for symmetry. No, no, actually, he had finally been waiting for this slap!

This was Augusta’s happiest thought before passing out. Right now, nothing was more blissful than being able to faint.

Then, in the timeless state of unconsciousness, Augusta woke up for the third time. He looked around—the environment hadn’t changed. The woman was still staring blankly at the wall in her face-to-wall posture, giving Augusta a strong sense of déjà vu. Surely there wouldn’t be a third time?

This time, he didn’t foolishly make a sound. He just cautiously watched for any change in the woman’s state, waiting for the ordeal to end. However, even though he didn’t want to alert the woman, she had clearly noticed he was awake. Without even turning her head, she backhanded a whip strike across Augusta’s face. Following that, the familiar three-hit combo repeated, plus a two-hit pursuit after he fell, leaving Augusta’s grief-stricken face too weary to even scream. Living was so tiring. Why was he alive? What was he living for?

“I don’t want to say anything anymore. Just torture me as you please…” Augusta wore an expression of seeing through worldly vanities. Like a salted fish that had lost all its dreams, he thumped his head on the ground and spoke lifelessly.

“Okay.” The woman nodded expressionlessly, raised her hand, and slapped Augusta. Augusta’s body shuddered violently, then stilled, as if his heart had truly died and he felt nothing from the pain. Then, without a word, the woman delivered three whip strikes.

“P-please… not so fast. I really might die…” Augusta cried out weakly. The repeated strikes had completely robbed him of the strength to scream, leaving him only able to plead feebly.

The woman nodded and slowed her whipping pace, giving Augusta time to rest after each strike, allowing him enough strength to scream. Concerning this, Augusta truly felt his heart was about to die. Wait, why was this lasting so long? Under normal circumstances, he should have passed out by now, right?

Why the continuous whipping! Can we please not do this?

While screaming, Augusta kept watching the woman’s expression. She showed no intention of stopping, whipping away relentlessly… Watching his screams, her expressionless face occasionally revealed traces of a neurotic smile. It was downright terrifying. No, this couldn’t go on. If it continued, he would really break down. “Wait! Stop hitting! I know where my kin are! I can take you to them! Then you can whip three at once! Think about how wonderful that would be!!”

The woman paused her raised hand and lowered it again. “Where are they?”

“…” Huh? This time the approach actually changed; she didn’t knock him out. Augusta found it strange. In his momentary daze, the woman struck again!

“&%￥!”

Smack—!

Augusta stopped cursing and promptly revealed the whereabouts of his two kin. The woman nodded, raised her hand, and slapped Augusta unconscious, letting him once again experience the happiest moment of this period. Anything else? Don’t talk about anything else. He loved being unconscious right now!

After an unknown length of time, Augusta woke up again. He stared blankly at a Black Dragon and a Green Dragon in another location. Wha— What the heck? She actually caught them! Who exactly was this woman? How dare she cause such trouble? Wasn’t she afraid of being severely punished like the Undying Witch?

Wait, her face did look somewhat similar to the Undying Witch’s. Could it be that the Undying Witch never actually died and was making a comeback now? Could anything be more shocking than this? Wasn’t it said that the Undying Witch was thoroughly dead? What was going on now? The people dealing with the Undying Witch must be too incompetent!

Augusta thought indignantly, complaining unwillingly in his heart.

Then the woman noticed he was awake and immediately delivered a quality five-hit combo. The other two dragons stared in utter confusion. What was going on? The Black Dragon was attacked while hunting. This woman’s knockout blow ignored the powerful physique of the Dragon Clan, directly taking her down. This knockout worked directly on the soul; she couldn’t withstand it. As for the Green Dragon, he was inexplicably subdued while sleeping. He woke up to find himself restrained and could see two other kin active on the Continent.

Especially Augusta, who looked utterly haggard, as if he had suffered some inhuman treatment. When the woman holding the scene noticed Augusta was awake, without a word she delivered a quality five-hit combo, stunning the other two dragons. Could this be the SM mentioned on the Forum?!

This looked way too intense. Augusta already showed a ‘blissful’ expression as if his soul had left his body…

“Ahhhh! Why do you have to hit me?! There are two other dragons right there! Why only focus on me?!” Augusta roared with extreme grief and indignation. The woman lowered her head in thought. Hearing Augusta shout with such vigor, she promptly added another whip strike. As his body convulsed violently, she said, “I’m used to it.”

“Why don’t you get used to hitting them?!” After a while, catching his breath, Augusta cried out weakly, ignoring the furious glares from his two kin. Glaring? If he could feel even slightly better right now, what did a glare matter? If you have the guts, come up and hit me yourselves!

Augusta, now like a dead pig scalded by boiling water, thought with complete indifference.

“You fat dragon, say that again if you dare!” The Black Dragon’s bright dragon eyes fixed fiercely on Augusta as she growled angrily. She realized she might have been sold out by Augusta, which was why she ended up here.

“That’s right! See her? She’s the most unique and powerful among us! Targeting her is definitely the right move!” The Red Dragon watched the woman’s raised hand with trepidation and shouted in panic. The woman glanced at the Red Dragon, then at the Black Dragon. With a wave of her hand, a gray whip struck the Black Dragon’s face. The Black Dragon grunted in pain but didn’t scream uncontrollably like Augusta after one strike.

Enduring this strike, the Black Dragon couldn’t help but glance at Augusta. Okay, she admitted she had somewhat underestimated this fat Red Dragon. The pain from the whip wasn’t ordinary; she herself could barely endure it, let alone the Red Dragon whose willpower was inferior to hers. Under such painful stimulation, it wasn’t surprising he would blurt out such things.

Just as the Black Dragon thought this, the woman unleashed several consecutive whip strikes. She could endure the first few, but the pain, acting directly on the soul and accumulating with no resistance, made the Black Dragon unable to hold back her screams. Seeing this, the Green Dragon showed deep fear. Among the three dragons active on the Continent, the Black Dragon was the strongest and also the most… vocal.

She had always trained hard. Her combat power was always slightly higher… high enough that fighting the remaining Black Dragon and Green Dragon among them wasn’t much of a problem, right? The Green Dragon noted that he was ranked third on the Continent’s Dragon Clan power rankings, just one place below the Red Dragon. Already so powerful, the two of them combined still couldn’t defeat the Black Dragon.

“Beg for mercy quickly. I really want to hear it, just like that Red Dragon…” Whenever the Black Dragon caught her breath, the woman would supplement with an attack that made her scream violently. But though the Black Dragon screamed, she wasn’t as pathetic as the Red Dragon, choosing to beg and discard her dignity when she couldn’t take it.

“Pah! Damned human, I’ll tear you to pieces!!” The Black Dragon glared at the woman, eyes filled with defiance. Make her beg? Impossible!!

The woman shook her head lightly and raised her hand to strike again. The Black Dragon, bracing for new pain, was stunned to hear a scream beside her. The Green Dragon was struggling violently on the ground…

“…” Under the Black Dragon’s silent, resolute gaze, the woman seemed addicted, cycling her whips between the Green Dragon and the Red Dragon. Amidst his screams and pleas, the Red Dragon couldn’t help but feel regret. Looking at the woman, she clearly was ignoring the Black Dragon. If he had toughened up earlier, would he also be ignored, like the Black Dragon?

Just thinking about it made him so regretful!

The regretful Red Dragon soon couldn’t think about it anymore. It hurt! It hurt too much to think!

Who could save him? What the heck!

The Red Dragon’s disappearance was quickly discovered. He vanished mysteriously, without any trace. The only information that could be gathered was that Zheng Yichen went to his Dragon Lair to look for him after his disappearance. That was understandable. Zheng Yichen, also of the Dragon Clan, would certainly be concerned after hearing a kin went missing. After all, anyone daring to directly target the Red Dragon would dare target him too. Zheng Yichen investigating this was also helping himself…

The Sanctuary Church expressed high concern over this matter and had begun investigating. But then, during the investigation, the two remaining dragons on the Continent also disappeared!!

With three dragons missing at once, this was no small matter. In the past, before the Dragon Clan withdrew from the Continent, such incidents wouldn’t require human concern; the Dragon Clan would handle it themselves. But now things weren’t so simple. First, why would the Dragon Clan, living well on the Continent, suddenly withdraw for no reason? Were they too full and bored?

Or did they think their living environment was too large and wanted to switch to a smaller, more cramped space?

In any case, the disappearance of three dragons was already a significant problem. Multiple parties were now focusing on this. First, it could be confirmed that the three dragons were still alive. This was the best news. The source of this information was the Sanctuary Church, which was very reliable. The captor didn’t seem to intend to kill the three dragons immediately. But dragging things out wasn’t good. Even if they didn’t plan to kill them now, what about later?

And not planning to kill didn’t mean they couldn’t be tortured. The longer this dragged on, the bigger the problem. Those three dragons could not be lost.

Even Saintess Deya, who was on a Quest, was pulled back. She found Zheng Yichen. Seeing the arriving Saintess, Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but smile. Finally, someone substantial had arrived. Previously, when the Red Dragon disappeared, people from the Sanctuary Church had contacted Zheng Yichen. But in Zheng Yichen’s view, they were all small fry, not substantial enough. After all, the opponent was a ‘Derivative Witch.’ Though not a genuine Witch.

But someone who could subdue three dragons without being discovered couldn’t be weak, right? Those people coming would basically be cannon fodder. Only now, with Saintess Deya here, did he show a smile. Zheng Yichen was very puzzled about what the ‘Derivative Witch’ was planning. Using the tool Irene gave him, he had tracked the Derivative Witch’s trail. But the timing wasn’t right to act…

Now that the necessary combat power had arrived, Zheng Yichen had no further worries. He could act at any time. He had been observing secretly these past few days, hearing the three dragons’ incessant cries daily, especially the Red Dragon’s various shameless remarks, even attempting to sell him out. Zheng Yichen felt his education was well-deserved!

But Augusta also paid the price for his careless words. After all, Augusta didn’t know Zheng Yichen’s residence. The location of an Alchemical Avatar wasn’t enough to entice the woman. She wanted dragons—real dragons, not fakes. So, Augusta paid the price for his words. The woman’s mind wasn’t sharp, so she thought the Red Dragon was covering for the last remaining dragon, unwilling to reveal Zheng Yichen’s location. Even the shameless words screamed in pain were meant to mislead her…

“You know their location?” Deya asked, slightly surprised, looking at Zheng Yichen. Originally, she was urgently pulled back to protect Zheng Yichen. Who knew Zheng Yichen had already investigated where the missing dragons were? She couldn’t help but glance at the Sanctuary Church members stationed elsewhere. Under Deya’s gaze, they lowered their heads in shame. After being in contact with Zheng Yichen for days, they didn’t know about this. It was truly a dereliction of duty.

“I know. After all, it’s someone targeting dragons. Though I don’t care much about other dragons, I’m also under threat. I had to pay extra attention, so I found her.”

“Is that so?” Deya still had some doubts. The issue wasn’t as simple as it appeared on the surface. What was said earlier was just what the Sanctuary Church announced publicly. The truly important matter was that Witch aura—extremely close to the Undying Witch’s—was detected at the sites where the other two dragons disappeared. Though somewhat aberrant, it was eighty percent related to the Undying Witch. But wasn’t the Undying Witch dead?

Even Dan Marina had confirmed this. So why did it appear again? Even if it wasn’t an exact match, the problem was very serious. It implied the Undying Witch might not be dead. Even if the Fate Witch’s calculations were wrong this time… The Fate Witch’s plan failed…

Her success wasn’t something the Sanctuary Church wanted to see, because successfully calculating the death of the hardest-to-kill Witch showed the Fate Witch was even more powerful. But if the calculation failed, that was even worse for the Sanctuary Church. It meant the Undying Witch’s abilities far exceeded their imagination, able to counter even the Fate Witch’s targeted schemes. How could such a Witch be killed?

This matter had significant impact, especially since the Undying Witch incident had just passed not long ago and hadn’t completely settled down. Once revealed, it would undoubtedly cause great panic, both among Professionals and major forces. Moreover, this matter wasn’t fully confirmed; many aspects needed thorough investigation.

“What do you know?” Deya asked.

“The one behind this is a Witch.” Her identity already exposed, Zheng Yichen’s relationship with Deya couldn’t be like before. At the same time, many topics didn’t need to be as veiled as they once were.

“The Undying Witch?” Deya asked seriously. Since Zheng Yichen had Witches around him, he must know more information.

“Yes.”

“…” Deya’s expression worsened. She took out the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, wanting to report this. The most worrying thing had happened. She needed to report quickly so the Church could prepare. Also, those three dragons were probably doomed. Falling into the Undying Witch’s hands, expecting them to be ‘alive’? Impossible.

Even if not dead, under the Undying Witch’s methods, they wouldn’t truly be living. But it wasn’t entirely bad news. If it really was the Undying Witch, the Dragon Clan could also get involved. Even if just this once, it would be enough.

“Wait.” Zheng Yichen reached out and pressed down on the Magic Weapon Summoning Book in Deya’s hand. Under her puzzled gaze, Zheng Yichen continued, “It’s related to the Undying Witch, but I didn’t say it is the Undying Witch.”

“Even if it’s not the Undying Witch, being related to her must be taken seriously!” Deya said sternly. “Don’t you know the Undying Witch’s characteristics? That this matter is related to her means the Undying Witch isn’t dead!”

“Uh… I know a bit more about this than you. This incident is indeed related to the Undying Witch, but not based on the premise that she is still ‘alive.'”

Deya looked silently at Zheng Yichen without interrupting, waiting for him to continue. Seeing her listening attentively, Zheng Yichen went on, “The Undying Witch is indeed gone, but that doesn’t mean everything she left behind vanished with her death. You specialize in dealing with Witches; you should know about such things, right?”

“I know. But even so, there shouldn’t be such an actively moving case… and with such powerful strength…” Deya frowned slightly, speaking somewhat uncertainly. Among past successful cases of dealing with Witches, there were many handling residual troubles left by Witches. After the Undying Witch incident, the Sanctuary Church was also doing such work, but so far, they hadn’t found any remnants of the Undying Witch.

This was related to her power system… Her ability characteristics weren’t directly manifested in the environment. During this period, the Sanctuary Church’s focus was on that nearly indestructible Stone Forest.

“Don’t forget she is the Undying Witch, capable of many forms of resurrection,” Zheng Yichen said. “Encountering this, you should actually be happy. It means the Undying Witch was truly dealt with. Think about it: if she were fine, would she create such a ‘Derivative Witch’? Definitely something better. And is she stupid? Attacking the Dragon Clan now, isn’t she worried about gaining more enemies?”

“Alright, you might not believe it. After we confirm it, think it over again.” Seeing Deya still pondering, Zheng Yichen said helplessly. The Undying Witch’s immortality was truly deeply ingrained. Even after saying all that, she still didn’t believe…