Chapter 343: Reestablishing Order
“Master, the city walls have been breached! I’m afraid the allied armies won’t be able to endure for much longer. Let’s leave quickly!”
She could already hear the sounds of combat coming from outside. When she left the tower, she saw the gloomy clouds in the sky emitting a dim red light, resembling a clump of viscous blood.
“But my younger sister still hasn’t returned yet.”
“She’s a soldier of the garrison, she can’t leave her post on the perimeter without permission.” Kraft’s voice grew more anxious. “If you die here, you’ll be throwing away her good intentions!”
After hesitating for a while, she finally nodded in acquiescence. “I understand.”
The streets were filled with people fleeing while the guards maintained order within this impending doom. Amidst the stream of people, she was forced to follow everyone towards the south gate. Kraft closely followed beside her the whole time, and even used his sturdy body to protect her from being crushed by the frantic crowd.
It was a crushing defeat.
Is this where we fall? She cast her gaze towards the Tower of Babel behind them. It was the highest point in the city, as well as the core of the Federation. Flying Devils had carried Mad Demons over to attack the top of the tower. Lightning would occasionally flash, striking the devils down. Nevertheless, everything was to no avail―there were simply too many enemies.
After several hundred years of construction and development, this city had become the most flourishing of fertile lands, the Holy City. But today, it seemed like it would soon fall to ruin and the efforts of several generations of people would inevitably be lost―like children spending a whole afternoon building a sandcastle, only for it to be instantly reduced to sand once again in the wake of chaos and disorder.
. . .
When they passed through the south gate, the Devils had already rushed over to intercept them. Those who were still able to fight readily stepped up to fight them alongside the guards. But not only did the other side have Mad Demons, there were also Dreadheart Demons and Infernal Lords. The disparity between the strengths of both sides was too extreme.
Dozens of people lay in a pool of blood after the first wave of spears were thrown. Some had iron spears piercing through their abdomen, their warm intestines spilling out onto the ice-cold snowy ground. Some had their limbs cut off and were crying out in anguish while clutching their wounds.
“Master, what are you trying to do?” Kraft grabbed onto her.
“I can fight too,” She took a deep breath of air, “Let me go.”
“No, your importance far outstrips them. You can’t―”
“Let go!” Her magic bubbled forth, filling the surroundings with cold air as she shook off the other’s grip. She then strode forward without looking back. She felt her heart gradually tighten when she saw the enemies a mere hundred paces away, wearing ferocious-looking battle masks and holding weapons that were dripping with blood. But even so, she wasn’t willing to continue hiding behind everyone――as a witch of the Holy City, even if she were to die, she should die on the battlefield!
“Everyone, step aside!”
At this moment, a clear command resounded from one side of the battlefield as a person fell from the sky, just like a god descending.
With her back to everyone, she raised the longsword in her hand up high. Her long auburn hair resembled a flame, igniting hope in everyone in a flash.
“A Holy Warrior of the Federation!”
“She is… a witch extraordinaire!”
Amidst the voices of astonishment, the edge of her sword started glowing with a brilliant radiance, quickly transforming the sword into a dazzling gold―like the dawning sun, each ray of brilliance shining over the earth. Even the dark red clouds that dominated the skies did not dare obstruct the light, reflecting countless golden tassels below the layer of clouds. As the rays of light ascended towards the summit, she leaped forward and brandished her longsword against the Devils that came to attack.
The silence was deafening.
At that moment, time seemed to have stopped as a bright incandescence engulfed the world and the figures of the enemy mirrored the final hints of darkness at daybreak.
Whether it were the Mad Demons or the Infernal Lords, they all crumbled before this ray of light.
When she opened her eyes once again, the snowy ground before her eyes had already turned into scorched earth, and the approaching enemies seemed to never have existed.
The other Devils witnessing this scene all retreated in conjunction as more Holy Warriors arrived, joining the battlefield to pursue those fleeing enemies and breaking the encirclement.
“You guys go quickly.” The sword-wielding witch seemed to have exhausted all of her strength as she kneeled down on the ground with one knee and gasped for breath. “Take advantage of the moment and quickly leave this place.”
“But… Milady, where can we go?” Someone in the crowd asked.
Right, where can we go? She thought bitterly. Even their final stronghold, the Holy City, had fallen to the assault of the Devils, with tens of thousands of lives lost and no more tricks up their sleeve. They could no longer recover from this losing battle.
“Do not give up, we still have hope!” The red-haired witch said resolutely, “We’ll head over the mountain and across the river, to the desolate lands.”
“But… There are only a few backward-village peasants there.”
“We can always reestablish the order. Let’s go. As long as we can survive, there will surely come a day where we triumph!”
. . .
“Master, why didn’t you go with them?”
She had separated from the crowd with a group of people and rushed towards the west. Apart from Kraft and her family bodyguards, the majority of the others did not possess any fighting strength. They were all her retainers and servants from the tower.
“I left some important documents and magic stones inside the experimental lab in the Concealing Forest. Since we need to reestablish order, these things are essential to the witches. I want to bring them over to the other side of the mountains.”
“The Devils have caught up to us!”
“Hammer, Stone, you go obstruct them!” Kraft commanded.
“Yes!”
She gritted her teeth, proceeding forward with her head lowered. These mortals would only be able to slow down the Devils; they were simply unable to defeat these adversaries. Once they went, they would have no further chance to live. However, she had no choice but to abandon them as she needed to reach her destination as soon as possible.
For some reason, overlapping black and white spots appeared in the sky… And then her vision blurred.
. . .
Kraft panted as he followed behind her. Even someone as robust as him would feel very weary after trudging through snowy ground for three days.
She glanced behind her. The procession of thirty or so people had now dwindled to a mere six people. Some people had fled en-route, and some seriously injured people had taken the initiative to break away from the group. If the Devils were to chase up to them again…
“Rest assured, Master, you still have me.” Kraft appeared to have seen through her thoughts as he comforted her, “I will stall them as best I can.”
“Why?”
He was a little stunned.
“Why are you so persistent until the end? If you escaped now, maybe you would be able to survive.” She asked in bewilderment, “We are witches and have always been aloof and distant, while you are just an ordinary person. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t be thinking of accompanying me to death.”
“But you have never mistreated us. Although I don’t have any magic, I still have principles—protecting you is my duty.”
As an uproar sounded behind them, everyone understood that their final moments had arrived.
“Master, go quickly. You mustn’t look back.”
The black and white spots were increasing.
. . .
She staggered into the basement, and organised the data and magic stones that were on the table.
Kraft’s words gave rise to some confusion for her.
Since a long time ago, one belief was spread throughout the Holy City: witches were people chosen by the gods, and the people unable to condense magic were both uneducated and powerless, only cultivating their soil. But from this captain of the Imperial Bodyguards, she could see valour and tenacity, nothing like the powerlessness people spoke of throughout the population. In fact, they had qualities that witches were unable to achieve. Cooperation between both sides was much better than unilateral command—at least this was the case within her stone tower.
That being the case, how did the people from over 400 years ago suffer such a crushing defeat?
Suddenly, the bellows of the Devils resounded from outside the door.
Damnit, they arrived faster than expected.
Her vision was blurry and countless spots fluttered before her eyes, practically filling her entire field of view… But she couldn’t die here, she had to bring her research results out— past the mountain and across the river, over to the desolate lands to rebuild their social order!
She groped around for a magic stone of reverberation and imbued her magic into it, causing it to produce constant cries for help.
There was a loud noise and the wooden door split apart; the Devils had already broken in.
Hoping that someone might hear her cries for help, she circulated all of the magic power in her body and converted it into cold frost which was then discharged. A Mad Demon raised its spear, its arms rapidly swelling up. In the next moment, the spearhead flew at her with a cold ray of light.
She couldn’t help but close her eyes as the black and white spots covered everything and her vision turned pitch-black. All the sounds faded as well. Her body no longer felt cold, as though she was wrapped in soft velvet. It seemed like she wasn’t in a gloomy basement, but instead lying in a warm meadow. Even the feeling of impalement did not come for a long, long time.
Did I die?
After some time, a fine slit appeared within the darkness which subsequently grew brighter and brighter. She attempted to open her eyes slowly, and a hazy grey ceiling projected itself in her eyes little by little.
She heard someone say, “Your Highness, she has awoken.”