Release that Witch

Roland and Lightning had once told Lorgar that if an opponent was too strong for her to take on alone, it would be better to withdraw and report the news back to Neverwinter as soon as possible. Lorgar always kept this in mind. When she discovered the demon army, she decided to return to the Neverwinter immediately.

After all, she had already proven herself in her previous battles, and she knew that she would have plenty more chances to fight against these demons once they invaded Neverwinter.

Despite having made that decision, Lorgar did not leave the vicinity immediately and instead decided to scout out the movements of the demons from a higher vantage point. She did not want to embarrass herself by telling everyone in the city that she fled at the sight of the demon army. Lorgar thought that if she were able to bring back more information about the demons, then even the great chief would owe her a huge favor.

All this time, she had been trying to prove herself and gain the great chief’s recognition rather than his apology. It did not matter whether his words that day were out of genuine concern or just mockery. Simply put, for the Wolf Girl, this was about her honor. But for the entire Wildflame clan, this would significantly improve their status in the great chief’s heart.

That was why she chose to stay in this dangerous place.

Of course, she would never tell the witches what went through her mind as she did this. She would simply tell them that she was just curious.

She began to describe her experience to the witches. ”I quickly found an abandoned stone tower that was covered by moss and vines near the ruins of Taquila. Half of the tower had already crumbled down, but it was still the best spot in the area for me as a vantage point.”

”To be able to transform and run away any minute in case of an emergency, I took off my clothes and stored them in my backpack. I wrapped myself in a cloak and climbed up to the top of the tower.”

”As I reached the top, I happened to find an opening in the tower walls that was covered by vines. This was a perfect hiding spot for me, as many Devilbeasts flew over my position without spotting me.”

”Only then, I was finally able to get a clear picture of the massive beasts.”

”Those are actually not living creatures!”

”They’re not... alive?” Much surprised, Wendy could not help but interrupt.

”I think so,” Lorgar said in a low voice. ”Those monsters didn’t seem to have any characteristics of a living creature. They were more like...”

”Like what?”

”Like the iron bridge that your people built over the Redwater River.”

The witches looked at each other in bewilderment. ”A bridge?”

”I also couldn’t believe it back then, but that’s how they look like.” Lorgar coughed twice weakly. ”Those monsters had straight backs which looked like the deck of a bridge. On either side of its torso, there were two long legs which resemble the pillars that support the bridge. However... neither its torso nor its limbs were covered by flesh. I was able to see right through its body with the empty gaps between its bones and metal pieces.”

Wendy gasped in fright.

A walking steel bridge? Is this a new invention of the demons?

After resting for a short while, Lorgar continued, ”Each skeleton monster is nearly 30 meters tall with many demons secured to the top of it. From a distance, it looked as if insect eggs covered its surface. A huge sack hanged on one side of its abdomen, and it looked like some inner organ that had fallen out of its body. l could see it pulsating with a dark red mist surging under the skin.” She clenched her fist and then gently placed it on her chest. ”By the name of Three Gods, those monsters looked like evil incarnate.”

Ashes frowned, ”... and then?”

”These monsters laid down by the ruins, and hundreds of tubes came out of the sack and inserted themselves into the ground. Within seconds, all the soil surrounding them turned into dark brown clods and the weeds and trees around withered, as if life was somehow drained out of them. After that, most of the demons sank into the ground, leaving only a couple hundred of Mad Demons and a dozen of Devilbeasts in the ruins. I guess they were responsible for some scouting or patrolling tasks.”

”Have you ever seen a demon which has countless eyes and tentacles? It usually stays at a higher place; it looks like a wiggling blob at first glance.” Wendy asked while noting down the Wolf Girl’s description.

”Do you mean a Multi-eyed Demon?” Lorgar shook her head. ”Lightning mentioned this dangerous monster to me, but I didn’t find anything like it in the Army of Demons.”

”So how did you get hurt?”

”I underestimated the enemies.” Lorgar looked a little depressed. ”I hid at the top of the tower for three days. Many Devilbeasts flew across this area during this period, but it seemed that none of them were seriously patrolling the place. When I heard a Mad Demon blowing a horn, I thought it wouldn’t attract the attention of the main force, but when I started to run away, I found that several squads of demons had already been lying in wait nearby for me.”

”Wait... Do you mean they ambushed you?” Nightfall asked, surprised. ”How come the demons were able to make this kind of arrangement? You guys said before that they were nothing but strong, simple-minded beasts?”

”The demons from the lowest rank are indeed stupid beasts, but once they get a commander, the situation will be different,” Tilly said in a low voice. ”There must have been a senior demon among the enemies that besieged Lorgar.”

”In the face of an unknown enemy, no one can come up with a perfect battle tactic,” Ashes patted the Wolf Girl’s shoulder. ”You were able to escape from such a formidable enemy and return to Neverwinter alive. That in itself is already an impressive achievement.”

This was the first time Wendy had heard such a compliment from the Extraordinary.

”Maybe. Fortunately... the senior demon didn’t come to capture me personally.” Lorgar forced a weak smile. ”Immediately after I knew that I was spotted, I transformed into a wolf and tried to escape under the cover of the night. During the pursuit, their spear throwers were unable to hit me in the darkness. I don’t know how many enemies were after me at that time, but some Devilbeasts were always hovering over my position.”

”You, You killed all the demons chasing you?” Tilly asked confusedly.

Hearing that, Wendy also began to wonder. If Lorgar couldn’t get rid of the enemies besieging her, she would remain in a passive position under attack. The fact that she had suffered severe injuries also proved this point. It seems that she was in quite a desperate situation.

”No... they gave up hunting me,” Lorgar replied. ”I don’t understand why... If they had chosen to run after me for another day, I would have died from exhaustion. But surprisingly, they all just suddenly withdrew.”

”Red Mist!” Tilly quickly responded. ”They must have been afraid of wastefully using up the Red Mist that they brought with them. Do you remember the place where they started to retreat?”

Lorgar thought for a moment while rubbing her forehead. ”It’s probably about 2,500 or 3,000 meters away from the grassland.”

”Where’s the map? Give me a map quickly.”

Seeing Tilly measuring distances on a map, Wendy gradually realized what the skeleton monsters mentioned by Lorgar might be. She thought of the church’s Siege Beasts and guessed that the skeleton monsters were possibly also some machine driven by magic power, which was used to transport Red Mist. If that was the case, everything in Lorgar’s description would make sense. The demons sinking into the ground and the soil polluted by Red Mist was just like the scene in the Devil’s Town behind the snow mountain.

”According to Lorgar’s report, the Devilbeasts that set out from the Taquila ruins could only make it to the edge of the Barbarian Land. Does this mean that Neverwinter is still safe?” Wendy wondered.

After recounting her experience to the witches, Lorgar was exhausted and some blood began to leak out of her wounds and had stained her bandage once more.

Seeing this, Wendy comforted the Wolf Girl and asked her to take some rest before Nana’s return. After that, she led the witches out of the bedroom and gently closed the door behind them.