Release that Witch

On the designated Groundbreaking Day, Roland got up very early.

He shaved the stubble on his face, tied up his long gray hair with a simple band, and used a small pair of scissors to trim his brows. After a year of living in this world, he was very experienced in grooming himself and did not need a maid’s help.

Looking at his blurry reflection in the silver mirror, he felt that he somehow had the divine manner of a reclusive Taoist priest, if he put on a wide robe.

Roland nodded in satisfaction and left for his office.

There was Barov waiting for him in the room.

”Your Highness,” he said with a bow, ”a flying messenger has already been sent to Longsong Stronghold and will probably arrive at the Stronghold castle in half an hour.”

”Uh-huh, is the venue set up?”

”It was all completed by yesterday afternoon, and right now it seems enough to hold the entire population of the town,” replied the City Hall Director.

”Great job.” praised Roland, and he slowly walked to the window.

The Impassable Mountain Range and the Misty Forest in the distance were still blanketed in white, and the rising sun scattered rays of golden light onto the snow. He saw moving figures on nearby town streets heading for the rubble city wall area in the West of the town.

As a defense line against demonic beasts last year, this rubble city wall that was hastily constructed with concrete played a principal role in the fight. However, it had now become a border between the inner and outer areas of the town. Roland didn’t like this kind of clear separation between the rich and the poor, so he decided to tear it down sooner or later, except the symbolic gap area and gate tower. However, before that, he could still utilize it. He chose the middle section of the rubble city wall as the site for the Groundbreaking event since it could hold far more people than the square.

According to his plan, in order to strengthen the impact of the Groundbreaking event on citizens of both cities, Longsong Stronghold would hold a Groundbreaking announcement at the same time, which would be synchronized by flying messengers. When the first messenger reached Petrov, Roland would step on to the stage to give a speech.

”Right now, the gray falcon carrying the news must be soaring among the mountains and over the Redwater River, with a paper slip fastened to its claw as usual,” thought Roland, ”but it doesn’t know the significance of the news it’s carrying. From the moment it lands, Border Town and Longsong Stronghold will become history.”

”Let’s go.” He collected his thoughts and turned around.

”Yes, Your Highness,” Barov said with a smile.

...

Petrov Hull walked slowly onto the constructed wooden stage and looked around.

There were not that many people on the square, at least not as many as during the oatmeal distribution last week.

This was not surprising, since people were mainly only concerned with food and clothes. Compared to the free oatmeal, a Groundbreaking ceremony would not matter that much.

It even seemed rather unnecessary to Even Petrov himself.

The Months of Demons had ended, but the City Hall still did not receive as many applications for job as they had expected. The notice calling for handymen and construction workers was put up a week ago, but the number of recruits hadn’t even reached half of the target amount. Meanwhile, Rats seemed to rise back from the ashes, as the police department received more and more reports every day and only verifying these reports was a painstaking amount of work. His friend Rene Medde complained to him that the arresting team needed twice the men to handle its workload.

This actually met Petrov’s expectations.

The people were just like that, lazy, greedy, and unintelligent... His Highness spent so much time and efforts on them, but what could he get in return? The thing confused him the most was that Roland Wimbledon was clearly a member of the royal family, so where did that strange confidence in the people come from?

No matter what, he was firmly tied to the prince’s chariot, so all he could do was to follow him faithfully.

An eagle cawed in the distance, and a gray figure appeared in the sky.

Petrov opened his prepared speech draft.

...

”Your Highness, it’s almost the time.” Barov reminded.

The sun had risen halfway into the sky, and the sundial’s shadow pointed to nine o’clock. Roland nodded and walked to the tower railing. As soon as the people saw the prince, their chatter turned into warm cheers, and they all raised their hands to create waves throughout the crowd.

Area on both sides of the city wall was packed by a dense crowd of over 20,000 people, which meant that most of the town’s residents were gathered here. Roland was glad that he was not holding this Groundbreaking ceremony in the central square, since it obviously could not offer enough space for such a huge, excited crowd.

He waved his hands to silence the cheers. ”Greetings, my subjects.”

Echo’s magnifying ability allowed his voice to reverberate over the entire town.

”I believe you already know what’s about to happen today. This small town, which was built for the North Slope Mine, is soon about to become a real city.”

”In the past, the Months of Demons was a nightmare for Border Town, and everyone had to escape to Stronghold for shelter. Now, we have built a strong base here. Osmond Ryan, who wanted to ruin the Western Region, has fallen; the church, which wanted to harm witches and enslave the people, has been banished from this land; even Timothy Wimbledon, who dared to attempt to destroy me, failed—even if he set the entire Southern and Eastern Regions on fire, the town would still be safe and sound. I’m sure the refugees who fled here know this best.”

Roland’s words were quickly met with the crowd’s responses.

”That’s right. He burned down the Eagle City and plundered the Port of Clearwater!”

”The new king cleaned out Valencia. His knights acted no differently from burglars, sometimes even worse!”

”He took away my son, saying he needed to join the King’s City guards. Heavens... he’s only fifteen!”

The prince reached out his hand to quiet them. ”And these tragedies will never happen again. This is why the new city is being built! Only by uniting more people, can we face our evil enemies and show them the consequences of their recklessness.” He paused. ”And this is my city, too. I vow that Roland Wimbledon will never leave any of his people behind, and even if the Kingdom of Graycastle is united, he’ll never leave this place!”

A wave of cheers erupted at the foot of the city wall.

”Your Highness, you...” Barov exclaimed from behind him.

Roland waved his hand to silence him. ”That’s right. This will become the new capital of the Kingdom of Graycastle, and the kingdom will be reborn! I believe that even if an endless winter arrived, this city would still be as warm as spring!” He paused for a while and raised his right hand. ”From this day on, Border Town and Longsong Stronghold will become one, and its name will be...”

”Long live the City of Neverwinter!”

”Long live, long live the City of Neverwinter!”

Everyone became excited, and the deafening chants rang through the sky. A mist of snow erupted on the mountainside, and the echoes rolled endlessly through the peaks...

Roland looked at the cheering subjects and felt a great anticipation growing inside him. The sparks of revolution had been ignited, and one day, he would see these sparks turn into a giant flame that would engulf the entire land.