The First Pope - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
The most direct route from Snochi Valley to Nobi City was straight through Pakawi Forest, but Pakawi Forest was vast and sprawling, with tall, dense trees. It was a favorite haunt for magical beasts that preferred solitude, sleeping in their respective territories and quietly waiting for prey to wander into their grasp.
Although crossing the forest would significantly shorten their travel time, it was extremely dangerous. The witches gathered and debated fiercely for a long time, but in the end, Betty's plan to cut directly through the forest to Nobi City won out.
However, according to Cynthia, an unofficial member of the group, Betty's victory wasn't due to her eloquence. Rather, it was because Eunice stood beside her the whole time, toying with a dagger and letting out sinister, cold laughs, making the witches who wanted to object too flustered to even speak clearly.
Through her observations during this time, Cynthia discovered that these witches were truly afraid of Eunice.
"You all use witchcraft, so why does Eunice's seem so much more powerful than yours?" Cynthia asked Chelsea, who was standing nearby. She was watching Eunice, who was talking to Betty and had just laughed so hard she collapsed onto her, a thoughtful look on her face.
She had spent this period observing the witches in their party. After careful comparison, she found that Eunice was indeed much stronger than the others; not even Chelsea or Betty could match her.
It had to be said, Eunice's arrival had made things much easier for their group.
"That's a characteristic of the Anderson Family witches. Their personalities are extreme, so their witchcraft is also more potent offensively." Chelsea disliked Eunice, so she didn't even want to look at her. She deliberately turned her face away to look elsewhere, stating flatly, "Eunice is very talented. She's been much stronger than her peers since she was a child."
But she was arrogant, conceited, and looked down on everyone. Combined with the cold-blooded and selfish nature of the Andersons, no young witches wanted to play with her when they were children.
Chelsea remembered that back then, only Betty was willing to talk to her, and Eunice... was only willing to let Betty get close.
"But I feel like her witchcraft is different from yours." Cynthia had seen Chelsea's and Betty's witchcraft, as well as Eunice's. She couldn't describe the subtle difference, but she just felt it was somehow distinct.
"Her witchcraft gives me a kind of..." Cynthia thought for a moment, choosing a description that was reasonably close, "an instinctive feeling of rejection."
But Chelsea's and Betty's witchcraft didn't give her that feeling.
Chelsea turned to look at Cynthia, her brow slightly furrowed. "Rejection? Because it's too bloody?"
Eunice's methods for dealing with prey were always cruel, and the scenes were often not pretty.
Cynthia shook her head slightly. Just as she was about to describe it in more detail, another witch ran over and pulled Chelsea away, forcing her to drop the subject. The witches gathered together, seeming to discuss something. Cynthia didn't follow Chelsea but casually found a clean spot to sit down. She picked up a branch from the ground and, after a moment of contemplation, began to use its sharp end to silently write out some complex characters on the soft earth.
These characters were all witchcraft incantations, which Betty had taught her in her spare time after seeing Cynthia's interest. Although Cynthia couldn't practice witchcraft, she found that she wasn't completely unresponsive when she read these spells.
Cynthia rested her chin on one hand, the branch tracing patterns on the ground. She tried deconstructing the spells Betty had taught her, then picked a few characters and reassembled them into a new one. She parted her lips slightly and recited the incantation under her breath, one word at a time.
A white point of light appeared out of thin air in front of Cynthia. She looked up at it, not particularly surprised, and opened her palm to grasp it. The point of light merged into her hand, and then a small white flame emerged from her palm.
The flame faintly dispelled the surrounding darkness.
This wasn't the witchcraft that Chelsea and the others used, but Cynthia didn't know what it was either.
Out of the corner of her eye, Cynthia spotted a broken tree trunk on the ground. She thought for a moment, then extended her palm. The white flame fell onto the trunk, instantly burning it to ash.
Although she didn't know what it was, at least it had some power. Cynthia's lips curved into a slight smile. She picked up the branch again, wanting to try and research something else, but Betty, standing not far away, suddenly started calling for her to come over. Cynthia had no choice but to put down the branch and head over.
Although Cynthia had been with these witches ever since leaving Stone Town, she had actually been careful to maintain a certain distance from them.
The most obvious sign was that when the witches were discussing something, she rarely joined in.
Through her conversations with Chelsea and the others, Cynthia had long since discovered that this world placed great importance on one's race. As an outsider, constantly giving orders in this group of witches would easily arouse resentment.
The last time she had agreed with Betty's suggestion to go to the Tallas Mountains, it had already caused some dissatisfaction among the witches.
So afterward, unless she was asked, Cynthia would only express her own opinions. The rest of the time, she was a model unofficial member.
She couldn't stay with the witches forever. She had to find her own people as soon as possible.
The witches had just called Chelsea over because they had found two vampire corpses up ahead. Both vampires had died from having their hearts crushed directly. Because there was only a single wound, the witches couldn't determine who had killed them.
Elves favored nature magic and bows, so these two vampires probably didn't run into elves. This one-hit-kill method, however, was very similar to the way vampires fought amongst themselves.
"Perhaps it was vampires fighting over prey," Betty guessed, examining the wounds on the bodies with her staff. "They've always been this cruel, even to their own kind."
Chelsea stared at the vampire corpses with a blank expression, saying nothing.
Seeing Cynthia approach, Betty subconsciously asked for her opinion. "What do you think, Cynthia?"
Although Cynthia hadn't displayed any powerful abilities as a member of the God Race, she possessed an aura that made people unconsciously want to rely on her.
The God Race looked similar to humans, but on second thought, in such a harsh environment, even the witches with their witchcraft sometimes found it overwhelming, often panicking and looking disheveled when encountering vampires and magical beasts. Yet Cynthia remained as elegant and composed as ever.
The God Race was too mysterious, always drawing Betty in, making her want to explore.
Cynthia stared at the corpses for a moment, then bent down slightly, pointing to a white strand of fur stuck to the corpse's wound, stained red with blood. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's this?"
The strand of fur had almost merged with the wound. Betty had to search carefully before she found it. She thought for a moment and said, uncertainly, "...Animal fur?"
Chelsea's expression flickered. Just as she was about to say something, a witch's cry came from not far away. "There are more vampires over here!"
Chelsea quickly looked up. Seeing the mangled vampire corpse being dragged over by the witch, her expression filled with clear anticipation, and she walked over quickly.
This was the first time Cynthia had seen such a strong emotional fluctuation from Chelsea. A little curious, she followed behind her.
The newly discovered vampire corpse was in much worse shape than the previous two, as if it had been mauled by some wild beast. The body was mangled and incomplete.
The bloody mess made even Cynthia's brow furrow, but Chelsea was completely unaffected. She knelt down and carefully examined the claw marks and wounds on the body, her tone unable to hide her excitement. "It was a werewolf."
"A werewolf?" This wasn't the first time Cynthia had heard of this race. She glanced down at Chelsea's expression and asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile, "You seem very happy?"
Chelsea stood up, touching the Space Gem at her waist as she said in a low voice, "I have some business with the Wolf Race."
Cynthia nodded. Seeing that Chelsea was unwilling to elaborate, she tactfully changed the subject. "I remember you said the Wolf Race's territory isn't here. Why would they appear in this vicinity?"
"Judging by their direction, maybe they're also heading to Nobi City?"
And it wasn't just the werewolves; they had also encountered elves before.
When Cynthia saw the map of the Sitatul Continent from Chelsea, she had studied it carefully. The continent was vast. The territories of the werewolves and elves were not adjacent, and they were also very far from their current location.
...Could there be something in this place that interests both the elves and the werewolves?
Chelsea frowned in thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head. "The Wolf Race rarely interacts with other races. I don't know why they would be around here."
In fact, it wasn't just the Wolf Race that rarely interacted with outsiders; it was the same for all races on the Sitatul Continent. The various races had only started becoming active on the continent in the hundred-odd years since the vampires had withdrawn.
Nobi City.
The pure white castle, cloaked in night, looked sinister and grim. The silvery moonlight that enveloped it, rather than revealing its beauty, only made it seem more terrifying. Orange torches illuminated the darkness around the castle. Inside, vampires were enjoying a bloody banquet, completely unaware that the castle was already surrounded.
White and gray giant wolves leaped lightly onto the high walls, letting out excited howls at the moon above. Dark green vines crept silently up the walls. Elven maidens, carrying longbows, climbed the vines to take the high ground. While warily watching the werewolves beside them, they drew their bowstrings and aimed at the castle below.
A voice as ethereal as a mountain spring echoed in the darkness. The sound was gentle yet highly penetrating. The vampires enjoying the banquet in the castle froze instantly upon hearing it. The lord of Nobi City pushed away the beauty sitting on his lap, his tone panicked. "...It's the Elf Queen, chanting a spell."
The temperature inside the castle began to rise. The blood-soaked tablecloths suddenly burst into flames. Outside the windows, a sea of fire raged. Emerald arrows pierced through the glass, taking the lives of one vampire after another who failed to dodge in time.
White and gray wolves burst through the doors, tearing at the vampires trying to flee.
In an instant, Nobi City was transformed into a sea of fire.
Standing on the city wall, Olivia stopped her chanting. A white wolf leaped up from below, transforming into a human figure and nodding at Olivia. "Her Majesty, Queen Olivia."
Olivia glanced at her, her tone carrying a faint aloofness. "Vice Clan Leader Joanna."
Joanna smiled slightly. She gazed at the sea of fire below and said in a low voice, "Is the Elf Race also here to rescue your captured kin?"
Olivia disliked Joanna's roundabout way of speaking and said with displeasure, "Whatever the Wolf Race's purpose here is, so is the Elf Race's."
The smile on Joanna's lips faded slightly. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly adopted a serious expression. "In that case, I'll be direct."
"The tsunami in the Slade Sea Region was caused by the sudden collapse of the God of the Ocean's temple." Joanna observed Olivia's expression as she spoke. "The clan leader sent me to investigate the reason for the temple's collapse. The Elf Race is here for the same purpose, I presume."
They had been investigating the area around the Slade Sea Region. Coming here now was just a detour to rescue any potentially imprisoned kin before returning to their territory.
Joanna believed the Elf Race was doing the same.
Olivia gave a faint "mm" and asked, "What did you find?"
Joanna shook her head regretfully. "I arrived a bit late. I didn't find anything."
"I didn't find anything either." Olivia raised her hand slightly, and an ice coffin appeared before her and Joanna. "I only found this in a cave near the Slade Sea Region."
If Cynthia were here, she would have surely recognized the object Olivia produced as the very ice coffin she had been lying in when she crossed over.
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