The First Pope - Chapter 95
Chapter 95
Crowds of people gathered around the God Race's teleportation array to the Elf Territory, most of them Morgan witches clad in black robes. After learning from Cynthia that the Elves might be under attack, Chelsea had immediately gathered her people to discuss providing support.
Although they had little contact with the Elves, they were aware of the relationship between the Elves and the God Race. The God Race had helped them immensely, and even though they were no longer allies because of the Anderson Family, their past friendship prevented them from simply standing by and doing nothing.
Besides, with Olivia's presence, the Elf Race could be considered the most powerful on the Sitatul Continent. If the Elves were to fall, the witches' own survival would become even more precarious.
The witches of the Morgan Family were rational and calm, rarely acting on emotion, but they were not cold-hearted. After gathering to discuss the matter, most of the family agreed with Chelsea's proposal.
However, they only knew that the Elves were in danger; they were unaware that the God Race's teleportation array had a problem. After gathering beside the array to the Elf Territory, many of the Morgan witches were surprised to see that so few members of the God Race had come.
Chelsea was also somewhat puzzled, but she trusted Cynthia completely. She did not approach or interrupt while Cynthia was speaking with Chloe, Darcy, and the other members of the God Race.
"The demonic creatures that destroyed the teleportation array were likely released by the Sethite wizards." Time was short, so Cynthia did her best to concisely relay the information she had received from Avira to Chloe. "The Sethite wizards have been working for the Lasombra clan. It's highly likely they'll use this opportunity to make a move against the God Race."
"I dealt with one of their witches in Pegel. His Dark Magic is powerful and not easy to counter. You all must be careful."
However, the Power of Light was the bane of the Power of Darkness. Aside from their Dark Magic, the Sethite wizards were physically as frail as the God Race, making them less troublesome to deal with than the Vampires. Moreover, they also had the Light Knights. Cynthia still had great confidence in the God Race.
Running away would solve nothing. They certainly couldn't just hand over the territory and homes beneath their feet.
Neither Chloe nor Darcy were cowards, and they had never considered retreating. It was just that the potential attack on the Elves complicated the situation. While they were still considering how many of their people to send with Cynthia to support the Elves, Cynthia had already turned to leave.
Chloe and Darcy were both stunned. They instinctively blocked her path and asked, "You're only taking the Morgan Family with you?"
After learning about the Elves, Chloe had already sent knights to gather their people. However, because the teleportation arrays were in different cities, their clan members were too scattered while dealing with the issue, and not many had assembled yet. They were still worried about Cynthia going to provide support alone. Chloe and Darcy knew Cynthia had been researching formations with the Morgan Family recently, but they had no idea if they were successful or how powerful they were.
Seeing the worry in Chloe's eyes, Cynthia smiled. She placed a hand on her shoulder and said warmly, "With Chelsea and her people helping me, I'll be fine."
Chloe frowned. She glanced toward the Morgan witches, wanting to say more, but Cynthia had already withdrawn her hand and turned to walk toward the teleportation array.
Avira, who was already standing in the teleportation array, had grown impatient. Her expression only softened slightly when she saw Cynthia and the others finally ready to depart. If not for the fact that the teleportation array was more convenient and she didn't know how to use it, Avira wouldn't have bothered waiting for them. She was in a hurry to watch the show.
"Where's Hanni?" Cynthia asked as she stepped into the teleportation array, looking around but not seeing her.
"The moment she heard the Elves were in trouble, she ran off to Yezreet to find Helen." Hanni had been staying with the Morgan witches, and after hearing the news there, she had immediately run to Yezreet for reinforcements. Avira had gone to the Morgan's city to look for her but had come up empty. She had wanted to drag Hanni along to watch the show, and finding her gone had dampened Avira's enthusiasm somewhat.
At the speed of the Wolf Race, it would take about a day and a night to travel from Yezreet to the Elf Territory. But Hanni still needed time to reach Yezreet. To hold out for the Wolf Race's support, the Elves would have to withstand the Vampires' siege for at least two days. Cynthia pulled her cloak tighter, her golden eyes cast downward. If the Vampires had truly attacked the Elves, then relying on the Wolf Race for support might be too late.
The best-case scenario would be for them to arrive and find that the Vampires had not attacked the Elves ahead of schedule, as Avira had claimed. But if things were exactly as Avira predicted… Cynthia stroked her staff, contemplating their strategy. Seeing that all her people had entered the array, Chelsea gave her bone staff a slight wave. A flash of white light erupted, and everyone within the teleportation array vanished instantly.
In contrast to the tense state of the Elves and the God Race, the witches far away in Shastaya were in relatively high spirits—with the exception of Betty, who was constantly worried about the Elves' situation.
They had been stationed in Shastaya for a long time, and after countless divinations regarding the city they were watching, they had finally found the opportune moment to attack.
Although the Morgan Family was absent, the divination results were overwhelmingly positive, so the Garcia elders conferred and decided to act. The final outcome was just as the divination had predicted: they won a resounding victory, eliminating all the Vampires within the city and rescuing more than a thousand of their kin who had been imprisoned there.
A large portion of them were young witches who had been abducted by the Vampires in their childhood.
Successfully breaching a city heavily guarded by Vampires greatly lifted the spirits of the Garcia Family. They had left the God Race, abandoned their old Witchcraft to cultivate Dark Magic, and studied and trained day and night, all for the sake of protecting the witch race with their own power.
And now, they had finally achieved it.
The Garcia witches were overjoyed. One of the elders immediately began writing a letter to share the happy news with the Morgan Family, who were far away with the God Race. As Betty followed her kin to care for the rescued witches, she listened to their joyous laughter. Her own heart, which had been heavy with worry about the Elves, began to lighten, and a smile slowly spread across her face.
She helped an exhausted witch sit down on a rock to rest, then straightened up slightly. Wiping the sweat from her forehead with a dirt-stained hand, she watched her people with bright, clear eyes filled with a gentle warmth.
Although she had been reluctant to leave the God Race's territory, she cherished the smiles on her people's faces now even more.
Perhaps leaving was the right choice… Just as Betty was thinking this, her vision suddenly went dark. The sky overhead, which hadn't been particularly clear to begin with, was now completely shrouded by a mass of black clouds. The light was devoured, and her surroundings were plunged into instant darkness.
The sounds of laughter ceased abruptly, replaced by an unsettling silence. Unsure of what was happening, Betty looked around in confusion before nervously drawing her bone staff.
Elder Kana looked up at the pitch-black sky, her brow deeply furrowed. A dark aura surged from all directions—cold, domineering, and carrying an intent to devour everything.
She raised her bone staff and quickly chanted a spell in a low voice. A black whirlwind drove back some of the darkness, and the dim light that returned was just enough for the witches to see their companions.
"Betty, take the injured and leave first," Elder Kana said grimly, turning to her. "They're too young; they know neither Witchcraft nor Dark Magic. You must take them somewhere safe."
Betty's hand tightened on her bone staff. Biting her lip, she did her best to keep her voice steady. "I understand, Elder Kana."
The pressure in the air grew heavier, and they could hear the wind howling in their ears. Betty and a few other witches began to arrange a teleportation array, but their minds refused to settle, perhaps due to the influence of the dark aura.
"This isn't a suitable place to set up a teleportation array," a somewhat detached voice said beside Betty. She spun around hastily. Upon seeing Eunice, the anxiety that had gripped her heart began to subside. She reached for Eunice's hand, and as their fingers intertwined, she felt herself grow calm. "Then let's move."
Clasping Eunice's hand, she said to the other witches, "We'll interfere with Elder Kana and the others if we stay here. Let's go outside the city."
The witches nodded and summoned skeletons to carry the recently rescued, still-exhausted witches toward the city outskirts.
Betty and Eunice covered the rear as they left. The pressure from the Power of Darkness grew stronger, and Betty felt a growing unease. She kept glancing back, but her vision was obscured by the gloom, and she could no longer see Elder Kana or the others.
"Are the Vampires trying to capture us?" Betty asked, her face pale. But this wasn't a Blood Domain.
Eunice glanced sideways at Betty. Seeing her anxious expression, she reached out and gently pinched her cheek. "It's not the Vampires," she said softly. "This is Dark Magic."
As for who was casting this Dark Magic, she didn't need to say it for Betty to guess. After all, on this continent, besides them, only one other family practiced the Power of Darkness—and they had been practicing it for far longer.
After conquering the city alongside the Garcia Family, the Anderson witches had not entered to care for the rescued. Instead, they had all remained outside the city walls. They had obtained a great deal of Dark Magic from the Sethite wizards, and to avoid arousing the Garcia Family's suspicion, they always practiced in secret. With the Garcia witches now busy caring for their rescued kin, the Andersons certainly weren't going to waste this opportunity.
In a forest not far from the city, Molly stared listlessly at the spells on a piece of parchment, her long hair blowing messily in the wind. Camille sat on the ground, fiddling with her skeletal mouse, when the surrounding light suddenly dimmed, causing her to freeze.
"What's happening?" Camille looked up in confusion, her expression changing slightly when she saw that the sky over the distant city had become shrouded in dark clouds.
Molly's hand, which was holding the parchment, paused. She lifted her gaze toward the city, her eyes glinting.
Camille suddenly gasped. She leaped to her feet, ran behind Molly, and grabbed her sleeve. "Is it the Sethite wizards?" she asked worriedly. "We killed their people, Sister Maia must be furious. What should we do?"
Molly was silent for a moment before frowning. "They gave up on attacking the God Race?"
Camille sighed and shook her head. Clutching her skeletal mouse, she suddenly thought of something, and her voice grew tense. "Betty… Sister Betty and the others are still in the city." With that, she put away the mouse, drew her bone staff, and ran toward the darkness.
Molly watched Camille's retreating back, her gaze lowered slightly. She tapped her bone staff, then suddenly let out a sneer. Giving a meaningful look to the witches behind her, she set off after Camille.
They were just Sethite wizards. What was there to be afraid of?
Comments
Post a Comment