"Come on, one, two, three..."

"Cheers to your recovery!"

In the Dormitory of Sleeping Spell, a small celebration was underway. Watching Xia's genuine smile, Boshan reluctantly raised her glass.

As her work partner, Xia would visit her whenever she had the chance, completely unconcerned with her current state. Back on Sleeping Island, Boshan would never have cared so much about a non-combat witch. This mix of guilt and gratitude made her feel as though she owed Xia a great deal.

Though Boshan knew Xia would never think of it that way.

However, her expression darkened as her gaze shifted to another person.

"Why are you here too?"

Cham justified himself as he downed his wine, "I brought this wine, why can't I be here?"

"As if we couldn't get wine without you," Boshan rolled her eyes. "There are so many taverns in Neverwinter City, we can buy it anywhere."

"Too bad, His Majesty has declared a state of emergency in the Western Region. Alcohol is now a controlled substance. You can't buy it without a permit," Cham shrugged. "So, thank me. I sneaked this out from my old man."

War...

Boshan suddenly lost her desire to argue.

Even though she had been resting in bed these days, she could feel the increasingly tense atmosphere in Neverwinter City.

First, the news about the frontier became more and more frequent in the Weekly Report, now it's published two or three times a week, including front-line reports, emergency recruitment, and missing persons lists. From the reports, the garrison troops have gradually stabilized their position and pushed the war back beyond the frontier, but the cost has been significant. Several prairie farms and settlements that were painstakingly built have been destroyed, and the missing workers are undoubtedly mostly dead.

The most direct reflection of this is that the eggs and meat in each meal are decreasing, and bread has become the main food again. Of course, this is still much better than what she experienced in other cities during her exile. At least filling her stomach isn't a problem.

Secondly, there's the scene on the streets.

Every day she could see large numbers of new recruits in uniform marching through Central Avenue from her window, while residents and relatives saw them off along the way. The tension and excitement on the soldiers' faces contrasted sharply with the reluctance and worry of those around them. Judging by the numbers, the troops being transferred to Fertile Plains were by no means small. This scale was completely different from that of the Knights and Church Inquisitors in the past.

This is war.

For the survival and continuation of the race, tens of thousands of people are throwing themselves into it and fighting hard, and behind them stand ten or a hundred times more people to provide support.

The struggles she experienced as a combat witch seem insignificant in comparison...

Her previous choice to go to Fertile Plains with Xia was to avoid running into too many acquaintances. Now that the frontier has been destroyed, she will return to the state of being a "useless person".

"Hey, why did you suddenly stop talking?" Seeing that Boshan didn't retort, Cham was a little surprised. He scratched the back of his head and glanced at Xia. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Xia doesn't know," Xia stuck out her tongue. "But Xia knows that the person who said something wrong has to drink three more cups!"

"Uh... are you drunk..."

"No, this is only the second cup, Xia is fine!"

"Knock, knock, knock..." At this moment, a knock on the door interrupted Boshan's thoughts.

"Coming!" Xia skipped to the door and opened it. "Eh... Lady Camilla?"

Standing behind the door was Camilla Dairui, the chief steward of Sleeping Island. She glanced around the room and then walked towards the other two.

"Looks like you've exceeded your visiting hours," Boshan forced a smile. "Ms. Dairui hates people who are late. It might be difficult for you to sneak in again next time."

"How could I... I clearly kept track of the time. It's only been less than half an hour..." Cham muttered softly.

Just as Boshan was about to say something, Camilla walked past Cham and stood in front of her.

"The Witch Union has just issued a new recruitment order, open to all witches in Graycastle," the chief steward said straightforwardly. "The current quota is around fifty, with priority given to those with combat experience. I thought you might be suitable, so I came to ask."

Boshan couldn't help but be stunned. It took her a long time to understand what the other party meant—centralized recruitment, and combat experience is preferred. Could it be that this job is related to the war? But if that's the case, why isn't there any requirement for the applicant's ability?

"You guessed right," Camilla seemed to see her doubts. "The witches will form a special team to support the front line and assist the main force in dealing with more difficult battles. I can't reveal too much specific information. You should also be aware that there will inevitably be risks on the battlefield, so whether or not you go is entirely up to you. Of course... although it doesn't have much to do with ability, it doesn't mean that you will definitely be selected if you apply. The final result depends on—"

"I'll go," Boshan replied immediately.

There was nothing to hesitate about, was there!

Or rather, she had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"Then... come with me," Camilla stepped aside.

"Hey, are you really going to the front line?" As she passed Cham, his tone seemed a little worried.

"What, I thought you'd cheer loudly," Boshan curled her lips. "That way no one will bother you when you ask Xia out."

"I..." He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but looking at Boshan's back, Cham ultimately didn't say anything.

...

A day later, Boshan arrived at the starting station of the Misty Forest by train.

The person in charge had also changed from Camilla to a woman she had never seen before. She called herself Isabella and was mainly responsible for screening and guiding the recruits this time. Although it was the first time they had met, Boshan felt a sense of familiarity for some reason.

Another thing that surprised her was that more people responded to the recruitment than expected—not only from Sleeping Spell, but also from the Witch Union. In the short half-hour journey, she met Vanilla, Amy, Hero, and others. In addition, she also saw several very familiar figures in the crowd, such as Yifei and Dusk, who had previously belonged to the Bloodfang Society.

It seemed that they also hoped to prove their value on the battlefield.

After getting off the train, the witches, led by Isabella, entered a factory-like building.

The moment they stepped inside, everyone was attracted by a steel creation parked in the center of the open space.

It looked like a "car," as evidenced by the parallel wheels underneath. However, unlike any car in Neverwinter, it had five wheels on just one side, all made of metal, and the bottom was pieced together and wrapped in iron plates, giving it a very special shape.

Boshan recognized it at a glance. This thing was similar to the machines in the frontier that dug mud and reclaimed wasteland... That's right, it was that thing called a tractor.

However, compared to the tractor, the iron lump in front of her was much larger, especially the upper layer, which was almost completely surrounded by iron plates. The top of the head was crowned with a fortress-like turret, and the metal short tube protruding from the middle was clearly a cannon.

It was obvious that it was a weapon born for war.