Chapter 710 Loyalty to Beliefs
“First point, secured.”
Andrea elegantly smoothed her long hair, shaking off the snowflakes that had settled on it, and nodded at Ashes, “The rest of the hauling is up to you.”
“Wait… why me?” The latter's eyes widened.
“You’re strong,” she shrugged, “This is a team competition, so naturally we have to work together. Listen up, we represent Sleeping Island's reputation, if you cause us to lose because you're too slow, I'll tell Princess Tilly every single detail.”
An overwhelming victory! Nightingale, are you watching? Andrea glanced triumphantly at Ashes, who, though looking unconvinced, could only bend down to carry the unconscious evil beast. A feeling of unparalleled comfort filled her heart.
After all, she couldn't move these dead weights.
“You stay here and don't move, I'll be back soon,” the extraordinary person slung the sturdy boar-type over her shoulder and turned back to instruct.
“I know, hurry up.”
Once Ashes left, Andrea tilted her head and asked the forest, "Leaf, could you tell me where the next evil beast is?"
"To your right, four hundred and fifty meters away, snow wolf type." The branches swayed, "But aren't you waiting for her?"
"Of course not, that's too slow." Andrea pondered for a moment, "Hmm... it's about nine hundred steps away, I'm off, please tell her my new location later."
Leaf was silent for a moment, "I understand."
"Don't worry, it's just a dumb wolf, with your reminder, it won't be able to touch me."
Even that giant hybrid she encountered last time would only meet its end in the face of her new ability—the original magic arrow was incredibly powerful, but its range was only ten steps, and now as long as her magic power is sufficient, she can project bullets of equal power a hundred meters away, and with the precise aiming branch ability, even if the evil beast had two extra pairs of wings, it wouldn't escape her strike.
She's going to win this competition.
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"I'm sorry, I didn't expect him to involve you in such trivial matters," Phyllis said, looking at Agatha walking ahead. "I just agreed casually at the time."
When she first heard the suggestion, she didn't think much about it, because she had lost her sense of taste, and no matter how delicious the Chaos Drink was, it was no longer attractive. What made her agree was a simple favor—since she was idle anyway, she might as well take the opportunity to observe the combat capabilities of the Witch Union. But she didn't expect that the hunt would be a team competition, and her teammate was Agatha, the youngest High-rank Witch ever.
"It doesn't matter, it's better to get out and move around occasionally than stay in the lab all day studying magic stones," Agatha shrugged. "If I didn't want to waste time, I wouldn't have agreed to His Majesty in the first place."
"Is that so? Then… should we just grab a few evil beasts and bring them back to make up the numbers?"
"That won't do, this is a competition."
"But the mortal king said that friendship comes first and competition second, right? Everyone else agreed to that too."
"They don't really think so in their hearts, I can tell from their expressions what those guys are up to. Even without the Chaos Drink as a prize, Lightning and Andrea wouldn't want to lose to anyone." Agatha paused. "If it were just an ordinary competition, that would be fine, but we're representing Taqila, right?"
"Yes…" For some reason, Phyllis felt that she was full of fighting spirit.
"In that case, we have to win the competition," Agatha stopped and condensed specks of ice crystals in her hand.
Leaf's voice sounded almost at the same time, "Behind you, two hundred meters away, a wolf-eagle hybrid, is approaching rapidly!"
Phyllis stepped back and looked at the snowy forest behind her. With a long howl, a slender white-haired monster appeared in the snow. Its wings spread out as if gliding on the ground, and the sound of its running was minimized, so it was no wonder she didn't notice an enemy approaching from behind.
The temperature around Agatha dropped sharply, and the snow immediately froze into a hard ice surface. As the enemy approached
, she threw the sharp ice crystals in her hand, forcing the hybrid to dodge, and then it lost its balance on the smooth ice.
The High-rank Witch walked on the ground as if it were flat, gliding nimbly to the monster's side, pressing her hands on its fur, and instantly turning it into a half-ice sculpture.
The smooth and flowing fighting style is worthy of being the genius of Taqila, Phyllis thought admiringly. Although Agatha, as a member of the Exploration Society, has not experienced a real battlefield, it can still be seen that she has put a lot of effort into combat training. In particular, combining her steps with her abilities to form an advantage domain that can take the greatest initiative—if fighting her on ice crystals, one would inevitably be constrained by her everywhere.
"How did you find it?" Phyllis asked curiously.
"I summoned a thin piece of ice under my feet, and I can sense anything that steps into the snow nearby."
"I see..." She looked at the hybrid, with only its head exposed and its body covered in ice crystals, "Should I drag it to the city wall now?"
"Just leave it here, it won't freeze to death for a while, we'll bring them all over together after we catch a few more," Agatha waved her hand. "We have to find the next evil beast as soon as possible."
She's serious, Phyllis realized, this young High-rank Witch really wants to win the competition.
Is it because she represents Taqila? Then in future negotiations, will she favor Neverwinter City or the survivors of Taqila?
This question made Phyllis feel uneasy.
Before she had walked a few steps, she couldn't help but say, "Agatha-sama..."
"You don't have to call me that, just call me by my name," Agatha turned around. "You said before that the witches of Taqila no longer divide their status according to the level of their abilities, but that everyone is treated equally?"
"Yes... since Ellinor-sama sacrificed herself, there are fewer and fewer surviving comrades, and everyone has gradually formed a consensus... whether it is a High-rank advanced member of the Union or the most ordinary Primitive Witch, there should no longer be any separation of status. 'Every witch is equally important' is exactly what Pasha proposed."
"No exceptions for me either," she nodded. "Seeing the members of the Witch Union addressing each other as sisters, sometimes I feel that they are the inheritors of the new era."
"I understand," Phyllis hesitated, "Can I ask you a question... how do you really view the witches of Taqila and Neverwinter City?"
"You want to ask which side I am loyal to?" Agatha stopped.
Phyllis did not avoid her gaze, which was very important to them.
"I am loyal to my own beliefs," she replied.
"Be...liefs?"
"That's right, so I hope you can move into the Western Region of Graycastle, and under the leadership of Roland Wimbledon, join hands with Neverwinter City to fight against the devils."