Chapter 691: The Road to the City
The words slightly surprised Seventy-Six.
There seemed to be more than one evaluator?
However, four hundred years of honing had long taught her how to hide her emotions. Moreover, with a thought, her body could be separated from her consciousness—it was difficult for a sudden, surprise interrogation to expose her flaws.
Seventy-Six first feigned surprise, then reluctantly took out the ring from her robe, hesitated for a long time, and said, "I stole it from... 'Black Money'."
At the same time, her evaluation of the Witch Union rose another level. She had thought their welcome was too casual, but now it seemed that was not the case. One witch could detect lies, and another possessed the ability to see through things—this was cautious enough.
"Black Money?" The green-haired witch picked up the ring in her hand and examined it carefully for a while. "This... seems to be a magic stone, but it looks a little different."
Seventy-Six frowned inwardly. They even knew about the existence of magic stones? This was a bit troublesome. Although its activation method was different from ordinary magic stones, they would eventually discover its function after studying it for a while. She had to divert their attention; she didn't have a second one of these things.
"'Black Money' is the underground exhibition I used to work at... They often auctioned off things excavated from ancient ruins there. The boss often said they possessed incredible power, and the more novel the item, the more popular it was with buyers. Besides that, they occasionally auctioned... auctioned..."
"What?" Wendy asked.
"Auctioned witches," Seventy-Six whispered.
Hearing this, undisguised anger appeared on the faces of the four. Clearly, they all deeply resented the buying and selling of witches as slaves. This also indicated, from the side, that the witches' organization in Graycastle would not agree with Falling Star City's practices.
"Seventy-Six isn't lying. I was almost auctioned off to a nobleman by 'Black Money'," Amy echoed. "Fortunately, Ambassador rescued me."
"They will get their comeuppance sooner or later," the blonde witch said coldly.
"That ring..." Seventy-Six feigned timidity.
"Although Agatha xiaojie will definitely be very interested in this thing, you should familiarize yourself with Neverwinter City first," the green-haired witch shrugged, not intending to take it for herself, and put the ring back in her hand.
Seventy-Six was slightly stunned. Agatha? The name sounded familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere.
"I promise you won't encounter such things again," Wendy comforted. "In Neverwinter City, no one dares to prey on you. His Majesty Roland firmly believes that the era of witches and ordinary people living together will soon arrive—by then, not only in the Western Region of Graycastle, but throughout the entire kingdom, no one will see you as the claws of demons."
"Will that day really come?" Broken Sword asked skeptically.
"Of course. That's why the Witch Union was established," Wendy smiled. "Anyway, let me take you to your resting place first."
...
Seventy-Six slowly moved onto the stretcher and was carried out of the cabin by the sailors. The moment she left the sailboat, she finally saw the entire pier—the heavy snow did not make the city desolate. Dozens of people lined up along the pier, sweeping the snow off the ground. Farther away were the strange cargo ships unloading goods, just like Amy said, they had no towering masts and sails, but could move freely in the river.
"Those ships don't seem to have oars..."
"And they look like they're made of stone?"
The witches whispered to each other, and she clearly saw a proud smile on Wendy's face—a smile that still contained warmth even through the wind and snow.
However, what Seventy-Six found novel was far more than this.
As the group entered the city, the scene of Neverwinter City gradually unfolded before her.
This new capital was different from any mortal city or Federation holy city she had ever seen. The wide, solid streets were as straight as a black vertical line. The constant snowfall had no impact on road traffic, and the snow was neatly piled on both sides of the road, looking like small, white earthen mounds.
The trees, obviously planted for aesthetic purposes, were arranged neatly, and colorful ribbons were hung on their bare trunks. One could imagine that in the height of summer, this place would be lush and green, and the intertwined branches above would form a natural sunshade.
Rows of square brick houses stood side by side, almost all the same size. Other than that, Seventy-Six didn't even see a single bungalow or dilapidated thatched hut.
Even though it was the Month of the Demons, there were still many figures braving the snow in the city. Many people stopped and nodded to the black-haired witch as they passed by. Their expressions were sincere and warm, not forced or coerced by power.
This was what concerned her the most.
It was the first time she had personally witnessed witches and mortals living together as equals—although she had heard that during the First Battle of Divine Will, witches and mortals had a period of non-interference, but that was after all hundreds of years ago. Moreover, this city seemed to be going even further, not just living in separate areas, but integrating into one.
"His Majesty Roland firmly believes that the era of witches and ordinary people living together will soon arrive"—Wendy's words suddenly echoed in her mind.
It turned out that this was not a joke. In Neverwinter City, there was already a faint trend of it becoming a reality.
During the month-long voyage, she had gained a certain understanding of the Fourth Prince of Graycastle: from an obscure border lord to a widely acclaimed king. If the former was just a low-level war between mortals, then the latter's defeat of the Church, which possessed many God's Punishment Warriors, might prove his strength—could all of this be related to the phenomenon before her?
If it weren't for pretending to be sick, Seventy-Six would almost have wanted to sit up and observe the city carefully.
According to Pasha, they would have to deal with mortals sooner or later. To defeat the demons, they could temporarily conceal the Federation's past. After all, with the great enemy at hand, they could not easily leave the maze ruins. It would not be easy to turn around the mess left by Falling Star City in a short time, but as long as the witches could continue to exist, they would one day restore the glory of Taquila. On this point, both Akasli and Nataya held the same view.
...
After arriving at the Envoy Building, Seventy-Six and Hero were carried back to bed. The other three witches surrounded the roaring fireplace, excitedly discussing what they had seen and heard along the way. There was no doubt that Neverwinter City had left a deep impression on them in a short time.
Before long, Wendy walked into the room with a little girl.
"This is Nana Wawa. Whether it's a new injury or an old wound, she can heal it completely."
"Even a broken leg?" Amy couldn't wait to run to the bed and uncover the cotton blanket covering Hero.
"No," the little girl reached out and tried, shaking her head slowly. "Unless you still have her severed leg. If the entire limb is lost, I can only reattach it, not regenerate it."
"Are you saying we have to find her two new legs?"
"Yes, preferably freshly cut ones," Nana Wawa replied seriously. The childish voice sent a chill down the spines of all the witches present.