Chapter 729: The Day the Broken Sword is Reforged
"The Witch Union welcomes you,"
Wendy spread the prepared contract on the table and said to the Wolfheart witches with a smile, "After reciting the oath on the back of the contract and signing your names, you will officially become members of the Union."
Originally, this process should have been completed long ago—if it weren't for Princess Tilly's hunting competition. Regardless of who won or lost, she was worried during the days of preparation, and the day of the hunt felt like an eternity. She even complained to His Majesty about it for a while. Then came the accelerated artillery drills, which delayed the matter. However, to her surprise, Annie, who seemed steady, took the initiative to come to her door.
"Sister Wendy, aren't you going to test our abilities first?" asked Amy.
After spending a week and a half in Neverwinter City, this lively little girl had won the love of most of the sisters. Her naive and trusting nature allowed her to quickly become familiar with everyone. Now, calling Wendy "Sister" felt quite natural.
"Testing is generally arranged after signing the contract," Wendy said softly. "If there are any questions about the terms of the contract, you can ask them now."
"Oh!"
Only Amy could read the words. The three companions surrounded her, listening to the terms and exchanging views.
Wendy looked at the witches whispering to each other with interest. Her heart couldn't help but recall the scene when she signed the contract.
Initially, she felt that the provisions in it were too "unbelievable" and were likely just a deliberate show of kindness by the lord. It wouldn't be long before they were completely changed, or a set of secret rules would be implemented behind the scenes to constrain the witches' actions. However, she later realized that she was terribly wrong. Even two years later, the basic framework of the contract had remained largely unchanged. Just this point alone made Wendy feel that her choice at that time was the most correct decision of her life.
"Wow, we can each receive a gold dragon every month!"
"Can we buy whatever we want?"
"The paid leave part… can't be real, right?"
"Witches have the right to terminate the contract when His Majesty cannot provide security and accommodation… this, isn't that considered betrayal?"
Wendy answered their questions with a smile, just like she answered her own back then. She could almost guess when Annie and the others would exclaim in surprise, because she was so surprised when she finished reading the contract.
His Majesty gave the witches what they craved most: freedom and recognition. The Witch Union was already closely linked to the fate of Roland Wimbledon. Wendy believed that even if His Majesty fell into crisis in the future and could no longer provide security and accommodation, they would not leave his side.
This connection was not written in the contract, but it was more solid than words and language.
However, it was foreseeable that such fun and memorable scenes would become less and less common. The newly awakened witches already had a very different living environment from them—no longer threatened by the church, nor facing hostility from their own family members, or even relatives. Naturally, they wouldn't be as grateful for the hard-won new life as they were.
After confirming the terms, it was time for the oath and signature.
There were no mandatory provisions in it, only stating that they had no hostility towards Roland and the Witch Union, and that they joined the alliance voluntarily. After the four finished, Wendy received Nightingale's confirmation of authenticity via finger pinch.
"Now, we are sisters," she said with a smile, embracing the four of them.
In this way, the Witch Union gained four more members.
……
The place for testing abilities was outside the Witch Building, also in Leaf's "Garden Jungle."
The first to be tested was Annie. Wendy had learned a lot about her abilities from Amy. Similarly, she could generate high temperatures, but she wouldn't ignite a clear flame like Anna. The temperature was only attached to the surface of her palm. In the early stages of awakening, it was roughly equivalent to a torch. After adulthood and solidification, it could make ironware red-hot and melt lead and bronze.
Throughout the test, Annie's face was somewhat gloomy. It was clear that she didn't have much confidence in her abilities. Thinking of her experience of being rejected by the Bloodfang Association,
Wendy could understand what she was thinking—in the Mutual Aid Society, she had also seen many witches like Annie, such as Mystery Moon and Echo. No matter how seemingly useless, they could always find a new life in Neverwinter City.
"A very good ability," Wendy encouraged. "The mechanical processing plant in the industrial area will definitely welcome your arrival."
"Re-really?" Annie asked in surprise. "Even if the temperature can't leave my palm?"
"Of course, there are also the furnace area and the chemical laboratory... you will definitely become a busy person in the Union," she said with a smile, writing down several possible positions in her notebook. No one was more proficient than His Majesty Roland in identifying the use of abilities. With her current knowledge, she was far from being able to take on this job. Therefore, Wendy often wrote down her thoughts and gave them to His Majesty for review and judgment, and improved her own level in the process.
Her ability was not as good as most of the sisters, and her learning was not the best either. His Majesty had now entrusted her to manage the Witch Union, and she was unwilling to let him down in any way.
After Annie retreated with some suspicion, the second to come forward was Amy.
Wendy really couldn't bear to test her ability in detail. Rapid self-healing seemed tempting, but it was all based on destroying her body. The only thing to be thankful for was that the witches themselves were always in a state of slight damage, so Amy didn't have to worry about the threat of magical backlash.
After a brief inquiry, Wendy wrote down the position of the Medical Center in her notebook—after thinking about it, only this place was slightly related to healing.
The third witch, Hero, was the same.
She could transfer diseases, but not external injuries. There was no more suitable place than the Medical Center. However, thinking that the so-called epidemic was caused by tiny bugs, perhaps she could also cooperate with Lily in microscopic research. Considering this, Wendy circled Hero's name, waiting for her to receive general education and have a certain understanding of the *Fundamentals of Natural Science*. Maybe her ability would change in new ways.
The last one was Broken Sword.
Wendy had heard more or less about the abilities of the previous three, but this silver-haired witch had never shown her ability in front of Yoko and Phyllis.
"Let's begin," she nodded to Broken Sword.
The latter took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and with the surge of magic, dazzling streamers burst out from her whole body, making it almost impossible to look directly at her.
Wendy couldn't help but narrow her eyes and take two steps back. In terms of momentum alone, Broken Sword had surpassed many other Wolfheart witches.
When the light dissipated, she gasped, almost not believing her eyes.
The silver-haired witch had disappeared without a trace. In the place where she stood, there was only a specially shaped sharp blade, standing quietly in the snow.