Ash sat atop the castle, waiting for the day of the duel.

These past few days, her persuasion had made no progress. The stubbornness of the Witch Cooperation Association was far beyond her expectations. Whether it was the older Rolle or the underage Lily, they all refused her invitation. The only difference was that they refused in different ways.

Some chose to stay because of Roland, while others didn't want to leave their sisters in the Witch Cooperation Association, resulting in the ten witches being as solid as a rock. As for Anna and Nana Wash, who originally belonged to Border Town, she didn't even feel like trying. Especially the former, when Ash stood in front of her, the magic she felt was completely different from that of other witches—the magic in Anna's body was like hard steel, smooth and dense, like an iron wall across between the two.

Among the many witches summoned by Tilly, no one had ever given her such a feeling. According to inquiries from other witches, Anna's ability was nothing more than manipulating flames. Why did the invisible flames give her a feeling of a substantial barrier in terms of magic? Ash couldn't figure it out.

As for this small town, it was also very different from the towns or villages she had seen before. If she had to describe it, it would be that it was full of vitality, and people seemed to have endless things to do every day.

She could overlook the panoramic view of the town from the top of the castle. The most densely populated area in the town center was under construction with new houses. They called the neatly planned plots of land residential areas, and the houses in each residential area were similar. The carriages transporting bricks from the north never stopped for a moment. The stonemasons first dug out more than a dozen identical pits at a time, and then began to build bricks. This construction speed was surprisingly fast, and almost in one day, they could build a half-person-high enclosure.

Looking northeast, thick smoke billowed into the sky—not a forest fire, but the brick kilns were working. There were also several particularly thick brick towers being built, which at first glance looked like red giant trees that had been felled.

At the river wharf, several sailboats arrived in Border Town every day. Judging from the flags hanging on the masts, most of the sailboats came from Longsong Stronghold. The goods unloaded from the ships almost filled the storage yard. Around the storage yard, a team of guards holding wooden spears patrolled. Unlike the security guards in most cities, they didn't walk lazily for a while and then stop, or simply find a place to hide and take a nap. Instead, they lined up in a straight line from beginning to end, traveling between the dock and the storage yard, and sometimes even took the initiative to help unload the goods. This was a scene that Ash had never seen before in her memory.

What kind of magic does Roland Wimbledon possess that can make these subjects so enthusiastic about building a remote and barren town?

At this moment, a cooing sound came from above. Ash raised her head and saw a huge fat pigeon descending from the sky and landing on her shoulder.

"Finally found you, goo." The pigeon rubbed her cheek.

"Tilly sent you?" Ash took out a handful of wheat from her pocket and threw it on the roof.

The pigeon fluttered and rushed over, suddenly realizing something, "I'm not a bird, goo!"

"Then transform back into a human and talk to me."

"Okay, goo," As soon as she finished speaking, the pigeon's feathers suddenly swelled up, and a pure white light shone through the gaps in the feathers. Then a head emerged, and the swelling feathers quickly shrank, turning into a long strand of white hair.

No matter how many times Ash saw it, she would marvel. Macy, a witch who could transform into various birds, was exquisite in every detail except that her body was a circle larger. Sometimes she would even envy the other party's ability. Compared to the extraordinary magic power that was not afraid of the God's Stone of Retribution, she was more eager to be able to travel quickly between the two places, so that she could set off at any time whenever she wanted to see Tilly.

"Even with a tracking rune, it's not so easy to locate your direction," Macy shook off the fluff sticking to her body. "The distance is too far, and my magic stone statue can hardly feel the rune fluctuations. Fortunately, Shadow knew your approximate whereabouts. I flew over the Dragonfall Ridge all the time, and this statue finally reacted a little."

Besides her signature strand of white hair, her biggest characteristic was her small size. Although she was already an adult, she only reached her waist, and her appearance

was also like a little girl. As long as she untied her white hair, it could almost wrap her entire body.

"Did Tilly arrive safely in the Fjords?" Ash sat down and patted the tiles beside her. The other party obediently leaned over like a bird.

"The Queen sailed smoothly. However, the second ship, the North Wind Spire, hit a reef when it was docking. Fortunately, no witches were killed. The third and fourth ships are still at sea. I flew over their heads when I came to find you."

"That's good." Ash felt relieved. Although His Highness the Prince was repulsive, he was right about one thing, that the voyage from Graycastle to the Fjords was full of dangers. The climate change at sea was far more rapid and violent than on land. A sunny day could turn into a storm in the blink of an eye. Under the overwhelming waves, extraordinary power seemed insignificant.

"You all say the same thing," Macy spread her hands, "Shadow said that you couldn't go back together because you wanted to go to Border Town to win over more witches, not because something happened. Tilly's first sentence was also 'That's good'." She paused, looking around, "Where are your companions? Where are they?"

"They don't want to leave," Ash sighed, and briefly recounted what happened, "Compared to me, they trust the lord here more, who is Tilly's brother."

"Tilly is willing to accept us, and her brother is also willing to accept us... well, that doesn't seem like a bad thing, goo," she tilted her head and said, "In that case, you should set off to the Fjords sooner. Without your help, Tilly cannot launch the cleansing plan."

Ash shook her head, "I want to leave after the competition."

"But you just said that even if you win, the other party won't actively drive the witches away," Macy muttered, "Do you still want to complete the competition like this?"

"If there is even a little chance, I want to try," Ash said calmly, "Delaying the cleansing plan for a few days won't have any impact, but if I can bring one more witch back, Tilly's strength will be greatly expanded."

"Okay," Macy nodded, "Then I'll wait here for you to go back together. But one thing to note, when I passed Dragonfall Ridge, I saw a group of people holding church flags, about ten people."

"Not many people... holding a flag, it should be a delegation," Ash snorted, "Besides Border Town, I don't think there is any other place nearby that needs the church to send a delegation. Their noses are as sensitive as dogs. Well, when I cleanly defeat his knight, I will tell him the news that the church is coming. By then, Roland Wimbledon will know how wrong he is."