Two days later.

Gryphon Falls, Neverwinter.

"The situation was pretty much like this..." Ashes recounted the battle in detail. "After the fire died down, Lightning searched north for about a hundred kilometers and found some traces left by the enemy. According to the analysis of the scene, it should have been caused by Spider Demons crossing the forest, not many, about three or four."

Because the forest communication was cut off, Roland didn't learn about Leaf's attack until the evening of the next day. The next morning, he immediately had Tilly and Wendy fly the Seagull to the terminal station to bring the person involved back to Neverwinter.

Ashes was fine, seemingly unharmed, but Leaf was carried off the plane.

Fortunately, Dusk had already planted the symbiotic seed in her body. Although Leaf remained unconscious, the expression of the Symbiote did not reveal much pain, which meant that Leaf's mental exhaustion was far greater than the actual damage.

Roland suppressed his thoughts and turned his gaze to the large map on his desk.

The entire attack was now a clear picture in his mind.

The demon commander had indeed noticed the anomaly in the Misty Forest—after all, the railway line made a turn here, extending all the way towards Tarra. But instead of choosing to attack the trenches and barbed wire of the terminal station, it directly targeted the witches themselves.

A small team traveled nearly five hundred kilometers, from the ruins of Tarra to the northern end of the forest—such a long march was destined not to support a large-scale battle. Presumably, those Spider Demons, in addition to carrying out the arson mission, also carried a large number of Red Mist cans. In a sense, this was also a motorized operation by the enemy.

Setting fire to the forest was just a guise to attract the witches' attention. Now that he thought about it, whether or not there were emergency strategies for fire attacks, the controller of the forest was very likely to stay in place and pay attention to the further development of the situation, and the enemy seized this moment.

Probably in the eyes of the demons, it was Leaf who supported the logistics supply of the First Army.

As long as the forest controller was killed, the crisis on the front line could be resolved, causing the humans to retreat without a fight.

Although the intention was somewhat deviated, being able to calculate to this step already showed the demons' understanding of magic power—accurately guessing Leaf's ability form and making targeted decapitation attacks, relying on individual strength to travel long distances, and calculating the required time for advance and retreat, every step was closely linked. Without a very deep understanding of the use of magic power, it would be impossible to achieve this.

He even suspected that the demons had seen abilities similar to Leaf's.

Although it would take at least a week for the enemy's small attack team to return the same way, it would not be difficult to track them by following the Spider Demons' obvious footprints, but that would not be of much significance. The Demonic Executioner, who could fly autonomously, could drop the team and escape first. Sending too few pursuers would easily lead to being bitten back, and sending too many would only kill a few Spider Demons and some lower demons.

Similarly, there were no good countermeasures against the enemy's covert operations by this elite team. Most important witches had God's Punishment Witches protecting them, and it was impossible to arrange foolproof protection for those who were as elusive as Leaf, Macy, and Lightning. Fortunately, there were not many high-level demons with such abilities, and they would emit obvious magic power signals when rushing at full speed. As long as retreat was given top priority, the enemy would not be able to succeed so easily.

Another thing that was concerning was the Demonic Executioner's conversation with Ashes.

Demons... so they can speak human language?

As a high-level demon, Cabradah, who had been captured alive, did not have this ability. If it weren't for connecting through Camilla's mind, even basic communication would be impossible.

"Learning is the foundation of evolution."

"Countless things can change in hundreds of years, but you still live as if you were in yesterday."

"Rumor has it that before the first Battle of Divine Will began, someone had contact with the demons... a human taught them knowledge."

The words Ash repeated and the rumors Pasa mentioned alternately appeared in Roland's mind.

For some reason, he always felt that this Demonic Executioner revealed a sense of pride when mentioning hundreds of years, as if it had really witnessed countless changes.

Could it be that it was a demon that had lived from the Era of the Union... or even earlier?

So it learned human language?

But... this was too incredible.

As Roland pondered, Wendy's voice suddenly came from outside the office.

"Your Majesty," she pushed open the door and said, "Leaf is awake."

"I'll go now," Roland stood up suddenly and looked at Ashes, "Do you want to come with me?"

The Extraordinary nodded.

"By the way," he stopped as he passed her, "I forgot to say thank you before."

Seemingly unscathed did not mean that she was really unharmed. Only when you got close would you notice that Ashes' face and finger joints were left with several shallow scars.

The tornado that could blow Leaf away would naturally not be as gentle as a spring breeze. Such small injuries should not stay on an Extraordinary for more than a day, but they had not healed yet.

In other words, once a mistake occurred, she could suffer fatal injuries that would be difficult to recover from.

The intensity of this battle was clearly not as simple as she said.

Ashes calmly accepted the gratitude. She lowered her eyes slightly and gave Roland a glance with her golden eyes, "Treat Tilly well."

"Of course, even if you didn't say it..." Roland pursed his lips and understood what she meant. This was something that should be done, just like she saved Leaf. He couldn't help but smile, "Let's go."

...

Walking into Leaf's bedroom, the room was already full of people.

Anna, Nightingale, Tilly, Scroll, Mystery Moon... almost all the witches who joined the league in the first batch were gathered here. Seeing Roland's arrival, everyone made way for him.

In the crowd, he saw Leaf who had already sat up.

Her emerald green hair was a little messy, and her face was slightly pale, but she didn't look too haggard.

Her eyes were still bright.

"Your Majesty," Leaf said in a low voice, "I've made you worry."

"It's good that you're okay..." Roland breathed a sigh of relief. The previous coma was indeed caused by excessive mental fatigue. But he also knew that this sentence "It's good that you're okay" was a bit forced. Leaf also suffered a "curse" similar to Lightning's. The internal injuries caused by being forcibly disconnected from the Heart of the Forest still existed, and at most it could only be said that it would not endanger her life. "I've heard about the specific situation from Ashes. You should rest well and don't worry about the forest for now. As for your injuries, I will definitely find a way—"

She shook her head, "No, Your Majesty, please let me return to the front line."

"Leaf!" Nightingale couldn't help but say.

"I know what everyone is thinking, but wouldn't me lying in bed not help the situation at all, right?" Leaf said slowly, but her tone was very clear, "Whether it's in the Misty Forest or in Neverwinter, the curse will not disappear. In that case, rest is meaningless."

"But..." Wendy murmured.

"And as long as I'm in the forest for a day, the communication between the two places can be maintained, the experimental fields will not be abandoned, and I can also help transport the supplies needed on the front line. This can more or less help the goal of defeating the demons. Between the two, which is the better choice, it can be said to be clear at a glance, right?" She gasped slightly and tried to smile, "Don't worry, this time I will definitely choose to retreat first when I see something is wrong."

Everyone was speechless for a while.

Roland took a deep breath. Yes... he should have guessed it long ago. If Leaf wasn't like this, how could she have walked barefoot from the Impassable Mountain Range all the way to Border Town and brought all the surviving sisters back here?

She was like the forest, hiding a tenacious heart under a soft exterior.

"I understand," after a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "But you have to promise me that you can't act alone at any time before the Demonic Executioner with the power of the curse is killed."

After speaking, he looked at Ashes, "Can I trouble you to take care of her during this time?"

Ashes exchanged glances with Tilly, and then replied, "Leave it to me."