Release that Witch

Is she feeling disappointed because she was unable to kill the Oracle…

Roland did not know whether to console her or roll his eyes. Any ordinary person’s first reaction should have been joy, having survived a battle against an invulnerable entity. Yet Fei Yuhan was stuck in brooding over her failure, it had to be said that a genius’s thinking was always different from the common person.

The higher-ups quickly came to a consensus.

Information regarding both the Battle of Divine Will and the two worlds were classified as top secret information. The higher-ups of the Martialist Association deemed that before the Erosion crisis was resolved, all content related to either were banned from being leaked to prevent unnecessary panic.

As for Roland’s background and identity, the Martialist Association took it one step at a time. If they went according to Fei Yuhan’s account, his importance was even above that of the President of the Association. But the decision was not one that Prism City could make on their own; it required Sky City and the other branches of the association to have a common discussion and consensus. This process was estimated to take a long period of time.

But to not interfere with the battle against the Erosion, Prism City was to provide their full support to facilitate Roland to the best of their abilities.

After their agreement on the fundamentals, the discussion in the hall moved into details regarding the actual support.

Roland simply waited quietly for the results.

Roland walked out of the hall with Fei Yuhan and stumbled upon Valkries waiting outside for him.

Her gaze stopped at Roland after staring at the two for a while. “I wish to talk to you alone.”

Fei Yuhan smiled. “I’ll make a move first, Zero is still sleeping in the ward.”

After her departure, Roland followed Valkries to the courtyard behind the building.

Although it was winter, the courtyard still had an abundance of greenery. The lawn around the stone slabs had unmelted snow on them with sharp green grass poking out, as though reminding the people that the cold season was nearing its end, and it was time to welcome the new year.

If it was a stroll, Valkries had definitely chosen a good location. But her motive in inviting him over was obviously not to admire the scenery.

“What do you want to say?” Roland broke the silence. “You realized you’ve made the wrong mistake and decided to trust me?”

“No, I am still unable to trust you.” Valkries shook her head. “The future of our races depends on the outcome of the Battle of Divine Will. I cannot make a decision without verifying the situation first.”

“You have seen it for yourself, the Oracle was trying to stop me from seeking the truth—It might not mean anything, but doesn’t that imply that we are in the right direction? Even if I had fabricated the outcome on the Western Front, the incident with the Oracle can’t be something I deliberately arrange, right?”

“Yes, I have to admit that you’re right,” Valkries answered calmly. “But my opinion won’t change.”

Annoyed, Roland stopped abruptly. “You are helping the Gods destroy your own civilization.”

“There’s no point criticizing me when there’s an imbalance of information. Regardless, the Dream World and reality are separated by the Realm of Mind.” Valkries turned around. “If you were me, will you be able to set your resolve and cooperate with enemies that you have fought against for thousands of years? Besides, the only thing I can get is a verbal promise.”

Roland opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn’t say the word “yes.”

After a long while, Roland finally sighed. “If that’s the case, then we have nothing to talk about.”

“I will not make a decision without verifying the situation first, but—” Valkries paused, “If it can be verified, I will reconsider your suggestion.”

Roland was stunned. “What?”

“While saving Fei Yuhan, the girl that drove over was a Transcendent, right? And she is different from the witches by your side, not in terms of ability, but behavior— I found the former unfamiliar, but the latter rather familiar. In the words of this world, a generation gap. After thinking about it, the ones that I am familiar with are the people from the First and Second Battle of Divine Will. After all, after the humans retreated behind the border, I no longer had any interaction with your kind. From there, I guess that this witch is rather young and might even be alive right now?

Rather young… That’s likely comparing to those demons centuries of years old. From simply meeting, she was able to judge that Scroll and the God’s Punishment Witches are not from the same generation? Roland replied in a noncommittal manner, “What does this have to do with what you were talking about? Even if you get an answer after asking her, you might think we had preplanned the entire thing.”

“It obviously matters. The life expectancy of The Union’s witches are less than a century and are bound to draw support from technology left behind in the Second Battle of Divine Will by the Underground Civilization. Ever since I fell for your trap, I have repeatedly pondered over how they are able to enter the Dream World, and the only possibility I have theorized has to do with the Underground Civilization.”

Valkries walked over to an artificial ice sculpture and looked at her own reflection. “Although the requirements are extremely demanding, this race holds a fascinating ability with magic power, allowing them to greatly decrease the difficulty required to connect with the Realm of Mind. Additionally, we know that the fact that the Union managed to excavate the legacy of the underground civilization in the Fertile Plains was no accident. I originally believed that they had given up on their bodies in reality and transferred their spirits into a specific Dream territory. But after seeing that Witch, I realized that my theory was wrong.”

“The ability to allow a live Transcendent move freely in and out of the Dream World without any external help isn’t something the underground civilization is capable of achieving.” Valkries continued, “I do not know what methods were used, but I know this fact for sure—If existing witches are capable of using this method to enter the Dream World, I believe that it will be as effective for a higher ascendant from my race!”

“You mean you want to—” Roland’s heart skipped a beat.

“Bring Sky Lord here to see me.” Valkries raised her head, “Even if you’re the creator of the Dream World, it’s impossible for you to duplicate something you have no knowledge of. As commander of the Western Front, Hackzord will undoubtedly verify the questions that I wish to know.”

Roland blinked his eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle in anger in exasperation. “But that’s a Grand Demon Lord. If I could control him, why would I need my First Army to fight so bravely? Furthermore, Hackzord has suffered from our ambush previously and no longer dares shows its face; how can I find him?”

“I will help you create an opportunity,” she enunciated each and every word slowly and clearly.

Roland frowned. “… Are you serious?”

“But you have to promise me two things. Firstly, you cannot use this opportunity to attack Hackzord. Secondly, regardless of what decision I make in the end, you have to let him go.”

“Did you even consider how big of a risk I am taking here?”

“We are all in danger!” Valkries replied solemnly, “That’s right, you think that this would expose the secret to Humanity’s legacy, but isn’t it the same for me? To allow a Grand Lord to take this risk—if you renounce your promise, what else can I do but regret? Do not assume that I made this decision on a whim!”

Sensing that her emotions were stirred, she somewhat calmed herself down. “In short, this is the biggest compromise that I am willing to make. As for whether or not you want to take on this risk, the decision lies completely with you.”

Roland stared at her for a long time before asking, “I want to know, what changed your mind?”

“To fear the future and give up on forging ahead is simply the mentality of cowards, even if we know that defeat is the eventual outcome, we should do all we can to turn that around!” Valkries coughed gently. “For a human to be able to say such words, it did surprise me.”

Those were Fei Yuhan’s words at the meeting.

She was… already standing outside the hall back then?

“Also, remember the question you asked me at the beginning?” Valkries looked straight into his eyes.

Do you think that the Transformer from a thousand years ago did the wrong thing?

Roland nodded.

“I think that it did the right thing.” She turned and walked towards the exit. “That is my answer.”