Release that Witch

In the city hall, the man named Posack was brought before Wendy and Scroll.

He was approximately 40 years old and looked like a typical farmer: swarthy and burly. There was still some dry mud and grassroots stuck onto his trousers.

”I, I know you...” The man rubbed his wrinkled hands and looked a little nervous. He bowed to Scroll and said, ”You’re the minister. My daughter learns how to read and write in your school. She’s a really slow learner. I sincerely hope that you can bear with her faults.”

”Don’t be nervous,” Scroll laughed and patted his shoulder. ”I used to catch fish for living before I came here, but my harvest wasn’t as steady as yours since the sea was too unpredictable. Furthermore, when it came to something like knowledge, it’s never about a learner’s background. No matter how clumsy the learner is, he or she will master the knowledge eventually given enough effort and time. Don’t worry; your daughter will be able to graduate without issues.”

Hearing that, Posack relaxed a lot and grinned. ”I’ve given up my work on the farm for grazing in recent two years because His Majesty said the salary for the new industry will be higher.” With these words, he bowed to Wendy. ”You must be the manager of the Witch Union. I thought I didn’t have the chance to meet you today.”

Although Wendy was not as influential as Scroll among the ordinary people, she was still the head of the Witch Union, and thus had to make appearances at various major events. That combined with her bright red hair and thick body, it was not at all surprising for people to recognize Wendy. ”Call me Wendy. I heard that you claimed to have found a heavily wounded girl who was covered with blood. What makes you think that she’s a witch?”

”Because... an ordinary person can’t have animals’ body parts, right?” Posack scratched his head. ”At first, I thought it was a rag smeared with blood and planned to tear it down and throw it away, but this thing turned out to be connected to a girl. I took a second look and found that it was actually an animal tail!”

An animal... tail?

Wendy felt her heart skip a beat!

She suddenly recalled that a strange witch had come to Neverwinter more than two months ago, but she only knew her from Nightingale’s description since this peculiar girl did not join the Witch Union or have any intimate contact with the sisters. She had a wolf’s ears and a long tail, but surprisingly, His Majesty had praised that this weird half-animal was very pretty. Wendy now remembered about this strange incident that had repeatedly been mentioned by Nightingale.

That strange witch is called Lorgar, and she’s a princess of a tribe in the Southernmost Region.

Could she be the girl Posack found?

”Where’s she?” Wendy urgently asked. ”Take us to her right now!”

...

The farmer had not taken the injured girl home. He had left her in a temporary rest shed in the pastoral area.

Seeing the Wolf Girl in blood-stained clothes lying motionlessly on the bench, Wendy’s heart sank to the bottom.

From the girl’s currently disfigured and bloody ears, she was sure that this girl was Lorgar and wondered what in the world had happened to her.

It was not an exaggeration to say that she was drenched in blood. Evidently, the wolf girl got herself injured more than just a few days ago. In some parts of her body, the blood had already dried up and turned into dark brown stains, while in some other parts, the blood was still dripping out of her wounds. They could not see her injuries directly for she was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, but anyone could easily tell that she was seriously hurt.

”My lady, she’s a witch... isn’t she?” Posack asked.

Wendy was too stunned to say anything, so Scroll replied, ”Yes, she’s a witch. Your first-aid was done very nicely.”

”It’s great to know that. His Majesty has said in an announcement that we’re obliged to inform the City Hall if we were to find a witch.” Posack heaved a sigh of relief, but soon he expressed his worry. ”Can she... still be saved?”

Hearing this sentence, Wendy awoke with a start. She answered in a deep voice, ”I don’t know, but we’ll try our best. Scroll, please help me take care of her. I’ll go to meet Her Highness Tilly!”

”Okay, leave her to me.”

Neither Nana nor Lily was in the city, and Leaf’s herbal medicine could only heal some minor injuries. Right now, receiving injuries this severe was no different from getting a death sentence.

Fortunately, the first batch of witches from the Sleeping Island had just arrived at Neverwinter. Wendy thought that if that witch was here, she might be able to save the Wolf Girl!

With that in her mind, she ran even faster.

Every second counts.

Although Lorgar was not an official member of the Witch Union, Wendy felt that the Wolf Girl was already somewhat related to the union because this girl must have received some divine guidance and thus came to this city.

Wendy did not want to lose a sister again.

...

Three days later, Wendy walked into a bedroom carrying a basin of hot water that gave off a strong smell of medicine.

”How’s her condition?”

”She’s still alive, but other than that...” Ashes shook her head. ”Such serious injuries are way beyond what can be handled by her self-healing capacity, and it was a miracle that she even made it to the city. If she had not been that strong-willed, she would have died in the wilderness without anyone knowing about it.”

When it came to treating wounds in the emergency, the Extraordinary was the most experienced one and thus took over taking care of the injured girl. She stripped off the Wolf Girl’s bloodstained clothes for a general check-up. When the bandage was removed, all the witches were shocked by the injuries all over her body. Some cuts were so deep that one could see her bones. Cleaning her wounds alone cost them almost half a day.

”But you don’t have to worry too much.” Ashes pointed to Nightfall who was lying in a bed nearby. ”Don’t you notice that she looks a lot better than yesterday?”

”Do I?” Nightfall asked in a weak voice. ”How come I don’t feel any better?”

”You’ll have steamed chicken, fried eggs, salt-roasted Bird Beak Mushrooms, and a bottle of Chaos Drink for dinner tonight,” Ashes smirked and said. ”So, how are you feeling now?”

Nightfall’s mouth watered. ”Well... Actually, I think I’m feeling better now.”

”That’s great, see?”

Wendy breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Nightfall. ”Thanks a lot for helping us.”

”My pleasure,” Nightfall forced a smile. ”You guys helped Iffy. That means you’ve helped us. Now, please just don’t let this girl die, otherwise I...”

”We won’t. You can rest assured.”

Nightfall was the person Wendy had thought of earlier. This witch of the former Bloodfang Association had an incredible ability called Symbiosis. She could connect her own life to another one’s by planting her magic seed in the person who would then become her Symbiont. Through this connection, she could share the Symbiont’s pains and sufferings and thus helped the person recover faster. More importantly, half of the nutrition she got during a Symbiosis period could be absorbed by her Symbiont. Given that, this ability was currently their best option to keep a near-death person from dying.

Roland had been unconscious and unable to drink or eat anything for months after the Battle of Souls against Zero, and the only reason he was still alive was due to Nightfall’s help.

But of course, Nightfall was not the only one who came to help the Wolf Girl.

Her Highness Tilly had sent another witch called Pandora, the primary healer for the Sleeping Island witches, to stop Lorgar’s internal and external bleeding, which had significantly reduced the pressure on the symbiosis. Pandora’s ability had been proved to be very helpful during their campaign to crush the rebellious action of the Bloodfang Association. Leaf’s herbal medicine also helped to keep the wounds from worsening. The Cleansing Water, which was stored in the castle’s basement together with the ice blocks in case of an emergency, prevented any infection from getting out of hand.

Everyone did their best to help.

However, whether Lorgar could come back to life still depended on her willpower. Three days ago, they had sent Animal Messengers to the Northern Region. In the following days, they would have a difficult time waiting for information.

Suddenly, Lorgar’s finger flinched when Wendy was about to wipe her body.

At first, Wendy was dumbfounded and believed that it might just be an illusion, but then she saw the Wolf Girl’s lips tremble slightly.

”...”

Lorgar appeared to be whispering something, but her voice was so feeble that her words were indistinguishable.

Wendy’s heart raced uncontrollably. She forced herself to calm down before she quickly bent forward and placed her ear close to Lorgar’s mouth.

This time, she was able to make out the girl’s faint words.

”Demons...”

She repeated the word.

”The demons are coming.”