Release that Witch

In a cloud of dust, she caught sight of her target.

Earl Lorenzo.

It was evident that the earl had just woken up. While he was scrambling to pull on his pants, the God’s Punishment Warriors at his bedside drew out their swords and lunged at the invaders.

The break-in had apparently alarmed the God’s Punishment Warriors. Although they did not have self-consciousness, they were instructed to kill anyone who entered the room by force.

”Betty!” Zooey shouted.

”Got it,” Betty answered as she followed into the room and went down to her knee. She cupped her hands and said, ”Come!”

After years of training and numerous battles, they had reached a mutual understanding that transcended words. Without even looking at Betty, Zooey jumped backwards and landed precisely on Betty’s hands.

Betty got her just in time.

Then she pushed Zooey upward, and the latter rose into the air and flew over the God’s Punishment Warriors like a swallow. She grabbed the chandelier hanging down from the ceiling and swung to the bed.

The spacious, luxurious master bedroom instantly became a perfect stage for Betty’s personal show.

Zooey raised her grapshot gun.

Time seemed to stop at this moment.

The God’s Punishment Warriors wheeled around but were unable to catch up with her.

Betty, on the other hand, made a posture of victory, her back to the bed. This was definitely a habit she had developed after visiting the Dream World. Apparently, Betty was deeply influenced by special effects in the Magic Movie and the so-called art of combat, believing a real combatant did not need to throw a backward glance at the explosion behind her. Nevertheless, she was not strictly following the rule, for she was leaning sideways while watching the God’s Punishment Warriors out of the corner of her eyes, so Zooey did not bother to argue about her silly behavior.

Earl Lorenzo looked up, terrified and astounded.

He had never expected that the God’s Punishment Warriors whom he trusted so much would be flattened in less than a minute.

The chandelier fell apart, sending flickers of candlelight in the air.

In the meantime, Zooey aimed her gun at Lorenzo and pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

Then the clock seemed to be ticking again.

A cloud of blood mist erupted from the earl’s chest.

As dozens of bullets rained down at him, he first sank under the huge shockwaves and then bounced up. By the time he fell again, his body had turned into a pulp.

Zooey immediately stepped onto the bed. Failing to support Zooey’s weight, the bed collapsed magnificently.

At the same time, the God’s Punishment Warriors suddenly froze.

”Not a perfect landing, but the rest was brilliant,” Betty commented on a whistle. ”I wish there was a pair of sunglasses.”

Zooey rolled her eyes at her resignedly and said, ”Let’s recycle those shells first.”

”OK, OK...” Betty said, shrugging indifferently. She produced a small horn from her waist pocket and gave it a blow.

It was a special song, the very memory that had transformed these soldiers into God’s Punishment Warriors. The song was the activation code for these soulless shells.

”From now on, I’m your new master.” Betty cleared her throat and pronounced each word slowly and clearly.

The six God’s Punishment Warriors all clapped their fists over their chests.

”But only until you arrive at Neverwinter. Once you get to the Third Border City, you’ll be stored away in our warehouse. If you happen to be good-looking, you’ll probably have a chance to fight again. Otherwise, you’ll be disposed of. Of course, I think the chance of your revival... is pretty slim,” Betty jested. She knew they would not respond to her.

Magic Blood had destroyed these soldiers’ self-consciousness.

Zooey opened the copper door and saw many guards swarming toward the master bedroom from the end of the corridor. There were patterings of footsteps everywhere. Apparently, the fight had woken everybody up, and the Castle District was now in a state of alert.

”See those armored guys?” Betty said smilingly. ”Go finish them.”

At these words, the God’s Punishment Warriors charged at the guards like a pack of wild beasts. Before the guards realized what had happened, the Warriors had thrust their swords through the guards’ chests.

The whole castle was stirred.

...

Flanked by the soldiers from the First Army and Hagrid, Joe soon found the dungeon.

When she saw Farrina dangling from the ceiling, he felt as though bludgeoned by a heavy iron hammer in the chest. His heart ached so terribly that for a second he could not breathe.

The woman once being so vivaciously beautiful was now drained of life, alive but barely.

Dark whip marks crisscrossed her skin, from her shoulders all the way to her legs.

Most of them were on her back and chest.

Pus came out of her wounds. Apparently, Lorenzo had branded her but had not given her proper treatment.

Despite the torture, Farrina had not disclosed anything to Lorenzo.

Joe walked up to her tremulously, each step heavy and slow.

It was actually the soldiers coming with Joe that reached Farrina first. They unchained her immediately and put her down on the floor.

”Is this the girl you want to save? Hey, do something. Come help us!”

”Ah... yes...” The words jerked Joe out of his trance, who transferred Farrina to a straw mattress next to him at once.

The soldiers seemed to know what to do. They produced various bottles and jars from their knapsacks and started to give her some basic first-aid treatments. Joe did not know what these liquid solutions were used for, but they seemed to work, as Farrina’s breath gradually steadied.

While Joe was helping with the wounds, Farrina suddenly let out an almost inaudible groan and slowly opened her eyes.

”How come... it’s you...” she muttered. ”Is it a dream?”

”No, it isn’t. Everything’s over!” said Joe as he cupped her face, sobbing.

”Over?” Farrina mumbled. ”I see. I’m dead, right? That’s why I see you in the dungeon...”

She slowly raised her hand and touched Joe’s face with her crooked fingers. Lorenzo had not only denailed her fingers but also snapped them. Her hand was now no better than a bent piece of wood. ”Sorry. The church is gone... I failed you...”

”That’s OK. I don’t care...” Joe said, feeling hot tears trickle down his cheeks. ”This isn’t your fault at all!”

”Are you comforting me? Strange... you’ve never comforted me before,” Farrina said weakly, her wounded lips slightly parting. ”Anyway, please don’t go. Could you stay with me for a while?”

Joe could not contain himself any longer. He held her tight in his arms and said, ”I’ll be with you. Wherever you go, I’ll always be with you... until death do us part!”

”Thank you...” Farrina said, and then lost her consciousness.