Release that Witch

...

Lightning flew into the castle’s office and passed the last bird’s eye view map of the snow mountain to Roland.

”You’ve worked hard.” Roland caressed the young girl’s forehead. ”Do you have any new discoveries?”

”There was only snow and more snow.” She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling. ”Don’t talk about demons and beasts, I didn’t even see any large animals.”

”Is that so? Looks like I imagined too much.” Roland took out the previous maps and examined them together thoroughly—although they were only drawn in sketch form, and were not as detailed and accurate as Soraya’s ”photographs”, he could at least make out a full view of the snow mountain.

The body of the mountain was extremely large, and its height was approximately 4,000 meters. Standing on the mountaintop, one could clearly see the sea of clouds. The mountain peak was not as steep and sharp as Roland expected. Instead, it was a vast and flat area, and the middle portion was slightly concave, like a huge volcanic crater. The only difference was that the concave portion was filled with a frozen lake, whose entire surface resembled a spotless mirror. According to Lightning, she could see flowing water beneath the thick layers of ice.

”What did you imagine there would be at the peak?”

”Ruins, blackstone pagodas, remains of a town... these won’t be surprising.” Roland laughed. ”I find it more surprising that it’s completely bare.” He pointed at the newly-drawn map. ”Is this the source of Redwater River?”

”Yes.” Lightning turned her head and took one look at the map. ”It’s within the clouds. If it wasn’t for the sound of rushing water, I wouldn’t have noticed it. There are many cracks on the mountain’s body, some of which are amazingly large. Their widths could be two to three hundred meters long. When near, the sound of falling water is comparable to that of thunder.”

”Did you attempt to enter these cracks?”

”Uh...”

”Be honest.”

”I did try, but I couldn’t.” The young girl pouted her mouth. ”The cracks were surely big enough, and their heights were sufficient to accommodate half a castle. The problem was that the mist created by the rapids was too dense and thus I couldn’t see anything. It was also accompanied by strong winds which pushed me back very quickly.”

”Don’t try something so dangerous in the future.” Roland glowered at her. ”Do you remember what you promised me?”

”I promised to ask for your permission before doing any kind of exploration.” Lightning drooped her head low.

”That’s right. I’ll forgo the homework punishment this time. Go play with Maggie.”

”Aye... how about the snow mountain?”

”We’ll halt the work for now.” He stacked the maps neatly and kept them in a drawer. ”We shall wait until Sylvie returns before we talk about deeper explorations. I have to place my focus on the war with the church.”

”Alright.” Lightning nodded and flew out of the window.

”What do you think?” Roland looked behind him.

”I’m here, Your Majesty.” Nightingale appeared on top of the desk, where she sat cross-legged. ”The snow mountain is freezing cold. Who would choose to set up a camp in that kind of place?”

As she was not wearing shoes, Roland could not help taking a few more looks at her feet, which were cutely wrapped in white socks. ”Eh... do you also think that the Megamouth Beasts are hiding within the snow mountain?”

”It’s only a guess. If they are as skillful at burrowing as we believe, it won’t be difficult for them to build dens in the mountain’s body, and furthermore...” Nightingale seemed a little hesitant.

”What?”

”I was wondering, could there be a connection between them and the holes in the Impassable Mountain Range?”

...

Roland continued to ponder over Nightingale’s words until it was night time. No matter how he looked at it, it was a truly terrifying conjecture.

If these bunches of scary monsters are everywhere and aren’t restricted by natural barriers, how am I going to destroy them?

Something else puzzled him greatly. ”If the Megamouth Beasts could reach the edge of Land of Dawn, then there should be signs of their activity in the fertile plains. Why didn’t the Union leave any records of them?”

Unfortunately, the present situation prevented him from pursuing further exploration. The church had to be completely defeated for City of Neverwinter to have a future to speak of.

After more than a month of shipping, he had already transported close to 4,000 soldiers to the Northern Region, together with a corresponding amount of military supplies and rations. According to intelligence from the frontline, the field defense lines were being established according to plan, while the routes from Coldwind Ridge to the interior of the kingdom had all been cut off by the First Army. Soon, the final batch of soldiers would be setting off. Roland would be following them to the Northern Region to command this war, in which failure was not an option.

Right at this moment, he heard someone knock on the bedroom door.

Roland opened the door and discovered that it was Anna who was standing outside.

”I’ve seen Wendy’s expedition roster, and my name isn’t on it.” She walked into the room with no trace of emotion on her face. ”Pardon me, but I can’t accept that, Your Majesty.”

Had Anna stormed angrily into the room and started an argument with him, Roland would have known what to do. Instead, Anna’s expression made him feel a little afraid. It was as though she had already made up her mind on something, and life and death did not matter to her anymore. Ever since he rescued her from jail, he had not seen her look this way in front of him.

Roland pulled her to take a seat at the bedside. After a long period of silence, he finally spoke, ”I understand how you feel. However, the military production in the Border Area needs you. Whether it be the components of the heavy machine gun or the fuzes of the howitzer, your processing skills are required... and these are crucial to our victory.”

”Not because the frontline is dangerous?”

”Although there’s a definite amount of danger while fighting against the church, we’ll definitely emerge victorious. So, you don’t have to worry too much... It’s a more appropriate choice for you to remain here.”

He did not attempt to persuade Anna based on the perspective of war safety, as her expression had already made clear her attitude. The only way to convince someone as conscientious as her was to draw upon higher-level reasons, such as explaining to her how the military production played a key part in the outcome of the war.

”If that’s the case, I can do the processing in Deepvalley Town as well.” Anna remained unmoved nevertheless. ”There’s iron and copper production in the Northern Region too. I’m sure Miss Edith won’t be stingy with their ores. Lucia has also agreed to follow me, and thus the refining won’t be a problem. As for the issue of transportation, while the ships had to transport complete weapons initially, they only have to transport parts now, and the assembly can be done in the Northern Region. This will only increase our efficiency.” Anna’s reply was clear and irrefutable. It was obvious that she came prepared for this.

Roland was at a loss for words.

”Your Majesty, I can’t accept being separated from you at a time like this.” She reached out her hands and clasped his cheeks. ”This is different from our separations in the past. You know clearer than anyone that the war with the church is the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced. Either Hermes gets completely destroyed, or the First Army perishes. I’ll never avoid what I need to do or deceive myself. If you lose, there’s a chance I’ll never see you again. Furthermore, if I wait in City of Neverwinter, I’ll only hear the news two or three months after anything happens. I don’t want to wait in torment for such a long time only to bid farewell in the end.”