Release that Witch

Lorgar nodded to Ashes as she considered Maggie as one of the top dogs in the Witch Union. In her mind, the witch was still an ugly, cruel, but very formidable beast.

”So... what about the witches wearing God’s Stones of Retaliation?”

The Wolf Girl knew that once her opponent used God’s Stones, her ability would be significantly limited. Under such circumstances, she would not be able to freely transform all her body parts. If this opponent were just another warrior from the desert, it would be fine. However, if they were an Extraordinary like Ashes, it would be impossible for her to come out on top. Her ability was useless when she was faced with such a strong witch who also wore God’s Stone. Given this, she had ranked Ashes as the best fighter amongst the witches from Neverwinter.

The Extraordinary remained silent for a while before replying. ”Suppose there’s someone whose strength and speed is in no way inferior to those of an Extraordinary. At the same time, she’s an almost unlimited lifespan and will never be harmed by any injuries. Even if she suffers fatal blows, she’ll be able to completely recover, given time. How strong do you think she would be?”

Lorgar could not help but gasp in astonishment.

Being an experienced warrior herself, she was well aware of the importance of fighting skills and experience.

In the holy duels, the toughest opponent to deal with wouldn’t be those brave young fighters, but instead, the seasoned warriors who were in their 30s. These veterans were usually the backbone of a clan, and they often served as combat tutors and supervisors for a clan’s newer generation. She would never underestimate such warriors who not only matched the younger fighters in strength but were also much more experienced, having gone through numerous life or death situations. However, when warriors turned 40, their body would inevitably become less agile, and the wounds suffered over the years would gradually accumulate and worsen. Even if their skills became more and more refined over time, they would no longer be able to move as fluidly as they once had done.

Lorgar wanted to go to Neverwinter to hone her fighting skills was because she knew that there was an overpowered healing witch who could heal all sorts of injuries. Now she was more intrigued by her future trip to the Western Region as there was even a witch who was impervious to pain and had an unlimited lifespan.

She believed that anyone who lived long enough would be able to become a very accomplished fighter. Even just thinking about going against such a warrior made her scared… No, excited.

”Is there really such a person in Neverwinter?” Lorgar asked excitedly.

”Yes, there’s this witch in the city who’s called Phyllis,” Ash replied, ”I’ve never fought her, but...”

”But what?”

The Extraordinary said slowly, ”One time when I was practicing with my sword in the castle’s garden, she happened to pass by and give me a few suggestions. Later, I tried practicing again while following her pointers and found that my sword strokes did get noticeably smoother. Unfortunately, I left Neverwinter soon after and haven’t gotten a chance to ask her for more pointers.”

”Did she really only watch you practice for a short while?” Lorgar’s tail wagged even faster. Most tutors, even the very experienced ones, had to exchange a few moves with their students to spot the errors in their movements. That was the reason the big clans built their Halls of Military Affairs for their fighters to train in. The more a student matched a tutor in his or her skills, the more difficult it was for the tutor to find faults within the student’s techniques. Ashes was undoubtedly an excellent fighter, so the Wolf Girl believed that the immortal witch, Phyllis, was indeed a mighty warrior for quickly finding Ashes’ shortcomings just by watching her practice.

Lorgar thought that now it seemed like Phyllis was the best fighter in Neverwinter. Since when it came to a real battle, no one could rely solely on the off chance that the opponent was not wearing a God’s Stone of Retaliation.

She ranked Ashes as the second because she was also immune to the effects of God’s Stones. This powerful Extraordinary was the ideal role model that she was chasing after. As for the witch who was blessed with infinite life, the Wolf Girl believed that it was some miracle created by the Three Gods and that it was not something that she could ask for.

Lorgar couldn’t wait to find out how she would fare against these powerful fighters.

She was now, even more, looking forward to her journey to the west.

Ashes seemed to see through the Wolf Girl’s mind and smiled meaningfully again. Instead of ending their conversation right there, she patted Lorgar’s shoulder and slowly said, ”By the way, I forget to tell you. There are over 100 witches like Phyllis in Neverwinter.”

”What?”

Princess Lorgar of the Wildflame clan was stunned and began to wonder, ”Over 100 witches with infinite life? When did the miracles of the Three Gods start happening so frequently?”

”Come on.” Ashes curled her lips into a smile. ”You’ve still got a long way to go. You’ll never have to worry about finding a suitable opponent there.”

...

Beside Ashes, Lorgar also occasionally ran into another witch, Andrea. She had witnessed this blonde witch’s powerful Magic Longbow on the Burning Stage. Though she had never fought against her, she thought Ashes was quite right about her. She was a noble just like the King of Graycastle. They were cut off the same cloth. The Wolf Girl always felt distanced from Andrea, as if she was living in a different world.

Every move Andrea made was so graceful, be it when she was talking to the others or when she was gazing far out to the sea by herself. Watching her, Lorgar began to notice that she had a lot of shortcomings in comparison to Andrea.

Princess Lorgar decided to give it a try anyways and said hello to Andrea when nobody was around. The blonde witch greeted her calmly, not showing as much warmth and hospitality as Drow Silvermoon did.

However, when she put forward the question that Ashes failed to answer, Andrea suddenly became enthusiastic.

The blonde witch said, ”As for this question... of course, Ashes wouldn’t be able to tell you anything. That muscle-brained witch can barely count to a hundred, she knows nothing about managing a city. His Majesty Roland’s policies are way too complicated. I had to ponder about them over and over before understanding their logic.” She paused for a moment and asked, ”But are you sure that you really want me to tell you? It’s much harder to understand than fighting.”

”Yes.” Lorgar nodded seriously. ”My father said that there’s a common truth in everything. Learning knowledge in other fields can also promote my fighting skills.”

”It’s obviously nonsense...” Andrea rolled her eyes back and slightly sighed. ”Fine, I’ll tell you. If the king just buys Blackwater with gold royals as you suggested, Neverwinter will have to spend some of its wealth to get what it wants, right?”

”All transactions in the world are like that,” Lorgar confirmed.

”So let’s assume that these deals go flawlessly one hundred percent of the time, and 20 years later, the king will see no change in his kingdom, except the loss of a large number of gold royals.”

”Lo-Loss?” The Wolf Girl was startled. ”Why do you call it a loss? Doesn’t his current plan cost him much more?”

”Of course not.” Andrea put her hair up, bent down, and started drawing on the ground with a stick. ”Now that the Mojin immigrants in the Southern Territory have been assimilated into Graycastle, any expenses they make will eventually be circulated back into Graycastle’s economy, this is because all the things the Mojins need to buy come from Neverwinter, therefore, the income they receive will eventually make its way into His Majesty’s hands in a process known as ”the circular flow of income”. During this process, the overall amount of wealth circulating in the kingdom will gradually grow and eventually reach an astonishing amount over that 20 year period. To achieve this, His Majesty only needs to invest in this initial stage, but even this initial investment can’t be considered a loss as the wealth is circulating through the cities of the kingdom.”