Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

The commander grabbed the young man by the hair and dragged him out onto the street.

”Now, find all the civilians who are hiding. Tell them we won’t harm them, but if even one person remains hidden, we’ll execute the entire neighborhood. Let them expose each other.”

Dragged by his hair, the young man could only watch as the soldiers rounded up the civilians from the area one by one.

”Is everyone here?”

The street was soon filled with people kneeling. The Canaan Kingdom’s population wasn’t large, far less than the territory of the God of Bountiful Harvest.

”We found another one.”

As soon as the commander finished asking, a soldier dragged another person out.

”Good. Kill his family and neighbors.”

”Sir, you can’t! His Majesty forbade us from killing civilians...”

A soldier stepped forward to oppose the commander’s order. The fact that an ordinary soldier dared to speak up to him indicated this commander was fairly well-respected.”I remember you. Your family was a minor noble house, but during the war, the people of Canaan Kingdom looted you clean, leaving few survivors. You were even a beggar before enlisting.

”Aren’t you filled with hatred?”

”You are not killing civilians, Commander. These are enemy soldiers disguised as civilians. I believe His Majesty will understand.”

The soldier silently retreated back into the ranks. Most here harbored hatred for the Canaan Kingdom, which was why this unit’s combat strength was so formidable. They didn’t even need a disciplinary corps.

The soldiers remembered where each person was taken from. Then, using that person’s residence as the center point, they killed everyone in the surrounding circle.

”...”

Loren watched everything from the shadows. He didn’t wish to comment. Even he couldn’t stand on a moral high ground to criticize anyone. He just watched silently, doing nothing.

”Now, I’ll give you a chance. Expose the others who are still hiding. Do this, and you can avoid death.”

His method was effective. Soon, the number of people kneeling on the street increased significantly.

”Now, kneel before me! Repent for the people of Bardo you killed back then!”

Most people knelt upon hearing this, but some remained unrepentant, still believing their only mistake was losing the war.

”In the stories of our Canaan Kingdom, this land has always been ours. What’s wrong with killing those who occupied our territory?”

”We, the people of Canaan Kingdom, are inherently superior to those of the Bardo Kingdom! We are the true favored children of the God of Plague!”

”...”

Such statements emerged from the crowd. There were many extremists here, educated from childhood to think this way, unwilling even now to admit their wrongs.

”Kill them all.”

The commander didn’t even need to give the order. The soldiers guarding the perimeter could no longer restrain themselves, their hands trembling as they gripped their weapons.

Blades fell, instantly dyeing the street red with blood. But clearly, for the soldiers, it wasn’t enough.

”You knelt a moment too late. Are you unwilling to admit your fault?”

Some soldiers, bloodlust overtaking them, continued killing. The commander did not stop them. He knew anyone hearing those words would struggle to hold back.

Throughout this, he had been forcing the young man’s eyelids open, making him watch everything. The young man wore a ferocious expression, as if he would fight the commander to the death if released.

”This ends here. Originally, His Majesty forbade us from harming civilians, but he made me change my mind. Blame him.

”We are leaving now. If you still refuse to submit, we are happy to oblige.”

With that, the soldiers withdrew from the crowd and marched forward. The commander threw the young man aside.

”I’ll kill you!”

The young man tried to charge at the commander, but countless hands from behind grabbed him.

”It’s because of you my family died...”

Similar accusations filled the air. Before long, the young man was literally torn apart.

Watching this scene, the commander finally smiled.

”Continue the advance.”

He didn’t linger here long. After dealing with these people, he intended to leave.

But then he suddenly sensed something was wrong. It had become far too quiet behind him.

Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw all the civilians were dead. They had died silently, without a single wound.

”Be careful! Something’s wrong! It’s likely a necromancer from the Canaan Kingdom has made a move.”

He quickly assessed the situation. The soldiers immediately formed a battle formation.

”Time for me to step in.”

Controlling Gwen, Loren pulled down the hood of the black robe, covering her face as much as possible, and simultaneously drew her staff.

The staff was crafted by Loren himself. Its core was the Drowning Soul Cage. The staff’s primary function was to amplify necromancy.

...

The corpses littering the ground began to melt, eventually turning into masses of flesh and blood.

But it didn’t stop there. This flesh and blood seemed to come alive, wriggling and squirming.

Upon touching each other, the flesh chunks began to merge, growing larger and larger, gradually forming a mountain of meat.

On the surface of this flesh mountain, one could see half-melted organs, broken bones, and densely packed eyes. The eyes were the only organs preserved intact, making the flesh mountain appear even more grotesque.

A tentacle extended from the mass of flesh towards the distance. When it retracted, a person was impaled upon it.

”I didn’t expect you to leave any alive. I had to step in personally, wasted quite a bit of effort.

”Fortunately, the result is good. The curses I placed on them earlier ultimately took effect.”

The person wore black robes, their withered hand clutching a skull-topped staff—the standard attire of a necromancer.

”Who are you?”

The commander stood at the forefront of the troops, facing the necromancer directly.

”I am a Royal Mage of the Canaan Kingdom. From the moment you invaded the Canaan Kingdom, you should have considered the consequences of facing me.”

The necromancer proudly declared his status. As a Royal Mage of Canaan, he had casually slaughtered an entire city’s populace to use as magical materials, seeing nothing wrong with it.

”Invasion? Returning to our own homeland can hardly be called invasion!

”Earth Sundering Impact!”

The commander roared, plunging his greatsword into the ground. The earth instantly cracked open, a fissure spreading forward continuously, carrying a shockwave.

This martial skill strike hit the flesh mountain like mud sinking into the sea, causing not a single ripple.

Seeing this, the commander wasn’t surprised. He understood clearly that the gap between the extraordinary and the ordinary was a vast chasm. A knight like him, who only knew a few martial skills, stood no chance against a mage.

The necromancer counterattacked. A tentacle from the flesh mountain instantly seized the commander. The tentacle was incredibly fast; he had no time to react.

The moment he made contact, his body began to corrode. But before he died, the tentacle was severed. Then, Gwen stepped out from the shadows.