Chapter 1399: War

Leaving the church and arriving at the main street, gray snowflakes had already covered the streets, and on the entire Cherry Leaf Street, less than a quarter of the shops were open for business.

Continuing along the street toward the street corner, Xia De did not see any four-wheeled rental carriages waiting for passengers in places that were usually very lively.

Instead, a policeman who ran past in a hurry, holding a kerosene lamp, loudly reminded Xia De that the Landaier River Valley had encountered a special negative pressure vortex weather that hadn't been seen in a hundred years, and now the highly toxic substances in the air of the entire city were settling, so it was best not to stay outdoors today. And if staying indoors, one should also pay attention to the city earthquake warning information issued by the City Hall that there would be a major earthquake outside the city tonight.

Xia De walked a block in the city that was like a dying patient before finally finding a rental carriage. And from the mouth of the carriage driver, he also learned that the earthquake that occurred during the banquet last night was just the beginning of a series of earthquakes.

Over the entire night, there were more than eight earthquakes with strong tremors in the Landaier River Valley urban area, so much so that almost no citizen living locally could sleep well.

At the same time, the earthquake caused large-scale fires in the slums of the Old City, as well as serious landslide accidents in the rural areas of the eastern mountains of the Landaier River Valley. Just from the news the carriage driver heard, the number of people who died due to a series of subsequent effects caused by the earthquake last night had already reached three digits.

Therefore, starting from this morning, unless infected with a malignant disease like the petrification plague, people tried their best not to go out if they could. Accompanied by the gray snow falling in the city in the season before early spring, this ordinary carriage driver who had lived in the Landaier River Valley for forty years, after telling the urban anecdote of frogs appearing collectively on the streets, sighed again, feeling that the city had become different from any time in the past:

"It's as if the land itself is sick."

He said to Xia De, who was sitting in the carriage, amidst the sound of horse hooves.

The carriage first took Xia De to the Abundant Earth Hotel located in the city center. The hotel was still open today, and there were far more guests on the first floor than usual. This was not because the citizens had all come to drink, but because the people staying in the hotel were panicked and talking to their companions about the situation in the Landaier River Valley today.

After Xia De entered the door, he scanned a few times and saw Miss Marilyn Handel sitting by the wall. He didn't say anything, just placed 【Origin·Death】 by her side as he passed by, and then walked toward the stairs.

Miss Handel looked down at the card, while the soul of Joey Barton on the side looked hesitantly at the cat held by Xia De. Mia was held in one hand by Xia De, her front paws clawing at Xia De's shoulder, and her little head was also looking at him over Xia De's ear.

Thus, the dead soul felt a slight wrongness, but didn't know where this wrongness came from. He had also divined the fate for this cat when he was divining for Xia De, but seeing it again after death, he felt a strangeness completely different from when it was alive.

Xia De, who went upstairs, did not see Luweiya in the room, but found a note she left behind. Luweiya had been called away by the Diviner Association this morning, but she would go to the Wang Erde Opera House at noon to meet with Xia De, and instructed Xia De not to run around.

The reason Luweiya mentioned the Wang Erde Opera House was because it was located in the city center and was easier to gather information than the witch's manor, so the opera house was closed for one day today as the base camp for this operation.

When Xia De arrived there, the four Great Witches—Miss Aurora, Miss Bernice, Miss Jia Lin Na, and Miss Sylvia—had already arrived, the witch apprentices were making preliminary preparations for the Great Witches' actions, and Xilisi and Miss Swift had entered the Council to report to other witches waiting for news in the Council.

In other words, except for Margaret, who had not yet held the ceremony and had not yet been granted the status of an official witch apprentice, the entire force belonging to the 【Witch Council】 in the Landaier River Valley had already gathered in the Wang Erde Opera House.

A Ringed Shushi participating in an event that could be called a large-scale battle was not something that could be done by just putting on clothes, holding a cat, and heading straight to the destination. Even Xia De, who didn't have much property, had to spend a night and a morning to organize the items he needed to use, and the ladies who were witches and part-time Ringed Shushi needed even more complex preparations, and most of these preparations were assisted by apprentices and followers.

"How is the situation?"

When Xia De appeared in the office on the third floor of the opera house holding Mia, only Miss Bernice was drinking tea alone here.

She signaled Xia De to sit down and talk:

"Don't be so anxious, taste the black tea I brewed, this is tea leaves bought from the East."

After Xia De sat down, Miss Bernice introduced:

"The Church has already received the news you got from the Guardian. Fortunately, with the experience of the Battle of Midhillburg, the Church made arrangements in advance. Although there will certainly be casualties, it should be enough to protect the safety of the city. The Speaker made a deal with the Church. After eight o'clock tonight, except for Sylvia following you to the Osenfurt Manor, the three of us will take high-ring followers out of the city to meet the enemy in the southeast. If the news is accurate, the intensity of this battle will not be lower than that of Midhillburg."

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Although she was talking about a very serious topic, her tone was very relaxed:

"Having lived for so many years, I finally encountered a major event that can be recorded in history books, recited by bards, and adapted into stage plays by playwrights in the future. I'm not nervous at all, but rather... excited."

Her beautiful eyes looked at Xia De:

"You have participated in more things than any of us. Tell me, Xia De, what is your feeling."

"No feeling."

Xia De touched Mia's smooth fur:

"I am confident that I can resolve this matter, the only question is what price will have to be paid."

"So confident?"

The witch showed a smile:

"What I am most worried about now is actually you, well... after this matter ends, no matter what the result is, you probably won't visit this city so frequently anymore. Then let's make an agreement, after it ends, I want to perform for you alone, just like when we first met, is that okay?"

"I generally don't talk about celebration banquets when a major event has just begun..."

Xia De said hesitantly, but seeing the expression on Miss Bernice's face, he still nodded in agreement:

"I will look forward to it, are you still going to sing?"

The witch's face was slightly red, with a smile on the corner of her mouth:

"Besides singing, can't I do other performances?"

The Orthodox Church and the three major academies possessed more fragments of the poem, but to this day, they still could not fully determine where the Chosen ceremony of the Earth Chosen would be held.

Fortunately, after the Church gathered enough fragments of the poem, they could locate possible locations based on the map. Subsequently, the Diviner Association conducted divination on this. Because they could not be 100% sure of the answer, they finally circled seven areas.

These seven areas were scattered, and one was even in the city. Therefore, tonight, except for the Ringed Shushi who were invested in the "City Defense Battle," more high-ring Ringed Shushi and the vast majority of thirteen-ring Ringed Shushi would be assigned to these seven areas.

Except for the one in the city, it was a coincidence that Xia De had actually been to four of the remaining six areas. They were the Moon-Worship Ruins near Osenfurt Manor, Eldron Lake in the upper reaches of the Ailong River, the Demon Seal Lookout Tower in the lower reaches of the west of the city, and the Night Spirit Temple located in the mountains.

As for the two areas Xia De had not been to, one was the farthest from the city, crossing the river valley area directly into the mountains in the east of the city. The other was on the open plain in the south of the city, where there were ruins of the ancient Stonewell Kingdom that still existed today.

And the news about these seven key areas was brought by Sister Daifulin at noon that day.

Sister Daifulin had always regarded Xia De's affairs as more important, so she took the initiative to apply to assist in defending the Moon-Worship Ruins near Osenfurt Manor this time. The Church originally intended for the nun to be in the city, but they respected the nun's opinion, and that ruin happened to be in the relative center of the seven areas, which was convenient for the nun to move at any time, so they agreed to the nun's application.

Sister Daifulin and Yin Yi Yi Lu Na were both the most important characters tonight. Even because Sister Daifulin's level was far higher than Yin Yi Yi Lu Na's, it could even be said that Sister Daifulin was the most important.

Considering that this Chosen event had the risk of losing control, and no one could predict how terrifying a thirteen-ring Ringed Shushi who lost control would be. So, the nun, who was also a Chosen, was the best candidate to check and balance the "Guardian." In the face of the Chosen's fate, only another Chosen could contend with it.

According to the previous plan, before Sister Daifulin left, she took away Xia De's 【Night Watchman】 and retrieved 【Origin·Knowledge】 to learn the best time for her to appear.

And before Sister Daifulin said goodbye, Luweiya had already arrived at the Wang Erde Opera House. She used the excuse of being unwell to ask for leave after finishing the work in her hands in the morning. Although it was a time when manpower was lacking, Luweiya was not a member of the local association after all, so the association could only reluctantly grant her leave.

"The action has been roughly arranged."

Xia De sat on the seat in the front row of the No. 1 performance hall on the first floor, watching the girls on the stage maintaining weapons for Miss Aurora, which was a white oak staff with a diamond embedded at the top she had recently acquired. That oak staff was as long as Xia De's height; this was a Sage-level relic that could amplify specific curses.

The most open place in the Wang Erde Opera House, besides the basement, was the stage. Anyway, the opera house was not open today, so the four witches each chose a stage to make preparations. ===== CHAPTER 1400 =====