Chapter 342 (2/2)

“If Nightingale had not witnessed it with her own eyes, I would not believe that such demonic beasts really exist.” Roland shrugged as he spoke. “But it seems they have never appeared at the western border… Otherwise, if just a few of them came every winter, Longsong Stronghold would have long turned to ruins.”

“But as the Months of Demons grow longer, the demonic beasts grow stronger; this is the conclusion reached by the history books. This time, the first snowfall began in Autumn, so the enemy we face may be very formidable.”

Tilly’s use of the word “we” made Roland’s heart grow warm. Whether she treated him as a brother or not, she already considered him and this small town as one of her own allies at least――This was probably done for the sake of the witches.

“Then we can only leave the surveillance of the perimeters to Nightingale.”

“No, let Sylvie stand guard this winter,” Tilly said, “The city walls are divided into two sections, East and West. To do a single circuit of the place would take almost a quarter of an hour, Miss Nightingale’s workload would be too great. Sylvie only needs to stay inside the castle and she would be able to observe the entire region of the city walls. She would also be able to inform the other witches immediately upon discovering a demonic beast.”

“That’s fine too.” Roland nodded.

“That witch…” Scroll hesitated for a moment. “I still have the same opinion as before. As long as her identity has yet to be confirmed, she could very well be an enemy.”

“I know, which is why I will have her wear a God’s Stone of Retaliation for the time being.” He exhaled a breath of air. “Hopefully this won’t cause her to misunderstand us.”

. . .

Roland entered the bedroom of the unconscious witch. Anna was the only one left inside the room, looking after her alone.

“How is she?”

Anna shook her head. “Still no response.”

“Is that so,” Roland walked over to the bedside, the woman lying still under the blankets. Although her eyes remained tightly shut, the wrinkles between her brows seemed to have reduced. Nana and Lily had already used their abilities on her, so the only thing they could do now was to wait quietly.

“She was frozen for so long, yet not a single trace of that remains. It’s really incredible.” He lamented.

“It’s similar to how I don’t fear any flames,” Anna chuckled, “Her ability definitely plays a part.”

“I heard that you were the one who opened the ice coffin.” Roland pat her on the head. “You’re amazing, Anna.”

“I can’t take all the credit,” Anna said earnestly. “This witch made use of her ability in a very ingenious way. She first used cold ice at an extremely low temperature to completely stop all circulation in her body, then used ice crystals that were close to room temperature to fully seal the cold ice inside to prevent it from thawing. She has surely reached a very high level of control over her abilities.”

Ice that approached room temperature… This phrase sounded very contradicting, but Roland understood that the abilities of summon-type witches were unique manifestations of magic, similar to the black flames that were capable of casually taking up different forms and temperatures.

Anna paused for a moment before continuing, “I had only just cut through the outer layer of ice crystals when the whole ice coffin immediately fell apart, like it was an opening she deliberately left behind. So, I think she had been anticipating this day for a while now.”

“By that you mean…”

“She is certain to wake up.”

1. Orange represents one of the highest tier of items in many MMOs and RPGs.