Chapter 1239: Two Options

The port sat fifteen kilometers from the apartment. To avoid attention, the witches dispersed and moved out in separate directions.

Roland left last. He pulled the mini van out of the residential area with Phyllis and Faldi in the back.

Since the joint mission, he had upgraded the team’s equipment — nothing on par with what the Association issued, but what could be sourced from the market proved serviceable enough. The walkie-talkies he’d bought in bulk online had Bluetooth microphones, rated for five kilometers of open-field range. In practice, given surrounding buildings and a complicated electromagnetic environment, two kilometers was more realistic. The speakers had cost less than two hundred yuan apiece, and with a bulk discount the price had dropped further. He had equipped every witch.

Walkie-talkies were simpler to use than phones, and they drew less notice from passersby. He had watched too many films where an unexpected phone call destroyed an entire operation. It was always stupid. He had no intention of replicating it.

Faldi, whose ability ran to tracking, became the natural liaison.

“Your Majesty, Betty’s team is at the port. They’ve met up with Ling.”

“Tell them to hold position until everyone arrives,” Roland said, eyes on the road.

“Got it. Dawnen’s team is five minutes out, but she’s short on cash.”

“Ask whoever has extra to —”

“Wait. The driver heard her and offered the ride for free.”

“Fine.” Roland’s eyes narrowed slightly. Nobody ever offered him a free ride.

Five seconds after Faldi put the phone down, it rang again. “Your Majesty, Twinkle says she has to take a detour. Doesn’t look like she’s heading for the port.”

Roland frowned. Before he could reply, the line cut out with a sharp crack, followed by the unmistakable sequence of a brief, violent altercation, then silence.

He massaged his temple. “Tell her to take another taxi. Mind the surveillance cameras.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

An hour later, the whole force had assembled at the port.

The first arrivals were cracking sunflower seeds.

The Fallen Evils had established the port as their temporary base and had not noticed the witches. They would have fled if this had been a running pursuit — Roland made a private note to consider acquiring more vehicles, and to feel appropriately embarrassed about the current situation.

He cleared his throat. “Ling. What are they doing?”

“The Fallen Evils are concentrated in the loading area, Your Majesty — over thirty of them. A few scouts are posted on top of the shipping containers. Dawnen’s Veil of Invisibility would let us pass close without issue. The lighting near the inner river is good, so I kept my distance. Most of them are in one place, but they could scatter. If we engage here, I can’t guarantee we contain every one.”

Ling’s ability was shadow fusion — she merged with darkness as completely as Nightingale merged with the Realm of Magic. At night she was invisible in ways that went beyond simply being unseen.

Roland thought for a moment. “We lure them. Draw them away from the riverbank so they can’t break out by water. Then surround them.”

“Theoretically sound,” Phyllis said. “But how do we lure them?”

Roland pointed at himself.

“I hear the Fallen Evils have been targeting martial artists,” he said. “They’ll have no reason to let me walk past.”

The witches melted into the dark.

Roland stepped out alone and strolled toward the dump site with his hands in his pockets, moving at the easy, unconscious pace of a man taking a late evening walk through a neighborhood he knew well.

The dump site had the particular silence of a place that was loud by day and had not yet recovered from it. His footsteps on the pavement; the hum of insects in the dark between the stacked containers; the orange bloom of sodium lights casting shadows too long and too sharp. The labyrinth of shipping boxes loomed around him in the soft glow.

Over the cheap walkie-talkie, Dawnen murmured that the Fallen Evils had spotted him.

They didn’t attack. The scouts noted his Force of Nature and passed the information along, and then the whole group simply watched him — watched him amble through the maze of containers without apparent awareness or urgency, as though he were wandering.

Then the dump site blazed white.

Every light in the loading area had been switched on at once. The flood was absolute — he stood inside it like a subject under interrogation. Slowly, from the shadows’ remaining edges, a dozen figures resolved themselves into people.

The leader wore a mask. Strange patterns covered it, and the design suggested a gate under pressure, seams straining, about to give. He stood slightly apart from the others. Beside him, two men who didn’t carry the blank stare of ordinary Fallen Evils — their eyes were still present, still human, and they wore Association-issue clothing.

“Good evening,” the leader said, pleasantly. “Whatever brought you here, you should understand that escape isn’t an option. Rather than waste your energy, I’d suggest you listen first.”

Roland looked around. Fallen Evils in every direction. A complete encirclement.

“Don’t be alarmed. I’m not here to kill you. In fact, this may be an unusually valuable opportunity.” The man spread his hands, open, a gesture of offering. “I’ve just arrived in this world, and I need your help. Please — don’t refuse before you hear me out. My name is Alpha. I’m the ambassador of God, from what you call the Erosion.”

Roland knew he should have looked frightened. Fear would drop their guard. He understood this perfectly.

What he felt instead was an irritable desire to knock the courteous smile off the man’s face.

“So you’re the one who attacked Prism City.”

“Invasion isn’t accurate,” Alpha said, with the patience of someone correcting a child. “This place belongs to God. It’s simply being reclaimed. Consider your situation, lost man. The so-called martial artists will be defeated eventually — they’ll dissolve back into nothing. Pledging fealty now is the rational choice.”

He let that settle, then continued: “I know it’s hard to grasp immediately. We have time. I can demonstrate the advantages of this arrangement concretely — not promises, but power.” One finger extended. A flicker of red light ignited at the fingertip and the air around it shivered with the pressure of a large magic fluctuation. “I can give this to you. You would become considerably stronger than you are now.”

“He’s not lying,” one of the two Association-clothed men said eagerly. “We were just awakened, and it’s extraordinary — the energy alone —”

“And we haven’t lost our minds,” the other added. “Not like those ones.”

Roland looked at Alpha. “And if I say no?”

Alpha shrugged, untroubled. “Then I’ll have you converted into one of those. They’re weaker, and they have no thought left but hunger — but they obey, which is useful enough.” A slight tilt of the head, almost apologetic. “Truth, power, and purpose on one side. Mindless appetite on the other. You seem intelligent enough to know which you’d prefer.”

“Your Majesty,” Faldi whispered in his ear. “Everyone’s in position.”

Roland let the moment hold for exactly one breath longer than it needed to.

“Then let me explain what the true nature of this world actually is,” he said. “I created it. It isn’t God’s, and I won’t give it to anyone.”

He watched their faces.

“You have two options. One: you surrender your cores now and die quickly. Two: I take them by force, which costs me more time. Either way, the end result is the same. Your preference?”

“Stupid man!” One of the traitors took a step forward. “You think you can kill all of us alone?”

“No,” Roland said. “But I’m not alone.” He looked at them all in turn, and snapped his fingers. “Kill them.”

Chapter 1239 - Two Options

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn Updated by BOXNOVEL.COM The port was only around 15 kilometers from the apartment. To avoid unwelcome attention, all the witches dispersed and headed in different directions. Roland was the last to set off. He drove his shabby mini van out of the residential area, with Phyllis and Faldi sitting at the rear. He had upgraded their equipment after the joint mission organized by the Martial Artist Association. Although the equipment was not as advanced as that distributed by the Association, the appliances he had bought from the market were also quite a good alternative. The walkie-talkies he had bought from the website were equipped with bluetooth microphones, which enabled the witches to communicate with each other within five kilometers. In reality, however, due to the interference of surrounding buildings and the complicated electromagnetic field, the communication was only effective when the witches were no more than two kilometers from each other. Since the speakers were less than 200 Yuan, and he could receive a discount if he placed a bulk order, Roland decided to equip each of the ancient witches with a walkie-talkie. At least, the walkie-talkie was more convenient than a cell phone, and it attracted less attention of passers-by. Roland often saw in a movie where an unexpected call jeopardized the whole mission. He felt it not only stupid but also unrealistic. He definitely did not want to make the same mistake. Faldi, who had the ability to track people down, naturally became the key liaison person. “Your Majesty, Betty’s team has reached the port and met up with Ling.” “Ask them to hide themselves first until the rest of the team arrive,” Roland said without looking backward. “OK. Dawnen’s team is still on the way and they’ll be there in five minutes, but she doesn’t have much money.” “Um… ask them who has extra to give to Dawnen.” “Hold on. Dawnen says that the driver has overheard their conversation and agreed to give them a ride for free.” “Alright then…” Roland said as he rolled his eyes. Why did nobody give him a free ride? Five seconds after Faldi hung up, Roland’s phone rang again. “Your Majesty, Twinkle says she has to take a detour. It looks like that she’s not going to the port.” Roland frowned and asked, “Where is she?” Before he finished, the phone was hung up abruptly, and Roland heard a loud bang on the other end of the line. Then there was a series of noises. Everything fell silent afterwards. Roland massaged his temple and said, “Well… ask her to take another taxi. Remember to avoid the surveillance camera.” “Got it, Your Majesty,” Faldi promised. Around an hour later, all the witches reached the port. The team that arrived first had already started to eat sunflower seeds. Fortunately, the Fallen Evils had used the port as their temporary headquarters and did not notice the presence of the witches. They would have probably fled had this been a running fight. Roland suddenly had an urge to purchase more mini vans to avoid such embarrassment. He cleared his throat and asked Ling, “What are the Fallen Evils doing?” “Your Majesty, the Fallen Evils are all in the loading area. There are more than 30 of them. Some of their scouts are on the iron boxes outside. We could easily pass them unnoticed under Dawnen’s Veil of Invisibility. The lighting condition is pretty good in the area close to the inner river. I didn’t want to get too close to it, so I just took a look at the distance. Most of the Fallen Evils are there, but they could go anywhere. If we fight, I can’t guarantee that we could capture every one of them.” Ling’s ability was to be fused with shadows, and she could hide herself perfectly at night just like Nightingale. In other words, she was the best scout. Roland said thoughtfully, “Well, in that case, let’s lure them out and kill them. Entice them away from the river bank so that they can’t flee by water, and then we can surround them.” “It seems feasible in theory, but how to lure them away?” Phyllis asked. Roland smiled and pointed at himself. “I’ve heard that the Fallen Evils are attacking martial artists. They have no reason to let me go.” After all the witches disappeared in the darkness, Roland revealed himself and strolled to the dump site, as though he was simply a resident who happened to be having a walk here. The dump site was dead quiet. The pattering of his footsteps and the humming of insects with which the silence teemed, became extremely audible. Piles of boxes loomed against the soft glow of yellow lights. It appeared that nobody would come to this deep, desolate labyrinth of boxes at this hour. Dawnen reminded the rest of the team over the cheap walk-talkie that there were a few Fallen Evils lurking at the port. Apparently, the scouts of the Fallen Evils noticed Roland’s Force of Nature and notified their peers. To Roland’s surprise, the Fallen Evils did not attack him immediatley but watched him amble around the port for a few minutes. Then, suddenly, the whole port area was as bright as day when the lights at the dump site were turned on! In the blinding light, Roland saw a dozen people slowly reveal themselves from the shadow. After his eyes were adapted to the dazzling light, he found himself surrounded by the Fallen Evils. The man, who appeared to be the leader, was wearing a mask with strange patterns on it. He stood out from all the other Fallen Evils. Roland noticed that his mask looked like a gate that was about to burst open. There were also two men standing next to the leader, who did not look like ordinary Fallen Evils, for their eyes had yet slid out of focus, and they were wearing the clothes distributed by the Martial Artist Association. “Good evening, poor man,” the leader said in a surprisingly polite tone. “I don’t know what brought you here, but you should know that you have no chance to escape. Rather than waste your time and energy, I would recommend you to first listen to me.” Roland looked around and saw that there were Fallen Evils in all directions. “Don’t be afraid. I don’t want to kill you. On the contrary, this may be a very rare opportunity. I just came to this world and I need your help,” the man said as he extended out his hands. “Don’t refuse it right away. Please let me introduce myself. I’m the ambassador of God, Alpha, from what you call the ‘Erosion’.” Roland should have pretended to be frightened so that they would put their guard down. However, for some reason, Roland had an urge to punch the man in his face and shatter his triumphant, courteous smile. “So, you’re the monster that invaded the Prism City?” “Invasion isn’t the exact word, because this place belongs to God,” Alpha said placidly. “Now it’s time to return it. Look, lost man, the so-called martial artists will eventually be defeated and return to nothingness. It’s more advisable to pledge fealty to God.” “I know it’s hard for you to understand now. We have plenty of time to discuss the true nature of this world. I can show you the benefit you could possibly gain from this deal, apart from those empty promises. I can show you power,” the man said while sticking out one finger. Soon, a flicker of red light ignited his fingertip, and Roland sensed a great fluctuation of magic power. “I can give this power to you, and you’ll become much more powerful.” “Mr. Apostle isn’t lying,” two men beside the leader rejoined. “We were just awakened, and now we feel that we have tons of energy!” “And you won’t lose your mind either like those Fallen Evils.” “What if I decline?” “Then I’ll have to turn you into one of those monsters. Although they’re relatively weak, they obey me,” Alpha threatened while shrugging. “You can choose between the truth and power and being reduced to an unconscious monster that has an insatiable desire for the Force of Nature. You know which one is a better choice.” “Your Majesty, everyone is ready,” Faldi whispered over the walkie-talkie. Roland twitched his lips and said, “Then let me tell you what the true nature of this world is. I create this world, and I won’t give it to anyone. So, you have two options. One is that you give me your cores and die here. The other is that I kill you, and it’ll take me some extra time to collect your cores. Which one do you choose?” “Stupid man!” the martial artists who had betrayed the Association hollered. “You can kill us just by yourself?” “No, haven’t you noticed that you’ve been surrounded?” Roland said and snapped his fingers. “Kill them.”