Chapter 796: First Action of the Pioneering Team
The Senior Witches’ doubts lasted barely a day before the subsequent news dissolved them.
Everything Phyllis had described was real.
The Third Border City erupted.
After that, no matter how reluctant Alethea was, she couldn’t hold back a tide that had already turned. The choice of Taquila was obvious.
Through the phantom instrument, Pasha conducted a formal meeting with Roland. The covenant was made.
The God’s Punishment Witches of the underground city passed through the light curtain one by one — each lifting an elbow, pressing it to their chest in the salute of acknowledgment — greeting the lord of Neverwinter, King of Graycastle, and recognizing him as the sole leader of the united front. The Senior Witches who had transformed into original carriers bent their primary tentacles in submission. It was a salute reserved, historically, for the Three Chiefs of the Union; it had not been given to anyone in more than four hundred years. Now it went to a common person.
Alethea was last.
As a higher ascendant who had joined the Blessed Army at twenty and fought the demons through more than a decade of war, she had her own history with pride and resistance. Pasha had quietly braced for something unexpected. But Alethea had measured what she carried against what she refused, and the Battle of Divine Will had weighed more. Her primary tentacle bent toward Roland. Reluctantly. Completely.
Whatever her expression conveyed in that moment, her decision made the relief in Pasha run deep.
If this were still Taquila’s age, the scene would have been unimaginable. But more than four hundred years could erode many things. The conviction that witches would lead and humanity would follow had worn thin against centuries of diminishing returns. When a common person demonstrated genuine potential and treated Taquila’s survivors with something that looked like grace, resistance became pointless.
Pasha believed — as the Three Chiefs had believed — that witches would one day return to a position of leadership. Common people like Roland were rare. But when the third Battle of Divine Will was done, and the survivors had to build what came after, the relationship between witch and common person would need to be different from what it had been. More equal. More honest.
She did not mind welcoming that future.
Three days passed before Roland actually put his plan into motion.
To keep Zero from becoming suspicious, he had rented a warehouse near the tube-shaped apartment — a temporary landing point. If he ended a dream while the witches were assembled there, they would return to the same location on reentry. The mechanics of the first connection were less flexible, inevitably involving Room 0825, but Roland had no satisfying explanation for why that room served as the threshold. Probably it had something to do with Zero. He made a habit of waiting until she left for school before bringing any new witch through for the first time.
During those three days, he had selected four God’s Punishment Witches as the pioneer team: Phyllis, Faldi, Dawnen, and Ling.
The first two days he spent feeding them — fast food, drinks, whatever they requested most urgently. Their hunger for sensation was so overwhelming it could be read in the speed at which they moved chopsticks, the way they cupped containers in both hands and held them a moment before eating, as though the warmth itself needed to be verified. On the third day his budget forced him to instant noodles and mineral water. They ate these with equal dedication. Phyllis nearly licked the seasoning packet.
That, Roland decided, would be a discredit to the united front.
His savings were running low. The plan couldn’t wait.
When evening came he told Zero he had to work late, then climbed into two cabs with the four witches and headed for the villa district beyond the city’s third ring.
The witches had not spent their days idle. Faldi, as a former member of Taquila’s Quest Society, possessed a detection ability: she could create a Magic Bug Nest, link her consciousness to insects — moths, bees — and release them to seek out sources of magic power. It was a technique developed for tracking demon movements in the real world, and it translated with brutal efficiency here. Bugs could not give her vision, but they fed her a clear sense of the type and scale of any Force of Nature they encountered.
After three days of searching, she had found more than a dozen sources of magic reaction, including Garcia in Room 0827. After filtering for type, six viable targets remained.
The one in the villa district was worth the most.
The plan: use Faldi’s magical detection to locate Fallen Evils, raid them for their Force of Nature and anything of monetary value, and disappear. Fallen Evils rarely left their territories, so even after one was destroyed, its neighbors would notice nothing for days. And if a body was eventually discovered, the case would transfer to the Martialist Association, who would attribute the kill to a rival faction of Awakened — not to a team of supernatural bandits operating out of a rented warehouse.
They arrived in the dark. Dawnen summoned her matte curtains — an ability that didn’t merely render her companions invisible but eliminated their presence entirely: sight, smell, magical signature. Nothing could detect what was inside the curtains without physical contact. The five of them moved through the main gate and up toward the hillside without incident.
The villa area was built for solitude. Wide yards, heavy walls, almost no one out after dark. It made a perfect approach.
“Here.” Faldi stopped and pointed at a large detached compound set back from the road. Its forecourt alone was nearly as large as their apartment building.
“Enviable,” Roland muttered, eyeing the surveillance camera’s blinking light. He turned to Ling — the last member of the team. “Your turn. Same as you practiced.”
Ling nodded, and sank sideways into the shadow at the edge of the wall as if the darkness had taken a long slow breath and drawn her in.
None of the Taquila survivors could pass through solid matter the way Nightingale or Margie could. But Ling’s ability was its own kind of passage. She could dissolve into shadow and move through it freely — like water finding the spaces in stone. At night, when shadows spread across every surface, an entire estate became her domain. She moved through the gap between door and frame without friction, without sound.
A moment of stillness.
Then the soft crack of a latch turning, and a sliver of dark opened in the front door.
Chapter 796: First Action of Pioneering Team
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The worries and doubts of the Senior Witches lasted only a day or so, and were completely dispelled by the subsequent news.
Everything that Phyllis said was real.
The Third Border City began to seethe with excitement.
In this case, no matter how reluctant Alethea was, she could not stop the other witches who were looking forward to entering the Dream World. At this point, the choice of Taquila was obvious.
Through the phantom instrument, Pasha conducted a meeting with Roland about the covenant.
The God’s Punishment Witches in the underground city walked passed the light curtain one by one, lifting the elbow and pressing on the chest to greet the lord of Neverwinter, King of Graycastle and acknowledge him as the only leader of the united front. The Senior Witches who were transformed into original carriers also bent down their main tentacles to show their allegiance. This was a type of salute which had only been received by the Three Chiefs of the Union, signifying that Taquila now had a ruler from the common people after more than 400 years.
Alethea was the last one to show up in front of the light curtain.
As a higher ascendant, Alethea joined the Blessed Army when she was 20 years old and had fought with the demons for more than a decade to defend the glory of Taquila. Pasha was worried that she would do something unexpected. But ultimately Alethea had chosen to put the Battle of Divine Will and the expectations of her companions in the first place and bent her
main tentacle to Roland. Regardless of how reluctant she was at the moment, her decision still made Pasha feel relieved.
If it were still in the Taquila age, this would definitely be an incredible scene.
However, a long period of more than 400 years could change many things. The ambitions and convictions that “all mankind will surely defeat the devil under the leadership of witches” were gradually diminished. When a common person showed his amazing potential and grace toward the Taquila survivors, their resistance would seem pointless.
Pasha believed the unanimous view of the Three Chiefs of the Union, that the witches would eventually stand out from the human community. Common people like Roland were only a minority, and the witches would one day return to the position of the rulers. But by then, the relationship between the two sides was bound to be much more harmonious than that of the Taquila age. After all, if they could survive the third Battle of Divine Will, the idea of the witches and the common people working together to maximize their strength would undoubtedly gain in popularity.
She did not mind welcoming such a future.
…
It was already three days later when Roland actually implemented his looting plan.
To ensure that Zero would not suspect, he rented a warehouse near the tubeshaped apartment to serve as a temporary “landing point” for the witches to connect to the Dreamland. As long as the witches assembled here before he interrupted the dream, they would still appear in the warehouse when they entered the next time.
Of course, the first connection would inevitably be Room No. 0825 of the tube-shaped apartment. Roland was puzzled about this and found no explanation for it. Probably Zero was the reason why this room became the key point connecting the real world and the Dreamland. Therefore, he had to
wait until Zero went to school every time when a new witch came to the Dreamland.
During these three days, Roland selected four God’s Punishment Witches, including Phyllis, as the first pioneers. For the first two days, he bought some fast food and drinks to entertain them and satisfy their extremely strong desire for food and drink. On the third day, he could only afford some instant noodles and mineral water. But even then, they still enjoyed every bite and nearly licked the seasoning packets.
Actually, they had tried but were stopped by Roland.
That would be a discredit to the united front.
As his savings started becoming less, he had to carry out the plan now.
When the night fell, Roland told Zero that he had to work overtime and would go home late. Then he went with the four witches to the villa area outside the third ring of the city in two cabs.
The witches did not just stay in the warehouse to enjoy food and drinks these days. As a former member of the Quest Society, Faldi had a strong detective ability. She was able to create a Magic Bug Nest, link her consciousness with bugs such as moths and bees, and release them to spontaneously search for other Sources of Magic Power. This was very effective in preventing the attack of demons and could also be used to search for some areas inaccessible to ordinary people.
Although the bugs could not provide visions for Faldi, they helped her to feel the types and sizes of the magic power, including the Force of Nature.
After three days of searching, she found more than a dozen magic reaction sources, including Garcia living in 0827.
After excluding the same type, there were still six targets.
Among the six targets, the one living in the villa area was most worthwhile to loot.
That was Roland’s plan—searching for the Fallen Evils through effective magic inspection and looting their Force of Nature and property. These mutated monsters did not easily leave their habitats, so even if they were destroyed, their neighbors would not notice. Moreover, even if their bodies were found by the police, the case would be transferred to the Martialist Association. By then, the Association would only believe that they were killed by another group of the Awakened. They would not suspect that another group of superpower bandits were in town.
After getting off the cabs, they came to a dark corner and stood around Dawnen. She then summoned the “matte curtains” to wrap everyone together.
This magical ability could make her companions within the reach of the curtain disappear, but it was far beyond being invisible, as the vision, smell, and magic breath would also be blocked. No one could sense the existence of the hidden people without direct touch. Undoubtedly, Dawnen would play a crucial role in a surprise attack.
With Faldi’s guidance, the five people passed straight through the main entrance and walked all the way towards the foothill of the villa area.
Here was the residential area of the rich people in the city. Most villas were built by the hillside with wide yards. Hardly anyone walked around in the evening, which made it a perfect place for Roland’s plan.
“Here we are. The target is in it.” Faldi stopped and pointed to a vast, detached compound on the side of the road. Its parvis was almost as large as the tube-shaped apartment.
“Damn the enviable rich people…” Roland glanced at the flashing surveillance camera, turned around to look at Ling, the last member of the looting team—no, the pioneering team and said, “It’s your turn to help us sneak into the house. Just do as you practiced before.”
Ling nodded and slowly faded into the shadow as if she was sinking.
None of the Taquila survivors could directly walk through any obstacles like Nightingale or Margie, but Ling’s ability was enough for this task. She could
melt into any shadow and move freely like water. Especially in the night when the shadows spread around, the entire parvis became her domain, and she could easily walk through the gaps between the doors and windows.
“Crack!” The door of the house was open with a slit.