“Hmm… Could this be considered an advanced awakening?” the prince asked.
Agatha didn't know what to say for a moment, her mind only occupied by one thought—why is this happening?
The Holy City was forgotten, the Union destroyed, logically, without specialized training and guidance, the witches' abilities should have greatly regressed. But what was she seeing now? A witch who had just come of age had already undergone two promotions. This couldn't be described as just good luck. Even in the talent-filled Union, witches like this were rare.
And, if she heard correctly, there were three others like Anna?
Agatha stared blankly at the gray-haired man, and it took a while for her to regain her senses. “This… it should be, but I don't have a Balanced Magic Stone, so I can't test the extent of the ability change.” She paused, her throat a little dry, "I would like to ask, what exactly did Anna experience during her awakening? She seems to have just come of age not long ago, did these two changes happen within a short year or two?"
After Agatha finished speaking, she realized that she had unconsciously used honorifics—witch abilities could not be inherited. Even if a large group of ordinary people were gathered as followers, there was no guarantee that witches with strong abilities would be born. Therefore, the high-level always determined the order based on ability rather than background. According to Anna's current abilities, she already had the qualifications to enter the high-level of the rulian Union. Compared to herself, even if not a superior, she was at least an equal.
Any advanced awakener is a worthy object of respect.
"The first time was because her magic was exhausted when fighting the Evil Beasts. The second time, I think it was caused by learning knowledge."
"Knowledge…" she paused, "What kind of knowledge?"
"Ahem, this can be discussed later," the prince cleared his throat, "Now let's go back to the topic we were talking about just now. What exactly does Akalies's God's Punishment Army experiment refer to?"
Indeed, if he wasn't lying, this knowledge must contain very important principles, so Anna could awaken new abilities through enlightenment. Before gaining trust, it was normal for him to be unwilling to elaborate. Agatha couldn't help but feel excited. Increasing the probability of promotion was of extraordinary significance to witches. If the principles could be understood, it wouldn't be difficult to revive the Union.
However, where did he get this knowledge? This is a backward and barbaric land. How could some villagers understand the mysteries of magic? She was full of confusion about this. What had the world become in the past four hundred years?
Agatha temporarily moved these difficult questions aside. "Akalies was extremely powerful. After wearing the God's Punishment Stone, she didn't fall behind even when facing several Hell Lords. However, there are too few Transcendents. Or... we lost in terms of the diversity of abilities."
"Diversity?"
"That's right. Before a witch awakens, no one knows what kind of ability she will have. But according to the Union's statistics, only one in ten witches is suitable for combat—this ratio also applies to Transcenders. And of these combat witches, there is absolutely no certainty as to how many can become Promoters. The Union has encountered a situation where no Promoter appeared for fifty years, so the combat abilities of witches are very unstable."
"Ordinary people may not be able to awaken, awakening may not lead to combat, and combat may not lead to becoming stronger, is that what you mean?" the prince said, stroking his chin.
"That's pretty much it," Agatha sighed. "So we formed a guard composed of ordinary people to make up for the witches' shortcomings, but... ordinary people cannot defeat demons. Even if they carry God's Punishment Stones, it is far from enough to contend with the powerful Mad Demons. In this unfavorable situation, Akalies ordered the Secret Exploration Society to start researching warriors who could break through the limits of the human body. Judging from this sloppy note, she seems to have succeeded..."
"Seems?" the prince asked curiously, "Didn't you say you were a member of the Secret Exploration Society?"
"That's true, but since this order was issued, I left the Taqila Secret Exploration Society and built my own experimental building in the Misty Forest." She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before continuing, "They quickly found the direction, using the power of the God's Punishment Stone
to forcibly combine witches and ordinary people together, but... this process requires the consumption of the witch's life. I cannot accept this experimental method. The Secret Exploration Society should focus on exploring the uses of the Godstone, not treat witches as consumables. Nataya was right, this behavior will only bring destruction to the witches."
The prince looked a little shocked, "Treating people as consumables?"
"Akalies had no choice. Taqila was in imminent danger at the time," Agatha saw the other party's unbearable expression, and for some reason, she suddenly felt that she liked it a dian, "But now the Union has vanished, which shows that this kind of thing has not been preserved, and it should not appear again in the future."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and caressed the page, crossed the mountains, crossed the rivers... what a familiar slogan. But where are you all now? How can I rebuild order by myself?
"However, the God's Punishment Army still exists."
This sentence made Agatha's fingers suddenly stiffen. She looked at the prince in disbelief, "You... what did you say?"
"I don't know if this is a coincidence," the other party said very slowly, as if considering his words, "The Church... is an organization you have never heard of. In the Great Ravine in the middle of the Impassable Mountains, they have built two cities, both called the Holy City. The witch-hunting operation was initiated by them. Not only that, they are also searching for orphans and stray children everywhere, and bringing them back to the Holy City monastery for adoption. Wendy was one of those who escaped from it."
"The Church has its own army and territory. The most powerful warriors are the God's Punishment Army. These mindless monsters are incredibly powerful, comparable to Transcendendent witches, and the number is definitely not small. In addition, they may even have a group of powerful witches. This is why I used the God's Punishment Lock to temporarily seal your ability." The prince spread his hands, "Before you told us this... we always thought that the people who built the Holy City of Taqila in the barbaric land and fought against the demons were the Church, and those ruins were all left by the Church."
Agatha opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. An organization composed of ordinary people actually stole the Union's most important secrets, and in turn hunted witches, creating the God's Punishment Army to consolidate their rule? She suddenly felt a splitting headache. The God's Punishment Army had not disappeared, but had fallen into the hands of an organization that hated witches! What exactly did those people in the Union do?
Seeming to see her fatigue and discomfort, Wendy gently pushed her down on the bed and whispered, "Let's stop here for today. Get a good night's sleep. Don't worry, we'll find out the reason."
Afterwards, she felt her ankle loosen, and the God's Punishment Lock had been removed by Anna. Everyone left the room one by one, and the gray-haired prince walked last.
Just as he closed the door, Agatha heard a calm and steady sentence.
"There is one dian you are wrong, ordinary people can defeat demons."
.(。)