Rise of the Dark Witch

Winter passes and spring comes.

The cold winter recedes and the warm spring breeze sweeps across the earth.

The ice and snow melted, and green leaves appeared on the branches.

early morning.

Raindrops were falling in a steady patter.

Roya and Weiss, who were ready to go, got into the carriage and prepared to go to the river area.

"Be sure to listen to Master Roya on the way, and learn more about wizards from Master Roya when you have time..." Governor Craigie held Weiss's hand and chattered on.

"I know, I know, I've told you so many times." Weiss waved her hands impatiently.

"Master Roya, I will leave Weiss under your care." Governor Craigie held Roya's hand, "By the time you come back next time, I will probably be gone. By then, please take care of me." grandson."

"I will."

Roja glanced at the young man who was cowering behind Governor Craigie in fear, and nodded in agreement.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Roja sat on the carriage and waved the whip in his hand.

"drive!"

Crunch, crunch, crunch——

The wheels rolled, leaving two ruts on the muddy road and heading into the distance.

After the carriage left the city of Hain Port.

Weiss's eyes, which had been sitting silently in the carriage with her head lowered, suddenly became brighter.

She put on a rainproof cloak and hat and came out of the carriage, sat next to Roya and looked around curiously.

Since becoming a student of the Mandolin Wizard, Weiss is no longer as afraid and reserved when facing Roya, a powerful and terrifying wizard apprentice.

It would be better to say that not only was she not afraid or reserved, but her attitude was a little too casual, almost contemptuous.

"How long does it take for us to reach the river area?" Weiss asked curiously.

"The Hejian area is located in the southernmost part of the Shenglan Kingdom, bordering the Forest Country Tallinn Empire. The Hejian area has lush plants, numerous rivers, miasma everywhere, and various diseases are rampant..." Roja said slowly.

"I asked how long it will take for you to arrive. Why are you talking so much?" Weiss said impatiently.

"Weiss, as a wizard, power is very important, and knowledge is equally important." Roja said solemnly.

"I'm about to become the student of Master Mandolin Wizard. It doesn't matter to me whether you learn a little bit of knowledge." Weiss curled her lips, "Humph, you obviously relied on my relationship to get to Mandolin Tower." Even though you’re trying to get angry with me despite Master Ling’s instructions, do you really think you are a child of any big family? Without me, you would never know me in your life..."

"Half a month." Roja interrupted Weiss directly and said.

"Do you want to stay in the carriage for half a month? It's a long time."

Weiss hugged her legs and sat next to Roja, happily looking at the surrounding scenery and asking Roja some questions from time to time.

For these questions, Luo Ya used the shortest words to answer straightforwardly, without saying any nonsense.

After a while, after the novelty wore off, Weiss yawned and felt bored.

Just as she was about to go back to the carriage and read a book to pass the time, she noticed a damaged carriage parked on the side of the road not far ahead.

An injured man held up a woman who was more seriously injured and waved to them.

"The axle of our car suddenly broke halfway and hit a rock. My wife and I were both injured. Please help us and take us to the nearest village..."

Looking at Luo Ya, who had not stopped preparing at all, the man suddenly knelt down and begged: "Please, my wife is really seriously injured. If she doesn't get timely treatment, she will really die, woo woo, woo." Woo hoo..."

He looked at the man kneeling on the ground, crying sadly, and the seriously injured woman who was in a coma, her face was pale, and she looked like she was breathing out more than she was breathing in.

Weiss showed an unbearable expression on her face.

She pushed Luo Ya gently, "It's impossible to give them a ride, but aren't your medical skills very good? Help them treat them."

"oh."

Roja turned his head and glanced in the direction of the damaged carriage.

Snapped! Snapped! ——

Whether it was the pleading man or the seriously injured woman, their bodies collapsed to the ground, their brains dead and turned into a vegetative state.

"What are you doing!" Weiss glared at Roja, "I asked you to heal them, not kill them!"

Weiss has already mastered the primary meditation method. Although she cannot release her mental power to kill people, she can sense the sharp mental power pouring out of Roja's eyes.

Roja didn't speak. The Holy Sword Lion Heart on his waist suddenly buzzed with a roar, and traces of black oscillating power poured out from the sword body.

"W-what do you want to do? You must be angry and want to attack me..." Weiss shrank in fear and moved her butt away from Roja.

Crackling——

The power of black oscillation suddenly accelerated and shot out.

"Wow-"

Weiss screamed, but the pain she imagined never came.

It turned out that the target of the oscillating power was not her, but the broken carriage on the roadside.

The carriage was shattered by the force of the oscillation. Looking at the menacing men hiding in the carriage with sharp knives in their hands, Wei Si looked pale.

"He, he, they..."

Thinking that she had just wanted to save someone, Weiss couldn't help but feel a sense of shame at being fooled.

"I am indeed not as knowledgeable as the Mandolin Wizard. It may not be of much use to you to learn wizard knowledge from me, but will the Mandolin Wizard carefully teach you the skills of life?"

"Will you be taught how to guard against others and how to read people's hearts?"

"If you don't want to encounter what just happened again, maybe I can help you."

Weiss lowered her head in despair and did not reply, but Roja already knew her answer.

…

Crash--

It rained heavily.

Rain poured into the car through the gaps in the doors and windows, making the entire car damp. The people inside were as wet as if they had just been fished out of the water.

"There was an abandoned house in front of us. We went to take shelter from the rain."

Call——

The carriage stopped in front of a dilapidated house.

Roya took Weisi into the leaky house and found that there were many refugees dressed similarly and warming themselves by the fire.

The moment Luo Yaweisi came in, a pair of piercing eyes shot towards them.

Looking at Wei Si's beautiful face and the luxurious clothes the two of them wore, many people tightened their grip on the sickle and hammer beside them.

Sensing the abnormality in the atmosphere, Weiss snorted coldly and was about to kill those characters with malicious intentions.

After more than half a month of traveling, Weiss was no longer the arrogant aristocratic lady she was at the beginning.

Along the way, she has seen blood, killed many bandits, and has grown greatly in character and strength.

In fact, Wei Si was originally a diamond with excellent talent. When Luo Ya and Wei Si first met five years ago, Luo Ya liked Wei Si very much and was optimistic about her.

The reason why he degenerated into such an indescribable and annoying appearance when we met again was because he was taught a bad way by Governor Craigie, a bad old man.

Now that Weisi has been guided by Luo Ya for more than half a month, the changes have been obvious.

Feeling the tense atmosphere in the house, Weisi was about to start a fight with those people.

Roja took a step forward and stopped Weiss. He pretended to look around, "It's a bit dark around here, be careful not to fall."

Roja raised his hand, and a pinch of warm life flame emerged in his palm, illuminating the dim house and shining on the faces of everyone who was frightened and nervous.

Weiss looked at Roja in confusion, opening and closing her mouth, and asked silently: "Why?"

Roja shook his head quietly and said in a weak voice that only Weiss could hear: "When walking outside, don't rely too much on force. Kill as few people as possible without killing people."

"They were the ones who wanted to attack me."

"They are just farmers fleeing."

"Hmph, a peasant who would attack a noble?"

"Otherwise? Do you think that farmers are born to be the dogs of nobles? Will they lick the nobles without any bottom line at any time?"

Roya walked towards the largest fire in the house.

He said to the nervous man who should be the leader next to the fire: "Can we warm up by the fire together?"

"No, no problem."

"Look, everyone is very hungry...Weiss, please bring us to the food and share some with everyone."

After the tense atmosphere in the house disappeared.

"Uncle, we are going to the Hejian area. Do you know anything about the Hejian area?"

"We just escaped from the Riverlands, you'd better not go."

"What happened?"

"A large-scale plague suddenly broke out three months ago. Hundreds of thousands of people died, and the number of deaths continues to increase. The Earl of Hejian has ordered the entire Hejian area to be sealed off, with no entry or exit. We took advantage of the incomplete He escaped from the blockade."

"Is the plague so serious?"

"Well, it's more than serious. I suspect that after this plague, the Hejian area will become a desolate and dead place with no survivors."

Next, Roja and the man talked a lot about the plague in the river area.

After the rain subsides.

Roya ignored the man's kind persuasion and set off again with Weiss.

After entering the river area.

The whole world suddenly became extremely quiet.

There was the sound of wind, water, and the rustle of swaying branches, but there was no sound coming from living life.

It was as if they were the only two living people in the whole world.

Since entering the river area, Weisi's whole body has been shrouded in uneasiness.

She asked Roja again and again, "I know your medical skills are very good, but can you really handle this plague? I think it's better not to force yourself."

Roja didn't answer, he just looked at the clear river not far away.

Weiss looked in the direction where Roja was looking, and found that there were many smelly and rotten corpses floating on the crystal clear river, and a bunch of tender fish were swimming around the corpses.

"vomit--"

Weiss covered her mouth and retched with a pale face.

It wasn't until several minutes passed that she finally regained her breath.

She pulled Roja's sleeve and said half-pleading, half-command: "Let's get out of here quickly. This is not something we can solve at all. What if even we are infected..."

"drive!"

Roja waved his whip and drove the carriage forward.

Knowing that Roja would not take her away at all, Weiss asked: "Where are we going? Is it the Earl of Hejian's mansion?"

"A place where people gather." From the moment he stepped into the river area, Roja already knew his destination this time.

The two drove the carriage for more than an hour.

Along the way, they saw countless corpses, deserted villages, and streets full of dead people.

However, they did not see a single living person.

Sudden!

Weiss pointed forward and cheered excitedly, "There! There are living people there!"

They are indeed living people, and there are many of them, hundreds of them.

Those people were men, women, old and young. Everyone looked pale and haggard, and their bodies were weak. They were escorted by soldiers towards a certain destination ahead.

Luo Yaweisi discovered the other party, and the other party also discovered them.

"Come on, come on -"

A handsome man wearing armor, with eyes as sharp as an eagle, led two guards on horseback toward the carriage that surrounded Roja and the others.

"I am Harder Bummons. I wonder where you two are from? Although you may feel unhappy, please come with us. This is all to prevent the further spread of the plague." The leading man said.

Roja's body did not move, and the Holy Sword Lion Heart roared at his waist and vibrated violently, making an ear-splitting buzzing sound.

The next moment, black oscillating power shot out from the sword body and hit the surrounding trees.

boom! boom! boom! ——

Dozens of trees were suddenly blasted into pieces by the oscillating force, splashing in mid-air.

"This this……"

Harder and the others looked at this scene dumbfounded, and for a moment they didn't even realize what was happening.

"I am a wizard sent by the kingdom for support." Roja said solemnly.

"I've met the wizard!"

"We didn't know your identity just now, Lord Wizard, please forgive us for being rude!"

The three of them suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Roja.

"That's enough." Roja asked them to get up. "There should be wizards who have arrived before. Take me to them."

"yes!"

Harder rode ahead and led the way.

"Wizards Kukasi and Maven have been here for a month. They have been busy treating patients day and night." Speaking of the two wizards Kukasi and Maven, Hader looked full of admiration.

"Are you planning to take these patients to where the wizard is?" Roja asked.

"Yes." Hader nodded: "Shanta Town is not far ahead. Tens of thousands of people have been taken in there. We are following the wizard's instructions to bring back all the surviving people in the river area for treatment. .”

As he spoke, Harder sighed, "This plague is really too serious. It comes quickly and is infected quickly, with a high fatality rate. If the wizard hadn't appeared in time, we people in the river area would really have died."

Roja glanced at the hundreds of people who were escorted by soldiers to Shanta Town to receive treatment from the wizard.

"That's enough, we don't need them anymore," Roja said.

"What are you talking about?" Harder asked confused.

"Take them to find a place to stay and rest." Roja ordered.

"Are they all infected with the disease? If they cannot get timely treatment from the wizard, they will all die!" Harder shook his head and refused.

"I am the wizard!"

Roya glared at Harder. Under his invisible pressure, Harder's legs trembled in fear.

"……yes."

Despite his reluctance, Harder did as Roya said.

"Everyone, stop and find a place to camp and rest! Let's start again tomorrow!"

After Harder rode around in a circle to deliver the order, he returned to Roja.

"Master Wizard, when can we move on?" Harder said cautiously.

"You really care about their lives." Roya looked at Harder and sighed.

"Of course, they are my people!" Hader replied without any hesitation.

"Are you the Earl of Hejian?" Roja asked in surprise.

"My father contracted an illness and passed away two months ago. My mother was too sad and passed away after my father. My eldest brother who was supposed to be the heir to the title also died. The second brother and the third brother... In the end, I inherited the title of Earl of Hejian." Harder. He looked gloomy and said in a low and sad voice.

"That's it." Roja waved his whip and drove the carriage forward. "By tomorrow, everything will be over."

"Are you going to Shanta Town?"

"Um."

"I can show you the way."

"good."

Under the leadership of the new Earl Harder of the River, Roya and Weiss headed towards Shanta Town.

The closer they got to Shanta Town, the stronger the feeling of uneasiness in everyone's hearts.

Weiss clutched Roja's sleeves and kept signaling to Roja with her eyes, but Roja ignored her.

Hader explained to himself: "There are tens of thousands of patients gathered in Shanta Town ahead. They are tortured by illness every day, and hundreds of people die every day. People's pain and resentment of death, even if they are separated by a few days, Hundreds or thousands of meters can affect a person’s mood.”

Roja sneered, "Are you sure?"

While Weiss and Harder were confused, Roya stretched out his right index finger and quickly tapped their heads hard.

"Um!"

"ah!"

The two of them let out a scream at the same time.

Harder did not dare to blame Roja, who was a wizard, so he just held his head and looked at Roja in confusion, waiting for Roja's explanation.

As for the student who thought she was about to become an official wizard, Weiss, who had a higher status than Roja, didn't have so many worries.

"What are you doing?" She clenched her fists and glared at Roja, as if she would punch him if Roja's explanation did not satisfy her.

Before Roja could explain, Weiss and Harder were stunned.

The two of them looked around absently, looking at the ominous black mist that suddenly appeared in the air, making people tremble from the bottom of their hearts.

This black mist has been permeating around them, but they had never noticed the existence of the black mist before.

They looked up towards where the black mist was thickest.

It’s actually Shanta Town!

As a patient accommodation, the place where wizards treated people infected with the plague turned out to be the place where the ominous black fog was thickest.

The black fog in the direction of Shanta Town was so thick that you couldn't see your fingers. The thick black fog with blood in it was surging and rolling, as if a fierce ghost that was swallowing people was roaring.

"When you took people to Shanta Town before, did you see what it was like inside?" Roja asked.

Roja's voice was so calm, but when it entered Hard's ears, Hard felt that the sounds seemed to be whispers from the abyss.

"me……"

"Except for wizard Kusika and wizard Maven, I haven't seen any living people. The patients are all staying in the house..."

"All we could hear were the painful wails and screams of the patients..."

"There are too many patients gathered there, and it's easy to get sick if you stay there for a long time..."

"That place is so hopeless that we don't even want to or dare to stay for too long..."

Hader was banging his head in pain and talking intermittently.

The more he spoke, the harder the hand holding his head became, and the uglier his face became.

"Could it be that they are evil wizards using the plague to experiment on my people?"

"Loya, are you the one sent by the Kingdom?"

"I, I, I... I have actually sent the people who trust me into the devil's cave with my own hands?"

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

Hard suddenly screamed loudly.

There seemed to be a snake swimming under the scalp of his head, and a strip-shaped bulge appeared that was moving rapidly.

squeak--

Something pierced Hard's scalp and exposed it to the air.

That's not a snake, it's a tree branch!

There are actually branches growing deep in Hader's head!

More and more branches pierced Hard's scalp and were exposed to the air, and Hard's screams became more and more harsh.