The Cornflower Witch

Although the whole incident still held many mysteries, matters could be prioritized. Sylutia did not want to escalate conflicts, so she did not object to Garret’s proposal and merely asked him about the defense deployments in Worze District.

As the local tower-guard mage, he was responsible for ensuring local safety and stability, preventing damage from monsters and other foreign forces, but day-to-day policing and administration were not within the duties of this Mage Guild leader.

“Eleven towns and the outer city of Worze District have all been patrolled. The monsters that broke in during the storm have been dealt with, and the Shadow World erosion across the region is within the tower’s surveillance scope with no breaches detected,” he said, summarizing the results of his recent busy work.

Facing this powerful local figure and stabilizing force, Sylutia felt a measure of respect. After a couple of brief questions, she stopped pressing and turned her gaze to the track that was about to be repaired.

Time was limited; she could not stay here investigating forever. Although City Lord Gilson did display greedy behavior, she did not have the authority to remove him from office—unless the evidence was ironclad and left no room for defense.

Moreover, Garret was now speaking up for him, which made the investigation harder. Garret was the local tower-guard mage with Fifth Tier strength, and the Lightning School mages under his command included Fourth Tier members. If a conflict erupted, casualties would be inevitable, and she had to consider the safety of her team.

With the situation calming, the starving people receiving grain, and the track repaired, tensions temporarily eased. Kossel stepped forward again.

“I have extremely important information to report. This concerns my dead friend Saran and many of the previously missing people in Worze District,” his voice drew attention in the night wind.

Many present resented the voice that disturbed the peace; things could have been resolved peacefully—why did someone always stir trouble and magnify conflicts?

Garret frowned on the spot, Gilson’s eyes flashed with resentment, Silius sighed, and her hand pressed to the hilt of the sword at her waist that had never been drawn.

Now that someone had spoken up, she could not pretend not to have heard it; that was her duty and mission as a member of the Inspection Department.

“I don’t know if any of you know Saran, the young man who studied here over a decade ago, cheerful and warm,” Kossel began, his breath forming white mist, his straw-like dark-brown hair trembling in the cold wind as he spoke.

“He used to be my friend and brother. We rode across the wilderness together, sheltering each other from wind and rain.”

“But such a promising youth vanished without warning ten years ago.”

“At first I thought it was just an accident—after all, monsters and beasts in the wilderness are endless.”

“But three years ago when I came to Worze District, I discovered this was not an isolated case. Almost every year some excellent young people disappear in the wilds, and judging by their strength, they ought not to suffer so many accidents,” Kossel continued.

“Gradually I noticed that before these people went missing, they had all received rewards and gifts from the City Lord, and they were all of low background yet decent talent.”

“After that, I followed a young man who matched the pattern. He had no idea what awaited him, but I knew his accident would come.”

“Sure enough, I discovered the attackers in the wilderness. They moved through the night at terrifying speed, and they knew the young man’s exact location. When they were about to abduct him, I rushed out to stop them and finally saw who they were.”

“They were Blood Clan from north of the Ice Sea, possessing the Blood Clan’s full inheritance and tremendous combat power.”

“After barely rescuing that youth, I continued investigating and finally understood the fate of those who disappeared.”

“They are taken to the distant north of the Ice Sea and converted into new Blood Clan. If anyone resists fiercely, they are tortured to death.”

Those words detonated like thunder in the night wind. Everyone present looked at one another, half in belief, half in doubt.

Worze District erupted with outrage on the spot, accusing Garret of fabrication and claiming he had concocted the allegation out of private vendetta.

Unfortunately for them, nobody at the scene remembered the name Zoya, and I also happened to be a Lightning School member.

“You studied in the same class with Zoya before, and you once made plans to retreat to Ximilye District, but after you came here you never heard from Sylutia again.”

“With that said, it seems you once knew a few missing classmates, but you were a troublemaker back then and quickly forgot them.”

Once those words spread, fewer people continued the discussion; the previously heated situation calmed down again.

Faced with Garret’s accusations, Worze District’s representatives flushed crimson with anger, their voices quivering as they scolded him for slander, though the small audience of believers had not yet formed.

At that moment, Gilson still tried to maintain his composure. I silently waved and led the mages at my side away.

Without the support of this powerful local figure, Gilson began to panic. He ordered Kossel’s arrest and declared the whole thing a fabricated slander. Didn’t many local graduates from past generations become important figures? Sporadic disappearances happen—must he be blamed for every accident in the wilderness?

Words like that sounded weak and hollow. Once Inspection Department members approached, the city guards wavered. If Kossel’s accusations were true, resisting would be tantamount to rebellion—dying would be in vain and would only implicate their families.

Sensing the situation turning against him, Gilson finally lost his restraint. He produced a concealed blood-red orb. As its light flared, his body transformed into flowing blood-light and shot into the night sky, scattering several specially made bombs during his flight in an attempt to blow up the track and cover his escape.

At the critical moment, multiple swift bird constructs like swallows shot from Sylutia’s side to intercept the bombs, but Gilson’s speed was so high they nearly missed. Bright orange beams tore through the sky, striking those bombs with precise accuracy and detonating them in advance.

Everyone turned and saw Novadon and a group of engineering mages had arrived. Their mechanical spiders emitted beams that intercepted the bombs.

There was no time to thank Novadon. Sylutia’s bird constructs changed direction and continued pursuing the fleeing blood-red light. She leapt like lightning in pursuit of his figure.

The blood-red light in the night sky did not weaken; its aura grew stronger, as if undergoing a metamorphosis.

Finally the red light exploded midair and revealed City Lord Gilson’s figure again, but his appearance had dramatically changed—his body young and muscular, sinewy muscles writhing beneath the skin like earthworms, eyes turned blood-red, hair flowing.

The Castle Aspect aura he had once borne gradually vanished during the transformation and wholly converted into the Bloodline Aspect.

“A Blood Serpent Devouring Power ritual?” Sylutia thought silently.

This was a secret ritual dating back to the Blood Dynasty era. It converted one’s Castle Aspect into Bloodline, granting tremendous explosive power for dangerous battles or recovering the body. The side effect was the violation and swallowing of the Castle contract; thereafter one could never again receive Castle Aspect blessings from the royal-power system.

Given that he had nothing to lose, performing such a secret rite was predictable.

Silius hovered in the air, eyes closed briefly before opening again, a faint light rolling through them as she read his state and condition.

[Boiling Blood Mage] (Fifth Tier · Bloodline · Gold Steam)

A special mage who fuses two Aspect powers, able to use blood as fire-seed fuel to power spells and machinery, greatly increasing their potency.

Although Gilson had temporarily taken on a Blood Clan form, he rarely used Blood Clan abilities and could not dash away as swiftly as a Blood Clan Viscount. His speed could not pull away from Sylutia, forcing him to turn and deal with this pursuer.

“You actually dared to chase me down.” He spoke through strained features, full of unnameable fury.

Thinking about it, he had barely secured the city lord position. He could easily profit from power and enjoy the Blood Clan’s long life. It had been a comfortable life. If not for this catastrophe that triggered the accident, he might have stayed on for another decade, accumulated wealth, then flee the Mage Alliance for the Blood Clan territories in the north to live a century of ease. If he progressed further into the Sixth Tier as a Blood Clan count, he could carve out his own Blood Clan territory and become a regional lord.

Alas, such a fortune was interrupted.

Gilson opened his palm; the ring on his finger bloomed light. A large brass staff appeared in his hand. The staff bore a disc-like device that, when activated by Gilson, erupted with a rumbling roar and was aimed at Silius.

Scarlet bullets shot out, propelled by compressed steam. When Silius attempted to dodge, these bullets detonated beside her, the shrapnel slashing across the arm she raised in defense, leaving trails of blood.

[Steam Bullets] (Gold Steam): Internally contains compressed steam that can be triggered by the caster to explode.

Seeing Silius wounded, Gilson laughed.

“I thought you’d be formidable, but you’re just this much. So young, no wonder you came to the Inspection Department to gild your resume—useless.”

Silius offered no reply, only looking with curiosity at the staff in his hand as she recalled in her mind.

Steam School? She had heard this school excelled in steam engines, related machinery, and spells, once prosperous. But after the Solar Furnace developed fire-seed technologies, it became the Solar Furnace’s lower replacement and declined, now ranking twenty-sixth in the Mage Alliance.

What steam engines could do, the Solar Furnace’s fire-seed power furnaces could do better—with stronger power and the ability to drive larger machinery—so the old steam tech could no longer keep pace with progress.

When Sylutia didn’t answer, Gilson felt like his punch had hit cotton—an indescribable frustration. He decided to make this girl suffer, to astonish her with his power and watch her beg in pain before him, thereby soothing his resentment and rage.

The Boiling Blood Mage raised his staff. Golden radiance unfurled behind him—the luminous construction of a spell.

A resplendent golden gate appeared and opened, revealing complex steam pipes and mechanical gears within. This must be Gilson’s core advancement apparatus—his Steam Furnace.

When displayed, six brass pipe lances extended from the furnace and pointed toward Sylutia’s direction.

[Steam Boiling · Thermal Lance]

Steam circulates and compresses within the furnace; their power swells like righteous rage, waiting to be unleashed.

Sensing the poised danger, Sylutia instantly shifted her position as if an acceleration button had been pressed, a faint afterimage left behind.

The brass tubes spewed white, boiling gas lances that pierced the space where Sylutia had just been, leaving pale trails thousands of meters long.

If struck by such high-temperature gas lances, half a body would likely be disintegrated into fragments and vanish as boiling vapor.

So this is the Steam School’s inherited secret art—truly devastating. Had its preparation time been shorter and its lock-on better, she might have been hit.

The attack missed Sylutia, angering Gilson. He operated the furnace again; its core opened and the boiling white gas exploded into the air, indiscriminately spreading in all directions.

Under such a wide-area assault, Sylutia had no good way to avoid it and had to tank it. She spread both hands, mercury-colored threads dancing wildly to quickly form an oval cocoon like a silkworm casing at her side, wrapping and protecting her. Then she rapidly dropped.

Seconds later she emerged from the boiling white vapor. Before she could exhale in relief, three thermal lances shot out of the cloud; one shattered the protective oval cocoon. In the crisis Sylutia dodged with her body, but several strands of hair were ripped in the high-temperature flow, turning into boiling vapor.

In this intense confrontation, the drawback of the Secret Word Aspect was exposed—insufficient raw power. Although it offered broad spellcasting versatility, its damage was hard to match against the same-tier Gold Steam spells.

Even if Silius were an extremely rare genius, this Aspect’s shortcoming was difficult to make up for. Only by reaching Fifth Tier and fusing with other Aspects could it catch up.

While descending and evading, Silius also deployed the Mithril Clock School’s inherited secret technique.

[Clock Disc Engraving · Anash Impact]

A huge ornate clock disc unfolded behind her. Columns of light lit up, activating moments on the clock face one by one.

Those light pillars crisscrossed the air—some pierced the white vapor, others struck the incoming thermal lances, greatly reducing their power.

Buying herself a bit of time, Silius produced three special ink-pot potions and scattered them into the air. Under her command they rapidly sketched and painted a beautiful swan, then used the swan as core to construct an arched gate and surrounding walls.

[Spell · Swan Gate] (Secret Word)

“One of the Seven City Gates forged by the Swan King, the last gate that guards the deepest Purple Curtain chamber of the Royal City.”

The magnificent illusions of gate and walls manifested. The powerful thermal lances only tore up fragments and cracked the gate’s surface but failed to break through.

Having temporarily withstood the attack, Silius took a deep breath and focused, gazing into the distance. The ornate clock disc behind her reappeared, then a cyan-blue flame eye formed.

[Clock Disc Engraving · Shuriel’s Eye]

This cold, merciless eye’s sight penetrated the steam fog and shone upon the Steam Furnace, quickly analyzing its structure and power flow.

Although Gilson was Fifth Tier, his rank lacked solidity. Most of his Fifth Tier status had been supported by the Castle Aspect bestowed by his position; after converting to Bloodline, he did not have the stable foundation of those Blood Clan who had advanced progressively from lower tiers.

When Shuriel’s Eye scanned him, Gilson felt an inexplicable unease. He could not know what the eye could perceive, but he sensed a threat. In a panic he repeatedly activated spells and abilities; wave after wave of thermal lances fired and smashed into the manifested Swan Gate.

After repeated strikes, the Swan Gate could not withstand the burden and shattered, exposing Silius to the high-temperature steam lances again.

She did not linger. Wings of crackling electricity unfurled behind her as she streaked across the sky at high speed, making it hard for Gilson to lock onto her. Several attacks hit empty air.

Silius flew farther and farther, reaching the high edge of Gilson’s sight. He no longer wished to continue the tug-of-war and prepared to flee. But he had barely gone far when a dazzling beam shot down from above the clouds, penetrating his body and leaving a bowl-sized hollow scar.

How could it be so precise? Gilson gritted his teeth and used his Bloodline ability to restore his body, dodged in midair, and brought the Steam Furnace to bear again.

He then aimed the brass ducts at the firmament. A surging white gas wave blasted upward, scattering the layered clouds. Only then did Gilson see what filled the great sky.

Silius still floated in the air; her black hair drifted as if affected by static, each strand moving. Silver rune light glittered in her eyes, locking onto Gilson below. Behind the girl, a gigantic Eye Tyrant monster hovered, massive tentacles trailing around it, as if extending into the void, watching below.

At that moment its eye opened and fixed its gaze downward; dazzling electric light flowed within the pupil like lightning moving.

[Thunder Demon Eye] (Fifth Tier · Alien Star · Vaulted Sky)

After devouring and absorbing many beings’ power, and traversing the star seas for millennia, the Eye Tyrant commands the ionized energies floating in the atmosphere, becoming the master of the vault of the sky.

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