Chapter 68 - 64: Miss Witch’s First Dance

Chapter 68: Chapter 64: Miss Witch’s First Dance

The northern region of the Bone Forest.

Outside the ice wall, it was exceptionally quiet.

Inside the ice wall, it was extraordinarily lively.

To celebrate their great victory, the Guards had built a low tower of firewood and lit a bonfire. They re-cooked the already roasted meat and served it on the tables.

The Faceless Monkeys had been completely reduced to a meal on a plate, their meat delicious.

Besides the monkeys, there were also wild rabbits, boars, snakes, and hedgehogs from the forest that had been innocently caught up in the fray, and even the meat of Tree Monsters, which tasted remarkably similar to venison.

As long as it was edible, no Guard would refuse it.

Everyone gathered around the bonfire, dancing to celebrate the food and victory while singing a folk song from the Green Shade Territory.

"Three crows, bellies rumbling, my friend, where shall we find a meal today?

"The Knight is long dead, his blood long dry.

"The hound will not leave, the hawk will not leave.

"The maiden on the deer has taken the Knight’s body away.

"Oh, clear lake water, wash away the Knight’s filth.

"Let the Knight return to the maiden’s embrace, return to the maiden’s embrace, return to the maiden’s embrace..."

Amid the singing, Lian was also pulled into the dancing crowd by the enthusiastic Guards.

Lian had brought the Southern Army with him this time, but the vast majority of the Guards had been left back in the city. This was to prevent any unexpected incidents in the Green Shade Territory. After all, since he had brought the Guardian Witch, Sophie, with him, he had to leave some security behind.

Besides, Mary didn’t yet know that there were surviving Jackson Clan People in the Blue Moon Territory besides Lorne Jackson. She knew even less about his engagement to Catherine, so naturally, she was unaware of the Green Shade Territory’s schemes.

An operation like clearing out the Bone Forest was perfectly reasonable, regardless of whether the Green Shade Territory was planning to wage war externally.

It was a necessary step for expanding their territory.

Lian believed that Mary wouldn’t send people to attack their home base, and neither would the King, which was why he had set out on this expedition with peace of mind.

Of course, he also had to account for special circumstances. Leaving three-fourths of the army in the territory was precisely to prevent such situations from occurring.

After experiencing a battle together, the Guards’ relationship with him had clearly grown much closer.

However, neither Kob nor any of the other Guards had the courage to invite the Ice Witch to dance.

The young woman could only sit forlornly to the side, quietly watching her goldfish as their colors shifted in the light of the bonfire.

Sophie knew this liveliness wasn’t for her.

The Guards worshiped her, relied on her, and feared her.

In contrast to the neglected Sophie, Nun Sally was extremely popular. The Guards wished each and every one of them could make Father Simo a cuckold, but unfortunately, they lacked the ability to do so.

Sally was a special Succubus. She possessed a Loyalty uncharacteristic of her kind, so without Simo’s permission, she couldn’t drain the life force out of this group of hot-blooded Guards.

"Sophie, come on!"

Sophie turned her head slightly and saw Lian in the crowd, waving at her.

She thought for about two seconds, then lowered her head and went back to watching the fish and tadpoles.

It was as if they were also holding a lively bonfire party, circling around their food.

Lian sighed, walked over to Sophie, reached out, and pulled her straight up from the ground.

"Raising fish and tadpoles doesn’t require constant staring. Come on, my Guardian Witch, Miss Sophie, you need to relax."

Sophie froze for a moment, feeling the warmth from Lian’s fingertips.

Lian pulled her into the crowd, and the Guards immediately cleared a path.

Seeing the Guards suddenly grow reserved, Lian simply took Sophie’s hand and began to dance.

Everyone stared in astonishment at Lian and Sophie.

They didn’t understand why Lord Lian wasn’t afraid of the Ice Witch.

Andre watched Lian with a look of admiration, mustering his courage to say, "I really want to be a man like Lord Lian."

"Stop dreaming, Andre. First, you’d have to be Lord Moria’s illegitimate child."

Kob said.

The Guards immediately burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became lively once again.

Everyone else joined the dancing as well.

It was the first time Sophie had ever experienced such a lively atmosphere, and she found it a bit difficult to adapt. She frequently missed her steps, treading on Lian’s feet.

"Sorry."

Sophie said, her head lowered.

"It’s fine. My leather boots are very durable."

Lian said with a smile.

The silver-haired girl’s face, embellished by the flickering light, looked even more perfect, enough to make one’s heart skip a beat.

Although her face was expressionless, her eyes were clearly much more animated than before.

As her gaze shifted, an indescribable emotion began to grow.

Sophie enjoyed dancing with Lian. It reminded her of the sight of Anna and Annie holding hands, dancing to celebrate new life.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time anyone had ever invited her to dance.

It was also the first time she had ever danced in front of so many people.

So, it was understandable that her steps were clumsy.

But the Power of the Guardian Witch was not to be underestimated.

For example, when Sophie accidentally stepped on a nearby Guard’s foot, the Guard would immediately feel as if he had a compound fracture, subconsciously grabbing his foot with a pained, twisted expression.

As a Three-star Knight, Lian could barely withstand it, but at least he could still keep a smile on his face.

"S-Sorry."

Sophie, who was not good with words, kept apologizing to the people around her.

Eventually, everyone wisely retreated a few steps, giving the pair space to dance alone.

With everyone dancing in their own space, the safety factor immediately shot up.

Lian finally understood why no one dared to ask the Guardian Witch to dance.

They had good reason to be afraid of her.

After the singing and dancing, everyone began to enjoy the delicious roasted meat.

The revelry continued until the early hours of the morning before finally ending. Most people went into the temporarily erected tents, leaving only a few Guards on duty to stand watch by the ice wall.

Inside the Lord’s tent, two freshly assembled wooden beds were covered with straw, upon which lay soft, clean sheets.

Lian was the first to lie down on the one nearer to the entrance. "Sophie, get some rest. We have to press on tomorrow."

Sophie nodded slightly, set down her fishbowl, and carefully counted the fish before she lay down on her small bed with peace of mind and closed her eyes.

Hearing Sophie’s even breathing and confirming she was asleep, Lian finally took off his boots and examined his swollen big toe.

"HISS~"

Lian took a sharp breath.

’I’m clearly a Three-star Assassin Knight, so why can’t I even withstand Miss Witch’s stomping?’

’No, no, this won’t do. I have to improve my Physique.’

’Otherwise, what if I make Sophie unhappy in the future and she stomps on my face?’

’Wouldn’t my face get caved in?’

’I need to accumulate Entry Points as quickly as possible to exchange for higher-level entries.’

Lian took stock of his gains for the day. Besides an increase of 3 points to his Physical Strength, he had also obtained three barrels of monster fluid that could replace anesthetic, several monster hides that could replace rubber, and all the territory in Area 1.

’Tomorrow, I just need to get Sophie to keep using her Magic Power as frequently as she did today. I should be able to quickly harvest her Out-of-Control Entry, and then it’s an easy 1,000 Points in the bag.’

’It’s just that the high-level entries are so valuable right now that 1,000 Points seems a bit paltry.’

’Looks like I need to have Sophie use her Magic Power even more frequently.’

Lian closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

The next day, a piercing scream from outside the tent jolted Lian awake.