Chapter 240: Dorothy’s Order to Leave

North of the Empire’s Foyle Region, in the Augran Region.

A convoy disguised as a merchant caravan traveled grandly across the wilderness, finally stopping before a dense woodland.

An attendant opened the door of the carriage being escorted at the very center of the convoy. Leon got out first, then took Rena’s hand and helped her down before walking toward the front of the convoy, preparing to carefully inspect the woodland.

“This is the place, Mr. Fenrir.” The person at the very front of the convoy dismounted and bowed to Leon.

The Augran Region was also located in the Eastern Region of the Empire, north of Earl Foyle’s territory. Several towns there had originally belonged to the Earl’s organization and were managed by a cadre.

And now, that cadre had also drunk the wine Leon gave him during that meeting and sworn allegiance to Leon.

This time, when Leon brought his people to the Augran Region in search of Dorothy’s Labyrinth mentioned by Lamia, he had specially contacted that cadre and asked him to send a local cadre familiar with the area to guide him.

In the end, based on Lamia’s description of the location, they found this woodland in the remote wilderness of the Augran Region, surrounded by marshland.

According to Lamia, the Labyrinth possessed by Great Witch Dorothy was located at the center of the marsh within this woodland. She used this place as one of her bases of operation in the Empire, as well as a contact point between herself and Moiland.

“Looks like they were more punctual than we were.” Leon’s gaze swept toward a camp in the distance.

This woodland was located deep in the wilderness. There were no towns or villages nearby, it was far from major transportation routes, and there was not even any resource worth developing.

If there were a Labyrinth here, it could remain hidden from people’s eyes.

Even if the Church learned that there was a Labyrinth here, it probably would not dispatch a Knight Order for this completely worthless piece of land.

Anyone they could encounter here was basically bound to be someone in the same line of work.

In fact, the flag Leon’s disguised merchant caravan was flying was exactly the same as the flag displayed at the camp opposite them. This was something he had mentioned when contacting Johnny beforehand. They had agreed to meet on the southern edge of this woodland.

The people at the camp had noticed them long ago. Soon, the fully armed Johnny led his subordinates from the camp, riding fast horses toward them.

Once Johnny arrived and dismounted, Leon greeted him: “Hello, Mr. Johnny.”

Johnny’s gaze first passed over Leon and looked at Rena standing beside him, then returned to Leon: “You even brought a woman along. What, do you think you’re touring some new palace you built for yourself? You insisted on meeting a Great Witch, and just serving as your guard is already enough of a headache. Don’t tell me I also have to spare people to protect her?”

“She only came because she doesn’t trust that you can keep me completely safe. Forgive me, Johnny. I trust your strength, but compared with you, naturally I trust her more.” Leon replied.

“That’s fair. I can understand. This works too, it means less responsibility for me. So this is that ‘Crimson Witch’ beside you who made Arend Island run with blood, right?” Johnny suddenly smiled teasingly and waved at Rena, “Pleasure to meet you, little girl.”

Rena froze for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded to Johnny as a response.

She had heard from Leon that among the mercenaries who withdrew from Arend Island that day, quite a few had attributed Leon’s Werewolf Transformation Ability and the poisonous mist he released during the massacre to Magical Potions refined by her, and had consequently developed fear toward her——in fact, even within Leon’s own organization, after witnessing Leon’s way of fighting, some people had developed similar misunderstandings.

After all, very few people could believe that a man possessed the power of a Witch.

Rena did not particularly mind this. It was naturally better for fewer people to know the true nature of Leon’s abilities. And for her, having a reputation that made others wary of her also counted as a layer of protective coloration in the Underworld. The more confused their enemies were, the more advantageous it was for them.

Still, she had not expected her reputation to have already spread to the point where people called her the “Crimson Witch”.

But an expert at dealing with Witches like Johnny was not so easily misled. After learning the details, he had long since guessed that those abilities belonged to Leon.

Of course, he would not assume the Witch beside Leon was someone easy to deal with either.

It was said that at the time, there had also been a sizable Magical Beast Army that held back the Earl’s troops and delayed their offensive. That might very well have been the work of this Witch. Just from the fact that Leon was willing to bring her along now, Johnny would not underestimate her.

“Have you investigated this place?” Leon asked Johnny.

“You told me there was a Labyrinth controlled by a Great Witch here. You think I’d dare act rashly? You’re the one going in, not me.” Johnny raised a hand as he replied.

“Could there really be a Labyrinth here?” Rena leaned closer to Leon and whispered.

Based on her understanding, Labyrinths, or Dungeons, were mostly found in mountainous regions with complex terrain, connected to the underground through caves within mountains or deep ravines, receiving Moilai’s Mana seeping up from beneath the earth and thereby causing Labyrinthization within the caves, continuously spawning Magical Beasts.

“Labyrinths can take many geographical forms. Some exist in quicksand pits in deserts, while others are underwater. As long as there is some structure connected to the underground, a Labyrinth can form. Once the region undergoes Labyrinthization, nearby living creatures will also undergo Magical Beast Transformation, and the ecosystem inside the Labyrinth will vary depending on the geographical location.” Leon explained.

“If we’re going in, we need to be extremely careful from the moment we enter. Although you told me the Labyrinth is in the marsh at the center of this woodland, I estimate the woodland itself is already within the Labyrinth’s range. There may already be Magical Beasts wandering around somewhere.

Just bring your elite personnel. Don’t bring too many people. If there are too many, it may attract packs of Magical Beasts to attack together. The vegetation in this forest is too dense, making it suitable for Magical Beasts to ambush us, and there isn’t any cleared road to travel on. One careless mistake and everyone could be wiped out.” Johnny warned them.

“Let’s use the Demonic Wolves to scout the path first.” Rena suddenly said.

“You have a method like that too? Not bad.” Johnny shifted his gaze toward several tightly covered carriages at the rear of the convoy in the distance. Presumably, those carried the Demonic Wolves they had brought.

Using Magical Beasts to scout the path could make the humans’ situation much safer. Johnny rather liked tactics that reduced casualties.

“Then all that remains is deciding which direction to enter the forest from. Actually, before you arrived, we already circled around once and came up with several options. Do you want to take a look?” Johnny asked Leon.

“……Mr. Johnny, are you sure you didn’t send anyone into the forest to investigate first?” Leon silently stared toward the woodland for quite a while before finally responding.

“I told you I didn’t.” Johnny frowned.

“Then I suppose those figures wandering around inside the forest right now have nothing to do with you?” Leon raised a hand warily and pointed toward the trees.

His eyesight in darkness was far better than that of ordinary people, so he had noticed early on that something was moving within the gloomy gaps between the trees. Judging from the silhouettes, they actually seemed to be human figures, and there were quite a lot of them, slowly moving through the trees toward this direction.

Johnny immediately became alert, turned toward the woodland, and drew the sword at his waist.

His movement became a signal, and his subordinates also took up formation.

Leon had already drawn his gun. With a wave of his hand, the subordinates he had brought all raised their weapons and positioned themselves in front of him and Rena. The coachmen opened the sealed carriage compartments, and under Rena’s control, the Demonic Wolves rapidly rushed out and charged to the front of the formation.

The Demonic Wolves seemed to sense something as well. They bared their teeth toward the woodland and released threatening growls.

As they approached, those figures became clearer and clearer. When they emerged from the forest one after another, everyone could not help widening their eyes.

Humanoid Magical Beasts staggered out from the woodland. Their bodies seemed to be constructed from withered vines, but between the gaps in those vines, red flesh could faintly be seen. Some had ragged clothes hanging from them. Their heads were also completely wrapped in withered vines, and some were even covered with coarse burlap sacks, immediately making people think of scarecrows placed in fields to drive away birds. When they moved, they gave off an inexplicably terrifying feeling.

As they marched out of the woodland in formation, everyone simultaneously began raising their weapons and slowly retreating.

Because everyone quickly discovered that there were far too many of these Magical Beasts. They kept coming out like an army, and in the blink of an eye their number exceeded fifty.

“The owner here sent people out to welcome us. Aren’t you going to say something?” Johnny kept a wary eye on the movements of the scarecrow army while speaking to Leon behind him.

Leon had also noticed that although these “scarecrows” moved with staggering steps, their pace was perfectly synchronized. This meant that someone was controlling them.

Other than the owner of this place, Great Witch Dorothy, who could possibly control Magical Beasts on this scale?

His original plan had merely been to search for clues here that could lead him to Dorothy. If he found anyone staying behind, he would have them pass on a message. If he found traces that the Labyrinth was being used, perhaps he could leave behind a message.

But now, it seemed that the owner of this place just happened to be here, and they had already alerted her!

To control such a large number of Magical Beasts, Dorothy was very likely somewhere nearby, hiding behind this Magical Beast force.

Now was precisely the time to begin negotiations.

Leon mentally prepared what he was going to say and had just opened his mouth to call out when, in the next instant, a powerful lion’s roar suddenly came from within the woodland, cutting off Leon’s voice.

The moment the lion’s roar sounded, all the scarecrows seemed as though some switch had been flipped. They violently trembled several times, then suddenly accelerated into a wild run with bizarre postures, charging toward everyone present.

Johnny made an immediate decision. He snapped his fingers and summoned lightning. Dazzling arcs of electricity ricocheted between the scarecrows, instantly knocking down the three at the very front.

“All right, a Witch is still a Witch. Looks like the owner here has absolutely no intention of welcoming us!” Johnny shouted.