Release That Witch

The town had been wrapped in a layer of white yarn overnight. In the morning, the amount of snow lessened with only a few snowflakes falling every so often, while the sky remained gray. Roland felt incredulous at the fact that it would be a few months before the sun would be visible once again.     

"It was simply unreasonable," he thought. "It was hard enough to find sense in a world with witches and magic power, but how could demonic beasts affect the heavens?" Unfortunately, he had no meteorological tools to help him know about the world's current cloud distributions.     

Walking along the road to the city wall of the Western Region, Carter could not help but exclaim. "The town seems deserted, and with that, there are some people leaving with the noble families."     

"At least this way, they won't drag us down," said Roland. "I've arranged Barov for a population census this winter."     

"What's that?"     

"That means, you need to go door to door and record how many people are left, their name, and career they're engaged in, and then register it," Roland explained. "In this way, we can quickly and effectively allocate human resources during war and distribute pensions after war."     

"Uh... human resources?" Carter blinked and then laughed. "Your Highness, you really have changed."     

"Why?"     

"In the past, you would also say some things I didn't understand and act strangely. At that time, some of what you did didn't match a prince's behavior, but now... " Carter paused for a moment, and seemed to look for his words. "Whether it's your quirky training regulations or the alchemical tests, the results are surprisingly effective. Perhaps this is what my grandfather said that what made someone extraordinary was that they can see what normal people ignored. I'm beginning to think maybe you really could become the next king."     

"... Is that so?" Roland's heart felt warm. Was there anything more fulfilling than being approved by heelers for men? For a time he felt that his hands and feet were full of strength, and the dark sky was not so oppressing.     

Along the city wall, the militia team was cleaning up the aisle of snow. When they saw the prince, they all bowed and gave a salute.     

"They should be taught a proper salute," Roland thought. "How was the situation last night?"     

"There was no trace of the demonic beasts." It was Iron Axe who answered him. "Your Highness, according to previous experience, there'll be a relatively stable period after the first snow. During this period, the number of demonic beasts is small. And mutated animals are small and weak."     

Roland nodded. "Then keep alert."     

The rear section of the city wall had been transformed into a battalion. When all was quiet, most people would rest in the battalion to save energy. For the guards, a rotation system was implemented. Due to the low winter temperature, each warning patrol only stayed out for two hours before being replaced.     

It was Roland who laid these measures into place. When asking Brian, he found out that Longsong Stronghold had no experience in the fight against the demonic beasts. The most unlucky recruits would be sent to monitor the evil creatures for a whole day on the city wall. This meant that each winter saw 20 to 30 people being hung for the dereliction of duty or the violation of military orders.     

When the demonic beasts appeared, it was a mess. The defense was not put into divisions, and as such, responsibility was not specified. Thinking of the level of war in that era, Roland understood. There was an extreme emphasis on personal bravery, honor, and pillaging. Even the knights would charge forward in person out of impulse, and one could not expect too much.     

Roland toured the walls once again. It seemed that all was going smoothly, but Roland found himself ignoring a problem.     

That was the guidance of the roadblocks.     

At the moment, these obstacles clearly led the demonic beasts to the center of the city wall, but if what Brian said was true, snow would cover these obstacles within two to three months. If that happened, they could have to defend from the beasts in a line as long as 600 meters. His staff could not take such wide range into consideration.     

He could not send a platoon to remove the snow as a few demonic wolves were enough to make the team suffer heavy losses.     

Perhaps he would have to rely on the power of the witches once again.     

For example, let Nightingale sneak out of the city with Anna and melt the snow with fire, and then sneak back—that was similar to how she stole Nana from the Pine's.     

At that moment, the observation alarm on the left side of the city wall was sounded.     

"Look ahead!"     

Roland and Carter looked at the position he was pointing to, and a small shadow came out of the snow and moved slowly toward the city wall.     

"Your Highness, do you...?" a hunter responsible for defense turned around and asked.     

"According to the previous exercise, you should judge whether or not to blow the horn," Roland said, "and at this point, you're more experienced than me."     

He hesitated, and ultimately decided to pull on the strings of his crossbow and continued to observe from the city wall.     

Roland nodded with satisfaction. For the moment, the order on the city wall was still well maintained. He just did not know if the defense would swiftly organize according to their drills when a large number of demonic beasts attacked Border Town.     

The shadow gradually approached. When it came to about 50 meters in front of the city wall, Roland was able to see its appearance.     

Was it just a variant of fox?     

Its fur was gray and black, and its eyes were flushed. It panted as it reached the city wall.     

"This creature seems to have been just attacked, and it's no threat to us," Iron Axe said as he aimed his bow.     

"You said they were all infected with the breath of hell, and exiled to the west?"     

"Not only to the west," said Carter. "When the Gates of Hell open in Barbarian Land, any place beyond the protection of the Impassable Mountain Range will be attacked by demonic beasts, especially in the north. There, the Impassable Mountain Range seems to be cut off, and the gap is about 5,000 meters. It's also the main direction of the attacks by the demonic beasts."     

The manic monster wandered around the city wall for a while. Then it raised its head and grinned at the soldiers on the city wall. When it leaped, Iron Axe released his bowstring, and the arrow penetrated its neck, nailing it firmly to the ground.     

Roland noticed that the blood flowing from it was black.     

"Why could a witch stay conscious after their awakening, but a beast became frantic and alienated when they were ambushed by the same demonic power? If there was ever the chance, I should go to the rear of the Impassable Mountain Range and take a look for myself," he thought. From the prince's memory, the Gates of Hell was located in a place where humans could not reach. However, as no one had ever gone there, the information found in the ancient books was all rumors and speculations, and not verified. That was questionable.