Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam
Chapter 68: The Charge

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: The Charge

Ethan’s thoughts returned to several days ago, on the night the red moon rose. He later learned it was a celestial phenomenon triggered by the sacrificial ritual in Riverside Town. While he practiced the Fireball Skill under the gas lamp, the residents of Riverside Town were dying in agony and despair due to the curse in the water supply.

However, as time went on, he realized the situation might be far more complicated than he had imagined.

The contaminated zone is a special space, so unique that just by properly utilizing its rules, even an ordinary follower of the Evil God could potentially kill the Empire’s Knight Commander.

The book "Light Messenger Yakwell" mentions that Yakwell and those investigators who died in the deep level 3 were four-tier Transcendents from different paths. They were seen as standing at the very top of existence in people’s eyes.

And the Empire’s Knight Commander, Lady Bi’an, also stopped at the fourth tier and couldn’t step into the realm of the Saint.

Therefore, Ethan reasonably suspected the witch possessing Miss Becky aimed to create the contaminated zone through the sacrificial ritual to ultimately eliminate the Empire’s Knight Commander. She "awakened" at such a delicate time because someone had resurrected her.

The witch was a follower of Evil God Bajatos, dating back to Baron Gledin’s grandfather’s era, coincidentally, the same time Yakwell proposed the concept of the contaminated zone. Perhaps the person "resurrecting" the witch needed the knowledge in her mind, and in exchange, they would assist the witch in completing her revenge.

Thinking carefully, his encounter with Miss Becky in the storm was because of the collar on Miss Keroy’s neck.

The witch came to retrieve the collar, which seemed to hold extraordinary significance for her.

If the werewolf collar were indeed the anchor point mentioned in the book, everything could be explained.

But as Ethan mentioned last time, this matter is exceedingly complicated; those who investigate it are doomed.

His current actions are equivalent to courting death.

He started to reorganize the threads of the matter, writing down all the logical relationships he could think of on paper. The entire purpose was to eliminate Lady Bi’an, the "nuisance" in everyone’s eyes.

The reason for the Empire summoning the Expeditionary Army was the detection of the Dream Eclipse members’ tracks at the border.

Their track was discovered because they murdered a former A-grade investigator at Fireplace Bay.

While organizing documents in recent days, Ethan always felt that the logical connection between these two matters was very weak. He was a frequent visitor to Fireplace Bay and understood the workings of teleportation magic, unable to comprehend how the Empire’s intelligence personnel could deduce the killer’s exact teleportation location from a single teleportation.

Until he read "Light Messenger Yakwell," he suddenly had a terrifying suspicion.

Within the Empire’s high ranks wishing to kill Lady Bi’an, there were those closely linked to an Evil God’s follower organization, possibly even a cooperative relationship.

They provided Dream Eclipse with the whereabouts of former Reception Bureau investigators, and in return, these followers supplied them with pertinent intelligence, even helping remove certain obstacles the Empire’s higher-ups couldn’t directly handle.

This news was immensely troubling for Ximu Town, as based on his knowledge of Evil God’s followers over the years, once they eliminated the Knight Commander, they would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to demand more, such as sacrificing the entire population of Ximu Town to Evil God Bajatos.

This is how cultists gather power; the more they sacrifice, the tighter their connection to the Evil God.

Although Miss Becky has left them forever, the mastermind behind reviving the witch possessing her remains somewhere, silently watching them. Even the information about the assembler brought back by the caravan was deliberately planned. They were well aware that the Expeditionary Army would definitely investigate Riverside Town upon receiving the intelligence, thus step by step falling into their trap.

No escape route indeed.

Ethan contemplated the worst possibilities and suspected Ave might have also become a target, likely already on the list for silencing.

With her habit of pursuing the root of every matter, it’s hard not to get silenced for "knowing too much" these days. Her request for case files from the Gear City sub-bureau was recorded, and those people would find it out easily.

They dare to frame even the Empire’s Knight Commander, what significance does a runaway noble lady hold?

Moreover, they could completely pin this on Evil God’s followers.

Ave unfortunately met her end while investigating a case involving Evil God’s followers; such incidents happen every day, long since becoming commonplace.

By the time Ethan brought out the organized contaminated zone intelligence from the study, it was already late at night. Ave and Lady Bi’an sat side by side on the sofa, with Lady Bi’an just discussing the "witness protection program," something she had heard through the grapevine.

Lady Bi’an: "After the containment breach outbreak, the remaining A-grade investigators all requested transfer citing unstable mental states. It was originally a normal job arrangement, but later even the Judicial Court intervened, destroying some work records and their subsequent whereabouts."

These two departments have no direct connection to the Kingdom Army, and Lady Bi’an just listened for entertainment.

Ave sharply captured important clues, immediately asking, "Why does the Judicial Court keep their whereabouts hidden?"

"Because someone keeps pestering about it."

"Who?"

"The person you know," Lady Bi’an said, "She was one of the Seven Council members at the time, possessing considerable authority. The aftermath arrangement by the Bureau was put to a vote, but apart from her, no one wished to continue investigating, so the proposal naturally didn’t pass. It caused quite an unpleasant situation with the Judicial Court."

"And then?"

"I heard she kept investigating the containment breach. After the new chief issued a ban, she privately entered several times—this was discovered through investigation. Heaven knows how many times she actually entered, prompting the Pope to personally warn her, but you know the final outcome."

The two fell into silence, reflecting on the Empire’s darkest days.

A year after the containment breach incident, the Fell War broke out; the Pope’s fears came true. Due to the Lindong Witch’s frequent entries into the contaminated zone, she inevitably succumbed to the Evil God’s corruption, turning into a follower.

At least, that’s how the Empire’s documented history records it.

Then came the well-known Imperial Capital Battle, a conflict involving several Saints—unseen on the continent for nearly a hundred years.

The King was severely injured, the witch died, and since then, the Empire has been in decline, plunging into internal and external troubles.

"Why not let her continue investigating?"

After a long pause, Ave finally asked in a muffled voice.

"The connections involved are far too complex; it’s impossible to just let her keep investigating, what if she really discovers something?" Lady Bi’an chuckled, "Don’t forget, the charges against her are worshipping the Evil God and murdering Empire officials—this is a label no one can bear, not even the Saints."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.