"Oh, it mostly by luck to be honest," Mina calmly reply.


    As I travel to the Duchy, I find myself lost in a forest. In it, I find a cave with some scriptures and old books. I read it, and too my surprise, it is a treasure trove of alchemical knowledge.


    As someone who dabble in alchemy, with intention to further my study in the capital, I decide to learn all I could. Unfortunately, the owner of the book came and immediately attacked me.


    I would have die if not for him," Mina pointed at Alros, who merely nodded.


    "Then, we struck a partnership," ''I leech of him, in return for my body,'' "And the rest is history," the Duke nodded, seemingly fascinated by the story.


    "I see," he said. "In that case, do you bring the books with you," Mina shook her head, "I thought this is a ce to rx and talk about alchemy, not asking for secrets of others," she said bluntly, causing the Duke to wince.


    "I apologize, but as a neer, you must never heard of witches before," the man said.


    "Witches?" Mina eximed, the word seem foreign to her. "What is that?" she asked.


    "Well, you must heard of my speech of how my family destroyed the witches,"


    ''Destroy, more like killing the strong one and capture the weaker one to use them as sex ves,'' she thought as she nodded.


    "Well, the person you killed is a witch, and you manage to obtain something from her. If it is true, then I would like to buy the book for 100 000 gold coins," the massive amount almost cause Mina to chock on her throat, but she was able to control herself.


    "If that is the case, then, I will ept," the Duke nodded before giving her a piece of paper, "This is the nned meeting ce. Come see me by tomorrow," he told her, earning a nod from the alchemist, though inwardly she sneered.


    ''Not like I will be here by tomorrow,'' she thought as the man soon gave his parting words, "Enjoy the G,"


    "I sure will," ''especially the part where this ce will burn,'' she did not spoke of such n, obviously.


    -x-


    As they walked towards the refreshment table, they could feel something buzzing in their pockets. Alros touch it and send his mana into it, connecting him to the other witches.


    ''So, is there anyption on your part?'' Alros could understand their worry. After all, they will be in the den of the enemies, disguising themselves as a duo of alchemist and guard.


    ''No, so far that is. The n will proceed as usual,'' wait until midnight, when the people start to get drunk, that is the n that could change depending on how the G is.


    ''Understood,'' the voice disconnected, as both Alros and Mina looked around, disguising it as searching for acquaintance. When they see no one jumped towards them yet, they let a hidden sigh of relief.


    The usage ofmunication magic tools, or spells could be detected if there is no way to keep it secret. And considering them being inside the Pce, their worry is that there is a way to track downmunication magic.


    Thankfully, there isn''t one, of if there is, it is a weak one that ident caught on the different rats acting as diversion.


    The two soon walked towards the outside, their fingers holding their ss as they stare at the full moon, one that grace the earth with the brightest of light when there is only darkness.


    "A toss?" Mina said, raising her ss.


    "A toss," clinging of sses was heard as the two soon drink the wine inside.


    -x-


    "This should be easy enough," Lisa eximed, ready to rescue her fellow witch. Her target is the ve traders inside the capital, where they could be found in arge mansion in the noble area.


    "Moving as stealthily as possible, they find some guards walking around. With no hesitation, they killed the group, ensuring total silence and no people attacking them.


    As they get in position, they waited patiently for the right moment.


    -x-


    "Looks like the moon is about to reach it''s zenith, let us countdown to celebrate such a joyous event," the Duke said, before the people began to count them with him, each apuse making him smile brighter.


    "Five,"


    -x-


    Inside a building, there are three corpses, their blood pooling from the attack, look of agony I their face.


    The cause merely looked upwards before counting, "Four,"


    -x-


    "Three," the elder witches looked at the moon with calm look, preparing for it to reach the peak.


    -x-


    "Two," Lisa muttered, ready to take action, for she believe in her fellow witches and the demon who was in enemy territory.


    -x-


    "One,"


    -x-


    "Zero," Alros said, as his eyes turned towards the moon, before snapping his finger.


    Instantly, he and Mina submerged into the darkness, while the area around them exploded, mes soon consuming the park they were in before.


    -x-


    All around the pce, explosion after explosion ur, causing what is once a happy and festive event to devolve into panic.


    Theughter soon turned to screams as the people screamed and ran away, causing a stampede to ur. Some of them even find themselves falling to the ground before getting step on by the fearful crowd.


    The Duke tried to rein in the crowd, attempting to stop them, but the constant explosion made it hard for even the ruler of the Duchy to control them.


    "Go to the pce and remain there," he told his wives and daughters.


    "I''ll control the crowd and then I will find the one who cause this havoc," he said in a dark tone, one of his retainer already handed him his sword.


    Seeing this, the women of the Noble Family nodded as they quickly left the chaotic hall, unaware of the bad decision they had just made.


    -x-


    The castle is not the only ces that suffer the explosion, as all over the capital city, explosion after explosion tore through the buildings, sending the sleeping citizens into panic and fear.


    As for the cause of the explosions, they watch everything with the glee of a child in a candy store.


    "Let''s get going," hearing the orders, the witches'' smiles widened as they soon descend into the chaotic streets, their targets being the fewrge buildings belonging the ve traders.


    -x-


    Outside the capitals, the ve traders continue to rx, unaware of the danger that ising their way in the form of angry witches.


    "We have the signal, it''s time to move,"


    -x-


    Furim City is calm. Despite being the closest settlement to the Hexun Cavern, the monsters inside rarely take the initiative to attack.


    However, at the bowel of the earth, mass gathering of monsters began to emerge, ready to destroy the city under their might.