When Roland heard Iron Axe's report, he doubted his ears for a moment.

"You said you saw a vast desert in Echo's song, and even brought back a grain of sand from the desert?"

Hallucinations were one thing, but even illusions? Could this still be considered singing?

"Not brought back, Your Highness," Iron Axe solemnly placed the grain of sand on the table. "I was completely stunned at the time and didn't even think about verifying if those scenes were real. It was as if it suddenly appeared in my hand. If I had to say, it must have been sand blown up by the hot wind, right?"

The more he said, the more mystical it became. Roland pondered for a moment. "Did she only sing this one song?"

"There were other songs, but I couldn't listen to them at all," Iron Axe recalled. "The scene at the time was truly like a miracle... If it were before, I would have deeply believed Silvermoon to be a messenger of the Three Gods even if she claimed it herself. Your Highness, has her ability evolved?"

Having followed him for more than a year, this Mokin Sand native clearly had some understanding of witches.

"It should be, but this is the first time I've encountered this situation," Roland pondered for a moment, deciding to call Echo over and ask her in person.

After Iron Axe acknowledged the order and left, Roland picked up the sand and examined it carefully. "Is this a magical creation?"

"Not sure," Nightingale's voice came from behind him. "There are no traces of magic on it."

The absence of magic traces didn't mean it wasn't an object created by magic. It just meant that this substance was a real, existing thing, and after its formation, it didn't need to rely on magic to maintain itself, nor would it be affected by the God's Stone of Retaliation, like Soraya's paintings.

Echo arrived at the room quickly. Nightingale immediately appeared beside Roland, smiling at her. "Congratulations."

The latter was stunned. "Me?"

Nightingale nodded. "The magic in your body has already condensed. Haven't you noticed?"

"R-really?" Echo said in surprise. "Does this mean my ability has evolved?"

"What does it look like?" Roland thought to himself that this was indeed the case.

"A blue, transparent crystal, as clear as water," Nightingale replied. "The total amount of magic is comparable to Maisie's."

It seemed this evolution had nothing to do with enlightenment, but was unconsciously completed. After Roland told Echo about Iron Axe's experience in the illusion, she seemed very surprised.

"You said... he seemed to have returned to the far south, in a sea of sand?"

"The word 'seemed' is worth considering, because when he returned from the desert, he had a grain of sand on him," Roland said with a smile. "Although there is sand everywhere, he wouldn't dig through the snow and search through the mud for a grain to deceive me." He paused. "What did you see at the time?"

"Nothing..." Echo replied somewhat embarrassedly. "I had my eyes closed at the time and didn't pay attention to the surrounding changes."

"Then show us now," Roland said with interest, propping his chin up. "Just use that hometown song you created."

"Uh... here?"

"Yes, that's right," he affirmed. "There's still half an hour before dinner time, it won't affect anyone else."

"I also want to hear a song that can be immersive," Nightingale added with great interest.

"Then... alright."

Echo took a deep breath. Soon, a mixed sonata completely out of sync with this era rang out. The sweet singing voice unique to women surrounded the room. At first, she was a little restrained, probably because she had never sung indoors, but as the melody gradually rose to a climax, she completely immersed herself in the music.

Roland seemed to hear the sound of hot wind blowing through the green forest. The temperature in the room seemed to have risen a few degrees, and the smell of the sun baking the sand emanated from his nose... When the lingering sound slowly dissipated, Roland took a long time to recover from the music. Undoubtedly, this was a lyrical song full of exotic flavor. For someone as tone-deaf as him, there was absolutely no flaw he could pick out... However, he didn't see the vast desert. He was still sitting in the room, and the oasis with flowing streams was nowhere to be found.

He looked at Nightingale, who shook her head at him. Obviously, she hadn't seen those strange illusions either.

Had the ability not taken effect?

"Did you only write this one song?" Roland asked.

"Yes," Echo nodded.

"Then sing a few more songs I taught you," he thought for a moment and decided. "Let everyone come over and listen too."

Before long, the room was filled with witches, and even the Sleeping Island trio came over, even though they were still holding a stack of unfinished playing cards in their hands. Echo looked slightly nervous, but under Wendy's encouragement, she slowly regained her composure and sang all the songs, including The Guerrilla Song.

And without exception, these songs received warm applause from the witches.

After asking everyone's feelings, Roland had a general judgment in his mind.

That was the degree to which the song influenced others still depended on the listener's subjective experience. Those who had the same experience as the song's atmosphere were more affected. The basis for judgment was that among the modern songs he taught, everyone had the best reaction to The Guerrilla Song. After thinking about it, it was only because the witches had seen the First Army marching forward with the rhythm of the song, and they could better appreciate the meaning contained in the melody.

A Sand native like Iron Axe could naturally resonate strongly with music full of the far south flavor.

However, Roland couldn't temporarily determine how deep this influence could reach through testing... If the feeler completely immersed themselves in it, would everything in the illusion become a real manifestation?

But in any case, Echo's new ability still filled him with anticipation—such as inspiring warriors, comforting the masses, and coordinating future theatrical performances... The role of someone who can drive the emotions of the audience is immeasurable.

...

The next afternoon, Roland summoned Viede from Border Town in the room.

"Your, Your Highness... I, I'm here..." His teeth chattered, obviously he hadn't recovered from the high-speed flight yet.

The only way to quickly travel back and forth between the two places now was through Maisie Express. Of course, even with thick blankets wrapped around them, flying under the claws of the giant beast at a speed of sixty kilometers per hour in the face of the cold wind was still not a comfortable experience.

"Good job," Roland patted the fat pigeon on his shoulder.

"Goo!" The latter raised its head triumphantly.

"Calling you over is to have you assist the Elk family nobles in training a team," he looked at Viede. "The situation here is different from Border Town. There are rats, refugees, and vicious criminals, which are somewhat similar to Gold穗 City."

Viede warmed himself by the fireplace for a while and finally stopped trembling. "You mean... let me form a patrol team?"

"No, police." Roland explained the crackdown plan. "The first half will be led by the First Army, but the security of the final fortress will still be handed over to the police to maintain. And as police, the most important thing is the concept of being protectors of the people."

"Treat the people like a spring breeze, and treat criminals like a thunderbolt." Viede couldn't help but repeat.

"That's right," the prince smiled. "I hope you can teach them well."