Fifth Hundred and Thirty-Second Chapter Tempting Thoughts

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After the banquet, Roland summoned Lian and Wendy to his office.

"Is everything alright on Sleeping Island?" he asked Lian with a smile. "I hope my taking Tilly's time hasn't caused you any trouble."

"No, not at all," Lian nodded, then said softly, "By the way... I haven't thanked you yet for the scarf you gave me last time."

"There's no need to be so reserved," Roland waved his hand. He knew that after a period of separation, the familiarity that had been built up would fade a bit, but that didn't mean the connection between them had disappeared, but rather temporarily subsided... As long as they maintained their previous attitude, he believed they would soon reintegrate. "Things here may seem very different, but in essence, they are no different from when you left—just treat Neverwinter as your home."

"That's right," Wendy patted her head. "You're still our sister."

"Mm," Lian seemed a little embarrassed and lowered her head, but her tone was noticeably more relaxed.

"After you arrived at the castle, I've been concerned about one thing... Those two named Yifei and Youyu, aren't they witches from Sleeping Island?" Roland changed the subject. He had noticed that whether during introductions or catching up, the two were out of sync with the other witches. Although they exchanged a few words during the banquet, it was much less enthusiastic than Lian and Sylvie, Evelyn, Candle, and others who hugged each other warmly. And he wondered if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that Evelyn and Candle were somewhat afraid of the two.

"No, they are indeed from Sleeping Island, but they are a little different from us..." Lian briefly explained their origins. "I don't know why Tilly-sama sent witches from the Bloodfang Association over."

"Yifei is a combat witch?" Roland was taken aback.

"Yes, she can summon cages made of magic power, which can capture enemies much stronger than her. Even Ash, if she doesn't wear the God's Stone of Retaliation, would have difficulty escaping once trapped."

"What about Youyu?" Wendy asked curiously.

"Although she's not a combat witch, her ability is also very powerful," Lian muttered. "Any object she touches can become sticky, and once they are stuck together, they cannot be separated until the ability expires—but according to her, as long as enough magic power is invested, the stickiness can last for a very long time."

"This kind of ability should be very versatile," Roland said in surprise. "Did that wolfheart witch named Hedy Morgan actually agree to send someone like that over?"

"The members of the Bloodfang Association are all very powerful. Not to mention the many combat witches, the remaining non-combat witches also have outstanding abilities. Sleeping Island was built so quickly, and a large part of the credit goes to them." Lian sighed, looking reluctant to admit this. "But they always think they are superior and often bully those witches with poor abilities. If Tilly-sama hadn't tried her best to stop them, I'm afraid that half of the witches going to the fjord would be gone."

So that's how it is, he thought. That's probably why Evelyn and Candle looked so strange in front of them. "I understand. You should rest well today," Roland comforted Lian a few words, then looked at Wendy. "The arrangement of their rooms is up to you. Keep the witches of the Bloodfang Association a little further away for the time being, and we'll conduct detailed ability tests tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Wendy responded, placing her hand on her chest.

After the two left, Nightingale appeared from his side, holding a slice of fish and asking, "Don't you need to have someone watch those two?"

"Since they haven't left Sleeping Island, there shouldn't be too much of a problem," Roland shrugged. "The witches going to the fjord haven't experienced life and death together like the Mutual Aid Society, and they are also made up of multiple witch organizations, so it's not strange for this kind of situation to occur." As the saying goes, within the party there are no factions, anything can happen. When the Witch Union expands, it will be like this sooner or later. However, factional competition within the party is not entirely harmful. As long as it constitutes healthy competition, it will increase the vitality of the Union. "The only thing I don't understand is why Tilly would send combat witches here. If she just wanted me to discipline them, support witches would be just as good, not to mention that Hefeng is on Tilly's side."

"Maybe she explained the reason in the letter?" Nightingale guessed.

"Ah, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it," Roland patted his head, took out the envelope from the drawer, and spread it out on the table. In addition to sending five witches, Tilly also sent a thick stack of ancient books and a handwritten letter. Because of the banquet, he hadn't had time to check them.

On the letter, Tilly described the origin and strange contents of the books in detail, followed by speculations about the sea line, and a hope that he would help Thunder build a sea ship that could travel against the current. Roland had already heard the second half from Thunder himself, but the first half surprised him. Books from different eras and different places were collected together and stuffed into the ruins. Some of the contents of the books were even nearly a hundred years away from when the Union disappeared. This shows that people were still entering and exiting the underwater ruins more than three hundred years ago. Who exactly were these people?

The back of the letter briefly mentioned the abilities of the new witches. What Roland cared about most was the last paragraph.

"Our understanding of the world is still in its infancy, even worse than the Union more than four hundred years ago. If we want to defeat the enemy, we must first understand the enemy—in this regard, their abilities may be able to help you."

After reading the letter, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Understand the enemy... Help... What exactly did Tilly want to say?

Roland turned his gaze back to the ability introductions again. Suddenly, an astonishing idea jumped into his mind.

Could it be that Tilly wants to—

No, this is too bold, he quickly shook his head, but once this idea appeared, it grew wildly and uncontrollably. The risks do exist, but the rewards are also extremely considerable. Just thinking about the few boxes of magic stones left by Agatha is enough to make people's hearts beat faster. If they can be combined into runes and used, their significance is no less than that of the steam engine... He hadn't had this idea before, but it was difficult to implement in practice, and he eventually had to give up. But now, with the abilities of Yifei and Hefeng, it seems that the goal is not so far away.

"What does the letter say?" As if noticing his strange expression, Nightingale bent down and reached out to touch his forehead. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Not good, my heart is about to jump out," Roland smiled helplessly. "Tilly is good, she didn't even explain the reason clearly, and just left the choice to me."

She asked curiously, "Choose what?"

"To capture demons," Roland said word by word.