Third day, with the completion of the large hot air balloon assembly, the exploration of the ruins also reached the day of departure.

The new hot air balloon was named "Long View," and its large basket could accommodate more witches, with canvas enclosures around it to protect against the cold wind and heavy snow.

Since the sooner the operation was carried out, the safer it would be, after a simple farewell to Roland, the witches boarded the hot air balloon one after another and took off from the castle's back garden, heading towards the stone tower.

In order to land quickly and meet the enemy in case of danger, the Long View flew very low this time, almost skimming over the rooftops of the town's houses. Most of the townspeople witnessed this "spectacle," many were stunned in place, and some shouted, "Long live Lord Roland!" – probably in their eyes, such a miracle could only be created by the lord of Border Town. When passing the western section of the city wall, the First Army soldiers all saluted the sky. Whether it was Lightning, who accompanied the flight, or Maisie, they were all familiar witches, especially the little girl Lightning, who often guided the artillery team in aiming, and received enthusiastic cheers from the soldiers.

Soon, in the scattered flying snowflakes, the Long View left the town behind and entered the Misty Forest area.

Tilly stood by the basket, gazing at the boundless forest.

The snow season, which lasted throughout the Evil Moon, turned the world into a vast expanse of white. The branches at the top of the giant trees were all covered with snow, and at first glance, they looked like elevated platforms protruding from the ground, flat and wide. On the other side of the view were towering mountains, showing a touch of cyan in the hazy mist, with the base of the mountains connecting to the earth invisible, and the undulating peaks in the distance seemed to be floating in mid-air.

"What beautiful scenery," Savvy exclaimed, "This is the first time I've seen the Western Region covered in snow."

"Are you a witch from the Western Region?" Wendy asked curiously.

"I originally lived in Dragonfall Ridge, which is close to the south, and it rarely snows in winter. Later, when I heard that Tilly was opening up Sleeping Island, I secretly took a boat to Clearwater Port to meet up with the other witches."

"I see," Wendy shook her head with a smile, "Our Prince Roland has been complaining about why the rumors that the Witch Cooperation Association settled in Border Town have spread, but no witches have come yet… he's always one step behind."

"Oh, did you also release news to gather witches?"

"They did, but they weren't very experienced, and I noticed them as soon as they arrived at Dragonfall Ridge," Ashes said triumphantly, "I even caught him in Silverlight City. I think his name was Tassa?"

"You're also a witch, of course you'd notice this strange rumor," Andrea pouted, "If you hadn't met Tilly, you might have gone to Border Town already."

"I wouldn't do anything for Lord Roland–"

"Oh," she imitated Ashes' voice, "Lord... you call him quite familiarly."

"Pfft," Tilly couldn't help but laugh. Yesterday, she still looked depressed, but now she seemed to have returned to normal. On Sleeping Island, only the well-born Andrea dared to make trouble for Ashes at any time, "Whether it's on Sleeping Island or in Border Town, we're all compatriots, so let's not distinguish between us."

She turned her head and scanned the many witches in turn.

Before setting off, everyone had already learned about each other's abilities in order to better allocate tasks when encountering enemies. It can be said that Border Town has far fewer combat-type witches than Sleeping Island, and most witches are not suitable for combat at all. But it is precisely their unremitting efforts that have built the town into what it is today.

Tilly's eyes stopped on Anna. If she had to choose one of them that impressed her the most, it would probably be this woman who awakened in Borderland and had a profound influence on Roland.

Just standing next to her, she could feel an indescribable sense of weight and peace. This feeling was encountered for the first time. If she had to describe it, it was like lying on a vast field, with the softness and firmness behind her making her feel extremely at ease.

Except for Roland, Anna didn't say much, and her expression rarely changed, but as long as she stood among the witches, she was difficult to ignore.

Moreover, according to Sylvie, Anna was also the first witch to evolve in Border Town, possessing an astonishing amount of magic power. The black fire that could change shape at will was unusually powerful, and she was also the first witch to finish reading *Basics of Natural Science*, which gave Tilly a sense of knowing.

This winter, if she could sit by the fireplace with her and discuss the magical knowledge in the book, it would be an extremely pleasant thing. Tilly was full of expectations for this.

The Fifth Princess then shifted her gaze to Lightning outside the basket. As the daughter of Thunder, she had many similarities with the explorer who was number one in the fjord. Lively, curious, and full of action, she was born to fly. Tilly thought that only the vast sky could accommodate her restless heart. Although Thunder hoped that his daughter could live an honest life, after seeing the little girl, Tilly understood that she was destined to become an explorer, and her achievements might even surpass her father's.

All she could do was try to protect her.

"We're almost there," just as she was thinking, Lightning had approached the basket and informed everyone.

"Come in and rest," Wendy said with concern, "Your mouth is frozen white."

"It's okay, my face is just a little numb," she patted her fair and rosy cheeks, "Fortunately, I have the scarf that His Highness gave me, my ears aren't cold at all."

They didn't encounter any vicious demons along the way. The evil beasts wandering in the forest would occasionally raise their heads and roar twice, but they obviously had no ability to attack the hot air balloon in the sky, so the first half of the journey went smoothly. However, when the Long View arrived above its destination, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

The forest looked as if it had been swept by something huge, with tree trunks and broken branches scattered everywhere. The snow had been turned over completely and mixed with the soil, making it look messy.

"Where's the stone tower?" Ashes asked.

"It was originally there," Lightning pointed to the open space under her feet, her tone full of disbelief, "It's… gone."

Tilly looked in the direction she was pointing, and a huge hole was revealed in the brownish-white ground. It was dark and bottomless, as if someone had dug a passage to the abyss here. However, judging from the size of the hole, the excavator must have been astonishingly large.

"Sylvie, see if there's anything in the hole."

Sylvie's brows quickly furrowed, and her face looked very ugly. "A… a worm-like monster, it's moving in a northwest direction, wait, the ruins are in its belly!"

"What, in its belly?" Ashes asked in surprise.

"That's right, I saw the stone tower… and the Ice Crown you mentioned," she carefully identified, "Oh my god, it swallowed the entire ruin!"

What to do next? Everyone looked at Tilly in unison.

"Besides the worm, is there anything else?" the Fifth Princess asked in a deep voice, "Especially demons."

"Um… there are some evil beasts, but they're all in its belly, and they look dead." Sylvie shook her head after observing for a while.

Tilly thought for a moment and said decisively, "We're landing now. Some people stay outside, and the rest follow me into the cave to kill the beast and retrieve the Ice Coffin."