The atmosphere within the entire castle was particularly solemn for the following week. The heads of the major departments had to hold half-an-hour meetings every day to report on their respective situations.

"What, haven't you found any traces of the devils yet?" Barov took a sip of tea and looked around at everyone.

Whether it was Wendy's willingness to take all responsibility that alleviated the chief steward's concerns, or the transfer plan of the Gold No. 2 seeds was gradually being realized, his expression had eased a lot from the first few days.

"The sentries of the First Army have pushed the警戒線(jing jie xian) to the edge of the grassland, but still haven't found anything," the person in charge of the garrison concisely replied. "Further north is a wild land full of dense forests. Without sufficient logistical support, it's difficult to further expand the search area."

"The ability of mortals ends here. Not to mention devils and evil beasts, even the insects living there can easily take your lives." El暇(Erxia) didn't seem to want to miss any opportunity to mock. "Leave this task to us. The God's Punishment Witches, in groups of ten, have already advanced to the Pearl Lake area, thirty miles from the Fertile Plain, and have established a small outpost there."

"Pearl Lake?" Wendy asked.

"It's the place on the Wolf Girl's map marked with many bird nests—it used to be a dense area of springs and lakes, but now it's almost turned into a swamp."

"Won't they encounter danger?"

"Our experience in dealing with devils is much richer than yours. One God's Punishment Witch can deal with three to four Fiends at the same time. As long as five of them travel together, even if they encounter a small patrol of devils, they are confident of annihilating them." El暇(Erxia) said with confidence. "Of course, if what the Wolf Girl encountered was really a small patrol, then the enemy's main force is probably not far from us."

"Don't they act alone?" Barov asked curiously.

"The need for Red Mist dictates that they cannot stray too far from the supply points," Pasha explained. "After all, devils cannot be self-sufficient like humans."

"So...we still can't lift the alert even though they're so far away from Neverwinter?"

"Unless we set up an outpost every three or four miles, surrounding Neverwinter like a barrier, we can't ensure that the enemy won't sneak in."

"Even that wouldn't be very meaningful," another Senior Witch, Celine, added. "Without the support of the Listening Sigil, by the time the search team observes a Terror Beast, it will be too late to send the message back."

Hearing this, Wendy couldn't help but sigh in her heart. The complex wilderness was like an invisible barrier, compressing Neverwinter's vision to the south of the grassland. All they could do was slowly search for clues of the enemy in this chaotic area.

Lorgar's news came at a very bad time.

If His Majesty hadn't been on the expedition, and Sylvie, Lightning, Maggie, and Nightingale were still here, it would only take a day or two to find out the situation in the entire north.

Her ability was simply too weak in this situation.

"Although you might think I'm meddling, Mr. Chief Steward, can you tell me how the townspeople have been reacting these days?" Tilly suddenly asked. "Have they felt scared or panicked?"

"Not at all," Barov quickly put down his teacup and bowed to the Fifth Princess. "Everything in the city is under the control of the City Hall. Recently, our clerks have received a lot of inquiries, but most of the questions are about where the enemy is and whether the First Army needs help—which is to say, not only are they not panicking, but they are also highly motivated, and even the efficiency of the night shift has improved a lot. Please rest assured that no one has associated this with the witches of Sleeping Island."

"Is that so...that's good."

"Of course, it's not like no one is complaining. At least the price increase of Bird Kiss Mushrooms and Pine Cones is real." The old chief steward glanced at Wendy. "If the alert is not lifted soon, eggs will soon follow in their footsteps."

"These can be put aside for now, but I think it's better to publicize the matter of the devils as soon as possible. After all, they are completely different from the previous enemies." Tilly said worriedly, "If someone stirs up trouble and brings up the saying of the devil's claws again, I'm worried that this will cause irreparable damage to the trust between the witches and ordinary people."

"This..." Barov hesitated for a moment, "I have to ask Roland His Majesty for instructions."

"Then write it in today's record," Tilly looked at Wendy.

"I understand," the latter nodded, and was about to summarize the reports of each person when a burst of rapid footsteps came into the meeting hall. Before she could even see the person, Ling's voice rang out, "W-Wendy... Wendy, Madam... the Wolf Girl, she...she's awake!"

"What?" Everyone stood up immediately, and Wendy couldn't wait to say, "I'll go there now!"

"Ahem, let me go and see too—" Barov was just about to follow when he was stopped by Ashes.

"That's the girls' bedroom, you should just wait here for news."

...

When Wendy walked into the room, Lorgar was struggling to get out of bed. Her face was pale, and only half of her long ears were left, drooping softly on her head, and her fur also looked dull. Just such a small movement caused fine sweat to break out on her forehead.

"I didn't expect...I'm still alive." She gasped for breath and turned to look at the crowd pouring into the room. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Counting from the day we found you, it's been ten days." Wendy gently pressed her back onto the bed. "Don't move. Your limbs, bones, and even internal organs have suffered a lot of injuries. Ten days is not enough for them to recover—you're alive entirely thanks to Dusk's Symbiotic Seed. Before Nana瓦(Nawawa) comes back, it's better to continue to recuperate."

After learning about the role of the Symbiotic Seed, Lorgar slightly lowered her head to Dusk on the other bed, "Thank you..."

"It's nothing really," the latter shrugged nonchalantly. "Lying here every day and drinking Chaos Drinks, I think it's pretty good."

"What exactly did you encounter in the depths of the wilderness?" Ashes asked in a deep voice. "While unconscious, you mentioned devils many times."

"It was indeed devils... and not just one," Lorgar closed her eyes, as if recalling the scene at the time. "At that time, I was tracking a Hybrid Evil Beast, and then encountered two lone devils—they may have been sentries, or they may have just wanted to hunt Evil Beasts." Speaking of this, she took a deep breath, "I killed them, but I didn't expect that it was just a drop of water splashed out by the devil army. More enemies swarmed towards the Ruins of Taqila in groups, in numbers that were difficult to estimate, and mixed in with them were some incredible behemoths."

As the Wolf Girl narrated, the bedroom gradually fell silent.