She Is Not a Witch

As propellers spun, the sky filled with a tremendous roar. Iron-gray airships hovered like giant whales, their cannons protruding from below, aimed at Hopland.

A booming broadcast echoed across the sky:

“Announcement: All forces within the city, cease fighting and open the gates. High-level members of major merchant associations and industry guilds are to await orders outside the city. Effective immediately, the Alliance Headquarters will take control of Hopland.”

“Any who disobey will be attacked directly by the Alliance airships.”

So it’s not Tisphone, but the headquarters directly taking over? Loranhil thought.

But if she were to attack now, the nature of the situation would be completely different. It would mean Carithes directly opposing the Alliance.

Before, they could claim it was an internal conflict in Hopland, and after it was over, the headquarters wouldn’t intervene too forcefully. But now, with headquarters sending airships directly, once fighting broke out, it would mean facing an entire country alone.

Another question was the current state of the Alliance headquarters. Had it been completely controlled by that organization, or had they reached a compromise with only partial influence?

Inside the Anemis family compound, Noys finally emerged from his study. Looking at the airships and emblems in the sky, a relaxed smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. Finally, the wait was over.

“What should we do now, Miss?” Several guard captains approached the carriage, asking for instructions.

“Withdraw for now, cease fighting, and hold our position.”

“Yes!”

Soon after, the sounds of battle from within the Anemis compound gradually stopped, and Carithes Merchant Association personnel temporarily retreated.

The leader on the airship, seeing Carithes stop fighting, smiled with satisfaction. He wore golden robes with the Frost Rose emblem on his chest.

However, afterwards, neither the Carithes Merchant Association nor the Helis family acted according to the announcement. Hopland’s gates remained tightly shut, and the high-level members and leaders of the merchant associations still did not appear for dialogue.

“Are we just going to sit here like this, Lacey?” Melu asked worriedly, looking at the sky outside the window.

“Yes, going out to talk now wouldn’t lead to better results.”

“At the negotiating table, the weaker party is always wrong, no matter what they say. They can’t get fair treatment.”

Loranhil replied, picking up the teacup in front of her and taking a sip. The evening sea breeze blew in through the carriage window, gently swaying a few strands of her hair. Her graceful neck and fair, beautiful face were so close that one could even see the soft, fine hair on her face.

How cute, Melu thought. Although she had witnessed the girl’s battle stance yesterday, looking at her now, with her face illuminated by the setting sun, she still felt a sense of cuteness and beauty that couldn’t be associated with strength. It was as if she naturally possessed an aura that brought peace and tranquility to others.

“Thank you, Lacey,” Melu said.

“Hm?” Loranhil looked at Melu with slight confusion, her clear blue eyes widening a little.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, the Helis family would be in pieces by now, or perhaps wouldn’t exist at all.”

“Oh, that… I was just looking for a good ally for Carithes. It’s not like I was being selfless.”

“Hehe…” Melu covered her mouth and laughed at Loranhil’s expression, then nodded.

“Yes, I know.”

What does she know? Loranhil wondered, a bit puzzled. At this moment, the airships in the sky grew impatient. A beam of light shot towards the coast as a warning, creating a small crater.

“They’re here.”

“What’s here?” Melu asked, confused.

On the golden sea surface under the setting sun, with the glow of clouds filling the horizon, white lines appeared across the sea, covering the entire area. A sound carried on the wind, growing closer.

Before those on the airships could react, a sky full of blue leapt from the sea. Countless scales reflected light in the setting sun, water droplets scattered in the air like rain, followed by the sound of wings beating, blocking out the sky.

Blue fish with translucent white fins flew into the sky. These fish were about half the height of a person, their fins much larger than those of ordinary fish, spread out like wings as they glided nimbly through the air.

Accompanied by falling water droplets, about 4,000 to 5,000 flying fish leapt high into the sky, reaching the same height as the airships, or even slightly higher.

“What are these?”

The mages on the airship looked at each other in bewilderment. Although they couldn’t see the operators, such a large-scale deployment of Sequence 2 or higher blue-scaled flying fish could only come from that old rival.

It was the Cranberry Kingdom, skilled in modifying and breeding magical beasts, another branch of the New Moon Council that had survived from the Oz Kingdom.

These blue-scaled flying fish directly surrounded the airships, pale blue magical power gathering on their fins, dotting the twilight sky like stars.

As these mages hesitated anxiously, several long, majestic roars echoed from afar.

In the western sky, where the sun was setting, several black dots appeared in everyone’s vision.

As they flew closer, people could finally make out these giant beasts in the sky. Not quite dragons, they had broad fleshy wings and two heads at the front – one a lion’s head, the other a goat’s. The lion’s head had a golden mane, while the goat’s head and horns were black. Their powerful bodies were covered in distinct muscle, with four clawed feet below and a long snake for a tail. The snake’s body was covered in purple scales, its head flicking a forked tongue, with a ferocious appearance.

“Those are the New Moon Council’s chimeras,” an older mage stepped forward, looking at the seven giant beasts flying ever closer. Each chimera could carry over a dozen people on its back, with wingspans of nearly a hundred meters.

“It was with these chimeras that the New Moon Council defeated the Full Moon Council and Half Moon Council, unifying the Southern Islands. They later allied with the Cranberry Duchy to form the current Cranberry Kingdom.”

“These giant beasts are all Sequence 6 or above, as powerful as dragons but easier to breed. It’s fair to say that it’s thanks to these beasts that they can stand on equal footing with us.”

“Should we open fire?” a mage asked.

The old mage pondered for a moment before replying.

“Hold for now. Wait for them to approach.”

“It seems Hopland is prepared to intervene. It’s no longer up to us to decide whether to go to war with the New Moon Council.”

“After all, if we really start fighting, it would be internal strife, just giving the Verdant Empire something to laugh about.”

The seven giant winged beasts drew ever closer. One of the airships in the sky detached from the group and slowly descended towards a hillside outside the city along with one of the chimeras.

At this moment, Hopland’s gates opened. Two squadrons of purple-clad riders led the way as a carriage decorated with purple wood drove out from the city. The three parties converged, ready to negotiate.

The outcome of these negotiations would ultimately decide the future of Hopland and the western part of the Vegar Alliance, bringing an end to the conflicts and events of the past few months.