The Cornflower Witch Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Multiple Histories

In the Shadow World, on the surface, Nameless Hill.

Hylial awoke from her rest, feeling much less tired and her mind somewhat recovered, though not at 100% capacity, perhaps around 80%.

Approaching the weathered iron sword again, Hylial recalled the scenes she witnessed in her dream.

At the end of that battle, the knight holding the longsword slowly fell, but his sword, plunged into the stone, became a beacon in this Shadow World, briefly parting the heavy fog in the sky.

In this brief interlude, another figure crossed the boundary of reflections, coming from the continent above the sea of clouds into the Shadow World beneath it.

The other party was a practitioner of the Moon attribute, possessing a graceful physique, and such individuals are referred to as ‘Witches’ in many stories.

The Witch, wearing a wide, peaked, brimmed hat, descended into this Shadow World, confronting the hag.

“You despicable traitors, to collude with those stone dogs!” The hag’s face twisted with hatred and fury upon seeing the Witch descend.

“Betrayal? Not really, we were only reluctantly grouped together in the first place.” The Witch’s voice was ethereal; she pressing her hat brim, revealing her silver eyes.

“The Moon Council has long been a name in vain, and the Golden Honey Dynasty that initially supported its establishment has long collapsed. There is no longer any alliance agreement.”

“For this continent, we fought the Silverlight Church for centuries, and neither side truly won. Instead, that Black Rabbit obtained the legacy of Glorious Moon, becoming a newly appointed Hour Lord. Now, to use the moon’s power, we have to look to ‘His’ face. This is no longer the powerful era of the past.”

“You old folks, always hiding in the forest, it’s time you came out and saw the world.”

“You don’t need to mock me!” The hag gritted her teeth and pointed a finger at the Witch floating in mid-air.

The giant Black Serpent, which had been circling the hag, lunged out again, rapidly soaring towards the Witch in the sky. Its gaping maw was large enough to swallow three Witches whole.

“Ah, the ‘Black Serpent of Telyria,’ a trick from a thousand years ago, and you’re still playing it.” The Witch fanned her hand, responding with disdain.

She raised the wooden moon staff in her hand and simply waved it. Invisible silver moonlight appeared behind her, illuminating the attacking Black Serpent.

The Black Serpent, which had been baring its fangs and claws just a moment ago, instantly froze, changing color as if petrified, and then scattered, turning into countless crystalline dust falling from the sky.

Deprived of her crucial attack method, the hag seethed with anger. She ripped off the bone necklace from her neck, then chanted incantations, her other hand continuously beating the small drum hanging from her waist.

Before long, the bone necklace exploded in mid-air, transforming into bone-like evil birds that soared towards the Witch in the sky.

“‘Soul-devouring Evil Birds,’ these guys are troublesome, but that’s all they are.” The Witch shook her head again.

She lightly tapped her lips with a finger, spat out a blood-red bead, and then held the bead in her palm. Invisible ripples instantly vibrated and spread, shattering the attacking bone birds into fragments.

“What other tricks do you have, old hag?” The Witch put the blood-red bead back into her mouth, then looked down at the hag below.

“Dragon Blood Pearl, you actually managed to get such a thing…” The hag was envious and gnashed her teeth.

After that, the hag used several more strange secret techniques, but they were all easily neutralized by the Witch. As they had said earlier, they came from the same faction a thousand years ago and understood each other’s methods very well.

“I don’t have time to waste on you, old hag.” The Witch once again waved the wooden moon staff in her hand, and invisible dust scattered, falling into the grass below.

At this moment, the vast sea of grass grew wildly, and the grass tips swayed like slithering snakes and earthworms, shaking across the land, rushing towards the hag at the end of the hillside.

During this time, the hag tried various methods of burning, poisoning, and resisting, but they were all engulfed by the twisted sea of grass. Then these grass tips drilled into her body, devouring her flesh as if sucking blood.

“You traitors, you actually touched a taboo and wielded the power of ‘Twist’…” The hag screamed.

“I curse you, and your descendants will also die in this twisted sea of despair!”

Finally, this hag was completely consumed by the countless sea of grass, leaving no remnants or remains.

“Phew, that takes care of her.” The Witch descended, leisurely walking around the clearing, picking through the hag’s treasures.

“There’s nothing valuable or useful here, is there?” She kicked a skull on the ground with her toe, then pinched an ancient, ragged piece of leather, searching for what was hidden inside.

“Forget it, let it be.”

After giving up her search, she walked over to the deceased knight, her gaze lingering on the longsword he still gripped even in death.

“What an unyielding will,” she sighed softly.

“No wonder only foolish people like you can expand territories, while intelligent ones like us can only act as support.”

“Knight Holen, I remember your name. Don’t worry, I will tell Regard Bouvilly of your deeds. I suppose, to celebrate your achievements and soothe people’s hearts, he will grant a title to your descendants.”

“As for you, rest in peace here.” She placed one hand on the dead knight’s armor, causing his body to slowly turn to dust and dissipate, leaving only the longsword embedded in the rocky ground.

After dealing with matters here, the Witch once again wielded the moon staff in her hand, and invisible moonlight spread, transforming into a veil-like ripple in the sky, resembling a calm lake.

The Witch lightly sprang up, positioned beneath this rippling lake surface, bathed in moonlight, like a moon in water.

Soon, her figure faded, and then, in the distant sky, on the real continent, the Witch’s figure reappeared.

Moon in the water, moon in the sky.

Flawless fantasy, instantly transformed.

————

After recalling the scenes from her dream, Hylial again gazed at the hilt. Now she could discern the emblem and inscription on it.

‘Fir Knights · Holen’

If she was not mistaken, the ancestor of Baron Holin, the lord of Linden Village, was this fallen knight.

Time is indeed long and thought-provoking.

This being the case, when King Regard fought against the tribal hags in the mountains, he must have enlisted the help of the Witches. According to what Talil had said before, the Witches and the Scholars of Candlefort had an agreement not to record their deeds in books.

However, the author of “The Annual Rings of the Fir Tree ~ Tales of the Mountain Kingdom” clearly knew the true history, and he cleverly hinted at it in the book.

Why did Regard ask the other scholars to leave the tent that night, to face the birdcage covered with black cloth by himself? This probably implied that the monarch used that strange bird to send some kind of letter, finding his final allies.

The truth of the past is veiled by layers of black cloth. What she now sees and knows is probably a history filtered several times, and the inner workings of this world are even deeper than she imagined.

(End of Chapter)