In the following week, the atmosphere within the castle was incredibly tense. Hour-long meetings were held every day, during which all the ministers from each department would come to report and discuss the current situation.

"So? Are you still unable to find a trace of the demons?" Barov sipped his tea as he glanced at the people around the table.

He looked much more relaxed than he had been a couple of days ago. Wendy's promise to take full responsibility for her action seemed to have lifted a heavy burden off his mind. Either that or the smooth implementation of the plan for transporting the Golden Twos likely relieved some of his stress.

"The first army's lookouts have already expanded their surveillance range to the edge of the gra.s.sland, but they still couldn't find anything," the garrison leader replied concisely." Further north lies the Barbarian Land which is covered by a dense forest. Without sufficient supplies, it would be tough to expand our perimeter any further."

"And that's all you can do, common people. You'll probably die to the insects living in the forests before you even get a chance to see the demons." Alethea seemed keen on scoffing at the people of Neverwinter at every chance she got. "Just leave it to us. A team of ten G.o.d's Punishment Witches has already gone 15km into the Fertile Plains and set up a small outpost at the Pearl Lake."

"The Pearl Lake?" Wendy asked.

"It's marked with a lot of bird's nest on the Wolf Girl's map. The place was once full of lakes and springs, but now most of it has already turned into a swamp."

"There shouldn't be any dangers, right?"

"Rest a.s.sured. When it comes to fighting demons, we're far more experienced than you people. Any G.o.d's Punishment Witch can deal with three to four Mad Demons at the same time. With five witches as a team, they would have no problem wiping out a small demon patrol," Alethea said confidently. "Of course, if the Wolf Girl did run into a patrol team, then I'm afraid that the enemy's main force is most likely already closing in on us."

"Are they incapable of acting alone?" Barov asked out of curiosity.

"Due to their reliance on the Red Mist, it's impossible for the demons to stray too far away from their supply line," Pasha explained. "After all, demons can't move around freely like human beings who only need to breathe in air."

"Well then... As the enemy is still quite far away from Neverwinter, why can't we call off the alert now?

"Unless we can set up a web of sentry posts around Neverwinter, we won't be able to fully eliminate the possibility of the enemy sneaking into the city."

"But even then, the sentry posts would mean little to us," another Senior Witch added. "Without enough Sigils of Listening, the sentries won't have enough time to send back the warning even if they were to catch sight of the Devilbeasts."

The extreme environment of the Barbarian Land formed an invisible barrier which barred any news from going through in time. It was as if a layer of mist shrouded the whole area to the Northwest of Neverwinter, and all they could do was to search for tiny clues in the wilderness. When Wendy realized this fact, she could not help but sigh in her heart.

Lorgar's news truly came at a bad time.

If His Majesty had not left for the expedition, it would have taken only a day or two for Sylvie, Lightning, Maggie, and Nightingale to scout out the current situation of the entire Northern side of the Impa.s.sable Mountain Range. 

My own ability isn't particularly helpful in this kind of situation.

Suddenly, Tilly asked, "Mr. Director, you may feel that I'm being nosy, but could you please tell me how the people of the city has reacted to the situation these past few days? Were they scared or panicked?

"That will be my pleasure, Your Highness." Barov hastened to put down his teacup and bow to Princess Tilly with a hand on his chest. "Everything in the city is within the control of City Hall. Recently, our clerks have received lots of inquiries, but most people just want to know where the enemy is and whether the First Army needs help. So the news has heightened our people's morale rather than stressing them out, even the productivity of the night s.h.i.+ft has significantly improved. Please rest a.s.sured. No one blames the Sleeping Island witches for the coming demons."

"Well... That's good then."

"Of course, we've also received some complaints about the price increases for Bird Beak Mushrooms and pinecones." City Hall Director eyed Wendy blankly. "If we don't cancel the alert in time, the prices of eggs will also begin to skyrocket"

"Let's put aside those matters for now. I think we need to raise the awareness about demons as soon as possible. Since the demons are completely different from all our previous enemies," Tilly said worriedly. "If someone takes this chance to stir up troubles and stigmatizes the witches as Devil's minions again, the trust between the common people and the witches will be destroyed."

"This..." Barov hesitated. "I have to consult His Majesty about this matter."

"So let's write it down in today's report." Tilly looked at Wendy.

"Understood." Wendy nodded. When she was about to summarize all the reports today, a burst of rapid footsteps interrupted the silence in the conference hall. They heard Ring's voice before seeing her. "LLady Wendy, the Wolf Girl woke up!"

"What?" Everyone stood up in surprise. Wendy could hardly wait to meet the girl and said, "I'm coming right now."

"Ahem, I'll also go to have a look—" Barov was about to follow, but Ashes stopped him.

"That's a girl's bedroom you're talking about. I think it would be better if you just stayed here and waited for our news."

…

The moment Wendy entered the room, she saw that Lorgar was struggling to get up from the bed, and beads of sweat were welling up on her forehead. She looked pale. Her broken ears drooped, and her hair seemed dry and dull.

"I can't believe it... I'm still alive." She panted and then turned her head to look at the crowd pouring into the room. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Ten days have pa.s.sed since we found you." Wendy gently pressed her back into the bed. "Don't move. Your limbs, bones, and even inner organs have suffered severe injuries. Ten days isn't enough for them to recover. You survive these days because of Nightfall's Seed of Symbiosis, but you still ought to stay in bed and rest before Nana comes back."

After knowing the use of Seed of Symbiosis, Lorgar slightly inclined her head to greet Nightfall who was lying in a bed nearby and said, "Thank you."

"That's alright." Nightfall shrugged her shoulders, trying to appear casual. "And I think it's quite good to be able to lie in bed and have Chaos Drinks every day."

"What exactly did you meet in the depths of the Barbarian Land?" Ashes asked in a deep voice. "You've mentioned demons many times in your sleep."

"Yes, I did encounter demons... many of them." Lorgar closed her eyes to recall what had happened. "At first, I met two demons by themselves when I was chasing a hybrid demonic beast. They might've been scouts, or perhaps they were just out hunting for some demonic beasts." She took a deep breath. "I managed to kill them both, but I never expected that these two demons are but droplets in the vast ocean when compared to the army of demons that I spotted soon after. Countless demons swarmed the Taquila ruins, and among them were several colossal monsters."

Hearing the Wolf Girl's description, all the people in the bedroom fell silent.