The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 39

“You…”

Amy Miller was about to fly into a rage, but she was immediately silenced by a sharp rebuke from her older sister, Duke Eliza Miller: "Be quiet."

Impressive! Duke Alexandra frowned, her long white eyebrows stretching toward her temples as she watched Elara. This girl was sharper than she had imagined. Her heartfelt, reasonable words made it perfectly clear that the stance of West Sea Forest today had been forced upon them.

And the damage to Anastas City and the Larissa Clan had been entirely self-inflicted. What she hadn't expected was for Elara to openly demand Anastas City and the Luohe Plains.

Ana Stirling saw that her father looked grave but not angry, and panic surged within her. Knowing him all too well, she immediately turned a pleading gaze toward the other founding dukes. But none paid her any mind. Her eyes fell to the Moonlight Rings, and she began to whimper, sobbing as if enduring a heart-wrenching pain.

"Father, Rocky is dead… He was my only child." I watched with my own eyes as his own uncle tore out his heart… Sob… It hurts so badly, I'm in so much pain…"

Mid-sob, Ana suddenly erupted into a furious shriek: "I'm eaten alive by the pain of losing my son every single day. How do you expect me to go on? Alexander is your beloved son—I cannot kill him. But why must I spare West Sea Forest… Sob…"

Ana's mother, Hippomina Meitz, stumbled weakly and joined in her weeping: "Heavens, my poor Ana is already suffering so deeply." Why must you tear open her old wounds…"

"Alexander," having started, Ana was determined to lay bare all her years of resentment. Her bloodshot eyes glinted like poisoned steel as she stared at Alexander, who was holding Thea: "Have you nothing to say to me?"

By then, Thea had calmed down. Before Alexander could speak, she pushed him away, stepped forward to stand beside Elara, and looked at Ana Stirling.

"So you've been holding onto all this resentment. Then what of my older sister and me, when we were ambushed while exterminating Fisher the Twin Witch Ancestor? Shouldn't we be overflowing with rage?"

Fisher's evil was known to all. His awakening after ten thousand years on the Mal Continent was a disaster—an undeniable, unquestionable fact.

His actions were truly unforgivable, and that was why Ana and her son could not justify their current situation. Duke Lisandra pressed her red lips together and glanced disdainfully at the still-sobbing mother and daughter. If Rocky Anastas had aided the Dessey sisters instead of ambushing them that day, Fisher the Twin Witch might have been eliminated for good.

Brett Hall, standing behind Duke Lisandra, curved his lips slightly and lowered his lashes. At the center of his blood-coagulated left pupil, a golden speck smaller than a needle flickered and vanished in an instant.

No one present noticed—except Cinderaven, who perched proudly on Elara's shoulder. His dark eyes narrowed.

Alexander wholeheartedly agreed with his little friend's words.

"Back then, Rocky Anastas led a large group of Turned beings and, together with the Larissa Clan, ambushed Lady Merlyn and Thea, who had already been fighting for a long time."

"The outcome is clear to all. To die in that kind of battle only means he deserved it." Alexander shrugged and spread his hands. "I have a clear conscience."

Duke Becky Cotton chuckled. The boy spoke as if he hadn't been the one to kill Rocky Anastas, yet he wasn't wrong. Austin was absent; if he had been there, the mother and son would have died dozens of times over.

Ana Stirling hated Alexander with every fiber of her being. Seeing his indifference, she cried out in accusation: "If you hadn't disobeyed Father's orders and interfered in Anastas City, only West Sea Forest would have fallen. Rocky would never have—urk…"

Elara appeared before Ana in a flash, clamped a hand around her jaw, pulled a Dark Nether Fire Burst Bomb from her hidden pocket, and stuffed it into Ana's mouth. She spoke softly: "You're far too noisy."

The cold object in her mouth terrified Ana, her eyes bulging. She knew exactly what it was. Images of the bloodbath that night flashed through her mind, and she dared not make another sound. Even Hippomina Meitz, slumped at her feet, scrambled away in fear and obediently stood behind Duke Alexandra.

Upon recognizing the black iron ball forced into Ana's mouth, all the founding dukes present frowned. Their expressions toward Elara shifted. The rumors about her might not have been entirely false.

Finally, silence. Elara exhaled deeply. She hadn't come here to argue. She turned to Duke Alexandra: "What is your decision?"

At that moment, Duke Eliza Miller, dressed in a blood-red gown, stepped forward slightly, her gaze fixed on Elara as she spoke in a calm, lazy tone: "It is not impossible for West Sea Forest to claim Anastas City and the Luohe Plains."

Elara nodded. "Good." She got straight to the point. "What are the conditions?"

Eliza Miller's eyes narrowed slightly. "That depends on the skill of Lord Elara." Her tone turned cold. "Amy, go and acquaint yourself with the Lord of West Sea Forest."

At once, Cinderaven fluttered off Elara's shoulder and landed on the carriage roof. His two black bean-like eyes swept over Brett Hall discreetly before focusing on the fight.

Amy Miller, who had been simmering with frustration for ages, was eager to act. Before her sister finished speaking, she lunged at Elara. A claw struck suddenly—but Elara did not dodge or block. She seized the hand reaching for her heart. Yet as she halted the attack, the claw, which had been palm-down, twisted and dug into Elara's wrist.

Her sharply manicured nails elongated instantly, piercing Elara's flesh like blades. Elara raised her hand and struck toward Amy's forehead. Amy Miller released her at once and vanished, leaving only a mist of blood.

Elara stood still, feeling the thick warmth trickling down her palm. Her beautiful pale-black eyes remained calm. A single strand of hair by her left ear twitched slightly—and she disappeared. At the same moment, a blood claw sliced through the air, hitting nothing.

Amy Miller reappeared and sensed danger. She spun around quickly. A leaf drifted past her eyes. Elara appeared where she had been a moment before and struck Amy's back. Though Amy noticed, she could not dodge in time and was forced to retreat with the force.

Elara watched Amy fly back more than ten meters. She lifted her right hand and glanced at her pierced wrist. With her left hand, she gathered witchcraft power in her palm and pressed it to her bleeding wrist. In just five seconds, the wound had scabbed over.

As a founding duke, Amy Miller possessed terrifying regenerative abilities. Her shattered back healed in the blink of an eye, and she attacked again.

Having judged Amy's strength, Elara no longer held back. As Amy closed in, she tapped her toe and soared upward. Accompanied by a powerful dragon roar, the Silverwing Eastern Dragon Staff flew out from her upper dantian.

At the sight of the oddly shaped staff, Eliza Miller felt a sudden sense of foreboding. She immediately pushed aside the sturdy-looking young man beside her. "April, you go too."

"Is that appropriate?" Alexander stepped in to block Duke April Lake, his gaze passing over him to Eliza Miller. "Losing a one-on-one fight is no shame. But if two Andros founding dukes are defeated together, that will be both disrespectful and humiliating."

Duke April Lake smiled, his blood-coagulated eyes crinkling. "Actually, I've long wanted to teach this new Lord of West Sea Forest a lesson." Seeing Alexander's smile fade, he pushed him aside and murmured playfully, "You wouldn't tear out my heart like you did Rocky Anastas just to play hero for a beauty, would you?"

Alexander's eyes darkened with bloodlust. He curled his lips and replied in a similarly playful tone: "No promises."

"Alexander," Duke Lisandra said unhappily, glancing at April Lake. "Remember your status. Do nothing unworthy of it." She looked away without hiding her contempt and turned back to the ongoing battle on White Stone Plaza.

After fighting for so long without gaining an advantage, Amy Miller was growing irritated. A seven-petaled blood-red Saparaya Mother Tree flower with a black core bloomed at the center of her coagulated pupil. She threw back her head and roared, revealing sharp, glinting fangs.

Her arms, hanging at her sides, slowly spread open. With her movement, a thick blood-red mist rose around her. Amy Miller smiled maliciously at Elara before vanishing abruptly, melting into the blood mist.

Holding the Silverwing Eastern Dragon Staff in her left hand, Elara extended her right hand and willed it. The nine Andros lying paralyzed around Ana let out shrill screams simultaneously. The glowing oxhair needles embedded in their bodies flew back into Elara's palm.

In that instant, the rising blood mist enveloped Elara. Hundreds of coagulated blood fangs hidden in the fog shot toward her vital points like nails.

Elara transformed into a grain of witch sand and shot upward. Before the faint glow in the blood mist faded, she spun back. The blood fangs sliced through the air toward her.

Elara locked onto the fangs and threw the nine oxhair needles without hesitation. She loosened her left hand, and the Silverwing Eastern Dragon Staff flew out and hovered before her. With a thought, the staff separated instantly, and the needles spun rapidly around her.

The nine oxhair needles did not disappoint: they knocked nine blood fangs out of the air and pinned them to the white stone ground.

Everyone present stared at the blood fangs firmly nailed to the ground, dissolving back into coagulated blood. Their expressions changed at once.

April Lake's eyes narrowed slightly. He smiled. "Interesting." In the next breath, he lunged forward, intending to fly up and aid Amy Miller—but a wave of icy cold stopped him.

Thea, who had blocked April Lake, twisted her clasped hands in reverse and pulled hard. The Silverfrost Moon Staff flew out. She grabbed it and held it before her chest, staring unblinkingly at April Lake. Her voice was cold: "If you want to fight, I'll face you."

At the sight of the Silverfrost Moon Staff, nearly all the Andros founding dukes straightened their faces in unison. Alexander stepped in front of Thea and said bluntly to April: "Do you know why I killed Rocky Anastas?"

Before April Lake could speak, Thea swept him away with her staff. "This is West Sea Forest's business. Step aside."

April Lake laughed. "I'm starting to agree with you." Since she insisted, he would oblige. His afterimage blurred as he charged.

Thea retreated and soared into the air. She released her right hand, and the Silverfrost Moon Staff stood upright before her chest. Silver quickly overtook red in her beautiful eyes. An edelweiss slowly spread from the center of her pupils. She parted her red lips and began to chant a witchcraft spell.

On the carriage roof, Cinderaven's gaze flicked over Brett Hall again, who wore a strange expression. He sensed something was wrong with Brett, but his soul was bound and he had no physical form. For now, he could not pinpoint exactly what was amiss.

Protected by the spinning needles, Elara's fingers moved nimbly. She stared at the approaching blood fangs, controlling the needles to shoot them down one by one and pin them to the white stone ground. As the blood fangs diminished, Eliza Miller's face grew darker and darker.

Meanwhile, April Lake and Thea were locked in an intense battle. With the Silverfrost Moon Staff, Thea could freeze nearly anything containing water—including April Lake. But crushing him was beyond her current strength.

Alexander interfered repeatedly from the side. Though powerful, April could not break free to help Amy Miller. When Elara shot down the last blood fang, Amy Miller was finally forced to reveal herself.

Elara targeted her 108 vital acupoints. She drew 80% of her witchcraft power from her lower dantian and hurled all 108 long, thick needles at once.

Already weakened because her blood fangs had been pinned and could not return to her body, Amy Miller managed to knock away about sixty needles before one pierced a vital point. She fell from the sky at once. The remaining needles sank into her key points in quick succession, disappearing beneath her skin.

“Aah—!”

A scream rang out. When Elara saw Eliza Miller moving forward, she pulled her right hand through the air. Amy Miller, lying on the ground, was lifted like a puppet and sent flying toward Elara.

As Amy approached, Elara swung her right hand, and Amy Miller crashed into the Sunfire Divine Staff stuck in White Stone Plaza.

Duke Eliza Miller stood frozen, darkness raging in her eyes. She listened to her sister's agonized screams, watched as Amy dug her clawed hands into her own flesh, and slowly closed her eyes.

They had lost.

With one opponent defeated, Elara raised her left hand. The sixty needles knocked away by Amy Miller merged into one and appeared in her palm. She hurled it instantly. The needle sliced through the air toward April.

Alexander had long seen the lethality of Elara's needles and quickly dodged. Seeing this, April tried to abandon Thea and follow Alexander—but Thea would not let him escape. Taking advantage of his distraction, she froze him solid. The needle broke through the ice and struck.

After landing, Elara remained silent. A thin layer of silvery moonlight gathered on the mandala flower atop her Silver-Stamen Black Mandala Crown. After the fierce battle, dusk was near. She lifted her eyes to the distant west, where a faint glow still lingered.

Clap… clap…

Duke Alexandra began to clap. The battle had been magnificent. Though Amy was the weakest and least influential of the eight, Elara was only thirty years old. Today, they had indeed bullied West Sea Forest with their numbers. At this point, she had nothing more to say.

"Anastas City is Ana Stirling's territory. I can agree to give it to you—"

"F-Father…"

"Silence!" Duke Alexandra roared. She struck out with an empty palm, sending the gagged Ana Stirling flying along with the Sunfire Divine Staff. "You brought this upon yourself entirely."

Don't think she could hide her deeds behind ignorance. Without her approval, Rocky Anastas would never have dared to act recklessly in Anastas City, much less be insolent in front of Alexander.

Having secured one city, Elara took a step back. With a thought, she recalled all her scattered needles. The groans on White Stone Plaza weakened at once. The pinned blood energy broke free and returned to Amy Miller's body. Ana remained bound.

Ana's mother, Hippomina Meitz, was now terrified into silence, cowering and bowing low.

Duke Alexandra suppressed her turbulent emotions and looked back at Elara.

"The situation with the Luohe Plains, as you must know—years ago, Selah made an agreement with Austin: that land could not be enfeoffed to any Andros noble. If you want it, you must give me time."

Time was acceptable. Elara saw herself as reasonable. "I will stay in Andrea Capital for two months. Please expedite this, Duke Alexandra."

"Wait," April Lake said, having recovered quickly from the Earth Core Silver Needles' torment. He approached Elara. "Why can Thea Dessey still use witchcraft after being Turned?"

Elara smiled lightly. "Excellent question. I thought you wouldn't ask—you were just waiting for the right moment." She turned to Alexander, who stood with his aunt. "I believe you should ask Count Alexander that."

Alexander sighed heavily, his tone full of helplessness. "How many times must I say it? Thea was not fully Turned. She only drank a little of my blood on the day she was transformed and has not touched a single drop since." He was growing tired of repeating himself. Why would no one believe him? "Have you ever seen a Turned being who does not crave blood?"

"Are there no other reasons?" Brett Hall studied Thea from head to toe, finally fixing his gaze on her silver-red eyes. "How do you explain her eye color?"

It was common knowledge that pure-blooded Andros were born with blood-red eyes. The purer their lineage, the more vivid and coagulated the blood in their pupils. In the history of the Mal Continent, no human had ever changed eye color after being Turned.

Alexander spread his hands. "You can't figure it out. How am I supposed to know?"

"Sigh," Becky Cotton said, crossing his arms. "Too bad Austin isn't here. Otherwise, we wouldn't be arguing. Only he can speak with certainty about bloodline matters."

Still, he believed Thea Dessey did not crave blood. After all, she was Selah's descendant—she had that pride.

"Lisandra," Duke Alexandra said, knowing what answer Brett Hall and the others wanted but unable to give it.

Duke Lisandra flashed to Thea's side in an instant. Before Alexander could react, she clamped a hand around Thea's jaw. A seven-petaled Saparaya Mother Tree flower bloomed slowly from the center of her pupils. She was using her bloodline to summon Thea's fangs.

As the flower bloomed in Lisandra's eyes, blood and energy churned within Thea. Her gums burned as if scorched. She felt something trying to break free and return, so she immediately channeled witchcraft power into her meridians to suppress it.

All the Andros founding dukes watched. Elara's face darkened. Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched slowly—but she did not step forward to stop it. The scene drove home just how important true strength was.

By the time the Saparaya flower fully bloomed in Lisandra's pupils, Thea had not grown fangs as the Andros had hoped. Alexander snatched her back from his mother and shouted angrily: "Enough… All of you, enough!"

Thea collapsed weakly into Alexander's arms, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away and sneered: "The Andros and the Witch Clan are both beloved by the gods. Why are you never satisfied?"

"Perhaps they all want their races to be destroyed," Alexander said, lifting Thea in his arms. He turned to Elara. "I invite you to my home. Will you come?" He did not want to stay here another moment.

"You go ahead first," Elara said, unclenching her fists. "Once matters here are settled, I will visit Stirling Manor when I have time."

Although Alexandra had agreed to give her Anastas City for now, she had not yet received the deed. She understood well that a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush.

"Very well, we're leaving," Thea wanted to stay with Elara, but Alexander would not allow it. Ignoring her struggles, he teleported away from the royal palace in a few flashes.

Finally, two were gone. King Sawyer looked at the remaining group, his forehead creased so deeply it could trap flies. He wanted to say he had prepared a feast, but his intuition told him today was not the time.

"Shall we discuss this inside the hall instead?"

Duke Alexandra understood why Elara had stayed. Having given her word, she would not hesitate.

"Tomorrow, I will first give you the land deed for Anastas City. Rest assured, I will also present the deed for the Luohe Plains as soon as possible."

There was a fertile basin within Ana's territory that could be exchanged with the kingdom for the Luohe Plains. As the Lord of West Sea Forest had said, Ana must pay for her foolishness.

"Very well," Elara said, flipping her right hand. The Nether Boxes holding the Moonlight Rings on the ground closed and flew toward the carriage. With a flick of her left hand, the silver threads binding Ana loosened, reverting to cut hair. They returned to her hand along with the Dark Nether Fire Burst Bomb in Ana's mouth.

She summoned a wisp of dark light to retrieve the Sunfire Divine Staff, then prepared to leave.

"If I have been rude earlier, I ask for your forgiveness. Elara takes her leave. "Without waiting for a response, she turned toward her carriage.

"Wait!" King Sawyer looked back and forth between the nobles, realizing no one else would speak. He had to do it himself. "Lord Elara, wait!" When Elara turned, he quickly asked, "Your Moonlight Rings…"

Elara blinked gently. "The Dessey Clan owns several shops in the capital." I have no use for these rings and plan to sell them. Would you like to buy them, King Sawyer?"

He did not want to, but as king of the Andrea Kingdom, he could not stand by and let so many Moonlight Rings leave the capital.

"How much per ring?"

"Two thousand gold coins." Elara believed that, as the capital of the Andrea Kingdom, prices would be far higher than in Anastas City. Besides, after the night in Anastas City, the number of Moonlight Rings outside must have dropped sharply. The price was fair.

Two thousand gold coins? King Sawyer swallowed hard and glanced at the dukes behind him. Buy or not?

Even Cinderaven, perched on the carriage roof, could barely watch. How had he ever picked such a cowardly king? Were the gold coins in the treasury just for hoarding?

"Not buying?" Elara felt a little disappointed, but her face remained calm.

At that moment, Becky Cotton spoke up: "Do you know your ancestor, Selah, also sold Moonlight Rings in the capital?" He thought for a moment. "One per month… one." Lisandra eventually had to force him to buy it."