Chapter 62: Shut Up If You Can't Speak: The Empire Under Shakeup
In the early morning light, five people sat in the huge auditorium, staring at the empty stage below in a daze.
The utterly silent arena was now deserted, and many of the damaged facilities showed no signs of repair. There wasn't even a dedicated staff to maintain even the most basic cleanliness, and a thin layer of dust had already accumulated on the seats.
Priest was obviously the one who was most surprised by the changes here. He still remembered the last time this arena was filled with the noise of carnival, and even the cloudy day could not hide the excitement of everyone in the stands, but now.
The magnificent arena was covered with a layer of dilapidated and dilapidated haze. It was obvious that it had been abandoned.
However, none of this mattered. It was just an arena, and Priest didn't care. He couldn't understand why he had brought these guys into this place. Even though there was no one inside, he had only helped open the door from the inside. But he was deeply annoyed that he had obeyed the orcs' orders.
"How can you be so sure that the Dark Witch will really come later? Maybe she won't come at all."
Beatrice was amused by his questioning tone, which was filled with suspicion. She said with a faint sarcasm:
"Because she's our witch lady, we just need to trust her. Forget it, you've only known her for a few days, how can you understand the tacit understanding between us? I'd like to know where you've been these days? Have you lost your mind?"
Priest's eyes darkened. "Little orc, I advise you to be careful with your words."
Beatrice wasn't afraid of him at all, and simply held her chin high. She was hoping he'd bully her right now, and even better still, if the witch ran into him. She might even chase him away.
Catherine stood up and said, "Beadori, why don't we go downstairs and wait."
That's where the witch left last time, and she'll probably be in the same spot when she returns. Beatrice realized what was happening and quickly agreed.
Priest thought she was just scared, and sneered, then put his long legs on the back of the chair in front of him, looking very leisurely.
At this moment, changes began to appear in the center of the arena. The golden holy light that Priest was familiar with appeared along with the aura of a complex magic circle, followed by the intricate and exquisite golden gate. In the early morning light, its radiance was comparable to the morning light, full of holiness and beauty.
Catherine said in surprise: "The witch is back."
She shook Beatrice's hand, and the two of them started running.
Priest's eyes widened at the sight. The moment the golden gate appeared, he could feel the connection between him and his master again. However, the nasty sunlight could burn through his flesh, so he was forced to leap down awkwardly, using the arena's buildings to block out the morning light.
As soon as Shen Jiang landed in the other world, before she could see the scene in front of her clearly, a huge cannonball wearing a black windbreaker and carrying a suitcase suddenly hit her.
After seeing that the person in front of her was Priest, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't expect this guy to be so hard on the outside but soft on the inside. He was too excited to see her coming. The welcoming ceremony was really grand.
"Dark Witch! It's really you, you're not dead. Where have you been these days?" Priest murmured in disbelief.
Shen Jiang's face suddenly darkened: "Your greeting is really unique. If you can't speak, just shut up."
Priest was slightly stunned.
As Beatrice reached the bottom entrance of the arena, she saw Priest, using his physical advantage to leap from the dozens of meters high auditorium directly in front of the Mistress Witch. Damn, this guy was so scheming! He had previously scoffed at the idea of welcoming the Mistress Witch, but as soon as the Mistress Witch appeared, he deliberately rushed to show off.
Shen Jiang was also surprised to see Beatrice and the others running from the entrance. She walked towards them quickly, but then remembered that orcs should not appear here.
"Beadori, why are you here? Have you forgotten the rules of this place? This is too dangerous!"
Beatrice's heart softened immediately. "My Lady Witch, please listen to me. My brother and I have already obtained passes to travel within the empire."
Shen Jiang was a little surprised: "Is the pass so easy to get here?"
"Of course not. We spent all the money you gave us on building relationships. You know, those things are worth a fortune. Fortunately, the bigwigs were busy with their own affairs during this period and had no time to deal with these trivial matters, so we were able to obtain the pass so smoothly."
Shen Jiang sensed the immense amount of information contained in her words and couldn't help but ask, "What happened here after I left last time? Did the beasts and orcs escape?"
"You don't know, we were so busy escaping this place that we didn't pay much attention. I only found out later that some beasts suddenly took action and ran to the stands, where they went berserk. The Second and Third Princes, the heirs to the First Empire, happened to sneak out to watch the competition at the arena that day, and were killed instantly by a Shadow Wolf and a Nether Fox, who had their hearts ripped out..."
"What? What about the other audience members?" Shen Jiang exclaimed in surprise. She wouldn't have meant well but ended up doing something bad and killing the lives of innocent audience members.
"You have nothing to feel guilty about," Beatrice observed, keenly noticing the Witch's subtle change. "Tickets to the Colosseum are extremely expensive, equivalent to a year's salary for ordinary people. The nobles who can attend the matches are all beneficiaries of the profit chain behind the Colosseum. If they hadn't harbored evil intentions and captured the orcs and beasts here for brutal duels, the beasts wouldn't have lost control and retaliated. After escaping, the beasts didn't harm passersby; they simply fled. After this incident became public knowledge, people across the country were talking about it. Now, the Grand Princess of the First Empire, as the King's sole heir, has begun to renovate the Colosseum. Soon, it will be transformed into an opera house."
Shen Jiang never expected that he just wanted to give those poor little guys a chance to live, but he flapped the butterfly's wings and caused a shock to the entire empire.
Shen Jiang looked thoughtful, and it took her a long time to digest the news. She noticed that Priest, who was listening intently, had been holding the suitcase in his hand and didn't let go, and she suddenly became suspicious.
"Priest, what's that in your hand?"
Priest stammered, "Nothing, just what you've always wanted. Here you go."
Since he had it, he could give it to her. But he wouldn't tell her that this was actually a gift he intended for her grave; the contract holder might get mad if she heard that.
Priest had not expected the Black Witch to open the box in front of everyone. Suddenly, a unique and indescribable smell filled the air, causing everyone's expressions to freeze. A bag of something rolled out of the box, containing a brown powdery substance. It was self-evident what it was, and everyone was dumbfounded.
Several people covered their noses.
Shen Jiang, on the other hand, said with a look of surprise: "You really got this!"
She was now willing to forgive Priest's feeble offense. For the sake of the night-shining sand, especially for the sake of this pure, natural, and pollution-free night-shining sand, Shen Jiang took out three potions from her pocket and said generously, "This is for you."
The moment Priest opened the box, he was practically on the verge of tears. However, he had never expected the other party to react this way. Looking at the potion in his hand, he froze for a moment before injecting himself with half a dose. Then, belatedly, he realized, "Hey, that quantity doesn't seem right."
Shen Jiang closed the suitcase and put the items into the golden dragon scales. Knowing that this kid was not easy to fool, he slowly said, "The materials are limited at the moment, and the failure rate is very high. These three potions took a lot of effort to make. I'll give you the rest later."
Priest nodded. "That's right. Such a precious potion must be extremely difficult to make."
Seeing that he had no doubt about it and looked serious, Shen Jiang actually began to like him. Look, what a thoughtful and kind little kid.
Beatrice bit her lip. She'd promised to collect robin droppings for the witch. But since birds are rectal, they often excrete mid-flight, making collection difficult. Damn, this guy had robbed her of her chance to shine again. Had he been missing these days just to do this?
Beatrice said, "My Lady Witch, I've already made inquiries. Many wild animals live in the Iron Forest, including the ones you mentioned. We originally planned to set off for the Iron Forest immediately after picking you up."
Shen Jiang looked at Ellis and Catherine, and heard Ellis say, "We've been to the Rose Empire, and Catherine's family has agreed to our marriage."
It seems that these lovely natives of the other world have been very busy these days.
Shen Jiang put on the wig she had prepared. She wasn't used to the strange feeling of colored contact lenses, so she didn't wear them. But just walking down the street like that, most people wouldn't notice anything was wrong with her.
"Okay, let's get going."
Priest was full of questions about his master.
Why did she sometimes seem ordinary, yet always suddenly explode into something extraordinary, making people feel that her strength was unfathomable? Just when he was thinking that the Contract Master was extraordinary, she actually planned to hire a carriage to the Iron Forest. Isn't flying with a broom a basic skill for a black witch? Why did she have to walk?
On the way, Shen Jiang ate the lunch box Cecilia had prepared earlier in the morning and said it was delicious. Because it was still early, the sun had just risen to its highest point when the group arrived at the Iron Forest.
Shen Jiang couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the appearance of this forest. This forest actually looked like its name. The branches and twigs of the trees were as cold and metallic as steel, and the leaves on them were densely packed like fine needles, still made of metal.
If this weren't in another world, Shen Jiang would have thought it was a fake steel tree printed with 3D technology. But Beatrice said excitedly, "That's right, this is the peculiarity of the Iron Forest. These iron trees can only survive here. After passing through this iron coniferous forest, there are many more strange plants and animals like this. Maybe there will be a lot of medicinal herbs you need."
Shen Jiang was moved by what she said, but this cold and beautiful place looked very dangerous. Shen Jiang couldn't help but hesitate, and resistance was written all over her body.
Shen Jiang: "Beadolis, most of us are ordinary people. Priest can't protect us all. Why don't we find another ordinary small forest to collect medicinal herbs?"
Beatrice shook her head and said, "No, Lady Witch. Please listen to my explanation. I chose this place because there is no other place that better meets your requirements."
Shen Jiang was stunned.
Beatrice continued to explain, "Most of the beasts and orcs who escaped the arena earlier have fled here. There are many old friends of ours here, and I'm sure they will welcome you very much."
A sentence suddenly rang in Shen Jiang's mind: "If you come to the Iron Forest in the future, I will definitely find a way to repay you."
That was what the white tiger said with gratitude when she treated his leg injury. Shen Jiang couldn't help laughing when she thought of the scene that the white tiger's mother might send her a porcupine like the dolphin sent the manta ray to repay her kindness.
"You're right, Beatrice. I'd also like to know how the mother white tiger's leg injury is recovering."
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