Caught You

The people of Gospel truly rode an emotional rollercoaster tonight. First, three Blood Moon legends had barged in without restraint, pressing forward aggressively with arrogant bluster and even daring to strike at the Thirteenth Witch inside the imperial palace—a slap across Gospel's face that rang loud and clear. Just as the Thirteenth Witch seemed doomed to become a sacrifice, Qinna boldly intervened. Not only did she block a lethal legendary strike, but she blew Molagu's head apart in a single shot! Matriarch of the Fanmula Six Emblems, Second Witch Qinna had secretly become a legendary sorcerer! Considering that Chief Witch Annan was her daughter, that greedy, despicable Qinna seemed poised to become the ruler behind Gospel's throne— Yet they soon realized they were worrying for nothing. As the two remaining Blood Moon legends took the opportunity to erupt, Annan's four phantom wings unfurled with abandon. Majestic purple light clamped down like a birdcage, forcefully suppressing their ferocious legendary aura. To the people of Gospel, Annan was a dirty politician and an unscrupulous schemer, yet at this moment she stood as the palace's radiant, sovereign king. Chief Witch Annan was also a legendary sorcerer! Everyone was stunned numb. She held Yisu's imperial authority in stewardship and possessed the supreme pinnacle of martial might; who could possibly shake her position now? Were they supposed to count on Her Majesty the Empress, who had vanished without a trace over half a year ago? How much longer would they have to live in fear beneath Annan's tyrannical rule? Still, at least this upheld Gospel's honor and dealt a crushing blow to the Blood Moon envoys' conspiracy— *Crack!* The dense sound of shattering glass rang through the hall as the purple barrier enclosing the Blood Moon legends burst under overwhelming force. A dark green dragon materialized behind Nuorman. It looked like melting ice cream, dripping dark green sludge that hissed and dissolved straight through the marble floor. Its foul stench polluted the air like thickened slime. Almost by instinct, sorcerers covered their noses and mouths and scattered in all directions, harboring no doubt that a whiff of this odor was enough to poison their organs and rot their flesh. "Do not think you are the only one with a guardian spirit!" Nuorman's lipless mouth produced a startlingly shrill sound, like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard. "Since you severely maimed Molagu first, it is only natural that we take our revenge... Legends are not to be trifled with! "Bear witness to Hell!" "Delusional!" Annan scoffed. The shattered violet light reshuffled into four solid walls, locking herself, Qinna, and the Blood Moon legends together to cordon off a battlefield that would spare the outside world. The trait of the Purple Resentment Secret Concubine Dragon she wielded with greatest mastery was Absolute Defense, which could serve both to protect and to imprison foes! Yet a Purple Resentment Secret Concubine Dragon, possessing immense defense but insufficient offense, could not dispose of legendary sorcerers on its own. With a flick of her hand, Annan drew two submachine guns from her spatial ring. The four phantom wings on her back splintered into ninety-nine sub-wings, each extending a submachine gun barrel—totaling one hundred and one barrels in all! Miracle: Thousand-Hundred Annihilation Scattering Grave Mode! "Qinna!" she shouted. "Coming~" Qinna answered cheerfully, raising two long-barreled handguns. Components slid out and fused along the weapons until they transformed into heavy sniper rifles. Four phantom wings erupted behind her back. As she pulled the triggers, fierce azure flames blasted from the wings to counter the heavy sniper rifles' massive recoil! Miracle: Soul Burial Sniper! No one remembered that tonight was supposed to be a banquet. The tempestuous roar of explosions nearly ruptured the guests' eardrums, yet no one fled the hall; every eye remained glued to the legendary war within the purple barrier. Running was pointless. If not for that violet barrier, the Yisu Imperial Palace would already be flattened into rubble, and if these legends shifted their battle while trading blows, all of Nabistin would turn into a purgatory. Such was the realm-toppling terror of legendary sorcerers, the terrifying might of mortals' highest tier of power! Once war began, ordinary lives no longer belonged to themselves; they rested entirely in the hands of whoever emerged victorious within! *Crack!* As the purple barrier shattered once more, countless hearts clenched, fearing that Annan and Qinna were still too young after all... until they caught sight of two gorgeous, dazzling roses of the battlefield standing amid the billowing dust and smoke. Only then did their suspended hearts finally settle. Just then, a petite figure suddenly dropped from the ceiling, their leg blade slashing down toward Annan—swift as lightning, yet completely silent. Annan and Qinna appeared wholly unaware, and the surrounding Gospel sorcerers could not even cry out a warning in time. At that moment, the other Sanctuary sorcerers were horrified to discover that even while looking right at the ambusher, they could not sense his presence at all, proving his strength far exceeded the Sanctuary realm! Moon Shadow Bishop Silvan! The werewolf youth who had vanished after casually greeting everyone was actually a fourth legendary sorcerer! Just as it looked as though the Blood Moon side would turn the tables, a gunshot rang out—striking before the sound could even register. A burst of flames erupted above Annan, sending Silvan flying backward. The werewolf bishop crashed to the floor disheveled and covered in grime, his hair and tail scorched black, staring blankly in sheer bewilderment at what had just happened. "My Sanctuary...?" Only then did Annan belatedly realize she had nearly been ambushed. Glancing back along the trajectory of the shot, she saw her young aunt Nuona standing on the second-floor gallery, holstering a handgun. For some reason, Annan thought she vaguely glimpsed another figure standing behind Nuona, but when she blinked, Nuona was already gone. She couldn't help wondering how an aunt who was merely a two-wing sorcerer could be so formidable. Yet there were more pressing matters to handle. Annan turned back to the Blood Moon legends rising once again. Protected by their Sanctuaries, killing these legends before exhausting their sorcery was immensely difficult, but she had exhausted her daily allowance for the Purple Resentment Secret Concubine Dragon; she would no longer be able to contain the battle within the hall. "We swear by the Stars that we will never provoke battle within Gospel's borders and will return to Blood Moon tonight to report on our mission," Bate suddenly said, raising his hands high and bowing his head. "We beg the Chief Witch to forgive our insolence." Not only Annan and Qinna, but even Bate's companion Nuorman was flabbergasted. "Bate, how dare you swear by the Stars?! We haven't even lost—" "Nuorman, you've visited the Void Realm these past few days, haven't you? Do you remember who ranks sixth on the Ruby Mountain sorcerer list?" Bate interjected. Condensing phantom wings on Ruby Mountain followed an entirely different mechanic from the first three layers: sorcerers had to trigger resonance of knowledge through battle on Ruby Mountain to condense distinctively colored phantom wings, and the primary means for legendary sorcerers to fight one another was finding opponents through the sorcerer list. Rankings on the sorcerer list were tied to investments; the more people who invested, the higher the rank. While rank alone did not dictate raw combat power, only sorcerers who achieved unbroken victories and made astonishingly rapid progress could attract such heavy investment! Nuorman's personal best had only been forty-sixth place; he naturally understood just how peerlessly magnificent the top ten were. If memory served him right, the sixth rank on the sorcerer list went by the name of Purple Resentment... Purple Resentment... Purple Resentment Secret Concubine Dragon?! Seeing the Blood Moon sorcerers back down, Annan guessed her reputation on Ruby Mountain had played a major role. In truth, she was not quite as terrifying as they imagined. She was indeed ranked sixth, but the catch was that Freya was fourth, Tamashi was fifth, and Xifulin was seventh. Their undefeated streak on Ruby Mountain was only natural—most of the time, the four of them ganged up on a single opponent; it would be bizarre if they lost! Now, with one Blood Moon legend shot through the head and the other three throwing in the towel, Annan had thoroughly humiliated Blood Moon and vented her frustration. Considering that she would still need to cooperate with the Blood Moon Country in the future, she accepted the way out they offered and said coldly, "Are the rest of you not going to swear?" Left with no choice, the Blood Moon envoys swore by the Stars one after another. As nobles blessed by the Stars, swearing by the Stars was an inviolable code of conduct on par with 'upholding the interests of the Stars.' "Get lost, then." Annan cast a glance over Melda and the others. "Next time Blood Moon sends a delegation, I don't want to see a single one of your faces." In truth, she had half a mind to demand that Freya and Xifulin be sent over, but on second thought, she let the matter drop. Watching the Blood Moon envoys slink out of the Yisu Imperial Palace in disgrace, the parliamentarians exchanged glances before erupting into thunderous applause. Hapi clapped most passionately of all, crying out, "Chief, Second, you two are truly magnificent—" Yet Annan had no interest in their flattery. Waving a hand, she said, "The banquet ends here. Witch Qinna, come with me." Watching the Chief Witch and Second Witch depart, the parliamentarians did not leave immediately. Instead, they gathered in small groups to dissect what had just occurred, as though the banquet had only truly begun now. Whether it was the Blood Moon envoys suffering a bitter defeat or Annan and Qinna advancing to the legendary realm, both revelations were monumental enough to send shockwaves across Gospel. Before long, the discussions converged on a single point: Qinna was one thing, being a veteran Sanctuary sorcerer, but everyone knew Annan had been merely a two-wing sorcerer just last year. How had she become a legend this year? That rate of advancement was absurd beyond belief! However, a few clever individuals soon drew a connection to that friend of Annan's whose speed of progression was equally unfathomable. As if stumbling upon some profound truth, they exchanged cryptic, knowing murmurs, adding yet another layer of mystery to the Chief Witch's legendary life. "How did you become a legend?" In the palace corridor, Annan asked bluntly, "Spending your days managing the clan and calculating people's hearts, shouldn't your potential have run dry long ago?" "Aren't you the same? Playing political games and pushing reforms day in and day out, where did you find the leisure to delve into sorcery?" Qinna countered. "I have my ways." "I have my ways too." Annan halted and stared at her. Qinna arched an eyebrow. "My, my. Now that you're a legendary sorcerer, you dare give your own mother cold looks? The moment your phantom wings stiffen, your rebellious phase kicks in..." "I was giving you cold looks before I even became a sorcerer!" Annan gritted her teeth. "If my rebellious phase began when I realized just how wretched you truly are, it's been going on for at least ten years!" "Alright, alright, what a disobedient child." Qinna shrugged. "During the Angel Hunt, the Omniscient Weaver entrusted me with a mission. Once I completed it, I received a drop of soul knowledge essence..." She briefly explained how she and three other sorcerers had stood in for their deity to return wind, flowers, snow, moon, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. "Why didn't you tell me before?" "You never asked. Besides, didn't you also keep it a secret that Yaxiu could help you advance to legend?" "You never asked either..." The moment the words left her mouth, Annan knew she had slipped up. Sure enough, Qinna immediately pulled her into an embrace. Even though Annan was already in her twenties, held by her tall elven mother, she looked just like a little girl acting spoiled in her mother's arms... even though in her childhood, every attempt at acting spoiled had earned her a kick away. "So Yaxiu really was the one who helped you become a legend," Qinna asked curiously. "But hasn't he stayed away from Gospel? How did he help you?" "It wasn't really his help; he just contributed a tiny bit at a critical juncture..." Annan started to gesture with her fingers to indicate Yaxiu's contribution, but remembering something, a faint blush rose on her cheeks. She lowered her hands and broke free from Qinna's embrace. "Anyway, it's none of your business." "Then when is he going to help you advance to demigod?" Qinna linked an arm through hers and asked, "Can you bring me along when you advance? I want to step into the divine realm too." "Why on earth should I bring you along?" Annan laughed in sheer exasperation. Qinna blinked. "Because I'm your mother, and you're his woman?" "Setting aside whether that second part is true, I don't acknowledge you as my mother, Madam Second Witch." "Then I can be his woman too." "Hey!" "Why do you look so surprised? When I passed down the family's soul faction legacy to you, didn't I ask to share your man?" Qinna smiled. "I always obsess over what I cannot have—not to mention something you obsess over. That only makes it all the more fascinating to me." Annan gritted her teeth. "Don't you feel any embarrassment? Do you have no sense of shame?" "I don't recall raising you to be a girl burdened by shame." Qinna sighed. "It's all because you ran away from home with Banjie and learned bad habits." Realizing she could never defeat Qinna in an argument, Annan decisively shut her mouth and opened her Gospel Book to inquire about Nuona's location. Following behind, Qinna asked, "But isn't Yaxiu on the run with several women? He didn't take you with him; could it be he doesn't like you enough?" "Yes," Annan said calmly. "I'm his second tier, maybe third tier. For all I know, he's already forgotten about me." "Then what will you do?" "Nothing. If he forgets me, I'll simply be a good Chief Witch. If he comes to find me, I'll keep him company for a few nights." "What if he wants to take you away?" Annan hesitated for a moment. "Only if he can give me an entire nation to govern." "Must you hold onto power so tightly?" Qinna chuckled. "I suppose I did want to raise you into a power-hungry politician like this." "He already has plenty of remarkable women around him; someone has even taken the role of a pretty vase." Annan recalled something and shrugged. "If I tried to compete for his favor, I wouldn't even make the queue. Holding supreme authority suits me much better." "He might not like you enough on your own, but what if you add me?" Qinna wrapped an arm around her daughter, winking with a smile. "Among his women, he certainly doesn't have a pairing like ours, does he?" Annan gave her a look. "Are you serious?" "Who knows? Maybe I just wanted to tease my dear daughter." Qinna scratched Annan's chin. "Or maybe... But don't worry." She patted Annan on the back. "What I respect most is the law of the jungle. When you were weaker than me as a child, I could bully you as I pleased. Now that you're stronger, if you break our promise and forbid me from pursuing Yaxiu, then I won't go. "But whenever I catch up to you, don't blame me for being willful." Annan looked at her in surprise, then shook her head. "You won't catch up to me. Besides... Yaxiu won't appear before us." As Gospel's ruling class, Annan and Qinna had unavoidably received the blessing of the Stars, making 'upholding the interests of the Stars' their highest priority creed. They had no choice; unless they were willing to abandon their family and country, they had to become nobles of the Stars. At present, Yaxiu was the number-one fugitive across the five nations by decree of the Divine Lord of Stars. Upon seeing him, their very first instinct could be nothing other than 'report him to the Stars.' "Ah, there is one other possibility." "Hm?" "Yaxiu is stronger than both of us right now." Qinna spread her hands. "If he forces us, there's nothing I can do." Annan let out a sputter of laughter, then clutched her stomach, unable to stop herself. "Hahaha, Yaxiu forcing us..." "Your sense of humor is far too strange. I don't recall raising such an odd daughter." Qinna pushed open the door to the dressing room and saw Nuona sitting before the mirror with her back turned to them. Just moments ago, Nuona had repelled the Moon Shadow werewolf Bishop Silvan with a single gunshot—a feat they had seen with their own eyes. Yet Nuona was merely a Gold Sorcerer; theoretically, she shouldn't have been able to track Silvan's movements, let alone breach the Sanctuary that must have enveloped his body. How could someone who wasn't even a Sanctuary sorcerer pierce right through one? Assuming Nuona had encountered some stroke of fortune, they had come looking for her immediately to ask. But the moment they stepped into the dressing room, a profound sense of dissonance washed over them. Nuona sat silently before the mirror, almost as though she had deliberately lured them here. Furthermore, a deeply soothing fragrance drifted through the air—reminiscent of blankets freshly dried in the sun, or the comforting aroma of home-cooked food drifting out before one even crossed the threshold... Behind them came the sound of the dressing room door clicking shut. Annan and Qinna glanced into the mirror at what lay behind them and saw a blurred figure— *See no evil: black cloth binds the eyes.* *Hear no evil: earplugs silence the world.* *Speak no evil: a mask seals the mouth.* *Move no evil: ropes lock the limbs.* In an instant, two of Gospel's legendary sorcerers—the Chief Witch and Second Witch standing at the pinnacle of power—were ambushed and left virtually powerless to resist. In a flash, they were bound, eyes blindfolded, ears plugged, mouths gagged, hands and feet tied fast, and pressed down onto the floor. Annan's mind went completely blank, her body trembling uncontrollably. Yet before terror could take root in her heart, she felt a hand rest gently against the nape of her neck, so tender that it felt as though she could slip free with the slightest effort. Like a cat gripped by the scruff, she slowly relaxed. As the scent gradually dissipated, she heard something being placed around her neck, followed by a crisp *click* that traveled through her bones. Immediately afterward, all restraints vanished. As light returned, Annan squinted against the brightness. The first thing that met her eyes was Nuona, looking on with concern, and Annan noticed a collar around Nuona's neck... She, too, had been collared. Turning her head, she saw the figure that had haunted her dreams kneeling on one knee before her. In his hand, he held three ethereal chains, extending directly to the collars around her, Qinna's, and Nuona's necks. "Sorry. To bypass the blessing of the Stars, I had no choice but to make you my prisoners." Yaxiu looked at Annan, a soft smile playing on his lips as if recalling something. "Young Miss, this time I've caught you." "Mhm." Annan's eyes curved into crescents, her gaze shimmering with emotion as the corners of her mouth tilted upward. "You've caught me."