Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Reaping the Benefits_1
Abigail’s summoning space, Aiden sat at the end of the long table, meeting with the Great Witches.
"Bounty Hunters? This information, we are already aware of. These days, people entering the Banquet Forest occasionally include some personnel other than nuns," Abigail answered after listening to Aiden’s narrative, "However, we only now realize that their main base is located within the autonomous zone borders."
"They’ve shifted their main target to your side, I guess these days their offensive against the Banquet Forest must’ve strengthened, right?" Aiden asked.
Abigail was silent for a while before she responded, "Yes, just last night we had quite a few ’guests,’ and the other side has indeed started to invest heavily."
Vila looked at Abigail but said nothing.
In fact, last night’s offensive by the Harvest Mother Cult was far from being just a matter of "quite a few ’guests’," it was an "army" of hundreds of combat nuns and desperate hunters that poured through the routes they had previously scouted.
The Cult had just been hit hard, so their immediate real-deal assault on the Banquet Forest was honestly a bit unexpected for them.
"I’m guessing they’re not likely to change locations before they get a hold of the ultimate authority," Aiden said with a smirk, "So when do you plan to make a move? I’d like to follow along and reap some benefits."
"Damn it! You little shit, can’t you be a bit more subtle?" Habanis cursed immediately.
"Regardless, your situation is more critical than mine right now, that’s a fact," Aiden shamelessly replied.
He had already made up his mind that if the Witch Council did not take action, neither would he.
This was not about being passive, it was that without the Witch Council’s intervention, he did not have the confidence to confront the Cult head-on and come out victorious.
Getting involved in the conflict between the Witch Council and the Harvest Mother Cult put him in a very unfavorable position; both the Witch Council and the Harvest Mother Cult far surpassed him in the mastery of the divine word.
If it came down to a comparison of strength, he couldn’t beat the saints from the Cult, and when negotiating terms with the Witch Council, he had no say.
Thus, in the process of allying with the Witch Council, he hid his true capabilities from the Great Witches as much as possible, hoping they would overestimate his strength or the power backing him.
The escalation of conflict between the Cult and the Witch Council was good for him, and he quickly realized he should exploit this situation, let the Witch Council strike back, and then he would backstab the Cult.
Taking action was necessary, but it had to be at just the right moment.
"So many years have passed, the king of the Old Lese Kingdom might have already completed the adaptation ceremony," Abigail said calmly, "He probably only needs to get the hatching egg to advance directly to a ruler, and then, Your Excellency, you will be the next target."
At that moment, Vila suddenly stood up.
"What’s wrong?" Abigail glanced at her.
"The nearby golems have reacted, invaders are approaching!" Vila said anxiously.
"They’ve found their way to the site? Can’t be," Qiqimora said, surprised enough to drop the cigarette from her hand.
The place where Vila was now situated was the usual venue for the gathering of witches. She had set up a workshop there to mass-produce wicker men to face the Cult’s assault.
But just last night, a large number of fully-armed combat nuns and hunters had poured into Banquet Forest, slaughtering magical beasts and destroying a large number of golems, significantly advancing their incursion into the forest.
The exposure of the location of the gathering in Banquet Forest was no small matter for the witch gathering. If the Cult were to spread the venue’s location and entry routes, the annual witch gathering would no longer be safe, and the number of witches willing to attend would greatly diminish.
"Why didn’t your familiar sense them in advance?" Lamia asked Abigail in a blaming tone.
"I dispatched most of my familiars to the autonomous region; naturally, the defense here in Banquet Forest was weakened." Abigail paused, then waved her hand, and a crystal ball flew over by itself, hovering above the table, reflecting the scene within the forest.
Several combat nuns were attacking a wicker man together. One nun charged straight forward, undaunted, allowing the wicker man to grab and enclose her in its belly to burn, but just as she was engulfed by the flames, the nun’s body suddenly "exploded"—the nun meant to be sacrificed had explosives strapped to her.
The body of the wicker man was blown open with a huge gash; since its containment was compromised, to prevent the flames from setting the forest ablaze, the spells set in the branches immediately extinguished the fire.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the other nuns rushed in. This time they had switched to melee weapons better suited for chopping, changing from scythes to axes. With their axes, they besieged the unbalanced wicker man, chopping off the branches of its legs and bringing it down.
Abigail chanted a spell, and the view in the crystal ball changed. This time it showed several Magical Beast Hunters wielding shotguns. The leader was a burly tiger-man with a bow and quiver on his back and a blood-stained double-edged axe in his hand. Around them were piled the corpses of magical creatures.
Aiden recognized the tiger-man as someone who seemed to have appeared on Rebecca’s list, a fairly famous Magical Beast Hunter, likely among the strongest mercenaries hired by the Cult.
"It’s no good, they have completely mastered how to deal with the wicker men," Lamia assessed.
"Judging from this situation, the vicinity of the gathering place can no longer be defended." After pondering for a moment, Abigail made a decision, "Vila, abandon the workshop. Take your credentials, and I’ll guide you to a safe place."
"But..." Vila seemed anxious.
"There’s no helping it," Abigail cut her off, "You don’t want to get caught by those hunters and claim the bounty, do you? If you leave there, I’ll figure out a way to deal with them."
Vila was an S-class wanted criminal; if those hunters spotted her, they would definitely pursue her relentlessly. Although she was proficient in golem-making and alchemy, her combat capability was not that great. If she were caught, death was certain.
Without further hesitation, Vila cut the connection and exited the summoning space.
Aiden watched the images in the crystal ball. The Harvest Mother Cult must have been accumulating military power at their stronghold in Northwind Town before. If they hadn’t been raided by the Heretic Inquisition, they probably would have continued to prepare for a while longer.
Now that they had just had a stronghold taken down by the Heretic Inquisition, they immediately put down a fortune to keep launching fierce attacks on Banquet Forest, a risky advance that caught the witch gathering off guard.
With the Cult’s substantial military power flowing into Banquet Forest, the conflict between the witch gathering and the Cult was escalating... To stab the Cult in the back for a gain, this might be a good opportunity to strike.
With that thought, he raised his hand, "I have a proposal, why don’t we set about attacking their main base now?"
