Chapter 540: So That's the Kind of Witch She Is!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 540: So That's the Kind of Witch She Is!
As the aftermath of that previous strike settled, the player responsible for unleashing the God-Slayer blow was left waiting for death, ravaged by the power's backlash. The other two players, who had initially been reluctant to hold back and hadn't equipped their God-Slayer Armor, felt a surge of relief.
Because they hadn't made direct contact, they had only endured the aftershocks of the explosion. According to the system's damage radius calculations, their position was the point of least impact, yet they had still been subjected to a terrifying force.
The support armor they wore was specifically designed to help withstand such aftershocks, but once the strike concluded, they were forced to switch back to their own standard combat armor.
The "durability" of the new experimental armor had already plummeted past the warning line.
It was painfully obvious now: the God-Slayer Armor and support modules they had been issued were merely substandard versions intended for rapid emergency response.
It made sense. Those Game Architects weren't about to provide them with genuine God-Slayer Armor so quickly. If it were the real deal, there wouldn't be just two of them equipped with mere support suits.
They had expected this to be an easy mission. None of them had anticipated that the three players assigned to the frontal containment would nearly be wiped out by a counterattack!
Fortunately, they still had a backup plan. The God-Slayer Armor was only a temporary measure to stall the enemy. This time, they had simply kicked a hornet's nest.
Having escaped the center of the explosion, the bird-like beings and several others took the opportunity to scatter like startled animals. The players, possessing only the bodies of ordinary humans, shivered from the biting cold in the brief moment it took to swap their armor.
Back at headquarters, the Game Architects couldn't have cared less about the players' physical state. They needed to track those two girls immediately!
After all, one of them possessed the Tech Core they so desperately craved, while the other carried a massive amount of resources for Game Qualifications!
Capturing either one would be a massive windfall.
Naturally, in their greed, they chose to take both.
Furthermore, they were attempting to urgently rally every player currently descended into this world to this location. Although the transit would take time, once the targets were localized, the travel time wouldn't matter.
They could proceed directly with the next phase of the containment plan. No frills, just adapting to the situation as it unfolded.
The Vanguard Pioneers who had first arrived in this world were all top-tier players, each possessing a unique specialty. Or rather, each of their powers was an extension of the strength granted by the Terminal of Myriad Worlds!
"Location locked. Heh, that foolish woman actually severed her own right arm. She’s ruthless to herself, but they have nowhere left to run!"
After "euthanizing" the dying player, the remaining two adjusted their pain perception settings to the minimum.
With the assistance of the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, they successfully localized the targets. Although they had lost significant time due to their own setbacks, their flight modules allowed them to close the distance rapidly.
The targets they were tracking were clearly heavily injured; otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered finding a place to hide.
"Found you... Heh, right here!"
They pried open the wall with brutal force, allowing a shaft of sunlight to spill into the dim corner. But it brought no hope.
The figures of the two girls immediately came into view. Once the system confirmed their identities, the players went on high alert, yet they didn't immediately initiate a wide-scale, indiscriminate extermination.
This was because a Child of Destiny was present. While the concept of a "Child of Destiny" wasn't officially recognized by the Game Architects, these high-end players had their own theories. As the ones on the front lines of every world, they gathered a vast amount of information through their own means. Even the method for plundering Game Qualifications was, to some extent, built upon the Child of Destiny hypothesis.
This method involved constantly obstructing the Child of Destiny, creating trouble for them, and even directly humiliating them to trample their dignity. By extinguishing their hope and cutting off every possibility—literally killing the heart to destroy the soul—the Terminal of Myriad Worlds could harvest these Game Qualifications.
Only when it was impossible to squeeze any more qualifications out of them would they opt for the permanent solution of killing the target.
If they killed the target directly without the prior "squeezing" process, they would collect almost none of this luck. As Vanguard Pioneers, they couldn't exert enough influence on the world yet. Until they had achieved a certain level of invasive influence, they lacked the means to directly snatch luck from the World Will.
However, just as they confirmed the targets' identities, they suddenly noticed a strange, brilliantly glowing pattern on the ground beside them.
As their scanners swept over the pattern, crimson warning signs began flashing across their vision.
They were stunned to see that the Terminal of Myriad Worlds was actually performing an "Information Collection" on the object!
The enemy's technique had matched information within the database!
Meanwhile, the Game Architects observing the feed were even less composed.
It was a summoning ritual!
It was the exact same summoning ritual they had encountered in that small world, the one inextricably linked to the Calamity Witch!
Because of their deep-seated fear of the "Witch" concept, they had immediately abandoned their occupation of that small world and severed all ties.
Furthermore, through the deductions of the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, they had confirmed that this unknown symbol could potentially expose their world's coordinates. This had only reinforced their belief that the individual calling herself the Calamity Witch intended to invade their world!
To that end, the Calamity Witch had been trying to find ways to spread this summoning ritual back to their world through contact with players.
How could the Game Architects remain calm after realizing this?
They immediately issued a global supreme directive, utilizing the Terminal of Myriad Worlds to perform a worldwide information purge, completely erasing all records related to this summoning ritual from their world!
As for the possibility of physical records... that was impossible. Their world had long since phased out paper and pens; only the interconnected Terminal of Myriad Worlds remained. Before the Terminal, no one had privacy.
And yet, they never expected to see it again here!
After the initial shock, the Game Architects immediately sent out a confirmation command.
The two players received the order instantly.
"Who! Who are you summoning?!" The two players immediately locked their weapons onto the girls.
"Tell us who you are summoning! Otherwise, we will proceed with extermination!"
"Um..." Tan Han and Xia Li were startled by the duo's extreme reaction, but Xia Li still managed to maintain a protection spell strong enough to deflect kinetic weapons.
Tan Han had no intention of telling them she was summoning reinforcements, while Xia Li wasn't entirely sure what the ritual was herself.
That was until the person they least wanted to see emerged from the summoning array.
"The... the Calamity Witch!" One of the two players gasped, his pupils dilating in sheer disbelief as the figure appeared!
Of course he recognized her!
Not long ago, Star of Sin had held its final "shutdown carnival," and he had gone to enjoy the festivities. Naturally, he had learned a bit about this uninvited guest. Combined with his high-level information-sharing clearance, he understood exactly what the deal was with the Calamity Witch.
She was a terrifying powerhouse who didn't rely on any armor, capable of casually producing a strike equivalent to a God-Slayer Armor using only magic.
More importantly... she was an invader who had shown a covetous interest in their world!
To say they weren't afraid would be a lie!
But what was going on? Had this world also caught this witch's eye?!
While the two players couldn't make sense of the situation, the Game Architects behind them had to handle it with cold logic. They were testing a theory... testing a possibility...
"Respected Miss Calamity Witch..."
The player who understood the situation spoke up. Looking at the figure that had suddenly appeared, his throat felt dry. At the end of the day, they were just ordinary people. The bodies they occupied were ordinary, and the originals controlling them were just as human.
Meanwhile, Tan Han and Xia Li were equally shocked.
Xia Li was stunned that Tan Han had actually summoned Xiao Han directly; her brain hadn't quite processed it yet. Tan Han, on the other hand, was shocked by the players' attitude toward Xiao Han.
The moment she appeared, one of them was so terrified he addressed her with honorifics!
And... "Miss Calamity Witch"... that title... did Xiao Han know them?
As for me, the moment I was summoned, I immediately confirmed my surroundings and established my own defenses.
Seeing Tan Han, a look of realization crossed my face. So Tan Han was the one who summoned me. No wonder.
The threads of luck had certainly taken me on a long detour to get here.
However, the two people facing them... were they Secret Diggers?
Thanks to Dean Bev Alanna's warning, I knew they had descended into the Main World, but I hadn't expected to run into them the moment I entered the script.
Judging by how they addressed me, they seemed to recognize me.
"Hmm... you know me. How should I address you? Secret Diggers? Or... Players?" I asked.
At that moment, I sensed a terrifying power dissipating in the distance—a chilling cold intertwined with the lingering heat of an explosion. The air was thick with the scent of pulverized masonry and dust.
What on earth had Tan Han and the others been doing?
Had they wandered into a war zone?
But the Main World hadn't seen a war in a very long time.
"You may call us Vanguard Pioneers. Respected Witch, may I ask... are you a native of this world?" The player looked at the directive sent by the Game Architects. Though he didn't understand why they were being ordered to risk asking such a question, he had to obey.
"Vanguard Pioneers... I see." I nodded, finally understanding a few things. Simultaneously, I used my Identification Art to figure out exactly what had happened here. Although gathering information from the ley lines was a bit slow without a specific target, it was far more convenient than simply asking.
"Please... are you a native of this world?" Seeing that I hadn't responded, he was prompted by the directive to ask again.
"Yes. Is there a problem?" I answered without hesitation. I had nothing to hide, though I did feel a flicker of pity for them. They had already fallen into a bottomless abyss; they only had this brief moment left to act tough.
But in a place I couldn't see—back in the game world.
The moment that answer was given, the Game Architects erupted in a frenzy of joy!
This was the answer they had been hoping for!
Some were overcome with bitter regret, feeling like clowns for having been scared into inaction by such a person!
What had they just heard?
The Calamity Witch—the one who had terrified them into using a global supreme directive for a targeted information purge—was a native of this "small world" they were invading!
They wanted to drag the architects who had chosen to retreat from that small world out for a public shaming. They had been scared witless by this person, even going so far as to cause a massive uproar. Did they think a global information purge was something to be used lightly?
Every time it was used, the entire world had to be recalibrated! If the lower-class rabble used the opportunity to start riots or conflicts, it would threaten global stability!
Heh... a Witch. They had collected plenty of surface-level information about this world and knew that its transcendent organizations were structured as academies. One of those was the "Witch Academy."
After all that worrying, this was what they were afraid of.
So that's the kind of witch she is!
As expected, how could they possibly have encountered the kind of "Witch" described in the World Tomb records?
This was just a coincidence. She had taken a "Witch" profession; she wasn't part of a "Witch" race!
In that case, what was there to fear?
The Game Architects felt as though they had just stepped off a roller coaster. Initially, they thought they would have to abandon this world again, but they never imagined the opponent would be so underwhelming. They had been scaring themselves!
However, the Game Architects' realization couldn't be synchronized to the Vanguard players in real-time.
Even if the players didn't know, the strategic policy behind them had already shifted. Even if they now understood that the so-called Calamity Witch was merely a slightly more powerful caster, these two players likely still weren't a match for her.
So, the next phase would be left to the players' discretion.
Regardless, even if they couldn't take either of the two targets this time, they had at least gained a piece of high-value intelligence. It wasn't a total loss.
Furthermore, the target might still be in the dark. Suddenly, as the Game Architects looked at the "Calamity Witch" on their screens, they realized she might be useful. Her abilities were truly terrifying.
"No... sorry, our mistake. Then, may I ask if you intend to protect these two behind you?"
"Yes. I'm protecting them. If you don't want to die, you'd better leave now," I threatened, though my gaze was already fixed on the luck threads that they themselves couldn't see.
Previously, I could only see the surface-level threads of luck. Now that I could see deeper, I realized their level of luck manipulation was quite high.
Using luck to control... people. That was a truly terrifying method.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"You think you can defeat me?" I looked at the player who had recognized me. Since he knew who I was, he should know my strength. He should tell his teammate not to throw their life away.
"Indeed, we likely cannot defeat the Calamity Witch at full power. However, we don't ask for much. Only one item, or one person..."
"We aren't the only ones here this time. We've been stalling for time, waiting for our other companions to finish planting a small-scale strategic nuclear bomb. You could certainly kill us, but you know it would be meaningless. If you do, this city will be reduced to rubble, and the surrounding cities will suffer massive collateral damage. I imagine a disaster of that scale is something even you cannot afford to bear, right?"