Leaf didn't know how she had survived these days.
It took her nearly half a month to return to the camp in the Impassable Mountain Range from the Barbarian Land. In order to avoid the demonic beasts, she carefully hid in the thick trunk, and after confirming that there were no demonic beasts nearby, she went to the next place where she could hide. Although she was burning with anxiety, she had no other choice. Once she was discovered by the hybrid demonic beasts, she wouldn't be able to escape with her own strength.
More than ten sisters fell under the demon's slaughter, and the other sisters weren't good at fighting. When the Iron Hand Demon jumped into the crowd and wantonly slaughtered, they scattered in all directions. But in the end, how many of them could return to the camp alive? Leaf had no idea. She didn't even dare to think about this terrible problem.
Walking and hiding along the way consumed a lot of magic power. She could only walk a little more than ten miles a day, and she also had to prepare the magic needed for the night. After eating up her dry food, she turned some wild fruits into food to quench her hunger and thirst. The Witch Cooperation Association's emblem had long lost its ability to keep warm, so she could only wrap herself in tree bark.Thinking of Seno, who died here before she was even a child, Leaf's tears couldn't stop falling.
What's worse, on the fourth night, she faced the demon's bite in the trunk – a series of blows made her almost forget about it. A tearing pain suddenly bloomed from her chest and quickly spread to her whole body. For a moment, she almost lost consciousness. Biting her tongue until her mouth was full of blood, she gathered her spirit to resist the pain. Under the torture of the demon's bite, Leaf also thought of giving up, but thinking of the more than 20 sisters who might have survived, or were waiting for her return at the camp, or were seriously injured and needed her treatment and help, she clenched her teeth and persevered.
Fortunately, the demon's bite didn't last long. When she broke free from the pain, her whole body was covered with cracks, and the inside of the trunk was wet with blood. In order to avoid attracting the demonic beasts with the smell of blood, she had to endure the pain, take off her clothes, and go to another big tree. At the same time, she let the bare branches grow green leaves, and the green leaves were made into clothes that could protect her from the cold. Under the guidance of magic, the branches became her needles, and the veins of the leaves were her threads.
Along the way, she did not eat any cooked food or drink any hot water. After entering the Impassable Mountain Range, even though she added two more layers of green leaves to her clothes and wrapped her hands and feet tightly, the rapidly falling temperature and the snow that covered her ankles still caused her toes to freeze. Just like that, she walked and stopped, dragging her numb feet, and finally returned to the camp.
Seeing the familiar figures of her sisters, Leaf fell to the ground.
When she woke up, it was already two days later. The long period of hypothermia had caused serious damage to her feet. Even herbal medicine could not stop the expanding gangrene. As a last resort, the sisters amputated two damaged toes of her left and right feet.
Leaf didn't care too much. It was good enough that she survived. Compared to her sisters who would never come back, she was lucky enough. However, when he saw the white bandages wrapped around the arms of the people who were still alive, a great sorrow surged from the bottom of his heart.
Of the forty-two sisters who had set out, only six remained.
After everyone comforted Leaf, Scroll, who was the oldest among them, told her about their experiences.
While they were fighting with the Devil, the non-combat witches took the opportunity to escape in the direction of the camp. That night, they encountered demonic beasts – a group of wild boars. Unable to resist, they had to flee in all directions. The group that had been hunted by the demonic beasts was obviously doomed, but they didn't have time to worry about it. The next morning, they were once again targeted by a wolf hybrid. This time, only eight people escaped. Fortunately, after entering the Impassable Mountain Range, the demonic beasts did not follow them.
A few days after returning to the camp, the two sisters showed symptoms of magic bite. Perhaps it was because the Witch Cooperation Association had suffered too much this time, and the future was bleak, the two of them were unable to survive the demonic bite. But the combat witches did not return. Just when everyone thought that they had died in the hands of the Devil, Leaf unexpectedly came back.
"So … what about the others? Red Pepper, Windchaser, and Mentor, how are they? "
Leaf shook her head, "I'm the only one who survived."
"Is that so …" Scroll replied softly. It was obvious that she had expected this answer. "Then you should rest well. And … "She hesitated," Leaf. "
"What?"
"When you were in a coma, we discussed it. If Cara does not come back, we hope that you can take over the position of mentor."
Ye froze for a moment, then closed his eyes. Yes, the Witch Cooperation Association had suffered such a painful blow. If they did not elect a new leader, I'm afraid that they would immediately collapse.But the purpose of the Witch Cooperation Association was to find the Holy Mountain, to obtain freedom and a place of rest. Now the search for the Holy Mountain had disappeared. No, the "Holy Mountain" itself was a fraud. It did not exist in the Impassable Mountain Range, nor did it exist in the Barbarian Land. So, was there any need for the Witch Cooperation Association to exist?
Her heart was in a mess. Even if she did not look at them, she could feel the expectant eyes of her sisters. They needed someone to stand up and lead the confused people forward.
"We … should go find Nightingale," after a long silence, Leaf said.
"What, find her?"
"Do you mean go to Border Town?"
"What if she lied to us?"
"Vendy is also there."
"Maybe she is already dead."
The sisters began to talk at once. Scroll clapped her hands to calm everyone down, and then asked Leaf, "What if what Nightingale said is also a fraud?"
"You can wait in a safe place outside the town," she opened her eyes, "First let me find out the situation. If what she said is a lie, I will take over the position of mentor. If … I die in the town, Scroll, you will lead the sisters to continue."
"But I …"
Leaf reluctantly smiled, "I know that your ability is not suitable for fighting, and is not very helpful for the daily operation of the camp. But now I understand that the strength of a person's ability has nothing to do with the suitability of being a mentor. "A mentor is a guide, not the strongest person. Unfortunately, I realized this too late. If the mentor of the Witch Cooperation Association was the patient and meticulous Vendy, would the outcome be completely different? "You and Vendy are the first to join the Witch Cooperation Association, and you are also the elder of the sisters. From the east of the kingdom, you accompanied us to the Impassable Mountain Range. You are experienced and cautious, everyone can see it. No one is more suitable than you to be the mentor of the sisters. "
Scroll was silent for a moment, "… What if what Nightingale said is true?"