Chapter 119: Alice's Challenge

“It really is you, Endo! We have no grudge, right? Why are you causing trouble here?” Stepping out from the whirlwind, Anderson immediately spotted the distinctive old witch and roared angrily, “Don’t forget, this is the territory of Sandland Talin. You Northern Witches have no right to be arrogant here!”

Leaning on her broom, the old witch let out a cold, owl-like laugh and disdainfully replied to the blustering Anderson, “Sandland Talin? Do you really think they would openly expel us Northern Witches over a mere resource point like this?”

“So you didn’t come here just to visit, right?” Anderson continued shouting, though his tone had noticeably softened. Facing a battle witch from the far North, despite holding the home advantage, he knew a real fight would likely end poorly for him.

Don’t be fooled by the fragile appearance of these Northern Witches; those who have carved out territories in the bitter northern wastelands possess an indomitable will and terrifying methods unmatched even by male wizards. Take Endo, for example—she had been stationed in Sandland Talin for less than seven years but had already earned the notorious title of the “Venomous Witch.”

Legend had it that a wandering wizard once led a band of recruited bandits to ambush a trade caravan sent by the Northern Witches to the central continent, killing the apprentice witch accompanying the caravan. Upon hearing this, Endo immediately launched a counterattack and located the bandits within half a day.

Instead of charging into their camp for a bloody battle, she simply scattered poison around their campsite. By the next morning, all the bandits, including the wandering wizard, had perished from the deadly toxin. With this single act, the fierce old witch from the far North had poisoned nearly 300 people, cementing her fearsome reputation.

As a Northern Witch wreaking havoc in Sandland Talin’s territory, she naturally provoked fierce backlash from several central continent wizard families. However, since she acted under the banner of avenging her disciple, these families, despite their dissatisfaction, had no choice but to silently tolerate her actions.

Thus, whenever this venomous hag was mentioned, all central continent wizards felt a headache coming on. Unlike the North, Sandland Talin’s region was free from large-scale monster invasions and enjoyed a far more hospitable environment. As a result, local wizards focused more on magical research and less on combat, making their fighting skills far inferior to the fierce Northern Witches.

If the region weren’t vast and rich in resources with countless wizards, the quality of local wizards here would hardly match the three major wizard factions surrounding them.

This was, after all, a private resource point of the Sarupo family. Had any other wizard of similar rank come to cause trouble, Anderson would have attacked without hesitation. But facing the infamous “Venomous Witch,” even the usually reclusive Anderson dared not act rashly.

Endo let out a sinister laugh and turned to summon, “Alice, come out and show Lord Anderson—so he stops babbling nonsense!”

When Anderson saw the little girl bounding out from behind the witch, his dark face turned as black as a cauldron’s bottom. “Endo, who is this little one to you? I thought she was Deborah’s disciple.”

“Your memory serves you well. She is indeed studying under Deborah now, but she is also my direct descendant—the most gifted and promising apprentice witch of the Moya family! Yet here, under your watch, she suffered a shameful ambush and humiliation. Today, I’m here to settle that score!”

Damn! At that moment, Anderson cursed inwardly countless times. Who knew that simply disciplining a senior apprentice who trespassed into the magic swamp would stir up the wrath of this venomous witch’s kin? Could it be that the World Will itself had grown tired of him and sent this punishment to humiliate him?

Suppressing his bad luck, Anderson snarled coldly, “I did discipline this girl! What, you want to make me pay for it? Endo, don’t forget—you’re just the Northern Witch representative stationed here. Attacking me could spark a war between wizard families!”

“War between families? Hmph, would your Sarupo family declare war on ours over something so trivial? But don’t worry, I’m not here to punish you today—I’m here to vent for Alice.” At Endo’s words, the doll-like Alice’s eyes reddened as she clung coquettishly to the witch’s side, shooting a fierce glare at Anderson.

“So what exactly do you want? I punished a rude little brat—are you saying I have to pay for that?” Anderson’s tone darkened further.

“Hmph, I accept that you disciplined Alice—but your tower apprentices who ganged up on her? That debt must be settled properly. I won’t bully the weak. Hand over those who harmed Alice. Let them fight her again. If your people win, I’ll leave immediately. If they lose—heh heh heh… they must accept life or death as fate!”

Anderson’s grim face twitched as he waved his hand, chanting a cryptic spell. Glowing magical auras flashed atop the small hill, and three figures of varying shapes suddenly appeared in the void.

As the wizard with the highest control over the Swamp Tower, Anderson didn’t need to consult Grim and the others; he simply used his authority to forcibly teleport Entik, Mary, and Grim here. The three were clearly unaware of what was happening, busy with their own matters when suddenly the magical aura flashed and they found themselves inexplicably transported to this wilderness.

First confused, then shocked, they quickly bowed respectfully upon seeing Anderson, awaiting his orders silently.

“It’s them! Those are the bad guys who took turns hurting me! Especially that vile vampire, who sucked a lot of my blood…” Alice angrily jumped forward, shouting.

But the venomous witch frowned deeply.

Two quasi-wizards and one senior apprentice?

That rank didn’t quite match Alice’s description.

“Alice, are you sure it’s them? It doesn’t seem to match what you said.” Endo’s face darkened.

“It’s definitely them. But back then, those two were senior apprentices, and this one…” Alice pointed at Grim, her cute face flashing with malice, “he was just a junior apprentice!”

Promoted?

Facing two quasi-wizards, Endo was troubled. With her strength and the backing of the powerful Moya family, killing two senior apprentices would be no big deal. But involving quasi-wizards complicated matters.

For any wizard family, quasi-wizards were their future reserves—none could be sacrificed lightly. As far as Endo knew, the Sarupo family had fewer than ten quasi-wizards. If she wiped out two at once, no matter how weak Sarupo’s faction, it would force them to declare war on the Moya family behind her.

“Alice, you can’t touch those two quasi-wizards. Aren’t you mad at that junior apprentice? Go challenge him and get your revenge first. I’ll deal with the other two later.” Calmly, Endo transmitted her intentions into Alice’s mind through telepathy.

Alice, still shouting, was momentarily stunned, then pointed at Grim and issued a direct challenge.

Normally, such a meaningless challenge wouldn’t be permitted. As a Swamp Tower apprentice, Anderson had the duty to protect Grim under his wing. But today was an exception. When Alice issued the challenge face-to-face, Anderson remained silent, tacitly allowing it.

Grim sneered inwardly.

Though he had been here briefly, he already had a pretty good guess about today’s farce upon seeing Alice. So he stepped forward to accept her challenge.

“Last time I beat you up, and now you’re already coming for revenge! Fine, I’ll beat you this time—when are you planning your next revenge?”

Though sly and ruthless, Alice valued her honor deeply. Hearing Grim’s taunt, she jumped in place in anger and screamed, “You think you can beat me? If it weren’t for your gang and those vampire witches ambushing me, do you think you’d still be alive?”

“And if I do beat you, then what?” Grim was waiting for that very response, turning the tables immediately.

“If I lose, my life belongs to you—I’ll be your lifelong servant! But if you lose, your life belongs to me!” Furious, Alice shouted without hesitation.

Endo, standing behind Alice, furrowed her brows, a sinister thought creeping into her mind. This young man who was about to fight Alice was far too calm and composed. Could he be hiding some secret technique?

Using her formidable mental power, Endo discreetly extended a probing tendril toward Grim to examine him carefully.

Senior apprentice level, ordinary fire-element talent, decent magical equipment—but with such strength, he was still far from matching Alice.

Since beginning her path as a witch, Endo had never seen a talent stronger than Alice’s spatial ability. Even powerful elemental apprentices, despite wielding devastating spells, were useless if they couldn’t land a hit on Alice, who controlled the battlefield’s space.

Physical and secret technique apprentices were even more fragile before Alice, like mere straw dolls. Only those with exceptional bloodline talent posed any threat.

After her last defeat, Alice had endured great torment and made rapid progress in short-range teleportation. Endo could hardly imagine how any apprentice could resist Alice’s relentless spatial slicing or catch someone who could teleport freely at will.

Having assessed the young man’s strength, Endo gave a cold, sinister smile. “Boy, no need for words. Go in and fight Alice!”

With that, she snatched the golden birdcage from Alice’s hand and waved it between the two.

In the next moment, Grim and Alice vanished from the scene simultaneously.