Chapter 120

#Chapter 120: The Tin Knight and the World of the West Witch (3)

The overwhelming size and weight were akin to sheer brute violence.

The sight of the castle crushed under the rocks was utterly pitiful; all the majesty and splendor it had flaunted just hours earlier were completely erased.

“Such a waste,” clucked the West Witch, shaking her head.

She wasn’t really mourning for her buried subordinates, who had failed to escape along with the castle. If they were truly capable, they would have prevented the Tin Knight and his party from reaching the rooftop in the first place. If they were genuinely loyal, they would have at least clung to their feet and sacrificed their lives.

If survivors remained in the castle when the Tin Knight’s group reached the rooftop, it simply meant that those left behind were both incompetent and disloyal. They weren’t worth the trouble of preserving. It was a ruthlessly pragmatic way of thinking, typical of a witch.

The West Witch’s lament was for the castle itself.

Sure, it could be rebuilt, but that process would be quite a hassle.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

The strength of an Alchemist lies in their summoned familiars, and because of Franka’s betrayal, she had to confront the Tin Knight’s group before fully gathering her power.

Facing them without her full strength was daunting; their momentum was harsh.

Even though she didn’t think she’d lose, the possibility of unforeseen circumstances couldn’t be dismissed.

It was better to boldly abandon the castle than create unnecessary variables.

“How strange, how very strange. How could a mere doll possess such power?”

The West Witch repeated the phrase ‘how strange’ over and over again, as if it were a mantra.

The witch was an ancient being who had lived for a long time.

She was knowledgeable about many things.

Yet, even she didn’t comprehend that magical automaton.

And there were few, if any, who could deceive the West Witch’s eyes in this land.

“Is it the ignorant north, or the arrogant south, or perhaps…”

Her gaze fixed on a certain point.

This was the West Witch’s workshop, a realm distinct from the regular world.

Therefore, the north-south-east-west spoken of by the continent’s people held little significance here.

Yet, the West Witch stared towards the east.

“Hehe, it’s probably fine. If I catch it and tear it apart one by one, I’ll know. I thought you were closer to me than the fools in the south and north, but now it’s quite unfortunate. But do not harbor resentment. It’s your foolish apprentice who carelessly jumped in without knowing their place.”

No answer came.

There were no voices echoing in the void, nor did anyone new suddenly appear.

The West Witch was not displeased.

In fact, that silence seemed to cause her joy as she chuckled.

The West Witch turned her attention to the monkeys.

The initial group of just over a hundred had now swelled to several hundred.

The monkeys opened their mouths instead of the witch, making the scene rather bizarre.

“You all go outside and guard the area around the island with that guy. Especially keep an eye on the east. Don’t rush to help your comrade; it’ll be a headache if they decide to attack. Given your troublesome nature, it’s unlikely you’ll do anything admirable, but better safe than sorry.”

“How many should we take?”

“Half, no, take half again on top of that.”

“But that’s too few to protect you, Witch!”

“This is also a precaution against that automaton. It’s much more dangerous outside, so just do as told!”

“Understood, Witch.”

The army of golden monkeys flapped their wings and flew off somewhere.

The witch ordered the remaining monkeys.

“Find the missing guys. Bring them to me.”

“Should we bring them back alive?”

The West Witch pondered for a moment before replying.

“Try to capture the daughter of Lenart and the East Witch’s apprentice if possible. Even if the automaton is broken, we can investigate its remains, but feel free to kill the rest.”

“What about Franka?”

“I don’t care.”

The West Witch spoke curtly.

“After all, I was already preparing for a new apprentice.”

***

Dorothea was a witch.

Being a female wizard made her a witch, and it also meant she was inheriting the now-rare tradition of Witchcraft.

Among the witch’s skills were all sorts of odd jobs.

While there were indeed practical and applicable spells, many others were ambiguous and left one questioning their usefulness, like ‘a weak light spell only usable under clear skies.’

Emergency teleportation magic fell somewhere in that ambiguous middle.

While it seemed incredibly useful to escape a dangerous situation by teleporting, the accompanying conditions were problematic.

First, the materials required were extraordinarily rare, the mana consumption was through the roof, and controlling it was exceptionally difficult.

At this point, one could question if it was made to be actually used, yet Dorothea was relatively better off.

She had raided her garden for the scarce materials, and while other wizards might need to resort to loans for mana consumption, Dorothea could handle it just fine.

However, control was an exception.

The profession of a wizard generally prioritized quantity over quality of mana; thus, they had weaker mana control than warriors, and in Dorothea’s case, her naturally high mana pool exacerbated that tendency.

Due to the harsh training under the East Witch, she had reached a level that was tolerable, but she was still far from a mana control monster like the Tin Knight.

In short.

“…This is bad. They’ve all scattered.”

It was impossible for everyone to retreat neatly to one place.

An empty plain.

Lying in the grass was Dorothea, who let out a sigh as she got up.

Looking around, there was nothing of note to be seen.

Neither the noisy Tin Knight, the silly little lion, nor the useless scarecrow below her neck.

It was so typically Dorothea not to worry at all about the alchemist and the monkeys.

Dorothea calmly assessed the situation.

“I wasn’t careless, but I never expected them to resort to such drastic measures. However, the fact that the witch blew up her castle speaks volumes about how much she sees us as a threat. There’s still a chance.”

West Witch’s attack was something she could hear of compassion, but now that she was aware of it, it wasn’t without a response. The witch’s strength lay in her adaptability.

If only she could challenge them once more, Dorothea believed she could win this time.

The question was how to reunite with her comrades.

“Setting everything else aside, if I can’t quickly team up with the Tin can, it’ll be a headache in many ways… Huh?”

It was then that something strange caught Dorothea’s eye.

A group of people was engaged in a fierce battle around a horse.

But the horse wasn’t just any horse; it had the form of a centaur, and ironically, its head was still that of a horse.

What was even funnier was that the people were scantily clad in leaves or animal skins, armed with stone spears and axes, while the horse was wielding shining armor and a finely crafted sword.

“Hey! You barbaric creatures, do you think you can surpass our Civilized Horse? Oh great Elphaba! Grant us your blessing! Today, I shall fulfill the duty of my kind and teach you a lesson!”

The horse shouted skyward as if praying. It was quite the eloquent speech.

Dorothea watched the scene in a daze.

***

“Violating rights! Malicious airborne city!”

“Get down! Get down! Return the sun!”

“There are people above people! And people below people!”

“No! No! Laputa must reflect!”

Watching the demagogue shout while the crowd responded enthusiastically, a few robed figures hid down an alley.

With gloomy expressions, they spoke up.

“What’s the fuss this time?”

“They say the poor harvest this year is all our fault. They claim the sunlight was insufficient for farming.”

“That doesn’t even make sense! It’s just the weather!”

“Well, we can adjust the weather to a certain extent.”

“But that requires an enormous amount of mana resources. Besides, last time we made clouds as they demanded, they didn’t even pay us properly!”

“What can we do? If we don’t summon the weather, they’ll threaten to knock down Laputa again.”

“Huh. Why did Elphaba hand over the powerful magical tower to them?!”

A strange sound reached the ears of the despondent crowd at that moment.

Clang.

It wasn’t just a sound of something falling.

It was a bizarre mix of crashing water and something heavy hitting the ground.

Everyone turned their heads toward the source of the noise.

And they gasped.

“B-bodies!”

“Is it a suicide jump?”

“Oh no, why such a hasty decision!”

They made the sign of the cross or took a moment of silence, each expressing their condolences in their own way.

It seemed the body had fallen from a considerable height, as the state was nothing short of horrific.

“However, there aren’t any tall buildings around here… Gasp, h-huh!?”

“Why are you all gasping?!”

Everyone was in shock.

The body, clearly deceased, suddenly twitched and got up as if nothing happened.

Sophia, the ‘body,’ smiled sweetly at the petrified onlookers.

“Hello. Isn’t it a nice day?”

***

“Hmm.”

Adelheid woke up with a purring sound like a cat.

As she instinctively rubbed her eyes, she suddenly realized her hands weren’t moving properly.

“Wait, what?” she thought, puzzled, when something jumped onto her nose.

It was very tiny, a little person.

The little person pointed something sharp at Adel and said.

“You’ve awakened, intruder! Not only did you come uninvited to our land, but you also trampled the King’s prized garden; your punishment will not be taken lightly!”

Adel just blinked in silence.

Interpreting her expression, the little soldier said, puffing out his chest.

“I’ll tell you in advance, it’ll be useless to struggle! We know well how to deal with giants like you. We’ve tightly restrained all the body parts needed to exert strength, so you’ll be immobile-”

The little soldier couldn’t finish his sentence.

Dudududududung!

As Adel flexed her right arm, the various ropes and metal devices restraining her were pulled away.

The principles of leverage and all that scientific stuff crumbled before the greater strength granted by Amaryllis’s belt.

With that, Adel tore away the remaining restraining tools stuck to her body and grabbed the little soldier perched on her nose, saying.

“Excuse me, but could you repeat that from the top?”

***

“Is it true? There’s a doll smaller than my palm that moves freely?”

“Oh, have I been fooled all along? Just don’t forget to pay upon seeing it!”

“Oh wow! Amazing! It really moves! So lively, it feels like a person is inside it!”

“Huh? A person?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t that doll look just like a person wearing knight armor? While moving dolls are amazing, they can’t compare to small people, right?”

“Oh, that’s true. Now, let me just take off this helmet-”

Swish!

“Gah! My finger! My finger!!”

“Ahhh! A crazy doll! The cursed doll has appeared!!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ has declared a hunt for giants!]

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