Chapter 520 – Carmela’s Response

“Instructor, here’s your lunch. We’re heading out to buy some supplies for the road!” Sylph set down a lunchbox, then grabbed Lilith and Vasida and ran off.

Mo Lan, thoroughly managed by her “apprentices”: “…”

Looking at the lunchbox, Mo Lan suddenly had a bad feeling.

At higher levels of Divination Magic, one occasionally developed a sensitivity to fate. Mo Lan didn’t dare ignore her intuition and cast the Fortune-Telling Spell to divine the outcome.

“Minor misfortune?” Mo Lan decisively tossed the entire lunchbox into her Trash Can Card.

If even a meal could yield a reading of minor misfortune, the taste must be truly terrible. She wasn’t about to torture her own tongue!

That evening, Lilith and the others returned and were resting in the tent’s living area.

Seeing them show no signs of heading out, Mo Lan asked, “When are dining hours? Aren’t you going to dinner?”

“???” Vasida stared at her wide-eyed. “You can’t be serious! After tasting that food at lunch, you actually want to eat there again?”

“It’s not me who needs to eat—it’s you all.” Mo Lan smiled. “What happened? Was it bad? I didn’t get around to eating mine at lunch. It went cold so I tossed it to the trash can, then materialized a Food Card for my lunch instead.”

Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph: “…”

*

The next morning, Mo Lan crafted another cross-realm version of Mo Lan’s Communication Card and made her third attempt to contact Lady Carmela.

The moment the card was deployed, the dialogue box on its surface lit up.

“Lady Carmela took the card out!” Lilith exclaimed with delight.

Mo Lan hurriedly sent Lady Carmela a text message, reminding her how to use the card.

【Carmela: Moira, can you see this?】

【Mo Lan: Yes!】

【Carmela: This card can actually reach me across such an enormous distance? That’s incredible!】

【Carmela: Sorry, Traci has been divining Anita’s situation the past couple of days. This world is very dangerous—I had to maintain my protective magic without a moment’s pause and simply couldn’t spare a hand to check the card. I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting. Also, Traci asked me to send her regards.】

“Lady Carmela and Lady Traci have met up?” Vasida said. “As the Omniscient Sorceress, nothing can be hidden from Lady Traci. Moira, hurry and ask Lady Carmela what the divination results were—how is Lady Anita doing!”

Mo Lan nodded and sent a message with the inquiry.

【Carmela: Traci has already divined Anita’s location. The results show her situation isn’t good. Her physical body has most likely completely died. But fortunately, her soul is temporarily stable and shows no signs of dissipating. Traci and I are on our way to find her right now, so you don’t need to worry. It’s just that for the time being, neither of us will be able to return to Valen. As for the Wilds, we probably can’t help for now. You all need to focus on improving your strength and protecting yourselves.】

Reading Lady Carmela’s reply, Mo Lan and the others felt both relieved and worried.

Although Lady Anita’s physical body had died, her soul hadn’t dissipated—it was even temporarily stable. There was still a chance of saving her.

But with her physical body dead, she had lost her Sorceress bloodline and could no longer wield magic. In other words, while Lady Anita’s soul still existed, the Fireworks Witch might truly vanish forever.

Any place capable of killing Lady Anita’s physical body had to be extraordinarily dangerous. All Mo Lan and the others could do was ensure that Lady Carmela and Lady Traci had no worries holding them back.

【Mo Lan: You and Lady Traci go ahead without worry. Please stay safe. As for the Wilds and the witches here—you still have us! Lilith, Vasida, Sylph, and I used Sorceress Magic to establish the Dawn Society. We’re confident we can make every non-human race in all of Valen too afraid to provoke the witches ever again…】

Mo Lan gave a general overview of the Dawn Society’s plans, hoping to put their minds at ease.

Several minutes passed before Lady Carmela replied.

【Carmela: Your plan is excellent, but I must warn you—you absolutely must not use the Dawn Society to force all non-human races to remain friendly toward witches. You only need to forbid them from persecuting witches on a large scale or attacking the Wilds. Just preserve a haven where witches can rest, recover, and rebuild—that’s enough!】

【Carmela: Anita’s crisis should serve as a wake-up call. Even Sorceresses aren’t invincible. We need to prepare for the possibility that one day, we too might face a crisis just like Anita’s.】

【Carmela: No one can shelter the witches forever. That being the case, we can’t use honey and featherbeds to rob witches of their drive to push forward.】

【Carmela: Witches awakened from suffering and hardship—they should stand tall and face adversity head-on. Excessive protection will only grant witches a period of ease. If one day we’re gone, the witches could face a crisis even greater than the Divine Descent Era. Do you understand, Moira!】

Reading Lady Carmela’s reply, Mo Lan, Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph all felt a jolt in their hearts.

She was right. Lady Anita’s protection had done far more than just give the witches the confidence to face danger—even the four of them had felt that as long as their Mana levels were high enough, they’d be safe outside the Wilds.

At worst, if they encountered danger, they could pour all their Mana into a single Firework Blast that absolutely no one could withstand.

The moment Lady Anita ran into trouble and Fireworks Magic vanished, they’d immediately fallen into anxiety—worrying about the safety of the Wilds, worrying about witches abroad, worrying about their own safety.

Thankfully, witch education had always emphasized the pursuit of independence and freedom. No one had neglected the study of other magics just because Fireworks Magic was so powerful. Otherwise, the instant Lady Anita ran into trouble and Fireworks Magic disappeared, the witches would have been left with no means to face danger at all.

If she used the Dawn Society to completely control other races’ resources, making them too afraid to ever offend the witches, then over time, wouldn’t the witches come to believe the entire world was their friend?

Being pampered for too long makes it easy to lose one’s vigilance and wariness toward strangers. In that state, when the witches ventured to the Well of the Sky, they would likely stumble badly.

Not to mention what would happen if one day she was gone and Card Magic disappeared entirely.

The non-human races forced into falsely flattering the witches for so long would certainly not let them go.

【Mo Lan: I understand!】

Mo Lan knew she had to adjust the Dawn Society’s future plans.

Lady Carmela was right. She could shelter the witches, but she couldn’t overprotect them.

Ensuring that non-human races wouldn’t invade the Wilds, wouldn’t persecute witches en masse, and giving witches a sanctuary to rest, recover, and raise the next generation of young witches—that would be enough.

Beyond that, the witches could handle things on their own. They had the ability.

This would work: any non-human race that had ever invaded the Wilds or carried out widespread persecution of witches would be permanently barred from using any card whatsoever.