Chapter 422 422 Homeward Bound
Chapter 422 422 Homeward Bound
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The witches squeaked in shock when the plane’s motors first began to spin, filling the air with the distinctive sound of propellers. Cassie was gently maneuvering the plane to the end of the runway so that they had as much room as possible to get over the trees and wouldn’t have to give away all the secrets of their aircraft on the first flight.
It could raise up nearly vertically with Air Magic, but that was hard on the power reserves, and it would encourage the Witches in the Swamps to think that they could land on a tiny strip in the middle of nowhere.
Pretending that it took a hundred metres or more to get properly airborne would give the proper attitude toward flight and encourage them to meet here, where there was infrastructure in place and solid ground for the plane to land on.
They had passed over a few villages this morning that showed signs of military occupation, and given how close they were to this one, it was likely Gormana occupation, so they should become allies if the Elder and Colonel were correct in their assessments of the nation’s attitude toward the Witches.
“Everyone grab a handle and hold on tight. We’re about to take off.” Cassie warned them, then pushed the motors to half power, making the plane rocket down the dirt road on its enchanted pontoons.
They had modified them a little bit for this trip, and there was a wheel at the front and back now, so they weren’t directly on the ground most of the time.
But they could still land safely on water and mud without any issues.
The plane quickly levelled out about two hundred metres above the ground, just enough that they would be difficult to hit with spells or bullets from the ground but close enough that they could still see some details on the ground, which allowed them to update their map and look out for potentially dangerous clusters of monsters.
None of them made any move to attack as the plane flew overhead on its way back north, and the villagers all seemed more shocked than anything when they heard and saw the plane in flight.
The Gormana soldiers assumed that it was some sort of military puddle jumper designed to land in the open areas of the swamp, while the villagers and nomads were just shocked to see anyone flying.
“Look at that scenery. The world looks so cool from up here.” Christa remarked as they moved from the swamps of the Morgana Coven’s western side to the light forests of the Sylvan Coven.
“This area that we are passing over now is part of the the Sylvan Coven territory. Keep a close eye out here, as all the villages were cleared using nerve gas. Nobody knows if anyone is living here or who they are loyal to, but we should make a note if we see any big groups. They might need help, or they might be enemies.” Ella reminded her.
“One more reason to stare out the window.” Grok agreed, though he himself was unable and could only see up due to his height.
They only passed a few villages on their direct route back into the Frozen Wastes, and they were all abandoned, with no signs of recent inhabitation. The grass had overgrown the streets, damaged buildings were unrepaired, and no livestock moved in the paddocks.
That wasn’t a good sign for the Sylvan Coven, but dealing with them was a project for later this summer.
When the Fae Forest came into view, the witches who had never been here before immediately pressed their faces to the windows and stared in awe at the beauty of the magical forest.
In front of them, a flock of faeries was playing in the treetops, leaving a cloud of glittering light in their wake. Not far from there was the magical pond that the Nymph had claimed, shimmering in the sunlight under the canopy of thick green leaves.
There were animals visible all over, and despite the knowledge that they were likely all violent magical beasts, it was hard not to see the space as a mystical home to all things natural.
In short, it was paradise for Witch Magic.
The plane passed over a large swathe of the forest before landing on the river in the Northwest corner, where they were greeted by the couple that was on duty this week, as well as the twins and their trolls, who had just returned from a flight to deliver supplies to the villages in the area.
“Wolfe, welcome back. Oh, you found new Witches. This one’s kind of cute, but no animal ears. Did you get her from the Coven, then? Oh, and Christa is here with her Familiar? That is him, right? He seems bigger, and he’s wearing armour.” Mollie asked.
“Yes, this is Grok. He had the good fortune to reincarnate as a Goblin Paladin for his steadfast dedication. Then this is Justine, who insisted that she accompany me after we met at an Auction House run by the Grand Dutchies, and this is Sophie, who is recovering from poor treatment at the hands of her parents.
Please make everyone feel welcome here, as I’m sure the Forest will welcome them to our group.” Wolfe agreed.
While her twin greeted everyone else, Jenna turned to whisper a question to Justine. “He met you at an Auction house? How does that lead to you wanting to follow the Snow Demon back into the Frozen Wastes?”
She was a bit too loud, and Ella burst into laughter.
“Yes, Justine, please tell the group how you ended up here. It’s much less embarrassing if you get it out of the way right now instead of letting everyone speculate about your relationship with Wolfe.”
The former prisoner frowned down at the happy blue-haired witch. “We really need to do this right now? I swear, I’m going to make up a good lie to tell everyone.”
Ella just shrugged. “I would have done that at the start. But make it partially true, so that it is believable and doesn’t set off the lie detectors.”
Justine blushed and remained silent, so Ella continued.
“Justine here believes that Wolfe owes her a debt for public humiliation. She was auctioned on her eighteenth birthday by the Grand Dutchies-controlled auction house, and Wolfe bought her. She panicked a little, as you would in that situation, having been bought by a notorious Demon Lord who was known to have killed thousands, and he flooded her system with mana as he spanked her.” Ella explained with a gleeful smile.
“See, that’s the part I didn’t want to tell them.”