Immediately enter the New Year mode, about two weeks or so will not be codeworded. I would like to give you a greeting for the early years, all the best, and a happy new year!

――――――――

To Catherine's surprise, however, the building reported by the Dragonlice Scout was nothing more than a ring of firewood. Many of the firewood had not even been cut off and dried, leaving green leaves behind. The firewood piles are about one person taller than one person, and the spacing between each pile is about the same.

"It's a very humble building. Catherine sighed, wondering if she was sighing for the Third Expeditionary Force.

This so-called "building" will play some concealment and defensive role in the event of a battle. But the actual effect will not be too good, and lighting a fire if necessary will only make the defenders suffer enough. So Catherine was a little disappointed when she saw the pyre, and of course the pyre also aroused her curiosity, such as the source of the firewood.

In fact, since seeing the neutral sheep, Catherine has already noticed a problem. The world is not as completely desolate as you think. There was grass growing on the sheep's territory, and the Third Expeditionary Army's territory, the barbarians in the firewood pen, probably no more than three hundred men, was probably only a small territory of the Third Expeditionary Army, and there was fresh wood.

Grasses and trees represent natural environmental products that fit Catherine's perception. She looked down and saw some fine sand on the desolate ground, which was markedly different from where the First Expeditionary Force was located.

"Do you know where the timber came from?" asked the Overseer condescendingly.

The old dog stood beside her, and he heard the questioning. He sniffed vigorously. "It's a strange smell, but I don't know where it came from. I've never seen any of this wood before, it's beyond my knowledge. The old dog replied very honestly.

Catherine didn't continue to ask, anyway, she didn't believe all the old dog's words, and she didn't press too much. The firewood circles were all barbarians, which could be roughly judged by Catherine's size and appearance. However, compared to the size of the Lion Peak, those barbarians are relatively "small".

From the distance between the Overseer's location and the lumber pile, it was impossible for the barbarians not to spot the army of dragon lice, but they seemed to have completely ignored them.

Maybe you should bring Mr. Professor with you, the old goblin can probably see what the barbarians are sacrificing. Catherine guessed that the barbarians had been performing some kind of sacrifice. They danced weirdly. He kept saying words to the sky that he didn't understand.

"Overseer, it's on fire. The old dog's voice pulled Catherine's thoughts back.

Catherine stared ahead, but found no sign of flames. She turned to look at the old dog. The old dog sniffled, signaling that he had smelled it.

Is it really burning?

Catherine patted the gold. The mount underneath him slowly walked forward. The old dog led the Siggy demon to follow him. The proximity of the Overseers did not make the barbarians among the priests aware of it. They put their heart and soul into it. There is absolutely no room for distraction.

The faint smell of fireworks in the air was vague, and Catherine stopped golden. They had traveled about 500 meters, and at this distance they could already see some subtle smoke and vague shaking, caused by the refraction of the air caused by the release of a large amount of heat.

A few minutes later. The black and white smoke finally rose from the pyre, and it was getting thicker and thicker. The smoke drifted upward, gathering but not dispersing. A huge black smoke ring was formed above the heads of the barbarians.

This is not a mere priesthood.

Catherine looked at the thick, impossible circle of smoke that could not have formed naturally—the smoke was tumbling in the smoke ring, but it could not dissipate in all directions.

The barbarians danced more and more vigorously, and a noticeable flame appeared in the pyres around them. The flame was pale white, but occasionally a few wisps of black would emerge.

Demon Flame! Catherine didn't expect to see the Demon Flame, although it was a very weak and rare trace of Demon Flame mixed with the pale flame, but it couldn't escape the eyes of Catherine, who was a magician and had initially mastered the power of the soul. She suddenly realized that perhaps she had misjudged from the beginning, and that the sacrifice in front of her was not a so-called "sacrifice" at all, but witchcraft - a witchcraft unique to the Western Continent. As the natives of the Western Continent, the barbarians have always had their own system of witchcraft, such as exorcism songs, and tribal advent arts.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was the right judgment. Since sorcery has been lost in the Eastern Continent, its mechanics and how it works are poorly known to magicians. However, this does not prevent Catherine, who has a good magical education and a lot of historical knowledge, from conducting some preliminary analysis.

Although it is unknown how the sorcery in front of you invokes the demonic flame full of negative energy, the appearance of the demonic flame itself is a kind of evidence, indicating that it is a typical spell that borrows negative energy. Spells of negative energy tend to be destructive and aggressive.

Catherine immediately motioned for the golden to step back. They retreated to their original observation position, ensuring that they would not be affected by possible sorcery effects.

"Overseer, there's that over there, too. The old dog said suddenly.

Catherine looked around, and sure enough, she saw smoke rising far away on the left and right. The smoke rose higher and higher, gathering into a ring of smoke in the sky. In Catherine's eyes, it looked like giant mushrooms stuck in the ground. There are many more "mushrooms" than expected, and there are dozens of them at a glance. As time passed, as the mushrooms grew taller and taller, they writhed as if they were alive and converged towards a common goal.

Catherine's eyes narrowed, and she followed the trail of smoke to observe the sky. The blue sky was empty, and seemed to twist and roll up in the far distance, where it pointed to the center of this world, the Thunderbolt of the Silver Dragon City.

It can now be concluded that the barbarians are uniting to perform a large sorcery. The smoke that kept tumbling but did not disperse was obviously bound by some powerful force. Catherine is unable to use magic at the moment, as she cannot feel the elements of magic that can be invoked. However, since witchcraft is not restricted, it at least means that this is not a forbidden place. Some spells that are not based on the element of magic can most likely be used.

The Rat Overseer Wisrat, who had promised that once Catherine had succeeded in uniting the three expeditionary forces and becoming a member of Wisrat's Ten Legions. The Rat Overseer agrees with Catherine to meet someone who can give her magical powers. Being a magician but unable to use magic is like a lion without claws and teeth, and without even the most basic self-preservation ability.

Catherine took a deep breath, she was still far from achieving that goal, and she had to find a way to meet the Third Expeditionary Army's Overseer Lion Peak. But the strange large-scale witchcraft in front of her made Catherine feel that her original plan might not be realized.

Alas, plans never catch up with change. (To be continued.) )