Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1544 - 1105: Can’t You Pretend You Don’t Know Me?

Chapter 1544: Chapter 1105: Can’t You Pretend You Don’t Know Me?

Ange and his group had a habit of getting off-topic, and this wasn’t the first time. Conversations would veer off into who-knows-where, even when the person they were talking to was right there, often leaving people half-dead with frustration.

But what could you do? Ange’s level was so high that those beneath him instinctively tried to approach problems from his perspective. They’d dig endlessly into the origins of things—how could they not get off-topic?

What, a Witch more important than the Perpetual Method?

To others, though, this came across as outright disregard, even worse than humiliation. Very few could stomach it.

As a Witch, she was usually treated like a treasure back home, respected, cherished, and pampered. How could she endure this kind of blatant indifference? She couldn’t help but speak up to remind them.

Yet when everyone’s attention shifted to her, she couldn’t help but feel a bit terrified. Forcing herself to stay composed, she said, "Who exactly are you? What did you do to me? I’m warning you, let me go immediately, or my Divine Master will kill all of you!"

"Oh! A Divine Master?" Everyone perked up, suddenly energized as they crowded around her excitedly. "Who is your Divine Master? What’s their name? What powers do they have? How do they plan to kill us?"

The Witch shrank back instinctively, regretting her words. Mentioning the Divine Master only seemed to make these people even more excited—why was that?

But under these circumstances, the only thing she could rely on was her Divine Master. Stiffening her neck, she declared, "My Divine Master is the omnipotent Star God. He possesses the power to shatter stars with a single blow, reduce this entire Plane to dust with one punch, and obliterate you all into nothingness with just a breath."

Negris mumbled, "Shatter stars? That must mean the Power of Chaos. Obliterate into nothingness? That sounds like the Dark Power. A dual-Origin deity?"

"Or perhaps just a braggart. Why are you overthinking this?" Anthony said irritably.

"It’s not bragging! My Divine Master really has that kind of strength. Let me go right now!" the Witch snapped angrily.

Anthony smiled gently. "It’s not that we don’t believe you. We’re just curious to see it for ourselves. Why don’t you call your Divine Master here to give us a little demonstration?"

Even if the Witch were dull, she could tell by now that her threats had not frightened these people one bit. Pressing her lips together, she silently prayed to her Divine Master while fumingly saying out loud, "What is it you people actually want?"

"Just to ask you a few questions. Answer them to our satisfaction, and I’ll let you go," Anthony replied.

"I can answer, but you have to tell me first: what did you do to me? Why have I become like this?" the Witch asked, gesturing animatedly at herself, particularly at the White Crystal within the spectral image of her body.

"Oh, that’s just the core that carries your consciousness. We simply removed it, that’s all," Anthony answered casually, but his words explained nothing.

Of course they’d removed it—everyone knew that. What the Witch really wanted to know was how Ange could remove it and why she was trapped inside this thing now.

Unfortunately, the way she phrased her questions lacked skill. Anthony easily dodged giving a real answer, leaving her so frustrated she didn’t know what to do.

Ignoring her anger, Anthony began his questioning. "The Megalith Array you mentioned—on which Plane and in which region is it located? How does one get there?"

This wasn’t particularly sensitive information. Even if she didn’t divulge it, they could learn it from the rest of her caravan or anyone who had traded with them.

In fact, Anthony already knew the location, but interrogations required finesse: start with harmless questions, gradually wear down the other party’s mental defenses, and eventually extract all the answers.

The Witch seemed like a naive young woman, sheltered and spoiled but fundamentally kind at heart, with no clear sense of priorities.

Religious hierarchies were full of people like her. Protected (restricted) to an extreme degree, they were often ignorant of the outside world and displayed a kind of cheerful cluelessness in their dealings.

Even though Ange had subdued her so effortlessly, she still didn’t grasp how terrifying this entity standing before her truly was. Even if her Divine Master appeared, it wouldn’t make a difference.

Anthony was extremely skilled at handling people like her. Given that she wasn’t evil-minded and had even personally delivered items to her subordinates to stop the insect infestation in the Underground city, Anthony had a relatively decent impression of her.

After a series of questions, they’d learned almost everything they wanted to know. However, the one thing that still puzzled Anthony was: "How did you know it wasn’t a plague but an insect infestation? Did the same thing also happen where you came from?"

The Witch shook her head. "No, the omniscient Divine Master told me."

"And that Stone—your Divine Master gave it to you? What is it exactly?" Anthony pressed on.

A mere Stone capable of repelling an insect infestation? Anthony found it hard to believe. However, since Hemel had already cleared out the infestation in the Underground city, there was no way to immediately verify the claim.

Durken, who had taken the Stone away for study, returned just then. He handed over a piece wrapped in cloth and said, "It’s composed of a very complex mixture of substances, encased in a hardened secretion. There are traces of acid corrosion and remnants of dead fungal spores. In summary, this is a dung ball."

"Pfft..." Negris, who had just taken the Stone into his hands and was about to sniff it, nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He flung it away in horror.

"Hey, why’d you throw it? It’s completely dry—there’s nothing dirty about it." Despite his words, Durken still used the cloth to pick it up with great care. Even if it wasn’t actually dirty, it was still mentally unsettling.

"Ugh! You could’ve said so earlier. What kind of dung ball is this, anyway?" Negris grumbled angrily.

"That I’m not sure about," Durken replied. "It’s probably from some kind of powerful insect. The pheromones in its droppings might scare off other bugs. That’s likely how it repels insects."

"Call Hemel over! Let Hemel smell it," Negris suggested.

Hemel was soon summoned, and as soon as it approached, it arched its body in alarm. "Big bug," it growled cautiously from afar.

"Is it this?" Durken held up the dung ball, still wrapped in cloth.

Hemel inched forward carefully, circling the object a few times before finally relaxing. "Yes. Big bug. Poop."

"Do you know what kind of insect it’s from?" Anthony asked.

Hemel shook its head. "Don’t know."

Anthony turned to the Witch. "Do you kno—what’s with your expression? Why do you look so horrified?"

The Witch now wore a face as if she’d stepped in something vile. She let out a strangled scream. "I’ve been carrying that thing around with me all this time, and you’re telling me it’s a dung ball?!"

"Uh, well, it’s clean, so don’t worry about it. Shepherds use cow dung to cook all the time, you know. Anyway, do you recognize any giant insects?" Anthony asked.

"No," the Witch replied gloomily.

"Ask your Divine Master," Anthony suggested.

"He probably can’t hear my prayers from this far; there’s been no response," she mumbled.

"Ha. Tell him this: if he doesn’t come to meet us, we’ll go find him ourselves," Anthony said with a warm smile.

The Witch froze in shock. What did he mean by that? Could it be that her Divine Master wasn’t responding, not because of distance, but because he feared these people?

Hesitant yet doubtful, the Witch added Anthony’s words to her prayers. After two or three attempts, a resigned voice echoed in her mind: "Damn it, can’t you just pretend not to know me?"