Chapter 190 190 Those Who Stay



The units all got back to the Den at roughly the same time, and they all brought different things back with them based on what was available and what they thought the new base could use.

The villagers would take anything else that they forgot, so they could trade for it later if it wasn't a high-priority item, so they weren't too worried. The witches and the mutants might not be able to talk to each other, but they had done a great job of working together today, and a friendly bond was beginning to form.

Especially among the group who had been in the furthest eastern location for the day. One of the witches was a prodigy with healing and had managed to stabilize the mutations of one of the villagers who had accompanied them, returning her body to nearly human looking and allowing her to speak a few broken words to the witches.

That had caused a huge uproar within the villages of the Frozen Wastes. Most of the mutations were mundane at this point, the more dangerous ones didn't survive this many generations, but if stabilizing them to a certain standard could weaken or break the curse, there was hope that they could one day reintegrate themselves into society instead of being treated as animals by every other nation.

It was a huge dream of theirs, and certainly not possible for everyone since the animal integrations were already pretty stable, but for those who were close to humans or whose families had only arrived in the Frozen Wastes a few generations ago, there was hope that they could represent their villages to outsiders and actually speak to outsiders, not just pass notes.

Wolfe was certain that the Den would have a lot of visitors in the next few days for that reason, but the Witches were already making plans to visit the villages that they had worked with and heal the locals of more than just basic injuries and illnesses.

Just like Wolfe had been when he first found out that the villagers were far from the top of the food chain out here, the Witches had a soft spot for them and were eager to help out where they could, including going around to mass heal the villages.

It would change everything for the locals. They suffered from not only injuries but a whole host of illnesses for which they had no medicine, and very few villages had competent witches.

Wolfe addressed the crowd who had gathered outside the main entrance since nobody knew where the gear should be stored, and there was no official logistics officer in the Den.

"It's good to see everyone getting along. We will be working on repairing the damage that everyone took from the Gas attacks over the rest of the winter, and some of our scouts have asked to start running a motorcycle training course so that more of our witches can ride to nearby villages or locations of reported attacks.

We have a lot of electric motorcycles since the villagers don't have the capability to recharge them easily, so the more competent Witches that we have on bikes, the more mobile our services will become.

Now that you have all worked together, you see the advantages of this arrangement. The Frozen Wastes need everything, and we are in the position to provide most of it."

"So, what are you suggesting?" One of the officers that came from the Sylvan Coven asked.

"I am suggesting that we set up weekly doctor visits for the villages using witches who are competent in healing magic and open a large space for a tropical garden underground in the Den. Every Coven has one, and we have a nice warm home here, perfect for growing food once we have light and water spells set up.

We can supply the villages with nearly everything that they need, and they can trade us for the things that we need. I don't know how many artisans we have here, but the villages make as much as they can, and we can supply them with the raw materials.

We are also more capable of hunting than they are. Some of them can use magic, but they don't have an aura and can't draw it of their own will. They have to wait for it to seep into their bodies, so they can only cast a few spells a month, and usually very limited ones." Wolfe explained.

"Are you trying to organize the border area of the Frozen Wastes?" One of the Witches asked in shock.

"Yes. I don't think that the Covens will object since it will stop the raids into their war-damaged villages by the Frozen Waste's locals. We will also keep the monsters away from the border as a side effect since we will be hunting the ones that are good to eat, and that will reduce the food supply for the others and drive them further back."

The Witches all looked around to see what the others around them thought of following a Demon into a venture to form a new village, but they didn't see as much apprehension as they expected.

The cities were overcrowded, dark, dirty and in decline thanks to the curse on the witches that was making them weaker by the generation.

Being out here, they got fresh air, plenty of food, and no intense supervision or overbearing rules. They just had to deal with roaming monsters and trade with people who were viewed as being the very bottom of this continent's social ladder.

Overall, it was a good tradeoff for them. After doing a quick head count, the witches also realized that those who didn't agree to at least some extent had already taken the opportunity to go back home to the Covens this afternoon after the battle.

That had cost them nearly half their numbers, but Wolfe counted nearly a hundred and sixty witches remaining, more than enough for his plans to start working.

"We will follow you in this. A village of our own sounds like an amazing idea, and we're all still Coven Citizens, not Renegades, so it's not like we lose anything by staying here.

We still have a duty to do since almost all of us are members of a military at the moment, but I don't think you intend to stop sending back reports on enemy movement or hunting the mundane army as they pass through." The Colonel from Myrrh agreed.

Priya laughed and clapped Wolfe on the back. "I don't think it ever occurred to him to become the enemy of every Coven at once. He enjoys playing the mysterious Snow Demon too much to stop just because things are getting better."

Wolfe stuck his tongue out at her and wrapped his arms around Cassie and Ella.

"Can you take care of getting this all organized and stored away? I need to go see a Witch about a thing."