Monster Attack?

Bang! Bang!

At that moment, a knock sounded within the shelter, and it sounded quite urgent.

Lan Qingyou and Ursula exchanged a bewildered look.

“Who would be coming at a time like this?”

Lan Qingyou looked at Ursula, whose eyes were still a bit red, and decided to go open the door herself.

The moment the door opened just a crack, a grey-and-white blur darted in from outside.

Lan Qingyou focused her gaze and saw that it was her very own Steel Wool!

And held in its claws was Spoon, who had clearly grown accustomed to being carried through the air like that.

Ever since they had returned last time, these two fellows had taken a liking to racing wildly all over Typhon City whenever they were free.

Since they never left the confines of Typhon City, Lan Qingyou didn't bother to restrict them.

They were animals, after all; it was better for them to run around. Getting plenty of exercise was never a bad thing.

Because both of them bore the witch mark on their foreheads, even the ordinary Transmigrators left them alone.

This was, after all, the City of Witches. There were so many monsters with such marks on their foreheads that everyone knew they were the familiars of some witch or another, so no one interfered with them.

It was only when Lan Qingyou had summoned Steel Wool to fight once during the arena match that people took notice.

Even though it hadn't stayed for long and had left immediately after the victory, many people in Typhon City had seen it.

Only then did they realize that the vertical eye mark on the forehead actually belonged to the Witch of the Tower.

Otherwise, most people in Typhon City still wouldn't have known whose familiars these two little guys were.

“What are you two little rascals doing here?”

Seeing the two of them, Lan Qingyou reached out to take Spoon from Steel Wool's claws.

However, in the brief moment after Steel Wool released its grip and Spoon began to drop, an unexpected change occurred.

A black shadow flashed by in a blur.

In the next second, Lan Qingyou saw a black ragdoll cat with the little white mouse, Spoon, dangling from its mouth.

Don't misunderstand—this wasn't a Ragdoll breed cat; it was a literal ragdoll, a plush toy.

“This...”

Lan Qingyou looked toward Ursula.

“Don't tell me this is another one of that Toy Witch's tricks?”

During her few days at Ursula's shelter, Lan Qingyou had gained a decent understanding of those 'toys.'

She had naturally seen this ragdoll cat among them.

However, she had always assumed it was just a regular stuffed animal. She never expected it could actually move.

Her first thought was naturally the 'culprit,' the Toy Witch.

“Mhm, this fellow also seems to enjoy the state of not needing to eat, drink, or use the bathroom.”

As she spoke, Ursula walked over, picked up the black cat, and 'rescued' Spoon.

So that was it. This black cat was evidently Ursula's familiar.

Only when the toy cat was picked up by Ursula did Lan Qingyou notice a mushroom mark on its forehead.

Good heavens.

To be able to toy-fify even a familiar, and for it to still possess attack power and speed—that alone was incredibly deceptive.

Well... assuming a toy doll appearing in the wild wouldn't look too out of place.

“Anyway, what are you two doing here? Don't you usually vanish until it's time to eat?”

Lan Qingyou had almost forgotten the main issue after the interruption by the black cat.

These two would absolutely never come looking for her for no reason.

If anything, coming to find her was a waste of their play time. Lan Qingyou was certain that something must have happened.

And she was right.

After being questioned by Lan Qingyou, both Steel Wool and Spoon began to pull at her—one grabbing her collar with its claws, the other biting her sleeve. They only had one goal—

To drag her outside.

Though she didn't understand what was going on, Lan Qingyou gave Ursula a quick nod and allowed herself to be pulled along.

As it turned out, she hadn't gone very far when Diana arrived as well.

However, Diana's expression didn't look very good.

Mhm... it was the same look she'd had back at the tree hollow teleportation circle. Lan Qingyou wondered if something 'fun' had cropped up on the world channel again.

“You guys are...”

“Clan Leader, something has happened.”

!!!

Something really did happen!

Hearing Diana's words, Lan Qingyou couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It had only been peaceful for a few days. Why was someone stirring up trouble again?

“What is it?”

Lan Qingyou asked calmly.

“Members of the Witch Group reported that a large number of monsters have appeared around the Abandoned Land and are heading toward us. Since you've been busy with research these past few days, I came over directly.”

Is that so?

Lan Qingyou pulled out her card with a look of doubt. Sure enough, many people were tagging her in the Witch Group chat.

After a quick scan, Lan Qingyou finally got the gist of the situation.

Lucia, the Moonlight Witch, who was stationed on the snowy mountains in the far north of the Abandoned Land, had been in the middle of her research.

Suddenly, the warning magic circles she had set up outside her protection magic circle began to ring.

Forced to set aside her research, she went out to investigate, only to see a dark mass of flying monsters in the distance, soaring toward the Abandoned Land.

She immediately reported the incident to the Witch Group and found Diana at the Tea Party.

After that, all the witches at the outer nodes began to send in similar reports one after another.

From the east, the west, the south...

It looked exactly as if they were being surrounded.

This had terrified Diana, who immediately rushed to the mushroom house to find Lan Qingyou.

A monster attack?

And they were all flying monsters?

When she first heard it, Lan Qingyou thought it sounded a bit troublesome, but as she learned more, she began to grasp something.

Witch of the Tower: “Where are those monsters now?”

Moonlight Witch: “The fastest group, a flock of white owls, is about to reach the magic shield. Should I intercept them, Clan Leader?”

Witch of the Tower: “No need. See if these monsters can pass through the shield. If they can, it means they have no ill intent. If the shield blocks them, then attack.”

Moonlight Witch: “Understood.”

Upon receiving Lucia's reply, Lan Qingyou did not relax. Instead, she stared intently at the card in her hand, waiting for the next update.

Moonlight Witch: “They passed through. It's clear.”

Phew—

Receiving the second reply, Lan Qingyou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She then sent out a message.

Witch of the Tower: “Then there shouldn't be a problem. However, everyone stay alert. Keep an eye on them for now, and only call off the alert once we're sure there's no danger.”

The warning magic circle was something Lan Qingyou had researched while she was making the large-scale protection magic circles.

Its main purpose was to act as a sentinel in front of the protection magic circles, giving the witches defending the perimeter enough time to prepare for a defense.

Therefore, whenever conditions allowed, these warning magic circles were usually set up fifty kilometers away to detect any potentially incoming enemies.