She Is Not a Witch

Has it come to this? Loranhil thought.

In the few months since she arrived in Hopland, aside from the first few weeks spent familiarizing herself with the association’s situation, she had managed to explore most of the city. Beyond the major merchant associations, she had gained some understanding of the smaller associations and organizations as well.

As an important port for the Vegar Commercial Alliance and the country’s third-largest commercial center, Hopland was second only to the alliance’s capital, Yuberei.

Yuberei was the alliance’s major eastern seaport, serving as a trade hub between the alliance and Ruluna, with special routes to the Verdant Empire. It was a crucial commercial center connecting the eastern and western parts of the continent.

Hopland, situated on the alliance’s western side, was the convergence point for most trade routes to Western Wind, Falcon, and Holy Lands. It also had numerous shipping routes to the southern islands. This single city gathered nearly a million people and housed the headquarters of several major merchant associations.

If a single merchant association or organization were to monopolize Hopland, this central city on the alliance’s western side, and use it to radiate their influence, they could easily split the western part of the alliance, cut off the land routes from other Snow Flower countries to Yuberei, and severely damage the alliance’s integrity.

To maintain balance and prevent any single entity from becoming too powerful, the Commercial Alliance had planted the Tisphone family here during its establishment to counterbalance the long-established Nisos and Helis families. Later, when the Anemis family rose to prominence, their headquarters were also arranged here to gain additional support from Yuberei.

However, as the Tisphone family grew stronger, they became a threat. The other families were reluctant to provoke this notorious family. Subsequently, the alliance council supported Carithes to gain a foothold in Hopland and invited Angus to join the highest echelons of the council as one of the twenty high-ranking committee members.

This was why Tisphone had always wanted to eliminate Carithes. Carithes, with its large fleet, also possessed considerable military might. Although the Tisphone family had more weapons and combat personnel, their naval power could never match that of Carithes, whose primary business was shipbuilding.

Previously, there had only been assassinations and sabotage, but now they were openly starting to move. Didn’t they fear the sanctions from the nine major merchant associations in the alliance capital?

But the Tisphone family members weren’t fools. Although Loranhil hadn’t interacted much with Edmond at the banquet, she knew he was an extremely cunning person who wouldn’t act without a backup plan.

As for other countries, according to the alliance treaty between the Snow Flower Seven Countries, they couldn’t interfere in each other’s internal affairs. The threat from Verdant still loomed over everyone, and there wasn’t enough conflict between the seven countries to warrant war with each other. So only the alliance itself could maintain internal checks and balances.

However, the alliance’s general council in Yuberei would absolutely not allow Hopland to be unified, no matter how well it was presented or how many promises were made.

It was like someone holding their own throat—absolutely impermissible. But Hopland was in the relatively barren west, and its overall strength was certainly no match for the nine families led by Yuberei.

Since they couldn’t win in a fight and weren’t afraid of Yuberei’s sanctions, it could only mean that while they couldn’t solve the problem, they could eliminate those who raised the problem—meaning Yuberei must also be in trouble. Too busy with their own affairs, they wouldn’t intervene.

Having clarified her thoughts, Loranhil began to understand why Melu had emphasized the severity of the situation in her letter. Without the restraints of the alliance council, the Tisphone family was like a released beast—no one knew what outrageous actions they might take.

By then, even if one wanted to surrender their assets, they might not have a good outcome. Thinking back to Edmond’s first words at the banquet, it might well have been his true inner thoughts at the time.

Loranhil put down the letter, her fingers lightly tapping the armrest as she fell into deep thought. The hall was silent, and the Helis family messenger kept his head lowered, waiting nervously.

The girl blinked, checking the mission progress displayed by the system, which remained at 92%.

Still not quite there, she thought with some regret. If only she had another half month, everything would have been perfectly prepared. What a pity…

Now she could only take it one step at a time. In a real crisis, any mission would become insignificant.

Having made up her mind, she gave her orders.

“Chelsea, bring the letter paper. Reply to Melu, saying that we, Carithes, will stand shoulder to shoulder with Helis as always.”

“Yes, young miss.”

Hearing this, the messenger finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Blake.”

Loranhil called out a name, and a guard captain in armor stepped forward.

“Have your newly formed Night Flower Guard bring out the weapons from the warehouse and distribute them to everyone.”

“Also, organize the recently trained association members into the second echelon, and those without training into the third echelon. The original association guards will be the first echelon.”

“Form teams with a ratio of 1:3:6 for the first, second, and third echelons. Have the small squads form first, then familiarize themselves with each other. Let the experienced lead the new, teaching them the most basic combat knowledge on-site. Prepare for battle.”

“Your will be done, young miss.”

This excellent newly promoted captain accepted the order and left. Under Loranhil’s guidance, although he was currently at Sequence 4, he was already on the threshold of Sequence 5—a truly exceptional talent. The jump from Sequence 4 to 5 was an enormous hurdle that many couldn’t overcome in their lifetime.

“Also, send out messenger birds to inform our branches in other locations. Have them organize their personnel, prepare for battle, and remain vigilant.”

“If we fail in the city battle, we’ll evacuate by sea, gather the branch personnel together, and launch another assault on Hopland.”

Loranhil’s arrangements for the future reassured everyone in the hall. They were no longer fearful, and their hearts grew resolute.

What people fear most is not failure, but having no retreat or hope after failure.

“Start preparing now. Launch signal fireworks, ring the great bell, and reinforce our defenses.”

“Yes, Lady Lacey.”

The people below responded in unison. The entire association began to mobilize. Carithes Merchant Association, like a sleeping lion, began to awaken. Tens of thousands of people started revolving around a single will.

Burning torches were lit one by one. Torch-bearing teams, like great dragons, plunged into the night. They began to control nearby streets, seal off areas, and set up checkpoints.

Above the city, launched fireworks emitted extremely sharp whistling sounds, blooming in the night sky to form the shape of night flowers. These eye-catching red fireworks conveyed signals of danger and urgency.

Under the night sky, people in the city looked up. A black-robed figure emerged from a basement, gazing at the shower of red meteors.

“Has it finally begun? This era of chaos.”