She Is Not a Witch

In the Tisilan Mountain Range, rabbit-eared tribespeople loaded supplies onto pack animals, securing them with ropes. The thick hemp cords, twisted from several strands, had rough fibers with many barbs that pricked their hands.

Under the towering, straight redwood trees, the rabbit-eared people and their pack animals appeared small, almost level with the ground. The trees stood hundreds of meters apart, their dense canopies nearly blocking out the sky. Occasional rays of light pierced through the thick foliage, illuminating the misty forest shade.

“Commander, we’re ready,” said a rabbit-eared rider in steel plate armor as he approached on horseback. Under his helmet was a youthful face; if not for the two ears protruding from his helmet, one could hardly distinguish him from a human.

“Good, prepare to depart. You and two other lieutenants lead three hundred cavalry to clear the way ahead.”

“Yes, Commander.” He saluted from horseback, then called to his comrades behind him.

“Everyone, follow me!”

With a whistle, the rabbit-eared cavalry in white steel armor formed neat ranks. Their horses’ hooves, shod with fine steel, trod on the soft earth, kicking up fallen leaves and soil as they advanced westward.

Thousands of pack animals began to move slowly through the forest shade, setting off to the sound of copper bells from the front.

“Kanda, is His Highness only sending your knight order? We want to go too,” said a burly man as he approached. His steel armor made him look as fierce as a porcupine, and he rested a heavy axe on the ground, its shaft sinking deep into the soil.

“We have no choice, Furnace Mountain. The situation is urgent, and we need to hurry. Only cavalry can keep up the pace,” Kanda replied.

“Besides, if we all left, who would guard our home? We’re counting on you for that. Even if I fail, we can always regroup and try again.”

“Don’t talk like that. I’ve prepared such fine armor and weapons for you all. It’s not so you can die carelessly on the battlefield.”

“I’m waiting for you to come back for a victory drink. Then you can boast to us about how brave you were on the battlefield, worth a thousand men, striking fear into the enemy.”

“Haha, thanks, Furnace Mountain.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll come back alive.”

Kanda clasped hands with his old friend in farewell, then mounted his warhorse and shouted:

“Steel Blazing Sun Knight Order, move out!”

War horses neighed as the cavalry raised their lances and banners, galloping through the forest. Their pure white flags bore a black sun emblem.

These cavalry would escort large quantities of food and supplies from the Tisilan Mountain Range to the vast plains to the west, once Western Wind territory but now controlled by Cransia.

This food would greatly alleviate Cransia’s current shortage, while the excellent armor and weapons would equip an elite army corps, becoming the core and backbone of the battlefield.

Kanda, leading the group, was the commander of this knight order. Under Loranhil’s guidance, the rabbit-eared tribe had established this elite force, recruiting only Sequence 2 or higher members. With their iron discipline and superb armor, they could match equal numbers of Sequence 3 forces.

But even the most excellent troops need battlefield validation, and this would be their baptism by fire.

Not just cavalry, but about 2,000 medical teams would also enter Cransia later, providing treatment and battlefield rescue.

These rabbit-eared people seemed to have a good affinity for the Angel Sequence, with many supernaturals specializing in healing, light, and protection.

Under Loranhil’s guidance, these medical teams used unified flags: black background with a simple white rabbit design, mostly staffed by young women.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

After receiving Loranhil’s strange letter, Pullman was so excited he didn’t sleep for a day and night.

He never imagined that after seven years, he could contact this Teacher again. He had searched that forest thoroughly for a time but never found a trace of the silver-haired girl. That experience had seemed like a beautiful dream, almost unreal.

Only now did he realize that his Teacher had been watching him all along. That magnificent, wondrous starry sky that night might have been her handiwork. All this filled him with surging emotions and endless, his feelings taking a long time to settle.

Sitting alone in his tent, he read the letter over and over. The elegant handwriting was just as he remembered, so familiar and nostalgic.

In the early days, he had lacked confidence. After all, this Teacher looked only a year or two older than him. Could the knowledge she taught really change the world?

But truth is verified step by step. Through years of constant trial and experience, he came to deeply understand the profound meaning in simple words.

How much ancestral wisdom was contained in those brief phrases? Though seemingly plain, they embodied the greatest truths in their simplicity, clearly prioritized, thought-provoking and awe-inspiring.

Compared to Western Wind’s rule still based on oaths of loyalty, clan ties, and force of arms, these ideas and thoughts were far too advanced.

Unifying cultural ideology as the core, replacing narrow concepts of blood and race, uniting more people under one banner, taking all under heaven as one’s duty, benefiting the people, strengthening national power as guiding principles, building one’s own governance system. Enhancing education, increasing social mobility between classes, easing and resolving conflicts, creating a great era of peace and prosperity, advancing towards the stars and seas.

The earth beneath our feet is but a speck of dust in the vast starry river, while the lofty starry sky above is the future and hope of all races. It can break through all difficulties, hold infinite possibilities, and transcend all in the real world.

Pullman walked out of his tent, gazing at the brilliant Milky Way, lost in thought.

After defeating the Lightning Knight Order, the rebel army didn’t immediately attack the fortress-like capital. Instead, they regrouped their forces, continuously expanding within Western Wind, liberating city after city and province after province.

Like a rolling snowball, they constantly expanded their ranks and controlled more territory. Then they began implementing sweeping reforms in the areas under their control, spreading advanced knowledge and ideas.

Just like they once were, if one always lived in a dark world, one wouldn’t feel sad. But if one day they saw the light and lived for a time in a warm world of blooming flowers, they would forever remember that beauty, unable to forget.

These regions would fundamentally break away from Western Wind. The people of the land would sincerely begin to follow that starlight, that brave and great banner under the stars.

Long winds sweep, flags flutter, starlight like the sea.