Chronicles of the Witching Era records:
[In year 214 of Babylon, the Kingdom of Rose rose to prominence. Babylon fell to defeat, and the orthodox witches were completely subjugated, marking the official beginning of Babylon's Dark Age.]
"I'm going up the mountain to the Kingdom of Rose…to serve those evil witches."
"Forget about me…"
Throughout Babylon, scenes of tragedy unfolded on every street and alley, as husbands said tearful farewells to their wives and children, bravely marching toward certain death as tributes.
All of them knew that they, weak in spirit, would surely perish after just one indulgent encounter with the evil witches.
Heartbreaking partings played out everywhere.
This agony was not going to end anytime soon. Every month, Babylon had to send a hundred men as sacrifices to the Kingdom of Rose.
In Babylon, men no longer needed to labor in the fields. Instead, their sole purpose had become to reproduce; each man was given multiple wives to produce more sons for sacrifice to the evil witches.
The gender ratio in Babylon soon deteriorated drastically, reaching almost ten females for every male.
It was an unparalleled humiliation.
At the Babylonian Royal Hall.
Lilith sat dazed on the steps outside the throne room. She could no longer face sitting upon her throne.
"Lady Lilith…"
Standing before her were the sixteen male witches, ready to be sent to the Kingdom of Rose to suffer unimaginable humiliation.
They weren't ordinary men. They were the strongest male witches of the orthodox tradition, capable of surviving the intense spiritual torture inflicted by evil witches. This meant they would endure endless suffering.
Their fates would be filled with indescribable agony.
"I've failed you all…" Lilith murmured bitterly, especially looking toward Garfield.
Garfield was among the strongest wizards of Babylon, second only to Lilith. He was also the most handsome and gentle-hearted man in Babylon. Countless women had secretly fallen for him, yet he strictly followed the witches' three ironclad laws, preserving his purity.
Garfield sighed gently and comforted Lilith, "This is not your fault. You and Medusa were equally talented, but their evil cultivation methods were simply too fast. It's only natural she reached Level Five before you."
Lilith fell silent briefly before whispering determinedly, "I'll do everything I can to break through to Level Five and rescue you all, restoring our kingdom's honor."
Garfield shook his head bitterly. "It's impossible now. She let you live and remain queen because she believes you'll never surpass her again. Her method of cultivation is simply much faster than ours."
"Now, she has sixteen male witches. Her cultivation speed will accelerate even more—perhaps by three or four times."
Garfield let out a weary sigh.
Since childhood, he and Lilith had been lovers. They had grown up together, become witches together, survived the Evil Eye ritual together, and maintained a pure, chaste relationship without any physical intimacy.
Their love had been innocent and beautiful.
Many orthodox witches who fell in love similarly chose purity, sacrificing personal happiness for the safety of Babylon. But now, Medusa had stolen her beloved Garfield as a consort. How could Lilith not feel overwhelming pain?
Garfield smiled sadly. "Don't worry. I will endure whatever torment awaits me. Perhaps… from within that suffering, I can find a way to overcome that terrifying monster."
"I'm the one without strength," Lilith wept bitterly.
On that tragic day, sixteen male witches and a hundred ordinary men, led by Garfield, departed Babylon amid heart-wrenching sorrow.
"Is this heaven's will? Is our kingdom truly destined for destruction?" Lilith murmured, gazing blankly into the distance.
Year 265 of Babylon.
More than fifty years had passed since that humiliating defeat.
After over half a century, aided by the spiritual nourishment from the sixteen male witches, Medusa had broken through again, becoming a Level Six legendary witch, reaching the heights previously achieved only by the Three Great Witches. This firmly cemented her title as Empress of the Rose Kingdom.
This year, Medusa became known by all as "The Empress of Supreme Power and Death," completely unrivaled across the world.
Over sixty years, Lilith fell further and further behind. Despite tireless cultivation, practicing over a dozen hours a day—even bordering on madness—she remained a mere Level Four witch, only now approaching Level Five.
The Church of Rose had begun openly dominating.
More orthodox witches started defecting to the evil witches' side.
"Rose Church is the true path!" shouted one witch.
The orthodox witches had no strength left to respond.
"The legendary witch Circe was slandered in her lifetime, but history has proven her right! Witches deserve supremacy, free to indulge in the pleasures of men!" another proclaimed proudly.
The orthodox witches could only remain hidden in corners, afraid to speak out.
"Our great Empress, Medusa, Mistress of Supreme Power and Death, rules unchallenged over this world!" shouted yet another.
The orthodox witches fell silent.
Their era was gradually fading into darkness.
Xu Zhi was speechless.
All this had happened too fast. He barely had time to notice.
"This escalated quickly."
"I was just dealing with those goofy players on the forums, and overnight, the orthodox witches got utterly crushed by Circe's disciple? Are they really worthy of those legendary Three Witches who once stood evenly matched against Circe?"
The evil witches had plunged the world into a dark age.
Their shortcut method was effective, but it was ultimately destructive. Without the orthodox witches developing properly, it would be incredibly hard to achieve the alchemical medicines he desperately needed.
"My cancer cure is slipping away!"
"I need a genius—a hero to rise and save this world." Xu Zhi felt a headache coming on. Being the creator god was just too tiring.
In the primordial age, Gilgamesh rose and guided humanity forward.
In the declining post-flood era, the Three Witches appeared and revitalized humanity.
But now, in this new dark age, there was nobody of equal talent to stand up and lead.
Medusa was far too terrifying!
A Level Six legendary witch, "Empress of Supreme Power and Death," who could possibly rise up to challenge her?
Even Gilgamesh, at his peak, would have been equivalent only to a Level Seven epic-level witch. The Three Witches had never reached that level, and Medusa was now only one step away.
"I originally thought Lilith had potential. Humiliation was supposed to motivate her to rise, following that classic 'revenge and redemption' storyline. Who knew that after sixty years—her lover taken, her kingdom subjugated—she's still stuck?"
Xu Zhi sighed bitterly but realized this made sense.
Lilith was talented, yes, but not exceptional enough to overturn such odds.
On the other hand, the Phoenix was useless too. Still in its infancy, it only had the intelligence of a small child. Yet Medusa had encountered it once in the desert and been instantly defeated and injured.
"Such a terrifying creature exists? It was only recently born, yet it's already a Level Seven epic existence, comparable to Gilgamesh! Could it be a divine beast from heaven?" Medusa had retreated in shock and spent years recovering.
Xu Zhi found this ironic.
She had already started exploring the world, unopposed, following in Gilgamesh's footsteps.
"Is no one going to stand up and save the day? No justice, no hero appearing from nowhere to strike down evil? How unreasonable. Evil rules supreme, and good simply fades away?"
Xu Zhi's head hurt even more. "My alchemy…"
Lilith had disappointed him after sixty long years.
Since no genius would spontaneously appear to save the world, perhaps he would have to create one himself.
"But how?" Xu Zhi frowned. "A genius on the level of Gilgamesh or the Three Witches—intelligent, powerful, charismatic enough to rise from nothing and defeat the world's strongest witch—isn't exactly common."
Where would he find such a person?
Suddenly, Xu Zhi smiled lightly and turned to look into the small sandbox in his yard.
"Who says there's no genius around?"
Here was a man whose life read like a cheat sheet—an absolute genius in multiple fields, a billionaire entrepreneur, a leading tech industry innovator. Xu Zhi glanced at this player, leisurely climbing his tech tree and farming happily in the miniature sandbox.
"Thankfully, I prepared for this. Buddy, it's time you helped me solve a problem or two. Knowledge is power in the witches' world, so why don't you transmigrate into my witch-world sandbox and freely climb your tech tree there?"
A savior had finally been found.