Shepherding Humanity

The Kingdom of Babylon, year 385.

The Kingdom of the Rose Witch launched an expedition into the "Nephthys Desert." They did not dare to offend the young deity of flame who dwelled there, and only stayed on the periphery of the desert, poaching the deity’s subordinates, the "poisonous magpies."

This was an extremely terrifying desert species that had poison strong enough to easily kill a Level 4 Wizard.

In the Rose Kingdom, the great Empress of Death ordered her subjects:

Assimilate the "Blood of the Poisonous Magpie"!

On this day, under the supervision of powerful Fifth Level and Fourth Level instructors, the nation's witch apprentices hurriedly set up alchemical laboratories and began experiments to create “Potions of Compatibility” of various types. It was a difficult and deadly endeavour, but they ultimately succeeded in assimilating the blood without dying.

The witches discovered that the "Blood of the Poisonous Magpie" was exceptionally malignant. Only women could survive taking it in, and furthermore, there were extremely noticeable side effects.

The women all turned into harpies.

Their bodies became hunched. Their arms grew feathers, turning into dark red wings that granted them the ability to glide. Their claws turned sharp, their bodies secreted virulent poison, and their temperament became extremely violent.

The moment they turned, they possessed terrifying power comparable to a Level Two Witch.

On this day, Empress Medusa visited the magic laboratory. In the alchemy lab, there were numerous colorful alchemical bottles and bubbling cauldrons emitting blue vapor.

She looked at the harpy in the cage and expressed her surprise: "So that’s how it is? The blood of different magical creatures will bring about different changes to the body. The Blood of the Evil Eye affects the psyche and the human brain, that’s why our appearance does not change. But the Blood of the Slime and the Blood of the Poisonous Magpie change external organs instead of the brain, causing the subjects to lose their humanity and transform into a completely new type of magical beast…These lowly creatures are deformed amalgamations, half beast and half man, thus we shall call them Beastmen."

The harpy in the cage screamed:

"Your majesty, you can't do this to us! We witches have sacrificed ourselves for the kingdom and risked death to take in that blood. But not only are we not being rewarded for our success, why do we have to be reduced to the lowest of creatures as well?"

"Because you are all too ugly. Women are supreme existences and have never been so ugly." The Great Empress Medusa coldly looked at them, and decisively turned away.

Thousands of years later, "The Spear of Witchcraft" recorded thus:

[The Kingdom of Babylon, year 385. The evil witches of the Rose Kingdom in the mountains conducted bloody alchemical experiments, and used many types of Potions of Compatibility in order to combine humans with beasts. An extremely cruel and deformed creature was created as result of these experiments, and thus the Beastman was born. ]

The Kingdom of Babylon, year 391.

The Kingdom of Roses, where women reigned supreme, re-established slavery.

They once again divided society into many different classes. Witches reigned at the top and formed the nation’s noble class, ordinary women came after and formed the upper class, men were commoners and citizens of the lowest class, and the Beastmen were slaves.

When a woman killed a man, she only had to pay 300 rose coins.

When a woman killed a lowly Beastman, she only needed to offer half an Arrah (Translator’s Note: Babylon’s equivalent to horses) as compensation.

In the same year, the "Nephthys Beastmen Kingdom" was established in the desert.

There were two major types of Beastmen living in the territory. They were the lowest of the low, providing the Rose Kingdom with labor and various magical components. Their bodies made for great alchemical ingredients.

—This was a dark and tyrannical era in Babylonian history.

The Kingdom of Babylon, year 397.

In the Rose Kingdom, the Empress of Death ordered:

"Fifth Level Witch Adeline, go now to the Kingdom of Babylon and take over the throne."

Three days later, in Babylon’s throne room.

Adeline, the sensually beautiful envoy of the Rose Kingdom, stood before the throne. She looked at Lilith sitting on her throne and sneered, "So this is the woman who fought against the Empress back then? The Rose Kingdom now has Eight Great Witches who have reached Level Five. I can’t believe that the current you is so inferior even when compared to the eight of us, who started out much later than you."

Lilith remained silent while stiffly gripping her scepter.

"I'm here today because you’re not providing us with enough men. The Empress is merciful, but that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of her mercy."

Adeline coldly continued. "From now on, I will completely take over the Kingdom of Babylon’s governance, and make sure that the country is fully operational as a place for producing men."

Adeline was actually very excited.

There were many Level Five Witches in the nation. She was only favored by the Empress and granted this huge opportunity because her little witch disciples had discovered the Slime species back then. Thanks to that, she was now the ruler of a massive kingdom.

She was in charge of the Kingdom of Babylon which produced men.

Another confidant of the Empress was in charge of the Beastmen Kingdom which produced labor and alchemical ingredients.

There was absolutely no room for error when dealing with such an important duty. She had to do a better job than the other witch.

"You want me to hand over the throne…"

Lilith's expression turned ugly.

The faces of the ministers in the palace were full of despair.

All these years, Babylon has been barely hanging on by a thread as a nation. Was this finally the end?

Lilith looked bitter; extreme emotions flitted across her face, dyeing it a myriad of colors, but in the end, she chose to lower her head. "I, Lilith, choose to surrender, and hand over the throne…"

"I, Lilith, choose to surrender, and hand over the throne…"

"I, Lilith, choose to surrender, and hand over the throne…"

….

This declaration was spread throughout the kingdom in an instant through Adeline's "Sound Ripple" magic spell.

"Your majesty!!"

Countless witches cried out in outrage.

"Our nation of Babylon, has finally…"

In this moment of surrender, countless people all over the Kingdom of Babylon silently wept.

Countless staff bearing witches collapsed to their knees, their spirit broken, despairing over their own powerlessness and incompetence.

This moment was exactly the same as when Lilith lost the war and surrendered to Medusa.

Meanwhile, in the coven’s shabby little hut, the little witches were also loudly weeping while hugging their cute little Slime; their lovely faces were full of tears. The seven of them fell to their knees.

"This is the end of our country…"

"Our nation of Babylon… has perished."

They helplessly sobbed, joined by the pedestrians in the streets outside. At this moment, they were all fellow countrymen.

"It's okay." Future Skywhale hopped outside, waving the “ahoge” on his head. "Leave it to me. It’s time for me to fulfill the promise I made to all of you."

….

In the throne room of Babylon.

Terrifying pressure suddenly descended from the sky.

"Such arrogance from a mere Level Five Witch."

The speaker had a quiet voice, mellow and sombre. "Lilith, you don't need to do this anymore. I’ve already reached this level, you don't have to submit and buy time for me anymore."

"Who!!!"

Adeline's face twisted. She turned to look at the slender and perfectly beautiful figure walking towards her. The man towered over her, standing almost three meters tall.

The silent pressure he radiated broke the mighty Level Five Witch.

Adeline couldn't help but kneel down before him, a horrified expression on her face. "You’re a Sixth Level Wizard! I can’t believe that there’s still someone like you hidden in the Kingdom of Babylon!"

She wanted to escape, but… it was too late ! !

An invisible force suddenly pressed down on her and knocked her out.

The power gap between each Level was simply too great. Back then, when Medusa reached the Sixth Level, she defeated hundreds of Babylonian witches all by herself, including the Fifth Level Witch Lilith.

"You’re a Sixth Level Wizard! I can’t believe that there’s still someone like you hidden in the Kingdom of Babylon!"

At this moment, through the “Sound Ripple” spell, Adeline's words had already spread throughout the kingdom.

"Our Kingdom of Babylon had a Sixth Level Wizard?"

"We still had a hidden powerhouse?"

"It's her majesty, Lilith! All these years, her majesty must have given all those resources to other people…"

In the streets, the people of Babylon wept with happiness. Instantly going from despair to hope, from the depths of grief to the heights of joy… these past few moments had been too eventful.

In Elizabeth’s Coven, the seven witches were blankly staring out the window. "Could it be… No, that’s impossible! It… it's just a Slime, just our little magic pet…"

"It's okay." Future Skywhale hopped outside, waving the “ahoge” on his head. "Leave it to me. It’s time for me to fulfill the promise I made to all of you."

….

In the throne room.

"You shouldn't hurry so…" Lilith looked worried.

"You’ve endured for long enough. I’ve already reached Level Six." Future Skywhale sighed and stood up. "I will leave for the Rose Kingdom early tomorrow morning."

The surrounding witch ministers looked at one another. They still could not believe what had just happened.

"Your majesty Lilith, we actually had a hidden Legendary Wizard? Our savior is a man?"

"How can there be such a tall and perfect man? And he’s even a legendary Sixth Level Wizard…"

"What should we do now?"

The wizards and witches were full of excitement.

After nearly two hundred years, the Babylonian kingdom once again had a Sixth Level Legendary Wizard possessing invincible, world-suppressing might. This meant that they now had the power to fight back.

"What should we do now, you ask?"

"War! There can only be war!!"

Future Skywhale stood tall, a shield in his left hand and a staff in his right.

He swung his staff. Transparent circles of light rippled outwards. The magic spell "Sound Ripple" carried his declaration throughout the Kingdom of Babylon.

"War! There can only be war!!"

"War! There can only be war!!"

….

In the streets, countless people looked up.

This moment was the same as when Lilith declared war back then.

History was quickly repeating itself, but the protagonist has changed.

….

In the living room of the empty Hall of Alchemy, countless slimes energetically lined up into orderly rows.

"Ten thousand Slimes will now board the war fortress."

Ta Ta Ta! !

Each Slime jumped into its assigned position.

These Slimes were mindless monsters of the lowest level. Naturally, there was no way for them to practice magic, but when treated as Slime motors, together, they formed a giant and fearsome engine that was tens of thousands horsepower strong.

"Today, under my leadership, we will wash away the shame of our species… I have taken the blueprints of the J-31 fighter jet, and modified it to create an alchemical airship."

Future Skywhale strode into the alchemical airship, and the huge mechanical construct took flight.

On this day, countless Babylonians looked up and saw a massive beast flying in the sky. The entire kingdom was amazed.

Rumble!

A silver comet streaked through the sky, leaving behind the unique rumbling sound of machinery in its wake.

….

The Balchik Mountain Peaks, the Nation of Roses.

The royal palace lay hidden within the verdant rolling mountain range. Crimson carpets lined the palace floor and stone pillars carved with exquisite roses supported the building’s arched roof.

At this moment, there were many people standing in the throne room, powerful and beautiful witches of all types dressed in red robes. High up on the throne, a woman in gorgeous crimson robes suddenly stood up after looking into the distance.

"Interesting."

With that, she suddenly vanished, reappearing in the sky.

"What is this?" With a slight wave of her staff, an elaborate magic circle appeared in front of her, giving off a crimson glow.

"The Flower of Death."

Boom! !

In an instant, countless swirling black clouds gathered in the sky, converging into a huge crimson rose. The sky turned dark. Day became indistinguishable from night.

"Gate of Holy Light!!"

On the magnificent alchemical airship, Slimes frantically pulled on their bellows. Kinetic energy was transformed into latent spiritual energy, and countless small magic staves were extended from the vast hull of the ship.

Rumble!

Energy from tens of thousands of staves gathered. Dazzling holy light permeated heaven and earth, piercing the churning black clouds. It was as if Heaven’s Gate had opened in the Abyss.

The two grand magic spells swiftly collided.

The entire mountain range trembled and swayed. The earth itself shook. The countless subjects of the Rose Kingdom walked outside into the streets and looked up at the incredible sight in the sky above.

"Level Six!" Medusa suddenly turned her head.

There was some surprise in her eyes, but no hint of tension, as she silently observed the man emerging from the strange mechanical construct before her, this man who had the beauty of an angel.

"I’ve finally lured you out. Tell me, are you the Kingdom of Babylon’s last hope?"