Black Witch Maleficent, Middle Eastern Witch, and Red Heart, after hearing the Eastern Witch's words, found nothing wrong with them.
For them, as the mainstays of the Witch Society, it was best for the Queen to maintain her past foolish state.
A Queen who became smart, serious, and worked hard to govern would have interests completely opposite to theirs.
They had always felt that the Queen was hardly their colleague, but merely a tool responsible for asking the magic mirror questions.
As long as they provided a bottle of magic potion to maintain her beauty in exchange, they could obtain the precious opportunity to have the magic mirror answer questions from the Queen—it was an incredibly profitable deal!
And the Queen, who had never made good use of the magic mirror, had never realized in the past how much the Witch Society had taken advantage of her.
"The Queen is actually using the magic mirror to govern the country; she's really become clever! It will probably not be so easy to exchange for opportunities to ask the magic mirror questions from her in the future." The Eastern Witch was quite worried, and at the same time, a little resentful, "If it weren't for the fact that only she can use that magic mirror, we could have just killed her and taken over the magic mirror!"
"Hmph! Her head should be chopped off. She hasn't contacted us for a full two months—she had never gone missing for so long before. I'm afraid she might have betrayed us long ago and wants to leave us!" Red Heart also grumbled.
The Eastern Witch then said:
"Anyway, I'm going to the White Kingdom to ensure that the Queen remains loyal to the Witch Society and can continue to provide services for us in the future."
"What if she refuses?" Maleficent's voice was devoid of any warmth.
"I will kill her and seize the magic mirror," the Eastern Witch said viciously, "Anyway, as long as we are willing to spend the time, we will eventually be able to figure out a way to make the magic mirror recognize a new master."
"Oh." Maleficent was not surprised by the Eastern Witch's answer, "Let's do that then."
"You shouldn't need help, right?" Maleficent suddenly said in a mocking tone.
"Of course not! Who do you think I am?" The Eastern Witch retorted angrily, ending the magical communication.
She walked out of her beautiful house, whipped the slaves who had stopped to rest while working, then came to an open space, stood with her feet together, and spun the heels of her silver shoe, knocking them together three times.
Clang, clang, clang.
After three crisp clangs, a fierce wind picked up, and the surroundings spun, with colorful scenes changing rapidly.
Once the flowing, shifting scenes stabilized, the Eastern Witch arrived at the royal city of the White Kingdom.
It was significantly different from the Eastern Witch's last visit; although the buildings hadn't changed, it gave a different feeling.
Indeed, the streets were cleaner, but it was definitely more than that.
The Soldiers who used to swagger with large clubs on the streets, driving crowds away, were gone; the recklessly speeding carriages were gone; and the young masters galloping on fast horses were gone.
The teams of constables and guards seemed more disciplined, following predetermined patrol routes in an orderly manner…
The Eastern Witch heard people on the street discussing the Queen's changes over the past two months; they mentioned this drastic reform.
"I never thought that Karen, the shoemaker next door to me, would have a combat power close to 90, and his loyalty and leadership would both exceed 60."
"I'm talking about that too. Some time ago, he was exceptionally promoted by the Queen to be a squad leader of the Royal Guard! At first, I was unconvinced, but I was stunned when I saw the data released by the Queen."
"I've long heard that Karen is incredibly strong, but I never imagined he was that powerful?"
"Isn't that right? What does it mean to have 87 combat power without systematic training? If it exceeds 100, that's a Super Warrior beyond the limits of ordinary people!"
"That terrifying? If it weren't for Her Majesty the Queen, such a talent would have been buried forever. Karen would probably have been just a shoemaker his whole life."
Everyone gasped in amazement and sighed repeatedly.
"Fortunately, the wise Sage enlightened Her Majesty the Queen; now, it is truly the White Kingdom's fortune."
The Eastern Witch felt more and more that something was wrong.
Combat power, loyalty, leadership…
What was all this about?
It sounded like the talents and abilities of people. Could these things be quantified into numerical values?
The Eastern Witch couldn't help but turn to the commoners who were discussing and asked:
"What are you talking about? Why do these talents and abilities have numerical values?"
The people looked at the fierce-looking Old Witch in front of them, showing expressions that said, "What a foolish question you're asking."
One by one, they said:
"Old Witch, are you from the countryside? Is this your first time in the royal city?"
"Which remote countryside are you from that you're so out of touch?"
"Yeah, you don't even know how Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Rhine select the wise and capable?"
The Eastern Witch listened, feeling bewildered, and was about to get angry.
Just as she was about to cast a spell to turn these annoying people into toads, one of the men replied:
"Are you a foreigner? In our White Kingdom, Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Rhine have a very special way of selecting the wise and capable.
"Our great Queen has a magical magic mirror that knows almost everything about the affairs within the kingdom!
"The magic mirror lists the various abilities of talents among the common people and ministers in the court as numerical attributes, along with other additional annotations, such as personal specialties, which I don't fully understand.
"No matter how deeply hidden a talent is, they will be easily discovered and exceptionally promoted by Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Rhine. They use this method to select talents.
"Not only that, but Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Rhine also use this method to find spies lurking in the country and underground organizations engaged in criminal activities, catching them all in one swoop!"
The Eastern Witch was stunned.
Using the magic mirror for such things!
Was this an idea the Queen could come up with?
This was not the Queen she knew!
"Has the Queen been possessed by someone else?"
The Eastern Witch couldn't help but wonder.
"Wait, no, they mentioned some Kingdom Sage. Is that Sage assisting the Queen?"
"Why have I never heard of a Sage assisting the royalty in the White Kingdom before? At least two months ago, I hadn't heard of one. It couldn't possibly be a temporary appointment, could it?"
Among the people discussing, another woman echoed:
"Yes, yes. I heard that many ministers in the court have a maximum attribute value of less than 10? I really don't know why they can hold such high positions!"
An old man also straightened his back, looking like he knew everything, and commented:
"Those useless good-for-nothings must have all been demoted or transferred to unimportant positions by Her Majesty the Queen and Lord Rhine now!"
The Eastern Witch grew more and more astonished as she listened, and quickly asked:
"But wouldn't such a major reform and personnel reshuffle offend certain people and cause dissatisfaction among those who benefit from the status quo?"
One must know that the Eastern Witch had visited the White Kingdom many times in the past to ask the Queen to help her question the magic mirror, and she was well aware that the kingdom's ailments were deeply ingrained.
Of course, the Eastern Witch didn't mind at all; in fact, she was happy to see a desolate, chaotic, and poor White Kingdom.
In contrast, a Queen who worked hard to govern was what worried and frightened her.
What confused the Eastern Witch now was that after years of neglecting state affairs, various interest groups must have become deeply entrenched within the kingdom.
The Queen's current drastic actions would surely touch upon the vested interest groups, and she might be assassinated soon!
Everyone turned to the Eastern Witch who asked the question, once again showing that "you must be from the most remote countryside" expression.
"Old woman, what foolishness are you speaking? Who dares to defy Her Majesty the Queen, who is assisted by Lord Rhine!"
"Exactly, exactly, Lord Rhine's magic is incredibly powerful, even more terrifying than an army. I've seen him conjure a storm at sea with my own eyes!"
"Yes, Lord Rhine is a highly skilled magician!"
The Eastern Witch's heart trembled.
"What is the name of that Sage you speak of?"
Everyone replied:
"Lord Rhine. He traveled here from the Rose Kingdom in the north, was hired by Her Majesty the Queen, and currently serves as the Sage of the White Kingdom, assisting Her Majesty the Queen!"
What?
It was him!
The Eastern Witch was utterly horrified.
"Damn Rhine, damn Rhine. The last time, it seems it was you who killed our Witch Society's reserve—that first Witch of Ender! How is it you again this time?"
She cursed in her heart.
One must know that the Eastern Witch was the most enthusiastic about magical exchange and learning within the entire Witch Society, having learned several signature spells from several different Witches.
The stronger the Witch Society, the more beneficial it was for her!
When she heard that the first Witch of En De was about to join the Witch Society, the Eastern Witch was extremely delighted.
Although the other party's magical attainments were far inferior to her own and most other Witch Society members, the Eastern Witch was quite envious of the Old Witch's necromancy that allowed for resurrection after death.
Moreover, she held a high position in En De; with such a member in the Witch Society, they might have the opportunity to utilize or even control this powerful military empire in the future!
Unexpectedly, such a useful talent died at Rhine's hands, filling the Eastern Witch with resentment towards this magician she had never met.
"Damn Rhine, now, the Queen, a formal member of the Witch Society, has also been enlightened by you, becoming smart and distancing herself from the Witch Society."
"It's your doing again!"
The more the Eastern Witch thought about it, the angrier she became, wishing she could immediately run to the palace and kill Sage Rhine.
The seemingly fierce-looking Witch turned around, gazed at the distant, magnificent palace, and was about to go, but suddenly turned back again.
"Almost forgot, I still need to teach you all a lesson."
The Eastern Witch smirked at the crowd:
"Thank you for answering my questions; I should give you a gift in return. I originally wanted to turn you all into a bunch of toads, but now I have a better idea, hehe."