Witch Troupe and the Undead

"You also..." Didn't he just say that he had commanded troops in a siege? The lowest-ranking officer who could command troops in a siege... must be at least a centurion. Could he be some great knight who lives in seclusion in this remote village? But his age... doesn't seem like it.

"They're going to attack," a clear, cold female voice rang out. Livia raised her right hand, and her black outer robe slid down naturally, revealing her fair and delicate arm. The surrounding torches seemed to be attracted to her, and the flames naturally drifted over, wrapped around her arm, and finally gathered in her palm, transforming into a javelin made of flames.

"A ritual mage!?" Why are there no ritualistic movements? And is this a fire elemental shaping paradigm? The red-haired man looked at Livia seriously, and then was blinded by the golden triangle that fell out of her chest.

"Damn it!" He felt like he might have been dragged into some strange conspiracy. If any force had the ability to control monsters, it would never expose itself for the sake of their small team. However, it would make sense if they were after a titled witch, especially since she had someone by her side who was clearly a former high-ranking commander.

"Whoosh!" The fire javelin flew towards the lizardmen outside. The moment it landed, it turned into a circular burst of flames. The flames stretched out their arms like living creatures, actively pulling the lizardmen who hadn't even realized what was happening into their embrace until they were burned to ashes.

"..." At least two different shaping paradigms, and she switched them so flexibly. The musket attacks ranged, then transformed into walls of fire and area-of-effect fire spells, and then into multiple fire whips to drag those who tried to escape into the inferno. A simple fire ritual seemed to come alive in her hands. Is this the power of a titled witch with the [Golden Arcane Eye]?

Chapter Sixteen: The Fire Witch

"No! Stop it, you witch!" The village elder almost cried out as he stumbled up the wooden wall and headed straight for Livia. The blonde little witch was startled by his scream, her body suddenly trembling, and she instinctively grabbed Roach's clothes, trying to hide.

However, it was too late. The flames, no longer under the witch's control, stopped changing shape and began to spread according to the original laws of physics. To put it bluntly, what was originally just a small patch of farmland that had been burned under the witch's control was now completely ignited by the flames.

Or rather, although the flames controlled by the witch only burned in a small area and captured nearby enemies through the flame tentacles, their heat still dried up the wheat in a small area nearby, making it an excellent source of ignition.

"Ah... Ahhhhh!" The elder clutched his head with both hands, kneeling on the ground with a mixture of rage and indescribable fear. Before him was a raging inferno.

The farmland turned into a sea of ​​fire caused the lizardmen who were harvesting wheat to scramble away, which in a sense temporarily relieved the siege of the city. At least until all the farmland outside was burned to ashes, the lizardmen could only watch from afar.

"You damned witch, I'll fight you to the death!" The elder lunged at Livia, who shrank back slightly and hid behind Roach, her small hands gripping his clothes tightly, seemingly trembling. "Ugh~" The little witch's emerald eyes welled up with tears as she looked fearfully at the ferocious old man rushing towards her.

"Ahem!" Two hands simultaneously gripped the old man's shoulders, one from Roach and the other from the red-haired man. "I understand how you feel, but we're still not out of danger. Besides..." The red-haired man looked troubled. "This is a 'witch' with a golden insignia, meaning she holds a position equivalent to an honorary baron in any city in the empire, therefore..."

Faced with the military-grade longsword in the man's hand, and the iron rod in the hand of the burly, scarred fellow who clearly wasn't a good person, the elder finally regained his senses.

The former was clearly a knight squad from the Empire on a mission, and the latter didn't look like a good guy either. Hmm, the latter one looks kind of familiar? However, he didn't have time to think about such things right now, because the summer grain and taxes for the entire village were burning fiercely outside the wall.

"Livia, let's just set that red maple forest on fire too. That way, those lizardmen won't be able to hide."

"Great idea!" The red-haired man's eyes lit up. The lizardmen would either have to retreat into the Black Forest or abandon their attack. If they retreated into the Black Forest, then this distance would be enough for them to evacuate. As for what would happen to Wind Candle Village?

What does this have to do with their Imperial Knight squad? If they hadn't been trapped in the village, they would have run away from the start.

"Huh?" The girl looked at Luo Qi with teary eyes, somewhat confused about the current situation.

“That’s right, ignore the old man, just burn the forest and the lizardmen inside, and that’ll be the end of it,” the red-haired man loudly agreed.

"......?" The girl tilted her head, not quite understanding what the other person meant. However, she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with her casting magic, so she raised her hand again.

The raging flames seemed to freeze instantly, ceasing their spread. The flames intertwined, coalescing like living things, and eventually transformed into waves of fire hundreds of meters high.

“I…” Leslie stared in disbelief at the giant wave formed by the flames. The ocean of flames turned into a torrential downpour in the next second, and the giant wave easily destroyed the lizardman camp built on the edge of the forest.

Among these monsters, there were spellcasters who attempted to construct barriers or shields, but when the waves of flame crashed down, they vanished in an instant, just like sandcastles on a beach.

The maple forest, and even the Black Forest, was ablaze. Wisps of flame, like parasites, invaded the tree roots, turning each sturdy piece of Black Forest ebony into a burning torch, creating even more flames.

Roach stood on the wooden wall, outside was a sea of ​​fire that dyed the entire sky a vivid rose color. Forests and farmlands were burning fiercely, and the firelight reflected in the river made the river seem to be burning as well. The whole world was left with only this dazzling flame and the rolling heat.

"Livia, that's enough, that's enough, can you put out the flames?" The girl paused for a moment, then pinched her fingers slightly. The sea of ​​fire that had seemed to burn the entire world vanished instantly, leaving only a few sparks still burning. With the girl's action, these last sparks flew up like fireflies and turned into sparks in mid-air before being extinguished.

Outside the entire Wind Candle Village, only a foot-deep layer of ashes and charred tree stumps remained. Nothing was left. Not to mention spoils of war, even the ashes of the lizardmen were difficult to separate from the ashes.

"It's over, it's over!" The elder looked at the land, which had been completely reduced to scorched earth and ashes, in anguish. It was truly all over. The soil had been completely burned, and some areas had even shown signs of vitrification. This meant that, let alone what would happen to this year's summer harvest, there was no way to say anything about it.

If this farmland isn't reclaimed and the soil underneath isn't turned up, it will simply become wasteland. Of course, the good news is that with such a thick layer of wood ash, at least there won't be a shortage of phosphate fertilizer here in the future. However, it will take at least two or three years to reclaim it.

Normal burning of stubble cannot reach this level of heat, melting part of the ground and even creating a hard glaze with a pottery-like sheen. This kind of soil is obviously unsuitable for planting. Just to sow seeds, one has to find a way to break this incredibly hard, pottery-like surface, collect it, and throw it into the river.

Roach and his companions, having committed such acts, were naturally unpopular with the locals. However, under the red-haired man's warning and the witch's power, they merely stared at Roach and his group with numb and hateful eyes.

Although these people didn't know what the title of witch was, nor how rare the Golden Ritual Badge was, they understood the term "honored baron," and they were aware that a baron was a nobleman. They didn't dare to provoke a nobleman, and the maximum they could do was to protest or oppose, which meant silently staring at them with hatred.

"..." Livia gripped Roach's sleeve, glancing back nervously every now and then, clearly frightened and worried that he might do something to hurt her.

"It's alright, it's alright. This isn't your fault. Besides, if you encounter a monster attack, the main city should send a relief team to provide aid. At the very least, this year's taxes will be reduced," Roach comforted him. He didn't see the "Are you serious?" look on Old Ma's face.

"Is that really the case?" The girl turned her head slightly, looking at Roach with some uncertainty. She didn't know what this meant, but judging from the expressions on those people's faces, they were extremely angry.

There was also a deep despair and fear under the flames of anger, so much so that the "hatred" that should have surged because of one's own wrongdoing was almost invisible under the excessively intense light of these emotions.

“Probably…” Roach looked at the red-haired man beside him, “This guy should be one of the officials; he should handle the aftermath.” Roach pointed to a man in the distance who was talking to his subordinates.

"I see..." Livia nodded, seemingly understanding, "Then, what are those people afraid of?"

"If we all leave, they probably won't be able to stop the lizardmen from attacking again. Besides, no matter what, their food and harvest have been burned. Even if they receive relief, it will only be enough to keep them from starving. Of course they will be desperate. At least compared to the lizardmen storming into the city and killing everyone, they are already lucky."

Roach consulted with the red-haired man named "Hops" about the habits and threats posed by the lizardmen. The man said that if the witch hadn't intervened, their best outcome would have been to protect a small number of villagers and allow them to escape. As for the rest of the people and the village, they would have been wiped out by these gregarious monsters.

"Boss, what are they saying?" the scout asked, looking at Roach, who was packing his luggage and comforting the witch by the roadside in the distance.

"Who knows? Maybe she's trying to appease that witch. She looks a bit young or timid." Hopes shrugged. He still needed to arrange for people to enter the forest as soon as possible to search for the sacred artifact, taking advantage of the fact that part of the Black Forest had been burned and the monsters had scattered and fled.

"What about these villagers?" "That's a matter for the Baron of Lywood County and River Bend, it has nothing to do with us," the red-haired man said mercilessly. If this had happened at his own manor or near the capital, he might have been able to find a way to provide some relief. After all, Windcandle Village was in a good location, and he couldn't just abandon it completely.

However, this is on another noble territory. If he interferes casually, it will arouse great resentment from the local lord, which will be detrimental to the mission and operation to come.

What? You're asking how the local lord would handle it? Well, that's hard to say. Each territory has its own rules and customs, especially in the eastern provinces of the empire.

Because it was a newly occupied area, the newly enfeoffed nobles from the previous wars were all here, turning the eastern provinces into a bunch of fragmented small noble territories. There had not yet been a situation of annexation or the royal family trying to reclaim the land to form a royally directly controlled territory.

Simply put, there is no real leader here who has the final say, so each territory has its own situation. Only the fortified areas near the center of Luster and the main city of Lywood, which are managed by the imperial nobles who were parachuted in, are relatively normal.

“But based on what I know of the Baron of River Bend…” The red-haired man shook his head, his words speaking volumes. He was a pure military nobleman. The good news was that he wasn’t as extravagant and dissolute as other nobles, and he rarely harmed commoners. But the bad news was that it was a bit difficult to expect him to empathize with these villagers, rather than to believe that these lowly people were just making excuses to resist taxes.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the villagers of Fengzhu Village still have some unique characteristics. They have some skills and specialties, and the geographical location is also very important. Therefore, it is likely that, as Luo Qi said, they will not be allowed to die, or they will not be allowed to starve to death on a large scale.

"They'll most likely all become serfs." Life in Fengzhu Village is relatively comfortable because it's a pioneering village. Most of the people are free people, or self-cultivating farmers, and their political and economic status is relatively high. Simply put, these self-cultivating farmers are qualified to serve in the army and also qualified to form their own village militia squads.

In addition to the basic land taxes levied by the church, the empire, and the lords, there are no other taxes to pay. Although the taxes are not low, thanks to special products such as white amber candles, high-quality wheat, and cured meat, Windcandle Village can still live quite comfortably after paying taxes.

Once they become serfs, about 90% of the harvest will be taken away, and their food will change from unpalatable black bread and vegetable soup to gruel that is hard to fill their stomachs, or they may not even have gruel to eat.

The roads in Fengzhu Village and Daohewan Town all follow the river called "Wool River". It originates from the Eagle Feather Mountain Range and flows from south to north, passing through several black forests. In spring, clumps of things that look like wool balls often float on the surface of the river, hence the name.

These are the seeds of a dandelion-like plant found in the Eagle Feather Mountain Range. It also grows extensively along riverbanks. Its shape is somewhat similar to reeds. After drying, it is soft and not prickly, making it a good material for bedding mats.

"I say, Roach... do you really think the local lord will help these villagers?" Leslie felt there was something off about what Roach had said earlier. Nobles coming to help disaster victims? What a ridiculous joke!

“Who knows?” Roach shrugged. “Probably. After all, this is a trading post. It would be a shame to give it up.”

His previous words of comfort to Livia weren't entirely false. He could tell that Wind Candle Village was the kind of village with special products and trade nodes. No lord would sit idly by and watch it be completely abandoned. So, even without relief, tax exemption or tax reduction was certain. However, these people would have a very difficult time afterward, and his and Livia's reputation in the area would have reached its lowest point.

“Don’t overthink it. This is purely an accident, and that red-haired guy wasn’t wrong. If the lizardmen had stormed into the village, there wouldn’t have been any survivors. At least they’re still alive now,” Roach sighed.

He's not an anthropomorphic being, so of course he can't remain indifferent. But he's not a saint either; with all the money they have combined, they might not even have enough for a meal, so he can't offer any help.

The best solution was to eliminate the lizardmen in a way that wouldn't severely impact the locals, rather than having Livia directly escalate the fire. However... when he quietly asked Livia what other magic was available, he discovered that using fire was better than any other option.

For example, if water magic is used out of control, it will wash away the outer walls of the village. In that case, it won't just be the farmland that will be damaged, but the monsters that rush in will kill half the people. Another example is that if earth magic is used out of control, it will completely destroy the plains. In that case, it will be unclear how the locals will farm on the rocky wasteland.

"Moreover, in the final analysis, they themselves also bear half the responsibility for this matter." If the other party hadn't rushed up and startled Livia into letting go of her control over the flames, under normal circumstances, she could have only burned the lizardmen to death and at most caused minor damage to the farmland.

However, when Livia was frightened and completely released her control over the flames, the uncontrolled wildfire burned anything in its path. By the time it was brought back under control, the entire farmland was already ablaze. Rather than letting the fire spread indiscriminately and burn down the village itself, it was better to use it to burn down part of the Black Forest and the Lizardmen.

"In short, next time, let's try to avoid letting this little girl make a move." Roach and Leslie reached a consensus on this matter. Her destructive power was too great, she was easily frightened, and she lacked combat experience. Once an unexpected situation arose, her magic would completely go out of control.

After leaving Windcandle Village for some distance, Roach and his companions set up camp by the roadside again. This time, nothing happened. Roach and Leslie took turns keeping watch, and soon it was dawn. In the distance, they could still see Windcandle Village still emitting smoke, and the wind was filled with a strange, burnt aroma—the peculiar smell of green wheat being roasted.

“I’m hungry…” He looked at Roach with emerald eyes, sighed, and started a campfire.

A new marker is flashing on 【Great Achievements】, indicating that another new project has entered the counting state.

[Second monument half price: Cremation and turning the body into ashes 113/50000]

This number seems to represent the number of lizardmen who were burned to death, but why is it counted against me? Does this mean that Livia's battle record is also counted against me?

Roach didn't care about that. After all, burning the ashes of 5 people would take a long time to achieve the goal. Compared to setting fires in cities or on the battlefield, he felt that opening a crematorium—if the local area could accept this kind of funeral—might be a faster way to reach the goal.

Chapter Seventeen: The Wind Blows Through the Grass, Revealing a Demon

From Fengzhu Village to Hewan Town, there were hardly any farmlands to be seen along the way, only endless fields of weeds and shrubs. This made Luo Qi feel a little uncomfortable; it was simply a waste of this fertile plain.

The wind blew through the lush green grass, and several creatures the size of wolves raised their heads from the bushes, wondering why the wind had suddenly changed direction, exposing their ambush. Before these creatures could escape, a black wooden arrow pierced the eye of the strongest of them.

"Well done," Roach said approvingly, glancing at Leslie. The latter proudly puffed out her chest and raised her head, but her arrogance lasted only two seconds before she remembered the overwhelming waves of flames from yesterday, and she immediately deflated.

"I'll go get it." The mermaid girl quickly walked over and dragged the creature, which looked like a wolf with a single horn, over. "White-horned wolf, a ferocious-level monster. At this time of year, they usually live in family groups. It'll be troublesome in a few months." Leslie knew that Roach was not familiar with these monsters, so she explained it to him.

These ferocious monsters are the most common type of demonized creatures in civilized areas. Their bodies undergo some mutations due to demonization, but they do not develop any special abilities. In other words, these monsters are simply stronger and more ferocious than their original counterparts, without any spellcasting or spell-like abilities.

"Can I eat it?" Roach glanced at the creature, which was at least twice the size of an ordinary wolf on Earth. Its size was almost close to that of the largest wolf, the Canadian gray wolf. A long white horn grew from its forehead, and its fangs broke through the confines of its lips, protruding outwards. Clumps of white wolf fur formed multiple stripes on its back.

“Yes, most ferocious and harmless monsters are edible.” Leslie deftly cut open the white-horned wolf’s belly, discarded the internal organs, peeled off the wolf skin, rolled it up, and then cut the remaining wolf meat into strips about the thickness of a forearm. The rest of the meat was then casually thrown into the grass.

“We need to attract scavenging monsters, otherwise those guys will follow us by the smell of entrails and flesh,” Leslie explained.

"Hmm, these white-horned wolves don't seem too difficult to deal with..."

“…Indeed,” Leslie wanted to say that for a combination like yours, it would certainly not be difficult to deal with. Don’t be fooled by the witch on horseback’s drowsy, low-glycemic appearance. If she really got into a fight, she estimated that she could burn these wolves and this grassland to ashes. Oh, there’s no fire around, so she’ll just turn this grassland and the white-horned wolf pack up and bury it underground.

"However, these guys are a bit tricky for farmers." Although strong farmers wielding sharp farm tools can achieve almost a 100% win rate against white wolves in a one-on-one confrontation, the problem lies in the four prerequisites: "sharp farm tools," "strong," "one-on-one," and "head-on confrontation."

White wolves often hunt in family units during the food-rich spring and summer seasons. They are cunning by nature and will not attack targets that outnumber them, so one-on-one encounters are almost impossible.

Moreover, as predators, they often choose to ambush or send one of their companions as bait to attack from behind, so direct confrontation is rare. As for humans, sharp farm tools and strong farmers mean... at least relatively wealthy self-sufficient farmers or even ranchers.

"Hmm, that makes sense..." No wonder that in this vast wilderness, farmers can only cultivate in a small, safe area around the village, and cannot expand further.

"However, this is only the case in the border areas. Once you get to Lywood City, you won't see so many white wolves." For those noble sons, these kinds of monsters are their best prey and objects to show off their martial arts skills. As for dangerous monsters, they should hire adventurers to deal with them. Even for fully armed noble sons, they are too much of a threat.

After disposing of the white wolf's carcass, Roach and his group continued along the main road, a standard dirt road riddled with potholes and puddles. At intervals along both sides, there was a pyramid-shaped stone with indistinct runes engraved on all four sides.

Livia had never seen anything like this before, and she would occasionally stare at these road signs and study them, which slowed down the group's progress considerably. At the same time, the old horse became increasingly impatient. Whenever the little witch looked at him, the horse would immediately put on an innocent expression and lower its head to nibble on the roadside grass.

After continuing their journey for another day, River Bend finally appeared before Roach and his companions on the morning of the third day. It was a town built along the bend of the river. Unlike Windcandle Village, which only had wooden walls, River Bend was protected by a high wall made of mortar and pebbles as a military node supporting the front line. The metal water gate had been lowered, and only the wooden city gate facing the main road remained open.

There were seven or eight tall towers with stone bases and wooden arrow huts, around which hung the family banners of the Baron of Riverbeam, bearing his coat of arms. The tower was surrounded by water. In contrast to the mostly thatched-roof Candle Village, the majority of the houses in Riverbeam were brick and wood structures with wooden roofs, and some even had stone tile roofs, with gargoyle statues around them.

"It's more prosperous and advanced than I imagined..." At least in the Middle Ages, apart from the wealthy areas of truly large main cities, there wouldn't be such a cityscape. Combined with the wooden hydraulic workshops and three or four chimneys of unknown purpose outside River Bend Town, Roach wasn't sure if this world's civilization had started the Industrial Revolution.

"Sizzle~" The water-powered gears drove the steel circular saw to cut the wood from the water tank into neat planks. The air was filled with the smell of sawdust. Rows of fish hung on wooden racks along the riverbank to dry, and wide fishing nets were spread out in the sunlight, like green gauze curtains.

Further afield, waterwheels pumped river water into man-made canals to irrigate the vast farmlands surrounding River Bend Town. These farmlands were divided by fences and low walls made of stone or wood, belonging to different farmers and noble landowners. Tenants and serfs worked in the fields shirtless, like white fish swimming in the green waves, their bodies covered with bloodstains from cutting wheat leaves.

"Ha~" The skinny soldier guarding the gate yawned, rubbing his eyes which were covered in sleep. It was very uncomfortable to be out guarding the gate so early in the morning, but the job was very important. It was related to the important matter of collecting taxes, and it was also related to their "extra income".

Just as he was idly daydreaming, the rhythmic sound of horses' hooves snapped him out of his reverie. On the main road, an old horse that looked quite old was slowly carrying a petite passenger. The woman's face was obscured by a black, pointed hat, and her body was almost entirely covered by a black robe. Only strands of golden hair, like rays of sunlight, suggested that she must be a beautiful blonde girl.

Beside her was a man leading a horse, wearing a very rough coat, who looked like a servant. On the other side was a traveler with blue-green curly hair carrying a huge backpack, who might be a companion or another servant.

"Halt!" The soldier on the other side seemed to have finally woken up from his slumber. Seeing someone approaching, he decisively extended his spear to stop the other person, only to have it deflected by his comrade raising his gun barrel. "What are you doing?"

"You idiot, where are your eyes located?!" the middle-aged soldier cursed, then forced a fawning smile. "The city entrance tax is five copper coins per person."

"..."

The soldier's expression slowly fell. He hadn't charged a high price or accepted a tip; it was just the normal city entry tax. This money wasn't what he wanted. If he didn't collect enough, he'd have to make up the difference out of his own pocket!

"Here you go!" Roach sighed, took out the last small pearl from his pocket and tossed it to the soldier, whose expression immediately brightened like the sun. "Thank you, thank you for your generous gift, sir."

"......"

"Aren't you going to give me my change?"

"Find...find money?" The soldier was stunned. What the hell is this "find money"?

He thought the extra money was his tip or reward! However, he still obediently took out the money box and made up the difference for Luo Qi. As for pearls, which are physical goods, he made up the difference according to the lowest market price. It can't be said that he didn't make any profit at all, but it was still very frustrating!

"Boss, why didn't you stop them?!"

"You..." The middle-aged soldier hesitated, "Did you see the ornament on that woman's body?"

"I see, they're quite wealthy..."

"Slap!" A slap landed on his head. "That's a damn arcane mage's ornament. Those spellcasters only need to wave their hands and you'll turn into a frog!" the middle-aged soldier said irritably. "Alright, next time you're traveling alone with a servant, you'd better not offend her. Who knows, you might die from this one day."

"Hey boss, these pearls..." There's a price difference. If you really sell them, after paying the city entry tax, you can still keep a few copper coins to buy a glass of beer or something.

"This is my humiliation fee, get out of the way!" The two gatekeepers started tearing at Roach and his men from behind.

"..." Luo Qi turned his head and glanced at them. His clothes were dirty, his spear was rusty, and the only thing that was relatively new was his wide-brimmed helmet. He looked like a second- or third-rate cannon fodder.

River Bend Town is at least three or four times larger than Windcandle Village, with an estimated permanent population of around 2000. Although the town is not very large, it has all the basic facilities: a merchant guild warehouse, a proper inn, taverns along the main road catering to merchants and adventurers, dockside taverns catering to laborers, and a restaurant catering to the wealthy.

Clothing stores and general stores were readily available, and Roach even saw a cryptic shop with a trident hanging on its sign, which sold magical tools, potions, and cryptic equipment.

Magic tools are short for enchanted weapons, which are weapons made by mixing secret essences or other secret materials into the materials. The effect is equivalent to the weapon being enchanted by [Paradigm]. For example, flames will burn on the sword. Roach's iron rod-shaped magic sword can also be considered a magic tool. However, the way secret source sorcerers use magic tools is a little different from the magic tools made by magic tool masters.

The magical effects of magical artifacts, like those of arcane sorcerers, will deplete over time and with continued use. However, the former is usually destroyed after use, while the latter can be refilled with arcane essence to restore its function.