Witch Troupe and the Undead

For this reason, Deathwhisper Fortress purchased a large number of alchemical tools to prepare various fire potions and dispelling agents to combat the undead on the spot, as well as various arcane items to set up barriers, dispel the undead, and so on. Of course, in addition to the undead, the Black Abyss Cemetery also contains a large number of burial goods, and these precious treasures also need to be purified and identified by alchemical tools.

"If you are a scholar of the Alchemy Society, Deathwhisper Fortress is currently recruiting a large number of scholars. You can give it a try. You might be able to get a set of finely crafted tools without spending a penny."

“...You could have been more explicit.” Roach felt like this guy was being sarcastic, but he had no proof.

However, he also figured out why there was no stock in River Bend. Most of the stock had been purchased by caravans from Deathwhisper Keep. The local glass factories had limited production capacity, and most of the goods were still imported from Lywood City. The replenishment speed could not keep up with the purchasing speed of Deathwhisper Keep.

"Looks like I'll have to give up then, or maybe I should consider going to Lywood City? That's too far." After returning to the inn, Roach pondered whether to continue shopping in Lywood City, or simply give up and go home, waiting for supplies to come back here? Or perhaps he should try his best to see if he could develop the skill of hand-polishing glass. Speaking of which, how is glass made again?

Livia lay on the bed next to her, fiddling with some common alchemical materials that Leslie had bought, seemingly considering what she should do.

As for the mermaid, she was probably too tired and was fast asleep on the deck chair until she was woken up by a commotion downstairs.

"What happened!?" Roach looked up at the door and soon two fully armed knights arrived at the door, led by the shopkeeper.

"Excuse me, who is Mr. Roach?"

"I am..." Roach was a little confused. It wasn't surprising that she came to see Livia, since her apparent identity was a cryptic mage. But it was a bit strange that she came to see him, since he didn't even have any relatives or friends in the area.

"You have been summoned." The knight took out a scroll. "As a scholar of the Alchemy Society, you have an obligation to answer the Empire's call. Of course, rest assured, you will receive the rewards and treatment you deserve. The Empire never mistreats any loyal person."

After all, the scholars of the Alchemy Society are true professionals, completely different from the city guards, serfs and mercenaries who are also conscripted. They will not be thrown to the front lines to be slaughtered, but will be deployed in fortresses or the rear.

"What happened?" Roach now had two choices: first, to say that he was not a member of the Imperial Alchemy Society, but who knew what the consequences would be; second, to accept his identity and take the opportunity to ask about the situation.

"Deathwhisper Fortress has fallen, and the undead are approaching Hearthglen." Hearthglen is a city near Deathwhisper Fortress with a permanent population of about 3 to 5. It is named for its appearance as a giant fireplace due to its numerous factories and chimneys.

It is an important production city behind the fortress, manufacturing various alchemical tools and materials, such as glass, artificial anti-magic stones, and magic crystals, as well as steel, weapons, and defensive equipment.

If Hearthglen is also conquered by the undead, then the Empire will soon face not only decaying weapons, but also a steel army armed with massive armaments from the factories. Moreover, Hearthglen's population will lead to a significant increase in the undead army.

"...How did it fall?" Roach asked curiously. He couldn't possibly be so sure that his words would come true. He had only been told this morning that unless the fortress held out to the death, there would be no undead attacks. And yet, he learned this afternoon that the fortress was gone.

“We don’t know either. Earl Lywood is currently summoning all adventurers, mages, and scholars.” The knight was very polite, because theoretically these scholars and mages were of the same class as them, the prospective knights.

A so-called quasi-knight is a warrior who has passed the squire stage and mastered extraordinary combat skills, but has not been formally knighted because he lacks money or the nobles do not have enough fiefs or quotas.

To put it bluntly, they are "unofficial knights" who only have a suit of armor and weapons, and a warhorse, but no fiefdom or manor. However, with the collapse of the manor economy, it is also a question of whether the equipment of these professional knights, who are paid by the lord, or those fiefdom knights is better.

“I’m sorry, I have other missions,” Roach pointed to Livia, “so I may not be able to answer the Empire’s call.”

"And this is..." The knight looked at Livia. The blonde girl raised her head, and her exquisite appearance seemed to have a kind of magical attraction, instantly causing the knight to fall into a magical state of intoxication. He couldn't help but move closer to Livia until she stopped him in some way.

The little witch quickly realized the problem, pulling her large hat over her head to conceal her face. The knight, startled, turned pale and his forehead was covered in sweat. "She...she's a witch!"

“Yes, it’s certified.” Roach pointed to the golden triangular shrine on Livia’s body, and the knight finally gave a forced smile. “Oh, I see. I thought I had encountered a real witch. Is that the effect of some kind of spiritual shrine?”

Spiritual rituals are a system of magic that draws power from the human spirit. The more people involved and the more united they are, the better the effect and the stronger the magic released.

Courage, faith, sacrifice, fear, and desire can all serve as sources of magical power for psychic rituals. Therefore, psychic ritual mages are also known as strategic mages. They are generally found only in the military, imperial advisory groups, and the church.

Wild mages are either forced to join or are dealt with one by one by the Witcher from the Military Intelligence Department. Their arcane arts can enhance the morale and combat power of the entire army, and can also strike enemy armies and shake their fighting will. However, in terms of individual combat, spiritual arcane mages can be described as slightly stronger than geese, after all, a person's beliefs and will are quite limited.

In contrast, the Life Ritual Mage is practically useless on the battlefield, but invincible in one-on-one combat. Life Ritual Mages are not good at healing; on the contrary, they are very good at damaging. They extract the life force of themselves or enemy targets as the ability to cast spells to strengthen themselves and their allies, hence the name "Battle Mage".

“Yes, yes, advanced charm,” Roach blurted out, betting that this knight in a can didn’t understand magic at all. He didn’t know what the other party meant by “a real witch,” but it certainly wasn’t a good thing. And if it were confirmed, it certainly wouldn’t be a good thing for Livia.

Although the little witch's abilities and magic are very powerful, the fact that her mentor placed her in the forest means that this power is not the strongest in the world, or rather, not strong enough to allow her to survive being exposed to a national-level power.

"That's really impressive. It's a pity it was in Sword's Edge Fortress; the spiritual artifacts of those Rada people are far superior to ours," the knight remarked.

Powerful spirit necromancers are knights’ companions, a tradition dating back to the oldest days of swords and knights. Spirit necromancers guide knights and heroes, inspiring their will and transforming their beliefs into tangible magical power, which they then bestow upon their weapons and warhorses.

In contrast, the knights didn't like the elemental mages as much. After all, you've spent half your life honing your martial arts skills, finally touching the edge of extraordinary abilities, only to be roasted to a crisp by a fireball. No one would like them.

“Then, young lady, please come with us.” Although the spirit ritual is useless against the undead, it can at least boost courage. He had no doubt that the temporarily conscripted peasant soldiers and town guards would collapse in fear when faced with those staggering corpses.

Although the army will definitely have elite occultists to cast "Courage Magic", one more is better than one less. And judging from her pendant, she is a bronze-level occultist, which is more than enough. Apart from the Imperial Guard and large knightly orders, most of the army consists of interns with wooden badges and a small number of bronze occultists (those who are not responsible for teaching).

"Livia?"

"Hmm~" The girl nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing to the knight's request. However, Roach felt that she was more curious and interested in seeing real undead, as well as other occultists and alchemists. After all, Livia had been studying on her own for a long time, and this was probably a rare long-distance trip for her.

Before the little girl lost interest or felt uncomfortable, she showed a personality that was different from her appearance—a love of joining in the fun. However… Roach glanced at Livia, who was shyly lowering her head. This little one was not only shy but also timid and easily frightened. He hoped that this trip would not make her hide back in the forest and never come out again.

"Uh, is this your horse?" The knight's expression froze as he looked at the old horse that Roach led out of the stable, a horse that was almost completely bald. "This horse... we will provide you with a carriage and horses. You can leave this horse here for now. I think it will be well taken care of."

A horse is not a cheap thing, even an old one, so the knight didn't say he would throw the horse away. He just said he would provide packhorses and special logistics wagons for the army, so there was no need to bring this thing that was dragging the convoy along.

"..." Old Ma raised his head, looked at the knight, and then at Livia. His face showed an expression of extreme shock, and his muscles twitched slightly, as if he was about to stand up and shout at the other party at any moment.

Livia glanced at the tall warhorse the knight was leading. It was a beautiful chestnut horse. Faced with the girl's outstretched, soft little hand, the warhorse, which should have been temperamental, actually lowered its head docilely, allowing the girl to rub it as she pleased.

"..." Leslie cast a sympathetic glance at Old Ma. After his promotion opportunity was snatched away by someone else, this unlucky guy was now facing the crisis of his position being optimized out by a young and strong newcomer. Is this what they call a mid-life crisis? It's kind of funny to see it on a devil.

“Okay, actually we have another horse~ it’s just that this old guy has been with us for a while.” Leslie stepped in to smooth things over. Livia turned to look at her, her emerald eyes filled with confusion. Where did they get a second horse?

"Let's go, old man, you should rest too." Leslie took the reins, and Roach, who was also not quite clear about the situation, glanced at the mermaid girl's expression, and then at the old horse, whose expression was vivid and exuded the aura of a middle-aged corporate slave who had been optimized into society. He seemed to understand something.

"Illusion or some other special magic?" After all, a pumpkin can be turned into a carriage by the old fairy's magic wand, so it's not entirely impossible for the little witch to turn an old horse into a steed. But can Leslie do it?

Leslie led the old horse around to the back of the inn. "Old man, show us what other tricks you have up your sleeve, or you'll really be fired."

"..." Old Ma glanced at Leslie with a complicated expression, his body engulfed in purplish-black flames.

Chapter Twenty: Old Ma Gets Caught Slacking Off

The knight didn't have to wait long before he saw the seaweed-colored girl lead out a tall black horse. Its coat was glossy and smooth, pure black without a single blemish, and its eyes were a deep, dark purple. The only thing on the horse's body that was as beautiful as the night was its mane, which was an unusual silver-white. It was clearly a fine horse.

No knight dislikes a good horse, which made him feel that his own comrades suddenly seemed less appealing.

"I want a steed as dark as the night, and a sword as bright as the moonlight..." This thought inexplicably popped into Roach's mind. It has to be said that this old guy really does look quite convincing after his disguise. He just hopes that Leslie's illusion won't be exposed by others.

"..." Livia looked at the somewhat unfamiliar black horse, grabbed its mane tightly, and her little face involuntarily puffed up, clearly showing that she was very angry.

"...Stop it!" The knight screamed inwardly as he watched the black horse being brutally plucked. This was no abuse! He wished he could take the horse's place and have his hair pulled instead.

“It seems you won’t be unemployed for the time being, but you look like you’re about to die,” Leslie whispered into the horse’s ear, causing the black horse to shudder and almost lose its balance.

"Hmm...it seems to be that old guy again, he can barely stand up anymore," Roach pondered, stroking his chin. "Hopefully, he won't hold us back on the way."

As punishment, Livia piled all the luggage onto the old horse's back and then gestured for Roach to ride on as well. Fortunately, Roach didn't take advantage of the situation and said that riding in a carriage would be more comfortable, which temporarily dissuaded Livia.

"Next time you're slacking off, don't go overboard, or you'll get caught." Leslie patted Old Ma's neck before getting into the car and said earnestly, to which the latter showed an expression of "I've learned my lesson" and "I'll learn from this experience."

The carriage was a standard supply wagon, but with a cloth canopy added to block out the sun. Inside were only Roach, Livia, and that guy named Morna; the knights wouldn't put these scholars together with the conscripted adventurers.

Roach and his companions sat in the carriage in the middle of the caravan, the old horse's reins tied to the back, moving forward with the caravan, while the adventurers were left to their own devices.

Those who could afford mules and horses rode them, or at the very least, threw their bags onto their mounts. Those who couldn't afford mules and horses had to become oxen and horses themselves, carrying heavy luggage and supplies on foot as they followed the caravan.

The conscripted town guards, whose officers had mounts or at least could rest for a while on the supply wagons carrying arrows and provisions, had to follow the convoys on foot. The procession stretched for over a kilometer outside the city, slowly making its way towards Hearthstone City along the main road.

Why don't we take a boat?

"Because Hearth City is quite far from the Wool River, and also... the only dock... is close to Deathwhisper Fortress," Morna explained. If they took a boat, they'd most likely be surrounded by undead on the dock as soon as they disembarked, and what the knight didn't mention was that sometimes walking was even safer than taking a boat.

Because the undead cannot drown in water, they can traverse shallow waters and even the bottom of the water, except in deep or fast-flowing areas. They pose a greater threat to humans who cannot breathe underwater.

The undead locate enemies based on their life force. They do not actually have abilities such as sight or hearing. They rely on the death aura they release and the life force of living things to locate enemies. Therefore, the undead rarely bypass densely populated fortified cities to attack villages behind them.

This is why guards from places like River Bend were conscripted to Hearthglen. As long as Hearthglen doesn't fall, the life force of tens of thousands of people and various livestock will become the brightest beacon in the eyes of the undead, attracting the attention of all the undead.

Once Hearth City falls, the undead will be drawn to the surrounding towns. Although their forces will be dispersed, these towns simply cannot withstand the undead monsters emerging from the dangerous ruins.

“If we take a boat, we will inevitably attract the attacks of a small number of undead creatures that roam the shore, and may even lure them to riverside towns like River Bend.” The knight, who was patrolling the carriage on horseback, explained the tactical considerations to Roach. If it were those adventurers, he probably wouldn’t have had such patience.

"Ooh~" Livia rubbed her eyes and tugged hard at Roach. A small, warm head rested on his arm. Soon, the blonde girl began to breathe softly as she slept, holding Roach's arm in her arms as if she were holding some kind of plush toy.

This left Roach completely at a loss as to what to do with his hands. He couldn't very well put them on the girl's lap, could he? Moreover, the girl's sweet fragrance kept wafting over, carrying a strange allure.

"Tsk tsk tsk~" Morna made a loud, strange sound. "Not bad, I mean your taste, it's at least at the bishop level."

“A bishop?” Roach paused for a moment, then blurted out, “Don’t they like little boys?” The atmosphere inside the carriage immediately became very strange.

“They like little girls too…” Morna pulled a leather-bound book from her duffel bag. “How old is she?”

“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her in person.” Roach didn’t know how old Livia was, but Niel Riley died before she was 14. If she had been living alone for more than two years, she should be 16 now. Because he was unsure how long Livia had been living alone, he wasn’t sure how old she was now.

However, she was almost 14 years old when her teacher died.

"When did her teacher die?"

"I don't know, it must have been a while ago. Anyway, she was already dead before I came." Roach said that he didn't know when the old witch died. Anyway, judging from Livia's tone, it seemed like she had been dead for some time.

"Oh, I see~ I misunderstood you." Morna looked enlightened. "This girl's development is really quite disappointing. Perfect, I have some growth-accelerating potions here, would you like to buy them?" Morna enthusiastically promoted them to Roach.

In this world, girls are generally considered to be able to get married when they are over 14 years old. The engagement age for young ladies from noble families is also around this age. Of course, the actual wedding time is not that early; they usually get married after the age of 16.

For ordinary families, it depends on the situation. In cases of labor shortage and inability to support more girls, some may marry earlier. In wealthier families, many may raise their daughters until they are 16 before marriage. Therefore, in general, social morality and customs are guided by the aristocratic class.

Girls over 14 years old can no longer be considered "children." Even if they are not married, they are considered half adults. You might think this means they can date or get married, but no, it means that girls over 14 years old are about to start working in the fields, and girls from noble families have to start learning various "bride training" skills.

Boys weren't much better off. Boys over the age of 14 in noble families would begin to learn military theory, horsemanship, martial arts, and various related knowledge. Depending on their talents, they would choose to become either generalists or extraordinary warriors. As for esoteric mages, they were usually not considered by nobles.

Because it requires too much intelligence and time, nobles would need to spend about 99% of their time and energy in libraries and laboratories.

Generalists are a special branch of the Alchemy Society geared towards nobles and noble advisors. They are not required to master all the knowledge points, but only to have a general understanding of the various subjects of alchemy. They can identify magical artifacts, recognize arcane devices and magical equipment, and have some knowledge of potions, alchemy, and alchemical materials. They are not completely ignorant of what resources are available on their territory and what they can be used for.

They also know how to prepare simple medicines and refine simple substances. Noble ladies, in particular, often learn this skill, which can effectively prevent others from poisoning their children. Of course, it can also effectively poison their husbands so that they can inherit the family business as soon as possible.

They are the kind of people who know a little about everything but are not proficient in anything. This is because their studies are not in-depth enough and they do not need to spend too much time studying. Also, because generalists need to purchase a large number of books, only nobles can afford this. At the same time, it is also one of the ways for the noble class to show off.

"Accelerated development..." Roach rudely looked around at the other person's full chest, his eyes clearly showing "it's actually fake."

"What kind of look is that? This is for real!" Morna keenly sensed the meaning in Roach's eyes and shouted angrily.

"I don't think it's necessary. Livia still has a bright future." After all, his arm was right at the girl's chest, and neither the black silk robe nor the thin dress underneath could really block his senses.

"So it's not possible now? Besides, who can predict the future?" Morna still didn't give up on promoting her potion, after all, she knew how many gold coins this guy had. "And she's at least fifteen or sixteen years old. If there's no improvement, then I don't think there will be any major changes in the future."

"The small one is fine too~" Luo Qi said calmly. He was joking; he'd seen all kinds of sales tactics before. Did they really think they could convince him to spend money like that? No way!

Besides, if such a potion really existed, couldn't Livia make it herself? Her teacher is a confirmed half-elf. If Livia or her teacher knew how to make such a potion, then there would be no need to waste money buying it. If they didn't, then it means that the potion has no effect at all.

"Don't you have any money?" Morna sensed a hint of insincerity in the other party's words, and her gaze subtly swept over Roach's belt, as if she were estimating the thickness of his purse.

"You should have said you didn't have money earlier!" Not finding the bulging bag of gold coins, Morna had an "I see" look on her face. "What excuse are you making?" So Morna turned her attention to the next potential customer.

"No, don't look at me, I have even less money!" Leslie, whose job was still as a pet, was shocked and covered her chest with both hands.

"..." You don't need to be so nervous. Your physique doesn't require growth potions; giving them to you would be a waste. However...

"Would you like some shampoo?" Morna asked cautiously, looking at Leslie's long, slightly wavy hair that resembled seaweed. The girl's hair was in good condition, but it was a bit too oily (actually, it was the hydrophobic layer).

"..." Leslie raised her head, brushed the hair behind her ear to reveal a bony spur resembling a fish fin, "You're selling shampoo to the sea-dwelling tribe of the Water Jade Clan?"

"Oh, do you need rust remover?" Marine creatures certainly don't need shampoo, but rust remover is definitely necessary.

How many small commodities did you bring?

“There are many. You should know that we are going to a military camp, specifically a supply camp. There are many merchants accompanying the army, and the soldiers who have received spoils of war on the front lines are very generous. They need shampoo, soap, and all sorts of entertainment. At the same time, in order to survive on the battlefield, the officers and knights do not mind spending a lot of money to buy esoteric items from merchants.”

"Then let's..."

"Don't worry, this kind of conscription is actually a special large-volume order. It's a bit cheaper than the market price, but considering the quantity, it's still quite profitable. It doesn't prevent us from doing other things to earn extra money, as long as we don't get caught using military materials for private work." Luo Qi understood. It was probably similar to an outsourced military supply service provider. He had thought it was something like a craftsman's workshop, where people had no personal freedom or were temporarily without personal freedom.

Rather than a recruitment, it's more accurate to say that it's about bringing together skilled personnel to facilitate centralized procurement and production. In reality, the necessary materials are also ordered with money. It's just that a large group of alchemists from various regions gathered together, and with competition among themselves, the prices were more favorable.

“But those adventurers are different; they were genuinely conscripted to work and fight.” Morna gestured to the adventurers outside the carriage. “Although adventurers are considered respectable by ordinary people, in reality…”

She shook her head; there was still at least one social class separating them from the truly respectable class. The convoy moved at a good pace. In this world of extraordinary power and mysterious magic, both the adventurers and the soldiers were in much better physical condition than Roach had imagined. By the time they set up camp at nightfall, they had covered almost a third of the distance.

Setting up camp and building a campfire, as well as the field kitchen, were tasks that were not assigned to Roach and his fellow "scholars" and "mages." Similarly, Livia, who had just woken up, was treated as a [Bronze] level arcanist by the other arcanists. It took those mages with wooden plaques a long time to scrape together the money before cautiously coming over to inquire about any plans to offer courses and what the course fees would be.

Furthermore, before Roach even asked, the other party stated that they understood the rules and that lectures outside of schools or societies were considered private courses, which would be more expensive.

“Hmm…” Livia thought for a moment, then nodded to indicate that she could give it a try. She had only taught her humanoid magical pet named “Rocky” before, and then began to question Rocky’s intelligence and whether magical pets were incapable of learning magic.

Even Livia, who had never taught anyone before, was quite interested. "Livia is good~" the girl said softly, still looking a little shy. But the apprentice occultists on the wooden plaques didn't care about that. It was rare to find a [Brass] occultist willing to give private lessons.

“Wow, you’re really rich, Mystic Mage…” Roach, the “attendant” in charge of collecting the money, quickly collected a bag of hidden silver and copper coins. There were no gold coins, but according to Morna’s estimate, the total value was about 15 gold coins, which was roughly equivalent to a knight’s annuity for 3/4 of a year (without a manor or fief).

"Snap, snap~" Livia took out her textbook from her saddlebag. She decided to skip the mental and elemental arcane arts, which she didn't like very much, and start with her favorite life arcane arts. It was a rather thick magic book. On the dark brown cover, the shape of a mirrored tree was outlined in emerald green lines, with canopies at both the top and bottom, like an hourglass of a giant tree.

The runes on the cover of the "Sacred Tree Ritual" meant this, but no one present, including Morna, recognized what it was. Old Ma, who was just about to lie down for a while, looked at the book and then at the apprentices who had taken out their notebooks and were seriously waiting for this small teacher to start the class. He revealed an expression that said, "My eyes are really tainted by karma."

Then the horse looked around. Good, there were no forest elves, and it didn't seem like the kind of creature that would jump out of the bushes with eight hundred sacred tree guards shouting slogans and charging at them. This book... was the national treasure of the Forest Elf Kingdom. Nierlai borrowed it using the Elixir of Immortality. Yes, borrowed it, and then disappeared along with the book.

So much so that of the 20,000 gold coins bounty, nearly 10,000 gold coins were taken by the Forest Elves, which shows just how deep the hatred was, given their poverty.

Livia's teaching skills were slightly better than simply reading from the textbook. She would add some extra insights and tips according to her learning progress. However, Roach could tell from the expressions on the faces of those ritual mages, who seemed to be thinking, "Who am I? Where am I? What is she saying? What are we having for dinner?", that they hadn't understood a single word. But that didn't stop them from frantically copying it down.

After all, the teaching level or sense of responsibility of true esoteric mages within the society is only marginally better than Livia's, unless you pay a high price or become a true "apprentice" like a bonded laborer.

That's pretty much how it is. Most apprentices can only attend large lectures, take notes, pay to borrow reference materials from the library, and then summarize their doubts and questions, asking them in a timely manner at the monthly Q&A session. However, the instructors may not be able to answer some of the more in-depth questions.