Witch Troupe and the Undead

“Whatever is locked inside, it’s all dead.” The priest poked at a completely desiccated skeleton inside the golden sphere with his staff. Judging from the size of the bones, it was either a child, a dwarf, or a short man.

"The good news is, we at least have a lot of mithril and magic-resistant metals that we can sell for money," the greatsword swordsman shook his head and said. "It's not a complete loss."

"Dig!" The wizard, expressionless, used his magical chains to pull the fleeing goblins away, shoveling a shovel into each one's hands. He pointed to the wall and a pillar made of magic-resistant metal, at least as thick as a washbasin. Each goblin wore an expression of utter agony.

[PS]

Dark Horse: Good news, there are indeed no panic-level creatures inhabiting the other side. Bad news, not just panic-level ones.

Chapter 208 The Witch

The wizard found seven or eight large sacks from somewhere, and all the mithril fragments pried out of the floor were put into these sacks. According to the exchange rate between mithril and gold, it was at least equivalent to the same weight of gold.

As for magic-resistant metal, it's hard to say. This metal has a wide range of uses, but the amount used is mainly as an additive and plating material. A full set of heavy armor would only require a few hundred grams of magic-resistant treatment. Moreover, it's not possible to treat the entire suit of armor with magic resistance, otherwise subsequent enchanting would be impossible.

"Let's move it slowly, we'll have a long time to dig this up." The Hammer Knight wiped his sweat. It would take at least several weeks to clear it all, not to mention those magic-blocking metal pillars that weigh several tons each.

"What about this ball?"

"Just leave it here. The thing inside should be completely dead anyway." Not a trace of magic was emanating from it; it was just a withered, thoroughly rotten corpse.

"Whoosh~~~" "That train is moving, let's go see what's going on?" The train spewed out white steam and slowly moved along the tracks. In front of the tracks, huge boulders that had collapsed floated up out of thin air and rolled into the river. The twisted and broken tracks writhed and twisted like living things, piecing themselves back together neatly, before collapsing again after the train passed.

"They seem to have left; it looks like a false alarm." The priest observed for a while longer. On the other side, the swordsman led over two draft horses and a carriage, tossing sacks onto the carriage one by one.

These mithril pieces cannot be sold directly; they need to be remelted into mithril ingots and then sold in small batches. The magic-blocking metal will be handled in the same way. However, those pillars weighing several tons each will have to be transported away in 5 to 6 trips next time. It will probably take at least seven or eight years to sell them all, otherwise it will be too conspicuous.

"Should we reseal it?" "Ah, just seal the stone slabs." The wizard said, then scattered a handful of seeds. The rapidly growing vegetation quickly covered the resealed stone slabs, completely sealing this treasure trove underground.

"At least I made back the money I spent on the treasure map," the Hammer Knight complained. The overall profit was definitely made, but you also have to consider the difficulty of selling it. Mithril is easy to deal with; just go back and rent an arcane furnace and melt it down into mithril ingots one by one.

Mithril is a lightweight metal, with a single mithril ingot weighing approximately 150-200 grams. In gold terms, this is roughly equivalent to the value of 50-60 gold coins. However, considering the gold content and craftsmanship of gold coins issued by different countries, a price of 70 gold coins or more would actually be considered normal to slightly high.

Of course, given their shipment volume, it's impossible for them to sell at 70 gold coins per piece. They'll likely sell them quickly at 60-65 gold coins per piece, with a profit margin of 5 gold coins per piece, essentially a hush money payment. This way, buyers of these mithril ingots without "tax marks" will have to find a way to keep their mouths shut.

After all, tax officials may not be able to find those adventurers who move from one territory to another today, and who are not afraid to break into the homes of minor nobles in the middle of the night to kill them, especially high-ranking adventurers. But they will definitely be able to find your shop where you receive stolen goods.

"Let's go!" The four adventurers happily left with their spoils. Under the stone slab, the giant golden sphere cast a dim shadow, which writhed like a living thing, moving along the edge of the stone slab and seeping into the ground little by little.

A black mass emerged from the shadows, like a drop of water floating in the moonlight. The dark, liquid-like substance slowly took shape. "Woo~~~" A pair of black front paws stepped on the grass and stretched out in a big yawn.

"It's out?" A black cat, no bigger than a palm, sat on the grass. Its fur was completely black, even its belly was jet black. Only the paw pads and nose were pink. Its eyes were not vertical pupils like those of a feline, but pure silver-white, with faintly visible silver-gray oval pupils like those of a human.

"Wait..." The black cat raised its paw, its small eyes filled with great confusion. "How did I become like this? Where is my body!?"

It turned its head to look at the stone slab buried under weeds and the familiar badge, then slammed its hand on its palm. "Damn it, idiot! Could it be that no one really came to open the door for me? It's been so long." It circled the grass. "What about my body!?"

The black cat leaped and transformed back into a black, amorphous droplet of water, seeping into the cracks in the stone slab. Inside the laboratory, a golden sphere lay on the floor, containing the skeleton of a young child, which appeared to be completely decayed and rotten.

"Where's my mithril? Where's all that mithril I have?!" The black cat scratched its head with its paw. "Who gave me all my mithril?!"

However, now is not the time to investigate the whereabouts of mithril. It needs to figure out what happened to itself. However, its memory is clearly somewhat hindered. After all, it seems that it no longer has a physical body, so it is hard to say what form and appearance it exists in.

"Ah, the body has completely decomposed..." The black cat tried to reattach itself to the skeleton, but failed. "It seems the only option is to reconstruct the body. Hmm, now there's a very serious problem..."

The black cat extended its sharp claws and slid them across the golden ball. "What did I originally look like? Wait, was I originally male or female? Never mind, never mind that for now."

The black cat emerged from the underground laboratory again. "Hmm, the environment shouldn't have changed much, but what is that thing?" It gazed at the train accelerating in the distance. "I feel... a little curious about it."

Inside the train's engine, Livia instinctively turned her head to look outside. She felt a certain tremor, as if... there was something she cared about over there, but her senses didn't detect any extra sounds; in fact, it was much quieter than usual.

The Frost family manor. The current Grand Duke sat listlessly in his study, numbly tossing letter after letter into the fireplace.

"That old bastard, he deserves to die!" The family's already meager wealth and power have been severely depleted once again. Now, that old man Rhine has led the team of unravelers deep into the old rifts, and there's no way they can catch up.

Even if they were stopped at the Greystone River, it wouldn't make much difference, because things had already escalated enough. What the Shadow Raven bandits had done at the station couldn't be hidden any longer. In other words, what good would it do to intercept them? Stoll already knew!

Inside the study, the portraits of the ancestors cast a sinister gaze, seemingly condemning something, or perhaps watching over something.

Grand Duke Frost slowly drew a sword from a hidden compartment near the window. The blade was only half the length of a normal longsword, but exceptionally wide. The silver-gray blade was covered with raised patterns, outlining countless overlapping spirals that would make anyone dizzy. The hilt was a large cat's eye stone.

“Still not enough…” Grand Duke Frost placed the sword against his neck, and then felt a familiar resistance. The green, glowing runes on his neck pressed firmly against the sword. At the same time, runes of the same color lit up on every internal organ. The more he exerted force, the more intense the pain from within his body became—but it just wouldn’t kill him.

"Damn it!" The Grand Duke flung his sword away. He was nothing more than a tool, a puppet, a prop that was not even allowed to die. After all, he had not yet fulfilled his purpose, had not yet given birth to a new heir, and was not yet "mature" enough to provide nourishment for those old things that refused to die.

"Meow~?" A black cat sat on the manor wall, tilting its head slightly. What kind of strange behavior is this? Have modern people's XP evolved to this extent? It's really giving this old-fashioned person a headache.

The black cat silently transformed into shadows and flowing water, passing through the curtains and glass. It had no physical form; it was merely a condensation of magic. This was its essence.

Whether in the past or present, humanity has always regarded "witch" and "sage" as the highest honors and titles for spellcasters and alchemists, bestowing them upon outstanding and powerful beings. However, since they are honorary titles, they must have a source.

All honorary titles are essentially just metaphors. A warrior called "Dragon" is not a real dragon, but someone as powerful as a dragon. Similarly, a spellcaster called "Witch" is not a real witch, but a compliment that describes her as "like a witch."

Similarly, the same applies to sages. Only those who have truly mastered the basic alchemy of the "Philosopher's Stone" and can create "Sage Tools" are true sages. Of course, considering the actual situation, some alchemists and male sorcerers who have obtained the title of "Sage" may be more powerful than true sages.

The same applies to the title of witch. Some female mages may be more terrifying and powerful than real witches, but no matter which one they are, they are not the real "witches" or "sages".

Just as knights who are granted the title of "Dragon Knight" are neither dragons nor do they ride dragons—even if some of them can slay dragons as easily as killing chickens, and some of them actually have dragon blood flowing through their veins.

Witches are such creatures. Even in the embryonic stage, their excessively high magical affinity causes them to be completely eroded by external magical forces, resulting in the birth of stillborn babies most of the time.

However, under certain very special and accidental circumstances, the mother or herself possesses extraordinary vitality, achieving a fragile balance in this protracted struggle that lasts for months, thus giving birth to a true "witch".

Their essence is a living magic, which manifests different characteristics and tendencies depending on the magic that constitutes their essence. However, in general, the magic that can constitute a witch can only be in two extreme directions, so as not to be assimilated by the magic flow of nature—the vitality of creation and the silence of annihilation.

For a witch, the flesh and blood body is a cage and a limiter, but the result of completely losing the flesh and blood body... is her current state. She can't even maintain her stable form, let alone cast spells or manipulate other magical flows.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to create and manufacture a physical body that can move around.

"Hmm, the Florosole family, huh. They've really grown into a large family..." The black cat leaped onto the roof, gazing at the manor's perimeter. She could sense the familiar bloodline magic flowing through the veins of these people. "What foolish apprentices~"

The black cat's eyes gleamed, then quickly transformed into a black stream of magic that flowed through the magnificent halls and corridors, lingering before one portrait after another.

"Hmm, which way to go? Hiss~ Leia~" The black cat snapped its fingers, but nothing happened. "...Can't even summon a Crystal Spirit anymore~ No, no, that's not right~" The black cat narrowed its eyes. It wasn't that the Crystal Spirit couldn't be summoned, but that it had already been summoned by someone else and a contract had been signed.

In this state, the magic in the atmosphere and environment flows slowly, almost visible to the naked eye, and those crystal-like things floating and dancing on the flow of magic are crystal spirits, or rather, the smallest conscious magical units with only the most basic reactions.

However, these crystal spirits are now covered with a dim but real abnormal light. Perhaps the person who summoned them only used them once, but still left a permanent mark on these crystal spirits. This also means that if any arcane mage uses these elemental crystal spirits as a power source for a ritual, the entire ritual will collapse with just a casual command.

Moreover, this phenomenon will continue indefinitely, and may not necessarily worsen. However, if these crystal spirits are not consumed by magic or any ritual field, they will persist and have a certain influence on the environment that absorbs them, thus allowing them to be manipulated by the contractor.

Just like the bait cast by a fisherman, anything that swallows this delicious bait will be marked, implicitly agreeing to a harsh term hidden within.

"Hmm, thankfully it's only a small portion... Hmm, wind elemental spirits, earth spirits, and a small amount of fire spirits. Hmm, why are these spirits so strange?" The wind and fire spirits seem to be almost fused together, forming a new, bizarre cross-shaped crystal structure.

"They just snatch whatever others need first, it's outrageous!" If they had physical forms, she could simply cast a few high-consumption wind or fire elemental spells to use up the crystal spirits, then wait for the elemental magic to regenerate naturally and wash away the mark. But she can't cast spells now, right?

"They'll just have to find it themselves." The black fluid swirled and darted around the manor like a headless fly. In the end, she had to admit that she was definitely not cut out for finding her way.

"..." The black cat sat on a velvet armchair, gazing at the rising sun in deep thought. "Something must be wrong!"

She searched all night but couldn't find the entrance to the underground palace or the location of her library. She did find the laboratory, but it was a modern-style alchemy lab that she couldn't understand at all. She urgently needed to fill in the gaps in her knowledge and learn how to use those unfamiliar tools.

"Could it be that they've stopped learning alchemy?" The underground palace might have collapsed or been sealed away, but without a library, could it be that the Frosts have simply stopped learning alchemy altogether? Those laboratories also look like they haven't been used for a long time.

"Where did this cat come from?" Grand Duke Frost looked at the black cat on the dining chair. The cat's fur stood up immediately, and then it jumped under the table and disappeared in an instant.

“A black cat…” Grand Duke Freud frowned slightly, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. He had been fighting against the curse or restraints on his body all night yesterday, and now he was exhausted. His mind was completely muddled by the pain.

"Hmm, so this is the current head of the family?" The portrait on the wall gleamed with a dim, deep purple light. "Oh, so he was the one playing the suffocation game yesterday. Ah, it seems this fool's family has truly fallen into depravity."

“Your Majesty the Grand Duke (the title of Grand Duke can also be used, since the Grand Duchy is a state within a state), this is a new letter from the capital.”

The butler respectfully placed the letter on the table. He glanced slightly at the painting on the wall. Was it just his imagination? He felt that the painting looked a bit...dull. Could it be that the maid hadn't cleaned it properly yesterday and it had gotten dusty? However, he didn't pay much attention to it. After putting down the letter, he stood aside.

"Okay, I'll look at it later. You can go now. Oh, just to let you know, the study doesn't need to be cleaned."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The butler slowly left the dining room, his gaze involuntarily sweeping over the painting again. He still felt something was amiss, but after a closer look, he couldn't find anything wrong.

"Amos, is there a problem?"

"No, it's just that these paintings seem a bit dusty and haven't been cleaned properly. These new servants are really..." The old butler instinctively wanted to complain, but he held back. "Sorry, I misspoke."

"It's alright, it's really hard to find professional maids and servants now." Because a large number of skilled laborers have been drawn away by the alchemy workshops, many unsophisticated peasant women from the countryside have entered noble families as maids and cooks.

Just like Great Britain on Earth, with the Industrial Revolution, the standard of living declined sharply because these village girls and peasant women from the countryside could do nothing but simple roasted meat, roasted potatoes, and boiled beans—after all, their lives no longer required more refined cooking skills.

"I'll make time to give them some proper training. In any case, we can't let Floros's glory be ruined by these village women!"

If, on the occasion of a banquet, the vassals and other nobles entered the hall and saw portraits of their ancestors covered in dust and cobwebs, the reputation of the Frost family would be utterly ruined. Within two hours, rumors of the Grand Duke's impending bankruptcy would spread throughout Catherfield, then along the railway lines to the capital, and then further spread from the capital.

By the second year, the countries across the sea might start telling jokes about the Frost family's bankruptcy during their court assemblies. It would truly become a laughing stock among the nobility—not just in terms of reputation, but also in terms of prestige. Those pirates who only charged symbolic protection fees out of fear of the family's prestige would immediately start asking for several times the price.

Not to mention taxes, the sale of wines, cheeses, and other goods produced on estates, transportation, etc. Nobles and gangsters are the same; they are all creatures who live for face! If every business and transaction has to rely on private soldiers and mercenaries for protection, then this bankruptcy joke will soon cease to be a joke and become a statement.

This is why many once incredibly wealthy or powerful noble families can fall into ruin so quickly, just like a mining cart plunging down a slope, reaching the bottom in an instant.

Chapter 209 Adventurers with Exceptional Skills (Part 4)

Valley Station: After the train leaves the cliffside, it arrives at this small station. Compared to the stations along the old line that are completely abandoned or even occupied by bandits, this one looks much more normal.

The area around the small station is now a fairly normal village and town. Of course, this is also related to the fact that the surrounding area is actually a fertile river valley region. The fertile river valley has been cultivated into farmland. The small station passes through the outskirts of the village and town. Although the station has been abandoned, the buildings are still relatively intact. The local villagers use the station hall as a place similar to a market.

With a hiss, the locomotive slowly slowed down and entered the station. Faced with the sudden arrival of the train, the locals showed a kind of bewildered chaos. The town's militia, armed with weapons, completely surrounded the train carriages, but did not take any excessive actions.

The old railway line hadn't been abandoned for very long, but the town's elders knew who was behind the railway company, what the trains were, and how many guards they had.

"Click~" The car door, reinforced by overlapping metal plates, opened outwards, and Scarface jumped out of the carriage. Although his coat was old, it was very clean, and the holes burned through by sparks during the previous battle had been carefully sewn up.

The only surprising thing is that it was the carefree wild tit that did this, rather than the relatively quiet firefly.

Underneath the coat, he wore simple light leather armor, with a glimpse of chainmail showing through the edges. These two pieces of armor together cost at least two gold coins, a considerable expense that was difficult for the militia of these small towns to afford.

However, none of this was as shocking as Roach and the healed Thunderbird Knight getting off the vehicle. The Thunderbird Knight was specially dressed in full armor and wore a dark blue cape with gold trim representing the Thunderbird Knights. As for Roach, he was still wearing the automatic armor that the little witch had repaired, with a red cape.

The appearance of the two armored figures, one in red and one in blue, caused the militia and townspeople to take several steps back. "Oh dear, sirs!" the mayor scrambled over. For a small town like this, two fully armed knights were enough to wipe out the entire town's armed forces, not to mention a beastman greatsword warrior and Vilandella wearing an alchemist's robe.

Two knights, six guards in plain clothes, two alchemists (including the dwarf girl Jasmine, though the robe looked a bit comical on her), and a girl with light golden hair, her face mostly covered by a scarf, who appeared amidst the stars, holding a staff that was clearly not normal.

It's already winter, so who can still have flowers blooming on their branches? Therefore, the yellow flower at the top of the staff, which was twisted from the ancient tree, looked particularly strange and abnormal.

"I need a few people to help clean the vehicle, add water and coal, prepare a hotel and rooms for us, and some food for people," Black Crow said to the town mayor with the expression of a bodyguard leader. As a true veteran, he knew that although the town seemed peaceful, if his men showed any weakness, they would soon turn into hungry wolves and bite him.

Therefore, the more impolite and domineering they were, the less these people dared to act rashly. This was also the reason why they were asked to clean the carriages and the engine. The flesh and blood of the unfortunate thieves who had been killed earlier were still stuck on them. The reason they deliberately didn't clean them was to leave them for these people to use now.

"Of course," the mayor nodded hastily, then saw a golden arc flying toward him. "Here's a reward for you," Black Crow casually tossed out a gold coin. For a town like this, even in the prosperous old days, the town's total tax revenue for the whole year would not exceed 200 gold coins.

In other words, no matter how much the mayor exploits the town, his annual income will be capped at 50 gold coins. Moreover, with the old line now abandoned, the town's income will likely decrease significantly. So, while a "reward" of one gold coin may not be considered a valuable item, it is certainly not insignificant.

The mayor's eyes lit up as he received the gold coins. He wiped them on his clothes and stuffed them into an exquisite but old silk wallet. "Oh, thank you, sir! Thank you, gentlemen! I'll go and arrange it for you right away!"

In the language of this world, "Gwen Town" probably means "Fork in the Road," because one end of the town is connected to the railway, and the other end is connected to "Woodraven Castle" in Ryevale County by a fairly wide road. Yes, it is a castle located at the confluence of a forest and a river, which are common in Ryevale County.

"It belongs to the Anta family's territory. As far as I know, they are one of the few respectable people in Black Rye Valley County." The respectable people that Black Crow mentioned are different from the respectable people that Roach and the others understand. They refer to traditional nobles who, at least on the surface, do not engage in side businesses and are prepared to properly manage their territory.

Of course, this is also inseparable from the geographical location of their territory. The Anta family's territory mainly consists of valleys, woodlands, and riverside lands. This makes it clear from the name that they are a proper noble family. The valleys can not only be used for planting, but also for mining and gold panning; the riverside lands are fertile and can support a large number of people; the forests provide abundant timber, honey, fruit, and various magical resources.

Finally, rivers connect them to Rye Valley County and even further to Lywood County (the eastern province from which Roach and his men came), and with the convenience of fishing trade, they naturally look down on that little bit of side income.

After all, even if it's a side business for nobles, it involves significant investment and sunk costs. There are quite a few people who have gone hungry on occasions. Therefore, they prefer the traditional approach of managing their territories, consolidating their rule, and becoming local emperors in their small plot of land surrounded by mountains, forests, and rivers.

"That explains why there hasn't been a significant decline here."

For Gwen Town, the railway was a bonus rather than a necessity. Before the Empire built the railway, it was already one of the major transportation hubs connecting the two main regions of the Antal Territory.

The abandonment of the old railway line merely brought an abrupt end to the town's brief period of prosperity, forcing them back to the way of life they had lived for hundreds of years.

They said they would arrange a hotel, but the town mayor really didn't have the guts to send this group of people to stay in the town's hotels. Those hotels were for caravans that came and went to buy agricultural products. Only two rooms in the entire hotel had beds; the rest were just a platform of earth covered with straw, which served as a dormitory room.

Therefore, the mayor arranged for them to stay in his own mansion, a two-story wooden longhouse with a cellar in a medieval style (similar to the Blood Baron's house in The Witcher 3). Originally, a mansion of this size would only be affordable for a minor nobleman.

This also shows how much extra wealth the old railway line brought to this small town. Although most of the houses in the town are dilapidated, they are basically brick and wood structures, rather than simple mud-brick and thatched structures.

"Who are you gentlemen...?" After taking their seats around the table in the hall, the town mayor asked nervously while urging the cook to hurry up and prepare the meal.

This involved room arrangements and a series of follow-up arrangements, so he had to inquire about the identities of these individuals. "Rhine, an honorary knight of the Empire, currently working for the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau," Rhine said, twirling the cat's-eye ring on his finger. He understood the reason for Black Raven's arrogant attitude and was happy to cooperate.

"Ah, this..." The mayor's forehead became even shinier. The small flame that had just appeared in his heart when he saw that almost everyone in this group was injured was immediately extinguished. The Military Intelligence Bureau, those people are not reasonable. Even the patriarchs of the Anta family do not want to deal with them.

The main problem is that this group of people are unreasonable and don't care about the dignity of the nobility. As pure royal weapons and spies, they are really capable of massacring the entire town as revenge, and at the very least, they are capable of killing their own families.

Moreover, he didn't think his incompetent subordinates were capable of fooling the professional agents of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Besides, he couldn't even guarantee that there weren't Military Intelligence Bureau agents lurking in his territory.

“Natalia Talos Kreber, from Ironshield Fortress,” Natalia nodded slightly and introduced herself. “Count Talos is currently the acting lord of Rock Tower County and the lord of Tallinn City.”

Everyone in the Rock Tower Empire knew what kind of barbarians the Rock Tower people were, and everyone knew that too. So the town mayor unconsciously took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. Fortunately, he hadn't rashly passed on any information that shouldn't have been passed on. Otherwise, even if the military intelligence bureau couldn't trace it back to him, the Earl of Rock Tower would definitely be furious.

If a blood feud between nobles and the Anta family were to break out, he didn't think the local tyrants, the Anta family, wouldn't find out what he had done. In that case, to appease the anger of the noble class and the higher-ranking nobles, he would definitely be finished.

“This is Miss Livia, um…” Rhine paused for a moment, “a specially appointed professor at the Imperial Royal Academy, a ‘witch’.” The little witch was stunned for a moment, looked around, and only nodded blankly after Roach gave her a look.

Immediately, the town mayor calmed down, because panicking was useless. In such a remote town, a high-level spellcaster was already a legendary figure.

As for the "witch," she is a legendary being—the kind that can read minds, turn people into frogs, and curse their sons to be born without an anus. So, since she hasn't turned into a frog yet, it means that the other party has no intention of pursuing her little scheme.