Witch Troupe and the Undead

"Investigate! Quickly find out who stole my gold coins! Find out who it is, and I'll reward him with a thousand, no, five hundred gold coins!" The guard knights immediately rubbed their hands together, glaring at the steward who was about to wet his pants and the clerks.

"Master, master, something terrible has happened!" The butler rushed into the vault, but before he could speak, he saw the Earl glaring at him fiercely. "What is it!?"

"Well, quite a few nobles have arrived outside... and they're making demands of you, Earl..."

"It's gone! My vault, the Anta family's vault, has been robbed!"

"Ah? Sir, your vault is also..."

"Also?" The count narrowed his eyes. What did he mean by "also"?

In the audience hall, a group of barons and knights whispered among themselves, each with an expression of extreme anger mixed with fear. Midwinter Festival was approaching, a time when each territory tallied its annual profits, paid the wages of the artisans and servants who had served throughout the year, and settled accounts for the various goods provided by caravans.

In other words, at this time, almost every nobleman and every manor had to open their own vault to store gold coins or withdraw gold coins.

“Your Excellency, please do us justice! Those damned thieves…” Baron Sera began to speak, but then saw the count staring at him with blood-red eyes. “Uh…” “Damn thieves!” the count roared. “How dare they…”

"..." The hall fell silent. The nobles and manor owners all showed surprise, and then their expressions turned serious—the Earl was in trouble too! Now they didn't need to bother persuading the Earl to impose martial law on the entire territory and arrest all kinds of thieves, because the Earl would never let go of the little thief who dared to steal from his treasury.

"Ahem, gentlemen, please be patient. We need to calculate exactly how much this money is," the territory's executive officer sighed. "This is no small amount. The number of gold coins lost by the Earl alone is astounding. Such a large sum of gold coins couldn't have appeared on the market without anyone noticing. If I may be so bold, it could fill several carriages."

"Hmm~ Hmm~" The nobles nodded in agreement; their previous discussion had yielded the same result. The total amount of gold coins lost by all the nobles, large and small, and the unfortunate wealthy merchants in the entire Anta territory now exceeded 30,000 (the minor nobles were not as wealthy as the earls), and this was not the limit.

Soon, the guild's manager requested an audience with the Earl, demanding the arrest of the thieves who had stolen from the guild's warehouse. They suffered far greater losses; while the nobles only lost their money, these merchants not only lost their money, but also the high-value potions, materials, and goods that were supplied to the nobles.

"More than 30 bottles of aphrodisiacs have gone missing. Damn it, do those thieves drink this stuff like water? Aren't they afraid of dying in bed?" the clerk muttered. Thirty bottles of aphrodisiacs, what the hell? Did you guys resell them and then burn down the warehouse to settle the accounts? But then he turned around and saw the count rushing out in a hurry.

"You guys got robbed too!?"

"Eh?" The representatives of the Chamber of Commerce also showed surprise. These merchants, who were good at reading people, glanced at the group of nobles with dark faces in front of them and immediately understood everything.

Judging from their expressions, an optimistic estimate would be that these gentlemen's losses totaled no less than 3 gold coins. In comparison, my own loss of a thousand or so gold coins was nothing.

“Very good…” The count revealed a sinister smile. Now, no one would refuse when he asked the shops to investigate whether they had received any strange gold coins and gold bars. After all, these merchants had also been robbed, and they wanted to catch the thieves more than anyone else!

Chapter 216 Tacit Understanding

In River Valley Town, the mayor, intrigued, asked, "So that's how it is. It's just an outside cult... Do they really give out money?" He had never heard of a cult that directly gave out gold coins before. "How many followers do you need to recruit to make a wish?" the mayor inquired.

"Who knew that the guy named Dan didn't remember anything except the money." Black Crow tossed the short blade in his hand. "My men are looking for their other strongholds. Also, you'd better not have any designs on these gold coins."

He immediately noticed that the gold coins' origins were questionable, due to the vastly different conditions. This wasn't actually a suspicious point, especially considering they were being distributed among a group of people for purchase; in fact, in such cases, significant differences in condition were to be expected—the gold content, type, and degree of wear varied considerably.

Even if they were piled up together, no merchant or noble would notice anything wrong, as this was how gold coins should be converted from normal commercial profits and taxes.

But for Black Crow, once he was certain that these gold coins were truly divinely bestowed, then this very normalcy became the greatest abnormality.

"Why?" The mayor asked, puzzled. Then he saw Black Crow throw the three gold coins in Dan's hand onto the table. The three were standard Stol gold coins, which were newly minted when the current emperor ascended the throne. The portrait on the coin had been changed and the gold content had been slightly reduced.

In the past, the imperial gold coins had a gold content of about 95%, which could be considered pure gold coins. However, the new imperial gold coins now have a gold content of only about 80% to 85%. Furthermore, the empire continues to collect old gold coins from nobles and common people through mandatory taxation, melt them down, and mint new coins.

In this way, after deducting about 5% for fire losses, a seigniorage of about 10% can be issued, which, if multiplied by the total currency base of the empire, would be a real sum of money.

"This one," Black Crow used the tip of his dagger to pick up the one on the left, "was minted in the first year of His Majesty's reign, and it has a gold content of about 90%." After all, to establish the credibility of the currency, it's natural not to lower the value too much at the beginning.

The gold-reddish surface of the coin was already blurred, and the serrated edges to prevent trimming were filled with dirt. To the town mayor, nothing seemed amiss.

“The previous owner of this gold coin was an oil merchant; the layer of grease on it is surprisingly thick.” Then, without explaining what was wrong, Black Crow picked up the second gold coin. “This is a gold coin minted in the fifth year, brand new, and has hardly been handled.” The gold coin’s surface was pristine, without any wear or dirt, and it was shiny, but its gold content had dropped to around 85%.

“These were minted in recent years. Because of the deterioration of the empire’s economy, the gold content has dropped a bit, and a lot of them have been minted. Basically, all the gold coins on the market now are like this.” The wear was particularly severe, but Black Raven still carefully pointed out the problem with the tip of his dagger. “These scratches come from the friction of the knuckles of the iron gauntlet. In other words, this gold coin has been in the hand of a knight for a long time and was gripped very tightly.”

"So, what's the problem?" The mayor still didn't understand. Wasn't this normal? All sorts of random gold coins were mixed together and used. Apart from merchants who would be picky and judge the condition of the coins, ordinary people wouldn't pay any attention to these things.

"An oil merchant, a nobleman's treasury that has never been used since the money was deposited, and a knight's wallet—don't you think something's amiss when these three sources are listed together?"

“Something’s not right, wait a minute!” The mayor rubbed his forehead. If it was a tithe collected by the religious sect, there shouldn’t be a second type of gold coin, because nobles have a sum of money in their treasury that they don’t use casually. That is basically emergency funds accumulated by the family over generations, and the second type of gold coin is just like that.

If it's a large, one-time donation from a nobleman, there won't be the first type of gold coin, unless the nobleman also provides the family treasury along with this year's taxes when making the donation. However, this year's taxes have only just been collected and haven't been fully collected yet. Before the data is tallied and recorded, they have no way of knowing how much money there is, let alone how much they've used.

"In other words, these gold coins are not a gift from the gods, but rather..." The mayor felt that his initial guess was probably correct, "These guys used the name of religion to plunder and steal other people's property?" Only in this way could gold coins of this quality be mixed together.

"Oh, damn it!" River Valley Town also has a lot of gold coins, and now it is obviously being targeted by these despicable bandits. They are using gold coins as bait to lure the young people in the town. Perhaps one night, they will knock on the town's gate and sneak in to rob the town of all its taxes.

Lord Anta certainly wouldn't listen to the complaints of his subordinates; he only cared about whether all the taxes had been collected. And when that happened, the tax collectors would really plunder the town again, which would be a truly terrible disaster!

"That's about it. As for the statue that spits out gold coins, I know at least a few mechanisms that can do that." For example, hollow out the base of the statue, fill it with stacks of gold coins, use a mechanical device to deliver them to the statue's mouth, and then let them roll out along a chute, thus creating the miracle of the statue spitting out gold coins.

"Then, I'll leave it to you all. We must completely wipe out this group of thieves."

"It just so happens that the evil god, or rather the symbol they worship, had some conflict with Sir Rhine and his group, which affected Warren Territory, causing the loss of a ruby ​​mine. I suspect that's where their money came from," Black Raven said, half-truthfully. Some of the easily verifiable information was true, while the less verifiable information...

"15 gold coins...that's all we can offer." The mayor reluctantly handed over 15 gold coins. As for the spoils of war, he didn't mention them at all. He even hoped that these adventurers would take all the gold coins with them, since there was no part of River Valley Town in them.

When the time comes, wouldn't it be perfect to use the surplus funds to acquire land in several nearby villages and Hewan Town? After all, it's not me who will be hanged for not paying taxes. As a traditional local manor landowner, it would be truly unethical not to take this opportunity to expand my land.

“Easy, Sir Rhine thinks so too.” Black Raven put away the gold coins with satisfaction. This was an extra source of income. As for the accounts receivable, they were naturally divided up according to the agreement.

Meanwhile, with the help of Dan and his unfortunate fellow countrymen's intelligence and cover, Lulua, Wild Tit, Firefly, and Sylvie all found a large stronghold of the cult, a village located in a hilly valley.

"Halt! You lot? I've never seen you before!" The guard at the village entrance looked at the group of people in front of him suspiciously. Dan quickly said, "These are our newly recruited believers. You may have heard that a train stopped at the station in Valley Town a couple of days ago, and they were the people on that train."

"Ah, I think I've heard about this before." After all these years, a train has finally arrived, and although the news spread slowly due to the winter, it still gradually got around.

"Why are they all wearing masks?" The guard looked at the group of guys wearing triangular face masks and felt that something was off.

"Don't your priests also wear masks? Aren't you afraid of being found out? Otherwise, why are you guarding this place?" Lulua pointed at the priests inside who were preparing for the Midwinter Festival ceremony and asked loudly, which left the guard bewildered.

Hmm, that makes sense. If it's open to the light, why not build a grand cathedral in town for public worship? Oh, I think the priest mentioned something before the ceremony... Oh no, I was so focused on the money that I forgot what the priest said.

“The priest said… Although we believe in a generous and merciful god who has exempted us from the price of these wishes, the powerful and wealthy may covet the church’s wealth and take away what we have just acquired.”

"Oh, that's right!" The guard slapped his forehead, realizing it made perfect sense. What would happen if the nobles and lords found out he'd struck it rich!

"No wonder you're covering your faces. People from big cities are more meticulous than us roughnecks. Oh, does that mean we should cover our faces too?" The guard suddenly realized that they had heard that several places had been attacked by unknown enemies recently, and the priests were worried that the nobles had discovered some clues. It turned out that they had forgotten to cover their faces!

Soon enough, everyone in the village covered their faces, which stunned the priests who had just finished discussing how to deal with what the nobles might have discovered and what to do when they came out—how could the group of simple, honest villagers have all turned into masked thieves?

Moreover, the triangular face masks were worn very professionally, as if they had been instructed by a professional. If it weren't for the distinctive M-shaped hair of a few of them, the priest would have almost thought he had wandered into some bandit stronghold.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the village.

“So it really is a band of thieves…that explains where their money comes from.” Maripol maintained the Eagle Vision ability on himself and his companions. “Could they be using the church as a pretext to secretly carry out their thieving activities?”

“It’s very likely that this is a gathering to select and train new recruits. Look at those people,” the swordsman pointed to a few conspicuous figures in the crowd that would stand out to professionals.

"The girl squatting on the manhole cover, although her posture was awkward, it was the starting stance for 'swift burst'. She wasn't carrying a weapon, but there was a metallic sheen on her wrist, which should be a hidden blade."

"And that guy standing at the edge of the crowd, he almost avoided everyone's gaze. Even those on stage couldn't see him unless they specifically looked away. He must be a sentry," the priest said, pointing to the two girls in the corner. "The locksmith and the demolition expert, their money does seem to come from some shady dealings."

Locksmiths are an essential profession for thieves, otherwise those chests and safes full of valuables would be difficult to deal with. However, demolition experts are not. Only large thieves that need to hijack trains or escort tax convoys need this profession.

They were skilled in the use and placement of various magical or alchemical explosives to block the advance of caravans or to blow up overly fortified vaults and treasuries. Only large bandit groups that dared to attack a manor head-on would possess such equipment.

After all, neither magical items nor alchemical explosives are cheap, and they are all disposable items that are gone once used. If the returns are not enough, then it is basically a net loss, and not just a small loss.

The crowd gradually became frenzied as the statues began to spew out gold and silver coins, as well as small gold nuggets, silver bars, and even weapons that some people had wished for.

"Damn it, they've started to arm themselves. We can't wait any longer, and this stronghold should be enough to explain things to the Earl, right?"

“Then send the signal!” Maripol said. They had investigated the fortification of this stronghold and had always had the Earl’s guards supporting it from the rear. Otherwise, the Earl would not have dared to rely on them to hand over the spoils of war on their own initiative. Moreover, for some reason, in the last two days, the Earl seemed to be particularly… eager for these spoils of war, and even sent out more than a dozen of his knights.

"Whoosh!" Alchemical fireworks exploded in the sky, and the priests immediately realized something was wrong. "Those damned nobles have discovered us!" The villagers wearing masks exchanged glances. Some went to get the equipment on the ground, while others simply frowned and blended into the back of the crowd. However, the torches of the infantry surrounding them blocked all the entrances and exits.

"Wild tits, when did these guys arrive?"

"Just now!" Wild Sparrow was also terrified. When they arrived, they didn't see these noblemen's infantrymen. In other words, they only arrived when the sacrificial ceremony here had begun.

"Firefly, have you found their treasure vault?"

"No, there are no mechanisms around the statue."

"Where do their gold coins come from?!"

"How am I supposed to know where it came from!" Firefly tried to collect the gold nuggets on the ground, but the other villagers had the same idea, and soon a large-scale chaos broke out.

"What a rabble!"

"Stop making sarcastic remarks, we're trapped inside, send the signal!"

"Whoosh!" The firefly unleashed its alchemical sparks, and the same sparks rose into the sky.

"Something's happened to Lulua!" Alessina exclaimed, looking at the distant sparks rising in the sky. "Do we need help?"

“Of course!” Roach nodded. Putting aside the fact that Lulua seemed to have been thrown over by that lonely old god, their initial plan also required them to provide support, since they had a share of those gold coins.

"Put on your face masks," Black Crow tossed over a triangular face mask. "We'd better not reveal our identities."

If that money really came from the nobles' treasury and taxes, then it's best not to reveal that you stole it. Otherwise, there will be a lot of legal battles. In that case, Rhine and the others might not be in any trouble, but Shadow Raven will definitely be in trouble.

"Sir Rhine, you don't want Count Anta to complain to His Majesty the Emperor that you led men to steal from the nobles' treasury, do you? Although nobles who suppress thieves do have the right to take the spoils of war without having to return them to their owners, that's on their own territory. And when you entered this territory, you didn't greet the local lord, did you?"

In that case, this matter could very well turn out to be a scheme orchestrated by Rhine and his group, merely a cover-up. The burning of villages and looting of villages by nobles was quite common a hundred years ago, and even now, it has only become more covert, rather than completely disappeared.

After all, they wouldn't dare to do such a thing openly, because the Imperial Knights would really send them death certificates one by one.

"Damn it, I knew these damned guys, there are more than just this many!" The count didn't realize that all the gold belonged to his family. Of course, he had always thought that all the gold could only belong to his family. However, the theft of the treasury made him more anxious, and he even led the team here personally. He urgently needed this money to make up for his losses.

"Don't panic! Grab your weapons! Forget about that damn gold! If we die, it'll all go to those damn nobles!" Wild Sparrow shouted, finally calming the chaotic crowd down a bit. She glanced at the equipment the statue on the ground had spat out... "Holy crap, it's pretty good!"

"Give me a few who can wear armor," Wild Sparrow gestured to the followers, indicating that a few of them should come forward and fight in armor. Two retired veterans exchanged a glance and hurriedly picked up the armor and equipment from the ground and put them on.

The sequence consists of an inner blouse, soft armor, chainmail, smock, a full breastplate, followed by leggings, boots, half-plate leg guards, and round plate elbow pads. Finally, a chain hood, plate armor rings, and shoulder armor are attached before gloves are put on.

"Drink this medicine!" Wild Sparrow tossed over two bottles of "Dragon's Breath" potion made by the witch. This potion could provide dragon-like stamina and stamina recovery speed for a certain period of time, which was a necessity for these two warriors who had never worn such heavy armor before.

The remaining people were also given some weapons. Those who had no weapons could only flatten their farm tools with stones and use them as long machetes (sickles), pitchforks (spears), and short knives (small sickles).

"Take down those two cans first!" The greatswordsman who jumped down from the hillside slashed at the old soldier who was bending over to put on his leg guards.

"Clang!" The small fist struck the side of the sword blade, sending it flying. "Moon Entanglement!" Silvery-white divine power coiled around her limbs, and the girl's entire body seemed to be plated with a layer of silver. Her pupils and hair also turned silvery-white, making her look like a silver statue, radiating a cold, chilling light.

In Moon Entanglement Mode, divine power greatly enhances strength and defense, but it also makes one exceptionally sluggish, with a significant decrease in agility and flexibility. It is not very useful in environments and terrains that require acrobatic skills, but it is a different story on flat ground.

"Bang!" A glass-like barrier shattered in front of the priest, and the spinning hexagonal bullet pierced through the barrier, grazing the priest's cheek.

"A magic crossbow!?" The priest stopped in his tracks as he watched Firefly, who was half-squatting on the ground, cranking the handle to charge the magic crossbow. Blood-red holy runes spread down his cheeks, as if he were wearing an extra layer of armor, shrouded in a red mist.

The appearance of the magic crossbow nearly split the Temple of War. The traditional war servants believed it violated courage and was a weapon of despicable sneak attacks; on the other hand, they believed that the new weapon would help to revolutionize the form of war, and from a strategic point of view, it also meant the further development of some new tactics and art of war.

Therefore, believers of the God of War have a conflicted view of this weapon. However, regardless of which faction they belong to, they all acknowledge a major premise: this weapon will completely change the form of war and combat on the continent, and its threat is far greater than they can imagine.

"An expert?" Sylvie twirled his dagger, looking at the adventurer who appeared at the edge of the crowd. "Wild Sparrow, you go and command those rabble. We'll handle this. The signal has just been sent out, and reinforcements will arrive soon."

"Reinforcements?" Maripol released his grip, letting the shattered magical medium—a small piece of glass turned into powder—fall to the ground, while his fingers pinched another small phlogiston ball inside the material bag.

“Three against four? The advantage is on our side, and besides, you have a group of infantry to deal with,” Maripol tried to persuade them with words. “Moreover, we don’t have any real conflict; it’s just a simple commission. How about…”

Adventurers aren't just reckless fighters; negotiation requires skill. For example, now that the Earl's army has arrived, why risk your life? That's enough. Leave some contact information as well, meaning that if the other party can afford the payment after the commission is settled…

“You seem to have misunderstood something. We are not on the same side. Our goal is the same as yours.” Sylvie glanced at the gold under his seat, and the adventurers immediately understood. Damn it, the two thieves’ hands reached into one pocket.

"So, wouldn't it be better if we decided the outcome before those rabble were defeated?"

"Is that so? Then let's see who has the best skills." Since none of us have any real reason to be hostile and we're all here for the money, there's no need to fight here.

In an instant, the group exchanged a tacit understanding with their eyes and began fighting. At the same time, the battleground was constantly moving closer to the gold beneath the throne. Although the fight was lively, they did not use any particularly destructive spells.

Chapter 217 Offensive and Defensive Battles and Familiar Equipment

Firefly flung the serrated dagger at the greatswordsman. The spinning dagger forced Maripol to take a half step back, activate a new defensive spell, and casually cast a Mud Swamp spell. The ground quickly turned into mud, swallowing up a small area near the throne along with the gold and silver coins that had fallen on it.

"Hey!" Lulua, having activated Moon Wrap Mode, swung her left leg slightly backward. "Look at this!" "Clang!" Sparks flew as her fair calf collided with her dark thigh, causing the tense priest in the distance to show an expression of disbelief—among the adventurers I recruited, there was actually such a master!?

"You've got some strength, little girl!" The Hammer Knight glanced at the hammer in his hand and gave a thumbs up. "Then check this out!" He swung the hammer horizontally, using his waist and legs to power it. "Hey!" Lulua quickly switched to Night Wrap mode, stepped on the hammer head barefoot, and leaped over the Hammer Knight, rushing towards the priest behind her.

"Hansen, what the hell are you doing?!" the priest exclaimed, then saw a small fist rapidly enlarging in front of him. "Thump!" The fist slammed into his breastplate, making a terrifying sound like a church bell. "I..." The priest's curse was barely out of his mouth when he crashed into a cowshed, straw flying everywhere.

"Take this!" Sylvie rolled to dodge the greatsword coming at him, tumbling half a turn on the ground. He then grabbed something and threw it at the swordsman, scattering coins all over the ground with a clatter, reflecting a golden light.

"Firefly, drop the bomb!" Two tubes, each about the thickness of an index finger, were thrown the moment the swordsman was distracted by the coins. "Bang!" A chilling mist spread in all directions.

The swordsman took the opportunity to sweep up a handful of coins from the ground. As soon as he picked up the coins, he realized something was wrong. Why were they so light?

"Copper?" He looked down and examined them closely. They were all copper coins, and even those with clipped edges, because gold coins were lighter and smaller than copper coins. "Damn it!"

When Sylvie picked up the coins, she had already switched the coins in her hand using a magic trick unique to Shadow Raven Thieves. Well, it wasn't really a special technique; it was just that when sweeping the money, she picked up the gold coins with her right hand, but threw out her left hand along with the copper coins that her left hand had prepared beforehand.

Using the icy fog as cover, the Hammer Knight approached the throne. Just as he picked up a small gold nugget the size of a thumb, a delicate foot appeared on his shoulder. Lulua stepped on the knight's shoulder armor with one foot, spun around and kicked down. In Night Wrap mode, the bones in her instep were like a piece of raw iron, slamming hard into the Hammer Knight Hansen's mask and sending him flying.

"Lulua, get some weapons!" Firefly shouted. "Ah!" The Night Clan girl then realized that she wasn't really fighting, but taking the opportunity to steal money.

She quickly stuffed the gold nuggets and silver bars on the ground into a handbag that Firefly had thrown over. This handbag contained alchemical reagents and bombs. She had thrown most of the reagents away, and some of them were given to Wild Sparrow, since she was under more pressure.

"Here you go!" Lulua tossed her satchel, filled with gold and silver ingots and some rare gems, toward the fireflies.