Witch Troupe and the Undead

"Hmm, the four elemental spirits." Elemental spirits have a faint consciousness. Therefore, mages use rituals to bind these spirits and force them to serve them, while wizards command these elemental spirits and squeeze their power. As for witches, they are somewhere in between.

Regardless of the type, elemental spirits possess a faint consciousness. After use, they leave behind a large number of ashes-like "corpses," and new spirits will be reborn after absorbing natural magic.

When these elemental spirits coalesce for some reason and form a relatively large whole, they are called "elemental giants," and the oldest elemental giants are called "elemental primordial spirits."

These elemental spirit aggregates do indeed have the ability to grant wishes, the most typical example being the Di Jing. These giant spirits are also bound by some arcane spells and used as slaves.

"It sounds like... a genie?"

"A genie? Something like that, I guess." Livia nodded. It was probably something like that, but relatively speaking, the air elemental giants, also known as Di Jing, were more common and easier to capture.

As for the fire elemental giant... well, let's put it this way: this thing has another name: Efreet, the fire demon. Its combat power is completely different from that of the Dijing.

"Because giants deeply dislike being restricted in their freedom, they actually dislike expending their power to fulfill the wishes of humans or other creatures."

"That...this guy named Gregory..."

"It's probably mutated, right?" Roach said irresponsibly. "If there are masochists among humans, I think there might be wish-making creatures among the giants... Ouch!" Roach got hit on the head with a stick.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Livia said angrily, not wanting to be challenged in her area of ​​expertise.

“Gregor, your wish wasn’t granted~” Livia said softly, retracting her stick. “It only looks like it got the wish, but it didn’t actually consume itself. It’s a form of revenge~ There’s a limit to the number of times humans can make a wish to a Grim Reaper. If you exceed that limit, you’ll pay a considerable price.”

The first three wishes are free of charge. If one is not a mage proficient in binding rituals, there is a high chance that the giant spirit will manipulate them and grant their wishes in the worst possible way. However, in any case, the first three wishes are free of charge, at least not at the expense of the visible price.

"But this sect doesn't seem to be paying any price either..."

“Yes, there are,” Livia said, glancing at the three priests. “The price isn’t necessarily something you have to pay yourself.”

"what do you mean……"

"The cost of exceeding the limit will be paid by the new people brought into the church, and they will have three free wishes, and so on..." Roach roughly understood what Gregory was up to. It seemed that he was not earning a penny, and even being a simple porter would be difficult.

However, just like a pyramid scheme on Earth, expansion quickly reaches its limit. What happens when the free benefits offered by new members can no longer cover the gains of those who joined before? Then, a price will be extracted from the remaining members.

Because this cost is spread among a large number of people, it goes unnoticed at first. However, with this unrestrained wishing, the cost will soon become unbearable, and eventually, everything will decay in this almost cannibalistic way, turning into a devastating collapse of the supernatural level.

"Their lives, souls, and everything else will be drained by unrestrained materialism, and in this process, Gregory did not actually use any of the giant's power to fulfill any wishes; it played a trick."

A normal giant spirit's wish is made by consuming their own primal power and interfering with the elemental flow of the entire world. For example, if they ask for gold, they will actually mobilize the elemental flow, turning soil into gold, or even creating gold out of thin air.

Of course, when Di Jing encounters such a wish, it tends to teleport the wisher to a place full of gold if the wisher doesn't explain clearly—after all, most giants, especially the freedom-loving wind giants (Di Jing), hate being locked up to make a wish.

“And Ifrits, the fire giants, prefer destruction,” Livia added.

"In other words, Gregoli's collection of costs is merely a byproduct; its true purpose is to disrupt the order of society and create boundless chaos, which is more in line with the behavior of the Fire Giant."

"No, if that's the case, shouldn't it be more about fulfilling the wishes of those nobles? Like, for example, through war?"

"That would require it to expend its own power to complete the task, and what it's doing now will also trigger a war." Because when it's moving things, it's not specifically targeting nearby nobles, but rather moving things from whoever is closest. So, it goes without saying what will happen when nobles in neighboring territories discover that the contents of their own treasury are in their neighbor's.

Not to mention, when such a rat race eventually collapses and descends into chaos, war itself becomes an inevitable outcome.

"The revenge of a captured fire giant...tsk~ I almost thought I was in a fairy tale," Black Crow scoffed. "And now you're telling me it's all real."

“There’s something even worse. This fire giant might have been imprisoned by a real god. Of course, it’s also possible that a mage used the power of a god to turn this fire giant into a wish-granting machine.” Roach glanced at Black Crow. “So, this is probably not an ordinary fire giant. It might even be at the level of a demigod.”

"Whoo~"

"Are you saying we've gotten ourselves into trouble with this guy over gold coins?"

“No, that’s not it,” Alessina said, looking at the bloodstains on the gold coins that hadn’t been wiped clean. “In fact, we’ve already achieved its purpose: a massacre and a battle, haven’t we? And even greater chaos and destruction to come.”

"So, we now have an additional task: to capture this guy?"

"Yes, forgive my bluntness, but if this guy isn't caught, I don't even want to imagine the chaos he'll cause if he runs off to a place like the capital. Does anyone want to see a world war?"

After Roach figured out the origin and true identity of this thing, he was dumbfounded. A fire giant with real wish-granting ability and an extremely cunning mind, who was deliberately seeking revenge, had infiltrated the human capital and was trying to incite the nobles and kings to do something big, especially since it was a fire giant that liked to destroy things!

"Damn it, is there any good way?"

"Yes, most giants are proud of their intelligence. The most common reason they get locked up and imprisoned is because they lose a bet. However, this is on the condition that we find the guy and offer him a bet he can't refuse."

“Hmm, no need for that much trouble…” Livia didn’t explain why it didn’t need to be so troublesome, but Roach understood what she meant. Since it was a giant spirit, it was still an aggregate of elemental crystal spirits. For Livia, as long as she found a sturdy enough container to imprison this guy, she could put in some effort and tricks to stuff it in, just like a genie.

"But we still need to find it first, right?"

“Hmm!” Livia nodded, and she was also very interested. This was the first time she had encountered a real giant spirit—she had never encountered one before. Even when she used the secret ritual to communicate with the elemental realm, no elemental giant spirit would respond to her call.

Only those mindless, low-level elemental aggregates (elemental creatures) will rush over to become laborers stuffed inside the furnace.

Chapter 219 The Cat's Doubts

Having determined that the gold coins most likely came from the noble's treasury, they could no longer linger in Valley Town. The train started moving again, and the road ahead became much easier. Continuing along the railway northwest of Valley Town, they arrived at the banks of the Greystone River after a four-hour journey.

"They really blew up the old bridge..." The wooden bridge had been reduced to rotten wood on the riverbank, and the twisted rails were soaked in the river, with the water flowing between the heavy iron blocks and making a gurgling noise.

“It wasn’t blown up recently…” Black Crow examined the marks on the bridge surface. “It was destroyed at least a year ago.”

"Sigh~" Livia lowered her head wearily, looking at the broken wooden plank at her feet. "Flowing water, storm, life crystal," she suddenly said, her voice a little soft, and many people didn't even hear her, forcing her to repeat her needs loudly again.

Three crystals were quickly delivered to us. These crystals were universal catalysts made from various natural materials through alchemy. Although they were not as effective as specialized ritual implements, their universality made up for it.

Three crystals floated around the witch, and a ribbon of emerald light quickly penetrated the riverbed. Soon, with the seeds scattered by Livia, thick vines and trees filled the riverbed, even lifting up the broken rails and piecing them back together into tracks.

It took almost a whole day to repair the old bridge to the point where it was barely passable. Fortunately, no one disturbed the process, as if Archduke Fresso had given up.

The train sped across the rickety bridge, and almost the instant the last carriage crossed, the bridge, which had been supported by the witch's magic, collapsed and broke into countless fragments that crashed onto the river, splashing water high into the sky.

"What terrifying magic..." The magic required to temporarily repair a large pit or lift a railway track is still within the comprehension of normal people, but supporting a bridge large enough for a train weighing over 200 tons to pass through is another matter entirely. If this kind of magic were used to throw stones, it would be enough to smash the walls of the capital city into pieces.

After crossing the Greystone River and passing through several hills, the scenery outside the car window changed from dense woodland to sparse groves and vast fields. The fields covered by winter snow showed no green at all, and only wooden fences and hedges made it possible to distinguish which areas were farmland.

The houses in Silver Maple County are generally tall and slender, with white walls that blend into the snow and numerous slender windows.

That's where grapes are dried. Silver Maple County is rich in grapes and various fruits. The best grapes are used to make wine, while the medium and lower quality ones are used to make grape juice, raisins, and various dried fruits.

Besides grapes, Silver Maple County is divided into two parts: the hilly woodlands produce valuable silver maple and maple syrup, while the plains produce staple foods such as wheat. Like Catherfield County, it is one of the Empire's major grain-producing areas.

Silver Maple County is the closest grain-producing area to the capital, so emperors throughout history have continuously penetrated this region to ensure the grain supply for the capital and directly administered territories. It is also the area where the imperial railway is most densely laid.

The railway in Catherfield is a two-way track, while the old line was a one-way track. However, in Silver Maple, the railway becomes a four-way track.

A traditional six-legged train, pulling a line of freight boxes, roared westward toward the capital. The stoker, standing in the cab, watched in astonishment as the train, driven by wheels, sped along the old tracks.

The two trains were about 50 meters apart, and rows of wooden warehouses and freight stations passed by between the two tracks from time to time.

"Woo!" The other car blared its horn, and Roach responded in kind.

“The capital city needs at least two trucks a week to transport food,” Rhine explained. The capital city is a large city with more than 20 people, and the amount of vegetables, fruits and various supplies that need to be supplied from outside every day is not small. Even this kind of freight train needs more than two trucks a week.

In addition to transporting food, there are also trains transporting excrement and various kinds of garbage. This garbage is transported to an alchemy plant in Silver Maple County, some distance from the capital, for mass processing and to be used as fertilizer.

"They already have fertilizer? Although it's a product of alchemy." By throwing feces, sludge, and rotting household waste into a reactor forged from black iron and cold steel, and using multiple sets of automatic alchemy arrays, a turbid and foul-smelling liquid can be obtained.

These liquids are then stirred and boiled further in crucibles by the apprentices until the foul-smelling substances have evaporated or decomposed, leaving behind a bluish liquid. After distillation, two products are obtained.

One type is a white crystalline powder that precipitates after distillation, condensation, and filtration; the other is a sludge-like residue left after distillation. These two fertilizers correspond to leaves and fruits, respectively. In other words, the first type is used for crops that need leaves, and the second type is used for crops that need fruits. Anyway, after hearing about the process, Roach still didn't understand what chemical substances these two fertilizers corresponded to.

"The people of Silver Maple County hate this kind of factory and think it should be located in the capital because the smell is really terrible and a lot of sewage flows out, attracting mosquitoes."

The train soon passed by such a gold refinery. Even from a distance, you could see the plumes of hot steam rising from it, and there was a faint stench. And this was winter; it was unimaginable what it would be like in summer.

The factory looked similar to chemical plants on Earth, but there were also significant differences. Tall metal supports and crisscrossing pipes, clusters of reactors resembling water towers, and huge chimneys constantly spewing out hot air, filling the air with the acrid smell of low-quality coal.

The settlements in Silver Maple County are mostly traditional European-style manors, characterized by a low white wall, five or six meters high, surrounding slender towers with white walls and blue tiles. Between the wall and the towers are wooden sky bridges and longhouses, making them look exceptionally narrow and crowded.

Outside the wall, there are rows of houses along the hillsides or terraced fields, which complement the neatly arranged grape trellises. Most of these thatched-roof houses are used to store farm tools or as dwellings for farmers. There are even semi-cellar-style greenhouses built with glass in these fields.

It felt as if the era had sprung from the Middle Ages to the modern era overnight, especially when passing by freight stations with steam-powered cranes.

"Screech!" The train gradually slowed down. Black Pine Valley Town was just ahead. Vilandella needed to leave the group to go to the Sages' Council to report on the Lost Capital and, incidentally, to ask for some compensation or reward.

However, her exact words were that we shouldn't expect to get it sorted out in a short time. When it comes to funding, this group is still incredibly slow. Who should pay, how much, and how to split the costs are all points of contention. However, the Sages' Conference has a lot of good stuff, and if we don't ask for money, we can indeed extract a lot of good stuff from it.

Black Pine Valley Town is located in the southwest of Silver Maple County, on the banks of the Greystone River, not far from the Greystone River Bridge. In other words, Roach and his group took a long detour, spending several more weeks to get there. In a sense, this is one of the reasons why the old route was abandoned—it was too time-consuming. It was only because the Greystone River originally had a rapid current that bridges had to be built in places where the current was relatively slow.

Blackpine Valley was much like most of the towns in Silver Maple County we saw along the way. The station was located on the edge of the town and served both passenger and freight services, remaining exceptionally busy even in winter. Thick steam filled the air around the station, and the smell of burning coal was immediately noticeable upon disembarking. Steam-powered cranes were loading crates of goods onto the flatbed carriages of freight trains.

The wooden barrels contained wine, the wooden crates contained dried fruit and raisins, the crates contained glassware and bottled whiskey, and the pockets contained wheat flour and dried flower petals, the latter used in the perfume factories of the capital to make perfumes and also used by nobles to adorn themselves during baths.

"It's settled. We can use the town's repair shop to maintain the locomotive, and replenish fuel and food, etc." After getting off the train, Rhine talked for a while with the station guards and managers who surrounded him. With the help of the royal insignia, the job didn't take too long.

"In addition, there is another matter. Grand Duke Flosso refused the investigation mission sent by His Majesty. Now the Earl of Silver Maple County has received the lord's order to assemble troops, but he is still delaying."

"So, a civil war is about to begin?" Roach rubbed his head. This clearly showed that the Frost family was prepared to fight to the death.

"So, we're going to encounter more problems along the way?"

"It's more serious than that. His Majesty is currently finding it difficult to spare any resources, and the forces he can mobilize are very limited." The previous coup had already purged a large number of nobles, leading to a very unstable political situation in the empire. The emperor's direct knightly orders and the Imperial Guard must focus their energy on the capital and other areas to prevent other regional officials from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

However, Catherfield County and Silver Maple County remain very important, so he will not stand idly by and watch the Flosser family actually arm themselves.

What's your opinion?

“We need to speed things up, otherwise it will be difficult to reach the capital before the battle begins. Once the war starts…” Rhine stopped speaking as a train roared into the station, and groups of soldiers in bright red and white striped uniforms poured out of the carriages.

"It has begun..." These soldiers' uniforms bear white twin-tower insignia on the back and chest, signifying that they are members of the royal infantry, directly subordinate to the imperial family and part of the royal military force. Those carrying large shields adorned with eagle motifs are members of one of the imperial knightly orders. In other words, the war has begun, only the fighting has not yet commenced.

"Who do you think might win?" "The Emperor will win, but it's hard to say by how much." Rhine looked at the cargo flatbed at the rear of the carriage. This train was larger and longer than Roach's, with an eight-legged locomotive at the front and an additional pusher locomotive at the rear.

Therefore, there were as many as 28 wagons, carrying not only troops but also war machines. Large magical cannons covered with canvas were lifted to the ground one by one by cranes. These standard large magical cannons of the Empire looked like a disc with four metal legs, with a crane-like structure at the center of the disc and a giant blue crystal embedded at the top.

"Military-grade magical barrier generator, used to counter alchemical artifacts and magical attacks." Once deployed, it can suppress the power of lethal alchemical artifacts and the release of spells within the military camp area, preventing the enemy from hiring adventurers or mercenaries to attack the camp, and also preventing assassinations of generals.

In addition to the barrier generator, there are also the Spirit Piercing Magic Cannon used to undermine enemy morale and the "Finger of Destruction" Magic Cannon used to destroy city walls. This magic cannon is earth elemental and will cause city walls hit by the ray to soften and collapse quickly. Even city walls equipped with anti-magic bars (anti-magic metal bars embedded in the wall) cannot withstand multiple hits.

"It seems the Emperor is truly determined to remove this thorn in our side. We must leave here quickly." Blackpine Town has become the de facto front line for war preparations, and they have also seen many cavalrymen galloping towards the bridge, clearly preparing to control it and use the railway to quickly transport troops and deploy them to the vicinity of Catherfield Castle and the Flosser family's estate.

In this kind of civil war, the worst thing to do is to proceed cautiously and slowly. Even if you win, the empire's grain-producing areas will be reduced to scorched earth. The best approach is to utilize all available advantages to launch a rapid assault and decapitate the enemy before they can react. With Grand Duke Floruso gone as the "head," the remaining nobles are just a disorganized mess and don't require much attention.

The train started moving again, but was stopped just as it was about to leave Black Pine Valley.

"Your vehicles have been requisitioned," the horseman said arrogantly. "It's an order."

"Damn it, which knight team are you from?" Rhine almost wanted Roach to sound the horn and run him over.

"Eagle Knights, by His Majesty the Emperor's decree, from this moment forward, all vehicles of the Royal Railways are to be requisitioned for military use, including all service personnel. Yes, you operators must also remain."

"Click!" Alessina expressionlessly removed the Wupeng Sword.

"Oh, you mean you're going to intercept and conscript members of the Imperial delegation?" Rhine showed the insignia of the royal representative. "And you also want to conscript a 'witch,' a specially appointed professor at the Imperial Royal Academy?"

The knight's face immediately turned grim. He really didn't have that right, and he couldn't even resort to brute force—because a witch of that rank could actually kill him, and the nobles above him probably wouldn't even step in.

"Okay, she and you can go over, but these people have to stay."

“Me?” Natalia pointed to herself, somewhat incredulous.

"You want to conscript a count's daughter?"

“Of course, since you are nobles appointed by His Majesty, it is only natural that you are required to obey the call to arms when you receive the order to fight.” The knight replied without hesitation, “Including this young lady’s guards, you have all been conscripted. Pack your bags and come with me.”

"She is a spellcaster, you have no right to do so!"

“I have it, and I haven’t seen any proof of being a spellcaster.” The knight looked at Roach, who had the insignia of an alchemist on him. Livia, not to mention her appearance and age, didn’t seem like someone who could go to the battlefield. Her golden arcane insignia alone was dazzling to the knight. As for Vilandella, as an alchemy apprentice, she also had her own proof.

In other words, apart from Leslie, who was dressed as a maid, and Alessina, Rhine, Roach, and others, the Black Crows and Natalia were all detained.

"We should have left earlier!" Black Crow shook his head. However, upon closer reflection, he figured they were bound to end up like this sooner or later. Even if they arrived in the capital early, it would only mean they were starting from there. People like them with tainted reputations would definitely need to offer a pledge of loyalty.

“However, your train must remain. I will provide you with a few carriages.” Roach and Livia exchanged a glance, then removed their rune disks and looked at the knight with pity, hoping he could find a source mage to operate it, otherwise… they could only hope that his reinforced furnace core could withstand the strain.

After all, this power unit is different from other trains. Its core relies on Roach's operation to maintain the train's swaying motion from side to side at the boundary where it hasn't completely exploded, thus generating power. Ordinary people can drive and use it, but whether an ordinary person can accurately prevent the thing from exploding is not Roach's problem.

However, it didn't matter. To avoid accidentally blowing himself and everyone else up, Roach installed a safety device that would release the energy through the thrusters on both sides of the front of the vehicle in the event of an explosion.

"Really... I'll complain to your commander!"

"There's nothing I can do about it, I was just following orders," the knight shrugged. This war had to be ended swiftly and decisively in the shortest possible time, so all available forces had to be mobilized. Fortunately, top-tier powerhouses like the Gold-level witch did have special privileges, so Roach and his group didn't have to be conscripted into the army.

Meanwhile, at Flosso Manor, a black cat sat on a desk, wearing a large hat with a purple ribbon on its head, licking its paws. "My foolish apprentice," it murmured, "it seems this manor is doomed soon."

"Heh~" Grand Duke Frost sneered, ignoring the strange creature that had appeared before him a few days ago, claiming to be his ancestor's master. Usually, such things... represent a conspiracy that would make people sell their souls.

Moreover, he was already tired of ancestors and bloodlines. Those old monsters in the cellars, in order to maintain their disgusting lives and nauseating ambitions, devoured the blood and souls of their descendants generation after generation. How could you expect him to still have any feelings about the so-called ancestral glory or ancestral property?

“Isn’t this the result I wanted? And you call yourself a ‘witch’ yet you can’t even untie this…” The Grand Duke pointed to his neck, “Isn’t that ridiculous?”

"I don't have a physical body to rely on right now, so this is all I can do. Besides, I don't really understand the current development of magic." The black cat said seriously. She only has this little bit of pure "magic and soul essence" left. Expecting this essence to do anything is less reliable than hoping that a bare computer chip can conjure up a whole computer on its own, or hoping that a magic core can cast spells on its own.

"Aren't you a spirit now?"

"Spirit, that's just a metaphor. My current state is beyond your comprehension~" The black cat witch jumped onto the windowsill. "I'm currently somewhere between death and life. It's a unique form formed after pure magic permeated my soul. I won't die or truly perish." Unless you give her a physical body to possess and destroy that body in a special way, it's meaningless.

"However, my magic power will slowly recover~" The black cat licked its paw, but compared to its physical state, the recovery speed was very slow. "If my magic power hadn't been destroyed by those stupid apprentices, let alone a cricket sealing ring, it would be very easy to turn all those old geezers into puppets."