Witch Troupe and the Undead

In other words, this is equivalent to the power of armor-piercing, incendiary, and high-explosive ammunition of more than 20 mm on Earth. When it hits a clone whose strength is not much different from that of an ordinary human, the result is an instant explosion of blood mist, tearing flesh and blood into pieces. This is the effect of a 20 mm high-explosive round sweeping a person.

Those replicated, strong individuals, equivalent to the limits of human capabilities on Earth, are merely less severely shattered, going from needing shovels and water guns to only requiring brooms and dustpans. As for those extraordinary individuals who can maintain a relatively intact corpse—meaning one that can be collected with sacks and tongs—you can clearly see that the hands and feet are distinct.

Only those superhumans equipped with some kind of protective gear could leave behind an intact corpse. Even so, countless others were broken in half or had large holes in their bodies. Groups of clones fell down like mowing grass at an astonishing speed.

The replicants, which win by quantity rather than quality, encountered a weapon that also wins by quantity rather than quality: they vanished like weeds.

Roach's machine guns are not actually that effective against an army of legitimate superhumans, because soldiers who have reached Superhuman Physique I can wear enchanted heavy armor, which can protect them from bullet penetration and explosive damage to some extent.

For knights, unless there are enough machine guns and they fire in concentrated bursts, briefly overloading their enchantment effects, a few individual bullets are unlikely to cause much damage.

Essentially, the power of his machine gun ammunition is equivalent to the firepower of an enhanced low-level arcane spell: it has a very high rate of fire and a large quantity, making it difficult to withstand concentrated fire without targeted defensive spells or equipment.

But what about these clones? They may have been copied from superhuman warriors, but they themselves have no magical equipment, only crude armor made of flesh and bones, and some badly damaged armor pulled from the bodies of those unfortunate fallen men. This is no different from being naked on the battlefield.

Moreover, they were in a reckless charge mode, and didn't even know how to use superhuman agility and perception to dodge projectiles from ranged weapons like real superhuman warriors. To dodge Roach's magic crossbow, one would need a superhuman agility of around level II, provided that it wasn't a sweeping attack but a short burst. A sweeping attack would require at least superhuman agility of level IV or higher to have a relatively high chance of dodging it.

"This is..." The Lord of Hell was distracted on the battlefield. In any case, the weapon that roared and used dense steel rain to pulverize flesh and blood made this Lord of Flesh and Blood feel that his aesthetics had been desecrated and despised.

Bones, skin, scales, and muscles all turned into splattered clumps of mud. Roach was actually panicking as he watched the ammunition dwindle. The output of this thing was terrifying, but it was the amount he had accumulated over half a year! If a sorcerer had to accumulate six months' worth of magic power, the scene would be far more spectacular!

However, he knew that this box of stuff would take half a year to collect, but the enemy did not. The clones all stopped and lingered outside the effective range, or rather, outside Roach's field of vision in the darkness, while the Hell Lord also quietly approached the rift.

It also found this ferocious rapid-fire attack somewhat troublesome, especially when it had to deal with the Little Witch's maneuvers, Leon's struggles, and a wielder of a divine weapon attacking relentlessly with the aid of a magic arrow.

"Thump!" Roach took out the second box, the last ammunition box, and it wasn't even full. But as the saying goes, the enemy doesn't know... Looking at him and the pile of luggage around him, no one could tell how many more ammunition boxes Roach could find.

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, the Hell Rift suddenly burst open, and Livia involuntarily fell backward to the ground, her face slightly pale, her emerald eyes almost completely closed, and the small yellow flower on the staff in her hand was also withering away.

"Whoosh~" The wind from the depths of hell blew over the rocks, and flesh withered at an alarming rate. The rocks and everything else were rapidly transforming into some kind of alien environment, as if they were being gradually replaced and invaded by another world.

"Demon God!" The Lord of Hell's expression froze. The Demon God of Hell personally took action, directly replacing a part of the present world with his unformed divine kingdom or world in order to bear the effects of his god-like power.

"Ah, finally... Very good, you've brought her to me." A voice rang in everyone's mind, accompanied by the intense pain of every nerve being pierced. Only Roach was almost unaffected. His soul was merely an appendage of flesh and blood. Under such piercing, apart from a slight daze and dizziness, he had no serious reaction.

"Catch!" Alessina forcefully threw the divine sword at Roach, who also discarded the magic machine gun, which was no longer effective under the alien rules, and caught the fragment of Nightlight.

"Then, I'll accept it without ceremony~" An invisible hand slowly reached towards Livia, and at that moment, a blade constructed of night and starlight pierced down from the back of her hand. "Damn it... what are you!?"

At first, the demon god thought it was some kind of puppet controlled by mental threads, after all, there was some kind of contractual relationship between Roach and Livia, and his patched-up soul and flesh really didn't seem like a living thing.

However, it was no longer his time to consider what Roach was, because the divine sword had already shattered.

"A divine weapon..." The demon god's voice was filled with resentment. Annihilating the weapon's destructive power required a considerable price, much like a stock price suddenly plummeting just before a harvest—even if there was still a profit, there was a deep-seated regret and anger. However, just as it was about to do something...

Night fell over the cave. "You..." The demon god only managed to utter the word "you" before decisively retreating. Fighting a main god in the mortal realm was something he wasn't crazy about. Let alone whether he could win or not, even if he did win, he would still fall from his position as a demon god.

"My lord, I..." The Lord of Hell looked at the suddenly closed rift and the starlight that appeared around him, and his scalp began to tingle. If you're going to run away, at least take me with you!

The night, like thick ink, gradually swallowed the body of the Lord of Hell. The latter did struggle, but no matter what kind of attack it was, whether it was poisonous saliva, demonic flames, or anything else, it could only disappear in the darkness and starlight. In the end, the entire cave was left with only the still writhing and struggling simulacrum and the clone flesh pod that was less than half its original size.

"That's it? It's over just like that?" Leslie was still a little taken aback.

"It's not over yet~" Leon leaned on his completely deformed silver sword, pointing at the restless pseudo-demons and those flesh cocoons, "There's still a big chunk of this!" However, without the continuous "nutrients" replenished from the cracks, the pseudo-demons' speed in creating flesh cocoons had obviously slowed down considerably.

Chapter 372 Drawing a Written Agreement!

The gaping maw of flesh and blood writhed, thirsting for the nourishment of blood and flesh. Tens of thousands of fleshy pods spread and grew around the cavity and on the ceiling. Even without the rift of hell, this place still looked like a hell made of flesh and blood.

Leon, leaning on his sword, peered down for a while, then turned to look at Roach, who was tending to the little witch. "You must be a mystic mage, right?"

"Hmm?" "I've seen your colleagues in the Sealed Place. You look a lot like alchemists, but there's a difference in essence." Alchemists are still spellcasters who can manipulate magic, and their bodies naturally bear the influence of magic. Mystic sorcerers, on the other hand, rely on knowledge and calculation to utilize magical materials, and the traces of magic on their bodies are much lighter.

If we compare magic to the seawater that soaks the entire world, then ordinary extraordinary beings are like whales in the sea. They swallow seawater in large gulps and then spit it out again, filtering out the meaningful parts to nourish their growth.

Mystics are like seaweed, swaying with the ocean currents and using the flow of the water to unlock the power of the world. Ordinary alchemists are like divers, venturing deep into the ocean to retrieve rare pearls from the seabed.

However, a sorcerer is like a fisherman who sits on a boat on the sea. He may get splashed by the waves and smell of fish, but he is not someone who is immersed in the seawater.

"Don't misunderstand, I don't intend to cause you any trouble. It seems you haven't chosen the path of bloodline or... the path of puppetry." These two are truly universally hated. The former digs up people's ancestral graves everywhere and likes to create a bunch of hybrid creatures that are literally hybrids. They are incredibly skilled at human modification and organ transplantation. In pursuit of power, they all turn themselves into something neither human nor monster.

The key issue is that income is low while expenses are high. Most of these research and modifications are carried out through illegal means, sometimes even involving kidnapping people as guinea pigs. Considering that bloodline power is a trump card for many noble families, they often kidnap not commoners, but noble offspring.

The Church's sealed place holds several such flesh and blood masters. They have been very effective in transforming themselves, and since this behavior cannot be restrained by the Holy Flame, it is very difficult for the Church to kill them.

As for the puppetry approach, it's slightly better. In order to research the automatic core, these guys didn't hesitate to infiltrate various churches, steal sacred magic data, and even forge miracles to steal divine grace. Although they never succeeded, they were still granted a seat in the Black Prison of the Sealing Bureau on charges of blasphemy.

"The Path of Runes is the rarest path, requiring an extremely deep understanding and study of knowledge, mathematics, and runic literature to embark on, and it is accompanied by endless dangers."

Rune Masters are much simpler. The reason they are disliked is the same reason Roach is feared. They frequently explode, but Roach can't kill himself. Rune Masters, on the other hand, usually blow themselves and their neighbors to smithereens. Of course, compared to the other two, they are not universally hated, but they are still considered rare animals.

"So, what are you trying to say?" Alessina was currently unarmed, but an unarmed beastman warrior was still a powerful warrior, not to mention that Leslie still had a longbow, and Roach's magic crossbow still had some ammunition.

"I want to ask, since you are a Mystic Mage, such a dangerous profession, is there anything that can get rid of this thing?" Leon spread his hands. He was not a fundamentalist fanatic, and he didn't have any particular opinion about Mystic Mages. Having guarded the Sealing Institute for a long time, he had some exchanges with those Bloodline Masters. After all, after a long time of no one being able to kill anyone else, it was inevitable that they would chat a bit.

"No, do you think the resources I have are enough to take care of such a huge hole and this hellish demon the size of a castle?"

Roach said you must be dreaming, and based on his experience in practical explosives, he figured that the force of blowing this thing up would be enough to lift the entire capital city up two meters—as for whether it would land intact, that's a matter of opinion.

“Moreover, a creation with this kind of power could almost blow the entire city into the sky,” Roach pointed to the ceiling. “I think you’d better find some people to come down and clean it up slowly. At least the Hell Rift is gone now.” The Lonely Old God had sealed the rift very tightly, and it was unlikely that even if the Lord of Hell intervened, it would be difficult to tear open a new rift in a short time.

“This…” Leon glanced at the tens of thousands of fleshy cocoons that were about to move, and the monstrous creatures writhing below, and fell into deep thought. Ordinary adventurers and soldiers coming down would simply be providing new flesh and blood for the monstrous creatures.

If left unattended, it can still obtain nutrients from the soil, and then continuously produce and release clones, which leads to a protracted war.

“Besides eliminating the demonic fiend, you also need to get the Church and the Empire to prepare enough craftsmen and building materials,” Roach pointed around the cave. “The structure here is currently supported entirely by the roots of this demon. If you really destroy it, the entire city will probably sink underground.”

“Hey guys, you seem to be late…” Leslie interrupted Roach and Leon’s conversation, pointing to the ceiling where wisps of water vapor were falling. Previously, the magic of hell was strengthening and supporting them, but now, not only have the artificial demons lost their cheap food from hell, but the structure here has also become much more fragile after being demagically corrupted.

Hellish magic is a double-edged sword. Under its influence, materials are greatly strengthened, but when the magic fades, they quickly collapse. This is why wars between the races of the mortal world and Hell often turn out to be more harmful than beneficial.

Equipment corrupted by hellish magic will turn into a pile of rubble once the magic dissipates. As for the fine equipment worn by demons, only a very small amount with relatively stable hellish magic will remain after the demon dies; the rest will all turn into ashes and fragments.

"Run!" Alessina scooped up the unconscious little witch and ran back the way they came, where there was a relatively stable platform leading to the ground.

"Whoosh~" The battle between demons and humans on the surface continued, but the demons near the academy heard some unnatural sounds. Whirlpools of all sizes appeared on the river, connecting with each other, like a gaping mouth. The ground shook violently, and almost instantly, the square in front of the cathedral south of the academy sank down.

The ground roared and cracked open, and the city collapsed in a spiral from the central river. The sturdy buildings, such as the academy, which were protected and reinforced by magic, were okay, but ordinary houses collapsed or were squeezed together in the landslide and fall, becoming layers of dilapidated buildings.

The sewer pipes broke, and sewage gushed and burst from the cracks. Even the noble district was not spared, and the area was separated into dozens of large and small blocks by the cracks, which slid downwards at an angle amidst the flying smoke and dust.

"Hey!" Alessina leaped back and forth across the unstable, collapsing ground, while Roach and Leslie sprinted and climbed with all their might.

"Got you!" Just as Roach was about to give up and fall down with him, a large hand grabbed his clothes and threw him and Leslie up together.

"Thank you!"

"No need to thank me, but you should think about how to explain this situation to the Empire."

"Me? Why should I be the one to explain?"

“You, a Mystic Sorcerer on the path of Rune Masters, and then this scene occurred. If you say it has nothing to do with you, do you think the nobles will believe you?” Leon pointed to the imperial city district, which was still spiraling downwards.

Although the academy's mages have begun to adjust and reinforce the structure using magic towers, they can only protect the academy and the surrounding buildings. Furthermore, the labyrinth beneath the academy itself is a perfect support point, and some of its features have been exposed during this collapse.

It was an upside-down tower, with exquisite corridors and an outer wall carved with unidentified runes and shimmering with magical patterns, which appeared in the sunlight for the first time as it collapsed.

The river that flowed through the capital city turned into a waterfall, plunging into the pit and rapidly widening the pit into a water-filled crater. The villages and towns downstream of the capital watched in stunned silence as the river receded, revealing the dry riverbed.

The southern church district suffered the most damage because it was where the true form of the demon resided, but it was also the most intact because it was home to the Earth Goddess and various clergy. Although the priests of the Holy Lord were not very skilled in this matter, they could still temporarily reinforce the buildings and the ground with holy light.

Then the moonlight summoned by the Church of the Moon Mother stabilized the surrounding magical environment. For the first time, the priests of the Earth Goddess lost their usual calm, composure, and reliability. They were as frightened and flustered as if they had been hit on the foot by a stone, and they prayed for the goddess's power to save them.

Perhaps it was because a demonic calamity had occurred here, or perhaps some lonely old god had casually sent a report to other deities, that the clergy found it easier to obtain divine favor and that the response time for sacred rituals had increased.

Large amounts of yellowish-brown crystals were created within the rock, forming a new framework that prevented the city from cracking and collapsing further. Then, the mages used fossil-forging spells to stabilize the crumbling walls and towers. Next, they reinforced the still-connected roads and created bridges to span the cracks.

“This city… I think it can be renamed the City of Water.” The gradually rising river water filled most of the cracks, turning into waterways that divided and submerged the city. About one-third of the buildings in the capital were underwater, another third and a half were submerged, and only one-third remained around the spiraling, collapsed water pits where the geological structure was solid or the terrain was high.

At this moment, both humans and demons were frantically trying to save themselves. The demons used demonic fire to scorch the softened and collapsed soil and rocks into magma, thus forming a solid obsidian ground.

After all, apart from a few realms with water, most demons in Hell have never seen "water" and naturally cannot learn the skill of "swimming" - demons will drown if they are submerged, especially since their body density is greater than water and they can easily sink to the bottom.

The entire city was transformed into a world of lava and floods. The toxic sulfurous vapors, accompanied by the sound of collapsing rock formations, sent chills down the spines of every surviving individual. All these acts of self-rescue only delayed the fall of the capital to a certain extent.

In reality, it is still slowly and steadily falling towards the huge crack that has opened up in the central river channel, and eventually the entire city may gradually sink underground, leaving only a few standing "islands".

For example, the academy, which remained unshaken due to the underground labyrinth, might transform from a building on the ground into atop a massive tower or cylindrical structure. As the ground cracked further, the floodwaters began to recede, and the garrison upstream finally came to their senses, decisively closing the sluice gates and preventing the city from further cracking and sinking under the influence of the water.

“Optimistically speaking, Master Roach, you’ve wiped out at least fifty years’ worth of taxes from the Empire and secured a long-term project for it that will last over 20 years,” Alessina said, standing on one of the sturdy islands near the academy, holding the little witch as she watched the dust and smoke billow across the city.

Putting aside the cost and time of rebuilding the city, just digging a new tributary to bypass the city and provide irrigation for the downstream is a huge project, and even in a world with magic, it would be difficult to complete in a short period of time.

Not to mention the repair of city walls, the reinforcement of the ground, and the clearing of any remaining artificial demons that might still be alive beneath the cracks.

"What does this have to do with me?" Roach was completely baffled. "I didn't close the rift, and I didn't kill the Hell Lord. If I had to say something... Lord Leon, you're the one who's officially listed and has a verifiable record of your actions, right?" Leon, who had been watching the spectacle with amusement, suddenly stopped laughing.

"And after the demon is destroyed, its structure will become brittle after the magic fades, which is also an experiment, right?" Leon's expression began to freeze.

"So, as a warrior with an official identity and the responsibility of venturing deep underground to eliminate demons, it's quite reasonable that after successfully closing the Hell Rift, he killed the demon that supported the entire underground structure, causing the magic to recede, right?" Leon looked thoughtful, considering how to argue his way out of this situation—or rather, how to escape before being sent to the gallows.

Theoretically speaking, as someone who eliminated the demon crisis, he should be treated as a hero, but the collateral damage... He glanced at the still sinking imperial capital complex; the collateral damage was a bit too great.

"Aren't you the same? Miss Livia is a witch, no one would doubt the destructive power of a witch, right?"

"It's precisely because no one doubts the destructive power of a witch that Lord Leon is the best candidate to take charge! Does the Holy City want to become the Holy Valley?" Roach said righteously.

Leon had to admit that what the arcane sorcerer said made a lot of sense. If he were the Pope, he would also choose to take the blame. After all, as Roach said, if all of this was really done by that witch, no one would doubt whether she had the ability. But precisely because no one doubted her ability, no one wanted their house to sink underground as well.

“However, you are an Arcane Mage, an Arcane Mage on the path of Rune Master,” Leon thought for a moment, “and you are not far from being a suspect. There are not many people who understand the origin and characteristics of Arcane Mages, but they are not nonexistent. Such a big matter cannot be left uninvestigated by the Empire.” In other words, Roach is also a qualified person to be caught and take the blame.

“Um, everyone, I have an idea,” Leslie raised her hand and said, “We can run away, I mean, let’s pretend we’re all dead underground.”

Leon's eyes lit up immediately, and Roach also thought it was a good idea. After all, no one would be harsh on a dead person, especially one who perished together with a demon lord or the forces of hell, even if the consequences were that severe.

On the contrary, they might become heroes, after all, turning a tragedy into a celebration is a required course for any political group: a group of heroes go deep underground, eliminate the great demon threatening the empire, and successfully close the rift. However, in order to drag the heroes and humanity down with them, the evil demon destroys the underground structure of the capital, causing the capital to sink.

Doesn't this sound much better than the Church and the Empire sending a group of people to eliminate the demons, only to almost wipe out the capital city in the process?

"So now there's a problem: we can run away, but what about you?"

“I’ll run away with you, or I’ll tell everyone!” Leon said to Roach. “I know you must have a plan to escape under assumed names when you came up with this proposal!”

Of course there is. The little witch's cabin is almost there. Then, sitting in the cabin and running back to the Living Forest or to other countries are both good options. Especially going back to the Living Forest, since no one will go to the Dangerous Realm to verify it—and they don't know where Roach and his friends came from.

“If you abandon me, I’ll expose you all.” Leon regained some strength and looked at the people in front of him. The witch had collapsed from exhaustion, Alessina didn’t even have a weapon in her hand, and there was a Mystic who had run out of runestones and a mermaid who wasn’t even a superhuman. They were not capable of silencing him.

Both sides fell silent, with only the howling wind and the rumbling of the city ground cracking and sinking in their ears.

"make a deal!"

"Write down the contract," Leon said expressionlessly, pulling a scroll from his pocket.

Why do you carry something like this with you?

"Have you ever worked in a church? I mean, the Church of Our Lord?"

"no"

"Did you serve in the Witcher Squad?"

"nor"

"Then you'll understand when you get there. These things must be in writing and witnessed by the Holy Lord, otherwise..." Otherwise, those bishops' speed in betraying their allies is unparalleled.

When you set off, they swear to you that everything is for the glory of the Lord. But when you kill the heretic who summons demons and discover that the other party is the offspring of a nobleman, they promptly sell you to those nobles to vent their anger. Having seen this kind of thing many times, Leon has learned to have someone sign a contract before each mission.

Of course, this also became the fundamental reason why he had to run away this time: because it was really written in black and white in the contract, and when they traced it back, they could see what his mission was, when he entered the lower levels of the capital, and then match the time... the culprit would be you!

Not to mention, he couldn't deny it. Even if he were to ask the Holy Lord for judgment, the questions would be: Were you present? Yes! Did you eliminate the demon? Yes! Was the collapse of the capital caused by eliminating the demon and closing the rift? Yes! Did you not consider the consequences of doing so? Of course.

Especially since Leon is seen by others as a reckless, ruthless hack-and-slasher, it's obvious who's to blame.

However, as Leslie said, as long as he dies down there, no one will blame the dead; on the contrary, he will be given considerable honor.

"Is your church all this chaotic? You need a contract to guarantee it?" Roach's scalp tingled as he looked at the huge stack of blank contract scrolls that Leon pulled out. Did they really have to pay for these things themselves? Those paladins who insisted on hunting demons were truly admirable!

"If it weren't for that, the Hell Warlocks and those Ember Cultists in this world would have been wiped out long ago." Leon said, "It's precisely because these people are so deeply entrenched in their connections with the nobility that they can't be eradicated!"

Chapter 373 Aftermath

As the evening glow spread across the horizon, a tiny black dot pierced through the clouds and swooped down toward the capital. A weary eagle shook its feathers as it swept across the eastern suburbs. The earthquake triggered by the collapse of the capital turned the dilapidated farmhouses in the villages into mounds of mud bricks and thatched graves.

Farmers sat around the village's threshing ground, still shaken, staring at the distant ruins of the mill. Broken windmill blades were stuck around it, and the leaning tower looked like a kneeling knight leaning on a broken sword.

"Master, Master, Master Gisano, the windmill has really fallen down!"

"Good heavens, can you come up with a different joke?!" The knight, nearing forty, braced himself against a fallen roof beam with one hand and pulled his sword from the rubble, which had been trapped under the manor wall, with the other.

Unlike a certain "knight" with the same name, this knight, also named Gisano, is the real deal. He was trained in the Crowned Knights and participated in the Orc War 14 years ago, which left him with a limp. As a result, the lord promoted him from an ordinary infantryman in the knightly order to a knight's squire.

Of course, given that the enormous expense of holding a knighthood ceremony exceeded the wealth of this small country gentleman, and that the number of official knights a lord could possess was limited, many so-called knights were actually still "squires." The imperial people usually referred to such people as "honorary knights," believing that they were no different from real knights.

"Bring me my horse! The country needs me now!" Sir Gisano pulled out his sword with force. It was a little deformed, but still usable. A servant next to him also pulled out a still-sharp spear from another collapsed house.