Witch Troupe and the Undead

"We've wasted so much time, almost died down there, and now you're telling me we have no loot?!" Leslie was furious. Maybe Roach, who was practically immortal, wasn't afraid, Livia had Old Horse protecting her and escaped unscathed, and Leon and Alessina were skilled and daring, but she was the real team slacker. This adventure was like walking a tightrope the whole time for her!

Especially at the end with the Eternal Night King, do you know how much courage and eloquence she mustered in her entire life to buy the young lady time to observe the seal and prepare the teleportation spell? Do you know how much mental preparation it took to mock a conceited and arrogant tyrant who could crush her with a mere pinky finger, and how much mental damage it caused her?

And then you tell her, "I'm sorry, due to force majeure, there's no compensation whatsoever!"

“Then go and get it yourself. I don’t think anyone here can stop you from taking the last penny from these poor people’s pockets. I don’t mind. Or rather, if you can dig something out of the ruins, that’s fine too. After all, there are too many dead people, and many things are now ownerless.”

Leslie was immediately stumped. First of all, robbing these unlucky guys would not only be too much for her conscience to bear, but she also wouldn't be able to get many coins.

The incident happened in the middle of the night. It's a miracle that these refugees remembered to take their clothes when they fled. How could you expect them to remember to take their money bags from home?

Digging up the ruins... that's a good idea, after all, it's not just the poor who died. The managers of the merchant guilds and the wealthy craftsmen may also be dead, and all their valuables are now ownerless. This town used to be quite wealthy, so we might actually be able to dig up a lot of money chests.

The problem is that this is also a bit against one's conscience, and the amount of work is too large. If it were just the collapsed ruins themselves, it would be easier to deal with, as most of them are made of wood or a mixture of wood and brick, and the cleanup would not be particularly difficult. However, the remains of the demonic trees pressed on the ruins are a different story. If the other party has stuffed the wealth into the basement, the situation will be even more difficult to manage.

"Then let's dig through the ruins!" Alessina declared that he was a beastman, not a human, and therefore devoid of humanity and conscience.

“Speaking of clearing the ruins…” Roach’s eyes lit up, but before he could say anything, Leon covered his mouth. “It’s already bad enough here, don’t make things worse.”

While his explosive powder is indeed excellent at clearing rubble, it also blows up all the recyclable materials and property. Doesn't he know how much explosive powder is and how sensitive it is? He himself has been blown to pieces several times!

"Alright, since you've all decided, I won't stop you. As long as it's an unclaimed ruin, you can dig it up and take whatever you want from it." The mayor thought for a moment and didn't say anything more. Even if the merchants asked, just say that it was dug up and taken away by passing adventurers. If they had any questions, they could go find those adventurers. If they asked why he didn't stop them, they could ask the merchants instead. With just a few wounded new recruits, how could they possibly stop the adventurers who could kill the source of the rock?

Clearing the ruins was indeed a huge undertaking for Roach and his friends, but as long as Livia didn't object and no one stopped Roach from using his "special gadgets," it was much easier than for people in other towns.

Large chunks of the demon tree's remains floated up out of thin air. Livia's staff guided the large rock to fall to the side, revealing broken rubble, stones, and wood underneath. Then, Livia put a rope around the old horse's neck, patted his head, and gave the command, "Pull!"

The horse-shaped demon, utterly dejected, stomped its hooves, pulling the large iron signboard behind it out as if it were a small wooden plank rather than the signboard of the Forging Hammer Merchant Guild. The signboard crashed onto the ground, and without its support, a large amount of bricks and rubble rolled out, which Lulua then kicked aside one by one.

It took an entire afternoon to clear out the ruins of the chamber of commerce. The messy ledgers were left for the mayor to keep, and Leon was responsible for burning the bodies that had been crushed to death rather than turned into rocks one by one with holy flames, which could be considered a form of salvation.

As for the Chamber of Commerce's safe, Leslie volunteered to unlock it, and the result was—"Get away from here!" Roach mixed the contents of several test tubes into a gel, applied it around the edge of the safe, and then stuffed it into a pit with the door facing upwards.

"Sizzle!" After a fierce spark, there was a deafening roar, "Bang!" The shattered cabinet door flew at least five or six meters high.

"Tsk, too much..." He originally thought it was a thermoelectric cutting reaction similar to thermite, but this was the result. It should be that too much water essence, which is used as a gel material, was added, causing the water and fire elements to annihilate and create a magic explosion effect, rather than the normal high-temperature cutting effect based on wind and fire elements.

“Master Roach!” Leslie crept closer and whispered, pulling Roach aside, “I have a brilliant plan, you…”

“This amount of explosives won’t blow up the bank vault. We need something bigger. Would you be willing to set it on fire?” Leslie’s excited expression vanished instantly. She then added, “If I can get the money but not live to spend it, then forget it.”

Roach could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression. What he didn't say was that bank vaults are full of physical currency, and the amount is actually not that much, at least not at many branches, unless it's a real large vault in the city. And much of the gold and silver inside is melted down into very heavy blocks that you might not even be able to move.

"By the way, the cost of this material is 1 gold coin per 10 grams. Considering the amount needed to blow up the vault, I don't think we'll necessarily break even," Roach said, shrugging. Actually, blowing up this safe was already a loss, but he didn't want to carry these things around for too long. Ideally, he'd use them up before setting off and then use them to solve this problem. Besides, wasn't this all because you volunteered to unlock it and ended up breaking the lock?

Inside the safe were three money pouches. The smallest contained gold coins, less than 20 of which were emptied out. The largest contained silver coins, about 300 of which were emptied out. The next largest contained copper coins, about 200 of which were emptied out. For a trading point of a chamber of commerce, this amount was indeed a normal amount of working capital and payment for goods.

Silver coins were used most frequently in trade settlements, followed by copper coins, while gold coins were generally used for large transactions. When a large amount of gold coins was needed, a "receipt" was used. The owner of the goods would take the receipt to the headquarters of the chamber of commerce in a large city to exchange it for gold coins or equivalent currency. It was equivalent to a small-scale delivery card or substitute paper money.

There are very few times when a large amount of physical gold coins are needed for settlement. The amount promised by the mayor is all the funds the town has available, including the retained taxes. It is estimated that when it comes to payment, a significant portion will be offset by gems or gold.

"Keep digging!" The subsequent digging process wasted two more days of Roach's time, and the results were barely enough to make the trip worthwhile.

"Six black iron ingots and over 300 pounds of black iron ore; one star silver ingot and three pieces of star silver ore; two copper ingots and over 100 pounds of copper ore. Smelting this stuff will take a lot of work. As for the black iron, the dwarf agreed to help smelt it, but the young lady needs to help preheat the furnace."

As for Star Silver, Livia would have to handle it herself, but the Star Silver ingots refined from 3 pieces of Star Silver ore are really measured in grams. This amount is too small, and it's almost impossible to build a furnace and alchemy ritual site specifically for it.

Generally, star silver smelting is mixed with silver refining. That is, star silver ore and silver ore are thrown together, and it is extracted incidentally during the silver refining process. It is considered an "impurity" component in the secret smelting process. Luo Qi understands it as similar to the anode mud in the electrolytic aluminum industry. If you were to specifically refine this stuff, the cost would be astronomical. It can only be refined incidentally during large-scale aluminum manufacturing.

How large is the gap between supply and demand?

“Here you go~” Roach handed over the list, on which several requirements were crossed out. However, the list was almost two feet long, with more than ten thousand words crammed together, making the crossed-out items almost invisible.

"Why so many?"

"..."

“Because now, besides reforging the divine sword, we also need to get this guy a set of armor, as well as Alessina’s weapons, the ammunition I’ve used, and the potions Livia has used. Speaking of potions, Leon, do you have any savings? The cost price of that three-in-one potion and healing potion was 270 gold coins and 120 gold coins respectively. Pay for it when you have time. If you don’t have money, go help get the materials.”

Roach slapped a bill onto Leon's head. "As for the armor, you'd better pay for it yourself. I'll only waive the labor fee. If you want to charge for the materials, you'll have to figure out how to get them yourself. The bill is right here." Leon's face immediately turned green.

"You have to pay for that medicine?!"

"I can refuse payment, but I'll definitely charge you for reforging your armor... And even if I don't charge you, if you don't want to be lying on the ground groaning next time, you'll have to help me get the materials."

"I'd rather groan on the ground," Leon muttered. The dark, deep smell and the torture-like healing process made him want to stay in bed for half a month. But despite saying that, he still obediently accepted the bill and the list of materials. He knew that the potion that could heal all internal injuries in seconds was worth the price, and compared to his life, the side effects were completely acceptable.

(A little knowledge about precious metals and currency: A 50-gram gold coin has a greater value and purchasing power than 50 grams of gold. This is because the exquisite craftsmanship of the coin and the credibility of the regime behind it provide a guarantee of its transaction value. So don't ask what the difference is between using gold as collateral and using gold coins. The difference is that you will lose a seigniorage tax. This is also why, in the era of physical currency, merchants and nobles were keen on privately minting coins—of course, this is on the premise that the gold coin is of good quality. If the gold content of the coin is low, this premise does not hold.)

Chapter 409 The Value of a Sage!

As Roach and his group set off, a large group of people appeared behind them without them noticing. The survivors carried luggage and pushed carts, following behind Roach's mobile hut.

"What are you..."

"Moving, huh?" Rusty Beard said calmly. "This place is about to collapse, what's the point of staying here? We have to move."

The empire's restrictions on the personal freedom of its inhabitants are not as strong as they used to be, but moving from one place to another, especially a complete relocation, remains extremely difficult.

However, apart from the miners, the rest of the people here are either blacksmiths or carpenters. As a class of artisans, there are still quite a few lords who are willing to accept them, and their numbers are not large.

According to statistics, only a little over a hundred people survived. About 30% of them were blacksmiths and blacksmith apprentices, about half of whom were carpenters and other craftsmen apprentices, along with a small number of miners and a few guards.

However, to move away from Baron Whitebeard, they would need a strong guarantor or an intermediary. Without a doubt, a witch would be the best choice; they would simply need to appear as her followers.

The little witch had no objection to this; she focused on drawing new armor designs and scribbling on Roach's previous materials list.

After Roach and his companions emerged from the valley and hills, they were greeted by a vast plain. The strip-shaped fields were divided into regular long strips by roads and fences, interspersed with sparse woods and scattered thatched huts. Further away, a hill rose abruptly from the plain, with a stone castle atop it that looked quite historical.

“Brentarburg, their distilled ale is famous, and their wheat is also quite good…” Leon thought for a long time and then spread his hands. “These are the only characteristics I can think of.” Like most towns in the Empire, it has little presence and is the kind of place you can see anywhere on the main road.

An ancient castle sits high above the vineyards on the hillside, the vegetable fields and herb gardens at the foot of the mountain, and then there are neatly divided strips of farmland and a small town with a wooden fence.

The only place that was slightly more recognizable than other places of this kind was the large windmill with three windmills of different heights located on the outskirts of the town. Leon only remembered that the wine there was good, and other than that, he had no recollection of it, not even who the local lord or steward was.

"From here, it'll take another day or so to reach Silver Maple City. We can rest here for a while. As for the people following us..." Well, we can only hope that the local lord is a good person, but considering the preciousness of the imperial nobles, that possibility is not very high.

Under the cover of an invisible barrier, the witch's hut went unnoticed, except for the enormous footprints left in the wasteland and on the road, which quickly healed themselves as if they had never existed. At the crossroads before entering the territory, Roach found the mayor of the mining town and asked them what their plans were.

"Lord Groit is a kind-hearted man, and I don't think he would mind providing us with shelter."

"Kind-hearted?" Roach chuckled. Kind-hearted nobles might indeed exist, but if they were to shelter so many people and potentially cause conflict with neighboring territories, then even the kindest noble would have to consider the consequences of their good deeds.

“Many of us here are blacksmiths, but Lord Groit’s family has fallen on hard times due to some unforeseen events, and even his armor is patched up.” The mayor emphasized the words “fallen on hard times” and “blacksmiths,” and Roach understood what he meant.

The other party is likely a rather conservative and upright nobleman, which means he will have a certain degree of compassion. The key point is that these people are of sufficient value, especially for a nobleman whose family has fallen on hard times.

"However, as far as I know, the number of blacksmiths a territory needs is limited unless war breaks out." Because small territories and villages simply cannot afford to support blacksmiths, he and his two assistants can finish a year's worth of work in a month, and the income for the rest of the time is simply not enough to make a living.

Therefore, to have so many blacksmiths, either a war was about to break out and there was a need to forge and maintain a large number of weapons and armor, or there were iron mines in the area where iron was smelted on the spot to produce high-value metal ingots for profit.

Brentaburg was clearly neither a populous city nor a place with abundant iron ore deposits, so supporting these people...

“Master, it’s only a day’s journey from here to Silver Maple City,” the town mayor reminded him. Luo Qi nodded slightly. Then there was no problem. It was just a matter of finding temporary shelter and then heading to Silver Maple City to find work. It was indeed a good choice. Even if we take a step back, the nearby big city and the geographical location on the trade route could also serve as a source of livelihood for blacksmiths.

As for the sudden drop in income, that's unavoidable, since it's completely different from the previous situation where people were rich.

"What about that Baron Whitebeak?" He'll definitely not tolerate losing a mine and having so many of his people flee.

"That sir who only knows how to chatter and yell, by the time he realizes it, it will be too late," the mayor mocked. Besides, it's not news that nobles go bankrupt due to such sudden changes, and mine collapses and depletions are common occurrences. As for the people fleeing, that's another story.

The empire no longer allows nobles to hang fleeing subjects. Or, to be more precise, officially, the concept of personal dependence of subjects no longer exists. Of course, this is the law and what is actually done is another matter.

The witch's hut stopped at the crossroads, and Roach and his companions needed to buy some food and gather herbs to make potions.

Livia doesn't generally need many high-level magical plants for making potions. Even if she did, the ones cultivated in her greenhouse and herb garden would be enough. The main consumption is of low-level plants and common herbs, which also includes the daily training needs of Alessina and Leon.

You can't expect the bruises from a wooden sword during training to be treated with those high-end items from the witch's room shelves, can you? So, a regular, non-magical herbal ointment is the best option.

"Herbal remedy (hemostatic herb), plantain, lard or goose fat..." Roach looked at the list of ingredients Leon handed him with some surprise. "Are you making a pain relief ointment?"

This is a common type of base ointment on Earth, also known as "horse oil." It has a mild effect and is mainly used for common sprains and bruises. Leon then added St. John's wort extract and apple blossom chamomile to this base. It has a strong aroma and moderate efficacy, and can only be used for minor abrasions, burns, and bruises.

“That’s right. I’ve thought about it. Princess Livia’s potions are indeed very effective, but the cost is just too high.”

"You're not talking about the cost, are you?" Roach laughed. Was he driven mad by the terrifying, "dark" and "deep" smell of Livia's "ultimate healing potion," and the itching that caused his internal organs and muscles to heal rapidly? The cost wasn't actually a big problem, because this ultimate healing potion didn't use any expensive materials. The main cost was on the young lady's labor.

The real problem is that if Leon were to treat even the smallest wound like this, he would probably be driven mad within three days at most. And those potent, slow-acting, and palatable potions would be incredibly expensive.

In addition, Leon also provided several special potion recipes commonly used by paladins, such as "Spiritfire Ointment," a type of potion for treating supernatural frostbite, which is the kind of unnatural frostbite caused by being hit by withering spells or being possessed by evil spirits. Livia was quite interested in this, but it also made the collection slips longer.

"Ideally, there should be an alchemy shop in town. If not, I'll have to go to Silver Maple City to buy them. I don't think we need these things urgently, right?" This was Luo Qi's first thought after looking at the pile of recipes. The quantities were not large, but the types were too complicated, and most of them were common herbs. He could basically buy them all by finding an alchemy shop, and none of them were very valuable.

Brentaburg doesn't have a large population, with only about one or two hundred households in the town, but the facilities are quite complete. Roach easily found the alchemy shop. Although it was just a small shop, the drowsy shopkeeper thought he was there to cause trouble when he saw him come in, until he saw the badge of the academy's alchemy professor and instantly woke up.

"Master, what do you need?"

"Oh, these herbs, plus some moonflower petals and two ounces of molten crystal powder."

"Huh?" The shopkeeper was taken aback, quickly scanning the contents of the note. These herbs together weren't even worth 5 silver coins. Moonlight petals were a bit more expensive, but molten crystal powder? "Sorry, Master, I don't have molten crystal powder here, but would you like some flame stones?"

“Oh, I’ve tried that, it’s even more unstable.” Roach shook his head. Molten crystal powder is much more stable, but of course it’s also much more expensive and rarer. If you use Huayan Stone… well, if you shake it even slightly, it will shatter everywhere.

“Well, that’s all the herbs I have here. I also only have less than an ounce of moonflower petals.” The other party carefully examined the list again. “If you want to make something like horse oil, I have a high-quality finished product here, you…” Wouldn’t an alchemy master need to personally make such a potion that even veterans in the army can make?

"Oh, this is for someone else. This is the list that Miss and I need, but I guess you don't have it here." The low-level potion plants that Livia needs are all obscure, and the ones that Roach needs are even more obscure. They are not high-level, but they are the kind that normal alchemists would never collect or use.

For example, there are snakeberry and frogskin grass, two magical plants that grow on riverbanks and wetlands. The former has hallucinogenic properties and is generally used to make poisons. Reputable alchemy shops rarely stock it, and for the average herb gatherer, these bright red berries are difficult to distinguish from normal snakeberries.

Frog skin grass is even more obscure. The shop owner exhausted all his knowledge and could only think of "bee venom medicine," an obscure item. Apart from honey collectors, it is basically useless because its only function is to relieve the redness and itching caused by bee venom.

"I have some frog skin grass, but I definitely don't have snakeberry or stork claw. However, you can try asking at the shop run by the Earth Church in town; they might have some in stock."

Brentaburg doesn't have the church of the Holy Lord of Light that's common in the Empire, but it does have a sanctuary of the Church of the Earth. Because it's right outside the crossroads, those open-air statues and altars are their sanctuary, while inside the town, there are shops run by the Church of the Earth.

After all, these earth pilgrims also need to eat. It is normal for them to exchange the produce of the earth, such as herbs, berries and mountain products, for necessary supplies. Moreover, because they have the blessing and divine power of the goddess, they are usually able to collect and distinguish some high-grade goods that are difficult for ordinary people to obtain.

Stork Claw is a magically infected geranium whose stamens can suppress most common curse effects, so you should be able to get it from the church. As for Sleeping Strawberry, if the Earth Church's shop doesn't have it, then you'll really have to go digging in the wetland mud on the riverbank yourself.

"As for crow beans, I have plenty here... I'm curious, Master, what do you need this for?" This was the shopkeeper's biggest question. Crow beans, you say they are potion plants? Yes, the alchemical community all believe they are.

Because a slight magical reaction was indeed detected, but if you were to say that it is truly a magical potion plant, eleven out of ten alchemists would turn green with envy—because its greatest and only use is to treat bloating in pigs.

"Don't ask me, I don't know either," Roach said, indicating that he wasn't a potions master and that this question shouldn't be asked. "Alright, here are the herbs you requested." The other party didn't press further. To be honest, his question was quite rude, but thankfully the master had a good temper and didn't hold it against him.

"Speaking of which, Miss, what do you want, dried crow beans? And frog skin grass?" As soon as they stepped outside, Luo Qi grabbed the little witch and asked her. She hesitated for a moment, but still explained to him in a soft voice, "Um, to stop the itching."

Because everyone has complained several times that her treatment is really irritating, she's going to try to solve the itching problem. Frog skin grass can effectively relieve itching, but it requires special treatment.

“Crow beans…” The little witch thought for a moment, “Compost, huh?” She looked puzzled. “Soak them in alcohol, grind them, and then ferment them. They can be used in herb gardens and greenhouses… Hmm? Don’t you usually take care of your potions?” Livia looked surprised.

"Usually it's the bull-headed one who takes care of it. Ah, so magical plants need fertilizer too?" Roach thought they only needed the witch's magic to nourish them.

"..." The little witch gave her a look as if she were looking at a silly child. How could she not fertilize? If she didn't fertilize, with the way you guys keep coming back with injuries, the potions in the greenhouse would be drained in no time.

"Sigh~" Livia sighed, revealing the expression of a mother with a bunch of naughty children at home, the kind of expression that sighs when her clothes are dirty, torn, and covered in small injuries.

"Over here, over here!" While Leslie went to buy groceries, she also ordered food for everyone. Although Alessina usually cooked, after what had happened before, everyone felt that they needed to find a place to have a big meal to feel like they had just finished their adventure. It would feel a bit unfair to let Alessina cook again.

"By the fire... what's that?"

"Hitching post," Leon said, looking at the badly worn sign. "Well, I guess this is it." It was a rather large inn, clearly serving as both lodging and catering for business travelers.

Since Roach and his group were not only numerous but also did not appear to be ordinary travelers, the short, plump landlady of the inn made room for them to put two clean tables next to the fireplace together.

The other merchants and travelers had no objections—the witch's staff alone proved she was a spellcaster. It was definitely not a wise move to provoke a spellcaster you didn't know well while traveling. Even the town's drunkards quietly paid their bills and ran away.

“There won’t be anything good here, so don’t get your hopes up too high,” Leon pushed the ceramic plate on the table to the center. It was a common local cold dish, with vegetables marinated in minced garlic and ginger, turnip slices, lettuce, and a few wild berries. The taste could only be described as “you can taste the original flavor of the vegetables and berries”—meaning that very little garlic and ginger were used, and you could even taste the earthy flavor of the turnip.

Apart from Roach, everyone else was quite accepting of it, but Roach mainly couldn't stand the taste of turnips.

The goat cheese pie that followed also made Roach's expression contort. Only Leon could still swallow the goat cheese with relish. The meatballs, on the other hand, were quite good. They were made with minced pork, hummus, and seasoned with minced ginger and garlic. They tasted a bit like braised lion's head meatballs.

Then came the main dish, a slow-cooked stew of river fish, diced pork, and chickpeas. The broth was made from pork bones and seasoned with bay leaves. There was even a spoonful of condensed milk for thickening. It was quite a substantial dish and received only lukewarm praise from everyone.

"Alright, guys, I have something important to say. After we pass through Silver Maple City, we'll be going through Gray Mill Valley, where..."

Is this your home?

"To be precise, it's my sister's house; she got married." Although she was only a teenager when she got married, in this era and in this world, it's perfectly normal for teenagers to start families, especially since Leon said that there are many people in the family, so it's undoubtedly very common for the second daughter to get married as early as possible.

"And she couldn't possibly know that I faked my death to claim the pension." Because married daughters are not entitled to a share of this money, her uncles and brothers wouldn't tell her, and of course, the church wouldn't notify her either.

"So, she doesn't know anything about me; she only knows that I'm in the church, a knight stationed there."

"Knight? Aren't you the Knight Commander?"

"..." Everyone looked at the mermaid as if she were an idiot, feeling that since she returned to the surface, her stupidity had taken over again. Are mermaids creatures whose intelligence decreases with altitude?

"Of course it's because I haven't been in contact with her for a while, and she can't find out anything about me," Leon said matter-of-factly, then looked at everyone with a hint of pleading. "Don't tell her too much about the capital or about me. Let her still remember me as just an ordinary knight guarding the church."

"Do you have a good relationship?"

“Hmm,” Leon nodded. “Besides, if I remember correctly, she should have a child. You should not talk about these things, especially about the capital.”

"But, this can't be kept secret, can it? Her family suddenly had a large sum of money and moved away. She couldn't possibly not notice something, and her family couldn't possibly not inform her at all. At least, they would do so after a while."