Witch Troupe and the Undead

Countless slaves were pulling huge stones, struggling to climb up the earthen slope, all to build a colossal statue that stood between the Luster Plain and the Xiaer Hills in the eastern province. This was the scene Angela had witnessed. To allow her to clearly see the beads of sweat sliding down the heads of every slave and every drop of blood soaking through the hemp ropes, Old Ma forcibly opened her eyelids.

“This is just… just a test from the Holy Lord.” Facing the slave’s corpse, which had rolled from the idol and shattered before her, Angela bit her lower lip hard. “They became slaves simply… simply because of fate. They committed original sin and had to atone for it.”

"Ah~ original sin~" Old Ma said meaningfully. Those great sin mages are professionals who study original sin. If those great sin mages had not lost their lineage, they would probably be overjoyed.

Then Old Ma began to embellish the truth with a little artistic flair, showing Angela how these slaves were turned from free people into slaves because they couldn't pay the church's tithes; how the church's priests and clergy used healing magic to prolong ordinary illnesses into serious ones, causing believers' families to go bankrupt; and how the arbitrator knights, who claimed to be upholding justice, took bribes, plundered believers' wealth, and reduced them to slavery.

Well, all of the above are artistic embellishments, but art also comes from life. Although Angela has never seen such an excessive scene in reality, the pastors' usual conversations do indeed have this tendency or more or less.

"Their original sin? Or your original sin? Or the original sin of your Holy Lord?" Old Ma glanced at the temple representing faith in the real dream. It had completely collapsed, indicating that the girl had actually completely severed her faith, but out of habit and escapism, she verbally refused to admit it.

If we continue to attack her, she will truly fall into depravity, becoming a blasphemous priest, or giving up entirely. We need to build a new belief for her.

"Angela! Angela! Wake up, what's wrong with you..." The girl opened her eyes, the blood-red demonic eyes completely faded, and golden pupils appeared on a silver-white background. Her long purple-black hair also turned into a brilliant silver-white, and silver-gray flames wrapped around her body.

"The curse on you has changed!"

“This is not a curse, but a test from the Holy Lord.” The girl knelt on one knee and prayed devoutly to the non-existent deity. “The people of the church have strayed from the Holy Lord’s teachings. They have turned the sacred church into a cesspool filled with dirty deals! Therefore, the Holy Lord has sent a test upon me who was so deluded. This power is no longer a curse, but a kind of… blessing.”

It is actually still the Nightmare Demon's Dream Flame, but the Dream Realm is a world that changes rapidly according to mental state and emotions, so its color... is adjustable.

Simply put, Old Ma gave this power a nice-looking skin, and then wrapped it with a layer of sacred aura that was generated when her faith collapsed, which served as the foundation of her extraordinary status as a clergyman. If she encountered a high-ranking clergyman of the church, she would be 100% exposed, but... as a trainee gatekeeper, she wouldn't have that possibility.

Besides, she now firmly believes that the church's higher-ups have been bewitched by the devil. Even if a bishop denounces her as a heretic, she will not believe him. Instead, she will accuse him of being a heretic who has deviated from the Holy Lord's doctrines.

Once an issue shifts from a debate about right or wrong to a dispute about who is a heretic, it inevitably degenerates into a pointless mudslinging match.

In a sense, Angela's silver "holy fire of repentance" can indeed produce the effect of "holy fire" on those priests. There's no other reason than that those guys, as mentioned before, are among the most easily tempted by demons.

The Dream Realm Fire is a power that primarily draws people into dreams and damages their spirits. Once they are hit, it's hard to say that the priests won't reveal their true colors, and then... that would further confirm the fact that the other party is the heretic.

Those ascetics and priests who agree with Angela's ideas often can't rise in rank. Well, there are exceptions, like fanatical believers or exorcists with unwavering beliefs—if you encounter such a person... well, the sooner they die, the sooner they're free. Old Ma isn't her babysitter.

"Finally solved. Next time, don't give power to these kinds of prayers randomly. I'm exhausted." Old Ma, who had been busy all night, finally got off work.

Chapter 55 Growth is Inevitable Between Acts

The cleanup of Deathwhisper Fortress took two whole months. During those two months, everyone involved didn't know how they got through it. Every time they opened their eyes, they were dealing with mountains of corpses, or streets and buildings riddled with holes from fire and magical bombardment.

The area around the fortress was filled with the fragrant aroma of roasted and smoked meat all day long, so much so that even Roach and his men drastically reduced their meat intake and switched to a vegetarian diet.

During the two months of clearing the fortress, Roach and his men also managed to slack off for two months. They relied on supplies brought by the merchants accompanying the army for food and occasionally made some alchemical products to exchange for money. They also added some exercise or training facilities in the courtyard.

Two chubby little hands gripped the metal bar tightly, their knuckles turning white from the excessive force. "Hey!" The girl used all her strength to pull herself up, her face puffing out involuntarily from the effort. It took her several seconds to peek half of her forehead out from the bar before she fell off.

"Huff~ Huff~" The horizontal bar, which was only a little over 1.5 meters high, with her feet only five or six centimeters off the ground, made Livia's breathing uneven. However, the training over the past two months seemed to have been effective. At least she was able to finish five pull-ups before sitting on the grass, panting heavily.

"I did it!" The little witch clenched her fists, her eyes shining brightly. She had finally done her sixth pull-up, which once again proved that her weak physique was purely a result of her "magical talent."

"Great!" Vivi took out a dry cloth and wiped the sweat off the little girl who was only wearing a vest and a short skirt. Whether it was due to her constitution or because she had been marinated in the magic potion, the sweet, rose-like fragrance on her body became particularly strong when she sweated.

After completing her training quota for the day, Livia beckoned to a small bag and summoned a bottle of white potion, which she gulped down. This was a new type of potion she had invented herself after feeling the hardship of training.

It is made by combining nutmeg, cloves, sugar, succulent vine, and bear fat into a cream-like or block-like substance, and using milk or spirits as a solvent. The latter is extremely effective in restoring physical strength, but it essentially depletes physical strength, leaving one even weaker afterward. The former, on the other hand, provides a continuous and slow recovery while also slightly accelerating the normal rate of physical strength recovery.

Furthermore, this group has been living off the profits from this new potion for the past few months. After all, the materials are very cheap, and this potion is practically a necessity for merchants, mercenaries, and adventurers who need to travel long distances.

After all, traveling an extra two kilometers each day could increase profits by at least 30%, and arriving at the trading post a day earlier than competitors could increase profit margins by at least 100%. In an era without railways or radio for the rapid transmission of commercial information and goods, the life of itinerant merchants was indeed arduous.

On the other side, Leslie and Roach were also training. Roach was practicing swordsmanship and doing basic physical exercises, while Leslie was practicing with a bow and arrow, because they were about to enter the Black Abyss Graveyard. The Little Witch had the protection of the Black Horse, but the rest of them would definitely not be protected by that horse.

Roach's alchemical equipment is unusable in most parts of the Black Abyss Graveyard. Apart from the thing that fires energy sword rain like a machine gun, alchemical bombs are absolutely unusable. Just kidding, using high-powered explosive weapons in an underground cemetery? How crazy would that be!?

“Master Roach, your stamina is a bit weak.” Rai’s brother stood beside him, holding a wooden sword wrapped in strips of cloth. With Roach and the Little Witch’s connections and status, they could easily ask those knights to help with the training, but… their physiques were too weak compared to normal kitchen knife-wielding professions in this other world, especially the Little Witch.

So, in the end, they found the adventurers, including Ray, who were just about to return the illusion necklace that Roach had lent them. As official adventurers, they also possessed a small amount of extraordinary martial arts skills and extraordinary physical abilities.

Furthermore, compared to the knights' military swordsmanship, the techniques these adventurers had developed and refined themselves might be more suitable for someone like Roach who lacked basic training and was essentially a self-taught individual.

"There's nothing I can do about it. It's just my natural physique. Besides, I'm an alchemist, so I don't need an extraordinary physique." An extraordinary physique can only be obtained by breaking through the limits of the body, with the help of magic potions or by having exceptional talent and being able to sense one's own life source and spiritual source. The difficulty and effects of the same extraordinary physique vary among different races.

Normal spellcasters never undergo extraordinary physical training. On the one hand, it makes them prone to sudden death, and on the other hand, it would prevent them from using spells that rely on mental and life essences. The price of losing two-thirds of their spell capacity is too high. Only a few races have professions like arcane knights who specialize in elemental essences while training extraordinary physical abilities. In any case, there are none among humans.

"You also have no foundation in swordsmanship, so what you need most right now is to build a solid foundation in swordsmanship." The basic stance, footwork, and power generation—their method for training this is to beat you up. If they find your posture is wrong, they'll hit you with a stick. Anyway, the little witch and Roach can make simple healing potions.

As for the little witch, her training focuses on basic physical fitness. Her current goal is to be able to run 200 meters at full speed in a straight line without collapsing. This is because in a normal adventure environment, 200 meters is the maximum battlefield boundary radius for each team. Simply put, as long as she can run 200 meters at full speed, she can jump onto that magnificent-looking black horse and run away.

Well, that's the opinion of adventurers like Lei. The truth is... as long as her stamina can hold out until she gets into the bunker, the rest is up to the Horse-Headed Demon.

“I know, bring it on!” Roach gripped the thorn sword with both hands, sweat dripping down his strong arm muscles. He needed to maintain this posture until he was completely used to the weight and center of gravity of the sword. The human body can self-regulate; when physical strength is about to be exhausted, the body will automatically seek the most energy-saving and comfortable posture.

By avoiding obvious incorrect postures and pushing himself to the limit time and time again, Roach can gradually get used to the sword and find the most effortless grip and the most comfortable way to exert force.

In the era before computers and mechanical calculations, learning swordsmanship relied solely on instinct, intuition, and experience to master skills and postures.

The swordsmanship that Brother Lei taught Roach was very simple, only the basic horizontal block, left and right diagonal block, and straight thrust. He didn't need to teach him slashing, after all, Roach was an alchemist and he was wielding a magic sword, so it was almost impossible for him to need to use brute force to slash.

A horizontal block is used to defend against heavy blows such as a head-slashing strike. A diagonal block to the left or right is used to deflect enemy slashes and thrusts, and can deal with almost all normal attacks. As for a thrust, it is used to pursue the enemy's opening.

Considering Roach's Thorn Sword's special effects, a straight thrust is the most effective attack method. When thrusting, the thorns will shoot forward, transforming into a thorn spear that can pierce through anything or bind the target. Furthermore, due to the rune sphere added by Roach, this thorn can also explode to increase its power.

"That's enough, you can rest now." It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky, and even the little witch had started to doze off, that Luo Qi finished his training for the day. His body was covered in sweat, and he had to wash it off with hot well water before he could catch his breath.

“Master Roach, I never expected you to be able to persevere.”

“Of course!” Roach wiped the water off his body with a dry cloth. “In this world, everything else is illusory. Only knowledge and physique are truly your own. What you learn is what you learn, and no one can take it away from you. A body forged through countless trials is also a power that belongs entirely to you.”

“But neither of these things is easy to obtain,” Lei laughed. She was in charge of tutoring Leslie in bow and crossbow practice.

"Where are your Angela and that chubby apothecary?" "Angela said she had to do some things, so we've separated for now." Lai and the others were prepared for this, after all, she was a proper gatekeeper and would eventually leave the group to return to the church to continue her advancement.

"As for that chubby kid, he went outside the city to collect herbs. We're planning to go on an adventure to the north, where there are very few herbs." The north is an arid grassland region, with few herbs of both quantity and variety. Moreover, many of them are magical plants that grow in dangerous areas. For apothecaries, these plants are too expensive, and the difficulty of preparing potions is too high, so they are simply not needed.

The area surrounding the Deathwhisper Fortress is located in the heart of the Luster Plains, with abundant deciduous broad-leaved forests and shrubs, as well as a few slightly undulating hills. This geographical environment and mild climate have brought abundant herb resources.

For example, madder root, thistle, arborvitae leaves, and stone flower stamens are used to prepare medicinal powders and ointments for removing blood stasis and stopping bleeding. There are also other exotic herbs, such as "sparrow seeds" and "charcoal leaves," which Luo Qi has never heard of before, used to prepare blood-activating and blood-warming medicines to cope with the arid and cold climate of the north.

Of course, apothecaries can also concoct simple potions. Therefore, some simple magical plants, such as flesh-transforming vines, are materials that need to be collected and prepared in large quantities.

Like Cordyceps sinensis, the flesh-transforming vine parasitizes the body of living organisms. When it blooms, it transforms the flesh of the organism into blood-red, cloud-like fungal clusters. When collecting it, special care must be taken to avoid contact with its spores.

The useful part is the part rooted in flesh and blood, which looks like fleshy vines. There are many of these potion plants around the Deathwhisper Fortress, since there is no shortage of corpses and flesh and blood here.

"Herbal medicine, we need quite a few herbal materials. We plan to explore the Black Abyss Cemetery later to collect some ancient alchemical knowledge."

“Then you’ll really need anti-necromantic herbs.” Lai was very familiar with this job. During the early stages of their team’s activities around Deathwhisper Fortress and Hearthstone, collecting these herbs was their main task. And these herbs do indeed grow in ancient tombs and crypts, so it’s inevitable that there are undead creatures or shadow monsters lurking around them.

"Perfect timing, we have a little time before we set off. Do you need any assistance?"

"No need, we have enough medicinal herbs in this area." This is all thanks to Old Ma who specially went back and brought back a batch of high-grade goods from the Living Forest. Unfortunately, Old Ma's Dream Jump can only be used by himself and cannot be used to bring others. Otherwise, Luo Qi and the others would have saved a lot of travel time along the way.

"That's a pity," Lei said regretfully. However, although the commission for this auxiliary training wasn't very lucrative, it was still good to build a good relationship with these advanced professionals.

"May I ask, where in the north are you planning to go on your adventure?" Vivi suddenly asked. "Probably around the Lost Royal City, I heard there's been some trouble there lately," Lai said. There was no point in hiding it; these were the only areas available for adventure and exploration, where else could they go? To the border fortress and fight orcs to the death?

"When to set off?"

"Let's wait until next month when the fortress's security is lifted."

"Isn't winter coming soon? Going north in winter?" Roach asked, somewhat surprised.

"That godforsaken place in the north is only relatively safe in winter. It's too dangerous to go through this season. This is the season when the Orc Alliance invades. On the contrary, when winter really comes, they don't move around much." The Orcs' strong physique brings extremely high basic energy consumption. If they still have to move around in the winter when food is scarce, the food consumption will be enough to starve them all to death in the cold winter.

Therefore, like bears, orcs will actively reduce their energy consumption in winter. Only orc nobles and warriors can be active during this season, while commoners and slaves will enter a low-energy semi-hibernation state.

Besides plundering resources, the main purpose of orcs attacking humans in the autumn is to give humans something to do, preventing them from having the time and resources to attack them in winter, when the orcs' defenses become very weak.

"I see. So they probably didn't invent any heating devices? Otherwise..."

“Even if they do, they don’t move around much in winter, and there’s not enough food,” Lai shook her head. That’s how her team lives. In the summer and autumn, they fight undead, gather herbs, and escort caravans on the plains. In the spring and winter, they are active in the northern provinces, collecting minerals, defending against monster invasions, exploring ruins, and protecting logging teams, etc.

The so-called adventurer's life is not romantic at all. They travel around, have no fixed abode, and the money they earn either ends up in the hands of innkeepers or goes to various equipment shops and pharmacies. Less than one-fifth of the newcomers can make a name for themselves like Lai and her friends.

"By the way, speaking of which, I heard that some border villages in the north have been attacked by goblins. We're planning to go check it out too."

"Goblin!?" Images of green, pointy-nosed dwarfs and some R-rated things flashed through Roach's mind.

“Yes, Master Roach, don’t underestimate goblins. They’re not monsters, but a legitimate intelligent race. There’s even a Goblin Guild in the kingdom.” Then, the R-rated image in Master Roach’s mind disappeared, replaced by “Time is money, my friend!” and the image of a small green dwarf with a cane and a monocle.

"So, the goblin attacks are a bit strange. I remember those savage goblins went extinct about ten years ago." Because the first targets of those "civilized" goblins were their own less civilized kin. Just like humans, when faced with the airships and magic swords of the Goblin Trade Federation, those wild goblins who still lived in cave dwellings and used scrap metal had long since become extinct.

One of the races mentioned earlier that practice both magic and martial arts is the goblin. Their magic swordsmen are very famous, but this is also because of their physique. If they don't use life and spirit essence to strengthen themselves, they really can't make a name for themselves on the continent.

The so-called dual cultivation of magic and martial arts is just a nice-sounding name. They mainly rely on their unique extraordinary skills that combine elemental magic swords with arcane spells. In a real fight... even if they have extraordinary physiques, they are only equivalent to the physical level of a normal human militiaman, and the better ones can reach the level of some knight squires.

Of course, compared to their kin wielding cleavers... that's a case of being outmatched, which is why Lai was so curious as to why the northern border villages were being attacked by these wild goblins.

"I suggest you be careful. If the other side is an intelligent species, they will definitely use tactics and all sorts of despicable methods," Roach warned.

"Don't worry, we're not newbies anymore," Lai waved her hand. Only novice adventurers would treat those monsters as training ground targets that wouldn't fight back, while these experienced, official adventurers would be fully armed even when cleaning up rotting giant rats in the sewers—don't think this job is easy, the adventurers in the dead sewers are second only to those in the dead ruins.

Even the main cause of death was not being killed by monsters, but being bitten and suffering from a severe infection of the wound. The few copper coins they earned were not enough to buy herbal medicine for treatment, so they could only lie in bed waiting to be taken away by fever (inflammation and high fever) or by the rotting of the wound.

"Master Narochi, when do you plan to depart?"

"Let's set off once we're ready. After all, with Livia's current physical condition, I suspect we'll need to set up camp and rest after walking for only a few tens of minutes."

"Then I estimate you'll have to wait until next year. Miss Livia's foundation is too weak. Even those noble ladies aren't this frail."

"Sigh~ yeah~" Roach sighed. This girl was truly a representative of frail physique, perfectly matching his preconceived notion of a "mage." On the contrary, the life arcane mages in Deathwhisper Fortress who could run horses on their fists didn't fit the image of a mage at all.

These guys take off their clothes, revealing their muscular physiques. Their daily routine for using magic involves buffing themselves with various enhancements, and finally using "Potential Awakening" to convert their spiritual essence into life essence. They then use the life essence to gain superhuman strength and physique. In this mode, the muscles on their backs can even form a "furious Buddha face."

Just like the fighters who came out of Baki, they could smash a skeletal behemoth into a pile of bone fragments with just two punches. When Roach first saw them, he thought they were "fighting monks". In fact, they fought just like the fighting monks. They had many "spells" like the Shocking Fist that manipulated the enemy's life force to destroy the enemy's body from the inside.

However, these spells are all contact spells. Instead of touching them with your hands, you might as well use your fists to smash them, causing both magical and physical damage. This can be considered a kind of dual cultivation of magic and martial arts in another sense.

Chapter Fifty-Six: Embarking on an Adventure

The passage from Deathwhisper Fortress to Black Abyss Cemetery is narrow, with only a three-person-wide staircase descending along the rock wall. This means that Livia and her companions can go down with the black horse, but not in a carriage.

Therefore, before setting off, Roach and Leslie had to purchase enough items and luggage necessary for the adventure. Even though the little witch didn't need to buy potions and various healing and support items, other items still needed to be prepared.

“First of all, there are the lamps. Ordinary magic crystal lamps aren’t very effective in the graveyard,” Leslie said, leading everyone through the reopened general store inside the fortress, browsing the various lamps. “For adventurers, lamps are second only to healing potions.”

Creatures with natural dark vision are rare in this world, and for adventurers, a durable lamp with stable light is very important.

Since Roach, Little Witch, and Vivi all had virtually no adventure experience, and Black Horse didn't even know what "adventure equipment" meant, he said, "I fought my way from the first to the sixth level of the abyss with just my bare fists," before being punished by the lord who was decked out in luxurious equipment.

Therefore, Leslie had to explain to the curious little witch and Roach what these seemingly similar lamps and miscellaneous items were for.

"This is a waist lamp; we all need one except for Titania." It's a strip lamp about two fingers wide that can be hung at the waist, using an alchemical fluorescent agent as its light source.

"This is an emergency light. We rely on this for illumination when our torches, campfires, lanterns, and other lights are damaged or used up. It's also a tool for locating friendly forces in the dark underground tombs." Otherwise, in that kind of darkness, no one would know whether the arrows or magic hit their own people or the enemy.

The light from this lamp is relatively weak, but it is enough to illuminate an adventurer's entire body and nearby enemies. In areas that are too dark, it can also avoid excessive contrast, which would make it difficult to spot dangers in the shadows.

"Then there is the kerosene lamp." This is an oil lamp with a long lamp post that can be adjusted in brightness. The lamp post can be extended or shortened and can be fixed to a saddle or a backpack for use as team lighting.

"Finally, there is the bell lamp." This is a lamp that hangs on a staff or long-handled weapon. It is light and flexible and can be charged with essence or arcane magic. It is suitable for spellcasters. It is shaped like a bell about the size of a fist. Compared with the other two lamps with simple shapes, the bell lamp has a rich variety of shapes.

“Young lady, you have excellent taste. This is the best bell in our shop.” The little witch picked out a bright yellow bell shaped like a lily. “How much?” Roach clutched his wallet and looked warily at the shop owner with a friendly smile.

"A gold coin."

"So expensive!?"

"What are you saying? These bells are magical artifacts. The ones over there that use lamp oil only cost a small silver coin. Would you like one?" The heavy, square lamp made of black iron looked very rough.

"Adventure equipment is very expensive. After all, adventurers risk their lives for money, so they're willing to spend a lot of money on it," Leslie explained. "While this price is a bit high, it's still within the normal range."

"Miss is indeed a knowledgeable person. How about 10 silver coins?"

Large silver coins refer to the silver coins minted by the Alchemy Society, while small silver coins are those minted by various lords. There are some tricks involved in the exchange rate, but adventurers rarely put in the effort to study this aspect. Moreover, even professional merchants find it difficult to accurately calculate whether the profit or loss is real.

Therefore, most of them chose a simpler approach: to factor the risk of currency exchange into the price of goods. As a result, the price of goods would increase exponentially as the distance of the trade increased, not only because of the costs of the journey, but also because of the costs of being far from the familiar monetary system.

In the worst-case scenario, whether it was a gold coin or a silver coin, its face value was calculated based on only 60% of the price of its equivalent weight in gold or silver, to prevent the transnational trade from resulting in losses instead of profits.

"That's about the normal price." You can exchange 12 large silver coins for one gold coin anywhere, but whether you can get one with 10 large silver coins depends on the type of gold coin you're looking for and how strong its value is.

The bell came with a slender, delicate silver chain, decorated with small, leaf-shaped silver pieces, like a fine piece of jewelry. Livia happily hung it on her cane, swinging it back and forth curiously, her large emerald eyes narrowing with delight.

"Then there's the dry rations. For this part, we have... well, a lot of snacks, so we only need to purchase the necessary items."

The general store also sells dry food. Thanks to the development of alchemy, this world already has canned food. However, the material of the cans is not the tinplate that Roach is familiar with, but a wonderful magical alloy that alchemists discovered when trying to refine silver from tin. It has a strong antibacterial effect, and because the raw materials are tin and a small amount of magical dust sand, a kind of arcane crystal, the price is also very cheap.

Well, this cheapness only applies to adventurers. As military rations and daily food reserves, it's still quite expensive. Therefore, most of what the general store prepares are canned meats, while more expensive canned fruits in syrup are scarce.

"Two dozen cans of salmon, one dozen cans of stewed meat, two cans of candied peaches, hmm..." The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment before calculating, "The canned fish is 30 copper coins, no black copper coins, you can have two copper fish; the canned stewed meat is 45 copper coins, and each can of candied peaches is 5 silver coins..."

There are seven gold coins in total.

“Wait, this isn’t right…” Luo Qi was about to object, but according to the official exchange rate, it should only be 6.25 gold coins.