Witch Troupe and the Undead

The actual structure of hell is closer to a series of spirals. The closer you are to the center of the spiral, the closer you are to the annihilation of all things. Souls, matter, spacetime, and anything else are completely returned to their original state here.

In the legends of Hell, the core of the Ruins of Return is the source of all destruction and the foundation of creation. Demons believe that a new universe is being conceived at the core of the Ruins of Return. When everything in Hell is absorbed into the Ruins of Return, a new world will be born, and they will shed their demonic appearance and return to their divine essence.

Perhaps this statement seems extremely heretical to the church in the present world, but all the highest levels of the church and the great demons know one thing clearly: God and demons are one, and the gods who destroy the world are the demons of hell.

When a new world is born, these demons will become new gods. The endless fighting among the demons of hell is essentially a struggle to plunder each other's demonic or divine essence. Every lord of hell has the potential to become the first chief god.

Each sub-lord is a strong contender for the throne from the gods and lower gods, while ordinary great demons are reserves for angels and divine messengers. However, no demon knows to what extent this power and soul must be gathered to reach the minimum threshold.

It's like a college entrance exam without a passing score or a score checking mechanism. You don't know your score, or how many points you need to pass, and even if you do pass, you don't know if your score is high enough to get into the extremely limited number of places.

The only way is through insane involution, using every means to plunder the power of souls and demonic essence, to rule over everything in hell, and to ensure that this hellish territory can be transformed into their own divine kingdom at the time of creation.

Therefore, the hell realms ruled by different hell overlords are distinctly different, and are not all extremely harsh environments as ordinary people imagine. Their hell realms reflect the overlords' plans and purposes for their future divine kingdoms.

For example, the dark horse comes from the sixth level of the Dream Realm, which is a dreamlike and unpredictable world where everything changes with perception, just like a dream, swaying back and forth between a hideous nightmare and an illusory dream. One moment it is a fairyland with green grass and trees and colorful dream bubbles floating in the air, and the next moment it may instantly turn into a bottomless dark abyss.

The great lord of the sixth floor is an unknown demon known as the "Veiled Lady." Black Horse never managed to defeat her; to be precise, he was beaten to a pulp by her summoned Dream Guards before he even saw what she looked like. If Black Horse hadn't been physically strong, he probably would have been killed.

Since we need to find oxen and horses to work, the best choice is the largest layer of Hell, the first layer: the Furnace Realm. That's the entrance to Hell, where those fragments of space and planetary debris come together.

The harsh environment is the biggest source of people's imagination of hell. Because this realm has been expanding, there is no real lord. There are many warlords, and naturally no lord can change this realm to his own style.

The Furnace Realm is filled with volcanoes, lava rivers, and burning plains. The sky is forever obscured by ever-changing illusions, and black smoke rises from the ground. Countless bizarre creatures fight here, and only a few powerful individuals can occupy a relatively stable area in this place and work hard to cultivate their own power to accumulate strength for the "Rift Ritual".

The so-called Rift Ritual is to forcibly tear off a piece from the vast and boundless structure of the first layer of the realm, turning it into a new layer of hell. Once successful, this area will become the new second layer of hell, and the original second layer will become the third layer. However, the last layer will not fall into the abyss as a result.

Therefore, no one knows how many levels there are in Hell. Even Old Ma doesn't know. The information he has only mentioned the ninth level at most. The tenth level definitely exists, but no demon knows what it looks like. Unless he has entered the seventh or eighth level, it is estimated that no demon would know what the lower levels look like.

The only known information is that the lower the altitude, the more closed off it becomes, and the closer it is to an unformed divine kingdom. The greater the control the Great Lord has over everything within it.

"Ah, that's the taste I miss~" Old Ma stood on the burning earth, surrounded by bloody wreckage. Countless ferocious demonic hounds were tearing at the corpses, and a river of souls and lives flowed through the air.

Every now and then, tiny, dandelion-like things fall down. These are the recycled core power of hell, containing the essence of demons' souls. Once they land on the ground, they will hatch into new demon worms.

In the far reaches of the universe, massive meteorites occasionally fall, carrying countless wailing souls. This signifies the destruction of yet another world (planet), with fragments dragging the surviving creatures and souls into the universe's largest junkyard, becoming part of the wasteland.

The black horse reverted to its horse-headed demon form and traversed the canyon formed by the giant beast's ribs, searching for a suitable demonic creature. Soon, the black horse locked onto a target.

That was a hellish aurochs, the ancestors of cattle, which are extremely difficult to tame, even as calves. Its characteristics are that it is very robust, with a shoulder height of at least 1.8 meters, and its size is only slightly smaller than an elephant.

While the Hellbull has the physical characteristics of a bull, it is essentially a demon, so it does not have hooves but sharp claws, two pairs of horns of different lengths pointing forward, and a tuft of red hair on its forehead flying like flames.

"Hmm~ This physique and muscles, he looks like he'd be good at farm work." Black Horse glanced around, picked up a bone club about the thickness of a human thigh from the ground, and approached the minotaur from behind.

"Hey! Take this!" The Hellfire Bull suddenly turned around, lowered its head, and aimed its horns at the black horse, only to find that it was just an illusion. "Crack!" The bone club smashed directly onto the bull's head, knocking it to the ground. Then it was subjected to a brutal beating, with red fur flying everywhere, bone fragments scattering, and the longest pair of horns being broken off.

Then the black horse, carrying the bull by its tail, dragged the hellish bull, which had been beaten to the point of delirium, into the nearest crevice. It took some effort to get back to the witch's forest clearing and stuff it into the woodshed next to the stable where materials were piled up.

"Slap!!" The Hell Bull had just come to its senses when a contract was slapped in front of it. It looked like some kind of normal coercion or enticement, a word game, which the horse-headed monster obviously didn't know how to do. However, it had its own unique contract-making skills.

"Sign!" "..." The Hell Bull was about to get up when it was knocked down with a stick. "Don't even think about running away if you don't sign!" After a continuous beating, the Hell Demon finally realized the truth and reluctantly signed the contract of servitude.

"Ha~" Roach stretched and stared at the wooden ceiling for a while. The room was a bit bigger than before, and it felt a bit empty because there was no extra furniture. This was also the case with the little witch and Leslie's bedroom, where the furniture was still piled up in the shed below in its original log form.

Today was the day to make furniture. Luo Qi tidied up the carpentry tools hanging on the wall. His carpentry skills were actually passable. He had learned some ancient carpentry techniques from his senior. It was impossible for him to make a canopy bed or a Luban lock, but he had no problem making simple, square cabinets, shelves, tables and four-cornered benches.

As soon as I stepped downstairs, I saw a blonde fluffy ball of hair by the window on the first floor. Its long, light blonde hair covered most of its body, like a flowing waterfall of moonlight. Two tender, lotus-root-like arms stretched out from under its thin white slip dress and clung to the windowsill. It stood on tiptoe and curiously looked outside, with a tuft of golden hair on its head swaying slightly in the morning breeze.

Beside Livia was a useless mermaid who was using a wooden comb to deal with her naturally curly, seaweed-colored hair. Her skin was like jade, shimmering with a pearly luster, and it was clear that she had soaked in the water as soon as she woke up that morning.

"what happened?"

"That old horse went to hell and brought back a cow."

"Didn't he say he was going to find an old friend? He didn't fight him?" Roach asked curiously. Didn't Old Ma say he was going to hell to find an old friend to do hard labor? How come he ended up catching a cow?

Besides, there's only half an acre of medicinal herb field and half an acre of vegetable garden. If you go and catch a cow, wouldn't that be enough to cover the cost of hay?

As soon as Roach stepped outside, he saw a monster the size of an elephant kneeling pathetically under the wooden shed. "You call this a cow?"

“In hell, I usually call this thing a cow,” Black Horse said nonchalantly. “This thing is a real workhorse, good for pulling carts and carrying loads.”

"So you're unemployed?"

"..."

"Oh, no, so all you're left with is your riding value?" Roach didn't understand why this guy would find a competitor to steal his position. Could it be that this demon was too stupid to possess the little witch and ended up becoming a slave himself?

Regardless, Livia was still quite happy with this hardworking beast. She fed the giant aurochs two handfuls of hay. Although the aurochs really wanted to chew up the arm of this delicate little girl, which must have been very tender, it had no choice but to eat the hay fed by the little witch under the constraint of the black horse's contract power. Its expression was like eating shit.

Although the Hell Bull looks like an aurochs, it is a carnivorous creature and does not eat grass. Besides, where would they get grass to eat in the first layer of Hell? That place is full of ash, burning stones, scorching lava, and gushing high-temperature steam.

"Touch~" The little girl gently stroked the hair on the back of the seemingly majestic bull.

"Let me tell you first. This young lady is my master. I mean it literally. She can beat two of me in my own territory." In the dream, Livia could pin down the black horse with one hand, rendering it immobile.

He wasn't lying, but he was subtly changing the subject. In the real world, if Old Ma really went head-to-head with the Little Witch, she wouldn't even have time to react.

But since he chose to act in a dream, he got to experience what it means to feel guilty even for breathing. Being twisted in a dream as a nightmare is as abstract as an angel falling from heaven.

"...?" The Hellfire Bull looked at Old Ma with the eyes of someone who had seen a ghost. The latter nodded painfully. "It's exactly what you mean. In the dream, she could at least beat two of me. If you have any other ideas... I'll have to reluctantly invite you to the whole bull feast." Served as ingredients at the banquet.

"Hey, Old Ma, can we eat this cow?" Luo Qi asked, seeing the aborigine shaking its head frantically, indicating that it couldn't eat it.

"Yes, you can eat them. Most of the demons in hell can be eaten, oh, except for someone like me from the Dream Realm." Actually, it's not that they can't be eaten, but for the real world, it's like eating a nightmare, no different from drinking the northwest wind.

"By the way, does this guy have a name?"

“Yes, I suggest you give it a new name.” Names have a mystical connotation, and a brand new name means a brand new set of shackles, especially for a demon whose essence is God.

What does the first level of hell look like?

"The appearance of hell" Old Ma seemed to say nothing, but Luo Qi understood. It was the appearance of hell in everyone's mind, with volcanoes everywhere. Hmm, considering the terrain and the size of this aurochs, "I think we should call it the Bull Demon King. If that doesn't work, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is also acceptable."

Roach used Chinese, which translates to "Bull-Headed Demon Prince and the Saint Who Flattens Heaven."

"What strange names! Are you sure these two names describe the same thing where you're from?"

"Yes, it's one thing, it's also a cow."

"That's really impressive. Do you have anyone like me over there?"

"Yes, the Horse-Face of Hell."

"Just call him Horse-Face?" Old Ma was stunned. The Chinese transliteration sounded somewhat like "Mami," but after translating it, it became... "A horse-headed demon named Horse-Head?"

“There’s another partner called Ox-Head…” Luo Qi looked at the black horse and red bull in front of him and thought seriously for a moment. “I don’t think the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is quite suitable. You two are both from Hell, so why don’t we just call you Ox-Head and Horse-Face?”

"Hmm..." The little witch tugged at Roach's clothes, her long golden eyelashes fluttering, making her large emerald eyes even more moist and full of curiosity, as if she wanted to know what Ox-Head and Horse-Face were.

“In this way, the pilgrimage team is more reasonable…” Luo Qi thought for a moment and felt that after kicking the black horse to form the Ox-Head and Horse-Face combination with this ox, the pilgrimage team would be very reasonable—the white dragon horse Vilandella, Elder Livia, and the water-dwelling Curtain-Raising General Leslie. The only problem is that Titania may not be worthy of the title of Marshal Tianpeng, but Leslie is very reasonable as the Curtain-Raising General.

The so-called "Curtain-Rolling General" was simply responsible for rolling up the curtains of the Queen Mother's carriage when she traveled. He wasn't even a security guard in the Heavenly Palace; at most, he was just a doorman. And since the doorman broke the valuable teacup (a glass goblet) of the group's second-in-command, his fate was perfectly reasonable.

This "Curtain-Rolling General" is similar to the "Great Han General." However, this "Great Han General" does not refer to a general of the Han Dynasty, but rather to a procession of ceremonial guards. These guards are composed of burly men who stand on both sides as a support. Although their names contain the word "general," they have absolutely no relation to the actual position of a general.

Look at the chores Leslie usually does; it's the kind of work a general would do. Now all that's missing is Pigsy and the Monkey King, and I don't know what to do with them. I guess I'm the Monkey King, since I'm immortal like one, and probably in the eyes of outsiders I'm just like one too—though I've never caused a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace, I have blown up ruins.

Furthermore, due to the universally hated nature of the Mystic Source Sorcerer, they are the type who have caused trouble outside and cannot reveal their master's name.

Hmm, looking at it this way, the team is missing a clown, someone who's professionally responsible for calling for the team to break up, and someone who's always touching things whenever possible—that demon seems like a good fit.

"Smack!" The little devil kicked Roach angrily because he was in a daze and didn't get a response. Her pink face puffed up with anger, and she crossed her arms in front of her, looking like she was saying, "Mommy, I'm angry."

"Alright, about Ox-Head and Horse-Face..." After hearing the story of the Ox-Headed Demon (translated) and the Horse-Headed Demon (translated), the little witch calmed down and decided to call the ox "Ox-Head."

And Old Ma has also changed his name for the third time in his demon career. Now he is called Ma Tou (Horse Face).

Of course, the good news is that, according to the standards of the hellish jailers, the little witch made a weapon for Old Ma. He no longer has to just grab whatever is at hand and use it. Instead, he has a chain enchanted with a human immobilization spell and a spear transformed from an alchemical alloy.

As for the bullhead, it received a pitchfork. Obviously, the little witch knew exactly what it was for: to take care of the fields and help Roach manage the alchemical ingredients and vegetables.

"Come on, put on these two golden hoops, and you'll be partners." Roach chuckled mischievously, urging the little witch to make a copper-plated iron ring for each of the two demons. Of course, these two rings didn't have any special function; Roach was just deliberately causing trouble.

"Soul-stealing, punishing sinful souls, I think..." Ignoring the current zero business volume here—and the only one capable of providing business—Old Ma sized up Luo Qi—if he couldn't even steal souls, this position still suited Old Ma's mindset. After all, it would be absurd for demons in hell not to collect souls, wouldn't it?

Chapter Seventy-One: Intermission

The autumn weather was as sunny as ever, but the temperature was a bit too high. This was the perfect time to do woodworking while the sun was shining, because as autumn deepened and the rains started to fall, the ground would become damp, making woodworking much more difficult.

Bare-chested, Roach revealed his muscular upper body and crisscrossing scars. With his left hand on a log between two stones, he used an axe in his right hand to peel away the bark of the log, revealing the dark gray wood underneath.

After measuring the length and diameter with a tape measure, Roach roughly drew four lines on the wood with a charcoal pencil before picking up a hacksaw and sawing the log into four roughly equal sections along the inked lines.

Next, the surface and the rounded ends are corrected with woodworking tools to ensure that the four round wooden sticks are the same length and smooth on both sides. Then, a cross line is drawn on the rounded surface, and a cross-shaped interlaced wooden groove is processed along the cross line.

The four simple bed legs are now complete. Next, insert the two long and two short square wooden strips into the four square holes, and a bed frame that couldn't be simpler appears. Then, insert the smooth, dark gray wooden strips into the grooves carved on the long ends of the wooden strips, and you're done.

Next, wooden planks were laid on top to serve as the bed, and soft, dry hay dried in the autumn heat was placed on top. Finally, a thick, double-layered linen sheet was placed on top. The wooden bed, simple in both appearance and structure, appeared as if it were about to fall apart at any moment.

To prevent it from actually falling apart, Roach had to use a small handful of things that, in the eyes of a professional carpenter, were no different from heretics—nails. Due to the nature of ironworking, nails in this world were rarely thin; they were all very thick and looked like rivets.

However, Roach's purpose in making these pieces of furniture was not to hone his woodworking skills or to sell them. He aimed for a square, simple, and sturdy structure, reinforced with nails and even metal blocks, the latter mainly relying on the little witch's sculpting skills.

The blonde girl hid under the eaves, avoiding the blazing sun, lying on a wooden rocking chair she had bought from Hearth City. Thick books were turned upside down in front of her, her little head resting against the back of the chair, emitting soft, even breathing sounds. A gentle breeze blew by, blowing away the fallen leaves that were about to land on her face, which made the little one raise her arm to rub her nose, adjust her posture, and continue her afternoon nap.

Since returning to her familiar environment, the little witch's training has become lazy. The various animated furniture takes good care of her, which gives Leslie a deep understanding of the source of Livia's weak physical abilities. She feels that if she had grown up in this environment, she would probably be even weaker than Livia.

In front of the hut, the bull-headed demon carrying wooden farm tools had successfully turned over the soil in several rectangular nurseries and was now painstakingly pulling weeds, burning them with sparks from his nostrils.

Leslie carefully planted the seeds from her pocket, while the bucket and ladle, which had been itching to get started, excitedly sprinkled water mixed with growth-promoting potions into the nursery.

The herbs and magical plant seeds they purchased were the most common kind. Apart from the Flame Tongue that Roach collected in the dungeon, which was slightly more advanced, the rest were common alchemical and potion-making materials such as Tranquilizing Blossom, Green Fruit, and Bone Leaf.

Old Ma glanced at the young lady who was still sleeping, looked down at the bookshelf that Luo Qi had just finished making, and reluctantly carried the heavy solid wood bookshelf into the room. Due to its huge size, the door automatically deformed and expanded outward, allowing the tall demon to carry the bookshelf smoothly into the witch's enlarged room.

As soon as I put the bookshelf down, the books scattered on the floor and piled up at the foot of the bed flew up on their own, one by one squeezing into the shelves. They even argued and fought among themselves, vying for the "good spots" near the lower shelves.

This spot is about the same height as Livia; she can't reach it if it's too high, and she can't see it if it's too low. Only these two levels are the best spots.

After seven or eight bookshelves, reading tables, benches, coat racks, and storage cabinets were added to the room, the expanded cottage no longer felt as spacious as before. With the addition of candlesticks, oil lamps, carpets, and cleaning tools, the cottage began to resemble a home that one could live in for a long time.

Upon entering, one finds the living room, with a long dining table on the right. Opposite the door are shelves and small cabinets, and next to it, near the window, a tall cupboard displays ceramic tableware purchased from Hearthstone and River Bend. These newly made pieces of furniture and goods have not yet been affected by the fragments of the soul; that is, they are merely ordinary objects, not yet brought to life.

Torches were fixed to the square wooden pillars by circular iron frames. Lighting the eight torches on the four pillars would illuminate the entire living room. However, with the arrival of oil lamps and metal chandeliers, these torches would soon become emergency light sources.

On the dining table sat a ceramic vase with a bunch of wild daisies, a common sight in autumn. Several ceramic cups and a teapot were huddled together, these were the little witch's old daily necessities. The animated ceramic teapot leaned against the vase, trembling slightly as if it were dozing off.

A brand new white candle was stuck in a metal candlestick. Perhaps because it was new, the other animated objects were all quite far away from it, as if they were isolating it.

The long, narrow room bulging outward from the right side of the living room is the kitchen. The chimney, constructed of stucco and pebbles, runs up the exterior wall and eventually becomes a mushroom-shaped metal chimney. The kitchen utensils and stove were designed by Roach and built by Livia. It is a standard Chinese stove with three custom-made metal pots of different sizes on it. The stove faces a shelf for storing miscellaneous items, and ceramic jars filled with seasonings are placed in a cabinet against the wall next to the stove.

One side was piled with chopped firewood, and wooden baskets contained freshly picked vegetables. Since no fire had been lit yet, everything looked very new.

As for the potion workshop, it remained the same as before, except for the addition of an arcane furnace salvaged from a carriage and some portable alchemy tools. The dazzling array of bottles and jars meant that few dared to touch them.

Roach, sweating profusely, entered the cabin after knocking down the last bookshelf. He passed through the small door next to the fireplace in the living room, and then through two small doors on the left and right, which led to the toilet and bathroom respectively. No one wanted to take responsibility for emptying the toilet, so Roach dug, or rather blasted, a big pit underneath. Luckily, the cabin itself was also functional, otherwise this job would have been quite difficult.

The crater created by the explosion was hardened by the newly hired Minotaur's hellfire. The exterior was covered with sealed wooden planks to become a septic tank. As for the interior, the little witch used her shaping ability to create a U-shaped pipe, successfully creating a modern sanitary facility that could isolate odors and connect to the outdoor septic tank.

They even made a wooden water tank. As long as you remember to add water, it can still flush. You just need to lift the chain on the tank, and the float blocking the outlet will be pulled up, and water will flow down.

The bathroom was much simpler: a large wooden tub for soaking, several wooden basins, dry towels hanging on the wall, and a water tank in the corner. The water source came from atmospheric moisture condensed by the witch and clear rainwater. There was no well in this place, or rather, it was too close to the sea. Even if a well were dug, the water would be salty brine.

"Whoosh~" Luo Qi took a red pebble from the shelf and threw it into a basin full of water. After a minute or two, wisps of steam rose from the water. It was a heating stone, a cheap product of the Mystic Sorcerer. It only needed to be soaked in inferior fire essence for 30 minutes to provide heating capacity for at least 2 to 3 hours. It was not enough for an air conditioner or heater, but it was sufficient to heat cold water to warm water.

"Splash!" The warm water slid down my skin, and I felt much more comfortable. I had been busy making various kinds of furniture for several days. This job was indeed quite tiring. Fortunately, this was a world where supernatural powers existed, so some of the processes were simpler than pure handcraftsmanship.

For example, when it comes to things like hammering nails, instead of trying to hammer them yourself for ages, it's better to find Old Ma, who can just punch you twice and drive the nail or anything else into the wood.

For example, fixing splinters is the same. The little witch just splashes a softening potion on it, rubs it back and forth a few times with a rough linen cloth, and it's smooth. On Earth, to fix it to that extent, you probably wouldn't even dream of doing it in less than half an hour.

Even if there are gaps or the fit is not tight, or the mortise and tenon joints are not properly calculated, either Old Ma will do a miracle with great force, or Little Witch will "convince" the wood to bend over and fit properly without moving it. If all else fails, an alchemical extract similar to glue, used to make "tripping bags", will be stuffed in to fill the gaps, highlighting the style of "if the play is not enough, glue will make up for it".

As the sun gradually set and the night breeze dispelled the autumn heat that had accumulated throughout the day, Livia looked at the newly renovated house with satisfaction. Apart from the curtains and decorations, which she would probably have to buy on her next trip to River Bend Town, the house now felt more like a home than when it was empty.

Or rather, for Livia, she had become accustomed to the original empty and desolate state, and now living in a room with three people, which even seemed a little crowded, gave her a lot of novelty and almost completely reduced the loneliness she had been used to.

Dinner was simple, but it couldn't be anything less. After all, there weren't many animals in this living forest, and we couldn't exactly send Old Horse to hunt in Hell. Well, in a sense, it was indeed a good idea, since the creatures living in Hell were the survivors of various apocalyptic disasters. Simply put, they were all strong compared to the weaklings in nature.

The strong naturally don't need to employ strategies like making their bodily fluids poisonous or unpalatable to avoid predators and natural enemies. So, apart from a few demons with unique competitive paths, most creatures in hell are at least edible. However, whether they taste good or not is another matter; they are edible, but not so unpalatable as to be inedible.

However, this is a very risky thing, because Old Ma is surrounded by friends in Hell. He is the kind of person who, if his whereabouts are exposed, could fill a whole room with "friends" who want to beat him up. In the earlier levels, he has countless disciples and demons everywhere who want to beat him up.

Carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, and a thick vegetable soup made with butter, along with ordinary toast and roasted cured meat, constituted the entirety of dinner, rendering the Chinese-style stove that Roach had painstakingly built useless.

"I think we should domesticate some animals to at least provide some meat. Of course, fishing should also be put on the agenda."

"What kind of animal can survive in a place like this?" Leslie complained. The fish in the sea are no pushovers either!

"We'll see when the time comes. We can explore the surrounding woodlands and mountains when we have some free time. Maybe we can find some creatures that we can tame?" Roach didn't give up. "At worst, we can go to Eagle Feather Mountain to collect bird eggs."

"Do you want to get beaten up by the giant eagles?" Leslie asked coldly. The reason why Eagle Feather Mountain could block the undead and even the supernatural forces of various countries, just like the Living Forest, was not simply because the mountain was high and steep, but because a large number of giant eagles lived on it. These giant eagles preyed on the large fish in Carrion Bay and had multiplied to a considerable number.

As for combat capability itself, it's not particularly high, only between ferocity and threat. However, the fact that they live in groups is enough to raise the danger level by one level to harm level. The air force aspect would raise it by another level to panic level. For ordinary armies, it's really impossible to withstand an attack by a large group of flying things on an open, barren, rocky mountain ridge with little vegetation cover.