Witch Troupe and the Undead

They don't need to actually pounce on you; they can simply use their magical abilities to create a whirlwind that will send you tumbling down a cliff hundreds of meters high, smashing you to pieces.

"There must be more than just giant eagles up there, right?" After all, Eagle Feather Mountain is very large, and the only suitable area for giant eagles to live is the part near the sea. Other places are inhabited by magical birds, which are also food and prey for giant eagles.

"Also, we need to find a way to cultivate more farmland. We can't keep going out to buy wheat and flour every few days, can we?"

“That’s true…” Leslie took a bite of bread. The coarse whole wheat bread made her agree with Roach’s suggestion. To stay here permanently, unless you have the appetite of a little witch who can eat soul cakes with nutritious magic potions without having suicidal thoughts, you’ll have to do everything: planting, raising animals, fishing, and hunting.

The blonde witch, sitting at one end of the long table, glanced at Leslie, then at Roach, who was holding bread in one hand and gesturing on the table with the other, indicating where a suitable planting area should be established. She gave him a soft, sweet smile, as if she had satisfied some inner desire.

Labor is the best sleep aid. After eating, Roach felt sleepy and could fall asleep without any other sleep aids. On the contrary, Livia, who had rested well during the day, did not want to sleep. Instead, she planned to go for a walk on the beach and see what "gifts" the waves had brought during her trip and whether she could find any new and interesting things.

Because no one comes here, the beach is covered with driftwood and dried seaweed. A few crabs crawl over the decaying driftwood, and the waves rhythmically lap against the rocks, creating clumps of white foam.

Livia walked a short distance along the coastline but found no corpses or anything washed ashore by the waves. However, the small wooden boat left behind by the pirates had completely rotted away and was covered with barnacle-like growths.

"Splash!" The waves crashed against an invisible barrier, violently surging back. The tide receded before the golden-haired witch, exposing part of the seabed. Several unlucky little fish struggled on the seabed, trying to get back into the water.

"Nothing..." Livia loosened her fist in disappointment, and the blocked wave crashed down, submerging the seabed again.

Meanwhile, a ragged squad slowly climbed down the Eagle Feather Mountains, approaching the Black Forest on the eastern side of Carrion Bay. They were sent by the Empire to find a secret treasure hidden in the Living Forest that could help lift the curse on the Emperor. However, they found nothing, because the witch had already left with Roach and the others.

The illusionary barrier surrounding the hut was clearly beyond their ability to see through. So, after wandering around the perilous Living Forest for a while, they focused their attention on the Eagle Feather Mountains on both sides, believing that there might be ancient ruins hidden within the mountains, and the secret treasure was hidden in those ruins.

However, although there are indeed many ancient sites and ruins of all sizes in the Eagle Feather Mountains, there is no trace of any so-called secret treasures. In fact, the part near the outer edge of the Black Forest has been almost completely dug up, and when you go in, you find empty tombs and treasure troves.

The area near the living forest remained untouched, but the giant eagles were not only annoying but also extremely difficult to deal with. Fortunately, the team members were all elites from the Imperial Military Intelligence Department, so there were no casualties, but they were exhausted and had completely run out of potions and other resources.

“Give up…” the archer in the team said seriously. “We don’t even have many arrows left. If we continue to search aimlessly like this, we will only be wiped out here and bring back nothing of value.”

"Perhaps our lack of results is itself a valuable piece of intelligence." At least it confirms that there is no hidden treasure here, that the charlatans of the Diviners' Association have fabricated a colossal lie, and that the emperor's health is indeed beyond saving. We need to consider how to deal with the issue of succession.

"What kind of absurd joke is this?" The knight commander buried his face in his hands. To take this conclusion back? It's like an adventurer going through all sorts of hardships and overcoming all obstacles to find only a note in the treasure chest that says, "The spirit of adventure and the journey itself are the greatest treasures."

Nonsense! Do you really think the potions, weapons, arrows, and fallen companions consumed along the way are all free?! If anyone actually did that, the entire ruins would probably be completely destroyed by the adventurers' alchemical bombs. I just can't stand it.

Similarly, if he were to bring back this answer, his old boss's dark and turbulent mood would be no better than that of the adventurer who was being mocked in this way!

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Value of a Fishing Master

The autumn rain fell incessantly, and the cold sea breeze swirled through the coastal woods. The leaves of the tall giant trees swayed in the wind, making a sound no less than that of the ocean waves. Luo Qi carried his fishing rod and fish basket and walked towards the reef where he usually fished.

Skillfully setting up the stool, baiting the hook with a small worm, and casting it into the sea, sea fishing, at least in the intertidal zone where coral reefs are located, doesn't require baiting. Why? Just look at the surging waves crashing against the rocks, and you'll know what the result would be if you threw in baited bait.

After setting up the fishing rods, spread out the four wooden poles and connect the thick waterproof cloth at the top to form a sheltered area. Finally, place a lantern on the side, and a fishing spot is complete.

I don't know if it's because the beginner protection period has ended, or because of the seasonal migration of fish, but after a whole morning, I didn't catch anything except a few catfish the size of keychains.

"How about we have Leslie go down and catch some fish and hook them?" Roach wondered if he should use some underhanded methods to preserve his title as the "Master Fisherman".

The sea in the distance was shrouded in a gray haze, with faint rumbles of thunder. It seemed a storm was likely to pass through tonight. On the way back, I reminded the little witch to reinforce the barrier and the roof of the house. Although I didn't know if the magic hut could withstand it, it was best to prepare in advance.

"Boom!" An arc of electricity pierced through the clouds, and the torrential rain washed away the bloodstains on the deck, only to have them instantly stained crimson again. "Crash!" The burning mast fell heavily, crashing onto the deck of the merchant ship, which was hooked by chains, sending sparks flying.

The short man in the cloak pulled the dagger from the corpse and managed to stand firm in the swaying cabin. "Hey, over here!" The fat man in a blood-stained chef's apron waved to the penniless man who had run out of the hold. "Come on over here!"

The chef held a blood-stained iron hook and a kitchen knife, looking like a monster crawling out of a horror story, but his expression was even more panicked than that of the short passenger who had been stopped.

"Keep your voice down! We've been captured by the Blood-Eyed Pirates! I know there's an escape boat at the stern, but there are two pirates guarding it!" There weren't many people left on board resisting. The pirates blocked the last sailors and unfortunate passengers at the bow of the deck while carrying away the spoils from the cargo hold.

"Hmm..." The passenger, whose face was covered except for a pair of golden vertical pupils, nodded slightly, then found a piece of rag and wrapped it around the short sword a few times.

"You seem pretty skilled, so..." the chef chuckled awkwardly, "could you take me with you?"

A hoarse voice came from beneath the veil: "Yes," came the reply, "lead the way."

"Okay, okay, by the way, I'll take some things for the journey." The cook carried a bulging bag filled with canned goods and a water bottle, but mostly with the clinking of gold and silver coins. Clearly, the man's hands were not clean, which made the short passenger glance at him slightly.

He searched the crew members' bodies on the ground for a while, found a few coins, stuffed them into his pocket, and secured several sailors' knives to his belt. "You go first."

"But……"

"You go first," the short passenger repeated, pointing the tip of his sword at the chef.

"...I..." Faced with the approaching blade, the cook could only lead the way with a dejected expression. Inside the ship's hold, many pirate slaves were carrying goods, large and small packages, onto the deck and then onto the pirate ship.

"What is all this...?"

"Well, I don't know either. I'm just a cook..." The cold steel sword pressed against his neck, making the cook shiver. "You're the second mate, you couldn't possibly not know."

On board, the cook is usually in charge of managing supplies, such as food and fresh water. In the age of sail, the cook would often also serve as the second mate, or the second mate would also serve as the cook or ordnance officer. On merchant ships, there was no dedicated ordnance officer, so the cook was usually the one in charge.

"...Yes, it's a Corrupted Spirit." Corrupted Spirit means putrid soul, a magical material extracted from the Emerald Tree. At first, alchemists believed it to be the prototype of the panacea recorded in the Emerald Book, with extremely strong analgesic effects and a strong inhibitory effect on almost all diseases. However, potion makers soon discovered that this thing could not actually cure diseases.

It can only suppress the side effects of the disease and is not addictive itself. However, you must constantly increase the dosage to keep the disease in a non-flare-up state. But the more you suppress it, the more severe the backlash will be once you stop taking the medication. What's even more terrifying is that it will gradually erode the soul with long-term use.

Therefore, what was originally called the "panacea" or "jade elixir" is now called the "corrupted spirit." However, some potion masters and alchemists use it to delay treatment and buy time. In the field of potion science, it is considered a dangerous "magic sword."

"Rotten Spirits..." No wonder these Blood-Eyed Pirates would have their eyes on this merchant ship. This kind of thing is an important resource for pirates and various underworld gangs and organizations to control their subordinates and make huge profits. They would process and package these Rotten Spirits into all kinds of "panaceas" and sell them to the common people at the bottom of society, thereby controlling them and providing themselves with a lot of money and free slaves.

At the same time, in a proper use, for pirates, Corruption Spirit can also be processed and used as a powerful painkiller, which is no different from an essential need for a profession that often lives on the edge of a knife.

“You guys are really bold to bring a boatload of this stuff through Blood Eye’s territory.”

"This..." The cook's face scrunched up. "This has nothing to do with us. We're just workers." The cargo on the ship belonged to the shipowner. Although the captain knew, they really didn't have much say. However, the profits from this trade were enough to make them take the risk.

"Let's go, where's the small boat?" The short passenger glanced at the pirate slaves who were still being carried, and walked through the passage at the stern of the ship. Two pirates were guarding the door, and if they went out, they would definitely be discovered.

"Wait, let's wait a little longer..." Before the cook could finish speaking, he was kicked out of the door, scattering gold coins and canned food all over the ground. The pirate guarding the door grinned and chased after him, ready to kill this fat pig who actually tried to sneak away.

"Thud!" A short sword pierced through their leather armor from behind, crushing their hearts before being pulled out. Another pirate collapsed by the door, a sailor's dagger lodged in his throat.

"Let's go!" The short passenger picked up the half-empty bag and threw it into the small boat. He picked up the cook with one hand and threw him into the cabin. Then he jumped in himself, cut the cable with two slashes, and let the small boat fall into the surging waves.

"Damn it, someone got away!"

"How many people?" Blood Eye Red glanced sideways at his men.

"Two people, one short and one fat, who seemed to be the chef."

"Hmm... Ignore them, they're doomed." This is Carrion Bay, and even if there's a superhuman among them, two people like this are doomed.

"Have you moved everything?"

"All moved in."

“Sink this ship. It seems that Little Gist of Tide City really doesn’t take me seriously, daring to smuggle these things on my turf.”

Corrupted spirits are not completely prohibited items for pirates and most countries. However, because of their high profits, pirates who occupy shipping lanes will charge such merchant ships very high protection fees.

Therefore, it's true that some audacious ship owners did attempt to secretly transport goods disguised as ordinary cargo. If such activity were to leak out, pirate groups would specifically target these merchant ships, looting all the goods, killing all the people, and even sinking the ship as a warning and punishment. As for the two lucky survivors escaping, they were of no concern whatsoever.

Besides, this is Carrion Bay, and the closer you get to the coast, the more dangerous it becomes. The coast is even a kind of "living forest" in the notorious "dangerous zone," and all the pirates assume that these two guys are doomed.

At the rocky fishing spot, although there were no empty-handed catches, after a whole day, the only decent catch was a large fish that looked similar to a carp; the rest were small fish and shrimp.

This made Roach wonder if his Fishing Master skill wasn't working. If the skill level on the skill tree wasn't progressing normally, he would have wondered if he hadn't consulted a fortune teller before leaving home today.

That shouldn't be the case. The bigger the wind and waves, the lower the air pressure (the faster the air flows, the lower the air pressure). The lower the air pressure, the less oxygen there is in the water, and the more fish will swim to the surface. That's the best time for fishing!

"Hmm!" The float suddenly sank, clearly having hooked something. Roach hurriedly pulled the rod, the wooden fishing rod completely bent into an arc. If it weren't for the good quality of the gray dead wood, the line would have broken and the rod would have snapped by now. "Good heavens, at least fifty or sixty pounds!"

Roach felt the power of the pole and his face lit up with joy. "Whoosh!" A black mass was dragged to the edge of the reef... "..." Roach looked down at his harvest under the oil lamp and a huge question mark appeared above his head.

To be honest, catching a corpse while sea fishing isn't hard to understand, but why would you catch a cat while sea fishing? So, does such a creature as a sea cat even exist in this world? Between the tattered cloths were dirty, matted fur, and a pair of pointed cat ears stood upright, freed from the restraints of the headscarf.

"...Ah, I caught a beast-eared girl while fishing. I think I can brag about this to all the fishermen for the rest of my life." Roach grabbed the tattered cloak and dragged the girl ashore. "She's not very big but quite heavy. Is she a big orange cat?" Beast-eared girls are great, but beast-eared gas canisters are really unnecessary!

Roach flipped the creature over, his expression freezing instantly. Good, not a catgirl, but a foxgirl, a white foxgirl, but a foxgirl with a pointed snout, the kind with a Fury level 3 or higher.

White fluff clung to his cheeks, and murky seawater flowed from between his sharp teeth. Roach, who had originally intended to reluctantly perform artificial respiration, abandoned the idea and decided to call the little witch to take a look.

To be honest, this Fu Rui fox girl has a good figure, at least not as good as Fu Rui 4. Simply put, there is only one pair, not several. As for the weight... with all her fur wet, it's no wonder she's heavy.

Livia was dragged out of bed by Roach, and she was still half asleep when they reached the beach. When she realized that she was only wearing a thin slip dress and was being chilled by the wind on the beach, she kicked Roach in the shin. Immediately afterward, the howling sea breeze stopped and became gentle and calm, and the rain seemed to bypass the little witch and fall on other parts of the beach.

The silk slip dress was damp with raindrops, clinging to her body and outlining her promising figure. Her jade-colored skin was faintly visible. The little witch reached out and brushed her dress, quickly drawing out the moisture and gathering it in her palm before turning it into a water arrow that slammed into Roach's face.

"..." Luo Qi wiped away the water droplets that still carried a strong sweet scent, looking completely bewildered.

The little fox-woman looked at the "corpse" on the ground and squatted down with a hint of curiosity on her face. She poked the fox girl's "corpse." It wasn't completely dead, but it was close to being dead. Her soul was floating above her body, with only a jade-colored soul thread connecting it to her body.

The little witch stuffed the swaying, dim soul into the body, took out the essence of white amber to temporarily trap the soul, and finally took out a magic potion to repair the damage to the body.

"Cough cough cough!" The fox girl coughed violently, expelling the remaining seawater from her lungs. She opened her golden eyes and sprang up from the ground like a spring, landing on all fours, arching her back, and emitting a threatening whimper.

Roach gave Livia a "you're on my watch" look, and the latter tilted her head and reached out her little hand as if to pat her head. "Hiss!" The fox girl made a strange sound and opened her mouth as if to bite.

The moment she was bitten, the sea breeze that had just calmed down suddenly turned into a heavy hammer of air, pressing her down. The sand writhed, like thousands of insects, layer upon layer pressing down on her, fixing her to the ground in a prostrate position.

This time, Livia successfully touched the head and vigorously rubbed the wet white fur. The moisture was drawn out of the fox girl's body, and the fur instantly became dry. This scene seemed to remind her of something terrible, and she immediately began to tremble uncontrollably.

No longer resisting the little witch's rubbing, nor did it resist the choker that the witch had pulled out from some pocket of its skirt.

"Wait, this isn't a pet, is it?"

"Huh!?" Livia tilted her head, looking at her humanoid magical pet, wondering what nonsense he was spouting.

The fox girl, who had been wearing a collar, was finally released by the sand. The roots that had been pulled out of the giant sea tree reluctantly reburied themselves in the soil. It seemed that if this guy continued to be so ungrateful, the consequences would be very serious.

"Oh, a newbie~" Leslie looked at the white-haired fox girl who obediently followed the little witch into the house and revealed a wicked smile as if she had seen someone else suffer the same misfortune as her. "Congratulations, now you are also a pet."

"Your identity is still that of an alchemical raw material."

"..." Leslie's smile vanished.

"..." The fox girl spoke in a hoarse voice, but neither Leslie nor Roche could understand it. It wasn't Luster language, nor was it the language of the Kingdom of Rada. Even the well-informed Leslie didn't know what language it was. Both of them looked at the little witch, while Livia didn't seem to have any intention of helping to translate.

"Where did she come from?" Roach asked, pointing at the fox girl.

"Sea Tide City," Livia answered, then patted the table, signaling the three to sit down obediently. She then brought a large book from upstairs and placed it in front of them, looking every bit like a little teacher about to start a lesson.

"Fox-people, a subspecies of beast, intelligent beings, mainly distributed on the island of Lexia, with a small number of branches in the Serpent Islands and Sword Peak Mountain," Livia read the contents of the book in a monotone tone, then opened the large book to show Roach and the others the illustrations.

Fox people are divided into two main tribes: the Pure Color Fox tribe, who are the nobles and citizens of the fox people, and the Mixed Color Fox tribe, who are the poor and slaves. The Pure Color Fox tribe refers to the fox tribe with four colors: white, black, red, and gold. Pure color here does not mean that there is not a single stray hair on the whole body, but that the main colors are these four colors, without patterns, and the fur color is stable.

Variegated colors refer to silver, blue, and reddish-brown. These foxes are characterized by their non-pure fur colors, similar to calico cats. Furthermore, their fur color is not easily inherited and cannot form large areas of uniform color, resulting in an overall dull and mottled appearance.

Roach, on the other hand, divided them into two more precise categories: fur foxes with beautiful, pure fur coloring that do not require camouflage in the wild, and wild foxes that need camouflage to hunt prey.

"As a subspecies of beast, fox-people possess immense strength, unlike their petite stature, allowing them to wear and wield extremely heavy weapons and equipment."

"There are two main paths to transcendence for fox people. The first is the beast rider, also known as the savage beast warrior. They use heavy weapons and equipment and take advantage of their innate affinity for wild beasts to tame powerful beasts as mounts or animal companions."

"The second type is called a wizard or spirit wizard, whose supernatural abilities are more diverse." They are the kind who know a little bit of everything. They can communicate with souls and comfort the dead; they can also invoke some simple miracles through faith, summon wild beasts, and create elixirs; of course, they can also manipulate the elemental and life sources of nature to enhance their own side and form simple magical attacks.

All of these abilities are very basic; they are jacks-of-all-trades but masters of none. However, they are very useful for the fox-people city-state living on a large island separated from the mainland by a strait, allowing them to be as self-sufficient as possible.

"Besides these two, there are some less common lineages, such as illusionists." Livia patted the book, indicating that her explanation was over.

"Then what language did she speak?"

The answer, “Alesian, the islanders’ language,” came from Leslie. “It’s different from the language on the mainland, but I’ve never been there. It’s too cold there, and it’s… well, the territory of the Tearful Clan of the Tidal Wave Clan.”

"..." Roach recalled for a moment. The Giant Wave Clan were orcas, while the Pearl Tear Clan was a further subdivision of the clan. Connecting this to the white patches under the orcas' eyes, it did indeed resemble pearl-shaped tears. And if he remembered correctly, Leslie was a member of the Water Jade Clan, which were dolphins. Hmm, he understood. A dolphin charging into the territory of a polar orca was definitely a sign of suicidal intent.

Chapter 73 Demolition Master Job Change (not really)

The biggest advantage of the white-haired fox girl (Furry type) for Roach and his crew is her immense strength. Considering that Alesia Island is close to the glacial sea, she is probably similar to the Russian auntie. That is to say, she can carry a log with one hand and easily carry back a giant tree that has been cut down.

You should know that the only person who could do this job before was Old Ma. Although he could carry several logs by hand, the second best was the new bull-headed guy. Although that's not entirely accurate, at least in terms of strength, this white-haired fox girl could barely sit at the same table as the Hell Bull.

The downside is that Roach and his friends have to learn Alesian in order to have even the most basic communication with her. The biggest characteristic of this language is that it is difficult to learn, similar to German, and the vocabulary is gender-specific. The only good thing is that at least its words are not German words, otherwise it would be really a disaster.

Besides that, Roach and his crew were running out of food because the newcomer... could eat a lot. Her strength and stamina were built on her extraordinary appetite. Now Roach understood why orcs could only train to the level of Transcendent II at most, because beyond that, human agricultural products could not sustain their consumption.

"A vast amount of high-quality basic soldiers and almost non-existent high-end combat power..." From the fox girl's situation, Luo Qi roughly understood the orc tribe alliance on the plateau. The average individual soldier quality was very high, but they lacked a core force that could make a decisive move, and they were broad but not proficient in supernatural powers such as magic.

The white-haired fox girl had considered escaping, but each time she reached the Deadwood Swamp area, she was forced to retreat. After sensing her presence, the demonic trees swarmed towards her in an almost riotous state. With only a wood-chopping axe in her hand, she was clearly no match for these demonic trees.

Without the old witch's necklace, without Roach's unique physique, and without the little witch's escort, she had no chance of getting through the Deadwood Swamp. On the other side was the Carrion Bay, and the fox girl, as a furry creature, had one major flaw: she couldn't swim.

"So, she's actually an Arctic fox... Does she shed her fur in the summer?" Arctic foxes are long-haired, soft, and cute girls in autumn and winter, and short-haired, dark-skinned, athletic girls in summer. So, does this Furui fox shed her fur in the summer?

“No,” Livia glanced at Roach, thought for a moment, and replied, “Pure-blooded fox people don’t molt.”

Only mixed-breed foxes molt, a trait considered to be a sign of impure bloodlines and a lack of closeness to their ancestors. Roach, however, believes that this type might actually be the one with the problem. After all, seasonal molting is a secret to animal survival, ensuring that their mobility is not affected by heat dissipation and providing camouflage in accordance with the seasons.

If this fox girl were a beast-eared girl with a Fortune level of only 1 or 2, Roach wouldn't have thought so rudely. After all, being highly similar to humans would mean having excellent heat dissipation capabilities and almost no camouflage, just like humans. But she's Fortune level 3, so she definitely needs this function. Otherwise, what would she do with all that fur?

"My second question, Teacher Livia, why do fox people need to wear clothes?" With all that long fur, putting aside the question of whether they need to wear clothes to cover their bodies, aren't they hot? And they wear very thick clothes, at least this Fox Girl Furui is wearing a very thick one, with a blouse, long pants and long sleeves, and a half-body leather armor underneath.

"..." Livia looked at Roach, her pink lips slightly open, her expression blank, as if she had never expected him to ask such a tricky question, a question that even Livia herself had no answer to: Why do fox people need to wear clothes?

However, Livia was a girl with a strong thirst for knowledge, so when she called out, the fox girl who was still chopping wood outside the door came in.