Witch Troupe and the Undead

This means that the owner could come knocking at any time to demand the return of the treasures, and this owner would be extremely difficult to deal with under the influence of the Great Sin Ritual and the Soul Binding Ritual. As for getting the dragons to hand over the antique treasures in their treasury... you might as well just kill them.

"So, your dragon clan decided to kill the victims while they were weak so you wouldn't have to return what you stole, is that right?"

"What do you mean by 'stolen'? How can you slander the dragon's innocence out of thin air? These were all unearthed and excavated over centuries. They were all picked up. Besides, who would have thought that the dead could escape the judgment of death and be resurrected in this way, not only to restore their country but also to reclaim their heritage?"

"..." Putting aside why this otherworldly dragon made the sound "I'll take it back," the mere mention of reclaiming his inheritance reminded Roach of certain glittering gang leaders. Wait, were those warriors of the Luster Kingdom really glittering? The swarm was actually myself!?

"Do they have something similar to Kara, I mean some kind of soul and spirit connection that links everyone together?"

"No, but it's hard to say once that Great Sin Ritual is fully unlocked. You should know that, according to intelligence from the Kingdom of Rada, these Gurust people were originally divided into two factions."

One faction supports the Great Sin ritual, which aims to make the kingdom eternal. As long as sin persists, endless magic will sustain the obelisks forged from countless Soul-Binding Crystals, imprisoning everyone's souls within their bodies and transforming healthy flesh into Soul-Binding Corpses. This "Great Sin," which defies death, in turn generates even more magic to maintain the consciousness of the Soul-Binding Corpses.

“They should set up another forbidden ritual to unlock the secrets of life,” Livia tilted her head and said softly, her light golden eyelashes drooping slightly. “Only then can they achieve true immortality.”

The Great Sin Ritual is used to obtain a continuous stream of magic power. The Reverse Tree Ritual is used to transform this continuous stream of ethereal magic power into a life-giving source, which is then transferred into the bodies of living beings, thus granting the physical body eternal youth and longevity.

The advantage is that it won't be like the current rituals that directly use the power of great sins, which merely maintain the vitality of a person's soul and confine it to a real physical cage, like wearing armor with a body that may be severely ill-fitting.

The downside is that your life has already been exhausted. What you are consuming now is a false lifespan. If the ritual is disrupted or too many people are granted longevity in a short period of time, exceeding the ritual's supply capacity, then everyone will perish in an instant.

“It’s just like a margin call in financial futures,” Roach said, using a term that no one understood. “As long as you have ten balls in your hand and they don’t fall to the ground, the game can continue. But if you mess things up, even in an instant, you’ll be liquidated and wiped out.”

"I don't understand what you're talking about, but I feel like you might actually have grasped something."

"...Just pretend I didn't say anything." Luo Qi thought for a moment and decided not to explain these terms. Besides, he only had a superficial understanding of them, and explaining them would only cause trouble.

Another faction opposes the ritual, arguing that the resurrected soul-bound corpses lack two crucial groups: priests and wizards, and there are few occultists among them.

"From this, it seems that the Kingdom of Rada speculates that the ancient Kingdom of Luster supported the Great Sin Ritual, which was composed of nobles, alchemists, and some occultists, with the last King of Luster, Morey VI, at its core, while the opposition was made up of the Faith Faction, which consisted of the Church, some nobles, and occultists."

"Even mages would object? Great sin magic is readily available; shouldn't they... be supporting it?"

"Yes, but that only applies to the Sin faction, the Hell faction, and the Necromancer faction. The sorcerers of the three positive factions all oppose it." This is easy to understand. The magic of the three negative factions does not conflict with each other, and even complements each other. The more sins one has, the more twisted souls one has, the stronger the sorcerer and the Hell mage become.

However, it's hard to say for arcane mages who use elemental magic or life magic; even mental mages don't think it will work.

“The forbidden magic circle has a limited limit to its maintenance,” Livia explained. While the power of sinful magic is virtually limitless, the power that the ritual itself can draw upon is finite. Therefore, only a select few can obtain this twisted immortality. However, for mental mages, the more people involved, the stronger their magic becomes. If the number of people is fixed, with a limit, it means…

"Their pursuit of the arcane path will reach its extreme." Arcane mages are not simply magical turrets; they are also scholars with their own academic pursuits. They may not be willing to accept such eternity at the cost of severing their own school of thought and academic path.

"So, the original faith faction may have alarmed a god or some kind of super-powerful entity, thus successfully solidifying the ritual." This information came from within the dragon race, and Vilandella also knew a little about it.

"The ritual was neither finished nor successful; it was frozen and sealed halfway through. Now the ritual has resumed, and although it is slow, it is enough to awaken those soul-binding stone tablets and activate the ancient Luster Legion and the carefully selected immortal citizens who were prepared in advance to remain in slumber."

"So, the Deathwhisper Fortress incident wasn't the only one?" Roach was shocked. If it weren't for Old Ma's beheading and the little witch causing some trouble, the humans wouldn't have been able to retake the Deathwhisper Fortress and suppress this mess so easily.

"probably."

"So, where can we hide now to avoid this storm?" Leslie asked seriously. "The Kingdom of Gulushe can't possibly cover the entire continent, can it?"

"No, it only covers the entire Luster Plain and a small part of the bay area." Including the Living Forest, it is already quite vast in terms of the scale of a kingdom.

“We’ll be fine if we hide in Sunport.” Leslie nodded in satisfaction. Sunport is a port city located on a giant island in the southwest of the empire, at the midpoint of the southern shipping route of the continent. To the east is the southern peninsula of the empire, and to the west is the southern section of the Scorching Desert. It is located in the middle of an inland sea formed by two protrusions of the land.

This geographical location determined that the island would be a very important trading and supply station and commercial transit point. Furthermore, due to its equatorial location, it has a warm climate with only two seasons: a rainy season and a dry season. There is a freshwater lake in the center of the island, so freshwater resources are not lacking. However, the island's agricultural area is small, and food mainly relies on merchant ships transported on imperial routes and fisheries.

Starting from the witch's cottage, head west along the coastline, rounding the cape formed by Eagle Feather Mountain, and you'll enter the Imperial Jade Province. This region is primarily known for its jadeite minerals, and its main landscape consists of rolling mountains and hills. Humans live a life that is both poor and rich, nestled in the fertile river valleys between the valleys.

The area is poor because only a few fertile river valleys are suitable for farming, while the rest are barren mountains. It is rich because it produces the magical mineral "Jadeite," which is the core material for the Imperial Spirit Magic Cannon and has a high and stable price.

After passing through the estuary swamp rainforest area in the southern part of Emerald Province, you will reach the Peninsula region, which is the second largest granary in the Empire after the Eastern Provinces. It connects to the southwestern plains of the Empire. The land is fertile, with abundant rainfall and heat, and it is rich in olives, wheat and grapes. After that, you just need to find a way to cross the sea to reach Sun Harbor.

"Of course, we can also go directly to the capital of the Primordial Sin Kingdom and reinforce the seal there. Although the Sin Demons in the capital are difficult to deal with, they have also brought out a lot of ancient magical artifacts and wealth."

The little witch looked troubled. She wanted to go to the sunny and prosperous island, but she also wanted to go to the snowy plateau to the north. Moreover, the capital of the Sin Kingdom sounded like a place full of interesting things and magical knowledge.

“How about…” Alessina took out the dice, “let fate decide.” The dice rolled and landed with a crisp sound, like the laughter of the goddess of fate.

"Boom~" The giant rock foot moved slowly through the black forest, splintering wood. Ordinary monsters didn't dare to approach this huge "magical creation," or rather, this mobile hut itself was a powerful lord-level monster.

The solid, petrified edge smashed through the tall, black hardwood. As the most solid shield against the expansion of civilization, the Black Forest was no match for this force. With each step, the stone foot left a deep pit in the ground, but the pit quickly healed itself.

To avoid attracting adventurers and unnecessary attention, the cabin is used for resting during the day and moved around at night when everyone is sleeping. And you know what? The slight shaking and noise when it moves around is actually quite soothing.

During the day, the hut retracts its eight giant rock legs, transforming into a small hill only ten or twenty meters high. Under the witch's control, a stone staircase even forms along its edge, making it blend seamlessly into the environment when one lies down.

Beyond the Black Forest lies the Luster Plain, an endless plain dotted with golden farmland and scattered natural villages. Heading north from here leads to Valley City.

Lywood County's main city, beyond Valley City, lies the "Rock Tower County" region. The area is primarily inhabited by a people known as the Rock Tower People, one of the most fiercely independent ethnic groups in the Empire and the dominant ethnic group in the northern provinces. Their customs can be summed up in one sentence: "Fighting is awesome!"

The area boasts unique paths to transcendence, including berserkers and beast warriors. The latter are essentially human-modified versions of the orcish beast warriors. The former, needless to say, is all about: exhilarating combat! The latter, in Roach's understanding, is simply: "I have the fucking strength of a bear!"

The Rock Tower tribe excels in handicrafts and forging, but has virtually no agriculture or construction. Their main professions are mercenaries, soldiers, and adventurers, followed by hunters and blacksmiths, while farmers and merchants are not well-regarded by the locals.

The former is obviously seen as a coward, while the latter... their brains are all focused on "fighting and having fun!" How much brainpower do you expect them to have left for business calculations? They often get ripped off by unscrupulous merchants.

“A common insult in the business guilds is: You’ll lose money even doing business with the Rock Tower people.” Leslie explained the local customs of Rock Tower County to Roach and Alessina, which was enough to illustrate how badly these people were cheated by unscrupulous merchants.

“I’d really like to have a go at them,” Alessina said, somewhat eager to try. She was a beast subspecies, not as extreme as the Rock Tower people, but she was still the type who liked “fighting, so exciting!”

"I'll pass, I'm afraid they'll gang up on me," Roach waved his hand. He wasn't good at fighting and knew nothing about swordsmanship. He looked like a rather strong man, but in reality, if it came to fighting, his martial arts skills were enough to put him at the same level as the Little Witch—provided he wasn't allowed to use alchemical tools and explosives.

"If that really happens..." Then all I can say is regretfully, "Sir, times have changed." Then I'll pull out my new weapon and show them what an "explosion" is all about—it has its own powerful aspects.

The little witch and her companions did not enter Valley City, and it was impossible to enter such a large house. They bypassed Valley City by going around it through the valley on the west side. They rested during the day and traveled at night, just like before. However, as the main city of Lywood County, Valley City was surrounded by a large number of satellite towns, and the population was quite dense. After traveling for only a few days, rumors of "mysterious giant beasts at night" began to circulate in the area.

However, because the population was very dense and there were many solitary hunters' or lumberjacks' huts, the huts hidden in the forests and valleys did not attract the attention of the adventurers who were searching for traces of giant beasts during the day.

Meanwhile, after a two-week rest, the Empire's spy squads finally caught their breath and began preparing for their second incursion into the Living Forest to search for the treasure.

Chapter 80 Valley City and Supply Procurement

Dale, the largest city in Lywood County and an important link between Rock Tower County and Greenwood County, is built along the rolling hills of Dale, with its various towns scattered across these hills and connected by wide stone bridges.

Whether it's the towering spires and Gothic buildings atop the hills, or the magnificent long bridges connecting the hills and valleys, there's a classic fantasy world vibe to it all.

Below the hills, on the flat land in the valley, lies the lower city, or outer city. Caravans are densely packed, and sturdy stone buildings and rough wooden huts are interspersed, like mushrooms and moss climbing up the outer walls of the ancient city and the mountainside.

Adventurers carrying weapons and packs, merchants leading horses and carrying goods, and caravans driving large carts, escorted by burly bodyguards and mercenaries, weave together to form a river of people, animals, and goods, spreading out along the winding streets to various areas.

"It's so lively!" Livia rode on Roach's shoulders, looking around curiously, searching for something that interested her. Leslie, on the other hand, was busy bargaining with the patrolling guards, trying to see if she could pay less for the city entrance tax. In the end, she found that all her efforts were less effective than showing Roach's alchemist certificate.

Although the alchemist's badge only proves that you are an alchemist, and the difference between an alchemist and a sorcerer who carries a series of professional information such as level and category is not something these guards can afford to offend, the city entry tax of five copper coins per person was successfully reduced to one copper coin. That's right, even so, it is not tax-free.

Valley City isn't a fortress-like logistics city like Hearthstone City, so the preferential treatment for professions like alchemists is limited. Of course, alchemists who can establish themselves here are generally not short of a few copper coins.

Alessina pulled her cloak up to make sure it covered her furry ears before discreetly following behind Roach and the others. The Empire's attitude towards orcs and beast subspecies was far from friendly, which was to be expected. The two sides had been fighting for as long as the Hundred Years' War between England and France, and it was hardly a wise move to expose one's beast subspecies identity on the Empire's territory.

"Come, come, take a look! These are fresh herbs that we just picked from Eagle Feather Mountain!"

"Elf wood, the finest fairy wood, only 3 silver coins per pound!"

"..." The little witch looked curiously at the roadside vendors dressed as adventurers, selling all sorts of odds and ends they had gathered during their adventures. Then Leslie pulled her aside, saying, "Don't look at their stuff. The people setting up stalls here aren't reliable."

This is the outer area of ​​the lower city of Valley City. Most of the adventurers who set up stalls here can't even afford the market's transaction tax. To put it bluntly, their trading locations don't even extend into the outermost city wall, which speaks volumes.

"Recruiting city wall repairmen, 50 copper coins per person per day!" Several burly adventurers were somewhat interested, but the foreman immediately turned them down. They wanted stonemasons with experience in city wall repair, not laborers doing odd jobs. In short, they wanted skilled workers.

"The lower area of ​​Valley City is mainly mining. There are many iron mines in the Valley Hills, and occasionally dark steel and dark source stone are also produced."

Dark steel is a black ore mined only underground and deep in mountains. When smelted with minerals such as iron ore, it can increase resistance to elemental and spiritual magic. It is an important auxiliary material for Imperial Knight plate armor. Dark source stone is an even harder stone. It was once considered a useless hard rock, but after the invention of the arcane furnace, it became an important raw material for smelting adamantite alloys.

"Isn't that tungsten?" Heavy, hard, with an extremely high melting point, and in this world, it also has very high magic resistance. Isn't that tungsten?

"Because smelting Dark Origin Stone requires a large amount of Secret Essence, there is a workshop here specifically for producing the essence."

Roach soon saw the workshop Leslie had mentioned, where groups of apprentices dressed in linen robes with tattered cloth covering their faces were going in and out. These alchemy apprentices were unlikely to become alchemists; they were simply responsible for extracting essences from various processes.

Due to the lack of adequate protection and the high toxicity of the early alchemy industry, these people did not live long, but they were still considered respectable people in the lower city.

After passing through the crowded road into the city, we arrived at a slightly higher plateau, a wide platform sandwiched between two city walls. To the right were mines and miners' quarters, and to the left were the ramp leading into the upper city and the temple square. Colorful sunshades almost completely blocked out the sky, and merchants and stalls of all kinds were crammed together. From time to time, we could hear the merchants arguing and haggling fiercely.

“Buy wheat flour, sweet potatoes, sweet potato leaves, and sweet root…” Roach unfolded the shopping list and handed one of the sheets to Leslie. “This is for you and Alessina.” Their main purpose in coming to Valley City was to buy food, herbs, and seeds for their journey, as well as various travel necessities and some essential equipment for the cabin.

"Potion bottles, 20 sets each of large, medium, and small sizes; 5 Hellfire Stones over 30 ounces... Hmm, that's it, this one is for you, Vivi." Vivi is not only strong enough, but she has also studied alchemy, so these heavier tasks that require alchemical skills are entrusted to her for purchasing. In addition, she is also responsible for purchasing the furniture.

Finally, Roach had only one last procurement list left, which included raw jewelry, gemstones, medicinal herbs, and monster materials. This task was to be handled by him and the little witch.

Gems and jewelry blanks are definitely not available at the market, so for now, we'll buy herbs and some low-level monster materials.

"This one, this one, and this one..." The little witch picked out the herbs at lightning speed. Rather than saying she was picking them out, it was more like she was communicating with the herbs, and the herbs were jumping into her hands on their own. Roach even saw some of the rejected herbs stretch out their branches in resentment, trying to entwine the little witch's fingers, only to be mercilessly torn apart.

“Huicao, Yingencao, Jiaoye... these are all top-quality medicinal herbs. The guest has a good eye. It will cost three silver coins and 17 copper coins in total.” “One silver coin.” Luo Qi held a silver coin between his fingers.

"This is too much... Two silver coins, plus a free Ghost Mushroom for two people."

“You’re overthinking it…” “It’s not a Ghost Mushroom.” Livia shook her head seriously, her light golden hair bouncing rapidly under her hat. “It’s a Green Ghost Mushroom, rubbed with quartz sand.” So the skin became thinner and more moist, and the lead-gray stripes on it were also removed.

Green devil mushrooms are common edible fungi that grow everywhere in the forests of this world. They are so unpalatable that no one picks them. Their taste is described as "the taste of a ghost," hence the name. This name was modified by Roach.

The original word means "a mushroom that tastes as bad as a dead man's finger." Ghost mushrooms, however, are legitimate potion ingredients, worth 42-60 copper coins per pound, depending on their quality and origin.

“Huiye, not Huicao,” the little witch carefully picked out one by one. The two plants looked very similar, but they were completely different. One was used for medicine with its leaves, and the other was used for medicine with its juice. The former was much cheaper.

"Silver Root Grass, an annual plant." Normally, this herb needs to be two years old to be used, but for Livia, she is not like those ordinary potion masters, so she is very economical with materials.

"This isn't burnt leaves, it's roasted 'Hui' leaves." The witch skillfully picked out each herb from the stall. Although she didn't know the price, she knew how much trickery this guy had pulled.

"This..." The stall owner was sweating profusely. He had met an expert. Even the proper alchemists in the city rarely knew how these herbs had been tampered with.

"Come with us?"

"No, I was just passing by." Roach glanced at the few men with ill intentions approaching, pulled the little witch aside, and then showed her the one-handed longsword under her cloak. Immediately, the men obediently shrank back.

"Alright, alright, one silver coin, hurry up and go!" The stall owner also saw that the guy was wearing fine armor under his cloak, so he gave up his plan to cause trouble. After all, if things got out of hand, the other party might not necessarily be in trouble, but he would really be in trouble.

"Magic Tincture and Inspiration Incense?" Magic Tincture is used to restore one's own magic power consumed by extraordinary power. After drinking it, one's own magic power can be replenished. It can only be used by professionals who have magic power. For example, it is not useful for professions such as arcane mages and alchemists who do not have magic power reserves.

Inspiration incense is used to replenish the inspiration of occultists and alchemists, that is, to enhance their mental focus and concentration in perceiving various mystical magical forces. It can also slightly improve the effects of rest and meditation.

This is the potion the little witch is going to brew. It's a basic potion, the kind that any apothecary sells. It's similar to small healing potions and small mana potions in RPG games. Of course... even so, it's still a potion, not cheap, and has some toxicity, so it can't be used in large quantities in a short period of time.

At the market, Roach and the little witch wandered around for quite a while before filling their pockets with all sorts of herbs, all grown by specialized herb farmers around Valley City. Hmm? You mean gathering them in the wild?

Wild herbs are divided into two categories. One category consists of wild grass-like items that adventurers collect and sell by weight at stalls near the city gates, making it difficult to distinguish between herbs and medicine. The other category consists of high-end goods sold in legitimate alchemy material shops along the shopping street connected to the market.

Luo Qi is good at bargaining, using the Panjiayuan-style bargaining method, which means cutting the price in half upon first meeting. If the other party doesn't give in, he'll bring in the little witch to bring it on strong. Just kidding, how many merchants selling things in this market don't sell inferior goods? Although this experience comes from antique stalls, it's surprisingly effective here.

After several merchants were "sanctioned" in succession, the remaining herbal medicine merchants and adventurers selling monster materials all became honest. No one would use ordinary eagle feathers to impersonate giant eagle feathers, nor would anyone point to a pile of amber-colored crystals and insist that they were dragon teeth.

Furthermore, after working with Livia a few times, Roach was able to discern the quality of the materials Livia was using; well, you could tell from the little guy's expression and the materials' reaction.

"Dragon scales? These must be flying serpent scales!"

"Impossible. This was hunted by our team, and I picked it myself."

“Young man, you should know that red-scaled flying serpents and flying dragons look very similar. Are you sure it’s a flying dragon?” Roach glanced at the palm-sized scale in the little witch’s hand. The latter looked at her magical pet in confusion. Why was he insisting that flying dragon scales were flying serpent scales? Had he forgotten all his material identification skills again?! Miss Livia showed an angry expression as if she were saying, “You’re not studying properly.”

"How about this, seeing that your team has been working hard, how about one gold coin?"

"Impossible, dragon scales would require at least..."

"Fifteen silver coins, that's the most I can offer. Any more and I won't take it." Roach forcefully pulled the scales out of the little witch's hand, as if he was about to throw them back onto the stall.

"Twenty silver coins, please," the bard on the other side stepped in to smooth things over. "Even if it's a flying serpent, that thing is definitely some kind of mutated species, it's very difficult to deal with!"

"Alright, alright, I'm tired of walking around too. Twenty silver coins it is," Roach said with a helpless expression, taking out two purified cursed gold coins. The gold content of these coins is not very high, and the demons that made them are not stupid. They wouldn't use pure gold. If it weren't for the fact that the curse required gold as a medium, they might even have used gold-plated ones.

"Pirate gold coins?" The other party clearly knew their stuff. He rubbed his fingers together and nodded. Pirate gold coins, while having a lower gold content, still had some collectible value, so after careful calculation, it seemed like they hadn't lost too much. After silently calling each other idiots, they ended the transaction.

"How about getting a dragon scale for 20 silver coins?"

"Hmm?" The little witch looked at the scales in her palm, then at Luo Qi, and bubbles seemed to rise from her little head. "Hmm!" she exclaimed, her expression suddenly enlightened.

The flying dragon is not a giant dragon, but a flying reptile with a faint dragon bloodline. It is a man-made monster of unknown origin. According to Vivi, it was a compromise created long ago when the dragon race fought with another race to make up for the small dragon population and poor rallying rate.

Well, you really can't expect dragons to understand what punctuality and discipline mean. When the chieftain calls the dragons together, a 30% assembly rate and a 70% on-time rate are already enough to make them the "iron army" of the dragon race.

Therefore, dragon blood was used to create this flying dragon race with certain dragon bloodlines. After generations of reproduction and degeneration over a time that even dragons cannot remember, they became the "flying dragon" monsters we know today.

The powerful ones require several adventure teams to deal with using terrain and traps, while the weak ones... "Do you know what the weakest flying dragon species is?" Vivi, carrying a large cargo box, met up with Leslie and Alessina, who were buying ingredients. "Look, it's over there."

"Scaled Snake Chicken? Isn't that a descendant of the Petrified Chicken Snake?" "No, it's a flying dragon." Vivi said it was a medium-sized bird of prey in this world that looked like a chicken but had scales instead of feathers. As far as Leslie knew, this bird of prey had always been considered a subspecies of the Petrified Chicken Snake, a panic-level monster.

"Hey pretty lady, want some chicken?!" The vendor's accent was a bit heavy, but it didn't affect Leslie's communication. Besides, in this kind of market, even language barriers didn't hinder transactions. Just look at the trade between the Phantom Clan from Sun Harbor and the Rock Tower Clan from the north, and you'll understand.

The Phantom Race is a spiritual life form without a physical body. They are usually attached to small substances like sand to form their bodies. They mainly live in the Sunport area. In other words, this race cannot speak human language at all, not any kind of human language.

However, this did not prevent them from manipulating the sand that made up their bodies to form patterns and symbols, and from having a very congenial conversation with the Rock Tower Clan, who were also unable to communicate mentally and were basically immune to magical methods. They even reached a deal to purchase a batch of stone amulets and stone statues.

"Is it on the purchase order?" Alessina glanced down at the document in her hand, shook her head, and said decisively, "Oh, no."

"But we need to purchase poultry..."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!?"