Witch Troupe and the Undead

Because that would cause the Orc Alliance to split directly. As mentioned earlier, like the Orcish Demi-humans, the differences in appearance between their various branches are so obvious that they are not the same race. However, they do have some kind of bloodline and ability connection. If this connection is severed, the alliance may fall apart the very next day.

However, there is a difference between the beastmen and the orcs: although the beastmen are members of the tribal alliance, they are not all of them. They have their own independent countries, while the orcs do not. This is the point of contention between the two sides.

However, for Alessina, these were all stories she had heard as a child, and she still habitually referred to orcs as her fellow race, though in reality... they were just closer to her than other races.

"If such incomplete reproductive isolation exists, then in a sense, it is not a big problem to say that they are of the same kind, or at least closely related species."

Roach stated that this is much closer than the blood relationship between a horse and a donkey or a lion and a tiger. Of course, it is possible to have healthy children with humans, but if they cannot interbreed, it means that their kinship with humans is much closer than they imagined, and this also applies to elves.

Considering that there are no dwarves, and whether the infertility is due to genetic or physiological reasons can be regarded as a form of reproductive isolation, then dwarves and humans are actually more distantly related species. Similarly, the same applies to dwarfs, who also belong to the sub-human race.

"I don't think we can look at it that way. There are also half-elves in this world."

"..." Roach and Alessina both looked surprised, staring at Vivi. What was that? A half-elf? Was it poured in with a dropper?

“However, there are very few half-elves. Although they are not born naturally, they can still be considered as offspring.” Vivi explained about half-elves, which are roughly similar to… in vitro fertilization, artificial hybrids. However, the fairies don’t seem to care much about this. “After all, it’s not like there aren’t people who marry fairies.”

"...Then...marital life must be very difficult in every sense, right?" And if the fairy remembers correctly, does this race have males?

"Who knows? What if it's just pure spiritual love?" Roach decided it was better not to mention some of the fairy doujinshi he had read before, although in some ways it was still hard to resist.

"Wouldn't that mean a half-demon would stay the size of a little girl forever?"

"It's not that serious. They can grow up, but they'll be shorter than normal children their age, and their lifespan will be much longer." Then everyone looked at Livia. "Could it be..."

"That shouldn't be possible. Half-elves have very obvious characteristics; they all grow wings on their backs. Livia shouldn't have that kind of organ, right?"

“Oh, I see, then it doesn’t seem like it at all,” Roach said calmly. “The biggest characteristic of half-elves is that they can only be girls, there are no males,” Vivi added. “The same applies to the offspring of half-elves. Usually, the degree of hybridization must be less than 1/4 to produce a male. However, in that case, the special abilities of the fairy race are almost negligible.”

"So, half-elves are very unpopular?"

"Hmm..." After all, men are still the main force of labor and fighting in this world, so half-demons who can only give birth to girls are naturally not very popular. Moreover, their offspring seem to be weaker than normal human girls, which makes them even less popular.

"So, many races in this world have come together through indiscriminate intermarriage like this?" Roach was already preparing to take out his notebook to write it down.

"Well, probably. Anyway, I doubt anyone studies this area."

"Hmm, then I might consider looking into it later."

[PS] Imperial Jokes Compilation 2:

A fortune teller came to the empire, claiming he could predict what others were thinking. He tried many times and guessed correctly each time. Then someone told him that he definitely couldn't predict what the princess was thinking.

The fortune teller performed the divination seven times in a row, and each time the result was the same: the princess hadn't thought about anything at all.

Upon hearing of this, the Imperial Guard knights swiftly arrested him and threw him into prison on the grounds that he had leaked the Empire's top secrets!

Chapter 113 Before Departure and the Camera

"Clap clap!" Livia clapped her hands, making a crisp sound, signaling everyone to look over. After realizing that she was not tall enough, she huffed and puffed as she climbed onto a discarded wooden crate next to her, put her hands on her hips, and looked very proud of herself.

"What did you figure out?" Roach looked at her curiously as she gestured a large circle, seemingly troubled about how to explain it. Finally, he stomped his foot in frustration, jumped off the box, and stuck his cane into the soil.

Countless crimson butterflies fluttered around his body, and the lava visibly receded, revealing the distorted structure of the slum buildings and the unknown magical substances left behind by the power of the Great Sin.

Although most of the Sin Demons do not produce anything, it does not mean that being immersed in such a high concentration of Sin Demonic Power will have no effect. In fact, a large number of "contaminated objects" and "magical minerals" have been generated, including various gems and "enchanted items" formed by the erosion of magic power.

After being purified or processed by alchemy, these items become excellent raw materials or can be sold as exotic decorative items. This is why caravans and adventurers flock here—because it's a real money-maker.

Driven by the little witch, the light butterflies flew in all directions, eventually forming complex crimson patterns that were imprinted on the remaining wall pillars.

“I see.” Livia nodded. “It can absorb magic power and then transform it.” These pillars, surrounded by swarms of crimson light butterflies, transformed the disordered Great Sin magic power into an ordered pattern, thus forming a continuous safe zone. Within this zone, magic power and physical strength recovery can be accelerated.

Because Livia converted it into life magic, adventurers could set up supply points along the way when entering the ruins, which would greatly speed up the exploration. In addition, it would continuously consume the magic power that the Great Sin Ritual had accumulated over such a long time, ultimately accelerating the collapse of the entire ritual array.

“Hmm~” Roach looked at the stone pillar, stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then suggested that it could be made more formal. He then drew an oriental-style stone lampstand, which could not only serve as a base for the protection of this kind of shelter, but also provide lighting. After being surrounded by a group of light butterflies, it would immediately have the right feel when combined with the gloomy and terrifying cemetery and the dilapidated houses of the slum.

"Hmm, I have an idea." Upon seeing this, Roach suddenly had a new idea.

"Is it the kind that explodes?" Just in case, Vivi asked in advance, and the little guy looked up at Luo Qi with concern and a worried expression.

"No, no, no, I just suddenly remembered that there's something that seems like it can be used for some experiments. There might be a little danger in the process, but it shouldn't explode."

When Roach saw the light butterfly and the stone pillar, he was reminded of a camera that could seal evil spirits. This reminded him of camera technology, specifically the earliest "silver halide" photographic paper, which uses silver nitrate and sodium chloride to form silver chloride, which is then fixed to the substrate with gelatin to form photosensitive particles.

Moreover, in this world where magic exists, silver itself has strong symbolic meaning, and who knows what strange effects it might have. After realizing that the later stages of arcane magic and alchemy no longer had systematic theoretical guidance and were entirely based on experience, Roach had no choice but to let his imagination run wild.

This is why high-level alchemists, like low-level apprentices, frequently cause explosions or accidents, because they must constantly test and experiment with all sorts of ingenious ideas, which naturally lack stability and safety.

"Hmm!" The little witch reached out her soft little hand and patted Roach's head as if to encourage him, then looked at the others with bright eyes.

Alessina shrugged and showed her the black truffles and wild vegetables she had just picked. The little witch gave her a pat on the shoulder in satisfaction. Finally, she looked at Vivi, who froze and could only manage a wry smile, indicating that she had no plans. This made the little girl a bit frustrated, but she still gave her a comforting pat.

The witch's cottage, the laboratory.

Gelatin and silver halide particles were successfully prepared, but the photosensitivity was not good and it could not be used as photographic paper. First, some simple process changes were tested, but the effect was not very good. Then, other things were tried to be added.

Roach spent several weeks going through all the books in the Little Witch's collection that he could understand. Finally, by adding a little white crystal powder and replacing the ordinary paper with a thicker metal sheet plated with copper, he created the world's first photographic paper and the first roll of film (silver halide + acetate film).

The lens was solved using magic, and Roach ended up with a very old-fashioned camera. When he saw it, Captain Augros's first reaction was, "Is this some kind of new weapon?"

"No, it's not," Roach said, indicating that this was not a new weapon, but just a camera. And after the little witch's testing, it was found that it did not have any exorcism or soul-capturing functions. It was just a simple black and white camera. Because it used all magical materials, the price and operating cost were extremely high.

Large in size, not portable, and requiring a special darkroom to develop the photos, which was tedious and complicated, and in the end, it could only take black and white photos. However, compared to hiring an artist, it was still incredibly convenient. Ogros quickly paid out of his own pocket to buy a camera, several rolls of film, and 50 sheets of photographic paper from Roach.

This is also the fastest-selling and best-selling of all of Roach's inventions. After all, it doesn't explode and is very useful, even for adventurers. Originally, many of the discoveries adventurers made in ruins had to be carried back and appraised by someone, which was time-consuming and laborious.

Now, the excavated items can be laid out together, photographed one by one, and then sent back using communication methods like XunYing (a telecom operator) to have professionals conduct a preliminary appraisal. This avoids the embarrassment of bringing back several truckloads of worthless loot and losing valuable items.

Not only that, but after completing the expedition, they can also take a group photo to commemorate the occasion. For small teams of adventurers, this means they can show off the valuable information in the photo when they go to the tavern to brag. For groups like adventurer guilds, they can even put the photo on the wall—is there a better advertisement than this?

Instead of spending ages bragging to clients about your amazing achievements, wouldn't it be much more intuitive and obvious to just show them a photo wall? You can even do this when recruiting new people. Just throw out a stack of photos and say, "Look, this is XXX, the big shot; this is XXX, the expert; look, this is XXX's loot from his adventure in the ruins," and so on.

Therefore, every adventurer team that had spare money bought a camera from Roach. Besides, while it might seem clumsy and inconvenient to ordinary people, for adventurers it was just like carrying a spare heavy weapon.

Therefore, Roach had to redesign its tripod so that it could be assembled into a spear, which further reduced the burden on adventurers, allowing it to be used for both combat and photography.

However, a camera was not Roach's goal. He wanted to create something similar to a "camera," a product with certain magical effects. As a result, Livia often had to come with him to the slums to test the effects.

However, the little girl was still very interested in the job. She was responsible for helping Roach test and make various lenses, while Vivi, after figuring out the general principles, was responsible for helping to capture evil spirits to be used as test subjects and testing various photographic paper materials.

Lava surged forth from the twisted buildings, cascading down like a waterfall. In the distance, billowing black smoke rose, and amidst the heatwave, the silhouette of the royal city became indistinct, resembling the castle of a demon king.

"Click!" Roach pressed the shutter, and the blue-green patterns of the Tree of Life quickly appeared and faded on the lens, capturing the slums and the demons in the distance. Then Roach switched to a second lens.

This time, different patterns shone. He took several photos for each shot before changing to a new roll of film. Then he looked at the little witch, who shook her head at him, indicating that she had not observed any abnormal flow of magic power. In other words, it had not caused any interference effects such as sealing.

Disappointed, Roach had Vivi take the film back to be developed and began retesting the new lens combination and film. This work continued for quite some time with disappointing results, and even Livia had to give him another comforting hug.

After finishing today's testing, Roach packed up and left. They didn't plan to enter the ruins for the time being; this work was currently left to the adventurers. They used the lampstand-like devices made by the little witch to set up rest points in the slums and cemetery areas. It must be said that this process really helped the adventurers and the Imperial Survey Team in their investigation of the ruins.

After replenishing its manpower, the Imperial Survey Corps launched a large-scale investigation of the ruins surrounding the capital. In addition to the survey corps' own operations, it also hired a large number of adventurers to undertake other projects.

For example, tasks such as retrieving records and items, clearing out demons, drawing maps, and establishing safe zones are all assigned to adventurers, while large-scale incursions and investigations are the responsibility of the investigation team itself.

The investigation team reinforced the post station camp, established several altars and workshops, as well as a magic garden to cultivate species or plants recovered from the ruins. The entire investigation team was reorganized into four squadrons.

The first one was responsible for fortifying the camp and defending against the demons' attacks, while the second one was responsible for handling adventurers and various commissions. After facing Augros's sullen face with a full beard for a long time, the hall that was renovated into the Adventurers' Guild finally had a dedicated signboard girl. Even though she was just an ordinary arcane apprentice, the adventurers felt that their eyes were much cleaner.

The third and fourth teams were each led by a knight captain from the Thunderbird Knights, and were responsible for investigating the barrier, the magic ritual site, and ancient history, respectively. The latter team, in particular, purchased a considerable number of cameras from Roach.

Limited by manual production, Roach was overwhelmed with orders and had to hire a group of alchemy apprentices from Tallinn to help. Anyway, the invention process of silver halide paper and film was a bit of a headache, but the manufacturing process was not complicated, especially in this magical world.

Many complex chemical reactions in reality can be handled quickly using magic and alchemy. For example, there are transmutation arrays (a magical ritual, not something you can just create by clapping your hands) that accelerate the reaction of reactants, and manipulation spells that evenly mix silver salt particles into an acetic acid substrate. These spells are small-scale magic tricks, which is why mechanized production in this world can never beat manual production.

On Earth, a reaction would require a pressure vessel several people high, but here, with transmutation arrays and magical ritual fields used to mass-produce reactions in glass containers, there is naturally no need to build a chemical plant.

Similarly, forging and machining are also like this. If it weren't for some rough and cumbersome work that was really not cost-effective, even complex mechanical structures such as various tools and steam engines would not have been invented. Moreover, even so, the complex mechanical structures represented by these steam engines were byproducts of the alchemists who designed and manufactured magical robots.

Shortly after the main investigation team set off, the Little Witch and Roach completed their preparations. Since their explosive weapons were not suitable for use in ruins and urban areas, Roach had to create some Mystic Runestones suitable for small-scale conflicts and design a staff-like object for himself.

This is a lightweight staff made entirely of hardwood, slightly taller than Roach. The top is a circle with a transparent crystal lens inlaid in the center. The edge of the lens is surrounded by magical runes, a byproduct of researching camera lenses. After being infused with the magic of the rune disc, it can emit rays of specific attributes.

A string of these lenses also hangs on the little witch's skirt belt. This is a new combo skill she created, which is very cool and she likes it very much.

"Is everything ready?" Vilandella, the team leader, looked at the team members. The black horse grinned, showing that it was well prepared. It was carrying a huge amount of luggage on its back, looking like a mountain with four legs. Learning from the lesson of not bringing enough supplies and materials last time, this time the little witch carefully checked the supplies in the house and decided to bring everything.

Neither Alessina nor Roach objected to the decision, as they were indifferent since it wasn't their responsibility to carry it, and the weight was not a problem for Old Ma at all.

“I’m fine with it, but… are we really not going to leave anyone to watch the house?” Alessina seemed completely oblivious to the true value of the various monsters and spirits in the house. She knew Black Horse was a formidable character, but right now all that was left was a hardworking old ox and a useless mermaid who barely scraped by with the magical bow and arrows Roach had made.

“No need, Leslie has a greater role to play here.” The mermaid girl had no intention of being excluded and wholeheartedly agreed with Roach’s opinion. Here, she was the proprietress of “Livia’s Magic Hut”, which she ran in the camp outside.

To make up for the Little Witch's insufficient production capacity, she also hired many alchemy apprentices to help produce potions. Of course, the recipes and ingredients were from the Little Witch. Although the quality was not very good, the output was large and stable—well, they were all low-level potions.

"Don't worry, no one will come to rob us here," Roach said, glancing sideways. This fox girl was so straightforward. You've seen how the house looks standing up, why do you think someone will come to rob us? You don't really think the house standing up was the little witch's magic, do you?

Roach had no doubt that without the little witch holding it down, the house and the ground below would really turn into a giant carrying the building, along with hundreds of various artifacts and summoned beasts, smashing the intruders to pieces.

Leslie had witnessed how the house was secretly moved more than ten meters ahead of its foundation when facing the explosion caused by Roach. So, if an intruder were to hide inside, he could probably see the house transform into a giant of earth and wood, pinning down the intruder and hammering him until he was unable to take care of himself.

“That’s alright then. As for me…” Alessina checked her belongings: a greatsword, a crossbow, and a string of garlic cloves and yellow, chili-like spherical fruits hanging on her body. Clearly, these were her luggage.

"Garlic can reduce swelling, and physalis can stimulate appetite; both are essential supplies for long-distance travel in the north."

However, living on Alesia Island, she only knew these things through hearsay. But the fact that one cannot drink alcohol and can only soak lantern fruit in water when traveling in the North is indeed a military trivia known to both humans and beastmen in the North.

During marches, the lack of internal heat sources means that drinking alcohol will only cause the body to lose heat faster and die more quickly. On the contrary, after setting up camp, alcohol becomes a necessity for the northern army.

On the one hand, it is needed to rub the frostbitten parts to accelerate blood flow to the extremities and prevent limb necrosis. On the other hand, after replenishing food and calories, drinking alcohol can effectively accelerate blood flow, thereby relieving fatigue and warming the body, so that the limbs are not so stiff that they cannot be used the next day.

Of course, the beastmen and orcs have their own unique methods. They add these lantern fruits to mare's milk or sheep's milk, which accelerates the coagulation of these dairy products and makes them into a kind of extremely spicy cheese or milk curd. When on duty or marching, they can put a piece in their mouth to warm their body without accelerating the loss of heat.

Besides these two, she also carried many wooden tubes filled with hay on her body. This hay was also an essential item for marching in the North. For no particular reason, just the simplest one—when marching in the North, especially in spring and winter, you can't find dry moss or anything like that. If you don't bring your own hay, you can't even start a fire.

Even if you bring hay, you still need to prepare small pieces of wood. In the plains, tinder can ignite dry wood, but in the North, tinder cannot ignite damp wood that has absorbed a lot of snow water. Therefore, you must first use these small pieces of wood to start a fire and burn a pit in the log to make a log stove.

"Then let's set off!" "Oh!" The little witch blankly raised her cane to indicate that the group could depart.

Chapter 114 The Graveyard of Great Sins

Roach and his companions chose a route that led through the cemetery, across the edge of the slums, and into the city's outskirts. This area was the commercial district and the target of most adventurers, as it contained a vast quantity of ancient coins and artifacts, as well as possibly well-preserved magical equipment or gems.

After all, gemstones are formed over tens of millions of years of geological changes, and hundreds or thousands of years of human history have almost no impact on them. Of course, it is certain that the surface will become dull due to oxidation, and it will need to be polished again.

Similarly, the same principle applies to gold and silver artifacts and bronze artifacts; however, compared to the intrinsic value of the precious metals themselves, these items have a higher value as cultural relics and collectibles.

The cemetery, once an appendage of the church on the outskirts of the capital, sits on a terrace and is divided into several layers. Near the collapsed church are the tombs of minor nobles and wealthy merchants. The solemn marble mausoleums have been entangled by withered plants into a hemispherical structure.

Further away are the cemeteries for the common people, which generally have stone tombstones and a slab of rock covering. Because the power of the Great Sin Magic has suppressed the formation of the Death Magic, there are no undead creatures here.

Therefore, most of the graves are relatively intact. The outermost layer consists of the graves of the poor, which are more like mass graves than graves, dug up by adventurers and sinners, exposing the densely packed layers of skeletons inside.

The adventurers had to dig through these mass graves to enter the church's catacombs, thus avoiding the areas above teeming with greedy demons. The more burial goods there were, the larger and more numerous the greedy demons would be. Most of the adventurers who came with the survey team could handle the greedy demons here, but that didn't mean they were willing to pay such a huge price to do so.

Roach and his companions, however, did not intend to take the lower path like the adventurers. Instead, they planned to take the upper path, which involved passing through the twisted and broken metal walls to enter the church cemetery. They would then pass directly through the collapsed church building, and take the opportunity to study the religious culture of the ancient Kingdom of Luster. Afterward, they would descend the steps in front of the church to the Kingdom Avenue, which had been torn into several misaligned sections by the barrier and past events.

The black fence was rusted and decayed, and through the twisted holes, one could see greedy demons, like hairless, crimson rats, roaming the cemetery behind it. They brandished all sorts of weapons and tools, trying to destroy the graves and seize the burial treasures of the dead.

"Squeak~" The withered tree vines made a long, strange sound, which startled the greedy demon that was near a tomb. Its disgusting fleshy nose sniffed around for a while, but it did not smell anything special. Just then, the vines suddenly transformed into a spiral piercing vine that pierced through the tomb from behind.

The little witch held her cane in her right hand and tossed a magic lens into the air with her left. A golden halo was visibly reflected on the lens, and the magic in the atmosphere quickly gathered towards it. The next second, a blinding golden beam of light sliced ​​the struggling Greedy Demon in two.

Greed turned to ashes and disappeared, leaving several pieces of damaged equipment lying in the dirt. "This feeling..." Roach felt like he was playing a video game, with equipment dropping.

However, they weren't very interested in what the Greedy Demon had on him. Instead, they chose to kill the unfortunate lone creature and quickly pass through the gap in the fence.

Alessina was the first to step forward. The fox-eared girl carrying a giant sword stepped onto the curved, sharp fence, braced herself with her hands on the two sharp black iron bars on either side, and slowly exerted force to deform it further until a large enough oval gap was created. Finally, she used both feet to completely bend the fence into a U-shape.

Only then could the black horse, laden with luggage and supplies, barely squeeze through. After the two melee fighters passed, Livia carefully lifted the hem of her pink and white skirt, placed one hand on Alessina's arm, and cautiously stepped across the gap that was somewhat dangerous for her.

Roach and Vivi were much faster, crossing over in two steps. This delay allowed more Greed Demons to discover the intruders. Two Greed Demons charged forward, brandishing their broken blades, while a small Greed Demon archer behind them strung a crossbow made of human bones and tendons.

Since human bones are not very elastic, Roach could only interpret this situation as a result of magic altering the physical properties of the bones.

"Whoosh!" The crossbow bolt flew straight toward the little witch's face. The little girl instinctively squatted down and covered her head with her hands. The arrow broke in two with a clang against the shield that had been opened. The blade that followed was blocked by Alessina's greatsword.

The attacks from the two melee-focused Greed Demons were almost too much for the fox girl to handle. She slipped slightly backward, leaving two furrows in the ground. But by then, Livia had already reacted. With her eyes closed, she gripped her staff tightly and slammed it down on the Greed Demon's head.

"Clang!" With her strength, she obviously couldn't cause any substantial physical damage. Instead, the rebounding force made her sit on the ground with a thud. However, a golden rune appeared on the forehead of the greedy demon.

"Hey!" Alessina exhaled and pushed forward forcefully, causing the two Greed Demons to lose their balance. At the same time, he kicked the one with a rune on his head away and smashed the Greed Archer who was loading the second bullet onto his crossbow to the ground. "Boom!" A ball of golden lightning engulfed the two Greed Demons together, and in just a few seconds, only a pile of ashes remained.

As for the remaining one, before it could even readjust its posture, it was hit in the face by three fireballs released by Roach and knocked to the ground again. Alessina stepped forward, flipped his hand, and plunged his greatsword downwards, thus eliminating the last Greed Demon.

“Hoo~” “Without the barrier and home-field advantage, these things are more difficult to deal with than I imagined.” Alessina exhaled a breath of turbid air. Without the weakening effect of the Black Forest or the barrier restriction of the Little Witch, the strength, speed and damage resistance of these Greedy Demons in the graveyard have increased by at least 50% to 75%.

Back at the camp, Alessina could easily smash back three or fewer Greed Demons that attacked her with a single sword strike. But here, just two Greed Demons attacking at the same time almost overwhelmed her.

“Master Roach, you’d better conserve your energy.” “Hmm.” Roach nodded. It was the first time he had used a runestone to cast a secret spell. It felt amazing, just like unlocking a phone screen. As long as you made a specific gesture or shape, you could release magic.

The entire process is completed by the runestones, and the rune disk outputs magic power. As for him, he is just pressing a switch. Unfortunately, this sensing method relies entirely on the magic power converted from the essence of the rune disk itself, so it can only quickly activate small spells. Slightly larger runestone spells also have a cooldown time, or a charging time.

After passing through the fence, the cemetery is filled with broken tombstones. You must be careful not to trip over them or accidentally crush the coffin lids damaged by the greedy demon.