Witch Troupe and the Undead

According to the empirical formula of the arcane sorcerers, it can basically reach the level of a heavy crossbow. It is not enough to deal with knights wearing alchemical armor and carrying magical equipment, but it is enough to penetrate iron plates (not steel plates) at least 7-8 millimeters thick for their squires and infantry. On Earth, it would also be a decent single-target rifle.

If you shake it at high speed, it will launch a fireball. The longer you shake it and the faster you shake it, the larger and more powerful the fireball will be, similar to an armor-piercing grenade or a high-explosive rifle grenade.

To avoid constantly cranking the handle, Roach added a temporary energy storage device to the end. This way, he only needed to crank the handle to charge the energy once, and then he could fire it at the appropriate time. However, in order to save on material costs, this energy storage device could only store energy equivalent to a normal explosive fireball, and it would dissipate rapidly over time.

Roughly half of it disappears every 2 minutes. Roach calls this material property the "magic half-life". Current test results show that the cheapest quartz plate has a "magic half-life" of 2 minutes, while the most expensive and best dragon scale provided by Vivi has a half-life of 4.5 hours.

Of course, the above are the materials that are currently available. As for finding a material with a reasonable price, cost, and performance, that would require Mr. Byrne to provide the funds.

Similarly, since this is essentially about getting the wind elemental magic moving, rather than getting the "moving element" moving, Roach still needs to pay the other party to test the affinity and performance of various magical materials for the elements, in order to find the most suitable type for charging the "moving element".

Similarly, the related essence formulas, rune combinations, and symbolic element patterns of the dynamic elements all need to be experimented with. This part is the responsibility of the little witch, who has always been very interested in it, but due to the limitations of materials, she can only conduct research on common materials at present.

If the sponsor can obtain materials that are unavailable or difficult to obtain on the market, then this part of the research can begin.

As it stands, this weapon's practicality is zero, because Leslie spent almost half an hour cranking the handle to charge an arrow with the power of a light crossbow. Therefore, further improvements are needed to the elemental patterns to enhance the sensing effect, the materials to provide higher affinity, the essence formula to provide more firing energy, and the energy storage crystal to complete charging faster and reduce natural loss.

Basically, Roach's goal was to make this thing he called the "magic matchlock gun." Well, the thing with a 2-minute lifespan was the matchlock, and the crank was for cleaning the chamber and loading lead bullets. Ideally, it could fire 2 shots per minute, and a skilled person could fire 3 shots, which would allow them to perform a line-up execution.

Furthermore, due to the nature of magic, he also tried to lengthen the receiver and add an extension tube engraved with a distortion field spell to the front, so that the launched projectile could spin at high speed. Ultimately, the initial design of the ammunition he finalized was not the shape of the crossbow arrow.

Instead, it was a hexagonal projectile that rapidly converged into a spiral cone. Under the little witch's control and acceleration, this projectile, at its test energy level (the standard output energy level of this magical heavy crossbow), successfully pierced through a damaged and discarded knight's armor provided by Commander Augros, penetrating from front to back.

The final manuscript Mr. Bourne received featured a very peculiar design. Roach, thinking that since the performance was already what it was, might as well copy more, borrowed the design of a weapon from a certain hunting game.

It has two pairs of crossbow arms that cross each other and require two hands to hold. There is a long tube in front of the receiver that resembles the rails of a railgun. The top of the receiver is closed and has a device that looks like a monocular telescope mounted on it. It is said that a shield can be added on top or a bayonet can be added underneath as needed.

It was given a certain close-range combat capability, and on the side of the receiver was a long ammunition belt. On the second and third pages of the manuscript, there were simple principle instructions and ammunition instructions drawn by the little witch. These childlike drawings silenced the high-ranking members of the parliamentary army.

First, the first item on the second page shows a little girl dressed as a witch wearing a pointed hat struggling to lift a heavy crossbow, then falling on her bottom. Next, there's a picture of her opening the tripod and clamping it onto a large rock. A red X is marked next to the former, and a red circle is drawn next to the latter.

The second point is about how to change ammunition. An incorrect way of changing ammunition led to a little girl being pounced on by a big dog and frantically licked.

The third one is about using the scope to attack distant enemies, then proudly puffing out his chest, standing on a chubby, chibi-style green dragon with XX-shaped eyes. The fourth one, drawn by Roach, shows how to switch ammunition.

Although this looks like a picture book for children, it does explain how to use this weapon. However, there is a problem: you've already provided the instruction manual, so why do you still need to spend money to continue researching it?

Or perhaps Master Roach already had a well-thought-out plan, but simply lacked the funds? Bourne ignored the parliamentary soldiers who were still reading the instruction manual, and skipped the page about ammunition, going straight to the budget sheet at the back.

The cost of upgrading the charging handle is 500 gold coins, the cost of upgrading the energy storage crystal is 200 gold coins, and the cost of upgrading the entire rune set is 1000 gold coins with no upper limit. It also requires the provision of some prohibited materials and equipment that are hard to buy on the market.

Finally, there was a long list of development budgets for ammunition and accessories, totaling over 15,000 gold coins. Only at the very end were items such as "process improvement" and "cost optimization," and these items had no budget listed at all, only as much budget and as long a time as possible.

"What do you think?"

“I think this weapon is useless and too expensive. As a ranged weapon, it also requires specially forged ammunition, which means that if it misses, it will be a net loss.” As a merchant, he immediately calculated its cost of use. “Moreover, once the ammunition and essence gel are exhausted, new ones need to be replenished. It has no advantage over enchanted weapons.”

“Besides, those runestones are very fragile and easily damaged by soldiers, so we need to prepare enough replacement parts,” said an alchemy workshop owner. “Once the number of equipment increases, the workshop will be too busy just to supply the parts.”

"An enchanted longsword can last for at least two months if it's not used in high-intensity, high-strength combat. In the hands of a skilled user, three months is not impossible. And before the enchantment wears off completely, it doesn't require professional maintenance; ordinary whetstones and sword oil will suffice." These were the words of a militia officer.

"Moreover, it would be more cost-effective for us to purchase a batch of alchemical sword oil." The members of the Parliamentary Army were a group of merchants, artisans, and workshop owners, as well as a small number of farmers. Their sensitivity to costs was greater than their military acumen, which left Bourne speechless.

"Do you know what the greatest value of this weapon is to us?"

"What is it?"

What do you think of these instruction manuals?

"Very...childlike?"

"No, it's very simple. Even a child can understand this drawing, how to use this weapon, and its simple maintenance."

"What's the big deal? Maintaining and repairing weapons isn't difficult at all; a few days of training is enough."

"But what about using it?" Byrne rolled his eyes. "You're all right. An enchanted longsword, the kind that can unleash arcs of flame, can kill hundreds of militiamen on the battlefield before needing to be recharged. Plus, it's cheaper, more durable, and its regular maintenance only requires a whetstone and sword oil."

"But how many of our men know how to use a sword? How many have systematically studied swordsmanship, especially magic swordsmanship, which uses magical weapons? Forgive my bluntness, but the people you recruit have only ever seen magic swords in shop windows in their entire lives."

"Do you expect them to fight those knights and squires on the battlefield?"

"The battlefield is not a place to demonstrate individual martial prowess, Mr. Bourne."

"Oh, so you expect them to form a solid formation to face the charge of knights, or the charge of knights shrouded in supernatural power?"

"..."

"Or do all your recruits possess superhuman physical abilities of at least level I, capable of wearing heavy armor and wielding heavy anti-cavalry charging lances? Or can your light infantry surround and kill those knights' squires?" This would be perfectly fine on Earth, but in this world…

All I can say is that the latter only needs to activate the most basic Phantom Step among extraordinary martial arts to kill two people on the spot, then kill one person with a backhand slash, and finally cleave the fleeing one with sword energy. The remaining onlookers will collapse in morale and scatter in all directions.

After all, these troops were composed of ordinary citizens and passionate young people. To put it nicely, they were courageous; to put it bluntly, they were only brave enough to fight when the wind was against them.

"So, it's fine to let them fire arrows from a distance, but expecting them to go and fight the knights head-on... don't you guys understand how you lost yet?"

When both sides were exchanging fire with bows and small magic cannons, the formation could generally be maintained. However, when the knights rode their warhorses, their bodies enveloped in the glow of defensive spells, they crashed into the formation, and the entire formation collapsed.

It demonstrated what it means to "flee when you see the enemy, that is the greatest courage."

After all, they hadn't yet encountered the professional archer units of the Kingdom of Rada who specialized in long-range archery, and the governor couldn't afford to maintain such a force, let alone have any interest in the Empire's dragon cavalry. So both sides were using ordinary hunting bows and light crossbows to exchange fire.

If they were to encounter these two specialized long-range units, it is estimated that these parliamentary troops would be blasted away during the long-range bombardment phase.

Well, the Empire's dragon cavalry is basically a magical version of artillery, consisting of arcane mages, magic cannons, and magical beasts like earth dragons. These strong magical beasts are responsible for transporting heavy magical construct weapons.

They are called dragon riders because the generally weak physical abilities of arcane mages usually allow them to travel on mounts, and the effects of the magical weapons they use are described as "like the breath of a dragon."

As for the archer unit, it consists entirely of half-elves and quarter-elves, and uses specialized magic bows and magic arrows with amazing power and range. However, they are extremely expensive, as bows and arrows are consumables.

If I had to put it into words, it would be similar to the difference between an anti-aircraft artillery battalion and a howitzer battalion, while this group of militiamen with ordinary bows and crossbows would be blown up in a firefight.

Of course, when the governor-general is charging into such a professional ranged force, he will not send knights to charge. Instead, he will send serfs to serve as cannon fodder to deplete the enemy's magic and test their attack attributes before switching to defensive tactics and then launching his own charge.

This leads to a battle between different countries over magical attacks and counter-magic. For example, they might conceal their true intentions and spell types, confuse the attributes of their attacks, or use combined attack attributes to circumvent the issue of targeted resistance. On the other hand, the attacking side would also use indiscriminate magic resistance barriers to counter magical attacks.

The depth of this game is no less than that of artillery warfare on Earth. Artillery fire, counter-artillery fire, and ballistic calculations are all manifested in this form in this world.

"Therefore, I think Master Roach's weapon is very suitable for use here. However, you are also right. Right now, we can't use it now. We have to hold out for the next month's siege."

The weapons transported by the princess have basically arrived. Well, I'm talking about weapons, but in reality, it's just a pile of scrap metal. She really transported it as scrap metal. This scrap metal comes from the garbage generated when she was clearing out the resistance forces in the capital, as well as the junk equipment manufactured by the workshops she acquired. After all, the collapse of these workshops was not entirely due to economic problems, but also to quality issues.

However, this way, at least the parliamentary army can ensure that everyone gets a low-quality short sword and a wooden round shield, which is enough to deal with the serf soldiers. In the event of a surprise attack, a few people can take on one person and deal with the town guards.

"However, first of all, we still need to transfer the money to Master Roach. Everyone, now is not the time to save money. Another piece of good news is that the Unos family in Port Garland has been raided on suspicion of treason. Now no one will have any illusions about those nobles anymore."

Bourne lacked professional intelligence channels, so he didn't know that the guild leader was truly planning to launch a riot while the governor was out suppressing bandits—but then again, what would happen if a group of merchants with their own ulterior motives gathered together in their own mansion to discuss such matters, without even discreetly informing their personal servants?

Therefore, everyone now thinks that the governor is probably determined to eliminate these treacherous individuals, and that even if they surrender, it will just be an excuse to confiscate their property.

At this point, being stingy with money is pointless, so the discussion about the sponsorship budget was smoothly agreed upon. The sponsorship fee of 3 gold coins will be disbursed in three installments. The first installment will only provide 1500 gold coins and a batch of prohibited materials. The remaining amount will be discussed based on the progress and the performance of the initial samples.

Chapter 125 A Grand Act of Filial Piety that Caused a Scene

The reply and the 1500 gold coins arrived almost simultaneously. This was not because the Empire had remote bank drafts or some kind of ultra-fast communication technology, but simply because it was a practical use of a voucher.

Mr. Byrne gave a receipt to a distant relative in Rock Tower County. He used this receipt to scrape together 1500 gold coins from the Merchant Guild. Then, he gave the receipt to the head of the Merchant Guild, who would take it to the capital on his next trade trip to cash in the Byrne family.

In the past, there was no need to be in such a hurry, since such IOUs were, to some extent, a form of political alignment and investment. However, in this era where everyone is trying to default on their debts, it's better to convert them into precious metals or other safe-haven assets as soon as possible to secure the money.

"They really gave it to him!?" Roach looked at the letter and 1500 gold coins delivered by Augros's messenger with great surprise. It was rare to see such an honest and simple investor on Earth.

Most investors not only have to send their own financial staff to the project team, but also have to set up a special account. In reality, if they receive 70% of the agreed amount of money, they are already very satisfied, and most of the time it is only around 50%.

Oh, it's not that Commissioner Smith wants to take it, but rather that the salaries of these financial staff, auditors, and the managers sent by investors are also paid out here. Also, the investors themselves may not actually have that much liquid capital that they can just take out whenever they want.

One thousand gold coins were thrown directly into the crucible by Roach to melt them. These gold coins were minted by the Imperial Royal Mint and had a stable value, but their gold content was not high, at about 65%.

As for other minted gold coins, there are church gold coins with a gold content of over 90%, and there are also inferior items with a gold content of less than 20%, which are called "large copper coins" or "brass coins".

For the empire, reclaiming the right to mint coins has always been the ultimate goal of the royal family and all nobles and officials who support the empire's centralized system, and a minting war even broke out decades ago.

The result was that local nobles exchanged some autonomy for the emperor's compromise, and various officially minted coins began to circulate in different territories. Currently, due to the stable value of the coins, their market share is gradually increasing.

Each gold coin weighs 3.8 grams. After melting a thousand gold coins, the resulting molten gold mixture weighs only 3.8 kilograms. After purification, the gold weighs approximately 2 kilograms, which is sufficient for the little witch to manufacture the first stage of the magic pump.

Livia simply waved her finger, and the molten metal automatically separated into pure gold and a mass of alloy liquid. In a sense, her ability to counterfeit money was simply unparalleled.

Gold represents "eternity," "the sun," and "life," while pure silver represents the elements of "holiness," "magic," and "mystery." Both materials play important roles in alchemy, esoteric rituals, and heraldic studies.

At the same time, it is also the base material for synthesizing adamantite and mithril. Well, in this world, adamantite and mithril are not natural minerals, but an alchemical alloy made of gold and silver.

The former is blackish-gray, turning silver-gray after melting. It has very high hardness and requires extremely high temperatures for secondary remelting. As a heat-resistant alloy, it is mostly used in high-quality armor and shields. The latter, on the other hand, is a very unique ice-blue color. It is more like ice-blue glass than metal. It is soft, easy to shape, and has very high magical affinity and conductivity.

In the case of the Little Witch, because gold is a key material in the "constant ritual" for creating the magic pump, the ritual's effect is relatively fixed and does not change as the material deteriorates, nor does it require a sorcerer to operate it constantly.

The 2kg of gold was just a small cube less than 6cm high, not as big as Roach had imagined. Under the little witch's manipulation, this crimson metal was separated into two lumps, one large and one small. The larger lump was used to manufacture the base material for the magic pump, while the smaller lump was used to encapsulate the underlying processing device structure.

The gold boiled in the witch's cauldron, gradually changing from crimson to pale yellow as more potions and strange materials and ores were added, eventually turning into a silvery-gray similar to adamantite. When it completely solidified, it formed a very complex and thin three-dimensional structure, looking like a regular octahedron floating in the witch's palm.

The next step is to inscribe it on its eight sides and embed mithril wires to construct a complete magic circuit. This is the ritual core of the complex mystical creation called the "Magic Pump," and at least three to four of them are needed to complete it.

As for the remaining gold, it will be kept. The core will be installed on the base, and the remaining gold will be used for the base.

Besides gold, Livia also needs a large amount of rare magical materials, the most troublesome of which is an "ancestral rock" produced in Rock Tower County.

The troublesome thing about this thing is that it was widely used by the Rock Tower people to build stone coffins for their ancestors, to the point that all the easily found and mined veins have been depleted. If you really want to get it, you can only try your luck or... smash the coffins of other people's ancestors to get it.

The reason for needing this troublesome thing lies in the nature of the Great Sin Magic itself. It belongs to the Void Source, relying on concepts, as well as the existence of society and spirit. Therefore, it is normal to need to use a similar "ancestral rock" that embodies spirit and concepts as the core ritual structure.

Of course, there are no strict requirements on the specific type of rock. In other words, whichever rock they choose to embody the spirit and broadly represent the concepts of final rest and death can be used as material.

The reason for choosing this ancestral rock of the Rock Tower people is that it is relatively easy to obtain.

“Well, as for alternatives, we can use branches or leaves from the elven race’s original tree of life; the orcs’ ancestral spirit totem wood, well, it seems that melting it with the church’s holy emblem is also a feasible solution, but it requires the Great Holy Emblem.” Livia seemed troubled by this as well, and then flipped through the book and told Roach and the others about a few things with similar effects.

It's the thing that sits on the parish's main altar, not the emblem of the local chapel. Otherwise, you could just go outside and find the priest at the mobile shrine in the camp and buy one for a few gold coins.

"What about other races?" Alessina seriously considered the possibility of totem wood.

The little witch rested her index finger on her chin, thinking for a long time before finally speaking, "I don't know if other races can use it. Hmm, even if I did, I wouldn't know the recipe."

"Furthermore, we should use the best possible materials, rather than trying to substitute inferior ones. The accumulated sinful magic within could be astronomical, and the core of this ritual will have to withstand an extremely high load, so..."

"Then let's consider using the dragonstone from the dragon race."

"What is that?" Livia tilted her head. "It serves the same purpose as the Ancestral Rock. When a dragon dies, it takes its burial goods into a chosen grave, then seals the grave from the inside with this stone, and then enters a long hibernation to await death. It's roughly similar to a coffin in human culture." Vivia explained what the Dragon Stone was.

As for why no one digs up the Dragon Stone, it's mainly because dragons are enthusiasts of "secret burials." Their tombs contain abundant treasures and various items of interest collected throughout their lives. As mentioned before, for dragons, the value of treasures lies not in their economic value, but in what these treasures represent.

A dragon's collection, especially its burial items, is a condensation of its life's achievements, experiences, and memories, almost representing the entire meaning of the dragon's long life. Therefore, even the most insignificant gold coin represents a certain part of their dragon life. Stealing their treasures is no different from stealing their life.

"Furthermore, as dragons age, they accumulate a vast amount of memories throughout their lives. They have to use some method to store these memories in these collectibles. When they see the collectibles, they can recall even a trivial matter from a thousand years ago. Therefore, the dragon's treasure vault will definitely be discovered."

When they admire the treasure, they quickly become physically aware that they have lost a piece of their memory, and then the thief will suffer the terrible retribution of the dragons.

"Therefore, when dragons realize they are nearing the end of their lives, they secretly find a place to bury all their collections, then seal themselves inside. To avoid tomb raiders, this place is known only to themselves."

Furthermore, many dragons only look for a place to rest when they are about to die. In other words, if you catch a middle-aged or elderly dragon, unless it is one or two years away from dying, it may not even know where its future grave will be.

"The dragonstone, serving as the foundation for sealing the entire tomb chamber, is itself the core of a secret ritual. Once sealed, it isolates the entire tomb chamber, creating a state similar to a demiplane," Vivi briefly explained the dragon race's burial culture. "Therefore, I believe it should be able to withstand the demands of this ritual array."

"The only problem is that we don't know the location of any dragon's tomb, nor do we know how to safely extract the dragon stone."

“We don’t need to take it all out, just knock off a small piece.” As for how to knock off a piece of this almost space-locked thing, that’s Livia’s problem.

"Speaking of which, don't dragons spend money?" Leslie suddenly asked. "If each gold coin represents a segment of its life, doesn't it mean it doesn't spend money?"

“Of course it costs money,” Vivi said with a puzzled look. “We’re talking about the treasures that dragons collect, not their property. We keep these things very separate. We distinguish between property and investment, and between collections and treasures. Only humans would confuse the two.”

This is somewhat different from the dragon stories Roach had heard on Earth. Dragons seem to divide their wealth into two distinct subcategories: divisible and consumable property and indivisible treasure.

"Some dragons are extravagant spenders, but are incredibly stingy when it comes to collecting treasures." This type simply values ​​the symbolism of treasures rather than their monetary value. Of course, most dragons are the type who want them all.

"So, do you know about the Dragon Tomb?"

"I know, it's my dad's."

"You are such a filial daughter!"

As a dragon descendant who had reverted to her ancestral form, Vilandela skillfully oscillated between dragon and human values, declaring with righteous indignation, "Isn't my father's inheritance mine? I'm penniless now, while my father is incredibly wealthy. What's wrong with temporarily relying on him?!"

"Then how did you know the location of your father's grave?"

“It’s very simple~” Vilandella snapped her fingers. “With his brain, he can’t think of any good places. There are only a few candidate areas. I can find them by sniffing them out one by one. But now there’s only one problem: once the Dragon Stone is sealed, it can’t be opened or moved by any means. What are you going to do?”

"You want Livia to help you open the Dragonstone, then the inheritance will go to you, and the Dragonstone will go to us, right!?"

Nobody in this world is a fool. Once he heard that, Luo Qi understood what Vivi's purpose was: to exploit his old man Deng's gold coins. Hmm, this daughter is really a thoughtful little anti-armor.

"What if it can't be opened?"

“Then save money slowly. You can rely on your parents at home, your friends when you’re out, and when you can’t rely on anything else, you can rely on yourself.” Vilandella was very optimistic and received a pat on the shoulder from Alessina to encourage her.

"So what's wrong with me relying on my parents? Do I have to work part-time while studying and save every penny? I'm not sick, and I don't have to suffer."

“That makes sense,” Luo Qi said, looking into the distance. “What you said makes a lot of sense.”