Witch Troupe and the Undead

The daughter had already married and died about a few months ago. As for the cause, the old count did not say what happened. However, according to the intelligence Rhine had, it should be related to her involvement in the prince's rebellion. To be precise, her husband was involved. As staunch members of the Emperor's camp, the Warren family obviously could not comment on this matter.

Death from illness is obviously a fig leaf that everyone can accept. After all, the person is dead, and it was a married daughter who was implicated by her husband's family. Even the old emperor could not make too many accusations in this matter.

Then the Warren family only had one youngest son left. He was not eligible to inherit the title and was about to come of age, leaving him with only three paths.

First, one could join a knightly order and achieve merit, thus becoming a new noble branch of the family. At the very least, one could obtain a knighthood, which would make one a new collateral branch.

Secondly, pioneer knights, with resources sponsored by their families, venture into the wilderness to explore and establish their own territories.

Third, he could receive a large sum of money and live out the rest of his life as an ordinary wealthy man.

However, Count Warren not only had these two sons and a daughter, but also an illegitimate son. He had a relationship with a female adventurer during a hunting trip. Although this illegitimate son had no right to inherit the family business, the old count still took him away from the town as a servant and placed him in the guard of Cabel City.

Almost everyone knew that he was the count’s illegitimate son, and he himself knew that he had no right to inherit the throne and could only become a knight at most, unless he could make meritorious contributions. Even if he did make meritorious contributions, it was unlikely that he would be rewarded, because being an illegitimate child was ultimately an extremely dishonorable birth.

The aristocratic class would instinctively exclude such people from joining them, with only one exception: becoming a "pioneer knight," that is, starting from scratch. This illegitimate son named Eli attempted to become a pioneer knight.

Fifteen days ago, at the Earl's manor. In the study.

“Why would you have such thoughts?” Earl Warren sat in a comfortable armchair, looking at his youngest son. “Henry, let me be frank with you. I will leave you a fortune of at least 1000 gold coins and a manor with an annual income of at least 300 gold coins. In return, you must swear to me that you will not have any improper thoughts about this position.”

“I want more, Father,” the youngest son said earnestly. “I’ve made up my mind. I want to become a pioneer, and I’ve already chosen a good place.”

“No, you don’t want to.” The Earl read through the letters from the capital one by one. These letters were of great importance. They represented personnel changes and shifts in spheres of influence in the capital, as well as the change of power. To preserve the Warren family’s wealth and glory, loyalty to the royal family alone was not enough.

Even if one is loyal, one must choose the right person to be loyal to. If, like one's son-in-law, one chooses the wrong person to be loyal to, then the outcome may not be so pleasant.

“My mother has already agreed to support me, whether you like it or not, this is a completely new territory!” Henry’s idea was certainly not impulsive.

A few days ago, he discovered an exploration document about a pleasant area in a valley east of Rubyshire. Although surrounded by mountains and dark forests, the valley itself was quite peaceful. A tributary of the Black River flowed through the valley and into a lake surrounded by fertile land. The only problem was that it was surrounded by rocks, mountains, and dark forests.

To cultivate this land would require a considerable price, and even if successful, it would still be necessary to withstand the pressure from the spread of the Black Forest and monsters. However, compared to other uninhabited areas that could be developed, the conditions were already quite good.

Firstly, it is less than 110 kilometers from Rubyshire and has a river running through it, which means that supplies and people can be transported by boat. Although the river is turbulent and dangerous, and it takes a lot of effort to find a safe waterway, it is still faster than traveling by land.

Secondly, the territory is surrounded by mountains and dark forests, meaning that external threats are almost negligible, and once developed, it becomes a near-perfect escape route for the family.

Therefore, Henry realized the significance of this exploration document, and the family would never let go of such a territory. If he did not fight for it now, and his elder brother inherited the title and then cultivated it, there would be no chance for him.

However, it would be useless to talk to his father about this. He had already chosen the person who would cultivate this land without wasting it, and that shameful bastard son named Eli—why not? If it were given to the younger son, then this land would become Henry's strength, a force to be used to compete with his elder brother for the family's power.

But giving it to a bastard son is different. He has no right to compete with the eldest son for the inheritance, and such a territory is enough to shut the bastard son up and keep him loyal to the earl. The old man may even be prepared to fund the bastard son to do this.

Henry, too, had his eye on this land. So, he chose to tell his mother, or rather, his mother's family, about it. Both Henry and his elder brother in the capital were siblings from the same mother. If he were to fight for the title, his mother would definitely not stand by his side.

However, it would be a completely different story if he were to compete with an unworthy bastard for the right to cultivate a piece of unclaimed land, since according to the Empire's Expansion Act, this could be accomplished as long as there were enough people and funds.

The Warren family's marriage alliances were not with any weak noble forces; in fact, they had several marriage alliances with the royal family. His mother was from a very remote branch of the royal family and had no right to inherit the throne, but she had a large fiefdom in the Southern Plains Province.

In other words, although they were not as wealthy as Ruby County, they were still among the rich nobles of the empire. And most importantly, compared to Ruby County's mere wealth, as the empire's largest granary and densely populated territory, they had enough manpower and food, which was crucial for expanding into new territories.

Therefore, when Henry brought this up, the Earl had to consider the attitude of his wife's family. If he strongly supported his illegitimate son competing with his own son for resources, it would be a serious transgression under the rules of the nobility. It would be better if his wife's family was just a small family.

However, she was born into a prominent noble family in Nanyuan Province, which was rich in resources and had invested a lot in Earl Warren. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to rise to this position among his father's dozen or so sons.

It was because of his wife that he gained the old emperor's trust. For the Warren family, the emperor's personal trust was enough to make them compromise when choosing an heir. After all, the Warren family had risen to power from the royal family's stewards and old retainers, and they were staunch royalists with no other choice.

"...Let me think about it..." The count could only utter such a weak voice. Even if he refused, his wife would definitely give her full support to their youngest son's business.

The father-in-law would be furious, since it's normal for nobles to have illegitimate children; everyone knows it. The way they deal with illegitimate children is pretty much the same: some choose to ignore them, while others will find them a job to make a living. If the wife's family is too powerful and the father is too weak, it's even a question of whether the illegitimate child can survive.

Therefore, most nobles were quite open-minded about having illegitimate children, and it was normal for couples to have their own separate affairs. However, if you supported an illegitimate child to compete with your own son...

Give me a few days to think it over.

“Very well, I hope you won’t forget this, Father.” Henry left in great disappointment. As he left the study, he glanced at Eli, who was chatting happily with several other knights downstairs, gave him a disdainful look, and coldly walked past him.

Over the next two days, the Earl wrote to his father-in-law and brother-in-law, and also had a brief discussion with his wife about the development of that valley. The final answer was not optimistic. His father-in-law's answer was ambiguous, since the expansion of the Warren family's power was not a good thing for him. However, his brother-in-law was determined to support Henry.

"Henry, are you sure you have the ability to take that land?"

“Of course, Father, I’m ready. My uncle has promised me 200 men and 4 pounds of wheat.”

These two hundred people do not refer to ordinary farmers, but to professional soldiers. If the countless serfs are included, it is roughly equivalent to 1000 households, or 3000 to 4000 people. Even considering the wealth of the southern nobles, this is a considerable investment.

"..." In this era, such support is not surprising, especially since it is the custom of the empire that uncles will support their nephews as much as possible, and there may even be a situation where the uncle and nephew inherit each other. After all, given the way the nobles are and the usual situation, a son may not be their own son, but a nephew is definitely their own nephew.

"Grandpa also plans to give me some money, 500 gold coins." As an initial investment, this is quite a lot of money. Count Talos next door spent most of his life as an adventurer saving up only about 200 gold coins. He then assembled a team and took over his territory, which was still a godforsaken place.

For Black Lake Valley, such a large sum of money is completely unnecessary. As long as the transportation problem is solved and basic villages are built, it can be largely self-sufficient, and then it can get on the right track after a period of development.

Of course, according to Count Warren's understanding, Black Lake Valley is not without its flaws. This valley lacks minerals, especially magical minerals, and its magical energy is relatively sparse. This is why the Black Forest has not expanded to completely submerge this lake area.

“Alright, I agree.” The Earl could only nod in agreement. “I will have the steward send you the information about Black Lake Valley later. As for the support I can give you, it won’t be much. The situation in the capital is not very clear recently, and the family must reserve enough funds to deal with possible problems. However, I will give you some preferential treatment in terms of manpower.”

The situation in the capital was extremely chaotic, and Princess Freya's ascension to the throne was almost inevitable. However, she had a major flaw or problem, which was not her extraordinary intellect, but the fact that no one had regarded her as the future empress before, resulting in her having very few people under her command.

This also means that the nobles of the capital and the empire have all bet on the wrong horse. Now they have to decisively jump to Freya's side. Before this, everyone's view of the princess was that she was a beautiful woman hidden away in her boudoir, and who knows which noble family's offspring she would end up with. But now that her identity has become the next empress...

You must inquire about her hobbies, personality, thoughts, future political policies, what she plans to do, her opinions or inclinations regarding personnel changes, whether your family has conflicts or frictions with the power of certain princesses, and how to handle these frictions.

In short, as the old emperor's health deteriorates, the capital city is steadily spiraling into chaos, and the Warren family needs sufficient intelligence to maintain its position and wealth.

This information requires money to obtain, so the Earl could only provide Henry with very little financial assistance, focusing more on manpower. After all, distributing these knights and private soldiers as much as possible would not only allow the family to retain some assets for resurgence, but also weaken themselves on the surface, avoiding becoming the first target to be dealt with after the princess ascends to the throne.

Although the Warren family is unlikely to be purged due to their good relationship with the royal family, the problem is that a family is a family, and an earl is an earl; they are two different things. Isn't it inevitable that the princess might want to switch to a less threatening and more loyal Warren family to take over? This is also why he was so eager to send his youngest son and illegitimate child away.

“I know,” Henry said calmly. His uncle and grandfather had both talked to him about this. The most important thing was whether the Warren family could weather this storm. The shortage of funds was not a problem for developing Black Lake Valley. As mentioned before, the favorable environment of Black Lake Valley did not require such a large amount of start-up capital.

Evening, Cabel, main city area.

Eli sat alone in a private room at the tavern, the bottle of liquor in front of him reduced to a tiny bit of sediment.

"Bang!" The door to the private room was violently pushed open, and a knight strode in with a very gloomy expression. "Our plan has to be canceled, boss."

"What happened?" Eli frowned; he had been feeling uneasy for the past two days.

“Some of our brothers were transferred to the outposts in the east, supposedly for exploration work in the Black Lake Valley.”

“Black Lake Valley?” He was certainly familiar with this place; he had even taken a few trusted confidants there once. It was the location of his future barony.

Earl Warren thought he would recruit a group of adventurers to explore, but in reality, he chose to be more direct—recruiting from among the knights and his colleagues.

Cabel is a prosperous city with a developed economy and a luxurious lifestyle. As such, there are bound to be people struggling at the bottom of society, even knights. Their income is enough to live on in other cities, but it is different in Cabel.

Moreover, such a city would not lack people who are talented but not appreciated, nor would it lack people who aspire to advance further. Therefore, he has actually won over a considerable number of knights and town guards, especially those who are not favored by the count in the outposts outside Cabel.

Besides these people, he also associated with the werewolves and thieves. After all, as an illegitimate child, it was impossible to get support like Henry's when it came to expanding territory. So, whether it was dredging waterways, establishing camps, clearing out wild animals, or building castles or strongholds, he needed money and manpower.

He could get some money from his father, but he would have to find his own way. Even if he did get money, the Earl of Warren wouldn't be able to give him much. As I've already explained, the family needed to secure its position during the upcoming change of the throne, which required spending money everywhere, and the Earl was also short of funds.

Therefore, colluding with wolves and thieves to plunder caravans and villages to accumulate money and hide the population was a necessary task. This was something the count didn't care about, or rather, he didn't care at all about the commoners outside Cabel.

“Hasn’t the Black Lake Valley already been explored? And these people… could it be…” The old count knew about this, but why would he do this? Eli was completely baffled.

Fortunately, the knights who were transferred had not lost contact with him, and he soon received definite news.

“Henry…” Eli stood in the shadows of the porch, his expression gloomy, watching the spoiled brat and his men strut arrogantly through the manor’s corridors, and the flamboyant woman giving him a cold smile.

To prevent Eli from obstructing the matter, the old count, under the pretext of offering sacrifices to the Earth Goddess, sent him to the temple to be in charge of prayers and offerings, thus preventing him from colluding with the other knights to sabotage the operation. Only after everything was ready would he be released from the temple.

"Hehehe~ My dear knight, you seem quite troubled~" The goddess's candlelight flickered slightly, casting a shadow on the wall of a man wearing a top hat, who bowed slightly to her. "While those annoying gray robes are away, let's talk. I am your most loyal friend, Gregory, and your wish is my mission~"

Chapter 186 The Filial Son Cries at the Funeral (Not Really)

"What happened next is what you all know." Earl Warren sighed. Eli had won over the knights who were already attracted by his ideals and plans. After all, compared to a playboy like Henry, a brave and fearless old comrade-in-arms who had shown considerable skill was more trustworthy.

Moreover, the lack of inheritance rights for illegitimate children only applies to noble families that have not yet died out. If a family is at risk of dying out, the entire noble class will generally accept that illegitimate children will inherit.

It's a very simple principle: no one can guarantee that their family won't have a few descendants with unique sexual orientations or preferences, potentially leading to the family line dying out in a certain generation...

“This is the first exception to the law of the nobility,” Rhine said in a deep voice. The nobility class or the aristocratic families in ancient China are actually the same. Of course, it can also be said that the two are the same kind of beings. In terms of economic structure, both rely on private land and manors to support a large population with forced personal dependence, and live off land rent, fief income and a small amount of commercial interests.

In terms of their ruling structures, they were all formed by blood ties and based on monopolized knowledge or military force, and all possessed almost semi-independent judicial and administrative capabilities.

Therefore, these two will actually exhibit highly similar characteristics, namely, "the continuation of the family is above the continuation of the state or class". In other words, the inheritance of illegitimate children, even if it violates the unspoken rules or even the explicit rules of the nobility, can be an exception when the family faces the risk of extinction and the end of its lineage.

“Oh, that’s not surprising at all.” Roach nodded. In Earth’s history, this is considered a very classic European play. It has been performed at least a hundred times, and each time it has been a new twist in some way.

"As for how Eli persuaded those thieves and what these plans were, it can only be attributed to the help of that unknown entity. So, Princess Livia, have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"No," the little witch shook her head, clutching her staff. She had never heard of such a thing before. Its amorphous, smoky appearance, contractual nature, ability to grant wishes, and reliance on human desires for sustenance could combine to create countless monsters and wondrous beings, but she had never heard of anything that possessed all of these characteristics simultaneously.

“So, now, the problem in Cabel City is no longer the worst thing we have to deal with.” Rhine sighed. This meant that some kind of evil god or something similar had broken free of its seal. It might still be within the Empire’s borders, or it might be far beyond the Empire’s territory. But at the very least, Vivi felt that this matter needed to be reported to the Council of Sages.

"To be honest, Vivi, that Council of Sages is really useless." Roach said, "After all this wrangling, there's still no result. Is it going to be another case where they've resolved everything, but the council still hasn't come up with a preliminary solution?"

"Of course, I trust them completely even though they're unreliable~" Vivi nodded seriously, "But we've resolved the issues in the capital, and this matter is also partially resolved, so it's reasonable to ask them for reimbursement of expenses and some financial assistance, right?"

"You mean, you're planning to talk to a bunch of dragons and other ancient relics and get these misers to take money from their treasuries as compensation or a bonus for us?" Leslie hesitated, then thought, "You're a dragon yourself, listen to what you're saying."

"Let me correct you. Dragons are not stingy; we are only stingy in areas other than satisfying ourselves."

Simply put, dragons will spend lavishly on their hobbies, but you should never expect them to give you a single gold coin out of morality or a sense of righteousness—not even their own daughters. Old Deng didn't leave Vilandella a single copper coin in inheritance. Of course, this is also related to the fact that dragons' treasures represent the fruits of their life's achievements.

No veteran would willingly sell their medals unless they were driven to desperation, and the same principle applies...

“No dragon will open its treasure vault unless it is driven to desperation,” Alessina said, referring to a proverb by a beast-like dragon slayer. Here, the dragon slayers are not targeting giant dragons, but rather sub-dragon species. Their relationship with dragons is like that of monkeys and humans, or even more distant. Therefore, most dragon slayers are not targeted by giant dragons.

The problem is that just because dragon slayers don't "target" dragons doesn't mean that real dragons aren't on their "hunting list." The two are completely different.

"The main problem isn't with the dragon, but with the other members of the council. I remember the empire also has representatives, right?"

After all, the Council of Sages only deals with things that are disastrous for everyone and does not get involved in conflicts between nations. Therefore, countries, including the Empire, are happy to use this organization as a less intense communication channel outside of official channels to avoid extreme conflicts such as war.

"So, if they want to keep this organization running, they'll definitely have to bleed a little, and the dragon is no exception, especially regarding what it got out of this predicament..."

For the dragons, this was probably a "desperate situation." No one knew better than Vivi how strong and widespread a dragon's desires were. And an evil creature that lived by devouring desires and used the gift of wealth and wishes as a means of survival could even be described as "vicious" to a dragon.

It's like encountering a Dementor for humans, devouring souls and all things pleasurable, but with methods far more subtle and difficult to defend against than the brutal Dementor.

"However, let me make this clear upfront: don't expect any results in the next two or three months unless your asking price is really low."

But that's impossible. Roach is alright; he only needs some information on alchemy and arcane magic. Gold coins or antiques are also acceptable. But Livia generally needs rare, unique spellbooks that she hasn't seen before, which is troublesome.

Of course, things were much simpler for Vivi and Leslie; gold coins and gems were enough. They were the poorest of them all, even poorer than Alessina. Vilandella's mother and she had spent all their savings on bloodline potions.

Leslie's earnings from busking were already meager, not to mention that she was completely clueless in this field... It's not that she had no talent at all, but you could say she was utterly incompetent. A mermaid who sang terribly—frankly, even someone as easygoing as Alessina was curious about the meaning of this mermaid's existence.

On the contrary, Alessina was not as destitute as she appeared. After all, she was a high-ranking warrior, a veteran adventurer and mercenary, and she had saved some money to retire from the life of a criminal, although it was all buried in her hometown.

"Leaving aside the difficult-to-price magic books and documents, and the rare materials that are hard to find on the market, in terms of monetary compensation alone... I estimate it won't exceed 2000 gold coins." Vivi quickly estimated the maximum amount the council was willing to pay. "Regarding magic books and documents, if you accept copies, then we might give you a copy of anything the council has. But if you only need the originals..."

As mentioned earlier, the contents of a magic book are not actually very important. They need to be read in conjunction with the magic set in the book and even the arrangement of the text itself. Therefore, the knowledge carried by a photocopy is naturally incomplete. If the book itself is incomplete, this incompleteness will further affect its value.

Therefore, in the world of magic books, the most expensive items are the original texts or original scriptures, followed by copies. Here, a copy does not refer to a simple transcription, but rather a transcription based on having read the magic book and having some understanding of its spells and structure.

It even contains some of the reader's insights, but because it can't be exactly the same as the original author, and the copied spell structures and knowledge are uneven, the price will be much cheaper.

Then there are transcriptions, or copies, which are simply copies of the original. While the information isn't completely lost, most of it is still lost.

Next comes pseudo-books, which are works written under the guise of a magic book. Generally speaking, those who do this are obviously not as good as the original author, but at least they are people who have the ability to obtain copies or original texts, so they cannot be said to be completely worthless.

Finally, there are incomplete copies. Most incomplete spellbooks are not worth deciphering unless they contain very important and unique magical knowledge. Because they are incomplete to begin with, and because parts of the book are missing, the spells are ineffective and the ritual structure is disrupted, making it even more difficult to see what kind of mysterious knowledge or powerful magical structure they originally contained.

“Hmm~” Livia nodded. She was naturally aware of this characteristic of magic books. Even she didn’t have many original copies; most of them were copies, and very few were duplicates.

Those original texts were either obtained by the mentor through adventure or stolen from other people's libraries. As for the copied copies, there were quite a few. Some were copied by the little witch herself, some by the old witch, and some were copied by others and exchanged with the old witch.

“I want a copybook,” Livia said seriously. Copies were meaningless to her; she needed at least a copybook, preferably the original text.

“I’ll try my best. By the way, I’ll try to get back before you arrive in the capital, which is next spring,” Vivi said, “if everything goes smoothly.”

The Emerald Province in the southern part of the Empire, the Dead Tears Swamp.

The murky, yellowish-brown water soaked the soft mud, and dark green thorns and iron-gray shrubs covered this vast swamp. The surface of the swamp was perpetually filled with a stench like rotting corpses and a cloud of murky, pale yellow smoke. For this reason, this swamp was known as "the tears of the dead," a substance flowing from swollen, rotting eyeballs.

Life was always tough for the imperial people living on this land. Monsters in the swamp, eerie creatures in the fog, heavy taxes, and insatiable beasts were all threats to the locals. It was as if they were born into this stinking mud, unable to escape no matter how hard they tried.

Because the mud and water in the swamp are not ordinary rainwater, but contain excessive sulfur and other elements, it appears soft and fertile, but in reality, it is barren and devoid of vegetation. Even the land around the swamp can only be described as barely arable.

Two farmers were raking the ground hard. They had to plant the few seeds they had before winter so that they could have a harvest the following spring or summer.

This tuberous plant, known as "golden yam," is the only staple food for the locals. It tastes like acorn flour, bitter and hard. Soaking it in equally bitter well water is like their life of dealing with mud all day long—bitter to the bone.

Sweet potatoes are generally planted from October to November and harvested around April of the following year. If they are planted later, they can be harvested around May or June, but the harvested tubers will be larger and less bitter.

It has yellowish-white vines and unhealthy yellowish-green leaves that creep along the ground, covering the mud, and underneath are tubers that look like cat bells. Therefore, in other parts of the empire, it is also known as "bell potato" or "kitten potato".

Besides being edible, it is also a medicinal herb and potion ingredient, but unfortunately, it is the cheapest kind. The sprouts of the bell potato are cut off and boiled with bone meal to obtain a slightly toxic potion that is used to treat mild parasitic infections. This is why the locals living around the Dead Tears Swamp are rarely affected by plagues, especially parasitic diseases.

In a sense, it can be seen as a magical world version of the idea that an antidote will be available within seven steps.

Whether it's parasitic wasps, intestinal worms, or "witch hair worms" that like to lay eggs in human hair, they can all be treated by taking or applying a paste made from yam and bone meal, both internally and externally.

In contrast, another crop could only be grown in higher, drier, and safer areas, and was grown on the land of landlords.