Witch Troupe and the Undead

"But he's not the emperor..."

"Enough!" Black Crow raised his hand to stop Wild Sparrow from speaking. He knew that Rhine was right. Those nobles would not hold a grudge against a Gold-level witch, especially since if this witch really broke the curse for the emperor, she would definitely gain a whole string of honorary titles. Attacking her would be tantamount to directly confronting the imperial power, and the price would be too high.

Not to mention that a witch is a significant threat in itself. In those grand ducal families, she would be someone who would require some effort to please and win over. As for Master Roach, it goes without saying that, not to mention that he is a witch's apprentice and has shown a close relationship that goes beyond that of a master and apprentice, just the fact that he is the inventor and improver of the magic crossbow—the Burke family would protect him to the death.

As one of the most sought-after families under Princess Freya, the Burke family's arms factory has begun to receive orders from the Imperial military. No one wants to go against the confidant of the next leader of the Empire.

Moreover, even if we take a step back—no noble family wouldn't want to win over such a master. Who knows, once he arrives in the capital, he might receive eight hundred banquets from different names and angles, and at those banquets, he'll be surrounded by a bunch of young ladies from noble families, dressed in their finest attire.

Whether it's military value, economic value, or simply the prospect of acquiring valuable assets, it all means Roach won't be a target of retaliation. As for Leslie and Alessina, no one would want to mess with two guards and a maid, especially when you don't dare to attack the main character. Offending these maids and guards is really unnecessary.

The only one in slightly danger is Rhine. His position is also on the grill, but he is the emperor's subject. As long as the old emperor is alive or doesn't take action himself, no one dares to go too far.

So, among this group, who will be the target of retaliation? It can't be Miss Natalia's group, can it? They are truly unlucky ones who were dragged into this. If Conger or Earl Talosde had any political wisdom, they would decisively join the condemnation and portray themselves as victims in the same way.

“Look, you’re the one in our group who needs gold the most.” Whether it’s for navigating relationships during the short period of safety after arriving in the capital, Rhine can help with that, and Roach and Livia might inadvertently provide them with some background support for a certain amount of time.

But you can't expect Rhine to foot the bill, can you? The fact that they introduced this channel to our Shadow Raven Thieves and acted as intermediaries, allowing us to enter the manors and reception rooms of those great nobles, is already more than enough.

"And your men also need gold coins." Simply bribing them with money isn't enough. So, he needs to rebuild Shadow Raven within this safe timeframe, which requires more gold coins and various jewelry materials. Even if this relationship allows him to order some magical equipment and alchemical weapons from Master Roach or even Miss Livia, he can't expect them to foot the bill for the materials themselves, can he?

"Hmm..." Black Raven twirled his dagger. Rebuilding the team, recruiting and training manpower, bribing nobles, relocating the stronghold, ordering weapons, and so on all required time and money. Time was relatively easy to manage; Rhine, Livia, and even Miss Natalia would intentionally or unintentionally buy them a lot of time. But money...

"And speaking as a friend..." Rhine looked at Roach and the little witch, who were huddled around a newly assembled magic flame furnace, their heads almost touching. Alecina, standing next to them, held a large hammer, poised to strike.

"Miss Livia and Master Roach look quite poor..."

All of them combined couldn't produce fifty gold coins, forty of which were from Vilandella—she had taken the burial gold her father had saved, so she still had several dozen gold coins.

"Even if they were willing to offer help for free, I don't think they would have the money, unless..." Unless they take out the reward the emperor gave them when they arrived in the capital, or Livia is willing to accept the honorary professorship at the Imperial Academy, then she would receive a considerable amount of gold coins every year.

"Okay, you've convinced me, but I want 30%."

"One-tenth"

"30%"

“One and a half percent, don’t forget… we’re not the only ones who need money and materials, and the risks you’re taking aren’t that great.” Rhine refused to budge any further.

“Two percent, I also have my difficulties.” Black Crow sheathed his dagger.

“Alright, but you have to take on the most troublesome investigation work. In that case, I can give you the money that was allocated to the local spies.”

"Deal!" The two reached a dirty agreement regarding the mysterious cult and Gregory's money.

Chapter 213 Even Teacher D couldn't think of a name

River Valley Town has a small iron mine, which also provides the town with a blacksmith shop. The town is self-sufficient in farming tools and other necessities, and even has a little surplus. Therefore, after Roach made his request, the mayor quickly provided him with some iron ore and associated magical ores.

The iron ore is grayish-white with scattered reddish spots and yellowish-brown parts on the surface, which indicates that the quality of this iron ore is very poor. Roach estimates that the grade is no more than 40%.

Associated minerals are two common magical minerals: black iron and cold steel. Black iron ore is black like coal, and its composition is unknown. In magic, it symbolizes the power of lightning.

Cold steel is a single-element crystal that has already exhibited a metallic luster and its texture is close to that of steel. However, it cannot be heated. Once heated and recast, it will lose this property, hence the name cold steel.

In some places lacking skilled blacksmiths and sufficiently hot furnaces, this ore was also ground into tools and weapons that resembled steel.

It is said that before the development of a more systematic steelmaking process, this ore was also used by blacksmiths to grind into chisels for various processing of metal materials, and it was said to be quite useful.

Phosphorus flames, drawn from the train's power core, scorched the crushed iron ore. Soft little hands reached directly into the flames, separating the molten iron from the impurities, just like stirring a potion, adding cold steel blocks and ground black iron ore.

Livia wasn't very skilled at forging; the previous automatic armor was made after being melted down many times, and her actual forging level was terrible. She relied entirely on enchantment effects to tank damage. However, she was very knowledgeable about various alloy recipes and smelting methods in alchemy.

Guided by the staff, the gray metallic liquid dripped down drop by drop, falling into a magic circle composed of dizzying spiral runes.

"Bring the stuff over." Alessina was only wearing a vest, revealing her lithe waist and strong arms. She was carrying a large hammer. Blacksmithing wasn't something she was very familiar with, but repairing the weapons and armor of Natalia's companions and the Black Ravens was no problem for her.

Or rather, for mercenaries and bandit groups, this kind of craftsmanship is essential. They can't always expect to repair and maintain their equipment in town, can they? Not to mention the money issue, even in the dungeon, it's impossible to go back to town to repair equipment in a short time.

"How about... we just recast it?" Congel looked at his old buddy, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The metal you're using to repair it is even more advanced than the thing itself."

“I don’t have that skill,” Alessina retorted. Armor crafting? Was that something she could learn? Even if she learned it, could she even go out in public? Laughable. Armor craftsmen were things that nobles tightly controlled.

Even in wealthy families like those in the Eastern Dynasties on Earth, anyone who dared to privately possess or forge armor would face execution and the death of their entire family. While this other world isn't as strictly regulated—after all, there's magic, something akin to firearms—it doesn't strictly control the basics of armor. However, it's still a skill that adventurers and mercenaries can't learn, and even if they did, they wouldn't be subject to the supervision of nobles.

"I should have brought that old devil Mora along too," Kanger sighed. In their former team, Mora used to be a blacksmith and did indeed know how to forge armor. In fact, it was because his attempt to learn armor forging was exposed that he fled to the northern, harsh land of Rock Tower County as a pioneer knight.

The partially cooled but still soft metal was quickly hammered into a square piece by Alessina. Then, using pliers, he pressed it onto the damaged area of ​​the breastplate and added a little more still-hot metal, just like pounding putty, to patch it up with a patch that was a completely different color from the surrounding metal.

Adventurers' armor repair skills are naturally not like those of nobles, who add carvings as decorations. They simply patch the armor, smooth out the burrs with a rake, and then add a reinforcing rim. In adventures and dungeons, functionality is all that matters; it looks good but doesn't add any stats.

As for the part dented by a blunt object, it's relatively simple. Just heat it over a fire and then hammer it a few times. Although it still looks a bit pitted, at least it's usable.

Besides repairing armor, there was also the task of replenishing ammunition and arrows. The arrow shafts were provided by the little witch; she only needed to go out into the woods to get a bunch of smooth, straight, round little sticks that looked like they had just grown out of the ground.

However, the arrowheads and fletchings would need to be made by the dwarf girl named Jasmine and Roach. The arrowheads only needed to be stacked and punched into a triangular shape, and the fletchings were also made of the same metal pieces. Then, Roach's rune disk-powered polishing equipment would sharpen them to a point where they would be usable.

Although the town didn't provide much ore, Livia didn't waste any materials. The alchemical alloy she smelted was enough for everyone. Of course, this was also because, apart from the Shadow Raven thieves, most people's weapons weren't seriously damaged. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough materials to reforge their weapons.

The Thunderbird Knights use weapons made in the Imperial Academy's exclusive workshop. They are half the length of a hand-and-a-half-sword, but the blade is wider, slightly heavier, and thicker than a normal hand-and-a-half-sword. A small section of the blade near the hilt is wrapped in a thick ring of blue metal, on which is the emblem of the Thunderbird Knights.

Sharp, heavy, and durable, and with good compatibility with most enchantments, but the Academy does not offer free enchanting and enchanting services, so they need to save up for it themselves.

“Hmm…” Livia looked at the sword in front of her, then looked up at the knight named Kenon. When he wasn’t wearing armor, he was just an ordinary young man in his early twenties with light brown hair and a sparse beard, but he was quite sturdy and tall, just like most people in the empire.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?"

"Hmm..." The little witch was a little conflicted. She knew too many enchantment options, so much so that she was now having trouble making a choice.

"She means, what kind of enchantment effect do you want?"

"Hmm, faster and sharper, okay?" Other knights might pursue enchanting their swords with flames, lightning, or other powers, but for a knightly order like the Thunderbird Knights, which have a deep partnership with the academy, they have plenty of items that can unleash such effects. Therefore, they prefer simpler enchantments.

Kenon pulled out a money pouch and counted the few gems inside. He was a newcomer to the Knights and didn't have much money to buy those items. Besides, he had used everything he could in the previous battle, and the ones he didn't use were destroyed by the magic-destroying bullets. Not all magical items could withstand such an impact.

“This…” The emerald gem fell into the witch’s palm. As her hand moved, a string of emerald green runes appeared on the blade. Soon, a gentle breeze enveloped the runes.

"It seems to have become much lighter?" Kenon swung the blade a few times. The weapon was wrapped in a gust of wind, making it much lighter to wield. Moreover, the blade had been slightly reinforced by the witch. However, due to the limitations of the materials, these reinforcements would wear down with use rather than be permanent.

"Speaking of which, where are those Black Crows?" Roach noticed that he didn't see the Shadow Raven Thieves nearby. He had originally wanted to ask them if they needed to upgrade their equipment, since they were now an important fighting force that they could rely on.

"It seems they've been commissioned by the mayor to investigate those Flame Cults." Kanger used a small whetstone to sharpen the blade of his battle axe, re-sharpening the nicks left from the previous battle. The maintenance cost of an axe is much lower than that of a longsword; whether the blade is dull or chipped, it can be used again simply by re-sharpening.

However, if the blade is chipped, rolled, bent, or broken, it's not something that can be solved by sharpening. Even if it could be, it would probably be a matter of turning a longsword into a shortsword, or a shortsword into a dagger. Of course, this is also a common practice among knights and infantry on the battlefield—there's no time to reforge your weapon during a break in the middle of a battle.

Therefore, even knights who regard swords as a kind of symbol no longer use sword-type weapons on the battlefield, unless they are enchanted or enchanted weapons. After all, the cost of enchanting and enchanting axes is terrifying—the heavier the axe, the longer the enchanting time, and the longer the enchanting time, the more non-renewable magic gems and magical materials are consumed.

Therefore, magical weapons such as battle axes and hammers are rarely seen on the market; most of them are very high-end items, or even heirlooms.

Kangar's axe is a magical weapon, or rather, it used to be. This battle axe, taken from the hands of a mummified corpse in an ancient tomb, is imbued with a cold power that can penetrate the enemy's body and corrode their life. It appears to be a frost weapon, but in reality, it is a weapon of death.

Unfortunately, it has been used for too long. The enchanting effect created by the corruption of death magic in the ancient tomb has eventually been worn away by time and battle. Now it is just an ancient steel battle axe of decent material.

“It seems the young lady went along too. Aren’t you worried?” Sylvie asked.

“Don’t worry, Sir Rhine is over there, and so is that little girl.” Congel was referring to Lulua, who had also gone to help, seemingly because of the goddess’s oracle.

"Besides, what trouble could we possibly have here?"

"You'd better not say that. The last time you said that, we were in a train accident." Congel stopped Sylvie from making his jinxed statement. Wait, wasn't this guy a member of Shadow Raven before? This really is a jinx!

There hasn't been a large-scale phenomenon of people believing in the Flame Cult in Valley Town itself yet. Only a few young people have suddenly become wealthy and sneak out every night, which makes the mayor a little scared.

In reality, he didn't care what these young people believed in. This world was polytheistic, and apart from some gods that weren't popular in the empire or were viewed with hostility, it didn't really matter what they believed in.

However, what he feared was the sneaky behavior of these young people and their ill-gotten wealth. If they had truly converted to some religious sect, that would be one thing, but if they were colluding with thieves and bandits, that would be a real disaster. If they secretly opened the door at night and let the bandits in, that would be a real catastrophe.

After all, given the mayor's experience and age, expecting him to believe that a church would so casually distribute money to its members is less likely than hoping that Mr. Anta will turn into a pig tomorrow morning, since he's practically a pig in the making.

Either the church possessed some kind of magic touch, or the money was obtained illegally. Compared to divine intervention, the well-informed mayor was more inclined to believe that it was a group of bandits disguised as believers, using money and faith to lure local idle young people into joining.

Once the enemy is caught up in the trap, they can fabricate reasons to trick them into opening the city gates or acting as inside agents, thus successfully entering the city to plunder. As for the looted wealth becoming the capital for the next scam—what else? Do you think the stone statues on the throne of the gods really spit out gold coins?

Dan had never believed in such things before, but now he actually saw the statue spewing out gold coins. The beast-shaped stone statue kept spitting out gold and silver coins, one after another. Even after his fellow villager brought over his share, he still couldn't believe it was real.

Fortunately, the cold, yellow, and shiny gold in his hand dispelled his doubts with its soft body and heavy weight: this was real gold, gold that could change everything and turn fate around!

"See? I didn't lie to you. The High Priest is a capable person, and our Lord is a truly generous and kind god. As long as you bring more people, you can fulfill even greater and more numerous wishes."

Not all wishes are granted by religious sects. They require believers to constantly recruit others. The more people they recruit, the more times they can make wishes, and the more complex and difficult the wishes can be fulfilled.

"Your name is Dan, right?" The priest walked towards Dan. "Our lord is generous and benevolent, but we cannot be insatiable. There are some wishes that our lord cannot fulfill for you."

"For example?" Dan clenched the gold coin in his palm and looked at the priest.

“First, our lord cannot resurrect the dead; that is the power of the God of Death.” Dan nodded. That was true. If the dead could be resurrected, then the Cult of Death would immediately muster its troops and come to slaughter people.

None of the Church of the God of Death knew how to resurrect the dead or summon the undead. On the contrary, they were very skilled at how to make people or undead creatures die completely—the kind of death where even the soul is obliterated. This is why Niel Riley told Livia never to show any ability to resurrect the dead, otherwise she would really be hunted down to the ends of the earth by those "Knights of the Dead".

Of course, resurrecting Roach doesn't count, because Roach is strictly speaking an otherworldly summoned creature. He could be resurrected even in front of several branches of the Church of Death, because according to the understanding of this world, the otherworldly summoned creature is just a "projection" and its true body and life still exist in the otherworld.

And the fact that if you destroy a projection, it can be restored is not something difficult to understand.

As for reviving an unfortunate person who has just passed away, it's fine as long as you don't do it in front of them, because such cases do exist. There are instances where someone who was thought to be dead actually experienced a state of suspended animation or near death, and eventually woke up on their own.

“Secondly, our Lord cannot create life; that is the authority of the Creator.” Dan nodded in agreement. This was quite normal. Creating life was something that most gods could do, but for mortals, almost all countries and religious sects acknowledged that it was the Creator’s power.

As for who the Creator is, no one knows, which avoids fierce conflicts arising from arguing about which god holds this authority.

It's not that they are so mild-mannered, but rather that the continent once experienced a massive "Dark War" over this very issue. That war destroyed almost 90% of civilizations and nations, leading to the decline of divine authority and the rise of royal power. In the end, no conclusion was reached regarding which deity held this authority.

In the end, everyone could only accept that it was a primordial deity known as the "Creator" who held power. He had no sects or doctrines, and he did not heed the prayers of mortals. It was hard to say whether he existed or not. By creating something that did not exist at all to manage this authority, and everyone just borrowing this authority, the huge contradiction was resolved.

Third, our lord cannot directly reverse fate.

"Sacrifice, what does that mean?" Dan didn't quite understand what it meant to be unable to change fate. He clenched the gold coin in his palm, even though his fate had already been altered.

"My lord can give you money, knowledge, and everything on earth, but you cannot pray to lie in bed doing nothing and become king the next day," the priest said gently. "Your destiny must be changed by yourself. My lord can only provide you with the necessary help, and whether you can ultimately change your destiny is still up to you, just like the gold coins you hold in your hand."

"Perhaps when you return to town, the gold coins will be stolen and nothing will have changed. Perhaps you will successfully bring back the gold coins, but your mother's illness will still be incurable. Or perhaps everything will go smoothly for you, but a few years later, new disasters and changes will leave you with nothing again."

"And all my lord can give you are these few gold coins. The rest is up to you to decide and control." Dan thought the priest's words made a lot of sense, so he carefully put the gold coins into his pocket. "I will remember this, High Priest. When is the next service?"

"After a week, my lord may only pray once a week. Greed is not a virtue." In reality, Gregory can only consume so many wishes. He doesn't have the ability to fulfill all his wishes without limit. Even as a porter, he would need that fat pig's treasure trove and ancestral graves to have that many gold coins!

Moreover, if desires are satisfied without limit, these people will soon run out of desires. On the contrary, appropriate delays and restrictions are like proper fermentation, which will only make these desires more delicious. After all, no one will cherish things that can be obtained without effort.

Even in video games, the fun quickly disappears if you use cheat codes or unlimited resources. A week is enough time for these people to recruit more followers, while carefully considering their limited number of wishes and abilities, thus creating "delicious" "wishes" that Gregory would prefer!

"I will definitely come again!" Dan said earnestly. After he left, the gathering quickly dispersed. However, what he didn't know was that a dark figure had been hanging behind him ever since he left the abandoned mine.

Just as he was about to return to town, a cold dagger was held against his neck. Dan gave a bitter smile. The priest was right. He hadn't even made it back before he encountered thieves. Was this his fate?

"Thump!" The wild tit skillfully knocked the unlucky fellow unconscious and carried him to the cellar of a hunter's hut outside the town, where he sat with a pile of animal bones and barrels of stored grease.

Chapter 214 Foolish and Rich

The striking of a match illuminated the narrow space between the fingers. As the hand closed, the faint light disappeared. Soon, a larger flame ignited, and a ball of fire burned inside the iron lampshade, outlining the cramped cellar used for processing prey.

Rusty traps and hunting tools were placed on the shelves, and the wooden table next to it was stained with blood and animal fat. Several iron chains used to bind large prey hung from the ceiling.

Peeling knives, pliers, wooden pipes, scrapers, and other tools were scattered haphazardly on the workbench, all of which constantly emitted a strong smell of blood and rotting flesh.

Wild Sparrow brought in a wooden basin filled with water, with a linen towel draped over the edge. Squib was fiddling with bottles and jars nearby. Although he hadn't learned arcane magic, he had learned some basics of various alchemical potions and commonly used secret incense. Combined with his life in the thief's group, he had made significant progress in poisons and herbalism.

"Splash!" A glass of cold water was splashed on Dan's face. "Ugh~" The young man opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the blood-stained iron chain. He quickly crawled back a few steps and crashed into a pile of bones. The skull of an unknown beast that had rolled off the ground stared at him with its empty eye sockets.

"Shut up!" Just as the guy was about to shout, he was stomped to the ground. "We ask, you answer." A serrated dagger lifted his chin, the cold metal sending chills into his bones.

"Waaah~!" Dan nodded hurriedly, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Looks like we won't need these." Squirrel glanced at the scene and began packing up the boxes. This guy was obviously an ordinary civilian, with no guts or secret technology, so he had no use for the treasures he had carefully prepared.

"Little bird, hurry up, we're in a bit of a rush. If all else fails, I have two more bottles of Gray Rat Potion here." It's an herbal preparation made from chamomile, blue forsythia, and live roe (a magic potion).

The effect is to enhance alertness and perception. For thieves, it is actually a booster. It is usually made into smelling salts or drunk to increase the sensitivity of the tongue and nose, so that they can smell smells that normal people cannot smell or distinguish whether there is poison in food.

Of course, the side effects are that it can make things like stench bombs and suffocation powder more effective. Also, it's best not to use this medicine before eating unpalatable food, as it can easily cause you to vomit on the spot.

However, when used in executions, it is used as an ointment. In fact, the effect is much worse than eating it directly. However, the ointment does not need to consider the dosage. A large dose can greatly increase nerve sensitivity. Thus, in this state, only a needle is needed to make a tough man who was not afraid of even a branding iron scream.

"So, kid, do you understand? This thing will turn you into a real princess. Even if you put a single bean under seven layers of padding, it will leave you covered in bruises. And we don't have beans here, but we have plenty of tools that can peel your skin off."

Squirrel glanced at the hunter's tools on the workbench, and Dan also saw the tools. Having been a hunter himself, he knew exactly what each tool was for.

The small pliers and hammer were used for pulling teeth. All prey except for wolves and rabbits belonged to the lord. In other words, hunters hunted mostly rabbits and wolves, and wolf teeth were important tools used to pay taxes and make arrows.

Larger bone-crushing hammers are used to smash bones. They are made by attaching a piece of hard flint, commonly found by riverbanks, to a wooden stick. They are used to smash the bones of small animals such as rabbits, pheasants, and wild ducks into fragments, which are then ground into bone meal and sold to farmers as fertilizer and feed.

The sharp knife is used for skinning. It is thin and sharp so as not to damage the fur and separate the subcutaneous fat. It is the most expensive of the hunter's tools. It is made of the best steel and usually costs 1 to 2 gold coins on the market. However, it is generally not traded with money. Instead, the blacksmith is traded with the pelt and meat of the prey. This way, a large amount of transaction tax can be saved.

Blacksmiths, due to the intensity of their labor, needed to eat meat. If they bought meat from the butchers in the city or the lord's butcher shop, the price wouldn't be cheap. Therefore, blacksmiths were happy to use the scraps from forging weapons for nobles to make these small knives and exchange them directly with local hunters for prey.

That scraper was used to scrape bones and leather, to remove the fat and muscle residue from the reverse side of the skin. It was usually a tanner's tool, but in this era, a hunter who didn't learn some skills in processing his prey would probably not be able to support himself, let alone pay his taxes.