Witch Troupe and the Undead

Life Essence is a simple product, second only to Power Essence in difficulty. It can be said that grinding moss, mixing silver powder, or adding amethyst are all things that anyone can do.

However, the problem is that the ratio of silver powder to moss, and when to add amethyst, all require complex calculations. Even the fineness of the grinding particles affects the finished product. Generally speaking, it is difficult to extract just one unit of essence from one unit of material.

"Your hand is pretty steady~ It's exactly one unit." Morna gave Roach a meaningful look. The theoretical refining value of one unit of material is 1.2 to 1.5. That is to say, if it is perfectly extracted, it should be at most 1.5 units. However, no one can achieve perfect extraction. Therefore, there is usually a 20% to 50% error between the theoretical finished product and the actual finished product of one unit of material.

For a normal refiner, ensuring that the fluctuation value of the finished product is between 0.8 and 1.1 is considered acceptable. However, Roach took out exactly one unit, which may still have some error, but at least it is enough to not affect the actual measurement.

For Morna, it was as if others were genuinely performing at their 80-point level when they scored 80 points, while Roach's performance was as if he had calculated his score precisely to be 80 points, not a point more or less—controlling one's score is even more terrifying than getting a perfect score!

"Can you accept a 15% handling fee?"

"Yes," since the channel is Morna's, charging only a 15% handling fee is indeed a very reasonable price.

"Besides the Essence of Life, what else can you do?" Morna showed Roach the basic materials she could currently use. Roach selected materials for three paradigm formulas from them: [Frost Cage], [Spirit Barrier], and [Lionheart Emblem].

The first two are consumable-type paradigms. The finished product of Frost Cage is a frost-white viscous liquid contained in a crystal test tube. The Spirit Barrier is a soap-like blob. Finally, the Lionheart Emblem is a creation product similar to a talisman, which is inlaid on armor and protective gear and can provide considerable mental resistance.

"Hmm~" The little witch looked at Luo Qi carefully, nodded slightly, and then took out a new book from the box and gave it to Luo Qi. The book was titled "Combat Alchemy: Some Commonly Used Tactical Techniques".

This is a tactical tutorial book for arcane sorcerers, which includes techniques for arcane sorcerers to fight against various spellcasters and combat classes, and more importantly, techniques for simulating arcane spells using arcane paradigms, as well as related basic recipes and paradigm combinations.

Perhaps because of Roach's previous record of blowing up the workshop, this time the little witch did not immediately hand the book to Roach. Instead, she carefully opened the book, and three quill pens flew quickly across the pages, as if she were highlighting key points and writing annotations for him.

Roach glanced at it and saw that in addition to the text, there were also simple illustrations. For example, there was a simple illustration on the topic of "Shaping and Burning Sacrifice". A chibi version of Roach held a crystal in one hand and a test tube in the other. The moment he touched it, he was burned into a blackened skeleton.

There are many more simple illustrations like this. It's clear that Livia no longer doubts Roach's intelligence, but she has great doubts about his comprehension, fearing that he might misunderstand and tear her apart again.

【Burning Silence】【Rift Vortex】【Energy Arrow Rain】 are the three advanced secret source paradigms recommended by the Little Witch to Roach. Burning Silence is something similar to a magic circle. It is used like a landmine. Once it is thrown out and activated, whoever steps on it will be unlucky—regardless of friend or foe. Therefore, the Little Witch specifically noted to Roach that it is best not to step on this thing himself.

What if the enemy refuses to step on the rune because it's too obvious? That's where you go: use the Rift Vortex, an "otherworldly secret source," to pull the enemy into a rift vortex and throw them directly onto the rune, manually making them step on the trap.

Energy Arrow Rain consists of a bunch of arrow-like projectiles that, when thrown, attack enemies like magic missiles. It has two advanced modes: Magic-Breaking Arrow Rain weakens the target's magic defense, including shields and barriers; while Heavy Arrow Rain has higher damage but no tracking ability, with power and accuracy similar to rockets.

To allow Roach to fit all these strange gadgets, Livia even made him a belt similar to an ammunition belt, with a locking buckle that could hold up to 12 reagents, as well as seven or eight various small pendants and small arcane bombs.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Facing the Enemy

Arcane Warlocks are standard warlocks who mimic spells using external artifacts. They originated from alchemists, but unlike the magical tools created by alchemists, their products can only be activated by themselves and, with a few exceptions, are for single use only. Furthermore, they can apply the amplification effects of arcane weapons to these arcane paradigms.

The magical effects of a paradigm are fixed, unlike those that a mage can control freely. However, the material carrier of a paradigm can be determined to a certain extent, hence the name "paradigm" rather than a simple "tool". Its appearance, usage, and activation method can be changed to a certain extent, which is something that alchemical magical tools can hardly do.

"What are all these things? Alchemy bombs?" Morna asked curiously, looking at the odds and ends on Roach's body. Alchemy bombs are the only means of attack for alchemists, and the attack capabilities of arcane sorcerers are developed and expanded based on this.

Alchemical bombs are made by mixing refined alchemical substances and activated by throwing. Compared to the arcane sorcerer's method, the effect is more singular and basically uncontrollable, both in terms of the radius of effect and the resulting effects.

“Yes, alchemical bomb.” Roach knew that his true profession could not be made public. The main reason was that the Mystic Mage was not only a niche profession, but also had a deep-seated hatred relationship with the church and nobles. After successfully imitating the Mystic Magic, their next step was to imitate the blessings and miracles of the gods, and then the bloodline power and extraordinary martial arts of the nobles.

This kind of behavior, which is almost equivalent to revealing the secrets of magic, makes the sorcerers of the Mystic Source universally hated. Apart from the Mystic Ritual Masters who are relatively neutral towards them, the nobles and the church would rather capture one and burn them.

As for the secret source paradigms related to blessings, miracles, bloodline power, and extraordinary martial arts, they have basically been lost. Even with Nile Riley's methods, she couldn't obtain many, and they were all extremely difficult and involved very inhuman processes.

Fortunately, the Arcane Mage can perfectly disguise themselves as an alchemist or a talentless arcane mage during the early and middle stages, and only in the later stages will the class's unique abilities and characteristics be revealed.

"Hmm, this is a formula I've never seen before. Did you develop it yourself?"

“Yes, I developed it myself.” When Roach said this, thanks to his scarred face, almost no one could tell if his expression was wrong.

"You have good talent, but alas, I'm not cut out for it." Morna showed Roach the tactical alchemical equipment she had prepared, including three scorching bombs, a bottle of fire weapon elixir, and a bottle of courage aura incense. Her biggest trump card was three explosive rune mines, which were also a type of alchemical bomb with delayed detonation.

Similar to Roach's [Incineration] paradigm, this is a trigger fuse that can be manually detonated by an arcane mage. Rune mines, on the other hand, are simply set by an alchemist to detonate at the appointed time, and once set, they cannot be modified.

"Gentlemen, it's almost time to set off." A knight came over to remind them. After half a day of rest, they had basically dealt with the corpses and sent scouts ahead to scout ahead. After confirming that they would not encounter a large undead army, the group broke camp and set off again.

"Ha~" Livia sat in the carriage, yawning repeatedly, her head leaning weakly against Roach, playing with the ends of her hair in her hand, looking somewhat bored and sleepy.

"The road ahead won't be so easy, but you've prepared quite well." Morna was very satisfied with the pile of odds and ends Roach had on him; at least if they encountered an ambush on the road, they wouldn't have to stay in the car waiting for the battle to end.

"Difficult to traverse? Didn't the scouts report no large undead army?"

“It’s just that there’s no large force,” Morna whispered, trying to avoid being overheard by the adventurers outside and the soldiers whose morale was questionable. “Undead rely on their life force to find their prey. Small groups of scouts won’t attract undead forces, but with so many of us, it’s hard to say. We might attract some scattered undead attacks.”

"This should be enough to handle it, right?"

"We can set up camp, but when we move around, the number of knights is not large enough to take care of so many people and vehicles in front and behind. Moreover, we cannot stop. Once we stop, these small groups of undead will attract a large number of undead, and we will eventually be surrounded on the plains." This is why we build fortresses instead of fighting these undead in the open field.

"Is it reliable?"

"Reliable?" Morna nodded seriously. Roach meant, is this news reliable? And is their operation reliable?

"But if you want to spend it like a picnic, that's a bit difficult. By the way, is this little girl even capable of it?"

The golden triangular armor bearing the "Witch" title should at least have some fighting power, right?

If it's the "Sage's" arcane triangle, then she's still a bit uncertain, but titles like "Witch" and "Demon King" are more about personal achievements than teaching results.

“If she’s awake, she should be able to, but…” Roach wasn’t sure if the little witch would intervene. She seemed kind and warm-hearted, but also, due to her upbringing and personal reasons, she was very indifferent to life and death, even cold-hearted, just like her almost expressionless face, giving people a feeling of keeping them at arm’s length.

"Not negotiable?"

"Probably not," Roach shook his head. Livia would be very cold, even afraid and resistant, when facing unfamiliar people. It was only those esoteric mage apprentices who gave her a sense of familiarity because they were colleagues that made it easier for her to get along with them.

When faced with adventurers who tried to get close to her, she acted as if she had no intention of communicating with them at all.

"Enemy attack!" Just as Morna was about to say something more, she heard an adventurer outside the carriage scream, followed by the muffled sound of an arrow piercing the wooden planks of the carriage.

"What I said came true!" Morna jumped out of the car. Staying in the car was now a sitting duck. The rough cloth canopy offered little protection; on the contrary, the sturdy wooden body provided excellent cover.

Roach simply picked up the little witch around the waist. She seemed startled by his action, her emerald eyes staring blankly at Roach, her little fists clenched in front of her, as if she had completely forgotten that she was a spellcaster.

"Skeleton archer?" Leslie took out the holy water Roach had made earlier and poured it onto the arrowhead. She drew back the short bow made of living wood and shot an arrow at the nearest corpse covered in dark iron armor.

The arrow writhed like a fish before embedding itself in the armor, leaving only a white dot. "Are you even capable?!"

"I'm not a professional shooter!" Leslie complained, jumping out of the car and hiding behind it.

"Take care of Livia," Roach handed Livia to Leslie. The little witch was his resurrection stone; she couldn't be harmed. After saying that, Roach drew the longsword adorned with ruby ​​roses and rushed out.

"No, you're an alchemist, how come you're using a sword...?"

Morna saw Roach swing his sword at the nearest armored zombie warrior. As a zombie warrior who had inherited more than 70% of his former martial arts skills and reaction speed, she instinctively raised her weapon to block Roach's haphazard sword strike and then thrust it toward his heart.

However, at the moment the blades clashed, Roach leaned back, and "Boom!" A violent explosion shot forward, and the scorching molten flow almost melted the magic-enhanced, dried-up corpse and its enchanted metal armor into a single mass.

Roach was propelled backward by the immense force of the impact, tumbling several times on the ground before rolling to Morna's side.

"Uh, never mind what I said before." Morna looked at the "Exploding Demon Sword" that was still radiating scorching heat and whose blade was somewhat deformed and twisted, and wondered if she was getting old and out of touch with the times. Why couldn't she understand the things that young people were making these days?

The adventurers and militia were no match for the attack of this force composed entirely of dangerous undead. They maneuvered around the convoy with the zombie warriors and skeleton archers, hoping to delay the attack until the knights in front dealt with the other enemies. With the help of the mages, they could eliminate the slower zombie warriors and the fragile skeletons here.

In this scene, Roach and Morna displayed extremely strong combat power, or rather, offensive capabilities. Roach's Explosive Demon Sword had an effect similar to a Claymore mine, taking down an opponent in an instant.

Once activated, it will unleash a terrifying burst of molten metal forward, melting the target's weapons and turning them into scattered molten metal, or sintering the target's armor and torso into a molten mass.

Each time, however, it would trigger a small explosion. The loud explosions and the sound of air blasts became the most distinctive feature of Roach's battle line. Because of the flashes, loud noises, and high temperatures, it attracted the attention of many undead monsters.

Roach, due to the recoil, rolled around the arena in a sorry state. The Explosive Demon Sword in his hand had become red-hot and was almost completely melting. The rune circuit of the Explosive Seal had also dimmed by almost 2/3, requiring the injection of Elemental Essence or more other Mystic Essence to recharge it.

This is also the biggest advantage of the Mystic Mage. Unlike other magic tool masters, whose magic tools are destroyed after use or who must use the same materials to recharge them, they can use other essences or lower-level essences to a certain extent to replenish their power.

As Roach stabilized the battle line, knights from afar were also rushing towards them. Their weapons shone with a strange light. Once these knights arrived, the remaining undead monsters would be quickly wiped out. After all, the humans had the advantage of numbers and home ground, and it was still daytime, so the sun had some effect on these undead monsters.

Just as Roach and the others thought the battle was over, a green cloud of smoke appeared on the battlefield, covering the adventurers. Countless light patterns shuttled back and forth in the smoke, striking the nearest adventurers like lightning.

"Ah!!!!!" It was a young man wielding a sword and shield. The moment he was struck by the green lightning, his skin dried up and wrinkled as if it had been baked by something. His eyeballs bulged outward, and in just a few seconds, he transformed into a tall, thin, pale monster amidst the strange sounds of his bones twisting.

"What the hell!"

"It's a Black Abyss Mage!!!!" An adventurer screamed. The Black Abyss Mage is a terrifying monster in the Black Abyss Graveyard. In addition to its own death magic, it can also drain the life force of the living and turn them into a tall, thin, pale monster called a "ghoul". Even a large adventure team composed of professional elites may be wiped out when encountering a Black Abyss Mage.

More lightning bolts shot out from the clouds, and despite being prepared, several adventurers and militiamen were still struck, turning into these pale monsters amidst inhuman screams and the grotesque sounds of bones and flesh twisting.

Ghouls have pale, wrinkled skin that looks like it's been soaked in water. Magic permeates their skin, allowing them to withstand ordinary slashes and fire damage with their bare bodies. In addition, these monsters wear their original equipment, which further reduces the damage they suffer.

Their weapon is a pair of blood-red claws that can easily tear through heavy leather armor and inferior inlaid armor. They also pose a considerable threat to knights wearing scale armor, and once someone falls, they may become a new ghoul or zombie warrior.

"Panic level!? Why would a panic level appear here?" Morna was trembling all over.

On the contrary, Leslie remained calm, her gaze fixed on the black horse standing next to the little witch, nuzzling her with its head. She chuckled, thinking, "There's a lord-level demon watching this show; what's a mere 'Cricket Panic' level demon compared to that?"

She wasn't afraid at all; in fact, she even felt a little amused. But after seeing Old Ma's meaningful look, Leslie stopped laughing.

Then I remembered, I think my status is that of a pet, and in this state, the horse-headed demon can't possibly reveal its true form. At most, it can only protect the little witch, while I... it seems that as a combatant who isn't even considered an "elite," I can only wait to die on this battlefield.

The ranking system for adventurers or combat professionals in this world is quite crude, ranging from apprentice, trainee, elite, expert, and master, corresponding to the monsters described as "fierce," "dangerous," "threat," "disaster," and "panic." As for those above that level, they are all classified as legendary heroes, because only legendary heroes can deal with monsters of that level on their own.

After all, the traditional skill of humans, or rather civilized races, is teamwork in combat, not one-on-one hero battles, unless you are a truly hero-level unit. The criteria for dividing these levels are also vague and crude. For example, anyone who hasn't graduated is an apprentice, including those who can't graduate no matter what they do if their thesis fails, but can be sent to their grave with three fireballs.

Those who have initially obtained certificates or tokens of recognition are considered trainees; those who live long enough or accumulate enough experience are considered elites. The specific level of experience depends on the system, profession, and organization you work for.

An expert is someone who has mastered one or more sub-professions, while a master is someone who has mastered multiple sub-professions and is generally recognized in the industry as someone who can establish their own school of thought. As for the evaluation criteria for a legendary hero, there is only one: to take down a lord-level monster alone or in a small team, whether it is a dragon or something else.

There are no restrictions on the means or types of methods, except that you must be alone or in a team of fewer than 10 people, and you must return alive in the end.

Now here's the problem: this is a panic-level monster, requiring at least one master and at least five elites to solve. Morna and Leslie looked at the little witch almost simultaneously. The latter was huddled by the wheel, her eyes somewhat vacant, seemingly lost in thought.

Alright, our master has disconnected, so what about the elite forces...? Leslie looked towards the knights. Great, there are only two elite forces left. Finally, Leslie looked at Old Ma again. Good news, we still have a legendary-level force to rely on. Unfortunately... the moment the opponent appeared, the question of who the BOSS really is became debatable.

As the only person on the scene who was not afraid of death and had no idea what the panic level meant or what a Black Abyss Mage was, Roach took out the cold reagent bottle and threw it at the target, then pulled out a triangular metal piece and threw it into the air.

Countless energy arrows, like streaks of lightning, shot towards the Black Abyss Mage, shattering the reagent bottle in mid-air. A large mass of ice instantly formed around him, transforming into a massive ice block that crashed down.

The orb of light from the "Rift Vortex" landed in front of the mage, drawing it and the ice block together and accelerating the ice block. At the same time, a circular mark gleaming with a dangerous dark red light was also sucked in...

"Boom!" A smooth combo successfully enveloped the Black Abyss Mage in the flames created by [Incineration Sacrifice]. However, when the smoke and flames dissipated, apart from the blue shield on the mage's body dimming slightly, it had no other effect.

"Damn it!" Roach decisively unleashed a blast of his magic sword at the ghoul that had charged at him on the mage's orders. The explosion sent him flying backward, dodging the claws that were about to rip him apart. But the magic sword finally gave way and collapsed into a pile of twisted metal pieces.

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Warm and Friendly Exchange (Seriously)

"Whoosh~" The little witch, finally coming to her senses, looked at the Black Abyss Mage in the distance, her little face puffing up little by little. In that instant, the wind became extremely violent, and the gale swept along the ground, lifting up Livia's cloak and robe. The hem of her skirt, embroidered with gold thread, danced in the wind, and the atmosphere formed a semi-transparent entity that seemed to be real.

The incoming bone arrows turned to dust without a sound. The green cloud of smoke, still crackling with electricity, was forced back by the gale and was no longer pure gold. The shackles forged by the atmosphere pressed each ghoul firmly to the spot. The demonized, sturdy bones made an unpleasant creaking sound and were squeezed into a burst of flesh and blood by the air amidst a crisp cracking sound.

After the ghouls were cleared away, the stagnant atmosphere began to move again. This time, not only the wind but also rocks and soil were thrown into the sky, and a terrifying, murky tornado gradually formed.

The electric charge generated by the friction of the high-speed air flow formed countless lightning bolts in the storm, which, together with the debris and mud swept up in it, were like a giant millstone that swept up all the corpses, skeletons and undead monsters, including the Black Abyss Mage.

The shield made rapid contact with the high-speed cutting airflow and the swirling stone fragments, dissipating at a visible speed. The Black Abyss Mage let out a terrified scream, attempting to dispel this extremely complex and terrifying large-scale arcane spell, but to no avail; his spell was as if it had struck an iron wall.

Just when Roach thought the panic-level monster was about to be torn apart in the storm, a purple-red light shone through the storm. The Black Abyss Mage abandoned the body and chose to escape in the form of a soul.

"Hmph!" Livia lowered her arm again, and the storm gradually dissipated. All sorts of debris and fragments of bones fell like raindrops, creating a huge funnel-shaped crater on the battlefield. This crater was quickly filled back by the falling rocks and soil.

"..." Morna was still holding an alchemical bomb in her hand, her expression blank. She was in a state of serious doubt about life. What kind of spell was that?

The remaining adventurers and soldiers didn't see what was happening either. After all, in that apocalyptic storm, everyone was only concerned with burying their heads in the ground to minimize the exposed area of ​​their bodies.

After the battle, the convoy hurriedly set off again. Regardless of what had just happened, even if some expert had intervened, it was impossible for such a powerful spell to be used again in such a short time. Even the little witch couldn't do it.

Because the nearby wind elements had fallen into a state of extreme exhaustion and depletion, a strange sense of oppression permeated the air, as if the air itself had become viscous and heavy.

Of course, while Livia could no longer create such a magical storm, she could still command the normal air to perform some simple actions, such as creating a breeze to disperse the acrid smell of the battlefield.

Moreover, the depletion of wind element does not mean the depletion of other elements. She can still perform such powerful compound magic at least twice more. Even if all elements are depleted, she can still use the aura of death and life that fills the surroundings to perform other things, or even draw magic power from other worlds or from nothingness to release magic in those two areas. However, doing so would easily attract hostility from her.

Because the Void, Otherworld, and Death Ritual are taboo and could potentially lead to being treated as a demon mage or necromancer, Nierleli had instructed Livia never to use the abilities of these three domains in front of outsiders.

The survivors hurriedly gathered up the bodies and belongings of their comrades. As for the spoils of war, they were basically out of the question. Almost all the enemies were either ground to dust by the storm or squeezed into a bloody mess by the atmosphere. Only alchemists like Morna showed regret at these "trash," as she could extract a lot of useful alchemical materials from them.

"That thing just now..."

"Can you keep it a secret?" Roach and Leslie looked at Morna, who immediately trembled and nodded frantically, "Yes, yes!"

"That's just a special magical ritual that requires a long preparation time and consumes precious items."

"But......"

“It’s a magical ritual that requires a long preparation time and consumes precious items,” Roach repeated, staring into Morna’s eyes. After hesitating several times, Morna said helplessly, “I understand. It requires very precious items, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Roach nodded in satisfaction. “That’s exactly it.”

"..." She really wanted to say, "Can't you put a little more effort into making up excuses?" But after glancing at the blonde girl who was fast asleep against Roach, she could only sigh and shut up. Revealing this secret might be troublesome for Roach and the others, but it would definitely not do her any good either.

Perhaps due to the storm, or perhaps because an elite undead force had been wiped out, the journey proceeded almost without incident, and they arrived smoothly at the outskirts of Hearthstone. The area was now covered with rows of wooden stakes and trenches, and colorful tents formed a vibrant mushroom field outside the city.

Reinforcements from the surrounding areas of Lywood County gradually gathered here. The adventurers, knights, and militia were stationed at the outskirts of the city, while the town guards and spellcasters were stationed inside the city. The town guards were used to reinforce the city's defenses, while the militia were responsible for building more defensive positions outside the city.

The best way to deal with the undead is to build a stronghold on the city walls and dig trenches for defense. If everyone is crammed into the city, they will soon be trapped and die. Moreover, as casualties increase, the dead in the city may also be transformed into new undead monsters due to the influence of death magic.

Therefore, it is necessary to establish a defensive perimeter outside the city to isolate the death magic from the city's interior, forming a buffer zone. Furthermore, even if the enemy's strength is too great and casualties are numerous, it is still better to transform into new zombies and skeletons outside the city than to transform inside.

Hearthstone is a city built on a plain, with square walls and a lord's tower in the center. The city is dotted with chimneys of all sizes, which are the chimneys of processing factories and blacksmith workshops. Not far from Hearthstone is an open-pit hematite mine, which provides ore resources for the numerous forges and blacksmith workshops in the area.

Due to the nature of alchemy and arcane magic, the workshop uses a mystical furnace instead of the blast furnace that Roach is familiar with. It is said that this technology was invented about 15 years ago, which sparked a magical industrial revolution in this world.