Witch Troupe and the Undead

Just then, the sound of hooves came from within the mist. "Kid, I'm telling you, you only get one chance in your life, understand?!" As the black horse accelerated through the mist, it didn't forget to glare back at Roach. He sat on the black horse's back, holding the reins with his left hand and protecting the petite blonde witch in front of him, while holding the Thorn Sword in his right hand, and charged out from behind the adventurer.

Seemingly because of the guards, Livia was not frightened and could only crouch in defense as before. Instead, she clasped her hands tightly in front of her as if in prayer, maintaining the defensive and amplification rituals on Roach and the Black Horse.

A magnificent black warhorse burst through the fog, its hooves pounding in rolling flames. The cannon fodder skeletons that had just gotten up had their heads crushed by the bowl-sized hooves before they could even reach out. Even those who were lucky enough not to be crushed by the hooves were ignited by the silver-white soul flames maintained by Livia around them. In the midst of fierce struggle, their last remnants of soul and mental power were burned away, turning them into simple, withered bones that fell to the ground.

Several sluggish zombie warriors had just raised their spears when they were knocked aside by the black horse, and the thorn sword slashed through them, severing their heads.

Roach can't ride a mount in combat, but that doesn't stop him from dealing with slow and lightweight zombies and skeletons. He just needs to place his sword in the right spot, and with the speed and impact of the black horse, as well as the [Enchanted Soul Flame Blade] effect that the little witch has attached to the sword, he can cut these undead down like mowing grass.

Black Horse cannot use the power of the Nightmare Demon, but he can use his physical strength. To be precise, he can exert the strength equivalent to a well-trained, temperamental, and tireless warhorse without attracting any old friends from the hellish rifts that are everywhere on the third level.

The demon that could be Old Ma's "old friend" must be at least at the Panic level or even the same level as it, a Sub-Lord. In reality, he could only choose to run away with Livia, and he really couldn't care less about the others. It wasn't that he couldn't beat them, but that he couldn't guarantee Livia's safety if two Sub-Lord level demons were fighting, let alone Roach and the others.

Livia's insecurity is Old Ma's insecurity. Again, what's her biggest backup health pack and automatic resurrection coin? They've all lived in Hell, and those who have reached the level of a Sub-Lord and haven't been killed by the Hell Lords are almost all brainless, pure-blooded brutes.

Just as the black horse was about to be surrounded by the undead, it suddenly leaped high into the air and jumped out of the encirclement. Livia cautiously opened one eye and saw the two shadowy figures that had turned into black smoke and rushed towards her. She let out a short, small gasp and immediately closed her eyes again, gripping her staff tightly with her small hands.

Flying blades made of scattered silver-white soul fragments appeared around them, scattering towards the undead below. There were quite a few of them, but their power was severely lacking. However, in Roach's tactical plan, Livia and her group were supposed to use their mobility to gather the monsters together.

"Roar!" The silver-white dragon burst out of the mist, its heavy body smashing away the undead that had gathered around the black horse. The black knight had just raised his lance to charge at Roach when he felt the intense elemental magic from the side, along with the scent of the life source that the undead both longed for and hated.

"Whoosh!" As Vilandella swung her head, the incandescent dragon flames swept across the area, instantly turning the fragile zombie warriors into charcoal. The resurrected skeletons turned to ashes on the spot, and the exploding zombies crackled and popped in the dragon flames. The putrid venom was evaporated into a cloud of poisonous mist by the dragon flames, and then the poisonous mist was completely dried up.

The Black Knight gripped his shield tightly, resisting the intense impact and high temperature of the dragon flames. Even his gauntlets showed dark red marks. "Now!" The warrior swung his longsword, piercing through a zombie warrior directly in front of him. He caught the double-bladed battle axe thrown by the captain and swung it like a whirlwind at the legs of the skeletal warhorse that the Black Knight was riding.

"Clang!" The double-edged battle axe and spear clashed together, and the enormous recoil force sent the warrior flying backward. It felt as if he had just struck a steel pillar; his hand was numb, and a large chunk was missing from the axe blade.

Such an impact didn't even make the black knight move, as if he were anchored to space.

【Extraordinary Martial Arts - Counter-Shock Stance】Through a unique extraordinary technique, the force of an attack is dispersed to the surroundings while a portion of the force is counter-shocked back to the attacker. The reason extraordinary martial arts are called "extraordinary" is that they are distinctly different from ordinary swordsmanship and martial arts, and have an effect that is almost supernatural.

However, the warrior's flying slash only created an opportunity for the archer on the dragon's back. Leslie drew her longbow, pressed her thumb tightly against the uneven crystal surface, and pulled out a long arrow made of obsidian from the void, striking almost simultaneously with the poet among the adventurers.

When a regular arrow and a rock arrow were fired at the same time, the Black Knight had to raise his right shield to block the rock arrow, while the regular arrow struck his breastplate, leaving a white mark.

"..." As a black knight who relied entirely on the instincts left over from his previous life and some remnants of his soul, he glanced down at the marks on his armor but didn't take them seriously. After assessing the threat posed by everyone on the battlefield, he locked onto Vivi, who was switching from dragon to human.

"We've held these things back, you guys hurry up and deal with these low-level skeletons!" The fairy flew through the air, throwing a series of buffing fairy tricks at the adventurers.

Although the effects of fairy spells are weak, they are quick to activate, long-lasting, and come in many varieties. A stack of similar buffs that increase strength by 1% and agility by 2% can still be quite beneficial. After all, in reality, improvements to these basic attributes often have far-reaching consequences.

The adventurers, no longer holding back, immediately unleashed a barrage of attacks, and the sorcerer ceased maintaining the ritual field, instead releasing the power accumulated within it.

"Rock Spikes!" The arcane mage pressed his hands down on the ground, unleashing the full power of the earth elemental spirits accumulated in the ritual field. Fang-like rock spikes rose violently from the ground, rubbing and squeezing against each other, sending the undead flying or grinding them to pieces. The surface of the rocks was grayish-white and hard, the traces of the earth elemental spirits' deaths.

"Whoosh!" Just as the Black Knight was about to throw his lance at the arcane mage, another rock arrow flew in and struck the shield that was raised reflexively.

The greatest weakness of undead creatures is that, apart from a few types such as Soul-Binding Corpses, most of them do not possess complete intelligence. They are merely the reaction of some flesh and blood memories remaining in their bodies and the echoes of their souls under the influence of death magic.

In other words, while they master most of the martial arts and skills they were already proficient in during their lifetime, they also lose the parts they did not master in time, and they will fight according to these remaining instincts in battle.

Just like now, when faced with a ranged attack, the Black Knight's first reaction is to raise his shield to block instead of continuing his previous throwing preparations. When faced with a warrior slashing at his mount's legs, he first blocks the warrior's attack instead of switching to his current tactics. He no longer observes but directly drives his warhorse to smash through the low-level cannon fodder, charge into the adventurers, and kill the arcane mage.

On the other side, the black horse galloped back and forth among the undead, pulling two shadowy figures through the mist. Roach couldn't even remember where they were anymore; he just numbly swung his thorn sword, which was enchanted by arcane magic, cutting any approaching skeletons or zombies in two.

"Kid, hold on tight!" Roach gripped the reins tightly, pulling the little witch into his arms. The petite girl raised her hands to protect her face and head, her body pressed against the horse's back. The black horse reared up, gave a sudden stop, then slammed its front hooves down, followed by a powerful equine kick.

The horse's hooves, wreathed in purplish-black demonic fire, slammed into the black wind formed by the shadows, causing the flames to explode and instantly scatter the two shadows.

As long as the shadows are not completely eliminated, this level of attack will only temporarily disable them, turning them into a floating, thin shadow. After shaking off the shadows, the black horse carried Roach toward Leslie and Vivi, and the fog here had no effect on it.

The thorn sword, burning with flames, swept past Vivi's side, slicing a self-destructing zombie that was grabbing her from behind in half. "Everyone, prepare to break out. Don't get entangled with this thing. We're going straight to the fourth floor."

Because the dark horse had used some of its strength, and the battle had indeed been quite intense, the fog was filled with the shadowy figures of swaying undead. Although their levels were not high, their numbers were no joke.

Moreover, this "low level" only applies to the little witch and these expert-level adventurers. For ordinary adventure teams, any small group of undead would mean a difficult and arduous battle.

Pale corpses with blood-red claws and giant corpses; black whirlwind-like shadows; banshees floating in mid-air with ancient church crests still on their tattered clothes; black knights riding skeletal warhorses; and a huge number of skeleton soldiers wearing rusted chainmail and disc-shaped helmets.

The shadows of undead creatures flashed through the mist, and everyone, except for Roach and the Little Witch who were on horseback, ran at full speed, following the black warhorse that was leading the way.

As she passed through this ancient battlefield, the little witch looked up at a certain direction in the mist. A huge hellish rift was churning with terrifying black flames, and lightning bolts were constantly striking out, creating second-level insect demons at the points of impact. These insect demons were entangled in battle with the local undead creatures.

"Whoosh!" A new thousand-handed worm emerged from the crack, its antennae swaying back and forth in the air. It quickly pounced on the undead, hundreds of pale hands grabbing zombies and stuffing them under its mouthparts, devouring them bit by bit as if they were eating cookies.

If you saw this scene, no one would be surprised that the thousand-handed worms in the garden had grown to that size. These low-level undead creatures were a free buffet for the insect demons, and similarly, these insect demons were a source of flesh and blood for the undead.

The fourth level is less of a fourth level and more of a massive fortress at the very bottom of the Black Abyss Cemetery. The fortress is built between canyons, with an ancient battlefield in front of it. Various giant siege weapons are scattered among the decaying spear racks, and wooden and metal shields lie haphazardly among the mud and corpses. The most conspicuous thing is the six or seven-meter-tall desiccated corpse on the steps in front of the fortress.

The rotting, withered corpse gripped a spear several stories high. Even after turning into a corpse, glimmers of silver could still be seen between the dried flesh and blood. The decaying wings dragged on the ground, the flesh and blood completely rotted away, leaving only the skeleton and the grayish-white, faded giant feathers.

"The Tomb of the Archangel... We've reached the rest area." The adventurer wiped the sweat from his face. The angel's corpse was enough to create a safe zone for the undead, but it was only relatively safe. Those low-level skeletons and zombies without any brains wouldn't be deterred.

Fortunately, there were many catapults, shields, and siege engine wrecks around the angel's corpse. The adventurers used these vehicles and equipment to build a fortified rest area to prevent low-level skeletons from flooding in.

"How are you going to get back?" Roach asked as he dismounted from his black horse and carried the drowsy Livia to the blanket that Leslie had spread out.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll stay here for a while, wait for the undead to disperse, and then return the way we came. What about you?" The priestess removed her heavy helmet, revealing a rather dignified face. She looked more like a handsome man than a woman, her short, flaxen hair matted with sweat. "My name is Sophie."

They have only a given name and no surname. Oath-taking priests are characterized by taking an oath to renounce wealth (not owning land), honor (not owning a surname), and power (not holding a specific religious office), dedicating their lives to fighting evil and defending their faith.

In other words, although these priests are members of the church, they do not participate in almost all church activities. Instead, they are more common among adventurers. They travel the world by joining adventure teams to explore areas like the Black Abyss Cemetery and eliminate the monsters and evil creatures that inhabit them.

At the same time, they also act alone, investigating cult activities and cracking down on various crimes. In short, they are a group of pure idealists, and very capable idealists at that.

The oath binds their actions and also endows them with unique supernatural powers. In the theory of the secret source, their actions are the hope and sustenance of countless people at the bottom of society. Therefore, when they do not break their oath, this conceptual power originating from nothingness will bless them in the same way as other supernatural forces.

Of course, the above is the theory of the Mystic Sorcerers. They tried to imitate the abilities of the Oath Keepers, and then paid the price of half of their school. Because their research methods were too evil and inhumane, and they also offended more than half of the Oath Keepers on the continent at that time, these priests and various churches formed a special "judgment" army to capture Mystic Sorcerers all over the world and execute them one by one.

The four without surnames, "Rocky," "Livia," "Leslie," and "Velandella," and the fairy Titania whose surname no one cares to ask.

"It seems we might have to work together for a while from now on." They didn't plan to go into the fourth floor, but if Roach and the others also didn't plan to go or only planned to take a look around the entrance, they might return together later.

What do your companions think?

“Them…” The priestess glanced at her companions who were tending to their wounds and sighed, “They wouldn’t refuse an extra fighting force, especially at a time like this.”

“Alright then, if we can get back in time,” Leslie, the only negotiator in the group, nodded after looking at Roach and the others. “However, we can’t guarantee we’ll get back in time, and you don’t need to wait for us.” They were all just strangers who had met by chance, and making too many demands would only make it harder to cooperate and get along later.

You don't have to wait for us, and we don't have to rush back. If the timing is right, we can travel together afterwards. After reaching this consensus, the priestess named Sophie got the answer she wanted: "Then let's do it this way."

Both sides had expended a lot of physical and mental energy and clearly had no desire to continue the exchange. The key was to seize the time to rest and replenish the various combat resources they had consumed.

Chapter Sixty-Six: True Gods and False Gods

The two groups set up camp on either side of the angel's corpse, maintaining a considerable distance. This was a common practice among adventurers to avoid incidents like poisoning or assassination, and even if nothing happened, to guard against other teams stealing their belongings.

There was plenty of rotten wood around, so Roach and his companions didn't use Livia's miniature arcane furnace to heat the fire. Instead, they took wood from the rotten wooden shields and piled it up. This rotten wood was very dry and fluffy, and it was easy to ignite.

The previously marinated insect meat is taken out piece by piece, pierced with a dagger or short sword, and then roasted. This, along with dried underground mushrooms, constitutes a meal. Eating dried mushrooms is like eating sawdust. Dried mushrooms have a much higher calorie content than fresh mushrooms, but they also have more woody fibers, making them taste more like... biting into wood.

Fortunately, they could still eat it after coating it with the grease from the marinated insect meat and drinking boiled water. However, after eating this kind of food for several days, Roach and the others still felt uncomfortable in their stomachs. Only Livia seemed to be unaffected, which changed Roach's impression of her constitution.

Putting aside her physical strength, her digestive ability is truly remarkable. If it were any other mage with a similar constitution to the Little Witch, they would already be writhing on the ground in stomach pain by now.

Sophie's group didn't eat much better than Roach's. The cured meat was cut into small pieces, lightly roasted over a fire, sandwiched between pieces of dry, hard bread that were barely better than wood, and swallowed with fermented grape juice (too low in alcohol to be called wine). The vitamins and fats were provided by chewing nuts and some kind of dried tea leaves together.

After finishing her meal, the little witch, exhausted, wrapped herself in a blanket and rested her head on Leslie's lap before falling asleep. Her light golden hair seemed to flow quietly in the firelight, and a few food crumbs remained on her alabaster cheeks, which Leslie carefully wiped clean.

She was curled up inside the blanket like some kind of shivering little animal, so Leslie had to add another, thicker waterproof blanket for her. As for Roach and Vivi, they were squatting beside the angel's corpse, where the broken blade formed a ring, the edge of which was combed around a stone tablet covered with dry moss.

Do you recognize the characters on this?

“Hmm, I recognize a little. This isn’t the script of the ancient Kingdom of Luster, but the consecration script of the Holy White Church.” Vivi’s fingers gently brushed over the cuneiform-like structure. “There are countless civilizations that have appeared on this continent, each with its own script and language.”

"Is the church and God the same?" Vivi hesitated for a moment. Considering that there was a very capable priest on the other side, she said nothing, but her silence was the answer.

"...I see. So the same God? But not the Church?" Roach asked in a low voice.

"Of course," came the reply, not from Vivi, but from Sophie, who had changed into linen casual clothes. She was agile and strong, and if it weren't for her secondary sexual characteristics, one would hardly recognize her as a woman. Her arms and waist, exposed outside her linen casual clothes, were covered in solid muscles, and her eight-pack abs seemed to have a bronze sheen in the lamplight.

“The Lord has always been there, neither born nor dying, but those who believe in the Lord, those who receive His protection, cannot be as eternal as the Lord. This is not a taboo topic.” The priestess sat down cross-legged, seemingly unmoved by the angel’s remains. “You haven’t read any religious books, Mr. Roach?”

"No," Roach was still very interested in religion, not in the sense of faith, but because religion is an important part of ancient life and cognition. And because of the unique organizational form of religion, its rate of change is much slower than the rate of social change. In other words, for archaeologists, the religious culture of a place is often a living repository of local history.

Religious activities were an important part of ancient life and one of the activities that left behind the most written records and artifacts, from architectural sites to murals and utensils to inscriptions and carvings. For example, much of the historical record of the Shang and Zhou dynasties was obtained from the inscriptions on tortoise shells and bronzes used for religious divination and sacrifices.

"You've never been to the Stoll Empire either?"

"This is my first time here," was the honest truth. Roach didn't know if the other person had some kind of lie detector, but what he said was indeed the truth. This was truly his first time in the Stoll Empire, and he didn't know much about the world or the continent.

After all, besides storybooks and various childish picture books, Little Witch's books are mainly magic books that leave Roche bewildered, although these magic books inevitably involve some environmental, geographical, and historical information.

However, Rhodes' understanding of this world was still not very extensive. Moreover, in this era, even a poet like Leslie, who traveled extensively, did not have a very deep understanding of the world due to the limitations imposed by the speed and methods of transportation and information transmission.

Conversely, churches are likely the places that preserve the most historical records, which are usually preserved in the form of myths, stories, and legends. Therefore, for archaeological teams, digging up temples or sacrificial sites is second only to digging up ancient libraries directly.

“That’s not surprising,” Sophie said seriously. Oath-keeping priests are both fanatics and not fanatics. Their fanaticism lies in their absolute faith in their beliefs, and they will not tolerate anything that taints their faith.

Rather than being fanatical, they believe in their own inner convictions about the doctrines, so they do not attack or kill heretics, nor are they enthusiastic about proselytizing.

While they are not enthusiastic about missionary work, they are very serious about it. They do not force others to convert, but they will correct misunderstandings about their faith. This "others" does not distinguish between those inside and outside the church. Therefore, these guys' wandering is not entirely due to their own insistence, but may also be because people in the church can't stand them.

God forbids sexual misconduct, so when these guys see a priest and a little boy, they will actually take out a mace and carry out the justice on the spot, killing the "fallen" clergyman. Logically speaking, any organization needs this kind of person, but any organization will also exclude this kind of person.

"The Holy Lord of Light has many names and faces. Do you know about the seven faces of the Holy Lord?"

"I've heard of it," Roach nodded. Different people and sects would glimpse different faces the moment they received the favor of the gods.

“The Church of the Holy White worships the sixth aspect of the Lord of Light, the Goddess of White, also known as the Goddess of Purity,” Sophie said, pointing to the angel's remains. “And the apostle of the Goddess of Purity is the angel you see before you.”

“Not all of God’s apostles are like that?” Roach seized on the blind spot.

"Yes, even the apostles of the same Lord have different appearances, and different churches at different times have different interpretations of the attitude and image of divine messengers."

"No wonder the church didn't remove the body and let it rot here." After all, this was a messenger of the Holy White Church, not a messenger of the current church.

“No, you’re mistaken. It’s not that we don’t want to move it, it’s that we can’t.” Sophie shook her head. “The messenger of God is the hand of God to intervene in the world. Even though we belong to different churches in different eras, the basic respect for the messenger of God is the same. However, it cannot be moved because of certain… special reasons.”

And this reason cannot be told to the general public. Of course, what Roach said is one of the reasons.

Simply put, the current church and the former St. White Church are like different departments in the same company, and this angel is like the manager of another department. The current church will give him basic respect, but will not treat him as its boss.

"The church has undergone many changes. Do you know the difference between the true God and the false God, Mr. Roach?"

“Sorry, I don’t know,” Roach shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

Sophie looked at Rhodes thoughtfully, then said, "The biggest difference between a true god and a false god is that a true god is ever-present, constant, and eternal." She then explained what this meant.

“Always present means that the true gods are always around us. You may not be able to perceive the existence of the gods, but they are there. Clerics perceive the existence of the gods through a more acute sense than ordinary people, and thus receive enlightenment from the gods.” As Sophie said this, her face seemed to shine with a holy light.

"Then, when those priests do things that don't conform to doctrine, aren't they all being watched by God?"

"Uh..." The holy light on Sophie's face vanished instantly.

"Why didn't the god punish him? Was it because he didn't want to?

"..." Vivi glanced at Luo Qi, subtly shifting her posture so she wouldn't be caught off guard when the fight started. "Are you really that fierce? Your head is harder than a hammer!"

“We are the hammer of divine punishment,” Sophie said with a serious and somber expression. “God has made us the punishment for this great sin of blasphemy. Otherwise, why would God have given us this power to kill?”

Oathkeeper priests rarely use healing or support spells. Apart from healing themselves, all their blessings are used to enhance combat and defense, as well as to protect their teammates.

"Does 'Hengzai' mean... that he will not weaken, will not frail, will not perish, and will not change due to any external or internal reason?"

"You are very intelligent. It's a pity. If you joined the church, you would definitely become a good clergyman."

"Unfortunately, my perception is very weak. Even the mages have stronger perception than me." Roach spread his hands. The result of his soul being completely integrated with his body was that he had almost no spiritual power. It was like a person who was always wearing heavy armor and could only barely perceive the existence of things in the outside world.

"Eternity means that the true God did not emerge from a certain point in time. He has been there from the beginning, or rather, he has existed throughout the entire timeline since his appearance."

“Yes, Mr. Roach, you understand correctly. False gods do not have such abilities. Even the forbidden objects that the Kingdom of Luster tried to create back then were like that. Once a false god loses its faith and external sacrifices, its power will decline until it is completely forgotten and disappears.” Sophie seriously agreed with Roach’s understanding.

"Therefore, no matter how civilization changes, whether the church is destroyed or a kingdom is overthrown, when civilization is re-established, they will all offer the exact same faith in the same deity. Only the form in which their faith is presented will be different, and thus the symbols will be different. In essence, the Holy White Church and we believe in the exact same Lord."

Because the true God is eternal, constant, and everlasting, even if the original church is completely destroyed without leaving a single word, at some point a highly inspired person or another intelligent race will hear the exact same revelation and establish a completely new church that is largely the same.

"No wonder..." No wonder those Mystic Sorcerers would go to great lengths to unravel the secrets of the Gift and the Gods, because in the eyes of the scientists of the Mystic Source, no, even the original world, the "truth" they pursue is just this one thing, and studying the secrets of the Gift and the Gods is the process of getting closer to this eternally existing truth.

"So these words..."

“It’s an epic story recounting the course of war,” Sophie said, looking at the inscription on the stone tablet. “It’s the Holy White Church’s ‘Final Atonement.’”

“What sins did they commit?” Even an angel died here, and it seems the survivors didn’t even bury the angel.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t say. It only says that a bishop named Samaria, in order to make up for his ‘greatest mistake,’ gathered all the believers who were still loyal to their faith and the warriors who were still loyal to the ancestors of the kingdom. They gathered here and vowed to destroy this ‘temple of sin.’ After paying a price of almost total annihilation, they succeeded. The survivors built this memorial and agreed to return to collect the remains of their comrades after the ‘war of sin’ was completely quelled.” Vivi roughly interpreted the contents of the stone tablet.

“Hmm…” Roach quickly extracted the key words: the Hall of Sin was likely the fortress-like building in front of him, built at the top of the steps and between the rocks of the canyon; and the War of Sin was probably the source of the ancient battlefield and the undead outside.

The presence of the lit fires upon entering the Black Abyss Cemetery, along with Livia's remark about the disdainful words of the Great Sin Mage, suggests that this was likely the place where those Great Sin Mages were researching something deadly.

Furthermore, judging from the scale of the building, it was likely fully supported by the king or the kingdom's high-ranking officials, and may even have included a considerable number of high-ranking church officials. Otherwise, the bishop would not have said it was his sin, nor would he have used the phrase "loyalty to the faith."

"Does this document say what they successfully accomplished?"

"No, I only said that they have done everything they could and should have done..."