Witch Troupe and the Undead

The Black Forest did indeed prevent some of the evil demons from penetrating deeper. The Black Forest itself is a product of ethereal magic, a product of the concept of "wilderness." It is said that in more ancient times, the Black Forest was far more terrifying than it is now.

However, as humans and various intelligent races developed and expanded, the concept of wilderness began to weaken. In the war between civilization and wilderness, the former gradually gained the upper hand, so the Black Forest is much weaker now.

Even so, since the concept of sin and magic of the Sin Demon are essentially the same type of thing, the Sin Demon will be quite suppressed when it enters the Black Forest. After all, sin itself is an appendage of civilization, and when it enters the "Black Forest" which is hostile to "civilization", it will naturally be resisted and interfered with.

However, because the power of the Black Forest has been greatly weakened by civilization, the Sin Demon can still break through the forest's constraints and continuously interfere with and attack the surrounding towns and strongholds.

"That's why you need a guide. The local Rock Tower people don't easily damage the nearby Black Forest. They may have learned it from their ancestors, or something may have happened in the past."

The Black Forest, a "poison" against civilization, has become the best barrier against the original sin demon. Therefore, unlike other places, the locals both curb the expansion of the Black Forest and prevent its destruction. In order to achieve a balance between the two, anyone entering the Black Forest must hire a Rock Tower Clan guide.

A few days later, the weather grew colder and a thin layer of snow appeared on the ground. Livia looked at the snowflakes on the ground with curiosity and carefully stepped on the thin layer of frozen water. The ice made a crisp cracking sound, and the little girl immediately burst into silvery laughter, chasing after the frozen snow meltwater on the ground, listening to the sound of the ice breaking under her feet.

Tasia led a tall man up the steps. "When did these hills appear here?"

“It’s not a hill…” The man glanced at the edge. “There’s no moss.” Normally, a hill of this size would have a lot of moss growing on its edge, but the edge of the stone was actually very clean and smooth, more like the result of frequent friction.

"Weiwei, the guide you've been looking for."

“Lums, warrior,” the man extended his hand to Alessina, who glanced at him warily, nodded, and said nothing. “Next, I will lead you through the Black Forest to the Imperial Survey Corps’ camp. First, I need to check your luggage and the weapons and supplies you are carrying.”

"..."

"Has he always talked like this?"

"That's just how the Rock Tower people are. They're straightforward and don't understand the concept of tact. Look at Tasia, she's one of the few clever and quick-witted people in their tribe."

“…Indeed.” Compared to the towering man in front of him, Tasia, whom Roach thought was a simpleton, was incredibly shrewd and intelligent.

Livia didn't feel offended at all, and seriously showed the other party her equipment and so-called "luggage".

“Too little, too thin. Change it. We need to camp twice on the way. You won’t survive the first night like this.” Lumes glanced expressionlessly at the little witch’s thin dress and cloak, as well as her harmless cane. “Don’t bring too many miscellaneous items and books. Bring more oils and dried fruits, and potions to keep warm.”

"As for you, don't wear the chainmail under your clothes, wear it on the outside, and stuff more warm supplies inside." The other person looked at Leslie. "There aren't enough arrows in your luggage, bring two more rolls (200 arrows). If you can't carry them, you can give them to me."

"that……"

"An alchemist?" The other person looked at Roach, who was about to speak. "Where's your luggage? Bombs? Incense? Or elixirs? Armor? Put on a smock, with a fur-lined leather lining, unless you can sleep in armor. Also, alchemists shouldn't wear heavy armor."

"Replace"

"No," Livia shook her head, refusing the other party's request. Her clothes were either given to her by her teacher or made by herself, and she didn't want to change them. As for the cold... laughable. You're discussing this with a gold-level witch who is proficient in all six secret source domains. She has a million ways to draw energy from some other heat source to maintain her body temperature, like some minotaur from hell.

"Change it!"

"No!" The little guy was clearly a bit angry. Lums looked somewhat at a loss. This wasn't his first time leading a team, and the people who had seen his physique and expression before usually didn't clash with him.

There will certainly be a lot of talk behind his back, but he's not targeting anyone in particular. He does need to confirm everyone's luggage and supplies in order to plan the itinerary, the number of camping trips, campsites, and a series of other things.

At the same time, Roach, who knew a little about the work of these people, also knew that it was the same as mountain guides. They were really risking their lives with you. If you didn't listen, something bad could really happen. If you encountered someone who didn't know their own limitations, the unlucky guide might even have to carry these poor souls who were so oxygen-deprived that they couldn't breathe down the mountain.

Lums hesitated, looking at the sulking little witch. Wouldn't she cry for a long time if he slapped her? He wasn't very good at comforting children.

The black horse, seemingly noticing his subtle movement, was startled and looked at him hesitantly. If he punched him, this guy would probably break into many pieces, right? He wasn't very good at controlling his strength.

You've misunderstood; we don't walk.

"..." Lums looked at the black horse and bull in the stable. "Hmm... this means we need to bring more firewood, and also more blankets." If we're not changing clothes, then we should bring more thick blankets, since we have two strong-looking animals anyway.

“I am a dragonborn. Don’t look at me. I can come and go in the Black Forest without any problems.” Vivi raised her hand to indicate that she was a dragonborn and a local. So Lumus glanced at the gray scales on her forehead and neck and nodded to indicate that he understood.

"Understood. We actually have plenty of supplies. As for the departure time, it's best to set off now. If we wait a few more days, the snow will get heavier and it will be harder to travel."

“Indeed…” Roach looked at the little witch who was still puffing up her cheeks in anger. She knew that now was not the time to be angry, so she snorted softly and took out a small crystal ball.

"Boom!" The ground shook. Lumus's first reaction was to draw his weapon and stand in front of the little witch. After all, she was a client, and if something happened on the first day of the job, he would be unable to do business.

The ground slowly rose, and eight stone legs unfolded. "Which way to go?"

"..." Lums remained silent for a long time, standing on the edge and glancing at the distance from the ground, then at the houses along with the platform, before falling into a new silence.

Then you really don't need to bring any luggage. You've already brought the house and fireplace with you. When it gets cold at night, you can just warm yourself by the fire inside. Besides, at this height, most monsters should have a hard time climbing up. In other words, this trip is actually a very easy one.

Lums said, "Go this way. The ground is softer over there, and you might sink in."

He quickly began to fulfill his role as a guide, telling the little witch where the ground was more solid, there were fewer monsters, and the trees in the Black Forest were sparser.

He seemed completely unsurprised by the mobile home, though in reality he was quite surprised, but since it was unrelated to his work, he didn't dwell on it for the time being.

"Vivi, how much does one of these cost?" Tasia grabbed Vivi and asked loudly, "I can open a traveling tavern this way!"

"I don't know. You should ask Miss Livia. Let me make it clear first, she's a Gold-level witch... As for the price... you can decide."

“…Oh,” Tasia released her hand, acting as if nothing had happened.

How do I get down?

"Jump off the edge or have Livia lower the house?"

"Oh!" Then she jumped off the edge.

"..."

“That’s how all the Rock Tower people are,” Vilandella shrugged.

Chapter 86 The Great Swordsman Alessina

On the second day of their journey, they encountered heavy snow. In Lumes' words, this meant that Rock Tower County would officially enter winter in a week or two at most. At that time, all caravans would cease operations, as would planting and hunting. Only storytellers would still go out during this season to check on and record the conditions and stories of each Rock Tower.

Then the temple flames will burn incessantly day and night until the end of winter. This is a tradition of the Rock Tower people. The flames represent civilization and life. The ever-burning flames in winter mean that there are still people living in this place. Of course, in Roach's view, all folk traditions, and even mythological and religious regulations, have deeper realistic reasons behind them.

For example, Islam does not eat pork because pigs in the city at that time ate garbage and feces, making them susceptible to parasites; Christianity seems foolish for not bathing because bathing directly in the river could easily lead to catching a cold, and then dying with medieval medical technology (don't ask why they don't boil water because fuel was expensive), and so on. Similarly, the tradition of the Yanta people is largely the same.

Roach believes that rather than the sacred fire representing life, it is more accurate to say that in earlier times, only semi-religious institutions like temples could store large amounts of fuel for the winter, and the large fire pits served as a public heating center, thus minimizing the chance of people freezing to death during the cold winter.

At the same time, such a public heating center is also a free gathering place. To be honest, if you usually organize a gathering, a lot of pigeons will appear. However, if you organize a gathering for free heating in the cold winter, there will definitely be no pigeons.

It's even possible that the Yanta people ultimately formed their ethnic identity and collective consciousness through this primitive centralized heating system. Moreover, humans themselves are powerful heat dissipators. They may not understand it, but they can certainly feel that the more people are drawn by the sacred fire, the more people survive the winter, and the warmer the temple becomes.

In the snowy weather, the witch obviously didn't want to stand outside in the cold wind, as did Vivi and Leslie. The little witch also wouldn't let Roach operate the crystal ball. Although she didn't say it, her beautiful emerald eyes clearly conveyed the message: "I'm afraid you'll blow it up."

Thick double-layered wooden walls kept out the cold wind, and glistening frost hung from the tall, straight giant trees. The powerful north wind lashed against the windows, scattering and swirling, making a fierce howling sound.

"Crackling~" The flames in the fireplace made a crisp sound. Roach pressed the last piece of firewood on top, and the warm firelight illuminated the living room on the first floor of the cabin, where everyone had gathered.

Lums dutifully occupied a corner of the house, sat on the ground, and maintained a large pile of odds and ends tools in front of him. He looked very serious. Even though he didn't need to do this job right now, he would still be responsible for bringing the person out after bringing them in. At the very least, he would have to cross the Black Forest in winter to get out himself.

Therefore, these reliable old tools must be kept in top condition, and the status of every item, such as weapons, tools, supplies, and backpacks, needs to be checked and understood.

How long will this snow last?

“At least one day,” Lums replied, then glanced at the dry wood in the fireplace. “If you use your stockpile of dry wood like this, it will run out very quickly.” No one knows better than the Rock Tower people how much dry wood or charcoal to burn in a fireplace during winter to save fuel. Those Rock Tower people who don’t have this skill have either frozen to death or gone bankrupt.

"It's alright, once the wood is burned, we can just go outside and chop some more."

"Hmm," considering the giant trees around the cabin, Lums remained silent. At worst, there was still wood from the Black Forest. Cutting some branches from the trees around the house wouldn't seriously damage the Black Forest.

While most people couldn't go out, Alessina was much more at ease. She simply deactivated her human transformation mode, and her long white fur gave her considerable warmth. After all, fox fur is indeed one of the best insulated animal skins, especially Arctic fox fur.

Alessina trudged through ankle-deep snowflakes, dragging a two-handed greatsword in her hand. The blade was sheathed in a leather scabbard and held over the fox girl's shoulder as a weight as she squatted in the snow to strengthen her lower body.

The warrior profession is the simplest profession in this world. Training in weapons and building physical strength, the ultimate goal is to better integrate the naturally occurring secret magic power within each person's body with their flesh through repeated targeted training and dietary control, thereby developing the corresponding [extraordinary physique] ability.

Once you have mastered a sufficiently high level and type of extraordinary physique, you can try to train the corresponding [extraordinary martial arts]. This is the training method for warriors.

Beast riders receive additional training, such as beast taming and riding skills. They also need to learn some basic witchcraft and herbal knowledge, since taking care of war beasts is truly an art.

“97…98…99…100” Alessina stood up, panting heavily. He closed his eyes and felt the slight pulsation of his muscle fibers and blood vessels under extreme fatigue. He focused his attention entirely on these areas, using this method to gently guide the uncontrollable secret magic power within his body. He only opened his eyes when the heat from the exercise gradually dissipated.

Sweat had frozen into streaks of frost on his palms. Because of his fur, the fox-fox's sweat glands were located on his limbs and palms. He only had more sweat glands to dissipate heat when he transformed into human form.

With the basic training over, it's time to begin martial arts training. Alessina picked up her greatsword. She wasn't actually good at using a greatsword, which might be hard for others to believe. She was actually better at short weapons like dual swords and short swords, which also suited the fox-people's explosive power and jumping ability. But now that she only had the greatsword available, she had to take time to familiarize herself with and practice greatsword techniques.

Warrior-type professionals need to master more than one weapon skill. For example, Alessina knows how to use more than a dozen weapons, such as short spears, greatswords, longswords, and greatswords (Wu Peng swords), as well as two-handed battle axes, one-handed battle axes, and throwing axes. Of course, unless she advances to the Weapon Master branch, she doesn't learn dueling weapons like Swift Swords much.

The use of a greatsword, or more specifically, a Wupeng sword, is closer to that of a long-handled blunt weapon. Its hilt is actually quite long. Generally, the length of the hilt of a Wupeng sword is equivalent to the blade length of a regular longsword. After all, even with magic, the torque of a blade as wide as a normal person's shoulder means that if the hilt is not long enough, it is impossible to swing it.

Alessina uses her waist to rotate the blade. Her moves are few, all centered around her waist, relying on powerful lower body strength to rotate herself and the blade together. She doesn't require much arm strength, but she does require a lot of grip strength. Otherwise, the centrifugal force would turn the greatsword into a super heavy throwing star and send it flying.

Such a weapon naturally doesn't require any fancy moves. Just swing a thing weighing at least a hundred or two hundred pounds around and chop it down. As long as you don't miss, you don't need to worry about blocking or anything like that. The person and their armor will be shattered.

This weapon is not unfamiliar to orcs and orcish-men. The so-called Wupeng Sword is a weapon created by orcs to fight against human fully armored cavalry. When it was first invented, the requirement for users was that they could only make three slashes to be considered qualified.

The first sword sweeps across, severing the horse's leg. The second sword, using the circular motion of the first sweep, is slashed diagonally along the ground. At the same time, the rider takes a step forward and rotates, combining waist and legs, forcefully swinging the blade upward to cleave the horse's belly. Simultaneously, the spinning step is used to avoid the thrusting spear. The third strike is a powerful downward swing of the raised blade. After these three layers of momentum, the final blow is enough to cut the human knight's entire horse and the knight himself to pieces.

For humans at that time, who had not yet trained heavy knights to perform wall charges and instead relied on small groups of heavily armored knights leading armed squires to charge, the orcs' tactic and sacrifices significantly hampered the progress of human settlement.

However, once humans developed wall charges and even techniques to maintain formations while moving and create magical effects, this tactic was gradually phased out by the Orcish Alliance. Unlike in the past, when they could only compensate for the gap in metallurgical technology between the two races by increasing the width and weight of their sword blades, they also adopted heavy armor, extremely long spear blades, and fierce war beast cavalry to charge into battle, just like humans.

Alessina practices this earliest form of orc greatsword swordsmanship, which consists of three sword strikes as a set of movements. Each set of movements involves moving forward approximately 2 meters, and each step requires the use of lower body strength to maintain balance; otherwise, what you throw out might not be the sword, but yourself. At the same time, the entire process is a great test for all the muscle groups in the body.

Use the intervals between each set of movements to breathe and adjust your posture. As you swing, the speed will increase, and the blade will create a terrifying sound in the wind and snow, like a howling whirlwind.

"Huff~ Huff~ Huff~" Alessina could only manage 5-6 sets of exercises before she couldn't take it anymore. She leaned on her greatsword, panting heavily. To cool down, she even switched to human form, her whole body seemingly radiating heat.

However, under this extreme fatigue, the power of the life source began to become apparent. Not only could she not rest, but she also had to force herself to concentrate and focus her mind so that the life source could purposefully strengthen the corresponding physical qualities.

Warrior-type professionals are different from noble spellcasters and other special professions. Every bit of their power comes from years of tedious, boring, and painful self-training. They can truly be said to have earned every bit of power through countless trials and tribulations.

The good news is that in this world... the warrior class is not much worse than spellcasters compared to other fantasy worlds, well, provided that one has trained to a certain level and mastered extraordinary martial arts. Otherwise, knights wouldn't be quasi-nobles with equal status to spellcasters.

"When did you start watching?" Alessina asked Roach, who was looking at her from the window. "From the time you started using a sword."

"So?" The fox girl tilted her head, her pointed ears twitching sensitively.

“I’m considering that your greatsword might still be able to be modified, even though it’s a magic sword made by a little witch.” This is also why Alessina abandoned her familiar combat techniques and started practicing greatsword techniques again.

This greatsword, or rather the Wupeng Sword, is a true magical sword forged by a witch, but the little witch got the wrong impression from some storybook, and this greatsword does not have any elemental enchantments or anything like that.

It doesn't even have the effect of enhancing strength and stamina. It only has two enchantments. One is the toughness enchantment, which strengthens the greatsword, which already contains adamantite alloy, to the hardness and toughness equivalent to that of pure adamantite alloy. Of course, pure adamantite... that weight is not something that carbon-based creatures can use as a weapon. Generally, it is alloys that are reduced in weight and enhanced by magical effects.

One is the Magic Blade, which is enchanted with chaotic magic, allowing it to penetrate various magical defenses and magical armor. At the same time, it can deal full damage even to ethereal creatures like ghosts.

In Roach's view, a typical pure numerical monster is a heavy weapon enchanted with [no damage], [armor penetration], [resistance penetration], and [spirit damage].

"How should I change it?" The fox girl didn't mind. After all, in the little witch's eyes, Roach might be roughly equivalent to the smartest Golden Retriever in the family—oh, now he might have reached the level of a Border Collie. But in the eyes of ordinary people, although Roach's area of ​​expertise was a bit strange, he could still be considered an "expert" in his field. Being called "Master Roach" wouldn't be shameful for him.

“I’ve carefully observed your swordsmanship. There are only three moves in total, which can all be summarized as swinging and slashing. So it’s very simple.” Roach thought for a moment. “Give me the sword, and I’ll discuss it with Livia. However, if you’re going to train later, you should practice your footwork more. Otherwise, after the modification, the power of your slashes will become difficult to control, and you might not be able to stand up straight.”

"Okay," the fox girl said, not uttering many words, perhaps because her vocabulary of Luster wasn't enough for her to speak in complex sentences. In the basement of the cabin, Roach had Vivi place the greatsword on the workbench, and Livia changed into her own "work clothes."

She wore an adorable white apron, and her long golden hair was wrapped in a white headscarf, making her look like a petite little maid. Yes, this was her outfit for entering the laboratory.

How do you plan to renovate it?

“Explosion-driven, I think her initial momentum is too slow. By the time she fully swings the sword, she doesn’t have much strength left to slash. So, I was thinking, what if we give the blade a propulsive force while swinging it?” Similar to a rocket booster, but Roach felt he couldn’t build a turbine, but he could use a gas propulsion similar to gunpowder.

"You mean to mount an alchemical bomb on a sword?!"

“No…” Roach had a hard time explaining what gas propulsion meant, so he could only look at the little witch, who had already started taking out tools and various magic potions and reagents.

After extensive testing, Roach and the Little Witch selected a "propulsion cartridge" made by grinding fire powder, sulfur, and bat teeth, mixing them in a water bath and heating the mixture, and then adding a quarter-scale of wind and fire essence.

Each cartridge is made of sturdy black iron and is installed at the junction of the hilt and the blade. Roach chose a structure similar to a revolver, except that the cylinder cannot pop out, making loading a bit more troublesome.

It can be loaded with up to 5 bullets. Why 5? Because the little witch can use the bullets as the core to build a reinforced magic circle to prevent impact damage to the structure, while also making the gas jet controllable.

"Livia, can you achieve this effect..." Roach quietly grabbed the little witch and whispered in her ear, "Hmm..." The little girl was a bit lost in thought, and after thinking for a while, she nodded.

"It's been modified?" Alessina looked at the greatsword in his hand. Apart from the addition of wing-shaped metal decorations on the hilt and a rather heavy swivel, nothing had changed. The only difference was that the center of gravity was closer to the hilt, making it easier to swing.

“Turn this handle,” Roach pointed to the brass part near the grip. “Can it turn?” Alessina turned it hard, and “whoosh~” came the roar of an engine. Unfortunately, there was no engine inside; it was just a sound effect.

"Oh~" Livia's eyes sparkled, and with the roar of the engine, the blade began to gradually turn red, as if it were being scorched by high temperatures. In reality, it was just a special effect to remind Alessina that it was ready to be activated.

“There are three levels in total. The slashing power will increase slightly with each level. The first level increases it by 10%, the second level by 25%, and the third level by 50%. Use it according to your needs. When you trigger the slashing acceleration, it's this trigger.” Roach pointed to the structure that looked like a wing.

"Whoosh~~~" The greatsword roared, and as Alessina kicked the blade up, she pulled the trigger. "Bang!" The sound of a gunshot rang out, and the gas propelled the blade outwards. She almost dropped it, but luckily she managed to grab it in time.

Soon, Alessina realized the wonder of this modification. She could directly bring the greatsword to its maximum speed and power without having to laboriously build up momentum, and she could also perform a double acceleration when slashing down.

Most importantly, the roar of the engine, the brutal gunfire, and even the booming sound of artillery fire at third gear struck the most sensitive spot in the hearts of every orc.

"Awesome!" Alessina sheathed his sword, wishing some tough-skinned monster would jump out right now so he could chop it up.

"Master Roach, how much... for this?" Clearly, Lums, a member of the Rock Tower tribe, couldn't help but ask. Humans don't have the physical strength of orcs to wield the Unrivaled Sword with their bare hands, but now that he saw it, it wasn't impossible to do it with this kind of device.

Most importantly, the roar of the motorcycle engine that Roach had the little witch simulate was really cool, especially when the roar reached its peak, the crisp gunshot driven by the exploding gunpowder was the finishing touch.

“Roach, when you said explosions were art before, I suspected you were just trying to make yourself look good, but now it seems… it really is art.” Black Horse was itching to get one too. “Get me one too, I’m not picky, go for the best one.”

"The most powerful... there is, are you sure you want the most powerful?" Roach looked at Black Horse with a strange expression, because a new page appeared in his skills.

[Flesh and blood cannot withstand explosions: Create ten types of explosive weapons; 1/10] [Engine-propelled greatsword: A greatsword powered by alchemical gunpowder]

"Alright, alright, I'll give you something more exciting." Instantly, something even more exciting than an engine-jet greatsword popped into Roach's mind: a gunpowder that could fire six heavy alchemical grenades at once—no ordinary firearm could compare to this!