Witch Troupe and the Undead

The remaining troops, composed of mountain mercenaries and hunters, are not even worth mentioning whether they can defeat the parliamentary army. Even if they could, these guys who risk their lives for money are not loyal or reliable opponents.

With the governor's defeat and the loss of control over the surrounding mountainous region, all sorts of strange bandit groups and forces began to emerge, using all sorts of dubious names. To make matters worse, who was the leader of the parliamentary army? Well, none of those merchant guild leaders and big merchants had clean hands.

So, without a doubt, the crossbows that came out of their workshops ended up in the hands of the governor. What's even more ridiculous is that these weapons were used by the pirates before they even reached the governor.

All its shortcomings become advantages at sea. For example, the problem of trading a dense formation for an effective hit rate, the problem of range, the problem of excessive penetration making it easy to over-penetrate, and the problem of the low power of those fireball shells are all solved at sea.

The boarding ships were only so wide that a volley of twenty or thirty crossbows inflicted heavy losses on the governor's anti-smuggling forces. The pirates' tactic was to organize themselves, fire wildly as the two ships approached, and then unleash a concentrated volley before charging forward with their scimitars.

Anyway, the space on the ship is small, both sides are lightly armored units, and they are clustered together. In addition, the ship is much slower than the cavalry. In the process of the two ships getting close enough to board, they have enough time to fire several rounds.

Even if they couldn't hit anyone, they could at least fire a volley of slicing and incendiary shells at the sails, right? So the anti-smuggling marines, who had been badly beaten by the pirates, also started purchasing these weapons. It was only then that the governor understood why his troops had been so badly beaten in the mountains.

However, the knights showed great disdain for this weapon, even demanding a ban on its production and use. After all, it posed little threat to fully armed knights with supernatural abilities, but it was a great threat to their horses.

More than one knight jumped up and down, cursing the marines who supported this weapon: "You dare let those lowly commoners use these things to kill my horse?!"

You see, if it weren't for their lack of habit of mindless charging, many knights would be putting on a show right now where "the man is still alive, but the horse is gone." Although high-grade warhorses are very valuable, knights don't ride them when they're fighting bandits. While ordinary warhorses are not a small number either, they are at least... cheaper than those high-grade ones.

In reality, horses, like weapons, are consumables on the battlefield. Therefore, if knights had the means, the stables would prepare more than one horse, but only one was the main warhorse. The rest were old horses, dwarf horses, and foals.

"How about you guys consider Warcraft mounts?"

"..." It is indeed a good idea. High-level tamable magical beast mounts are much more powerful than ordinary warhorses and can also withstand the power of infantry crossbows. There is only one problem: they are twice as expensive as horses.

"A tamed earth dragon costs about 1600 gold coins," the governor said, looking blankly at his subordinates. As for warhorses, bulk purchases would cost around 700 to 800 gold coins—bulk military purchases and retail purchases are two different things.

"However, this crossbow only costs 1.5 gold coins to produce." The governor was also a little numb. This thing was too cheap. Even if he ordered it to be banned, it would be useless. Everyone would use it very quickly.

Even the knights who voiced the strongest opposition did not actually intend to "ban crossbows on foot" but rather to ask, "Why are there no crossbows on horseback?!" The death of one's own horse is a tragedy, but the death of one's enemy's horse is a delightful thing!

Chapter 131 The Voice of Char Aznable Emerges

Although the naval sailors touted the Roach Livia magic crossbow as the best weapon in the world, the governor keenly sensed something was amiss. If it really only cost 1.5 gold coins to produce, then why was the military expenditure reported by his accountant still an astronomical figure, even increased significantly due to the activity of pirates and smugglers?

The price of less than 2 gold coins means it's equivalent to 10 low-quality one-handed swords. A single infantryman armed with this crossbow might not be able to defeat an infantryman wielding a sword and shield, since the weapon's accuracy is terrible. However, 10 sailors armed with this weapon on a sea ship could easily kill more than 50 ordinary boarding sword and shield sailors.

If the number of combat sailors on a ship is increased to 35-40 and all equipped with this weapon, it can easily suppress any merchant ship or fast sailing ship with less than two masts.

Three-masted ships were generally warships and large merchant ships. Pirates and smugglers would not use this type of ship because it was too slow to evade the navy's pursuit, and its draft was too deep to enter dangerous black harbors and black market docks where transactions were conducted.

"The crossbow costs 1.5 gold coins, but the ammunition costs 1 silver coin per shot? Or is that the cost price?" The governor fiddled with three types of ammunition. The cheapest of them was the penetrating bullet, which was a hexagonal prism metal block with a small amount of silver alloy added to reduce its weight. It cost 1 silver coin per shot, which was the manufacturing cost price, because the silver content it used was almost half a silver coin, or 2 grams of pure silver.

Because the anti-knight mount's slicing bullets use relatively expensive magical mineral materials, they cost close to 6 to 7 silver coins per shot. For ordinary ammunition, the low-quality green glass from small workshops costs 2 silver coins per shot, while the high-quality green glass from standard ammunition costs close to 3.5 silver coins per shot.

As the regional governor in charge of the important trading town of Resand Province, he quickly calculated the true cost of arming and operating this weapon.

Based on the standard crossbowman's ammunition configuration of 12 regular crossbow bolts, 6 armor-piercing bolts, and 3 enchanted bolts, a foot crossbowman using the Roach Livia crossbow would need 6.5 gold coins just for the ammunition and the crossbow itself, not counting other equipment and accessories.

Although it's a bargain compared to the cost of the Knight's weaponry, it's important to consider that this ammunition is a consumable. Furthermore, because Roach used very fragile green glass as the bullet material to reduce manufacturing difficulty and cost, the daily damage rate is not low.

The cost of one slicing bullet is enough to buy a bag of 24 standard crossbow bolts. In other words, the cost of ammunition alone is 4 to 5 times that of a crossbowman. However, due to the different firing methods and poor accuracy, the actual consumption rate is more than 3 times that of a crossbowman. If rapid firing is carried out in places with cover, such as ships at sea, the cost will increase even further.

"...This is no divine weapon, it's a money-devouring beast!" The governor shook his head. However, with this, he roughly knew how to deal with this elite crossbowman unit of the Parliamentary Army.

Along the Viper Sea, prisoners or slaves transported from the New Figonan Province, regardless of their quality, only cost 2 silver coins each. In other words, as long as they are not killed instantly on the battlefield, it is a very cost-effective way to exchange them, at least economically.

Moreover, although they do not have extraordinary physiques, if they are equipped with enchanted heavy shields, they can serve as cannon fodder or tools to consume the enemy's precious ammunition.

"Given the size of those rebels, each volley of theirs would cost dozens of gold coins in ammunition. In other words, we only need to use those cheap slaves and barbarians to deplete their ammunition, and then the knights can destroy their ridiculous formation in one fell swoop." The governor reassured his trusted nobles and knights.

The other world is indeed quite different from Earth. On Earth, there is no monster physique (superhuman physique) that can survive for several minutes after being shot through the chest by a lead bullet, nor is there a humanoid armored vehicle (superhuman strength) that can wear heavy armor made of at least 50-60 mm thick steel plates, nor is there explosive power that can perform full-armor rolls and dodges with the bare body (superhuman agility), and there is no sixth sense (superhuman perception) that will give an early warning when a weapon is aimed at you and make you start to dodge.

Therefore, if low-level cannon fodder is used to deplete most of the enemy's ammunition first, then the knights can indeed charge into the remaining hail of bullets and flatten the enemy's position. As for dead horses, that's normal. As long as they don't die in large numbers, you can actually recoup your losses through the spoils of war. Which battle doesn't result in the death of one or two horses or the crippling of a few?

Of course, the potion-making techniques of this other world can also heal these crippled warhorses, it just depends on whether the knight is willing to spend money to buy the medicine or whether he has the money to buy it.

"Yes, that's true. I asked the mercenaries, and they weren't very interested in these weapons. It's mainly because crossbow bullets are too expensive and consumed too quickly, so neither the mercenaries nor the adventurers favor using them."

Only pirates and smugglers would like it, since they were in the business of making huge profits and risking their lives. This softened the knights' attitude slightly, and they stopped clamoring for a ban on the production and trade of such weapons.

They were also considering whether to deploy a group of heavily shielded infantry in front of the cavalry to wear down the enemy before launching a charge. Or, they could equip their infantry with large shields and crossbows, mount the crossbows on their shields, and exchange fire for several rounds to fully deplete both sides' stamina, ammunition, and energy before having the various "lances" (the smallest charge formation of the knightly order) disperse and launch a charge, thus reducing the losses from concentrated fire.

“It seems that the creators of this weapon never intended to make money from it,” an alchemy advisor of the Knights said, fiddling with a sample in his hand. “Look at these designs, they are clearly designed for better replacement of parts. The other party is probably making money from parts and ammunition.”

That's for sure, since none of Bourne's men know any secret alchemy. For example, a sight enchanted with "Eagle Eye" and "Blessing of Precision" costs about 20 gold coins to manufacture, and Master Roach has to charge a 5-gold-coin licensing fee.

After going through layers of procurement and officers, the final amount paid out would likely be less than 100 gold coins for Commissioner Smith.

While the Parliamentarian army and the Governor's army were still locked in a stalemate at the fortress front, the Little Witch's side was already approaching the end of summer, and the efficiency of the magic pump had decreased somewhat. It was expected that the extraction work would be completed within half a month.

In addition, a large magic-powered sawmill was added to the camp in the past two weeks—although it was wasteful, it was better than the magic accumulating here and causing elemental storms.

"Glug glug~" Thick bubbles rose from the black crucible. Livia, wearing a white apron and with her light golden hair tied up with a red headscarf, stood on a chair, vigorously stirring the liquid in the pot with a wooden spoon in both hands. A layer of foam rose on the surface of the turbid brown liquid.

Do you think she can do it?

“I don’t think it will work,” Roach said seriously. “Besides those killer dishes, all she can make are soft cakes to fill her stomach and nutritious potions that taste so bad they’re like they’ll make you explode.”

"..." Alessina glanced at the kitchen with concern. "Should I make something else later?"

"Just bear with it. You don't want to have a spoon and bowl forced down your throat." Leslie patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Besides, I think Miss has practiced for so long that she should be fine by now."

"I don't think so. About half of the ingredients she put in don't even belong to the 'recipe'," Vivi observed coldly, very confident in her dragon's stomach, after all, dragons can survive on dirt.

"..." The blonde little witch stirred the ingredients carefully, then looked at the ingredients on the counter. Each one was making a noisy sound, some particularly jarring, others seeming timid. She fell into a brief moment of thought, first abandoning the ingredients that claimed they were not tasty, and then looking at the "heroes" who had volunteered.

So she waved her hand, and several bright red, finger-thick fruits bounced into her palm. With a perfect diving motion, she plunged into the thick brown soup, splashing a few drops of water, while the other ingredients nearby cheered in unison.

Next came two large, bright yellow creatures with hard shells. The few green leaves remaining on their tops bowed to the other ingredients before forcefully breaking their sturdy shells and spraying the chestnut-colored seeds inside into the soup, leaving only a few empty shells.

"...I figured, with this much spice, as long as it's not filled with excrement, it shouldn't taste too bad," Alessina said, stroking her chin. As the witch stirred, the brown broth thickened, eventually turning a deep reddish-brown.

The little guy rubbed his nose contentedly, leaving a flour mark on his face. Then he poured the large pot of reddish-brown substance, which looked like something out of a murder scene, into a large earthenware pot. After that, the pots, bowls, and tableware lined up and entered the restaurant, each one eyeing the four diners sitting upright with ill intent.

As for the dark horse, he went out for a walk and weeded, and incidentally took his colleague, Bull Head, with him. It's hard to tell whether he was being loyal or not.

The toasted bread slices were fine; they were baked using a stone baking method, giving off a unique caramelized aroma. Livia does have some talent when it comes to baking; at the very least, she doesn't burn the food.

Cut the cooled, sticky, sour brown bread into small pieces and reheat it with hot, clean pebbles. The sour taste from the fermentation will be much milder, and it will be less sticky, instead becoming drier and crispier.

Then came the roasted vegetables, which were fine too. Common plant tubers like radishes and potatoes were chopped into chunks, roasted over a fire, and then sprinkled with salt and sesame seeds. The taste wasn't amazing, but it wasn't too bad either. Then came the main event: the unidentified reddish-brown substance that was placed on everyone's plates. Even Leslie, who was usually the most hardy eater, looked uncomfortable with it.

However, seeing Livia smiling at everyone while holding a long-handled spoon, everyone thought it best to hold back. Although she didn't seem to have any signs of turning evil, the decorative statues on the fireplace behind her all looked eager to try.

Who knows, the utensils might start moving on their own and stuff a mouthful into each of their mouths. Not only would they be forced to eat that lump of stuff, but the process would also be extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing.

Roach looked at Vivi, Vivi looked at Alessina, and Alessina looked at Leslie. Among them, the mermaid had the strongest vitality. If she didn't die from the food, then the others should be fine.

The mermaid, almost as if she were about to die, shoved a spoonful into her mouth. Her face visibly turned from white to red, then from red to purple. She held her breath for at least 15 seconds before finally managing to swallow it. "Delicious!"

"..." Not to mention the little witch, even the spoon in her hand probably wouldn't believe this, because the little one really started clenching her fists, causing the large wooden spoon to involuntarily bend down, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue as it stared at the remaining three people.

Next up was Roach. He figured that even if he died, it would be Livia's own magic, so he gave himself a spoonful. "Hmm~ better than expected." A pungent aroma hit him, with a hint of wasabi, and the spiciness was quite strong, which was indeed difficult for the mild-tasting merfolk to handle.

Next up is Vivi, whose expression is much more normal. This heavy taste isn't exactly perfect for a dragon, but it doesn't have much of an impact either. Finally, there's Alessina.

After tasting it, the fox spirit gave her feedback that there was room for improvement. She suggested reducing the types and amounts of spices, and that it was unnecessary to put them all in at once. She recommended adding the stronger flavors last and the milder flavors first, and then separating them out when the soup was ready to serve. This would result in a thick soup with a decent flavor.

Livia nodded seriously and took out her notebook to write it down.

"So, why did you suddenly decide to cook for yourself, Miss?"

"I don't know," Vivi said, indicating she didn't know. Alessina was an even newer, and Roach was also completely baffled. She hadn't usually shown any interest in such things, though she was somewhat interested in becoming a magical pastry chef.

Then Livia waved a spoon like a magic wand, and a slightly overbaked cake base flew out of the kitchen, followed by cream and jam, quickly forming a small cream and jam cake on the table.

"Mmm!" The little guy rested his chin on his hands, looking at the cake with satisfaction, his big emerald eyes slightly narrowed, like two crescent moons.

"For me?" Roach pointed to himself, somewhat confused. Hmm, thinking about it carefully, it seems that today is indeed the first anniversary of being pulled from the beach by Livia, so... in a sense, he's being celebrated on his birthday? He didn't know whether he should be touched or not.

“Mm!” Livia nodded seriously. This was how her mentor prepared things for her every birthday, so she prepared similar things for her companions. However, considering Niel Riley’s cooking skills… it was more of a new form of torture than a celebration. Fortunately, Livia had a very high tolerance for bad food.

The only problem is that Livia is struggling to figure out what kind of gifts to prepare for everyone. As for herself, her mentor usually gives her magic books or picture books, and occasionally some novel little toys or dolls.

However, Roach is a grown man, so it's impossible for him to read picture books and play with toys. Moreover, his intelligence is not enough to understand the "birthday gifts" that Livia received, so it did take him a little time and effort to choose the gifts.

"Is this for me too?" Roach looked at the strangely shaped necklace in front of him. It seemed to be a modified version of the old witch's necklace that Livia had given him before. Not only was it now as smooth as new, but there were also amber-colored crystals on the left and right sides of the pendant.

Roach, who was no longer completely ignorant of magic, could recognize that these were two one-time triggerable protective spell items. When subjected to a huge impact, they would automatically release a hard but fragile outer shell, which would automatically break to absorb and buffer the huge impact and damage.

Obviously, protective gear against explosions—well, another disadvantage of this world where gunpowder weapons haven't been developed—although these magical ornaments and items are very expensive, there are indeed protective gear items that can withstand a single shot from an early 75mm howitzer without causing any damage.

As for replacing it with a regular 24-pound cannon that fires iron balls, it's estimated that even one shot might not be enough to break through the defense limit—although this kind of item is a one-time use item as long as the trigger condition is met, regardless of the amount of damage received, as long as it does not exceed the threshold.

As for the other people's gifts, they'll have to wait a few more months. Leslie will receive them in the fall, Alessina in the late fall to winter, and as for Vivi, it's unclear how Livia calculates it.

Although none of the above people's birthdays are the dates the little witch thinks they are, well... who's going to tell the enthusiastic Livia about this?

Seeing Roach's delighted expression, Livia smiled sweetly again, seemingly very happy as well, just like... "It's like an old mother looking at her silly son," Leslie said, before she was suddenly hit hard on the head by a spoon that had been extended.

Chapter 132 Research and Battlefield

The torrential rain washed over the earth, as if to cleanse it of all filth. Raindrops dripped from the edges of the wooden tiles and fell into a row of large and small earthenware pots below, creating a tinkling melody. The wind howled through the window, making the window frame rattle. Roach reached out and closed the window tightly, then stuffed the gaps with dry sawdust.

Livia sat in an old rocking chair, swinging her legs rhythmically, making the chair creak back and forth. In front of her was a metal tray containing a silver milk jug filled with milk seasoned with cinnamon and clove powder, several ceramic cups, and a small dish of crispy biscuits drizzled with syrup.

A thin blanket was draped over the little witch's knees, on which lay a small pile of odds and ends: feathers, small metal pieces, colorful beads, and a roll of yarn. As she gently turned her fingers, these little things danced on her lap.

The yarn intertwined automatically, and it looked like the beginnings of a pair of fingerless gloves. While Livia was directing the yarn to weave itself, she also had time to flip through a booklet to give Vivi a lesson in alchemy.

Because Roach was studying the Mystic Arts, he didn't need to continue his advanced studies in alchemy, as it led to two different branches or paths. Vilandella, on the other hand, needed to catch up on alchemy, but judging from Livia's somewhat sullen expression, she clearly lacked talent, and the tutoring would be very ineffective.

"Bang!" The wooden door was slammed open by Alessina, who was carrying a large bundle of rain-soaked wood in her arms. In her fox-like form, she quickly shook her fur at the doorway to dry the water droplets before placing the firewood by the fireplace to dry it with the heat of the fireplace, otherwise there would be no fuel for cooking that night.

"I told you long ago, it would be best to build a special place to store firewood. Just piling it up under the eaves won't withstand a storm." In the living forest, there were fewer people and the barrier provided, so the firewood piled under the eaves was sufficient.

Now that there are more people, not to mention the fuel for cooking, just the process of Livia and Vilandella brewing potions and Roach creating the Essence of Secrets requires a lot of fuel.

"Hmm, I'll make a dry distillation unit another day and convert this wood into charcoal." Roach said it was quite simple. With the help of alchemy and magic, making charcoal in this world was not too difficult. Even making coal coke was not difficult. Sulfuric acid could even be made directly through alchemical rituals.

"That would be great. By the way, we're almost out of meat. Do we have any meat reserves?" There are actually many carnivores in the Black Forest.

However, considering the increasing number of adventurers and research teams at the camp, the easily hunted edible monsters and animals have either been killed or escaped, and the supplies brought in by the caravans are clearly insufficient.

Keep in mind that this is the Black Forest, not some ordinary forest. The caravan's transport cycle is extremely long, and because they need to hire a lot of adventurers and mercenaries, the price of goods is at least three to four times higher than outside.

"There's still a reserve of beef at the stables; we slaughtered at least two thousand catties of it," Leslie suggested, offering a seemingly improbable yet strangely plausible idea. If Livia really intended to eat beef, they'd likely have an extra two thousand catties in their cellar by tomorrow. Well, even a bull demon is still a bull, after all.

“…” Alessina rolled her eyes and dragged Leslie to the kitchen to help. This useless mermaid was only good for this much. As for Roach, he continued to worry about the pile of parts on the workbench. Under the light of the enchanted oil lamp, the workbench was piled with all kinds of strange ores, scattered gemstones, and small parts made of processed metal, wood, and even stone. There were even coins of different sizes and materials.

Research on the magic crossbow has entered a slow phase, with five main difficulties. The first is the determination of the dynamic element. This element has special and variable properties, making the determination process difficult for Roach and Livia. Without determining the specific properties of this element, it is impossible to propose the corresponding basic rune root of the dynamic element based on the wind or fire element runes.

Without this, all subsequent rune systems would be meaningless; to put it another way, it would be like being stuck at the point of creating "roots".

Secondly, there is the energy storage system. As mentioned earlier, there are five performance characteristics: stability, charging speed, release speed, storage capacity, and half-life or longer. At most, only three of these characteristics can be met. This makes it extremely difficult for Roach to combine the five-dimensional performance characteristics of these materials to try to create a "composite" rather than a "single material" "battery".

The third point is to further increase the efficiency of converting mechanical energy into magic power within the cost limit. This is related to the previous two difficulties. When the problem of runes could not be solved, Roach tried several methods, including differential gear sets. The final results were all very unsatisfactory. The performance increase was between 2% and 3%, but the complexity and manufacturing cost increased exponentially.

The best magic crossbow he has made so far is powerful enough to penetrate Livia's "Triple Protection" defensive magic. This means that it can penetrate any known enchanted armor and cause fatal damage to knights who have activated their extraordinary physique. It can even penetrate dragon scales under the enchanted protection magic.

However, this crossbow weighs a hefty 25 kilograms, which is not a problem for the physical strength of the otherworldly beings, but its structure, which resembles an incredibly precise clock, is deadly. It has a certain aesthetic appeal, like the G11. Roach simply cannot imagine how long this thing will be up-to-date with any trouble on the battlefield.

The latter two difficulties can actually be combined into one: how to fire continuously and feed ammunition, that is, to use a magazine-fed mode. The magazine is the least difficult. The key is how to make the magic stored in the magic container output rhythmically, instead of injecting it all at once.

This is also the biggest problem with all magical weapons at present. Their design is basically to directly inject all the magic power in the container. However, because there is an upper limit to the energy injected into each infusion spell, the power cannot actually be adjusted.

Therefore, power regulation and continuous rhythm output are the last two difficulties for Roach. So far, no magical materials or component structures similar to resistors have been found. Moreover, this research is a complete system. Currently, only Roach and the Little Witch are researching this. Other sorcerers are not so foolish as to develop something that would drastically reduce their status and benefits.

If a magic cannon can fire in rapid succession or has adjustable power, then why would I hire a mage? Just as a tool for infusing magic? Isn't that something that can be done with essence gel?

Of course, mages are not only battlefield turrets; they are also scholars and researchers. However, the number of scholars or cutting-edge researchers needed is limited, and there are requirements for talent and academic level. So what are all those apprentices and low-level mages doing?

They're not qualified for research; they're not as good as magic cannons on the battlefield; they're not as good as alchemists, Roach's rune disks, or the magic pump he recently developed; and as for adventure teams, their limited spell configurations and long casting times are all problems. Their only advantage might be the high cost-effectiveness of their enchanted equipment and magic devices.

But that also means their bargaining power is greatly reduced, and the same goes for those high-level mages. Not everyone has the passion to dedicate the rest of their lives to academia, and even if they do, how long that passion can last is a question.

So here's the problem: developing this technology and magical tools is really creating obstacles for their future retirement life. Of course, given the mages' tendency to court disaster, it's impossible for them not to do any research at all. But if they make any progress, they will definitely not publish these results that threaten their status and income. At most, they will only exchange them within a small circle.

Clearly, both Livia and Roach are outside the mainstream alchemical and arcane circles. Although Livia has many rare ancient magic books, she has very little access to modern arcane research materials. Moreover, her identity is quite sensitive, and she would never dare to go to those top-tier arcane societies.

Basically, you can tell who your master is just by looking at your spellcasting habits and small movements. But what kind of name can you openly say about your mentor?

Therefore, while Roach and his team may appear to be working on top-tier projects in the industry, their knowledge base and research are actually completely unrelated to, or even entirely excluded from, current mainstream research, making them essentially working in isolation.

These two guys, who were working in isolation, were quite different. One had exceptional individual abilities, while the other had a world that provided him with inspiration and a mathematical foundation.

Then, once we got to the next stage of research, the consequences of this missing and outdated system began to show. Roach didn't even know how far the current magical materials science had developed. He only heard about many magical materials after receiving sponsorship from Bourne.

This is the key reason why he wanted to take a trip to the capital. According to Professor Andrew, the capital has a unique large library and a university-like institution, which is a relatively easy channel to access cutting-edge research information.

The phenomenon of reinventing the wheel is not uncommon in this world. Whether it is Earth or another world, research is not something that one or two people can accomplish by working alone. Well, Roach is not actually working alone. Putting aside the little witch, who is a super-powerful collaborator, the achievements of the big shots on Earth over the past three hundred years are his biggest support and assistants.

"Forget it, let's give up." Roach chose to abandon the project. This improvement was truly impossible to complete, especially since the elemental runes were the foundation of everything, but even the Little Witch wasn't making any good progress.