socalfunplaces Page 211
Page 211
"Ah, you're overthinking it. Witches in this era have a habit of storing food. Last night's hunt was just their precautionary action."
"So things will return to normal in the morning."
Ye Yu jumped onto Jiang Kehan's shoulder and spoke casually.
"The effects of the evolution tonight are still lingering, so there will be another hunt tonight, but everything will be completely fine tomorrow."
"What you need to worry about is whether the Shadow Peak Dragon you hunt will depreciate in value."
The smile on Jiang Kehan's face gradually disappeared. She stared blankly at the bright scenery around her, feeling as if the sky had fallen.
While excessive hunting brings more food, it also means that raw materials will become cheaper, which is not good for her.
Jiang Kehan has no currency of this era, only Yin Fenglong's materials, so it's a complete loss!
"My heart aches a little. Sister Ye Yu, you're too cruel."
Jiang Kehan floated up, looking rather sad, which was unusual for her.
She wasn't a penny-pincher, but anyone would be unhappy if they spent half a day hunting hard only to find that the materials they had were immediately discounted in price.
"Heh." Ye Yu chuckled lightly and chose to change the subject.
"Haven't you told me where we're going to be yet?"
Jiang Kehan immediately perked up her ears and nodded vigorously. To be honest, she was a little scared. Witches were not like Gu Long. They not only had wisdom, but they could also kill other witches.
"The Frans of this era are quite special. The strength of the middle witches at their peak is not too different, and there are quite a few of them."
"Therefore, villages led by a certain peak mid-level witch are far more numerous than normal cities, and even the territories of great nobles are alliances composed of multiple villages."
Unlike the Great Hua Kingdom, France has always practiced a system of nobility, but there is no king. Instead, the country is jointly governed by the top nobles, the "Kings of Merit" and the "Hall of Fame".
Before the imperial era, laissez-faire governance was the most suitable system for the times.
"Within the village, apart from the top witch who founded the village, the other witches are generally equal in status, and there are no other authorities or violent departments."
"To gain respect, you either have to make contributions or be strong enough. However, there is frequent interaction between villages, and there is no xenophobia."
"After all, we are all witches, huh." Ye Yu's gaze was deep, and she suddenly let out a sneer at the end, though it was clearly not directed at Jiang Kehan.
Chapter 302 The Witch's Cancer
After a brief conversation, Ye Yu, looking rather listless, buried her head in her paws and occasionally wagged her tail to gently pat Jiang Kehan's back, as if scratching her itch, or urging her to hurry up and reach the village.
Jiang Kehan didn't dawdle. Although she was still a little uneasy, after all, she was in a foreign country and the times were different. She was not sure about the attitudes of the other witches.
The atmosphere of the Society era was far more open and uninhibited than that of the future, and most importantly, this era lacked the friendly rules established by the Witch Queen Sophia.
In other words, the basic goodwill between witches, which will be commonplace in the future, does not exist in this era, and it is very likely that a fight will break out just from a glance.
This is not a good thing for Jiang Kehan.
The surrounding scenery gradually changed, and roads that had been deliberately plowed out began to appear. They were simple, but full of traces of magic.
Jiang Kehan tried her best to restrain her magic to avoid others thinking she was there to cause trouble or challenge them.
It wasn't that she was paranoid, but rather that there really were witches in this era who would brazenly go to other people's territories to challenge them to battle, perhaps to experiment with newly researched spells or to test their own strength.
This kind of behavior can be said to be the predecessor of witch duels, but there were very few death matches, since there were no life symbols.
"By the way, Sister Ye Yu, I feel like there are far fewer witches in this era." Jiang Kehan landed from the sky, stepping on the path covered with fallen, withered grass, which felt soft and comfortable.
It definitely had a cleansing spell applied to it, and it looked like it was prepared for carriages and other vehicles to enter the village.
"Oh, because there's no Great Witch," Ye Yu replied, poking Jiang Kehan's cheek with her tail.
"The reason why witches in this era can only occupy about half of the world's land is not because they are weak. After all, witches are still mobile enough to escape from level 8 creatures."
"What truly limits them is their numbers."
Jiang Kehan stood with her hands on her hips and walked forward along the road. She could already see the village gate not far away.
"You mean, the first rapid population explosion of witches relied on the Great Witch's infectious ability?" she asked curiously.
Witches are not infertile, but few witches are willing to have children, and they don't have too many children at once.
Because the growth cycle of witches is very long and fixed, for example, a little witch must wait until she is 17 or 18 years old to usher in the transformation period and thus become an intermediate witch.
This phase is almost unavoidable, but witches are restless creatures; they even prefer to be paid daily, and their daily lives are full of uncertainty.
You might be comfortably staying at home the day before yesterday, and then suddenly decide to take a spontaneous trip the next day, without even a clear destination or when you'll be back.
Therefore, witches are generally not very enthusiastic about taking care of children, even if the child is very obedient.
Of course, the most important point is that, as an immortal being, witches are not very interested in procreation.
But the Great Witch's ability to infect is different.
A witch's flesh and blood are unique. The flesh and blood of a normal little witch or middle witch can forcibly infect creatures below her own level of life into "blood beasts" that are devoid of reason and can only exist for a period of time. This is known as witch's cancer.
However, once one enters the Great Witch stage, this Witch Cancer undergoes a qualitative change, not only infecting creatures below one's own life level into "Transformation Witches," but also forcibly controlling them.
This is also why World War II was able to sweep across the entire Witch Universe and even affect more universes.
The Great Witch can mass produce troops at no cost and is very effective, as long as there are enough creatures of other races.
This is real cancer, the cancer of the universe.
If the Great Witch uses this power recklessly, the ultimate outcome will undoubtedly be that the entire universe will consist only of witches and transformation witches.
Ecosystems, order, and even the universe itself will be destroyed.
The only good news might be that the number of transformation witches the Great Witch can control is related to her own strength; if it's for the purpose of mass production, they won't be so extreme.
But if the goal is destruction, this limitation is almost nonexistent.
Although the number of controlled individuals is limited, their ability to infect is limitless, which is why the control over transformation witches will be so strict in the future.
Transforming a witch without authorization is enough to incur punishment from the Witch Organization.
"You guessed right. Witch races with and without a Great Witch are practically two different things. The Great Witch is the foundation of witch hegemony, without a doubt."
Ye Yu stood up triumphantly, even patting his chest.
"And I'm even stronger than the Great Witch~"
Jiang Kehan took it as Ye Yu showing off his strength and smiled helplessly.
"Alright, I know you're very strong, teacher, but it's because you can't help me. By the way, is there anything I should be careful about when we enter the village later?"
Jiang Kehan looked at the village gate that was so close at hand, and her tone softened.
The village gate was simply constructed of wood, and apart from the various magical patterns that spread across it, it was hard to say that it was the work of a witch.
After all, from the perspective of people from the future, the witch's works are all very exquisite, and she will constantly strive for perfection even if it is just for the sake of a beautiful appearance.
Jiang Kehan placed her hand on the village gate, holding her breath and staring intently.
Although it looks simple, the barriers and spells on it are exceptionally powerful and complex, and it was made to the standard of inter-village warfare.
"Going to the village chief first will avoid most of the trouble. After all, dealing with one witch is definitely different from dealing with a village full of witches," Ye Yu reminded her.
Unlike the completely independent relationships between witches in the future, there is a very obvious dependency relationship in the villages of this era.
The village chief's attitude can almost be considered the attitude of the entire village.
"Is that so?" Jiang Kehan nodded thoughtfully, then took a deep breath and walked towards the house in the very center of the village. Without a doubt, this towering house, which could be called a watchtower, belonged to the village's guardian, the village chief.
Ignoring the scrutinizing gazes of the other witches in the village, she slowly stopped in front of the village chief's house, solemnly looking at the wooden plaque hanging beside the door.
It reads: "Dale Marie under the command of Prince Theresa."
After a moment of silence, Jiang Kehan asked Ye Yu curiously, "By the way, how are the noble ranks in Fran divided in this era? Why do the highest-ranking nobles directly rule over villages?"
Ye Yu squinted, also staring at the two names on the wooden sign, thinking to himself:
Warlord Theresa and Sinner Del Marie, these are two names that all witches should remember.
"All nobles are independent of each other. The only difference is the number of villages they lead and their overall strength. Therefore, each village will indicate which noble it belongs to."
"As for the ranks, they are roughly divided into the following from low to high: Honored Lord, Leader Lord, Star Lord, and Honored King."
"What's special about this is that Rongjue doesn't have the right to rule the village, but he can have his own fortress, though it's more of a testament to his personal strength."
Chapter 303 Del Marie
So, a lord of nobility is someone who can possess the title of a subordinate village, while a star-lord is someone who commands as many villages as the stars.
Jiang Kehan secretly guessed, but did not directly ask Ye Yu.
She looked at Del Marie's closed door, mustered her courage, and knocked twice gently to make sure the other person knew she had arrived.
"Who is it?" A slightly confused voice came from inside the room, clearly sensing that Jiang Kehan's magical fluctuations were unfamiliar to her.
Before Jiang Kehan could answer, Del Marie pushed open the door. She looked tall, but not thin. Jiang Kehan could see the undulating muscles under the thin gauze dress, which looked very powerful.
However, what makes Del Marie most unique is her face, which is somewhat square with brown eyes that seem to look straight into people's hearts.
Her hair was wrapped in a long cloth, with strands of gold fluttering around her ears, which, like her tone of voice, exuded a sense of composure.
"I am a traveler from another country, hoping to get supplies here."
Jiang Kehan delivered the speech she had discussed with Ye Yu beforehand, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.
Normal witches don't have the talent of infinitely increasing magic power like Jiang Kehan. They need to travel constantly to find suitable materials to increase their magic power, so witches who travel constantly are quite common.
Of course, the most convincing evidence is Jiang Kehan's age.
Del Marie scrutinized Jiang Kehan, her brows slowly furrowing. Clearly, she wasn't going to accept Jiang Kehan's explanation so easily, but she simply asked a question that seemed unrelated.
"Outsider? Do you have any plans to settle in Fran?"
Jiang Kehan was a little confused. She subconsciously turned her head to look at Ye Yu, who was perched on her shoulder, and didn't quite understand why Derek Mary had asked this question.
“Answer her no, and say you come from a great country.” Ye Yu’s voice echoed in Jiang Kehan’s mind.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Kehan smiled and spoke to Derek Mary.
"Although France is beautiful, my homeland, Dahua, is also quite nice. I'm just here for sightseeing and have no intention of settling down here."
But in her mind, Jiang Kehan kept pressing Ye Yu, secretly asking, "Sister Ye Yu, it seems like this place is very hostile to outsiders settling here?"
After a brief silence, Ye Yu pursed his lips, as if recalling something unpleasant.
"France was the most xenophobic country at that time. You are a pure witch, which is fine, but if you were a witch from another race, you probably wouldn't even be able to see the other party."
“Deep down, they always believed that only native Frans could enjoy the honor of being the former overlords of the Fran world, and they discriminated against all non-pure-blooded witches.”