Oops, I became the witch's substitute

Flin shook his head. "Dear Commander Serena, as your friendly adjutant and logistics chief, I have to tell you that for your safety, I have contacted ten Riel mercenaries. They will arrive in half a month and serve as your personal guard. You don't have to worry about the money. I will pay for it. I personally plan to establish long-term cooperation with them."

Serena looked confused: "Who has the power of command?"

Feilin replied: "When we are in Kalan, of course you will be in full command. When we return from Kalan, please do not ask about their affairs."

The Riel mercenaries are a well-known northern fighting nation, coming from the polar regions. They have received brutal training since childhood and are stronger than the Spartans in their previous lives. They are Spartan warriors who have been artistically portrayed in movies and TV shows. If there is a chance, they would really dare to send out 300 people to defend Thermopylae alone.

"Are you finally going to stop pretending?" Serena moved closer to Felina and warned her face to face, "I accept your help, but if I find out that you are using Felina's identity to plot something, I will... expose your true identity and arrest you personally."

Flin stepped back and said, "Yes, my Lord Knight."

Filin is not rigid in doing things, but has a bottom line. He is not stingy with money when posting notices in the association, but he needs an interview. Under the influence of the ability of deception, every soldier who has been interviewed has a good professional ability, and Filin will affect their spirit a little bit.

First, overcome fear and maintain morale; second, do not harass the masses or plunder; third, abide by the contract and obey orders; fourth, do not easily desert the battlefield.

Every time Feilin interviews someone, he will say one thing in particular: "Finally, in order to wish us a pleasant cooperation, please touch your chest and say with your conscience that I will abide by the contract, thank you."

Many people would wonder why Filin did this. Filin simply explained that he was a wizard. Most of these people would wonder if some kind of contract had been established and would be more cautious.

There is a difference between Film's deception field and traditional hypnosis apps. His interference makes people feel that they think so subjectively at the time, and wants to make themselves have a little conscience. In the future life, this conscience can only play a placebo role, rather than a strong ideological stamp like a hypnosis app or a ring.

If you really use the field of deception to continuously control a person, you will have to keep consuming magic power to maintain the power of deception, and it will not be a permanent solution.

Marian is not a bad person by nature. It was the people below her who did things wrong. Fili just corrected them in time and changed her mind at that time. Later, the child accepted the fact that she was a goddess.

As for why we should interfere with the mercenaries' contract thinking, it is because the mercenaries in this world are no different from those in the previous life. Even famous mercenaries often fight for money, defect back and forth, rush with the wind, and run against the wind. A bad mercenary is often like a brick hitting a pit, causing public shit. But no matter what, mercenaries are still much better than pitchforks.

With Filin's advancement, the recruitment plan went much more smoothly than when Serena was fighting alone. Serena had a rigid personality, but she also knew how to adapt. However, she was too upright to tolerate those lax adventurers, and without the help of magic, her ability to restrain them was greatly reduced.

After Filin intervened, the recruits looked much better. With the equipment provided by the royal family, the armed group finally looked like a regular army.

Then, another troublesome matter came. Now that the number of infantry was gradually replenished, what about the cavalry? The cavalry used horses on the battlefield were not ordinary horses. The price list of war horses was listed, not to mention Selena covering her face, even Filin was having a headache.

Take Serena herself for example. Her warhorse is not the best, but it is also an excellent purebred horse. The value of the horse alone is more expensive than all her equipment combined.

"In Miriam, we calculate a bull at 68 gold. A good warhorse is 23 times the price of a bull, which is 1564 gold." After a simple calculation, Filin said, "In addition to the riding warhorse, a cavalryman should also prepare a spare warhorse, and also a packhorse."

Serena raised her hand: "How about something cheaper?"

Feilin looked through the prices he had investigated over the past few days and said, "The cheapest warhorse is around 800 gold. It's impossible for the price to drop any further. From a price point of view, even if you spend all your money, you may not be able to afford a top-quality purebred warhorse. If a war breaks out and the warhorse dies, well, for an ordinary knight, it would basically mean bankruptcy."

In addition to BMWs, there are also hybrid BMWs such as unicorns, griffins, and dragons. The top horses are not only brave, but also truly human, with special talents and magic, and the ability to resist magic. They are not easily frightened and will not rush into traps blindly. These horses are priceless.

Serena leaned against the wall and said, "Then why don't we reduce the number of cavalry? For example, we can use the Riel people you hired."

⒊Ⅰ Erba Art Research

Feilin scratched his cheek and said, "For this, we still need to ask for sponsorship. I think Feili will have a way."

At this point, I can only use the big size, no, the small size.

Fili was famous and had many friends, so the next person she was looking for was neither a royal family member nor a witch. Instead, she headed to a border city overnight to find the popular Arabelle.

These succubi are launching new projects and seeing initial success, becoming the first in the succubus reform.

The first batch of Succubus trainees began to attract fans, and the audience gradually increased when they performed in Succubus' own theater. However, after Fili left, the Succubus gradually fell into a creative dilemma and could not write any new songs.

How should I put it? Moving the idol industry to the magical Middle Ages is not only irrelevant, but also too advanced. It's just that the performance as a succubus is indeed attractive.

In order to open up the situation, Arabelle intends to train the team to be traditional singers. The industry prospects described by Fili are indeed somewhat promising, but not much, because of many problems such as underdeveloped information and lack of Internet, which have great limitations and are quite challenging.

But no matter how difficult it is, letting fellow succubi be idols is better than being guests. Arabelle also saw her fellow succubi's yearning for the stage and began to think about the next path of development.

"Damn it! There is still a lack of good songs." The process of exploring the market and finding users was painful, but Arabelle gritted her teeth and persevered. At this time, Fili suddenly wrote to say that she would come to visit.

Sure enough, within a few days, Fili came. The visit was just a casual talk. Without exchanging pleasantries, they suddenly started talking about the demon clan.

Fili looked at Arabelle seriously: "You know the demons in your demon tribe, those cold-blooded and heartless guys."

Arabelle was confused: "I know, what's wrong?"

Fili said, "Then do you know Karan?"

Arabelle immediately distanced herself from the matter: "Demons are demons, succubi are succubi, and there are other races of monster girls among the demons. You can't just count us all in because one race did something bad."

Fili immediately put on a smile, walked towards Arabelle, hugged her arm and leaned against her. "I'm not here to ask for punishment, but to ask for a favor. According to our intelligence network, we found that the disaster witch Pandora is likely to be active behind Kalan. A friend of mine is recruiting an expeditionary force. The number is not large, and it will probably require dozens of war horses. I would like to ask you for a favor."

Arabelle was shocked: "Eh? No, you are taking advantage of me. This money..."

Fili immediately waved her hands: "I'm not here to rob, I'm here to trade, trade~. I asked for what I wanted, now it's your turn."

Arabelle looked down at Fili's hands holding hers, then put her arm around Fili's waist and said, "How about this, stay and have a few drinks with me, and we'll talk slowly."

Fili forced a smile and said, "That's just for drinking and chatting. Tell me, Boss Arabel, what do you want?"

Arabelle snapped her fingers, and a succubus immediately appeared, bringing a bottle of red wine and two glasses: "Business opportunity."

The two opened the expensive red wine and sipped it slowly. At the beginning, they did not jump straight into the topic. Instead, Arabelle told her about the difficulties the idol group she organized had encountered recently, and Fili explained them to her one by one in light of the contemporary environment.

Indeed, without the Internet, there are no fast channels for communication, but can't these problems be partially solved by magic? Did the earliest singers and stars in the past come to be known by walking around the streets and shouting?

"Regarding these, I am researching the phonograph. I will use magic to record the sound and burn it into a disc so that the audience can take it home and enjoy it repeatedly." Fili ignored Arabelle's complaints and began to explain her plan. "After the phonograph, there will be the image crystal. It will be improved into a square projection screen. I will record your performance live and take it home to watch it repeatedly."

Arabelle is still calculating.

Fili struck while the iron was hot: "The phonograph can be sent to pubs, cafes, nightclubs, and even to the succubus's store. Your idol team has a lot of songs. Users have to pay coins if they want to listen to the songs. Customers don't have to buy them. They can rent them or even use them for free. They can share the profits according to different models. The image crystals can be directly sold to anyone who can afford them. In addition to watching your performances, they can also produce various documentaries, battlefield news, monster science, magic records, etc. If we cooperate, won't the gold coins flowing into our pockets in the future be endless? The employment prospects for you succubus are also very broad."

Arabelle was still thinking. She felt that the pancake was large and filling but seemed edible. She was undecided for a moment.

Chapter 119 Carol and Ferrin are studying alchemy

Arabelle is very rich, or rather, the succubi themselves are very rich. The wealth accumulated by the Immortals through their hard work and wisdom is unimaginable, and the cleverness of Arabelle and her companions lies in circulating the money. In addition to investing in construction in the city, they also annex land in other places and become the shadow owners behind certain manors.

Fili spent the whole night drinking with Arabelle and signed a cooperation agreement. The military expenses would be sponsored by the succubus, and the war horses would be provided by the succubus. In the future, the phonograph and record technology manufactured by Fili would be provided to the succubus first. The prerequisite for the cooperation was that Arabelle must first see the sample machine of the magic equipment.

Filin, who was far away in the royal capital, got the news first and went to Carol's workshop to inquire about the progress. Carol said that she was working on it. Not only did she create a new folder, she also drew the blueprints. She was currently rubbing the parts by hand for assembly.

Other workshops have to rely on lathes to stamp out parts, but Carol simply makes them by hand. Is alchemy really omnipotent?

"Come and help me, Philin." Carol was not polite. The efficiency of one person was still a bit low, so she asked Philin to be her assistant. "It's too boring. Pass me something and talk to me."

Feilin obediently helped, quite surprised: "Aren't you usually like this?"

Carol asked back, "Yes, I like quietness. Having fewer relationships with people can reduce unnecessary trouble. The number of people I know at the same time can be counted on one hand, but in this hotel, I have a feeling that the number of acquaintances will soon exceed one hand. Isn't this interesting?"

"That's right. There are all kinds of interesting people in the inn now." Filin also felt relieved because his circle of friends plan was about to be completed. With Fili's identity, he could increase his network, continue to get to know stronger people, and cooperate with them to trade for more advanced magic. He would have more powerful opportunities than in the family.

Carol glanced at Filin out of the corner of her eye and said, "I almost forgot to introduce myself, Manager Filin. You only know that I'm an alchemist, right? I haven't said much about my origins. Aren't you curious and don't ask?"

Feilin shrugged: "You are the person Feili brought back. I can feel that you are trustworthy after getting along with you. That's enough."

Carol was not satisfied: "Actually, I am a refugee from the Theocracy. Do you know the country ruled by the God of Mist?"

Theocracy is very common in this world, with a combination of politics and religion that is quite special. Sometimes it moves towards constitutional monarchy, but the monarch is the god himself. Sometimes it is a parliamentary system, but there is also the concept of a true God above them.

The Church of the God of Storms belongs to the latter. The incarnation of wind is everywhere. The god does not appear before people in a concrete concept, but only responds to some prayers. Under the actual blessing of the God of Storms, this country has good weather, few monsters, and strong national strength. It is no exaggeration to say that the country's land area is the size of eleven Arius, and it is quite authoritative in the secular world.

The reason why Filin knew about this country was that the other side also had a religious inquisition, which was more powerful and ruthless than the Inquisition of Arianism. Although the inquisitors seen by the outside world would perform their duties correctly, once they were convicted of heresy and cult, they would inevitably suffer a devastating blow.

"The alchemy inherited from my family was considered a threat to the power of the gods. There was a suspicion that it could lead to divine power, so we were expelled. Even my father was tied to the stake by them. He was my only relative..." Carol said this and slowed down her movements.

The sudden notification made Feilin stunned, and he was at a loss as to what to do with the parts.

Carol took the parts from him and said, "Well, don't show that gentle expression that you want to comfort me. It happened a hundred years ago. If I don't talk about it with people often, I'm afraid I will forget this experience."

Feilin felt open-minded and envious at the same time: "You have a strong will and a strong heart. May the blue moon bless your future."

Carol waved her hands: "Forget it, forget it. Goddess Qingyue is nice, but I can't stand it. It's better for you to protect me. I have stories. Do you have wine? After assembling this phonograph, let's go for a few drinks."

Filin agreed.

Carol added, "By the way, this may be a bit presumptuous of you to ask, but let's just treat it as a small talk. What's your family like? I heard that you are from a big family in the Stral Empire. You sound like a rich young man. Why are you running to this small country town? Is it because you like Fili? Tell me, don't be shy."

Feilin was speechless for a moment, and said unhappily: "I wonder why a nobleman would end up in the countryside? Because I am not the eldest son. After I grow up, everything in the family belongs to my eldest brother. If I don't find another way out early, exile and banishment will be waiting for me in the future."

Carol looked unconvinced: "Do you think I'm stupid? You are very capable. After the eldest son inherits, he will usually be given an important position or simply used as a guard dog for the territory. You are so capable, why would your family be willing to let you out?"

Feilin naturally answered: "I naturally have other reasons."

Carol inadvertently stopped what she was doing and looked at Filin sideways: "If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. By the way, how are your family? I often see you writing letters to your family, so your relationship must be very harmonious, right?"

There was a flash of displeasure in Philin's eyes. He was not a perfect spy agent, especially since it was a sensitive period for the development of Dao Tu recently. When asked by Carol, memories unconsciously came to his mind and flashed in his eyes.

Carol quickly caught a hint of emotion and was surprised. It was exactly the same as the one she saw Fili in the piano performance that day.

No wonder the look in Carol's eyes when she looked at Fili at that time seemed a little familiar, but she couldn't remember it. With Carol's keenness and magical perception, after careful recollection, she found that Fili and Fili had many similarities.

It is not surprising that there are duplicates of talents in this world, such as water, fire, earth, wind, sun and moon, but aren't Filin and Fili too similar? Fili calls herself a deceitful witch, and she is a liar in her title. However, witches are judged by their deeds, not their hearts. There is no perfect person in the world. Fili's actions are all just, and she is a good person. There is no doubt about this, but what about Filin?

"My home is rather quiet. My mother went back to her parents' home because she was ignored and is unhappy. I also have to make a living, so I can't be as free and easy as you are." Feilin thought of the wording in just two seconds.

Carol had also assembled the phonograph and pointed to the core. "Done. The main body is complete. Now we need to test the recording and playback functions. Film, you try inputting magic power into this core, and then speaking, singing, or even howling into this big speaker."

After Carol finished speaking, she walked to the side with another notebook, set out an instrument for detecting magic power, adjusted it, aimed it at the record player, and carefully observed the data on it.

Philin also reacted at this time. Although Carol seemed to be very familiar and was trying to make small talk, she was actually testing him little by little. Since he didn't know what Carol was suspecting, Philin began to carefully think about how to respond. He silently unfolded the field of deception, trying to interfere with Carol's judgment with the least force.

The manufacture of the record player was very successful. Carol made it herself, using above-average materials, and it was a perfect replica of the record player of the previous life. The sound quality was magically enhanced and even clearer.

Film tried his best to control himself, carefully injected magic power, used falsehood to forge his own magical properties, and deliberately controlled his emotions.

Just when I thought of this, Carol suddenly said, "You don't have to be so nervous, just say something casually. Oh, I'm so sorry, it seems that I just brought back some bad memories for you. I apologize. When we drink later, I will tell you an ancient secret."

Feilin smiled: "It's okay, I'll take a look..."

The two tested the phonograph repeatedly and recorded several discs. The magical machine for making the discs also needed to be manufactured separately. The entire set of equipment was developed by Carol.

"There's nothing wrong with the machine, but because your skills are too good and your drawings are clear and simple, problems have arisen." Filin finally frowned.

Carol realized something: "Don't worry about keeping it secret. I have a feeling this technology will be very popular. Nobles from all over the world will pursue this fashion and Fili's piano sound. I will improve and encrypt it later. Leave the technical work to me."

As she spoke, Carol removed the core that Filin had just injected with magic power, stuffed it into her sleeve with her backhand, and then immediately put her arm around Filin's shoulders and pushed her out: "How is it? Sister, my skills are great, right? Come on, we've been busy all morning, let's go have a couple of drinks, you treat."

Feilin was annoyed: "This is my hotel!"

Carol is like a technical shareholder, and she gets free food and lodging in the store.

"By the way, what do you think of the Bahamut Summoning Book?" Carol leaned close to Filin's ear, "Is it useful?"

Filin calmly replied: "It has to be usable. If it can still be made, I do want a copy."

Carol shrugged. "It's time-consuming and labor-intensive to make. It's too troublesome. I plan to make a weapon for myself with the remaining star cores. Well, I'll make a harp. The name... let's call it the harp. How about it? Isn't it domineering?"

The two were busy until very late. They were walking through the corridor and stopped at the corner at the same time. Filin discovered that Scathach was sleepwalking again. She had been sleepwalking more frequently recently. She was unaware of what was happening. The same dream was "urging her" repeatedly. This was Filin's judgment.

This time, just as Filin was about to go over to wake up Scathach, he took a step when Carol grabbed his hand, made a hushing sound, and shook her head gently.

Carol took out a crystal, pointed at the crystal, and pointed at Scathach. The two of them approached quietly. When they got closer, Carol's crystal glowed with a black luster. As if to verify the idea, Carol flicked her fingertips, and an invisible string cut Scathach's fingertips, just causing a drop of blood to fall on the black crystal.

The crystal seemed to be under some force and after a brief inspection, it began to shatter.

Carol used her magic to gather the crystal and insisted on keeping it as it was: "They are almost tracking us down. We are about to be discovered. Damn it, they are..."

Philin felt the confrontation between the two magical powers. Carol was tracking the other party, and the other party was counterattacking with powerful force. The magic powers of both sides clashed in the small crystal, just like his own blood at that time. If he was not careful, the crystal would explode.

This is a matter concerning Scathach's safety. Filin frowned and immediately reached out and pressed on the crystal. The false field wrapped around the crystal, and the opponent's tracking lost its target. Carol's magic took the lead.

The two of them spoke quietly. Carol was silent for a moment, glanced at Filin, and whispered, "Let me tell you a fact first. Scathach is a human-dragon hybrid. She has no parents and is a human-shaped... chimera. The blood of the dragon is dominant, and the rest is human and demon blood. She should not be an ordinary mass-produced type. Her research in the field of biological alchemy should be better than mine."

After that, Carol sealed the crystal and put it in her pocket. She then said confidently, "Of course, if I get all of his research data, it will only take a few minutes to surpass him. I have always felt that biological alchemy is unethical. And have you heard of Calliostro? He was one of the best alchemists of the last century. We are equally good. He is better in the field of research, but in order to prolong his life, he created clones and now transformed himself into a witch. He is an absolute idiot."

Filin was about to pat Scathach on the shoulder, but after hearing this, his legs almost went limp, as if he had held back: "You don't need to figure out other people's preferences so clearly, let's figure out Scathach's business first."

Carol raised her finger. "We have some clues in the reverse tracking. If the direction is correct, the location is exactly Kalan, which is where you and Serena are planning to go. The big demon Anastasia is producing dragon beasts on a large scale. If we can capture one, I can better analyze whether it is related to Scathach."

Philin was even more worried, not because of the Great Demon Clan, but because he remembered what Dorothy said: "Are the technologies used by those demons really developed by themselves? There is the shadow of Pandora behind this, which is really worrying."

Then she gently picked up Scathach, sent her back to the room, and wrapped her again with a false barrier. Carol also placed a small ornament next to the pillow. Although it could not defend against the other party's mental induction, it tried to make Scathach have some artificial dreams so that she would not be entangled by the same dream again.

At the same time, in the eastern region, the disaster was still expanding in the Kingdom of Kalan. The demon army had already captured the capital, the king died defending the city, the princes and princesses were in exile and their whereabouts were unknown. Some of them were arrested and turned into stone statues and hung on the city gates in a humiliating and even insulting posture.

Anastasia sat on the throne bored, holding the blood-stained crown between her fingertips and tossing it up casually. At this time, another demon with a powerful aura walked in, holding a magic staff made of bones in his hand, with a serious face.

"Congratulations on winning this war. Before you get bored, let me tell you something interesting. We have found our lost 'Dragon Marrow'."