Lord: I have built a witch's sanctuary.

Chapter 17 Harvest and Price

The laughter came quickly and went quickly.

It was like an auditory hallucination, melting away in the biting wind and snow.

But Lorraine knew it wasn't an illusion.

The bright red line on the Witch's Codex panel, "High-level mental pollution residue detected," says it all.

The wolf pack retreated.

Or rather, they were all killed.

A strong, acrid smell permeated the area around the camp, mixed with the strange odor of soil being scorched by the high temperature.

"it's over?"

Olivia peeked out from behind a pile of clutter, her hair a mess like a bird's nest, and her face smeared with black ash.

She glanced around.

The once smooth snowfield is now full of potholes and covered with vitrified crystals.

But what hurt her the most was...

"My land! My wheat!"

A piercing scream tore through the night sky.

Olivia stumbled and staggered toward the newly cleared experimental field behind the camp.

The area was originally planted with cold-resistant barley seeds that she treasured.

But now.

All that remained was scorched earth.

Not to mention the wheat, even the soil was baked by the terrifying heat.

Those newly sprouted seedlings were completely wiped out, not even leaving ashes, in that indiscriminate overload.

"It's over...it's all over..."

Olivia knelt on the ground, cupping the scalding soil in her hands, tears streaming down her face.

That was the culmination of her years of hard work.

That was her only hope of surviving in this wasteland.

"Why are you crying?"

A voice sounded above her head.

Lorraine carried the unconscious Anna as she approached.

He glanced at the scorched earth, his eyes showing not a trace of pity.

Out with the old, in with the new.

"What do you know!"

Olivia jerked her head up like a cat with its fur standing on end. "That's an improved breed! Do you know how much I paid to..."

"As long as people are alive, there will always be seeds."

Lorraine interrupted her, her tone indifferent, "Besides, I still have some hardy barley seeds left; not all of them were burned."

"We also have magic farmland, so we can quickly replenish the quantity if we want to plant."

Olivia was taken aback.

"But... what are we going to eat?" she asked, still feeling a little aggrieved.

"Eat meat."

Lorraine turned around and pointed to the battlefield.

Victor was limping as he rummaged through the pile of ashes for something.

Although most of the wolves were burned to ashes, the elite Frostwolf wolves, with their thick hides and tough flesh, still had a lot of good loot left.

"My lord! A bumper harvest!"

Victor excitedly raised a scepter that was still smoking.

The scepter was entirely emerald green, with a bright green gemstone set at the top, still radiating vitality even on such a brutal battlefield.

"It burst out of the wolf king's belly!"

Lorraine walked over and took the scepter.

The Witch's Codex instantly provided the results.

[Rare Item: Guardian of the Sacred Tree]

[Quality: Rare (Blue)]

[Effect 1: When planted in the center of a field, it creates a plant growth field with a radius of 50 meters, increasing crop growth speed by 50% and cold resistance by 30%.]

[Effect 2: Natural affinity +30%]

[Additional Skill: Tree Barrier (Once per day, summons vines for defense)]

Lorraine raised an eyebrow.

This is practically a magic weapon tailor-made for Olivia.

Olivia, who had just been crying and wailing, stared wide-eyed when she saw the scepter.

She lunged forward, clutching the scepter tightly, drool practically dripping from her mouth.

"Give it to me! Give it to me! I'll work for you for the rest of my life!"

The "it smells so good" principle will never go out of style.

Besides this strange item, the number of magic crystals on the battlefield was frighteningly large.

Although the ordinary frost wolves lost their bodies, the high-energy aggregates of magic crystals remained.

In the black ash, the crystals that emitted a faint glow were like scattered stars.

"One hundred and eighty, one hundred and ninety..."

Victor picked them up and counted them, his hands trembling.

"Nearly three hundred! Sir, that's a huge profit!"

For a knight accustomed to poverty, this wealth was enough for him to buy a house with a garden in the capital and hire two maids to serve him.

And now, this is just the spoils of one night.

Lorraine looked at the pile of magic crystals, pondering in her mind.

Three hundred pieces.

It's enough to repair those three nearly obsolete watchtowers, and even give that steam wagon a complete upgrade.

More importantly, with these resources, the construction of the camp can be restarted.

For example, the city walls that Olivia once mentioned.

City walls, city walls, and more city walls.

Lorraine was deeply fixated on this.

"Clean up the battlefield."

Lorraine ordered, "Take all the edible meat that hasn't been completely burned back to the cellar, and put the magic crystals away. Olivia, take some men and repair that collapsed section of the chevaux-de-frise."

"yes!"

The morale of the group was high.

The despair I felt just now seemed to have never existed.

In this wasteland where despair is commonplace, fear is the cheapest emotion, as long as there is victory and gain.

Lorraine carried Anna back to the main house.

As soon as he entered, he saw Leila huddled in the corner.

The girl curled up into a ball, and when she saw Lorraine come in, her body visibly trembled.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

Lorraine placed Anna on the bed covered with thick animal hides and asked casually.

"No...no."

Layla lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, her voice barely audible, "My lord... the snow, and those wolves..."

"What's wrong?"

"Is it... because of me?"

She finally mustered the courage to ask the question.

She looked up, her eyes filled with fear and self-reproach. "I am bad luck...wherever I am, disaster will follow. If you drive me away, I will..."

You're overthinking it.

Lorraine turned around, poured herself a glass of water, and spoke in a flat tone.

"The snow season arrived early because of abnormal atmospheric circulation, and the wolf attacks were because they were hungry."

"As for misfortune?"

He took a sip of water, looked at Lyra, and pretended not to have read about her experiences in the Witch's Codex.

"Don't be so arrogant. Even if you're unlucky, you can't possibly affect our entire camp."

Leila was stunned.

From childhood to adulthood, everyone has said it was her fault.

This was the first time someone had told her that it wasn't her fault.

"But... what if it really is me?" She still couldn't believe it.

"If you're the one who brought them here."

Lorraine put down her cup and walked over to her.

He looked down at the trembling girl, a haughty smile playing on his lips.

"Then bring in more."

"I'm very satisfied with the items that were delivered just now."

"If you can lure all the monsters in this wasteland here, I'll give you a bonus."

Leila stared at him blankly.

Is this man... insane?

What others would avoid at all costs, he saw as... a delivery?

"Alright, stop overthinking."

Lorraine pointed to the kitchen. "Anna will definitely be hungry when she wakes up. Go and make some broth, and remember to add plenty of pepper to warm her up."

After saying that, he ignored the dazed Layla and turned to walk out of the house.

Outside the door, the wind and snow continued.

But Lorraine was in a good mood.

He looked at the deep blue core in his hand, which was about the size of a fist and had been dug out from the wolf king's corpse.

[Second-Tier Peak - Frost Wolf King Core]

[Uses: Building upgrades, magical artifact crafting, high-level alchemy materials.]

"The Witch's Secret Book."

Lorraine silently recited this in her heart.

"Tell me all the resources I currently have, and what buildings I can still construct!"