Release that Witch

Description

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Chen Yan travels between worlds, ending up becoming an honorable prince in a medieval fantasy world. Yet this world was not quite as simple as he thought. Witches with magical powers abound, and fearsome wars between churches and kingdoms rage throughout the land.

Roland, a prince regarded as hopeless by his own father and assigned to the worst fief, spends his time developing a poor and backward town into a strong and modern city, while fighting against his siblings for the throne and absolute control over the kingdom. Join Roland as he befriends and allies with witches and, through fighting and even farming, pushes back invaders coming from the realm of evil.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Fang Kai Nage Nuwu
Fangkai Nage Nuwu
Fàng kāi nàgè nǚwū
RTW
ปล่อยแม่มดคนนั้นซะ
放开那个女巫
마녀 사용설명서
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki (45)
Tales of the Reincarnated Lord (25)
Sevens (22)
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha (19)
Ascendance of a Bookworm (19)
Common Sense of a Duke’s Daughter (17)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Female Lead Stronger than Male lead
  2. Kingdom / Sect / World Building
  3. Collection
  4. New list 1
  5. Wow there's a manhua version (ML)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
09/25/17 Seki – CA translations c378
08/28/17 Seki – CA translations c377
08/27/17 Seki – CA translations c376
08/25/17 Seki – CA translations c375
08/23/17 Seki – CA translations c374
08/22/17 Seki – CA translations c373
08/20/17 Seki – CA translations c372
08/20/17 Seki – CA translations c371
08/18/17 Seki – CA translations c370
08/17/17 Seki – CA translations c369
08/16/17 Seki – CA translations c368
08/15/17 Seki – CA translations c367
08/14/17 Seki – CA translations c366
08/13/17 Seki – CA translations c365
08/12/17 Seki – CA translations c364
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neolyn
neolyn rated it
September 2, 2017
Status: c880
I'm not really fond of CN novels, of those that I've read many are full of things that don't go with me at all, mainly portraying discrimination and racism as a good thing.

In this novel it's the other way around. MC try to build a better life for his people with the help of witches and his previous knowledge as an engineer. He's working really hard for it and until now, he's more or less successfull.

And that's great but the problem is : only the MC interacts with the witches,... more>> not always but most of the time. We don't really see the results of witches being accepted by ordinary people. We know that they accept them, thank them but we never see how the witches' life is in town. We are just told about it and for a story which tries to bring mortals and witches together it's a big flaw.

What's more is that we have many chapters focused on a witch (sometimes it's witch A, sometime B or C) who relate what she's thinking about. It's a golden opportunity to create bonds between witches and mortals but nope. Not happening.

I'm nitpicking a bit here, I admit.

About the MC, I'd say... he's an idiot ? He has all this knowledge as an engineer but absolutely no imagination.

Spoiler

One of the first witches he meets is named Wendy and control Wind (wendy /wind see what you did there Author). For, like 840 chapters, NOT ONCE he thinks " Hey! maybe she doesn't control wind but gas ? Could be Handy if she could, I don't know separate oxigen and Azote and other gas in the air to get the chemical elements I need to make bomb and stuff ".

To make it simpler : He thinks with his knowledge not his brain. There are many witches whose power is under-used and developed just because it doesn't fit his knowledge.

Another example : Nightingale. Her first power is turning herself invisible, but not like the invisible man where she needs to be naked, all her clothes and equipement turn invisible too. AND NOT ONCE did he think " if she can turn her clothes invisible maybe she can turn other things or people invisible too".

So much possibilities and yet nothing. It's depressing.)

[collapse]

Aside his s*upidity it's a good MC we got here. Ruthless when needed, and merciful and supportive when needed too. Not arrogant (thank god, enough we the arrogant MCs) keep his word and doesn't ponder for like 100 chapters about things. Except Romance.

Ho god, romance. I don't know if it's good or bad. Let me explain :

When MC came to the "new world" he encounter his first witch: Anna. Since she controls fire she's at the base of everything technologicaly advanced (she create fire arms, canons etc...). She's not only pretty but smart as hell (even MC admit that).

No surprise here she's the main heroine, but god... WHY ? We barely see her. From her last apperance to the next, everytime the relationship between her and the MC have developed but we almost see nothing of this development. It's forced and rushed. We are told how and why but we see and exeprience nothing of it.

That's why I'm saying that the romance is bad but on the other hand we got another witch who is like 24/7 at the MC's side (Nightingale, she's his bodyguard).

For a long time I thought she was the heroine, she's the second character we see the most in this novel, she has many chapters focused on her much more than Anna. She's always there.

Spoiler

Hell, when the prince almost died taking a shot aimed at Anna, the story is focused on Nightingale and what she's feeling at the moment ! Anna ? we got two lines where she tells about her feelings and it's 2-3 chapters later !

About 600+ chapters (and a "will you marry me?" between Anna and MC around chapter 400+), MC before Nightingale's heartbroken state for failling again to protect him (funny, everytime it's not her fault) decide to throw her a bone. Short story short he will talk to Anna about her, and she will need Anna permission to be romantically involved with MC.

It's around 880 now and still nothing... just more about her in the MC interacting and a few scenes with Anna.

It's damn frustrating.

[collapse]

So I'm really lost here, the romance with the main heroine is awful but the romance with the second heroine is unbelievably great.

About the villains... most of them are really pathetics. Every single nobles is an arrogant and self suffisant idiot and not interresting. On the other hand, the church is suprisingly good. Lot of secrets and plot and it's done well. We even got from time to time chapters from the church's POV which sometimes tell us more about the plot and the world of the novel than MC focused chapters.

Well, after all that text I'd say release that witch is worth reading. Not the best out there, but definitively one of them. Give it a good try. <<less
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Zackarotto
Zackarotto rated it
May 24, 2017
Status: c1498 (Complete)
This is one of the best webnovels, and different from the typical cultivation stuff, with its western aesthetics and hard sci-fi, and a massive cast of cool and funny women. It has a male protagonist, and is at times suggestive of a possible harem route, but that doesn't result in the kind of formula you might expect. RTW's cast has some outright gay characters (Tilly and Ashes, maybe even Serakkas and Valkries), and I'm told that's the sort of thing that China puts under scrutiny, especially in a military setting.... more>> Also, these characters are often more concerned with the fate of their species or the taste of food than with being love-struck and trying to impress the hero Roland, as most novels of the sort tend to do, despite whatever superficial arrogance, boring fetishized demureness, or the other qualities I usually see coming up in the portrayal of a carousel of fundamentally identical girls.

Rather than some itinerant hero who destroys things and never develops anything beyond his own body, this novel is all about the bigger picture. But it's the strong characterization, and keeping the focus on what's actually interesting, that elevates this above some other military-development themed novels, such as World of Cultivation. It's not a "battle novel" -- the fights aren't about trading blows, but about the shock and awe of technological innovation, such as the perspective of a proud enemy knight witnessing a mortar strike. It's delicious.

The ending comes a little rushed all of a sudden, with a few chapters of hard expository dialogue to wrap up its remaining questions, but all of the big mysteries were at least addressed, and while the transition might have been smoother, I'm still very satisfied. The promise of modernizing an iron-age society had been realized, so it likely would have been downhill from there. If the author himself felt the energy of the series dissipating, it was admirable to wrap it up instead of dragging things out as long as possible.

The only serious problem with RTW is that the translations range from "barely passable" to "shit". This is the only reason I don't have this at five stars, because it's not a novel where you can really get away with it. Character names are romanized randomly or otherwise confused, which doesn't pair well with a large, recurring ensemble cast. It's harder on people like me who migrated from very early translations with their own separate terms for everything, but even when reading all of it on Webnovel, it can be inconsistent. (Is it Hackzord or "Hect Zod"?) The novel has enough confusing terminology as it is, even when the translators don't keep changing their minds: the witches were bad enough, requiring a whole encyclopedia to keep track of the difference between evolving, magic cohering, derivative abilities forming, as well as transcendents and extraordinaries. Then you get into the demons, with terms like "Magic Slayer", "Higher Ascendant", and "Upgraded" getting thrown around all the time. Again taking "Hackzord" as an example, they call him a grand lord, and also a senior lord -- probably the same thing -- and he's also called Sky Lord, which I think is actually a different thing, a nickname, but doesn't make this any easier.

This is not even mentioning the grammatical errors, generally clumsy sentence structure, and unnecessarily technical (and not even necessarily accurate) terminology. But hey, why say "length" when "longitudinal dimension" sounds smarter? I often feel like I'm deciphering and retranslating a paragraph in my head, rather than just reading. If someone tried to read this novel all the way through instead of in daily or weekly installments, I think this would get exhausting. If not for this, I would be recommending this novel to all my friends, and I really hope that it gets a professional retranslation some day. <<less
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codezero121
codezero121 rated it
April 19, 2017
Status: c286
This is my first ever review and I think this novel deserves it.

The MC is basically a Chinese engineer who got his consciousness transfered in another world to the body of a prince after the said prince died. This world has a civilization akin to our middle ages but they have these beings called Witches which are just females with superpowers. Using his engineering skills and the help of the witches, he manages to transform an almost barren town into a fortress surrounded by an army with guns and cannons.

The... more>> greatness of this novel lies with the solid world building. The author manages to not rely on some crazy OP bullsh*t cheat skills to emphasize the greatness of the MC. All his actions are logical and realistic. Although he does have the witches help in acquiring his goals, their powers were utilized properly due to his guidance.

The only problem I have with this novel is that the chapters are too short! We have daily release so I guess it's okay. It's so good that after binging it, you'll suffer the worst "what-do-I-do-now moment" of your life. You have been warned. <<less
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kvnstv1
kvnstv1 rated it
November 10, 2016
Status: c134
It's a pretty good novel with a terrible title. The actual novel read really well. The plot progression is good and quick-paced with multiple events happening in parallel with little feeling of discontinuity.

The MC is an interesting guy with a good goal in mind. He is cautious, smart, tolerant of others and thinks his plans through. He knows when to use force and when to curtail it. This makes reading a pleasure, because in many such novels the MCs are overly righteous or forgiving and it often comes back... more>> to haunt them, most often by causing his closest followers suffering.

The other characters in this novel are also well-written. Their goals and motivations are also provided. As such, when characters act the way they do, you know why it is so.

But more than any of these, what prompted me to give this novel a 5 is its scope. 134 chapters in we are still dealing only with one country and lightly touching on the South and the activities of the church. There seems to be a lot more to this world, to the motivations of the church, to the presence of witches, to their special winters and to the 'end-game' antagonist of this story. In fact, I'd gauge he novel to only be a third of the way into the full story. It is well worth your time to read this. <<less
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Dragon
Dragon rated it
October 14, 2016
Status: c96
Yes, I know the plot isn't perfect. It is a Chinese novel after all, and the standard villain tropes are there. The novel feels like a Japanese "isekai" novel, with some xianxia elements to it.

However, I have to give this story a 5 star just for the character development itself. The characters in this novel are complex, emotional, and feel the most realistic out of probably any Chinese novel I have read. Not as humorous as for example Long Live Summons or Wu Tian Ji, but I would say that... more>> the characters are even more well crafted than even Wu Tian Ji's.

Furthermore, the translator does a terrific job, and grammar and writing style are well versed. The story flows very well, especially since the author has a style of skipping minor scenes between chapters and also occasionally setting one or two chapters in the POV of another character.

Definitely one of my favorite novels recently. 5/5. <<less
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Thiron
Thiron rated it
October 4, 2019
Status: Completed
The first half of the novel was pretty good. It might have some unrealistic optimism and wish-fulfilment, but the technology advance was pretty fun to follow.

However, starting from the
Spoiler

"dream world" and actual secrets of gods and magic

[collapse]
it just got messy.

It's like the author decided to write two different stories inside one, and they barely fit together. The ending was also pretty disappointing.
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Tiranu
Tiranu rated it
September 9, 2018
Status: c1166
deleted
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storybookknight
storybookknight rated it
July 11, 2018
Status: c138
I almost feel like I shouldn't be as down on this story as I am. There are lots of webnovels out there where the protagonist is never in any meaningful danger, plenty of self-indulgent power fantasies where the protagonist can do no wrong, dozens of stories where the supporting casts of the piece are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts only there to make the main characters look good. And many of those are worse-written than RTW, and yet I would probably rate them better.

The unforgivable sin of Release This Witch is that... more>> - unlike the other novels I mentioned - it's theoretically about scientific progress, and that its' protagonist is supposed to be the genius driving that progress. Rather than triumphing invincibly over the challenges facing him with ludicrous strength or a mystical destiny, as other protagonists do, Roland overcomes his challenges with 'science' and 'intelligence'.

Which wouldn't be bad, except that writing intelligence convincingly is a lot harder than convincingly writing about strength or martial skill, and I don't think Release This Witch meets the mark.

A few examples of some truly boneheaded decisions the main character makes right away (Minor Spoilers for the first few chapters of the story) :

1.) Upon being mystically transported into the body of a prince, in an alternate universe where magic demonstrably exists, the protagonist immediately decides that God isn't real and therefore that the Church is evil and that killing Witches is wrong. He turns out to be right about this, of course, but the point is that he had no real reason to think this way, and if he had gotten sent to a world based on the Brothers Grimm instead, he probably would have died in the first few chapters.

2.) After rescuing the Witch from being burned to death, he proceeds to set her up in the castle, taking it on faith that none of the servants will gossip, that none of his retinue will believe that he is ensorcelled and try to do something about it, that the witch's powers won't go out of control and burn the castle down, and so on. He doesn't even bother planning for contingencies, just assumes that nothing will go wrong and nothing does.

3.) He then decides to defend his town against monsters that he's never fought, using tactics and equipment that nobody has ever used before, and blithely assumes that all of the townspeople will be totally okay with entrusting their lives and their children's lives to him even though he has no reputation as a military man and in fact has a reputation as a wastrel. Somehow, the tactics work perfectly, the equipment works perfectly, and nobody flees for their lives in horror even after he reveals that he's working with the same witches that they were perfectly happy to burn to death fifty chapters ago.

And so on.

Also, beyond the frankly nonsensical plot, Release This Witch also gets its military history wrong. Cannonballs should bounce and don't, barrels of cannon and musket never burst, horses (including enemy horses) should spook at the sounds of gunfire and cannon but don't, and so on, and so on. I understand that this isn't a problem that everyone who reads it will even notice, but it certainly irritates me!

Pile those problems on top of the fact that RTW also falls prey to many issues that plague other webnovels, and I really have a hard time justifying reading any further than I already have. <<less
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Eli Sparks
Eli Sparks rated it
September 17, 2017
Status: c477
First, let me clarify that this light novel is great and definitely worth a read. I believe it deserves the five stars I've attributed to it and some more for being one of the few pieces of writing that celebrates science as something incredible. There is little action and most of it is strategy and planning. As someone who enjoys books about battles being won before they take place, this was a delight. Not to mention, there's a deep running mystery that keeps the objective of the story in perspective.

Truthfully,... more>> this novel is targeted at people who enjoy hard science fiction, emphasis on hard and fiction, where scientific concepts that we already know are extrapolated somewhat arbitrarily to create something more fiction-like. The author speaks about some rather involved ideas, such as the intricacies of a manufacturing process.

A few of the reviews here criticise the unrealistic ease of that the MC faces in inventing and employing something new but I don't think they've thought well enough about the extent of a witch's abilities. Realistically, if someone with the necessary knowledge like our MC was thrown into a parallel world, the only reason they would have to suffer helplessly would be a lack of necessary equipment to apply what they know. That is where the witches play their role. Anyone reading the novel carefully will realise just how thankful the MC is that witches exist and just how difficult things would have been without them. As in, the author knows that what he has written would be unrealistic had the witches not been part of the world and also that since they are part of that world, his ideas are realistic. I don't think anyone has the right to argue that he doesn't because that would just be their word against his. In that case, the majority, which agrees with the author should be considered right.

Next up, the characters.

They're all deep, realistic individuals on their own and yet have been integrated well around the protagonist. Not only that but the author has also ensured that a sufficient number of side stories where they play the main role have been threaded into the main arc.

Some people claim that the MC's intellect is somewhat unrealistic and with that, I somewhat agree. Honestly, he devises various inventions a bit too quickly. I would expect that to perfectly design a gun, 2 or 3 months would be needed if the only knowledge you have is of the basic setup. This is the only thing I can criticise. However, the author redeems himself a bit when he shows that the MC can't remember the periodic table completely or when he had to re-derive calculus formulae that he couldn't remember with quite some effort.

As for the politics and administration, I'm not knowledgable enough to comment on its credibility. From the perspective of someone with average information about this stuff, it seems good to me. Some people do say that it isn't realistic so I don't know. Basically, if you're in my shoes about this, you won't see anything wrong.

In conclusion, this will likely be your favourite novel if you give it a chance and bear in mind the things I've expressed. It is undoubtedly that good.

Just try it. <<less
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LC
LC rated it
February 18, 2017
Status: c246
TLDR :
- This is Universal novel, can't believe this is Chinese novel. (my first taught this was western author)
- No Bullsh*t OP and no Dumbass MC and idiot Antagonist
- Great world building, awesome timeline
- [edit] Yes MC was extremely smart, (for me it was like MacGyver) but it was still on line, not over line (OP, Cheat) I was think it was like racial buff and still balanced. I mean, c'mon this is a 'Science Fiction Novel', not a Historical channel or Documenter Movie,... more>> if we want a true logical, I better watch National Geographic, read science books, school books, essays, thesis LOL

This Novel was great, this was rare for me to read like crazy for hundred chapter in one sit. very rare, this novel was well written, great translate, and got an epic world build, the plot was amazing, if you got concern about the cover, and the tittle. Please, read it atleast 2 chapter, and I can tell you, that you can't stop read unless you are need to answering the nature's call (AKA bathroom break).

if you concern that xianxia world was not your cup of coffee (don't worry 'this thing' is different), or worried the MC was a dick, coward, (relax this 'cool guy' not one of those), or think 'is this worth for me to take this from want to read list' (my answer is : yes, it was worth it). This novel was so good even that I for one dislike many (I MEAN MANY) Chinese novel recommend it to other people (and this speak A LOT).
i often see reader who dislike harem permit this MC to make his harem (this too speak A LOT). means the quality of the story the author bring to you was top notch

i can't help it, I must write a review, this Novel deserve it. and deserve to be a legend [in the making] (in my heart) like Mushoku Tensei, Overlord, Altina The Sword Princess, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari.

i seldom give 5 star, but for this poison. I don't hesitate 5/5

(this novel desperately need someone who have magic hand to draw those hawt chicks... I mean witch, I need moe supply ASAP)

[edit]
after 3rd read, I believe that the MC not have walk in the park against every s**t he through, it seem that way, but he take all of those like piece of cake not by some 'Deus EX' bul**hit, it because all hard work and make useful the resource (be it human, monetary, knowledge) at his disposal, to the limit. and he make general prepare long before those s**t knocking on his door. <<less
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tallrice
tallrice rated it
October 21, 2016
Status: c738
One of the best reincarnation/transfer-to-another-world novels. Long may it last!

Not only is the world building great, but wow, the speed of the releases, both in the original and in English is really commend worthy.

One thing that impresses me is that the author often reveals reasons for what seem to be inconsistencies in his setting. For instance, setting the bar low for the MC to shine with really simple observations such as 'oh, witches could be useful' is no doubt a bit patronising, but when the history behind why the witches... more>> are in their current conundrum is revealed, it all kind of makes sense.

Another good point is the pacing. Release that witch is not slow at all. Even so, the author manages to work in many details of the MC's modern knowledge in engineering and cultural tastes.

Compelling characters: Attractive heroines and solid soldiers. The range of ages in the cast is refreshing.

Political intrigue is well portrayed. The siblings all compete for the throne, and we can see the hierarchy of nobles and all the small plots of hidden daggers and deadly poisons.

And the plot only intensifies. From warring princes to catholic conspiracies, to Sauron and his horde of steampunk demons from the abyss. The spiral of the plots is quite amazing, particularly considering that the author actually uses the later plot developments to explain early setting quirks, which takes a lot of planning and writing talent. <<less
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mezzoforte
mezzoforte rated it
January 31, 2017
Status: c235
A good piece of meat to make your hunger go away but does not make your mouth water.
it's good that the author portrays different scenes that will later on co-inside but there are situations left unexplained properly. Good thing he offers links as to enlighten the readers to the technologies and knowledge that the MC used/will use till the present encounter but that's just it. What I'm saying is the circumstances in which the side characters are experiencing so does with the MC should have more depth in them... more>> coz' if not for the author's unique style of writing, this will come out as another common book. ex. When tilly saw ash when they were younger what did tilly and ash do then? Did they spent their days leisurely living as princess and servant in the palace? Or did they commit assassinations in the kingdom when they have time for it? Did they practice their skill? How did they escape? What does the 3rd princess feel towards tilly? The 3rd princess poisoned the MC and has advanced plans to counter her 1st and 2nd brother but what about tilly? This is just 1 example, maybe the author will be able to come up with the decision wherein he will not just explain and give links to knew ideas in tow in every chapter but would also deepen his introductions, explanations, and concluding remarks in every chapter with regards to the circumstances of each character. <<less
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HappyToaster
HappyToaster rated it
January 15, 2017
Status: c210
Cover used to be terrible, looks like it has a better cover now.

Essentially a story of reincarnated protagonist developing a town, with multiple ongoing subplots. What's unusual is that the subplots are all worth reading.

Some logical holes in the technology development, and it's silly how the protagonist writes so many books in the background, but it's not enough to interfere with enjoyment.
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ThreePointsShort
ThreePointsShort rated it
January 7, 2017
Status: c199
I don't usually review novels, but as Release that Witch approaches its 200th chapter, I feel compelled to explain why I rave about it so much. Simply put, this is one of the best web or light novels I have ever read, period (out of about 100 novels), and I anticipate updates for this novel more than anything else I've ever followed.

One of the core principles of literature is that it is very, very hard for an author to write a character smarter than themselves. They can, of course, cheat... more>> in various ways to make the character "look" smart - by making them a chess master, for example, or by making them effortlessly do mental arithmetic that the author needs a calculator for. This is why those two traits are so common in fictional geniuses. But real intelligence - not to mention technical aptitude - is not something that is easily written into a character.

Enter Roland Wimbledon, the MC of Release that Witch. Roland is a mechanical engineer, and a really good one. He sells himself short a lot, and the author never explicitly calls him a genius, but he really is one. From his weapons designs, to his steam engines, to his milling machine, to his water systems, to every tiny chemical detail of gunpowder experimentation and cement mixing - no detail is too small for the author to painstakingly explicate. And while that sounds tedious on paper, in practice, it really brings the world of Release that Witch to life.

For example, here is a short excerpt from chapter 47, when Roland makes a milling machine:

Spoiler

"After everyone respectfully bowed, Roland began to demonstrate how to use the milling machine to process the gears.

Roland didn’t mind acting as a teacher in front of everyone. In fact, what else could one do in this era? Plus, while doing this there was no one who could criticize his manners, so he could operate the machine without any pressure.

The Chief Knight was in charge of pouring hot lard into the machine as lubrication – naturally in this age there were no oil lubricants. Replacing it with lard was a bit of a waste, but it was still better than nothing. After drenching the disc, the lard would fall into a pot which was placed under the machine. With this, the lard could be reused several times.

Roland first placed the lower milling stone in accordance with the design he had engraved beforehand. Then, he set the tooth gear above it so that the tooth gear, the milling stone, and a wooden wheel were in one line. The wooden wheel was driven by a pedal and it’s power was transmitted to the lower millstone by a leather belt.

Then, he put his hands down to gently stabilize the disc handle, until the lower millstone and the slowly-moving tooth gear were at a 90° angle.

Because the material of the tooth disc was iron and the lower millstone was out of steel, cutting out the teeth marks was not very difficult. Due to the hot lard the yard was soon filled with a tasty smell, but because the blacksmiths and their apprentices hadn’t had meat in a long time, they had to swallow their saliva when smelling it.

After the demonstration, the contract was soon signed. Border Town’s commerce was still in the initial phase, but calling it an industry was out of the question. No matter if it were the steam engine or the lathe, there would be no phenomenon where the people would run to the store, striving to be first or fearing to be the last to buy them. In this day and age, most people were not aware of the enormous significance they represented, as well as the potential commercial value they possessed. As such, Roland could only take the initiative to promote the use of these machines."

[collapse]

While watching Roland carefully build his technological revolution brick-by-brick is definitely the highlight of this story, the author is also very adept with the political and economic aspects of world-building. The characters are also pretty lovable, and the romance is realistic (thank god).

Translation quality is great and the translator updates very frequently (4 times a week plus sponsored/extra chapters.) I'm glad a novel of this caliber was picked up by such a great translation team.

What, why are you still reading this review? Go read Release that Witch, right now! <<less
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optjam
optjam rated it
November 18, 2016
Status: c130
Shout out to the translation team for doing such a great job with all the information and interesting tad bits of the novel. This novel is awesome. The strategies, the world building, the plot so far have been amazing. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, interesting, slice of life and traveling back in time themes done right!
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Ironman96
Ironman96 rated it
March 15, 2021
Status: Completed
One of the best novels on this site, 5/5 until later chapters with the Dream world and God stuff where the plot/quality sharply drops but it was still good enough to stick around until the ending which was lackluster.

This is probably the best or one of the best kingdom building novel on this site. Others include Tales of a Reincarnated Lord, Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Sword of Dawnbreaker (until translation stopped), Overlord sorta, and some other amazing novels that had kingdom building but not as their main focus -... more>> LoTM, Tensei Slime, etc.

Also probably the second best novel here to mix Earth technology with magic interactions (imo Sword of Dawnbreaker did it slightly better).

Some things are a bit farfetched, but for the most part you can see the logic of what Roland is doing and how he is using the witches power with his technology to build his kingdom which is a great positive.

There are so many amazing parts of this novel: Roland building his kingdom, new technological experiments, finding new witches with unique interactions with technology (and interacting with each other), Nightingale and Anna, Demons and Church interactions, witches from opposing factions, etc.

One great thing about this novel is that the author writes witches as actual characters with personalities (the witches do their own things on the side, some like drinking alcohol, watching plays, adventuring, experimenting, socializing, etc. And we get chapters of them doing their own things without MC involvement)

There are a lot of other great things that I'd like to mention but it'd get too spoilery

Also some minor cons:

  1. While I loved seeing a lot of side character chapters and remembered most of them, it got to the point in the later chapters where I had to look to the comments to remember who they were and what they did because there were a ton of side characters.
  2. Roland knows too much
  3. Some of the fights between Roland's army and others were lackluster (some of them were amazing and other times it was weak)
  4. Dream world and god stuff (won't go into detail, just know it was tr*sh and took focus away from the better parts of the novel)
  5. Most importantly, I needed more Nightingale scenes!
Overall one of the best novels on this site, give it a shot. <<less
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Eisensturm
Eisensturm rated it
May 11, 2020
Status: Completed
1498 Chapters total, and ultimately only worth 3 stars. It was enjoyable early on, then a slog towards the end. Be aware there may be some spoilers.

Let's start with the cons:

  1. For some, the fact that this series pushes a not-always-subtle "Idealized Communism" idea and some other Communist China elements. While it doesn't bug me personally, comments here and elsewhere have mentioned it as a pain point. To be fair, the author is Chinese and pushing Chinese ideals the same way some Japanese novels push Japanese Imperialism. The difference is that Release that Witch makes it quite blatant.
  2. The main protagonist, Roland, is a Gary Stu. He's supposedly a PhD level Mechanical Engineer before being revived in the body of a prince. Yet he quickly takes to acting like a Prince/King in less than a year and also somehow knowing things that are normally out of bounds for the usual Mechanical Engineer. He also never truly experiences hardship, because everything happens to go his way most of the time. And to top it off, his ego is so massive that he's portrayed as a "can't scare me Alpha Dog".
  3. For the moments when Roland does happen to be lacking in some department, the author almost immediately tosses a new character who conveniently makes up for Roland's shortcoming, whether it's a Witch with the abilities he needs or an intelligent individual (Edith being the most obvious, but Iron Axe and Nightingale count too).
  4. Related to 3, the series just keeps tossing in additional characters and some side-stories that further bloat the cast, with many of them being a one-time key character than marginalized to "oh, by the way, they did something" in a chapter further down the line. Sure, a few do add "flavor" to the series by offering an outsider's perspective to Roland's reforms, but the rest are just to insert a way to tie Roland to new materials or resources he needs then they get marginalized.
  5. The Lead Female Character, Anna, is practically a Mary Sue and one-dimensional cheat-waifu for Roland. Even Nightingale has more personality than Anna. Anna quickly becomes Roland's loyal lapdog Witch and his primary "cheat", somehow quickly understanding basic Physics, Chemistry, Metalurgy, and Manufacturing and being the main driver of Roland's early military/industrial reforms. But in all of the 1498 chapters, she never really forms a personality of her own. She's just there.
  6. Severe power level creep. Like many other Chinese novels, power creep bursts are present. Much of it has to do with the author never actually letting Roland experience some hardship, so the author constantly has to throw in new overpowered enemies here and there and unorthodox problems that take several chapters to resolve. Not once does Roland experience a major defeat that actually reflects the limits of his abilities or his administration against that of a supposedly superior enemy force. It's also reflected semi-passively in the form of his industrial base and populace; whenever Roland comes up against a wall, he somehow finds a quick and easy solution either from a bunch of convenient new hires or from conveniently having new production capability.
  7. Rushed plot towards the last third of the series. The author throws more and more battles and increasingly simplified plot details towards the end, which eventually results in an ending so rushed and unsatisfying because it never actually ties up all loose ends. Sure, it builds up the tempo of "the end" coming, but it also becomes so brainless. Especially seeing as Roland's military never really "loses", so it becomes quite predictable. Even the climax is predictable, because Roland has never been given some flaws that his opponents can capitalize on and his ego and confidence happens to be the things needed to overpower gods.
Now for the Pros (with spoilers) :

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  1. Release that Witch is a pleasant power fantasy. It's not hard to want to self-insert as Roland, who desires power and attains it at a steady pace, steamrolling anyone who refuses to conform. And not just through magic, but through the power of SCIENCE and ENGINEERING.
  2. Related to 1, it's a power fantasy in which the protag brings guns, cannons, planes, and tanks into a medieval setting, and it does so in a way that's a bit more realistic/convenient than similar novels where the MC just happens to be able to create guns out of thin air instead of having to build them according to what materials are available. Here, Roland has to rely on Witches and Chemists to even get flintlocks and 12-pounder cannonball artillery working, and is bound early on by the limits of the iron mine.
  3. The whole setting is a bit novel and fresh, involving parallel universes and fighting metaphysical beings for control over said parallel universes, and further, attempting to integrate the plot across two universes (though it's not done all that well in my opinion).
  4. For the few who care, there are some homos*xual pairings (mostly of the lesbian kind). This isn't a Pro/Con for me personally, but it's still somewhat unique considering that most novels never really go beyond a superficial "BTW, they're lesbians". Here, you have Tilly and Ashes who like to kiss, hold hands, hug, and bathe together at times, and if the Release that Witch wiki is accurate, Maggie and Lightning are also in a lesbian/borderline-lesbian relationship (personally, it could go either way; they're clearly closer than friends, but they also aren't seen making out).
  5. Although it's pretty late in the series, the Author does start giving Roland's enemies personalities that help give insight and elevate the enemies from a one-dimensional entity to one with multiple factors at play. Unfortunately, they're still power-crept by Roland in short order.
  6. The way Roland is able to capitalize on most of the Witches' unique abilities to further his goal of world domination can sometimes be clever, as well as the way the Witches themselves gradually evolve as they come to better understand their capabilities thanks to Roland helping to guide them.
  7. The fact that this isn't a Harem story despite the tag. Aside from Roland earning 2 females, he otherwise doesn't attempt to chase other girls or get intimate with them despite some of them showing a willingness. This may not be a pro for some, but I find it pleasant when there is an MC who doesn't always accept the women thrown his way or offering themselves up to him. He's even willing to forgo having children just to be with the two who absolutely love him.
Other thoughts (with spoilers) :

Personally, while I did like the story, I was also heavily disappointed with it. Mainly due to the latter half becoming a chore to read through with the constant jumping between universes, and the distinct rush towards the end resulting in a relatively boring finale in the last 20 chapters. The first half up to the actual battle for Taquila ruins was pretty enjoyable with the steady evolution of Roland's empire starting from a mere shantytown to a booming medieval mega-city, and the steady take-over of rival human kingdoms.

On the other hand, the ending was personally a disappointment; no wrapping up of remaining plot threads with everything left open to interpretation. It could have clearly used another 2-10 chapters just wrapping things up nicely; such as whether or not Roland fully mastered his new role and was able to grant the ability to become pregnant to Witches, if he was able to fully cement both universes and allow the Taquila witches a chance to personally live in the Dream World, whether or not Garcia and Zero would recall parts of their former selves upon visiting Neverwinter, if the Demons were granted a new world as Roland planned, and so forth.

I feel this story would have been more enjoyable had it been sort of like an Age of Empires or Civilizations novel; having one Kingdom suddenly reaching the Modern Age and building guns and tanks and sending them off against primitive Kingdoms, and eventually having said rival Kingdoms begin developing their own equivalents or crude counterparts in an attempt to stave off total unification. Still plays into the power fantasy of bringing in WWI-Interwar era war machines into medieval society, but kept grounded instead of delving into a parallel universe and fighting-against-God plot. The Demons and Sky-Sea monsters could have stayed as another major threat, giving it a bit of a Starcraft-like or C&C3: Tiberium Wars element with the Demons and monsters acting like the Zerg/Scrin.

Ultimately, I'm left feeling wanting, after such a great start and midpoint to the series. It's good enough to have potential, but flawed enough that the latter half felt superfluous. <<less
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Awedasea
Awedasea
May 26, 2019
Status: c1422
This novel was like gold to me, one of the two novels I still haven’t dropped yet. Everyone already says all the amazing points about this novel in the thread so I will focus on the thing that bothers me the most.
Spoiler

The biggest complaint I have is the demon arc and “Gods” and dream world. I can understand that the author might want to move to a greater part of the novel however the explanations and transitions are completely excessive and unnecessary. It really adds complexity to something that was already at a great balance between action and logic. At this point the novel is being told through side characters and their points of view which personally I don’t care for, and our protagonist that once was aiding the army to fight demon beasts on the frontlines and doing great things, becomes a paper jockey doing paperwork all day and talking while he seemingly becomes useless.

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TLDR started off really strong, should’ve ended there but big unnecessary arc ruined it.
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Boredgasm
Boredgasm rated it
January 23, 2019
Status: c900
MC is very shallow and inconsistent; he changes from an adaptable, Machiavellian-esque character to an idealist. It's too jarring to continue reading. Also the romance sucks? Other characters in the story are not very well fleshed out, including the MC. I expected more from this novel since it was so highly rated.
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2Girls1Cupcake
2Girls1Cupcake rated it
August 30, 2018
Status: c914
I normally love reincarnation novels where the MC takes knowledge from his previous life and uses it in another world, I do however hate introducing guns which goes against anything even related to fantasy, yet I accepted it in this novel. The reason I did that was because of how meticulously it was done, with regards to both chemistry and physics, there are still downsides to this however, if you don't have a reasonable amount of background knowledge you'll find those chapters hard to digest, which might turn some readers... more>> off, but at least it wasn't just conjured up with magic. There was magic involved to overcome the difference in technology, but thank God it wasn't "imagining the item in my head and it suddenly appears in my hand", like it is in some novels.

Yet why do I rate this novel so low then?

The main factor is how the MC's personality suddenly took a 180 degree turn.

Spoiler

Until the latest couple of chapters the MC was very machiavellian and I don't mean that in a bad way, just stating that how he acted towards enemies was very much in line with that philosophy, in addition to being a realist and without regards to whether or not I agree with this method, it's very appropriate considering the "time period" and other circumstances. Yet for some reason the MC suddenly became an idealist very much in line with communism, that wouldn't be odd in and of itself considering the author's nationality, it is however exactly that when we consider MC's actions and personality so far, especially when in regards to witches. The major plot so far has been the liberation and salvation of witches, yet for some reason he abandons all this, which is just straight up a death sentence to those not living within his domain.

If all of this wasn't bad enough he also leaves threats which in this case are the other countries just to make some philosophical point. This is truly beyond me, seeing how uniting all of humanity would be in his favour when it comes to dealing with the demons and those sea creatures, not to mention the risk of being stabbed in the back while fighting on one front, anyone with a bit of knowledge in the art of war knows that this scenario is the worst possible one!

It goes against everything he's done so far.

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Apart from this it's clear that the author's knowledge leans heavily towards the sciences while everything else is lacking.

The novelty of the witches is pretty much gone as well, neither the dialog nor the characters themselves are fascinating enough to garner interest and at this point it's more like, "well, I've come this far, might as well see it to the end". It does seem like the latter half of this novel, I reckon it's going to be about that length, 2k chapters or there about, is going to be focused mainly on war, yet that seems a long way off with just filler of no significance in between.

Just can't be bothered to read more, the main focuses, the technological advances and political struggles are gone and we're left with nothing but a hollow wuxia look-alike that's going to be just the same thing over and over again, at this point it's just going to be milking it and it's just not worth it.

You can also check out eYeSonic's review, which I wholeheartedly support, it is very much in line with what I'm feeling. And just to clarify, that doesn't mean he agrees with any of my views, just stumbled upon it and thought it was great.

In closing, disregard any reviews with less than 1k chapters read if you're planning to go above 900 chapters, enjoy the novel up until that point if you wish, but be aware of the drop in quality. <<less
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