This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 241 - 222 Timidity

Chapter 241: Chapter 222 Timidity

Was it then that Hoffman lost his hand?

Amberser recalled for a moment, then realized he could not be certain.

He wasn’t familiar with Hoffman; his association was only through Hake Stone, the vampire intermediary, with whom he had met a few times before he was killed.

Now, Amberser also couldn’t ask Hake Stone on the Necromancy Codex, otherwise, there would be two Diga Ultramans appearing on it, which might lead to irreversible serious consequences.

Forget it, this question isn’t important.

Right now, Amberser only wanted to help the Dwarf Kingdom resolve the crisis of Dew City’s fall, and then he could retire with honors.

After returning to Dew City with a group of Dwarves who had survived a dire situation, Amberser received the warmest of welcomes. Not only was he treated with the highest standards of food and drink, but he was also presented with several beautiful women, from various races.

Of course, Amberser maintained an "I’m above carnal desires" attitude, and made it known that he was an Ascetic Monk who never indulged in fine food or women.

"If you really want to thank me, some Gold Coins would suffice; I will use this money to build temples for my Deity and spread the teachings of the Deity."

Hearing Amberser’s words, Hoffman, who had just bandaged his amputated hand, asked curiously, "May I ask which Deity you worship?"

"The God of Alchemy!" Amberser declared with a ground-shaking conviction, brimming with devotion.

Hoffman wore a puzzled expression, a follower of the God of Alchemy who was a Dragon Knight, now... did that make any sense?

But what Amberser said next left Hoffman dumbfounded.

"You may find it strange, but in truth, I am a Magipuppet Automaton that has awakened its own consciousness. Praise the God of Alchemy, for my existence is his miracle."

Amberser lifted the Mithril Mask from his face, revealing the mechanical structures beneath.

Hoffman’s expression turned to shock, a Magipuppet Automaton with its own consciousness?

He couldn’t believe it; he suspected someone nearby was controlling this Magipuppet Automaton, but without the controller revealing themselves, Hoffman didn’t dare to forcefully expose them. After all, this Magipuppet Automaton had just helped them repel the Laine People, and the dragon he rode was no simple creature.

Hoffman was not familiar with Time Dragons.

Time Dragons were already extremely rare, and after the Dragon Race withdrew from the continent over a thousand years ago, most people couldn’t even recognize all of the Chromatic Dragons, let alone had ever heard the name of Time Dragons. Hoffman only knew that Amberser’s dragon was formidable; a single breath had incapacitated a Paladin.

One was eager to please, and the other was fully cooperative, so naturally, their conversation was quite enjoyable.

From Hoffman, Amberser learned that the Dwarf Kingdom had suffered defeat after defeat and had already lost many cities. Dew City wasn’t originally on the front lines but became a target because the Laine People recognized its strategic importance and went to great lengths to stage a roundabout attack.

They planned to take Dew City within a day, pushing the Dwarf Kingdom into an even more passive situation.

But their plans were leaked, and the Dwarf Kingdom immediately dispatched heavy forces to resist, hoping to gather a large force of elite combatants to teach the Laine People a significant lesson.

They recalled a dozen Legends from the frontline, all prepared for an ambush.

The sneak attack was successful, but the strength of the Laine People exceeded their expectations.

The plan was to lay Magic Traps along the path the Laine People would advance on. These traps could cause significant damage and even suppress the power of Holy Light.

The Laine People indeed fell into the trap, but no one had anticipated that just as the Magic Trap was activated, a Silvermoon Knight would strike with his sword, cleaving the entire Magic Array in two.

The ambush turned into a head-on battle, and then the dozen from the Dwarf Kingdom were overpowered by the Laine People.

Had Amberser not appeared in time, Dew City would have already been conquered by the Laine People.

And as for Hoffman, he was the commander of this battle zone, merely one of the Dwarf Kingdom’s Legends, not the all-powerful King’s Hand.

Amberser said to Hoffman, "The Laine People will not give up so easily, I estimate, by tonight at the latest, they will start the second siege."

"Ah? Then what should we do?"

Hoffman’s face turned pale, looking quite afraid.

Amberser could feel his emotion; this was not feigned fear, he truly was trembling.

Had this man been scared out of his wits by that strike from the Silvermoon Knight? How did he become the King’s Hand?

Though curious, Amberser did not want to waste time and simply said to Hoffman, "I can help, but relying solely on me isn’t enough. How many capable hands are there left in the city?"

Hoffman calmed down somewhat and said to Amberser, "There are just under twenty thousand of the guard, but Dew City’s Defense Magic Array has fallen into disrepair over the years and can no longer function properly. Only a small number of Magic Conduction Cannons on the city walls are still operational."

"The Dwarf Kingdom is so wealthy, how could it fall into disrepair? Haven’t you been at war with Laine for many years?" Amberser asked, surprised.

The friction between Laine and the Dwarf Kingdom had been going on since the year the Silvermoon Knight was born, just not as intensely as now. How could a nation plagued by constant warfare neglect the maintenance of its cities’ Defense Magic Arrays?

Hoffman sighed and said, "You should know that the Golden Kingdom implements a racial autonomy policy, where each race has a high degree of autonomy. The city lord of Dew City is a Lizardman..."

In Hoffman’s narration, the city lord of Dew City had embezzled funds and fled several years ago, taking with him a large portion of the city’s wealth.

No one knew where he had fled to, and it was only after auditing the accounts later that it was discovered all of the city’s tax revenue over the years had gone into his personal pocket, not only had the city’s Magic Array not been maintained, but even the soldiers’ salaries had been pilfered by him.

Perhaps out of despair for the war, this city lord made such a ruthless decision.

When Hoffman took over this war zone, he transferred new garrisons from other cities, but because of the massive deficit, Dew City’s defensive forces were the weakest among the nearby cities.

However, it just so happened that Dew City’s position was of great importance, a transportation hub, a city with extremely high strategic value.

That’s exactly why the Laine People chose to detour and launch a sneak attack, only to have the bad luck of running into Amberser.

"So, it’s definitely not feasible to rely on Dew City itself," Amberser said with resignation.

Hoffman felt embarrassed too; the Magic Traps previously deployed were the last resort of the Dwarf Kingdom, but as soon as they were launched, the enemy tore them apart. Now Hoffman was completely devoid of confidence; that dazzling sword strike had not only chopped off his arm but also shattered his will as a Legendary Monk.

"Since that’s the case, we can’t just defend the city, we need to take the initiative to strike," Amberser suggested.

"Initiative to strike? But..."

Just the thought of facing the Silvermoon Knight again made Hoffman’s legs go weak; it was with great difficulty that they had made those Laine People retreat, and now he was to actively pursue them? Wasn’t that simply courting death?

"But what? Do you want to wait until the old fellow, Silvermoon Knight, regains his strength and lets him deliver another sword strike? Now is when he’s most exhausted and vulnerable. Even if we don’t fully counterattack, we must harass them constantly and absolutely not let him rest properly."

Amberser was well aware that his biggest trouble was this old man; if he did not take his life while he was ill, when he attacked again, they would have to exhaust human lives to deplete his strength.

Seeing Hoffman’s timidity at a glance, Amberser whispered, "Your Excellency is the commander of this war zone and, of course, you must be stationed in Dew City and cannot take risks lightly. Therefore, it’s enough to dispatch troops. Have one or two Legends skilled in stealth and ambush lead teams, spend some money to hire the Wanderers and Thieves within the city, and after locating the Laine People’s encampment, cause chaos for them.

"Poisoning works, so do secret arrows, or infiltrating their camp to set fires. There is no need for direct confrontation; we must simply force them to remain unrested, that’s how we will stand a chance."

Amberser wasn’t versed in military affairs, but he was calmer than Hoffman. This suggestion might not have much effect, but the phrase "stationing in Dew City" greatly appealed to Hoffman.

Yes, he should indeed be commanding from the rear.

Once both sides accepted this premise, the rest of the arrangements were not a problem.

Chosen to be the military commander of the war zone, Hoffman’s military capabilities were certainly superior to Amberser’s. Amberser had only casually mentioned a few methods of harassment without any details. However, with Hoffman arranging the plans, he could allocate the necessary personnel for the harassment teams and create detailed guerrilla warfare tactics.

Hoffman got busy, and Amberser wasn’t idle either.

The Defense Magic Array of Dew City could no longer be restored, but that didn’t mean it was completely useless. Amberser wanted to study it and perhaps at a critical moment, it could prove to be miraculous.

About thirty kilometers outside of Dew City, in a stretch of Gobi desert, ten thousand soldiers of the Laine Army were stationed.

Tents were hastily pitched, and water and food were taken out from Magic Pouches. These soldiers of Laine contented themselves with cold water and dry rations.

Since it was a surprise attack, this troop hadn’t brought much in the way of logistical support; dealing with meals was only possible in such a manner.

They had originally intended to take Dew City and then eat within the city. However, a Dragon Knight had unexpectedly appeared halfway through and disrupted their entire plan.

The Silvermoon Knight, coughing, patrolled the camp while the young and immature Allen followed closely behind him, akin to a Knight’s attendant. Allen hadn’t been qualified to participate in the prior legendary battle; he hadn’t even taken part in most of the siege warfare because he was just a servant in the military, only waiting in the camp for the return of the Silvermoon Knight.

No sooner had the Silvermoon Knight returned than he immediately ordered the army to rest as quickly as possible—it was clear that a second assault was being planned.

But Allen didn’t understand why the Silvermoon Knight, clearly tired, wouldn’t just go rest himself but stubbornly insisted on patrolling the camp himself. Wasn’t such a trivial matter something he could delegate to his subordinates? He was already staggering even as he walked.

"General Reiter, perhaps I should help you go back and rest," Allen couldn’t help but say.

Yet the Silvermoon Knight shook his head, "Not yet."

"But your body... For patrolling, can’t you just leave it to others?" Allen said.

The Silvermoon Knight coughed twice and explained, "We’ve just lost a battle, and our surprise attack turned into a frontal assault. I need to make sure they are still willing to go into battle. If their morale is low, sending them to attack again would be sending them off to die. Leading an army isn’t just about charging ahead yourself; you need to understand your soldiers."

Allen didn’t quite get it and said, "General, why would soldiers be afraid to go into battle? We are soldiers of Laine bathed in Holy Light, with nothing to fear."

However, no sooner had Allen finished speaking than a burst of argumentative voices came from nearby.

The Silvermoon Knight hurried over with Allen and found a wounded soldier with a broken leg angrily pointing at another soldier and cursing vehemently.

The injured soldier bellowed with rage: "Coward! It’s my leg that’s broken; what are you afraid of?!"

The scolded soldier appeared to be a young teenager, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, and said in a timid voice, "Big brother, but I’m scared. What if the Magic Conduction Cannon hits me next time?"