This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 311 - 289: The Flag of the Future

Chapter 311: Chapter 289: The Flag of the Future

Pale holy light converged on Allen’s wrist, quickly healing the crushing bone fractures under its influence. Within minutes, Allen rubbed his wrist, feeling almost completely recovered.

"Holy Light is really effective, much better than healing potions."

Amberser felt quite envious. If a Lich’s bones were to break, he would have to replace them; they can’t just grow back.

Besides not being immortal, Laine’s Paladins were indeed formidable.

While any deity can have their own Paladins, Laine’s were different; their mastery over Divine Arts was vast, with abilities far surpassing those of other Paladins.

Allen sat on the ground, utterly unconcerned with his image, and looked at Amberser, saying, "What kind of lies have you concocted this time? Come clean, or just kill me and get it over with."

Amberser wasn’t in a hurry this time and replied curiously, "You seem eager to die, abandoning life against your beliefs."

With a bitter smile, Allen explained, "This is because I fought with all my might to banish evil and ended up losing. Isn’t dying at the hands of the Undead the destiny of a Paladin?"

Amberser stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "You little traitor, have you betrayed your country? Filthy, decadent, and all alone, you look just like an Oathbreaker Paladin."

"I have not broken my oath."

Allen’s answer was brief, but Amberser knew he had guessed right, he had not broken his oath, but that didn’t mean he had not betrayed his country.

No way, the Supreme Decree of Laine acted just like that? Amberser thought it would take a year or two for them to stir up trouble, but his son betrayed the country so quickly?

"Alright, I’ll do you a favor and explain out of respect for your father. First off, those five villagers you mentioned, I did kill them, but that’s because they tried to kill me."

Typically, communication between the Undead and Paladins is very difficult, since they stand in absolute opposition to each other.

To Paladins, anything the Undead say is a lie and a curse, absolutely "I’m not listening, I’m not listening."

That’s what Allen used to think, but the Undead speaking was Diga Ultraman. Allen didn’t know why, but he felt this Lich was different from other Undead. Maybe it was because last time he conquered the entire city and yet did not kill a single person.

Maybe it’s because his father personally issued a pardon, removing this Undead from the wanted list.

Such treatment was truly unheard of.

In fact, Allen wasn’t unwilling to hear Amberser’s explanation, knowing it was this Lich, Allen was willing to give him a chance to explain.

The reason for the fight was really because of a thought similar to Amberser’s.

First, beat them up until they submit completely, then it’s much easier to talk things through.

Who would have thought that he would be the one being convinced, not much different from the beginning, just perhaps having struggled a wee bit more.

"You said they were bandits, do you have evidence?" Allen asked.

Amberser spread his hands and said, "No, believe it or not. It’s quite normal to counter-kill robbers; I’ve never heard that you have to prove your innocence. It’s you who wants to enforce so-called justice, so you should be the one to investigate. Isn’t that right?"

Allen fell silent because he knew that Amberser made a lot of sense.

There are so many Adventurers in this world, and bandits are even more numerous than the scales on a Giant Dragon. It’s unreasonable to expect every Adventurer to record their encounters with bandits with a Memory Crystal to prove their innocence.

Moreover, Allen was starting to believe that Amberser was telling the truth.

The five elderly farmers had high prestige in the village because they had recently been generous, often aiding the orphans and widows in the village.

So, the question arises: what ability do these farmers have to help the poor in this day and age, when it’s not bad just not to starve to death? Are they nobility or rural landlords and merchants?

Allen recalled many details he had ignored before, such as the poor village having quite a few valuable but worn machines. Most of the villagers had dark, wrinkled skin, the result of long-term labor, but Allen noticed that every household had one or two nice new garments, usually hidden away at home. And in the cemetery outside the village, there were several recent graves, all without tombstones.

Each detail could have another reasonable explanation, but all of these combined corroborated Amberser’s story.

The destruction of Alchemy City led to turmoil throughout the kingdom, and it seemed likely that many Alchemists wanted to flee the kingdom. Not every Alchemist could afford an airship, nor could everyone teleport directly to another kingdom.

Perhaps those disheveled Alchemists happened to pass through this border village and were killed by the villagers.

Everything matched up, except there was no conclusive evidence.

Seeing the change in Allen’s expression, Amberser knew the young man now believed his words and asked with a smile, "If you go back and investigate and find out that those villagers really became bandits, what do you plan to do?"

Paladins gain strength by adhering to their vows, and Amberser wasn’t very clear on what Allen’s vows were, but they were likely not the type with flexible moral standards like a Dark Knight’s; otherwise, he wouldn’t be chasing hundreds of miles for the death of five villagers.

If he were to find out that the villagers were indeed bandits and act as if he didn’t know, there’s a good chance he would break his oath and become a fallen Oathbreaker.

A Paladin favored by the Lord of the Dawn wouldn’t end up destroyed, would he?

Allen said with a wry smile, "What else can I do but reveal the truth publicly, and then let the kingdom’s laws deal with it? That village is now under Dwarven rule, so naturally, Dwarven law applies. My only responsibility is to disclose the truth; deciding on the punishment is up to the locals."

Amberser nodded and said sincerely, "You have indeed grown a lot since we last met. Until next time, I hope we don’t have to cross swords when we see each other again."

With a whisper of soul transmission, Melina quietly asked, "Father, why didn’t you kill that Paladin?"

"The schism in Laine is imminent, but it still needs a rebellious leader. James Watson, the Supreme Decree, is too old; he is not qualified to be the new leader of Laine. But this boy is different; I have a premonition that the Lord of the Dawn has already designated him to be the new king of Laine."

Amberser’s words also came from the heart.

James Watson, like himself, belonged to the older generation. And this old man, who grew up under the extreme indoctrination of Laine, had done his utmost to remain fair. He probably could not understand what a Laine without extremism would look like.

Even if Laine were to split internally, James Watson could not become a unifying banner.

Without new thoughts or ideologies, how could the rebels of Laine distinguish themselves from the orthodox? Without such a clear standard to rally around, how could they gather the strength necessary to overthrow Laine?

But Allen could.

Amberser understood why the Lord of the Dawn favored him, and it wasn’t just for his combat talent. Being a legendary figure at the age of twenty was indeed impressive, but no matter how impressive, he could not take on a hundred alone.

But an idea can infect countless people.

Allen, born into nobility, was nailed to the pillar of shame before he could reach the heights of his forebears and then kept falling into the abyss, eventually becoming the youngest Legendary Holy Warrior and the new star of the Empire.

But at the moment of his greatest achievement, Allen chose to betray his country.

Such a decision must be born out of extreme disappointment with Laine. Moreover, making such a choice shows that Allen saw things more clearly and felt more deeply than his father.

As long as Allen could maintain his original intentions, he would quickly distill new ideas from these painful experiences.

This is the life trajectory of most great figures.

Once Allen completed this transformation, he would become the new standard for Laine. He could answer all the questions of those who are lost, and at his call, countless people would respond and then overthrow the Laine royal family, becoming the new king.

The only thing to worry about now is that Allen is too weak.

Being the youngest Legendary Holy Warrior sounds impressive, but it only takes one accident for him to die an untimely death.

Amberser opened his private space and at his command, two little blobs made of broken glass carried out a long sword.

Amberser handed over the long sword to Allen: "This is for you, a Paladin should not be without a fine sword."

Allen took the long sword with a puzzled look, drew it, and immediately his expression turned to one of surprise.

Allen understood swords, so when he drew the long sword, he could tell that it wasn’t just an ordinary enchanted blade. He had never seen the patterns on it before, and the material was also very special; he only recognized the expensive metals like Mithril and Adamantine, unable to identify the other materials.

Amberser explained, "This is a Magic-Breaking Weapon unique to the Elf Tribe, capable of almost destroying any defensive magic, and it has an additional sharpness enchantment. Cutting through iron might be an exaggeration, but ordinary armor won’t stand up to its edge."

Allen was shocked by the sword–so precious. How could the Lich possibly give him such a valuable thing?

True to form, Amberser immediately added, "The cost of this sword is two hundred thousand Gold Coins, but if you say a word of praise for the God of Alchemy, I’ll give you an eighty percent discount."

Allen promptly handed the long sword back to Amberser. Forget two hundred thousand Gold Coins; he didn’t even have two on him. Not to mention praising the God of Alchemy—saying such a thing would get him smacked to death by the Lord of the Dawn.

Mortals with faith should not praise other deities lightly; it is a grave act of betrayal.

Amberser chuckled and pulled out an IOU.

"No problem, just leave a handprint, and you can repay the money slowly."

Allen felt that Amberser had ill intentions – since when had the Lich ever done such a loss-making deal?

But Amberser didn’t give him any chance, he grabbed Allen’s hand and pressed it down, and Allen’s fingerprint immediately appeared on the Magic Contract.

"You!" Allen was stunned. How could the Lich move so fast?

How could a Mage grab a Paladin’s hand and forcefully take a handprint? Even if Allen was unprepared, the speed was ridiculously fast.

Had the Lich used an Acceleration Spell just to swindle him?

Amberser secured the IOU and, tossing the long sword down, walked away.

The cost is said to be two hundred thousand Gold Coins, but the actual cost was only two or three thousand. This was due to Katherine’s shared Legendary Grace ability, so it wasn’t your regular magic weapon forging process, allowing the cost to be reduced to an unbelievably low point.

But a magic long sword with such a strong Magic-Breaking Effect would be worth more than that price anywhere.

It was all spelled out in black and white, and James Watson would have to cough up the Gold Coins this time, wouldn’t he?

Amberser still remembered the last time he failed to get the ransom and instead was hunted by Watson’s men, but now the tables had turned; the old man was now a rebel of Laine, and he must pay the two hundred thousand.