This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 320 - 298: Letter from the Lich

Chapter 320: Chapter 298: Letter from the Lich

Laine Imperial Capital, James Watson had been busy in his court.

Recently, his work had become much heavier, but not because the problems in Laine had increased.

On the contrary, after the Emperor used the Magic Dragon Armament to make those watching Laine people younger, the Laine people could be said to be of one mind, and the turmoil caused by the death of the Silvermoon Knight had also vanished into thin air.

In the hearts of the Laine people, the Magic Dragon Armament was the true National Guardian Artifact, and it would not lose its effect due to anyone’s advancing age.

James Watson’s work had become busy because many people in the court had resigned, and these were core members that James Watson had cultivated for many years.

When Allen was slandered for treason, they believed the rumors, felt outraged towards him as the Supreme Decree, and chose to resign.

Among the newly recruited people, there weren’t many who were truly capable, and he could only make do with what he had.

As a result, James Watson’s workload had increased.

If it were just this, James Watson would have been able to hold on, but greater trouble came from Laine’s Young Emperor.

Ever since he put on the Magic Dragon Armament and took a flight, his prestige skyrocketed.

Originally, everyone thought this newly appointed Young Emperor would be like the previous ones, only busy with producing offspring, but now seeing that he could "shoulder the responsibility," they naturally gave the Emperor considerable support.

And with this support, the Emperor could exert pressure on James Watson.

The Young Emperor had long found this old man unsightly; this Supreme Decree had kept picking on him since his ascension to the throne, completely devoid of any respect.

The Young Emperor originally had the right to replace the Supreme Decree, but according to Laine tradition, the Supreme Decree needed to be a Light Priest of Legendary Rank to hold the position. Of course, there was more than one Legendary Light Priest within the Empire, but the problem was, most of them were James Watson’s students.

The remaining ones also highly respected the Supreme Decree.

In other words, the Young Emperor had wanted to change personnel before, but no one was willing to take over.

The Supreme Decree had made no mistakes, had worked diligently for so many years, and his achievements were well-known; if the Emperor wanted to replace someone, wouldn’t that be absurd? If one were to take over the duties of the Supreme Decree, wouldn’t they be cursed by the Laine people until covered in blood?

It used to be like that, but now it was different.

First was Allen’s "treason," which led to many Laine commoners verbally attacking James Watson. Especially since James Watson stuck to Laine’s laws as the standard and had not apologized to the public, firmly believing that Allen did nothing wrong in his retirement.

As a result, James Watson’s reputation had suffered greatly.

Now that the Emperor had gained prestige, if he were to ask for a replacement, many would likely be willing to accept the position of Supreme Decree.

Due to such a complex background, the staff in the court became even more unsettled and unwilling to work properly.

James Watson was alone in the court, busy until late into the night, before finally processing the last document.

He rubbed his shoulders that had become sore and numb with pain and cast a Divine Art on himself. James Watson found that healing Divine Arts, if used frequently over a short period, would greatly diminish in effect, something he had only heard about before and never experienced firsthand.

Finally relaxing his muscles and bones, James Watson now had the time to pick up his personal letters to review.

The first letter was a formal greeting from the Grand Druid of the Emerald Dream Forest. The Druids were also very concerned about the appearance of the Magic Dragon Armament and sent an inquiry in a personal capacity.

James Watson organized his phrasing, replied with some polite expressions, and did not reveal too much news.

The second letter came from James Watson’s eldest son, currently stationed on the frontier. He had been serving in the military for over twenty years but, due to his average talent, had not yet advanced to Legendary rank.

This son had once been James Watson’s pride, but the letter was filled with reprimands towards his younger brother, Allen. Because of Allen, he had suffered discrimination in the military and had even been forced to publicly disassociate himself from Allen. Knowing that James Watson had not blamed Allen, he wrote to explain the situation to his father, indicating that he had no choice and also subtly suggested that his father had been too indulgent with Allen, leading to the current situation.

James Watson closed his eyes in pain; this was the last thing he wanted to see.

It wasn’t just the drag on his eldest son he couldn’t stand; it was his son’s downfall, his failure as a father.

James Watson knew that if he raised the flag of rebellion, his eldest son would definitely stand on the opposite side.

But Laine, it really had decayed, hadn’t it?

James Watson did not plan to reply to the letter because, whether it was him or his son, the principles instilled from a young age had sunk deep into their bones, and no amount of talk would do any good; he would let him choose his own path for the future.

When James Watson saw the signature on the third letter, he felt a surge of nameless anger.

Endless One Taraxin, what kind of joke was this? Though he did not recognize the name, he could tell who it was just by the handwriting—it was that money-grubbing Lich.

What is this vile Lich up to?!

Fury diluted the previous sorrow as James Watson tore open the letter and found two pieces of parchment inside. The first was a Magic Contract, with Allen’s handprint on it.

"Two hundred thousand Gold Coins?! This Lich!"

James Watson ground his teeth in anger, this time unable to refuse payment.

Previously when Allen had been kidnapped, he could deny the ransom, but this was a debt, and he had no evidence to prove Allen was coerced. A Magic-breaking Longsword indeed was worth this price, and no issue could be found.

As for a father repaying his son’s debt, every kingdom on the continent followed this practice, understood as an unwritten common agreement. The reason was simple, every noble family in the kingdoms operated under their family’s name.

When Allen was in trouble, James Watson was affected, and so was his other son at the border. This is the nobility’s shared prosperity and shared loss. If Allen owed money, it was only right to demand it from James Watson, and nobody could find fault in that.

Even though James Watson was sure that this was the Lich’s scheme, he had no choice but to accept it.

He had spent his life abiding by the law; even if the other party was a Lich, James Watson couldn’t betray his principles.

Two hundred thousand was still within his means to pay!

After examining the first promissory note, James Watson then looked at the second piece of parchment, which bore a shocking message.

The Rose Spider Queen was harmed by the Lich? And stripped of four priestly positions?

James Watson wanted to say that Amberser was bluffing, yet he knew Amberser’s habits well.

He would deceive, but never would he fabricate something easily debunked.

Regardless of the process, it seemed the Rose Spider Queen had indeed been stripped of her divine positions by him.

A mere Lich, how did he manage it?

James Watson was baffled, as the disparity was too stark; the Rose Spider Queen was not one of those lesser deities mortals could easily slay.

James Watson quickly gave up on reasoning, for there was no time to waste. In the letter, Amberser mentioned that the Elven Gods might very well go to war with the divine realm of the Rose Spider Queen due to this incident. A war between deities would undoubtedly be the fuse for the ensuing chaos in the world, and James Watson had to prepare in advance.

After mentioning so much, Amberser finally asked about the Magic Dragon Armament. James Watson thought for a moment and ultimately sighed, picking up a quill to reply.

This was an exchange of interests. Amberser had given him so much crucial intelligence; James Watson had to reciprocate, sharing the information he wanted. Otherwise, there would not be an exchange of intelligence next time.

The Lich was very cautious not to disclose who ended up with the four divine positions, clearly signaling to James Watson that he had much more explosive information.

James Watson was eager to know, so he had no choice but to first share the intelligence related to the Magic Dragon Armament.

But James Watson himself knew not much. He was aware that the Royal Family suddenly agreed to display the Magic Dragon Armament and the Young Emperor donned it and began circling the city in flight, bestowing blessings upon the Laine People of the Imperial Capital.

However, James Watson mentioned in his letter that before the Young Emperor donned the Magic Dragon Armament, an elderly member of the Royal Family appeared in the Royal Palace, and the two spent a long time together in a secret chamber.

The use of the Magic Dragon Armament must be related to this old man, but James Watson had no way to understand the truth. After all, everything about the Royal Family was kept secret from the outside, known only to them. Even the succession of emperors was at the Royal Family’s discretion; their ministers had no say whatsoever.

After writing all this, James Watson added one more line: "Due to the Magic Dragon Armament, the Empire’s morale has greatly increased, and they will shortly commence military action against Tiflin."

James Watson didn’t know why he wrote this line; was it tantamount to exposing state secrets?

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t, as it was James Watson’s own conjecture. The Empire was defensive everywhere against him, especially the newly appointed Minister of Military Affairs, who showed naked hostility towards him.

It was said that because only Allen was allowed by the Silvermoon Knight’s side at the time of his death, the Minister of Military Affairs, despite being the Silvermoon Knight’s own grandson, couldn’t even see him for the last time.

After Allen left, the Minister of Military Affairs became even more enraged, berating James Watson publicly in the court more than once, deepening the conflict between them.

Despite all these reasons, providing Amberser with such a piece of information seemed like treason.

James Watson’s pen stilled on the paper until the ink stained a large spot before he came to his senses.

Finally, he still picked up his pen and wiped away the last sentence completely before sealing the parchment in the envelope.

No matter the excuse, he couldn’t violate his principles.

Even if James Watson had already concluded that Laine had fallen, as Laine’s Supreme Decree, he could not break the law knowingly. Otherwise, it would only push the Empire deeper into the abyss.