This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 323 - 300 Mr. Misfortune

Chapter 323: Chapter 300 Mr. Misfortune

The Tiflin Kingdom of Impure Hymns might be the only kingdom that was riddled with doubts from the very beginning.

The hellish lineage of the Tiflings has always been the cause of discrimination by other races. Even though they contributed to the fight in the war against the Magic Dragon, the true Tiflin heroes had all perished on the battlefield.

At that time, other races believed that Laine shouldn’t have assisted the Tiflings in forming their own kingdom, labeling those left behind as cowards who reaped the benefits without risking their lives.

But Arthur Laine said, "The reason heroes sacrifice themselves is so that the ordinary people without courage can also lead happy lives. Should we then discriminate against the elderly and children who have not fought on the battlefield?"

Just like that, Arthur Laine dismissed all opposition and helped the Tiflings establish their kingdom.

In gratitude for Arthur Laine’s support, to this day, the capital of the Kingdom of Impure Hymns still stands a statue of this Holy King.

However, even after successfully founding the kingdom, the Tiflings still faced many problems.

According to the tradition of other kingdoms, the most revered hero, or their descendants, would be elected as king.

The heroes who had boldly followed Arthur Laine into battle were all dead, and their descendants were too young, with the eldest being only five years old.

Hence, the Tiflings established a "Council of Injustice," responsible for governing the whole kingdom. The council members called themselves the Impure, for they had seized the authority that belonged to the heroes, reminding themselves always to be responsible for the entire Tiflin Kingdom and not to fail the sacrifices of the heroes.

It can be said that every kingdom looks thriving at its inception.

But in less than three hundred years, the first Tiflin king’s descendants died in an "accident," childless, leading to the termination of the royal bloodline.

Quite the coincidence, isn’t it? For so many years, the royal family was like a single stream of descent. Tiflings, as difficult as they are to procreate, couldn’t possibly be so barren as not to find even a collateral branch.

As a result, everyone understood the truth. Those who proclaimed themselves to be the Impure had indeed become polluted, usurping the authority of the heroes.

But after all, it was an internal problem of the Tiflings, and at that time, Laine wasn’t so bullish as to interfere with other nations’ internal issues, especially without evidence.

From that point on, the Impure became the real rulers of the Tiflin Kingdom, and the Council of Injustice morphed into a tightly knit group controlled by thirteen families, incestuously breeding within their ranks.

And so it continued until now.

For the ordinary Tifling, whether the descendants of heroes became kings or those thirteen families who stole the heroes’ glory, it didn’t make much difference in their lives.

And thus, the Kingdom of Impure Hymns was passed down without encountering any significant trouble.

Until the recent few centuries, the Laine Empire became more terrifying, blatantly disregarding national borders and expanding wildly.

The Tiflin Kingdom had no choice but to once again employ the power of Hell, creating numerous sealed Gates of Hell along the border, ready to open them should Laine invade.

After all, the blame lay with Laine.

Such extreme measures kept the Tiflin Kingdom secure for a long time, but as Laine’s victories piled up, the pressure on the Tiflings grew, prompting the Council of Injustice to decide to build even more Gates of Hell.

However, a Court Mage who had served the Tiflin Kingdom for many years expressed his opposition.

A common Court Mage’s opposition could have been simply dismissed, possibly leading to his expulsion. But this Mage was different; not only was he a Legendary Mage, he was also the one who initially suggested constructing the Gates of Hell to fend off Laine.

It was due to his plan that the Tiflin Kingdom did not lose vast tracts of land like the Dwarves had.

It was also because of his meticulous calculations that the Tiflins skirted the edge of disaster, avoiding the retribution of the deities.

But this time, the Mage sternly warned everyone—if they continued to add more Gates of Hell, they would cross the line and might incur the wrath of the deities.

Because of his statement, all members of the Council of Injustice dropped the idea.

An invasion by Laine might not lead to immediate national extinction, but crossing rules and drawing divine retribution could obliterate the kingdom in an instant.

The severity of the consequences was clear to everyone, save for one of the Impure.

This Impure once served as a Hell Knight. Having been to Hell before, he believed the calculations of the Mage were flawed.

Constructing at least ten more Gates of Hell within the kingdom would not be a problem.

Now the question arose: whom to trust?

This question caused a long and unresolved dispute.

In the end, the Council of Injustice settled on a compromise: to prepare all the materials for constructing the Gates of Hell in advance and complete ninety-nine percent of the work, readying everything just in case.

Should Laine launch an attack and their Gates of Hell be breached, they would simply construct a new one right on the spot.

This seemingly reasonable plan was once again met with opposition from the Mage.

But this time, the Council of Injustice believed they were in the right and dismissed his opinion.

And so, the Court Mage who had served the kingdom for many years eventually resigned and disappeared without a trace. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Impure Hymns began to prepare materials in secret, constructing more Gates of Hell.

Today’s Tiflin Kingdom is almost in full military readiness, with troops being transported everywhere and quartermasters collecting materials at every turn.

Harvey had the misfortune of entering the Kingdom of Impure Hymns during this troubled time and was interrogated for a long while due to his human identity. Thankfully, Harvey produced proof from the Dwarves, or he would have been thrown in the dungeon for a few days.

Although he successfully entered the Tiflin border city of Blackgate City, Harvey encountered another problem.

Amberser had him deliver a message, but he didn’t tell him where the recipient was.

According to Amberser, several hundred years had passed, and he could only confirm that the person was still alive. As for the address, that was for Harvey to find on his own.

Why bother the teacher with everything? What’s the point of having a student?

Harvey once again experienced Amberser’s stinginess. Was it really just that he begrudged sacrificing a Gold Coin to divine the person’s address? He made it sound as though it was a test for the student.

But knowing that was of no use; in the end, Harvey still had to deliver the message as Amberser had asked.

Now, it was time to rely on his own abilities.

"According to my teacher, his fellow apprentice is from Tiflin and is a Diviner Mage at the Legendary Rank. He should be quite famous. Let’s start by searching for the Court Mages of the Tiflin Kingdom."

Harvey muttered to himself as he headed toward the city’s bar, thinking that if he wanted to gather information, the bar was undoubtedly the most appropriate place.

The bar in Blackgate City was much quieter than Harvey had imagined. In such a large tavern, there were only a handful of patrons, and the bartender was nearly rubbing the glasses to sparks.

Harvey approached the bartender, placed down a Gold Coin, and casually ordered a signature cocktail.

Unlike Amberser, who would use copper coins to pave the way, Harvey was usually very generous. Seeing the shining Gold Coin, the bartender immediately became more attentive and started to show off his flair with the bottles.

Harvey slowly sipped his slightly spicy cocktail and inquired, "Why’s business so slow? Are there few adventurers around here?"

"The situation has been tense lately, and there’s not much work to be had here, so naturally, there are fewer adventurers," the bartender said.

Harvey could tell the bartender was lying. Wasn’t it true that the more tense the situation, the more dangerous jobs there were?

There were always adventurers willing to take risks in this world, and this place wasn’t some kind of racial nation. There had to be another reason for the large disappearance of adventurers.

However, Harvey wasn’t concerned with that; he wasn’t here to look for a job.

Harvey told the bartender, "I’m a Mage Apprentice who travels far and wide. In every place I visit, I seek to learn from the famed Mages there. Could you tell me if there are any in this kingdom that I might seek instruction from?"

"Famous Mages, you say? There are quite a few of those. Master Brendan Gladden is best known for his transmutation magic; then there’s Master Domino Lauri, who once received the Medal of Outstanding Scholar from Alchemy City, expert at crafting Magic Potions..."

The bartender listed more than a dozen famous Mages, but only four reached the Legendary Rank, and not one was a Diviner Mage.

Something was off. Could it be that the teacher guessed wrong and his fellow apprentice didn’t have a notable reputation?

If that were the case, the search would be quite troublesome.

Harvey guessed he might have to use the Dice of Destiny to at least divine a direction to search.

But just then, a drunken Tiflin appeared beside him and said, "Buy me a drink, and I can help you find the person you’re looking for."

Harvey looked curiously at this Tiflin. He was quite old, but his skin wasn’t the fiery red most Tiflins had; rather, it resembled the Drow Elf’s grey-black skin. Harvey remembered reading about another bloodline of Tiflins in a book, but he couldn’t recall which one exactly.

His hair had turned completely white, as had his beard, and his face was lined with wrinkles. Despite his tall stature, he looked like an old man in the twilight of his life.

In a tavern, those who suddenly come up to ask you for a drink are ninety-nine percent con artists, and the remaining are very capable adventurers. The latter are usually very interested in the topic you’re discussing and ready to get involved.

Harvey’s usually reliable intuition suddenly vanished; he couldn’t sense anything from this Tiflin.

But sometimes, the absence of intuition reveals the answer by itself.

Harvey asked, "Old man, could it be that you’re the person I’m looking for?"

The elderly Tiflin didn’t answer but just chuckled and said, "Now, how about that drink?"

Harvey dumped all the money in his pocket onto the bar and told the bartender, "Whatever this old man drinks, it’s on me."

The old Tiflin remarked appreciatively, "Not bad, that scoundrel got himself an enviable good apprentice. But you’re nothing like your teacher; he used to be extraordinarily stingy. Oh, bring me the most expensive one!"

Harvey didn’t know what to say, feeling awkward. Although it was the truth, he certainly couldn’t join in criticizing his own teacher.

The old Tiflin grabbed a gold bottle handed over to him by the bartender, took a swig for himself, then said, "You’re nothing like him in other ways, either. That scoundrel was blessed by a Deity with his mouth; he never ran out of things to say."

Harvey didn’t dare let him mock his teacher any further and quickly took out Amberser’s letter.

The old Tiflin took it, stuffed it into his pocket without looking, and then said to Harvey, "You can call me Mr. Misfortune. You should know, I’ve lost my name to that scoundrel."

Harvey hastily said, "I’ve heard the old tale from my teacher, something about you and him sparring..."

Mr. Misfortune waved his hand, "Don’t be so euphemistic. It was a clash of stances with your teacher; I lost and lost my name along with it. But it was I who lost, not the ideals I stood for. If I’m not mistaken, your teacher isn’t doing that well either."

Turning into a Lich, he really wasn’t doing so well. But then Harvey remembered how his teacher could stir things up in various kingdoms as easily as turning his hand, and it seemed he couldn’t be described as "not doing so well."

But Mr. Misfortune spared Harvey the discomfort of responding and changed the subject, "Let’s save the tale of your teacher and me for later. Come with me now; we must leave, or it’ll be too late."

Harvey didn’t understand what Mr. Misfortune meant, but at that moment, a group of armored Tiflins burst into the bar.

The one leading them raised his sword and pointed at Mr. Misfortune, "There’s the fugitive! Seize him!"