This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 329 - 306: Incorporating the Fountain of Youth into Military Supplies

Chapter 329: Chapter 306: Incorporating the Fountain of Youth into Military Supplies

Rachel Angelo was a burly man, akin to a lion in strength.

All who met him were deeply impressed by his bushy red hair, dense like a lion’s mane, and when coupled with his sturdy frame, it often led people to unconsciously neglect his advanced age of eighty years.

The iron-blooded lion had spent forty springs and autumns guarding the frontier for the Empire, earning a resounding reputation.

There used to be a buffer zone between the Impure Chant and Laine, inhabited by various races such as Goblins, Undead, Lizardmen, and the Jackalwolf People.

Tiflin used these races as a shield to isolate themselves from Laine.

However, since Rachel Angelo took over the city lord position of Flow Flame City, he had nearly eradicated these races.

The vast Goblin tribes, numbering tens of thousands, were trampled into mud by Rachel Angelo’s iron cavalry, and the Legendary Rank Goblin Magician had his head chopped off by Rachel Angelo, which now hung in his bedroom.

Rachel Angelo’s dominance was one of the reasons why Tiflin was wary of Laine. All Tiflin knew that if this Ironblood General launched an attack, Tiflin could face the risk of extinction.

As such, the necessity of more Gates of Hell became apparent; they would rather be killed by the gods than be slaughtered by this dreadful executioner.

The Gates of Hell were a significant nuisance to the Laine People, as once opened, monsters from Hell would surge out. Given a single day, the Gates could unleash an army of hundreds of thousands, and even if Laine attacked with all its might, the losses would be devastating.

This was exactly what enraged Rachel Angelo the most, as his lifelong dream was to conquer a kingdom. The battle in the desert was a mess: initially, the Dwarves were too weak, and the imprudent surprise attacks by the Silvermoon Knights led to substantial casualties, leaving him to clean up the mess, which was exceedingly frustrating.

Later on, the Silvermoon Knights perished in a campaign against the Orcs, and Laine immediately halted the assault. When Rachel Angelo received the battle report, he cursed, "A bunch of idiots! So what if Silver Moon is dead? Laine didn’t just rely on him for its prestige! The cities we seized with the lives of our Laine soldiers, cast aside just like that?! A bunch of stupid and decaying bureaucrats!"

But recently, Rachel Angelo was in high spirits because the Imperial Capital had sent word instructing him to hasten military preparations and get ready to receive a large amount of war supplies, including food, medicines, and weapons equipment.

Upon seeing this, Rachel Angelo understood: a war was coming, an attack on the blood offspring of those Hell Demons was imminent.

This campaign wouldn’t be a minor skirmish but a war of annihilation like the one in the desert!

Rachel Angelo was thrilled that he could finally fight a war of conquest before his death, making his lifelong oath worthwhile, and now was the time to realize his dream.

The institutions and culture of Laine were the best amongst the nations of the continent, and humans were the superior race; humans should be the masters of this continent, allowing the light of the Lord of the Dawn to shine on every inch of land.

Conquest was to spread the faith, the greatest devotion a believer could offer to the Deity!

Alas, Rachel Angelo had never received an oracle from the Lord of the Dawn, not even a glance from Him when he ascended to Legendary rank.

Rachel Angelo believed it was his failure to fulfill his oath that had led the Lord of the Dawn to be disappointed with him.

Now, it was time to fulfill his oath!

In his excitement, Rachel Angelo increased the frequency of his patrols around the city every day.

And today, he encountered something strange; a noble from the Dwarves had been teleported into Flow Flame City.

The teleportation had suffered an accident, causing a distortion in space, which brought them, who were supposed to arrive in Impure Chant, to appear in Flow Flame City instead.

Rachel Angelo was initially skeptical. If it were so easy to forcibly teleport into the city, then the Defense Magic Array would be meaningless. Anyone could transport explosives or poison into Flow Flame City, rendering its defenses useless.

But after some interrogation, it was confirmed that the facts were indeed as such.

Upon questioning the Priests in charge of managing the city’s Defense Magic Array, they arrived at an absurd conclusion.

The Magic Array of Flow Flame City could only defend against targeted forceful teleportations, meaning that if it detected someone trying to breach the spatial blockade, the Magic Array would automatically activate to stop the teleportation.

However, if the teleportation was non-directional, a random occurrence, then the Magic Array would not activate.

The probability of a teleportation failure leading directly into the city was extremely rare, perhaps not even occurring once in a hundred years.

Laine would not increase the cost of the Defense Magic Array tenfold for such a low-probability event, which could also affect the operation of other defense functions.

Rachel Angelo didn’t understand magic well, but he trusted his subordinates, and this teleportation incident seemed to be just a misunderstanding.

The subordinate quickly asked, "General, what should we do about the noble in the cell?"

"Thoroughly investigate his business partners, and if there is any connection with someone on the wanted list, execute him. If not, have his family pay for the release. Illegal entry into Laine territory, apply the penalty accordingly. His goods, confiscate them all—" At this point, Rachel Angelo inquired, "Oh, what were they carrying in that carriage? The packaging seemed rather exquisite."

The subordinate promptly replied, "It’s the Fountain of Youth, a newly popular type of Youth Magic Potion."

"Youth Magic Potion? So much of it?!"

Rachel Angelo was taken aback. One bottle of Youth Magic Potion was worth nearly half a million Gold Coins; how much would that be for an entire carriage?

Even Rachel Angelo was startled by the figure; the Youth Magic Potions in the carriage were nearly worth five years’ worth of Flow Flame City’s military expenses.

The subordinate hurriedly explained, "General, this is not the complete version of the Youth Magic Potion. It is said not to have any real life-extending effects, it can only restore youth for a few days, and after the effect wears off, one returns to their original state."

"So the alchemists come up with something to deceive people... Wait, when you say restore youth, do you mean just in appearance?"

Rachel Angelo suddenly got excited, and she sat up.

"This... I’m not quite sure, but it’s said that during the effective period, one completely reverts to their youthful state. Those nobles use it as such, so it should be more than just a change in appearance."

Rachel Angelo quickly said, "Go investigate, and then bring me those Fountains of Youth!"

Watching her subordinate leave promptly, Rachel Angelo paced restlessly in her office.

She hoped the effects of the Fountain of Youth were real, that it could truly restore one’s youth for a short time.

The Laine Empire prohibits the use of Youth Magic Potions for life extension; it is an ironclad rule.

Once discovered, offenders are stripped of all their property, the principal culprit is executed, and the entire family is exiled.

Even someone of the Silvermoon Knight’s prestige could only accept the burdens that came with age and ultimately die on the battlefield.

"If he had just one bottle of this Fountain of Youth, the Orc Kingdom would have been annihilated by now!"

Although Rachel Angelo somewhat looked down on the Silvermoon Knight for being a brash man with no leadership skills, she had to admit that his strength surpassed all common understanding. Restoring his youth, even if just for a few days, would make the combined legends of the Orc Kingdom mere send-offs to their death.

Unfortunately, he was already dead.

But the Fountain of Youth still had its uses.

Rachel Angelo was highly excited. The Fountain of Youth could only temporarily bring one back to their peak, without extending life, so using it wouldn’t violate the rules.

Rachel Angelo herself was eighty years old now and couldn’t compare to her younger energy, but her combat experience now was something her younger self could not match.

If she could return to her youth, she would become the nightmare of all enemies.

Most of the Laine legends were over sixty. What if each could drink a bottle before going to battle? How much stronger would their combat power be?

How could such a treasure not have been reported to her?

It was probably due to Laine’s rules. Anything related to restoring youth is taboo in Laine and generally not even mentioned.

Who would have thought that she would have almost missed out on such a precious thing?

After a while, a carriage full of Fountains of Youth was brought before Rachel Angelo.

The vials, the size of a palm, contained a potion that glimmered like the starry sky.

"So beautiful, how much is this Fountain of Youth?" Rachel Angelo asked.

"It seems to be at least two thousand Gold Coins. I have already made inquiries; the potion truly can restore physical functions. This one is the lowest-grade variety, effect lasting about three days. There are also higher-grade Fountains of Youth which can last up to ten days."

Holding the potion bottle, Rachel Angelo was somewhat reluctant to let it go and asked, "Are there any side effects?"

The subordinate replied, "So far, no side effects have been reported, but one must wait at least a month before using another dose after the potion’s effects have faded, otherwise symptoms like diarrhea and dizziness may occur."

Rachel Angelo hesitated for a moment, and then ordered, "Go, get me a prisoner, an older one."

A few minutes later, a stooped old man was brought before Rachel Angelo. Without asking what crime the man had committed, she directly poured the potion into his mouth.

After a bottle of potion was administered, in barely ten seconds, the old man with a face full of wrinkles turned into a man in his twenties or thirties.

Rachel Angelo was full of surprise, but still cautiously observed for a while. She had people check the prisoner’s health.

It was quickly concluded that the man had completely reverted to his youthful state from the inside out, and no other abnormalities were found. After three days, as the potion’s effect wore off, the old man simply reverted to his original state and no abnormalities appeared.

However, the Light Priests who were responsible for the examination did not notice that the disheveled old man lost several strands of white hair during those three days.

That was normal; losing hair, what sort of side effect was that?

Even if someone had noticed, they wouldn’t have thought it was an issue. Being locked in a cell without food, drink, or a water bath, losing hair was nothing. Not dying of illness was already testament to his strong life force.

In the end, the report outcome was all normal with no side effects found.

Rachel Angelo, looking at the report, excitedly said, "Good! Great stuff! Write immediately to the Imperial Capital and include this Fountain of Youth in the military’s procurement list!"

Then, she