This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 370 - 343: The Power of the Magic Dragon Armament

Chapter 370: Chapter 343: The Power of the Magic Dragon Armament

War was fast approaching, and all Tiflins knew it.

It was not just because a series of incidents had struck Laine.

The terrible Ironblood General died, and no one knew who did it, but the Laine people threw the blame onto the Tiflins of the Kingdom of Impure Hymns, claiming they had assassinated the Ironblood General.

With such a grave accusation cast their way, it was difficult for the Tiflins to explain themselves.

Indeed, over the years, quite a few Tiflins had attempted to assassinate the Ironblood General, but those hot-blooded Tiflins were often killed by patrolling Paladins before they could even enter Flow Flame City.

After all, he was a Legendary Paladin, also a general protected by a grand army, not someone easily killed.

Therefore, when the news of the Ironblood General’s assassination broke, the Tiflins of the Kingdom of Impure Hymns were stunned for a long while before they began to celebrate.

But then arose the question, which hero had done the deed? They might as well accept their blame with clarity.

After a long wait, no one stepped forward to claim responsibility, and the Tiflins speculated that the hero must have perished along with the Ironblood General.

In any case, most Tiflins accepted the accusation.

And having accepted the blame, they had to prepare for the brunt of Laine’s military might.

Although there were many Gates of Hell at the border, a considerable number of troops within the Kingdom of Impure Hymns were still being moved, beginning to assemble towards the frontier.

However, quite a few Tiflins noticed something unusual about these military movements; they seemed to be actions autonomously taken by local commanders, with the Council of Injustice having issued no orders from start to finish.

Oh, there were orders, but only recently had they "levied" military funds vigorously.

Although this process was somewhat violent, facing a great enemy, most Tiflins were still willing to contribute their wealth to the kingdom.

But to just collect money and do nothing else? Surely the Council of Injustice had to do something. With Laine’s forces nearly upon them, wasn’t it time to activate those Gates of Hell?

In the Kingdom of Impure Hymns, speculation was rife among the common folk, especially in Blackgate City at the front lines. Here, the defensive troops had already completed their assembly, but their morale was somewhat low.

The issue lay with the commanders.

Because many high-ranking officers had heard the dreadful truth that the Kingdom of Impure Hymns had been sold to the Hell Lords by those thirteen Tiflins.

The future awaiting them presented two options: one was to die in battle and then fall into Hell; the other was to wait for the war’s end and fall into Hell along with the kingdom.

It was a future of despair, and even though Mr. Misfortune said he would do everything possible to change that future, most high-ranking officers still felt hopeless.

What outsiders didn’t know was that, after learning this news, many had already deserted.

They intended to leave the Kingdom of Impure Hymns, perhaps evading a future condemned to Hell by leaving the kingdom.

In such circumstances, how could morale be high? With the commanders having this mindset, it naturally influenced the rank-and-file soldiers below them.

The common soldiers were unaware of this future; while sensing something off about the generals’ emotions, they maintained a degree of confidence, for outside Blackgate City lay dozens of Gates of Hell.

If Laine truly came to invade, then let these invaders taste the flavor of Hell’s fierce flames.

It could be said that the entire kingdom’s confidence was supported by these Gates of Hell.

Only, control of the Gates of Hell lay in the hands of those Tiflins, who exactly were they up to? With battle nearly upon them, why hadn’t they handed over control to the generals at the front?

Although the Tiflins were prepared, the war began much sooner than anyone expected.

The Laine people began their attack, but it wasn’t a large army that mobilized; they dispatched a single person—the Emperor of Laine.

The young Emperor stood atop the ramparts of Flow Flame City, gazing at the distant Gates of Hell, and clenched a magic necklace hanging from his chest.

This magic necklace had the traditional Rose of Laine design, but it wasn’t the usual large silver-white rose, instead, it was made up of several delicately crafted blood-red Roses.

As the young Emperor moved his hands, a layer of silver-white light began to envelop his body.

His previously slightly frail figure rapidly expanded and soared towards the sky. By the time he reached a hundred meters in the air, his body had transformed into a Giant Dragon of frightful proportions.

This was definitely the largest dragon in the history of the continent, with a length from head to tail surpassing a hundred meters. This fearsome behemoth cast a vast shadow below and let out a thunderous dragon roar with a defiant air.

The Silver Dragon flew towards the closest Gate of Hell; a distance of tens of kilometers covered in a matter of minutes.

The imposing Gates of Hell flickered in and out of existence in the air; before activation, they could be considered as not being part of this world. Logically, they should be invisible, undetectable by location.

The Kingdom of Impure Hymns had projected the illusory Gates of Hell as a means to intimidate Laine and prevent their invasion, thus they deliberately created the phantasmagorical image to signal to Laine that they were not to be trifed with. Although the projection was visible, these were merely illusions—incapable of being affected by any attack directed at the actual Gates of Hell.

The Emperor of Laine, transformed into a Giant Dragon, let out a roar, which this time was not a dragon bellow but a human voice.

"You sinners who collude with Hell, the Holy Light shall purify your iniquities. Those who surrender now may still have a chance to live, spending the rest of your days atoning for your sins. If you continue to resist, you will bear the wrath of the Lord of the Dawn! In the name of the Emperor of Laine, by the deity’s command, I perform miracles. Sinners, repent under the force of majesty!"

The sound waves rolled and reached Blackgate City, and every Tiflin heard the shouts of the Emperor of Laine.

Although the content of the speech sounded clichéd and did not align with the identity of the Emperor of Laine, the threat was very real.

Because after the proclamation, the massive Time Dragon began to wield his power.

The invisible Power of Time spread, and the flickering Gates of Hell began to warp.

The ground started to writhe, and invisible winds whipped up, rapidly reverting the location that once held the Gates of Hell from flat terrain back to a massive altar, and gradually the altar dwindled into its original state of rubble—the projection of the Gates of Hell vanished as though it had never been there.

And this process was repeated thirty times over.

More than seventy Gates of Hell vanished in just a few minutes’ time.

Having done this, the Silver Dragon roared once again, "You have three days to consider your surrender. If you do not, I will make the Kingdom of Impure Hymns disappear as if it never existed."

With that threat left hanging, the immense Silver Dragon flew back toward Flow Flame City.

Blackgate City immediately dispatched a small troop to investigate, and indeed, they found that the Gates of Hell had vanished.

The Power of Time wielded by the Time Dragon had reversed time and space, restoring the Gates of Hell to their state before construction, and not just that—the very ground had reverted to its original form.

When this news reached Blackgate City, the Tiflins were nearly ready to mutiny on the spot.

The Gates of Hell had always been the Kingdom of Impure Hymn’s strongest card, and now, before the Gates were even opened, they were destroyed in the blink of an eye?!

The Tiflins were going mad, how would they defend against Laine’s army if things continued like this? Just with the few cities on the border?

All of Impure Hymn’s military deployments revolved around the Gates of Hell. Once this asset was compromised, they were at a loss for an alternative response strategy.

Meanwhile, in the skies above the battlefield, Amberser and Mr. Misfortune had hidden themselves using an Illusion Technique.

Mr. Misfortune remarked with a sigh, "This Magic Dragon Armament is truly formidable, dismantling thirty Gates of Hell in just minutes. What if such an event befell us..."

Amberser interjected, "Then we’d just become a few hundred years younger, that’s all."

Mr. Misfortune rolled his eyes and said to Amberser, "The fear is suddenly transforming back into an embryo and being blown away by the wind till we perish."

"Don’t be so tense, it’s just the Power of Time, who hasn’t seen it before. This Young Emperor has a very poor control over the Magic Dragon Armament, no need to worry too much."

Mr. Misfortune asked with curiosity, "How can you tell his control is poor?"

"Because he’s spreading his power too thin. The Power of Time is very special; it can be frighteningly precise."

Amberser had once tried allowing Naomi to reverse just a small bit of space-time to restore a defaced section of a letter without affecting the rest of the text, and another time had reversed a brief span of time in the air to reclaim Zariel’s voice.

This wasn’t even the full extent of precision. According to the books Amberser had read, those who mastered the Power of Time could intricately transform a single gray hair back to black, without affecting the other hairs.

"This Young Emperor can’t contain the Time Dragon’s power; you can see the terrain he restored often extends beyond the foundations of the Gates of Hell, an utter waste of energy."

After observing closely, Mr. Misfortune indeed noticed as Amberser had said—the regions with reversed time varied in size and shape, clearly indicating unstable control over the power.

Amberser continued, "Moreover, I suspect there are limitations to using the Magic Dragon Armament. If he could persist, he wouldn’t just close thirty Gates of Hell. From what I know, the Young Emperor was not much different from a Puppet before, and now he has taken to the field personally, undoubtedly eager to prove himself. Had he been able to dismantle all the Gates of Hell, he surely wouldn’t have stopped."

"So what purpose does it serve to only dismantle half? Isn’t he afraid that the Tiflins will immediately open the Gates of Hell on their side?"

Mr. Misfortune had to admit Amberser’s logic was sound, yet he still expressed concern, "But this power is too terrifying, simply unassailable."

Amberser countered, "What’s there to lament? Our plan doesn’t require confronting the Magic Dragon Armament head-on. Even if we did face the Magic Dragon Armament, I could withstand it, and might even manage to slaughter the Young Emperor in the process."

Mr. Misfortune nodded, agreeing that their plan indeed did not involve a direct clash with the Magic Dragon Armament.

Amberser glanced at the sky and said to Mr. Misfortune, "The time is about right, three days until Laine launches their attack, which also marks the opening of the Star Realm passage."

"Zariel and Goddess Tiamat must have guessed that we plan to use the Star Realm passage to repel Laine’s invasion, but they have yet to stop us from locking onto the passage’s location, presumably because they have a countermeasure. The future we’ve seen is unclear, and it’s uncertain who will win or lose. Elder brother, you must be careful."

Mr. Misfortune replied with a smile, "Rest assured, everything is prepared. May the Goddess of Fate bless us, and hopefully, all will go well."