This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 389 - 361: Laine the Last Emperor

Chapter 389: Chapter 361: Laine the Last Emperor

Price Laine walked slowly down the deep corridor.

This was the path to the Royal Treasury, the only path.

Almost every step contained intricate mechanisms and magic traps, which only those of the Laine bloodline could safely pass, remembering the complex sequence of steps required.

This wasn’t Price Laine’s first visit to the Royal Treasury, but it was the first time he had entered without permission.

The first time he came here, just after his sixteenth birthday, Price Laine had come with the other heirs to resonate with the Magic Dragon Armament.

Price Laine still remembered how one of the unfortunate souls got the steps wrong and dissolved into flesh and blood, seeping into the stairs.

One must tread each step precisely; one mistake could be fatal.

Finally, Price Laine reached the front of the treasury.

This vast treasury held only a few treasures, with the Magic Dragon Armament right at the center.

It was a suit of armor, silver-white throughout and so plain it hardly even had patterns, but if one looked carefully, many fine scales would appear and disappear on the armor’s surface.

This was the National Guardian Artifact forged from the corpse of the Magic Dragon Tyrant.

Once worn, the Magic Dragon Armament would remain invisible until its master summoned the armor’s power; then, it would transform the wearer into the Time Dragon, endowing them with the powerful ability to control time.

From seventeen hundred years earlier, the Magic Dragon Armament had been kept here. In the history of Laine, the occasions that called for the use of the Magic Dragon Armament could be counted on one hand, with the recent two times not even making up a total of ten.

Because Laine was already powerful enough, there was hardly any need to utilize the Magic Dragon Armament.

Price Laine, looking through layers of mithril fences, quietly asked the Magic Dragon Armament, "Was it you who spoke to me?"

A good while passed, and the mysterious voice did not respond, causing Price Laine’s brows to furrow deeply. Had all that he heard been nothing but his own wishful thinking?

Just as Price Laine was about to despair, the mysterious voice came once again.

This time, Price Laine was certain that the voice came from the Magic Dragon Armament.

"Young man, be patient. If a mere few seconds can drive you to despair, then you are utterly unworthy of becoming the Emperor of Laine."

The Magic Dragon Armament began to shine with layers of silver light, the once barely visible scales became incredibly clear, continuously manifesting and transforming the armor’s smooth surface into layers of dragon scales.

Price Laine, excited, asked, "You are the Magic Dragon Tyrant! Why would you help me?!"

"Why? That is an interesting question. I once thought that if one day I awoke, I would kill all of Arthur Laine’s descendants as a matter of course, for revenge. But over the years, as your blood has nourished me, my body has been tainted by the bloodline of Arthur Laine, and it is your blood that has nurtured a new soul in this armor.

"Young Price, there is now little difference between you and me; to kill you is to kill myself."

He knew that what the Magic Dragon Tyrant was saying was true. He could only cause the Magic Dragon Armament to emit light; among the emperors of Laine’s lineage, few could truly activate the power of the Magic Dragon Armament.

The reason he could use the Magic Dragon Armament was that the ancient zombies underground had found a way to refine the Laine bloodline.

With the power of this refined blood, Price Lein had a state close to that of his ancestors’ bloodline, which allowed him to wield the Magic Dragon Armament.

This was actually about continuously nourishing the Magic Dragon Armament with the blood of the Laine lineage.

Over the years, the two had already merged into one, indistinguishable from each other.

"You say you are a new soul," Price Lein asked in confusion, "are you really the Magic Dragon Tyrant?"

"That question is meaningless, child. How do you define whether it is or isn’t? Is it memory, or emotions, or the flesh and blood of the body?

"I was born within this armor, I obtained all the memories of the past from the flesh, I can still feel the rage and resentment from when Arthur Laine killed me, yet I have the power of the Time Dragon, and yet I am tainted by the bloodline of Arthur Laine.

"So you tell me, am I the same as I was before?"

Price Lein remained silent. The question was too profound for him to answer.

But the other provided him with an answer.

"I am the past, but also the present, I am the emperor of the Dragon Race, and I am also a humiliated prisoner, I am Atros the Eternal, do you understand now?"

"If you really inherited all the memories, where is your hatred?" Price Lein said warily.

"Hatred?" A deep laugh emanated from the Magic Dragon Armament: "Hahaha, dear Price, the first basic requirement of becoming a king is to cast aside such pointless loves and hatreds. That’s where I failed in the past. Child, do you know why Arthur Laine overthrew the dragon dynasty all those years ago?"

After contemplating for a moment, Price Lein responded, "To liberate all humans on the continent, so we would no longer be enslaved by the Dragon Race."

"Correct, that’s exactly it. Humans don’t want to be enslaved, just as the animals you now keep don’t want to be used as food by humans. Have you ever considered what would happen if one day, all pigs and cattle rebelled, and among them arose a hero like Arthur Laine? What would humans do?"

Price Lein’s eyes widened as he listened and he quickly responded, "That’s different! It’s completely different!"

"Idiot, it’s the same thing. I spent a lifetime uniting all of the Dragon Race, I was the hero of the Dragon Race. In my eyes back then, the Dragon Race was the master above all races, and humans and other races were the livestock we kept.

"However, I realized later. Who is the livestock, who is the hero, it all depends on who wins or loses.

"Arthur Laine won back then. He severed my head, peeled off my scales, and used my bones and blood to make this armor, while my kind was banished overseas by him. Not because he was inherently just, but simply because he was stronger than me.

"I didn’t understand that at the time, so I lost miserably. I was the Time Dragon, a being born supreme and immensely powerful above all creatures. I never thought a mere human could kill me; I was too careless. I even treated their rebellion as a game, indulging these little bugs at the beginning.

"Later, by the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late for me to turn defeat into victory. Now, you must understand this lesson. Seize absolute power and do not leave your foe any chance."

Price Lein took a deep breath and asked his final question: "Then why do you want to help me?"

"Because, if I don’t help you, the Laine lineage will be finished, and I will be sealed here forever. Little Price, you will be the last emperor of Laine, and the eternal emperor!"

Price Lein clenched his fists and said loudly, "Yes, I will be the last emperor of Laine, the only emperor, the eternal emperor!"

The Magic Dragon Armament trembled with excitement: "Hahaha, that’s more like it. Come closer, embrace my power!"