This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 411 - 383 Incoming Enemy

Chapter 411: Chapter 383 Incoming Enemy

The letter sent by Katherine arrived in the hands of the current Elven King at the Silvermoon Tribunal.

The young Elven King read it carefully and then lamented, "This cursed Lich! Always dumping a pile of work on my sister Katherine! He himself runs off overseas, isn’t he afraid of being eaten by the Sea Monsters?!"

An evil thought emerged, and the young Elven King suddenly very much wanted to lead his forces overseas to confront this Lich and purify his soul. However, the thought vanished as quickly as it came, since they were allies for the time being; no matter how much resentment he harbored, personal grudges should not be placed above the Deity.

Meanwhile, in the Laine Imperial Capital, the news of the Lich’s departure by sea had also reached the Young Emperor.

It started when a certain merchant fleet happened to be returning to port, passing by Laine and bringing with it news of the unending disputes overseas.

Then, through inquiries and conjecture by those interested, various pieces of evidence pointed to the Lich, first on the wanted list, having set out to sea, brewing some dark and devious plot upon the ocean waves.

Unlike the Silvermoon Tribunal, Laine could not stand idly by as the Lich stirred up trouble again.

Putting aside their doctrines that wouldn’t allow them to ignore evil, the last time Amberser banished the Kingdom of Impure Hymns, it led directly to Laine’s great defeat.

How could the Astral passage have appeared so coincidentally on the battlefield between the two armies? Those who understood space magic knew the odds were incredibly slim; only a Diviner Mage could have positioned it so precisely.

So this was a mixture of old grudges and fresh wounds; the Empire decided without much discussion to dispatch an elite squad to hunt down the Lich at sea.

In light of previous failures, this time they sent out the Conviction Knight Order for real.

The young ones who last troubled Amberser were mere rookies of the Conviction Knight Order—this knight order, specially formed against Legendary Liches, possessed a vast number of legends.

This time, five Paladins and two Light Priests took the lead, setting out with exactly seven legends, determined to purify the Lich.

After the departure of the Conviction Knight Order, the Young Emperor returned to the desolate Royal Palace.

Following the recent executions, the palace had emptied, and now under the guidance of the Magic Dragon Tyrant, the Young Emperor had begun learning spells. The Mage Hand was the first trick he needed to practice, and therefore, he had sent away even his servants, using the Mage Hand to perform every task.

Under the claim that as a sinner, he should no longer indulge in pleasures.

This move indeed earned the nod of many; the Young Emperor’s apology seemed genuinely sincere.

At the moment, the Young Emperor was controlling the Mage Hand to practice swordplay; the focused control did not make the Mage Hand any steadier, the long sword trembling as though afflicted by an Illusion Technique.

Eventually, the Mage Hand dissipated, and the Young Emperor couldn’t help but curse, "Damn it, what use is practicing this?! A hundred years of practice won’t even compare to a ten-thousandth of the Power of Time!"

A deep voice came from the Magic Dragon Armament, "I am far from what I once was, and even at my peak, I was no match for Arthur Laine. Do you want to end up like me, having your head chopped off?"

"But I have no talent at all!" the Young Emperor said in despair.

The Power of Time is so useful, utterly unbeatable; why should he bother learning any magic, when it’s all so pointless?

Nevertheless, Atros wouldn’t indulge him, saying firmly, "If you lack talent, make up for it with diligence. You will be the last Emperor of Laine, an undying Emperor; you have enough time to practice. If a hundred years is not enough, then two hundred; if that’s not enough, five hundred. One day, you will achieve something. By then, you won’t fear Arthur Laine."

Still impatient, the Young Emperor said, "Arthur Laine is already dead!"

But Atros spoke more seriously, "Yet his heir has appeared, Your Majesty. If you continue to slack off like this, you will die. Now I am part of you, I won’t harm you. If you don’t believe me, it will be too late when a blade is at your throat."

The Young Emperor was startled and quickly asked, "The heir... are you talking about Allen Watson?!"

Atros replied, "You see, without my prompt, you already thought of that name. Surely you are aware of what Allen Watson has done?"

The Young Emperor clenched his fists at once.

Allen Watson had done too much. In the initial battle, it was this rebel who caused instability in the Laine forces with his bombastic words.

Later, he emerged as a hero, slaying the Giant Dragons to cover the army’s retreat, resulting in many now believing that Allen Watson did not betray his country. Some are even saying that such a talented individual should be quickly called back to serve Laine.

After all, Allen’s feat of holding off dozens of Giant Dragons was too shocking; after the death of the Silvermoon Knight, the Laine People desperately needed a powerful and accomplished Paladin as a role model.

The Young Emperor had thought to himself then, to grit his teeth and endure; now was not the time for division.

Yet, who would have expected Allen Watson to refuse as well, sending over a lengthy report spanning tens of thousands of words, eloquently criticizing the spread of extremist thought in Laine over the years, leading Laine to betray the teachings of the Lord of the Dawn. This was not a spur-of-the-moment act but was plainly worded.

This report was a compilation of many instances, all from Allen’s personal experiences, with very detailed evidence that could conclusively prove that Laine was being corroded by extremist ideology and was on the brink of peril. Allen demanded that the Emperor immediately start to rectify the situation, to re-establish a normal faith and to punish those who used extremism to seize their gains.

The biggest parasite is none other than the Royalty of Laine.

Had the Young Emperor not been decisive enough, the Royalty of Laine would have already "apologized with their deaths," and Allen’s report could have pushed Laine to the brink of fragmentation.

However, due to this "radical" report, Allen was also considered to have ulterior motives—doesn’t all this talk just come down to the current policies being incorrect and needing someone else to come back and make new ones?

Whether faith is extreme or not is for the Court of Judgment to decide, and isn’t Allen’s report essentially inviting his father back as the Supreme Decree?

The newly appointed Supreme Decree immediately expressed opposition, emphatically pointing out Allen’s selfish intentions in a passionate speech in the royal court.

To bring back the previous one would be to admit one’s own inadequacy, wouldn’t it?

Sitting in such a position, one invariably becomes entangled in many things, and even a Priest devoted to the Lord of the Dawn can find themselves lost at times.

This kind of verbal sparring, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, continued to unfold, with nearly every meeting ending in a round of arguments.

The Young Emperor had grown to detest Allen utterly, a situation that should have been an excellent opportunity to win the hearts of the people by sacrificing a family member, had been disrupted by Allen, leaving it in a state of uncertainty.

The Young Emperor agitatedly said, "Allen Watson might be a nuisance, but what gives you the right to call him a successor of Arthur Laine? So many years have passed, and even if he raises that banner, others will not acknowledge it."

But Atros sighed saying, "He doesn’t need others’ recognition, I can tell. Allen Watson is just like Arthur Laine from back then—he will also walk the same path as Arthur Laine. Remember, your Holy King was once but a wandering Paladin with neither the achievements nor the heritage of Allen Watson. Yet, he managed to decapitate me in the end."

"And you, do you think you can measure up to the me from before?"

Atros’s question left the Young Emperor silent.

However arrogant he might be, he didn’t believe he was more powerful than the Magic Dragon Tyrant had been. He now stood alone, his only claim to new allegiance being the Magic Dragon Armament, whereas the Magic Dragon Tyrant had the whole Dragon Race’s support.

With this thought, the Young Emperor resumed control of Mage Hand to grasp the long sword and began practicing with full concentration.

Atros let out a slight sigh of relief; this young man was truly inadequate, weak-willed, vain, and cruel. It was only by chance that he had become Emperor; governing the Empire well was an impossible task.

However, Atros himself had no true desire to see Laine flourish once more.

It was just that Laine could not yet fall apart; he needed more time.

"My people, your king will soon return. Just be patient a little longer." Atros’s thoughts sank deep into the Magic Dragon Armament, where a heart pulsed slowly like a star.

————

News of Amberser leaving the sea spread quickly as if it had grown wings, with details being heard from all corners, whether intentional or not.

It was as if an invisible hand was controlling the flow of public opinion, spreading the news even further.

Meanwhile, on the islands, Amberser encountered his first batch of troublemakers. Interestingly, the first to cause trouble were not Amberser’s enemies but the Githyanki.

Strictly speaking, Amberser had merely used the power of the Dragon Tomb to eliminate a group of Githyanki. Previously, they had no grudges; Amberser had even helped open the portal to the Star Realm.

But to his surprise, the Githyanki were the first to arrive.

And by their looks, they seemed rather disheveled.

Once the Githyanki army, boasting a hundred thousand troops and dozens of Red Dragons, was triumphant and spirited.

But now, only two thousand Githyanki riding Yixi Manta Rays roved about on the sea’s surface, and the number of Astral Red Dragons in the sky had dwindled to just ten.

This was certainly Gareth’s doing. He had forgotten to inquire about their achievements recently.

Seeing the Githyanki in disarray, he assumed Gareth had successfully rescued his father-in-law and had taught these foreigners a harsh lesson.

As the distance between them narrowed, the Githyanki would reach Amberser in a matter of minutes.

Withered Rose, who had been by Amberser’s side these days, saw the Githyanki approaching and asked, "Should we just wait for them to come and get killed, or..."

Amberser smiled and said, "No rush; I haven’t had a proper chat with these Githyanki yet. This is still our territory; as the hosts, we should at least maintain courtesy first. If this group of Githyanki doesn’t wish to pay a toll, then we, as the hosts, will teach them a lesson afterward."

Amberser flew up into the air and quickly saw those Red Dragons flapping their wings, heading straight for him.