This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 434 - 406: Arthur Laine Cannot Destroy the Empire

Chapter 434: Chapter 406: Arthur Laine Cannot Destroy the Empire

In an obscure village within the Laine Empire, Kaid Worson had just shut off the live broadcast on the magic mirror, massaging the bridge of his nose with force.

The Glorious General had lost, and in such a nearly humiliating manner.

No wonder the lich had reminded him earlier to record this battle with memory crystals.

Kaid Worson looked at the dozen or so memory crystals in front of him, sighed deeply, and said, "It wasn’t me, the magic mirror recorded automatically, it wasn’t me."

While speaking, this small, forgotten priest began transmitting these memory crystals through the magic mirror.

It would probably take a month or two before these memory crystals appeared before everyone. What would happen to Laine by then?

Allen would need these things, even though they were lethal poison for Laine.

But Kaid Worson had no choice, even if he didn’t do it, someone else would accomplish this task for the lich. Laine had already fallen, illness penetrating deep into its bones, praying for someone to use this poison as a cure, either to fight poison with poison or to end it all with death.

After completing the task so simple that even a child could do it, Kaid Worson was left drained, sweating profusely as he lay back in his chair.

Even though his complexion was somewhat pale, Kaid Worson felt much more relaxed.

Now that he had done what had to be done, he could stop dwelling on the past, for he was of such an optimistic nature.

However, now that Kaid Worson had relaxed, he couldn’t help but wonder who that paladin working for the lich was. His father probably knew something, right? Could he ask him?

It wasn’t just Kaid Worson who was curious; all those who had watched the live broadcast were curious about the identity of the paladin.

Those unacquainted with Amberser were still guessing, while those familiar with him were already preparing gold coins, wanting to get the lich to speak, and there was nothing better than offering money directly.

And following this battle, the whole world would remember the name of this lich—Master Tiga Ultraman, the legendary Diviner Mage.

Amberser’s plan was mostly a success, and the next long while would be spent reaping the benefits.

As his stay on the island neared its conclusion, Amberser needed to consider the uses of this Gold Coin Island.

In order to stage this grand performance, Amberser had transformed Gold Coin Island, not only expanding its land mass but also setting up an enormous magic array with various functions—it’d be a pity to simply abandon it.

Upon examining the map carefully, Amberser found the location of Gold Coin Island not too shabby; it was relatively close to the former Kingdom of Impure Hymns. Even though that area had turned into a vast ocean, Gold Coin Island was still near many trade routes.

This place could serve as a transit hub. The materials from the Overseas Dragon Clan could be roughly processed here before being shipped to Fury Tide Kingdom for further processing, which would be advantageous for keeping technology secret.

Amberser’s alchemy skills weren’t outstanding, lacking the capability to create technology that was absolutely uncrackable. So, it was best to hide what could be hidden; missing one step of information could set others’ decryption efforts back by years, while Amberser could profit for a few more years.

However, this meant that Gold Coin Island couldn’t have too many undead staying there. The contaminating effects of dark magic power were too strong; only materials from bone dragons could be processed in such an environment.

Thus, this island would need living people to station, and now Amberser realized he didn’t have a lieutenant to govern a territory. Harvey could hardly manage the business in the desert, Isabel was busy with alchemy among the dwarves, Katherine was an elf, after all, and dark elves were transporting goods... Amberser awkwardly discovered that he, as a lich, lacked a subordinate suitable for administration.

He indeed had numerous living subordinates, but they were never enough when it really mattered.

"It’s time to recruit some manpower. After a few days, once the news has proper impact, it shouldn’t be difficult to hire people, though finding those who are trustworthy is another issue," Amberser murmured to himself.

Amberser was not short on money, and he had spread his business wide.

Druidic foodstuffs, specialties from the Dragon Race, high-grade armors, and spices from the Kingdom of Impure Hymns... All these products had good market potential, and Amberser monpolized them.

Under these circumstances, hiring wasn’t a problem, but the issue was whom to trust with such a big business.

Trustworthy people weren’t so easy to come by. If there was enough time, he wanted to capture some children and train them personally in his private space.

After all, a day on the outside was a year on the inside, and half a month was enough for children to grow up.

But Amberser knew he wasn’t a good teacher; he had never really provided hands-on instruction, always letting them learn from books instead. It was the same with Isabel; he had only taught her the most basic alchemy, and she figured out the Fountain of Youth on her own afterward.

If he really brought children into his private space, Amberser estimated that he probably would not teach them for more than two days before he started letting them roam free, having them learn from books instead.

The success rate of maturing talent is very low; amongst hundreds of children, it’s uncertain if even one usable individual will emerge.

As Amberser was pondering these issues, Withered Rose suddenly appeared beside him.

"Lady Rose, are you planning to withdraw your help?" Amberser asked.

Amberser had thought that Withered Rose had come to reclaim her minions. After all, the construction of Gold Coin Island had prospered greatly with the help of the Undead Queen, and these tens of thousands of specters could truly only be offered by Withered Rose.

Withered Rose shook her head and said, "It doesn’t matter; I’ll give you these specters. That’s not what I came to ask about."

Before Amberser could feel excited about Withered Rose’s generosity, she said, "Could I, meet Arthur Laine?"

Amberser was taken aback and asked, "Why the sudden request?"

Since gaining the Heroic Spirit of Arthur Laine, Amberser had already brought up the possibility of them meeting, but neither Arthur Laine nor Withered Rose had shown any interest in meeting each other before.

Amberser understood this awkward situation very well.

From Arthur Laine’s perspective, he wasn’t even married when he became a Heroic Spirit, and then suddenly he had an endless number of great-great-granddaughters. Emotionally, it was quite impossible to accept. Moreover, Arthur Laine was somewhat resistant to this era and did not want to meet anyone.

Upon closer consideration, he had waited for over a thousand years for a promise, only to find upon waking that almost all of his friends were long gone, his enemies had vanished, but his descendants had become the greatest evil in the world. After so much effort, so many sacrifices, to end up with such an outcome felt like being stabbed every time he looked at the world. Amberser, too, would become introverted in such circumstances.

Thus, Arthur Laine never mentioned to Amberser the desire for independent action, and he quietly remained in Amberser’s private space, possibly still trying to adapt to this world.

As for Withered Rose, she was the princess forced into exile by the Laine Royalty, and the only teacher who had been kind to her died at the hands of the Laine People. She loathed the name "Laine" to the bone. Even if the Holy King had little to do with her plight, there was still a thorn in Withered Rose’s heart.

It had been assumed the two would never again meet, and yet Withered Rose had suddenly made such a statement.

Amberser felt something was amiss and asked Withered Rose, "Why do you suddenly want to see your ancient ancestor?"

With no intentions of hiding anything from Amberser, Withered Rose spoke candidly, "I thought his powers had waned greatly and that he was of little use. But I didn’t expect him to still be so strong that he single-handedly repelled an entire Laine army. I hope he can step forward to help me overthrow this corrupt Laine."

"A weak Arthur Laine is a false one, but a powerful Arthur Laine is real and can immediately destroy this empire!"

"Ah? This..."

Withered Rose, perplexed, said, "Is there a problem? If it’s about money..."

Amberser quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no, no, Lady Rose, you’ve got it all wrong. You just helped me so much; how could I have the audacity to discuss money with you? The main issue is, bringing out Arthur Laine now will barely affect the Laine Empire and may actually give them a chance to catch their breath."

"Arthur Laine won’t destroy the current Laine? Why do you say that?"

With a puzzled look on her face, Withered Rose would have normally cast a Necromancy Spell at anyone else speaking such words, but the speaker was Amberser, and she was well aware that this Lich never made unfounded claims, nor would he deceive her on such a matter.

Amberser explained, "It’s simple, because what you want is a physical annihilation; you want to kill all the Laine Royalty, even to destroy the empire. Arthur Laine will never help you do that."

"He’s just a Heroic Spirit; we have enough ways to handle him, and isn’t manipulating souls your specialty?" Withered Rose said confidently.

Amberser continued shaking his head, "Leaving aside whether someone as resolute as Arthur Laine can be altered, even if it’s possible and Arthur Laine is entirely under our control and he publicly denounces the current Laine Empire as corrupted, do you really think that would destroy Laine?"

"That’s not enough?"

"Of course, it’s not enough. Laine is no longer just an empire, it inherits the names of former heroes, it has continued a rule for over seventeen hundred years, and their cultural core has matured and stabilized. Not just Arthur Laine won’t suffice, even if two consecutive generations of emperors were foolish tyrants, the empire still has strong self-correcting capabilities.

"Playing this card too soon will only make the Laine People prepare. What if the Young Emperor immediately submits to Arthur Laine, admits all wrongdoing, and abdicates the throne?

"The tyrant might be beheaded, but Laine won’t be destroyed; they will quickly elect a new emperor to continue the empire. Even if Arthur Laine truly manifests and reclaims the throne of the empire, do you think an order would make the empire crumble?

"Impossible, that’s an empire with a population in the hundreds of millions, an empire so vast it surpasses the combination of all other kingdoms. If Arthur Laine had the audacity to give such an order, it wouldn’t be long before the Laine People themselves overthrew him.

"Unless the Lord of the Dawn personally intervenes to completely destroy the empire, just one person’s influence is far from enough; it would only plunge Laine into another thousand-year cycle. Arthur Laine’s rule might give the empire a chance to catch its breath, even possibly a rejuvenation."