This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 436 - 408: The End of the Lich

Chapter 436: Chapter 408: The End of the Lich

In a deep trench of the ocean.

At the ocean floor, thousands of meters down where sunlight cannot reach, the marine creatures’ appearances can only be described as bizarre.

Aeolus lay in an enormous seashell, and as he twirled his fingers, the water began to swirl into a vortex around them.

A strange fish, with a mouth larger than its body, was sucked over, but halfway through, its scales were scraped off by the razor-like currents, its flesh ground to bits, all the soft parts turned into a thick soup that flowed into Aeolus’s mouth.

The skeleton of the fish, now bare and white, slowly drifted down, falling into the deeper seafloor.

Aeolus had been living in this trench for several days. At first, because he had lost his way, swimming in the sea and growing hungry, chasing after schools of fish until he ended up here.

The trench’s terrain was too complex, and after circling around half the day without finding a way out, Aeolus simply decided to settle here.

But he didn’t just give up; in these days, Aeolus had mastered many new abilities. Likewise, with water control, Aeolus no longer needed to stir up huge waves, he could now manipulate water pressure and could crush these deep-sea monsters to bits. If it was a living person, this pressure could also squash a person into a pulp.

Besides, Aeolus had learned to sense the currents, could differentiate the taste of the seawater, and compared to a few days ago, he had undergone a complete transformation.

This was the gift of the deity, allowing even a newborn to wield such formidable power.

Aeolus felt that he had rested enough and, after finishing this meal, followed the direction of the currents toward the sea surface.

It took Aeolus less than two minutes to reach the surface from the deep sea; the waves formed into a giant surge beneath his feet, propelling him quickly forward.

This time, he had to find Ariel’s location.

What Aeolus didn’t know yet was that his current direction was completely opposite to the Fury Tide Kingdom. Ahead of him was not where Ariel was, but the territory of the Sharkwa Fishmen.

It seemed it would take a while longer for Aeolus to find Ariel’s whereabouts.

Meanwhile, as this divine offspring was aimlessly running about in the ocean, Withered Rose had already embarked on her journey to the Fury Tide Kingdom, riding aboard Amberser’s Black Tide.

Hasting and Hales, the two brothers, were nervously operating the Black Tide, not daring to look in Withered Rose’s direction. The brothers had transitioned from being Amberser’s somewhat useless henchmen to captains of the Black Tide. However, even as captains, the two still harbored an instinctive fear of Withered Rose, who radiated danger all over. Even the undead dared not get close, fearing a displeased flick of her finger could grind them to dust.

As the queen of Gloomyland for many years, Withered Rose’s hands couldn’t be just described as bloodstained. Behind her seemed to lie an endless sea of blood, and undead creatures were very sensitive to this aura of death. The brothers, having only turned into undead recently, were hardly able to stand firm in her presence.

The two were inwardly reflecting on how, compared to their money-grubbing master, they had an easier time communicating. If they had to follow Withered Rose, they feared they wouldn’t last many days before being torn apart.

Withered Rose noticed that these oddly shaped undead were afraid of her, but she didn’t care much, as such occurrences were too common. Right now, she was focused on reviewing the materials Amberser had given her—all about the restructuring plans for the Fury Tide Kingdom. The design blueprints for the alchemy production line, manpower needs, material requirements, and the lighting and water sourcing for the plant.

Withered Rose had only dabbled a little in alchemy and never studied it seriously, so the materials were somewhat difficult for her to understand. However, Amberser had already prepared for this. In addition to the original materials, there was a simplified version that only listed the requirements without the underlying principles.

Withered Rose just had to negotiate according to this checklist.

However, that would seem a bit incompetent. Not pondering the reasons and just following orders were unfamiliar experiences for Withered Rose, so she tried to understand the materials as much as possible to avoid any negotiation errors.

But while Withered Rose had the patience for this, her daughter Melina did not. Withered Rose handed the simplest part over to her, but within a few minutes, Melina’s body was fidgeting restlessly, and when asked, she hadn’t grasped a single word.

Withered Rose was helpless—why didn’t her daughter take after her parents? And she didn’t resemble either of them.

With a sense of resignation, Melina said, "Mother, I really can’t understand it. The words on the page seem to be dancing!"

With a tone of frustration, Withered Rose said, "If you are like this, how are you going to inherit my kingdom in the future?"

Without even the basic patience, Melina was bound to be deceived by the slaves below and sent to mine again sooner or later.

"Mother, you are a lich and won’t die, so why can’t I just stay a princess forever?" Melina argued.

With a sigh, Withered Rose replied, "Who said I won’t die? After completing the plan to destroy Laine, I too will depart from this world."

"Ah? Why?" exclaimed Melina in surprise.

"Because I will have fulfilled my wish. Undead entities don’t really feel anything. If it weren’t for this obsession keeping me, I would be no different from a corpse. Once your father helps me fulfill my desire, I must embark on the next journey. Whether I go to hell or simply fade away, I will leave all the same."

Withered Rose spoke these words with an unbelievable calmness, and even a faint sense of anticipation.

Memory bestows emotion, and emotion sustains the continuation of life; the undead have already lost all the senses that could bring them joy, and to a Lich, the world is but a tedious instruction manual. The only thing that can cause a fluctuation in the emotions of a Lich is a strong obsession. If even this is lost, then the Lich has no reason to continue existing.

It’s like a machine that, though still operable, is essentially dead in itself.

The Lich’s body is a dead object, and even the soul has become numb. Once the long-cherished wish is fulfilled, Withered Rose will completely lose the means to feel joy; the soul will turn into still water, with no more desire to function. At that time, there would be no difference between that and death.

Withered Rose is an exception among Liches because most people who transform into Liches just want to survive; immortality is the most common wish of a Lich, so they are never satisfied.

Amberser is the same because wealth has no limit; he can always maintain the impulse to chase riches and live eternally.

At the moment Withered Rose transformed into a Lich, she was very clear that she would perish with the destruction of Laine, but that did not stop her determination to destroy Laine; she wished to die alongside this disgusting Empire right now.

Therefore, everything about Gloomyland meant nothing to her, wealth, power, slaves... These things could not make Withered Rose care; she just wanted to completely dissolve the hatred in her heart and put an end to this eternal torture.

Melina was hearing this news for the first time and opened her mouth in shock, then said excitedly, "No, Mother, you can’t just leave like this! Even if Laine is gone, don’t you still have me? And Father, are you going to leave us behind? Can’t we become your new obsession?"

Melina’s series of questions stunned Withered Rose for a moment, and she couldn’t help but think of that Lich who made her heart beat.

She still couldn’t tell if it was because Amberser helped her destroy Laine that her heart was moved, or if it was simply Amberser’s uniqueness that made her long-dead heart start beating again.

Seeing Melina’s frantic expression, Withered Rose smiled and said, "Melina, I envy you, your soul is so vibrant it doesn’t seem like one of the undead. But it’s too early to talk about this now, let’s wait until Laine is destroyed. By then, I believe your father will have a way."

Let’s leave it all to that man; if he’s willing, he should be able to help me find a reason to live on. And if he’s not willing, then what else is there for me to cling to?

Withered Rose looked back down at the documents as if completely unaffected.

But Melina couldn’t calm down; she had never thought that there would come a day when her mother would leave her, a future absolutely unacceptable to her.

Melina frowned in deep thought: "Mother’s obsession is only hatred, can’t we make her, like Auntie Pale Bone, turn love into her obsession? No, I must get Father to study this seriously; Mother must not be allowed to leave."

Although Melina was not very clever, she knew she wasn’t, so she decided to rely on her omnipotent father for this matter. After this negotiation, Melina decided to follow Amberser closely, begging him every day until he found a way.

The Black Tide carried the mother and daughter, with their differing thoughts, to the Storm City of the Fury Tide Kingdom.

Storm City was the capital of the Fury Tide Kingdom, located atop a central mountain. With a population of a hundred thousand, it was the most prosperous place in the entire kingdom, surrounded by variously-sized islands. Most citizens of the Fury Tide Kingdom aspired to reside in Storm City as their highest life goal.

So, although the Fury Tide Kingdom was poor, Storm City still appeared quite prosperous.

The Black Tide, having received Princess Airel’s permission, could land directly near Storm City, on a hillside in the outskirts.

Princess Ariel had also received prior notification and was waiting with a group of Storm Priests to greet them.

The ceremony was simple, but the presence of high-ranking individuals made the reception seem grand.

This was Princess Ariel’s first encounter with the legendary Undead Queen, and she was somewhat surprised by the Queen’s cold beauty and nobility; compared to her, she herself seemed lacking in the aura of nobility.

However, Princess Ariel did not feel inferior because of this; she was a girl born from the sea, and only thunder and storms were her aspirations. Nobility had no place in the Tide Fury Kingdom.

She just didn’t know why the negotiation partner had changed to this Undead Queen. All the preparations made before were in vain.

She also wondered what kind of personality the Undead Queen had, and how she could please her to gain more favorable terms?

Princess Ariel had just greeted Withered Rose, and before she could even start negotiating, Withered Rose already flashed a radiant smile and said, "I am astonished by you, Princess Ariel. I’ve never met a female general as heroic as you, far superior to my daughter. May I ask you to be my guide? I’d like to see the place where you grew up and have my daughter learn from you."

Before Princess Ariel could respond, Withered Rose had already taken her arm, standing close to her.

Princess Ariel was momentarily stunned. Was this Undead Queen really so friendly? She was completely different from the cruel and cold image from the rumors.

The people of the Fury Tide Kingdom were all baffled, but only those from Amberser’s side understood what was happening.

Hasting watched the scene unfold and mused inwardly, truly worthy of being a match for his master, the Undead Queen. Their skills at swaying others were strikingly similar.