This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 455 - 427: Maritime Combat Specific Undead

Chapter 455: Chapter 427: Maritime Combat Specific Undead

"Hmm, miniaturizing the jet propulsion engine works better underwater. Carving wood takes too much time, let’s custom-order a simple metal shell instead, but two jet engines are too wasteful—one is enough, the power is already sufficient, there’s no need to strengthen it anymore. Let’s add an air undead test tube... Might as well not make it in a synthetic form, since undead are especially easy to detect."

Amberser kept making changes to the blueprint, and quickly came up with a new version of the undead troops.

It was the simplest form of streamlined machinery, hardly recognizable as a fish anymore, resembling more of a small torpedo with its own jet propulsion.

Finger-sized, with a miniature magic array as the propulsor, relying solely on minor fin movements for direction control, and the torpedo’s head had space to load alchemical bombs or other weapons.

Amberser muttered to himself, "Alchemy bombs are too costly, my air undead are more cost-effective."

The so-called air undead was a colorless, odorless, extremely toxic substance that Amberser had previously developed by transforming air into corpse-like properties, and then stuffing it into a completely blank pseudo-soul.

This type of undead had no thoughts, no will to act, and not even any functional movements, making them very low cost. However, this air undead could only be preserved in sealed containers; once released, they would explode instantly, turning into a colorless, odorless ’undead air’."

Amberser had tested it, and should a living creature directly inhale the undead air, it would quickly be eroded by dark magic power, its potency more horrifying than any known toxin, making it far more efficient in killing than alchemical bombs.

If this air undead were placed in the head of such a small torpedo and exploded upon hitting a target, the deadly air would quickly spread, poisoning the target.

The only problem was that, being a gas, the air undead would form bubbles that rise to the surface upon detonation. How many of these bubbles could the enemy inhale?

Amberser was a decisive man, so he set up an experiment immediately, detonating air undead underwater to see how many fish it could kill.

The results were not satisfying to him.

Air does not dissolve well in seawater, causing most of the air undead to form bubbles and float up. The part that could be inhaled instantly was minimal, which is why the toxicity of air undead underwater was ten times worse than on land, turning from a lethal toxin into a non-lethal poison that could only cause respiratory distress and muscle spasms.

Amberser felt somewhat regretful; he had made quite a stock previously, and now it seemed to be a bit impractical.

"Or perhaps, I can use seawater as the base and try a seawater undead?"

Amberser tested and found that seawater undead were feasible, but the cost was significantly higher.

Every time Gold Coin granted by the God of Alchemy was converted, it cost money, and the higher the quality, the more expensive it was.

Air has a low density. To fill a finger-sized glass sphere, the cost of air undead was less than a copper coin, but for seawater, it required more than thirty copper coins, depending on the purity of the seawater. It seemed that the miscellaneous contents mixed in affected the consumption during conversion.

"The cost of seawater undead at thirty copper coins, plus the price of the torpedo itself, exceeds a silver coin. No, that’s too high; we need to save on materials." Amberser decided to seek out Gustavo Flint and have the old man manufacture torpedo shells at cost price,

Not long ago, Amberser had ordered a batch of main parts for manufacturing miniature jet engines from Gustavo Flint, without paying a penny, but he had sold the improved miniature jet engine blueprints.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to keep it secret, but with Gustavo Flint’s skill, he could guess the use of the parts to a large extent, and this was not any innovative technology but merely a volume compression that Amberser had done in his private space over a few years.

It was indeed valuable, but the secrecy level couldn’t really be high as those in the know could easily deduce the underlying principles.

So, Amberser simply sold the blueprints to this "old friend" and then offset the parts’ debt. Now that the jet engine for the torpedo was available, why not just sell the design of the torpedo shell as well? That wasn’t worth much, and then have the "old friend" make another batch for him.

Gustavo Flint now owned more than one Alchemy Factory. It was very simple for him to mass-produce these technical-free metal fittings; there wasn’t even a need to make new molds, and he might be able to find existing streamlined shell components.

Amberser calculated carefully and concluded that the cost of each undead torpedo could be reduced to about fifty copper coins, which meant spending a mere million Gold Coin would be enough to fight this battle.

With the first undead troop type finalized, Amberser continued to stay busy, not sure whether to classify these torpedoes as long-range weapons or close-combat self-destructive weapons. But undoubtedly, these could be thrown far away by the user and used directly as long-range troops.

Next, he had to work on the defensive type of undead troops, as well as the real melee combat undead troops.

Compared to undead torpedoes, these two types were not cannon fodder but considered the regular army, the kind that needed to be reused multiple times.

While Amberser excitedly delved into his research.

Deep in the ocean, there were others who were also invigorated, beginning their efforts for the Volcanic Ocean Region.

Aeolus, having been kidnapped by the Koutao Mermaid Goddess for a few days, was now radiant, floating above a gigantic coral, delivering a passionate pre-battle mobilization speech to a group of dull-witted Koutao Murlocs.

The Lobster Girl version of Airel stood gently at his side, gazing at him with eyes full of admiration.

In the end, Aeolus gave in because the Koutao Mermaid Goddess’s reasoning was very persuasive, and even Talos did not object, which meant that this Airel was indeed the one he was looking for.

Therefore, it didn’t take long for Aeolus to accept this reality, and he even boasted to the Koutao Mermaid Goddess that he would use the entire Volcanic Ocean Region as a "dowry."

The Koutao Mermaid Goddess laughed heartily and immediately agreed to hand over her Koutao Murlocs to him to co-lead. Her demands were not high; as long as Aeolus could find a foothold in the Volcanic Ocean Region, she did not require him to conquer the entire area.

The Koutao Mermaid Goddess knew very well that she had exploited a loophole to coax the son of Talos into working for her, and she had no idea which deity’s offspring she might encounter later. With Aeolus’s ability, finding a new breeding area for the Koutao Murlocs would be enough.

Perhaps it was time for her condition to flare up, for at that moment, the Koutao Mermaid Goddess was terrifyingly calm.

She handed over all the Sea Tribe information she had to Aeolus, letting him read it before leading the Koutao Murlocs to snatch territories.

Aeolus took it seriously, but as for how much he understood, probably no one knew.

But now, the final moment had arrived. The Sharkwa Fishmen had already entered the scene ahead of time, and the Yixi Manta Rays had even found their breeding grounds and had begun to spawn and reproduce.

If the Koutao Murlocs did not make a move, in a few days all the good locations would be taken by others.

So, no matter what, it was essential to first grab a piece of territory.

Aeolus, in the style of Talos, delivered a spirited speech, stating plainly that the enemies ahead were nothing but stinking fish and rotten shrimp, and he would lead all the Koutao Murlocs to victory.

However, the effect seemed less than stellar as the Koutao Murlocs silently watched Aeolus’s performance. Some were biting their nails, some picking their teeth with fish bones, while others were sound asleep and not listening at all.

Aeolus had never seen such outrageous subordinates. Did these Murlocs have a problem with their brains? Didn’t they realize who had the final say now?

If they were merely troublemakers, it would be easy to handle. Just grab a few dissenters and kill them, and that would naturally intimidate the rest.

But Aeolus realized that they were not troublemakers, not purposely opposing him; it was just their way of being.

The Koutao Murlocs had very low intelligence. Once you set aside their instincts for eating and sleeping, all that remained was a lazy inclination, with occasional insane actions such as daubing sea mud on the Koutao Mermaid Goddess’s Divine Idol and decorating it with seaweed.

Aeolus’s speech was too complex for the Koutao Murlocs; they didn’t understand it at all, so they couldn’t react.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Aeolus thought for a moment and then said, "Follow me, there’s fish to eat! If you don’t work with me, I’ll eat you!"

This simple and direct statement was shouted out, then the Koutao Murlocs instantly rose up en masse with a clatter.

They raised various oddly-shaped weapons high, shouting loudly with mixed-up words.

Their message was simple and had two key points: "I want to eat! I cannot be eaten!"

Aeolus looked on with satisfaction at the Koutao Murlocs, who were now starting to get excited and finally felt a sense of fulfillment. Sure, they were a bit stupid, but there were vast numbers of them, and overall, they were not weak.

The Koutao Murlocs might be idiots, but perhaps their simplicity made it easy for them to grasp the power of bloodline inheritance, resulting in a very high proportion of Magicians among them, with many Koutao Murlocs capable of casting special Bloodline Spells.

Among the tens of thousands of Koutao Murlocs present, one-tenth were Spellcasters, a ratio that left other Sea Tribes far behind.

With proper leadership, this could be a very powerful army.

And as long as Aeolus could secure victory, he could continually capture other races, constantly swelling his forces... Aeolus could only see brightness ahead.

Indeed, working with the Koutao Mermaid Goddess had been the right choice. In just a few days, he had gone from being all alone to the leader of an army. Give him a few more years, and he, Aeolus, would be the one calling the shots in the vast sea.

Aeolus looked up toward the dark waters and prayed in his heart to Talos, "Great Father God, do you see? I have already taken control of such a vast force. One day, I will offer this sea to you, and then, you will be proud of me! Please wait patiently!"