This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 459 - 431 Officially Going to War

Chapter 459: Chapter 431 Officially Going to War

The dream training lasted for a very long time, until everyone’s mental fortitude could no longer bear it, and only then did they exit the Connected Dream Realm.

Indeed, practicing within dreams saves trouble and time, but if one wishes to bring the feelings and memories from the dream back, it naturally places a burden on one’s soul.

To endure hundreds and thousands of tactical exercises, they had all tried very hard, estimatedly needing another half-day of sleep after leaving the dream realm to recover.

And after gradually getting used to commanding the troop types they could control, the generals of these three kingdoms began to exhibit their personal styles.

Among them, Ange Watson made the deepest impression on Amberser.

It seemed that this man truly had a talent for leading troops; he mastered the capabilities of new troop types the fastest, and his command during battle was the best.

Despite being a Paladin, his ability to control the Undead army later on was already much higher than Amberser’s.

The reason why Amberser designed the Undead to be so intelligent was entirely that his own commanding ability was inadequate. Maneuvers such as flanking, luring the enemy, and encircling were completely beyond Amberser’s grasp; he could only see where the enemy was and then command his troops to steamroll over them.

Ange Watson, however, showed Amberser that there were so many more patterns to commanding the Undead. Just in the manipulation of Miscellaneous Fish Type One, Ange Watson created several different formations to counter scattered enemies, spellcasting teams, and heavily armored melee troops.

Even the three Tiflins could only express their admiration, for they were soundly defeated by these flexible and varied formations.

This lad was truly skilled at waging war, not the kind of waste who was only good at discussing military strategy on paper.

Still, Amberser always felt something was not quite right. After all, Ange Watson had openly broken with his family before. Now, suddenly mingling with Allen again, was it really just for the sake of family ties?

In his lifetime, Amberser had seen many cases of family feuds, over money, power, love, or even more absurd reasons, like acting on a whim... many improbable excuses could become reasons to turn against one’s own kin.

He just hoped Allen could figure it out by himself. Others’ family affairs were not something Amberser cared to meddle too much in. He hoped Ange Watson was smart enough not to cause him trouble in this battle, or else Amberser would definitely weave a tragic fate of death for him.

Thus, every two days, Amberser would engage these generals in dream training. Initially, the Mermaid High Priestess joined as well, but after Ange Watson’s command of the Mermaid Clan’s troops defeated her, the Mermaid High Priestess completely returned to her primary duties and no longer partook in the training.

Amberser was still very grateful. To have achieved this level, the Mermaid Clan had already been a great help.

Besides this, Amberser also kept monitoring the situation in the Volcanic Ocean Region.

In a matter of days, this marine area became extremely eventful, hearing daily of various races brawling within, snatching pieces of territory that could change hands multiple times a day.

But as time went on, the major races had more or less established their fixed territories.

The topography of the Volcanic Ocean Region was very complex, but if one were to divide it broadly, it could be done using three volcanic magma-solidified undersea mountain ranges.

The Kingdom of Impure Hymns was completely excavated and removed by Amberser, and without the coverage of soil on the surface, numerous volcanoes erupted freely. The magma that solidified after these eruptions formed undersea mountain ranges, cutting through the marine area in the pattern of the Chinese character for river (川).

Mountain ranges formed purely of solidified magma were barren, and marine life had not yet had the chance to grow on them, so they were natural barriers. No race would build a home on the mountain ranges.

Therefore, the spaces between the 川-shaped mountain ranges were prime locations, consisting of a total of eighty-three large and small areas suitable for marine life—be they oceanic trenches, rock caves of varying sizes, or originally underground spaces filled with seawater, and so on.

Anyway, these terrains at a glance appeared to be very suitable for cultivating coral and algae, capable of sustaining large groups of fish.

The eighty-three sections were just an approximate figure; other areas not within the counted range were not uninhabitable, just relatively more challenging.

Observing the latest maritime division map, Amberser said in astonishment, "I can understand the Sharkwa Fishmen occupying thirteen areas, and I can accept the Yixi Manta Rays taking over more than twenty, but how on earth can these fools, the Kuotuo Murlocs, take over more than thirty territories? Is that even reasonable?"

The chaotic spellcasting of the Kuotuo Murlocs was indeed beyond imagination; you could never know whether a Kuotuo Murloc would pull out an electric-charged lobster claw, a bundle of Ice Storm, or even Death’s Touch—and you couldn’t predict whether that Death’s Touch would kill you or the Kuotuo Murloc itself.

In such situations, while no one wanted to provoke the Kuotuo Murlocs, their randomness made the outcome of wars very unstable. To defend their territories, stability was of utmost importance. It was impossible for them to securely hold so many valuable areas—it completely defied probability.

Although this was bad news, there was also good news.

The good news is that the Naga Tribe, which Amberser was most worried about, had not entered the Volcanic Ocean Region. They seemed to be more concerned with the territory left behind after the migration of the Sharkwa Fishmen, gradually encroaching upon the areas abandoned by the Sharkwa.

This was a positive development. The Nagas were one of the descendants of dragon blood, and Amberser didn’t want to engage in combat with this dragon-related Race unless absolutely necessary.

In another Connected Dream Realm session, Amberser shared the new maritime chart with everyone, enumerating all eighty-three areas and marking their characteristics.

What happened next was up to them.

The first one to speak was a lady from the Elf Tribe, the sole female general present. In the previous exercises, she had displayed an extremely delicate approach to operations, favoring and skilled at surprise attacks, and even Ange Watson had lost to her several times.

This Elf Lady named Tannis suggested, "I propose that we start with regions that haven’t yet been occupied by powerful sea tribes. These areas are comparatively weak in terms of defensive capabilities, allowing us to have a solid rear, which will facilitate subsequent operations."

Amberser felt the suggestion made sense, but Ange Watson immediately countered, "No, that makes no sense. We command an Undead Troop; we don’t need any logistics at all. Sea Tribes need a vast rear for rest and recuperation because they require food and recovery for the wounded, but the Undead don’t. What we need to do is strike the enemy more effectively."

Amberser reconsidered and thought that Ange Watson had a point; the Undead really didn’t seem to need logistics. True logistics, after all, was to sustain war through warfare itself.

At that moment, the young man who called himself a Dispossessed, Tiflin, spoke up, directly opposing Ange Watson’s suggestion with a tone of mockery, "The Laine People are brain-damaged, only thinking about invasion. Although the Undead Troop doesn’t need logistics, let’s not forget our objective. Master Ultraman wants to conquer this oceanic region, not just to enable the Undead to survive here, but to dominate the weaker maritime Races and turn them into slaves.

"Thus, occupying territories is essential, and it’s also necessary to gather these weaker sea tribes as slaves in advance. If we only focus on fighting, will we have the strength to capture the sea tribes once our troops are spent?"

Ange Watson responded disdainfully, "That’s because you’re incompetent. I’m confident that after defeating all the powerful Sea Tribes, we will still have most of our forces left, making it far easier to govern this oceanic region then."

"That’s some colonialist arrogance."

"A dog who flees with his kingdom because he can’t win a fight really can’t understand the power of Laine."

"Isn’t it laughable for such a powerful empire to be crushed by its own emperor, killing tens of thousands of its people?"

"It’s far less than the number who died during the exile of your kingdom; just from earthquakes, hundreds of thousands died, not to mention the many expected to starve to death in the Land of Chaos."

"Damn Laine white-furred dog! I challenge you to a duel!"

"Heh, I would actually welcome it, but not in a dream, too bad I don’t see you having the ability to return!"

...

Seeing that the argument was turning into a fight, Amberser couldn’t help but stroke his chin; this situation had happened many times before.

During previous simulations, Tiflin and the Laine People had engaged in several "general duels."

In the dream, anything was possible, but Amberser restricted their imagination, so Tiflin couldn’t imagine himself as Aeo, crushing the Laine People with a single touch of Death’s Touch. They could only use their real bodies as the standard.

And the result was that Tiflin wasn’t remotely a match for the Laine People; it wasn’t even about Ange Watson; Allen alone could take on three.

Young people are always full of vigor, insisting on another round even when they know they can’t win.

Watching them scuffle, Amberser didn’t bother to intervene and simply brought out his trump card.

Katherine appeared before everyone, and upon the Elf Queen’s arrival, all the men subconsciously straightened their clothes.

There was no helping it; the Elf Queen was simply too radiant. Even in a dream, Katherine remained the most attention-grabbing presence.

Katherine addressed everyone, "Gentlemen, now is not the time for quarreling. This is a rare opportunity for you to experience a type of naval warfare you’ve never seen, and you won’t even sustain any injuries. Please, cherish this opportunity and don’t waste time on fruitless brawls."

Katherine’s single sentence was more effective than a hundred from Amberser, and the people