This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 495 - 456 The Beginning of a Great Undertaking

Chapter 495: Chapter 456 The Beginning of a Great Undertaking

The thing I fear the most when doing things isn’t difficulty, but rather the fear of having no direction.

As long as the direction is found, what remains is the effort to solve the difficulties. Amberser immediately sent his needs to the Kingdom of Impure Hymns, hoping they could keep an eye on the movements of the Heart-stealing Demon in the Chaos Space.

The Kingdom of Impure Hymns now relies solely on Amberser to maintain contact with their homeland and naturally didn’t dare to neglect, expressing that they would definitely assist fully and inform Amberser immediately if there were any news.

No sooner had the communication ended than Amberser received a private message from the Dwarf Vampire: "Bro, where you at? I need to talk to you."

Amberser was a bit puzzled; the kid had just said he couldn’t help, so why was he suddenly cozying up?

"Diga Ultraman: What do you need me for?"

"Don’t Like Humans: You said before that you were serious about tying up the Koutao Mermaid Goddess and sending her to Talos, right?"

"Diga Ultraman: Of course I was serious, but what’s it to you?"

"Don’t Like Humans: I want to follow you and witness the whole process, to record all your actions. Whether it’s a success or a failure, this is an act that could go down in the history books. I’m a historian, I want to see it all with my own eyes!"

Amberser hadn’t expected this reason, but whatever, let him come if he wants to.

"Diga Ultraman: You’re on your own for food, I’m not covering your travel expenses, come if you want."

"Don’t Like Humans: Do you gnaw on your own bones every day, scared of losing a bit of rotting flesh? How can you be so stingy?!"

"Diga Ultraman: Take it or leave it, I’m already considering you by not charging you. Otherwise, I could just record it with a Memory Crystal, find someone else to write a book and sell it, and make even more money."

After sending that message, Amberser quickly took out a Memory Crystal and placed it on his person.

This Dwarf Vampire had really reminded him, this could totally work, he believed this record could sell for a sky-high price!

At most, he would give the Dwarf Vampire a little discount at the auction, to make things square with him.

Hake Stone arrived quickly, using a Teleportation Circle to appear beside Amberser, still followed by the Blood Servant Beastman he had just taken in.

Amberser didn’t know how Hake Stone had trained him, but this Beastman who had once harbored deep resentment towards Amberser now seemed numb, obediently following behind Hake Stone like a servant, carrying a heap of items for him.

Amberser couldn’t be bothered to look more and simply asked Hake Stone, "Are you really planning to follow me? Is it so troublesome for you people in history?"

Hake Stone wore a long robe, tightly wrapping himself up, and when he flew he was half a head taller than Amberser. Hearing Amberser’s question, he spoke from his superior height, "What do you know, only what is seen with one’s own eyes is history. Who knows how many truths will come out of your mouth when you’re questioned later?"

Amberser retorted, "Slander! As a historian, you come with such prejudices to record the story’s protagonist, can what you write still be called history?"

"It doesn’t matter, it’s not just you with an alias! I also have a pen name for writing unofficial histories. Have you read ’Ryan’s Harem’s Goblin Guard’? I wrote that, a bestseller for three consecutive years in the ’Legendary Spells’ supplement. If it hadn’t been discontinued, I could have won five championships in a row!"

Hake Stone said this with pride, shocking Amberser.

To think that this guy wrote that book, that was pretty impressive; he too had once neglected sleep and food to follow its updates.

But, this Dwarf Vampire must have channelled all his resentment for Ryan into the book; the depiction of the Royal Family of Ryan was green with envy.

"No, wait, you mean to come and write my unofficial history?! That’s not happening unless you pay up!"

Amberser was quite enraged; if the Dwarf Vampire had come to sing his praises, that would have been one thing, but to write an unofficial history? That required a hefty fee, at least half the manuscript fee after publication!

However, Hake Stone excitedly said, "Add what, I never said I’d write your unofficial history. What kind of unofficial history could you, a bone-sucking Lich, possibly have?! Who would even read it?! There’s nothing to spice up!"

The two argued over the fee for quite a while, until Isabel served the guests a large kettle of boiled water.

This was indeed a page out of Amberser’s book; even if you’re a Vampire, you still get served boiled water.

Hake Stone poured himself a drink and spat it directly back into the cup. The miserly Lich wouldn’t even provide him with a sip of fresh blood despite the many beautiful girls in the castle.

However, for the sake of his great literary work, Hake Stone decided not to quarrel with the Lich and asked Amberser, "How far have we progressed now?"

Peace Idol was too lazy to argue with Hake Stone again. Apparently, this Dwarf Vampire held some prejudice towards the Lich. If he really wasn’t going to write some juicy content, then let him be.

"Senior Poet reminded me that the Land of Chaos, this junkyard of the Gods, might harbor a Heart-stealing Demon. I’ve already asked Tiflin to help me search, but I don’t know how long it will take."

Under normal circumstances, Garey Woz could cast the Wishing Spell multiple times. Finding someone shouldn’t be hard, but it depended on whether the Tentacle Monster from the Land of Chaos was willing to pay the price to help. The casting of the Wishing Spell required consumption of materials—how much could the Land of Chaos have for him to use?

"Of course, I don’t intend to place my only hope on Tiflin, although you said the Heart-stealing Demons are extinct. What if there are still a few lurking in hiding? I have heard that Heart-stealing Demons have quite a long lifespan. No matter how harsh their living conditions are, they can survive for over a hundred years, and they only need to consume one brain per month to maintain their life. Such modest needs make it not strange for a minority of the species to survive."

Hearing Amberser question his opinion, Hake Stone did not get angry. Instead, he helped ponder.

"You make sense. Originally, the Githyanki were one of the servants of the Heart-stealing Demon Empire. Their rebellion led to the collapse of the Heart-stealing Demon Empire on the Prime Material Plane, but the two sides had been at stalemate for a very long time. It’s quite possible that some Heart-stealing Demons survived, but finding such creatures is too difficult. They are very good at disguising themselves, and their methods of reproduction are very sinister."

The Heart-stealing Demons reproduce by implanting Heart-stealing Demon tadpoles into intelligent beings. As the tadpole grows, it consumes the host’s brain, replacing it. When the tadpole reaches full maturity, the intelligent being is transformed into a Heart-stealing Demon.

Regardless of the original race, after transformation, they all take on the appearance of an Octopus Head, and their bodies are completely transformed into the Heart-stealing Demon race, without retaining any of their original memories or forms.

Perhaps in the Heart-stealing Demons’ eyes, only their own species is perfect, and other species, even Giant Dragons, are seen as greatly flawed and inferior beings.

The dormancy period for a Heart-stealing Demon tadpole can be up to ten years, and since Heart-stealing Demons are adept at mind-controlling Spells, they can easily manipulate a large number of ordinary people to cover for themselves, making it quite simple for them to hide.

"I might try to divine this matter, but I don’t feel I’ll get any good results."

Every seasoned Diviner Mage has a premonition before making a prediction, which is essentially a hint from the Goddess of Fate. Knowing that the feeling is off but still forcibly divining out of uneasiness, the result would be getting a slap in the face from the Goddess.

So rather than resort to such shortcuts for divination, Amberser preferred to gather information slowly and cautiously.

"I’ve heard you Diviner Mages have a lot of taboos—I really don’t see the usefulness of this ability."

Hake Stone grumbled, then picked up his notebook, his robe’s corner lifting the Feather Pen as he briskly continued to take notes: "Even Diga Ultraman, who is accustomed to blaspheming the Deity, frowned deeply at the hardships he was facing. He gazed at the yellowed ancient scroll before him, tapping his forehead as if he was fiercely debating with the sea of knowledge deep within his mind..."

Amberser had no idea what he was writing, still pondering how to track down the Heart-stealing Demons’ traces across the continent.

After a long thought, Amberser asked again, "Did you just say the Githyanki overthrew the Heart-stealing Demon Empire?"

Without lifting his head, Hake Stone continued writing: "Even Master Tiga Ultraman faces dilemmas he cannot solve on his own, in the end, he can only close the book and seek advice from his wisest and most learned mentor, the greatest historian, Hake Stone..."

After completing the sentence, Hake Stone finally looked up and said to Amberser, "What did you just ask?"

Amberser repeated, "I asked about the fall of the Heart-stealing Demon Empire. You said it was overthrown by the Githyanki?"

After Amberser repeated the question, Hake Stone explained, "There are many theories about the fall of the Heart-stealing Demon Empire. The rebellion of the Githyanki is but one of them. There are also theories of internal strife and splits, as well as the outbreak of a widespread virus. But speaking of the Githyanki, their name comes from that. That Gith was the hero who liberated all Githyanki, and the race is named after him. And indeed, the Githyanki have hunted Heart-stealing Demons across countless Planes; they are the most outstanding hunters of Heart-stealing Demons."

Amberser nodded; another clue added to the list.

Hake Stone resumed his fervent recording: "With the guidance of his mentor, Hake Stone, Diga Ultraman found a guiding star in the vast darkness. Hake Stone’s wisdom transcended time and space, bringing him the clues needed to solve the problem—the Githyanki, the very first answer he needed to write down."

"Then I might go and talk to the Githyanki," Amberser murmured to himself.

Compared to the clueless Heart-stealing Demons, the Githyanki were much easier to find. There were still thousands of them alive, and the places where they could survive were quite limited—just a little inquiry would suffice to locate them.

While writing, Hake Stone said with a sneer, "You’re going to talk to the Githyanki? With what? You’ve just slaughtered several thousand of their kin. The Githyanki are vengeful; show your face, and they’ll be ready to fight you to the death."

Amberser laughed, "There is no business that cannot be negotiated."

"Fine then," Hake Stone responded, "send some Githyanki virgins my way when you’re done. Their blood tastes alright."

After making this remark, Hake Stone again wrote down: "Master Tiga Ultraman did not heed the kind advice of Hake Stone. The Lich was still prepared to extract the information he desired in the cruelest manner. Hake Stone could only pretend to ask Tiga Ultraman for captives to spare the lives of a few Githyanki."