This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 569 - 506: The Eve of the Conference

Chapter 569: Chapter 506: The Eve of the Conference

The weather is getting colder, and this year’s winter is unleashing a power beyond imagination.

The departure of an entire kingdom has taken away not just the land but a significant amount of "energy."

This unusual winter has not only frozen most of the rivers on land, but even the oceans have started to ice over.

Near the newly established island named Silver Coin Island by Amberser, there has also been a large amount of sea surface ice.

Although the weather is terrible, it in no way stops Amberser’s business from booming.

Especially this year, when everyone is short on food, and Amberser has just heavily charged the Druids a large sum.

In order to successfully release those overseas animals and plants back into their original environments, the Druids had to not only buy these creatures but also purchase from Amberser the places where they were collected.

"Here’s the map, and there’s an airship passing by. Are you riding it? Would you like to contribute something for the ride?"

So, with all the coming and going, the Druids couldn’t afford to pay in gold coins, and could only pay off their debts with food.

The whole world might face a food shortage, but not the Druids, for their natural magic spells can instantly bring forth dense forests, ensuring they never have to worry about food scarcity.

Hence, the Druids owed Amberser a vast amount of food and had to work for him to pay off their debts in this cold and freezing time.

Therefore, all those who were short on food came; despite the frozen seas, despite the long journey, they still made their way to Silver Coin Island to secure the most needed food for this winter.

Teleportation Circles can transport people, but bulk food trades cannot be sent through them, not every nation is as wealthy as Laine, which can directly transport military rations through a Teleportation Circle.

Then, Amberser’s Drow Elf air transport routes began to aggressively advertise, even prompting the Alchemist Association to change their production lines and construct several airships to join in this business.

Amberser was open to all comers, even taking them by the hand to teach them how to remodel their cargo bays to ward off the influence of Dark Magic Power.

However, the airship business of the Alchemist Association still couldn’t compare with the Drow Elf air routes, which offer additional services. Even though Katherine strictly forbade the Drow from stirring trouble on board the ships, these dark-skinned elves didn’t mind offering extra services for some more money when unloading the cargo.

This was a unique selling point in the world, one that the Alchemist Association couldn’t compete with.

As the transport business began to gain momentum, Amberser kept busy, embedding one custom-made magical construction after another into the island’s foundation by breaking through the ice layers.

This large-scale project could not be concealed from the public; representatives from every kingdom came to inquire about the purpose of the Magic Arrays, to which Amberser uniformly replied—for the preparations of Talos’ wedding.

With this answer, others could no longer probe further.

After all, mortals have no right to comment on the wedding of a Deity.

Moreover, most people didn’t think Amberser was up to anything dangerous.

Amberser’s deeds had long since been well known, and the Lich only had eyes for money. He wouldn’t set a trap to lure all the kings here, and then kill them off with a large-scale magic spell—doing so would only ensure his business’s total bankruptcy, and he would be hunted by all nations for the rest of his life.

By logical deduction, this Magic Array most likely had little to do with ordinary mortals.

So, under the watchful eyes of many, Amberser expanded Silver Coin Island by several layers. Even a "muggle" without any sensitivity to magic power could sense something was amiss upon entering Silver Coin Island.

The level of magic power here had reached the point where anomalies could be seen with the naked eye; anyone using magic spells here would have their effects greatly enhanced.

However, this situation only lasted for a few days.

Once Amberser had installed the last ton-heavy magical construction, the entire island returned to its calm state, and even the traces of the Magic Arrays disappeared.

By this time, only three days were left before the official start of the conference.

The venue on Silver Coin Island prepared for the wedding had been completed, and accommodations for guests from various kingdoms had been properly arranged. This time, Amberser spared no expense, spending a lot of money to hire the Elf Tribe to take care of reception duties for the entire venue.

Those beautiful, elegant elves with their charming temperament were all trained in both magic and combat, providing not only a feast for the eyes but also qualified security services.

In these times when the Silvermoon Tribunal has closed off exchanges, only Amberser could have such connections to get so many elves to serve as maids.

The Laine People, being the closest, were the last to arrive.

Not many people came with the Emperor of Laine, and excluding servants, there were only eight, but they were all of high value because all eight were of Legendary Rank.

The Paladin and Light Priest are Laine’s standard ensemble, and there was also a Legendary Rank Mage, which is a rare sight among Laine’s legendary warriors.

Paladin Allen Watson, who wasn’t even a Legendary, didn’t have the privilege to accompany them and was still left at the border by the Emperor to guard against a possible orc invasion.

In a situation where they are surrounded by enemies on three sides, Laine’s ability to dispatch so many Legendaries proves its status as the strongest empire on the continent.

For instance, with the Orc King, only two Legendaries appeared, which is no match for Laine.

The young Emperor, wrapped in a thick cloak, was surrounded by a group of tall paladins, making him seem considerably frail.

In the eyes of others, the Emperor of Laine was merely a symbol, a vestige of the Saint King’s glorious and monumental deeds; people respected him because of his bloodline, not for any personal achievements.

The young Emperor also hoped others would see him this way, so even though he represented the most powerful empire on the continent, he always kept a low profile.

After entering Silver Coin Island, he hid away with his entourage in the solitary villa prepared for the Laine people, not like the Dwarf King who was visiting everywhere, enthusiastically showing everyone his status of "recovered from a long illness."

And because of Laine’s special relations with other kingdoms, no one came to bother him at the villa for the time being.

The Emperor of Laine sequestered himself in his room to read, while the remaining paladins stood guard outside.

To protect the Emperor’s safety, the paladins needed to stand in pairs outside the room door, ready to handle any trouble at a moment’s notice.

It’s just that the two responsible for the first half of the night’s watch had a somewhat awkward relationship.

Stationed by the window was the Empire’s youngest Legendary Paladin, Allen Watson. Regardless of his mixed reputation, Allen remained the youngest Legendary in the Empire’s history, earning the nickname "Sword of the Angel" for his formidable aerial combat abilities in the battle against the Githyanki.

Of course, many still considered Allen a traitor, conspiring to divide Laine, and not a few cursed him under their breath as the "Sword of the Fallen Angel," doomed to fall like Zariel and become a devil.

Standing beside Allen was the Empire’s oldest living Legendary Paladin, Shield of the Empire, William Garrison.

Their relationship was quite strained.

William Gareth had become a pillar of the Empire following the death of the Silvermoon Knight, and in the battle against the Githyanki, he had pulled the empire back from the brink, bringing the Emperor and the remaining soldiers home.

The two had fought side by side in that battle, although they had never faced each other.

Latterly, William had firmly sided with the Emperor, helping to stabilize the situation, while Allen had publicly opposed the Emperor, nearly causing a split in Laine.

Faced with this young man, William didn’t quite know what expression to wear.

If it had been any other youngster, William could have assumed a serious demeanor, and those younger ones would have waited with trepidation for his lecture. But Allen was different, this young man radiated with powerful Holy Light from within.

Paladins earn the Lord of the Dawn’s blessings by practicing the doctrines. Could Allen’s great power suggest he is more aligned with the Lord of the Dawn’s teachings?

Once this doubtful thought arose, William couldn’t act high and mighty in front of Allen.

After all, for paladins, faith supersedes everything else.

The two still had to stand like this for the majority of the night, and couldn’t exactly remain silent. Just when the older man was preparing to break the awkward silence, Allen took the initiative, saying, "Lord Garrison, why do you think His Majesty has allowed me to accompany him? And entrusted me with guarding his safety?"

William was caught off-guard and didn’t expect Allen to so openly broach such a sensitive question.

Was it a probe? Or did the young man have an ulterior motive in fishing for information?

However, Allen’s eyes were clear. He was simply puzzled, simply asking, without any insidious scheming.

Trusting his judgment, William replied gravely, "Allen, people grow. Both you and His Majesty are young. You have changed so much over this past year, and so has His Majesty. Making mistakes as a young man doesn’t mean he can’t change. Throughout this recent period, every one of the Emperor’s orders has been correct, even better than many historical emperors.

"I believe His Majesty hopes you can reintegrate into Laine, you are an indispensable force for the Empire and shouldn’t stand on the opposite side of it."

Allen couldn’t help but ask, "What about the mistakes of the past? Can we all pretend they never happened? Lord Garrison, over the years in Laine, tens of thousands have died because of extremist ideologies, and the harm inflicted abroad is immeasurable. We might choose to forget, but the orcs will yell for blood debts to be repaid and rush at us, and so will other races. His Majesty has never addressed how to solve this problem."

William’s brow furrowed; he hadn’t expected Allen to take the orcs’ side in the conversation.

William could only remind him, "Allen, you’re overthinking it. This isn’t for us warriors to ponder. Besides, they are orcs, not Laine People."

Allen glanced at his white-haired senior and sighed inwardly.

Indeed, it was hard for the older generation to understand his stance.

The Lord of the Dawn didn’t care whether you were human or orc when spreading His glory, and the teacher of Saint King Arthur was an orc.

Unfortunately, these secrets are likely unknown, and even if Allen spoke of them, no one would believe him.

He sincerely wished to see His Majesty the Holy King again; Allen felt he was still too young and needed the guidance of the Holy King.

With the Lich causing such an uproar, the Holy King would surely make a public appearance, wouldn’t he? How sensational would it be when he appeared?

Allen couldn’t hold back his anticipation.

He hoped the Holy King could lead Laine back onto the right path.