This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 620 - 550: Pack and Take Away

Chapter 620: Chapter 550: Pack and Take Away

"All of these, and those, and the two warehouses over there... Yes, everything wrapped up and sent to me!"

A dozen Mage Hands were floating in mid-air, supporting a giant Magic Mirror, with a path of flame leading the way.

Zariel’s flames were truly effective, Amberser roamed unobstructed within the Blood River Fortress, heading straight to the heart of the warehouse.

The little inferior demon guiding the way was flapping its wings, with a face full of smiles, terrified of upsetting the Deceiver. It was said that a frown from this lord could spawn tens of thousands of sinister plots, and a cold sneer from them could extract a devil’s soul... not personally, but to have the victim willingly scoop it out and offer it with both hands.

Amberser continued his inspection of the Blood River Fortress, taking with him anything that caught his eye.

The equipment in the warehouses was roughly divided into three categories.

The first kind was the most commonly seen external equipment, like Magic Armor and weapons. Amberser wasn’t interested in such common items; who couldn’t craft Magic Equipment? Thus, he only chose the high-end Magic Equipment, picking out about half a warehouse.

The second kind was the large-scale city defense machinery, such as Magic Conduction Cannons, a common sight in the Prime Material Plane, and similar devices here, albeit with different principles. Things like Hellfire Sprayers and Iron Thorns Mines were not considered rare either.

Amberser took dozens of each kind, as research required reverse engineering, and one could not research without taking things apart, hence the necessity to prepare several of each item.

As for the third type, it was the very goal of Amberser’s journey—the Hell Engine.

It could be said that ordinary Hell Demons would find it difficult to engage in continuous battles with Demons. Though Demons may not have better fundamental qualities than Devil Soldiers, they were numerous and always full of a rampant destructive impulse. Whereas Devil Soldiers possessed higher intelligence but also the many weaknesses inherent to intelligent life.

Devil Soldiers could get tired, scared, and their will could be eroded by the endless wars to the point of becoming battle-weary or fearful.

The Hell Engine could solve this problem.

The elite Devil Soldiers would be implanted with these mechanical devices; the Hell Engine could enhance their bodies, providing nearly limitless power as long as there was enough Soul Currency.

Even more terrifying, this device was completely controlled by Upper Devils. In battle, you couldn’t even think about running—the Hell Engine would take over your body and keep you fighting.

The implantation of the Hell Engine into the body required a complex and excruciatingly painful surgery, and Amberser just so happened to witness one such operation during his visit.

A decorated Cambion was strapped down by his limbs on the operating table.

An insect-like Scythe Demon performed the surgery, cutting open the abdomen, pulling out all the organs, and then forcibly stuffing in parts of the Hell Engine. It didn’t matter if the size matched; Amberser saw the Scythe Demon breaking bones of the Cambion whose frame was too small, just to cram in the engine.

Throughout the whole process, the Cambion remained conscious, continuously emitting piercing screams. He even cried out, saying he didn’t want his honors anymore, and eventually begged for death, not even wanting to keep his life.

But the Devil Soldiers had no trace of sympathy. Installing the Hell Engine was just the first step; the following steps were even more brutal.

To use the Hell Engine in place of the organs, tubes had to be attached. There was no stitching, the tubes were simply jabbed into the holes, and the Hell Engine’s built-in claws automatically latched on, then started to secrete a glue-like substance to stick together the blood vessels and nerves.

This process seemed more painful than a live dissection. The cries of the Cambion became so distorted they resembled the squeals of a castrated pig.

After the connections were made, there was no stitching either. Just the peeled-off belly skin slapped back on top, with a smear of specially formulated blood ointment sufficing. This substance could accelerate the healing of wounds, but the process wasn’t any less painful.

Amberser thought that was the end of it, but after the belly skin was covered, the Scythe Demon in charge of the surgery glanced at the operating table and annoyingly said, "Ah, I forgot to install the stabilizer."

A fist-sized ball covered in various spikes and glowing brightly.

This is the stabilizer for the Hell Engine, which can filter out impurities in the energy. Without this device, it would easily explode. Although a Hell Engine is equipped with several stabilizers, missing one doesn’t seem to be a big deal.

However, this Scythe Demon was clearly a meticulous doctor; thus, he once again cut open the Cambion’s body, removed the engine, and reinstalled it.

Amberser may have regained the sensations of a living person, but during those years as a Lich, he had seen countless corpses, so this degree of bloodiness did not affect him. What he cared about was how such crude installation methods for the Hell Engine could still keep someone alive and in working condition.

Life is fragile, even for a Giant Dragon; to be cut open and have a device forcibly inserted without even allowing time for healing, it would likely lead to death.

Yet after being repeatedly subjected to such treatment, the Cambion was simply patched up and kicked off the operating table, and he actually managed to struggle and crawl out of the operating room on his own.

What kind of miraculous doctor was this?!

"Is it the special constitution of Demons, or is the technology of the Hell Engine exceptionally advanced?"

Amberser felt that if he could unravel the secrets of the Hell Engine, it would undoubtedly make a significant supplement to Alchemy, and the Divine Power of the God of Alchemy would also be elevated once again.

Amberser’s ascension to Deity was not possible relying solely on his own strength.

If the God of Alchemy were to reach the realm of powerful Divine Power first, then a share of that power could provide an immense aid to Amberser.

Aeo looked down on Amberser, so Amberser had to rely on himself.

Amberser took several sets of the various fortunate Hell Engines, but this time it wasn’t so smooth. The Little Demon guiding him made a pained expression and couldn’t help but say to Amberser, "Deceiver Lord, there are already very few Hell Engines to begin with; could you possibly take fewer? Duke Bayer is extremely concerned about the Hell Engines, and if too many are taken, I would..."

Amberser smiled and casually handed the Little Demon a palm-sized Magic Mirror. Before the Little Demon even realized what it meant, Amberser showed him the number displayed on the Magic Mirror.

It was the amount of Soul Currency in an account, and the number was sufficient to excite the Little Demon into flapping its wings wildly, exclaiming excitedly, "My Lord, I know of a few hidden stock in other warehouses; I’ll take you there!"

The function of the Magic Mirror had already spread, and the Hell Bank had already begun its trial operation. Over a dozen Grand Dukes of Hell came together to congratulate, which shook the Nine Layers of Hell.

Mammon, the inaugural head of the Hell Bank, was now the most illustrious figure in Hell.

Amberser chuckled to himself; money makes the mare go, and Devils are no exception.

Back in the Prime Material Plane, Amberser had never felt so comfortable, after all, he couldn’t just conjure Gold, but in Hell... the feeling of printing counterfeit money was incomparably thrilling.

Just as Amberser was about to clean out several warehouses and make a run for it, an Ancestor Demon clad entirely in Heavy Armor appeared, fixing Amberser with crimson eyes.

Amberser could tell that this Ancestor Demon was fitted with the highest-spec Hell Engine; a reddish glow seeped out of his chest, spewing flames through the pores all over his body that varied with his breathing.

The Little Demon, who had just been smiling, suddenly trembled in fear, quickly trying to explain, "Gr-great... Lord... I-I-I-I ... He had a command token from Duke Zariel ... I-I-I ..."

But it was to no avail; mid-sentence, the Ancestor Demon lifted his right foot and stomped towards the Little Demon.

The Little Demon tried to flutter its wings to escape, but it seemed as though a vortex had formed under the Ancestor Demon’s foot, firmly trapping it, and with one stomp, the Little Demon was crushed into a mash of flesh.

Amberser did not concern himself with the fate of the Little Demon, for all the items were already in hand, and he would definitely not spit out any objections that this Ancestor Demon might have had.

But the expected battle did not occur. After simply crushing the treacherous Little Demon, the Ancestor Demon respectfully said to Amberser, "Deceiver Lord, General Bayer requests your presence."