This Lich Requests More Remuneration

Chapter 39: Chapter 39 My Holy Knight Friend Chapter 39: Chapter 39 My Holy Knight Friend Under the dim candlelight, the young mage was feverishly writing.

“Poor Allen once again suffered cruel torture, but even on the brink of death, he remained steadfast in his prayers to the Lord of the Dawn. I was moved by his unwavering faith, yet I couldn’t help considering, what exactly has his faith brought him.

“As a fellow captive of a lich, only he endures torture, while I, a mere mage apprentice, can even write letters to my family…”

William Harvy had filled several sheets of parchment with his fluent writing, then handed over the article titled “My Paladin Friend Allen—A Brief Discussion on the Influence of Faith on the Young” to Amberser.

After carefully reviewing the content, Amberser nodded in satisfaction and said to Harvy, “Not bad, your writing is quite impressive, have you ever considered switching to novel writing?”

The young mage showed an awkward yet polite smile and then cautiously asked, “Master Ultraman, can such a story really be published in ‘Legendary Spells’?”

Amberser had Harvy concoct a story from his own perspective, narrating how the devout paladin Allen, due to his unwavering faith, deliberately provoked a powerful lich, and after being captured, suffered even more cruel treatment because of his faith.

In twenty or thirty thousand words, the entire article subtly indicated that Allen’s faith was not genuine, but rather a result of family indoctrination from a young age, like a sort of brainwashing into becoming a fanatic follower of the Lord of the Dawn, pointing out how the fanatic father’s abnormally stubborn training had turned the promising young Allen into a religious maniac.

In essence, the article conveyed the idea that James Watson, editor-in-chief of ‘Legendary Spells,’ had forced his son into indoctrination in violation of the universal value of freedom of faith on the continent, and also twisted the teachings of the Lord of the Dawn, making people religious fanatics.

Harvy felt that if this article were submitted, his name would be permanently blacklisted by ‘Legendary Spells,’ and then the Paladin Legion would march straight to the gates of the castle, not to subjugate Master Ultraman, but to put him, William Harvy, on the pyre.

Amberser cheerfully reassured Harvy, “The main publication of ‘Legendary Spells’ is certainly out of reach, but the supplement shouldn’t be a problem. Congratulations, young mage, you’re now a contributor to ‘Legendary Spells.'”

The main publication of ‘Legendary Spells’ comprised various high-end magic research, whereas the supplement was more entertainment-oriented. Works such as “Those Years Drifting in the North of Silvermoon Tribunal,” “My 80-Year-Old Loli Elf Wife,” and “The Domineering Prince of the Laine Empire” were all quite popular, even outselling the main publication.

Amberser couldn’t directly send a threat to the Laine Empire stating, “Your paladins and Light Priests are in my hands, hurry up with a ransom of several million Gold Coins, or else I’ll cut them loose.”

If it were done this way, the Laine Empire would certainly issue a public warrant for Amberser’s arrest and then send troops to eliminate him, and Alchemy City would have no reason to stop them.

Therefore, Amberser needed a more subtle way to inform James Watson—your son is in my hands!

Having Harvy write such an article was a circuitous way of notifying through ‘Legendary Spells.’ If James Watson didn’t want to lose his son, he would likely pay the ransom out of his own pocket, without a complete fallout.

In the article, Harvy repeatedly mentioned the ransom’s price and the implication that payment would secure release from an observer’s viewpoint, trusting that the editor wouldn’t be foolish and would understand Amberser’s intentions.

Although Harvy was well aware that after the article’s release his situation would worsen, as a captive, he truly had little room to refuse and could only hope that Amberser would keep his word and not mistreat him.

And from their interactions over the past few days, this lich seemed much kinder than expected, with the paladin and Light Priest not subjected to any real abuse; at most, they were just confined and not allowed to roam. The gruesome tortures mentioned in the article were all fabrications.

Harvy had even inquired why Amberser would fabricate such stories instead of simply using torture.

Amberser’s response at the time took him by surprise.

“Why resort to torture? I’m too busy with experiments to even find time to sleep, let alone torture them. Besides, what’s the use of tormenting those two? It’s not like I can kill them for their souls. If I injure them, I’d have to spend money on their treatment. Would I be insane to waste both money and time on that?”

This answer seemed logical, but Harvy couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Was a lich refraining from tormenting a paladin solely because of cost?

Who would believe that justification?

Nevertheless, Harvy refrained from pressing further; as a mage apprentice, he lived quite comfortably in the castle with a private room and occasional access to books.

If it weren’t for being constantly monitored by those Alien Skeletons, Harvy felt it wasn’t so different from his time at home. Speaking out and angering this seemingly benign lich would truly be counterproductive.

Amberser filed away Harvey’s article and sent it to “Legendary Spells” as quickly as possible before diving back into his laboratory once more.

Amberser wasn’t bragging, he really was very busy.

The combat record of Living Mercury still needed some editing, and he had to wrap up the Living Mercury experiment. More importantly, he had to organize the detailed data and materials to send to Withered Rose, the undead rich witch, to see if she would settle the final payment.

In Amberser’s view, Living Mercury already met Withered Rose’s requirements.

With magic resistance sufficient to withstand most magic traps, and since Living Mercury didn’t count as undead, it wouldn’t be detected by the Laine Empire’s undead monitoring system. Its ability to freely change shape allowed it to infiltrate through the city’s drainage or climb the walls directly for a breakthrough.

If there were enough of them, Living Mercury really could have a chance at breaching the walls of the Laine Empire.

Of course, this was under the assumption that the Laine Empire’s legendaries wouldn’t intervene; otherwise, a few large-scale attack magics could overwhelm Living Mercury. They only had magic resistance, not complete immunity to magic.

After being busy for most of the day, Amberser finally packaged the data and sent it to Withered Rose via the Necromancy Codex.

This wealthy lady seemed to be online all the time, almost immediately replying to him.

[Withered Rose: That was fast? I thought you’d take another month or two just to come up with the preliminary designs.]

Designing high-order undead was no easy feat, let alone those specifically tailored against the Laine Empire’s undead legions. It was as delusional as ordering beef noodles without the noodles and expecting only beef.

[Diga Ultraman: Standing on the shoulders of great minds, it’s easier to produce results. Taking inspiration from Master Morgan’s Spirit Puppet designs, I’ve emulated and created this new type of spirit servant, which should meet your requirements.]

[Withered Rose: Master Morgan? What a coincidence, I’m his student.]

Amberser hadn’t expected such a coincidence. No wonder Withered Rose desired to oppose the Laine Empire. Master Morgan was brought down after being hunted by the paladins of the Laine Empire. This was a quest for vengeance for her mentor. Admirable spirit.

[Diga Ultraman: Out of respect for Master Morgan, I can offer you a discount.]

[Withered Rose: Oh, how much of a discount?]

[Diga Ultraman: How about a discount of 9.95%?]

The rich witch was silent for a while before replying.

[Withered Rose: Don’t bother with the discount. If the mentor knew he was valued so little, he might just come back to life to smash your Life Casket.]

[Diga Ultraman: That’s fair. Respect is something held in the heart and shouldn’t be measured in gold coins.]

[Withered Rose: …]

The wealthy lady didn’t message back, apparently engrossed in studying the data Amberser had sent.

Amberser was eagerly awaiting the client’s feedback when he saw a new message on the Necromancy Codex.

But this time, it was from someone he didn’t expect to hear from.

[Headless Knight’s Crown: Brother Diga, could I come to stay at your place for a few days?]