This Lich Requests More Remuneration

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Cautious Paladins Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Cautious Paladins The towering city walls came into view at a distance, and Masstar and the other Paladins all let out a sigh of relief.

After running for so many days, they had finally arrived at Alchemy City.

Masstar raised his right hand and made a gesture, upon which the Conviction Knight Order uniformly slowed down their pace and swiftly came to a stop.

They were visiting in an official capacity, representing the dignity of the Laine Empire, so they could not enter Alchemy City covered in dust and grime.

Suddenly, rainwater fell from the sky, drenching the heavily armored Paladins to the bone.

This rain was created by a spell, washing away most of the dust and dirt from their bodies.

With the addition of Illuminate and other simple spells, the divine armor produced by the Laine Empire shone brilliantly in the sunlight, and the group instantly transformed from country bumpkins into dignified Paladin lords.

Then, they proceeded towards Alchemy City at a leisurely pace.

The closer they got to the city, the more they could feel its prosperity.

Even though Alchemy City was recently in an economic crisis, there were still many merchant caravans coming and going, and the sky was filled with dense airships.

But even within the dense crowd, the Conviction Knight Order still stood out as the most dazzling presence.

Before they reached the grand city gates of Alchemy City, a huge airship had already pushed through the crowd and landed in front of them.

An Alchemist clad in splendid attire stepped down from the airship and said to the Knights of the Order, “Welcome, sirs, I am Gustavo Flint, representing the Alchemist Council, and I welcome the arrival of the distinguished guests from the Laine Empire.”

Masstar knew this name, Gustavo Flint, the sixth seat of the Alchemist Council.

Although this position was quite high, Masstar still felt that Alchemy City did not pay enough respect to the Laine Empire by not sending the mysterious president to greet them.

Despite being called the Nine Great Kingdoms, in reality, there was one superpower and several strong ones.

The Laine Empire was that sole superpower, and Masstar naturally carried a bit of pride when dealing with people from other countries.

However, Masstar would not show this arrogance and interacted with Gustavo Flint very appropriately before boarding the magical airship with his teammates.

Gustavo Flint exchanged a few pleasantries with Masstar, then arranged for the group of Paladins to rest aboard the airship.

Once only their own people were left in the private room, Masstar couldn’t help but remark, “The magical conduction technology of Alchemy City is indeed formidable; we have a magic airship at home too, but I’ve never seen one this huge.”

This magic airship was indeed enormous; it could comfortably accommodate one or two hundred people, and with a few modifications, it would make a fine airborne fortress.

Another Paladin, however, said, “No matter how big it is, it’s useless; the airship is too slow and would only be a target.”

Masstar nodded in agreement, as this statement wasn’t wrong — magical airships could be considered a very nice mode of transportation, but they were not very suitable for the battlefield.

Mainly because every household had magic conduction cannon technology, and combined with the various races and factions’ flying units, dealing with slow-moving airships was all too easy. Once an airship fell, the loss would be enormous; using it in warfare would be a losing proposition.

However, using airships to bully wilderness creatures like goblins and Jackalwolf People wasn’t a bad idea.

“I’ve heard of this Gustavo Flint, a rather famous alchemist. He should be able to represent the attitude of Alchemy City. Unfortunately, it seems they are not willing to cooperate fully.”

Masstar couldn’t wait to discuss the rescue of Allen with Gustavo Flint after boarding the magic airship, but the response he received was far from satisfactory.

Alchemy City stated that Allen Watson was employed by others, took the initiative to attack the lich’s castle, and was captured after failing. Since the lich’s actions did not violate the laws of Alchemy City, they could not take the initiative to demand that the lich hand over the prisoner.

This statement made Masstar very unhappy.

Talking about laws with a lich? He felt they should just storm the castle, smash the Life Casket, scatter the ashes, and be done with it. As expected from a nation of heretics, their rules are utterly nonsensical.

After voicing his protest, Gustavo Flint hinted very subtly that Alchemy City would require a higher price to break its own rules for the Laine Empire than just a mere diplomatic document demanding compliance.

Masstar hesitated for a long time but did not continue to argue over this issue.

Officially, Masstar was an envoy from the Laine Empire, but his visit was not for negotiations; it was for a rescue. The Supreme Decree had already clearly stated they would not accept any negotiation terms, even if his son died at the hands of the lich, the Laine Empire could not bargain with others.

Therefore, Masstar did not continue to demand cooperation from the Laine Empire, but just obtained relevant materials from Gustavo Flint.

Masstar now took out all those intelligence materials and discussed with his teammates the methods of rescue.

After carefully reviewing the materials in hand, Masstar breathed a sigh of relief.

The report showed that the lich had not been reincarnated for long.

Despite being of Legendary Rank, a younger lich was definitely easier to deal with. The reason was simple: the power of a lich came not only from its spell casting ability but even more so from its vast undead army.

But the undead required corpses and souls to create, especially high-order undead like Death Knights. Not only did they require suitable materials, but also a great deal of time to cultivate the appropriate souls.

If this lich had been reincarnated for only a short time, then he certainly could not have amassed a vast undead army. The undead forces that left traces in the valley before should not belong to this Diga Ultraman.

This was the best news. With the substantial undead army missing, the threat of the lich was directly reduced by half.

A paladin suggested, “Why not directly attack the lich’s castle? Allen has been captive for too long, and the sooner we rescue him, the greater his chance of survival.”

Masstar shook his head and said, “Although Alchemy City allows us to attack directly, such an approach is too reckless. We’ve come all this way and are too exhausted; we need to rest and recover to our best condition. Besides, Allen is not a weakling, he set off with over a thousand militia and the assistance of a priest and was still captured, indicating that this lich is not as weak as imagined.

“After all, that is a castle full of all sorts of magic traps, and a straightforward attack may not break through, potentially causing unnecessary casualties.”

The members of the Conviction Knight Order are not afraid of death, but everyone is the future of the Laine Empire, and no one should sacrifice needlessly. As the captain, Masstar must be responsible for his teammates.

“Later, we’ll find a place to stay in Alchemy City and rest up tonight. We’ll disperse to gather more information and get a good night’s sleep.

“Although Alchemy City’s officials are unwilling to send troops to help, isn’t there an economic crisis here? We can offer a sum of money, and I believe many people would be willing to take risks for the sake of money.

“We could recruit some wanderers or rangers to infiltrate and scout ahead first, which might help us avoid many dangers.”

Masstar’s prudent arrangements convinced everyone. With such a cautious leader, even a Legendary Lich would be easily captured, wouldn’t it?”