This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 177 - 164 Just Out of the Teleportation Circle
Chapter 177: Chapter 164: Just Out of the Teleportation Circle in Laine Imperial Capital
Chapter 177 -164: Just Out of the Teleportation Circle in Laine Imperial Capital
The time to settle accounts had arrived, and Amberser’s victory was tantamount to conquering the entire Sandshadow City.
Allen had no way to refute this; without the Silvermoon Knights’ intervention, Amberser only needed to maintain the effects of the Dark Arts, and the city’s population would descend into utter chaos.
Without the continuance of the Power of Faith, Sandshadow City would completely fall.
“So, everyone in Sandshadow City is my captive, there’s no problem with this calculation, right?” Amberser said.
The Silvermoon Knight snorted coldly, then replied, “I have already prepared three million Gold Coins for you, which is more than I owe you.”
Less than a hundred paladins, and around two thousand soldiers—put together, they did not amount to three million. The Silvermoon Knight decided to be more generous, to avoid any complaints from this greedy Lich.
The Silvermoon Knight really didn’t have the energy to settle accounts with Amberser right now.
However, Amberser scoffed and said, “Three million Gold Coins? Are you treating me like a beggar? That’s not the price we agreed upon.”
The Silvermoon Knight said angrily, “Aren’t you a Lich whose mathematics is poor? How did you calculate anything over three million?!”
Amberser immediately retorted, “We had originally agreed that the militia would be counted as regular soldiers, one thousand Gold Coins each. How many members of the militia do you have here in Sandshadow City?!”
“One hundred and eighty-seven!” The Silvermoon Knight asserted decisively.
He had been stationed in the city; he couldn’t be clearer about these numbers.
“Heh, you Laine People really know how to drive a bargain. You’ve registered a number that’s over a hundred, but the number of people who were involved in defending the city at the start of the war was far beyond that. Are those who charged the Holy Light Magic Array not considered militia?! They were already involved in the war, yet you tell me they are civilians?!”
“Sandshadow City has a population close to fifty thousand, at one thousand Gold Coins per person, that’s at least fifty million Gold Coins. Add that to the original three million, and it’s fifty-three million Gold Coins!”
Hearing this, the Silvermoon Knight nearly ran out of breath.
Amidst violent coughing, the Silvermoon Knight could only glare fiercely at Amberser, completely unable to retort.
According to the unwritten rules of warfare across the continent, this was indeed how it was calculated.
The basic requirement for war not to affect civilians is that civilians cannot take part in the war. You say you’re just paying taxes, helping to deliver some supplies—reluctantly, that might count you as a civilian. But once you’ve taken up arms and held your position on the city walls, asserting yourself as a civilian after someone breaches the city is simply quibbling.
The same goes for the Holy Light Magic Array; this is a city defense system protecting the entire city in all aspects. Therefore, any believers charging the Magic Array cannot be considered civilians either.
But if the accounts were settled this way, the Laine Empire would suffer greatly, as during war, the elderly and children aren’t usually counted as militia. Sandshadow City had just gone through a war, and the city, at best, had twenty thousand able-bodied individuals. Now the Lich was opening his mouth and calculating based on the maximum population.
The Silvermoon Knight really wanted to argue based on principle, but simply didn’t have the energy.
Allen, utterly confused, listened on. Had he been so cautious in calling upon the entire city to join in its defense only to end up paying the Lich?!
The young man’s head buzzed from the revelation—what useful actions had he taken in the past day? He had been completely led by the nose by the Lich, every countermeasure within his calculations, turning himself into the best accomplice for the Lich to swindle the Empire…
An even more intense sense of guilt flooded over him, and Allen lost the capacity for thought, the fear of Amberser deeply etched into his soul.
This Lich was truly terrifying.
The Silvermoon Knight simply didn’t have the energy to squabble with Amberser over this matter and could only tell him, “The Empire will send a professional negotiator to settle the account with you.”
Amberser adamantly said, “Dragging your feet will incur a penalty! Remember, you have sworn an oath by the Holy Light. Look around, where are we? This is the Temple of Lord of the Dawn; your Deity is watching.”
No sooner had Amberser finished than the statue of Lord of the Dawn in the temple shone brilliantly, as if responding to the Lich’s challenge.
Seeing this omen, everyone immediately fell to their knees, including the Silvermoon Knight.
Amberser: …
Is the Lord of the Dawn so stingy? It’s only fifty million Gold Coins—to Laine, it wouldn’t even count as a drop in the bucket. And he shows a sign over this? Such a small pattern of behavior, isn’t it?
To the Silvermoon Knight, Amberser said, “This… we can make a discount.”
The face of the Deity had to be respected, after all, this was his domain. But a discount was the limit; not even Aeo himself could get more than a discount.
When it came to an obsession in life, Liches had no rationality to speak of.
The Silvermoon Knight didn’t want to speak with Amberser any longer and promptly asked him to leave the Temple of Light.
Lord of the Dawn suddenly revealing a divine sign must mean something important,
Having received the paladins’ worship and departing the Temple of Light unscathed, Amberser had just become the first among the Undead to do so.
Who knows what those paladins had been discussing in the temple, but Allen reappeared before Amberser soon after, his demeanor completely changed from the earlier shame to calm and composed.
“Master Ultraman, regarding the fifty-three million Gold Coins you’ve demanded, we will pay immediately. Please wait a moment,” he said.
Allen’s tone was devoid of anger or self-pity; rather, he seemed to have matured, radiating an aura of light all around him.
Amberser couldn’t help but frown, thinking, Could this kid have stumbled upon a bargain?
Perhaps the Lord of the Dawn has granted some favor to this lad.
“Allen, you rascal, did you receive divine blessings?” asked Amberser.
Allen merely smiled politely and replied, “Fate is a gift from the deities, for better or for worse. If you wish to know whether the Lord of the Dawn has blessed me, I can tell you he has not. I haven’t received any power bestowed by a deity…”
Amberser hastily raised his hand, saying, “All right, no need to explain further, I understand.”
This youngster had experienced an epiphany.
Throughout history, there were many records of devout followers finally beholding a deity’s true countenance; some would experience a collapse of faith, while others would gain a deeper understanding of their doctrines.
Although it was unclear what the Lord of the Dawn had shared with this kid, Allen had reached another realm.
Amberser couldn’t ascertain the specific improvements, but he guessed that the Lord of the Dawn had probably noted down Allen’s visit.
Holy Light, open your eyes and see who the real victor is. Since when does the failed receive rewards!
Feeling slightly annoyed, Amberser had been carefully scheming, only to have Allen blunder into a major windfall—it sure was nice having a deity’s protection.
Alas, why didn’t the undead have a mighty deity to call their own? What good were the likes of Vishalon?
Not many reliable deities came from the ranks of the Dark Arts, and Amberser had a preference for powerful deities like the Lord of Knowledge, Ogma, whose talents matched his own. However, Ogma didn’t care much for faith and preferred those who spent their days playing the harp or flute—bards.
Amberser had a natural talent for learning magic, but singing, dancing, and composing music were not within his repertoire of talents.
It was no use to try and impress Ogma with songs from his past life. Before each new idea was conceived, Ogma had the right to review it. Deceiving the Lord of Knowledge was an improbable feat.
Among the remaining deities, few could stand shoulder to shoulder with the powerful Lord of the Dawn.
The deities that Amberser admired paid him no heed, while those that showed interest, like the Goddess of Night and the Goddess of Pain, were like unmatched pairs, much like an arranged marriage.
After lamenting the difficulties of being undead, Amberser could only sigh as he pocketed the small golden mountain of Gold Coins into his private space.
It had to be said, the Laine Empire was indeed wealthy; Amberser had received the payment in just half an hour.
Payment secured and the Silvermoon Knights’ letter of introduction in hand, his next target was the Emerald Dream Forest.
Amberser shook hands warmly with the stone-faced Silvermoon Knight at the Teleportation Circle and advised, “Take care of yourself. If you need to practice next time, keep me in mind. I’ll give you a 5% discount!”
The Silvermoon Knight replied in the most sincere tone, “You better never come back again.”
To push a Paladin to completely abandon the propriety of hospitality showed just how much of a shadow Amberser had cast over the Silvermoon Knight.
The Teleportation Circle lit up, and Amberser, together with Katherine, arrived in another city bathed in pure Holy Light.
As soon as he appeared, a waterfall-like force of Holy Light gathered above Amberser’s head, a force on an entirely different level from that of Sandshadow City.
For this was the Laine Imperial Capital—the City of Dawn.
With thousands of years of accumulated Power of Faith, just siphoning a fraction of it would be enough to shatter Amberser’s physical form.
Legendary Lich, Golden Throne, none could withstand this near divine force.
Fortunately, the Silvermoon Knights had arranged everything in advance. As the Holy Light was activated, the Paladins outside the Teleportation Circle promptly neutralized the targeting on Amberser. The vast Holy Light splintered into a beautiful cascade of luminescence above the city, causing Amberser’s soul to flutter in alarm.
If anything had gone slightly amiss, he might have needed the Life Casket for rebirth.
A Paladin clad in silvery-white armor told them, “Please do not move from this spot; the second teleportation will commence shortly.”
In the Imperial Capital, no matter the reason, the Laine People couldn’t allow a Lich like Amberser to wander freely through the city, so Amberser had to wait at the Teleportation Circle until the second teleportation was ready to whisk him away.
Amberser cursed his luck; he had wanted to look around and leave a small ‘gift’ for the City of Dawn. Little did he expect he wouldn’t even be able to leave the Teleportation Circle.
Moreover, several dozen fully armed Paladins were watching him with a fierce gaze. If Amberser dared any slight movement, they’d likely invoke the name of the Holy Light and let him taste the potency of the Holy Slash.
Amberser complained to the Paladins before him, “This is too much. I’m a friend of the Laine, not a wanted criminal.”
The Paladin remained unmoved. They had all been carefully instructed that, unless absolutely necessary, they should not exchange words with this Lich.
Do not respond, do not respond, absolutely do not respond!
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This undead had coated his mouth in poison, and any words he spoke were blasphemous.
After more futile words from Amberser, the Paladins ignored him as if their armor had been enchanted to do so, even disregarding the presence of Katherine at his side.
Amberser thought for a moment and took out the Necromancy Codex, typing a message in the group chat: “Currently at the Laine Imperial Capital, just stepped out of the Teleportation Circle and found myself surrounded by a bunch of Paladins. Friends, I’d like to take a stroll through the city. Any ideas?”
