This Lich Requests More Remuneration

Chapter 100 - 100 97 The Side Effects of Freedom of Belief

?Chapter 100: Chapter 97 The Side Effects of Freedom of Belief Chapter 100: Chapter 97 The Side Effects of Freedom of Belief [Withered Rose: “Do you still intend to purchase mines? The Alchemy City is now a war zone, can’t you just take them by force? Who would negotiate a trade with you when you’re offering money?”]
Amberser sighed, indeed, he couldn’t treat others as fools.

In the Elegy Poetry Society, perhaps only Headless Bro’s intelligence was slightly lower, after all, he was a strength-focused knight.

The other spellcasters, would need to add a bit of intelligence, and truly weren’t that easy to deceive.

Amberser also couldn’t admit that he was looking for excuses just to scam money, so he changed the subject, “Speaking of the issue with the spirit of contracts, those elves have moved near my home, forcing the lords to sign contracts for voluntary relocation. This contract must have some special effect, but my side has too little information to figure out anything.”

[Withered Rose: “A contract? Can you find out the specific contents?”]
Amberser relayed the contract terms he had gleaned from the Porcupine Knight to Withered Rose. The Undead Queen seemed to have thought of something, leaving just a “Wait for my news”, and then there was no further reply.

Though it was a pity he couldn’t cheat money out of it, Amberser still made the propagation of the Mercury Avatars the top priority.

The Elf Tribe was aggressively advancing, the Desert Dwarves were being pounded into the ground by Laine, it all seemed unreliable, and he guessed in the end it would still be up to Amberser to stand alone against them.

The Mercury Avatars were the most suitable high-tier troops, whether in terms of combat power or cultivation cost, they were among the most cost-effective.

Spreading out the map, there were three mines near Amberser’s land, except each belonged to a Great Lord.

Unlike the Porcupine Knight, a ‘country bumpkin’ who rose through valor, these three Great Lords were hereditary nobles with a century of inheritance, probably even having ties with members of the Alchemist Council. Although nobles are prone to being prodigal and perverse, they also have a huge advantage: accumulated wealth and well-managed lands.

Each of these Great Lords commanded over a thousand soldiers, not just militiamen trained for a few days, but real soldiers. Maybe they didn’t all have full armor, but they were much stronger than the average militia.

Furthermore, their territories were complete with various watchtowers and walls, and perhaps one or two hidden Magic Conduction Cannons.

Ordinary people definitely wouldn’t dare to provoke such Great Lords, and had to guard against the possibility that the Lords would target them.

The chaos of the battle had just begun, and it was estimated that these Lords were gathering strength and waiting, when they made their move it would be swift and overwhelming, sweeping through the vicinity, devouring in one go.

But now, Amberser had set his sights on their mines first.

“Which one should I start with?”

Amberser carefully recalled the statuses of these lords, finding little impression. He usually preferred to stay in his castle conducting experiments, having little interaction with the neighbors.

He only remembered that their Family Crests were somewhat unusual, one had a Hell Cerberus, one a Thunderstorm, and another rather interesting one, a human figure wrapped in thorns.

If these family crests were related to their faith, that would be quite interesting.

The Hell Cerberus goes without saying, they must be followers of a Grand Duke of Hell, the Thunderstorm generally represents Thanos, Lord of the Storm, and the last, the human figure wrapped in thorns, is probably a believer of the Queen of Pain, Rowetta.

If there’s one thing these three families of believers have in common, it’s probably just one point — they’re all crazy.

Hell doesn’t need to be mentioned, there are no good people there, evil is their innate label, those who believe in the Grand Duke of Hell must regularly offer fresh blood and souls.

The Lord of the Storm, Thanos, is a powerful, crazy deity who enjoys destruction, war, and devastation, making his belief somewhat niche. However, any who are willing to practice the teachings of this deity are war fanatics who delight in destroying everything, not just life, but also the creations of civilization.

To obliterate everything with the guise of a storm, that is the doctrine of Thanos.

Funnily enough, Thanos is also a very generous deity, possibly because of the small number of followers, he is not stingy with sharing divine power, resulting in many Storm Priests among his followers.

He’s also generous to other deities, for example, Vishalon, God of the Liches, was once a subordinate of Thanos, and could even be said to have become a god through Thanos’s generous sharing.

But the God of the Liches couldn’t stand the crazy exploitation of this mad deity, in his words, “He didn’t want to be worn out like a foot soldier’s boot.” Eventually, Vishalon had no choice but to abscond, seeking refuge with Azus, the guardian deity of mages.

One wonders what the God of the Liches had gone through to say something like “he didn’t want to be worn out.”

But this story also shows that the Lord of the Storm is the true madman, unbearable even for a lich.

The last, the Queen of Pain, Rowetta, is also heavyweight; to put it simply, Rowetta is the goddess of all sadists, bullies, and torturers. She is devoted to all forms of torment and suffering. If you can accept and even find pleasure in this pain, then you will receive this goddess’s blessings.

If you indulge in pleasure and reject pain, then Rowetta will personally show you what pain is.

“Alchemy City really is free—such crazies can become great nobles.”

Just as Amberser was feeling somewhat emotional, he suddenly remembered he was a lich, and in the eyes of ordinary people, liches were more terrifying than these three families, who just had some peculiar beliefs. At least they were still human, whereas liches belonged to a thoroughly evil faction.