Amberser locked himself in his laboratory and devoted himself entirely to the research of Spirit Puppets.
The territory's reclamation plan was also underway, albeit with hiccups along the way. Although Raul had enough threatening power, neither he nor Isabel was skilled at managing such matters.
But that wasn't a major issue, as few lords on this continent knew how to manage; as long as they could suppress dissent with strength, that was sufficient.
These hundred or so freemen, if they didn't want to starve, would find a way to work on their own.
Generally, opening up wasteland for farming requires a great deal of manpower; for an average family to clear an acre of land, at least three workers were needed to toil for a year and a half.
The three most troublesome aspects of clearing land were weeds, rocks, and pests.
To clear weeds, they had to be uprooted entirely, or else they would grow back within days. It wasn't easy to burn them either, as lush green grass doesn't burn just because you want it to—unless you use several bottles of Blazing Magic Potion, but that would be too costly.
Rocks of all sizes littered the land, and just digging them out was exhausting enough. When encountering immovable ones, they had to be repeatedly heated and doused in water to split them before they could be moved, wasting endless time and firewood.
The presence of pests was a significant threat to crops, requiring a lot of time to be spent on pest control.
But with the help of Magic Potions, all of this became very simple.
Under Amberser's guidance, Isabel concocted a Fossil Potion that could make rocks brittle, shattering them with a light tap, and when sprayed on weeds, it would rapidly dehydrate them, turning them yellow and flammable.
Once sprayed with the potion, you only had to wait a day, and then a fire would turn the wasteland thoroughly barren, completely incinerating the underground stems and insect eggs, which then transformed into nutrients for the soil.
After the flames died down, all that was left was to pick up a hoe and start tilling the land.
Having never seen such an effortless way of land reclamation, even those who were slightly dissatisfied didn't dare utter another word.
In truth, this wasn't a secret method at all; it was simply a matter of cost.
If these potions were purchased from Alchemy City, it would cost at least a thousand Gold Coins, and a single Gold Coin was enough to feed an adult man for a month.
By this calculation, clearing the land using manpower was still more cost-effective, since life was cheap and labor was even cheaper in those times.
But as Amberser could concoct these potions himself, the costs were significantly reduced, totaling around a hundred Gold Coins, even with Isabel's labor included.
Moreover, as a Lich, Amberser had to offer some perks to the humans if he wanted them to willingly live and work on his land.
Everything was moving forward methodically, whether it was Amberser's experiments or the land reclamation project. Crude wooden houses were erected, and patches of wilderness were turned into fertile farmland—if nothing unexpected happened, sowing could begin in a month or two.
With arable land ready, everything would get on the right track.
However, not everyone wanted to see the territory of a Lich prosper.
Amberser's land was not small, but if viewed from the sky, it was evident that his territory was tightly surrounded by human lords, leaving not a single gap.
The territory to the west was the largest, nearly half the size of Amberser's. The lord of this region was a distinguished knight.
During the Magic Beast subjugation campaign twenty years ago, wearing porcupine hide, he bravely slew a griffon, earning the title of Porcupine Knight and the land as a reward.
Amberser, even when he was human, had little interaction with this Porcupine Knight; in recent years, after transforming into a Lich, he was completely ostracized by the neighboring lords, severing all ties. But today, the Porcupine Knight had no choice but to ride his steed to the outskirts of Amberser's territory.
Riding a tall horse and circling half around, the Porcupine Knight's brows furrowed deeply.
He was dressed in a shiny suit of silver chain mail, and the cape he wore on his back was embroidered with a huge porcupine emblem, making him look both tall and formidable.
In contrast, the slim attendant also on horseback, wearing a mage's robe, seemed rather scrawny. Yet, the Porcupine Knight treated this person with considerable respect, politely lowering his head and saying, "Mr. Harvey, as you can see, this Lich has gone too far."
The young man known as Mr. Harvey looked into the distance, where he could vaguely see many figures tilling the wasteland, all of whom were undoubtedly human.
Many freedmen from within the Porcupine Knight's territory had fled; it was thought they had ventured into the wilderness, planning to compete with the goblins and Jackalwolf People for territory, but unexpectedly, they had run to the Lich's domain. What shocked the Porcupine Knight even more was that the Lich had actually accepted them.
Could a Lich really coexist with humans?
Harvey pondered for a moment before saying, "My lord, as your mage advisor, I suggest you lodge a complaint with Alchemy City."
The Porcupine Knight asked, "Do you mean you don't recommend that I directly attack this Lich's domain?"
According to the rules of Alchemy City, the domains were not allowed to pillage each other's populations. Once such an act was committed, reporting it to Alchemy City would grant the opportunity to launch an offensive against the offender's domain. Victory would bring many benefits; at the very least, a large sum of war reparations could be secured, and with some luck, it might even be possible to expand one's own domain.
Yet, Harvey suggested the Porcupine Knight report and lodge a complaint, which meant seeking Alchemy City's intervention to administer justice. Even if they succeeded in the end, the bulk of the benefits would accrue to Alchemy City, and a minor lord like him would be lucky to get a small amount of compensation.
The disparity in potential gains made the Porcupine Knight a bit reluctant.
Harvey spoke very earnestly, "My lord, the Undead are not so easy to deal with, especially a high-ranking Undead like a Lich. We don't even know the name of this Lich; the moment we step into his territory, thousands of skeletons may rise from the ground."
But the Porcupine Knight said, "We can unite with the nearby lords; they all have freedmen who have escaped, and I estimate all of them have run off to this Lich's abode. A trained militiaman can deal with three or four skeletons during the day. With our combined forces, even if he truly has a thousand skeletons, they will not matter. Moreover, we can ask for that one's help."
Harvey fell silent, knowing full well whom the Porcupine Knight was referring to.
A powerful Paladin from the Laine Empire who was just then a guest in the Porcupine Knight's territory. He was not alone; he had brought a capable Adventurer Squad with him. If they were only dealing with an obscure, insignificant Lich, just the Adventurer Squad might suffice.
The most hated thing in the Laine Empire is the Undead. Hiring them to fight a Lich would not cost much, and they might even act on their own just for a tip about the Lich's whereabouts.
With such support, the Porcupine Knight confidently considered bypassing Alchemy City's adjudication and directly deploying troops to attack this Lich's domain.
Reason told Harvey that his lord's plan had a high chance of success, but every time he looked toward this eerie ancient castle, his intuition furiously warned him, "don't get close." As an apprentice of the School of Prophecy, Harvey trusted his intuition more. This Lich was certainly far more dangerous than imagined.
"My lord, if you have already made up your mind, then I suggest you prepare for both scenarios. First, unite with other lords, negotiate cooperation with the Paladin, and then declare war on the Lich in a way that follows the rules. Please ensure you abide by the laws of Alchemy City, so that even if we fail, the Lich cannot pursue us as long as we leave his domain. Second, during the preparation period, I suggest you inquire about intelligence concerning this Lich — there may be other options."
As an advisor, Harvey could only give recommendations as best as he could, rather than make decisions for his lord.
The Porcupine Knight nodded and said, "That's right. It's important to understand our opponent before a battle. I'll contact the other lords. Mr. Harvey, I know nothing of Magic or the Undead, so gathering intelligence will have to be left to you."
Harvey respectfully replied, "That is my duty. However..."
"However what?" asked the Porcupine Knight.
"My lord, Alchemy City's financial situation is deteriorating very rapidly, and this is just the beginning. Even if you win this battle, you might not be able to satisfy the appetites of those Alchemists," Harvey said.
The Porcupine Knight's face changed expression, but he quickly spoke with firmness, "Compared to Alchemy City, we are but ants under a great tree, but does that mean the tree won't fall if we do nothing? Before it collapses, we should fortify our own strength even more."