"Poor Headless Bro, what on earth does marriage bring to a man?"
Amberser sighed, feeling fortunate for his decision to stay single since arriving in this world.
That Bone Dragon Sister turned out to be a member of the Elegy Poetry Society as well, which was truly shocking. Amberser had never seen her speak in the chat group.
The chat group behind the Necromancy Codex didn't have a member list, so if you didn't speak up in the group, nobody would indeed know about you. In the time Amberser had joined, he had only seen about four or five names, and he had no idea just how many members the Elegy Poetry Society really had.
Without spending a moment to mourn Headless Bro's plight, Amberser immediately went back to experimenting.
According to Withered Rose's request, Amberser needed to design a type of undead soldier that could breach the Laine Imperial Capital's defenses head-on, which was an extremely challenging task.
The Laine Empire was the strongest human empire, with the most Light Priests and Paladins on the entire continent, as well as the most Legendary Rank fighters.
The walls of the Imperial Capital were fortified with countless defensive magics, especially designed to counter undead.
Despite being a Legendary Lich himself, Amberser wouldn't dare to show up within the range of the Laine Imperial Capital. It wouldn't require those Legendary fighters to act, the anti-undead magic alone perched on the city walls would reduce him to dust. The greatest empire of the continent wasn't built on bragging; it was forged through countless glorious battles.
Ordinary undead soldiers would simply disintegrate upon getting close to the walls.
Originally, Amberser was planning to solve the undead's vulnerability with puppets.
Among the undead soldiers, Spirit Puppets are one of the most special kinds. It's not that they are very strong, but Spirit Puppets in some ways can't even be considered undead.
This is a very special type of magical construct, created by the great Legendary Lich Master Morgan, whose renowned work, "Research on Ghost Breeding," is his creation.
The question of whether souls could reproduce with one another was once a scholarly challenge in the undead world, provoking fierce debates among necromancers every year.
Until Master Morgan's "Research on Ghost Breeding" was published, definitively settling the matter—ghosts can indeed breed.
Although the conditions are extremely harsh and the success rate very low, after countless tests by necromancers, the results proved reproducible; and the new souls bred from ghosts seemed to become a race independent from the undead.
The most noticeable feature was that these new souls weren't restrained by light magic and didn't seem to be recognized by the World Laws as undead.
And the Spirit Puppets created with this special type of soul are the most unique undead soldiers, almost devoid of any undead aura and not constrained by light magic.
It's a pity that after Spirit Puppets were created by Master Morgan, this predecessor in the world of the undead had his Life Casket smashed by the Laine Empire, and he even ordered Legendary Spells to revoke the honors bestowed upon Master Morgan, demanding that all research materials related to Spirit Puppets be destroyed.
Thankfully, the then-editor of "Legendary Spells" stood firm against the pressure of the Laine Empire, upholding the scholarly principle and allowing the technology of Spirit Puppets to spread enough before all of Master Morgan's manuscripts were destroyed. Many details had to be pondered by everyone on their own, but at least the technology was not lost.
Amberser certainly knew about the technique of creating Spirit Puppets, just that he hadn't studied it in depth before. The subject was simply too advanced, and as a newly arisen Lich, he hadn't mastered undead magic enough; delving into it prematurely would have been a waste of time.
But now, Amberser had taken that dusty copy of "Research on Ghost Breeding" from the shelf. This was the core foundation of creating Spirit Puppets, and today, he had no choice but to fully comprehend this book.
"Yo, starting with breeding from living beings, huh? That's really... yikes, these illustrations are so detailed..."
Amberser began to indulge in his studies, as researching new technologies was his second favorite hobby after making money.
Just a few pages in, Isabel cautiously appeared in Amberser's study.
"Lich Lord, the rock softening potion for tilling the fields has been prepared, and in the past few days, my brother has brought back a total of one hundred and twenty-three people. The rooms in the castle are no longer sufficient, and there's also a bit of a shortage of food..."
Isabel carefully reported the recent accomplishments.
Putting down the magic book in his hands, Amberser said to Isabel, "Quick work, huh? You've brought back over a hundred people in just a few days?"
In the past few days, Isabel's brother Raul had been helping Amberser gather fleeing free citizens. Although they could only use the Alien Skeletons at night, the number of people running away lately due to the tax crisis was simply too high, so just promoting Amberser's "preferential policies" naturally attracted many desperate free citizens to seek refuge.
After all, going back meant death, and being caught by the Lord also meant death, so what was wrong with trying one's luck in the territory of a Lich?
Seeing the vast wastelands behind the castle and promises of land for everyone, these free citizens couldn't help but praise the benevolent Lich Lord, even more kindly than the Light God himself.
However, after living there for a few days, these free citizens were quickly running out of patience.
The main issue was spending all day cramped up in this gloomy castle, without the legendary Lich Lord ever appearing, which began to foster many worries among them. Would the promised land really be given, how would they deal with food and drink during the tilling period, and how would they till the land without tools, seeds, or livestock?
These questions would constantly erode their sanity, causing people to become irritable and anxious, and like a virus, this unease would infect and intensify within the crowd.
Now that the situation had almost reached an uncontrollable point, that's why Isabel had mustered the courage to report to Amberser.
"Hmm, that's very good progress. Since the potion is ready, we can officially start reclaiming the land today. Compile a list of their names, separate the able-bodied from the women and children. These free citizens should have professions like blacksmiths and carpenters; all must be carefully accounted for. Then, distribute the potions based on the division of land, but demand that they work together during the tilling. If anyone shows selfish behaviors, such as fighting over land, inflating numbers, taking extra potions, or fabricating professional information, don't waste time, just kick them out..."
As Amberser talked non-stop, Isabel quickly took out a notebook, rapidly jotting down notes. This was a good habit of an Alchemy Apprentice; any word said by the teacher could become an opportunity for one's rapid advancement, so being ready to take notes at all times was essential.
Isabel wrote quickly, noting down Amberser's instructions without missing a single word.
It wasn't until she filled several pages of parchment that she realized Amberser had a detailed and clear plan for settling the people. Was this also something a Lich would study?
Isabel's curiosity about this benevolent Lich Lord began to grow. To humans, Undead Creatures were generally described with words like filthy, despicable, and evil, but over these past days, aside from being cold and strict, this Lich didn't seem to have any evil aspects.
Moreover, without bias, Amberser was the most learned and wise scholar Isabel had ever seen, with achievements in Alchemy that not even her teacher could match.
"Could the world have misconceptions about Liches?"
Curious, Isabel took a glance at the items on Amberser's desk to see what sort of magic the benevolent Lich Lord usually studied.
But with just one look, Isabel's beautiful eyes widened, and the naive girl felt as if she had opened the doors to a new world.