Undead beings generally do not accept the companionship of the living, for to most of them, the living are merely food or experimental subjects.
Among the undead, only vampires, a rare breed, might fall in love with their prey. This is why vampires have a strained relationship with other undead creatures.
It is akin to how normal humans would struggle to accept the idea of marrying a roasted chicken—one might say, "I respect your preferences, but please keep your distance."
Furthermore, mortals who become romantically involved with vampires either turn into vampires themselves or are burned alive as one.
On this continent, relationships between different species rarely end well.
Even true love is often doomed to failure, let alone relationships based on power dynamics. More often than not, liches enslave humans, or necromancers make pacts with liches.
However, Amberxiu had no such intentions. After forging a path for the creation of grotesque skeletons, his need for human corpses drastically decreased. His perfected soul-mimicking techniques completely replaced the uncontrollable human souls, meaning he no longer required humans as guinea pigs.
What Amberxiu needed was money.
Normally, mortals would never ally with a lich, an evil creature. Yet, with the unprecedented economic crisis in Alchemy City, many free citizens fled due to tax increases imposed by their lords. Amberxiu saw this as an opportunity to recruit some mortals.
Business is far more profitable when taxes aren't levied. Even the poorest lord in Alchemy City is wealthier than Amberxiu.
Behind his castle lay vast fertile lands. Once cultivated, it could easily support three to five thousand people.
This was a one-time deal made between the Alchemist Council and Amberxiu: two magical potion formulas in exchange for permanent ownership of the land, exempt from taxes, though it could not be inherited or transferred. If Amberxiu were to die by some divine retribution, the land would be automatically reclaimed.
The tax exemption alone would save Amberxiu a significant amount. While other lords might collect up to 80% in taxes, he could settle for just 60%.
Rules are meant to be broken. What brings momentary satisfaction may offer long-term pleasure. One could blame the economic crisis for the fact that the living were now serving as subjects under a lich.
After enduring Amberxiu's moral interrogation, Raul finally realized he had encountered a once-in-a-lifetime benevolent lord. This lich lord only collected 60% tax—what a saint!
If word of this spread, thousands of free citizens might flock to the lich lord's domain. Human lords would likely assemble armies to deal with this merciful lich.
In Raul's mind, Amberxiu sat at the negotiation table, speaking solemnly to the noble lords: "Humans, please treat your fellow kind with kindness."
Moved by this act of compassion, Raul was even more convinced that he had misunderstood Amberxiu. With a sense of repentance, he resolved to do everything he could to recruit more fleeing citizens for Amberxiu.
However, Isabel had a nagging feeling that something was amiss. It seemed as though they had fallen straight into a trap set by the lich. But then again, perhaps not. Their entry into the lich's territory was purely accidental, and no matter how powerful the lich was, he wouldn't waste prophecy magic on two mere mortals.
Isabel never expected a lich to be in need of money, for they could simply take it by force.
It wouldn't be unusual for a lich to raid human territories for wealth and people. Once, a lich who despised humans cast an enhanced toxic cloud spell, causing millions of deaths from plague.
Evil creatures not attacking humans would be strange.
This thought troubled Isabel, who felt Amberxiu was hiding something. But such matters were beyond the understanding of a mere alchemy apprentice.
After about a day, Raul returned, bringing ten living people with him.
Upon seeing Amberxiu, they were so frightened that they nearly collapsed, with several turning to flee.
Thankfully, Raul, controlling his grotesque skeletons, stopped them. Some cursed Raul for working with the lich, while others begged for mercy, tearfully pleading for their elderly mothers and young children.
It was then that Amberxiu's foresight became apparent. Once they were given a dose of calming potion, their horrifying wails quickly subsided.
Calmness is the foundation of communication. Raul then dropped the bombshell: Amberxiu only taxed 60%, which immediately swayed their hearts.
Sixty percent tax—was this lich lord disguised as an angel?
Before the tax hikes, they had been paying 80%, and now the rates had risen to 90%, with taxes for the next two years required in advance.
Thus, they could no longer bear it and fled.
But while they could escape, they could not take their property. All the assets left behind in the territory would surely be claimed by their lord.
Faced with the choice of losing everything or becoming a slave, most of them had no choice.
Once they lost everything, even skilled citizens might starve, for the tax hikes affected not only one lord but all vassals of the Alchemist Council. They didn't even know where to run.
Now, it seemed they had a new option.
Allying with a lich—something they would have never considered before due to the disrespect it would show to their race. But now, with their lives in danger, their race mattered little. Following the lich lord meant they would have food.
With Amberxiu's promise, and after seeing the surrounding environment of the castle, these fleeing citizens decided to pledge allegiance to Amberxiu and become his subjects.
Amberxiu knew his plan had succeeded. These ten or so people would soon help him establish the reputation of a merciful lich lord, attracting more free citizens.
Amberxiu appointed Isabel as the head maid and arranged for these people to temporarily stay in the castle.
However, Amberxiu had to put his necromantic experiments on hold and head to Alchemy City for procurement. The free citizens couldn't all stay in his castle; they needed to find places to build new homes, cultivate fields, and raise livestock.
But these refugees had little more than daggers and some loose change. They couldn't carry their homes with them, so they had nothing, and Amberxiu would need to provide everything.
Of course, this wasn't free—it was for rent.
Whether it was tools, seeds, or livestock, renting was the norm, with rents depending on the lord's mood. A benevolent lord would lower the interest rates to attract new free citizens, while a tyrannical lord would raise them to the extreme, hoping to turn tenants into slaves.
There was no clear right or wrong in these actions. Even merciful lords had been betrayed and killed by their subjects, while brutal lords might still live to a ripe old age.
This world operates on the law of the fist.
Amberxiu had to purchase many items, and since their unit prices were low, shipping by courier would cost him too much in fees. It was more cost-effective to order directly and rent a cart to transport the goods.
However, going to Alchemy City would require a change in appearance to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Amberxiu stood in front of a large mirror and cast a transformation spell.
He transformed from a terrifying skeletal figure into a handsome young man with golden hair and blue eyes.
This was the form he had before his journey to this world.
End of Chapter