"Poor Headless Brother, what exactly has marriage brought to men?"
Amberxiu sighed, feeling fortunate for his decision to remain single since his arrival in this world.
To his surprise, that Bone Dragon sister was also a member of the Mourning Poetry Society, which was truly astonishing. Amberxiu had never seen her speak in the group chat.
The group behind the Necromantic Codex had no member list, and if no one spoke in the chat, no one would know. In his time in the group, Amberxiu had only encountered four or five names, and he had no idea how many members the Mourning Poetry Society actually had.
Not a moment was spent mourning Headless Brother's fate; Amberxiu immediately returned to his experimental phase.
As requested by the Wilted Rose, Amberxiu needed to design a necromantic army capable of directly attacking the Imperial Capital of the Ryan Empire—a truly difficult task.
The Ryan Empire was the strongest human empire, home to the largest number of Light Priests and Paladins, as well as the most legendary-tier experts.
The city walls of the capital were protected by countless defensive spells, especially those that countered the undead.
Despite being a legendary lich, Amberxiu knew that if he dared to appear within the range of the Ryan Empire's capital, he wouldn't even need to face the legendary experts. The anti-undead magic from the walls alone would reduce him to ashes. The strongest empire on the continent was not just a boast; it was built on countless glorious achievements.
Most ordinary undead forces would be reduced to dust upon nearing the city.
Amberxiu had initially planned to employ puppets to solve the issue of undead being countered.
Among undead troops, spirit statues were the most unique. Not because they were particularly strong, but because, in some ways, they could scarcely be considered undead at all.
These were magical constructs, a creation of the great legendary lich Morgan. His famous work, "The Study of Phantom Reproduction," was a monumental breakthrough.
The question of whether souls could reproduce was once an academic dilemma in the undead community, sparking fierce debates among necromancers every year.
When Master Morgan's "Study of Phantom Reproduction" was published, it finally settled the matter—phantoms, too, could reproduce.
Though the conditions were extremely harsh and the success rate low, after countless tests by necromancers, this result was reproducible. Moreover, the new souls born from phantom reproduction seemed to form an entirely separate race, distinct from the undead.
The most obvious trait was that these newly created souls were not susceptible to light magic, as they were not recognized by the world's laws as undead.
The spirit statues created using these special souls were the most unique form of undead soldiers—virtually free of any undead aura and immune to light magic.
Unfortunately, after Morgan's creation of the spirit statues, the Ryan Empire shattered his fate and ordered the "Legendary Curse" to revoke all honors granted to Morgan, even demanding the destruction of all research related to spirit statues.
Thankfully, the editor-in-chief of "Legendary Curse" at the time stood firm in the face of the Ryan Empire's pressure, maintaining the scholars' principles, which allowed the spirit statue technology to survive. Though Morgan's manuscripts were destroyed, and many details had to be pieced together by others, the knowledge of spirit statue creation was not lost.
Amberxiu naturally knew about the spirit statue technology but had never delved deeply into it. The subject was too advanced, and as a newly advanced lich, his mastery of necromancy was still insufficient. Attempting to study it further would have been a waste of time.
However, now that he had found the long-forgotten "Study of Phantom Reproduction" on his bookshelf, he knew that today he must thoroughly study the book.
"Ah, it all starts with the reproduction of living people. That truly is... hmm, these illustrations are quite detailed..."
Amberxiu became engrossed in his studies. Researching new technologies was his second passion after making money.
After flipping through only a few pages, Isabel timidly appeared in Amberxiu's study.
"Lord Lich, the rock-softening potion for the land reclamation is ready. My brother has brought back 123 people in total these past few days, but the castle rooms are already full, and we're running low on food..."
Isabel cautiously reported on recent progress.
Amberxiu set down his magical book and said to Isabel, "You've moved fast. Over a hundred people in just a few days?"
These past few days, Isabel's brother, Raul, had been helping Amberxiu gather escaped commoners. Although he could only use the aberrant skeletons at night, the number of people fleeing due to the tax crisis had been so high that it was easy to spread the word about Amberxiu's "generous policies," attracting many desperate commoners to seek refuge.
After all, it was death either way—being captured by a lord or coming to the lich's domain for a chance at survival.
Upon seeing the vast wasteland behind the castle and the promise of land for everyone, these refugees couldn't help but praise the kind-hearted lich lord, thinking him far more merciful than the Light God.
However, after a few days of living there, the commoners' patience was running out.
The main issue was being crammed into the eerie castle, and with the so-called lich lord never appearing, their worries began to grow. They began questioning whether the promised land would really be given, how food would be provided during the reclamation, and how they were supposed to begin without tools, seeds, or livestock.
These concerns slowly eroded their rationality, causing anxiety to spread like a virus through the community.
The situation had nearly reached the breaking point, which is why Isabel had the courage to report to Amberxiu.
"Well, the progress is good. Since the potion is ready, we can officially start the land reclamation today. Prepare a list of their names, separating the young, strong, and elderly. There should be blacksmiths and carpenters among them; make sure to record everything carefully. Then, allocate the potions according to the land distribution. However, when they start working, they must cooperate. Anyone who shows selfish behavior—like fighting over land, falsifying numbers, taking more potions than they should, or inventing fake professions—don't waste time. Just send them away..."
Amberxiu spoke rapidly, and Isabel hurriedly took out a notebook, quickly jotting down his instructions. As an alchemy apprentice, it was a good habit to always be ready to take notes, as anything her teacher said might become a golden opportunity.
Isabel wrote swiftly, not missing a word of Amberxiu's orders.
After filling several pages of parchment, she realized that Amberxiu had a detailed and clear plan for the resettlement of the people. Was this something liches typically studied?
Isabel became curious about the kind-hearted lich lord. For humans, undead beings were often described with words like "filthy," "despicable," or "evil," but after spending these few days with Amberxiu, he didn't seem particularly evil—apart from his coldness and strictness.
Moreover, without prejudice, Amberxiu was the most learned and wise scholar Isabel had ever met, with expertise in alchemy that even her teacher couldn't match.
"Could it be that people misunderstand liches?"
Isabel glanced at Amberxiu's desk, curious to see what magic he studied in his spare time.
However, just one glance was enough to widen Isabel's beautiful eyes. The innocent girl, unfamiliar with some things, felt as though she had just unlocked a new world.
End of Chapter