Outside the castle, a makeshift army stood in the biting cold wind.
The near-winter chill made the militia members shiver uncontrollably.
Amber Xiu paid no attention to this ragtag force assembled by several nearby lords, instead focusing on the paladin in the front.
It had been over half a month since their last encounter at the tavern.
Amber Xiu had not expected this paladin to join forces with the local petty lords. For a paladin of the Lyen Empire to associate with such a hodgepodge group, including a hedgehog knight, was rather beneath his station.
This time, Amber Xiu did not appear in human form, but as a lich in skeletal form.
As soon as Amber Xiu appeared, the hedgehog knight rode forward, boldly addressing him, "Filthy lich, I am Sir Aldrich Jais. You have used your dark magic to deceive my people. Now, as a noble of the Alchemy City, I demand the return of my people, or you will provoke war."
The hedgehog knight was unusually confident today. Even though he stood before a floating lich, he felt no fear, for he was flanked by an army of thousands, a mage advisor, and, more importantly, a paladin of the Lyen Empire.
In this world, there was no profession more capable of restraining the undead than a paladin.
With the paladin at his side, the hedgehog knight had no reason to fear.
Amber Xiu surveyed the group before him and asked, "The Lyen Empire meddling in the affairs of Alchemy City, is this a declaration of war?"
The paladin answered solemnly, "Master Ultraman, there is no need to lay blame on me. I am currently in Alchemy City as an adventurer, and as such, hired by a lord to exterminate the undead, which is in accordance with the laws of Alchemy City. I must thank you for your previous lesson. Indeed, adhering to local laws is crucial."
"Oh? It seems you haven't been idle these past few days, have you? You must have gathered all my background by now," Amber Xiu remarked.
The paladin shook his head. "We should have gathered more information, but alas, mortals have such short lives. Even the lords around me know you've been a lich for less than a century. Beyond that, I have found no further information."
"You're quite honest," Amber Xiu commented.
This was not entirely unexpected. It was the time gap between immortals and mortals. In a world where the average life span was just thirty or forty years, Amber Xiu could easily spend decades, even centuries, in his castle.
After two generations of mortals, stories would arise about a "terrifying lich in the castle," or "no, I heard he's a handsome vampire," and so on. These legends quickly took on numerous versions.
The local lords were not part of ancient families. Investigating Amber Xiu was akin to studying the life of a legendary figure from several dynasties ago.
Had Amber Xiu not dropped the name Ultraman in the tavern, the paladin might not have even known the castle was his.
Few in Alchemy City could truly uncover Amber Xiu's past. A paladin was not yet important enough to receive such intelligence, and these petty lords were even less significant—beneath the rank of a paladin.
The paladin spoke with reverence, "Honesty is our creed. Even when facing the undead, I shall abide by it."
Amber Xiu, deep in thought, quickly adjusted his plans.
He addressed the group before him, saying, "Time is money, enough with the chatter. Are you here for my captives?"
Captives?
The hedgehog knight felt something was off but repeated, "Return my people to me and provide a legal compensation, and we can avoid war."
These petty lords had gathered not just to rescue the handful of fugitive civilians but, more importantly, to extort money from Amber Xiu to resolve their current crisis.
They assumed that, like the ancient noble families, Amber Xiu, a lich who had lived for centuries and had no family to support, was immensely wealthy. They believed a mere trickle of gold from his fingers could feed them for days.
Hence, money was the key.
What they didn't expect, however, was that Amber Xiu shared the same thought.
Floating in midair, his tone as cold as ever, Amber Xiu remarked, "Human, do you think lies will absolve you of your debt? What do you mean I've deceived your people? It was your subjects who trespassed and caused damage to my lands. According to the laws of Alchemy City, it is *you* who must compensate for the loss!"
An eerie silence fell over the group. They had anticipated many outcomes—perhaps Amber Xiu would arrogantly declare all humans beneath him and launch an attack, or he might hesitate, choosing to negotiate... They had prepared for many possibilities.
But they never imagined Amber Xiu would lie so brazenly, even turning the tables on them!
After a long pause, the hedgehog knight furiously retorted, "Your excuses are meaningless! If you hadn't bewitched them, how could they have ventured into the lands of the undead?"
Amber Xiu chuckled darkly and countered, "Then perhaps you should ask yourself. You're their lord, aren't you? It was your people who entered my domain and destroyed my magical traps. How do we know it wasn't your command?"
Amber Xiu then produced a memory crystal, projecting an image onto the air. It was unmistakably the scene of Raoul entering the castle and triggering the magical traps.
The hedgehog knight seethed, "This is slander! I never gave such an order! How do we know this isn't forged?"
Amber Xiu nonchalantly replied, "It can be verified. Paladin, can you confirm whether the memory crystal is genuine?"
The paladin sneered and said to Amber Xiu, "Master Ultraman, I won't fall for your tricks again. The images in the memory crystal are difficult to fabricate, but if this mortal was under your charm, commanding him to perform this act and record it would be easy. It's pointless to verify the authenticity of the crystal."
Amber Xiu smiled, "You've become quite clever. Looks like I'll have to charge you for the lesson."
Though the paladin's face was obscured by his helm, his clenched fists betrayed his inner unrest. Being made a fool in front of so many had wounded his pride, and being taken advantage of by Amber Xiu was a humiliation he could never forget.
Amber Xiu gave no opportunity for rebuttal, continuing, "It's clear now. I can present proof of your people's intrusion, while all you have are baseless accusations."
"I don't care what excuses you humans have. Once you trespassed into my territory, you provoked me. And you lords must pay for their actions!"
"According to your noble customs, if you wish to ransom your captives, you must pay. The cost for skilled civilians is at least thirty gold coins. They damaged my magical traps, which costs three hundred gold coins to repair, and my skeleton puppets were also damaged, which will require two thousand gold coins to restore."
"You want them back? Pay up! If not, their souls, their bodies, everything about them will be mine to use as material for my experiments."
End of Chapter