In a corner of the sewer, a large number of slis were herded into a dead end.
Ambrose stood before a freshly drawn magic circle, waiting for the disgusting, squirming monsters to walk right into his trap.
One by one, as they approached, they were instantly teleported away.
Back in his castle, cages were already prepared. The slis were teleported to their designated spots, securely imprisoned.
The location Naomi had marked was correct; it was indeed a gathering point for a large number of slis.
Ambrose collected more than half of the slis but stopped short of taking them all, a practice he followed to avoid depleting his resources. After capturing forty or fifty of them, he packed up. He planned to leave a hidden teleportation circle here, one that would automatically send any sli that passed over it to his castle.
While less efficient, it might provide a steady, continuous supply of test subjects.
With the sli problem solved, Ambrose returned to the City of Alchemy. He dropped off the equipnt he'd acquired from the druids at a consignnt shop. Given the current market, it would probably take half a month to sell everything.
Returning to his castle in high spirits, Ambrose threw himself back into his experints.
He wanted no part of the so-called prophecy in the sewers. His intuition told him it was so conspiracy hatched by those maniacs, and anyone who went venturing down there now would likely end up a rabbit walking into a snare.
Once he entered his experintal state, Ambrose was completely focused.
And because this trip had yielded so extra inco, he added a few more extravagant designs to his experintal plans.
As a result, the experint proceeded much more smoothly.
Slis were, after all, low-level monsters. As scavengers, their bodies were relatively simple, consisting of little more than their gelatinous forms, basic digestive organs, and a rudintary nervous system. Their intelligence was extrely low, driven mostly by the instincts to hunt and reproduce through division.
However, the slis captured from the sewers of the City of Alchemy were slightly different. Their intelligence was a bit higher than that of their peers, and their gelatinous bodies showed varying degrees of tallic mutation.
This was likely related to the City of Alchemy's indiscriminate dumping of alchemical waste. The slis that consud this waste had developed a "sickness."
Yes, this wasn't evolution. It was a severe, potentially fatal disease.
The slis' lifespans were shortened, their temperants grew more violent, and there were even instances of cannibalism within the species.
This presented a small problem for Ambrose; he first had to eliminate the effects of the disease to study the physiology of a normal sli.
Though it took so ti, after dissecting over a hundred slis, Ambrose finally advanced his experint to the second stage: modifying the Living Quicksilver.
Living Quicksilver was a mutated sli that had gained powerful magic resistance but had lost many vital organs, and it even lacked a soul. From the mont of its creation, it was dood to a slow and agonizing death.
Ambrose's current task was to supplent the Living Quicksilver with the missing organs, turning it into a perfect vessel for the "Biomitic Soul" he had created.
Ambrose carefully studied the characteristics of this quicksilver mutation. He discovered that the maniacs in the City of Alchemy were truly brilliant and utterly insane in their research. The alchemical techniques they employed left him in awe.
Had they not failed, their invention would have been on par with a Legendary spell.
Innovation is difficult, but replication is much easier. By reverse-engineering the process, Ambrose quickly figured out how to create a quicksilver sli.
While not a one-hundred-percent perfect reproduction of the original, he managed to restore the missing organs.
The entire experint didn't take long, but the cost was astronomical.
All in all, he had spent over one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins. He went through several vials of Living Quicksilver Solution—albeit counterfeit versions—which still pained his wallet deeply.
If not for the high price he got for the potion made from the hag's scalp, Ambrose wouldn't have had enough money to complete the experint.
This was why even Legends could be broke. If they were content to just sit back and live, a Legend could certainly lead a life of luxury. But for a scholar like Ambrose, who was dedicated to research, the cost of each experint was staggering. No matter how much he earned, it was never enough.
Inside his laboratory, Ambrose carefully positioned a mory crystal and began recording.
"Optimization Experint for New Effigy Creation, Trial 46.
"After nurous previous experints, I have created a relatively complete effigy body. The modified Living Quicksilver has not only had its missing organs restored, allowing it to survive for extended periods, but has also gained a new talent: shapeshifting.
"I drew inspiration from shapeshifters, mimicking their natural talent to grant the Living Quicksilver the ability to alter its appearance. After all, we are creating effigy warriors, and a simple sli form lacks sufficient combat capability.
"Now, I will fuse the Biomitic Soul with the Living Quicksilver body to see if the effigy's creation can be successfully completed..."
As he spoke, Ambrose took out the prepared Biomitic Soul and placed it on the body of the Living Quicksilver.
With the chanting of an incantation, the Biomitic Soul rapidly rged into the Living Quicksilver. The previously still rcury-like body began to ripple, then shake continuously. After a minute or two, two black dots appeared on the smooth silver surface, looking like a pair of eyes.
Next, the Living Quicksilver began to squirm inside its glass container, like a newborn infant eager to leave its confinent and explore the world.
Ambrose quickly let the little creature out. The Living Quicksilver joyfully slithered across the table, devouring every piece of tal it encountered.
After eating all the tal on the table, the Living Quicksilver bounced happily into Ambrose's arms. The heavy body nearly cracked his ribs.
Ambrose patted the little one's head, feeling the connection between their souls.
As its creator, Ambrose had naturally added a few safeguards to its soul. The little creature would be particularly attached to him and maintain absolute loyalty.
Just as he was about to continue testing the Living Quicksilver's abilities, Isabel began knocking frantically on the laboratory door. Her anxious voice ca through, "Master Lich, sothing terrible has happened! There's an army outside the castle! There are a lot of them!"
Ambrose felt a flicker of annoyance but wasn't overly surprised.
So much ti had passed. It was about ti for so sort of reaction.
Ambrose knew that taking in so many freen would surely displease the nearby lords. That they had tolerated it for this long was already beyond his expectations.
"Ti to settle this for good."
Ambrose left his laboratory. As soon as he stepped out of the castle's main gate, he was greeted by a surprising sight.
The paladin from the Ryan Empire, whom he had scamd out of several thousand gold coins, was standing right there, among the troops.
You've got to be kidding , Ambrose thought. Is the paladin really that petty? Did he just bring an army to my doorstep?
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