Under the dim candlelight, the young mage was writing furiously.
"Poor Alan has once again suffered cruel torture. But even on the brink of death, he persists in his prayers to the Lord of Dawn. I cannot help but be moved by the steadfastness of his faith, yet I also cannot help but wonder what, exactly, his faith has brought him."
"We are both captives of the lich, yet only he endures torture, while I, a lowly apprentice mage, can even write letters to my family…"
William Harvey scribbled several full sheets of parchnt, then handed the article, titled "My Paladin Friend Alan—A Brief Discussion on the Effects of Faith on the Youth," to Ambrose.
Ambrose read it carefully, nodded with satisfaction, and said to Harvey, "Not bad. Your writing is quite good. Ever considered a career change to novel writing?"
The young mage offered an awkward but polite smile, then asked cautiously, "Master Ultraman, can a story like this really be published in 'Legendary Incantations'?"
Ambrose had instructed Harvey to fabricate a story from his own perspective, depicting the devout paladin Alan as soone who provoked a powerful lich due to his unshakeable faith, and then suffered even crueler treatnt as a captive because of that sa faith.
The sprawling piece, so twenty or thirty thousand words long, subtly implied that Alan's faith was not genuine, but rather the result of his family's upbringing—a form of brainwashing that had turned him into a fanatical follower of the Lord of Dawn. It pointed out that his fanatical father's training regin was so harsh as to be perverse, turning a fine young man like Alan into a religious madman.
In short, the central the was that Jas Watson, the editor-in-chief of "Legendary Incantations," was a bastard who used coercive thods to brainwash his son, violating the continent's universal value of freedom of belief and distorting the teachings of the Lord of Dawn to create a religious fanatic.
Harvey felt that if this article were submitted, his na would be permanently blacklisted by "Legendary Incantations," and the Paladin Legions would show up at the castle gates—not to crusade against Master Ultraman, but to send him, William Harvey, to the stake.
Ambrose cheerfully reassured Harvey, "It certainly won't make it into the main publication of 'Legendary Incantations', but the supplent should be fine. Congratulations, young mage. You are now a contributor to 'Legendary Incantations'."
The main publication of "Legendary Incantations" featured high-level magical research, while the supplent was more entertainnt-focused. Titles like "Those Years I Spent Drifting in Silvermoon High Court," "My Eighty-Year-Old Loli Elf Wife," and "The Overbearing Prince of the Ryan Empire" were all quite popular. The supplent even outsold the main publication.
Ambrose couldn't just send a threat letter directly to the Ryan Empire saying, "I have your paladin and cleric. Hand over a few million in ransom, or I'll kill the hostages."
If he did that, the Ryan Empire would undoubtedly issue a public warrant for his arrest and dispatch troops to eliminate him, and not even the City of Alchemy would have grounds to object.
So, Ambrose needed a more subtle way to inform Jas Watson: Your son is in my hands!
Having Harvey write this article was a roundabout way of delivering the ssage through "Legendary Incantations." If Jas Watson didn't want to lose his son, he would likely pay the ransom out of his own pocket, avoiding a complete breakdown of relations.
In the article, Harvey, as an observer, repeatedly ntioned the ransom price and the promise of release upon paynt. Ambrose trusted the editor-in-chief wasn't an idiot and would understand what he ant.
Although Harvey was well aware of the trouble he'd be in after this article was published, as a captive, he had little room to refuse. He could only hope Ambrose would keep his promise and not make things difficult for him.
And from their interactions over the past few days, this lich was far more rciful than he had imagined. Even the paladin and the cleric hadn't been abused in any way, aside from being confined. The cruel tortures described in the article were complete fabrications.
Harvey had even asked Ambrose why he bothered making things up instead of just torturing them.
Ambrose's answer at the ti had surprised him.
"Why would I torture them? I'm so busy with my experints I barely have ti to sleep. Where would I find the ti to torture them? Besides, what's the point? I can't kill them for their souls, and if they get injured, I'd have to spend money to heal them. Do you think I'm crazy enough to waste my ti and money on them?"
The answer sounded logical, but Harvey felt sothing was off. An undead lich, not torturing a paladin, simply because of the cost?
No one would believe that.
But Harvey didn't press the matter. His life as an apprentice mage in the castle was quite comfortable. He had his own room and could even read occasionally.
If it weren't for the constant surveillance by those alien-like skeletons, Harvey felt it was no different from being at ho. If he ran his mouth and angered this "rciful" old lich, the consequences would truly not be worth it.
Ambrose took Harvey's article, mailed it to "Legendary Incantations" via the fastest route, and then dove back into his laboratory.
Ambrose wasn't bragging; he was genuinely busy.
The combat footage of the Living Quicksilver still needed editing, the experint itself needed to be wrapped up, and most importantly, he had to organize the detailed data and materials to send to Withered Rose, the wealthy undead lady, to see if she would settle the final paynt.
In Ambrose's view, the Living Quicksilver already t Withered Rose's requirents.
Its magic resistance was sufficient to withstand most magical traps. It wasn't undead, so it wouldn't be detected by the Ryan Empire's undead detection systems. And with its shapeshifting body, it could infiltrate through a city wall's drainage pipes or by climbing the walls directly.
With enough numbers, the Living Quicksilver might actually be able to breach the walls of the Ryan Empire.
Of course, that was assuming the Ryan Empire's legendary-tier experts didn't intervene. Otherwise, a few large-scale area-of-effect spells would be more than the Living Quicksilver could handle. They had magic resistance, not complete magic immunity.
After working for half the day, Ambrose finally compiled the data and sent it to Withered Rose through the Codex of the Undead.
The rich lady seed to be online at all tis, as a reply ca almost imdiately.
[Withered Rose: So fast? I thought it would take you another month or two just to co up with the initial design.]
Designing a high-tier undead was no easy task, let alone a combat unit specifically tailored to counter the Ryan Empire. It was like ordering beef noodle soup and asking them to hold the noodles and just give you beef—a pipe dream.
[Tiga Ultraman: Standing on the shoulders of masters makes it easier to achieve results. I found inspiration in Master Morgan's Effigy designs and created this new model in imitation. It should et your needs.]
[Withered Rose: Master Morgan? What a coincidence. I was his student.]
Ambrose hadn't expected such a coincidence. No wonder Withered Rose wanted to deal with the Ryan Empire. Master Morgan had been hunted down and ultimately killed by the Ryan Empire's paladins. She was avenging her teacher. Such dedication was admirable.
[Tiga Ultraman: For Master Morgan's sake, I can give you a discount.]
[Withered Rose: Oh? How much of a discount?]
[Tiga Ultraman: Let's say, ninety-nine point nine-five percent of the original price.]
The rich lady was silent for a long ti before replying.
[Withered Rose: You'd better not give a discount. If my teacher knew he was only worth that much, he'd probably co back to life just to smash your Phylactery.]
[Tiga Ultraman: Very well. Respect is sothing to be held in the heart, not asured in gold coins.]
[Withered Rose: …]
The rich lady didn't reply again, seemingly engrossed in studying the data Ambrose had sent.
Just as Ambrose was eagerly awaiting the client's feedback, he suddenly saw a new ssage in the Codex of the Undead.
But this ti, the ssage was from soone he never expected.
[Crown of the Headless Knight: Brother Tiga, can I co crash at your place for a few days?]
Reviews
All reviews (0)