Anbaixiu was preparing to move, but not merely because the dwarf king was going to rule this land.
For a scholar devoted purely to academic research like Anbaixiu, life went on much the same regardless of who sat on the throne.
Even so, he truly needed a change of scenery.
Digging up graves for profit was only one reason. Ever since hearing that Heji Stone had excavated an underground city, Anbaixiu had felt both curious and tempted by the prospect of such a subterranean civilization.
Curiosity was among the few desires Anbaixiu had left, and he was genuinely interested in studying this mysterious subterranean civilization.
Now that he was no longer short on gold, it was time to put it to use.
Furthermore, the experiments Anbaixiu intended to conduct next were not suitable for the surface.
The Ryan Empire came on strong and fierce. As extreme as that nation was, its power was undeniably formidable. Even with the advantage of terrain, the dwarven kingdom had been battered by Ryan nearly to the brink of destruction. In another few decades, half of the current eight great kingdoms might well cease to exist.
No matter how hard Rose of Decay fought, the odds of defeating Ryan remained slim.
This was the general trend. As a lich who could live for countless years, a future others would never see in a lifetime was practically right before his eyes.
Anbaixiu had to plan for his own future and find a way to become an undead that Ryan could never destroy.
An underground civilization was an excellent choice. Hiding within the labyrinthine subterranean world would be remarkably simple, and underground spaces were far more hospitable to the undead.
It was an ideal new residence, though this meant it was no longer suitable to bring mortals along.
Isabel and Raul were left behind by Anbaixiu, with the castle essentially leased to them rent-free. Anbaixiu also left behind part of his alchemy notes and a small detachment of skeletons.
Trading on his fame and connections, the siblings should have no trouble establishing a firm foothold as petty lords.
This castle would serve as Anbaixiu's window to and transit station with the surface world; intelligence from above and various magical ingredients could be relayed through the castle down into the subterranean depths.
Once everything was properly arranged, Anbaixiu began his relocation.
Possessing a vast private demiplane made moving remarkably easy. The skeletons simply stuffed all the household possessions inside, the spatial portal was sealed, and Anbaixiu could depart with ease.
As for the destination, Anbaixiu had coordinated with Heji Stone well in advance.
The vampire, newly elevated to king emeritus of the dwarven kingdom, had provided Anbaixiu with a map of the underground civilization's ruins.
Beneath the vast desert lay ruins of an ancient civilization. The dwarven kingdom had dug for so long yet uncovered merely the tip of the iceberg. The subterranean city ruins marked on Heji Stone's map already rivaled the Ryan Empire—the continent's largest nation—in total area.
These scattered underground cities made for the finest hiding spots.
After discussing it for a while, Anbaixiu and Heji Stone settled on an undeveloped subterranean city not far from the vampire's home.
This area had yielded only an immense city gate forged from an unknown material.
The dwarves had spent years unable to breach this massive gate, so it had been abandoned. But recently, Heji Stone's excavation of another underground city had triggered an earthquake in the subterranean depths. Surprisingly, it had jarred this sturdy gate askew, revealing an opening large enough to enter.
Unfortunately, the dwarves were currently preoccupied with relocating and had no bandwidth to explore this new city. Heji Stone mentioned he had sent men inside to search, but they had found only inexplicable, peculiar structures and nothing of value near the gate.
Such providential coincidence pleased Anbaixiu, making him feel as though this undeveloped city had been left specifically for him.
Heji Stone did not mind having someone join him in grave-robbing. This underground civilization was simply too enormous; ten thousand years wouldn't be enough for him to excavate it all. The members of the Elegy Poetry Society had no conflicting interests, but plenty of shared ones, so cooperation was the best path.
With the site for his new home chosen, Anbaixiu felt no lingering attachments and set off for the desert's subterranean world with Catherine in tow as his deadweight.
Continental teleportation circles were extraordinarily expensive, but Anbaixiu was no longer short on gold, so he had installed one directly inside the castle. Spending tens of thousands of gold coins was well worth saving more than half a month of travel.
With a flash of magical radiance from the teleportation circle, Anbaixiu arrived in a dimly lit, colossal chamber.
Magic lamps cast a steady, soft glow, illuminating the surroundings.
Anbaixiu felt nothing, but Catherine frowned. The air here was somewhat foul, carrying a faint tang of rot, likely due to poor ventilation.
Anbaixiu said to Catherine, "If you can't stand it, you can head back. Looking after the castle for me counts as working for me too."
Catherine shook her head firmly.
She was following Anbaixiu to temper herself; what was a little foul odor?
With a flick of Catherine's fingers, an arc of green light traced the air, and an invisible barrier enveloped her body to filter the air, instantly purifying the foulness.
"What an extravagance," Anbaixiu murmured.
The elves truly were delicate, sensitive creatures; he wondered just how long this former Elven Queen could hold out.
Stepping out of the teleportation circle, Anbaixiu soon met a beaming Heji Stone. The fellow must have been doing well lately—even his long cloak had been upgraded with gold trim, likely a sign of good relations with the dwarf king. Hovering midair, Heji Stone was just about to give Anbaixiu a warm embrace when he suddenly spotted Catherine standing beside him, which gave him quite a fright.
"Your Majesty Catherine?!"
Why would the Elven Queen suddenly appear here? Heji Stone looked to Anbaixiu in bewilderment.
Anbaixiu said casually, "Catherine has stepped down as Elven Queen. She works for me now."
Heji Stone let out an awkward laugh. "That joke is a bit too fake. No need to liven up the mood with something so ridiculous. If Her Majesty Catherine gets offended, this becomes an international incident."
Catherine, however, spoke up: "He speaks the truth. I am visiting in the capacity of Master Ultraman's assistant."
Heji Stone froze entirely in midair, completely losing control of his facial expression.
Only after quite a while did he grab Anbaixiu and drag the lich aside.
"You've gone too far! Just because I flaunted biting the dwarf king, did you really have to be so competitive? Kidnapping the Elven Queen to make her your assistant—are you trying to force the elves to smash your phylactery?!"
Heji Stone desperately kept his voice down, but he could scarcely conceal his agitation.
The Elven Queen serving as a lich's assistant, having abdicated her throne? What foolish novelist had made up such a plot? Just hearing it was absurd beyond belief.
Anbaixiu said helplessly, "I can't share the details with you—confidentiality clause of our deal. Anyway, the fact is what it is, and it has nothing to do with you biting the dwarf king. Besides, honestly speaking, I wanted to get rid of this burden myself, but she just offered way too much."
Setting aside that mountain of gold, just the legendary boon handed to him on a silver platter was something Anbaixiu couldn't refuse.
What did he mean by "she offered way too much"? The Elven Queen had practically indentured herself to work for him, taking no wage and paying out of pocket to boot?! Heji Stone felt that this lich was arrogant enough to invite divine wrath from the gods themselves. He needed to stand further away, lest lightning strike him too when divine retribution fell.
No matter how shocked Heji Stone was, the fact remained that Catherine stood quietly to the side, not disputing a single word Anbaixiu uttered.
The vampire king emeritus could only grit his teeth and swallow this indignity, secretly swearing that after being so thoroughly upstaged today, he would definitely show him up next time.
Stung by this blow, Heji Stone—who had originally planned to host a welcome reception and entertain Anbaixiu generously—instead took him straight to the gates of that new city and made up an excuse to leave.
He did not want to look at Anbaixiu for another second. Watching him flex was more painful than a wooden stake through the heart.
Anbaixiu stood before the towering city gate. The exposed section alone exceeded thirty meters in height, with an unknown portion still buried under the rock strata.
From this gate alone, one could tell it had belonged to a dazzling civilization, in architectural prowess certainly not inferior to any present-day kingdom.
Anbaixiu carefully ran his hands over the pitted, scarred surface of the gate, attempting to identify its material.
Catherine could not help saying, "This is my first time entering the underground depths. I never imagined an ancient civilization could be so magnificent; it's truly astonishing. How on earth did they perish? The history of this gate must be older than the reign of the Demonic Dragon Tyrant."
"The exact age is unknown, but the method used to cast this gate is exceedingly peculiar. The material isn't pure metal or magically reinforced stone... My guess is, it might be the body of some special magical beast."
Catherine said in surprise, "What did you say? This gate was made from the corpse of a magical beast? Even a giant dragon isn't that large, is it?"
"It's only a guess. I'm a lich, so I'm rather sensitive to remains. This gate feels very much like a corpse to me. Even if it isn't made entirely of remains, it likely incorporates the carcasses of certain creatures. What species exactly, I can't tell."
Anbaixiu was an expert in this field; such basic judgments would not be mistaken.
Having confirmed this, Anbaixiu grew even more curious about what kind of civilization would forge a city gate from living creatures' corpses.
It didn't seem to be purely for structural durability; it was likely connected to their religious culture.
However, the patterns carved into the gate were already blurred and eroded, making it impossible to infer the civilization's characteristics from the carvings.
Looking at the gap in the middle of the gate, Anbaixiu said to Catherine, "Let's go. Let's head inside and take a look. Barring any accidents, we'll be living in this city for many years."
Anbaixiu cast several defensive spells on himself, then floated through the gap without his feet ever touching the ground.
Passing through the several-meter-thick gate and a newly excavated passageway, he walked for several hundred meters before the view suddenly opened up.
Catherine lit several starlight motes to illuminate their surroundings.
Before them stretched a broad avenue lined on both sides with all manner of peculiar structures.
This had to be the interior of the city. At his first glimpse of it, Anbaixiu had only one impression—colossal.
Everything in this place was massive, as if built for giants.
Chapter 143