In a secluded corner of the sewers, a swarm of slimes had been cornered.
Anbaixiu stood before a freshly drawn magic circle, waiting for the vile, wriggling monsters to throw themselves into the trap.
As each one approached, it was instantly teleported away.
Cages had long been prepared within Anbaixiu's castle, where these slimes were deposited by targeted teleportation and trapped securely.
Naomi's marked location had been accurate; it truly was a major gathering point for slimes.
Anbaixiu collected the greater part of the cluster, but he did not drain the pond to catch all the fish. Having captured forty or fifty slimes, he stayed his hand. He then prepared a concealed teleportation circle at the site so that any slimes passing by would be whisked away.
Though low in efficiency, this method would hopefully provide a steady stream of experimental subjects.
With the slime problem settled, Anbaixiu returned to the City of Alchemy to place the gear acquired from the druids on consignment. At current market rates, it would likely take half a month to sell everything off.
Returning to the castle in high spirits, Anbaixiu threw himself back into his research.
He had no interest in joining the chase after the sewer's so-called prophecy. His instincts told him those lunatics were up to some scheme, and anyone rushing into the sewers now to seek fortune would most likely end up like a rabbit charging straight into a snare.
Once in the zone, Anbaixiu worked with singular focus.
Furthermore, having earned extra income from this venture, he incorporated several extravagant designs into his experimental regimen.
Consequently, the research progressed far more smoothly.
Slimes were only low-tier monsters, after all. Because they were scavengers, their anatomical structure was relatively simple—aside from that sludge-like body, they possessed only rudimentary digestive and nervous organs. Their intelligence was exceedingly low, mostly limited to the base instincts of feeding and reproducing by division.
Yet the slimes captured from the City of Alchemy's sewers differed slightly. They possessed marginally higher intelligence than their ordinary kin, and their muck-like flesh displayed varying degrees of metallic mutation.
This was likely tied to the careless dumping of alchemical waste in the city; devouring these remnants had caused the slimes to develop "pathological mutations."
Indeed, this was no evolution, but a severe, potentially fatal affliction.
The slimes suffered shortened lifespans, grew far more violent in temperament, and even engaged in cannibalism.
This posed a slight nuisance to Anbaixiu, as he had to purge the effects of the pathology before he could study the physiological state of a normal slime.
Though it consumed a bit of time, after dissecting a triple-digit number of slimes, Anbaixiu finally advanced his research to the second stage: modifying living mercury.
Living mercury was an aberrant slime that gained tremendous magic resistance at the expense of many vital organs, and it lacked even a soul. From the moment it was created, its existence was nothing more than a slow, agonizing demise.
What Anbaixiu needed to do now was restore the missing organs to the living mercury, turning it into an immaculate vessel capable of housing the "bionic soul" he had created.
He carefully analyzed the characteristics of this mercurial mutation and found that the lunatics of the City of Alchemy were indeed brilliantly inventive as well as thoroughly mad; the alchemical techniques employed within left even Anbaixiu in awe.
Had the experiment not failed, it would certainly have qualified as an invention rivaling legendary spells.
Innovation was difficult, but replication was far simpler. Through reverse engineering, Anbaixiu soon unlocked the method to mercurialize slimes.
Though not a one-hundred-percent recreation of the original, he had at last managed to supply the missing organs.
The entire process did not take much time, but the cost was truly exorbitant. All told, the expenses surpassed one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, consuming several bottles of living mercury potion alone. Even though they were cheap counterfeits, the loss still pained Anbaixiu deeply.
Had the potion brewed from the hag scalp not fetched a high price in the end, he would not even have had enough gold to see the experiment through.
This was why even legends were poor. If one simply chose to lie back and drift through life, a legend could undoubtedly live in abundant luxury. But for a scholar like Anbaixiu, devoted entirely to research, every experiment carried an astronomical price tag; no amount of earnings was ever enough.
Inside the laboratory, Anbaixiu solemnly positioned a memory crystal and began recording.
"New Soul Puppet Manufacturing Technique Optimization Experiment, Trial Forty-Six.
"Through numerous prior trials, I have produced a relatively complete soul puppet vessel. The modified living mercury not only possesses its restored organs, allowing it to sustain life for extended periods, but has also acquired a new talent: polymorph.
"This was inspired by doppelgangers. By mimicking their talent, I endowed the living mercury with the ability to alter its appearance. After all, what we aim to create are soul puppet warriors; a simple slime form severely lacks adequate combat capability.
"Now, let me fuse the bionic soul with the living mercury vessel, to see whether the creation of the soul puppet can be successfully completed..."
Narrating as he worked, Anbaixiu retrieved the prepared bionic soul and set it atop the living mercury's body.
As he chanted the incantation, the bionic soul rapidly merged into the living mercury. The once-still mercurial mass began to ripple faintly, followed by continuous trembling. After about a minute or two, a pair of black dots finally emerged upon the smooth, silvery surface, resembling a set of eyes.
Immediately afterward, the living mercury began to wriggle within the glass vessel, like a newborn babe yearning to escape its confines and explore the world.
Anbaixiu hastily released the little creature. The living mercury slid merrily across the table, engulfing every scrap of metal it encountered.
After devouring all the metal on the tabletop, the living mercury bounced joyfully into Anbaixiu's embrace, its heavy mass nearly snapping his ribs.
Anbaixiu patted the little fellow's head, feeling the bond forged between their souls.
As its creator, he had naturally installed safeguards within the soul. The little creature was exceptionally affectionate toward him and bound by absolute loyalty.
Just as he was preparing to test its capabilities further, Isabel abruptly pounded on the laboratory door. Her anxious voice carried through: "Lord Lich, terrible news! An army has appeared outside the castle, and their numbers are vast!"
Hearing this, Anbaixiu felt only a trace of irritation, without much surprise.
So many days had passed; it was about time for a response.
He knew that taking in so many freemen would certainly provoke outrage among the neighboring lords. That they had held back this long had already exceeded his expectations.
"Time to settle this matter once and for all."
Anbaixiu stepped out of the laboratory. But the moment he walked out of the castle gate, an unexpected sight met his eyes.
The Ryan Empire paladin he had swindled out of several thousand gold coins was actually standing among the ranks of the army.
*Are you serious? Is this paladin really so petty that he'd march an entire army here just for that?*
Chapter 32