Outside the ancient castle, a motley army stood shivering in the biting wind.
With winter drawing near, the chill left the militia trembling.
Anbaixiu paid little heed to the rabble cobbled together by the neighboring petty lords. Instead, his gaze settled on the paladin standing at the very forefront.
Not quite a month had passed since their parting at the tavern.
Anbaixiu had not expected the paladin to fall in with these petty local lords. For a paladin of the Ryan Empire to rub shoulders with someone called the Porcupine Knight was rather beneath his station.
This time, Anbaixiu did not bother assuming human form. He revealed himself directly in his skeletal lich visage.
The moment Anbaixiu appeared, the Porcupine Knight rode forward from the ranks and declared with righteous indignation, "Foul lich, I am Knight Aldrich Giles! You have bewitched my subjects with vile sorcery. In the name of a nobleman of the City of Alchemy, I proclaim that unless you release my people this very day, you will provoke a war!"
The Porcupine Knight was brimming with confidence today. Even before a lich hovering in midair, he could shout accusations without worrying for his safety in the slightest.
He had an army of over a thousand at his side, an advising mage, and, most crucially, a paladin of the Ryan Empire riding with them.
If any class in the world countered the undead above all else, it was undoubtedly the paladin.
With a paladin ready to strike, what was there to fear?
Anbaixiu studied the gathered crowd, then spoke. "The Ryan Empire meddling in the affairs of the City of Alchemy—are you looking to start a war?"
The paladin answered in a deep voice, "Master Ultraman, there is no need to pin false crimes on me. I am currently in the City of Alchemy merely as an adventurer gaining experience. For an adventurer to be hired by a local lord to subdue the undead is entirely within the laws of the City of Alchemy. I must also thank you for the lesson you taught me before; obeying the local law is indeed of utmost importance."
"Oh? It seems you haven't been idle all this time. You've thoroughly dug into my background, haven't you?" Anbaixiu asked.
The paladin shook his head. "It would have been wise to do so. Regrettably, mortal lifespans are too fleeting. Even the lords beside me only know that you turned into an undead less than a century ago. Beyond that, I couldn't unearth a single scrap of information."
"At least you're honest," Anbaixiu said.
This came as no surprise; such was the temporal gulf between the long-lived and mortals. In a world where the average lifespan hovered in the thirties and forties, Anbaixiu could easily hole up in his castle for decades at a stretch.
Two mortal generations were enough to turn facts into tales like, "Legend says a dreadful lich dwells in that castle," followed by, "No, I heard it's a handsome vampire." Such rumors swiftly spawned a dozen conflicting versions.
None of the neighboring petty lords hailed from ancient, storied lineages. Trying to investigate Anbaixiu's past was like trying to research a historical figure across several fallen dynasties.
If Anbaixiu hadn't let slip his common alias, Tiga Ultraman, back in the tavern, the paladin likely wouldn't even know this ancient castle belonged to him.
Few in the City of Alchemy truly knew Anbaixiu's background, and a lone paladin lacked the standing to pry information out of such figures. As for the petty lords, they were not even worth mentioning; their status fell short of even the paladin's.
The paladin spoke in a devout tone. "Honesty is our creed. Even before the undead, I uphold it strictly."
Anbaixiu fell into thought, swiftly adjusting his prepared plan. He addressed the crowd before him, "Time is money, so let's cut the nonsense. Did you come here for my captives?"
Captives?
The Porcupine Knight sensed something was amiss, but could only repeat, "Return my subjects to me and pay lawful compensation, and war may yet be averted."
These petty lords had gathered not merely for the hundred or so runaway freemen, but more importantly to extort a fortune from Anbaixiu to weather their immediate crisis.
To their minds, ancient nobles with centuries of heritage were fabulously wealthy. An undead who had lived for hundreds of years didn't need to support a massive household, had minimal expenses, and raked in enormous profits—he had to be dripping with gold. A few coins slipping through the lich's fingers would be enough to gorge them full.
Gold was the point.
Yet what the Porcupine Knight never imagined was that Anbaixiu was thinking the exact same thing.
Floating in midair, Anbaixiu spoke without a trace of emotion. "Human, do you think spinning lies exempts you from paying compensation? What do you mean I bewitched your subjects? It was your humans who trespassed upon my territory and caused destruction! By the laws of the City of Alchemy, you are the ones who must compensate me for my losses!"
A bizarre silence fell over the crowd. They had envisioned many scenarios—that Anbaixiu might arrogantly call humanity trash and attack on sight, or that he might act cautiously and seek negotiation. They had devised various plans for every conceivable outcome.
Never had they dreamed Anbaixiu would lie through his teeth and turn the tables on them entirely!
After a long pause, the Porcupine Knight fumed, "Quibbling is pointless! If you didn't bewitch them, why on earth would they run into the territory of an undead creature?!"
Anbaixiu chuckled and shot back, "That's a question for you. You're their lord, aren't you? Your subjects entered my lands and damaged my magical traps. Who knows if you were the one who ordered it?"
Anbaixiu went so far as to produce a memory crystal on the spot, projecting its recorded imagery into the air. It clearly showed Raul forcing his way into the castle and triggering a magical trap.
The Porcupine Knight grew agitated. "Slander! I never gave such an order! Who's to say that thing isn't a forgery?"
Anbaixiu replied indifferently, "You can verify it. Paladin over there, you can tell whether this memory crystal has been tampered with, can't you?"
The paladin sneered and said, "Master Ultraman, I will not fall for your tricks again. The projection of a memory crystal is difficult to fake, but if this human fell under your charm spell, ordering him to act out this scene before recording it would be child's play. Checking the authenticity of the crystal is utterly meaningless."
Anbaixiu smiled. "You really have gotten smarter. Seems I ought to charge you some tuition."
The paladin's face was concealed beneath his helm, hiding his expression, but his tightly clenched fist betrayed the turmoil within. Being played for a fool before a crowd and thoroughly fleeced by Anbaixiu had been the greatest humiliation of his life.
Anbaixiu gave the paladin no chance to retort, turning back to the Porcupine Knight. "The matter is clear. I can provide proof that your humans trespassed on my territory, while you can only rely on wild imagination to slander me.
"I care nothing for whatever excuses you humans have. Trespassing upon my domain is a provocation against me. And you human lords must pay the price for their actions!
"According to the customs of you human nobles, if you wish to ransom the captive, pay up. A skilled freeman is worth at least thirty gold coins, if memory serves. But damaging my magical trap cost three hundred gold coins, and stealing my skeletal puppet caused damage that requires two thousand gold coins to repair.
"You want him back? Bring the gold! Otherwise, his soul, his corpse, everything about him will serve as experimental material to recoup my losses!"
Chapter 33