Anbaixiu was astonished to see the message. Hadn't Headless Bro's wife said he wouldn't be allowed out for years? How was he sending private messages?
Anbaixiu quickly replied: [Headless Bro? Weren't you put on house arrest by your wife?!]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: What house arrest? Don't go spreading rumors. It was just a minor disagreement.]
[Tiga Ultraman: You can fool your brothers, but don't fool yourself.]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Cut the crap. Anyway, I'm heading out to clear my head. Just tell me if it's convenient for me to crash at your place for a few days.]
*Sigh.* Seeing him in such a pitiful state, Anbaixiu didn't even have the heart to bring up rent. He was uncharacteristically generous for once—after all, it only cost an empty room, and undead didn't need food or drink.
[Tiga Ultraman: Fine, stay as long as you want.]
[Crown of the Headless Horseman: Good brother, I'm on my way.]
Just as Anbaixiu felt something wasn't quite right, a sudden flash of light flared in the center of his laboratory.
It was the very teleportation array he had used before to send the living mercury to Headless Bro. Was this lunatic planning to teleport directly over with it?
Anbaixiu hastily channeled his mana to release the array's restrictions.
The original teleportation circle had been fine for moving a glass bottle, but transporting a legendary powerhouse was no simple task. A single slip-up could cause the whole thing to blow.
Scrambling frantically, he finally unlocked the restrictions just as a towering figure strode out from a vast swath of deep, shimmering radiance.
It was a giant several meters tall, clad in heavy black plate armor, forced to hunch over just to avoid smashing through the ceiling.
"Quick, Brother Ultraman, shut down the teleportation array... no, just destroy it!" The headless giant's voice boomed like a bronze bell. He smashed a fist down onto the circle, striking with the force of an earthquake that nearly brought Anbaixiu's entire laboratory crashing down. The intricate teleportation circle was pulverized into dust, utterly ruined beyond repair.
Anbaixiu's heart ached at the sight. "Big Brother, calm down! My place can't take this kind of roughhousing!"
The Headless Horseman replied dismissively, "Brother Ultraman, your place is a bit too shabby. It hardly befits the status of a legendary lich."
Anbaixiu instantly tossed aside the tiny shred of sympathy he had felt earlier. "Don't go comparing my place to the Dragon Tomb! If you don't like it, go back! And besides, my teleportation array was very expensive!"
He quietly resolved to set Headless Bro's rent at two hundred gold coins a day to recoup the repair costs.
"Don't worry, I'll pay you double."
As the Headless Horseman spoke, his massive, multi-meter-tall frame rapidly shrank, returning to normal height in moments.
Not only that, but he also pulled out a helmet from who knew where and snapped it onto his neck. It was clearly custom-made, seamlessly fitting his remarkably expensive-looking enchanted cuirass. Once locked in place, the eye slits automatically lit up with an eerie glow, as though eyes were peering out from within.
With the helmet on, the Headless Horseman was transformed into a Death Knight, completely devoid of any telltale flaws.
Anbaixiu couldn't help asking, "Is all that really necessary? Going into disguise just for running away from home? Is your wife hunting you down?"
The Headless Horseman produced a small pouch, shoved it into Anbaixiu's hand, and said, "I left in a hurry and didn't bring much of a gift. Just a few little trinkets—take them, little brother."
Anbaixiu took the pouch and looked inside. It wasn't gold coins, but packed to the brim with high-grade magic materials, the vast majority of which were specialties of the Dragon Tomb—rare goods that were virtually priceless on the open market.
By Anbaixiu's estimate, they were worth at least two to three hundred thousand gold coins.
"Big Brother, what are you saying? Brothers don't need to stand on ceremony! Come, let me show you around this humble place. Whatever you need, just say the word!"
Anbaixiu's attitude did a complete reversal. For three hundred thousand gold coins' worth of magic materials, he was practically ready to swear an oath of brotherhood.
Fortunately, Headless Bro wasn't picky. After glancing around the room, he asked Anbaixiu, "We're not far from the City of Alchemy, right? I heard all races can be found there, and the undead aren't wanted criminals inside the city?"
"That's right. As long as you don't initiate trouble, any race can safely enter the City of Alchemy. Are you thinking of checking it out, Big Brother?"
Anbaixiu hesitated. For the sake of several hundred thousand gold coins, he really ought to accompany Headless Bro into the city to unwind and play the gracious host. But he was in the middle of discussing business with Rose of Decay. If his wealthy client sent a message and he missed it, that would be disastrous. This was a massive venture that would last him years, worth far more than a few hundred thousand gold.
The Headless Horseman noticed Anbaixiu's hesitation and didn't press the matter, saying magnanimously, "Don't mind me. I'm just going to grab a drink and look around. You go ahead and handle your business."
What a wonderful big brother—generous and considerate. Still, how did a headless knight drink wine? Did he pry open the wound on his neck and pour it in?
"There's no problem if you want to visit the City of Alchemy, Big Brother, but I'd suggest changing your appearance. The city doesn't reject undead, but if you walk in looking like that, they'll probably go straight to high alert."
Unlike a charlatan like Anbaixiu, the Headless Horseman radiated the unmistakable aura of an absolute powerhouse from head to toe. And that enchanted armor—even a blind man could feel the overwhelming magical power pulsing from it; it was likely an artifact-grade treasure.
Showing up fully armored like that in the City of Alchemy could easily be mistaken for an undead siege.
"Oh, fair point."
Headless Bro twisted a ring on his finger, and his body rapidly shifted, transforming from a mighty Death Knight into an ordinary, burly human man.
A ring enchanted with a permanent Polymorph spell—an absurdly lavish piece of gear.
It wasn't that Polymorph was particularly powerful; on the contrary, it was a fairly common spell. But materials capable of permanently enchanting a spell were extraordinarily expensive. Using them to make a permanent Polymorph ring seemed, in Anbaixiu's eyes, about as extravagant as using solid gold to make an ashtray.
Even after being stripped of his private stash, this Headless Bro still reeked of enviable wealth.
After transforming, Headless Bro looked quite ordinary, resembling a down-on-his-luck, middle-aged adventurer. But upon closer inspection, one could still catch the occasional glint of an iron-blooded soldier.
He was indeed an extraordinary figure who had carved his way out from thousands of the Ryan Empire's paladins.
"Alright, I'll go drink on my own. Don't worry about me."
Headless Bro had likely been cooped up for far too long; the moment he finished speaking, he rushed out with such haste that Anbaixiu didn't even have time to react.
*Just how long has he been repressed to be in such a rush for a drink? Sigh, to think a legendary powerhouse is henpecked. Truly, marriage is the real grave.*
Anbaixiu only lamented for a moment before turning his attention away from Headless Bro, as a message from Rose of Decay had arrived.
[Rose of Decay: I must say, your design for this soul-servant is very creative. If my master were still alive, he would have been delighted. Thank you.]
Anbaixiu could sense a faint trace of sorrow between the lines.
[Tiga Ultraman: As long as you're satisfied.]
[Rose of Decay: While there are a few minor adjustments to be made, overall I am very pleased; it meets my requirements almost perfectly. However, you can't produce the living mercury solution yourself, can you? If you want to mass-produce these mercury soul-servants, you will need to order large quantities of living mercury solution from the City of Alchemy.]
[Tiga Ultraman: That's true. But you don't need to worry about the cost. The City of Alchemy has counterfeit living mercury solution, which is much cheaper.]
[Rose of Decay: No, you underestimate the quantity I require. I need at least one hundred thousand mercury soul-servants. Once you purchase such a massive volume of living mercury solution, the City of Alchemy will certainly take notice, and they could easily trace the transaction back to me and you. Then the Ryan Empire will likely be on guard.]
One hundred thousand?!
Anbaixiu was shocked by the number. He had planned to sell these mercury soul-servants for fifty thousand each. If sold without a discount, that would be five billion gold coins! If those money-starved alchemists in the City of Alchemy found out, there was no telling what they would do. A sum that astronomical was enough for the city to tear up contracts and demolish Anbaixiu's castle outright.
And with that many mercury soul-servants, could Rose of Decay really be preparing to go to war with the Ryan Empire? That would be a fight she was doomed to lose.
[Tiga Ultraman: In that case, there's truly no other way. I can't order that much living mercury, so I can only try to let them breed on their own. The mercury soul-servants are a complete species with the capacity to reproduce, but it takes a very long time and requires an immense amount of metal.]
[Rose of Decay: Good, I was thinking the same thing. Time is not an issue; I will solve the metal feed problem for you.]
[Tiga Ultraman: Using teleportation arrays to transport low-value goods like metal would carry exorbitant costs, and ordering raw ore in massive quantities would also easily attract the City of Alchemy's attention.]
Magic was omnipotent to a degree, but costs could never be ignored. Using a teleportation circle for precious items was fine, but using it for low-value, bulk freight was pure folly.
[Rose of Decay: No need. I will crash the market price of ore in a short period. When that happens, several mines should go bankrupt. Then I will provide you with the capital to buy the mines outright.]
Anbaixiu: ...
*Just how rich are you, big sister?*
Crashing the ore prices of an entire region—was this the realm of the ultra-rich?
Chapter 40