Anbaixiu was beginning to hate his own intuition.
Without such sharp instincts, he never would have felt that something was amiss. He wouldn’t have taken out the gem, and he certainly wouldn’t have discovered a mind flayer lurking inside the inn!
The gem never lied. While many spells incorporated psionic energy—monks, for instance, could channel psionic power into their fists to strike a villain across the face, leaving them weeping and reflecting on their wrongdoings in what was colloquially known as an "attitude adjustment punch"—the mental energies of different races were distinct.
And the gem in Anbaixiu's hand reacted solely to mind flayers.
Who could have guessed that after searching for so long, and even considering a trek into the Lands of Chaos, he would stumble upon a mind flayer right here among the orcs? Now, Anbaixiu was forced to confront a critical question: how many orcs had this mind flayer brought under its thrall, and was today's meeting a trap?
Mind flayers possessed terrifying psychic might. Anbaixiu had no confidence he could withstand the creature’s mental domination; if he couldn’t hold out, he would have to detonate himself and retreat to his phylactery.
Still, as the old saying went, since he was already here, he might as well see it through.
Turning back was out of the question. Anbaixiu strode boldly into the inn, intent on discovering what this mind flayer was up to.
The inn was decorated in the rugged, barbaric style typical of orcs, with blades, spears, swords, and halberds hung everywhere as ornaments. There was even a subtle arrangement to it: the higher one climbed, the heavier the oppressive aura radiating from the keen weapons grew. Anyone else would likely have found their knees trembling in short order.
Anbaixiu ignored it entirely, ascending to the third floor under the pressure without batting an eye.
There, inside an enormous reception hall, he finally met the fabled General Urbano Pacheco.
Rumors held that the general was born a slave—a scrawny young orc who, in a contest of brute strength and steel, could be struck down by any random elite soldier. He had risen to command this crucial war purely on the back of his brilliant tactical leadership.
Rumor also claimed the general was an extreme recluse who never saw outsiders, hiding away in his room to orchestrate everything while rarely granting an audience even to his personal servants.
Granting a private audience to Anbaixiu was already a sign of profound respect on Pacheco's part.
Yet, it seemed he had taken that respect a bit too far.
What Anbaixiu beheld was no frail young orc, but a writhing, purple octopus head.
Urbano Pacheco had dropped the act entirely, appearing before Anbaixiu in his true guise as a mind flayer.
A mind flayer possessed a humanoid frame topped with the head of an octopus, bristling with clusters of squirming tentacles. Their bodies were slender and supple, visibly ill-suited for close-quarters combat. However, their formidable psionic prowess was more than enough to offset any physical shortcomings.
The moment Anbaixiu laid eyes on the creature, he braced for battle. If the tentacled monstrosity dared encroach upon his soul, he would unleash an empowered Storm of Vengeance without a second thought.
With the blessing of Talos coupled with the amplification of the Golden Throne, Anbaixiu was confident he could reduce everything within a radius of several kilometers to ash and ruins, obliterating every living soul inside.
He didn't care what the orcs thought; if anyone dared make a move against him, he wouldn’t hesitate to bring down both sides in mutually assured destruction.
Yet Urbano Pacheco made no psychic intrusion whatsoever. Upon seeing Anbaixiu, he merely spoke with polite composure. "My apologies for meeting you in such a form, Master Ultraman. Please, have a seat. We have a great deal to discuss today."
After a brief hesitation, Anbaixiu sat across from the mind flayer and inquired quizzically, "You make no attempt to conceal your nature. It seems you knew I was searching for mind flayers."
Urbano Pacheco nodded. "Of course. That little contraption in your hand was useful many years ago, but today it serves only to expose your intentions."
Anbaixiu produced the telepathy gem and set it on the table. The red arrow that had been pointing directly at Pacheco vanished, only to light up a heartbeat later, pointing off in an entirely different direction.
The mind flayer could manipulate the gem’s heading at will. That meant the gem’s earlier reaction had been deliberate; from the very beginning, he had intended to reveal his true identity.
"When it comes to the mastery of psionic power, how could the Githyanki ever compare to us?" the mind flayer said. "They believed the device was still effective, but obtaining just a single sample was enough for us to decipher its inner workings and mislead it at whim. Had I not wished to meet you candidly, you never would have found me."
Facing the confident mind flayer, Anbaixiu replied placidly, "I am a divination wizard. Of legendary rank."
Urbano Pacheco fell silent.
"...Very well, I admit that was a slight exaggeration," Pacheco conceded. "Still, you did spend quite some time tracking me down, didn’t you? Foreseeably, had I not taken the initiative to reveal myself, it would have taken you far longer. That is my sincerity."
Anbaixiu laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the table.
Bone tapped against bone with a rhythmic clatter, as though he were carefully weighing the other party's purported sincerity.
Only after a long pause did Anbaixiu speak. "Very well. You refrained from prying into my thoughts while I was lost in contemplation. I can feel your sincerity."
Urbano Pacheco's eyes narrowed. Had the lich just tested him on purpose? Fortunately, he had reined in the impulse, for he really had come close to probing the lich's mind just then.
Not wishing to squander more time, Anbaixiu continued, "Since Your Excellency is so earnest, I cannot help but wonder: why?"
"Because you put immense pressure on me, Master Ultraman," Pacheco replied. "My race bears you no grudge, yet you were hunting for me, which left me deeply unsettled. You must be well aware of your own reputation—those who catch your eye rarely meet a pleasant end. Thus, I was compelled to reveal myself of my own accord, solely to prove my desire not to make an enemy of you."
Anbaixiu was mildly surprised, for his intuition told him the mind flayer was speaking from the heart.
It seemed the spectacle he had staged out at sea had indeed achieved its intended effect.
In truth, Anbaixiu had still underestimated the far-reaching impact of that naval battle.
Prior to that, he had orchestrated the grand exile of an entire kingdom, demonstrating to the world the terrifying weight carried by a divination wizard. Even if certain figures knew Anbaixiu hadn't been the one presiding over the ritual, they still had to tread carefully around his whims. What if the mad lich decided to pull off such a stunt a second time?
Back then, however, everyone merely regarded Anbaixiu as a colossal, volatile bomb.
Exiling an entire kingdom demanded personal sacrifice; it was a doomsday deterrent meant for intimidation, not something that could be casually tossed around.
Yet shortly thereafter, Anbaixiu had staged a breathtaking confrontation on the open sea, utterly routing the Githyanki beneath a torrent of falling meteors and leaving them completely defenseless.
Amateurs watched the spectacle, but masters watched the method.
It wasn't that others were incapable of casting strategic spells, but a desolate island had been developed for only a few days—how could it possibly rain down hundreds of meteors? It bordered on the absurd.
Furthermore, Meteor Swarm was infamous as the greatest disgrace among ninth-tier spells due to its dismal accuracy. How had every single one struck dead-on in Anbaixiu’s hands without a solitary miss?
Had the precision not been so terrifying, it would have been impossible to annihilate all those Astral red dragons in one fell swoop.
A Meteor Swarm whose destructive power was not squandered in the slightest was chilling to behold—and worse, it was a conventional tactic that could be deployed repeatedly.
By contrast, the paladin dispatched later to deal with Ryan had caused less of a stir. After all, Anbaixiu hadn’t stepped onto the field himself; people were merely curious as to why such a magnificent paladin was working for a lich.
All in all, Anbaixiu was now an esteemed "master" who stood on equal footing with kings, and no one could afford to dismiss his counsel.
It was precisely because of this far-reaching influence that his arms trade had flourished. Otherwise, who would bother negotiating fairly? Wouldn't they simply seize the goods by force? Not only would they rob you blind, but they would also scheme to capture you and press you into uncompensated labor for their kingdom.
When Urbano Pacheco realized Anbaixiu was employing Githyanki tracking methods, he knew he had been targeted. Why in the world was this lich searching for a mind flayer?
After much agonizing deliberation, Pacheco decided to lay all his cards on the table. The lich before him was a force far beyond his ability to confront; given Anbaixiu's fearsome record of accomplishments, not even the Orc King could shield him. If that were the case, he might as well come clean and see if terms could be reached.
Thus, Pacheco had chosen to unveil his true identity, hoping Anbaixiu would sense his sincerity. His posture was undeniably humble, yet even certain deities had bowed their heads before this lich; a lone, minor mind flayer kneeling before him was hardly a shameful disgrace.
Listening to Pacheco's explanation, Anbaixiu finally understood.
This wasn't a trap at all. The creature was simply terrified, hoping Anbaixiu would spare his life.
Anbaixiu sat up a little straighter. After struggling for so many years, he finally felt like a true heavyweight. In the past, he had dealt with all manner of deities and monumental figures who casually threw their weight around and dictated terms, while he could only respond with meek courtesy.
Now, the tables had finally turned.
Even so, Anbaixiu didn't let it go to his head. He wasn't the sort of petty scoundrel who grew arrogant the moment fortune favored him. He had clawed his way to this day through untold toil and would never lose sight of the situation just because someone showed him deference.
Besides, he had sought out a mind flayer because he needed a favor.
"General Pacheco, you need not worry. I bear no malice toward you," Anbaixiu said smoothly. "Most of the rumors you have heard about me are likely gross exaggerations. In truth, every friend who has collaborated with me has attained what they desired. My sole purpose in seeking a mind flayer is to acquire certain information."
Urbano Pacheco visibly relaxed and hurried to say, "What information do you seek?"
Rather than broaching the subject of the kuo-toa immediately, Anbaixiu asked, "First, how did you come to be the commander of the orcs? I was under the impression that mind flayers had abandoned this world long ago."
"Mind flayers once possessed a brilliant civilization and forged a vast empire," Pacheco explained. "Yet all empires inevitably crumble, and even great migrations leave behind stragglers. My ancestors were part of an abandoned lineage that clung to survival through hardship, until only I remained. You guessed correctly: I had been lurking inside that young orc's body. We could have coexisted peacefully, but misfortune struck when he was sent to serve as bait to lure away demonic beasts. I was forced to take full control of his body, or we both would have perished."
An understanding dawned on Anbaixiu. No wonder an ordinary orc slave who had never displayed exceptional talents suddenly experienced a miraculous awakening—it was because he had become a mind flayer at that very moment.
"You haven't laid bare all your secrets, have you?" Anbaixiu pressed. "How are you able to maintain a psychic link with every single orc? Even for a mind flayer, that should be impossible. Surely you haven't implanted your tadpoles into every last one of them?"
Urbano Pacheco was directing orc forces on the front lines from over a thousand kilometers away, micromanaging the movements of individual soldiers. That vastly exceeded the natural limits of a mind flayer's abilities.
Even more absurdly, if he could manipulate so many orcs, didn't that mean he held the entire Orc Empire in his grasp?
Setting aside whether the Orc King would ever permit such a thing, what would the Orc God Gruumsh think?
Pacheco gave an awkward chuckle and admitted, "The Orc God Gruumsh could not bear to watch his people continue their decline, so He sought me out. He wished for me to help prepare the orcs."
"Prepare for what?"
"For a world war, of course, Master Ultraman. And it all traces back to you. Are you truly unaware that the Elven Gods have waged war against Lolth the Spider Queen within the divine realm? What's more, they are on the verge of victory. The exiled elven deities are poised to return, and the Elven Gods will once again be reunited as one. The elven race will grow unimaginably powerful as a result. And what will become of the orcs then?"
The question required no thought to answer.
Among the greatest enemies of the elves, the drow took first place, and the orcs were a close second.
The conflict between drow and elves was, at the very least, an internal racial feud. Between elves and orcs, however, lay an ancient, blood-soaked vendetta. One rarely saw an elf and an orc adventuring together; pureblood high elves in particular refused outright to cooperate with any orc.
The reason was simple: the overwhelming majority of persecuted elves had perished at the hands of drow or orcs, a proportion far exceeding the casualties inflicted by any other race.
The original cause had long been lost to history. Suffice it to say that from time immemorial, elves had looked down on orcs with utter disdain, while orcs delighted in trampling elves beneath their boots.
Naturally, that enmity didn't mean they never crossed paths, but on the scale of entire civilizations, they were irreconcilable mortal foes.
With the Elven Gods growing in might and the drow returning to the fold, the orcs would inevitably be bumped from second place to the very top of the enemies list. Small wonder Gruumsh was on edge—he was likely terrified that Corellon would shoot out his remaining eye.
Driven to desperation, Gruumsh had seized upon Urbano Pacheco as the orcs' lifeline. From the looks of it, the gambit had yielded remarkable results.
"Gruumsh amplified my telepathic power, granting me the ability to establish a psychic link with every orc," Pacheco continued. "In return, I pledged never to turn the orc race into mind flayers, serving solely as a mercenary fighting on their behalf. As compensation, I am granted slaves to reproduce and rebuild my species."
Anbaixiu nodded. It sounded reasonable enough.
Still, the orcs were overthinking things. The elves had no intention of expanding outward; they hadn't even resolved their mana addiction, and defending their own borders was already a struggle. Even so, Corellon was undeniably terrifying—to have achieved victory in such a short span of time? Although Lolth had been grievously wounded, she had stood against the Elven Gods for countless millennia; surely she possessed some ultimate trump card. How had she collapsed so rapidly?
Surprising though it was, it wasn't impossible. That was the Elven God-King Corellon, after all—a presence formidable enough to scare even the Orc God into recruiting outside help.
With his doubts cleared, Anbaixiu looked at Pacheco and said, "Thank you for illuminating these matters. I have one final question. Mind flayers once enslaved the kuo-toa for an extended era, driving their minds into madness. From what I understand, the Kuo-toa Goddess was born from that very chaos. Do you retain any power capable of affecting this goddess? For instance, something that might remind her of her time as a slave?"
Urbano Pacheco stared at Anbaixiu in astonishment. What was this lich raving about? Enslaving the Kuo-toa Goddess? The sheer audacity of the thought!
"Master Ultraman, a deity is still a deity. Methods that work on mortal kuo-toa are useless against a divine being. If we possessed the means to subjugate a god, mind flayers would never have fallen to near extinction—we would have enslaved that goddess eons ago."
It made sense, but Anbaixiu wasn't about to give up so easily. "In that case, let us trade for all the intelligence you possess regarding the kuo-toa. Urbano Pacheco, name your price."
"Master Ultraman, you intend to pay for this information?"
Pacheco looked at the lich in utter bewilderment. He had humbled himself completely, yet rather than making a blatant demand, the lich was asking him to name a price? That was entirely at odds with the rumors of his boundless greed and ruthless cruelty.
Anbaixiu chuckled softly and said, "I told you before, you harbored some misunderstandings about me. Since you have demonstrated your sincerity, I naturally choose to cooperate. Anyone willing to work with me will receive what they desire. My business philosophy has always been win-win, never mere extortion."
Urbano Pacheco remained somewhat skeptical, but he had no reason to decline the transaction. The kuo-toa had slipped from their grasp long ago, and the mind flayers' intelligence on them consisted of obsolete archives of practically no value. If he could forge good relations with this lich, it would benefit both the orcs and himself.
"I can hand over all the records to you. As for the price... your associates are currently in contact with the orcs, mentioning that a regiment of Githyanki could serve as mercenaries, correct? Githyanki make the most exquisite breeding hosts!"
Pacheco's tone turned chillingly sinister.
Without an instant's hesitation, Anbaixiu reached out and clasped Urbano Pacheco's hand.
"A pleasure doing business with you! However, my only responsibility is delivering them outside. You must capture them yourself."
"No problem. A pleasure doing business."
Urbano Pacheco gripped Anbaixiu's skeletal hand firmly and instantly transmitted countless memories into his soul.
A mind flayer's mode of communication was that direct, and the transfer of information was remarkably efficient.
Unconcerned about foul play, Anbaixiu accepted the knowledge in full. The archives recorded everything the kuo-toa had endured during their period of subjugation, including brainwashing methods and an assortment of punitive devices.
What caught Anbaixiu's attention most was the schematic for crafting a bone whistle. It was said that blowing this instrument stimulated the nervous system of the kuo-toa, inflicting agonizing torment that drove them to the brink of insanity—a classic instrument of punishment.
*The crafting process for this whistle looks remarkably similar to alchemy!*
Ordinary methods of control might be useless against the Kuo-toa Goddess, but alchemical creations were an entirely different matter. Anbaixiu's mentor was the God of Alchemy Himself; if he brought this intelligence to Him, perhaps the God of Alchemy could forge an artifact capable of influencing the Kuo-toa Goddess after all!
Chapter 480