The towering, majestic city walls were visible in the distance, and Fanxing, along with the other paladins, let out a sigh of relief.
After riding hard for so many days, they had finally arrived at the City of Alchemy.
Fanxing raised his right hand in a signal. As one, the Knights of Condemnation slowed their pace and quickly came to a halt.
They were visiting in an official capacity, representing the dignity of the Ryan Empire, so they could not enter the City of Alchemy looking travel-worn and covered in dust.
A sudden shower of rain cascaded from above, drenching the heavy-armored paladins to the core.
It was magical rain, summoned by a spell, washing away most of the dirt and grime from their bodies.
Combined with simple spells like Light, the holy armor forged by the Ryan Empire gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. In an instant, they transformed from rustic bumpkins into noble lords of the paladin order.
The group then advanced toward the City of Alchemy at a measured pace.
The closer they came to the city, the more its prosperity became palpable.
Even though the City of Alchemy had recently fallen into an economic crisis, merchant caravans still bustled back and forth, and the sky was dense with airships.
Yet even amid the thick crowds, the Knights of Condemnation remained the most dazzling presence of all.
Before they even reached the massive gates of the City of Alchemy, a gigantic airship parted the crowd and descended before them.
An alchemist clad in opulent robes stepped down from the airship and addressed the Knights of Condemnation: "Welcome, everyone. I am Gustavo Fring, here on behalf of the Alchemists' Council to welcome our guests from the Ryan Empire."
Fanxing recognized the name: Gustavo Fring, the Sixth Seat of the Alchemists' Council.
Although his position was quite exalted, Fanxing still felt that by failing to send their mysterious president to welcome them, the City of Alchemy was not showing enough respect to the Ryan Empire.
Though people spoke of the Nine Kingdoms, the reality was one superpower surrounded by multiple strong nations.
The Ryan Empire was that sole superpower, so Fanxing naturally held an air of arrogance toward people from other lands.
However, Fanxing did not let that pride show. He engaged with Gustavo Fring with utmost decorum, then led his teammates aboard the magical airship.
Gustavo Fring exchanged pleasantries with Fanxing before arranging for the paladins to rest in a cabin on board.
Once only their own people remained in the private compartment, Fanxing could not help marveling, "The magitech of the City of Alchemy is truly formidable. My family has magical airships too, but I've never seen one this massive."
The magical airship was indeed colossal. Carrying one or two hundred people would be effortless, and with slight modifications, it would make an excellent floating fortress.
Another paladin countered, "No matter how big it is, it's useless. Airships are too slow—they're nothing more than sitting targets."
Fanxing nodded. That was true enough. A magical airship was a great means of transport, but hardly suited for actual warfare.
The primary issue was that nearly everyone possessed magitech cannon technology, not to mention the flying units across various races and factions. Taking down a sluggish airship was all too easy. If an airship crashed, the losses would be astronomical—using them in war simply wasn't worth the cost.
Using an airship to bully wild monsters like goblins and gnolls, on the other hand, was quite effective.
"I've heard of this Gustavo Fring. He's a renowned alchemist and should be able to speak for the City of Alchemy. Unfortunately, they don't seem willing to fully cooperate." After boarding the airship, Fanxing had eagerly brought up the matter of rescuing Alan with Gustavo Fring, but the answer he received was deeply dissatisfying.
The City of Alchemy stated that Alan Watson had been hired by someone else to launch an attack on the lich's castle and had been captured following his defeat. Furthermore, the lich's actions had not violated the laws of the City of Alchemy, so the authorities could not take initiative and demand that the lich hand him over.
This reasoning displeased Fanxing immensely.
What law was there to speak of when dealing with a lich? One should just charge in, tear down his castle, smash his phylactery, and scatter his ashes. Truly a realm teeming with heretics; the rules here were utterly preposterous.
When Fanxing voiced his protest, Gustavo Fring hinted obliquely that if the Ryan Empire wanted the City of Alchemy to bend its rules, it would have to pay a steeper price rather than expecting full cooperation over a mere diplomatic dispatch.
After much hesitation, Fanxing chose not to pursue the argument further.
On the surface, Fanxing was an envoy of the Ryan Empire, but his mission here was not to negotiate—it was to rescue someone. The Supreme Arbiter had already made it clear that no terms of negotiation would be entertained. Even if his son died at the hands of the lich, the Ryan Empire would not bargain with anyone.
Therefore, Fanxing did not press further for their cooperation, but merely obtained the relevant intelligence files from Gustavo Fring.
Now, Fanxing brought out the intelligence documents to discuss rescue plans with his teammates.
After carefully reviewing the dossier in his hands, Fanxing breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The report indicated that not much time had passed since this lich underwent transformation.
Although he was of the legend rank, a young lich was definitely much easier to deal with. The reason was simple: a lich's power stemmed not only from spellcasting capability, but to an even greater extent from a vast army of the undead.
Yet the undead required corpses and souls to create. High-tier undead like Death Knights, in particular, required not only suitable materials, but also an immense amount of time to nurture the proper souls.
Since this lich had transformed only recently, he certainly could not possess a massive undead army. The undead force that had left traces in the valley before likely did not belong to this Ultraman Tiga.
This was the best possible news. Without the support of a massive undead army, the lich's threat was effectively cut by more than half.
One paladin suggested, "Should we launch a direct assault on the lich's castle? Alan has been captive for far too long. The sooner we rescue him, the greater his chances of survival."
Fanxing shook his head. "Though the City of Alchemy permits us to attack directly, doing so would be too reckless. We've traveled a great distance, and our stamina is severely depleted; we need rest to return to peak condition. Moreover, Alan is by no means weak. He commanded over a thousand militiamen back then and had the assistance of a cleric, yet he was still captured. This lich is not as feeble as we might imagine.
"After all, it is a castle riddled with magical traps. If we force our way in, we may not even breach it, and we would risk unnecessary casualties."
The Knights of Condemnation did not fear death, but they were the future of the Ryan Empire; none could be allowed to die in vain. As captain, Fanxing had to take responsibility for his companions.
"In a moment, we'll find lodgings in the City of Alchemy. Today, we'll split up to gather more intelligence, then get a good night's rest.
"The City of Alchemy's authorities might be unwilling to dispatch troops to help, but isn't the city experiencing an economic crisis? We can put up a sum of coin. I trust plenty of people will be willing to take risks for gold.
"We can recruit some rogues or rangers to infiltrate and scout first. That might save us from a great deal of danger."
Fanxing's prudent plan convinced everyone. With such a cautious captain leading them, dealing with a mere legendary lich would surely be well within their grasp.
Chapter 54