Within the City of Alchemy, the Alchemists' Council had always been the supreme authority—and the most mysterious.
They had no public roster and rarely appeared in person. Even the council's exact size was unknown to outsiders.
All anyone knew was that every major decree was issued from the ugliest tower at the heart of the city, and every vital piece of intelligence was delivered straight to that same tower—the very symbol of the city's shame.
At the tower's highest pinnacle lay a vast, empty chamber.
A massive round table stood isolated in the center, encircled by over a hundred seats. At this moment, however, only four figures sat estranged around it, separated by considerable distances.
Gustavo Fring, the Sixth Seat of the Alchemists' Council, was among them. Glancing across the vacant chairs, he remarked coolly, "The council president once said he hoped that one day alchemists of legendary rank would fill this room. What a pity that after so many years, our membership has never even broken into double digits."
The other three did not take up the topic. One of them asked instead, "Have the people from the Ryan Empire arrived?"
"Already on their way," Gustavo Fring answered. "They're crossing the continental teleportation array. They'll be here tomorrow at the latest."
"And the hostages held by that lich—have they all been recovered?"
Gustavo nodded. "He agreed to trade tonight. When the time comes, I'll go inspect them in person."
"And are you prepared to deal with the lich? Have you found his most vital phylactery?"
Hearing this, Gustavo finally frowned with impatience and growled, "Watch your tone, Dippel. Don't think you can boss me around just because you hold the Second Seat. I'm not your apprentice, and you have no right to interrogate me."
The alchemist called Dippel sneered. "You should know full well that the only reason you're saddled with these menial chores is that your other contributions to this plan are negligible. Even that lich has contributed more than you with the papers he wrote.
"So you're the one who needs to know your place. In the City of Alchemy, knowledge stands above all else."
Gustavo Fring clenched his fists. To an alchemist, such words were a grave insult. Just as he was about to teach this arrogant Second Seat a lesson, another council member spoke up.
"Stop wasting time wagging your tongues. The success or failure of the plan is what matters most. Fring, harsh though Dippel's words may be, they speak the truth. That lich is pivotal, and we must be certain you are fully prepared."
Gustavo Fring gave a cold snort. "Rest assured, I've already made arrangements. I will have that lich's phylactery in hand."
Dropping the mockery, Dippel said cautiously, "Then everything proceeds according to plan. But how do we deal with the Undead Queen?"
Gustavo said, "Today we will politely escort her out of the city. Once all defensive wards are activated, it would take her a month or two to bring this city down, even if she mobilized her entire Shadow Legion. Besides, she has no reason to do so. Our interests do not conflict."
Dippel frowned. "The Undead Queen of the Underdark wouldn't come all this way just for sightseeing. Haven't you figured out her purpose yet?"
"It doesn't matter, and we don't have time for a slow investigation anyway. Her Majesty is also a lich. So long as matters do not involve their obsessions from before rebirth, a lich's thinking trends toward absolute rationality. Her obsession is clearly to oppose the Ryan Empire; she would never create unnecessary enemies for herself."
Gustavo's argument sounded quite persuasive.
Undead lacked the vast majority of mortal desires, and naturally, most of their emotions were dulled as well. Because personal feelings did not sway them, predicting an undead creature's moves was remarkably straightforward.
Dippel turned toward the only person who had remained silent the entire time and asked, "Then one final question, Mr. Jones. Are the druids ready?"
Sunlight fell across the figure, illuminating a cloak woven from leaves that appeared strikingly verdant. He was a druid, a worshiper of nature who by rights should have shared deep enmity with these alchemists. Yet he sat calmly at the highest point of the City of Alchemy, listening to them discuss their greatest secret.
If Anbaixiu were here, he would have recognized this druid immediately as Van Jones, whom he had encountered in the sewers.
Facing the alchemists' question, Van Jones gave a solemn nod. "As long as you honor your promise, we will bring the girl as agreed. However, you cannot let her anywhere near that thing in the sewers again. Even though our tribe took her in as a child, she still shares blood ties with that creature. Last time, she ran into the sewers on her own and nearly got me and my people trapped down there."
Gustavo Fring said, "Rest assured. Just bring her straight here."
With the meeting at an end, Dippel stood up and addressed the room: "Gentlemen, I hope everything goes smoothly with our plan, and that each of us attains what we desire."
The four went their separate ways, leaving the massive chamber to sink once more into silence and gloom.
None of the four noticed that during their meeting, an unusual storm cloud had hung suspended above the City of Alchemy.
The gulf between different legends could be vast; some legendary figures possessed abilities of unfathomable might.
Canggu, the eldest young lady of the bone dragon clan, was one such existence. As a bone dragon, her personal combat prowess was not particularly exceptional, but the legendary boon she had received pertained to stealth and concealment—a gift she utilized to its absolute peak.
Even the council's tower, layered with multiple tiers of magical wards, had failed to block her eavesdropping. Every word had reached her as clearly as if spoken face-to-face.
Whenever she concealed herself within the clouds, nobody suspected the overcast sky, much less detected a trace of her aura. No one could have imagined that such an enormous bone dragon was actually a legendary assassin.
Perched atop the dragon's colossal frame sat a headless giant. Though the headless horseman stood over four meters tall, he still appeared somewhat diminutive astride a thirty-to-forty-meter-long bone dragon.
The young lady of the bone dragons asked impatiently, "What were those alchemists even babbling about? Gareth, did you understand any of it?"
Unable to shake his head, the headless knight could only reply, "Who knows? My brother said all alchemists have twisted minds. Just forward what you heard and let those with heads get a headache over it."
Canggu thought that sounded reasonable enough, though she still muttered crossly, "Hmph, don't think I've made up with you! I'll settle accounts once we get back!"
Gareth chimed in placatingly, "Right, right, right. We'll talk at home. We'll talk when we get home."
Through the Necrotic Codex, Canggu relayed the intercepted intelligence to Rose of Decay, who swiftly passed it along to Anbaixiu.
Reading the text on the Necrotic Codex, Anbaixiu tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table.
After a long period of careful contemplation, he sent a message to Rose of Decay:
[Lady Rose, I have a very important favor to ask. I hope you can help me.]
[Rose of Decay: So solemn? What do you need me to do?]
[Ultraman Tiga: Please safeguard my phylactery for a while.]
[Rose of Decay: What did you say? You want to entrust your phylactery to me?]
Rose of Decay's fingers trembled slightly as she typed. What was going on? Things seemed to be progressing at an unexpectedly rapid pace.
[Ultraman Tiga: Yes. Since the City of Alchemy doesn't plan to drag you into this, who could be better suited to watch over my most vital possession than the mighty Undead Queen?]
[Rose of Decay: That is a lich's phylactery we're talking about.]
[Ultraman Tiga: It doesn't matter. I trust you. After all, we still have business worth billions to conduct together. You wouldn't harm me.]
Only after a long pause did a new message from Rose of Decay appear on the Necrotic Codex:
[All right. I will take good care of it.]
Anbaixiu traced several intricate magic circles in the air with both hands. A concealed chest slowly materialized and landed heavily on the floor.
He walked over and opened the chest, revealing hundreds of exquisitely crafted silver-white boxes resting inside.
Chapter 71