Hundreds of Years of Lich Cunning

Chapter 21: A Lich's Many Schemes After Centuries

Amber Xiu counted the Gold Coins, even taking out a piece of parchment to write down the terms of the contract. He then nailed it to the tavern's notice board as a notarization.

After so many rituals, Amber Xiu finally said to the Paladin, "Come on, cast your Detect Evil."

The Paladin reminded him, "If you resist with magic and it becomes impossible to detect, that will also be considered a breach of contract."

Amber Xiu replied, "If you're still worried, you can seal my magic first."

The Paladin shook his head. That wasn't necessary; he would know if Detect Evil was affected. Amber Xiu remained incredibly confident until now, making the Paladin almost believe he was innocent.

The spell's light flared and fell upon Amber Xiu.

The spell Detect Evil works by using light to discern its effects. Purely good individuals are naturally bathed in flawless white light, while those with evil hearts will show black or dark red patches. The greater the evil, the more pronounced these tainted lights become.

Generally, the evil thoughts of mortals would cause a few finger-sized black patches to appear in the light, indicating greed for money or lust, but without acting on it.

Cultists who worship evil gods would have most of their light dimmed, reaching a severe level of contamination, clearly showing they had committed many wicked deeds.

But when the Detect Evil spell landed on Amber Xiu, a darkness too thick to dissipate spread out, completely engulfing him.

Harvey: ???

Paladin: !!!

Tavern Patrons: Huh?

Everyone thought they were hallucinating. What kind of darkness was this? Even cultists weren't this outrageous. Could this person be an evil god incarnate?

The Paladin was the first to react, roaring, "You are an undead creature!"

If there was anything other than an evil god that could produce such an effect under Detect Evil, it could only be an undead creature.

This wasn't a matter of individual wrongdoing, but rather that the Undead race was the antithesis of all living beings. For living creatures, the Undead were inherently evil, a class conflict.

Therefore, all Undead appeared pitch black, without exception.

Amber Xiu waved his hand dismissively, dispersing the thick darkness, and said, "I'll gladly accept these five thousand Gold Coins."

The Paladin's anger almost became tangible as he drew his longsword, holy light condensing on its edge.

This was the Paladin's most famous move—Supreme Holy Slash.

With one strike, ordinary undead would turn to ash, leaving no remains.

The Paladin said furiously, "Filthy undead, what right do you have to take this money?"

Amber Xiu pointed a finger at the contract on the notice board.

"The contract states that I accepted Detect Evil at my own risk, and this money is my moral compensation. It didn't say I had to be pure and flawless to receive compensation, did it? Look, my undead identity is exposed, everyone knows. Isn't it reasonable to get some compensation for such a blow to my dignity?"

As soon as Amber Xiu finished speaking, the patrons reacted, cursing him volubly.

"Right, right, I hate the Undead the most. Filthy, shameless things."

"Indeed, I look down on the Undead the most. What are these bone racks even good for?"

"Take down the Undead, may light prevail forever!"

"Ugh, I'm drinking in the same tavern as an undead. I'm going to vomit."

His outrageously over-the-top acting made the Paladin's hand gripping his sword hilt tremble slightly. He was clearly on the verge of exploding.

Amber Xiu shrugged, then spread his hands.

"See? My reputation has been damaged. This money is compensation."

"Despicable, shameless!"

The Paladin could only repeat these two phrases. Being too well-bred was sometimes a problem; he didn't even have many insults. They had no effect on Amber Xiu.

Seeing that he was about to lose control and unleash Supreme Holy Slash, Harvey quickly stepped forward to mediate. "My lord, in Alchemy City, being undead is not a crime. But if you were to purify an undead here, you would be violating the laws of Alchemy City."

Harvey gave a meaningful glance, drawing the Paladin's attention to the subtle movements of the other patrons in the tavern.

At the nearest table, two Lizardfolk warriors had already gripped the handles of their axes; a drow elf in the distance was stringing a hand crossbow; even the Dwarf singer, who had been wailing non-stop, put down his lute and drew a short sword. Even more absurdly, the Orc bartender placed a pile of empty wine bottles in the most easily accessible positions.

Looking around, the entire room was filled with enemies.

When you discriminate equally against all non-human races, you must also bear the hostility of all races. Facing a Paladin of the Lyne Empire, they would rather stand with the Undead.

Paladins were not very popular in Alchemy City, and they had fallen into the trap Amber Xiu had set. If they were to act, they risked the entire tavern ganging up on them.

Though the Paladin was strong, he couldn't possibly handle an ambush by dozens of adventurers in the confined space of a tavern. The Paladin could only watch helplessly as Amber Xiu pocketed the Gold Coins, then reluctantly sheathed his longsword.

"Indeed, choosing to gain experience out in the world was the right decision. In Lyne, I might never have had the chance to learn this lesson. Thank you, Master Tiga Ultraman. The next time we meet, I will gloriously purify your soul with my sword."

With that parting remark, the Paladin and his companions left the tavern.

He could take it and let it go; he calmed down quickly. This Paladin was quite a character.

The tavern patrons cheered as if they had won a battle, sending off the three Paladins with whistles and jeers. As they were about to exit the tavern, Harvey turned his head and gave Amber Xiu a deep look.

He had a vague premonition that this undead, disguised as a human, was likely the owner of that Ancient Castle. There was no basis for it, just a simple intuition from a Mage of the School of Prophecy.

If he wasn't mistaken, today wasn't a bad thing. At least the probability of the Paladin agreeing to deal with the Lich would increase significantly. Perhaps they would meet again soon.

Amber Xiu also looked curiously at this Mage Harvey. Although he claimed to be a magic apprentice, Amber Xiu intuitively felt that this young man was not simple, and was even more noteworthy than that Paladin. His feeling also had no basis, it was again intuition from a former Mage of the School of Prophecy.

Before he reincarnated as a Lich, he had advanced to Legendary as a Mage of the School of Prophecy. It was a pity that the Legendary boon he received had nothing to do with the School of Prophecy.

The three Paladins left, but the liveliness in the tavern didn't stop. A drow elf heckled, "You got the Paladin to spend five thousand Gold Coins on you in just a few words. You undead will probably be on the Lyne Empire's wanted list."

A Lizardfolk beside him chimed in, "Yeah, you're not going to live much longer anyway. Why not spend the money? How about treating everyone to a drink?"

"Five thousand Gold Coins is enough to treat the whole place for a month!"

"Right, give me ten cups first!"

The heckling rose and fell, but Amber Xiu didn't hesitate at all, stating resolutely, "Don't even think about it! You, who just said you'd vomit drinking with an undead! You, who just cursed me as dirty and shameless! And you, who said even dogs wouldn't eat a pile of bones! You want me to buy you drinks? I'd rather pray for the God of Wealth to rain Gold Coins!"

"No, I didn't, don't slander me!"

The drow elf who had just said "What kind of pile of bones is this" retorted excitedly. Drow elves only ever tricked others, how could they be framed and plotted against? It was simply outrageous.

The patrons also got angry. Wasn't this cooperating with your performance? Turning your back and refusing to acknowledge it?

"Stingy, damn undead, you're even scamming us!"

"This was also part of your plan? Utterly shameless!"

"Save your Gold Coins to buy a coffin!"

"Undead truly have no hearts!"

"We should have let him taste the power of Supreme Holy Slash earlier!"

"xxx!!"

"xxxxx!!!"

The curses gradually devolved into unspeakable territory, but Amber Xiu didn't care at all. What a joke, you bunch of atmosphere builders, do you really think a dignified Legendary would lose to that Paladin?

A bunch of brats trying to outwit a centuries-old monster, truly overestimating themselves.