How Much Are You Offering?

Naomi still didn't know that her people had found out about her dealings with the undead. She was hurrying close behind Amber Xiu, afraid he might leave her behind.

Until today, Naomi's life had been like a blank sheet of paper. She'd heard that the world was dangerous, but had never seen it for herself. It wasn't until the hag appeared that she understood the world's true nature, and meeting Amber Xiu became the second turning point in her life.

She'd only ever heard of the Legendary Tier.

They said that a Druid who reached the Legendary Tier could turn an entire city into a forest in a short time. The natural magic they wielded was like a natural disaster.

But that was only what she'd heard. She'd never seen it with her own eyes.

Now, Amber Xiu was showing her firsthand what it meant to be Legendary.

Dozens of tiny Mutated Skeletons moved under Amber Xiu's control like a well-coordinated army. They pressed forward, tearing apart anything in their path, whether hidden slimes, Koutao Mermen, or mutated crocodiles.

No matter what kind of monster they encountered, the skeletons ripped it to pieces in no time.

Then the souls became Amber Xiu's spell components, granting the army powerful buffs like mass Bear Strength and Cat Agility, doubling and redoubling the skeletons' combat power. The bones left behind by the monsters became new Mutated Skeletons, swelling Amber Xiu's ranks.

These Little Skeletons were so terrifyingly powerful that Naomi figured even the army of Alchemy City would be easily wiped out if it faced this horde.

Amber Xiu's magic seemed inexhaustible. If this Lich wanted to attack her tribe, he could probably slaughter the entire Golden Vine Tribe in less than half a day.

Was this the power of a Legendary Lich?

Amber Xiu casually directed the Little Skeletons as they swept through the entire sewer.

The sewer monsters had little in the way of spellcasting ability, so Amber Xiu had no trouble slaughtering them. How could creatures that relied on brute strength stand against a sea of skeletons—especially Mutated Skeletons whose close-combat abilities had been multiplied several times over by Amber Xiu?

The Little Skeletons all resembled Kazik One: three legs and a pair of crude claws. They couldn't perform many complicated movements, but their strength and speed far surpassed those of ordinary skeletons of the same level.

There was no need to make fighting complicated. They could just pounce and tear into their prey. No one expected a skeleton to throw a monk's full set of straight punches, after all, so there was no need to give them so many joints.

After field-testing the design with Raul, Amber Xiu had optimized it once more. They could now be called Kazik Type Two.

Amber Xiu pushed through the sewer at incredible speed, going all out. The skeleton army at his side kept growing until Naomi couldn't see its end. Then he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Naomi asked, puzzled.

"Mm, looks like we found it."

Amber Xiu pointed ahead, but Naomi saw nothing but darkness.

Amber Xiu didn't explain. He simply ordered the skeleton army to crush everything in its path.

A cacophony of squeaking soon rang out ahead, as if the skeleton army had run into a swarm of rats and a fierce battle had begun.

In less than half a minute, the squeaking quickly died away. All that remained was the clatter of skeletons walking over the ground.

The rat swarm had clearly been crushed.

Amber Xiu's skull face showed no change as he calmly directed the skeleton army onward. Before long, a roar came from the far end of the sewer.

Naomi heard the strange cry too. It sounded like an owl's screech, or a crow's death throes.

"Is that the hag?" Naomi asked.

Amber Xiu nodded. "That's right. Most of her rats are dead."

"Huh? Why didn't she pull your skeleton army into her illusion? Wouldn't her rats have had a better chance that way?" Naomi asked, puzzled.

Shouldn't the skeleton army have entered the illusion and been affected by the hag? Why had she given up such a favorable position and sent her rats out to fight the skeletons instead?

Amber Xiu turned to Naomi. "How do you not know something this basic? Oh, right. I forgot—you Druids don't put points into intelligence. You rely on perception for your nature spells, borrowing power from your surroundings."

Although Druids and Mages could both use spells, the principles behind their magic were completely different.

"Fine, let me teach you a little common sense. Anyone who casts spells using their own power has to consider the cost. Take a large-scale illusion like this: if you want to trap someone inside it, don't you have to keep affecting their senses every moment?"

Naomi nodded, only half understanding. It did seem to make sense.

"An illusion is ultimately a clash between souls. Creating one takes a toll on your mind. The hag has already trapped a group of Druids inside, and keeping them from finding their way out is already straining her. If my whole skeleton army charged into the illusion, how could one measly hag confuse hundreds of skeletons at once? Do skeletons not have souls? Her head would explode in an instant, and the illusion would collapse on its own."

Amber Xiu's explanation made everything click for Naomi.

The hag couldn't affect that many beings at once, so she'd sent out her rats instead. She just hadn't expected them to be so helpless against the skeletons and to collapse so quickly.

In the version where you read it all without missing a thing!

Naomi's face flushed with excitement. She opened her mouth and shouted, "Papa Jones, I'm here to save you!"

Amber Xiu glanced at Naomi. He almost felt bad telling her that the illusion hadn't been broken yet, so her voice couldn't get through.

But it was close enough. There was no need to waste any more time.

Earlier, Amber Xiu had gone on and on about how powerful the hag was and how only someone Legendary could deal with her. He'd just been bluffing to fool this rookie Druid. For someone Legendary, a minor character like the hag would disappear with a snap of the fingers.

Amber Xiu's awareness had already pierced the crude illusion barrier, fixing on the hag. All he had to do now was wave his staff and hit her with a barrage of Ice Rays to send her to her death.

But just as Amber Xiu raised his staff, the hag cried out, "Enough! We can talk this out. If I've trespassed on your territory, I can leave right now! We're both creatures of evil. There's no need to kill each other, is there? Can't we work something out?"

The hag's voice was shrill and piercing. It made Naomi's ears ache, but she didn't even have time to cover them before turning to look at Amber Xiu.

Naomi was worried. What if Amber Xiu listened to the hag and turned on her instead? Even with the protection of the Sylvanus Statue, Naomi stood no chance against this Legendary Lich.

What should she do? Would Lord Lich keep his promise?

Naomi tried to reassure herself. All this time, Master Ultraman had been rational and considerate. He didn't seem like the kind of person who'd break an agreement. Surely he wouldn't accept the hag's proposal, would he?

But Amber Xiu replied without the slightest hesitation, "How many gold coins are you offering?"

Naomi: (°ー°〃)

Should she run for it now?