War Begins

Chapter 34: The War Begins

Amber Xiu's tone was laced with cold malice, making him appear like the quintessential evil villain from a story. It was a pity that no one believed his cruel words.

Even the Paladin seemed surprised. Why did this Lich appear to be protecting humans?

Another Lord, standing alongside the Porcupine Knight, roared in anger, "Who are you trying to fool? I clearly saw my villagers cultivating wasteland on your land! Don't think you can just plunder other Lords' populations because you're a Lich."

Amber Xiu said dismissively, "Don't humans let their sheep graze on grass? If I want to keep these prisoners, do you expect me to feed them personally instead of letting them farm?"

"Damn Undead!" The Porcupine Knight was furious but couldn't find a reason to refute him.

Was it possible that after gathering troops at great expense today, they would gain nothing?

Despite all their calculations, they hadn't anticipated their reason for marching would be so flimsy.

What the Porcupine Knight worried about now wasn't starting the war, but that if they couldn't completely kill Amber Xiu once the war began, and this Lich reported this explanation to Alchemy City, then the minor Lords like himself would be in big trouble.

It had nothing to do with justice or truth; Alchemy City just needed an excuse, and then they could strike a heavy blow against these minor Lords.

The Porcupine Knight could already foresee the final outcome: a few minor Lords would be accused of initiating hostilities and fined a large sum of money, while the Lich's Territory might even be confiscated and returned to Alchemy City.

This was a lose-lose situation, and it was one the Porcupine Knight couldn't accept.

At this moment, Harvey, the Magic Advisor, who had been hiding in the crowd, walked up to the Porcupine Knight and said softly, "My Lord, an unforeseen problem has arisen. I suggest we retreat for today. We need to find a different approach."

The Porcupine Knight, however, was very displeased.

Gathering troops cost a lot of money, and keeping the army stationed for even a day consumed vast amounts of grain. If they gained nothing, it would be a pure loss.

Harvey could see the Porcupine Knight's hesitation. As the Lord's advisor, he should have offered more proactive advice. But the moment Amber Xiu appeared, Harvey's head had started buzzing. The power from the School of Prophecy was warning him frantically.

This Lich was dangerous and needed to be avoided immediately, or they would face terrible misfortune.

Harvey warned, "My Lord, if we continue to confront them here, a war might truly break out, and I don't think the outcome will be what we wish for."

Before the Porcupine Knight could make a decision, the Paladin suddenly spoke up, "Lord Porcupine Knight, perhaps this is the time for mercenaries to prove their worth. How about I lead the charge?"

The Paladin couldn't stand by and watch evil go unchecked. Amber Xiu had openly appeared as a Lich, and this evil had to be eradicated!

The Porcupine Knight's eyes lit up. He had spent so much effort currying favor with these Paladins precisely to deal with the Lich. If they were confident they could eliminate the Lich completely, then they would be the ones to decide right from wrong.

The Porcupine Knight said to the Paladin, "Esteemed Paladin, are you truly confident you can handle this Lich? If he escapes, we will all be in great trouble."

"Rest assured, we have ample experience dealing with Undead. A Lich's greatest weakness isn't its skeletal body, but its phylactery. As long as its phylactery is hidden within the Ancient Castle, it will absolutely not flee. Once we capture this Ancient Castle, I will be able to find the Lich's phylactery and destroy it completely. Now, please give the order." The Paladin said with utmost confidence.

"Very well. I now command in the name of the Jias Family, please eliminate the evil before us. Mage Harvey, I order you to assist the esteemed Paladin in punishing this evil Lich."

The Porcupine Knight gave the order formally. Harvey could only sigh inwardly; despite his reluctance, he had no choice but to obey.

One Paladin, one light cleric, and one Apprentice Mage – these three rode their horses out of the ranks and slowly approached Amber Xiu.

The Paladin didn't even bother with a sneak attack, advancing openly and shouting at Amber Xiu, "Evil Undead, I, in the name of the Holy Light today, bestow upon your soul purification!"

With the Paladin's shout, he began his charge.

This was the signal to attack. The Porcupine Knight immediately ordered his soldiers to charge towards Amber Xiu's Ancient Castle along with the Paladin.

The charge of over a thousand soldiers was quite a spectacle.

Amber Xiu was somewhat surprised. He had underestimated the determination of these humans. But that was fine; he was running a bit short on experimental subjects lately.

With a wave of Amber Xiu's staff, countless Skeletons crawled out of the ground.

Even though it was daytime, these Skeletons were unaffected and quickly formed ranks under Amber Xiu's command.

Seeing these weak and shambling Skeletons, the Paladin became even more confident.

What was the point of having more of these weak Undead? The Paladin's body flashed with a radiant light that emanated from him. Intense holy light enveloped his armor and weapons, even covering his warhorse.

The Paladin charged into the group of Skeletons. Those seemingly frail Skeletons were purified by the holy light before they could even get close, shattering and annihilating them.

These ordinary humanoid Skeletons were no match for the Paladin of the Lyne Empire. They couldn't even slow down the Paladin's charge.

Seeing the Paladin about to reach him, Amber Xiu directly used a flight spell and soared into the air.

The Paladin, however, showed no signs of panic. He had encountered many flying Undead before. He raised his weapon, and the light cleric who had been following him began to chant.

"In the name of the Lord of Dawn, I command you to prostrate yourself beneath the Holy Light!"

A beam of ominous light fell upon Amber Xiu.

The most commonly used divine spell by clerics – the Command spell.

It channeled the power of a Deity into immense pressure, commanding the target to act according to the caster's instructions.

This was a powerful divine spell.

However, the Lord of Dawn was a benevolent Deity, so the Command spell couldn't force someone to commit suicide or self-harm. But it could command the target to kneel, drop their weapon, or flee the battlefield.

These effects were extremely potent in combat. Imagine a warrior under the effect of the Command spell dropping their weapon and prostrating themselves on the ground – what would their fate be?

The Command spell couldn't kill, but the sword in hand could.

If Amber Xiu were controlled by the Command spell, he would fall directly from the sky, land with a thud, and have his head lopped off with a sword.

Although a Lich could regenerate, it still took time, and that time would be enough for the Paladin to break into the Ancient Castle and find the location of Amber Xiu's phylactery.

"Heh, underestimated, are we?"

Amber Xiu's body flashed with red light, and the holy light of the Command spell was instantly reflected back, landing on the light cleric and nearly knocking him off his mount.

Spell Reflection, the mage's most skilled tactic, could neutralize targeted spells by consuming an equivalent or lesser amount of mana.

The light cleric showed no signs of panic. As the old saying went, the paladins and light clerics of the Lyne Empire had encountered most undead tactics before, and Amber Xiu hadn't surprised them yet.

The reason they used divine arts even knowing they were useless was solely to attract Amber Xiu's attention, allowing them to close the distance smoothly.

And now, they could finally unleash their true trump card.

The light cleric produced a magic scroll and quickly chanted the incantation.

In less than half a second, a faint blue energy shield unfolded, trapping Amber Xiu within it.

Anti-Magic Field!

Within the energy shield's range, all magical effects would be dispelled, no further spells could be cast, all summoned creatures would be forcibly dispelled, and even enchanted equipment would be turned into ordinary, non-magical items.

Within this magic field's coverage, Amber Xiu's Flying spell would immediately disappear, causing him to fall from the sky, and his proud spellcasting abilities would be completely sealed.

Or so it should have been.

However, under the expectant gazes of the paladin and the light cleric, Amber Xiu did not fall from the sky but completely vanished.

The paladin reacted immediately, shouting, "No, that was an illusion!"

The next second, countless green lights symbolizing decay erupted from the direction of the Ancient Castle. These lights rained down on the soldiers like a meteor shower. Amidst the rising and falling screams of mortals, they were corroded into bare bones, causing heavy casualties instantly.

From within the Ancient Castle's main gate, Amber Xiu said disdainfully, "Still too young. Which lich would show its true form in front of a paladin? Wouldn't my massive magic castle be a waste of money then?"