Under the dim candlelight, the young Mage was writing furiously.
"Poor Allen has once again suffered cruel torture, but even when he was barely clinging to life, he still persisted in praying to the Lord of Dawn. I couldn't help but be moved by the steadfastness of his faith, yet I also couldn't help wondering what exactly faith had brought him.
"As fellow captives of the Lich, only he has had to endure torture, while even a lowly Apprentice Mage like me can write letters to my family..."
William Harvey filled several sheets of parchment with elegant prose, then handed the article, titled My Paladin Friend Allen—A Brief Discussion on the Impact of Faith on Young People, to Amber Xiu.
Amber Xiu carefully read through it, then nodded in satisfaction and said to Harvey, "Not bad. Your writing is quite good. Have you considered changing careers and writing novels?"
The young Mage gave an awkward yet polite smile, then asked cautiously, "Master Ultraman, can a story like this really be published in Legendary Spell?"
Amber Xiu had Harvey write a story from his own perspective about the devout Paladin Allen, who, because of his unwavering faith, had deliberately provoked a powerful Lich and then suffered even crueler treatment after being captured because of that same faith.
The twenty- to thirty-thousand-word article subtly implied throughout that Allen's faith did not come from his heart. It was merely the result of his family's upbringing from childhood, which had brainwashed him into becoming a fanatic of the Lord of Dawn. It pointed out that his fanatic father's excessively harsh, almost perverse training had turned the promising young Allen into a religious lunatic.
In short, the article's central message was that James Watson, the old bastard who edited Legendary Spell, had forcibly brainwashed his son, violated the universal value of religious freedom across the continent, and twisted the teachings of the Lord of Dawn, turning someone into a religious lunatic.
Harvey felt that if he submitted this article, his name would be permanently blacklisted by Legendary Spell. Then the Paladin legion would march straight to the castle—not to crusade against Master Ultraman, but to send him, William Harvey, to the stake.
Amber Xiu happily consoled Harvey, saying, "There's no chance it'll make it into the main issue of Legendary Spell, but it should be fine for the supplementary edition. Congratulations, young Mage. You're now a contributor to Legendary Spell."
The main issue of Legendary Spell featured all kinds of cutting-edge magical research, while the supplementary edition was more entertainment-oriented. Works such as Those Years I Spent Drifting in Silver Moon High Court, My Eighty-Year-Old Lolita Elf Wife, and The Domineering Prince of the Lyne Empire were all quite popular. These "nonfiction literary works" were well received, and the supplementary edition even sold better than the main issue.
Amber Xiu couldn't directly send a threatening letter to the Lyne Empire saying, "Your Paladin and Light Cleric are in my hands. Hurry up and bring several million gold coins as ransom, or I'll kill them."
If he did that, the Lyne Empire would certainly publicly announce that Amber Xiu had been placed on their wanted list, then send troops to kill him. Alchemy City would have no grounds to stop them.
Therefore, Amber Xiu needed to use a more subtle method to inform James Watson: Your son is in my hands!
Having Harvey write such an article was a roundabout way of delivering the message through Legendary Spell. If James Watson didn't want to lose this son, he should pay the ransom out of his own pocket rather than completely tear things apart.
Throughout the article, Harvey repeatedly mentioned the ransom price and the meaning of "once the money is received, the hostage will be released" in the tone of an onlooker. He believed that the editor-in-chief wasn't an idiot and should be able to understand Amber Xiu's intentions.
Harvey knew very well that he would be in deep trouble once the article was published. But as a captive, he really had no room to refuse. All he could do was hope that Amber Xiu would keep his word and not make things difficult for him.
Besides, judging from their interactions over the past few days, this Lich was far more benevolent than he had imagined. Even the Paladin and Light Cleric had suffered no abuse at all. At most, they had merely been confined so they couldn't run around. The cruel torture described in the article had actually all been fabricated.
Harvey had even asked Amber Xiu why he had made it all up instead of simply torturing them.
Amber Xiu's answer at the time had left him stunned.
"Why would I torture them? I'm so busy with experiments every day that I barely have time to sleep. Where would I find the time to torture them? Besides, what would be the point of torturing the two of them? I can't kill them and harvest their souls, and if I injure them, I'll have to spend money treating them. Would I have to be insane to waste money and time on them?"
The answer sounded perfectly reasonable, but Harvey still felt that something was off. A Lich of the undead, not torturing a Paladin simply because of the cost?
Would anyone believe that if he told them?
Still, Harvey didn't press the matter. His days as an Apprentice Mage in the Ancient Castle were quite comfortable. He had a room of his own and could even read books from time to time.
If not for being watched by those Mutated Skeletons at all times, Harvey felt that there would be no difference between this place and his home. If he talked too much and angered this benevolent old Lich, it would truly be more trouble than it was worth.
Amber Xiu put away Harvey's article, mailed it to Legendary Spell as quickly as possible, and then plunged back into the laboratory.
Amber Xiu wasn't bragging. He really was very busy.
The combat footage of Living Mercury still needed some editing. At the same time, he needed to wrap up the Living Mercury experiment. More importantly, he had to organize the detailed data and materials and send them to Withering Rose, the wealthy undead woman, to see whether he could get her to pay the balance.
In Amber Xiu's view, Living Mercury already met Withering Rose's requirements.
Its Magic Resistance was enough to withstand most Magic Traps. Living Mercury was not undead, so it wouldn't be detected by the Lyne Empire's undead monitoring system. Combined with its ability to shapeshift freely, it could break through via the drainage outlets in the city walls or simply climb over the walls.
As long as there were enough of them, Living Mercury might truly be able to breach the walls of the Lyne Empire.
Of course, that was assuming none of the Lyne Empire's legendary powerhouses intervened. Otherwise, a few large-scale attack spells would be enough to overwhelm Living Mercury. They merely possessed Magic Resistance; they weren't completely immune to magic.
After working for most of the day, Amber Xiu finally finished packing the materials and sent them to Withering Rose through the Necronomicon.
The wealthy woman seemed to be online at all times as well, because she replied almost immediately.
[Withering Rose: That was fast? I thought it would take you another month or two to produce a preliminary design.]
High-level Undead were not easy to design, let alone an undead military unit specifically intended to counter the Lyne Empire. It was as absurd as ordering beef noodles without the noodles and asking for the bowl to be filled entirely with beef.
[Diga: Standing on the shoulders of masters naturally makes it easier to achieve results. I found inspiration in Master Morgan's Soul Puppet designs and created this new type of Soul Puppet through imitation. It should meet your requirements.]
[Withering Rose: Master Morgan? What a coincidence. I was his student.]
Amber Xiu hadn't expected such a coincidence. No wonder Withering Rose wanted to deal with the Lyne Empire. Master Morgan had been hunted by the Lyne Empire's Paladins and eventually perished. She must be seeking revenge for her teacher. Such spirit was worthy of respect.
[Diga: For Master Morgan's sake, I can give you a discount.]
[Withering Rose: Oh? How much of a discount?]
[Diga: Five basis points off.]
The wealthy woman fell silent for a long time before replying.
[Withering Rose: You'd better not give me a discount. If my teacher found out he was worth so little, he might come back to life and smash your Phylactery.]
[Diga: Very well. Respect belongs in the heart and shouldn't be measured in gold coins.]
[Withering Rose: ...]
The wealthy woman didn't reply again. It seemed she was carefully studying the materials Amber Xiu had sent her.
Amber Xiu was eagerly waiting for the client's feedback when he suddenly saw a new message appear on the Necronomicon.
But this time, the sender was someone he had never expected.
[Crown of the Headless Knight: Little Brother Diga, can I stay at your place for a few days?]
(The End)
Before you continue