This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 156 - 143 Exploring the Underground City

Chapter 156: Chapter 143 Exploring the Underground City

Chapter 156 -143 Exploring the Underground City

Amberser was preparing to move, but it wasn’t just because the Dwarf King wanted to rule this land.

For a scholar focused purely on academic research like Amberser, no matter who the ruler was, his days would be much the same.

But he did indeed need to change his place of living.

Earning money by grave-digging was just one reason; after hearing that Hake Stone had unearthed an underground city, Amberser became a bit curious and a little excited about this type of underground civilization.

Curiosity was one of the few desires that Amberser had left, and he was genuinely interested in studying this mysterious underground civilization.

Now that he wasn’t lacking money, it was time to start spending it.

There was also the fact that the experiments Amberser was planning to conduct next were not very suitable to be exposed on the surface.

The Laine Empire was advancing aggressively; the empire was extreme, but undeniably powerful. Even the Dwarf Kingdom, with its advantageous terrain, nearly fell to Laine’s attacks—it was likely that in another few decades, half of the current eight great kingdoms would be gone.

No matter how hard the Withered Rose tried, the chances of defeating Laine were still too slim.

This was the trend of the times. As a Lich who could live for countless years, futures that others couldn’t see in their lifetimes were almost within his reach.

Amberser had to consider his own future and find a way to become an Undead that would not be killed off by Laine.

An underground civilization was a great choice; the complex underworld would make it very easy to hide, and the subterranean space was more suitable for the Undead to survive.

This was a perfect new address—just that this would make it unsuitable to bring along mortals.

Isabel and Raul were left behind by Amberser in the castle, which he effectively lent to them for free; Amberser also left behind some of his Alchemy notes and a small skeleton battalion.

Using his fame and connections, the siblings should have no problem establishing themselves as minor Lords.

The castle would serve as Amberser’s window and transit point for interactions with the surface world, through which surface news, intelligence, and some magical materials could be transported to the underground world.

After making the arrangements, Amberser began to move.

Having vast personal space made moving incredibly simple. The skeletons stuffed everything inside; once the spatial gate was closed, Amberser could leave effortlessly.

As for the moving address, Amberser had long since discussed it with Hake Stone.

This Vampire, recently elevated to the stature of a supreme monarch in the Dwarf Kingdom, provided Amberser with a map of the remnants of the underground civilization.

Below the vast desert lay the remains of ancient civilizations. The Dwarf Kingdom had excavated for so long and only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. The map Hake Stone handed over marked the explored underground city ruins, which combined were almost as vast as the territory of the largest empire, Laine.

These scattered underground cities were the best hiding spots.

After negotiating with Hake Stone for some time, Amberser chose an undeveloped underground city not far from his home.

This area had only unearthed a colossal gate made of unknown materials.

The Dwarves spent many years trying to open this massive gate but failed and thus abandoned it. However, a recent earthquake caused by Hake Stone’s excavation of a new underground city somehow skewed the sturdy gate, revealing an entrance large enough to enter.

It was just unfortunate that the Dwarves were too busy with relocation to explore this new city. Hake Stone said that his men had searched it, only finding some peculiar buildings that they couldn’t understand, and nothing valuable near the gate.

This coincidence made Amberser quite pleased, feeling as if this undeveloped city was meant for him.

Hake Stone didn’t mind having someone join him in grave-digging; this underground civilization was so vast that even a lifetime of ten thousand years wouldn’t suffice to excavate it completely. The members of Elegy Poetry Society had no conflicts of interest; on the contrary, they had many shared benefits, so cooperation was the best choice.

With the new home address selected, Amberser felt no attachment whatsoever, and, taking Katherine, the drag on his resources, he set off for the desert underground world.

The cost of using the Continental Transmission Array was exorbitant, but Amberser was no longer short of money. He set one up directly inside the castle. Spending tens of thousands of Gold Coins, he saved nearly half a month’s time.

The Teleportation Circle flickered with light, and Amberser arrived in a vast room dimly lit.

Magic lamps emitted a soft glow continuously, illuminating the surroundings.

Amberser felt indifferent, but Katherine frowned. The air here was a bit unclean, probably due to ventilation difficulties, carrying a slight scent of decay.

Amberser said to Katherine, “If you can’t stand it, you can go back. Looking after the castle for me would count as working for me.”

But Katherine firmly shook her head.

She followed Amberser to strengthen herself; what was a little odor to her?

Katherine drew a green glow between her fingers; an invisible filter shield enveloped her body, purifying the air’s impurities instantly.

“That’s truly luxurious,” Amberser remarked.

Indeed, the Elf Tribe is a delicate and sensitive species, and who knows how long the Elf Queen will be able to endure.

Stepping out of the Teleportation Circle, Amberser quickly encountered Hake Stone, who wore a smile full of mirth. Hake seemed to be living quite well these days; his cloak now sported a golden border, suggesting he got on well with the Dwarf King.

Hake Stone flew midair, about to give Amberser a hearty embrace, when he suddenly caught sight of Katherine standing beside Amberser, which gave him a good scare.

“Queen Katherine?!”

Why would the Elf Queen suddenly appear here? Hake Stone could only look to Amberser for help.

Amberser casually said, “Katherine has stepped down from her duties as Elf Queen, she now works for me.”

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Hake Stone laughed awkwardly and said, “That joke is too fake. There’s no need to liven up the atmosphere like that. If Queen Katherine gets angry, this could become a diplomatic incident.”

However, Katherine spoke up, “He’s not wrong, I am here in the capacity of Master Ultraman’s assistant.”

Hake Stone froze in midair, completely losing his ability to control his facial expressions.

After a good while, he grabbed Amberser and pulled the Lich aside.

“Isn’t that going too far? All I did was bite the Dwarf King and show off a bit, and here you are, trying to outdo everyone by abducting the Elf Queen to be your assistant. Do you want to provoke the Elves into smashing your Life Casket?”

Hake Stone desperately lowered his voice, but he couldn’t hide the excitement within him.

The Elf Queen working as an assistant to a Lich and renouncing her throne? Which foolish novelist concocted this plot? Just hearing it sounds absurd.

Amberser helplessly replied, “I can’t give you the details; it’s part of the trade secrecy clause. The fact is what it is, and it has nothing to do with you biting the Dwarf King. Also, to be honest, I want to shake off this burden, but she offered too much.”

Let alone that mountain of gold, just one Legendary Grace given for free was enough for Amberser to not refuse.

What does he mean by “she offered too much?” The Elf Queen selling herself out to work for you, not asking for wages and instead giving you money, right? Hake Stone felt Amberser, this Lich, was so arrogant that the Deity might send down divine punishment, and he needed to stand far away, lest he got caught in the crossfire when the lightning struck.

No matter how shocked Hake Stone was, the fact remained that Katherine stood quietly beside, not contesting any of Amberser’s words.

This Lord Vampire, an upper echelon among the Undead, could only clench his teeth in frustration, swallowing this humiliation, and secretly vowed that after being seriously shown up today, next time he would show them up in return.

Because he felt so provoked, Hake Stone originally wanted to welcome Amberser properly and treat him to a feast, but now he promptly sent him to the gates of the new city and then found an excuse to leave.

He didn’t want to lay eyes on Amberser for a second longer, watching him show off was more painful than having a stake through the heart.

Amberser stood before the towering city gate, with just the exposed part soaring over thirty meters high, unknown how much more was buried in the rock layers.

The city gate alone suggested a glittering civilization, which surely wouldn’t be inferior to any existing kingdom in terms of building skills.

Amberser carefully touched the pitted surface of the city gate, trying to ascertain its material.

Katherine couldn’t help but say, “This is my first time entering the underground. I never imagined ancient civilizations could be so grand. I’m truly astonished. How did they destruct? This city gate seems to be even older than the era ruled by the Magic Dragon Tyrant.”

“I’m not sure about the exact era, but the method used to cast this gate is very special. This material isn’t simply metal or magically reinforced stone… I suspect, it might be the body of some special Magic Beast.”

Katherine said in surprise, “What did you say? This city gate was made from the body of a Magic Beast? Are there Giants that big?”

“Just a hypothesis. I am a Lich, sensitive to remains. This city gate feels similar to a corpse to me; even if it’s not entirely composed of corpses, it likely contains remains of some creatures. However, I can’t tell which species.”

Amberser was an expert in this field; such a basic judgment would not be wrong.

After confirming this, Amberser couldn’t help but grow even more curious about what kind of civilization would use the bodies of living beings to forge their gates.

It didn’t seem to be merely for sturdiness; it probably had something to do with religious culture.

However, the patterns on the gate were too blurred to make out, precluding the possibility of inferring the characteristics of this civilization from the carvings.

Looking at the gap in the middle of the gate, Amberser said to Katherine, “Come on, let’s go in and take a look. Unless something unexpected happens, we’ll be staying in this city for many years.”

Amberser cast several protective spells on himself, then floated through the gap in the gate without touching the ground.

Passing through the city gate a few meters thick, and then through a dug-out corridor, they walked for several hundred meters before they emerged into an expansive space.

Katherine lit up a few starlights to illuminate the surroundings.

Before them lay a wide street, lined on both sides with buildings of peculiar design.

This must be the interior of the city. Seeing it for the first time, Amberser had one overriding impression—vastness.

Everything in this place was enormous, as if it was a city designed for Giants to live in.