This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 187 - 174 Finally Met

Chapter 187: Chapter 174 Finally Met

Chapter 187 -174 Finally Met

Deep beneath the sea, darkness reigned.

A ghost ship, covered with seaweed and barnacles, navigated the ocean floor, crushing sand and gravel beneath it, leaving behind a large swath of murky flow.

Phantoms roamed across the ship, their pale light illuminating everything nearby.

Amberser stood on the deck, admiring the rare beauty of the seabed.

After so many years, Amberser entered the depths of the sea for the first time; indeed, one lives and learns, never knowing that death as an undead could afford one such vistas.

However, at this moment, Amberser had reverted to his own skeletal body, feeling quite pleasant as the seawater flowed through the gaps in his bones, even though this skeletal form was rather weak.

Mithril was durable, but the magipuppet automatons crafted from it were not waterproof.

The salt in the sea water would corrode the surface of the parts, and pitted gears could be a deadly flaw for machinery.

The archives of Alchemy City did contain blueprints for diving magipuppet automatons, sadly Amberser’s model was incompatible.

Left with no other choice, Amberser had to revert to his skeletal body.

Once he did, Amberser felt a bit uncomfortable, the difference in strength between the two bodies too great. Had he been merely a mage, it wouldn’t have mattered, but after acquiring the power of the Legendary Ranger, Amberser developed specific demands for his body’s strength and agility.

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Come to think of it, this skeleton was hastily shaped by Withered Rose, and could only be considered a cheap imitation.

When Murloc Phil saw Amberser change forms, he exclaimed in surprise, “Your body can be changed? I envy you liches.”

Not all undead could switch bodies on a whim. Phil’s zombie soul was tightly bound to his body. Under normal circumstances, the soul would perish along with the body and couldn’t exist independently.

“Moving underwater is much slower, isn’t it? How long will it take us to get there?” Amberser inquired.

“Don’t worry, I’ve told the captain about the ambush, she’ll meet up with us. We’ll be there in no more than a day at most.”

Hearing this, Amberser was reassured.

Having seen enough of the underwater marvels, Amberser decided to go to the cabin of the ghost ship.

Now that he had some free time, he could train the captured Kuotuo Murlocs and see if they could be used to power the Golden Throne.

The Kuotuo Murlocs still looked dazed and foolish, all locked in the lower deck of the ghost ship, huddling together in panic upon seeing Amberser appear.

This time, Amberser was smarter and had caught a bunch of fish and shrimp to toss before the Kuotuo Murlocs.

“Eat up, and when you’re full, get to work for me!”

The Aura of Fear from the lich spread, making the Kuotuo Murlocs tremble, but food handed to them had to be eaten.

Shivering while devouring the flesh, the dimwitted Kuotuo Murlocs changed their attitude toward Amberser and began to kneel and worship him.

Kuotuo Murlocs, similar to sheep in character, would follow once a leader emerged.

Soon, about ten Kuotuo Murlocs were kneeling before Amberser, and the Power of Faith once again manifested itself, converging upon him.

“So much?”

Amberser was quite surprised; he had just killed Red Hat and seized the faith for himself. These Kuotuo Murlocs really had no resistance to changing deities, maintaining the same level of devotion as before.

This also indicated that the Kuotuo Murlocs’ faith was not genuine, but a natural instinct to seek a spiritual sustenance. To many deities, such faith was impure, and absorbing it would contaminate their divine power.

Amberser didn’t mind, for he wasn’t a deity. This Power of Faith was not poured directly into his soul, but transformed by his Legendary Grace into the power of the Golden Throne.

Whether or not the throne would be twisted to the aesthetic of a Kuotuo Murloc, Amberser didn’t care; a chair is just a chair, and its ugliness mattered little as long as its power remained undiminished.

But to Amberser’s surprise, the Golden Throne didn’t seem tainted or distorted.

He could feel the power of the Golden Throne increasing as the Power of Faith efficiently transformed into gold, then into the embossed patterns on the throne. The previously blurred engravings gradually grew distinct, but oddly, they didn’t form any magic array structures. Instead, they resembled some sort of religious fresco.

Many figures were depicted kneeling on the ground, worshiping a giant entity and presenting numerous precious offerings.

“Huh… This isn’t an inner reflection of myself, is it?”

Amberser’s favorite pastime was sitting at home, waiting for others to bring him money. It was very likely, considering it was his own Legendary Grace that inscribed his greatest desire; it made perfect sense.

But to be exposed in such a manner was somewhat shameful; if others saw it, might they misunderstand his character?

Forget it, that’s not important. Better use this opportunity to convert more gold.

Amberser hid inside the cabin to brush up on his faith, while Murloc Phil was not so idle. Following a great battle, the Ghost Ship had sustained some damage and needed to be repaired while sailing, which kept him rather busy.

The Ghost Ship proceeded along the sea bottom, and after roughly twenty hours of navigation, it finally arrived within a deep sea trench.

Phil ran to the lower deck cabin and said to Amberser, “Esteemed guest, we have arrived. Ahead lies one of our Pirate Gang’s strongholds, and the leader is waiting for you there. Uh, this is…”

Inside the lower deck cabin, all the Kuotuo Murlocs were floating belly-up in the water.

Amberser said to Phil, “It’s okay, they’re just spiritually exhausted. Later, help me release them.”

Forced to worship for twenty hours straight, the Kuotuo Murlocs were completely drained, and under a mental spell cast by Amberser, they would likely automatically worship him for a long time, with effects lasting possibly a year or two.

The prayer effects of the Kuotuo Murlocs were indeed beneficial, a hundred times stronger than those of Husky and Big Black.

It was a pity that Amberser’s home was now underground in the desert, unfit for keeping Murlocs. Digging a large lake to provide them with fish and shrimp would be prohibitively expensive, considering the maintenance costs for such a lake in the underground world.

Should time permit in the future to stake out a territory on the high seas, Amberser would consider breeding Kuotuo Murlocs en masse to recharge his faith.

“Sigh, spending faith as currency is never as quick as doing business to earn money.”

Amberser, following Murloc Phil, returned to the deck and saw a narrow passage between two sea mountains covered in corals. His senses couldn’t penetrate it, likely blocked by a special Magic Barrier.

“This is one of our strongholds. The leader is already waiting inside,” said Phil.

Amberser nodded, taking the opportunity to straighten his magic robe. This ‘Mute’ predecessor held no ordinary status and warranted a mindful posture on his part.

The Ghost Ship slowly moved into the sea trench, passing through a viscous curtain of water, transforming the somber trench in an instant.

Jellyfish emitting iridescent light drifted about, illuminating the vast space within, casting the trench in a fairy-tale like glow, making it hard to believe it was the base of an Undead Pirate Gang.

The coral reefs on either side were sculpted into orderly caves, and undead in the form of Murlocs peeked out from within. Upon seeing Phil’s Swordfish Ship, these Undead Murlocs let out a series of roars, seemingly welcoming his return.

The Swordfish Ship continued past these coral caves and soon arrived at a massive port.

About a dozen Ghost Ships were anchored there, together resembling a small island sunk below the sea. The largest of them, at least a hundred meters long, was a true leviathan of the sea.

This Ghost Ship had an unusual design. Unlike other Ghost Ships, tattered and covered in seaweed and barnacles, this warship was unblemished and appeared as though it had just been launched.

Had its sails not been aflame with the ethereal fires of the netherworld, Amberser might have mistaken it for the captured prize of the Undead Pirates.

Phil excitedly said, “That is the flagship of our Pirate Gang, and the leader is aboard.”

Amberser extended his senses, trying to locate the ‘Mute’ predecessor but felt a tremendous pressure before he even drew close.

This sensation was disconcerting.

From the flagship, a cold voice traveled across the hundred-meter distance, clearly reaching him, “Stop searching, I’m right here. Come aboard my ship for a thorough discussion.”

Amberser quickly withdrew his senses, noting that the ‘Mute’ predecessor didn’t seem mute at all.

Murloc Phil brought the Swordfish Ship to a halt from afar and said to Amberser, “Esteemed guest, please proceed on your own, my ship can draw no closer.”

Amberser observed the space around the flagship, indeed seeing that the other Ghost Ships maintained a distance of forty to fifty meters from the warship.

Amberser courteously said to Phil, “Thank you for your assistance along the way.”

After bidding farewell to Murloc Phil, Amberser used the Traceless Step to teleport himself onto the flagship.

Upon stepping onto the deck of the massive ship, the overwhelming presence, enough to rattle his soul, became even more evident. Amberser had to conjure a Shield to freely move about the ship.

The vast warship seemed empty without a single soul in sight, no Zombie Murlocs, no Skeleton frames, and not even those roaming ghosts. Only a slender figure stood at the bow, seemingly awaiting Amberser’s arrival.

Approaching slowly, Amberser saw a figure with a delicate silhouette, a woman with flowing golden locks that undulated with the currents, wearing a mist-like robe that constantly shifted shape with the movements of the sea.

As Amberser drew nearer, the Pirate Gang leader turned around.

Her delicate features bore slight traces of Scales, suggesting some lineage of sea deities, yet a closer inspection revealed differences; she lacked the pointed ears of a sea deity, her form more akin to that of a human.

The misty robe enshrouded her body, obscuring any identifying features of other races.

She smiled slightly at Amberser and said, “You’ve arrived sooner than I expected, it seems that object is very important to you. Should I address you as Diga, the junior, or perhaps the Endless One Taraxin?”

“You knew about the fake name I just made up?” Amberser expressed in surprise.

“There are few secrets in these seas I’m unaware of. By the way, you can call me Aige; ‘Mute’ is simply a former moniker.”

Amberser paused for a moment, then cautiously inquired, “Lady Aige, if I may be so bold to ask, are you a Deity?”