Lich for Hire

Chapter 101: He Knows Everything

Ambrose felt a twinge of regret. Letting his old friend Flynn escape back then had been a mistake.

There were very few people who truly knew the truth behind the disaster at Alkhemia. If that old bastard decided to spread rumors, Ambrose would find it hard to clear his name even if he wanted to. After all, he was a lich. In the Nine Kingdoms, accusing a lich of atrocities wasn't slander; rather, it was foresight.

Still, this elven woman was a much better captive than Cicero. At least she was willing to talk.

Cicero was an old hand who had survived countless ventures and weathered even the largest of storms. Ambrose's "mind-reading" tricks worked poorly on him.

It was just like watching horror movies: the first time, your face might distort in fear, but after enough exposure, you would grow numb. Ambrose's technique of provoking emotional reactions through conversation and reading the resulting microexpressions lost effectiveness over time. Cicero had developed resistance alarmingly quickly.

The other captured elves were all seasoned veterans as well. They constantly adjusted their mental state, carefully concealing their true thoughts.

But this elf was different.

After immobilizing her with a Human Stasis spell, Ambrose studied her carefully and asked, "Are you even an adult? Judging by your looks, you can't be more than a hundred and twenty."

Seven years among elves roughly equaled one human year, meaning that adulthood was attained roughly at the age of one hundred and twenty. A Legendary Spellcraft offshoot had once featured an author writing a "true story" about his eighty-year-old loli elf wife. He kept updating it for years—but even by the time he had to seek out medication to keep himself going, she still hadn't come of age.

Cross-species romance rarely ended well.

The elf scoffed. "None of your business! I won't reveal a single word to an evil lich like you!"

"Admirable," Ambrose praised. "You are the bravest elf I have ever met."

"Flattery won't work. I'm not going to fall for it," she said coldly, then added, "Still, since you have good taste, if you release me, I can offer you an opportunity to sign a contract with me. As long as you do so and leave this land, our people won't hunt you down."

Her words were resolute, but her expression betrayed a hint of smug delight.

Perhaps it was because Ambrose now carried the title of "the most wicked existence in the Nine Kingdoms." Praise from someone like that naturally carried more weight.

It was just like how "beautiful" took on a different meaning when it was said by a shopkeeper as opposed to a world-famous fashion designer.

"A contract?" Ambrose said casually. "Aren't you worried I might break it?"

"Ha! You wouldn't want to know the consequences of that," the elf replied proudly.

Ambrose suddenly sounded anxious. "How can that be? A close friend of mine signed a contract with the elves and then reneged on it. Will the elven gods strike him down directly?!"

"Impossible," she mocked. "Don't you have any grasp of common sense? Gods cannot normally interfere with mortals. Supreme God Aion would never allow it."

Ambrose patted his chest. "Ah, I was so worried about my friend that I forgot entirely. Well, if it's not divine punishment, then there's nothing to fear. At worst, we'll fight back if you attack us."

"Hmph. When the armies of the Court of the Silver Moon arrive, you'll learn how hopelessly outmatched you are."

Ambrose laughed. "You said that I lacked common sense, but what does war have to do with a contract? Magical backlash only affects individuals, not territory."

"Depends on how skilled you are," she retorted. "Elven magic is beyond the understanding of undead like you."

Ambrose abruptly changed his tone. "A contract that affects an entire territory... Would it alter the environment?"

The elf's expression widened in surprise. She had come to a belated realization. "You were baiting me!"

Ambrose smiled. She was hopelessly naive. Fielding minors as Twilight Wardens had been a foolish decision.

"A violation of a magical contract that would alter territory... No. Your expression tells me it's something different. The effect targets the territory, but not the land itself..." He paused, eyes narrowing. "I see. It targets the people."

He watched her closely. Her eyes confirmed it.

"Indeed. The people within the territory. If the lord violates the contract, the effect spreads to all inhabitants. Then, when you launch your invasion, that effect will become an advantage. But what exactly might that effect be?

"Let me think. This must have been designed by an elven legend..."

Suddenly, Ambrose looked enlightened. "I understand now. Brilliant. Truly impressive. I had no idea you elves had such a card to play. No wonder you're the favored of the gods."

"You... Just what did you figure out?!" she cried.

"You don't need to know," Ambrose replied gently. "But thank you. Without your hints, I would never have guessed what was happening."

"No, I didn't tell you anything! Just what did you figure out?!"

Ignoring her panic, Ambrose tossed her into a prison cell within his extradimensional space and released the temporal stasis effect within.

Cicero and the other elves suddenly regained awareness just as they saw the female elf thrown in among them.

"Naya?!" Cicero exclaimed. "How... You were captured by that lich, too?!"

"Cicero, everyone! You're all alive!" Naya's eyes reddened instantly.

The Twilight Warden's internal reports had listed everyone captured by Ambrose as fallen.

But Cicero felt no relief. Naya was the captain of another unit of Twilight Wardens. If she had been captured, then that unit must have been completely wiped out.

"Naya, what happened? Did you encounter that lich as well?!" Cicero demanded urgently. Remembering how he himself had been interrogated, he added, "Did he question you? You didn't tell him anything, did you?!"

Naya hesitated. Already suspecting that she had revealed more than she should have slipped, she was now terrified.

"I... I don't know. I don't think I told him anything, but somehow he seemed to figure everything out."

"What did you say?!" Cicero's face turned ashen.

"I really didn't say anything! But he guessed that the contract affects the people of a territory. He even guessed that it was Her Majesty's power! He just stood there, talking to himself... and he figured out everything just like that!" Tears welled up in Naya's eyes.

"He guessed that these contracts are imbued with Her Majesty's power?"

Despair washed over Cicero. That lich was terrifying. He was the greatest enemy the Court of the Silver Moon had ever faced. If the secret of the contracts was exposed, the resulting damage would far exceed the loss of every Twilight Warden. It might ruin the entire elven strategy for the invasion of Alkhemia.

From outside, Ambrose was listening in on their discussion through magical surveillance. Of course, he had only been bluffing earlier. The Court of the Silver Moon had many legends, including countless obscure ones. There was no way he could guess who was responsible just like that.

Yet her misunderstanding had led her to reveal the true answer herself—and Cicero believed Ambrose had truly deduced it.

"The Elven Queen... A ranger who also dabbles in magic... ranger... magic... contracts... penalties for violation... people of the territory..."

The fragments began to connect. Ambrose was close to the truth that lay at the heart of it all. He only needed solid evidence to confirm it.

He sighed softly. "Another battle of wits with a legend. Life really isn't straightforward, is it?"

Legends were truly legendary, and not just because of their power. They were all genuine geniuses who had left their mark on the world.

Gary Watts, who sought godhood; James Watson, who drew the gaze of the Lord of Dawn; Black Rose, who ruled the Umbral Depths—these legends were a far cry above the mundane. Ambrose preferred bullying the weak rather than clashing with monsters like these.

Still, at the level he was at, whether he liked it or not, he could have no other opponents.

With a flick of his finger, time inside the prison froze again.

He would let the elves remain suspended in their moment of shock. Their current emotions might prove useful later.

Ambrose cast Fly and headed back toward his castle. With the elven sniper captured, there was no reason to keep traveling on foot.

Only after Ambrose left did the female knight in thorned armor finally collapse, trembling.

Her helmet fell away, revealing crimson hair and a scarred, ferocious face.

Ambrose's Thunder Wave had gravely injured her. Only the blessing of Levitra, Mistress of Pain, allowed her to cling to life despite her near-death state.

She stared in the direction Ambrose had gone, her lips curling into a twisted smile.

The lich who disguised himself as human hadn't even spared her a glance. Perhaps her life force had grown too faint to notice. Or perhaps, to him, she and her soldiers were nothing more than ants—creatures you crushed underfoot, not worth killing one by one.

That disdain intertwined with her physical agony, burning itself into her soul.

That pain was sacred. The knight smiled with manic devotion.

"I will find you... and repay this pain a hundredfold."