Chapter 97 The Side Effects of Freedom of Religion
[Dead Rose: You still want to buy a mine? The Alchemy City is already a war zone, can't you just rob it? If you pay for it, who will negotiate a deal with you? ]
Amber Xiu sighed, realizing that one should not treat others as fools.
Among the members of the Mourning Poets Society, Headless Brother may have the lowest intelligence, after all, he is a knight who relies mainly on strength.
Other spellcasters need to have some intelligence, so they are not so easy to fool.
Amber Xiu couldn't say that he was just making excuses to cheat people out of money, so he changed the subject and said, "Speaking of the spirit of the contract, those elves came to my house and forced those lords to sign a contract to move away. This contract should have some special effect, but I don't have enough information to find out anything."
[Dead Rose: Sign a contract? Can I know the specific contents? 】
Amber told Withered Rose the terms of the contract that he had learned from the Porcupine Knight. The Undead Queen seemed to have thought of something and only said "Wait for my news" and then did not reply.
Although it was a pity that he failed to defraud any money, Amberxiu still planned to make the breeding of mercury zombies his top priority.
The elves came with great force, and the desert dwarves were pinned to the ground and hammered by Ryan. They looked unreliable at first glance, and it was estimated that Amber would have to resist alone in the end.
Mercury Zombies are the most suitable high-level troops. Whether in terms of combat effectiveness or training cost, they are the most cost-effective ones.
Spreading out the map, there are three mines near the Ambershu territory, but each mine belongs to a great lord.
Unlike the Porcupine Knight, a commoner who rose to power through bravery, these three great lords were great nobles with a hundred-year heritage, and they were probably related to the members of the Alchemist Council. Although great nobles were prone to be dissolute and perverted, they also had a huge advantage, that is, they had accumulated a lot of wealth and had well-managed territories.
Each of these three great lords has more than a thousand soldiers under their command, and they are not just militiamen who have been trained for a few days, but real soldiers. They may not be equipped with armor, but they are much stronger than ordinary militiamen.
Not only that, the territory is well-equipped with various watchtowers and city walls, and there may even be one or two hidden magic cannons.
Most people would never dare to provoke such a great lord, and they would also have to be on guard against the other party's intentions against them.
The melee has just begun, and it is estimated that these people are all accumulating strength and waiting. When they take action, they will definitely sweep the surrounding area with lightning speed and eat their fill in one breath.
But now, Amberxiu has set his sights on their minerals.
"Which one should I start with?"
Amber carefully recalled the situations of these lords, but found that he had no impression of them. He usually liked to stay in the castle to do experiments, and had no interaction with these neighbors.
I only remember that their family emblems were a bit special. One was a three-headed dog of hell, one was a thunderstorm, and the other was more interesting, it was a human figure wrapped in thorns.
It would be interesting if these three family emblems were related to faith.
Needless to say, the three-headed dog of hell must be a believer of a certain Duke of Hell. The thunderstorm generally represents Thanos, the lord of storms. The last human figure wrapped in thorns is probably not a believer of the girl of pain, Loviata.
If there is anything these three groups of believers have in common, it is probably just one thing - they are all crazy.
Needless to say, there are no good people in hell. Evil is their natural label. Those who believe in the Grand Duke of Hell must offer their blood and souls regularly.
Thanos, the Lord of Storms, is a crazy and powerful god who likes destruction, war, and devastation. Therefore, Thanos belongs to a niche belief, but anyone who is willing to practice the teachings of this god is a war maniac who likes to destroy everything, not only life, but also the creations of civilization.
To destroy everything with a storm is Thanos's teaching.
Interestingly, Thanos is also a very generous god. Perhaps because he has few followers, Thanos is not stingy in sharing his divine power, which leads to Thanos always having many storm priests under his command.
He is also quite generous to other subordinate gods. For example, the Lich God Velsharoon was once Thanos's younger brother. It can even be said that he became a god thanks to Thanos' generous sharing.
But the crazy oppression of this crazy god made Velsharon unbearable. In his words, he "did not want to be worn out like the boots of an infantryman." In the end, Velsharon had to run away and surrender to Azuth, the patron saint of mages.
I don’t know what this Lich God has been through to make him say “I don’t want to be worn out”.
But from this story we can also see that the Lord of Storms is truly insane, and even the Lich cannot bear him.
The last Queen of Pain, Lovita, is also a heavyweight. Let's put it this way. Lovita is the goddess of all sadists, bullies, and torturers. She loves all torture and pain. If you can accept this pain and feel enjoyment, then you will be blessed by this goddess.
If you indulge in pleasure and refuse pain, then Lovita will personally let you experience what pain is.
"The Alchemy City is indeed very free. These three crazy people can all become great nobles."
Amber Xiu was feeling a little emotional just now, and suddenly he remembered that he was a lich. In the eyes of ordinary people, liches were more terrifying than these three. They just had some special beliefs, but they were still human after all, while liches were completely evil.
When you think about it this way, it doesn't seem so outrageous.
The Alchemy City was still very powerful, allowing these crazy people to gather together and live in peace for many years. But now that the Alchemy City was destroyed and the suppression was completely lost, the side effects of these freedoms of belief would explode.
Amber studied the map for a long time and decided to cause trouble for the Storm Family first.
The reason is simple, it is the closest.
The other two families were a bit far from Amber's territory. Not only were there several small lords' territories in between, but the roads were also difficult to travel. Even if a teleportation array could be built, the distance was still a problem.
Since all three are selling in bulk, just pick the one that’s closer.
Amber Xiu planned to find out some information first, to see how many troops this big family had, whether there were any powerful professions, etc.
Passing by Isabel's laboratory, Amber took another look inside. The little girl's work efficiency was quite good. Although she was just assembling the undead production line step by step, she mastered it quickly and there was no major chaos.
The only problem was that as soon as the little girl saw me, she rushed over, shouted "Teacher, teacher", then picked up a small notebook and started flipping through the pages frantically, asking dozens of questions in one breath.
Amber Xiu could only answer her questions one by one, and after talking for a long time, he found that he was delayed in going out.
But what the girl asked was related to the mission, and Amberxiu had to ignore it, as that would delay his ability to make money.
After finally answering, Isabel took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to ask Amber Xiu: "Teacher, thank you for your guidance all the time. I have one last question for you."
"The last one? That's a bit arrogant." Amber said.
Alchemy is such a profound subject. This girl will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions in the future.
"No, no, that's not what I meant..." Isabel was a little flustered. She took a few deep breaths and then said to Amber Xiu: "Teacher, this question may be a bit presumptuous. What I want to ask is, what does it feel like to become a ghost? Do you feel pain?"
Amber looked at Isabel strangely, wondering why this little girl suddenly asked this question.
"Why, have you figured it out? Are you ready to throw away those meaningless worldly desires and reincarnate as a spirit?"
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
If that's the case, Amber can help her solve it, but she has to wait until the undead production line is ready.
"No, I just..." Isabel's face turned pale, and she whispered, "I just realized that I have no choice at all. Working here, won't the end result be to become an undead and be enslaved forever?"
Amber Xiu shook his head and said, "You don't have to worry about that. The real undead transformation ceremony is very expensive. If you don't want to, no one will waste the cost to force you to become an undead."
It is not cheap to preserve the original consciousness and transform the undead. Amber spent most of his wealth to transform the lich. Undead like Erha who are evolving towards a higher level need to continuously invest costs. High-level undead with self-awareness have always been very expensive.
The most valuable thing about Isabel is the alchemy she has mastered. It is meaningless to directly transform into an ordinary skeleton. It would cost a lot to retain self-consciousness and transform. But Amber is going to give this as a welfare.
If Isabel didn't want it, he wouldn't be stupid enough to pay for some transformation ritual.
But to Isabel, it had a different meaning.
"Teacher, you mean, this is all about money?"
"Of course, the undead don't have those worldly desires. The only thing they need to negotiate with you is profit. Your role in this castle is to generate benefits. As long as the benefits are big enough, everything can be negotiated. Remember this and do your job well."
Amber gave one final reminder and then hurriedly left the castle.
After determining the direction, Amberxiu used the flying technique to fly towards the target.
This family that believes in the Lord of Storms is called the Lightmans. They already existed before Ambershu came to settle in Alchemy City. They own a main city and three satellite towns, with an estimated population of 30,000 to 40,000.
This kind of population can train thousands of full-time soldiers. If it were in other places, it would be considered excessive military expansion, because food production has always been a big problem. But near the Alchemy City, it doesn't seem to be a big deal, because it is easy to buy enchanted seeds here.
If you place regular large-scale orders for things like increased yields and insect resistance, the harvest will definitely be higher than farming in other places.
If you have a certain number of alchemists at home, you can change the enchanted seeds that degenerate after one cultivation into ones that only degenerate after four or five consecutive sowings.
When Amberxiu entered the Lightman family's territory, he found that this place was a bit loose on the outside but tight on the inside.
Although strangers were not prohibited from entering the territory, as soon as he entered the satellite town outside, Amber Xiu felt four or five pairs of eyes on him, staring at him closely. The Lightman family must have smelled the smell of the storm, and there were more people patrolling the streets than working.
"They are indeed well-trained. It would be very troublesome to attack directly. Can we go directly to the mining area to set up a teleportation array and steal the ore directly?"
Lightman's territory is too large, and there are towers and other fortifications everywhere. It is unknown how long it will take to storm. Moreover, the undead army also costs money. After taking it down, it is unknown how long it will take to mine to balance the losses.
Amber was thinking of a way to lower the cost, but soon someone dressed in noble attire came over and said politely, "Hello, strange mage, are you here to taste our specialty Thunder Fruit Wine? Our lord is very hospitable, and when he meets a guest like you, he must treat you to a drink."
This was said politely, but the guards around the noble had already surrounded Ambersu and were ready to fight at any time.
Amber Xiu originally wanted to talk to Lord Lightman first to see if they could discuss cooperation, such as purchasing ore at a low price to avoid an unnecessary war.
But he suddenly felt something was wrong. When the guards surrounded him, an uncomfortable gaze fell on him.
After a little sensing, Amber found the source of the sight. It was an elf wearing Dusk Guard leather armor.
Sure enough, these elves would not only target small lords like Porcupine Knight, their elite teams have already entered various territories. Seeing that there are no Lightman soldiers guarding this Dusk Guard, could it be that they have already reached an agreement?
Seeing that Amber remained silent, the noble took a step back and continued, "Master, what do you think? Do you want to drink a cup of our respectful Thunder Fruit Brew, or go to another place to talk with us?"
Amber Xiu smiled and said to the Lightman family member, "Of course I hope to sit down and have a drink with Lord Lightman. I brought a message from the Dwarf King of the Kingdom of Gold, and I must discuss it with Lord Lightman in person."
After I come back from the doctor's office, I quickly write a chapter and then go to bed. If I feel better at night, I will update three times today. If not, I can only update once at night.
(End of this chapter)