This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 112

There is always a price for using power that does not belong to you.

Even gods are no exception. Velsharoon, the God of Liches and Undeath, accepted the gift of the Lord of Storms to become a god, but in the end, he couldn't handle it and ran away.

How could mere mortals master Legendary power without passing through the long years of tempering?

Catherine used her Legendary power to forcibly elevate others, granting power to half the Elven race, inevitably infecting them with Magic Addiction.

The power, now fused with their bloodline, could not be eradicated. They would use it unconsciously in their daily lives, and the Magic Addiction would grow more intense, beginning to drain everything. If elves were a short-lived species, it wouldn't matter much; as long as they were careful, they would die of old age before the addiction flared up.

But elves just had to be a long-lived species.

According to estimates, even if they restrained themselves from using this power, the Magic Addiction would begin to flare up around the age of three hundred.

At first, it was just an increased appetite. But ordinary food could hardly produce a sense of satiety; they needed to consume food containing mana, like certain beverages with refreshing effects.

Then, they wouldn't be able to let go of mana-containing drinks, or else they would become lethargic and their bodies would suffer various discomforts.

As it worsened, their mana would rapidly drain even if they lay still. At this stage, they needed to consume magic potions like meals, but they could never fill the black hole that was growing larger and larger.

The sensation of being drained of mana would drive an elf mad. It was not just physical torture; even the soul would be corroded. Normal emotions would blur, leaving only violence and cruelty, as if they wanted to transfer their pain to others to alleviate their symptoms.

Dozens of elves had already shown sequelae of Magic Addiction, symbolizing the imminent arrival of the first wave.

If the elves did nothing, the Magic Addiction would continue to erupt, plunging the race into despair and total extinction.

To solve this problem, Catherine had tried long prayers, hoping for guidance from the gods. However, the solution given by the Elven Pantheon shocked Catherine.

*Abandon those already infected with Magic Addiction. Preserve the uninfected elves. Just separate these infected ones.*

Catherine couldn't believe this was the answer given by the Elven Gods.

It sounded logical, perhaps, but that was fully half of the elven population.

Catherine could not accept this result. She didn't understand why the gods, who had always loved the Elven race, would make such a cruel decision.

Risking blasphemy to press further, Catherine ultimately received only a rhetorical question: "Is the Elven race facing some crisis of extinction that compels you to struggle for survival in this manner?"

This question left Catherine speechless.

When she shared her power, the Elven race faced no internal or external troubles. It was Catherine who lost her due restraint after gaining that Legendary power.

If she could grant Legendary power to all elves, she would be the greatest queen in elven history.

She couldn't resist the temptation and ultimately made this colossal mistake.

The Elven Gods would never abandon their favored kin. They generously bestowed various blessings upon the elves, making them the most excellent race, while teaching them patience, kindness, and the restraint of desire.

For many years, the Elven race had stood aloof from worldly strife. No matter how other kingdoms changed hands—even during the reign of the Demon Dragon Tyrant—the Elven race was accorded sufficient respect.

This was the protection of the Elven Gods; external dangers had never posed a real threat to the elves.

As a result, the spoiled child played with fire at home.

Perhaps an ugly scar was needed for this spoiled child to learn a lesson and truly grow up. Losing half the population would be a painful experience for the Elven race, but if it made them truly recognize their mistake, the elves would eventually prosper again.

The Elven Gods loved the elven *race*, not a specific generation of the elven population.

For a civilization to develop, it needs to correct its own mistakes.

This seemed cruel, but in the eyes of the gods, the elven race had been reproducing continuously, with life and death constantly intersecting. Today's elves were long past the first generation; the number of dead far exceeded the living by dozens of times.

Death was nothing. If it could realign the direction of civilization's development, such sacrifice was worth it in the eyes of the gods.

But Catherine couldn't accept it. She couldn't watch helplessly as half the elf population died—elves who didn't even know they were going to die.

Under the crisis of the first wave of Magic Addiction impending, such a huge mess had occurred in the City of Alchemy, and the kingdom was about to be destroyed. Catherine saw an opportunity. After discussing with the high-ranking elves, they decided to launch a foreign war.

The City of Alchemy still retained a massive industrial system of alchemy. If they could seize these assets, the elves could mass-produce cheap alchemy potions at low cost, effectively mitigating the death rate when the first wave of Magic Addiction hit.

Although it only counted as delaying death, as long as there was enough time, maybe there would be a turning point?

Moreover, the Desert Dwarves would also fight for the territory of the City of Alchemy. This would be a brutal war. Instead of letting her people die in despair, why not let them die in war? At least it would be less painful. They would be recorded in elven history as war heroes, rather than a pile of "numbers" who died in vain due to the Elven Queen's stupidity.

This was why the Elven race had to deploy troops.

This was also why the Elven race had to expel all locals. The elves could not let outsiders discover the Magic Addiction now; otherwise, it would lead to catastrophic results.

The closure of the Silvermoon High Court previously was also related to this; they couldn't let any information leak.

And now, the war had begun.

The magical contracts the Twilight Guards signed with those lords were actually another specific Legendary power.

It is well known that a Ranger can choose a race as their "Favored Enemy."

When facing their Favored Enemy, the Ranger gains huge advantages, such as higher accuracy, reduced chance of being hit, and enhanced resistances. When a Ranger ascends to Legend, this power against the Favored Enemy is also strengthened.

Catherine shared her Legendary power with the elves, allowing non-Ranger elves to also gain the effect of locking onto a "Favored Enemy."

All lords who signed the contract and then violated it would be locked as "Favored Enemies" of the Elven race. Fighting on these territories, the elves would gain corresponding massive advantages. It would manifest as randomly firing an arrow only for it to curve around a wall and headshot a defender, or an enemy firing a magitech cannon only for it to miss almost everyone.

With such an advantage, the elven offensive would be very smooth, quickly capturing these cities possessing alchemy systems.

Then they could begin working overtime to produce alchemy potions, preparing for the coming Magic Addiction.

Although the war situation looked favorable, Catherine couldn't bring herself to be happy.

Regardless of winning or losing this war, the Elven race was bound to suffer heavy losses.

Catherine took out a letter and handed it to the old king beside her. "This is a letter from a Lich in the City of Alchemy. I don't know how to respond."

The old king took it and looked. The content of the letter was simple: some Twilight Guards had been captured. As a local lord of the City of Alchemy, this Lich wanted to sit at the negotiation table with the elves.

The old king sighed and said to Catherine, "Our war is not for negotiation, nor is there a reason to avoid casualties."

"I know, but do we just give up like this? How do I reply to that child?"

Catherine felt like an executioner, constantly forcing her people to send themselves to death, all to cover up her own mistake. She had thought countless times that if sacrificing herself could solve the problem, she would die without hesitation.

However, doing so would only accelerate the collapse of the Elven race. Once the Magic Addiction flared up, the elves would turn into lunatics, and the damage caused would be far more than just half the population.

This was a hopeless situation with absolutely no choice.

The old king sighed; he knew Catherine was nearing her breaking point.

Before the war had even formally begun, the elves had suffered heavy casualties under these rash tactics. Elves had raised questions more than once, and the leadership could only watch these Twilight Guards who shared the power go to their deaths, unable to tell them the truth.

Every casualty report filled Catherine with guilt. This pressure compounded constantly, bringing the Elven Queen's mind close to collapse.

"Your Majesty, let's talk to this Lich. I remember Cicero did not accept your power sharing. He deserves to live."

The old king's words made Catherine's eyes light up. Could she finally save an elf?

It felt like a beam of light appearing in the desperate dark night, making her unable to resist pinning all her hope on it.

Catherine said excitedly, "Then let's prepare immediately. I want to negotiate with this Lich personally."

The old king hurriedly reminded her, "Your Majesty, there's no need for such ceremony. If you go personally, it will only give the other party a chance to demand an outrageous price. Liches are never a benevolent species; they have no humanity to speak of. I will send someone to handle this matter. If you go to negotiate in your current state, you are very likely to make errors in judgment."

But Catherine shook her head. "Give me this chance. You and I both know that after this matter ends, my soul will fall into hell. This is my last request. I want to bring them back personally. Please."

Seeing Catherine's expression of desperate pleading, the old king realized it was hard to refuse this request.

This was the lifeline that allowed Catherine to hold on. If he didn't let her go, it would be equivalent to cutting another slash across her taut spirit.

It was not time to collapse yet. If Catherine couldn't hold on, the Elven race would face total destruction.

"I will arrange this negotiation as soon as possible, but please, Your Majesty, you must remain calm. You cannot expose our secret just to save people. Any price that defies common sense will arouse the other party's suspicion..."

The old king advised earnestly, while deciding in his heart that before the negotiation, he must investigate this Lich thoroughly to understand his background. He absolutely could not let this Lich discover the crisis facing the elves.