This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 118

In the magnificent palace, Heggie Stone and Hoffman Ironfist sat opposite each other. Before them were goblets filled with fresh blood and wine that resembled blood.

Although they were of different races, tastes, and statuses, it didn't stop these two dwarves from being friends.

Hoffman Ironfist raised his glass. "Here's to avoiding senseless sacrifice this time."

Heggie Stone also raised his glass. "Of course. Don't worry, my friend will arrange everything perfectly."

They drained their glasses, leaving a hint of red at the corners of their mouths.

Halfway through the drink, Heggie Stone asked again, "The situation on the front lines... I heard it's not good."

Hoffman Ironfist didn't hide it, nodding. "Yes, that executioner from Ryan has arrived on the battlefield personally. We can't hold him back. The original evacuation plan had to be accelerated. We gave up a lot, and we lost a lot."

Heggie Stone's hand trembling on the glass. He asked with a shake in his voice, "You mean, that Silvermoon Knight?!"

Hoffman Ironfist sighed, explaining, "Not just him, but also Ryan's Imperial Guard. They suddenly appeared on the frontal battlefield and routed our great army in just one day. If a sudden sandstorm hadn't blocked their advance, they would probably be at the city gates by now.

"In two more days, we will evacuate the palace and enter the other sector through the underground tunnels. Hopefully, the Death Line can hold them back."

Heggie Stone suddenly felt the blood in his cup lose its flavor.

The Silvermoon Knight plus the Emperor's Imperial Guard of the Ryan Empire—the combination was an indestructible blade that probably no kingdom on the continent could stop.

Heggie Stone had once witnessed the Silvermoon Knight's power.

There was once a city that worshipped an evil god, with a population of nearly thirty thousand, all fanatical cultists. Heggie Stone had just become a vampire at the time and was hiding everywhere; only such a gathering place of cultists suited his survival.

As luck would have it, he encountered the Silvermoon Knight.

Heggie Stone only saw a round of bright moonlight, and then half the city was gone.

That terrifying holy light sliced the city of tens of thousands in half. And this was the half the moonlight knight deliberately left behind; what was cut away was the evil god's temple and the army of cultists gathered there.

Even though Heggie Stone later advanced to Legend rank, he still had lingering fears about that sword of moonlight.

Now hearing Hoffman Ironfist mention the Silvermoon Knight, he couldn't help but ask, "He must be at least a hundred and fifty years old, right? Doesn't Ryan forbid the use of life-extending potions?"

This was a rule set by the founding emperor, Arthur Ryan. He believed that if humans blindly pursued immortality, it would inevitably plunge the entire country into chaos. If the emperor didn't want to die, and the ministers didn't want to die, all their attention would be on extending their lives.

The effect of life-extending potions diminished over time, and magical life extension came with great costs.

If Ryan's nobles focused solely on extending their lives, all the cost pressure would fall on the people of the Ryan Empire. Thus, Arthur Ryan was determined to stop this blind pursuit. He himself only lived to be around a hundred years old; for such a powerful Paladin, that age was truly short-lived.

Because Arthur Ryan led by example, the Ryan Empire had no immortals for a long time.

Perhaps because of this piety and benevolence, the Ryan Empire consisted of true believers of Light from top to bottom, not fakes who used the banner of Light for selfish gain. This also earned the Ryan Empire the favor of the Lord of Dawn, resulting in a large number of Paladins and Clerics of Light appearing within the country.

The number of their clergy was many times higher than other kingdoms.

It was precisely because even the emperor practiced the doctrine that this country was so strong.

Forbidden to use magical means to extend life—this was the rule of the Ryan Empire, followed by successive emperors. The Silvermoon Knight was also a Paladin, so he couldn't violate this rule. By that calculation, he should have long reached a decrepit old age. To still be able to take the battlefield and shatter the Dwarf Kingdom's legions head-on... this old man was utterly absurd.

Hoffman Ironfist was helpless. Facing such an opponent, you couldn't even make excuses for losing.

"Anyway, we've stopped placing hope on the frontal battlefield. We can only pin our hopes on the sandstorms of the Death Line, and on the immigration work here in the City of Alchemy. Hopefully, no chaos arises."

Heggie Stone quickly said, "Definitely not. As far as I know, that friend of mine has already found a way to deal with the elves."

"That friend of yours is truly formidable," Hoffman Ironfist lamented. "He can even solve the elves' problem. That achievement alone is worth a dukedom. However, he seems temporarily unable to attend to local troubles."

Heggie Stone asked curiously, "Oh? What trouble are you referring to?"

"To my knowledge, the freedom of faith within the City of Alchemy seems a bit excessive. Worshipping evil alignment gods is one thing, but why are there believers of Hell?"

"Believers of Hell?" Heggie Stone frowned, then said, "Wait, let me ask. That is indeed a big problem."

The Lords of Hell were not gods, but in terms of power alone, the difference wasn't significant. If the Lords of the Nine Hells united, slaughtering powerful deities wouldn't be difficult.

It was just that getting these Lords of Hell, who represented various forms of ultimate evil, to unite was extraordinarily difficult.

The biggest problem with Hell worship was that they were always full of malice towards everything in the mortal realm.

The evil of evil-aligned gods still needed mortal beings for its practice. Concepts like deceit, murder, pain, etc.—the carriers of these concepts were still mortal beings. They would do bad things and cause many great disasters and troubles, but ultimately, they were playing pieces on the chessboard of the mortal realm.

But Hell was different; it was another plane entirely.

They only had a desire for destruction regarding the mortal realm, hoping all mortal life would die out so the mortal realm could become part of Hell.

The Devils of Hell might choose roundabout means to tempt others to fall, while the Demons of the Abyss desired pure destruction, eager to annihilate everything in the mortal realm.

Therefore, Hell worship was a highly destructive faith, equivalent to digging out the foundation of the mortal world.

Although the Golden Kingdom also had freedom of faith, Hell worship was strictly prohibited.

Among the Nine Great Kingdoms, only the City of Alchemy permitted the existence of Hell worship, probably because those alchemists were true faithless ones who believed knowledge superseded morality and faith. All fools, regardless of what they believed, were the same in their eyes.

So these Hell believers were the biggest trouble. No matter how Ambrose avoided war, neither dwarves nor elves could accept the existence of Hell worship.

Hoffman Ironfist said to Heggie Stone, "Hell worship must be eradicated. Talk to your friend again; this is a bottom line that cannot be compromised. And even if we ignore it now, I estimate those Hell believers have already made preparations to strike back."

Heggie Stone agreed verbally but didn't really take it to heart.

Hell worship was very rare to begin with, belonging to the category of rats everyone shouted to beat. Maybe they wouldn't even need to act; nearby lords might take this opportunity to send these scum back to their hellish home.

Instead, the Silvermoon Knight of the Ryan Empire deeply unsettled him. After drinking with Hoffman Ironfist, he hurriedly returned to his underground palace, opened the *Codex of the Undead*, and began sending alerts to the group.

[Hates Humans: Breaking News! The Silvermoon Knight of the Ryan Empire isn't dead! The old guy is at least a hundred and fifty, yet he can still take the battlefield, and he easily wiped out a legion of Desert Dwarves!]

[Withered Rose: Silvermoon Knight? Impossible. He couldn't live till now unless he violated the rule against using magic for life extension.]

[Hates Humans: My intelligence is absolutely authentic. The Hand of the King told me personally. If a sudden sandstorm hadn't blocked Ryan, they would have lost the palace. Now they have to accelerate the relocation plan and evacuate completely in two days. Gareth, you're a fugitive from Ryan; have you fought this Silvermoon Knight?]

[Crown of the Headless Knight: Don't know him. When I escaped the Ryan Empire, this so-called Silvermoon Knight wasn't even born, right? But since you say he's so powerful, I'd like to see for myself.]

[Withered Rose: Gareth, don't be impulsive. The Silvermoon Knight is absolutely the strongest Paladin in Ryan's history, even stronger than the founding emperor. If not for lacking royal blood and being unable to use the Demon Dragon Armaments, my underground undead empire would have been destroyed by him long ago.]

[Crown of the Headless Knight: That exaggerated? Arthur Ryan personally killed the Demon Dragon Tyrant and expelled all dragons. Although I am undead, I have to admire that he was a true great hero. This Silvermoon Knight, I've never even heard of him.]

[Pale Little Skeleton: Told you not to be impulsive, so don't be impulsive. Don't go looking for trouble with this Silvermoon Knight for no reason. He won't come to the dragon tomb to fight you anyway, so why care if he's strong? He's a hundred and fifty; in a few years, he'll be a pile of white bones. We have infinite lifespans; there's no need to risk our lives against him.]

Once the Bone Dragon missy spoke, Gareth stopped making noise. Although he was still a bit unhappy inside, Gareth knew his wife was right. The undead had infinite lives, while the so-called strongest Paladin might be replaced by another in a few decades. There was really no need to take it to heart.

If they had to fight every generation's strongest Paladin, that would be too much trouble.

[Hates Humans: By the way, where is Brother Tiga? Why isn't he here today? I just sent him a private message, and he didn't reply. What is he busy with?]

[Withered Rose: Naturally, it's the trouble with the elves. He seems to have found the key and should be busy conducting experiments right now.]

[Hates Humans: Then he needs to hurry up. The dwarves' migration plan has been moved forward, and his cooperation is needed, otherwise, accidents might happen.]