This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 14

"Poor Brother Headless. What does marriage even do to a man?"

Ambrose sighed, feeling thankful for his decision to remain single since his transmigration.

To think that bone dragon sister was also a member of the Elegy Society was quite a shock. Ambrose had never seen her speak in the chat group before.

The chat group behind the Codex of the Undead didn't have a member list. If you didn't speak, no one would ever know you were there. Ambrose had only been a member for a short time and had only seen four or five names. He had no idea how many members the Elegy Society actually had.

Without mourning Brother Headless's fate for a single moment longer, Ambrose immediately dove back into his experiments.

As per Withered Rose's request, Ambrose needed to design an undead unit capable of a frontal assault on the Ryan Empire's capital. This was an exceptionally difficult task.

The Ryan Empire was the strongest human empire, possessing the most light clerics, paladins, and Legendary-tier experts on the continent.

The capital's walls were fortified with countless defensive spells, especially those that countered the undead.

Ambrose might be a Legendary lich, but if he dared to show his face within the capital's limits, he wouldn't even need the other Legendaries to step in. The anti-undead magic on the walls alone would be enough to blast him to smithereens. The continent's strongest empire hadn't earned its title through boasting, but through countless glorious victories.

Ordinary undead troops would be reduced to ash just by getting close.

Originally, Ambrose had planned to use some kind of golem to solve the problem of the undead's inherent weakness.

Among undead units, the Effigy was one of the most unique. Not because it was particularly powerful, but because, in some ways, an Effigy couldn't even be considered undead.

It was a very special type of magical construct, created by the great Legendary lich, Master Morgan, whose famous work was *Research on Ghostly Reproduction*.

Could new life be born from the union of two souls? This question had once been a thorny academic problem in the world of necromancy, leading to fierce debates among countless necromancers every year.

It was Master Morgan's publication of *Research on Ghostly Reproduction* that finally settled the matter with a definitive answer—yes, ghosts could reproduce.

Though the conditions were extremely demanding and the success rate was very low, tests by countless necromancers proved the results were repeatable. Moreover, the new souls born from ghostly reproduction seemed to be a separate race, independent of the undead.

The most obvious characteristic was that these new souls were not weak to light magic. It seemed the laws of the world did not recognize them as undead.

And the Effigies created from these special souls were the most unique of all undead units. They had almost no undead aura and were not countered by light magic.

Unfortunately, shortly after Master Morgan created the Effigy, the Ryan Empire shattered his phylactery. They also ordered Legendary Incantations to revoke the honors bestowed upon him and even demanded the destruction of all research materials related to Effigies.

Thankfully, the editor-in-chief of Legendary Incantations at the time had a strong backbone. He stood his ground against the Ryan Empire's pressure, upholding the integrity of a scholar and allowing enough time for the Effigy technology to spread. Although Master Morgan's original manuscripts were destroyed, leaving many details for others to figure out, the technology itself was not lost.

Ambrose naturally knew the techniques for creating Effigies, but he had never studied them in depth before. The subject was simply too advanced. As a newly ascended lich, his grasp of necromancy was still insufficient, and forcing himself to research it would have been a waste of time.

But now, Ambrose pulled a dusty copy of *Research on Ghostly Reproduction* from his bookshelf. This was the core foundation of Effigy creation. Today, he had to master this book completely.

"Whoa, it starts with human reproduction... that's really... *hiss*, these illustrations are so detailed..."

Ambrose became engrossed in his studies. Researching new technologies was his second favorite hobby, right after making money.

Just a few pages in, a timid Isabel appeared in his study.

"Lord Lich, the rock-softening potions for clearing the land are ready. My brother has brought back a total of one hundred and twenty-three people these past few days. The castle rooms are full, and food is getting a little tight..."

Isabel carefully reported on her recent progress.

Ambrose put down his grimoire. "That was fast. Over a hundred people in just a few days?"

For the past few days, Isabel's brother, Raul, had been helping Ambrose gather freedmen who had fled their lands. Although he could only use the Xenomorphic Skeleton at night, the recent tax crisis had caused so many people to flee that simply spreading the word of Ambrose's "generous terms" naturally attracted many desperate freedmen.

Going back meant death, and being caught by their lord also meant death. So what was wrong with trying their luck in a lich's territory?

When they saw the vast stretches of wasteland behind the old castle and heard the promise of land for all, these freedmen couldn't help but praise the benevolent Lord Lich. He was kinder than the God of Light himself.

After a few days, however, the freedmen's patience was wearing thin.

They were cooped up all day in this gloomy old castle, and the legendary Lord Lich had yet to appear, which gave rise to many worries. Would the promised land truly be given to them? How would they eat and drink while clearing the land? How could they work without tools, seeds, or livestock?

These questions gnawed at their sanity, making them anxious and irritable. This anxiety spread through the crowd like a virus, amplifying with each transmission.

The situation was reaching a boiling point, which was why Isabel had mustered the courage to report to Ambrose.

"Hmm, excellent progress. Since the potions are ready, we can officially begin clearing the land today. Make a list of their names, separated into able-bodied adults and women and children. These freedmen should have blacksmiths, carpenters, and other trades among them. I want them all carefully accounted for. Then, distribute the potions and land based on that, but require them to work together. If anyone shows selfish behavior—like fighting over land, falsifying their numbers, taking extra potions, or lying about their profession—don't waste time. Just throw them out..."

Ambrose spoke without pause, and Isabel quickly took out a notebook and began scribbling. It was the good habit of an alchemist's apprentice: anything a teacher said could be an opportunity for advancement, so one must always be ready to take notes.

Isabel wrote at a furious pace, recording Ambrose's instructions word for word.

By the time she had filled several pages of parchment, she realized that Ambrose had a detailed and clear plan for settling the populace. Was this something liches normally studied?

Isabel started to become curious about this benevolent Lord Lich. To humans, undead creatures were usually described with words like "filthy," "despicable," and "evil." But in the few days she'd spent with him, this lich, aside from being cold and strict, didn't seem particularly evil at all.

And, speaking without prejudice, Ambrose was the most learned and wise scholar Isabel had ever met. Her own alchemy teacher couldn't compare to his mastery.

"Could it be that the world misunderstands liches?"

Curious, Isabel glanced at the things on Ambrose's desk, wanting to see what kind of magic this benevolent Lord Lich was studying.

With just one look, Isabel's beautiful eyes went wide. For the innocent girl, ignorant of certain things, it felt as if the door to a whole new world had just been opened.