This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 33

Outside the castle, a cobbled-together army stood in the cold wind.

The weather, now on the cusp of winter, made the militiamen shiver.

Ambrose paid no mind to the rabble assembled by the local lords, his attention fixed on the paladin at the front.

It had been over half a month since they'd last seen each other at the tavern.

Ambrose hadn't expected the paladin to be mixing with petty local lords. A paladin of the Ryan Empire associating with the likes of the Porcupine Knight was, frankly, beneath him.

This time, Ambrose didn't bother with his human form, appearing directly in his skeletal lich state.

The moment he appeared, the Porcupine Knight rode forward and declared righteously, "Foul lich! I am Sir Aldrich Jaes. You have bewitched my subjects with your evil magic! I, in my capacity as a noble of the City of Alchemy, hereby declare that if you do not release my people today, you will have chosen war!"

The Porcupine Knight was brimming with confidence today. Even standing before a lich floating in mid-air, he could shout his accusations without fear.

After all, he had over a thousand troops, a mage advisor, and, most importantly, a paladin from the Ryan Empire by his side.

If there was any profession in the world that was the bane of the undead, it was the paladin.

With a paladin ready to fight for him, what was there to fear?

Ambrose scanned the crowd before him and said, "The Ryan Empire interfering in the affairs of the City of Alchemy... is this a declaration of war?"

The paladin replied in a low voice, "Master Ultraman, there's no need to levy such accusations against me. I am currently in the City of Alchemy merely as an adventurer honing my skills. As an adventurer, being hired by a lord to vanquish the undead is perfectly in accordance with the laws of the city. And I have you to thank for the lesson you taught me earlier. Obeying local laws is indeed very important."

"Oh? It seems you haven't been idle. You've more or less dug into my background, haven't you?" Ambrose asked.

The paladin shook his head. "One should indeed investigate thoroughly. Unfortunately, the lifespan of mortals is all too brief. Even these lords beside me only know that you transformed into an undead less than a century ago. Beyond that, I could find no other information."

"Quite honest of you," Ambrose remarked.

It wasn't surprising. This was the temporal gulf between immortals and mortals. In a world where the average lifespan was only thirty or forty years, Ambrose would often spend decades secluded in his castle.

After two generations of mortals, stories would warp into "legend says there's a terrible lich in that castle," or "no, I heard it's a handsome vampire." Such tales would quickly splinter into a dozen different versions.

These local lords were not from ancient, storied families. Trying to investigate Ambrose was like a historian from several dynasties later trying to research an ancient figure.

If Ambrose hadn't let his common alias, Tiga Ultraman, slip at the tavern, the paladin probably wouldn't have even known this castle belonged to him.

Few in the City of Alchemy truly knew Ambrose's background, and a mere paladin didn't have the clout to make them share that information. As for these petty lords, they were even more insignificant; their status was lower than even the paladin's.

The paladin spoke with a devout tone, "Honesty is our creed. I will adhere to it strictly, even when facing the undead."

Ambrose grew thoughtful, quickly adjusting the plan he had prepared.

"Time is money," Ambrose said to the crowd. "Let's cut the crap. You're here for my captives, aren't you?"

Captives?

The Porcupine Knight sensed something was off but could only repeat, "Return my subjects to me and provide compensation in accordance with the law. Then, we can avoid war."

These lords had gathered not just for the hundred or so freemen who had fled, but more importantly, to extort some money from Ambrose to get through their current crisis.

In their minds, great nobles with centuries of heritage were fabulously wealthy. An undead who had lived for hundreds of years, with no family to support, must be swimming in gold. A few coins slipping through the lich's fingers would be enough to feed them all.

So, money was the key.

What the Porcupine Knight never expected was that Ambrose was thinking the exact same thing.

Floating in the air, Ambrose spoke in a toneless voice, "Human, do you think spinning lies will get you out of paying compensation? What do you mean I 'bewitched' your subjects? It was your people who trespassed on my land and caused damage. According to the laws of the City of Alchemy, it is you who must compensate me for my losses!"

A strange silence fell over the crowd. They had anticipated many scenarios—that Ambrose would arrogantly dismiss them as trash and attack, or that he might be intimidated and choose to negotiate. They had prepared responses for all these possibilities.

But they never imagined Ambrose would lie so blatantly and even turn the tables on them!

After a long moment, the Porcupine Knight finally burst out in anger, "Your sophistry is meaningless! If you hadn't bewitched them, why would they have run into the territory of an undead creature?!"

Ambrose chuckled. "You should ask yourself that question. You are their lord, are you not? It was your subjects who came onto my land and destroyed my magic traps. Who's to say you didn't order them to do it?"

Ambrose even produced a memory crystal on the spot, projecting an image from within. It was the scene of Raul forcing his way into the castle and triggering a magic trap.

The Porcupine Knight was furious. "That's slander! I never gave such an order! And who knows if you fabricated this recording?"

"We can verify it," Ambrose said nonchalantly. "You there, paladin. You can tell if a memory crystal has been tampered with, can't you?"

The paladin sneered. "Master Ultraman, I won't fall for your tricks again. It's difficult to fake the image in a memory crystal, but it wouldn't be hard for you to place this human under a charm spell, order him to act out this scene, and then record it. Verifying this crystal's authenticity is pointless."

Ambrose laughed. "Well, look at you, getting smarter. I suppose I'll have to charge you for the lesson."

The paladin's face was hidden behind his helmet, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil. Being played for a fool in front of everyone and extorted for a hefty sum was the greatest humiliation of his life.

Ambrose didn't give the paladin a chance to retort, continuing to address the Porcupine Knight. "The situation is clear. I can produce evidence of your people trespassing on my land, while all you have are baseless accusations based on conjecture.

"I don't care what reasons you humans have. Since they trespassed on my territory, it was a provocation against me. And you, their human lords, must pay the price for their actions!

"According to the customs of you human nobles, if you want to ransom your captives, you pay up. A freeman with skills, as I recall, is worth at least thirty gold coins. But they damaged my magic trap, which cost three hundred gold. They also stole my skeleton puppet, causing damage that will require two thousand gold for repairs.

"You want to take him back? Bring me the money! Otherwise, his soul, his corpse, everything about him will become my experimental material to compensate for my losses."