This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 54

The tall, towering city walls were visible in the distance. Starlight and the other Paladins all breathed a sigh of relief.

After traveling for so many days, they had finally arrived at the City of Alchemy.

Starlight raised his right hand and made a gesture. The Knights of Judgment uniformly slowed down, then quickly came to a halt.

They were visiting in an official capacity, representing the face of the Ryan Empire, so they couldn't enter the City of Alchemy looking travel-worn and dusty.

A shower of rain suddenly fell from the sky, soaking these heavy-armored Paladins to the bone.

This was rain created by magic, washing away most of the dust and grime from their bodies.

Added to simple spells like *Light*, the holy armor produced by the Ryan Empire shone brilliantly in the sunlight. Everyone instantly transformed from country bumpkins into noble Paladin lords.

Then, the group walked towards the City of Alchemy at an unhurried pace.

The closer they got to the city, the more they could feel its prosperity.

Even though the City of Alchemy had recently fallen into an economic crisis, there were still many merchant caravans coming and going, and the sky was densely packed with airships.

But even in the dense crowd, the Knights of Judgment remained the most dazzling existence.

Before they could walk beneath the massive city gate of the City of Alchemy, a giant airship pushed through the crowd and landed in front of them.

A lavishly dressed alchemist stepped off the airship and said to the Knights of Judgment, "Welcome, everyone. I am Gustavo Flynn, representing the Alchemists' Council to welcome the guests from the Ryan Empire."

Starlight knew this name. Gustavo Flynn, the Sixth Seat of the Alchemists' Council.

Although this position was high, Starlight still felt that the City of Alchemy's failure to send that mysterious President to welcome them seemed to show a lack of respect for the Ryan Empire.

Though people spoke of the Nine Great Kingdoms, in reality, it was one superpower and several strong ones.

The Ryan Empire was that sole superpower, so naturally, Starlight carried a bit of arrogance when dealing with people from other countries.

However, Starlight didn't show this arrogance. He engaged Gustavo Flynn very appropriately and then led his teammates onto the magic airship.

Gustavo Flynn exchanged pleasantries with Starlight and arranged for the Paladins to rest on the airship.

When only their own people remained in the cabin, Starlight couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "The magitech of the City of Alchemy is indeed impressive. My family has magic airships too, but I've never seen one this huge."

This magic airship was indeed massive; carrying one or two hundred people was no problem at all. With a little modification, it would be a very fine aerial fortress.

Another Paladin said, "No matter how big, it's useless. The airship is too slow; it's just a target."

Starlight nodded. This statement wasn't wrong. Magic airships were excellent transport tools, but they weren't very suitable for the battlefield.

The main reason was that magitech cannon technology was common everywhere. Coupled with flying units from various races and factions, dealing with a slow-moving airship was too simple. Once an airship crashed, the loss would be immense. Using it for war was not worth the cost.

However, airships were quite good for bullying wild monsters like goblins or gnolls.

"I've heard of this Gustavo Flynn; he's a very famous alchemist. He should represent the attitude of the City of Alchemy. Unfortunately, they seem unwilling to cooperate fully."

After boarding the airship, Starlight had impatiently discussed rescuing Alan with Gustavo Flynn, but the answer he received was very unsatisfactory.

The City of Alchemy stated that Alan Watson was employed by someone else to actively attack the Lich's castle and was captured after failing. The Lich's actions did not violate the laws of the City of Alchemy, so they could not actively intervene to demand the Lich hand the person over.

This explanation made Starlight very unhappy.

Talk law with a Lich? Just charge in, dismantle his castle, smash his phylactery, and scatter his ashes. Truly a country swarming with heretics; the rules here were simply unreasonable.

After Starlight expressed his protest, Gustavo Flynn hinted very subtly that for the City of Alchemy to break its own rules, the Ryan Empire needed to pay a higher price rather than just sending a diplomatic note expecting cooperation.

Starlight hesitated again and again, choosing not to continue arguing on this issue.

Superficially, Starlight was an envoy of the Ryan Empire, but he wasn't here to negotiate; he was here to rescue someone. The Supreme Adjudicator had already clearly stated that he would not accept any negotiation conditions. Even if his son died at the hands of the Lich, the Ryan Empire would not negotiate terms with others.

Therefore, Starlight didn't continue to demand cooperation from the City of Alchemy but simply obtained the relevant information from Gustavo Flynn.

Now, Starlight took out those intelligence documents and discussed the rescue method with his teammates.

After carefully reading the documents in hand, Starlight breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The report indicated that this Lich hadn't been reborn for long.

Although he was of Legendary rank, a young Lich was definitely easier to deal with. The reason was simple: a Lich's power lay not only in his spellcasting ability but also, in large part, in his massive undead army.

But the undead required corpses and souls to create. especially high-level undead like Death Knights, which required not only suitable materials but also a lot of time to cultivate suitable souls.

Since this Lich had been reborn for a short time, he definitely couldn't possess a massive undead army. The traces of the undead army left in the valley previously likely didn't belong to this "Tiga Ultraman."

This was the best news. Without the support of a massive undead army, this Lich's threat was directly reduced by more than half.

A Paladin suggested, "Should we directly attack this Lich's castle? Alan has been captured for too long. The sooner we get him out, the better his chances of survival."

Starlight shook his head. "Although the City of Alchemy allows us to attack directly, doing so is too reckless. We've traveled a long way and exhausted too much stamina. We need rest to recover to our peak condition. Besides, Alan isn't weak. He had a thousand militia and a priest helping him back then, yet he was still captured. This Lich isn't as weak as we imagine.

"After all, that is a castle filled with various magical traps. We might not break through with a forced attack, and it could easily cause unnecessary casualties."

The Knights of Judgment didn't fear death, but they were all the future of the Ryan Empire; no one could be sacrificed in vain. As the captain, Starlight had to be responsible for his teammates.

"Later, we'll find a place to stay in the City of Alchemy. Today, we'll split up to gather more intelligence and rest well for the night.

"Although the City of Alchemy officials aren't willing to send troops to help, isn't there an economic crisis here? We can put up a sum of money; I believe many people will be willing to take risks for coin.

"Recruit some rogues or rangers. Let them infiltrate and scout first. Maybe we can avoid many dangers."

Starlight's prudent arrangement convinced everyone. Following such a cautious captain, wouldn't a mere Legendary Lich be easily captured?