Lich for Hire

Chapter 214: Return to the Desert

Even though the Chairman had turned into a tentacled abomination, he was still one of the most formidable figures in the world.

Ambrose excelled at tricking others into working for him. He was a miser; even if he was forced to use his own resources, he'd make sure to squeeze ten times the value out of them.

The Chairman, on the other hand, was far more generous. He suppressed the splaad with overwhelming firepower, then promised them a host of benefits.

Under that approach, the giant toads—creatures even smarter than humans—quickly became his underlings.

It was precisely because the splaad possessed such intelligence that they knew when resistance was pointless. When faced with irresistible might, they naturally chose to compromise.

Of course, their submission was mostly lip service. They hadn't suddenly become devout believers. But the Chairman still obtained what he wanted: a very small amount of faith.

After his transformation, the Chairman had entered a peculiar state, something like a god, yet not quite one. That trickle of faith would help push him further along the path of becoming a true deity. Perhaps the next time they met, the Chairman would have become a deity in truth.

Naturally, Ambrose very much hoped that would be the case.

From every angle, the Chairman made for an excellent ally. Ambrose was a lich. Even if his master was the God of Alchemy, he was destined to stand opposed to the lawful gods sooner or later, and the lawful gods were the ones who had exiled the Chairman in the first place. In that sense, they were natural allies.

More importantly, the splaad lord had revealed the details of the splaad's spatial ritual to the Chairman. Ambrose could finally get out of this garbage dump.But the splaad lord couldn't resist adding one more remark. "The spatial link created by this ritual won't let you escape. Anyone exiled by the gods is forever imprisoned here."

Ambrose frowned. "Then what's the point of the ritual? Just to hunt?"

"Yes. All those who are transformed into splaad will inherit our curse. Once the spatial link disappears, they'll all be sent to our world."

That agreed with Ambrose's earlier deduction. Even the dead splaad had had their carcasses transported back to their swamp.

The gods would never have left them a way out.

"It's fine," Ambrose said calmly. "I haven't been exiled. As long as you create a spatial link, I can leave. But your ritual doesn't seem very stable. Can you connect it to a specific location?"

If the splaad established a link to some underground tomb again, all his effort would be for nothing.

The splaad lord shook its head. "Impossible. I know nothing about your world, so I wouldn't recognize the location you describe. Besides, breaking through the gods' seal isn't easy. Creating the spatial link at all is difficult enough. We've connected to places with no trace of life a few times, and our population keeps shrinking because of these failures."

The splaad were in exile, not a vacation resort. They were lucky that they could even establish such a link to begin with.

Ambrose sighed. "Well, if you aren't confident in your success, I'll make up the difference."

Every time he used the power of fate, he was essentially submitting a request to the Goddess of Fate.

"Goddess, will I continue being successful in the future? Yes? Excellent."

It was something like that. As long as Ambrose's dice of fate continued to function, it meant the Goddess of Fate was still on his side.

The splaad finished preparing the ritual. Soon, a new spatial link began to form.

Scene after scene flickered into existence as the passage extended forward like a flowing stream.

Ambrose began tossing out his dice of fate, trying to make those shifting images freeze on a place he recognized.

After he cast down hundreds of dice, the channel finally stabilized. Endless yellow sand stretched beneath blazing sunlight, glittering like gold.

This was the place. Ambrose stepped straight through the spatial link and, sure enough, returned to that sea of golden sand.

Turning back, he waved toward the Chairman on the other side of the portal, then flew into the desert without another glance.

The channel slowly vanished. The Chairman watched Ambrose's departing figure with his single eye until the portal closed completely.

Then he extended his chaotic tentacles forth once again, dismantling the splaad swamp and pushing the entire landmass back into the void.

The tentacles sank into the ruins until not a trace remained.

"I will face the gods again, but not until I'm ready."

The Chairman planned to digest the splaad's faith, then capture another fragment of land and gather more followers.

But to prevent the gods from figuring out what he was up to, he had no intention of merging all the fragments of space in this garbage dump together, at least not until he amassed sufficient strength.

"Whatever schemes that lich may have, his power is real. Hm? What's this? There are still living people in Alkhemia?"

The Chairman drifted toward a barely intact tower. Inside, he found Naomi, her throat cut, her life already gone.

Her body had not yet fully cooled, but her soul had long since vanished.

The Chairman hovered silently before the corpse for a long time. Then the previously still tentacles stirred once more, reaching out to capture another nearby fragment of land.

Moments later, the small world, exiled by the gods for reasons unknown, was completely destroyed and entirely converted into energy for a massive magic array.

The Chairman's low voice echoed, "I wish… for you to live again."

Ambrose naturally had no idea what happened inside that chaotic realm. But he wasn't worried. What was meant to happen would happen.

Once he was back in the desert, Ambrose released Catherine.

Seeing the endless golden sands, Catherine exclaimed in surprise, "We're already back? That fast?"

Ambrose hadn't put her in stasis. Rather, their visit to Alkhemia and subsequent return had lasted fewer than two hours.

Ambrose briefly explained what had happened, then reminded her, "Prepare yourself. The most critical step comes next. We need to find Harvey and conjure a false prophecy at precisely the right moment."

Catherine frowned. "Wait. Since you returned to Alkhemia, why didn't you rescue Naomi?"

"Rescue her?" Ambrose said, baffled. "Are you joking?"

"But you already persuaded the Chairman. Taking Naomi away wouldn't be difficult. If you rushed over, you could've stopped her before she committed suicide…"

Ambrose replied calmly, "Let's ignore whether fate can even be changed. If I saved her now, where would we find a time dragon to send us back to the past?"

Catherine hesitated, then said, "If fate was truly on your side, then if you saved Naomi, you'd surely find another way to return to the past. Just like you said before, if the Goddess of Fate allows you to save Harvey, no matter how it happens, it will come true."

Ambrose let out a cold laugh. "What do you think fate is? A sloppy novelist rewriting a novel chapter after realizing his plot doesn't make sense?"

Seeing that Catherine still looked confused, Ambrose didn't bother explaining further. Instead, he casually scooped up a handful of sand and handed it to her. "Let's try a little experiment. Take this sand with you. Hold it in your hand, put it in a bag, whatever you like. See that city? Harvey should be there. If you can carry this bag of sand into the city, I'll grant you any request."

Catherine blinked in confusion. The offer was undeniably tempting.

"You mean that? Any request?" she asked.

"Yes. I'd even hand you money if that's what you wanted," Ambrose said firmly.

That was practically a vow. Catherine immediately nodded. "Then it's a deal."

"It's a deal."

After saying that, Ambrose traced several strange arcs in the air with his hands. "Go on," he said. "Enter the city. If you can bring the sand inside, you win."

Catherine quickly stuffed the sand into her magic pouch. With the sand secured, she flew decisively toward the desert city.

Meanwhile, Ambrose drifted lazily above the sand, following her at a distance.

Before long, Catherine arrived at the city gates.

She hesitated, wondering whether she should simply fly in or enter through the gates.

The walls weren't high. One quick leap and that hateful lich would lose. But just as she was about to vault over the wall, the lizardman soldiers below spotted her in the air.

A shrill horn sounded. Magical lights immediately flared across the city wall. One magitech cannon after another rose into position, their barrels aimed directly at Catherine.

"Flying is prohibited in Sweetdew City! Land immediately for inspection! Warning, land immediately for inspection, or we will open fire!"

Seeing the cannons charging up, Catherine could only descend obediently.

Lizardman soldiers surrounded her, leveling their spears.

Although most of them froze for a moment when they saw Catherine, stunned by her beauty, one strong-willed soldier tightened his grip on his spear and said firmly, "State your identity and your purpose. Hand over all personal belongings for inspection!"

Catherine froze. They wanted to inspect her belongings too?

Instinctively, she clutched her magic pouch. The movement immediately caught the lizardmen's attention.

"Miss Elf, please hand over your personal belongings!"

Though it pained him to treat such a beautiful elf so harshly, duty was duty. He had to conduct a thorough search.

Only then did Ambrose arrive at a leisurely pace.

Seeing Catherine surrounded, he merely gave her a smile, then walked straight into the city by himself.

A few minutes later, Catherine, wrapped up tightly to hide her embarrassment, found Ambrose drinking in a tavern.

"You win," she said bitterly. "When they searched me, they dumped everything out of my pouch. The sand got mixed with the sand on the ground. But I'm not convinced! If I'd just entered the city normally from the start, I could've won."

Ambrose chuckled and handed her his wine cup. "Not convinced? Then let's try again. Take this cup. If you can carry it out of the city, you win."