Chapter 3 Tax crisis leads to flight

Every Mage would set up many magic traps on their estate, some lethal and others non-lethal, generally to guard against thieves.

After all, every Mage would store a vast array of valuable magical materials, as well as precious magical notes and books. These items tend to be small but extremely valuable and are the easiest targets for thieves.

Setting traps and breaking traps had been a game of cat and mouse for several thousand years, one that neither Mages nor thieves could escape. However, this time, the intruders did not seem to be those opportunistic thieves, because they hadn't even managed to break the most basic perimeter alarms outside the castle.

When Amberser donned his robe, covering his entire body, and appeared outside the castle, he only saw a pair of young men and women, both ragged. The man was already lying in a pool of blood, his thigh pierced by several spikes, nearly crippled. The girl tried hard to drag the man away, but she couldn't move his body at all.

At the sight of Amberser, the girl let out a scream of terror.

Amberser waved his finger, and a Sleep Spell shot out, putting the girl's scream to a stop as her head hit the ground in slumber.

Then Amberser slowly walked up to the man and inquired, "Why did you break into my estate? Didn't you see the sign at the entrance that reads 'No Trespassing, Magic Traps Inside'?"

The man was also shivering with fright; few ordinary people could see a Lich without fear. A Legendary Lich naturally carried an Aura of Fear, although it wasn't as effective as a Nightmare Knight's, but still not something a mortal could bear.

Pressed by Amberser, the man, enduring the excruciating pain, said, "I...can't read."

Amberser: ...

"Even if you can't read, hasn't your Lord told you that this is a Lich's territory?" Amberser asked again.

The man was already very weak from blood loss but still mustered the last of his strength to say, "Lord Lich, I am willing to offer you my life and soul, but please spare my sister. We are fleeing for our lives, forced to break into your estate without any intention of offending."

"Are you escaped serfs?"

Only fleeing serfs would be so desperate as to breach a Lich's domain, probably thinking that the tales of Liches were mere scarecrows put out by the Lords, hence their attempt to seek refuge inside the castle.

To Amberser's surprise, the man said excitedly, "No, we are free people. Our Lord suddenly imposed new taxes, and even though we had already paid in full, he demanded double. When we couldn't come up with the extra money, he planned to sell my sister to a brothel!"

"New taxes all of a sudden? Did you offend the Lord?" Amberser asked.

Continuing, the man said, "It's not just us; the entire county, and even the nearby counties, are facing massive increases in taxes. Many free people have already been sold into slavery."

Amberser was surprised, the Alchemist Council shouldn't allow such events to occur. Could it be that they themselves were on the verge of bankruptcy?

It was very likely. The plan to create a new race had failed, and they had probably lost a great deal of the fortune accumulated by Alchemy City. The Elves of the Silvermoon Tribunal took advantage of the chaos, significantly raising the prices of the raw materials for magic potions. Alchemy City was likely unable to fulfill many of its routine orders, exacerbating its losses with compensations.

Those Alchemists, who spent their days engrossed with vials and containers, on a whim decided to impose across-the-board taxation, hoping to weather the crisis with these taxes. And the lesser Lords, naturally followed the Alchemist Council's lead, shifting the tax burden onto the lower classes.

"Have many free people already fled?" Amberser inquired.

"Many, I know of at least a dozen…" the man didn't finish his sentence before he fainted, the massive loss of blood bringing him to the brink of death. If left unattended, Amberser could have had another experiment subject.

However, upon reflecting on the numerous cases of freemen fleeing he heard about, Amberser was struck with a new idea.

Magic energy burst forth from his fingertips, and a healing spell descended upon the man.

The punctured thigh began to heal rapidly, the spike being pushed out by the regenerating flesh. The lost blood was also replenished under the spell's effect.

Soon after, the man awakened.

Upon seeing his healed wounds, the man immediately knelt before Amberser, "Thank you, kind Lich Lord."

Amberser let out a cackling laugh, then said, "Thanking a Lich, it seems your mind hasn't fully cleared yet. Do you think I would let you go just like that? You dare to invade a Lich's territory, you should prepare to leave both soul and body behind."

"No, my Lord, please—I beg you…" the man knelt on the ground, desperately pleading.

Amberser, becoming impatient, cast a silencing spell on the man, making him completely mute.

"Don't be in a hurry, I will give you a chance to live, but only if you complete the task I give you."

Amberser snapped his fingers, and two strangely shaped skeletons appeared. Called skeletons because they were composed entirely of bones, and called strange because they weren't human skeletons at all. They looked more like skeleton dogs, but where the skull should be, instead grew an arm with only three fingers.

What peculiar beings these were in life, to leave behind such skeletal remains?

The two odd skeleton dogs picked up the unconscious woman and placed her on their backs, then followed Amberser's steps.

The man watched Amberser's retreating figure, and his sister being taken away, having no choice but to follow despite his trepidation. He lacked any courage to resist, fearful that any second he might become a corpse. At least the Lich Lord had healed his wounds and seemed quite reasonable. Perhaps there truly was a chance to survive.

With this stroke of luck in mind, the man entered the old castle following Amberser.

Amberser led both of them straight to his laboratory, then commanded, "Stand aside, don't speak unless I ask you to."

Having said that, he turned away from the man and walked back to his experiment table.

Amberser took out a Memory Crystal, hanging it high in the laboratory. This device could record visual and audio scenes, a common magical tool. Amberser activated the crystal with his magic energy, then began to speak, "Undead Creature Appearance Modification Experiment, Session 176."

"For a long time, we have habitually made skeletons into upright, walking forms, 206 bones forming the complete human skeleton. But without the connection of muscles and sinew, every bone requires the power of the soul to bind closely together.

"With each toe housing two joints, for skeletons to stand on two feet, the soul must expend a significant amount of energy for real-time calculations, constantly balancing front and back, left and right. I believe this is an unnecessary burden…"

From assembling the bones, the Memory Crystal clearly recorded every step of Amberser's process.