This Lich Needs More Money

Chapter 113 The Mourners and the Poet

 If you want to understand a person, the best way is to spend time and send someone to get to know him/her.

But the elves don't have this time now, so Naya, as Amber Xiu's messenger, was quickly sent to the palace. What awaited her was a face-to-face inquiry from the Elf Queen and the former king.

　　When Catherine asked Naya: "Have you seen that lich, tell me about him."

Naya recalled it for a moment, and then said excitedly: "That lich, he is not a human at all."

These words made Catherine frown. Did the child suffer some kind of torture that caused mental problems? Why did he speak incoherently?

Naya seemed to realize that she had said nonsense, and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, that lich is very scary. He seems to be able to read other people's thoughts. I didn't say a word, but he had already guessed everything."

 Naya's body was trembling when she thought of Amber Xiu's terror.

Catherine said to Naya gently: "My child, don't be afraid, you are safe here. No matter how terrible the lich is, it can't hurt you."

Catherine's voice had a soothing effect. Naya quickly calmed down and said very guiltily: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, our strategic plan was guessed by this lich. It's my fault."

 Catherine felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart by the tip of a knife. This child didn't even know the real plan, but was blaming herself here.

 Catherine continued to comfort and said: "Don't worry, Naya, you just need to say what you know, and leave other things to me."

  Naya then talked about her own experience bit by bit.

 From the assassination of Viscount Letterman to the encounter with Amber Shoes, Naya described the battle process very carefully.

 After listening to this, Catherine also understood what kind of opponent Naya had encountered. This is definitely a lich of legendary rank. It is no wonder that Twilight Guards fell into the hands of this lich time and time again.

"...Then, I was caught by him. After I was captured, I shut up and said nothing. But the lich just grabbed me and started talking to himself. I don't know what happened, he I quickly guessed that the magic contract is your power, and even guessed the effects of violating the contract. I swear to the gods, I never mentioned a word of these details."

 Naya’s words made Catherine confused. The elves are not affected by the charm spell. There are few things that can stimulate their spirits and make the elves behave contrary to their souls.

 But after repeated questioning, Naya’s answers showed no flaws. It was not a false memory caused by emotional excitement. After a few words of comfort, Catherine asked Naya to retreat and rest, and promised her that she would rescue Cicero and others.

 When facing Naya, Catherine tried her best to remain confident, which made the little elf girl feel at ease. But after she left, Catherine couldn't hide her inner shock.

 What is this effect of reading thoughts?

Catherine asked the old king: "If you are a mage of legendary level, can you read the thoughts of elves by casting the thought detection spell?"

 The old king shook his head and said: "It's unlikely."

This blessing comes from the elves and gods, let alone a legend. It is difficult for other gods to change the will of the elves personally.

 “Then what is going on with this lich?” Catherine became more and more confused.

The old king was lost in thought, thinking about the words lich and undead. After a while, the old king said a special noun.

"The Mourning Poets Society..." the old king muttered, "This lich is most likely a member of the Mourning Poets Society."

"The Dead Poets Society?" Catherine had never heard of this name before, so she had to ask: "This sounds like an undead organization. Is it a subordinate of the Queen of Roses in the Underdark?"

Although the Nine Kingdoms do not include the Underdark, everyone knows that there is a powerful Undead Queen there. Although her territory is not large, the power of the kingdom is considered to be at a medium level among the Nine Kingdoms.

 Catherine has never met the Rose Queen, but she still knows her to a certain extent.

If he is a subordinate of this queen, then it may be reasonable to have some special means.

 However, the old king shook his head and said: "No, you are contrary. This Queen of Roses is just one of the members of the Mourning Poets Society."

Catherine showed a shocked expression. The Queen of Roses had the same status as her and was only a member of this organization. So how terrible is this organization?

Catherine said: “It’s unbelievable.”

The old king nodded and said: "Indeed, when I first heard about the Dead Poets Society, I was very surprised. This is a very powerful undead organization, and the minimum standards for its members are legends."

 “The minimum standard is a legend? How many are there in total?” Catherine asked.

"I don't know. I'm afraid only the president of the Dead Poets Society knows the identities of all the members. I only met one of the members codenamed 'Poet' when I was traveling, and I learned the name of the Dead Poets Society from his mouth. ”

 The scene from many years ago appeared in front of the old king's eyes, when the dragon tyrant was still in power. When he was young, the Elf King was a ranger with an out-of-the-box personality. While traveling across the continent, he met Arthur Lane, who had just received divine enlightenment.

 They were both young men with extraordinary talents, and they soon became friends who went on adventures together.

 When Arthur Lane slayed the first dragon, the young elf was bending his bow and unloading an arrow beside him. At that time, he did not know that the paladin in front of him would become the founding emperor of the Lion Empire. He did not expect that he would achieve the feat of expelling all dragons.

 During their adventure together, the two of them once drank in a tavern.

The two people who had just completed a commission were very happy. They drank a lot of wine and were so excited that they forgot the proper etiquette.

"The bard singing in the bar was very unpleasant. I was drunk at the time, so I went up and taunted him. Arthur also completely forgot about the rules of the paladin. He put his arm around my shoulders and laughed loudly at the bard. …Then we realized we had the wrong person.”

The all-powerful men also had such stupid and naive times, but they were really unlucky at that time, and the bard they met had a bad temper.

“That bard is a member of the Mourning Poets Society?” Catherine asked.

“Yes, his codename was Poet, which I found out later. That night, Arthur and I both received a severe lesson.

"Arthur and I encountered the biggest defeat in our lives, but the two of us thought we were just drunk and didn't perform well. So the next day, we went to find trouble with the bard again. I have to say, this was a very big deal. Stupid decision.

"Even though Arthur has the strength to slay dragons, he was still severely teased in front of this man. If this bard didn't have the idea of ​​​​killing people, I'm afraid the Lion Empire would no longer exist, and I wouldn't A chance to inherit the throne of Silvermoon Highgarden."

The old king touched his nose awkwardly, as if he could still remember the severe pain when his nose was broken by the lute.

The young talents who will be famous in the mainland in the future suffered a severe fall, and then were kidnapped home by this "poet" and forced to listen to poetry for three days and three nights. For them, it was considered a shame in life.

The young elf was particularly good at poetry, so he chatted with this "poet" for a long time, and then he heard the name of the Mourning Poets Society, and this terrible "poet" was just one of the members of the Mourning Poets Society. member.

"There is a mysterious president of the Mourning Poets Society. I only know his code name is the Mourning Man. And the poet I met must have a special relationship with the Mourning Poets Society. He claims to be an ordinary member of the Mourning Poets Society. , but judging from the code names of the two, this poet is more like a vice president. I have always suspected that he is probably a god."

Catherine quickly said: "God of the dead, do you mean the God of Liches or the Lord of Bones?"

"No, neither of these two gods have such a playful personality. If we met the incarnations of these two, we would have been made undead long ago.

"The poet gave me the feeling that he was not just an undead, but his power seemed to be more ancient. I couldn't even guess his race. It was because he recognized his identity as an undead, not that I could see it. He also didn't have that kind of connection with the living. Man's undying hatred is as free as a true bard.

“It’s just that the poetry he wrote is really bad, as lame as a love letter from a goblin.”

Catherine looked embarrassed by the old king's words. It really sounded like someone who had lost a fight was trying to save some face for himself. She didn't expect that this mature and steady old king still had such a past.

"Okay, let's get back to the topic. You should already be able to understand the power of the Mourning Poets Society. The Queen of Roses in the Underdark is also a member of the Mourning Poets Society, and so is the mysterious poet. By analogy, this lich You can imagine how powerful he is. Your Majesty, even if you are promoted to legend for the second time, you may not be his opponent. The other party also has the special power to read the thoughts of elves, so it is very likely that he will be a favored person by the gods. …”

Before the old king finished speaking, Catherine interrupted: "I must go, please forgive me for being willful, but I need to find the strength to survive."

 Catherine’s palms tightly covered her chest, and her face became very pale.

"Your Majesty, you..." The old king saw that something was wrong. This behavior was a bit like a sign of death from a broken heart.

Most elves have sensitive and delicate personalities. When the mental pressure becomes too great to bear, their hearts are likely to break and then die completely.

 The crisis of annihilation and the heavy guilt made Catherine breathless and her spirit was close to collapse. If confessing could save the entire elves, Catherine would have revealed the secret long ago and put herself on trial.

But she couldn't say it at all, because there is no cure for the disease of demonic addiction. Once exposed, it would cause panic across the country. Catherine would not be the only one to die of a broken heart. The elves would immediately split and then die completely.

In this case, the life and death of Cicero and the others is the last string in Catherine's spirit. At least one must be saved before Catherine can find a chance to continue to support her.

"well."

The old king sighed. When he chose Catherine as his heir, he also took a fancy to her sense of responsibility, but now it seems that this sense of responsibility has become the reason for the destruction of the elves.

"Okay, the negotiations continue, but before we start, we need to know more about this lich. I will let people prepare rituals to calculate the past and future of this lich. So, you must be patient for a while until We have enough information," the old king said comfortingly.

 Catherine said "thank you" gratefully.

The ritual the old king mentioned is a magic unique to the elves. You can use the power of divination to see the past and future of the target. This is much clearer than Naya's words. You may also be able to find the other party's weaknesses in negotiations. Gain an advantage.

 With the power of prophecy, all that is hidden will be revealed.

 At that time, we will be able to figure out what exactly this lich has planned.

 (End of this chapter)