"Equip everyone with the best gear; we’re about to teach those country bumpkins with their muzzle-loading guns a lesson about what real firepower is."
The last sentence in the letter to the Chief Political Officer should make that old man understand.
After everything is settled, Malin goes to see Ails—the defenses here are solid, and it’s said that Ails’s side is engaged in heated battle.
Speaking of which, Ails is also very satisfied with such arrangement—look, wherever there is trouble, it means there is more Chaos, and more Chaos means more Soul Coins. Although the quality of these coins is not the best, there are plenty of them now, and they can still be used with Demons. Besides, if you’re worried, Soul Coins are also considered hard currency in Mark City.
Ails even bought a bunch of Skeletons with them from his fellow Liches. In the Land of the Dead, these are cannon fodder; Liches have plenty of them but they’re not highly valued since they require magic power to maintain, and Liches always need to leave some margin to protect themselves.
But Ails, being a Legendary Lich with enhanced gear all over, is now maintaining at least forty thousand Ribcage Troops, nearly thirty thousand Pike Squares, and eight thousand Musketeers. Malin also helped him enhance a battalion of artillery. As for the new cannon fodder that Ails bought, Malin helped him find some old armor from the Northern people’s warehouses, and once dressed in this and armed with pikes, they’ve become an elite cannon fodder force.
Ails even hired some freshly converted Lich newbies with Soul Coins. There was no expectation for them to perform like a Mage Corps right away; they only needed to provide sufficient Enhancement Spells for the Skeletons. At first, they weren’t clear why their employer Ails was aiding humans, but Gold Coins don’t lie, and soon these novices became Ails’s most loyal subordinates—Ails pays generously, and as long as they work hard, there are no deductions or delays in payment.
Compared to other Liches who are constantly engaged in big fish eating little fish, and little fish eating shrimps, Ails’s behavior is like that of a benevolent angel. Not to mention the occasional visits by Nameless and Malin, as well as the sacred cigar between Ails’s phalanges, his subordinates are incredibly discreet about their boss’s allegiance, fearful that one day Ails might show up with a halo claiming to be an envoy of the God of Goodness.
When Malin arrived, it was the same old scene; the battle had ended, and this time Ails had ambushed Chaos. His Pike Square had switched to swords and shields, crouched in the front line trenches ready for a rabbit hunt, so when Chaos charged into human lines, they found not the tender flesh they desired, but a bunch of unholy creatures with no skin to cut.
Afterward, Ails found out he lost less than 600 Skeletons but got at least 2,000 Skeletons from the Chaotic Believers, plus a big stash of Soul Coins—a very profitable day indeed.
Seeing Malin coming, the Lich happily tossed him a cigar.
"This tobacco is great, for you. Pity my little brothers don’t quite fancy it."
Malin used Spiritual Energy to cut the cigar, then lit it with a flame between his fingers, smiling, "If your little brothers tried this, they’d probably die on the spot and curl up into a ball."
Ails laughed heartily, then introduced Malin to his chief subordinate.
"This is Clark, in charge of managing my little brothers for me."
After introducing him, he turned to Klara and started introducing Malin.
"This is Malin, holder of dual divine crowns, with four World Tree Saplings on his arm."
The surrounding Liches immediately bowed their heads.
"Greetings to you, Mr. Malin, your fame has spread from this world to ours. I hope there will be opportunities for cooperation in the future."
"No problem, as long as your alignment meets my rules."
Malin stretched out his hand; the Lich hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out as well.
Malin shook hands with him and saw this being, whose body was steaming, but surprisingly not bursting into flames.
"Clark has been working with me for quite some time now; he’s the only one of my little brothers who can stand me smoking a cigar. However, their faction is also changing. After all, maintaining our original alignments in this place is really too difficult."
Ails spoke and then stretched its ’mouth’ into a smile.
·Although I find it odd that a Lich not from the Evil Faction really is strange, now I think it’s not so bad, after all, everyone becomes a Lich in pursuit of wealth, ah. It’s really hard to find such good deals nowadays where you can get a ton of Soul Coins without having to fight to the death against the humans on the main plane.
"I’ve entrusted such a good opportunity only to an old friend like you," Malin said with a smile.
·I believe your words, without your recommendation, how could I have today’s fortunes? Thanks to your care, my lord.
Ails was all flattery at this moment. Malin noticed that there was someone from the Church watching him from not far away, so he parted ways with him and approached the middle-aged man: "My lord, do you need something?"
"I’m the person in charge of this section of the defense line for the Church of Justice, Lord Malin. Welcome. Unfortunately, I don’t have any tea suitable for you here," the middle-aged man said with a face full of apologies.
"I don’t need tea, thank you for your kind intentions. Speaking of which, what do you lack here?" Malin knew there was no point in asking the military person in charge here, so he decided to ask the Church’s person in charge, at least the followers of the Lord of Justice won’t lie.
"We lack everything, but it has improved a lot compared to last week. This time in combat, the faithful of the Benevolent Church won’t need to use their treasured variety of healing ointments, and I won’t have to perform liberation prayers for the fallen anymore," said the middle-aged man with a smile.
So Malin wrote him some supply orders, telling him to find someone to collect goods from the rear. Naturally, this person in charge was more than grateful and left.
Returning to Ails’ side, he watched the middle-aged man’s retreating figure and expressed his opinion.
·He’s a responsible guy; if I were still alive during my time, and my world had such responsible members of the Church of Goodness, I wouldn’t have fallen so low. Unfortunately, there were none at that time. In the end, even the followers of fake gods couldn’t defeat someone like me, supposed to be an enemy of the gods, which is so embarrassing.
Ails’ complaint forced Malin to comfort him.
·I have no regrets; after all, it’s only because of who I was back then that I have the opportunity to meet you today, my lord.
Ails, for his part, felt no need for regrets, which was even better for Malin. While thinking this, Malin discussed with him the military’s arrangements for him.
Ails felt like they were sidelining Malin, but after hearing Malin’s preparations, he thought it was his own overthinking.
·Seems like it’s just my own suspicion. After all, I’m used to outwitting my own kind.
The Lich complained about his working environment while telling Malin that if one day things become too big to handle all at once, he could summon him directly. At that time, he and Malin would annihilate the oncoming Chaos together and make a profitable deal for both.
Malin thought this Lich had turned into a shape of a money grubber.
Damn it, the Liches from the other families are all noble and cold-hearted, commanding legions of skeletons that can devastate thousands of miles, while Malin’s own Lich is a guy whose eyes light up at the sight of money, constantly thinking about reaping Soul Coins from Nagoth, and even proactively reconciling with humans for a faster, better, and safer harvest of Soul Coins.
Ails, ah Ails, how did you fall into this miserly state of today?
"By the way, can you get grain supplies from Mark City?"
·No problem, I can buy from those people, and if that doesn’t work, I can stockpile something else.