Book 11: Chapter 72: Weiss’s Team

At this moment, inside a two-story building in the East Slums of Silverymoon, a young man dressed in hunting attire gazed at a sliver of dawn light outside the window and sighed softly. Even though he had anticipated it beforehand, the painstaking plan he had schemed over for the duration of two tasks had still failed, leaving him filled with bitterness.

“Leader, Mirot’s phylactery is showing signs of life!” Just as the young man was reflecting, a female companion pushed the door open, speaking with some excitement. “Shall we proceed as planned?”

“The plan? Our plan failed long ago!” The young man twitched the corner of his mouth, saying helplessly, “Right now, we’re just locking the stable after the horse has bolted, minimizing our losses.”

After pondering briefly, the young man said, “Tell everyone to wait first. Although we failed, we must at least get the details of the entire event from Mirot’s mouth, finding out exactly which Apostle Team interfered with this competitive task.”

“Leader, Mirot is a Legendary Powerhouse. What if he escapes…” The young man’s companion sounded doubtful, hesitating as she asked.

“Hmph, even if Mirot revives through his phylactery, he is no longer that unreachable Archmage. All his gear, including his physical body, was lost in the Palace of the High. His newborn Lich body hasn’t even recovered its magical energy, and the room is layered with consecutive isolating Magical Arrays…”

The young man curled his lip, saying nonchalantly, “If we can’t even deal with a half-Lich like this, we might as well bang our heads against a wall right now.”

The two then left the room, heading to the second floor of the small building.

The floor had only two rooms. Guarding the door of the larger guest room were two figures. The outer walls of this room were engraved with a complex Magical Array. In truth, the inner layers of the floor and ceiling, invisible to the naked eye, also bore magical circles, encasing the entire room like a cocoon.

Of the two outside the room, one was tall and burly, wielding a massive Tower Shield, muscles bulging like a fortress tower. The other figure was relatively slender, draped in a black robe, his face pale and bloodless.

If any Silver Guards from the Palace of the High were present here now, they might recognize this black-robed Mage as the very prisoner they had jailed in the underground cells over a month ago.

“Leader…” Seeing the young man arrive, the Shield Guardian and the black-robed Mage each greeted him.

“Hmm, Rom, you’ve worked hard this time!” The young man shifted his gaze, reached out, and patted the black-robed Mage’s shoulder.

“It’s nothing!” The apparently dull eyes of the black-robed Mage flickered slightly as he shook his head gently. “I just never imagined the Zhentarim’s plan, so meticulously laid out, actually failed. It’s a pity I remained in the prison cell, unaware of events unfolding in the palace. Even now, I don’t know who our adversaries were?”

“Never mind, failure is the mother of success!” The young man gave a light, indifferent laugh, having already recovered from his initial disappointment. He reached out and pushed the door open. “Now, let’s see what ‘compensation’ the newly returned Lord Mirot can provide us?”

Hearing the young man’s words, the other three simultaneously looked into the room. All the furniture inside had long been cleared away by them. The empty room was now filled with black, viscous substances like snot.

These filthy things clung to the walls and ceiling like cobwebs, forming an intricate three-dimensional network. At their core lay a square, black metal box.

Countless mysterious magical runes were inscribed on its surface. All six faces of the cube were identical, seemingly impossible to open.

A small Hexagram Array was inscribed on the room’s floor. Magic crystals, glowing brightly at its six points, now radiated an enchanting halo. Waves of magical energy rippled outward in undulating pulses.

As the Magical Array pulsed, the runes on the surface of the metal box, suspended by the black slime, began to glow. The surrounding black sludge surged towards the box in waves, like veins. Within moments, it encased the box, forming a pulsing mass of flesh.

The fleshy mass throbbed rhythmically like a heartbeat, its tempo accelerating. Gradually, it began to swell.

“Mirot’s rebirth has begun!” Seeing this, a cold light flashed in the young man’s eyes as he turned his head to ask, “Were the crystals for the rebirth array replaced?”

“Yeah, all swapped with smaller ones. They can only support ‘that Lord’ in forming an utterly weak Lich body.” The Shield Guardian’s rugged face wore a mocking sneer. “Originally, Monkey wanted to tamper with the array itself, but I was worried rebirth might fail, so we didn’t go that far!”

“Oh, right, where is Monkey?” the young man inquired, surprised.

“Monkey is just Monkey. His nature keeps him from staying idle. Seems he ran off near the Palace of the High to gather information.” The Shield Guardian shrugged helplessly.

As they spoke, the fleshy mass inside the room finally underwent a qualitative change.

The swelling mass sprouted countless tendrils of flesh, wriggling like tentacles in the air. The tendrils intertwined, and the deeper-colored parts gradually revealed textures like porcelain. They grew from top to bottom, forming a human skeleton frame. Meanwhile, the softer tendrils grew incessantly around the frame, gradually covering the entire skeleton.

In no time, what was once merely a fleshy blob took on the shape of a human body. Although its surface hadn’t yet formed features or skin, it seemed only a matter of time.

However, the skeleton inside this Lich body was hollow. Apart from a single, wriggling, unidentified mass, none of the internal organs of a human existed. As the Lich body formed, the black slime that had connected it to the mass seemed to have its energy completely drained. Its color turned ashen, constantly crumbling into dust that scattered on the floor.

“Truly a wondrous spell!” The black-robed Mage addressed as Rom by the young man had a flash of intense light in his deathly gray eyes, exclaiming in praise. “Leader, why insist on Mirot’s rebirth succeeding? Honestly, keeping just this phylactery would be nice!”

“Haha, Rom, don’t be greedy! Mirot’s transformation into a Lich was incomplete. Even if we could take his phylactery into the Star Void, it’d likely just be a consumable item.” The young man explained with a smile. “But killing an Archmage has a high chance of spawning a Bloody Cube. Besides, Mirot wasn’t low-ranking within the Zhentarim. We can still earn a bit of World Exploration Degree, offsetting some losses from the failed task.”

“That’s true! Leader, if we pick out a High Rank or above Mage skill, it should come to me, right?” The black-robed Mage licked his lips, a hint of ingratiation flashing across his pale face.

“Advanced skills for Necromancers or Liches, can you even use them?” Without waiting for the young man to speak, the Shield Guardian couldn’t resist taunting. “You already don’t look human as a black Magician, and you really want to Class Change into a skeleton?”

“Tsk, what do looks matter for a Lich, as long as one has power!” The black-robed Mage rolled his dead gray eyes, grumbling under his breath.

“Alright, stop bickering. Mirot’s consciousness is about to awaken!” Their other female companion beside them softly reminded them.

Before the woman’s words faded, the four people outside the door simultaneously felt a tremendous wave of Soul energy erupt from the Lich body before them.

Hindered by the diminished Magic Crystal, the array showed weakness. The Lich body was incomplete at this moment. Lacking skin and some tendons, the skull slowly raised up. Within its two hollow eye sockets bloomed two eerie green flames of soulfire.

“Where is… this place…” The skull, lacking teeth, made slurred, wind-leaking sounds as if not fully conscious yet. Its words were fragmented and indistinct.

“Lord Mirot, you are finally awake!” A sharp light flashed in the young man’s eyes. He stepped into the room with a smile, swiftly supporting the half-Lich whose body was only seventy to eighty percent formed.

“You are… Weiss!” As the Lich looked down at its own body, its speech was halting. “… Lich body… so I have completed my rebirth… the returned Soul consciousness is not mistaken…”

“Yes, Lord Mirot. Outside of Rom, you are the only one of the several lords who went to the Palace of the High to return.” Seizing the moment while the Lich’s awareness was still foggy, the young man pressed for information. “My Lord, what happened last night? How did our plan fail?”

“The plan? Ah, yes… Lady Elastor of Silverymoon… the assassination…” The Lich turned its skull. The soulfire flames within its eye sockets abruptly trembled violently, emitting an inhuman shriek. “Damned Elastor! Damned Great Sage of Candlekeep! Damned Crow! Damned Elf Prince!!!”

The Lich roared out a stream of incoherent curses, including some targeting its own allies. Freshly reborn, its memories were chaotic. Amid its ceaseless cursing, the recounting of past events was equally jumbled and incoherent.

“Lord Mirot, so you mean that Moon Elf Prince who suddenly appeared at the banquet festival played a significant role in this failed assassination?” Though the tale woven through the Lich’s curses and yells lacked order, the young man gradually pieced together the events of the previous night at the Palace of the High.

“Firal Moonlight… I feel like I’ve heard that name!” The black-robed Mage nearby frowned slightly.

“I know! He’s that Moon Elf Prince who accompanied the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission on retracing the Ancient Path several months ago!” The Shield Guardian suddenly exclaimed softly in surprise.

“Him?” The young man and his companions exchanged almost imperceptible glances. Comprehension gradually dawned within their minds.

In reality, the previous entry point for their group into this timeline of the Toril World coincided exactly with Qin Lun’s team. Whereas Qin Lun’s Fortress Team, along with the Lost Novices, had received a competitive task to thwart the Sun Elf envoys’ Ancient Path, Weiss’s team had been assigned its counterpart: to disrupt the mission.

However, at that time, several Apostle Teams affiliated with the Zhentarim were unwilling to undertake such a task. The reasons were clear: the Toril World was vast, filled with countless potential Plot Missions, and the mission to assassinate the Sun Elf delegation belonged to the category demanding the highest effort with the lowest guaranteed reward.

Firstly, the existence of numerous High Rank Powerhouses within Toril meant Apostle Teams were relatively weak. To tackle important Plot Missions, they usually needed to borrow the strength of existing factions.

However, the Ancient Path mission would have taken them far from the Zhentarim’s headquarters region. The Sun Elf delegation would traverse various branches of the Elven Court along their route, meaning they would be operating on enemy territory. Understandably, Apostle Teams were unwilling to become cannon fodder for the Zhentarim cause.

Secondly, lacking specific knowledge of the Sun Elf delegation’s route or familiarity with Toril’s geography as non-natives, there was no guarantee they would even successfully intercept them. Faced with a difficult, unrewarding task presenting unclear benefits, reluctance was natural.

History proved that the Apostolic Teams aligned with the Zhentarim, including Weiss’s group, made the right choice. Aside from two encounters where Zhentarim Assassins intercepted the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission—once within the region of the Moonsea, and later within the boundaries of the Qiongdus Kingdom—they failed to locate the delegation thereafter.

The Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission reappeared publicly only upon reaching Baldur’s Gate. Moreover, their final journey saw them escorted by the Elf guard from Evermeet. The Zhentarim lost any remaining opportunity to strike.

Despite the relative success of the previous two ambushes, they merely served to cull the delegation’s protectors. Crucially, they never eliminated the key target: the Sun Elf Prince, Milleras.

Of course, while none of the Zhentarim-aligned Apostle Teams participated in the troublesome mission, the Zhentarim’s intelligence network ensured they were aware of the events surrounding that Epic Plot. Therefore, the name Firal Moonlight certainly wasn’t unfamiliar to them.

“That explains it. Missing for months after Baldur’s Gate, only to reappear now… It seems our opponents this time are this Moon Elf Prince from Seopia!” The young man said with bitter self-deprecation within the Team Channel. “Look at him, climbing to become a Moon Elf Prince through a single Plot Mission. While we, we still aren’t even considered true insiders by the Zhentarim!”

“Probably just luck that led him to discover our plans!” The Shield Guardian muttered softly to himself, though the uncertainty in his voice was plain.

“Tch, failure is failure. What excuses are there for it?” the black-robed Mage spoke instead with a hint of relief. “Luckily the Leader found out in time. If we’d entered the Palace of the High last night, by now we’d likely be little more than a few spilled Bloody Cubes.”

“Ah… the scale and complexity of this plan were immense… flaws were inevitable,” the young man said with despondency. “Considering that team managed to execute the Ancient Path mission type, their strength likely surpasses ours. Losing against them isn’t too disgraceful!”

Unbeknownst to Weiss’s team, the Shield Guardian was partially correct. Qin Lun’s group stumbled onto the Zhentarim conspiracy more by chance than design.

The perception of their formidable strength stemmed from the Ancient Path operation. Within that mission, the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission housed two Silver Teams: the Fortress and the Lost Novices. Combined with figures like Iristin, their collective might naturally eclipsed Wei Si’s five-man unit considerably.

“Weiss… Why are the Magic Element flows so sluggish here!?” After venting its frustration, the Lich’s consciousness grew sharper. It gradually sensed something amiss.

“Oh?! Lord Mirot, it’s hardly surprising. Worried the disturbances accompanying your rebirth might draw attention from the authorities in Silverymoon, I took the liberty of engraving an array blocking magic elements around the room,” The young man snapped out of the Team Channel discussion. An inscrutable gleam flickered in his eyes as he smiled lightly and replied.

“A Magic Element isolating array?” The Lich’s soulfire flames flickered within its sockets. Contrary to expectation, its tone remained calm. “Hmm… well considered. Then we should leave this place promptly.”

“Eh? My Lord, we’re abandoning the contingency plan?” A subtle hint of amusement lit the young man’s expression as he feigned surprise.

Following that night’s events at the farm, Weiss had proposed a contingency plan to the Zhentarim assassins: tricking Mirot into establishing a vile Abyssal summoning array within Silverymoon’s civilian district. The aim was to incite chaos immediately if the assassination failed, creating another opportunity to strike at Elastor.

Not yet transformed into a Lich at the time, the Necromancer had agreed, procuring magical materials and resources from headquarters and entrusting them to Weiss. Thanks to this, the Apostles successfully avoided the main palace infiltration mission. Aside from Rom, the black-robed Mage already embedded in the dungeons, none of Weiss’s team entered the Palace of the High that fateful night.

Mirot’s initial agreement to the plan stemmed partly from underestimating the opposition’s strength. He perceived the main assassination strategy as flawless, confident it would leave Elastor grievously wounded or dead regardless. The backup plan seemed merely supplementary.

Of course, Weiss’s true purpose with the ‘official’ contingency plan was purely to keep the Zhentarim invested and to swindle valuable magical items. Their actual contingency plan? Eliminating the very half-Lich before them and claiming its Bloody Cube.

“It’s meaningless. Elastor suffered no injuries last night, and she is surrounded by several Legendary Powerhouses now—including the Storm Queen, the Great Sage of Candlekeep, and the Shield Dwarf…” The Lich’s soulfire pulsed intensely, its tone growing insistent. “Get me out of the city immediately! This Lich body is incomplete. I need time to restore it!”

“I’m afraid we cannot oblige, Lord Mirot!” Weiss’s eyes gleamed sharply. A cold smile touched his lips as he spoke, “Without enacting the contingency plan, where exactly are we to find compensation for our losses?”

“Your losses? Heh… very well. Upon my return to Zhentil Keep, I shall personally compensate—”

“No need, Lord Mirot…” The young man cut the Lich off smoothly. His wrist flicked. A dagger glinting with cold steel plunged deep into the Lich’s chest with unnerving ease. Simultaneously, Weiss propelled himself backwards, creating instant distance from the injured creature. “…for truly, you are our compensation!”

“Why… why do this…?” The Lich’s frail new body collapsed onto the floor. It looked down at the dagger embedded in its chest, spitting out the words through gritted, immobile teeth, “What price did Elastor offer you!? The Zhentarim will NEVER let you escape! She cannot shield you forever! Cease this madness now, and there may yet be mercy!”

“Lord Mirot, you misunderstand us terribly. If we sought to betray you to the Silver Marches, why would we have let you awaken at all?” Weiss offered a light chuckle, motioning with a dismissive wave of his hand to the companions behind him.

“Then why!? Wealth? Magical artifacts? Spell lore? I possess NOTHING upon this hollow husk! Slay me, and you gain less than NOTHING!” the Lich shrieked, its voice cracking with desperate fury.

“Leader, what good is talking to it? Let’s finish this!” The Shield Guardian bared his teeth in a ferocious grin, his massive hand stretching out to seize the Lich’s neck.

Moments later, the Shield Guardian was happily plucking a crimson, pulsating cube from the pile of ash that was all that remained of the Lich. He tossed it back to Weiss. “A Bloody Cube, just as predicted! Well, at least we didn’t come away empty-handed!”

“Leader, what’s our next move?” The female companion who had stayed quiet for the most part spoke softly, looking at the Bloody Cube in Weiss’s hand.

“Next…? Carrying on tasks for the Zhentarim line will be… troublesome now.” Weiss’s voice was thoughtful. “Let’s leave the city first. And send word to Monkey—have him keep eyes on that Moon Elf Prince… He wrecked the plan we slaved over for so long.”

“He owes us an explanation.”