Chapter 296: The Miserable Lich

The White Dragon Lord suddenly realized Raging Blood Island sounded familiar. Wasn't that the lair of El Bloodwave, the unlucky pirate king who had been framed?

But that wasn't the main point right now.

"How did the Maritime Patrol Office discover a lich's tracks?"

The murlocs participating in the frontline maritime patrol missions were High Tier professionals at best, while a lich had to be at least at the Legendary Rank Tier. This puzzled the White Dragon Lord.

In his mind, he had already concocted an epic, tragic tale of brave murloc warriors accidentally stumbling into a perilous lich's tomb, enduring a harrowing trial, and finally escaping by the skin of their teeth.

"The lich was fishing by the seaside and just happened to be spotted by a passing murloc patrol."

The White Dragon Lord: "???"

Seeing the White Dragon Lord looking at him like he was an idiot, Feixi Darkscale grew depressed and hurriedly explained.

"It's true! I didn't believe it at first either, but the patrol members all swore by the names of the gods that they were telling the truth. The mages even used Lie Detection on them, and I personally cast a spell to test them. They really weren't lying."

The White Dragon Lord: "..."

The news was so absurd that the White Dragon Lord needed a moment to process it.

Forget it. He wouldn't dare lie to me anyway. Letting a lich live so close to White Castle is too huge a hidden danger. Furthermore, if the murlocs are telling the truth, then this lich might have something wrong with its head—which makes it even more dangerous.

The White Dragon Lord pondered.

"I will go take a look myself."

The White Dragon Lord had the Tower Spirit bring up the coordinates for Raging Blood Island and teleported over directly.

High in the sky, the White Dragon Lord gazed down at Raging Blood Island. At the edge of the lush, green island sat a protruding sea rock. After years of pounding waves, the stone had long since been worn smooth and round, resembling a bald man's head.

A skeleton draped in black robes currently sat cross-legged on that sea rock. It held a fishing pole in its hands, while a black crystal-like staff lay casually tossed to the side.

It sat completely motionless on the wave-battered reef, exuding the grandmaster-like aura of an expert facing towering waves without batting an eye.

The murlocs truly hadn't lied. The skull burning with soul fire, the robes, the staff, and the massive amount of necrotic energy radiating from its body...

It really was a lich!

The White Dragon Lord hadn't guessed wrong either: this lich's current state was entirely abnormal. Its mental state was extremely unstable, and the necrotic energy inside its body was surging outward, forming a terrifying black cloud around it.

Has it gone mad?!

Should I launch a sneak attack and deal it a ruthless blow?

If he launched a surprise attack using Soul Magic, the White Dragon Lord was absolutely certain he could instantly kill this mentally deranged lich in a single strike.

After a moment of thought, the White Dragon Lord dismissed the idea. Liches were masters of magic. Since he hadn't bothered to conceal his tracks, the creature had undoubtedly noticed him already. Yet it hadn't even raised its head. It was better to ask what was going on first.

The White Dragon Lord was genuinely curious about how this lich had ended up in such a state, to the point of not even looking up when someone arrived.

Love?!

The White Dragon Lord amused himself with the thought. What kind of romance could a pile of bones possibly have?

The White Dragon Lord flew down.

"Good afternoon, my fishing friend!"

The lich remained perfectly still. Completely ignored, the White Dragon Lord hovered awkwardly in midair.

"Lich! Do you know whose territory you are sitting on right now?!"

"Not yours, anyway."

"Oh..."

Raging Blood Island indeed did not belong to the Overseas Archipelago. It was an island of the Kingdom of Pavlan, though it wasn't far from the archipelago.

But that wasn't the issue. The issue was that this lich had clear thoughts, sound logic, and sharp retorts. It didn't seem crazy at all. Moreover, judging by the turbulent necrotic energy, there was no way it was just fishing for leisure.

"What is the matter with you, lich? Shouldn't you be staying home conducting experiments? Why did you run out here to fish?"

"Sigh..."

The lich let out a heavy sigh.

"White dragon, stop bothering me. I am going to die soon anyway. Let me sit here in peace before I pass on."

The lich muttered to itself, utterly devoid of any will to live.

"To think that I—a grand Legendary Mage, an alchemical grandmaster, the Flame of Flowing Gold, Philidel—would actually meet such an end."

"Hmm... Philidel? That name sounds a bit familiar."

The White Dragon Lord searched his memories and finally remembered.

"The Flame of Flowing Gold, Philidel. I have heard that name. The alchemical grandmaster of the southern Mogesang Kingdom, a once-in-a-millennium alchemical genius. Over your lifetime, you improved hundreds of alchemical formulas and invented thirty-two novel alchemical items, including the Scorchrock Golem and the Sword of Philidel. That is you, isn't it?!"

Even High-Tier Legend dragons had a lifespan limit of a hundred thousand years, let alone a Mage at the Legendary Rank Level. Generally speaking, with the help of potions and magic, the absolute limit for a Legendary Mage's lifespan was two thousand years, while other professions had even shorter lifespans.

Hearing the White Dragon Lord mention its proudest achievements, the lich raised its head for the first time and formally looked at the white dragon.

"Your Excellency Amos has also heard of my humble name?"

"More than just heard. I even bought some alchemical formulas you invented at the Council. However, I heard you died over a century ago. To think you merely faked your death and converted yourself into a lich."

"What? Do you have a prejudice against liches, Your Excellency Amos?"

"No, no, no! Of course not. On the contrary, I respect all seekers of truth."

The White Dragon Lord wasn't lying. In his eyes, these research-obsessed liches were just like the dedicated scientists from his past life—they were a group worthy of respect.

At least, they were worthy of respect before they went insane.

The White Dragon Lord grew even more curious.

"But, Your Excellency Philidel, what exactly happened to you? Tell me; perhaps I can help you."

"Sigh..."

A powerhouse was very sensitive to both goodwill and malice, and the lich could sense the goodwill radiating from the White Dragon Lord.

Yet the lich only stared at the sea surface without speaking. Inside, however, it was struggling violently. The soul fire in its eyes flickered like a candle in a gale, and the necrotic energy on its body continuously poured outward.

After a long time, the lich spoke in a dismal tone.

"My Phylactery was eaten by a fish!"

"Huh???!!!"

The White Dragon Lord was appalled!

Aside from Soul Magic and certain divine spells, the only way to kill a lich was to destroy its Phylactery. As long as the Phylactery remained intact, the lich's soul wouldn't be dragged away by the River Styx. Instead, it would return to the Phylactery, where it could resurrect after some time.

This made a Phylactery the absolute lifeblood of any lich. It would undoubtedly be protected heavily, for fear of discovery.

Yet this bizarre lich in front of him had actually let its Phylactery get eaten by a fish!

Weird things truly happened every year, but this year was especially full of them.

Recovering from his shock, the White Dragon Lord said solemnly, "That is truly a sad (hilarious) story."

At the same time, the White Dragon Lord finally understood why Philidel was fishing here with such a look of existential dread.

"Your Excellency Philidel, what exactly happened? Tell me, let's see if I can help you."

Philidel began to explain, full of resentment.

"In order to test out a new alchemical technique, I modified my Phylactery into a tiny alchemical golem fish. I hid it in a crevice within a reef on the seafloor. To prevent anyone from discovering it with detection magic, I didn't set up any warning traps. But I never imagined it would be eaten by an actual fish."

The word Phylactery literally meant a box entrusted with one's life, but it didn't strictly have to be a box. It could be shaped into anything, depending entirely on personal preference.

The White Dragon Lord ridiculed him in his heart: You brought this upon yourself.

To actually shape a Phylactery like a fish and toss it into the sea...

However, this was likely a blind spot in his thinking. Philidel had only been guarding against legendary powerhouses; it had never occurred to him that an ordinary fish could pose a threat, so he had taken absolutely no precautions against them.

"But how do you know it was eaten by a fish?"

"The material of the Phylactery is very soft. It is currently being slowly destroyed—by biological stomach acid."

"Oh... alright."

The White Dragon Lord looked at the necrotic energy seeping out of Philidel. It turned out that this wasn't caused by emotional fluctuations, but rather because its Phylactery was being digested, leading to a loss of energy control.

"Can you sense the direction of your Phylactery? I'll go get it back."

The soul fire flickered in Philidel's two empty skeletal eye sockets.

"I cannot. My soul is enduring excruciating pain right now. I've lost control over my energy, my ability to cast spells, and all my senses. In fact, even moving is extremely difficult for me right now."

"Alright."

A Phylactery was equivalent to a lich's heart, and that heart was currently being digested bit by bit. The pain Philidel was enduring was definitely no weaker than what Old Jimmy felt under the Soul-Forging Fire. For it to maintain a clear train of thought was already quite remarkable.

The White Dragon Lord pondered for a solution and asked tentatively, "Does your Phylactery have the ability to block Divination Spells?"

"Yes."

The White Dragon Lord felt a massive headache coming on. Without a single clue, trying to find a random fish of unknown description in the vast ocean was simply an impossible task.

Judging by the necrotic energy pouring from Philidel's body, even if the White Dragon Lord mobilized all the murlocs in White Castle to catch fish, Philidel probably wouldn't last that long.

And if the lich committed suicide, its soul would return to the Phylactery, but it wouldn't be able to resurrect immediately. Philidel would be completely digested by the fish before it even had the chance to come back to life.

This situation was completely unsolvable!

The first lich in history to die by a fish's mouth—this "honorary title" sounded hilarious, but to the victim involved, it probably wasn't so funny.

Suddenly, a solution struck the White Dragon Lord.

"Your Excellency Philidel, I've thought of a way, but you will need to take a massive risk."

"What way?"

Philidel instantly grew agitated. It truly did not want to die in such a manner.

The White Dragon Lord continued, "I know a bit of Soul Magic. Allow me to place a mark on your soul. Then, I will destroy your physical vessel, forcing your soul to return to the Phylactery. That way, I can locate where the Phylactery is."

Just as the White Dragon Lord said, the risk the lich had to take was that the white dragon could seize the opportunity to control its Phylactery and forcefully enslave it.

Philidel fell into thought. The White Dragon Lord was currently in his prime; even as a recluse, the lich had heard of the deeds of the lord of the archipelago.

The White Dragon Lord's reputation on the mainland was quite good. Although he didn't actively do good deeds, he didn't commit senseless evil either. He was a dragon with a bottom line, principles, and a respect for order.

Furthermore, Philidel realized it didn't seem to have a choice. It didn't want to die—at least, not in such a pathetic way.

"Do it!"

Wasting no words, the White Dragon Lord placed a mark on the lich's soul and then shattered its skeletal skull.

Having lost its anchor, the soul instantly vanished from the spot. The White Dragon Lord suddenly understood: the way a lich's soul returned to its Phylactery was similar to teleportation, allowing it to resist the pull of the River Styx.

The White Dragon Lord closed his eyes, and indeed sensed the exact location of his mark.

After scooping up the robes, staff, necklace, eight rings, and a pair of bracelets from the ground, as well as three pieces of enchanted equipment disguised as teeth hidden in the skull's mouth, the White Dragon Lord hurriedly flew toward his target.

He successfully caught the fish that had nearly earned the honorary title of "the first fish in history to kill a lich." Slicing its belly open, he extracted a tiny alchemical fish from its stomach.

It had to be said that Philidel's alchemy was incredibly advanced. If he hadn't known beforehand, with just a quick glance, the White Dragon Lord truly might have missed it. No wonder Philidel hid it in a reef crevice; who could possibly spot it there?

But despite taking every precaution, it had miscalculated against a simple fish in the water.

"Your Excellency Philidel?!"

The White Dragon Lord inspected Philidel's Phylactery and found that its soul had fallen into a comatose state.

It seemed that the process of resurrection also damaged the soul, or perhaps it was because the Phylactery had suffered some minor trauma.

Taking the lich's Phylactery and equipment, the White Dragon Lord returned to White Castle. He fully intended to keep his promise and assist Philidel.

A new lich like Philidel, who hadn't been transformed for very long, had thoughts no different from when it was alive. It could be treated like a normal person.

Of course, the White Dragon Lord was no pedantic dragon either. Philidel was a renowned alchemical grandmaster. Once it woke up, the White Dragon Lord would definitely ask it for some alchemical knowledge. Presumably, Philidel wouldn't refuse.

The White Dragon Lord placed Philidel's Phylactery and equipment in his own room, right next to Morodin's Musical Candlestick, and ordered the Tower Spirit to keep an eye on it.

The next day.

The fourth year of the White Tower Calendar.

The first day of the new year arrived, and the Yafiavi version of National Day officially commenced.

Oqi City grew bustling with activity. Although it lacked the grand spectacle of the founding ceremony, residents from all over the Overseas Archipelago still made special trips to Oqi City to participate in the festivities.

As usual, the White Dragon Lord attended the opening ceremony of the festival, delivering a speech to convey his blessings to his subjects and offering good wishes for the new year. Afterward, amid the sounds of celebration, he returned to White Castle.

Upon returning to his room, the White Dragon Lord first reignited the extinguished Soul-Forging Fire for Old Jimmy, then planned to continue his own magical experiments.

In truth, Philidel's soul had already awakened the moment the White Dragon Lord entered the room. However, it forced itself to remain completely still. Seeing the White Dragon Lord torturing Old Jimmy with the Soul-Forging Fire, Philidel felt absolutely dreadful.

Appearances can truly be deceptive!

It never would have imagined that the White Dragon Lord, who had always maintained a decent reputation, was actually a demon who tortured souls for pleasure. It had basically thrown itself into the lion's den.

Weak and frail, Philidel felt immense anxiety for its future.