Chapter 362: A Plan That Kills Two Birds with One Stone

“I see!”
After hearing Lich Chikofield’s explanation, Donald also understood the predicament faced by this former archmage.
Becoming a lich was already a last resort for an archmage, and this lich was even controlled by an Abyssal Lord. The loss of freedom was something ordinary people could hardly bear, let alone free-spirited archmages.
Donald had quite high confidence in this former archmage, Chikofield!
Strictly speaking, a true high-level lich is not an undead creature. It is a method developed by an archmage, when their lifespan is nearing its end and their natural abilities are insufficient to achieve further progress, to extend their life.
Although their physical bodies are transformed into immortal forms through a transformation ritual, their souls, protected by arcane power, continue to exist in another form. Though they can also wield negative energy, they are not undead. For archmages, whether it’s positive energy, the four fundamental elements, or negative energy, all are forms of energy that can be controlled—mere means rather than the essence.
Archmages, who pursue the highest goal of uncovering the truths of the world, would not change their minds just because of the influence of energy attributes.
Only those later generations with weak wills would be corrupted by negative energy, changing their allegiance or even distorting their minds and personalities, turning them into evil spellcasters devoted to darkness.
This is how evil beings like necromantic wizards and dark mages came about—dark and evil forces constantly erode their humanity. Only those with strong wills can overcome such temptations and stand out.
This individual, one of the few remaining archmages from the Banai Empire, exuded a pure and strong aura. There was not the slightest trace of the decaying darkness or undeniable evil energy associated with fallen liches—undoubtedly, he was a true high-level lich who had retained his humanity.
“And you also have a legendary sword sage and this companion whose strength is unclear—your chances of success are over 90%!”
“Of course, there’s a price for effort. As payment for your help, you may choose whatever is in my castle. You could even take the entire castle—anything you can carry! I’ve already decided to leave the Abyss, so leaving these things behind is just giving them to those demons and undead!”
The legendary lich’s words gave Donald new ideas. If he agreed, their plans would need to change!

“I need to discuss this with my companions. Senior Chikofield, please let my friends outside in!”
Ever since Donald and the others entered the castle, Carlisle had been waving his long sword to make flashy feints, no longer wasting sword energy, knowing that once Donald was inside, he could break through from the inside. At that point, he would just need to guard outside to prevent the undead inside from escaping.
As for the low-level undead wandering and patrolling outside the castle, he paid them no attention at all.
But then, the defensive barrier outside suddenly dissolved on its own. Realizing something must have happened inside, Carlisle laughed heartily and flew into the castle.
When he arrived in the main hall at the heart of the castle, he saw Amps holding two vampires who were no longer able to resist, while Donald was getting along very well with a figure who was clearly an undead.
What on earth was going on?
A bit confused, Carlisle gave Donald a puzzled look.
Seeing this, Donald smiled and explained, “This is Senior Chikofield, a high-ranking lich. He’s one of the few remaining mages from the Baney Empire… This time, he plans to return to the main world with us!”
Carlisle was largely at ease with Donald’s decision. Since Donald said the other party wasn’t an enemy, he quickly accepted the existence of a lich and exchanged greetings with Chikofield. After a hundred years in dark realms, what kind of evil and strange creatures hadn’t Carlisle seen?
“Senior Chikofield asked us to lend a hand. Our original goal was just to hunt demons and trouble that Skull Shatterer at the same time, but if we agree, our plan will have to change!”
Donald paused for a moment before saying to Carlisle, “I mean, since we have the confidence and strength, why not take advantage of the time when the Bone Duke and Skull Shatterer, those two demi-god abyssal lords, are fighting each other to exhaustion and attack them both at once? That way, we can solve Senior Chikofield’s problem and eliminate those two abyssal lords. What do you think?”
“Great! Now we can have a proper fight!”
Carlisle’s eyes lit up at the idea. He was already the kind of reckless person who thrived on chaos, though he was more cautious compared to those crazy and impulsive ones.
As the saying goes, wealth comes with risk. Since Donald’s plan had a high chance of success, he naturally wouldn’t back down out of fear of failure. Instead, he was excited and eager to engage in a battle right away to slay those two demi-god abyssal lords!

Seeing that Carlisle, as expected, not only didn’t object but also strongly supported the idea, Donald smiled lightly and explained his plan to the three present, asking them to point out any gaps that needed to be addressed. When he learned that Amps, whose true strength was unclear to him, was actually a demi-god abyssal demon master, Chikofield, who had initially thought the plan too risky, now felt confident about it. Having spent hundreds of years in the realm of legends, Chikofield was confident that with a legendary sword saint joining forces to hold off one of the demi-god lords for a while, it wouldn’t be a problem—especially with another legendary archmage, whose strength seemed comparable to his own, and another demi-god warrior as well! It would be even better if those two abyssal lords could be weakened in the process. As for whether the two demi-god lords would duel here, Chikofield could guarantee it. “Because abyssal lords, blessed by the will of the abyss, can exert at least one rank higher strength within their own territories, especially in their palaces or castles, neither of the two demi-god lords will dare to fight on enemy soil. Basically, every decisive battle takes place on the border between the two realms, where the strengths of both sides can be balanced as much as possible. Victory depends solely on one’s own strength and wisdom! So there’s no need to worry that those two abyssal lords won’t fall for it!” “Even so, that leaves us with just one last question!” “What question?” Donald said to the other three, “Although, by convention, it’s certain that the two lords will fight a decisive battle, when that battle will start is the question! We don’t have much time to wait and linger in the abyssal realm for so long! Moreover, the longer we stay in the abyss, the greater the impact on us!” Carlisle scratched his head and said, “That’s indeed a problem. But what can we use to prompt the two demi-god lords to start fighting as soon as possible?” Chikofield also said, “It’s likely difficult. For lords of this level, they need at least a month or two to prepare for each major battle, sometimes even longer!” Suddenly, Donald remembered the purpose of his infiltration into the abyss and came up with a good idea!