Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 699 - 643: Hidden and Unknown

"What! The Plague Doctor, Mr. Heinz wants to go exchange pleasantries in the Elf Kingdom? Why not come to our Purgatory Fortress? We Black Abyssal Demons are definitely more enthusiastic than those sprout-like Elves!"

In the trading market of Dark Zone Two in the City of Wandering, Prince of the Black Abyss, Gogallan, was test-driving his one hundred and twenty-third Spine Wheel. The over one hundred automobile accidents had not deterred the demonic prince’s passion for the Corpse Bone creations, and the habit of emerging unscathed from the wreck became a routine.

Today, the devoted member of the Necromancer Figure Club had learned of Lyle’s impending visit to the Dream Forest and voiced his grievances to the remaining three. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"I’ve traded with you so many times, yet I’ve barely seen Mr. Heinz’s face. Where is the privilege of being your biggest patron?!" He natively removed the Spine Wheel’s speed limiter bone pin with a practiced ease, as if performing a champagne uncorking ceremony. Gogallan, pointing at three sellers currently using Spirit Summoning Studies to adjust the Spine Wheel’s speed threshold, looked at them with a scrutinizing gaze.

The high-level demon’s oppressive stare got nothing but an indifferent roll of the eyes from Shiny. At first, they had trepidation due to the big spender "daddy," but after many transactions, the Liches had grown accustomed to Gogallan’s prattle.

"No privileges, how about a broken bone instead?"

As their hands kept busy tweaking the device, "Although we’re not up to the boss’s level, we three are also original members of the Necromancer Figure Club, so don’t think we’re cheap. We’ve already shown you enough respect, Mr. Heinz’s off-the-books lackey."

Gogallan contemplated whether to initiate a brawl there and then, but hesitated and eventually decided against it; the venue was too cramped for such a fight.

"So, what’s so great about the Elf Kingdom? Is it more majestic and grandiose than our demonic castles? Or perhaps their Elves can beat hundreds single-handedly, or their volcanic fires are hotter than Hell’s?"

Gogallan’s questions provoked contemplation. As members of the Necromancy Society, the three Liches also could not comprehend the reasons for Mr. Heinz to leave his scholarly research to venture into the Dream Forest.

"It seems the Emerald Dragon he once raised has some issues, and he’s a bit concerned, so he went."

Shiny nodded thoughtfully, "If a carefully cultivated test subject develops problems, I would also prevent material wastage and carry out a recovery."

"It might be an environmental issue," Shiny explained, spreading his hands, "Elves like to dwell in forests. Although the greenery can be irritating to the eye, it’s better than Hell’s barren land where there’s nothing but lava and sulfur. Besides, the Demon Race’s style of jumping to conflict over anything can’t really be called ’hospitable.’ At least for the sake of comfort, I’d prefer to enjoy some tranquility in the Elves’ habitat."

Shiny’s well-reasoned perspective seemed to quench some of the fire in Gogallan’s eyes.

"That’s also true. Creatures like Liches that are undead prefer solitude. Being outdone by the Elves really irks me..."

"My foolish brother," Mr. Shiny crossed his arms theatrically and lifted his chin, looking down his nose at Shiny, "If you think that Mr. Heinz, like you, is merely a slacker craving an easy life, then you are gravely mistaken."

Mr. Shiny’s lips curled up, revealing an expression of smug intelligence as if he had grasped it all.

The one who knows Mr. Heinz the best in Andrey is me, the Lich! So said that proud expression.

Shiny wanted to refute this self-righteous brother, but Mr. Heinz’s reputation in Andrey grappled with the sensibility in his mind, ultimately, his trust in that man shattered the sum of his instinct, rationality, and thought.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Don’t be deceived by appearances. We must look past Mr. Heinz’s benevolent facade and discern his hidden inner truth."

Under Mr. Shiny’s guidance, Shiny and Manipulator began to think in reverse. As Gogallan observed the now silent trio, the intrinsic nature of the Demon Race bypassed the process of thought altogether.

```

"So, what is the truth?" Gogallan clenched his fist until it cracked, showing off his primed and ready deltoid muscles.

Under pressure, Variance disclosed the answer.

"Elves are long-lived, their territory is full of tree-like obstructions; Mr. Plague Doctor is Andrey’s finest new generation Spirit Summoner... These seemingly unrelated clues actually point to the only truth."

"Why did Mr. Plague Doctor go to the Elf Kingdom instead of the Hell Plane..."

"That’s because that’s where what he wanted is."

"What does an outstanding Necromancer need?"

"Strong, special Corpse Bones."

"The Elves’ homeland is full of forests, providing ideal conditions to bury bodies."

"The long lifespan of Elves signifies a powerful accumulation of life, which, after death, turns into a rich force of death."

"A long-lived race with a long history that has never migrated, their land is buried with countless ancestral bones."

"Mr. Plague Doctor, in reality... was using the pretense of exchanging feelings to dig up the Elves’ ancestral graves."

Hiss~ A collective gasp arose among the Liches and Demons, the overwhelmingly shocking reality instantly feeling absurd, and they instinctively rejected this bizarre notion.

Variance’s mouth turned down at the corners, "If you don’t believe my deduction, then you can refer to Mr. Plague Doctor’s long history of deeds; established reality never lies."

The voice inside Gogallan grew quieter.

"The first time he came, he blew up a Hell Plane, although it was just a massive illusion. But my sister Fema told me, not long ago, that he turned the City of Machinery into a sea of blood and flesh..."

Manipulation also seemed to lack confidence.

"Plague Doctor boss, he modified his own mentor, the taboo, White Bone Spirit Summoning Master, into a dragon-like creature, although he himself was very willing..."

The trade at the Spine Wheel was completed in silence, making the cheerful noises from the nearby Black Abyss Arena seem to underscore the deathly stillness here.

Their thoughts had already left this place, following the magical light projected by the Eye of Secret Law of the City of Wandering, flying towards the Elves’ district in Light Five District.

This place is connected to the portal leading to the Dream Forest; ever since the return of the Emerald Dragon, and Ilasong leading the main force back home, the Elves have been guarding and maintaining this portal continuously.

Not all Elves chose to return home, some elected to stay in the City of Wandering, and the lifestyle habits formed from decades of interaction with various races weren’t so easily reversed. The Light Five District still needed to function normally, so they left enough personnel behind. Heinz had foreseen the opposing factions of the Dream Forest, and this portal was the Witherer’s backup plan.

But now, it also had another use, such as allowing a certain young man to enter the land of the Elves with the blessings of his friends and companions.

```