Chapter 19

This plague has already claimed the lives of several dozen people. For an underground city with only a little over five thousand inhabitants, this is a massive loss. Moreover, there seems to be no end in sight, and the death toll is expected to peak in the next three to four days.

If this trend continues, it might result in the deaths of one or two thousand people. Philin is in a panic, but he has no good solutions. There are not many healing mages in the underground city, and they can't save everyone. He can only watch helplessly as the sick die in isolation or are killed by skeletons when they venture outside.

Dying at home is acceptable, but going outside is not. Despite his compassion, Philin understands the priorities. Even if one or two thousand people die, he must not allow anyone to leave, so at least the remaining three or four thousand can be saved.

However, he sensed something unusual with the skeletons in a certain area. Someone had not only escaped but had also run into the Undead Temple, scaring off his skeleton soldiers.

Philin hurried over, not to demand an explanation but to apologize. It's not a problem if the sick person runs into the Undead Temple, as there are no living beings inside, and there's no risk of the epidemic spreading. But did the Watcher's rare command to stop the skeletons mean that the Watcher was angry?

When he arrived, he couldn't find the person but saw the previously escaped patient, who was now sleeping soundly with a rosy complexion.

Philin was shocked and immediately thought of a possibility: the Watcher had cured the patient's dysentery.

Philin felt a wave of regret. Why hadn't he thought to seek help from the Watcher? If anyone in the underground city could eliminate this epidemic, it would be the Watcher.

In the past, when the underground city had an outbreak, the standard procedure was isolation, so he followed the routine. But this time is different; the Watcher is here.

After waiting for a long time, he finally saw Ang carrying a bull skull back.

"Uh, did you go grave-robbing, my lord? I have some well-preserved skeletons; I'll send them to you shortly." Philin clearly misunderstood and said flatteringly. He then added, "My lord, no matter what, please save the underground city this time. Please sell me the divine medicine to cure that child."

As he spoke, Philin presented all the soul crystals he had gathered over the past period, about forty in total.

Since soul crystals could be exchanged for food with Ang, Philin had been doing everything possible to obtain soul crystals, scouring his own resources and all the high-level undead in the city.

Soul crystals can only be produced by intelligent undead, at the cost of their own soul strength. It takes seven to eight days to recover after producing one soul crystal, and producing several will significantly weaken their soul strength, taking one or two months to recover.

If the soul crystals could be used for something beneficial, it would be one thing, but Philin used them all to buy food that the undead didn't need. This made the undead very unhappy. Why should they expend their souls to buy food for the living?

Philin had to use all his persuasive skills, explaining that population is the foundation of society, and the living are the source of productivity. If everyone dies and only the undead remain, the underground city would become a graveyard. It took a lot of effort to calm the undead down.

He managed to gather enough soul crystals to buy food, but then the plague struck. The Watcher had a way to cure it, so he knew he would have to pay a high price. Equivalent exchange has always been the Watcher's rule. If food is so expensive, then something to save lives would be even more expensive.

"No money." Ang refused the soul crystals and brought over a water barrel, casting a purification spell.

"No money? Ah! Holy... Holy Light!" Philin was first surprised by Ang's refusal of money, then startled by the holy light from Ang's purification spell.

Ang ignored him and, after purifying the water, pointed to the barrel: "This, to cure dysentery."

Philin pointed at the barrel: "Holy Light." Then he pointed at Ang's hand: "Holy Light?" Finally, he looked at Ang: "Holy Light!"

The holy light has long cast a shadow in the souls of the undead. Even a lich like Philin, who has lived for over a thousand years, was frightened to the point of only being able to say "Holy Light."

Ang thought Philin was interested in the holy light, so he opened his palm, and a purification spell formed in his hand, a radiant light held by Ang.

Philin instinctively put his hands in front of him, but soon realized that this holy light didn't cause him any discomfort.

In the past, the transfer station was visited by messengers of the Church of Light. These arrogant individuals became cautious and subservient when they entered the King's territory, but the repulsive aura they carried never dissipated.

The holy light in Ang's hand didn't have that repulsive and uncomfortable aura.

Philin lowered his hands and cautiously approached, discovering that it really didn't harm him. He couldn't resist touching the light with his finger.

He saw the dirt and impurities on his finger being purified. When he pulled it out, the finger was much whiter, like a freshly peeled chicken claw, contrasting sharply with the rest of his hand.

Philin, feeling embarrassed, pulled his hand back into his robe. It was too embarrassing. As a lich, he couldn't take a bath; water would cause his flesh to rot. Even with magic, he could only clean the surface, not the water that seeped into the cells, which had to be dried.

Oh, there was another simpler method: burying himself in life-giving soil.

How do liches usually clean themselves?

They clean themselves like they maintain leather: first, they sweep, then they wipe, and finally, they apply some oil, with sheep's fat being the best for maintenance.

None of these methods can make the body completely clean, especially for a lich who has lived for over a thousand years. The "patina" is so thick that it obscures the original color.

Now, with a single purification spell, the thousand-year-old patina was completely removed. Philin realized how dirty he was, which was very embarrassing.

"No money, drive away dysentery, bring people." Ang pointed to the Undead Flame on the altar. The soul energy offered by believers every day was more than enough to make Ang indifferent to the soul crystals.

Philin left with deep gratitude. He had only hoped to try, but the result exceeded his expectations.

Although the Watcher doesn't need money, Philin felt he should show his appreciation. Remembering the bull skull Ang had carried back, he thought it wasn't for stewing but for some other purpose.

So, Philin had his people bring all the precious bones he had collected to the Undead Temple.

Just as Ang was still puzzled by the pile of unknown bones, a clean and beautiful female lich dragged Philin in, bursting in with a rush.

After confirming that Ang was the one she was looking for, she pulled Philin to the front, pointed at his finger, which was a different color, and asked urgently, "How... How did you do it? Can you teach me? I am willing to offer everything I have."

As she spoke, a thick soul flame emerged, entering Ang's body and forming another strange symbol on his soul.

Thank you all for your support. I originally wanted to update more, but I have a toothache and inflammation, which has interrupted my momentum. If you think it's too thin, you can read the other books in the series: "Skeleton Mage," "Super Skeleton Soldier," "Steel Bone King," "Galactic Lich," and "Immortal King." For those who want to催稿 (urge for updates), join the group: 126275122.