Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 166 - 159: Surge of Strong Fortune

"Relax, Lyle, everything will be all right." Kevin had no idea why his best friend had suddenly become so disconsolate. With no knowledge about mysticism, he could only offer some useless consolation.

Looking into Kevin’s concerned eyes, Lyle managed to muster a forced smile. "I hope you’re right."

Kevin wasn’t satisfied with Lyle’s reaction; he patted Lyle’s shoulder forcefully, showing a smile that men share in understanding, "After this trip is over, come to the party I’m hosting. I’ll prepare a perfect evening for you at Borei Manor. As Lyle’s best friend, I swear it will wash away all your fatigue. Trust me, I’ll use my talents to shield you, although I have no idea which unlucky soul will suffer for it."

Lyle couldn’t help but smile at Kevin’s exaggerated performance, the warm current rising in his heart dissipating some of his despondency. Lyle stood up.

"Don’t jinx it here, I want to get back in one piece," said Lyle, repurposing a 21st-century joke. Kevin was baffled, but as Lyle’s face brightened with a smile, Kevin also let it go.

He flicked his golden curls and finally fixed his gaze on William, who stood aside.

"William, that’s not cool at all. Your brother is falling apart, and you’re just standing there doing nothing."

William’s expression did not change.

"That’s because I have complete faith in Lyle. The dangers we’ve faced together tell me he can handle crises very well. As a friend, all I can do is have a drink with him afterwards. As for warming his heart, that’s a girl’s job. Oh, and it just so happens that we can accomplish that at your party."

Kevin’s eyes whirled, "Hey William, is there a potion that can turn a person into a woman?"

"There is, but the side effects are troublesome. I’ve heard that a witch can turn a man into a witch, which might be simpler. Why, don’t you want to be a man anymore?"

"William, consider becoming a witch."

"Kevin, it’s you who should become a witch, to transform into a woman and warm Lyle’s heart!"

Kevin’s eyes held a trace of arrogance, "Wanna bet and see who ends up the unlucky one?"

"Tch."

Lyle watched the two joking, his gaze gradually softening. Black tentacles crawled onto his body, wrapping around him tightly, while Nia’s large eyes squinted down at Lyle’s head, Medusa silently coiling around his arm inside the sleeve.

"Nia hug glug! Nia’s the warmest."

Lyle stroked the slick tentacles that had climbed onto his face, his expression obscured under the black tendrils.

"That’s good, Nia is the best, but it’s time to start working, Nia."

"Mhm mhm."

Nia detached herself from Lyle’s body, her floating tentacles stacking the thieves’ corpses together. Like a crawling spider standing at the very top of the pile, she announced energetically.

"Nia’s going to process the materials now!"

Lyle turned away, back facing the corpses.

William and Kevin looked at him quizzically.

"I’m about to process these corpses, then use necromancy to reshape them. Specifically, Nia will extract and absorb their flesh and blood, leaving only the skeletons. However, the scene will be too gory; I suggest you don’t watch."

William and Kevin exchanged glances and then mockingly looked at Lyle, "We’ve seen enough big scenes, real men don’t flinch."

Lyle sighed, "I’ve warned you. Nia, go ahead."

Strange, eerie noises began to emanate from behind Lyle, reminiscent of a horde of various insects gnawing on a colossal piece of flesh.

"I’ve survived for over a decade in the darkest corners of this dark age. My endurance, how could it possibly be undone by something so trivial......bleargh!!" William began to vomit, and as the noises behind intensified, so did his outpouring.

"I am the son of a baron, and my library is filled with bizarre legends of mountain spirits and ghosts. The resilience instilled in me by medicine, as someone who bears the noble’s honor, how could I possibly be undone by something so trivial......bleargh!!" Kevin’s luck did not help him this time. It seemed his talent also recognized what misery and misfortune were.

Listening to the sounds of retching on both sides, Lyle could only feel a twinge of helplessness.

Then, someone pressed on my shoulders and began to forcibly turn me around.

"What are you doing!" Lyle asked in panic, addressing the two jerks who were still vomiting.

With filth still clinging to their mouths and the vomiting not stopping, Kevin and William still managed to speak, "Good... brother, we are... in trouble... together."

"You’re not my brothers... damn it...blargh."

The once tranquil forest was now filled with a sour stench.

...

Pale magic power wrapped around Lyle’s arm, and with the light at the tip of the magic wand, bones began to reassemble in the flesh and blood concocted by Nia.

The creature’s skeletal body was flat with eight long legs, each made from embraced human limbs, and at the very front, a wriggling fleshly head sprouted with four orifices; in each, resided a burning skull with a soul flame.

Kevin gazed on this large creation, his surprise reflected in his eyes as if his jaw had never closed. He poked at the creature’s thigh bone, and the flesh wedged between its bones immediately stretched out a tentacle and whipped him.

"Lyle, it hit me!"

Lyle was changing into his plague doctor disguise. After performing Necromancy, he needed to maintain his mysterious identity, for manipulating the dead was frowned upon everywhere.

"It’s made from the corpses of bandits; it’s bound to have their ferocity. Don’t go near its head, and stay away from its long legs. This multi-legged war vehicle is not a gentle fellow."

Lyle made his way behind the creature, stepping up the folded bone ladder to stand atop it smoothly.

"It’s a wild war vehicle, get on from the back, gentlemen."

William looked at the fierce appearance of the multi-legged war vehicle, feeling a bit repulsed.

Lyle noticed his apprehension and kindly offered an alternative, pulling the Spine Wheel he had with him out of his pocket. "This is the vehicle I created for my final exam. In theory, it’s more powerful and faster, but it can only carry one person."

The Spine Wheel, without that savage brain, did look more appealing.

William hadn’t made up his mind yet, "Kevin, which one do you choose?"

"Spine Wheel..." "I choose the Spine Wheel!"

Without further ado, William got on the wheel.

Kevin, meanwhile, got on the multi-legged war vehicle with Lyle.

The Spine Wheel quickly left them in the dust and then toppled over a hundred meters away.

William struggled out, dizzy and disoriented, followed by another bout of vomiting.

"My god, you didn’t tell me this thing rolls! Do you know I just did twelve full body rotations in a second? Lyle! Are you sure this thing isn’t some kind of terrifying torture device, how do you deal with the spinning, Kevin! You’ve tricked me!"

Previously, Lyle would enter a state of feigned death through Nia and use her perceptions to confirm what was ahead, naturally not experiencing dizziness. But William, he was actually strapped onto it, which indeed wasn’t much different from a torture device.

"I hadn’t finished speaking. I was saying that I wouldn’t consider the Spine Wheel for now..."

In the end, all three of them boarded the war vehicle, moving forward with the accompaniment of its limbs swaying like oars.

"Kevin, from the information I gathered from the dead, there are still fifty to sixty bandits waiting for us ahead, and Hamlet has even more dangerous things. Are you really sure that for this journey, just the three of us will suffice?"

Kevin also seemed hesitant, "It shouldn’t be wrong, my intuition tells me that we already have enough people for this journey."

"Really enough?"