To liches, Gray was the protagonist of the story, the saint whose faith had been tested and who was held in high esteem among the lich population. His decisions, though not always agreed upon by other liches, were begrudgingly accepted. His verdicts carried out across the lich community, sometimes even chiding them for their mistakes—in fact, he might have been the only one who could do so.
As for Richie, that was a different story.
Undoubtedly, liches adored this young one immensely. However, this might have been the worst thing of all.
Leaving Dragon Valley, Richie did not return to Salted Fish Port as initially planned; instead, he headed to Manggis City on the front lines.
This was a small city-state on the plains where Benedict had assembled the Southern Alliance's army to support Gray's northern expedition. Over six months, they had stockpiled massive resources. It was essentially the northern expedition's bridgehead.
