This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 275 - 256: You saw it all, right?

Chapter 275: Chapter 256: You saw it all, right?

Amberser thought he must have heard wrong.

What did it mean that several goddesses wanted to bless her? Could the Drow be under some illusion, being deceived?

A deity’s blessing sounded common, as if it were a dime a dozen, because from time to time, a chosen one of a deity would appear and stir up trouble, making it seem as though such things were not rare.

But in reality, every blessing required a deity to expend part of their own essence, akin to sharing a portion of their authority with a devout follower blessed with talent.

Powerful deities blessing followers didn’t significantly affect themselves, but even someone like Allen, a paladin with boundless prospects, had only talked with the Lord of the Dawn rather than receiving his blessing.

The weaker deities were even stingier; with their limited divine power, if they shared it with others, what would they do for themselves?

Amberser had never known what it felt like to be blessed by a deity in his life.

Therefore, a deity’s blessing was a tremendous honor and a highly targeted grace.

Except for some particularly capricious deities such as the God of Justice, Tyr—who didn’t care whether you believed in him or not, as long as you practiced justice and caught his attention, you could be blessed.

But Tyr was an exception. Most deities had a very strong sense of exclusivity and wouldn’t choose followers of other deities to bless.

How else would the power of faith be divided for that person?

And another issue—who would claim the soul after the blessed person died?

Blessings were a share of the divine power given away; when a follower died and entered the deity’s divine realm, that portion of power would return as well.

If a blessing was given to another’s follower, who would ascend to a different divine realm, wouldn’t the deity who provided the blessing be at a loss?

Furthermore, if another deity obtained their source of power, it could very well trigger a war among the deities—who wouldn’t want to expand their divine authority?

The only exception was with the Elven Gods who would bless the same elf, as they all shared the same divine realm under the Elf God Corellon.

Only in the case of having the same chief deity would there be instances of multiple deities bestowing blessings upon the same person.

Had the Rose Spider Queen established her own independent pantheon? And what was this about other goddesses? In Amberser’s view, the deities that would associate with the Rose Spider Queen were no good characters and wouldn’t agree to such a clearly lossmaking deal.

Amberser really wanted to say that this Drow must have encountered some Evil God, causing their sanity to blur.

But after that spider-transformed Drow left, the Drow Elf turned around, knelt before the Divine Idol of the Rose Spider Queen, and several different rays of light lit up on the idol.

These were distinctly different kinds of divine power!

Amberser was taken aback; could this actually be true?

Could it be that the Rose Spider Queen had captured other deities, forcing them to become her slaves?

There was precedent for this; the God of the Liches, Vishalon, had once been under the Lord of the Storm, essentially a slave, exploited terribly until he finally fled.

Amberser was fully maintaining his illusion; although the consciousness of the deities descended upon the Divine Idol, they didn’t transfer all their power, so they likely couldn’t see through his illusion. Even if there were dangers, he had to persist in order to understand what was happening.

Different radiance flickered above the Divine Idol, quickly taking the form of several distinct faces.

Without exception, all were impressively beautiful countenances.

Amberser recognized two of them immediately: the Dark Goddess Shael and the Goddess of Pain, Lovieta.

Of the remaining two, one was a fiery-red lady with horns growing on her head, and the other was a Drow Elf enveloped in an aura of darkness. The phantasmal shape of that Drow was presumably the Rose Spider Queen, while the horned, fiery-red lady... A strong sulfuric scent emanated from her, probably from Hell.

The phantasmal images of the four goddesses appeared simultaneously, and it seemed none was subordinate to the others.

Such an incredible situation had never been seen or even heard of by Amberser, despite his many years of life.

The lowly mortal knelt before the four goddesses and said devoutly, "Goddesses, the blood sacrifice is underway. After completing the ritual, I will surely destroy all the undead and bathe Gloomyland in your divine light."

Upon hearing this, Amberser became unsettled.

Had the four really joined hands?

It wasn’t just for control over Gloomyland; their aim was likely not just the territory. This was clearly preparation for an imminent battle among the deities.

They must have known something in advance, which is why they set their sights on the Gloomyland.

Withered Rose is in trouble, she has no deity to rely on.

Slowly, the Rose Spider Queen began to speak, her voice sounding as though it came from the depths of the universe, ethereal and elusive, yet grand enough to make one’s soul tremble.

"Tristan, have you found any news of that lich?"

The Drow Elf known as Tristan quickly replied, "The information I’ve gathered is scant. I do know that he’s now in hiding beneath the Golden Desert, but his exact location remains unknown."

The Rose Spider Queen said dissatisfiedly, "Useless!"

Tristan’s body was seized by an invisible force, hoisted into the air, and then several bloody holes appeared as if she had been pierced by invisible spears.

Yet Tristan dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction, only pleading in a weak voice for mercy.

At that moment, Goddess Shael spoke, "Rose, don’t kill her, she is our only choice now. It’s not easy to find a mortal who can bear four different blessings at once."

As Shael’s divine power descended upon Tristan, her wounds healed rapidly, pulling her back from the brink of death.

The Rose Spider Queen carelessly threw Tristan to the ground, warning her, "You were chosen by us merely out of luck, do not think you are in any way special. The tasks we assign you must take precedence. The Undead of Gloomyland have never been the issue; keep a close watch on this lich, he is the variable in all events. Be ready, for when the time comes to take over Gloomyland, he will become your greatest enemy."

Then, the Goddess Lovieta added, "Do not trust a single word this lich says, remember this! Even if he claims he’s a lich, do not believe him!"

Hidden to one side, Amberser watched the scene with mixed emotions.

The four goddesses were truly taking great pains for him. Was it necessary? He was just an ordinary lich, after all.

But the focus now wasn’t this; the focus was that the four goddesses had joined forces, creating a formidable legendary Drow Elf that could threaten Withered Rose’s reign.

And once Gloomyland was ruled by the Drow Elves, considering these goddesses’ attitude towards him, Amberser was in for big trouble.

It had gone from stealing a Divine Artifact to being enemies with four deities, a leap in difficulty that seemed too great.

However, Amberser quickly calmed down.

There was no rush. Perhaps he could do away with this Drow before the blessing ceremony, directly foiling the plans of these goddesses.

Now, as he lay hidden, his chances of success seemed quite high.

Tristan had mentioned that the ceremony would require a large amount of blood sacrifice, meaning Melina would also be brought here as a sacrificial offering.

When the time came, with cooperation from both sides, they might just solve this problem.

As Amberser contemplated his options, the illusory figures of the four goddesses gradually faded away. Tristan began to busily set up the ritual Magic Array at the top level, summoning many Drow Elves to assist her.

Amberser casually glanced over. Judging by their speed, it would probably be completed within a day or two.

This meant Amberser had to execute his plan to kill Tristan within these next couple of days.

So, should he act now?

Though Amberser was concealed by an illusion, Tristan was adorned with an assortment of magical accessories—diadems, necklaces, rings, and so on—it was anyone’s guess how many concealed protective Spells they might contain.

Amberser only had one chance at this ambush, and if he failed, he would completely waste the advantage of being hidden.

Moreover, those who could bear the blessings of deities were mostly legendary in stature—who knew what class Tristan was? If she happened to be particularly tough, the success rate of Amberser’s assassination would decrease even more.

As he hesitated over whether to take action, Amberser suddenly sensed a strange presence emanating from his private space.

Hurriedly seeking an even more hidden corner, he quietly opened his private space.

To his surprise, he found the pitch-black presence that had long been dormant inside shaking violently. It was the "Magic Web knowledge" entity given to him by Shael, also a link through which he could contact the Dark Goddess Shael.

Amberser had thought of offering the Half-Dragon youth to Shael as his promised reward. Who said he wasn’t a corrupted legend?

But with no response from Shael, Amberser thought she wasn’t interested in the Half-Dragon youth.

Just a moment ago, Shael had been discussing with the other three goddesses how to deal with him, and now this cloud of darkness was reacting... this was probably not a good sign.

Indeed, the black mist quickly formed into Goddess Shael’s face, who, with a cold laugh, said to Amberser, "You saw what just happened, didn’t you?"