This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 283 - 263: The Spoils Division Conference

Chapter 283: Chapter 263: The Spoils Division Conference

Deities can strip divine roles, but such an act is also very precious to a deity. After delivering the Rose Spider Queen to the God of Alchemy’s Divine Realm, will he return the stripped divine role?

The God of Alchemy isn’t bound by the inability to lie or deceive, and now he’s in a weakened state. The Rose Spider Queen’s divine role would be a super-tonic to him, potentially allowing him to surpass his original limits and ascend to a higher level.

Faced with such a temptation, would the God of Alchemy spit out the spoils?

Moreover, the God of Alchemy had once deceived Amberser. Because of this, both mentor and apprentice had their reservations.

Now that the God of Alchemy had made this proposal, Amberser had to seriously consider it.

Hake Stone couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, "A deity at your beck and call, what more could you distrust?"

None present were weak, and naturally, they all heard Hake Stone’s remark, which reflected their thoughts as well.

The God of Alchemy had gone to this extent—how could he still not be trusted?

Just when everyone thought Amberser would agree without any hesitation, Amberser said, "Teacher, you’re right, I really don’t trust you. If this were only my spoils of war, I wouldn’t mind taking a gamble to see if you’d deceive me again. But this time, it’s different—these spoils aren’t just mine. Unless you can provide an acceptable assurance, I’ll have to seek help from another deity."

Amberser’s words pleased the members of the Elegy Poetry Society. They hadn’t expected this Lich, normally so dead-set on money, to show such righteousness at the critical moment.

When everyone expected the God of Alchemy to express anger toward Amberser, the deity calmly said, "I knew you would say that. Don’t worry. You have no idea of the weight the name ’Elegy Poetry Society’ carries; it’s impossible for me to trick you."

Amberser looked toward the Poet, this senior who seemed to know the God of Alchemy. Now, it was up to him to decide.

The Poet patted Amberser on the shoulder and said, "He’s right—rest assured, your teacher wouldn’t deceive you."

Since the Poet had put it that way, Amberser had no more concerns and moved on to the next topic.

"There are four divine roles that the Rose Spider Queen can be stripped of—how shall we divide them?"

Upon this question arising, the Poet was the first to express his stance, "Don’t worry about me; that stuff is useless to me."

The Poet was obviously an entity of the same level as a deity, yet not a deity. His refusal implied no pretense. However, since the Poet was the one with the greatest merits in this matter, if he didn’t want it, it made it difficult for others to speak up.

Hake Stone, on the other hand, wasn’t embarrassed at all and was about to speak when Amberser glared at him, "Step aside. Don’t you have any idea how much effort you’ve contributed? When we get back, I’ll just ask Arthur Laine a few more questions. Don’t even think about the divine role."

"Deal!"

Hake Stone agreed very straightforwardly. He didn’t expect to receive a divine role; it wouldn’t be his turn anyway. Securing Amberser’s promise, Hake Stone felt like he had profited.

Having solved the issue with the Vampire, part of the mood-setting group, Amberser then said to the Poet, "Senior, if you don’t want anything, it’ll be difficult for us to divide it. Why don’t you make a request?"

"But really, the divine role is of no use to me." The Poet stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then said, "I want to hold a concert, but the venue and audience are all troublesome. You help me prepare, alright?"

Amberser: ...

Perhaps it would be better to give him a divine role after all—his music is truly "eerie," capable of scattering the souls of even the Undead. After listening to just several seconds of it earlier, Amberser felt the urge to die; a whole concert might leave nothing but ashes.

But for the sake of godhood, let’s go all out!

Worst comes to worst, let him hold his concert in Laine and send a group of Paladins collectively to heaven!

"Alright, I’ll do my best to prepare the concert for the senior. However, it can’t be recently. As everyone probably knows, the situation on the continent is very unstable, and we must prepare for the upcoming turmoil," Amberser said.

The Poet magnanimously said, "There’s no rush; after all, the undead are immortal."

Ghoul Yugas also renounced the divine role, stating he hadn’t much contributed, and the role of the Rose Spider Queen didn’t suit him; he’d prefer to spend time forging his own path.

It was only then that Amberser learned Yugas, just like Aige, was a Demigod one step away from deityhood. Such Demigods, who had already chosen their path, indeed weren’t suited for absorbing another’s divine role—it might trap them forever at the level of weak divine power, and that would be a real loss.

Yugas didn’t have any particular desires, only saying, "If the Rose Spider Queen’s corpse remains after the divine role is taken, give it to me—the taste of a deity is truly exquisite."

With these two deferring, the rest was easy.

Four divine roles: the God of Alchemy could take one, Withered Rose one, Amberser one, and the Gareth couple one—dividing them perfectly.

Seeing that Amberser and his group had finished their division, the God of Alchemy, with a grand wave, led the Rose Spider Queen away.

"My divine power is too weak right now. Stripping the divine role will take some time. Be patient," he said.

Amberser wanted to ask for a specific timeframe, but the God of Alchemy had already disappeared. It seemed he too was somewhat impatient to return to his peak.

With this battle concluded, the members of the Elegy Poetry Society went their separate ways.

Quick to arrive and unhesitant in departure, the Underground City was soon left with only Amberser and Withered Rose, along with the lower-tier Undead wandering about.

Amberser said to Withered Rose, "Once you’ve obtained the divine role, how do you plan to handle it? If you ascend to deity, you’ll be subject to Aeo’s restrictions and find it difficult to deal with Laine personally."

Withered Rose said, "I certainly won’t ascend to deity; I’m not yet worthy to confront the Holy Light of the Lord of the Dawn directly. I will use this divine role to trade for help from other deities, allowing me to more easily destroy Laine."

Withered Rose’s words also reminded Amberser that once one ascended to deity, the rules changed completely. The Lord of the Dawn couldn’t simply incinerate him with Holy Light, but once he became a deity, there would be far fewer restrictions on the Lord of the Dawn’s actions against him.

Of course, deities generally hide within their own divine realms, and it’s very difficult for outsiders to find them. Take the Rose Spider Queen, for instance; had she not gone mad and directly attacked Amberser, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a plight.

But there’s always an "if," what if the Lord of the Dawn managed to find her?

With one swing of his hammer, even if Amberser had ascended to godhood, he would still be obliterated.

However, Amberser soon stated resolutely, "No matter what, I must ascend to deity status. Even if there’s danger, I must try."

The path lay before him, the only one there was. Even if it was filled with thorns, he had no choice but to forge ahead.

"I knew you would say that. So before you become a deity, let’s have a few more children," Withered Rose said.

That suggestion could easily be misunderstood, but it also reminded Amberser.

"Damn, I forgot about Melina. Where is she?!"

Amberser had earlier appeased Melina by having her stay with the Drow elves. The following battle was so urgent that in all, it lasted less than ten hours.

Caught up in the chaos, Amberser completely forgot about his daughter.

Withered Rose also wore a look of surprise—had they lost their daughter?

The two of them split up and searched for Melina throughout the city.

The Underground City had been repeatedly crushed by Gareth, and now its appearance had drastically changed.

After flying several rounds, Amberser finally found a bewildered Melina amidst the ruins.

The child, still in her Drow form, was hiding in a collapsed house.

Seeing Amberser return, Melina said in a daze, "Father, what happened? I waited here for several hours, and suddenly there was an earthquake, and then this place collapsed."

"Silly child, couldn’t you run?"

"I was afraid that you wouldn’t be able to find me if I ran."

Amberser: ...

Melina was really lucky, not being on the direct path of Gareth’s charge. Otherwise, she would have been killed or at least severely injured.

This time, Amberser had to admit his mistake. He hadn’t expected the child to be so honest. She definitely needed to be better educated in the future.

Amberser said to Melina, "It’s okay now, let’s go back."

Looking perplexed, Melina said, "Go back? Has the mastermind behind this been found?"

"He’s already been dealt with."

"Ah? But, I didn’t do anything?"

Melina was depressed; she had finally managed to infiltrate the place, ready to clear her reputation of being a fool with her wit and intelligence.

How did it suddenly get resolved?

If she returned now, wouldn’t she still be considered a fool by others?

Seeing Melina’s expression, Amberser chuckled and said, "It’s okay, I’ll give you one more lesson. History is written by the victors. Now that we have won, the death of the mastermind is as we say it is. You can take all the credit for yourself. Don’t worry, no one will contest you."

"But isn’t that a lie? In reality, I still didn’t do anything," Melina said, still upset.

Amberser smiled and said, "Silly child, only fools fuss over the process. If you don’t want to be considered a fool, start with this incident. Make those who called you a fool believe it was your intelligence that solved the problem with the mastermind. You can make up the specifics."

After bringing the pensive Melina to Withered Rose’s side, Amberser gracefully excused himself.

This time, he had come only for the spores of the Fungus Folk, but unexpectedly, he had gained a divine office, now only a step away from becoming a deity. It truly was a satisfying turn of events.

Back at his Alchemy Factory, Amberser found the ingredients needed for sunscreen among the three types of spore powders, and then he messaged Withered Rose.

After cooperating for so long, the two no longer needed to discuss transport costs or procurement fees. Withered Rose didn’t even discuss the price, simply stating that she would collect and send them over in batches.

Once finished with this task, Amberser then opened his private space, approaching the body of Tristan.

Everyone had forgotten about this Drow matriarch, blessed by three goddesses—her body held immense value even in death.

As Amberser pondered how to utilize this body, the black dagger embedded in Tristan’s body dissolved into liquid and merged with it.

And then, that body rose from the ground, the effect of Time Freeze completely nullified.

When Tristan stood up again, her eyes had turned pitch black, and with a sinister voice, she said to Amberser, "You’ve taken all the benefits for yourself. How will you compensate me for my losses?"