This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 291 - 269: Are Divine Artifacts Commonplace Now?

Chapter 291: Chapter 269: Are Divine Artifacts Commonplace Now?

The conversation among the three ended with Aldalian conceding defeat completely.

Four hundred years had passed, and Aldalian had indeed grown, but had Amberser not also made progress? Losing to the present Amberser was not shameful, after all, he had even tricked multiple Deities.

Although Katherine sensed that the two were hiding something from her, she was not smart enough to get it out of them.

Ultimately, the agreement was that Aldalian would test out James Watson’s offer for Amberser. If he was smart, he would help Amberser dig out more benefits from James Watson; otherwise, the Elf Tribe would have to foot the bill.

Amberser then sought out the Old Elf King, to arrange for him to meet with Arthur Laine’s Heroic Spirit, as a way to authenticate this spirit, as well as to allow two old friends to reminisce.

Amberser hadn’t moved from his place and after a short while, saw the Old Elf King with a face that bore the marks of time.

The Old Elf King seemed to take issue with Amberser, the Lich, and without any pleasantries, directly said, "Let me see Arthur."

Amberser was unconcerned with the customer’s demeanor and took out the Hourglass Artifact, setting it on the table.

The phantom of Arthur Laine emerged from the hourglass.

The Old Elf King’s eyes reddened immediately, and with a trembling voice, he said, "Arthur, is it really you?"

Arthur Laine’s Heroic Spirit looked at the Old Elf King and, after a long period of contemplation, recognized him.

"You are... Hildas?!"

Overcome with emotion, the old Elf finally shed tears. It had been over a thousand years, yet here he was, once again seeing the friend who had fought alongside him in battle.

Arthur Laine looked at the face full of wrinkles and with a sigh said, "It really has been more than a thousand years, hasn’t it? I never thought I’d see the day you aged."

The old Elf chuckled and said, "I’ve seen what you looked like aged as well, and you were far worse off than me."

Arthur Laine said with pride, "That wasn’t me. I won’t get any older now; I’ll forever be the most handsome Paladin on the continent."

Seeing the two tearful, Amberser took the cue to excuse himself, leaving the room to the two heroes who had once combated the Magic Dragon together.

After about four or five hours of waiting, the two heroes were still talking nonstop. If it hadn’t been for the strain on Arthur Laine’s Heroic Spirit, they might have talked for several days and nights.

Upon returning to the room, Amberser noticed the Old Elf King still had tear stains on his face, indicating he must have cried thoroughly.

Amberser didn’t tease him about it and straightforwardly said, "It seems, then, that there’s no need to ask; this is indeed the Heroic Spirit of Arthur Laine."

The Old Elf King said solemnly, "Name your price."

Amberser asked curiously, "What do you mean by that? Is the Elf Tribe planning to compete with Laine for this Heroic Spirit of the founding Holy King?"

"That’s right, he can’t return to Laine. His temperament is still the same as in the old days—impulsive and rash. If he were to return to Laine, those corrupt members of the Imperial Family would only bring about his downfall. Years ago, I watched him go off into certain death alone, I can’t let that happen again today."

The memory of Arthur Laine remained at the point just before his challenge to the Magic Dragon Tyrant, unaware of the subsequent establishment of the Empire. Over a thousand years ago, he was the Holy King, the hero who defeated the Magic Dragon, unmatched in status by anyone.

But now, the Imperial Family of Laine had long since become corrupt, and Arthur Laine was merely in the form of a Heroic Spirit. There were a hundred ways they could destroy this spirit.

"Although our reasons may differ, I don’t mind having more buyers. However, you are no longer the Elven King. With your personal fortune, you probably can’t afford the price," Amberser said.

"Just tell me how much you want. Name a price, and I will find a way," the former king insisted.

"Then... how about one trillion Gold Coins," Amberser said offhandedly.

"You’re insane. Do you know how much that is? That much gold could fill an entire city."

Amberser smiled and replied, "Well, it depends on the city. The Laine Imperial Capital certainly couldn’t be filled. One trillion Gold Coins might sound like a lot, but for Laine, it might not be impossible to produce."

The Old Elf King scoffed, "Hmph, only if they turn all of the Laine People into gold."

"Isn’t Arthur Laine worth that much?" Amberser asked.

"That number you’re throwing around so casually doesn’t mean anything; all the kingdoms combined couldn’t produce that much gold."

"Of course, there isn’t that much pure gold, but I won’t mind accepting other things as payment. Didn’t the Elf Tribe pay with magical materials before? I believe Laine can come up with something of equal worth, such as... the Magic Dragon Armament," Amberser said.

The Old Elf King spoke disdainfully, "Setting aside the importance of the Magic Dragon Armament to Laine, even if they give it to you, what use would it be besides as a collector’s item? The Magic Dragon Armament requires the bloodline of Arthur to be used, and even his Heroic Spirit cannot utilize it. What would you do with it?"

"Just like you said, it would be for my collection. It’s the Magic Dragon Armament after all. Whether I can use it doesn’t matter; the key is that Laine can’t use it. You should understand well that I am a Lich, and it’s inevitable that Laine and I are archenemies. The difference between having the Magic Dragon Armament and not having it is substantial for me," Amberser explained.

The Old Elf King tentatively believed Amberser’s words; the Magic Dragon Armament indeed was a Divine Artifact that could alter the balance of power on the continent. But Laine wouldn’t agree to it, even if Arthur Laine himself were resurrected, the Laine Empire would never trade this artifact for him.

The artifact had become a symbol, essential to maintaining the Empire’s destiny. Laine would surely face decline without the Magic Dragon Armament.

"Forget about it, I can give you a Divine Artifact of the Elf Tribe in exchange for the spirit of Arthur," the Old Elf King said.

The Old Elf King produced a ring that looked very ordinary, as if it were carelessly crafted from oak without even a gemstone, and Amberser could not sense any special magical fluctuations. But with a single sentence from the Old Elf King, Amberser understood the value of the ring.

"The person who wears this ring will be marked, and upon death, it will trigger a perfect resurrection spell once."

"Perfect Resurrection?!"

Amberser was shocked.

Many priests could use resurrection spells, and as long as the deceased hadn’t been dead for too long and their corpse was relatively intact, they could be revived. However, this required that the soul was whole. Without the soul, revival was impossible.

Take Aige’s father, for instance; the shipbuilder planted a seed in the pirate ship and then turned his own soul into nourishment for the seed. As it grew, the pirate ship became a Ghost Ship.

If the soul had perished, revival through normal means was out of the question.

But the Perfect Resurrection didn’t have this issue. Even if the soul was gone, the body destroyed, it wasn’t a problem—it could bring the person back to the mortal realm without any discrepancies, cured of even terminal diseases.

Even if Amberser’s Life Casket were smashed and his soul shredded and stuffed into a Demon Duke’s stomach, he could still be resurrected.

That is the power of Perfect Resurrection.

The first thing Amberser thought of was to help Aige revive her old shipbuilder father, but the Old Elf King clarified the ring’s purpose, and that put an end to his idea.

One had to wear the ring while still alive, branding themselves with the spell of Perfect Resurrection, for it to work after death. It couldn’t be used on someone else.

"When Arthur challenged the Magic Dragon Tyrant, he too wore this ring."

"How do you know the ring’s effect is still intact? What if he used it during his battle with the Magic Dragon Tyrant?" asked Amberser.

"The Perfect Resurrection can be used repeatedly, but there has to be at least a hundred years between each use. Now, more than a thousand years have passed, so the ring is ready for use once more."

A century between uses might be too long for humans to wait for a second chance.

But Amberser was a Lich, and a hundred years weren’t much of an issue. He wouldn’t be so unlucky as to have his Life Casket smashed twice within a century, would he?

Amberser was tempted, but the price still wasn’t enough.

"The Perfect Resurrection is indeed priceless, but Arthur Laine is worth more than that. His Hourglass is a Divine Artifact in itself. Exchanging that for one and adding the soul of the Holy King on top of it, I’d be making a huge loss," he said.

The Old Elf King said angrily, "Further bargaining is pointless. The only thing I can offer is this ring, and all my other belongings combined aren’t worth even a fraction of its value."

That was the truth. The Old Elf King wasn’t as favored by the deities as Katherine, who had three Divine Artifacts and countless blessings. This ring was his only Divine Artifact. All other magic equipment he had paled in comparison, not to mention cash reserves. Elves didn’t tend to hoard wealth, and though the Old Elf King didn’t worry of sustenance, he wasn’t flush with cash.

"Then let’s talk some more. I’d like to hear Laine’s offer," suggested Amberser.

"Laine wouldn’t trade a Divine Artifact for it. Do you understand what a Divine Artifact is? Do you think you can find them just lying around in the streets?"

"I have plenty of Divine Artifacts," retorted Amberser, placing a black dagger on the table. "This is a Divine Artifact that Shael gave me when she begged for my help."

Before the Old Elf King could even sense the divine power in the dagger, Amberser slapped a Gold Coin down and continued, "This coin, a gift from the God of Alchemy, he insisted I take it."

Lastly, pointing to an hourglass on the table, he said, "This, a Divine Artifact from the Magic Dragon Tyrant over a thousand years ago, I found it on the road. To me, Divine Artifacts are as common as dirt in the street. Is there a problem?"

The Old Elf King was left speechless. He, a great Elven King, had but one Divine Artifact!

Was this Lich a favorite son of Aeo or what?

In the end, they couldn’t reach an agreement. Amberser coveted the Divine Artifact of Perfect Resurrection but wouldn’t sell his most valuable possessions so easily. Resurrection was one thing, but it paled in comparison to the Magic Dragon Armament.

While the Old Elf King was trying to continue bargaining, Amberser decisively changed the subject, showing him Tristan’s corpse.

The Old Elf King immediately recognized her.

"It’s her! You have truly helped us avenge a great wrong this time."

Amberser, out of curiosity, asked, "Did this Drow Elf massacre your people?"

The Old Elf King replied with a sigh, "Yes, and more than once. Three villages, two thousand elves’ lives. I am grateful to you; I will accept this favor."

Confirming the usefulness of the Drow Elf, Amberser said to the Old Elf King, "Since she’s of value, how about I exchange this favor along with the Divine Artifact dagger that Shael gave me for your resurrection ring? One Divine Artifact plus this favor—you’ll be getting the better end of the deal."

The Old Elf King asked skeptically, "That dagger, does it have any side effects?"

Amberser hastily replied, "Are you blaspheming the deity? As a collaborator of the Goddess, I can’t ignore such words!"

"Now I’m even more certain that there’s something wrong with that dagger! You can settle the bounty for the Drow Elf with my grandson. Right now, I’m not the Elven King."

Fearing being swindled by Amberser, the Old Elf King made a pointed decision to stop conversing and got up to leave.

Amberser called out loudly, "Don’t go! How about I add some cash?"

Upon hearing that, the Old Elf King walked away even faster.

Amberser, feeling helpless, realized he had to wait for James Watson’s offer. Surely this Supreme Decree had a Divine Artifact or two, right?