This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 314 - 292: Deal Concluded

Chapter 314: Chapter 292: Deal Concluded

The evil of the Drow Elves isn’t merely a matter of cultural education; it’s a trait embedded in their genetics. Just like humans are naturally born with two hands and two feet, how can you change an entire race to have seven arms and eight legs?

The only way Amberser could think of was to kill all the Drow Elves, then painstakingly modify the souls of each Drow Elf bit by bit, chipping away the evil thoughts and weaving in threads of kindness.

But this couldn’t possibly be the result the Elven Gods wanted to see.

In fact, killing the Rose Spider Queen wouldn’t be difficult; Corellon’s divine power far exceeded that of the Rose Spider Queen. The Drow Elves had been exiled by the hands of Corellon himself, who could have killed them all if he had been just a bit more ruthless at the time.

It was only because he was angry that Corellon chose this permanent exile as punishment.

If it were a matter of simply killing them, Corellon would’ve done it himself; there’d be no need for Amberser’s help.

The Elven Gods never intended to massacre the entire Drow Race. For Corellon, these Drow Elves were like the spoiled children who sided with an adulterous wife during a divorce to snatch the property deed.

Angry as he might be, the children were still his own.

It’s just that these children had been with their malicious mother for too long; even Corellon couldn’t make them see the light.

As powerful as the chief of the Elven Gods was, he couldn’t change the mindset of an entire race. Deities are not omnipotent after all.

If not even deities could manage it, how could Amberser possibly do it?

This is a joke, right? If he had the ability to twist the minds of an entire race, why would he need to worry about the gods bothering him?

He could simply turn all sentient races into his followers and be the first under Aeo. The Lord of the Dawn and the chief of the Elven Gods combined wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

This business deal seemed impossible; he would have to stick to selling his clerical position to other gods. He thought of talking with the Lord of the Dawn; though the Dark Clergy would not suit him, he could destroy it to bring light to the world. Maybe a moral plea could earn him the Lord of the Dawn’s blessing.

Seeing that Amberser truly didn’t want to take the task, Katherine became quite anxious.

"Is there really no way at all? For old times’ sake, please help. The Creator knows this is troublesome, but if you agree, the Elf Tribe can immediately deal with the trouble caused by those four goddesses for you. Besides, you don’t have to complete this mission in a day or two, it could take ten years, even a hundred."

Listening to Katherine’s pleading, Amberser found it hard not to soften.

Done for, this girl must have gotten some sort of boon; her charm is even stronger, her voice alone bewitches the mind.

But Amberser wasn’t so easily swayed; he blocked all his senses and considered the offer in the coldest light.

There was no time limit for completing the task, and the payment was immediate... That sounded like a good deal, but the task itself seemed too difficult. Amberser couldn’t think of any viable way to accomplish it.

You see, despite being exiled, the Drow Elves are still elves, almost immune to charm effects; it was not possible to twist their minds with spells.

If one can’t use magic, then surely not force? Capture them all and whip them day and night to make them behave? Would such forced "goodness" really count as turning away from evil?

Amberser pondered for a long time, and only after two hours did he speak to Katherine, "This so-called ’turning Drow Elves to the good side,’ what exactly do you demand? Be specific, to what extent must this be done?"

Katherine knew he had changed his mind the moment he said that and quickly explained, "Actually, it’s quite simple. The main issue now is that I can’t merge with the Drow race’s clerical position. If I can gain a certain number of followers among the Drow Elves, I will be able to merge with their race’s clerical position and reintegrate these Drow Elves back into the Elf Tribe."

"It sounds simple, but it’s difficult in practice. Mortals who can’t merge with a clerical position shouldn’t dream of gaining someone else’s faith... Oh, but if it’s you, it might just be possible."

Amberser now understood why Katherine had gained such favor with the Elven Gods. With a soul that was purely good and a natural charisma through the roof, even the Undead could be captivated by her. Drow Elves with less intensely evil thoughts might indeed be attracted to Katherine.

It seemed the Elven Gods had long been prepared to take back the Drow Elves. Katherine was the key character they had prepared for many years, and the return of the racial clerical position was merely fuel for this plan.

No wonder the gods seemed so amenable this time, even willing to pay in advance.

"Just faith? That might work. But the Drow Elves’ belief in you will most likely be nothing more than admiration for your beauty; they won’t become the kind-hearted people you are thinking of. Is that enough?"

Katherine firmly responded, "That’s not enough. They must change their way of thinking; otherwise, it’s all meaningless. If I merge with the clerical position as it stands now, they would quickly go extinct. Moreover, this ratio must reach at least half of the Drow Elf population, preferably more than half, otherwise it’ll be pointless."

"Then I’d better take my leave..." Amberser thought about leaving again. Turning half the Drow Elves into believers was an impossible feat for him.

Withered Rose had already ruled such a vast expanse of Gloomyland, and yet there was no sign of the Drow Elves having changed their way of thinking, just becoming enslaved to the Undead due to coercion.

"Think about it, please. In my heart, you’re capable of anything," Katherine persisted pleadingly.

"It’s no use begging; it’s impossible to do something that can’t be done. I certainly cannot deceive the Elven Gods. I already have enough enemies; I can’t afford to add a whole group of powerful deities to the list."

"Why not? I’m not expecting the Drow Elves to become like me, becoming like you would be quite enough," Katherine said.

As Amberser was about to leave, he paused when he heard her words, "What do you mean ’become like me’?"

This may sound like mockery, but Katherine probably does not mean it that way now.

"To be reasonable, though a bit greedy, it does not make them cruel and brutal. As long as they become like you, the Elf Tribe will accept them back," she said.

Amberser had the urge to say that cruelty and brutality suited him as a Lich quite well.

After all, he was merciless when experimenting on the Drow Elves.

However, Katherine wasn’t entirely wrong, as Amberser did not kill for the sake of killing; he did not enjoy torturing others nor thought of harming people when bored.

This was actually typical of the Undead; all their logic revolved around clinging to their obsessions.

As long as their obsessions didn’t solely revolve around slaughter, the intelligent High-order Undead were quite communicative; the only problem was their prevalence, which led to conflicts with the living.

And this logic dictated an orderly behavior.

The Undead had their codes, and despite being evil, they played by the rules.

Turning Drow Elves into good beings was a bit of a stretch, but getting them to change from chaotic evil to lawful evil was feasible.

Previously, the influence of the Rose Spider Queen, a deity of their race, had been a factor, but now that she couldn’t stop Amberser from meddling, it was truly worth investigation.

"Is there really no time limit?" Amberser asked.

"You’re not expected to succeed immediately, but don’t try to deceive me. You said it yourself, you can’t afford to offend the gods of our elf tribe," Katherine warned.

She really feared Amberser might have ulterior motives; as a friend, she did not want to receive a divine order to kill him one day.

"Don’t worry, I’m not foolish. I never engage in deceiving deities," he reassured.

Katherine: ...

Yet Amberser saw nothing wrong with his statement; he had never deceived any deity. Hadn’t he fulfilled everything Shael had tasked him with? And he had dealt with Goddess Lovieta upfront, never agreeing to serve her.

When it came to the God of Alchemy, it was hard to say who was deceiving whom.

Thus, Amberser could boldly claim, "I have never deceived any deity."

"Let’s make a deal then; I’ll do my best to complete this task. However, I will need your full cooperation," Amberser proposed to Katherine.

"Rest assured, I will give you my full support," Katherine said, relieved that Amberser had agreed to the task, which meant she could fulfill the mission of the deities at last.

Amberser entrusted Katherine with the clerical duties of the Drow Race, and in his presence, she prayed directly to the deities.

A ray of light pierced through the roof and landed in front of Katherine.

The small box containing the clerical duties merged into the light, and a faint rune appeared on Katherine’s wrist.

Amused, Amberser asked, "Did you get another blessing?"

In surprise, Katherine responded, "How did you know?"

"Heh, just a guess." He could not hide the envy in his tone.

Katherine smiled and said, "It’s not what you think. It just allows me to sense the emotions of all beings with elf blood."

Detection of thought, elf edition, right?

Amberser could also cast the spell for detecting thoughts, but it was not always successful, typically failing against beings of strong will or high intelligence. For Amberser the Legendary, attempting to detect the thoughts of any Paladin would likely fail more than seventy percent of the time.

However, Katherine’s detection against the Elf Tribe should be absolute, with no chance of failure. This was the authority of a racial deity, capable of protecting the whole Elf Tribe from charm effects, and ensuring none could be immune to Katherine’s detection.

With that, half of the deal was done, and Amberser could stop worrying about trouble from the four evil goddesses unless they wanted to wage war against the Elf Tribe.

Katherine was also content, excitedly asking, "What should we do now? Shall we go to Gloomyland to find the Drow Elves?"

Amberser chuckled, "No need to rush. Before we reclaim the Drow Elves, we have some preparations to make."

Katherine blinked her beautiful eyes, "What preparations do we need to make?"

Amberser, patting her shoulder, said, "First, let’s make you a qualified leader. Katherine, follow me. I will teach you how to become a true queen."