This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 339 - 316: The Future Interwoven with Points and Lines

Chapter 339: Chapter 316: The Future Interwoven with Points and Lines

Amberser’s power of fate was to bring countless possibilities into one, artificially locking destiny down to a single possibility.

Mr. Misfortune’s ability was to shield one of the countless possibilities, making it forever unattainable for the target.

Therefore, Amberser preferred to offer several options during divinations, allowing fate to make choices for him. Mr. Misfortune, on the other hand, would turn the countless possibilities into threads for fate to tailor down to the last one.

The outcomes seemed the same, but the essences were starkly different.

Though separated by hundreds of years, their collaboration was as tacit as if they had worked together millions of times. The threads of fate were being extinguished one by one, and the Dice of Destiny were stopping their spins. All possibilities converged, countless scenes were born and extinguished, until one finally remained.

It was a terrifyingly shocking image.

An unbelievably immense silver-white dragon soared across the sky, while below was the endless ranks of the Paladin Legion.

Mr. Misfortune exclaimed in surprise, "An invasion of Laine? Isn’t that something we already knew?"

Amberser was also puzzled. How could their collaboration produce such a scene, especially of a matter already known? But this overly gigantic Time Dragon was quite frightening; it must be what the Magic Dragon Armament looked like in use.

No wonder it was Laine’s National Guardian Artifact; its presence was truly majestic. Just one breath from the Time Dragon, and an entire city would be finished.

But what did this image represent?

Both Amberser and Mr. Misfortune began to fall deep into thought. This was the most crucial stage of a prophecy—interpretation.

Countless Diviner Mages have faltered at this stage; one misinterpretation, and the outcome would be dire.

After a long contemplation of the image, Mr. Misfortune was the first to speak, "There’s something off about this scene. I recognize this mountain; it’s already within the Kingdom of Impure Hymns. This means the Laine People have reached our doorstep."

Amberser reacted immediately, "The Gates of Hell! The Gates of Hell are gone!"

The borders of the Kingdom of Impure Hymns were lined with Gates of Hell. If Laine were advancing, there should be a sky-spanning demon army here. Why was it so eerily empty?

That meant, by the time of Laine’s invasion, the problem with the Gates of Hell had already been completely resolved.

"Did we resolve the issue with the Gates of Hell?" Amberser questioned doubtfully.

Mr. Misfortune rolled his eyes and retorted, "Seventy-eight Gates of Hell, how would you resolve that? They were constructed with the nation’s full might; what could we possibly do to resolve it?"

This was a grand scheme vital to the nation’s fate, part of operations for so many years; how could two Legendary individuals solve it?

Once constructed, the Gates of Hell would enter a state of phasing, nearly immune to all attacks. They would remain unaffected by the outside world until actively opened. Once activated, hordes of hellish creatures would pour out in such a short span, it was impossible to destroy them in time.

Dealing with one or two wasn’t too daunting; you could strategize and dismantle them upon their opening—between the two of them, there might be a sliver of chance.

But seventy-eight gates...? Just the thought was terrifying enough to exhaust them to death without solving anything.

Amber was somewhat astonished. Seventy-eight Gates of Hell—those Tiflins were really playing with fire. One small mistake and everything could be utterly doomed.

But Amberser was not discouraged because the prophecy had already proven the Gates’ disappearance, indicating that success was guaranteed. The only matters were figuring out how it was done and who accomplished it.

After contemplating for a moment, Amberser said to Mr. Misfortune, "Since the two of us can’t do it, then it wasn’t resolved by us. We should think in this direction, to find that individual capable of dealing with these Gates of Hell. Then the whole story should become clear. Does the Council of Injustice have the means to dismantle all these Gates of Hell at once?"

Mr. Misfortune shook his head, "No, from the start, we never considered dismantling them. Either Laine would come, and we’d fight to the bitter end, or we’d use these Gates of Hell to defend until either Laine deteriorated or our Kingdom of Impure Hymns collapsed."

Amberser sighed and said, "If it’s neither the deeds of the Council of Injustice nor ours... Eliminating all impossibilities, there seems to be only one answer left."

Mr. Misfortune frowned and said, "The Laine Empire?"

Amberser nodded and replied, "Exactly, Laine found a way to eliminate these Gates of Hell, which is why they could organize such a massive invasion. Although we don’t know how it was achieved, it’s the only possibility left. It certainly wasn’t the work of deities."

Mr. Misfortune also felt Amberser’s speculation was plausible, but what concerned him wasn’t that.

"Arthas, what we originally sought was the contract signed between Zariel and Domino Lauri. Now, what use is knowing Laine can resolve the Gates of Hell? We should deduce the content of the contract from this scene."

Amberser shook his head, "That’s not necessary, delving into details is pointless. We already know that Domino Lauri used the entire Kingdom of Impure Hymns as a bargaining chip, deceiving the Council of Injustice into signing the contract. Hence, all their subsequent actions would be to facilitate the fulfillment of the contract. Undoubtedly, the Gates of Hell are part of the contract’s stipulations.

"The construction of the Gates of Hell may have been a demand made by Zariel to Domino Lauri, and since there aren’t enough of them yet, Domino Lauri is pushing for more plans to construct these gates. So, until the number of Gates of Hell is sufficient, this contract won’t take effect. And if Laine can eliminate these Gates of Hell, then Zariel’s plan is very likely to fail,"

Mr. Misfortune, however, didn’t have the calmness of Amberser—this was his homeland, the place he was born and had lived for hundreds of years. Concern leads to chaos. Mr. Misfortune really couldn’t speak about it as lightly as Amberser did.

Mr. Misfortune retorted, "If we cannot confirm their plan, how do you know the disappearance of the Gates of Hell isn’t part of the scheme? What if the contract requires them to protect these gates?"

"Haha, you don’t understand. Devil’s contracts are quite tricky, but it also depends on what the stake is. Zariel wants the entire Kingdom of Impure Hymns. With such a huge gain, if they still engaged in such deceitful contracts, Aeo would not agree. The bigger the bet, the fairer the devil’s contract has to be.

"Leading a mere mortal to fall only requires him to sign when drunk. To plunge an entire kingdom into Hell needs an equivalent exchange. No matter if the thirteen members of the council were forced or tempted to sign, the exchange on both sides should be somewhat equal, otherwise Aeo would slap Zariel to death. Building and protecting the Gates of Hell is nowhere near as significant as an entire kingdom; just think about it, and you’ll know it’s impossible,"

Mr. Misfortune hadn’t studied the behavior patterns of devils and couldn’t discern whether Amberser was telling the truth or not, but he could only tentatively trust Amberser’s judgment—Amberser wouldn’t lie to him about this.

Mr. Misfortune frowned in thought, muttering to himself, "A cost equivalent to an entire kingdom... Gates of Hell... Laine..."

After muttering for a while, Mr. Misfortune suddenly widened his eyes and said to Amberser, "Could the price Zariel proffered be the guardianship of Impure Chant?"

Amberser was stunned for a moment but quickly understood Mr. Misfortune’s point.

"You mean, Zariel could be using these Gates of Hell to fend off Laine’s assault, which is equivalent to helping the Kingdom of Impure Hymns avoid the crisis of annihilation. Saving a kingdom and then winning it over... That’s a reasonable guess, Senior Brother; you are indeed sharp to have thought of this,"

Mr. Misfortune didn’t look the least bit proud, instead he told Amberser, "Because in my heart, this kingdom is more important than anything. In your eyes, this kingdom hardly weighs anything."

Only by understanding the value of this kingdom could one guess what price Zariel was willing to pay. As an outsider, Amberser naturally wasn’t as sensitive as Mr. Misfortune.

Following Mr. Misfortune’s line of reasoning, Amberser deduced, "That means if Laine takes care of the Gates of Hell, Zariel will not be able to protect Impure Chant, and the contract will automatically become invalid. But now the question arises, without the Gates of Hell, how will Tiflin withstand Laine’s Paladin Legion?"

If Zariel blocks Laine, Impure Chant will fall to Hell; if Zariel cannot stop Laine, Tiflin is certainly doomed to be destroyed, and most of the deceased Tiflin will still fall into Hell... no matter how you calculate it, Zariel wins anyway.

As expected of a Hell Lord – this business is like picking up money for nothing.

But suddenly, Mr. Misfortune confidently said, "I’ve got it; just defend against Laine’s assault after the Laine People have dealt with the Gates of Hell."

Amberser asked, "Don’t just repeat what I said; do you have a plan?"

"Not yet, but... at least we can try. Wars between kingdoms aren’t easily decided. How many years would Laine need to defeat this kingdom completely, even if it attacks with full force? It took them so many years just to beat the Dwarves. If we can hold out, there will surely be a chance for a turnaround!"

Indeed, there’s a strategy here: sacrifice a few border cities, engage in scorched earth tactics, and defend city by city, which will certainly wear down the power of the Paladins.

With Laine having enemies on all sides, as long as the battle isn’t one-sided, the other kingdoms may not stand idly by.

If the Dwarves and Orcs strike back opportunistically, Laine might not be able to withstand it.

You have to admit, Mr. Misfortune’s method does carry a certain chance of success.

"Enough talk; I’m off to make war preparations. The disappearance of the Gates of Hell will certainly unnerve the people of the kingdom. If we don’t prepare in advance, our army will collapse at the first blow,"

With that, Mr. Misfortune hurried out of Amberser’s private space.

Amberser didn’t stop him as Mr. Misfortune’s heart was already in turmoil, unsuitable for discussing a second problem.

They had figured out Zariel’s contract, but what about the contract of another Hell Lord?

When Amberser entered the Kingdom of Impure Hymns, the Tiflin guarding the Teleportation Circle had him sign a devil’s pact; it wasn’t just inscribed by Zariel but also by the Evil Dragon Goddess Tiamat.

In this deal, what role does Goddess Tiamat play, and what safeguards has she buried?

This question could only be figured out by Amberser himself. Destiny gave him a discount, allowing him to see a fragment of the future, but he couldn’t foolishly divine a second time—that would surely earn him the slap of the Goddess of Fate.

But now, without any clues, the question about the Deity could only be answered by consulting a Deity.

Amberser stroked his chin, thinking, and came up with a very risky method.

"How about, asking Shael for advice?"