This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 416 - 388: Even the Lord of the Dawn Doesn’t Believe It

Chapter 416: Chapter 388: Even the Lord of the Dawn Doesn’t Believe It

James Watson was puzzled by Amberser’s confidence.

"Do you really know what the Blood of Rosanda is?" James Watson asked.

Amberser answered, "I’ve heard of it, it’s a sword stained with the blood of the Lord of the Dawn, right?"

"It’s not that simple," James Watson said with utmost seriousness, "the Laine Empire has three Divine Artifacts. The first is naturally the Magic Dragon Armament, and the second is the Crown of Rosanda, which can convert the faith of the people into the Force of the Holy Light. But these two artifacts are generally unusable, so the most used over the years has been the Blood of Rosanda."

Amberser nodded and then said, "Master Morgan was killed by a Silvermoon Knight with this Divine Artifact, I have heard this story."

The Laine Empire wouldn’t disclose the details of the extermination of Undead, but Withered Rose was very clear about it, as she was a witness at the time.

Withered Rose had initially fled Laine, being pursued and forced to enter Gloomyland, and threw herself into the Mercury Sea.

Master Morgan protected the soul of Withered Rose and helped her transform into a Lich.

Master Morgan was the author of the theory of Spirit Puppets and was a powerful Lich himself, commanding countless Undead and many Spirit Puppets that did not fear the Holy Light.

When the Silvermoon Knights entered Gloomyland—a labyrinthine place that limited Laine’s military advantage—they suffered heavy losses after repeated ambushes and attrition warfare.

With Withered Rose by his side, her Gaze of Death was also a bane to the living.

But even so, the Silvermoon Knight ultimately made his way to Master Morgan.

Not only because the Silvermoon Knight was powerful, but more importantly, because of the Blood of Rosanda.

"If I am not mistaken, the Blood of Rosanda has two effects. It allows the user to resurrect after death and also blinds the Undead. Am I correct?" Amberser asked.

James Watson was initially surprised, but then, considering this Lich’s connections, it seemed not so strange after all.

"Indeed, the resurrection effect is rather secondary. If you can kill the wielder of the Divine Artifact, they would just die again. The truly most powerful effect is the second one, the Blood of Rosanda can block the perception of Undead.

"You become not only blind but deaf. You would be completely void, unable to even feel the destruction of your own soul. This is also the mercy of the Lord of the Dawn, bestowing upon you an end without pain."

The Undead don’t have eyes or ears, they perceive the world through their senses, like reading a highly detailed manual. But if they lose perception, Amberser wouldn’t even be able to tell whether he was lying down or standing.

This is precisely why the Blood of Rosanda is so powerful, making it the true bane of the Undead.

Seeing that Amberser wasn’t speaking, James Watson continued, "Even without mentioning these two effects, the Blood of Rosanda was originally the sword of the Holy King, the blade that slew the Magic Dragon Tyrant, stained with the blood of the Magic Dragon, bearing an eternal Acceleration Spell effect, and resistant to most temporal forces..."

The former Supreme Decree rambled on, discussing the impressive aspects of the Divine Artifact.

Amberser, growing impatient, said to James Watson, "Why say so much? I’m not planning to face this Divine Artifact myself."

A joke, to face the Blood of Rosanda, which is specially effective against the Undead? Only a fool would charge headfirst into that.

"You’ve set up such a grand stage just to show off your power. You won’t be able to avoid battle."

"Heh, I never said I would avoid battle. I was a bit worried that these seven Legends might be troublesome, but listening to your fervent introduction, it seems like the Legendary Holy Warrior and Light Priest aren’t important, only the artifact is. In that case, they will only lose more miserably.

"Does the Lord of the Dawn teach you to pin your hopes of victory on an artifact? When it comes to the battlefield, if the true Divine Artifact encountered any issues, guess what would happen to them?"

Amberser’s words left James Watson momentarily stunned, and he said with confusion, "An issue with the Divine Artifact? You can... wait a minute, did you receive His oracle?!"

James Watson was shocked by his own thoughts. A Lich receiving an oracle from the Lord of the Dawn? Was it the Lord of the Dawn who informed him that the Divine Artifact was unusable?

He would not have believed it before, but now that James Watson knew about the corruption of the Laine Royalty, it was uncertain whether Laine could still enjoy the protection of the Lord of the Dawn.

Not to mention that the soul of Arthur Laine was in Amberser’s hands, it was really uncertain which side the Lord of the Dawn would take.

Amberser patted James Watson’s shoulder and said, "What are you thinking about? Even if the Lord of the Dawn wanted to give me an oracle, I couldn’t bear it. Holy Light and Dark Magic are fundamentally opposing energies; if He descended upon me, I would explode instantly."

James Watson breathed a little sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although correct, he still felt like Amberser might have some outrageous method up his sleeve.

"What exactly are you planning?" James asked with curiosity.

"If I tell you, can you guarantee not to disclose it?" Amberser asked.

James Watson said, "You know my character; what I promise, I can deliver. Moreover, you’re well aware of my current status. You can tell me everything."

After speaking, James Watson looked at Amberser with sincere eyes.

Amberser said, "You lad, just make a promise first before you try to use words to trap me. I got tired to that trick three hundred years ago!"

After all that talk, James Watson still hadn’t promised to absolutely keep everything secret—they were just distractions to hurry Amberser into explaining. Even the Supreme Decree had learned to deceive with words.

James Watson’s face flushed red, indeed he had tried to steer the conversation elsewhere, and unexpectedly, Amberser had caught on immediately. This Lich really was cunning!

"So what exactly do you want? I’ve come here from miles away to remind you, and you don’t even have that bit of trust?" James Watson said, agitated.

"Oh, moral blackmail, is it? Have you ever seen an undead preach morals to you? If you want to know, it’s simple. Swear to the Lord of the Dawn that no matter how malicious, cruel, or devious the plan is, you mustn’t tell anyone by any means, even if you talk in your sleep, you’ll be considered to have broken your oath."

Breaking an oath would land one in Hell, especially for a believer swearing to a Deity, violating it afterward would have even more dreadful consequences.

James Watson had thought that just keeping silent would suffice, but hearing Amberser add so many prefixes—malicious and cruel—he really dared not take an oath.

Even though he had left Laine, he was still a follower of the Lord of the Dawn. If Amberser’s plan turned out to be extremely cruel, he, as a Light Priest, couldn’t pretend he didn’t see it, nor could he stand idly by.

Yet, if he backed down like a coward and overlooked such wicked acts, wouldn’t he also betray the teachings of the Lord of the Dawn?

James Watson was tormented by inner conflict, feeling as if he had reached a crossroads in life, utterly directionless.

If he didn’t stop Amberser, a very cruel plan might be carried out. Stopping Amberser however, would allow the Laine Royalty to continue corrupting the Empire, causing everyone to degenerate.

Such moral questioning was particularly effective for someone of high morals like James Watson, whose heart ached, overwhelmed as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

If he were still the Supreme Decree, he could have left everything to the laws of Laine to judge, but after his resignation, those cold yet effective rules were no longer relevant, plunging James Watson into confusion.

James Watson wavered, unable to commit to doing good without the ability, yet equally incapable of being bad, making it impossible for him to lead the Laine People in a revolution.

Amberser took merry pleasure in watching James Watson struggle, thinking the old chap should pay back for the rejection he had suffered back then.

Watching the old man clutch at his heart, looking near to breath his last out of anger, Amberser then said, "Here’s what we’ll do. We’ve been old friends for a while, and out of respect for that old friendship, I’ll give you a discount. I definitely can’t tell you the details of the plan, but if you give me a thousand Gold Coins, I’ll spare a Laine person’s life. If you dare give me tens of millions of Gold Coins, this Laine army won’t need to die at all. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, James Watson exploded, "Where would I get the money to give you!"

He had resigned, even his salary was gone. James Watson never engaged in corruption or bribery, and now, after leaving Laine, he truly had nothing, not even a single Gold Coin to offer.

Amberser instantly lost interest and said to James Watson, "Then you can just roll out of here; I don’t provide room and board!"

After saying this, he had someone escort him away, no longer bothering with him.

Without any benefit, even Deities would ignore you, let alone a Lich.

James Watson was driven out by a group of undead, boarding the same vessel he had arrived on.

Watching the small island vanish back into its illusion, James Watson couldn’t resist opening a Magic Pouch, taking out a Magic Mirror.

Amberser had previously distributed these mirrors for free in order to boost the God of Alchemy’s power quickly, giving them away to many people, including James Watson.

He could have communicated directly with Amberser through the Magic Mirror, but upon reflection, James Watson decided to personally deliver the message. He didn’t trust the safety of such alchemic products; for such critical news, it was better to deliver it in person.

Yet, he found a need for it now.

However, James Watson wasn’t seeking out Amberser, but rather contacted his son, Kaid Watson.

Kaid’s drunken face appeared on the Magic Mirror, earning him a fierce scolding from James Watson. Ever since he was young, Kaid was the most indulgent and lethargic. But this time, there was no one else James could consult.

His eldest had completely severed ties with him; Allen was too busy to touch the ground, and although Kaid was lazy, James Watson knew he was the most intelligent of the family members and currently had the most disposable income.

After telling Kaid of his predicament, James Watson asked, "How much money do you have? Lend it all to me. This Lich is insistent on money; with the money, we could discover his plan."

Kaid Watson, still not quite sober, hastily replied, "Father, what are you thinking? You’ve been duped by that Lich again. You’ve told me—the Heroic Spirit of the Holy King is voluntarily in his possession. I don’t know what plans the Lich has, but since the Holy King has acknowledged the Lich’s good nature and justice, who are we to doubt him?

"With no disrespect intended, Father, have the people you’ve saved in your lifetime ever amounted to a fraction of what the Lich has? Is he plotting a massacre? The Lord of the Dawn wouldn’t believe it."