This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 438 - 410: These Familiar Tactics

Chapter 438: Chapter 410: These Familiar Tactics

Monger Greyriver, this name was originally considered "well-known" in the Fury Tide Kingdom, but as with many famous figures in history, they are usually quickly forgotten after death.

However, Monger Greyriver was different because the Fury Tide Kingdom had erected a monument for him.

This made Melina’s task of gathering information extremely easy.

As a person of merit, Monger Greyriver’s life story was inscribed on the monument, essentially becoming a tourist attraction. When Melina pretended to tour Storm City, people even took the initiative to bring her here to see the monument and acquaint her with this hero.

Thus, Melina effortlessly obtained the crucial information she needed.

The King had originally arranged for Princess Ariel to marry this Monger Greyriver, but this hero unexpectedly passed away before the wedding day. According to the Fury Tide Kingdom’s tradition, regardless of whether the ceremony had already been held, as long as Ariel swore to the storm that she was still willing to marry Monger Greyriver, she could become a widow, a marital fact recognized by kingdom law.

Therefore, as long as Ariel nodded her head, she would be a widow, no longer needing to worry about Aeolus’s marriage proposals.

Yet, after the death of Monger Greyriver, the King stopped mentioning the marriage arrangement, and Ariel had not completed the ceremony, leading many to believe that Ariel was not prepared to dedicate her life to a dead man.

This was understandable since even a kingdom’s hero could not expect the only heir to the throne to remain a widow—after all, who would inherit the Fury Tide Kingdom’s throne in the future?

Following Monger Greyriver’s death, Ariel threw herself back into public duties without mentioning anything related to marriage. Everyone assumed Ariel was overwhelmed by grief and that it would take her a few more years to recover, by which time Ariel would be in her early thirties—a significantly old age for a maiden in the Fury Tide Kingdom.

In any case, everyone was concerned about Princess Ariel’s marital affairs, especially since she was from the royal family that truly cared for the common people for the first time in the kingdom’s history, and Ariel’s reputation was now higher than her father’s.

This also made it quite convenient for Melina to gather information, as a few questions to passersby yielded a wealth of intelligence about Ariel.

Once Melina organized this information and presented it to the Withered Rose, the Undead Queen frowned deeply.

With concern, Melina said, "Mother, Monger Greyriver is already dead, isn’t that troublesome? Princess Ariel cannot possibly marry a dead man, she will still be harassed by Aeolus."

Withered Rose nodded and replied, "It is troublesome, but not for the reason you mentioned. Perhaps you don’t realize that in the eyes of the living, a dead man often becomes harder to forget. Aeolus could never win against a rival who lives only in memory..."

Human memory is a magical thing; it tends to unconsciously glorify and idealize what once existed. A hero encountered in one’s youth becomes etched in the heart after death.

Withered Rose herself once admired Arthur Laine’s prestige until later... Even though she now harbors deep hatred for the surname Laine, Withered Rose still holds a measure of respect for that ancestor.

The same must be true for Ariel. It’s not often that a hero comes along to be one’s husband, and his sudden death would magnify the image of Monger Greyriver to the point where no one else could capture Ariel’s interest.

This was a good thing; at least Ariel herself had built a thick wall around her heart that outsiders found hard to penetrate. But there was another problem: Monger Greyriver was, after all, dead, and it’s uncertain how long this effect would last.

The culture of the Fury Tide Kingdom did not emphasize constancy; widows remarrying and widowers taking new wives were common occurrences. So, one couldn’t be absolutely sure that Ariel would not marry Aeolus.

After listening to Withered Rose’s explanation, Melina said with some lack of understanding, "So, if Monger Greyriver could be brought back to life, would that solve the issue?"

Withered Rose replied, "You want to resurrect him as an Undead? It’s been too long, his soul has either ascended to the Divine Realm or descended to Hell, we can’t find it now."

With regret, Melina said, "That’s true. Sigh, if my father were here, he might have a solution, right?"

Whenever faced with a problem, Melina’s instinct was to turn to Amberser, who in her mind was almost omnipotent.

Withered Rose was about to say that it was unnecessary to trouble that busy man for such a trivial matter, but then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she picked up a document from the table and began to read it carefully.

It was Monger Greyriver’s life story, meticulously recorded on the monument.

After a long look, Withered Rose said with puzzlement, "This Monger Greyriver, why does he seem like one of your father’s aliases?"

Shocked, Melina exclaimed, "What?! Monger Greyriver is my father? But he’s dead. No, that’s not right; did he become a Lich after death?"

Withered Rose gave Melina a glance and sighed, "How long has Monger Greyriver been dead? Your father has been a Lich for many years; the timelines don’t match up."

Choosing to close her mouth, Melina felt her brain had stopped working. It was better to listen to her mother.

Withered Rose pointed at the data and said, "Look at the records here, Monger Greyriver is an orphan, with unknown parents, which perfectly fits the habit of your father’s fake identities. Then, in his middle years, he suddenly emerged, climbing the ranks of the navy very quickly. But according to the records, Monger Greyriver doesn’t have any notable achievements to speak of, and he’s certainly no match for the Silent Night Pirate Group."

"There’s something wrong here, how did he get promoted without any achievements? Unless, like your father, he has a mouth that’s been blessed by the deity."

"And then there’s this last part, Monger Greyriver reached an understanding with the Silent Night Pirate Group and solved the problem that had threatened the Fury Tide Kingdom for years. I don’t know the details right off the bat, but your father said it was because he had negotiated with Aige."

Amberser is usually a very low-profile person who never brags about his great achievements unless he’s trying to swindle someone. He wouldn’t want people to resist and make it inconvenient to dupe them next time.

That’s why he reports his swindling of Laine as achievements to Withered Rose, so the Undead Queen will continue to send him money.

Other than that, with details related to the Silent Night Pirate Group and the Fury Tide Kingdom, Amberser would seldom mention them to unrelated people. There are only so many ways to deceive, and if you give too much away, it gets harder to come up with new tricks later on.

So, Withered Rose really didn’t know that Monger Greyriver was one of Amberser’s aliases until she read more and more and found things didn’t add up. Wasn’t this undeniably the style of that guy?

Infiltrating a kingdom, climbing to high rank, and then selling off the kingdom, having the victims count the money for him.

This happened with Silvermoon Tribunal, the Dwarf Kingdom, and it seemed like Emerald Dream Forest had also fallen for Amberser’s tricks... Such a familiar operation, such familiar results, Withered Rose couldn’t believe there was a second con artist in the world capable of such a clever way of stealing a kingdom.

Melina nodded incessantly, and although she hadn’t pondered deeply, she strongly agreed with Withered Rose’s opinion – the greatest swindler in the world was her father, none else.

To deceive a kingdom and still retain the identity of a hero, only her father could do that, after all, he’s the one who repeatedly duped the Goddess herself – what’s a mere Fury Tide Kingdom in comparison?

Although these were speculations, confirming them was simple. Withered Rose activated her magic mirror, and within it appeared the figure of Amberser.

"Why are you suddenly contacting me? Has something unexpected happened with the Fury Tide Kingdom?" Amberser asked curiously.

Withered Rose asked, "Is Monger Greyriver one of your fake identities?"

Amberser in the mirror fell silent for a while and then said a bit awkwardly, "You found out, huh? Sorry about that, yes, that’s indeed one of my fake identities. Just a small business I’ve been doing in the Fury Tide Kingdom."

Melina cheered upon hearing this, "That’s great! So we just need to have you, Father, continue playing Monger Greyriver, and solving the problem will be as simple as having Princess Ariel marry you, right?"

Amberser looked at Ariel dumbfounded. What nonsense was this child spouting?

Withered Rose also looked helplessly at her silly daughter. Did she even know what she was talking about?

Withered Rose turned to Amberser and said, "Alright, I got it. I’ll handle the problem here. Have you and Aige reached your destination?"

Amberser quickly skipped over this topic, replying to Withered Rose, "We got held up a bit on Gold Coin Island. I’ve just set off with Aige. Something’s not right; Aige says the conflict among the Murlocs seems to have intensified. We’re not sure of the cause yet and can only speculate that it has something to do with the exile from the Kingdom of Impure Hymns."

"The exile of the Kingdom of Impure Hymns?" Withered Rose echoed puzzledly, "It should not mean this kingdom itself, but rather that after the kingdom left, the territory became a vast ocean, right? A new sea area means new territory, and these Murlocs are fighting over new living spaces?"

Amberser nodded, "That’s pretty much it. The only thing is, this conflict has the shadow of deity involvement. We’re now investigating which one of the Ocean Deities has entered the fray, and it probably won’t be easy to resolve."

Withered Rose nodded, "You do your part, and leave the Fury Tide Kingdom to me."

"Thanks. I feel relieved with you on it."

Amberser was pleased to cooperate with someone as clever as Withered Rose. The Elegy Poetry Society was filled either with inscrutable big shots or with people like Hake Stone who, other than being comical, were of no real use.

Withered Rose was the partner who gave him the least trouble and the greatest returns.

After the communication was cut off, Withered Rose finally said to Melina, "Don’t you remember my advice to you? Listen more, think more, speak less."

Melina quickly shut her mouth, still unclear about what she’d said wrong, but it was best not to upset her mother; the Dark Magic Power on her seemed almost unstable.

Having scolded her thoughtless daughter, Withered Rose pondered on how to use the character of Monger Greyriver to solve the problem. Did she really have to help him find a wife?