This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 582 - 518: To have schemed to this extent

Chapter 582: Chapter 518: To have schemed to this extent

In the first layer of hell, Aphnas, the eternally burning flames and ceaseless battles were the themes of this hell.

As the Lord of the first layer of hell, Zariel’s personal preferences greatly influenced the atmosphere of hell. Of course, it also related to the geographical location of the first layer of hell.

Theoretically, the first layer of hell was hell’s entrance and exit; any devil who wanted to leave hell in their true form had to pass through the first layer. The battlefield of the blood war between the Abyssal Demons and hell was located in the Blood River Fortress on this level.

Zariel became the master of the first layer of hell also because of his belligerent nature.

Other Lords of Hell genuinely wouldn’t be able to sustain the constant and eternal bloodshed.

But recently, Zariel, who treated war as daily entertainment, had not visited the Blood River Fortress for a long time.

Here, the bodies of demons and devils piled up like mountains, but as long as the battle situation remained unchanged, this Grand Duke of Hell couldn’t be bothered to take a look.

Because he had more important matters to attend to – that was to find a way to repair a broken soul.

Inside Zariel’s official residence, three Grand Dukes of Hell were distressed over a broken soul.

The soul was fragmented, and one could barely make out a humanoid shape from the pieces.

This was the soul of the Lich. After reverting to a human form and dying, the sinner’s soul automatically fell into hell.

Based on the contract signed earlier, the breach by Amberser naturally placed him in the hands of Zariel and Goddess Tiamat.

Initially, the two Grand Dukes of Hell were ecstatic to the point of nearly starting an internal conflict over the soul.

Everyone knew that Amberser possessed the power to create Soul Currency; he was hell’s printing press, and now he had also fallen into hell as a prisoner. Whoever obtained him was essentially acquiring an infinite number of souls.

This temptation was probably irresistible even for the Lord of Hell.

But before the two could truly come to blows, they discovered that Amberser’s soul had already been so damaged that it was nearly collapsing.

It was questionable whether this thing could still be called a soul.

This caused Zariel and Goddess Tiamat to dare not use any punishment on Amberser’s soul; the thing was like a piece of glass barely held together by spider silk, ready to shatter completely with the slightest force.

That certainly wouldn’t do. Once the Lich completely perished, they would really suffer a loss.

Hell Bank had already started creating momentum; if the principal couldn’t keep up, it wouldn’t just be a loss of face, but the principal investment might suffer as well.

But repairing Amberser’s soul was not an easy task.

Theoretically, using a time regression could restore Amberser’s soul to a complete state.

But in reality, it was not feasible. One reason was the Dragon Blood Curse left by the Time Dragon, which itself contained Power of Time; even if Amberser’s soul was regressed, the Dragon Blood Curse would follow and rip his soul apart again, potentially leaving it unable to even maintain its current condition.

The second reason was that hell did not allow such operations on souls. This involved a rule issue; the soul of the sinner couldn’t be forgiven through simple means.

Would reversing time equate to undoing the sins committed? This was a method that entailed deleting memories, effectively making the sinner unaware of his crimes.

Of course, many Lords of Hell could perform this very precisely, choosing exactly to what extent they wanted to regress.

But sorry, the Lord of Hell states that once this started, there would be no end to it. As the Lord of Hell, don’t you think I know what you devils will do? Time regression and sin cleansing will become your newest service, becoming a strong push for every devil.

Then the entire hell would become a mess, leading to all sorts of troublesome issues.

So, the rules of hell are absolute.

When a sinner enters hell, whatever state they are in, that’s what they remain. Whatever sins they have committed, that’s what they are.

According to the Archduke of the Devils’ authority, you can punish, but also judiciously use or release, but you cannot perform acts that forgive sins. Forgiving sinners is the prerogative of the Lord of Hell, and other devils cannot interfere, or else it is considered rebellion.

Zariel and Goddess Tiamat were both very irritated.

Unable to turn back time, Amberser would remain in this fragile state, shattering upon the slightest touch, not to mention making him work. He would even need to constantly be provided with nutrients, lest his soul truly perish.

In this situation, Zariel had grown weary of watching the blood battles; after all, over the years, it was the same outcome—neither the devils nor the demons could best each other.

But even as the two Grand Dukes of Hell watched over Amberser’s shattered soul for a long time, they still could not think of any solution.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to turn to Mammon.

This Lord of Hell wasn’t the strongest among the devils, but he definitely had the widest connections and was the wealthiest. Perhaps this pure-blood and ancient devil could find a way where the two outsiders could not.

Mammon rushed over as soon as he heard about the situation.

Mammon, having seen much and known much about souls, was originally confident that he could repair Amberser’s broken soul.

But upon seeing the condition of Amberser’s soul, he too was at a loss.

"This... How can this be saved? It’s like using a red-hot iron to inscribe on hair without burning the hair off. Few among the gods could achieve this feat."

Zariel and Goddess Tiamat both thought this analogy was apt. Saving Amberser’s soul was indeed as difficult as described, and even being a Grand Duke of Hell, they were fundamentally unable to do it.

Mammon, with his big belly, paced back and forth anxiously in front of Amberser’s soul. After walking many rounds, Mammon finally said, "To save his soul, the choices are few; you all need to prepare yourselves mentally."

Upon hearing this, Goddess Tiamat asked hurriedly, "Are you thinking of waking Asmodeus?"

Mammon nodded. If this Lord of Hell agreed, saving Amberser’s soul would be much simpler. Now, the techniques available to the Lords of Hell were insufficient, and they dared not use forbidden methods.

Zariel immediately shook his head and decisively refused, saying, "No, disturbing his slumber is not something the three of us can bear."

The Lord of Hell had an incredibly fierce temper. Mammon had a good relationship with his daughter, but this father-in-law could punish at will despite Mammon being a Grand Duke of Hell, the master of the Third Level of Hell. Mammon would not even dare to fart.

Should he become angry, Goddess Tiamat might still flee to the Dragon Pantheon to cling on to survival, but Zariel would definitely be in huge trouble.

Just thinking of the Lord of Hell’s ferocity, memories stabbed into Zariel’s soul like knives, causing him to tremble all over.

Mammon did not insist, as he too knew how terrifying his former father-in-law was. Thus, he mentioned two other names.

"Alternatively, we could seek out Ogma, the Lord of Knowledge, who knows everything. He must know a way to fix this soul. Or, we could find Kranvo. The Grim Reaper can end all death. With his approval, even a Lich with a shattered soul could be brought back to life."

Ogma and Kranvo were easier to talk to than the Lord of Hell; at least if negotiations failed, they wouldn’t smack them dead.

But the problem was, these two were not so easily accessible.

Asking for their help would be even harder.

Goddess Tiamat couldn’t help but say, "You two, do you really want to suffer another big loss? To ask these two for help, how much would we have to pay? It’s this damned Lich who owes us a debt, yet we have to pay a huge price to bring him back to life? Don’t you think there’s something wrong here?"

These words stunned both Zariel and Mammon, but Mammon responded with a sneer, "Otherwise? If we save him, we still have the chance to recoup our investment from him. If not, it’s an outright loss. We’ve already signed several loan contracts with other Lords of Hell; when the time comes and we can’t produce the Soul Currency, are you prepared to default?"

Zariel and Goddess Tiamat remained silent.

Mammon, being a more straightforward businessman than the other two Grand Dukes of Hell, raised his hand and said, "Let’s vote. Continue investing, or give up? I’ll go first, I want to save him, and then squeeze every last bit of value out of him!"

Zariel and Goddess Tiamat struggled for a long time, but in the end, they too raised their hands.

"Very well, it’s unanimous. Then I’ll go and find a way," Mammon said, eager to teleport away; whether it was Ogma or Kranvo, neither was easy to reach, and he might have to call in some favors.

After Mammon left, the two Grand Dukes of Hell couldn’t help but glare fiercely at Amberser’s broken soul. This damned Lich, could this also be part of his calculations?

Knowing his own doom was imminent, he intentionally delayed the final payment, now forcing them to collaborate and bring him back to life?

Could he have calculated this far?

Once he was revived, they would definitely extract every last drop of blood from him!