This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 592 - 527: The Drama of Master and Disciple Turning Against Each Other

Chapter 592: Chapter 527: The Drama of Master and Disciple Turning Against Each Other

Zariel was yet unaware that his most admired warrior was stirring up a war. Had it been a short time ago, he would have been quite intrigued to see what Melina was capable of accomplishing.

If Melina could truly unify the wasteland, Zariel would have gladly granted her the legitimate dominion, making her a true Lord of Hell.

But now, Zariel was merely anxiously urging Mammon to find a way to resurrect Amberser every single day.

The Lich’s soul was growing weaker, and even without doing anything, the soul was gradually fragmenting. If this continued, soon there wouldn’t even be any soul remnants left.

Mammon was also in a hurry. Being an original and wealthiest Devil of the Third Level of Hell, it still wasn’t easy for him to meet with the Grim Reaper Kranvo and the Lord of Knowledge, Ogma.

Kranvo wasn’t high-handed, but his position as the Grim Reaper was too special, a Deity whose every action could cause a cascade of reactions. After several incidents and warnings from Aeo, Kranvo had been quiet for a long time. All attempts Mammon made to send messages to him ended up lost without response.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the Deity Position of Death was operating smoothly, Mammon would have been worried that Kranvo had been overthrown by that clerk.

With the Grim Reaper non-responsive, Ogma was even harder to find.

The Lord of Knowledge belonged to the Absolute Neutral Camp, a Deity who was perhaps the most all-knowing beneath Aeo. The emergence of every new discipline of knowledge was sensed by Ogma, who also decided whether it could be disseminated.

Theoretically, if a genius Mage invented a new incantation, Ogma had the authority to interfere. If he disapproved, even the Magic Goddess had to respect his decision and ban the incantation.

When Amberser initially used the "World Forget Me" Magic Scroll, it only made others forget about his ability to perform potent Illusion Techniques. If Ogma were to intervene, he could erase all relevant memories from everyone and even completely eradicate the concept of illusion techniques, turning all knowledgeable mages into simpletons or common folks.

Like the various boundary-breaking experiments previously conducted by Alchemy City, Ogma had once banned the wisdom of all Alchemists, stalling the progress of Alchemy for many years. Later, when Alchemy City continued its reckless actions, it was Ogma’s decision again to punish, making those Alchemists understand that some taboo knowledge should not exist in the world.

It was finally the God of Alchemy who intervened, turning destruction into banishment.

However, holding steadfast to his attitude of absolute neutrality, Ogma had greatly disdained Lady of Mist Laila’s deceptive Deity Position. Yet, Ogma never laid a finger on her, simply because Laila had never actively disrupted the dissemination of knowledge.

On the contrary, Prince of Lies Hircine was hated by Ogma for having fabricated multiple illusions that Laila was still alive, spreading false knowledge and covertly taking over Laila’s leftover worship.

Altering truth and spreading false knowledge were the actions that Ogma detested.

Hircine, also a Deity with potent Divine Power, found it easy to hide if confronted, but he couldn’t just show up anywhere he liked, for the retribution from the Lord of Knowledge was bound to follow, severely impacting his worship in the Mortal Realm.

If not for Hircine’s lesser reliance on worship, he would probably struggle to maintain his level of Divine Power.

All things considered, Ogma had his own principles of conduct. Even if Mammon offered everything he owned, Ogma wouldn’t give him a second glance, preferring to listen to any new pieces the bards of the Mortal Realm had come up with.

Unfortunately, all under Mammon’s command were Goblins who dealt with accounting, and Bards rarely ventured down to Hell, making it impossible to find an artist talented enough to catch Ogma’s attention.

While Mammon was caught in his frustration, a Divine Being approached him.

The God of Alchemy, an increasingly indispensable Deity, created an avatar to descend into Hell and personally visit Mammon.

When Mammon heard of the God of Alchemy’s visit, his belly shook.

This Deity, rumored to have a good relationship with Ogma, why would he suddenly seek him out unless it was about that Lich?

The Gods all knew, the God of Alchemy and that Lich were quite close, even possibly closer than the typical relationship between a God and his Chosen. However, what exactly their relationship entailed could only be gleaned through snippets of rumors.

Now, with the God of Alchemy knocking at his door, was he perhaps looking to purchase the Lich’s soul?

Mammon immediately emitted a greedy laugh—if it were so, then he could severely overcharge him.

What surprised Mammon, however, was that the God of Alchemy wasn’t there to exchange for the Lich’s soul. Instead, he had brought Mammon a peculiar device.

Right now, this device was set before both Mammon and Zariel.

It resembled a kind of alchemy reactor, but it was much larger in size and the strange alloy was covered with various special crystals.

Zariel curiously said, "The God of Alchemy said that if we just put the Lich’s soul into it, it can be restored?"

Mammon nodded and said, "Although I don’t quite understand the specifics, that’s essentially the gist of it, the Lich would resurrect in a brand new form."

Zariel ran his hand over the huge alchemy reactor. He could sense the manifold complex energy circuits inside, including many structures of Divine Arts. Though he understood most of them, when mixed together, they became incomprehensible.

Zariel couldn’t help but remark, "Alchemy really is growing more and more extravagant."

Mammon felt very sentimental. "Who would have thought that a weak Deity could grow into Intermediate Divine Power in such a short time? Moreover, the last time I met a fragment of their essence, I had a premonition that they would soon rise to possess powerful Divine Power."

Zariel was startled.

"So soon?!"

Mammon said enviously, "The development of alchemy can no longer be stopped. I must say, their disciple is incredible. No one could have imagined that when money and alchemy are thoroughly integrated, it would become such a massive entity. Alchemy makes money, capital rushes into alchemy to make more money, and then even more money is invested... This snowball keeps rolling down, and no one can stop it."

The disciple he spoke of was, of course, Amberser. While Alchemy City used to make money, their earnings were purely academic. They did not value commercial development and even treated merchants as servants.

Billionaires had to bow in front of any alchemist, or they would be expelled from Alchemy City.

The scholars maintained a superior stance that was rigidly enforced, turning what could have been a mutually beneficial cooperation into a unilateral exploitation. It was Amberser who broke this situation, not only consuming the benefits after the disappearance of Alchemy City, but perfectly integrating capital and technology.

Others could not learn this because Amberser himself was a blend of capitalist and scholar.

Thus, while Amberser was still in the Mortal Realm, any help given by the God of Alchemy was unsurprising. Where else could they find such a good follower? Other Deities were almost driven to mental distortion by envy.

Zariel’s frown deepened, addressing Mammon, "That makes even less sense. The God of Alchemy must know what we want to do. How could they possibly help?"

What good could Devils do? Surely they resurrected Amberser’s soul only to torture and exploit him mercilessly. How could the God of Alchemy bear to see their best student become a tool in the hands of Devils?

Mammon stroked his chin and said, "You are right. I’ve tested the God of Alchemy’s attitude. They even didn’t try to buy back his soul from me, which is very unreasonable."

Zariel said doubtfully, "Could they have some scheme? Could this thing allow their disciple to resurrect and escape from Hell?"

"What are you thinking of? The rules set by my father-in-law are unbreakable, not even by Ogma. Whatever this thing is, sinners’ souls are bound to be locked by the Lord of Hell. They might escape from our grasp at most but can’t leave Hell casually. As long as it remains in Hell and we control the unfinished contract, how difficult can it be to hold onto this little fellow?"

Mammon was greatly wary and also trusting of his cruel father-in-law, trusting his powerful authority, which was key to the stable operation of Hell. Let alone that the God of Alchemy is only an Intermediate Divine Power, even if they actually rise to a powerful Divine Power, they cannot break the rules of the Lord of Hell.

However, Zariel did not think so. How few were the Devils that smuggled themselves out of Hell each year?

Although this was a loophole left intentionally by the Lord of Hell, meant for those ambitious Devils, a loophole meant there was a possibility. Considering the Lich’s cunningness, might they have negotiated with the God of Alchemy to escape using this method?

If Amberser managed to escape from Hell, catching him to fulfill the contract would be much more troublesome.

Mammon pointed to the alchemy furnace and said, "We can’t just not use it because we suspect something, right? If we don’t bring him back now, we’ll be at a loss."

Mammon held no grievances against Amberser, his heart was only on making money, which made him much more decisive than Zariel.

But Zariel shook his head, "Don’t hurry, we’re not missing these two days. I’ll go inquire a bit, at least to understand what the God of Alchemy is thinking."

Zariel flapped his wings and left, returning in less than two days, indeed bringing back quite a bit of intelligence.

Mammon eagerly asked, "How did it go, did you find out anything?"

Zariel spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "I did find out. I roughly guessed what the God of Alchemy is thinking. This story feels interesting. Do you know how the God of Alchemy originally became a god?"

Mammon shook his head, "I don’t know. Didn’t this guy just appear out of nowhere?"

Zariel shook his head, "No, the real God of Alchemy was actually that Lich. The current God of Alchemy ascended by seizing the Lich’s achievements."

Mammon was startled by this news; as a seasoned Devil, his mind immediately conjured several malicious speculations.

Mammon rubbed his hands together, excitedly stating, "You mean, the God of Alchemy doesn’t actually like this Lich, preferring him dead so their Deity Position could be secured. If this Lich completely vanishes, then it’s as if his fate has reached its endpoint, and he will likely face the final judgement of Aeo.

"Given the feats this Lich had achieved before, Aeo could directly resurrect him and grant him a position of deceit without issue. However, it’s more likely to allow him to share in the God of Alchemy’s authority upon resurrection. The God of Alchemy would probably prefer us to resurrect this guy, so Aeo won’t intervene! Tsk, another classic tale of discords between master and disciple."

Aeo loved to watch dramas, enjoyed the performance of the Gods, but often did not intervene easily, generally waiting until the matter was concluded and could not be changed anymore. Only then would the God above Gods modify the outcome according to their will.

This Lich was obviously such a case; fate caused him to fall into Hell, and perhaps his soul dissipating could be his end.

At that point, Aeo might deliver the final judgement, a method many Deities had ascended by.

But should he be resurrected by the Grand Dukes of Hell, then the Lich’s life journey would not end!