This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 600 - 533: Aren’t Young People Impetuous?

Chapter 600: Chapter 533: Aren’t Young People Impetuous?

"Do you have no other demands?" Zariel asked.

Amberser replied, "Of course I do. Pseudo-Souls are my proprietary technology, and you may not investigate these Demonic corpses in any way, or leave any special markings. I don’t want my techniques to leak. By the Nine Layers of Hell, you must sign a contract that cannot be violated. Don’t think about exploiting any loopholes. Any markings left on them will be considered a breach of the contract, even if those markings were left by Demons!"

Zariel and Mammon glanced at each other. If that was the condition, they could accept it.

Demons indeed leave many things on corpses, such as curses and spatial coordinates, which can be troublesome to deal with in advance, but the cost isn’t high.

This Lich would definitely not only use Demonic corpses to make Soul Currency, there must be other uses, which is why he requested these annoyances be cleared. But no matter what he uses them for, as long as the Soul Currency is paid on time, these costs were negligible.

It’s just some bothersome work, just let the lower Devils handle it. Hell is short of everything but slaves, making it the perfect place for such labor-intensive work. No need to pay them, just wield a whip.

As for Goddess Tiamat, the Evil Dragon Goddess hadn’t shown herself, only expressing agreement when Zariel contacted Her. Actually, whether Tiamat agreed or not didn’t matter since the corpses from the first layer of hell were all managed by the Blood River Fortress. Tiamat originally couldn’t produce them, so agreeing or not made no difference.

After repeatedly confirming Amberser’s requirements, Mammon and Zariel finally nodded, deciding to sign a contract with Amberser.

Amberser chuckled, holding the contract towards Zariel, "Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure doing business with you. Please prepare enough Demonic corpses as soon as possible. I, too, will replenish the missing Soul Currency promptly."

The figure of Amberser vanished from the mirror, and then Mammon said to Zariel, "Don’t you feel like that Lich has changed? His aura doesn’t seem like an Undead."

Zariel nodded, it wasn’t an Instrument Spirit nor a Specter, but rather had a lively vibe of a living person. Especially the Clown Mask on his face, one could tell at a glance it was no ordinary item, although Zariel couldn’t guess which Deity had bestowed the treasure.

It mostly had something to do with the God of Alchemy.

"It doesn’t matter what he has turned into, I’m just worried he’s playing tricks," Zariel said.

"It’s not important; the contract is clear. No matter what other uses those Demonic corpses may have, they’re just waste we cannot use. As long as the Lich works diligently, we shouldn’t worry about the rest. Filling our own gaps is what’s most important."

Zariel could only nod in resignation.

No sooner had Amberser finished negotiating with Zariel, than he appeared in another Magic Mirror in the next second.

At that time, this Magic Mirror was being held in Melina’s hand.

Seeing Amberser appear, Melina excitedly called out, "Father."

After Amberser truly revived, he had already greeted Melina, who, although somewhat excited, managed to remain calm.

Amberser didn’t beat around the bush and asked straightforwardly, "Melina, how are things on your side?"

Melina quickly grabbed a Human Skin Scroll, placing it in front of the Magic Mirror.

"Father, this is the report on my current territory and military forces."

The Human Skin Scroll marked a large area with a dark red color, which was the Blood River Battlefield.

The Blood River Fortress was located in the center of the battlefield, a massive inverted pentagram shape, with many scattered fortresses and bunkers around it.

Below the Blood River Battlefield, there was a small black spot that didn’t seem significant. That was Melina’s territory.

Originally it belonged to three Hell Lords, but after Melina recovered Monica the Succubus, she conquered the fortresses of the other two Hell Lords in a sweeping manner.

Melina had succumbed to Charm one of them, and beheaded the other.

Though uniting the three territories, compared to the vast Blood River Battlefield, it was still an insignificant patch. As for military forces, Melina now had an Undead Troop of thirty thousand, and about twenty thousand various Devil forces, mostly Low-Tier Troops, with countable high-end combatants on one hand.

This number of troops, thrown into the Blood River Battlefield, wouldn’t even suffice to fill the trenches, only enough to pick off some stray Demons on the periphery.

Thus, initially crossing the Blood River was a suicidal idea.

Luckily, Melina was delayed en route, allowing Amberser to complete his rebirth successfully. Then he stopped the silly girl from attempting to charge into the Blood River.

Amberser directly ordered Melina to station in place, to worry about nothing else but managing those three territories first.

In this time, Melina had been urging her subordinates to renovate the territory, connecting the three fortresses together, as if settling in Hell for the long term.

Cambion had now become Melina’s most reliable subordinate, handling all matters large and small. Although Cambion’s personal strength was average, he was steady in his work, managing affairs aptly.

Yet, even Cambion didn’t understand why Melina, a destined-to-depart Undead, was playing the Lord’s game in Hell.

Did she wish to become a Hell Lord?

"Stop joking," Amber said, "Hell has its own rules, and no foreigner, no matter how powerful, is sheltered by the laws of Hell."

Like now, because of Monica the Succubus and another Hell Lord’s surrender, Melina could mobilize the various resources of two territories, but after the lord of the remaining piece of land was killed, the land began to degenerate.

This degeneration doesn’t mean grass no longer grows, but rather that the probability of finding Soul Fragments significantly decreases.

Demons need to consume Soul Fragments to survive. Although there are countless sinners’ souls in all of Hell, there is still a difference between concentration and dispersion.

With so many demons dying in the Blood River Battlefield, you’d think there would be countless Soul Fragments. But in reality, Hell has its own recycling mechanism, and many souls are shattered by the law after their bodies perish, reappearing all over Hell.

Generally speaking, wilderness areas with no one in control, like lands that have never been farmed, have a very low probability of producing Soul Fragments. Demons wandering there can only vie for those few resources with each other.

Once someone becomes an official Hell Lord, the probability of Soul Fragments appearing in their territory greatly increases, like cultivated land that has already been plowed; with a little processing, "crops" can grow.

So how does one obtain this lordship?

In the first layer of hell, it’s not difficult to become an official Hell Lord. Just bring a demon’s corpse to the Blood River Fortress and exchange it for merit.

Whether it’s Monica or other Hell Lords, all who have territories must have submitted the bodies of demons.

Monica charmed a powerful demon and snatched a demonic corpse from its grasp, earning the authority of a lord. The Blood River Fortress doesn’t care about that; after all, the reward goes to whoever makes the submission.

If Melina wants to become a Hell Lord, the same requirement applies. She just needs to submit enough demonic corpses.

But here’s the problem: Melina now controls three territories. To become a lord of such vast lands isn’t a task a mere lowly demon can handle. She must venture deep into the Blood River Battlefield and hunt those powerful Demon Lords, an undoubtedly near-suicidal endeavor.

"Weren’t we supposed to be looking for a shortcut to the Blood River Fortress and then find Duke Zariel?" Cambion asked, confused. "Why the sudden change in plans?"

Cambion couldn’t understand, Melina couldn’t understand either, but she wouldn’t question any of Amberser’s decisions.

After waiting for so long, her father finally sent a message.

After carefully assessing the specific situation of the territories, Amberser said to Melina, "The land is still too small. With your current military strength, you should be able to take down several nearby lords. Melina, find a way to expand your territory threefold, and as for the demon corpses, I have already prepared them for you."

Applying for Hell Lordship is a one-time deal, and the quantity and quality of demonic corpses you provide the first time determine how much territory you can claim. Of course, once you have the qualification, you still need to fight for it yourself.

Once you’ve seized it, you can use the power bestowed by the laws of Hell to build your own fortress.

However, further promotions afterwards can be very troublesome. So, it’s better for Melina to claim enough territory from the start.

This was why Amberser was asking Zariel for demon corpses. He wasn’t trying to swindle Zariel’s money; he planned to use this method to help Melina gain merit and the protection of Hell’s laws, to become a true Hell Lord.

Zariel, preoccupied with mourning her financial ruin these past days and so befuddled that she paid no attention to the Blood River Battlefield, had no idea that Melina had planted a nail here.

They needed to hammer this nail deeper before Zariel could react, ideally straight into the deepest recesses of Hell, to ensure it was beyond Zariel’s reach by the time she noticed.

The Soul Coin Bank was about to be established, and Amberser was not content with merely being a printing press.

Only by establishing his own force in Hell would he be entitled to a substantial share of the benefits in the upcoming grand events.

In addition, Melina could provide another kind of help to Amberser.

Ogma had sent Amberser the Clown Mask, not just to help him resurrect. The gifts of deities often come with an irresistible price.

Amberser answered three questions; now, he must act on those answers for Ogma.

He must feed and clothe the impoverished, create more great works. Furthermore, Amberser has to balance the scales of good and evil deities to prevent a large-scale war of the gods.

Only by achieving these two objectives can Amberser make use of the Clown Mask’s power to live indefinitely.

Otherwise, Ogma could take back his gift at any time, turning Amberser once more into a Magic Mirror Spirit with no self-awareness.

In the past, Amberser might have started from the Prime Material Plane, proceeding cautiously, subtly changing the world.

But now, he has decided to be bold.

"Good writing hates commands, and suffering produces masterpieces." Is there any suffering that can compare to that of Hell?

Having finally been reborn, he intended to stir things up on a grand scale. He was no longer the gloomy Lich of old; young people should brim with vigor!