This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 613 - 544: Chief General of the Blood River Battlefield

Chapter 613: Chapter 544: Chief General of the Blood River Battlefield

Amberser has always been toyed with by the Goddess of Fate.

His feelings for this ever-present yet unseen Goddess are also very complex.

He had to be grateful for the blessings she sent, which allowed him to survive in this dangerous world through the power of prophecy. If he hadn’t become a Diviner Mage, Amberser might have wound up in Hell just a few years after crossing over, becoming fodder on the Blood River Battlefield just like his teacher.

But Amberser equally hated the despair and helplessness brought by fate and wanted to completely break free from it, even if it meant being cursed as a scumbag.

Becoming a Deity was the simplest and most direct way to rebel.

Just like the Magic Goddess controls all Magic but can’t affect Talos when he thunders and rains in his own Divine Realm. The Goddess of Fate is the same; even though this Deity can weave fate threads that affect many planes, as long as Amberser hides in his own Divine Realm, he should be able to cut off this influence.

If not, the Goddess of Fate would have long become the most powerful entity under Aeo, leaving no room for the Magic Goddess and the Elven God-King to vie for second place.

Class God Power has nearly the same strength as a Deity and can also escape the manipulation of fate.

Aeo, for some reason, couldn’t see him, so Amberser couldn’t just sit and wait for death, he might as well start anew in Hell.

Melina’s territory was Amberser’s first chess move, and the Hell Bank was another.

Make money on one hand, convert it to power on the other, then go to the Blood River Battlefield to earn military achievements. Once he had accumulated enough, Amberser would use the laws of Hell to become a Hell Lord with Class God Power. At worst, he could form an alliance with Goddess Tiamat and Zariel, taking the third seat in the first layer of hell.

No matter how weak a Deity, they are still a Deity, and they can enjoy the privileges of a Deity.

Of course, Amberser could actually be even more greedy.

Why couldn’t he pull Zariel down?

Zariel had outstanding military achievements and couldn’t be overthrown by accumulating military honors, but Deities could also die, right? Who knows whether the future or an accident would come first?

But no matter how grand the goal, it had to be achieved step by step.

Amberser was not in a hurry now; he’d first help Melina manage the territory at hand.

Amberser did not go into too much detail, but he had given enough information for Aige and Hake Stone to understand his goals—and neither of them thought there was anything wrong with them.

Considering Amberser’s previous military achievements, merely wanting to become a Class God Power by exploiting loopholes was a very restrained approach.

When he was still a mortal, he had already tricked the Rose Spider Queen and Shael, and even captured the Koutao Mermaid Goddess to give to Talos.

When others boasted about mortals rivaling Gods, Amberser was a mortal kidnapping Deities—the difference was clear.

Amberser planning to cause trouble in Hell didn’t have to worry about how Devils would deal with him; instead, it was the Devils who should worry about being utterly ruined by his schemes.

Aige asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Aige felt everything was already well-planned by Amberser. Now that she had joined this dream meeting, was she just there to take advantage? Beyond solving doctrinal problems with Hake Stone’s help, what had she contributed?

Aige was somewhat uncomfortable with this feeling—she couldn’t always expect Amberser to pay the price.

"Actually, there is something I need to trouble Ms. Aige with," Amberser said, looking at her right hand, which bore a pure black ring.

It was a Divine Artifact from the Guild Leader of the Elegy Poetry Society for the Overseas Dragon Tomb, meant to help the Dragon Race incubate Bone Dragons.

Later it was casually taken by Amberser, who gave it to Aige to build her own Divine Realm ahead of time.

Now, Amberser needed the power of the ring.

Without a second thought, Aige prepared to take off the ring, then awkwardly remembered that this was just a dream, so she said, "I’ll send it to you later."

A curious Amberser asked, "You don’t need it anymore?"

Aige nodded. The Divine Realm was nearly complete, and after the Murlocs regained their sanity, they provided faith to her rapidly, making the ring less useful.

"But it can’t just be transferred at will," Amberser stated earnestly to Aige, "This is the Guild Leader’s Divine Artifact, and I’m no longer part of the Elegy Poetry Society. So, I would like to ask Ms. Aige to inquire with the Guild Leader whether I can borrow this Divine Artifact. I don’t want the Guild Leader to suddenly call me to account—let’s part on good terms."

"Okay, I will get the Guild Leader to lend the ring to you," Aige said.

Aige didn’t speak of asking the Guild Leader’s thoughts but of requesting the Guild Leader to lend the ring, showing she had made up her mind to fulfil Amberser’s needs no matter what.

Amberser then discussed their next steps in detail, mainly instructing Hake Stone to quickly help Aige complete the writing and organization of doctrine, to unite the scattered Murlocs and exiled Mermaids into a new sect.

He also told Hake Stone to send him copies of all the works he had written.

Hake Stone didn’t understand what Amberser was doing, initially considering charging royalties. But after some thought, he chose to give everything for free. Having decided to invest, he shouldn’t quibble over details—Hake Stone believed he would get a substantial return this time.

It was only after Aige and Hake Stone had vanished into the dreamscape that Amberser spoke to the silent Withered Rose, "Be careful, I have a feeling that something is off with Yugas. If there’s any danger within the Elegy Poetry Society, it’s very likely to come from that ghoul."

"Don’t worry, my thoughts align with yours; my only desire is to free myself from the shackles of the undead. If I succeed, I will leave the Elegy Poetry Society just like you. Even if this organization has its secrets, they will no longer concern me."

Withered Rose had no desire to compete for anything now, wanting only to try a new way of living.

Whatever Yugas wanted, he could go and ask the Guild Leader himself; Withered Rose couldn’t even be bothered to leave Gloomyland.

Suddenly, Withered Rose asked, "By the way, what do you need Hake Stone’s work for? I don’t like reading those so-called fringe histories."

Amberser replied with a smile, "I know you don’t fancy those kinds of stories, but such things should be quite popular in Hell. They can be quite useful, but there’s no rush. I need to help Melina resolve her territory’s issues first."

Withered Rose felt a bit reluctant upon hearing this, but she quickly said to Amberser, "Then you should get busy with that."

However, Amberser didn’t disappear; instead, he took a few steps closer to Withered Rose and said, "You misunderstand; although I have matters to attend to, it doesn’t mean I’ll leave the dream. Ah."

Withered Rose, with her face slightly blushing, asked Amberser who was now close at hand, "What do you mean by that?"

Amberser replied with a smile, "I’m just saying that I can be here in the dream and in Hell at the same time... So, do you want to continue listening to the story?"

...

In the first layer of hell, Melina was looking impassively at the huge pile of parchment before her.

Every single character recorded on it was jumping around, but this was not due to the nature of devil script; it was a hallucination appearing before her eyes.

Was managing a territory really so exhausting, to the point where she had to decide how many soul fragments each Minor Coward Demon could consume? How could anyone know how much they need to eat to be sated?

What about the ratio of soul shard gatherers to the standing army, who knew what the right balance should be? Weren’t all devils supposed to be warriors?

And what about the invitation from a neighboring territory—was it a trap or just a formality?

Melina felt like she was going crazy. Was being a Lord so complicated? And this was just a small domain of a few tens of thousands; managing the millions in Gloomyland didn’t seem as complex.

Melina forgot that most of Gloomyland’s population were obedient undead who didn’t need food or drink, and the few living beings... The Undead Queen never really managed them as if they were people—dead or alive, it made no difference to her.

But Hell was different. Here, every devil counted, and each was a troublemaker.

If you didn’t lay down the rules in advance, these devils would dare to pillage everything that belonged to Melina.

But despite being busy all day, Melina realized her workload hadn’t decreased; on the contrary, it kept piling up, and her efficiency was terribly low.

Fortunately, whenever she needed help, Melina could always take out the Magic Mirror.

Amberser’s face appeared on the mirror’s surface, and seeing his daughter look so aggrieved, he could only say helplessly, "Alright, leave these to me."

Melina cheered, heaping all her work in front of the mirror before dutifully sitting beside it. She wasn’t slacking off but quietly kept her father company.

Designing various rules and regulations for the territory wasn’t really complicated; Amberser casually set a few draconian rules that could make the devils grind their teeth in frustration, ensuring they lived half-starved on his domain. Then, referencing the policies of the Blood River Fortress, he designed a merit exchange chart.

If they contributed, they could exchange their efforts for more soul fragments, even Soul Currency.

Of course, these rules were rough and had many issues.

But no matter, the ultimate interpretive power lay in Amberser’s hands; he could change them whenever he wanted, with no worry of devil opinions. This was Hell, after all.

Yet what truly concerned Amberser was the invitation from a neighboring Lord.

This was a Hell Lord whose domain bordered Melina’s and according to the intelligence provided by Monica the Succubus, this lord was at the level of a Class God Power Hell Lord.

More so, this lord had backing.

This Hell Lord was one of Bayer’s subordinates, and rumors suggested that this lord was actually one of Duke Bayer’s avatars.

As for Bayer, he was known by two special titles—the former master of Avernus, the first layer of hell, and the chief general of the Blood War Battlefield.

But Bayer had a little-known past.

He had once betrayed Zariel, imprisoning the Fallen Angel in his Bronze Fortress. Bayer thus inherited the rulership of the first layer of hell, becoming the master of Avernus.

Now, with Zariel in power again, it was astonishing that this individual hadn’t been purged.

But what did this person want with her?