Lich for Hire

Chapter 496: Fate's Arrangement

The experiences of one's youth often shape an entire life. Elves were no exception to that rule.

Alderien had once been an innocent, kind-hearted young man, carrying only a trace of traditional elven pride.

But as a child, he'd had the misfortune to cross paths with Ambrose, a man who might otherwise have become his closest friend, but who instead gave him the single most unforgettable lesson in being swindled that he would ever experience.

From that day forward, Alderien was aware of his own weakness.

Elves embodied everything beautiful about this world, but against a world this treacherous, beauty alone was far from enough.

Centuries had passed since then, and Alderien had grown into someone far more capable than nearly any other elf alive—but also far colder, and far more resolute.

He'd grown used to thinking from the perspective of the elven people as a whole.

Back when mana addiction first broke out, Alderien had once suggested to Catherine that she abandon half the afflicted in exchange for the elven gods' protection. In his eyes, that was the choice that best served the elves' collective interest.

Unfortunately, Catherine hadn't listened to him.

Though things had ultimately turned out well enough, Alderien understood perfectly well this wasn't because Catherine's choice had been the right one. It was purely thanks to the elven gods' protection. The gods had used the lich as their instrument to grant the elves new life.

However much Alderien revered Catherine, he knew full well she was not fit to be queen of the elves.

Ever since Alderien had inherited the position of elven king, the lich Ambrose had been his greatest enemy. While everyone else was busy figuring out how to cooperate with the lich, or how to get rid of him, Alderien's thinking ran further ahead than that.

He thought instead about what changes this lich would bring to the world—which of those changes might shift depending on the lich's own choices, and which were fixed no matter what anyone chose.

It was plain to see that the lich's greed was as fixed a fact as the sun rising every morning.

And everything he'd just said had really only been an opening bid. The Dragon Tyrant's revival was bad news for every race in this world; it would be difficult, and pointless, for the elves to try to stand apart from it.

Just as Ambrose had said, if they didn't strike the Dragon Tyrant down now, while he still had no support to draw on, were they going to wait until he'd recalled the dragons and rebuilt his empire?

But negotiating terms was still necessary. He couldn't let his people sacrifice everything and walk away with nothing but a few hollow words of thanks. Benefits had to be secured in hand.

Alderien could see clearly enough that, so long as Ambrose exposed the Dragon Tyrant's identity, Lyon was doomed to decline regardless of whether the Dragon Tyrant was actually killed.

Given that, why shouldn't the elves get a share of the spoils?

Ambrose studied the young elven king and confirmed once again that this one was different from every other elf he'd met. Not only was he handsome, he focused on profit with an intensity that no other elf seemed to share.

And that was exactly the kind of person Ambrose despised most.

Elves were already good-looking and wealthy, born with natural magical talent and an artist's temperament, and long-lived and healthy besides. They'd already claimed every advantage. If they weren't at least a little foolish on top of all that, how was any other race supposed to compete?

The elven king wanted to be paid even for something as noble as bringing down the Dragon Tyrant. Did he have no shame at all?

"Lyon hasn't even collapsed yet, and you're already carving up the profits!"

"You're one to talk!"

Ambrose tested the waters, but quickly discovered the young elven king wouldn't budge an inch. He insisted that Ambrose hand over a share of the eventual gains.

With no other choice, Ambrose offered him a promise: once the plan succeeded, he'd sit down with the elves and discuss the matter of Lyon, and he swore he wouldn't try to keep all the spoils for himself. As for the exact split, that would depend on how much of Lyon was even left standing after the collapse.

Alderien knew perfectly well how vague that promise was, but he also understood it was the only promise Ambrose was ever going to give. Just as Ambrose himself had pointed out, until the Dragon Tyrant was dealt with, none of this negotiating meant a thing anyway.

Alderien asked, "So what's your full plan? You're not seriously planning to gather everyone together and just expose the Dragon Tyrant on the spot, are you?"

Ambrose nodded. "Honestly, it's nowhere near that complicated. Surely you agree the combined strength of every kingdom, backed by a massive elite force, can easily take down the Dragon Tyrant?"

Alderien wasn't nearly as confident as Ambrose. He frowned and asked, "And how many casualties are we talking about?"

Unlike other races, elves lived far too long. There were still heroes alive today who'd once crossed blades with the Dragon Tyrant himself. Alderien understood a time dragon's true strength better than most. This was an opponent who could only be overcome by piling up bodies.

Ambrose shook his head. "There's no version of this where we beat the Dragon Tyrant without sacrifice."

They'd rehearsed the confrontation countless times in the linked dreamscape. The Dragon Tyrant's strength was unprecedented, but even he couldn't stand against an entire world turned against him. As for exactly how many would die in the end, even Ambrose couldn't say.

But anyone walking into this expecting to bring down the Dragon Tyrant without losing a single life was engaged in nothing but wishful thinking.

"I made sure Catherine knew about all this ahead of time, specifically so your people could prepare. When the fighting starts, my friends' odds of walking away alive will go up considerably."

Alderien glanced at Ambrose in surprise. "By Choralan, I honestly don't know whether to call you heartless or deeply loyal."

Ambrose said smugly, "You can drop the 'heartless' option entirely. These days, people out there call me the merciful lich lord who saved the world."

Alderien shot him a look of pure disdain. "That's beside the point. Have you considered that, even though the Dragon Tyrant's odds aren't good, a time dragon could still escape quite easily if he wanted to?"

Ambrose said smugly, "That works out perfectly. The moment the Dragon Tyrant's identity is exposed and he chooses to run, the wager between the Lord of Dawn and the dragon gods will be settled. The Dragon Tyrant can no longer parasitize the Lyon Empire, and the dragonkin's tyrannical rule will have been overthrown, which means the wager goes to the Lord of Dawn.

"Once that happens, the Lord of Dawn will no longer be bound by its terms. He'll be free to grant the truth to the people of Lyon via a divine revelation. From there, it'll naturally fall to the Lord of Dawn to finish the Dragon Tyrant off, since Lyon will bear the brunt of it regardless."

Alderien said, "You really don't hold the dragon gods in any regard, do you? The Lord of Dawn may win the wager, but that won't stop the dragon gods from coming after you."

Ambrose shook his head. "I solved the dragons' food problem for them. Why would they turn on me over this? That would be completely unreasonable. Besides, even if the dragon gods do decide to come after me, I'm not worried."

Tiamat, the Dragon Queen, was one of the dragon gods herself. With the Hell Bank about to open its doors, Tiamat would go to any lengths necessary to protect her own interests.

Ambrose had already accounted for every possible outcome. Combined with a lich's sheer ability to survive, there wasn't much here that could actually go wrong for him, no matter how he ran the numbers. Worse comes to worst, he would dive into the ocean, find some deep-sea trench, and lie low. The Dragon Tyrant could search for the rest of its life and never find him.

Alderien found this kind of shameless scheming beneath contempt, but he had to admit the plan was workable. As long as the elves prepared properly and avoided getting dragged down with anyone else, whether the other kingdoms suffered casualties was no longer the elven king's concern.

"You really have thought of everything. But there's still one more question."

Alderien took two steps closer and seized Ambrose by the wrist. "Have you considered that your greatest strength, being willing to do absolutely anything for gold, is also your greatest weakness? If the Dragon Tyrant offered you enough of a bribe, are you honestly telling me a gold-grubbing lich like you wouldn't sell everyone else out for the right price?"

Ambrose merely chuckled and didn't bother arguing the point. When it came to a lich's deepest obsession, no reassurance from him would mean anything, because he himself knew perfectly well that, if the Dragon Tyrant ever offered something more valuable, he would switch sides without hesitation.

So instead, Ambrose said to Alderien, "In that case, why don't you offer me a higher bid to secure my loyalty? Say, handing over your entire share of Lyon's spoils to me..."

"Don't even think about it." Alderien wasn't about to fall for that. His people were getting that cut no matter what.

Still, the young elven king left room open for negotiations. He told Ambrose, with an air of mystery, "That said, I can offer you something else—something you happen to need right now more than anything."

"What I need every waking moment is more gold," Ambrose answered, just as firmly.

Alderien said, "What you actually need right now is someone to serve as your assistant. As it happens, I have just the person for the job."

Ambrose shook his head. "I'm not interested in taking on just any garbage. Don't go finding me some random accountant and trying to pass him off as talent."

"Don't worry. The person I'm sending you will suit you perfectly, because this person is a diviner. From what I hear, they're carrying a prophecy concerning you specifically."

A diviner?

Diviners were exceedingly rare in this world.

Hearing Alderien's words, Ambrose suddenly recalled something from a while back. When Heki Stone had first arrived on Coin Island, he'd mentioned that a diviner had come looking for him hoping to arrange a meeting with Ambrose.

But things had gotten so busy afterward that Ambrose had completely forgotten about it.

Ambrose immediately pulled out the Necromantic Codex to ask the vampire about it, and got back a reply that left him speechless.

[Human-Hater: I forgot too. I've been so busy writing a book about the time you kidnapped a goddess that if you hadn't brought it up, I'd never have remembered. That diviner already left, saying in a note that they were headed for the Court of the Silver Moon.]

Ambrose shut the Necromantic Codex and turned back to Alderien. "You said this diviner brought a prophecy concerning me specifically?"

Alderien nodded. "That's right. Apparently, it's quite important. I hear this person tried every method imaginable, only to keep missing you every single time. It's as if fate itself didn't want the two of you to meet."

Ambrose couldn't help himself. He let out a long, heavy sigh.

Given the stretch of smooth sailing he'd experienced, he'd assumed the Goddess of Fate was finally favoring him for once.

But the instant he heard the word "prophecy," Ambrose felt the Goddess of Fate's roundhouse kick finally, inevitably, coming for him.