Although Anbaixiu couldn't see the battle with his own eyes, he wasn't worried in the slightest about the members of the Elegy Poetry Society.
These were undead who stood at the pinnacle of the world, each possessing supreme skills.
Against this rabble of drow elves, there was virtually no possibility of an upset; it only depended on how long they wished to play around.
Anbaixiu had his own mission to carry out. All he hoped now was that Matron Mother Trisna wouldn't be distracted by the battle outside.
Evidently, Trisna was even more ruthless and cold-blooded than he had imagined.
She merely glanced down from the high tower, confirmed that the drow were doomed to lose, and activated all of the tower's magical defenses before throwing herself wholeheartedly into the sacrifice.
Perhaps the ritual could no longer be completed to perfection, but she trusted the goddesses would forgive her.
Slaves were being flayed and deboned one by one, filling more than half of the blood pool. Pressed for time, she had no choice but to make do with this for now.
Trisna leapt into the blood pool and began chanting the prayer of sacrifice.
The statue of Lolth the Spider Queen lit up once more, and the projections of the four goddesses reappeared.
Evidently, the goddesses tacitly accepted Trisna's perfunctory offering and prepared to grant her their blessings anyway.
Lolth the Spider Queen spoke first: "Devout one, I bestow upon you the Kiss of Deadly Venom. To you, poisons shall be like honey, nourishing your body and soul; to your enemies, virulent toxins shall be like sharp blades, carving through their flesh!"
Vast divine power descended, shrouding Trisna. Anbaixiu watched as her lips turned a deep purple and toxic fumes began drifting around her body.
The blood beside her bubbled and gurgled upon contact with the poisonous mist, as though boiling. The obsidian floor corroded into pools of vile sludge the moment the fumes touched it, attesting to the toxin's ferocious potency.
Trisna furrowed her brows tightly. The divine power brought not only strength but also crushing pressure, proving somewhat difficult for her to endure.
Yet before Lolth withdrew her divine power, the second deity spoke.
"I bestow upon you the Barbs of Thorns. Your hair and nails shall turn into indestructible spines, inflicting excruciating agony upon your foes and mending your wounds."
One could tell at once that this was the style of Loviatar, Goddess of Pain.
Trisna's flowing hair began to writhe and shift. Her rapidly growing black tresses transformed into razor-sharp spikes, carving deep furrows into the ground as easily as slicing through bean curd.
This time, Trisna bit her lip so hard blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. The pressure of the dual blessings was clearly subjecting her to unbearable agony. Yet that pain also transformed into her power, constantly knitting the wound on her lip closed, only for her to bite through it anew.
Immediately after, Tiamat, Goddess of Evil Dragons, began her blessing.
"I shall grant you dragon bloodline, which will manifest as resilient dragon scales to protect your body. You shall fear no flame, and you shall reduce your enemies to ash."
As Tiamat's voice rang out, Trisna's body altered once again. Her ashen skin flushed crimson, as though molten magma rather than blood coursed through her veins.
The searing heat burned her spider-silk robes to cinders, exposing her graceful form.
Soon, however, fiery crimson scales sprouted across her skin—from her torso to her limbs, and finally blanketing even her face, leaving only her hair and eyes exposed.
This time, Trisna could no longer hold back and let out an agonizing wail.
With three goddesses bestowing blessings simultaneously, this immense power came at a steep price.
Anbaixiu could sense that Trisna's soul was teetering on the verge of collapse. A mortal simply could not withstand such overwhelming divine might.
By rights, it was Shar's turn to act.
Yet the Goddess of Darkness made no move to channel her divine power. Instead, she fixed her gaze upon a hidden corner—the exact spot where Anbaixiu was concealed.
Anbaixiu sighed, knowing this was a mission he had to carry out.
Casting Misty Step, Anbaixiu instantly appeared right behind Trisna.
He thrust the pitch-black dagger in his hand with all his might toward her back, aiming to skewer her heart in a single blow.
Such speed, such fluid motion—no mere mage could pull this off. This was Anbaixiu's capability as a legendary ranger; this strike could pierce clean through steel plate.
Yet could this dagger pierce the dragon scales coating Trisna's body?
Dragon scales were far harder than steel, rivaling mithral. In the past, slaying dragons required blunt weapons to batter the flesh beneath the scales.
Even if the dagger failed to penetrate Trisna's dragon scales, his task could still be considered fulfilled; a lackluster dagger wasn't his fault.
Yet when the dagger struck Trisna's back, a small patch of scales on her back abruptly vanished.
That solitary gap allowed Anbaixiu's dagger to effortlessly penetrate Trisna's back, piercing her heart through and through.
The tip of the dagger emerged from Trisna's chest, leaving the drow matron with a look of utter disbelief.
Who had ambushed her? Why hadn't there been the slightest warning?!
Anbaixiu didn't linger to admire his handiwork. Having landed the blow, he didn't even bother pulling the dagger out, preparing to teleport away at once.
However, Anbaixiu was still a fraction of a second too slow.
Lolth the Spider Queen let out a shrill shriek. Anbaixiu felt his body locked completely in midair, and then his bones began crumbling into ash, bit by bit.
A strike from a deity obliterated Anbaixiu's body and sought to destroy his soul as well.
A deity's power was enough to prevent a lich from regenerating from his phylactery. Lolth had flown into a frenzied rage, unleashing all her might to make Anbaixiu pay with absolute death.
Yet in the very next second, a flash of light enveloped Anbaixiu's body, restoring him completely.
This was the blessing Poet had bestowed upon him—upon receiving fatal damage, it completely negated the attack and restored him to his original state.
Lolth never expected her full-power strike to fail. Just as she was about to strike again, she saw Anbaixiu's skeletal frame collapse to the ground on its own.
Phylactery rebirth didn't strictly require being slain by an enemy; Anbaixiu could choose to return to his phylactery at any time.
Poet's death-warding effect gave Anbaixiu the briefest window of opportunity, securing him a sliver of life under the deity's vengeful wrath. In the next second, Anbaixiu's soul manifested in the temple where he had previously summoned the undead army.
Before setting out, Anbaixiu had buried his phylactery here. The moment he regenerated, he swapped into his mechanical mithral body.
Though his soul felt slightly weakened, Anbaixiu's combat capability was stronger now than before.
What was a bony skeleton worth? Mithral was the true king!
Having switched bodies, Anbaixiu flew straight out of the dilapidated temple and found Rose of Decay, who was commanding the battle from the air.
"Is the deed done?" Rose of Decay asked.
Anbaixiu nodded. "Just as Shar wanted, I stabbed the drow matron, though I'm not entirely sure what the outcome is. Still, Shar must have allied with the Goddess of Evil Dragons. When I made my sneak attack, that goddess lent me a hand."
At the critical moment, it was Tiamat who removed a patch of dragon scales from Trisna's back, allowing Anbaixiu to cleanly pierce her heart.
From the looks of it, Shar and Tiamat had joined hands, intending to screw over Lolth and Loviatar.
What purpose did that dagger serve? What effect would Trisna's death have on the other two goddesses?
Anbaixiu was curious, but he didn't dare return to the tower.
Lolth the Spider Queen could destroy him in a single blow. Even though he still had two extra lives on him, he couldn't guarantee Lolth wouldn't fixate on him.
Hearing Anbaixiu's account, Rose of Decay chuckled. "Lolth the Spider Queen taking the initiative to launch a lethal attack against you must have violated the rules laid down by Ao. She will surely suffer severe punishment. Shar having you strike was likely for this exact reason. The dagger might not have served any special purpose, but driving Lolth mad gave Shar her opening."
Anbaixiu pulled out a crystal and said with a grin, "If you want to know, just watch this."
"A scrying crystal? You left one behind there?" Rose of Decay asked in surprise.
"The goddesses are busy tearing each other apart. They probably won't notice." Smugly, Anbaixiu activated the scrying crystal, revealing the scene atop the high tower.
Rose of Decay's guess was spot-on. After Lolth shrieked at Anbaixiu, Tiamat and Shar looked at her with knowing smiles.
Once Anbaixiu vanished, a bolt of thunder crashed down, striking Lolth's projection with devastating fury.
A piercing shriek beyond the threshold of mortal hearing burst from Lolth's mouth. The ethereal phantom instantly solidified into physical flesh, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Hahaha, it worked!"
Shar let out a sinister laugh and pounced toward Lolth the Spider Queen. All the scheming had been for this very moment.
Ao's punishment had gravely wounded Lolth's true body, blasting her straight from her divine realm down to the mortal world.
This alluring drow elf lying there was now Lolth's true body. As long as she devoured her, Shar would obtain the Spider Queen's authority!
Just as Shar moved to strike, however, a bloody whip lashed out, wrapping around Lolth.
It was Loviatar. While she hadn't anticipated Shar joining forces with Tiamat, she was no saint herself and had long prepared contingency plans. She simply hadn't expected the other two goddesses to be so impatient as to strike during the blessing. Loviatar's original plan had been to send her drider to assassinate Trisna after the blessing was complete, thereby usurping the powers of the other goddesses.
Now that Lolth was struck down by divine retribution, Loviatar naturally had no desire to wait any longer and moved directly to seize the prize.
Yet before the crimson whip could be retracted, Tiamat was already upon her. Her exquisitely beautiful face split open directly, turning into five savage dragon heads. Three snapped toward Loviatar, while the remaining two lunged toward Lolth.
Loviatar had no choice but to release Lolth, using the crimson whip to bind the three dragon heads to prevent herself from ending up inside a dragon's maw.
Yet Tiamat failed to devour Lolth either, because Shar intervened.
They had been allies a moment ago, but that was no longer the case.
Shar unleashed dark divine power, cloaking all the goddesses and momentarily severing all their five senses.
By the time the black fog dispersed, Lolth was already in Shar's grasp, her body torn open.
Shar's hand reached deep inside Lolth's chest, clutching her heart.
Lolth's true form was originally a fallen elf. Having been struck down by Ao's punishment, her body was now little different from a mortal's. Once her heart was plucked out, death would be upon her.
Just as Shar was about to succeed, a crisp sound rang out.
*Snap!* The sound of crystal shattering on the floor.
A bizarre melody rang out, striking the heads of the three goddesses like a massive hammer.
The music could hardly be described as merely shrill or dissonant—it was profoundly sickening, like spinning hundreds of times on the spot before being shoved off a cliff.
Nausea, dizziness, an uncontrollable urge to vomit.
This was the recording crystal Anbaixiu had left behind, containing the peculiar tune Poet had given him—a song capable of shielding against and disrupting divine will.
Before striking Trisna, Anbaixiu had tied the crystal to the hall's ceiling rafters, leaving behind a tiny skeleton crafted from mouse bones alongside a scrying crystal for observation.
The tiny skeleton's task was simple: upon Anbaixiu's command, snip the cord and let the crystal drop.
Observing the goddesses' chaotic free-for-all through the scrying crystal, Anbaixiu had commanded the tiny skeleton to cut the cord at the decisive moment.
Affected by the music, the three goddesses projecting their avatars began rapidly dissipating.
Meanwhile, Lolth lay wretchedly on the ground, her chest and abdomen torn wide open, her heart still faintly beating.
Anbaixiu put away the scrying crystal and said to Rose of Decay, "Now, it's time to reap the harvest."
Chapter 261