Anbaixiu was shocked by the Rose of Decay's choice and hastily asked, "Shar? Why would you choose Shar? You do know we screwed her over together, don't you?"
At the time, Anbaixiu had exerted himself the most, followed closely by the Rose of Decay—she had brought an entire army and slaughtered the majority of those drow elves.
Why on earth would she turn to Shar? Wasn't that walking straight into a trap?
The Rose of Decay gave a bitter smile. "Only this goddess is willing to answer my wish."
Anbaixiu fell silent as well. The Rose of Decay was different from him. All he cared about were benefits; any deity's blessing was open to negotiation.
The Rose of Decay, however, wanted to destroy Ryan—or at least gain the power to help destroy it. Very few deities would ever entertain such a demand.
Even the elven race had been reluctant to clash with the Lord of the Dawn over the drow elves, and other deities felt much the same.
Only a deity like Shar, who had once stood at the pinnacle and now fallen to rock bottom, feared nothing. She had offended plenty of greater powers; one more Lord of the Dawn hardly made a difference.
"Then what price did she offer?" Anbaixiu still remembered doing business with Shar last time. The so-called blessing she produced was something not even a dog would touch—so stingy that Anbaixiu had suspected she held the divine portfolio of miserliness.
The Rose of Decay shook her head. "I still didn't know which divine portfolio I could offer, so I don't know what reward I can get in return yet. But now that you're here, I'm not worried anymore."
If her past kindness toward Anbaixiu had stemmed from valuing his competence, these words now came entirely from the heart.
Subconsciously, the Rose of Decay found herself wanting to rely on Anbaixiu and leave these major matters in his hands.
Just moments ago, the Rose of Decay had believed she would never be able to destroy Ryan. It was Anbaixiu who had offered her comfort and helped her regain her resolve. The undead possessed no emotion and were coldly rational; only when confronted with their obsessive desires would intense feelings surface, making them feel as if they were alive once more.
When the Rose of Decay was at her most vulnerable and human, Anbaixiu had stepped in, and the relationship between them had shifted.
The Rose of Decay led Anbaixiu before a massive altar.
Anbaixiu recognized it at a glance—it was the same summoning altar he had once constructed. One only needed to sacrifice offerings favored by Shar to summon the Goddess of Darkness.
Back then, Anbaixiu had sacrificed a damaged artifact just to satisfy Shar.
The Rose of Decay had no artifacts to offer, but she possessed a vast number of slaves; the captured drow elf rebels had yet to be wiped out completely.
Hundreds of drow elves were ushered onto the altar, quickly swallowed by a swelling darkness that coalesced into a colossal head—the head of Shar.
For some reason, the Goddess of Darkness seemed exceptionally fond of dealing with mortals this way, projecting only a towering head that looked down with immense, suffocating pressure.
The Rose of Decay hastily bowed to show her reverence to the Goddess of Darkness.
Regardless of which deity it was, they were beings elevated high above mortals. Even the Queen of the Underdark had to maintain awe and respect before a god.
Yet Anbaixiu lightly caught the Rose of Decay by the arm and pulled her upright.
Anbaixiu cautioned, "Don't do that. We're negotiating business, not making a selfless offering. Don't lose your momentum right from the start."
Deities were peculiar entities; they held immense control over their worshipers and could rain down punishment at any time. But against outsiders, they were powerless. Anbaixiu did not worship the Lord of the Dawn, so He had no means to inflict divine punishment upon Anbaixiu.
Before deities, adopting too meek a posture was practically suicidal; the more you yielded, the more room they had to manipulate you.
Anbaixiu had always been superficially courteous while remaining neither obsequious nor arrogant. As a result, no deity could do anything to him, and when an obstinate one like Lolth the Spider Queen crossed him, she ended up severely punished by Ao.
Thus, when Shar laid eyes on Anbaixiu, she made no effort to conceal her disgust. She would rather face her "dear sister" Selûne than look at this lich.
In a voice echoing in layered harmonics, Shar spoke: "You again, lich!"
Anbaixiu chuckled. "It is my honor that you remember me, Goddess."
Shar truly wished she could slap this lich to death with one swat, but having witnessed Lolth the Spider Queen's plight, she dared not defy Ao's rules.
Shar decided to ignore the infuriating lich and turned to the Rose of Decay. "Speak. Which divine portfolio do you wish to offer?"
The Rose of Decay had gotten wiser this time. Instead of answering Shar directly, she said, "Honored Goddess of Darkness, the portfolios are his spoils of war. He merely gifted me one out of old fondness, so everything is for him to decide."
Shar let out a cold snort. "The Queen of the Underdark, taking orders from a lich? Why even bother being queen? You might as well just give him your whole kingdom."
The Rose of Decay smiled. "That's not out of the question. Once Ryan is destroyed, I'll gladly give him everything here."
Shar stared at the Rose of Decay, genuinely surprised by such words. She finally realized the bond between these two undead was far from ordinary.
Anbaixiu didn't feel flattered; he merely thought the Rose of Decay was far sharper than other women he knew, turning phrase after phrase to shut down Shar's remarks completely.
As for the entire Underdark... anyone with a brain knew that was impossible, nothing more than a quip meant to spite Shar.
"Lady of the Night, let's skip the pointless probing," Anbaixiu said. "I'm sure your time is precious, so let's get down to business. I still have two divine portfolios in hand: Corruption and Darkness. You may choose one of them. However, I'd like to hear your offer first."
Shar couldn't be bothered to dwell on the lich's insolence and stated flatly, "You already know my price. I can enhance the power of her dark magic."
Anbaixiu replied in mock astonishment, "No way, surely you can't be serious! Do you really believe such a blessing is comparable to a divine portfolio? Goddess, I thought you were just targeting me last time and lowballing on purpose. But now it seems you weren't driving down the price intentionally—this is literally all you can scrape together."
Everyone understood Anbaixiu's subtext: Shar was broke.
Even the Rose of Decay was startled by Anbaixiu. Did he really have no fear of death, mocking a deity to her face?
Then again, considering he had just tricked Lolth the Spider Queen within an inch of her life, mocking Shar didn't seem so outrageous after all.
Anbaixiu's words were very effective, because Shar could not let such talk spread.
What if everyone started claiming she was a destitute deity down on her luck? Even if it was true, she couldn't let everyone know!
Regrettably, she could not silence them with murder, so Shar could only snort coldly. "Foolish mortal, do not view deities through your narrow lens. There is plenty I can bestow, but these two portfolios of Corruption and Darkness simply aren't worth that much."
Anbaixiu hastily retorted, "How could that be? Those are divine portfolios ripped right off Lolth the Spider Queen."
"Heh. I am the Goddess of Darkness; this portfolio of Darkness is utterly useless to me, like scraps trimmed away from a polished gem. As for Corruption, it was dispensable even to Lolth. Even if a mortal fused with it, they would only become a lesser deity—hardly of any real significance. If you offered the drow racial portfolio, however, I might consider trading for something else."
Hearing this, Anbaixiu said with regret, "Is that so? What a pity. I've already handed the drow racial portfolio over to the elves. Goddess, I am now under the protection of the Elven Gods. Praise the Coronal of Arvandor; may His radiance shine upon the mortal realm."
Shar wore a look of utter shock and asked in disbelief, "You gave the drow racial portfolio to the elves?!"
Anbaixiu shook his head. "How can you say 'gave'? It was an exchange—in return for the protection of the Elven Gods. Goddess, when I ascend to godhood, if you ever try to trouble me, you'll have to face the entire elven pantheon."
To his surprise, Shar burst into shrill, mocking laughter. "So that's how it is! That explains everything! Fate has revealed itself, and it was all because of you. Accursed lich, do you realize what you've done? You have just ignited a war among the gods."
Anbaixiu was somewhat bewildered and asked, "Goddess, I am not your worshiper. Save your cryptic oracles for your followers. If there's something to say, speak plainly."
Shar's mood seemed to brighten considerably. Rather than keeping him in suspense, she stated bluntly, "The drow elves are Lolth's most vital portfolio. Even if I obtained it, I would only be gaining a modest advantage, and my best course would still be to realign with Lolth. But you gave that portfolio to the elves, and the Elven Gods accepted your offering. That means they intend to take the drow elves back."
That was reasonable enough; the Elven Gods had enlisted Anbaixiu's help specifically to reclaim the drow elves.
"But what does that have to do with a war among the gods?" Anbaixiu asked.
"The greatest obstacle to reclaiming the drow elves is not mortals, but Lolth. Corellon accepting this portfolio means he intends to settle past scores with Lolth once and for all. And Lolth is the chief deity of the Dark Seldarine. No matter how much intrigue and scheming goes on between Lolth and her allies, they will unite in the face of this. A war will erupt between the elven pantheons, and its flames are bound to engulf many deities—including myself.
"Lich, you truly are a pawn favored by fate. Lolth's portfolios were severed because of you, and it was your very hands that delivered them to the elves. A war of gods will ignite because of you, and countless deities will fall in the process. I wonder, though... can you bear the consequences?"
The Rose of Decay couldn't help clutching Anbaixiu's hand tightly. The news was terrifying. How could a mere mortal bear the blame for instigating a war among the gods?
Anbaixiu, however, patted the back of her hand and consoled her. "Don't fret. No matter how fiercely the gods fight, what does it have to do with us mortals?"
Turning his gaze back up toward Shar, Anbaixiu said, "Goddess, save your framing and scapegoating. War between the elven pantheons is happening because of ancient grudges. The powder keg was packed with explosives named betrayal, and the one who lit the fuse was Lolth the Spider Queen. I'm not even a fuse—at best, just a stray spark flying off while it burns. Back where I come from, there's a saying: 'Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor.' When it comes time to settle accounts, the blame can never land on my head."
Chapter 295