Arthur Ryan was indeed a weapon of mass destruction. Hurled out, he would inflict terrifying devastation, but he could only serve as a trump card played at a critical juncture, not thrown out right at the start in an attempt to end the game. On the contrary, playing this card too early would only give the people of Ryan time to prepare.
No matter how formidable a nuclear warhead was, a single bomb was not enough to annihilate an entire nation, not even a small one.
For a major empire boasting a population in the hundreds of millions and vast reserves of mid-to-high-level talent, as long as the core identity of Ryan had not been completely discarded, the empire would possess immense powers of self-repair. The nations of the continent were now faintly coalescing into a coalition against Ryan, yet their objective was solely to reclaim lost territories, not to unite and destroy Ryan altogether.
Anyone with half a brain knew that present-day Ryan was nowhere near total collapse.
The Rose of Decay felt intensely resentful, yet she had to admit that Anbaixiu spoke the truth.
If it was merely a matter of giving the Ryan Empire a new emperor, that would be utterly meaningless. What the Rose of Decay hated was the name Ryan itself. She wanted every shred of significance carried by that name to vanish into thin air, not to see Arthur Ryan crowned the Holy King of the mortal realm once more.
Clenching her fists, the Rose of Decay said agitatedly, "Is there really no other way? Just how much longer must we wait before this empire is destroyed?"
Her obsession as a lich having been stirred, the Rose of Decay could no longer maintain any semblance of composure; she could barely even string her thoughts together. She could only stare at Anbaixiu as though he were her sole ray of hope.
Anbaixiu consoled her, "No need to be nervous. I've long had a plan. A city destroyed by external force will be rebuilt by its people, but a tower that collapses from within will only be spat upon by the survivors. Ryan can only be destroyed through internal division. On the contrary, the more external pressure we heap upon it now, the more we'll only force the people of Ryan to set aside their differences and pull together."
Destruction from external forces would leave fond memories preserved in the hearts of those who lived through it. But if they brought about their own ruin through their own blunders, the survivors would only want to forget that past as swiftly as possible—and oblivion was true destruction.
What Anbaixiu aimed to destroy was the very concept of Ryan—so that Ryan would no longer represent justice, no longer embody the supreme interests of humanity, and no longer be an empire blessed by the Lord of the Dawn, but rather a pile of trash that needed to be buried in the dirt.
The Rose of Decay understood what Anbaixiu meant, yet she still voiced her worry: "Relying solely on Alan Watson? Just him?"
The Rose of Decay did not think much of the young paladin. In her eyes, he was nothing more than an idiot dancing in the palm of Anbaixiu's hand. He seemed to have garnered some minor renown for now, but she truly could not see how he could overthrow this empire.
Anbaixiu shook his head. "Alan Watson is only one man, but he had a good teacher. Arthur Ryan taught him the most important lesson of all: a man can be killed, but an idea cannot. Alan is no longer just an individual; he is a vessel spreading that ideology. Around him now stands a group of people who share the same conviction.
"Lady Rose, to Ryan, this is a virus that will continually spread. When the new ideals Alan represents supplant the original concept of Ryan, Ryan will fall."
The Rose of Decay fell silent for a long while before saying to Anbaixiu, "I trust your judgment. Then what should we do now?"
Anbaixiu replied with a smile, "Nothing at all, Lady Rose. I reckon that in another month, a grand show will unfold in Ryan. If you truly cannot bear doing nothing, why not do me a favor instead?"
A lich's obsession was simply too overpowering; it was not something reason alone could suppress.
Just like Anbaixiu himself: if someone truly placed a mountain of gold before him, he would genuinely take the bait. Even if he knew full well it was a trap, he would exhaust every means to snap it up.
Or take Gareth: whenever his wife was involved, Gareth lost all rationality, transforming from an invincible warrior reigning supreme over the battlefield into a timid, hesitant wreck, an idiot ripe for ambush at any moment.
In such matters, even undead possessed no reason to speak of.
Anbaixiu was genuinely afraid that the Rose of Decay might fail to restrain herself and do something foolish, ruining the delicate situation he had painstakingly built up.
Distraction was the best solution. Keeping the Rose of Decay occupied so that she temporarily put the Ryan problem out of her mind was the only way to ensure nothing went awry.
"What do you want me to do?" asked the Rose of Decay.
"A few days ago, I ran into a few idiots. At first, I assumed it was just an ordinary scheme, but thinking back on it now, something feels off." Anbaixiu recounted his encounter with Aeolus to the Rose of Decay, then continued, "At first, I thought the sea deities had dispatched such a fool to usurp Talos's domain. But reflecting on it now, it seems rather strange. Why would the sea deities employ a tactic with such an overwhelmingly high chance of failure to vie for Talos's believers?"
Deities competing for worshippers was a commonplace affair. A particularly vile goddess like Shar would even send her Dark Justiciars to kidnap people's parents and brainwash children, compelling them to convert their faith.
Yet even such despicable methods were far better than sending a fool like Aeolus, and held a far higher success rate.
Just imagine: a naked man who obviously had a few screws loose suddenly barging into the Raging Tide Kingdom, claiming he wanted to marry their princess... Wouldn't they beat his brains out?
Even if Aeolus truly possessed some ability—that business about being immortal as long as the waves surged—that would only drive the Raging Tide Kingdom to kill him over and over in mounting fury. What could he possibly gain in the end?
Though Anbaixiu was puzzled, even now he had not suspected Talos himself.
The reason was simple: Talos was the very god Ariel worshipped. If he wanted Ariel to marry someone, a single word would suffice—he could order Ariel to marry a shark if he pleased—there was no need to take such a convoluted route.
Anbaixiu still leaned toward the idea that another deity was plotting against Talos. Yet it might not be the sea deities declaring war on the Gods of Fury; it felt more like an instigator stirring up trouble between them.
Aeolus was very likely a pawn belonging to a third-party deity, meant to incite conflict between Talos and the sea deities so they could reap the spoils. But who could that be?
The Prince of Lies? Demogorgon? Or had some deity of the evil pantheon decided to stir up trouble on a whim?
*Sigh, don't these gods understand that harmony breeds wealth? What's the point of fighting and killing all day long? In the end, it's only mortals who die. If you've got the guts, wage war directly in your divine realms and see if Ao strikes you dead with lightning.*
These deities were truly both cowardly and malicious.
After indulging in a train of inner thoughts that ought to damn him straight to the Hells, Anbaixiu said to the Rose of Decay, "Although I've already written a letter to the Raging Tide Kingdom warning them to watch out for this Aeolus, I don't feel it's foolproof. At any rate, I still need to conduct business with the Raging Tide Kingdom to transform their realm into my alchemical manufactories, so I'd like you to represent me in the negotiations with them. At the same time, keep a close eye on Aeolus for me. We can't let him destabilize the Raging Tide Kingdom or disrupt the alchemy factory plans."
"You want me to go?" The Rose of Decay hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Understood. This is our enterprise, right?"
Anbaixiu was taken aback, then said, "True enough, you naturally have a share. Setting up the alchemical manufactories will still require help from the Underdark after all. As for the specific equity split..."
Anbaixiu had never intended to hog all the spoils.
This territory was won with the help of the Elegy Poetry Society. Not only the Rose of Decay, but Gareth and his wife deserved a cut, and Aige needed a share as well. Aside from the vampire Heji Stone, who hadn't contributed much and thus wouldn't receive any shares, everyone would split the money together.
The more powerhouses seated in the same boat, the steadier that boat would be.
If the President and the Poet were willing to ask for shares, Anbaixiu would gladly give them a portion too.
Unfortunately, after he had hailed them in the group chat for days, the other members of the Elegy Poetry Society had ignored him entirely, appearing completely uninterested in such worldly matters.
The Rose of Decay shook her head. "These details don't matter. You know that money means nothing to me; what I care about is you. I will give you all the wealth you desire, and you will help me destroy Ryan. In everything else, there is no need to draw lines between what is mine and what is yours."
Now it was Anbaixiu's turn to be at a loss for words. *So generous? Even I feel a little bashful.*
"Rest assured, I will definitely help you fulfill your wish. Ryan will fall—that is my promise to you, and not even the Lord of the Dawn will be able to save it!" Anbaixiu said resolutely.
Looking at Anbaixiu, the Rose of Decay felt that this lich was more reliable than the gods themselves. Over the past seventeen hundred years, countless evil deities had sought to destroy the empire, only for Ryan to grow ever stronger in the end.
Yet in less than a year of Anbaixiu's efforts, Ryan was already showing signs of fracturing from within. He was truly the most precious gift Ao had ever bestowed upon her.
With that in mind, the Rose of Decay said to Anbaixiu, "I promise you as well: I will not let that Aeolus take away the princess of the Raging Tide Kingdom."
Anbaixiu said gratefully, "Thank you. Meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life."
No one had ever treated him with such boundless generosity. The Rose of Decay was practically the ultimate cheat code he had encountered since transmigrating, like a reward prepared for him by destiny itself.
Hearing Anbaixiu's words, the Rose of Decay suddenly experienced a strange sensation. For a fleeting instant, her heart, long filled with quicksilver, felt as though it wanted to beat again.
*Is this what Canggu was talking about?*
After calming her emotions, the Rose of Decay asked, "Then what do you plan to do next?"
Anbaixiu replied, "Once the wrap-up work here on Gold Coin Island is finished, I'll set out with Aige to seek out the sea deities. If we want to seize faith across the ocean, we'll inevitably have to deal with them. Conveniently, we can investigate Aeolus along the way—at least to confirm whether that idiot was truly dispatched by the sea deities or not.
"If he wasn't, this will serve as the perfect stepping stone."
*Someone is impersonating the sea deities, bestowing Aeolus with power over the sea. If you sea gods don't want to get screwed over, you ought to know who to cooperate with.*
Nowadays, when it came to schemes and machinations, one could never bypass the lich Anbaixiu.
As long as the sea deities weren't fools, they would listen to what Anbaixiu had to suggest.
And as long as Anbaixiu had the chance to open his mouth, everything would become simple.
Chapter 408