Chapter 65: Schemes and the Desiccated Abode
Liam grinned. "The Astral Kingdom is currently rotting from the inside and out. Abraham’s attempt to eliminate you is nothing short of playing with fire."
"But the current situation is heavily stacked against us," Tiana countered.
Liam shook his head with a chuckle. "You’re wrong. The situation is actually working against Abraham."
"Explain," Leona prompted.
"I captured Blackwind City and Frostfall City without facing any effective defense, and I even put out high-stakes bounties. You weren't the ones pulling the strings behind that."
Liam continued, "The only ones capable of such a play are Grand Chancellor Kaslow and Grand Marshal Alistair Thorne. Of course, Abraham could do it too, but he clearly isn't the one sabotaging his own cities."
The realization hit Tiana instantly.
"You mean Kaslow and Alistair Thorne are faking their rivalry? They’re actually working together and plotting something?"
Liam nodded. "Exactly. Furthermore, by trying to eliminate The Three Princesses, the King is making enemies on the domestic front as well."
Tiana and Leona’s eyes lit up. The situation within the kingdom was far more dire than they had realized.
Abraham might have been able to handle The Three Princesses with ease, but if the two most powerful officials in the kingdom were added to the mix, the scales would tip drastically.
"Beyond that," Liam added, "The Demon's Den just attacked Blackwind City. If The Astral Kingdom falls into civil war, do you think The Demon's Den will just sit idly by?"
Tiana shook her head.
"Infighting is one thing, but inviting a foreign enemy is crossing the line."
Liam’s lips curled into a smirk. "This is the only choice you have left. Under Abraham’s rule, The Astral Kingdom will eventually be crushed by The Demon's Den anyway. And even if they don't, The Nether-kin are still watching from the shadows like starving wolves."
"Use the power of The Demon's Den to topple Abraham now. Once one of you takes the throne, you can easily sweep away the Night-Walkers of The Demon's Den later."
Leona and Tiana fell into deep thought.
Every word Liam spoke was logical. During his years in power, Abraham had been utterly mediocre. Under his rule, the national strength of The Astral Kingdom hadn't just stagnated—it had begun to decline. It was a terrifying trend.
"We have a better idea of what to do now. However, this alone isn't enough to bring him down."
Liam’s grin widened. "The most critical piece of the puzzle is Fiona."
"The Queen?" Leona’s expression shifted.
"She’s dead set on putting Seraphina on the throne, but she knows better than anyone that Seraphina lacks the strength for it. You just need to have a proper talk with Fiona. Convince her to risk everything to strike a crippling blow against Abraham. In exchange, you can promise that no matter which of you becomes the Sovereign, you will guarantee Seraphina a life of wealth and safety."
Liam’s tone was flat, yet it left Leona and Tiana in stunned silence.
Given the current circumstances, there was a high probability Fiona would sacrifice herself to take down the King. After all, Abraham was currently harboring murderous intent toward all of them.
"Fine. Frost Monarch, I hope your plan works," Tiana said.
Liam shrugged. "That depends on how you manage the relationships involved."
Liam checked the Quest Scroll. The task hadn't been marked as complete yet. It seemed he would only receive the rewards once Abraham was officially overthrown.
After the two princesses left, Liam checked his Gold Sovereigns balance.
1,650,000,000!!
Three days ago, the Adventurer's Guild had begun offering deposit and withdrawal services. With an annual interest rate of over thirty percent, it offered better returns than most investments. Such a rate was practically absurd.
Coupled with the guild’s ironclad reputation, over a billion Gold Sovereigns had been deposited in just three days. With a daily return rate of one percent, Liam was raking in 16.5 million Gold Sovereigns a day, while only needing to pay out a little over a million in interest.
He was clearing 15 million Gold Sovereigns a day in pure profit.
And this was only the beginning. Currently, Tiana was too preoccupied with the throne to care about the Adventurer's Guild’s business through The Mercantile Exchange. Between money and the crown, the choice was obvious. Once she had the crown, wouldn't the money follow?
As for pushing Tiana and Leona to ally with The Demon's Den, Liam had his own reasons. He had accepted the quest from The Dark Leader. If the princesses allied with The Demon's Den, the Den would inevitably benefit. This would make his mission to help the Night-Walkers establish a government much easier.
Furthermore, he had to help the princesses. If The Three Princesses were eliminated, the situation in The Astral Kingdom would stabilize, which would be detrimental to the Night-Walkers' rise to power.
Once he finished managing his affairs, Liam headed to Berserker's Domain to log off. Berserk had been incredibly accommodating, granting almost every request Liam made without even trying to recruit him.
After logging out, Liam checked the nutrient serum in his Bio-Nutrient Capsule and found it had been recently refilled. Next to his capsule, a brand-new Gaming Pod had been set up.
Barney had already logged off and was sitting on the balcony smoking. He noticed Liam and smiled. "Back already? That’s the pod for Chloe. Same model as ours. Figured the timing was right for you to go pick her up."
Liam walked over and patted Barney on the shoulder. "You're surprisingly thoughtful, Barney."
Barney took a long drag. He didn't offer Liam a cigarette, knowing he didn't smoke. "Liam, Specs has gone MIA in the game. I’ve been logging off the past two days just to try and find him."
Liam paused. Barney had mentioned earlier that Specs was stuck in a special Secret Realm. At the time, Liam hadn't thought much of it. "What happened?"
"I don't know. The game shows him in a 'Special Status.' He can't use town portals, can't send messages in-game—we can't even DM each other. It’s bizarre."
Liam frowned. "Did he say how he got in?"
"Yeah. He said he met some weird, beautiful woman. She told him he had an 'extraordinary constitution and great wisdom,' then gave him a Grave-Seeker's Seal. Sent him into the Blackwind Range to find the Tomb of the Golden Sovereign."
Liam froze. The Grave-Seeker's Seal?
The seal of the Celestial Tomb-Warden?!
In his past life, Specs never had this opportunity. Liam wondered what he had changed to trigger Specs obtaining the Grave-Seeker's Seal.
Celestial Tomb-Warden—where nothing was forbidden!
Liam knew of them. While he hadn't heard of the Tomb-Warden class specifically in his previous life, he knew of the hidden subclass: Grave-Gold Captain.
It was rumored that the Grave-Gold Captain subclass allowed players to actually rob graves within Twilight of the Gods. They were not to be underestimated. The very first Divine Artifact found by a player in his past life had been hauled out of an ancient tomb by a Grave-Gold Captain.
Not only that, but they brought out all sorts of bizarre and incredibly precious items. Hearing that Specs had the Grave-Seeker's Seal was shocking. There was an old saying: When the Gate-Openers don't emerge, the Gold-Seekers are kings.
This implied the Celestial Tomb-Warden occupied a level far above the Grave-Gold Captain.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Liam said, "Let's go get Chloe first. As for Specs, I'll give him a call later. He’s likely inside an ancient tomb."
"Right."
Liam and Barney headed to the hospital. After settling the bills and finishing the discharge paperwork, they brought Chloe home. Once they helped her into the Gaming Pod, her fate would be in her own hands.
Standing before the pod, Liam spoke. "Chloe, once you’re in, add me. My ID is Frost Monarch. Don't forget to include a note."
He wasn't sure if she could hear him, but he said it anyway.
Once Chloe was settled, Liam pulled out his phone and dialed Specs. It took a while before the call connected.
"Liam? What’s up?"
"What's your status right now?" Liam asked directly.
"I think I’m trapped in some ancient tomb. There are traps everywhere. I’m researching some data right now—the mechanics here are eerily similar to ancient records from our world. I should be out soon."
"Good."
Specs hesitated before adding, "I found a Silver Loot Crate in here, but I can't open it."
A chest? Liam was surprised. "Don't worry about it. Just bring it out. Only Rogues can open those anyway."
"Oh, alright then. You keep playing. I'm going back to my research. Talk to you when I'm out."
After hanging up, Liam logged back into the game.
Immediately upon entering, a message from Berserk popped up.
"Frost Monarch, interested in a Hidden Instance?"
Liam was taken aback. "Which one?"
"The Desiccated Abode."
Liam’s heart skipped a beat. The Desiccated Abode? That was an instance related to Hanba the Drought-Bringer. This was getting interesting.
"Your people found it?" Liam asked.
"We found it, but even on Normal difficulty, you lose 100 HP per second just standing there. And the mobs are ridiculously overpowered."
Liam raised an eyebrow. He had already been planning to speak with Hanba; he hadn't expected an instance to pop up.
"One of my subordinates has a quest to clear it, but we haven't found a way through yet."
Liam nodded. "You want me to carry your team through."
"Exactly. With you there, I think even Hell Difficulty might be possible," Berserk said.
Liam gave a noncommittal smile. "Hard to say, but I'll give it a shot. Also, I keep everything that drops inside."
Berserk hesitated for only a second before nodding in agreement.
As soon as he agreed, a powerfully built woman marched toward them. She was wearing... a starter set. Liam didn't need to ask; it was obvious she didn't plan on surviving and didn't want to risk losing her good gear.
"Frost Monarch, I'm Valiant Snowflake. We both have 'Snow' in our names—must be fate."
As the muscular woman approached, Liam instinctively took a step back. She was intimidatingly built. Her approach made him feel like she was hunting him.
In Twilight of the Gods, character models were based on reality. In his past life, there was a famous player called the Three-Hundred-Pound Assassin. The mental image of that was quite vivid. Valiant Snowflake's physique was clearly a reflection of her real self.
"Is this your quest?" Liam asked.
Valiant Snowflake nodded. "Yeah. Got lucky and stumbled into it. But it's too hard. You take constant damage even if you aren't hit, and if you do get hit, the DOT stacks."
"Alright. Let's go."
"You got it."
Valiant Snowflake pulled out a dark red stone etched with faint blue cracks.
"A Portable Instance Portal?"
Liam was stunned. He hadn't heard of these appearing until after the Second Advancement in his past life. To think someone had one already.
A glow erupted from the stone, forming a shimmering portal. Valiant Snowflake sent Liam a party invite.
Liam accepted and said, "Set it to Hell Difficulty."
Valiant Snowflake’s mouth twitched. Hell Difficulty? She hadn't even dared to dream of it. She couldn't even clear Normal.
Standing nearby, Berserk encouraged her. "Give it a try. I have absolute confidence in him."
Valiant Snowflake nodded and stepped into the portal with Liam.
As soon as they entered, she set the difficulty as requested. The moment the instance loaded, a notification flashed:
Ding! Your teammate, Valiant Snowflake, has perished.
Liam glanced at his own status. He was currently losing 100,000 HP per second. Since Valiant Snowflake had less than 100,000 HP, she had been instantly deleted.
Back at Berserker's Domain, Berserk stared as Valiant Snowflake respawned at the Sovereign Altar. "That fast?"
"Hell Difficulty drains 100,000 HP a second. I was dead before I touched the ground."
Berserk sucked in a sharp breath. "That's insane. Then Frost Monarch..."
"I don't know. I died instantly. I have no idea how he's doing."
"Fifteen seconds have passed," Berserk noted, his shock growing. He checked Liam’s status; he was still alive.
Inside The Desiccated Abode, Liam felt the life draining out of him. With over six million HP, he could survive for sixty-six seconds. But that wasn't enough to clear the place.
He needed Life-Steal.
He immediately began searching for enemies. The layout was strikingly similar to the Traces of the Frost-Corpse, but while that place was a frozen wasteland, this place was filled with flowing magma. The ground beneath his feet was cracked and glowing with heat.
Liam picked up his pace and charged forward.
The advance reading chapters on have reached 12chapters. Thank you for reading!
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