Chapter 888: After modification: Chapter 865 Choose One

“Lancelot, are you sure?” Kalalin couldn’t help but speak up, “After all, that is…”

“I know what it is.” Lancelot laughed, “But if I accept that power, I probably won’t be able to continue adventuring with you guys, right?”

“Definitely not in the Abyss.” Cranvo enthusiastically chimed in, “Unless you convert to a chaotic evil alignment, otherwise within a few days you’ll be thrown out by the plane’s own power. That’s why I can only send a few avatars to the Abyss to hunt those soul thieves, it’s one of my few entertainments.”

“Uh, sir, we are a group of mercenaries, if you need…”

“Becoming a god has some perks, like being able to dispatch countless avatars, doing different things in different places across the Multiverse. I can be in the City of the Dead accepting Yago’s teachings, while also hunting demons in the Abyss who dare steal souls from my realm. So, no, I’m not going to pay you to do what I enjoy doing myself. Now, have you made up your mind, sir? Are you certain you’re willing to give up this power that should rightfully be yours?”

“Yes, great Lord of the Dead.”

“And you, esteemed Madam?”

“I’m not interested in that.” The Raven Queen shrugged, “I only need you to promise me what you did beforehand.”

“Of course.” Cranvo nodded, again looking at Lancelot, “This divine power may not be much to me, but it holds extraordinary significance for you. I’ll give you three options to choose from as compensation for giving up this power.”

“Option one is my blessing: whenever you die, you will be resurrected at midnight at the last place you rested, until you yourself wish to end it.”

“Option two is a scepter: once a day, you can use it to resurrect any deceased mortal, as long as the soul is still in the Domain of the Vague or beside their believed god. However, the scepter will only allow you or be used on you, and based on the integrity of the corpse, you must pay the corresponding casting materials: a corpse with no external injuries only requires some diamond dust, a completely absent body needs a diamond over five carats…”

“That’s too expensive…” Bruto mumbled softly, “Can’t there be an exception…”

“No.” Cranvo decisively shook his head, “Those aren’t for me.”

“Sorry, sorry, please ignore me.” Bruto quickly said with a smile, “Besides, it’s just diamonds, my brother isn’t lacking…”

“Really… The third option is a weapon, which is this sword at my waist.” The Lord of the Dead drew his greatsword, “This sword contains the power of my domain, aside from its sharpness, any target hit by it has a chance to enter a state of ‘death sleep.’ ‘Death sleep’ doesn’t bring true death, but a comatose state similar to death, lasting a full day. Targets that would originally be killed by the sword won’t take fatal damage, but will inevitably enter death sleep, except for undead creatures–they’ll be immediately destroyed, more effectively than my priests’ hammers.”

“So, what’s your choice, sir?”

“Uh, they all sound great…” Lancelot showed a shy smile, “Can I have them all?”

“…No.”

“Oh come on, don’t be so stingy, you just said we hit it off, and saw a shadow of your past self in me, what a close relationship that is…”

“You can give up godhood, and now you’re this greedy…”

“Godhood? With the great Lord of the Dead’s favor, who needs that? As for that bit of divine power scraped from Shrek, of course that’s a tribute to you, my lord…”

“…Stop it, choose one!”

“Why be like this, it’s not really any cost… Your chainmail shirt looks nice, is it a divine artifact? And your belt with cat’s-eye stones, I didn’t feel any magic waves from it, if it’s not valuable, why not give it to me…”

Everyone watched in astonishment as Lancelot bargained with Cranvo, and although the Lord of the Dead wore a silver metal mask, they could clearly sense the god’s helplessness from his body language.

“Hey, elf…” Bruto nudged Alamir with his elbow, “According to the stories, it’s usually not good to make such demands, right?”

“Hmm… If it were a random god met on the road, it’d be inappropriate, but if they’re acquainted…”

“Is this how you usually talk to Shuni?”

“How dare I!!” The elf priest immediately denied, though his expression turned a bit hesitant, “But… seeing this, maybe trying it wouldn’t be bad either…”

On the other side, Lancelot made his final push towards Cranvo.

“Shrek secretly controlled this demiplane for about a century, right? In that time, how many face maggots have emerged, you should have an idea? Now He’s probably plotting something in some lower plane’s corner, will you intervene or not? If so, aren’t we the best candidates? This time it’s just dealing with one of His avatars, next time it’ll be His true form, isn’t it reasonable to get some advance payment?”

“Immoderate, very immoderate,” the Lord of the Dead firmly rejected, “And I must warn you, Shrek’s power far exceeds your imagination, over the past century He’s consumed several lesser divine powers, weaving a web of lies even I dare not touch lightly. Once you leave this demon’s domain, never show any hostility to the dark sun without my direct permission.”

“…Oh.” Lancelot knew it was unlikely, “So I really can’t have them all?”

“No. One choice.”

“Then the scepter.” Lancelot extended his hands, “Nothing fits better.”

“You didn’t choose the blessing?” Cranvo asked a bit surprised, but still handed over the scepter, “Seems like your coin pouch is quite heavy…”

“Compared to wealth, my companions are more important.” Lancelot lightly smiled, reaching out to take the scepter, “Thank you for your gift, great Lord of the Dead.”

“It’s what you deserve.” The Grim Reaper’s tone sounded relieved, “Well done. Now, honored Raven Queen, next is…”

“Wait!” Lancelot spoke up once again, “Sorry, my lords, I have a small problem…”

“Another one?” Cranvo couldn’t help but take a deep breath, “What’s the problem?”

“This thing…” Lancelot shook the trident in his hand, and a pitch-black crystal fell from the weapon, “Seems to be an avatar of Shrek’s memory…”