Chapter 254: The Spider Queen's Divine Artifact

Lich for Hire

Ambrose had never been worried about failing to find those rebellious drow.

If they were planning an uprising, they would naturally be watching the movements of Black Rose closely.

That explosion earlier had practically shaken the entirety of the Umbral Depths.

Any reasonably cautious force would send someone to investigate what had happened.

And a large group of escaped slaves like Ambrose and Milena? They would undoubtedly be a prime target for surveillance. After all, if the rebels wanted information, these slaves were their best source.

So waiting passively was the best strategy.

By the time Milena noticed the drider lurking in the shadows, Ambrose had already sensed the gaze upon them.

"Father, they're here. Should we force them out of hiding?" Milena asked.

Ambrose didn't answer. Instead, he countered, "What do you think?"

If they didn't expose the drider, they would have to keep acting under surveillance. But if they did force it out, would they alert the mastermind and scare them off?

The two options warred in her mind. Neither clearly stood out.

And Ambrose gave her no hint. Only after several minutes did he ask, "Is the drider still there?"

Milena casually glanced toward the darkness and replied, "Yes."

"Even after all that time you spent thinking, has the situation grown any worse?"

Milena froze for a moment, then realized what he meant. "Father, you mean we should continue with the deception, as long as things aren't getting worse?"

Only then did Ambrose explain. "When you're faced with a dilemma, choose the option that definitely won't make things worse. If you hesitate, it means you lack the resolve to take the risk, so don't. Wait until the time is right."

He had learned this lesson the hard way during his adventuring days.

Young people often hesitated when faced with opportunity, wanting greater rewards yet fearing the consequences.

Ambrose had suffered enough losses to understand that if you couldn't commit fully to risk, failure would only breed regret, creating a vicious cycle.

And if that were the case, the best option was not to gamble. Rather, prepare better, wait for the next opportunity, and then commit without hesitation.

Milena understood. She chose to ignore the drider.

After some time, the watcher disappeared. Milena grew uneasy, worried she had made a mistake, but Ambrose reassured her and told her to focus on her role.

Right now, she was the leader of this group, and her followers were a mix of different races. While fleeing, that hadn't mattered. But now that they had settled temporarily, problems began to surface.

The drow wanted to take full control. The mycelids wanted to protect their home. The few deep gnomes and gray dwarves wanted to escape. They knew all too well that living under drow rule wasn't much better than living under undead rule. In some ways, it was worse. Undead didn't torture slaves for amusement. The drow did.

Freedom was rare. If they didn't run now, when would they?

This was Milena's first real test as a leader, and she wasn't faring well.

She had no method for balancing conflicting interests between races. She could only suppress dissent with brute force. If this continued, things would eventually fall apart.

But that didn't matter much. They weren't here to build a lasting settlement, only to hold things together long enough. Sooner or later, the rebels would come seeking cooperation.

In fact, the driders were even less patient than Ambrose had expected. Before half a day had passed, a drider appeared outside the mycelid settlement.

Grotesque, enormous, and dangerous, its massive spider body exuded a terrifying presence. The escaped slaves trembled at the sight.

This time, Milena didn't need prompting. She stepped forward to face it directly.

The drider stared at her with the cluster of eyes on its forehead and sneered. "Heh… braver than expected. A drow enslaved by the undead for so long, yet still holding onto a bit of pride. How rare."

Milena crossed her arms and replied coldly, "A worthless creature offered as sacrifice dares speak to me like that? Have you forgotten the teachings of the Spider Queen?"

All driders were male. The drider transformation was brutal and dangerous, and no female would ever subject herself to it.

And the commandments of the Spider Queen applied to all drow, regardless of faction. Faced with Milena's harsh rebuke, the drider's expression darkened.

But instead of kneeling immediately, it pushed back. "I speak on behalf of my matron. I represent her dignity. Don't think you can suppress me with doctrine. Besides… can drow raised by undead even still hear the Spider Queen's voice?"

Though defiant, its tone had clearly softened.

Milena caught that shift. Outwardly, she remained cold and domineering, but inwardly, she was eager to use this drider to find the mastermind.

"Out of respect for a fellow drow I've yet to meet, I'll overlook your manners. Why have you come?"

The drider didn't waste time. "My mistress is launching a counterattack against the undead. We must gather all available strength. You're slaves who escaped from the undead capital, aren't you? Join us and reclaim the Umbral Depths for the drow!"

Milena nearly agreed immediately, only for Ambrose to cut in, "You're a freshly escaped slave. Even among your own kind, do you not know what drow are like? Intrigue, betrayal—every drow is a scheming plotter. No one would agree so easily."

Milena realized her mistake just in time.

She thought carefully, then said, "A counterattack? I see. You must be the ones who've been ambushing the ore convoys. But I heard you've suffered heavy losses recently. With that level of strength, how do you plan to fight the Undead Queen?"

Ambrose's fingers twitched slightly. Milena still hadn't been careful enough—what escaped drow would address Black Rose as "Queen"?

But fortunately, the drider didn't notice. "That's only part of the plan," it said. "That death knight who's dumber than a goblin thinks she's been winning. In truth, she's already lost. When our plan activates, she'll walk straight into our trap like an idiot.

"I've seen many undead, but even mindless skeletons aren't that easy to fool. Killing that death knight will sound the horn of our final assault. Her flesh will become our offering…" It suddenly paused. "…What was that sound?"

It was the sound of knuckles cracking.

Milena's fists had clenched so tightly they were trembling. She nearly lost control.

Ambrose finally understood why she had been so distressed. Being talked about like this constantly would wear anyone down.

The rest depended on Milena.

Would a newborn be able to endure such a direct insult?

Milena suddenly punched a nearby stalactite, shattering the thick stone pillar into pieces. The drider recoiled in shock.

For a moment, Ambrose thought she would attack. But instead, she gritted her teeth and said, "The death knight you're talking about is the Undead Queen's daughter. She really is an idiot. It's because of her stupidity that I ended up like this!"

Ambrose felt a strange sense of pride. She had improvised well. A slight change of wording, and it'd have been perfect.

The drider, staring at the shattered stone, turned pale. Good thing it hadn't provoked her further—otherwise that punch might have landed on it.

It quickly said, "So you also bear a grudge against that fool? Excellent! Join us. With your strength, you'll surely earn my mistress's favor. She'll even support you in establishing your own tribe!"

Milena sneered. "You've yapped on a lot without saying anything of substance. I still don't know your plan. How do I know you're not sending us to die as cannon fodder?"

The drider shook its head. "Impossible. In this war, every ally is precious. We're not like the undead. We can't endlessly replenish our numbers."

Milena snapped, "Enough nonsense. Tell me your plan!"

The drider hesitated. "I can't reveal everything, but I can tell you this. A divine oracle from the Spider Queen has bestowed upon my mistress a sacred artifact, one powerful enough to destroy all undead!"

"A divine artifact?"

Milena was stunned. She immediately asked through their soul link, "Father, they have a divine artifact! What do we do?!"

Though still a newborn, Milena had been given basic knowledge during her creation: language, writing, and even fragments of history. She didn't know much about the Spider Queen, but she did know that divine artifacts were terrifying.

Even Ambrose was momentarily startled. A god-bestowed artifact was no trivial matter.

But after thinking it through, he calmed down. Something capable of destroying an entire nation would never be granted so easily, unless the Spider Queen had grown tired of living and wanted to be smacked down by Aion. In this world, even foreign gods had to abide by Aion's authority.

If divine artifacts were that easy to use, the Lord of Dawn could just toss down a hammer and let Lyon conquer the continent. There'd be no point to warfare.

The artifact might be real, but it couldn't be anywhere near that powerful.

Still, a divine artifact was a divine artifact, and that meant one thing: it was incredibly valuable.

Ambrose spoke decisively, "My daughter, plans have changed. We'll still capture the mastermind, but we'll seize the artifact as well. It's ours now."