Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint

"The title of 'Ruins Conqueror' is just a title. 1200 gold coins is too much. 900 gold coins at most. If possible, we can make a contract now."

Bargaining means giving up.

Concerning Celia's situation is too risky. In comparison, simply conquering the 12th floor is dangerous but not too bad. It's just a bit of a pity that you can't step on the Holy Court.

Pascal thought to himself.

Seeing the change in Pascal's expression, and recalling the brief words Ross had spoken to her while he was deep in thought, Celia silently hummed and said indifferently:

“1200 gold coins, no more, no less. After you complete the mission, you can also receive a bonus from the Holy Court and the Royal Family. The bonus will definitely be more than this amount of gold coins. What are you still worried about? If you don’t agree, then forget it.”

Chapter 246 Trapping People, Ross is a Professional

The reward for conquering the ruins is neither a large nor a small amount. It is usually calculated per person. The Ishtar Royal Family and the Holy Court will each contribute money to the team conquering the ruins, and each person will be rewarded with about two to three hundred gold coins.

This number is very high for a typical mercenary group.

But for a mercenary team capable of clearing the level, it's really not that great. What's truly valuable are the various valuable items obtained along the way, and the subsequent benefits from developing the ruins after a successful completion.

For example, after the five members of the Celia group successfully conquered the Lost Lighthouse, it was taken over by the Holy Court. It is very suitable for cultivating various low-level materials, and it may be used as a medicinal herb cultivation base in the future. The five members of the Celia group will also benefit from the subsequent production.

However, this will take a long time because the pollution and monsters in the lost lighthouse have not been completely cleared. There are still some mercenaries active, but they are no longer as prosperous as before the conquest was completed, and there are fewer and fewer people. The camp is gradually developing into a planting base.

This hidden benefit attracts countless people to explore ancient ruins.

Normally, Celia would not sell the 12th floor certificate.

Because the twelfth floor is almost a success, the value of success will far exceed the small amount of gold coins awarded by the Empire.

She was happy to sell the ninth floor, confident that she would be faster than Pascal.

The decision to sell was made because of the choice to unconditionally trust Ross.

Rose told her to sell, so she sold!

Lord Ross must have his own reasons, just like why he wouldn't let her sell the ninth-grade certificate. Celia thought to herself.

Finally, after some haggling, Pascal, after much hesitation due to Celia's resolute attitude, gritted his teeth and agreed.

Subsequently, the deposit of 200 gold coins was handed directly to Celia.

After making the decision, Pascal finally displayed royal generosity.

Watching Pascal leave, Celia touched the gleaming gold coin and looked to the side at Ross's phantom image.

Ross chuckled. "Are you wondering why I would ask you to do this?"

Celia nodded.

Ross said calmly, "Have you ever thought about why someone who's known as a miser, someone who would even ask for a refund when buying information, would suddenly become so generous as to spend 500 gold coins to buy your relic certificate?"

Celia thought for a moment and said, "I sensed that his purpose was not as simple as exploring the ruins, but I was not sure what he wanted to do. So my original plan was to sell it to him and see what he wanted to do."

Ross said, "If you think like that, you've fallen into their trap. His goal is to confirm something by buying credentials from you, but in reality, he has no intention of buying them at all."

Celia was taken aback, then snorted, "There really isn't a single good person in the royal family."

Ross continued, "He actually already knew that you were Saintess Celia, but he was unsure of your purpose in disguising yourself as an elf, so he used the purchase of the relic token to confirm your purpose in disguising yourself as an elf."

Celia blinked: "I didn't have any particular purpose in disguising myself as an elf, I just didn't want to be discovered by others."

"If you didn't have the identity of a saintess, that wouldn't be a problem. But you, as the saintess of the Holy Court, disguised yourself as an elf, teamed up with elves to conquer the ruins of your own country, and left the ruins with traces of a different race. Do you think the Holy Court will do that? Do you think Pascal, as a prince, would tell others about your disguise?"

Celia frowned, her face growing paler the more she thought about it.

Ross sighed and said, "It's normal that you wouldn't expect someone to be so malicious, and you don't need to get involved in such backstabbing. But next time, remember to learn how to disguise yourself and erase your traces. True disguise is not only about pretending to be someone you don't know, but also about erasing all traces of your disguise so that others can't trace you."

Celia nodded seriously: "I understand."

As she spoke, she asked curiously, "So, has Pascal confirmed it? I still don't quite understand what he needs to confirm. Why doesn't he just pretend he doesn't know and reveal it to me after I clear the ruins?"

Ross smiled faintly: "He doesn't know why you're pretending, so he doesn't dare to reveal it easily. Think about it, if your disguise isn't because you don't want people to recognize you, but because it comes from the orders of the Holy Court's higher-ups, are you worried that your disguise will be exposed?"

Celia shook her head: "Of course not."

She was simply naive, not stupid; Ross's words made her understand the gist of it.

But there was one more thing she was curious about.

"Why did Lord Ross make me refuse to sell the certificate for the ninth floor, and then make me sell him the certificate for the twelfth floor?"

Ross smiled slightly and said, "He's so malicious. If I don't do anything, even if you can accept it, I can't."

Celia: "?"

“This ancient ruin is different from other ruins,” Ross said. “It’s an unconquerable ruin.”

Celia was stunned: "What?"

Ross said calmly, "Literally, the creator of this ruin might still be alive. If he doesn't want to hand it over to someone else, no one can gain control of it."

"The creator of the ruins... is still alive?" Celia was stunned for a moment, then realized, "Could the creator of the ruins be a god?"

Ross shook his head: "It's not only gods who live long. When humans break through the limit level, their lifespan will be extended. Although you haven't seen it now, there are still many ancient beings who survived from the Age of Calamity in the dark. They are extremely powerful and have hidden themselves for various reasons, no longer coming out. The owner of this ruin may be one of them."

"So, all our activities inside the ruins were being watched by the owner of those ruins?"

“Your exploration with Elena has certainly been observed,” Ross smiled slightly. “The twelfth floor may be the residence of the ruin’s owner, who is waiting for your arrival.”

"The owner of the ruins is waiting for us..." Celia couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Therefore, apart from the benefits gained during the puzzle-solving process, you will get nothing after completing this unconquerable ruin. In addition, since you are disguised as an elf, you will not be able to claim any reward from the Holy Court. You might as well sell the voucher to that prince and swindle him out of 1,200 gold coins as a 'reward' and also as punishment for his attempt to offend you."

Celia nodded, thinking about her reckless attitude along the way, and then about how the owner of the ruins had seen them...

The owner of the ruins designed so many complex traps, probably to make people follow the traps and solve the puzzles, suffering and toil within the traps yet feeling happy.

They simply charged straight in...

The girl began to worry that if she reached the twelfth floor, she might get beaten up by the owner of the ruins.

Ross chuckled and said, "Don't worry, if he dares to touch you, I'll just drag him to keep me company."

Just like Ethel.

Go and build an endless abyss.

I wrote it a while ago, but forgot to send it... I'm sorry!

Chapter 247: God of Elves

This was just a minor incident involving sending money to Celia.

Afterward, the girl continued to immerse herself in making the scroll.

Three days passed quickly.

Based on the estimated consumption for the ninth and tenth floors, she crafted 30 Earth Shield scrolls. She didn't craft any Water Curtain scrolls, since two Water Curtain scrolls would suffice for the two floors.

With the remaining scrolls, Celia made some defensive scrolls for other types, but it was unclear whether she would ever need them.

Because Pascal provided some support, she even took some blank scrolls to try drawing fourth-order scrolls.

The result was a complete failure.

None of them are usable.

"The magic power required to craft a fourth-tier scroll is still too much, and the intensity of that magic power is beyond what ordinary materials can withstand. To craft a fourth-tier scroll, expensive materials like the Heart of Gold may need to be used as the primary material, rather than as an auxiliary material..."

Celia glanced regretfully at the failed fourth-tier scrolls, packed up all the scrolls, and left the tent.

Elena was already waiting outside.

After having a quick bite to eat, the two headed towards the ruins.

Today, with the development of temporary camps, the distance from the temporary camps to the entrance of the ruins has been replaced by a wide avenue, with bluestone slabs extending all the way to the entrance of the ruins.

Along the wide avenue, numerous itinerant vendors appeared, selling all sorts of random things.

Celia even saw someone selling Puppet Hearts, and upon closer inspection, she recognized him as an old acquaintance—Karl, who had sold Puppet Hearts at the Lost Lighthouse before.

However, she is currently in the form of an elf, and the other party does not recognize her.

Upon seeing an acquaintance, Celia took a special look at the linking device and discovered that he had already upgraded the runes on the linking devices of all the artificial puppet hearts.

If she weren't busy exploring the ruins right now, Celia would have gone to make another fortune off him.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the ruins, one finds a bustling area divided into two sections by nearby lords: one for entry and one for exit, to prevent interference between them.

Celia looked up at the tall gate and muttered to herself, "I hope I can get through today."

After saying that, she and Elena entered the ruins.

It reappeared at the entrance of the ninth floor of the central tower.

After briefly surveying the surroundings and confirming that this place shared the same eerie theme as the three floors below, the two entered the ninth floor.

As the gate behind her closed, Celia took out the Earth Shield scroll, activated it, and guided it to form a fortress.

Then, Elena used Steelwood Spikes and Forest Silk, completing a series of movements in one smooth motion.

Just as Celia was about to conjure an ice bow and fire a crystal arrow at the portrait in front of the hall, the portrait seemed to come alive, its lips curving into a strange shape.

The next second, a piercing scream rang out, and everything around them began to move, turning into a terrifying storm in the blink of an eye.

Celia's eyes widened. "Did they know we were planning to skip the puzzle, so they're attacking us instead?"

This sudden anomaly confirmed what Ross had said.

The original owner of the ruins is still alive, and is watching them from the twelfth floor.

Elena noticed that Celia's expression was unusual and asked, "What's wrong?"

Celia shook her head. "It's alright, it's alright. Let's continue preparing the second load-bearing wall."

It's best not to let Elena know that the owner of the ruins is watching them from the twelfth floor.

If she found out, who knows what she would think, since the other party sensed the call and came here based on it.

"The owner of the ruins may be related to Elena, but it's best not to say anything."

A barrage of attacks ensued.

It took eight layers of load-bearing walls, plus a water curtain barrier, to successfully pass the ninth layer.

With Ross's guidance once again, we successfully reached the tenth floor.

Using the same trick again, this level consumed 15 Earth Shield scrolls and one Water Curtain Barrier scroll, plus many second-tier scrolls.

Successfully passed.

Before heading to the eleventh floor, Celia looked at Elena and said, "Elena, we won't use this method on the eleventh floor. I can sense that this method has reached its limit by the tenth floor."

Elena nodded: "I saw that too. If we use this method on the eleventh floor, our combo attack might not be able to withstand the attack... But we still have plenty of time. These two floors didn't take much time, so we can take our time to conquer them."

Celia smiled slightly and nodded: "Okay, let's take our time and conquer them, no rush."

Climbing 12 floors in one day is somewhat astonishing.

But so what?

What they wanted was to shock the world. After organizing their supplies and eating something to fill their stomachs on the tenth floor, Celia and Elena, guided by Ross, climbed the stairs and successfully reached the entrance to the eleventh floor.

The two exchanged a glance, refraining from casting any defensive spells, preparing themselves to experience the suffering inflicted upon them by the ruins' master.

But what happened after they entered the eleventh floor was completely unexpected.

As the door behind us closed, a thick fog suddenly appeared, slowly enveloping the surroundings.

Just as Celia was at a loss, she suddenly saw Elena next to her slowly emitting a green light.

Where the light reached, all the mist gradually dissipated.

When everything became clear, Celia discovered that they were no longer inside the tower, but in a forest.

Before us lies a vast crescent-shaped lake. On the concave side of the lake grows a giant tree, its branches forming a magnificent treehouse.

The wooden house blends perfectly into the tree, giving it a unique and beautiful appearance, both majestic and lovely.

Elena's voice came from beside them: "This is... the Old Elven Royal Court?"

Celia looked over, "The Old Elven Royal Court?"

Elena snapped out of her reverie and said, "This scene is very similar to the Old Elven Royal Court I saw depicted by the bard. Legend has it that the Old Elven Royal Court is inhabited by the Elven's only god, and Crescent Lake is the embodiment of her divine power. Just one sip of her water can grant one ascension to immortality, possessing the most beautiful natural wings and the highest magical talent..."