This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 134 - 125

Chapter 134: Chapter 125

Chapter 134 -125

The two talked for over half an hour, but neither got what they wanted.

Katherine was not skilled in negotiation.

In the past, whenever she needed to argue her point, a few gently spoken words from her would mostly cause her negotiation partners to yield.

If she frowned and showed a troubled expression, the other party would concede even more.

Katherine was well aware that this advantage came from her beauty, but she had grown accustomed to it over the years, dealing with those easily “persuaded” individuals.

And now, she had encountered Amberser.

After their initial meeting where the Lich had been affected by her charm, why was it now having no effect at all?

On the surface, Amberser maintained a polite smile, his gaze firmly on Katherine. In reality, he was putting in great effort to rein in his external perceptions, focusing on her words, trying his best not to “see” her.

Amberser considered himself quite adept at negotiation, having honed the skill of reading micro-expressions, allowing him to easily see through the inner feelings of the living with an accuracy rate as high as ninety percent.

But this time, with Katherine, Amberser found that this technique only backfired.

Katherine was indeed easy to read—the Elf Queen was not adept at hiding her thoughts.

However, when Amberser saw her distress and anxiety, he began to soften, almost blurting out an offer of a discount.

This Elf Queen was outrageous, even bewitching a Lich.

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This made Amberser realize he had met his true match. When Queen Katherine sat at the negotiation table, she was like a naturally gifted contestant who could bring down ten with her single strength; you needn’t worry whether she understood negotiation techniques or not, just her sitting there with a slight smile or gently furrowed brow was enough to leave her opponents utterly defenseless.

Amberser, a contestant of technique, felt overpowered by her sheer presence and had to constrain his senses, seemingly looking at Katherine but actually only listening to her voice, constantly reminding himself that gold coins were his true love.

Lacking the means of reading micro-expressions, relying solely on voice to converse with the other party naturally yielded far worse results.

The negotiation fell into a stalemate, and both parties were unable to achieve their desired outcomes.

Katherine did not care about how much the ransom was, she only wanted to get her hands on the principles of the magic seal without drawing attention from Amberser.

Amberser pretended not to know, aggressively marketing the ransom plan, as if treatment for the magic addiction disease was that cheap, the ransom for the captives was actually a sincerity deposit.

Amberser was feeling the strain and could only say to Katherine, “It seems, for the moment, we have not reached a consensus. It is nearly dawn, Your Majesty should rest a while. The formal negotiations will begin soon, and I hope we can reach an agreement smoothly at that time.”

Katherine indeed felt tired, not expecting this Lich to be so impervious. Coupled with last night’s fierce battle, her own exhaustion was significant, so she could only nod in agreement.

She then slept for an entire day, and when Katherine opened her eyes, several worried-looking elves were standing beside her.

Upon seeing Katherine awake, they asked with concern, “Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Katherine replied with confusion, “I’m fine.”

“But Your Majesty, you’ve slept for an entire day.”

Katherine stretched lazily and suddenly realized she felt revitalized.

She exclaimed with surprise, “It’s miraculous; I haven’t had such a good sleep in a long time.”

In recent years, due to the stress of the magic addiction disease, Katherine scarcely had a night of peaceful sleep, plagued by continuous nightmares of terrifying scenarios where the Elf Tribe was destroyed.

But today was different, as if the accumulated stress dissipated during this sleep, giving Katherine a feeling of rejuvenation.

The elves exchanged glances. Many of them hadn’t slept well the previous night. After all, this was a Lich’s castle; who knew if severed hands or rotten spiders would crawl onto their beds at nighttime.

Unexpectedly, Her Majesty the Queen could sleep for an entire day, completely unaffected by the environment—was this what it meant to be a legendary warrior? Compared to Her Majesty the Queen, they truly fell short.

Seeing the sun about to set outside the window, Katherine felt energized. After a casual meal of the provisions she carried, she was ready to speak with Amberser again about the issue of the prisoners. Katherine reviewed the mistakes made during the negotiation the day before and felt sure she could find a breakthrough today.

However, when she found Amberser again, Katherine noticed an additional person.

Inside Amberser’s laboratory, alongside the Lich who had taken on the appearance of a young man with black hair, stood another strikingly beautiful woman with skin as white as snow, who possessed a demeanor similar to Katherine’s. Katherine could tell at a glance that this lady was also a high-ranking authority figure.

“Queen Katherine, you’re finally awake,” Amberser greeted her warmly and then introduced, “Allow me to introduce to you, this is Lady Rose, the Queen of Gloomyland.”

Lady Withered Rose gave Katherine a polite smile, but there was no laughter in her eyes.

Katherine also made an effort to show her politeness, but she was quite surprised at heart.

Withered Rose, the Undead Queen of Gloomyland, Katherine had not seen her but had long heard of her name.

For the kingdom of Withered Rose was built next to the subterranean sea of mercury, she was also referred to as the Silver Queen. Withered Rose’s power and cruelty were well known throughout the Nine Great Kingdoms.

Why did the Lich summon the Rose Queen here?

Withered Rose was specifically invited by Amberser to help.

Katherine’s charm was so potent that it seriously affected him, a Lich who was extremely greedy for money. It seemed his soul was still male, so he was particularly vulnerable to her charm. Continuing negotiations could lead to mistakes, which might result in not making money that could have been earned, which to Amberser was like a slow death.

To avoid regret, he had Withered Rose come particularly for this reason.

She was also a Lich and her soul was female, which definitely made her more resistant to Katherine’s charm. After all, Amberser could not reap all the benefits of the Elf Tribe by himself and would inevitably have to share the spoils with the members of the Elegy Poetry Society; he might as well have Withered Rose handle the negotiation for him. After all, Amberser had already shared his bottom line with Withered Rose, and he trusted that the Undead Queen would not cheat one of her own.

Katherine said to Withered Rose with great courtesy, “So it is Lady Rose, I have long heard of your name, and I truly admire your feat of establishing a Kingdom of the Undead from scratch.”

Withered Rose also responded very politely, “Queen Katherine, you are too kind. You are the queen that all women admire most.”

“Is Lady Rose friends with Master Ultraman? It seems like my visit has interrupted your gathering.”

“No, it is precisely because of your arrival that he asked me to lend a small hand. Regarding the matter of the Elven Captives, I can make the decisions; you can just deal with me.”

Katherine glanced at Withered Rose, thinking that the old king’s intelligence was indeed accurate; these two were members of the same organization. Otherwise, the matter of a few Elven Captives would not have warranted the Undead Queen personally coming to negotiate with her.

Katherine did not wish to negotiate with the Rose Queen; she had already prepared a strategy to deal with Amberser, and changing the negotiator now would waste all her prior preparations.

“Master Ultraman, by doing this, are you implying that I was somehow rude yesterday and thus you have even ceded the right to lead negotiations to someone else?”

Amberser said with a smile, “Lady Rose is not just anyone; entrusting her with this, I have complete trust. Of course, it’s not because there were any disagreements in our communication yesterday. It’s simply because I have some personal matters today and cannot stay in the castle, which is why I’ve asked Lady Rose to help out. She has full authority to represent me; her decisions are my decisions.”

Although Katherine did not believe Amberser’s excuse, she could not find another reason to refuse.

Time was growing more urgent, and she could not say to wait until Amberser was free to talk; who knew how long he would delay?

Katherine said, “If that’s the case, then I hope I can reach a consensus with Lady Rose today.”

“Of course, as long as the price is right. You heard what he said. This time, I represent both of our interests, and the price you two negotiated yesterday, I think, could be adjusted further.”

“To correct you, we didn’t reach an agreement yesterday, so naturally there was no set price. A ransom of twenty million Gold Coins per captive is absolutely impossible; that offer lacks any sincerity.”

“The Elf Tribe won’t mind this trifling sum of tens of millions of Gold Coins. The wealth accumulated by the Elf Tribe could buy out the Nine Great Kingdoms, and this is well-known on the continent. Your statement, Queen, is hardly sincere.”

“Having money doesn’t mean it can be squandered. This is wealth accumulated by the Elf Tribe over generations; I’m just managing it on their behalf and don’t have the authority to agree to such an unreasonable price on behalf of the entire tribe.”

“But dragging this out will be even less advantageous for you. After all, we Undead do not feed the living, and the daily provisions for these Elves come at an extra cost which is constantly increasing. If the delay continues, the price will only get higher.”

…

The continent’s only two reigning queens faced each other at this moment, smiling on the surface with calm tones, but their conversation was veering more and more towards a breakdown.

Just when it seemed the negotiations would falter, both parties would tacitly take a step back, talking about governance and fashion instead, to lighten the mood before starting a new round of bout.

Amberser only eavesdropped for a short while before decisively leaving the small room. Withered Rose was performing very well, seemingly unaffected by Katherine at all.

If Amberser continued to listen, he might have ended up inadvertently taking Katherine’s side again, which could cause Withered Rose to sever their partnership.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals, and Amberser indeed had things to deal with today.

For the Dwarves had messaged from Alchemy City’s ruins that traces of Hell Demons had appeared once again. If the Dwarves hadn’t already set up their temporary camp, these Demons might have chosen to attack outright.

This situation was not right—the frequent appearances of Hell Demons were likely not just due to someone opening the Gates of Hell. It was probably a Hell Lord preparing to invade. Without dealing with this main culprit, the Demon invasion woes would likely not be resolved completely.

But Hell Lords boast near-deity strength, and they hide in Hell, making them not so easily vanquished; otherwise, the gods would have already slaughtered them.

Amberser alone was surely no match for a Hell Lord, so he would need to borrow more formidable power.

“If I publicly proclaim that a Hell Lord is massacring humans, would the Laine Empire send troops? Moral blackmail should work quite effectively on moralistic Paladins, right…”

As various schemes to trap others whirled in his head, Amberser flew toward the ruins of Alchemy City. Regardless, he had to capture a few Demons first, then find out which Hell Lord was stirring trouble.