This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 139 - 129 Making a Killing

Chapter 139: Chapter 129: Making a Killing

Chapter 139 -129: Making a Killing

The contract wasn’t long, just a single page, but the content was astounding.

First off, the Elf Tribe was to pay a ransom of twenty million Gold Coins for each Elven Captive. Amberser had casually thrown out this figure, citing a promise to the Dwarves to pay back three times what was owed, but he had never actually considered that he could sell an elf for twenty million—after all, selling one for two million was already more valuable than a Paladin.

But Withered Rose managed to negotiate this sky-high price, and the income from this alone amounted to several hundred million. The Soul Fire within Amberser burned fiercely, almost combustably with excitement; he dared not imagine what integrating these hundreds of millions of Gold Coins into the Golden Throne would be like—would it transform into a flying golden palace?

The second clause was just as valuable, Amberser could demand magical materials worth up to ten million Gold Coins from the Elf Tribe every year, calculated at seventy percent of the current market price, with this free clause to last a century.

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Withered Rose said, “The golden reserves of the Elf Tribe are also limited, they need gold to stabilize prices, so they can only pay with magical materials afterward.”

Amberser responded with satisfaction, “That’s quite good, sometimes magical materials are more valuable than gold coins.”

As he read on, if the negotiations were successful, the Elf Tribe would gift all the Magic-Breaking Weapons they had accumulated to Amberser, and they would subsequently open the supply of various Magic Equipment, offering the lowest discounts.

Withered Rose said unabashedly, “This one is my benefit; you have no objections, right?”

“How could I have any objections? We agreed from the start, this is our business.”

Amberser knew that Withered Rose’s lifelong goal was to destroy the Laine Empire, and these Magic-Breaking Weapons were the most important strategic resources for her. This was the mutual agreement they had established at the beginning of their cooperation, with both parties taking what they needed from the Elf Tribe.

Amberser secured a vast amount of gold and the most negotiable form of magical materials, while Withered Rose got the Magic-Breaking Weapons and the promise of ongoing cooperation orders, all negotiated in Amberser’s name.

Now, these terms could only be said to bleed the Elf Tribe dry, but not enough to say they were cleaned out.

But the next clause was a bit outrageous.

“The Elf Tribe is going to ‘lend’ me three Divine Artifacts for my use? What’s the situation here?”

Amberser professed his confusion. Divine Artifacts could be lent? It was a profanity for a Lich to use the Elf Tribe’s artifacts, and would surely be smitten by the wrath of the Elven Gods.

Divine Artifacts are, in a sense, the most superior kind of enchanted weapons, but this superiority is very debatable.

Take for example the most famous Divine Artifact on the continent, the Magic Dragon Suit of the Laine Empire: wearing this set of equipment is equivalent to becoming a deity, albeit the weakest kind, but one who can freely exert the power of a deity in the mortal world, virtually invincible.

This was the equipment crafted by the Founding Emperor of Laine from the corpse of the Magic Dragon Tyrant after overthrowing him, and also acclaimed for the Emperor’s feat of expelling the Giant Dragon, thus gaining the blessing of the Lord of the Dawn, making the Magic Dragon Suit the true strongest Divine Artifact on the continent.

The Elf Tribe was not lacking either, being the race most favored by the deities, how could they not have Divine Artifacts?

Maybe they weren’t as famous as the Magic Dragon Suit, but their power could very well be on par. Such genuine articles, meant to suppress destinies, lending three to Amberser, had the Elf Tribe gone mad? Their inventory of Divine Artifacts might not even be in the double digits.

Gold can be accumulated again if lost, magical materials can be grown, and if need be, Magic-Breaking Weapons can be recreated. But Divine Artifacts are not something you can accumulate just by wanting to; without the blessing of a Deity, it’s nearly impossible for mortals to create a Divine Artifact.

This was not merely bleeding out; this was outright looting.

To say he wasn’t tempted would be a lie, but Amberser quickly composed himself and said to Withered Rose, “The Elf Tribe’s Divine Artifacts… how did this come into the negotiations? I’d rather have a few billion more.”

No wonder Amberser disdained them; however great these Divine Artifacts were, he couldn’t use them.

The Elven Gods weren’t ones to strike down an Undead on sight, but they are still deities of light and nature, which are in stark contrast to an Undead like Amberser who only wields Dark Magic Power. Even if the Elf Tribe’s Divine Artifacts were presented before him, he would only get burnt by touching them, literally burnt, to the point of his bones smoking.

Yet Withered Rose said, “The Elf Tribe aren’t completely foolish. I wanted more, but they weren’t willing to give it. Losing too much Gold would severely affect the economy of the Silvermoon Tribunal; dying of magic-addiction is one thing, but economic collapse is just as deadly. This was the best they could do, really goading them to their bottom line.”

Amberser responded with a laugh, “Not necessarily. They just don’t want to significantly lower their standard of living. Even the daily expenses of the poorest High Elves are more than ten times what ordinary humans spend; the poorest Elf lives a life comparable to human nobility.”

Withered Rose agreed with Amberser’s view. The Elf Tribe has been living the good life for too long to accept overnight destitution.

“Katherine understands this, so she didn’t continue to concede, choosing instead to use herself as a bargaining chip.”

It was as if Amberser heard something incredible, urging, “What do you mean by that?”

With a smile, Withered Rose said, “Those three Divine Artifacts are with Katherine. After these negotiations, unless something unexpected occurs, she will vacate her position as Elf Queen. As part of the contract, she will ‘lend’ herself to you for a period of time. Her working for you is the greatest compensation the Elf Tribe can pay.”

Amberser: …

Withered Rose carefully sensed Amberser’s reaction; although a Lich had no micro-expressions, there were still fluctuations in the soul. She was curious to see what his reaction would be to obtaining such a charming Elf Queen.

After struggling for a while, Amberser managed to retort, “Then I’m actually losing meal money here!”

This Elf Queen must be crazy, right?

What would a Lich who shuns the world want with an Elf Queen? To hinder his own experiment speed?

The other party was just here to work, not to sell herself. Even if Amberser wanted to resell her to someone else, he couldn’t, and he had to support Her Majesty, the Queen, who had been living in luxury for many years. The cost was not just high—it was extraordinary.

After some thought, Amberser reached a conclusion, “This Elven lass is burdened with too much guilt and seeks to redeem herself in this manner?”

Withered Rose nodded and said, “Clearly, Katherine feels that she’s caused significant harm to the Elf Tribe, so she wants to torment herself with this ridiculous method.”

“Living beings are driven by emotions, always doing irrational things. To abandon oneself for the rebirth of the entire tribe, to ease one’s conscience a bit. Tsk, such naïve little girl ideas.”

To sacrifice oneself seems noble, but in reality, it’s just escapism. Katherine lacked the confidence to keep her secrets hidden, to deal with the public pressure once those secrets surfaced, and to continue as an effective Elf Queen amidst such an environment. Thus, selling oneself for redemption is the best way to escape.

If the Elf Tribe allowed it, she probably would have already taken her own life a long time ago.

Withered Rose quite agreed with Amberser’s assessment. Katherine truly was a naïve young girl, probably too well-protected due to her outstanding talents from a young age. But that wasn’t necessarily wrong; with Katherine’s gifts and beauty, should she travel across the continent, she might have incited wars between nations. She must have been protected and nurtured by everyone in the Elf Tribe.

Under such circumstances, she didn’t become a selfish and twisted woman but remained somewhat naïve and willing to sacrifice for the Elf Tribe—that alone was testament to her inherently good nature.

From this perspective, the Elf Tribe had good judgment in selecting a queen.

“Working for a Lich constitutes atonement, these High Elves are as arrogant as ever,” Amberser remarked wistfully. “However, Lady Rose, since you’ve agreed to these terms, you must have some plans for the Elf Queen, right?”

“How about I sublease the Elf Queen to you?” Amberser suggested.

With an unchanged smile, Withered Rose felt elated inside. Amberser was actually willing to transfer this stunning beauty to her. One could no longer say that the Undead were immune to the allure of beauty—the charm of the Elf Queen had almost overwhelmed Withered Rose several times during negotiations, nearly breaking through her defenses with tears.

Luckily, every time Withered Rose softened, she reminded herself that this was to prepare for the destruction of the Laine Empire, instantly reverting to a heart of stone.

Amberser refused this astonishing gift without hesitation, which further convinced Withered Rose that Amberser had truly developed real feelings for her; certainly, this decisive rejection was out of fear that she might misunderstand.

“You seem to truly understand me,” Withered Rose said somewhat emotionally. “Katherine is indeed a valuable pawn. We Undead might just barely withstand her allure, but humans won’t hold up. If used wisely, she could possibly cause the Laine Empire to collapse from within.”

Amberser rubbed his hands together excitedly, “So, what you’re saying is, you accept the sublease?”

How much should the sublease be? Considering the value of an Elf Queen, it ought to be calculated by the second, right?

Yet Withered Rose said, “Don’t rush into that. You’re forgetting that we have a price to pay as well. Your Sealing Skill needs to be given in its entirety to the Elf Tribe. It’s a buyout; we can’t bleed the Elf Tribe dry indefinitely.”

“I’ve been mentally prepared for this; it’s a matter of life or death. Even if I held onto the technology, once they obtain samples, they’ll do everything in their power to decrypt it. The Elf Tribe’s overall magical strength is much greater than mine, decrypting it is just a matter of time. It’s better to settle for a hefty sum at once.”

Amberser did consider exploiting royalties to continually profit from the Elf Tribe, but upon closer thought, he realized it was impossible.

The Elf Tribe wasn’t incapable; they simply hadn’t thought of the direction of the Magic Web. It was Amberser who, relying on his powerful intuition, selected the most promising option out of countless possibilities, theoretically saving hundreds of years of research time.

Then there was the knowledge related to the Magic Web; the Elf Tribe couldn’t get their hands on it, hence they couldn’t start their research.

But Amberser had already produced a finished product, reducing the difficulty of reverse engineering by a hundredfold.

It was like the internet of his previous life; hackers might not be able to create great games, but the strongest game companies couldn’t stop hackers from cracking them, offering free “study editions” three days after a game’s release.

And that was just for entertainment, not a life-saving cure.

In the face of such an existential threat, the Elf Tribe would stop at nothing, unconcerned with copyright issues. Even if Amberser encrypted the solution repeatedly, only delaying their decryption process, the result would be the outbreak of the magic addiction, followed by the Elf Tribe unleashing their fury entirely upon him.

By then, there was no discussion of right, wrong, or consequences; they just needed a target to vent their anger.

It’s just business; there’s no need for a deadlocked fight to the death with the Elf Tribe, so a one-time buyout is best.

Seeing that Amberser was uninterested, Withered Rose continued, “Another thing, these terms should only be transacted after successful negotiations.”

Amberser said, “According to our previous plan, the Dwarf Race wants most of Alchemy City’s land, and the Elf Tribe wants those alloy-structured alchemy industrial cities. These cities are to mass-produce Sealing Scrolls to cure magic addiction. That would be the perfect ending; let’s hope no mishaps occur in the negotiations this time.”

Although he said this, Amberser had an uneasy feeling.

When one has a premonition of misfortune, something unfortunate is bound to happen. The most agonizing part was that Amberser could only wait for the unexpected to strike.

After some thought, Amberser said to Withered Rose, “There are still a few days until the negotiations; let’s make more preparations.”

If fate warns you of impending doom but you don’t know if it’s a scrape or a mortal threat, then prepare as if gravely injured and on the brink of death.