This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 145 - 133 Who Works for Whom_2

Chapter 145: Chapter 133: Who Works for Whom?_2

Chapter 145 -133: Who Works for Whom?_2

“Actually, it’s because Alchemy City owes the Elf Tribe a large sum of money. In recent years, Alchemy City has been borrowing large amounts abroad, and we, as neighbors, lent them a significant amount of resources and Gold. Who could have imagined that Alchemy City would be destroyed overnight? To ensure the interests of our Elf Tribe, we had to take up arms and retrieve what belongs to us from this land.”

The secret of the magic addiction disease must not be exposed, so a plausible excuse was necessary, and the Elves had prepared this in advance.

Since Alchemy City was already gone, whether they really owed money or not was for the Elves to decide, and there was no way for others to verify it.

“Is that the reason?”

Hoffman Ironfist did not ponder deeply; it was a fact that Alchemy City was facing a severe economic crisis before its destruction.

Although this reason sounded reasonable, when a debtor disappears, the debts don’t just vanish. For a nation, it’s completely logical to take up arms and seize wealth.

Although the Elves’ previous actions were somewhat peculiar, there was indeed nothing obviously wrong with them.

Seeing that Hoffman Ironfist seemed to accept this explanation, Amberser added, “That’s right, so the Elves don’t actually want to contest this land, they just want to ensure their interests. I’ve already discussed this with Her Majesty Katherine, as long as they can recover the debts, the Elves don’t need the land of Alchemy City.”

Hoffman Ironfist nodded repeatedly. He hadn’t sensed anything amiss at first, but he became suddenly agitated upon hearing the last sentence.

“Wait, what did you say? The Elves won’t compete with us for the land?”

Hoffman Ironfist couldn’t believe his ears. Wasn’t this exactly what the Dwarf Kingdom wanted most?

“Our Elf Tribe has always loved peace, and war is only a choice out of necessity. If we can solve problems in other ways, we wouldn’t send Elves to the battlefield. Each Elf deserves to live a happy and peaceful life.”

Katherine spoke very sincerely, and these were indeed her true sentiments.

If there was a choice, the Elves really didn’t like to fight; they’d much rather stay at home painting, playing music, gardening, and sipping tea. How blissful that would be, but the damned magic addiction disease ruined everything. Fortunately, now that a solution had been found, Katherine was nearly ready to call for a cease-fire.

Hoffman Ironfist found it incredible. Could things really be so simple?

Were all their previous calculations and efforts in vain?

The Dwarf Kingdom was afraid they couldn’t defeat the Elves, so they had used various means to weaken the Elves in hopes of claiming more land in advance for their migration.

And now, the Elves didn’t even want to compete; they just wanted money?

That was easy to say; the Dwarf Kingdom lacked many things, but money certainly wasn’t one of them. They dug up a large amount of Gold from underground ruins every year, and Desert Dwarves possessed the most Gold on the entire continent.

“If that’s the case, Your Majesty Katherine might as well state the price. Once we have occupied the entire territory of Alchemy City, we will consider repaying this sum on behalf of Alchemy City.”

While Hoffman Ironfist’s words sounded insincere – “consider repaying,” Amberser and Katherine caught his real message. The King’s Hand was tempted; if a problem could be solved with money, he was very willing to solve it that way.

His vague statement was a fundamental rule of negotiation: never say anything definitive. They were just discussing intentions now; the details of repayment would be clearly written out when it was time to sign the official contract.

Katherine glanced at Amberser, as if asking how much they should ask for.

When they had devised this excuse initially, the Elves had casually come up with an astronomical figure just to shut everyone up, proving that the Elves had no choice but to take military action, that war was inevitable.

But now, mentioning that arbitrarily concocted number would be inappropriate and could lead to the collapse of the talks.

So, Katherine couldn’t help but look at Amberser. This Lich was so good at “business,” he should be able to come up with a reasonable figure that could quickly put an end to the war.

Hoffman Ironfist noticed Katherine’s subtle movement. The behavior of the Elf Queen was too strange—how could she not know how much Alchemy City owed, relying on that Lich to do what?

Amberser, however, was the quickest to react. The moment he sensed Katherine’s gaze, he understood her thoughts and spoke to Hoffman Ironfist, who was already harboring suspicions, “That’s right, in order to quell this war, I have persuaded Her Majesty Katherine to lower the repayment demands. I just hadn’t had the chance to tell you yet. Now that Sir Hoffman has brought it up, let me speak on behalf of Her Majesty Katherine regarding Alchemy City’s debt.”

Bullshit. This Lich was willing to help bargain in advance? Hoffman Ironfist could hardly believe it; more likely the Lich was acting as a middleman to earn a profit from the difference.

With a hint of sarcasm, Hoffman Ironfist said, “Master Ultraman, you’ve indeed made a great sacrifice for these negotiations.”

Unperturbed by the sarcasm, Amberser replied seriously, “There’s no other way, for the sake of peace.”

“Alright, give me a price, so I can know how much you’ve put into this matter,” said Hoffman Ironfist.

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“Alchemy City… has borrowed a total of ten billion Gold Coins from the Elf Tribe, and for many years has amassed significant debts in magical materials, roughly one billion a year, adding up to another ten billion Gold Coins. They even borrowed Divine Artifacts from the Elf Tribe, and with the disappearance of Alchemy City, those Artifacts have been lost—a significant loss indeed.”

Katherine grew more and more anxious as she listened—wasn’t this the compensation paid to her by the Elves? Had this Lich inflated the numbers tenfold? Wouldn’t this anger the Dwarves? The Elves themselves couldn’t accept such a price, who could produce that much cash?

Yet when Hoffman Ironfist heard it, he didn’t react with immediate outrage, but rather furrowed his brows in thought.

Just counting the Gold, twenty billion Gold Coins was a considerable sum for the Dwarf Kingdom, but it was not impossible to come by if they really bit the bullet. If they could avoid war with the Elves for this price, the deal wasn’t necessarily a loss.

The real issue was the lost Divine Artifacts of the Elves, something the Dwarves couldn’t compensate for.

As if seeing right through Hoffman Ironfist’s thoughts, Amberser continued, “Regarding the loss of the Artifacts, I have already discussed with the Elf Tribe. I will work for a long time for the Elf Tribe as a Legendary Mage, in compensation for the Artifacts.”

Hoffman Ironfist was shocked, but skeptical.

“Master Ultraman, although you are a Legendary Mage, I must say bluntly, how many years must you work to equate the value of the lost Divine Artifacts of the Elves?”

Amberser said confidently, “I have been invited by the Chairman of the Alchemist Council to join them. I also have the title of a renowned scholar in Alchemy City, and my papers have been published multiple times in ‘Legendary Spell.’ I am not just any Legend, not just any Lich, I am a research scholar. The Elf Tribe has recognized my abilities and they believe that I can assist them in crafting new Divine Artifacts. If you don’t trust me, you can ask for Her Majesty Katherine’s opinion.”

Katherine nearly crushed her own teeth in anger—clearly it was she who had sold herself into service, but in the mouth of this Lich, it became him graciously working for the Elves.

The worst part was, she had to go along with his lies.

Seeing Hoffman Ironfist’s doubtful gaze, Katherine was forced to corroborate, “Indeed, Master Ultraman’s wisdom is amazing, and we have great confidence in being able to craft new Divine Artifacts.”

Now, Hoffman Ironfist was truly astonished.

He felt he had overestimated Amberser’s capabilities, not expecting the Lich to be even more outrageous than imagined.

Being able to craft Divine Artifacts… Even the Legends of Alchemy City had never managed to create a single Artifact. Could this Lich actually do it?

If they could get this Lich to serve the Dwarves, could he craft Divine Artifacts for the Dwarf Kingdom as well?

Perhaps they would then be able to resist the invasion of the Laine Empire!

The Desert Death Line wasn’t a foolproof defense; if the Laine Empire didn’t give up and broke through, the Dwarf Kingdom would have no place to retreat.

Thinking of this, Hoffman Ironfist was somewhat tempted.

Perhaps there was room to strengthen cooperation with this Lich.