This Lich is a Better Landlord

Chapter 124: He Loves Mountains of Gold

Ambrose departed from the chaotic battlefield.

Spending quite a few [Dice of Fate], Ambrose barely managed to pry open the hem of the Goddess of Fate's skirt to catch a glimpse of the past.

The Hellgate had been prepared by the Cerberus Family, starting from the day the City of Alchemy was destroyed.

What made Ambrose feel this was tricky was that several Lords of Hell had likely participated in this attack.

They were powerful monsters with quasi-divine power, possessing strength close to gods. And because the ambush was targeting the elves, not Ambrose, it hadn't triggered his premonition of danger.

The destruction of a kingdom always attracted the attention of gods, but this time it was too chaotic.

Competing for faith was a common occurrence for gods. The collapse of the City of Alchemy plunged hundreds of millions of citizens into chaos, which was indeed the best opportunity for missionary work.

It was understandable that the Lords of Hell were restless. After all, the more people died in war, the more souls fell to Hell. For them, it was like picking up money from the ground; everyone liked to pick up as much as possible.

Ambrose began to self-reflect: "A blunder. I didn't expect the City of Alchemy to be so attractive to these lesser gods."

Although he had lived for many years, he had never really seen a situation where an entire kingdom collapsed so suddenly. Usually, a change of dynasty had a process from peak to decline, often showing various signs before the kingdom rotted through.

This was the first time he had seen something like the City of Alchemy, which played a "Godhood Project" and collapsed overnight. Coupled with the City of Alchemy's original custom of "freedom of religion," Ambrose hadn't recalled the dangers of Hellish faith.

"The Cerberus Family, right? Since you like Hell so much, let me show you what real hell is."

Ambrose summoned the Golden Throne, which had shrunk by more than half, and drew streaks of crimson threads in mid-air with both hands.

This wasn't magic, but something more profound. The threads didn't outline any magical structure; instead, amidst their fluctuations, they influenced the flowing air.

The disturbed air created a few inconspicuous vortices, causing the flowing wind to deviate.

When it landed on the ground, a certain blade of wild grass shook once more than usual. A drop of Hellish Demon Blood clinging to it dripped down slowly, landing on a small insect.

This insect, attracted by the rotting flesh, began to mutate under the influence of the Hellish Demon Blood.

Minutes later, the insect, having grown two sizes larger, began to frantically devour the flesh of the demons. Eventually, it burst its own body, but soon, several scavenging crows descended.

Most of the crows that devoured the demon flesh fell into madness and died painfully.

But one lucky crow swallowed the corpse of the mutated insect. The demon power, having been digested once, seemed to have its corrosive effects significantly weakened. It didn't kill the crow; instead, it caused a second, featherless, bloody head to sprout.

The Two-Headed Raven took flight, disappearing into the night with a frantic demeanor, its destination unknown.

The threads of fate trembled lightly. The tiny influence spread like ripples, growing larger and larger.

This was Ambrose's first time using the power of [Fate Weaving]. Because he was influenced by Loviatar, he could only weave painful futures for others.

This time, he would let the Cerberus Family see what the cruelty of fate truly meant.

Retaliation complete, Ambrose headed back with satisfaction.

However, tonight had been exhausting. By the time Ambrose returned to the castle, Isabel was already dozing off in front of a pile of documents.

Ambrose didn't disturb the hardworking little girl and even draped a coat over her.

The weather was too cold; sleeping like that would catch a cold. Draping a coat over her meant she could wake up the next day and continue working.

After doing all this, Ambrose prepared to have a chat with the Elf Queen.

She should have already seen the things he had prepared. Some good things couldn't be hidden forever; sometimes, you had to deliberately reveal a little to make the rich patron willing to spend big money.

He just didn't expect Queen Catherine to be in such a hurry. Just as Ambrose covered Isabel with the coat, the Queen appeared outside the workroom door.

Catherine said unexpectedly, "It's true. You treat humans quite well."

The Elf Queen had seen Ambrose's gentle action of covering Isabel. This really made her see him in a new light; there actually was such a benevolent lich in the world.

Ambrose said casually, "If she gets sick, I'll have no one to order around."

Catherine smiled faintly. This lich's stubbornness was quite interesting. The more she looked, the more he seemed like a "person," not a cold, cruel undead.

With such a humane lich, perhaps the upcoming negotiations could make some progress.

Thinking of the magical seals on the elven prisoners, Catherine couldn't help but get excited. Although she didn't know the principle of the seal yet, this was the first time Catherine had found a chance to cure Magic Addiction. Sealing power was nothing; as long as the elves could survive, that was enough.

"Master Ultraman, before the new negotiations begin, there are some things I would like to discuss with you."

Catherine tried hard to control her expression, not wanting Ambrose to see through her thoughts.

Ambrose also pretended not to know, saying suspiciously, "As the intermediary between the dwarves and elves, communicating with you privately might be unfair to the dwarves. Is there something we cannot discuss at the negotiation meeting?"

Of course, Catherine couldn't discuss the magical seal at the negotiation; wouldn't that increase the risk of leaking the secret of Magic Addiction? She didn't even want Ambrose to know about Magic Addiction; she only wanted to obtain the principle of the seal through indirect means.

Therefore, seeing Ambrose show a resistant expression, Catherine hurriedly said, "I believe that while you were running around for this negotiation, you contacted the Desert Dwarves quite often. It seems unfairness appeared long ago, and we elves are the ones at a disadvantage. Master Ultraman, taking this opportunity, you should make it up to us elves."

This was cleverly put, making Ambrose look at Queen Catherine with new respect.

Those who could become Legends were no fools. In the past images, Catherine only appeared flustered because the pressure was too great.

Now that she had found hope for the elves, the burden on her heart was slightly lighter, allowing her spirit to recover significantly.

"Your Majesty's words leave me ashamed. It was indeed my oversight. In that case, let us sit down and have a good talk."

Ambrose invited Catherine to the highest point of the castle. This was where Ambrose usually organized experimental data, and there were still many drafts scattered on the table.

Catherine glanced at them and saw familiar patterns. Wasn't this the exact seal on the elven prisoners?

Ambrose gestured for her to sit and said, "Please sit, Your Majesty. Please don't mind; I, a poor lich, have nothing with which to entertain a noble monarch."

Catherine suppressed the urge to snatch the drafts, pretended to look at Ambrose casually, and said, "You saved my people today; how could I be dissatisfied over such small matters? I haven't had time to formally thank you. Now, on behalf of the Elven race, I thank you for your assistance."

"You are too polite, Your Majesty. But what you want to discuss shouldn't be gratitude, right? It's almost dawn; why don't we keep it short?"

Catherine said, "Indeed. What I want to discuss is regarding my kin. You captured several Twilight Guards earlier. I hope you can release them; we elves are willing to pay a ransom. This transaction has nothing to do with the dwarves, so discussing it privately shouldn't affect the negotiations, don't you agree?"

"So that's what Your Majesty wanted to discuss. Indeed, the elven prisoners have little to do with the dwarves. However, when I communicated with the dwarves earlier, they were very interested in these Twilight Guards. After all, the elves' actions were too strange; we are all very curious about your strategic plans. The dwarves are willing to pay a large amount of gold to buy these prisoners. If Your Majesty wants to buy them back, I can tell you the price the dwarves offered me."

Catherine felt something was wrong but tried to remain calm. "I wonder how much my kin are worth to the dwarves?"

"Only five million gold coins per elf."

Ambrose calmly stated a very outrageous figure.

Hearing this, Catherine couldn't help but say, "Master Ultraman, this joke isn't funny."

"It's no joke. Does Your Majesty think these Twilight Guards aren't worth this price?" Ambrose asked in return.

Catherine said very seriously, "My people are priceless, but that doesn't mean the outside world's valuation of them will be so distorted. Furthermore, the dwarves are being beaten by the Ryan Empire to the point of being unable to retaliate; can they come up with that much gold? Even if they could, why would they spend such an outrageous price to buy a group of prisoners? Master Ultraman, I am negotiating the ransom with you in good faith. Please do not make such meaningless jokes."

Five million gold coins were enough to arm a legion of Dwarven Iron Guards. Although Cicero and the others were elven elites, how could each person be worth five million? Even adding in the so-called "strategic intelligence," all of them put together probably wouldn't be worth that price.

"How can it be a joke? If you don't believe me, I can show you the evidence."

Ambrose took out several magical letters and handed them to Catherine.

The letters bore the seal of the Dwarven Kingdom—genuine official documents. The content was also clear: the Dwarven Kingdom was willing to purchase all elven prisoners at a price of five million gold coins per person. Of course, Ambrose had gotten these from Heggie Stone. Since the dwarves wouldn't expose him to Catherine, he could fill in whatever amount he wanted.

Catherine frowned. "How could they possibly have that much money? This defies logic. I have to suspect the authenticity of this document."

Ambrose said indifferently, "Then let's wait for the formal negotiation. You can verify it with the dwarves face-to-face. As for their economic issues... to be honest, they just happened to dig up a massive underground city filled with gold. I don't know the exact amount, but it's definitely several times more than the Dwarven Kingdom's original gold reserves."

Catherine was speechless. She had no way to confirm if Ambrose was telling the truth or not.

However, her real goal wasn't here.

"The amount of the ransom can be discussed further; we elves aren't unable to pay this sum. However, I need to confirm my people's safety. I met them just now and found that you had placed magical seals on them. This seal won't have any side effects on my kin, will it?" Catherine asked.

Ambrose smiled faintly and said, "Oh, that? Don't worry, there will absolutely be no side effects."

Catherine said, "No, Master Ultraman, you might not know the elves that well. We are very sensitive to mana. If possible, I would like to understand the specific effects of this seal. If I can confirm it has no impact on my people, then I might not necessarily refuse the price of five million."

Ambrose looked at Catherine, who was feigning calmness. He felt the Queen's heart was beating so fast it was about to burst out of her chest. No matter how she suppressed it, she couldn't completely control her expression.

Ambrose smiled and said to Catherine, "Your Majesty, the five million I mentioned is the price given by the dwarves. If I sell the prisoners to you, I would be breaking the contract. The penalty for breach of contract is triple the refund. I can't be the one paying that, right? As for the seal you mentioned... as long as you pay the money, I'll remove the magical seal first. No matter what side effects there are, feel free to come to me. I guarantee a cure. How does that sound?"

Catherine clenched her fist under the table. She only now confirmed that Gustavo Flynn had lied to her.

This lich didn't love gold coins; he loved mountains of gold!