This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 426 - 398 Too Familiar

Chapter 426: Chapter 398 Too Familiar

Half a month had passed since Amberser announced to the world.

Other than the rather grandiose event involving the Gith Yankees, it had been quite peaceful. Amberser was still concerned that the Paladins might have lost their way at sea, unable to find his location.

He had prepared a grand gift for these Paladins, ensured that they would cry out in praise of the Lich’s righteousness, then kneel before him with regret and shame.

But to his surprise, those who came were not the Laine People, but Amberser’s old friend whom he hadn’t seen in a long time—Princess Airel of the Fury Tide Kingdom.

When the Black Tide landed on the island, now named Gold Coin Island, Amberser had been waiting early on the shore.

The hatch opened, and Airel stepped down from the airship, led by Hasting.

Reuniting again, Airel couldn’t recognize the Lich in front of her as the former Monger Greyriver, but she simply greeted Amberser calmly.

"Master Ultraman, we finally meet. I have heard a lot about your exploits," she said.

Amberser, in the form of a youth, met with Airel and revealed a modest smile upon hearing her words, saying politely, "It is my honor to have left an impression on Her Royal Highness the Princess. The thing businessmen fear most is being forgotten by their clients."

His words were calm, with not a hint of the embarrassment of meeting a victim again.

He had grown accustomed to it, after all.

Airel responded with a light smile, "Master Ultraman is too modest. It’s not just a slight impression. The heroic meteor shower you sent off for the Gith Yankees still leaves me in awe. I come today for business with the Master."

Amberser was somewhat surprised; it hadn’t been very long since they last met, and Airel seemed like a different person.

The old Airel would probably slap a hammer down on the table and state her price outright; if they couldn’t agree, she’d be ready to fight.

Indeed, it’s through life and death that one truly grows. Amberser’s faked death seemed to have struck a heavy blow to Her Royal Highness the Princess.

"Welcome, Your Highness, please follow me. We should at least allow our guest to sit comfortably before discussing those cold numbers," he said.

Amberser led Airel into a newly built castle.

This was the masterpiece of the Subterranean Dwarves from Gloomyland. They, like the Desert Dwarves, were very skilled at construction. Though the castle wasn’t very large and was lacking in decorations, even its emptiness couldn’t diminish its majestic aura.

Airel looked at the castle with a surprised expression.

She was no expert in architecture but could clearly sense that the design of this castle was very impressive, even more pleasing to her than the Royal Palace of the Fury Tide Kingdom and much more aligned with her personal taste.

Gold Coin Island originally only had a small piece of land, but in just half a month, its area had expanded several times over, with a castle now built on it.

This was terrifyingly fast, as if an entire kingdom was supporting the effort.

Since Airel formally took over the reign of her kingdom, what she read most were not military reports, but civil ones.

To build such a castle in just half a month was something that the Fury Tide Kingdom absolutely could not have done.

Although she was unfamiliar with the highly abstract concept of productivity, Airel could still feel the disparity. This Lich possessed extremely strong production capabilities, whether it was constructing buildings or manufacturing airships like the Black Tide.

He could not be regarded as merely a businessman but as an existence equaled to the Fury Tide Kingdom.

Once they arrived in a simple but dignified reception room, Amberser invited Airel to take a seat and then ordered someone to bring over a pot of boiled water.

The plain boiled water, distilled from seawater boiled over a natural flame, was Amberser’s customary way of entertaining guests.

Airel didn’t care what it was she drank; her mind was focused on how to negotiate business with this Lich.

The Fury Tide Kingdom knew that airships were the key to future wars, a priority far greater than any "Legendary Spells" that could directly change the form of warfare. Setting aside the issue of seeking revenge against Laine, if other kingdoms were to deploy such airships, then the Fury Tide Kingdom would be completely left behind.

Fortunately, the Lich had approached her first to sell the airships, so Airel was determined to obtain the Black Tide airships at all costs, and she couldn’t afford to pay much. Therefore, Airel felt an enormous responsibility on her shoulders.

Whether a deal could be made was up to her now.

Airel mentally encouraged herself: "I can do this, just like Monger did, using linguistic skills and reinforcing them with oaths..."

She had practiced many times for this meeting and now had to subtly steer the conversation towards those airships, then present the territory she had prepared to bargain down the price of the airship. Yes, everything was perfect.

As Airel was recalling her plan, Amberser took the initiative to say: "Your Highness, you already know the price of the airship from Hasting. The reason you’ve come here is that the Fury Tide Kingdom cannot afford its cost, so you’re prepared to negotiate with me for a better deal, right?"

Airel paused; his words were true, but was it that straightforward?

Airel remained silent, so Amberser pressed: "Am I mistaken?"

Airel had to quickly say, "No, that’s right, that’s exactly it. The airship is good, but the price is too high, isn’t that an excessive markup? It’s just ordinary steel..."

"It’s not just about the materials whether something is expensive, but it’s also about the technology. I am the only one in this world capable of manufacturing such combat-worthy airships. Developing them always requires costs. Surely you don’t expect me to lose several billion Gold Coins used in development, do you?"

"Billions?" Airel was startled by the price.

"Not an exaggeration at all. You should know that just the publication fee for my paper in "Legendary Spells" was worth a million, and that was only a small part of my extensive research," Amberser began listing data to prove that his airship technology was extremely valuable.

Airel was unable to refute, or rather, no one in the world could, because the technology of undead alchemy was truly unique. This completely independent system was beyond anyone else’s ability to appraise.

After listening for a while, Airel felt dizzy. How could it be that negotiations hadn’t even started, yet she already found the other party’s arguments so convincing?

Is ten million Gold Coins for a neutered version of the Black Tide truly not expensive? But the Fury Tide Kingdom really couldn’t afford that much Gold Coin.

Wait, she remembered Monger saying that one should not follow another’s pace, even if it meant changing the subject.

Airel recalled the trump card she had prepared and spoke to Amberser, "Master Ultraman, let’s not talk about the price of the technology for now. Regarding those troops from Laine that are taking to the sea, what are your thoughts on them?"

Amberser chuckled and said, "Her Royal Highness the Princess is referring to the Laine people you sent into the Thunderous Sea Area?"

Airel nodded and said, "It seems you are already aware. Yes, as a friend, I led the Laine People into the Thunderous Sea Area. Even if they do not die, they are bound to suffer heavy losses, which should make it difficult for them to trouble you again. Does Master Ultraman appreciate the sincerity of the Fury Tide Kingdom’s gesture?"

The Black Tide, belonging to Hasting, had been monitoring the sea area and naturally informed Amberser about this.

Hasting’s Black Tide even waited to see the Laine People enter the Thunderous Sea Area before returning. If not for the terrifying thunderclouds, Hasting would have liked to follow and take a look.

Amberser thanked Airel, "Of course, I am very grateful for the good intentions of the Fury Tide Kingdom. However, Your Royal Highness, what you don’t know is that I intentionally invited those Laine people over."

Airel asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that?"

A lich setting up territory overseas only to lure the Laine People to demolish it? That sounded utterly illogical.

Amberser explained, "Your Royal Highness is not aware, but I’ve had a very difficult time these past years."

Airel was stunned; why had the conversation suddenly shifted to this topic? Fortunately, she didn’t need to ponder, as Amberser continued, "Various reasons led to my destitution during my life, to the point where I couldn’t even afford a Youth Magic Potion. Even after becoming a lich, things didn’t get much better. Laine has constantly troubled us undead, even though I never provoked them.

"As Your Highness knows, I’m a businessman; I just want to do business peacefully and make money. But my undead identity, coupled with my weak strength, made everyone reluctant to reason with me, which led to difficulty in doing business. Hence, the reason I lured those Laine people here was to resolve this problem once and for all.

"Seven Legends, an entire Laine legion—if I could deal with this elite force in front of everyone, I believe after that, everyone would negotiate business with me in all seriousness. Your Highness had good intentions, leading the Laine people into a desperate situation, but this unfortunately thwarted my plan to establish authority."

Airel’s eyes widened in disbelief. Had the lich gone mad?

Even the Fury Tide Kingdom dared not directly attack this army, resorting to using fodder to lure the Laine people into the Thunderous Sea Area.

Seven Legends—such terrifying power—and the lich claimed he would resolve this military force?

Airel didn’t want to believe it, but before she could object, a mirror in the guest room lit up with a glow, revealing a noble-looking lady.

Amberser apologized to Airel and approached the Magic Mirror, "Lady Rose, I’m not done here yet."

Withered Rose said with some dissatisfaction, "The Dragon Race is waiting and getting impatient."

Amberser chuckled and replied, "If those big lizards are impatient, just give them a good thrashing. Let Gareth slay a few more dragons; at this point, don’t they know who really holds the power?"

"Alright, I’ll handle it. You should also hurry up. We’re talking about more than a hundred dragons here, even dismembering them takes time," said Withered Rose before she cut off the communication.

Amberser quickly returned to Airel, apologizing, "Sorry about that, I got a bit busy with business."

Airel frowned and asked, "You were just discussing the Dragon Race... are you referring to those Giant Dragons?"

Amberser explained calmly, "Yes, I’ve resolved the Githyanki issue, Your Highness should be aware of this. These overseas Giant Dragons colluded with the Githyanki, wanting to counterattack the mainland again, so I dealt with them together with some friends. Now, the Dragon Race is defeated, waiting for me to discuss the terms of compensation."

Airel could only feel shocked. She really wanted to say this was false, but then Amberser invited her to witness the surrender ceremony of the Dragon Race.

Seeing those dozen or so Giant Dragons shackled and forced to crouch low on the ground, Airel could no longer harbor any doubts.

At this ceremony, Airel also encountered the leader of the Silent Night Pirate Group, the Undead Queen from Gloomyland, and the Dragon Tomb’s Master... all of whom were very famous individuals.

So the "friends" the lich mentioned were these influential figures; no wonder he was confident in dealing with Laine’s Seven Legends. This force was strong enough to directly attack the Laine Imperial Capital.

This time it was over; there was no way to bargain. The Fury Tide Kingdom couldn’t afford the airships.

Just when Airel thought the negotiations had completely failed, Amberser smiled at her, saying, "Your Royal Highness, I am well aware of the economic situation in the Fury Tide Kingdom, so perhaps you could pay for the airships in another way."

Another way?

Airel looked at the lich before her, suddenly feeling a sense of familiarity.

Changing the subject, interrupting the rhythm, revealing a trump card to intimidate the opponent, then completely controlling the negotiation tempo... This approach was all too familiar.