This Lich Needs More Money

Chapter 133 Who works for whom?

The dwarf wants to come to talk to him, which is something that Amberxiu didn't expect.

There are only a few days left for the official negotiations, so why is this Hoffman Iron Fist suddenly coming to visit? He knew that the elves lived here, so he wanted to reach a consensus before the formal talks.

 This seems to be correct.

The most feared thing about a negotiation is that it will collapse. When both parties do not have any tacit understanding, it is easy to get into an argument and say some extremely irreparable nonsense, which will delay the negotiation for a long time.

Hoffman Iron Fist's visit this time must be to confirm the bottom line of both parties with Catherine, so that he can maintain restraint during formal talks.

Probably.

Amberxiu didn't take it too seriously. After planning a future for Catherine as a social animal, he knew that the elf queen would not be in any danger, at least until the end of the war.

 In this way, you can relax a little and the rest can be done step by step. Fate will arrange everything.

Hoffman Iron Fist seemed to be in a hurry. After sending out the visit message, he arrived in front of Amberxiu's castle within a few hours.

 The vampire Huggy Stone serves as a middleman and also comes with Hoffman Ironfist.

Ambershoe, together with Catherine, received the group of dwarves politely.

I don’t know if the effect of Destiny Weaving is too good. Catherine has now begun to take on the role. She doesn’t look like an elf queen, but like Ambrose’s assistant.

When Hoffman Iron Fist saw Catherine coming out to greet her, his expression changed wonderfully. He whispered to Heki Stone: "Isn't this Elf Queen fake? She is greeting her with your friends. We don’t seem to be following etiquette, right?”

Heki Stone shook his head and said: "I don't understand the etiquette of the elves, but you told me that this is a fake elf queen. How beautiful is she really?"

Hoffman Iron Fist couldn't help but look at Catherine a few more times, and could only admit that his old friend was right. Such charm cannot be fake, otherwise the elves would not have to fight at all, and if more elf girls were sent out to walk around, the continent would be unified.

However, Hoffman Iron Fist was still keenly aware that something was wrong. Queen Catherine was too close to the lich, completely inconsistent with normal social distance. Doesn't it mean that the height of the high elves means the height of arrogance? The undead should be the race they dislike the most, right?

Even though he was full of doubts, Hoffman Ironfist still remembered his purpose.

 Find a way to get Catherine to leave this Lich Castle and let the elves fall into the trap again.

Hoffman Ironfist tried hard to stay calm and followed Amberxiu into the castle.

Amboxiu, as always, brought out boiled water to entertain everyone, saying that the lich usually didn't need to eat or drink, so he didn't prepare anything.

Hodge Stone looked at Amberxiu with great disgust. He originally wanted to rub some blood here, but you, a lich, don't prepare drinks and exquisite snacks, and you don't even have fresh blood? Is this a trick? !

Amberxiu ignored Heki Stone's resentful look. It's not like this vampire is the protagonist today. Why is there so much disgust? Don't you mind if you don't look at the King's Hand and the Elf Queen?

Hoffman Iron Fist took a sip of the tasteless water, and then took the initiative to say: "It's really rude to bother me today, but the meeting is about to take place, and there was an accident before, so I want to come to see Her Majesty Catherine in advance. On the other hand, I hope that the previous attacks will not affect our subsequent negotiations.”

Catherine said calmly: "It was just an accident. Fortunately, with the help of Ultraman Master, the elves did not die. After treatment, they have begun to get better."

 Not a single elf died?

Hoffman Iron Fist was a little disappointed. He only knew that Catherine was fine before, but he didn't know any more details.

 A Gate of Hell was used as an ambush, but not even a single elf was killed. Isn't this three-headed dog family too useless?

  Or maybe... this lich is too strong?

Hoffman Iron Fist looked at Amberxiu who had turned into a human form. It seemed that he needed to reaffirm the true strength of this lich.

Amberson saw the deep disappointment hidden on Hoffman Iron Fist's face, but he didn't feel anything was wrong. Although the dwarves and elves have begun peace talks, their positions are actually still hostile. It is normal to be disappointed when they hear that no one from the other side has died.

 Just like Ambrose heard that Ryan fought in the war but kept winning, he would also be very disappointed.

Amberxiu didn't want to waste time, so he directly suggested: "Mr. Hoffman, you just happened to be here today. Regarding some details of the negotiations, we can actually discuss them in advance. If we can reach a consensus now, by the time of formal negotiations, maybe It will be much smoother, what do you think?”

Hoffman Iron Fist originally wanted to find an excuse, such as inviting Catherine to see their newly built palace to see if he could get her to leave the castle.

 But when Amberxiu suddenly said this, he had no reason to refuse. After all, peace talks are a big deal. If you change the subject abruptly, you will easily be suspected.

"In this case, we can really communicate in advance. I am also very curious as to why the elves, who have always been indifferent to the world, suddenly sent out troops. The territory of the Alchemy City should be of little significance to you, right?"

 Faced with Hoffman Iron Fist’s questions, Catherine was well prepared.

"Actually, it's because the Alchemy City owes the elves a large amount of money. In recent years, the Alchemy City has been lending large amounts to foreign countries. For the sake of our neighbors, we have lent them a large amount of materials and gold. Who would have thought that the Alchemy City It will be destroyed overnight. In order to protect the interests of our elves, we will take the initiative to send troops to get back what belongs to us from this land. "

  The secret of the addiction cannot be exposed, so a justifiable excuse is needed, which the elves have already prepared.

Since the Alchemy City is gone anyway, the elves have the final say as to whether they really owe money, and there is nothing anyone else can do to verify it.

 “Is this the reason?”

Hoffman Iron Fist did not think too deeply about it. It is true that the Alchemy City did have a serious economic crisis before its destruction.

Although this reason sounds very reasonable, there are no people who owe money but the debt cannot be wiped out by the death of the country. It is a very reasonable situation to send troops to rob wealth.

Although the elves' previous actions were a bit strange, there really wasn't anything wrong with them.

Amberxiu saw that Hoffman Iron Fist seemed to accept this statement, so he agreed: "That's right, so the elves don't actually want to compete for this land, they just want to ensure their interests. I have already talked to Her Majesty Catherine , As long as they can ensure that they can recover the debt, the land elves in Alchemy City don’t need it.”

Hoffman Iron Fist nodded repeatedly. He didn't feel anything was wrong at first, but after hearing the last sentence, he suddenly became uneasy.

"Wait, what did you say? The elves will not compete with us for land?"Hoffman Iron Fist really thought he heard wrong. Isn't this what the dwarf kingdom wants most?

“We elves have always been peace-loving, and war is just a helpless move. If the problem can be solved in other ways, we will not let the elves go to the battlefield. Every elf should live a happy and peaceful life.”

 Catherine said this very sincerely, and it was indeed her sincere words.

If you had a choice, the elves really didn't like fighting. They would paint, play the piano, plant flowers and drink tea at home every day. That would be so happy, but the **** addiction to magic ruined everything. Fortunately, a solution was now found, and Catherine almost immediately decided to call a truce.

Hoffman Iron Fist finds it incredible. Is it really that simple?

Aren’t all the previous calculations in vain?

The dwarf kingdom was afraid that it would not be able to defeat the elves, so it used various means to weaken the elves, hoping to seize more land in advance to facilitate their immigration.

 As a result, the elves didn’t compete with them at all, they just wanted money?

It's easy to say. The dwarf kingdom lacks everything except money. They can dig out a large amount of gold from the underground civilization ruins every year. The desert dwarves have the most gold on the entire continent.

"If this is the case, Your Majesty Catherine might as well tell you the price. When we occupy the entire Alchemy City, we will consider repaying this amount to the Alchemy City."

Hoffman Iron Fist's words sounded very insincere, and what did he mean by considering paying back the money, but Amberxiu and Catherine both heard what he really meant. The Hand of the King has moved his heart, and he really wants to use money to solve problems that can be solved with money.

   The reason why it is ambiguous is that it is the basic rule of negotiation. Don't say anything to death. Now we are just talking about intentions. When the contract is officially signed, naturally, instead of thinking about it, we will write down all the repayment details clearly.

Catherine glanced at Amber Xiu, as if she was asking what price would be appropriate.

When designing this excuse, the elves casually made up an astronomical number. In fact, they wanted to use this number to silence everyone and prove that it was imperative for the elves to send troops and that this battle would not be possible without fighting.

But it would be inappropriate to reveal that made-up number now, as it is very likely that the talks will collapse again.

 So, Catherine couldn't help but look at Amberxiu. This lich is so good at "doing business". He should be able to compile a reasonable number so that this war can be quickly settled.

Hoffman Iron Fist noticed Catherine’s little move. The elf queen’s behavior was too strange. She didn’t know how much money the Alchemy City owed. Look what the lich did.

Amberxiu reacted the fastest in this regard. As soon as he felt Catherine's eyes, he understood her thoughts and said to Hoffman Iron Fist, who was already suspicious: "That's it. In order to quell this war, I I have already persuaded Her Majesty Catherine to lower her demand for repayment, but I didn’t have time to tell you at that time. Now that Her Majesty Hoffman has brought it up, let me tell you about Alchemy City’s debt.”

What a liar. This lich is willing to help lower the price in advance. Hoffman Iron Fist doesn't believe it at all. He should act as a middleman to make the difference.

Hoffman Iron Fist said with a slight sarcasm: "Ultraman Master, you have really paid a lot for this peace negotiation."

Amberxiu didn't care about the ridicule at all, and replied seriously: "There is no way, for the sake of peace."

“Okay, tell me a price so I know how much you paid for this?” said Hoffman Iron Fist.

"The City of Alchemy... has borrowed a total of 10 billion gold coins from the elves, and has also owed a large amount of magic materials for many years, almost 100 million per year, which adds up to 10 billion gold coins. They even borrowed money from the elves. Artifacts, and because of the disappearance of the Alchemy City, these artifacts were also lost. These losses are not small. "

The more Catherine listened, the more she felt something was wrong. Isn't this the reward paid to him by the elves? The lich exaggerated the figure tenfold and requoted it? Won't it make the dwarves angry? Even the elves cannot accept this price. Who can come up with so much cash?

But after hearing this, Hoffman Iron Fist did not immediately turn his face. He just frowned and thought about it.

If we only count gold, 20 billion gold coins would be a huge thorn in the side of the Dwarf Kingdom, but it’s not impossible to get it out even if you grit your teeth. If this amount of money can really be spent to avoid the war with the elves, this transaction cannot be said to be a loss.

The real problem is the lost artifact of the elves, and this dwarf cannot replace it for them.

Amberxiu seemed to have seen through Hoffman Iron Fist's thoughts, and continued: "I have discussed the loss of the artifact with the elves. I will work for the elves as a legendary mage for a long time, as a countermeasure to the artifact. make up for it.”

Hoffman Iron Fist was shocked, but he couldn't believe it.

“Ultraman Master, although you are a legendary mage, but let me put it bluntly, how many years of work will you have to do before you can compare with the lost artifacts of the elves?”

Amberxiu said confidently: "I have been invited by the president of the Alchemist Council, and he hopes that I can join the Alchemist Council. I also have the title of a famous scholar in the Alchemy City, and my papers have been published many times. Published in "Legendary Magic". I am not an ordinary legend, nor an ordinary lich. I am a research scholar. The elves have recognized my ability and think that I can help them create new artifacts. If so, you can ask Her Majesty Catherine for her opinion.”

Catherine almost broke her own teeth. She was obviously working as a prostitute, but in this lich's mouth, it turned out that he had wronged her and worked for the elves.

 The key is that I have to cooperate with him in lying.

Seeing the doubtful look in Hoffman Iron Fist's eyes, Catherine could only echo and said: "Yes, Master Ultraman's wisdom is amazing, and we are very confident that we can create a new artifact."

Hoffman Iron Fist was really shocked this time.

He felt that he had overestimated Amber Xiu's strength, but he didn't expect that this lich was even more outrageous than he imagined.

Being able to create an artifact... Even the legends in Alchemy City couldn't create any artifact, so how could this lich do it?

If this lich can be made to work for the dwarves, can it also create an artifact for the dwarf kingdom?

　　Perhaps we can resist the invasion of the Lion Empire!

The death line in the desert is not 100% safe. If the Lion Empire does not give up and breaks through the death line and continues to invade, the dwarf kingdom will have no way to retreat.

Hoffman Iron Fist felt a little excited when he thought of this.

 Perhaps, we can also strengthen cooperation with this lich.

It’s still a four thousand word chapter

 (End of this chapter)