The two talked for the better part of an hour, yet neither obtained what they wanted.
Catherine was never particularly skilled at negotiation.
In the past, whenever she had to debate someone, speaking a few words in a gentle tone was enough to make the vast majority of her counterparts yield. If she furrowed her brow and wore a troubled look, the other party would concede even more ground. Catherine knew full well that this advantage stemmed from her beauty, but over all these years she had grown accustomed to it—accustomed to dealing with people who were remarkably easy to "persuade."
Now, however, she had run into Anbaixiu.
The lich had clearly been affected by her charm when they first met, so why was it having no effect whatsoever now?
On the surface, Anbaixiu maintained a polite smile, looking Catherine straight in the eyes. In reality, he was straining with all his might to pull his senses inward, listening only to her words while trying his best not to "look" at her.
Anbaixiu had always considered himself a capable negotiator. Having mastered the art of reading micro-expressions, he could easily see through the inner thoughts of the living with an accuracy rate as high as ninety percent. But facing Catherine this time, he discovered the technique brought nothing but trouble.
Catherine was indeed easy to read; the Elven Queen was thoroughly inept at concealing her thoughts. Yet when Anbaixiu saw her distress and unease, his heart inexplicably softened, to the point where he had nearly blurted out an offer for a discount.
This Elven Queen was absurd. She could charm even a lich.
It made Anbaixiu realize he had met a truly formidable adversary. Sitting at the negotiating table, Queen Catherine was like a born prodigy whose sheer brute talent overpowered every technique. Never mind whether she understood negotiation tactics; so long as she sat there with a faint smile or a gentle furrow of her brow, her opponent simply could not hold their ground.
Suppressed by her raw, innate power, a technical player like Anbaixiu had no choice but to rein in his perception. Outwardly, he appeared to gaze at Catherine, but in truth, he relied solely on her voice while constantly reminding himself that gold coins were his one true love.
Without micro-expression reading to guide him, conversing purely by sound naturally reduced his effectiveness by a wide margin.
The result was an utter stalemate, with neither side securing what they came for.
Catherine cared little about the size of the ransom; she merely wanted to acquire the principles of the magical seal without arousing Anbaixiu's suspicion. Anbaixiu, playing dumb, aggressively pitched his ransom scheme—how could a treatment plan for mana addiction be sold on the cheap? The ransom for the prisoners was merely a token of sincerity.
Finding it harder to hold out, Anbaixiu had no choice but to say to Catherine, "It seems we cannot reach a consensus for the moment. Dawn is nearly upon us. Your Majesty should take some rest. The formal negotiations will begin soon, and I hope we can smoothly reach an agreement then."
Catherine was indeed rather exhausted. She had not expected this lich to be completely impervious to reason and charm alike. Combined with the fierce battle from the night before, her energy was considerably drained, so she could only nod in agreement.
That rest ended up lasting an entire day. When Catherine finally opened her eyes, several worried elves were standing beside her.
The moment they saw Catherine wake, they asked with deep concern, "Your Majesty, are you all right?"
Puzzled, Catherine said, "I'm fine. Why?"
"Your Majesty, you've slept for an entire day."
Catherine stretched her arms, only to realize she was brimming with vigor.
In astonishment, Catherine murmured, "Incredible. I haven't slept this comfortably in ages."
Over recent years, the mounting pressure of mana addiction had robbed Catherine of peaceful rest. Night after night had been plagued by endless nightmares, filled with horrific visions of the elven race's ruin. But today was different; it felt as though all the stress accumulated over the years had evaporated during this slumber, leaving her feeling utterly reborn.
The elves exchanged glances. Many among them had barely slept a wink the night before. This was a lich's castle, after all; who knew whether severed hands or rotting spiders might crawl into their beds under cover of darkness? To think Her Majesty could sleep peacefully through an entire day, completely unaffected by her surroundings—was this the majesty of a legend powerhouse? Compared to their queen, they were still far too lacking.
Looking out the window at the sun dipping toward the horizon, Catherine felt full of drive. After eating a few bites of her travel rations, she prepared to seek out Anbaixiu again to discuss the prisoners. She had analyzed her mistakes from yesterday's talks and felt confident she could find a breakthrough today.
Yet when she found Anbaixiu once more, Catherine noticed someone else in the room.
Inside Anbaixiu's laboratory, alongside the lich who maintained the guise of a black-haired youth, sat a stunning woman with snow-white skin. She carried an aura remarkably akin to Catherine's own, and Catherine could tell at a glance that this lady was also a high-ranking ruler accustomed to immense power.
"Your Majesty Catherine, you are finally awake," Anbaixiu greeted warmly before introducing the newcomer. "Allow me to introduce you. This is Lady Rose, the Queen of the Underdark."
Rose of Decay offered Catherine a polite smile, though not a trace of warmth reached her eyes.
Catherine did her best to display equal courtesy, but inwardly she was deeply astonished.
Rose of Decay, the Undead Queen of the Underdark. Although Catherine had never met her in person, she had long heard her name. Because Rose of Decay's kingdom bordered the subterranean Underground Sea of Mercury, she also bore the title of the Silver Queen. Tales of her power and ruthlessness had spread even through the Nine Kingdoms.
What did the lich mean by inviting Queen Rose here?
Rose of Decay had been specifically summoned by Anbaixiu to lend a hand.
Catherine's charm was far too potent. Even a money-grubbing lich like him had been severely affected. In all likelihood, his soul remained male, leaving him particularly susceptible to such allure. If he continued negotiating, a slipup was bound to happen; missing out on gold he should have earned was tantamount to losing money, which felt to Anbaixiu like being flayed alive.
Refusing to let himself suffer any regrets, he had expressly invited Rose of Decay.
She, too, was a lich, but her soul was female, granting her far higher resistance to Catherine's charm. Besides, Anbaixiu could never swallow all the benefits from the elves alone anyway; he had to share a slice of the cake with the members of the Elegy Poetry Society. He might as well let Rose of Decay conduct the negotiations on his behalf. Anbaixiu had already disclosed his bottom line to her, confident that the Undead Queen would not swindle one of her own.
Catherine spoke with refined grace toward Rose of Decay. "So it is Little Sister Rose. I have long heard of your renowned name. To build an undead kingdom entirely from scratch—such an accomplishment fills me with genuine admiration."
Rose of Decay replied with equal civility, "Elder Sister Catherine is far too polite. You are the queen whom all women revere most."
"Are you and Master Ultraman friends, Little Sister Rose? It seems my arrival has interrupted your gathering."
"Not at all. It is precisely because of your arrival, Elder Sister, that he asked me over for a small favor. Regarding the elven prisoners, I have full authority. Elder Sister need only negotiate with me."
Catherine cast a glance at Rose of Decay, thinking to herself that the old king's intelligence had indeed been accurate: both were members of the same organization. Otherwise, how could a mere matter of a few elven prisoners prompt this Undead Queen to arrive in person to negotiate?
Catherine had no desire to bargain with Queen Rose. Having already devised a plan to handle Anbaixiu, a sudden change of counterpart completely wasted all her prior preparations.
"Master Ultraman, by doing this, do you mean to suggest I was impolite yesterday, so much so that you have surrendered leadership of the negotiations to another?"
Anbaixiu smiled and said, "Lady Rose is hardly an outsider. Entrusting it to her gives me absolute peace of mind. Naturally, this has nothing to do with any friction from yesterday's discussion. It is simply that I have private matters to attend to today and cannot remain in the castle, which is why I asked Lady Rose to assist. She has full authority to represent me; her decisions are my decisions."
Though Catherine did not believe Anbaixiu's excuse for a moment, she could find no grounds to refuse.
Time was growing increasingly tight. She could hardly afford to wait until Anbaixiu was free, with no telling how long he might drag things out.
Catherine said, "If that is the case, then I hope Little Sister Rose and I can reach a consensus today."
"Naturally, provided the price is agreeable. Elder Sister heard him just now: this time, I represent the interests of both of us. As for the price you discussed yesterday, I believe it requires some adjustment."
"Allow me to correct you: we reached no agreement yesterday, so naturally no price was settled. A ransom of twenty million gold coins per prisoner is utterly impossible. That price carries not a shred of sincerity."
"The elven race would hardly mind a mere tens of millions in gold coins. The wealth amassed by the elves could purchase the entirety of the Nine Kingdoms—a fact well known across the entire continent. Speaking in such a manner, Elder Sister, seems rather lacking in sincerity on your part."
"Having wealth does not mean one may squander it recklessly. These are riches accumulated by generations of elves. I merely hold them in custody; I have no right to agree to such unreasonable terms on behalf of our entire people."
"Yet dragging this out will only disadvantage you further. After all, we undead do not maintain living charges. Providing daily meals for these elves incurs extra logistics, and the costs keep mounting. The longer this drags on, the steeper the price will become."
...
The only two queens on the continent sat facing each other, gentle smiles on their faces and calm cadences in their voices, yet the substance of their conversation edged closer and closer to total collapse.
Whenever talks approached a dead end, however, both would tacitly take a step back to chat about statecraft or fashionable attire. Once the tension thawed, another round of sharp verbal sparring would begin anew.
Anbaixiu listened from the sidelines for only a brief moment before quietly slipping out of the chamber. Rose of Decay was performing exceptionally well, appearing entirely immune to Catherine's charm.
Had Anbaixiu stayed any longer, he might have succumbed to the urge to speak up on Catherine's behalf again, which would likely have prompted Rose of Decay to sever their partnership on the spot.
Leave professional matters to professionals. Besides, Anbaixiu truly had urgent business to attend to today.
A report had arrived from the dwarves: traces of hellfiends had appeared once again near the ruins of the City of Alchemy. Had the dwarves not already erected a fortified encampment, those demons would likely have launched a direct assault.
The situation was unusual. The frequent emergence of hellfiends suggested this was not merely a random opening of a Gate of Hell; more likely, some hell lord was preparing an invasion. Without eliminating the mastermind behind it, this demonic incursion could never be properly resolved.
Yet every hell lord possessed power bordering on the divine, and their true forms remained ensconced deep within Hell. Had they been so easy to destroy, the gods would have slaughtered them long ago.
Anbaixiu certainly could not take on a hell lord single-handedly. He needed to borrow a far greater power.
*If I announce to the world that a hell lord is slaughtering humans, will the Ryan Empire deploy its armies? Moral blackmail tends to work wonders on paladins who actually possess morals...*
With all manner of schemes turning in his mind, Anbaixiu flew toward the ruins of the City of Alchemy. Whatever the case, he would capture a few demons first and figure out which hell lord was stirring up trouble.
Chapter 125