Who's Working for Whom?

That the dwarves wanted to come have a chat with him was beyond Anbaixiu's expectations. With only a few days left before the formal negotiations, why had Hoffman Ironfist suddenly decided to visit? Knowing the elves were staying here, did he want to reach some consensus before the official conference? That seemed reasonable enough. What people feared most in negotiations was a breakdown. Without any mutual tacit understanding, both sides could easily end up red in the face with rage, blurting out extreme, irrevocable nonsense that would drag the talks out for ages. Hoffman Ironfist's visit was surely meant to confirm Catherine's bottom line beforehand, making it easier to exercise restraint when the formal talks began. Or so it seemed. Anbaixiu didn't pay it too much mind. After weaving that corporate-slave future for Catherine, he knew the Elven Queen wouldn't face any danger—at least not before this war ended. That being the case, he could relax a bit. The rest could simply follow step by step; destiny would see to everything. Hoffman Ironfist appeared quite hurried; just hours after sending word of his visit, he arrived before Anbaixiu's castle. The vampire Heji Stone, acting as the intermediary, arrived alongside him. Together with Catherine, Anbaixiu courteously received the dwarves. Perhaps because Destiny Weaving was just too effective, Catherine had already begun slipping into character. Rather than an Elven Queen, she looked more like Anbaixiu's assistant. When Hoffman Ironfist saw Catherine come out to greet them as well, a curious expression crossed his face. He whispered to Heji Stone, "This Elven Queen isn't an impostor, is she? Coming out to welcome us alongside your friend doesn't seem to fit protocol, does it?" Heji Stone shook his head and said, "I don't know elven etiquette, but if you're telling me she's a fake, just how gorgeous could the real one possibly be?" Hoffman Ironfist couldn't help stealing a few more glances at Catherine, forced to admit his old friend had a point. Such charm could not be faked; otherwise, the elves wouldn't need to fight wars at all—just sending a few elven maidens out for a stroll would have united the continent. Even so, Hoffman keenly sensed that something was amiss. Queen Catherine stood far too close to this lich, defying any normal social distance. Weren't high elves named for being high and mighty? The undead ought to be the race they despised most, shouldn't they? Despite his doubts, Hoffman Ironfist kept his true purpose firmly in mind. Find a way to lure Catherine out of this lich's castle and draw the elves into another trap. Hoffman strove to remain calm and followed Anbaixiu into the castle. As usual, Anbaixiu served plain boiled water to his guests, claiming that since a lich had no need for food or drink, he naturally had none prepared. Heji Stone glared at Anbaixiu with utter disdain. He had originally hoped to scrounge a bit of blood here. For a lich to not prepare wine and fine pastries was one thing, but not even having fresh blood? Who was he trying to fool—the dead?! Anbaixiu ignored Heji Stone's resentful glare. The vampire wasn't the protagonist today, so why was he acting so offended? Couldn't he see that neither the Hand of the King nor the Elven Queen minded? Hoffman Ironfist took a sip of the bland, tasteless water and took the initiative to speak: "Pardon the intrusion today; it is rather discourteous of me. But with the talks impending, and given the recent accident, I wished to meet with Your Majesty Catherine in advance, hoping that the recent attack will not affect our upcoming negotiations." Catherine replied serenely, "It was merely an accident. Fortunately, thanks to Master Ultraman's help, none of the elves perished, and with treatment, their conditions are already improving." Not a single elf died? Hoffman was somewhat disappointed. He had only known Catherine was safe before, lacking further details. They opened a Gate of Hell for an ambush, yet didn't manage to kill a single elf? Was the Cerberus family truly that useless? Or rather... was this lich too powerful? Hoffman glanced at Anbaixiu in human form; it seemed he needed to reassess the lich's true strength. Anbaixiu caught the deep-seated disappointment on Hoffman's face, yet found nothing unusual about it. Though the dwarves and elves had begun peace talks, they remained on opposing sides; feeling disappointed that the enemy suffered no casualties was only natural. Just as Anbaixiu would feel terribly disappointed whenever he heard Ryan went to war and kept winning. Not wanting to waste time, Anbaixiu suggested directly, "Lord Hoffman, since you are here today, we might as well discuss some of the negotiation details in advance. If we can reach a consensus now, the formal talks might go much more smoothly. What do you think?" Hoffman Ironfist had originally planned to find an excuse—like inviting Catherine to see their newly built palace—to see if he could coax her out of the castle. Yet with Anbaixiu suddenly bringing this up, he had no reason to refuse. Peace talks were paramount, after all; awkwardly shifting the subject would easily arouse suspicion. "In that case, having a discussion in advance is indeed a fine idea. I have also been quite curious: why would the elves, who have always kept to themselves, suddenly mobilize troops? Territory in the City of Alchemy should hold little meaning for you, shouldn't it?" Faced with Hoffman's question, Catherine was well prepared. "In truth, it is because the City of Alchemy owed the elves a massive sum of money. In recent years, the City of Alchemy took on large foreign loans. Out of neighborly goodwill, we lent them substantial quantities of supplies and gold. Who could have foreseen that the City of Alchemy would be destroyed overnight? To safeguard our elven interests, we took the initiative to deploy our army, intending to recover what belongs to us from this land." The secret of mana addiction could not be exposed, so a plausible excuse was required—one the elves had prepared long ago. The City of Alchemy was gone anyway; whether it truly owed money was solely up to the elves to claim, and no one had any way to verify it. "That was the reason?" Hoffman didn't think too deeply about it. It was a well-known fact that the City of Alchemy had suffered a severe financial crisis before its fall. The reasoning sounded sound. The debtor had vanished, but for a nation, debts didn't just die with the debtor; sending troops to seize wealth was entirely reasonable. Even if the elves' earlier actions had seemed slightly odd, there was truly no flaw to pick here. Seeing that Hoffman seemed to accept this explanation, Anbaixiu chimed in, "Precisely. Thus, the elves never intended to contest this land; they merely wished to protect their interests. I have already spoken with Her Majesty Catherine: as long as they can recover the debt, the elves are willing to forfeit the City of Alchemy's lands." Hoffman nodded repeatedly. At first, nothing felt amiss, but hearing that last sentence instantly shattered his composure. "Wait, what did you say? The elves won't fight us for the land?" Hoffman genuinely wondered if he had misheard. Wasn't that the very thing the dwarf kingdom desired most? "We elves have always loved peace; war was merely a last resort. If the issue can be resolved by other means, we would never send our people to the battlefield. Every elf deserves a life of peace and happiness." Catherine spoke with absolute sincerity—these were indeed her genuine feelings. Given the choice, the elves truly despised war. Painting, playing instruments, tending flowers, and drinking tea at home all day—what bliss that would be. It was only that damnable mana addiction that had ruined everything. Fortunately, a solution had now been found, and Catherine had resolved to halt the war almost immediately. Hoffman found it unbelievable. Could things truly be so simple? In that case, hadn't all their previous schemes been for nothing? The dwarf kingdom had feared they couldn't defeat the elves, which was why they resorted to every possible means to weaken them, hoping to seize more land in advance for migration. And in the end, the elves had no intention of contesting the territory at all—they just wanted money? That was easy! The dwarf kingdom lacked many things, but money was not one of them. Every year, they excavated vast amounts of gold from the ruins of subterranean civilizations; across the entire continent, none possessed more gold than the desert dwarves. "If that is all, Your Majesty Catherine, you might as well state the amount. Once we occupy the entire territory of the City of Alchemy, we will consider settling this debt on their behalf." Though Hoffman's words sounded insincere—what did he mean by "consider" paying it back?—both Anbaixiu and Catherine caught his true intent. The Hand of the King was thoroughly enticed; if a problem could be solved with money, he was eager to solve it with money. Speaking ambiguously was simply standard negotiating procedure—never commit irrevocably right away. For now, they were merely feeling out intentions; once the formal pact was signed, it would naturally cease to be "consideration" and instead lay out the repayment details explicitly. Catherine glanced at Anbaixiu, seemingly asking what figure would be appropriate to quote. When coming up with this pretext initially, the elves had pulled an astronomical figure out of thin air, intending to shut everyone's mouths and prove that their military campaign was imperative and unavoidable. Yet quoting that fabricated number now would be terribly inappropriate, as it might easily cause the negotiations to collapse once more. And so Catherine couldn't help looking to Anbaixiu. This lich was so adept at "business"; he should be able to make up a reasonable number to swiftly settle this war. Hoffman noticed her subtle movement. The Elven Queen was acting far too strange. Didn't she know how much the City of Alchemy owed? Why look at the lich? Anbaixiu was quickest on his feet in such matters. The moment he caught Catherine's gaze, he understood her thoughts. Facing the already suspicious Hoffman, he said, "It is like this: to bring an end to this war, I have already persuaded Her Majesty Catherine to lower her repayment demands. We simply had not had the chance to inform you yet. Since Lord Hoffman brings it up now, allow me to speak on Her Majesty's behalf regarding the City of Alchemy's debt." Who was he kidding? Hoffman didn't believe for a second that this lich would willingly help drive down the price; acting as a middleman to pocket the difference was more like it. Hoffman remarked with a trace of sarcasm, "Master Ultraman, you truly have gone above and beyond for these peace talks." Anbaixiu paid the sarcasm no heed, replying with utter earnestness, "Alas, all for the sake of peace." "Very well. Name a price, so I may know just how much you have contributed to this matter," Hoffman said. "The City of Alchemy... borrowed a total of ten billion gold coins from the elves. On top of that, they fell behind on payments for vast quantities of magical materials over many consecutive years—roughly a hundred million per year, which adds up to another ten billion gold coins. They even borrowed several elven artifacts, which were lost when the City of Alchemy disappeared. These losses can hardly be considered minor." The more Catherine listened, the more wrong it felt. Wasn't this the payment the elves had offered him, only inflated tenfold by this lich for a new quote? Wouldn't that infuriate the dwarves? Even the elves could never accept such a price; who could produce that much cash? Yet upon hearing this, Hoffman Ironfist didn't immediately lose his temper; instead, he furrowed his brow in contemplation. If it was just gold, twenty billion gold coins would certainly deal a heavy blow to the dwarf kingdom's reserves, but gritting their teeth, they could manage it. If that amount of money truly spared them a war with the elves, the deal couldn't be called a loss. The real problem lay in the lost elven artifacts—that was something the dwarves could never replace. As if seeing right through Hoffman's thoughts, Anbaixiu continued, "Regarding the loss of the artifacts, I have already discussed the matter with the elves. In my capacity as a legendary mage, I shall work for them for an extended period to compensate for the artifacts." Though shocked, Hoffman could hardly believe it. "Master Ultraman, legendary mage though you may be, allow me to speak frankly: just how many years of labor would it take to equal the elves' lost artifacts?" Anbaixiu replied with complete confidence, "I was once invited by the President of the Alchemists' Council, who wished for me to join the council. In the City of Alchemy, I also held the title of renowned scholar, and my research papers have been published in Legendary Spells numerous times. I am no ordinary legend, nor an ordinary lich—I am a research scholar. The elves have already recognized my capabilities, believing I can assist them in forging new artifacts. If you don't believe me, you may ask Her Majesty Catherine." Catherine nearly ground her teeth to dust. She was clearly the one who had sold herself into labor, so how had it turned into him humbling himself to work for the elves when coming out of this lich's mouth? The worst part was that she had to play along with his lies. Noticing Hoffman's skeptical gaze, Catherine could only chime in, "Indeed. Master Ultraman's wisdom is astonishing, and we have great confidence in forging new artifacts." This time, Hoffman Ironfist was truly astounded. He thought he had already estimated Anbaixiu's power generously, never expecting this lich to be even more absurd than he had imagined. Able to forge artifacts... Even the legends of the City of Alchemy had failed to craft a single artifact, yet this lich could? If they could get this lich to serve the dwarves, could he also forge artifacts for the dwarf kingdom? Perhaps they could even fend off the Ryan Empire's invasion! The desert Death Line was not entirely foolproof. If the Ryan Empire refused to give up, broke through the Death Line, and pressed on with their invasion, the dwarf kingdom would have nowhere left to retreat. At the thought, Hoffman's heart stirred. Perhaps they could deepen their cooperation with this lich.