All Too Familiar

Half a month had passed since Anbaixiu made his proclamation to the world. Aside from the Githyanki's grand and boisterous arrival, things had remained peaceful. Anbaixiu had even begun to worry that those paladins might have lost their way at sea and failed to locate him. He had prepared a magnificent gift for them, guaranteed to have them weeping and wailing about the lich's profound righteousness before falling to their knees in front of him, consumed by remorse and shame. Yet after waiting until now, the one who arrived was not the Ryans, but an old friend Anbaixiu hadn't seen in ages—Princess Ariel of the Raging Tide Kingdom. When the Black Tide touched down on the small island named Gold Coin Island, Anbaixiu was already waiting by the shore. The hatch opened, and Ariel walked down from the cabin under Hastings's lead. Meeting again, Ariel failed to recognize that the lich before her was none other than the former Mengge Grayriver; she merely greeted Anbaixiu calmly. "Master Ultraman, we finally meet. I've heard a great deal about your deeds." Anbaixiu met Ariel in the guise of a youth. Hearing her words, he offered a humble smile and said politely, "It is my honor to have left an impression on Your Highness. For a businessman, the most terrifying thing is when a client forgets who I am." He spoke very calmly, without the slightest awkwardness of running into his victim again. After all, he was used to it by now. Ariel returned a faint smile. "Master Ultraman is far too modest. It is much more than just a slight impression. That magnificent meteor shower that saw off the Githyanki leaves me awestruck even now. Today, I've come to seek you out for business." Anbaixiu was somewhat surprised. Not much time had passed since they parted ways, yet Ariel seemed like a completely different person. The old Ariel would have slammed a war hammer onto the table, barked out a price, and started swinging if they couldn't reach a deal. Sure enough, brush-with-death situations really forged a person. Anbaixiu's faked death back then had clearly dealt quite a blow to Her Highness. "Welcome, Princess. Please come with me. A guest should at least be seated comfortably before we discuss those cold, unfeeling figures." Anbaixiu led Ariel into a newly erected castle. This was the handiwork of deep dwarves from the Underdark. Like desert dwarves, deep dwarves excelled at construction. Though this castle was not yet particularly vast and lacked decorative furnishings, its sheer scale felt imposing even when empty. Ariel looked at the castle, surprise flashing across her face. She knew nothing of architecture, but she could clearly sense how majestic the design was—far better looking than the royal palace of the Raging Tide Kingdom, and much more to her personal taste. Gold Coin Island had originally been just a tiny patch of land, yet in a mere half month, its area had expanded several times over, and a castle had already been built upon it. This was utterly terrifying—almost as though he had an entire kingdom backing him. Ever since Ariel officially took the reins of power, what she reviewed most often was no longer military reports, but reports on civil livelihood. In a mere half month, building a castle like this was something the Raging Tide Kingdom could never pull off. Though she did not know the comprehensive economic term 'productivity,' Ariel could feel the disparity. This lich possessed immense production capabilities, whether for erecting buildings or producing airships like the Black Tide. He could not be treated merely as a merchant, but as an entity equal to the Raging Tide Kingdom itself. Entering a parlor that was simple yet far from crude, Anbaixiu invited Ariel to take a seat, then ordered someone to bring in a pot of boiled water. Natural boiled water distilled from seawater—Anbaixiu's standard hospitality. Ariel didn't even care what she was drinking; her mind was completely occupied with how to negotiate business with this lich. The Raging Tide Kingdom understood that airships were the key to future warfare—something far more crucial than any legend, capable of fundamentally altering the nature of war. Setting aside the matter of vengeance against Ryan, if other kingdoms equipped themselves with such airships, the Raging Tide Kingdom would be left thoroughly in the dust. Fortunately, this lich had approached her first to sell the airships. Ariel was determined to acquire an airship like the Black Tide, yet she could not muster enough coin to purchase one. Consequently, she felt a heavy weight of responsibility resting upon her shoulders. Whether a deal could be struck rested entirely on her. Ariel cheered herself on inwardly: *I can do this. Just like Mengge did back then—use linguistic finesse, and then swear oaths to enhance my persuasiveness...* Ariel had rehearsed for this meeting many times. Now she needed to seamlessly steer the conversation toward those airships, play the trump card she had prepared to drive down the airship's price... Yes, everything was perfect. Just as Ariel was running through her plan in her mind, Anbaixiu spoke first: "Your Highness, you already learned the price of the airships from Hastings. The reason you've come here is because the Raging Tide Kingdom cannot afford the price, so you've come to haggle with me, correct?" Ariel froze. What he said was true, but does someone just say it that directly?! Seeing her silence, Anbaixiu pressed on, "Or did I guess wrong?" Ariel could only hastily reply, "That's right, that is indeed the case. The airship is fantastic, but the price is far too high—the markup is exorbitant! It's just ordinary steel..." "Whether it's high or not isn't just about raw materials; you have to look at the technology. In this whole world, I am the only one capable of building an airship with actual combat viability. Research and development always incurs costs. You can't expect me to swallow a loss on the tens of billions of gold coins spent on R&D, can you?" "Tens of billions?!" Ariel was shocked by the figure. "Not an exaggeration in the least. You should know that the paper I published in Legendary Spells earned millions in royalties alone, and that was merely a tiny fraction of my vast research." Anbaixiu began reeling off data left and right, proving that his airship technology was exceedingly valuable. Ariel couldn't refute him. Or rather, no one in this world could, because this undead alchemy technology was truly one of a kind. With such a completely proprietary system, no one else could even begin to appraise it. Listening to all this, Ariel felt her head spinning. How was it that before she had even begun haggling, she already felt that what he was saying made complete sense? Was ten million gold coins for a downgraded version of the Black Tide truly not expensive? But the Raging Tide Kingdom genuinely couldn't come up with that many gold coins! Wait. She remembered Mengge saying that one must never dance to another person's tune—even if it meant abruptly changing the subject. Ariel recalled the trump card she had prepared and said to Anbaixiu, "Master Ultraman, let us set aside this question of technical value for a moment. What are your thoughts regarding the Ryan army that went out to sea?" Anbaixiu chuckled. "Is Your Highness referring to those Ryans you sent into the Sea of Thunder?" Ariel nodded. "It seems you already know. That's right. As a friend, I steered the Ryans straight into the Sea of Thunder. Even if they don't perish, they will undoubtedly suffer catastrophic losses. Finding trouble with you again won't be easy for them. Can Master Ultraman sense the sincerity of the Raging Tide Kingdom in this greeting gift?" Hastings's Black Tide had been monitoring the waters and had naturally passed the intelligence to Anbaixiu. The Black Tide had even watched the Ryans enter the Sea of Thunder before heading back. If not for the thunderclouds being so terrifying, Hastings would have wanted to follow them inside to watch. Anbaixiu said to Ariel, "Of course. I am deeply grateful for the Raging Tide Kingdom's goodwill. However, what Your Highness may not know is that I invited those Ryans over on purpose." Ariel asked in confusion, "What do you mean?" A lich building a domain overseas, and then luring the Ryans over to tear it down? No matter how you looked at it, that didn't make any sense. Anbaixiu explained, "What Your Highness doesn't know is that I have had a very rough time these past years." Ariel was completely bewildered. Why had the conversation suddenly veered into this? Fortunately, she didn't have to rack her brain before Anbaixiu continued: "For many reasons, I was destitute when I was alive—I couldn't even afford a Potion of Youth. Things didn't improve much after I transitioned into a lich. Ryan has always made trouble for us undead, even though I never provoked them in the slightest. "Your Highness knows that I am a businessman. I only wish to conduct business in peace and quiet; I only want to make money. But my identity as an undead, combined with my weak strength, means no one cares to reason with me, which makes doing business terribly difficult. Therefore, the reason I lured those Ryans over was to settle this problem once and for all. "Seven legends, an entire Ryan legion... If I could crush this elite force before everyone's eyes, I imagine everyone would be well-behaved enough to reason and talk business with me in the future. Your Highness acted out of goodwill by luring the Ryans into a death trap, but because of that, my plan to establish my authority has fallen apart." Ariel's eyes widened in disbelief. Was this lich insane? Even the Raging Tide Kingdom dared not directly engage this army, resorting instead to using a bunch of cannon fodder to bait the Ryans into the Sea of Thunder. Seven legends! What a terrifying force that was, yet this lich actually claimed he intended to wipe out that army? Ariel was inclined to disbelieve him, but before she could object, a mirror in the parlor lit up with a glow, revealing a lady of noble bearing. Anbaixiu apologized to Ariel, walked over to the magic mirror, and said, "Lady Rose, I'm not finished on my end yet." The Rose of Decay said with some dissatisfaction, "The dragons are waiting, and they're getting a bit impatient." Anbaixiu chuckled. "If those big lizards are getting impatient, beat them up. Just have Gareth kill a few more dragons. What time do they think it is? Do they still not know whose fists are bigger?" "Fine, I'll handle it. Hurry up on your end as well. After all, there are over a hundred dragons; even carving up the carcasses will take time." Having said her piece, the Rose of Decay terminated the communication. Anbaixiu hurried back before Ariel and apologized, "Pardon me, pardon me. Business has been a bit hectic." Ariel frowned and asked, "What you two just discussed about dragons... you mean the giant dragons?" Anbaixiu explained calmly, "Yes. I dealt with the Githyanki problem, which Your Highness should already know. These overseas dragons colluded with the Githyanki, attempting to invade the mainland once again, so my friends and I handled them. Now that the dragon race has been defeated, they are waiting for me to negotiate the reparations." Ariel was struck with utter shock. She desperately wanted to say it was fake, but Anbaixiu immediately invited her to observe the dragons' surrender ceremony. Upon seeing more than a dozen giant dragons shackled in chains and forced to prostrate themselves on the ground, Ariel finally didn't dare doubt him any longer. And at this ceremony, Ariel also saw the captain of the Silent Night Pirates, the Undead Queen of the Underdark, and the Lord of the Dragon Tomb... Every single one of them was a figure of legendary renown. So the friends this lich spoke of were these big figures! No wonder he was confident in handling Ryan's seven legends—this force was formidable enough to launch a direct assault on the Ryan Imperial Capital. It was over this time. There was no way to haggle; the Raging Tide Kingdom simply couldn't afford the airships. Just when Ariel thought the negotiations had fallen completely through, Anbaixiu smiled at her and said, "Your Highness, I also understand the Raging Tide Kingdom's financial situation very well. Therefore, perhaps you could pay for the airship through another means." Another means? Ariel looked at the lich before her, suddenly struck by a sense of familiarity. Diverting the topic, breaking the rhythm, pulling out a trump card to intimidate the opponent, and then thoroughly seizing control of the negotiation's pace... This tactic was all too familiar.