Anbaixiu diligently prepared for the upcoming "World Peace Conference."
In just a short time, going from an impoverished lich to a friend of the world, Anbaixiu clearly felt he had taken too big a stride.
His enterprise had taken off, but the people around him couldn't keep pace.
Just handling the invitation list and personnel arrangements had young Harvey frantically scratching his head, shedding dozens of hairs in the process.
Elves couldn't be placed next to orcs, dwarves couldn't be assigned sun-facing rooms, druids needed to be near running water... Were such simple requirements really that difficult?
The boy had spent several days on it and still hadn't gotten things in order. Even with a magic mirror allowing him to contact everyone anytime, after all this time he hadn't even fully finalized the room headcounts.
A classic case of someone who had never been battered by reality. In organizing a conference, the most important task was confirming headcounts and arrival times, yet Harvey had spent half the day arguing with the orcs over whether they could bring their own barbecue.
What a fool. If they kept arguing like that, the dwarves would start demanding to bring their own prefabricated houses.
Still, Anbaixiu only dropped a couple of remarks, leaving the rest for the kid to figure out on his own.
Anbaixiu was surrounded entirely by research talent; he lacked someone capable of managing mundane, trivial chores. He ought to have hired someone, but he never could spare the time.
The venue was set in what had once been the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn. Although it was now a vast sea, Anbaixiu had altered the terrain and raised an enormous island.
Not only would this serve as the conference venue, but it would later be converted into an offshore trading hub.
The dragon products and various undersea treasures from the Raging Tide Kingdom would all be shipped to this island, turning it into a new commercial and tourist center.
This global peace conference would bring fame to the island. If he could leave a profound impression on the leaders of the various kingdoms during the conference, orders would pour in afterward.
Hence, Anbaixiu attached even greater importance to the island's construction—this advertising opportunity was absolutely not to be missed.
Fortunately, liches didn't need sleep, allowing him to closely oversee the island's construction from start to finish.
Though time was ample, any carelessness would lead to losses, so Anbaixiu was now even more invested in this than in researching how to deal with the Demonic Dragon in the Synesthesia Dreamscape.
After walking two laps around the island, Anbaixiu pointed at the exhibition hall and said to several craftsmen from the Raging Tide Kingdom, "What's on display here are magical materials from the dragons. It has to evoke a sense of awe! Who could a dragon model a dozen meters long possibly intimidate? Would the Elven King or the Dwarf King be impressed by such a petty little model?"
"But giant dragons are about that size."
The people of the Raging Tide Kingdom had actually seen dragons. The younger generation of dragons was somewhat malnourished nowadays, and that was roughly their size.
Anbaixiu simply waved his hand. The ground surged upward, and rock was molded into shape beneath his grasp.
A hundred-meter giant dragon appeared before everyone.
The craftsmen exclaimed in astonishment, "My Lord, isn't this dragon too big? Even the largest dragons were never this huge!"
"Dragons haven't been seen in a thousand years. Who's going to remember how big they were? This is an exhibition hall, meant for advertising! Do you know what advertising means? It means leaving an indelible impression at first glance, making people believe on sight that the products here are top quality, high value, and exceptionally effective!"
Anbaixiu felt a bit annoyed. None of these people understood even the most basic marketing tactics, requiring him to teach them step by step.
Just as he prepared to head to the next exhibition hall, Anbaixiu saw a handsome elf clad in an emerald robe appear before him.
Anbaixiu greeted the elf, who possessed an elegant demeanor but a gloomy countenance: "Yo, Elven King... Your Majesty, what brings you here?"
"Hmph, could I afford not to come? You've even dragged the Demonic Dragon into this."
Though his tone was cold and his expression sour, he still caused the passing women to turn their heads again and again. Anbaixiu said grumpily, "Put on a mask if you've got nothing better to do. Don't disrupt people from their work! Do you know how much daily wage I'm paying these folks?"
Aldarian glared at Anbaixiu and said furiously, "This is precisely why I had to come here! You lich, money is the only thing on your mind! Do you have any idea what you're doing? Do you know the consequences of exposing the Demonic Dragon's identity?"
"It means everyone joins forces to take down the Demonic Dragon, of course," Anbaixiu said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Back then, the Demonic Dragon had the entire dragon race backing it, yet our forebears still managed to slay it. Now, our entire continent has no dragons left except this single Demonic Dragon. Are you telling me we still can't beat it?"
Aldarian stared intently at Anbaixiu. "And then you will become the great hero who exposed the Demonic Dragon's identity. After killing the Demonic Dragon, you will shift the blame onto Ryan, force the people of Ryan to pay reparations for all the losses incurred over these years of war, and then install your puppet, Alan Watson, as Ryan's new emperor. After that, using debt collection or Ryan's reconstruction as a pretext, you can pocket this vast empire and turn it into your personal money-making machine! Am I right, great New Holy King, Master Ultraman?"
Anbaixiu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Back then, when I cheated you out of your money... were you putting on an act?!"
Aldarian could barely restrain himself from running his sword through the lich. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I won't stay that naive, innocent child forever! You are not the only clever person in this world!"
Anbaixiu asked with a puzzled look, "Why try to stop it? Young Elven King, what harm does this do to you or your elven kind?"
Aldarian retorted, "Because your greed is bottomless! Once you control Ryan's finances, you will extend your reach to the other kingdoms. The Raging Tide Kingdom has already become your coin purse, the overseas dragons have become your livestock. The Dwarf Kingdom, the Emerald Dream Forest... when will you make your move against the elves? A lust for wealth is your obsession; you will never be satisfied in this lifetime. You will only seize all the world's wealth and drag this world down into destruction with you!
"Who do you think the Demonic Dragon truly is in my eyes? Is it that Time Dragon clinging to life to this day, with who knows how much strength recovered? No, it's you! You are this world's greatest devil, and you will surely drag everyone into the abyss!"
Anbaixiu waved his hands hurriedly. "This slippery slope fallacy of yours is going a bit too far. I'm just making a bit of money. How did it turn into me wanting to destroy the world?"
Aldarian sneered. "The world's wealth is finite. There is only so much gold. You cannot accept gold flowing into anyone else's pockets; you only want to sweep all wealth into your own. That is your obsession! Can a lich like you ever change?"
Anbaixiu wanted very badly to roll his eyes, but a skull lacked the anatomy for such an expression; he could only shrug to convey his speechlessness.
"Your Majesty, you know me well, but you truly know very little about economics. Have you ever heard the saying: 'Gold and silver are not by nature money, but money is by nature gold and silver'?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Aldarian had initially thought Anbaixiu was merely trying to dodge the issue with convoluted gibberish, but after turning it over in his mind for a moment, Aldarian suddenly felt something was amiss—the phrase seemed to hold profound implications.
Anbaixiu continued, "Gold and silver existed long before intelligent races ever appeared. When no one was using them, gold and silver were just gold and silver, not wealth. They became money only because of their preciousness and the convenience with which they could be stored and carried. In that case, tell me: could there be something else that possesses the same purchasing power, is just as easy to store and carry, and can replace gold and silver?"
Aldarian grasped the key point at once and countered, "That makes no difference! Whatever name you give to gold and silver, or whatever other metal you mint into coins, the result remains the same. Amassing all wealth is your objective, and you will never be satisfied. When your wealth reaches a certain proportion, the world will collapse."
"I prefer to call it the redistribution of wealth," Anbaixiu said, shaking his head. "Your Majesty, you always misunderstand one thing: nothing in this world is immune to collapse, including those kingdoms. The Demonic Dragon's reign collapsed, Ryan is on the verge of collapse, and the Raging Tide Kingdom has likewise lost its economic autonomy. Even deities fall, so what eternity are you chasing?
"Even if a day truly comes when I have plundered all the wealth in the world, the wealth in my hands would lose all meaning, because no one would use my gold for transactions anymore. When that happens, either someone will crusade against me, or someone will rebuild another economic system and become my new rival.
"To borrow a saying from you elves, the moon waxes and wanes, and no one's tide of destiny stays high forever. We advance through competition, and we collapse in conflict, but ultimately we move toward destiny's predetermined future. One day, capital will turn into a behemoth towering above nations. When that happens, this monster will devour people on its own, and even I will be on that monster's hunting list."
Aldarian was shaken by the future Anbaixiu painted. Precisely because he was clever enough, he could envision that horrifying spectacle. But he quickly shook his head. "I was almost sidetracked by you! I'm talking about the present! Why on earth should I watch you swallow Ryan and threaten the elven race?!
"Why should our elven race help you, a lich, plunder everything in Ryan? Even if the Demonic Dragon revives, at worst we can completely seal off the Silvermoon High Court. The Elven Gods are close to winning the divine war, the return of the drow elves is already a foregone conclusion, and once Sister Catherine becomes the new deity of the drow elves, what would our Silvermoon High Court have left to fear? Mana addiction? I am not Sister Catherine. I can sacrifice all the elves suffering from mana addiction in exchange for divine protection—and I dare say the Elven Gods would support my decision!"
Anbaixiu was taken aback. "Then... what is Your Majesty's meaning?"
"My elven race wants half!" Aldarian said decisively.
Anbaixiu: ...
Damn it. This time, he really had run into someone clever.
Chapter 495