This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 102

Back in the castle, Ambrose, in a good mood, melted the gold coins into the Golden Throne bit by bit.

He had raked in thirty thousand gold coins from Viscount Leitman. A Grand Lord was indeed a Grand Lord, much more generous than a pauper like the Porcupine Knight.

If not for the need for continued cooperation, Ambrose would have had the impulse to rob his treasury directly.

Thirty thousand gold coins restored the Golden Throne to its original state and even took it to a higher level, with many exquisite patterns beginning to appear.

It was just that they weren't clear enough yet to confirm what the patterns were.

Ambrose had a feeling that as long as he continued to smelt gold, the Golden Throne would reveal more abilities.

"Poor, still too poor."

Sighing, Ambrose opened the *[Codex of the Undead]* and sent a message to Withered Rose: [Lady Rose, I just found out something. The magical contract mentioned before might have been developed by the Elf Queen. Once the contract is violated, the effect will act on everyone in the corresponding territory.]

Withered Rose replied quickly: [I didn't expect your information to be faster than mine. I also just wanted to share my intelligence with you. Besides the content of the magical contract, I also heard that the Elves are mass-equipping weapons capable of destroying spell structures. Ordinary defensive magic will be completely countered.]

[Tiga Ultraman: Mass-equipping? How can enchanted weapons of that level be mass-equipped?]

Ambrose was very surprised to see Withered Rose's message.

This defied common sense. Enchanting also had to follow basic principles. It wasn't that anti-magic weapons had never been seen before; some weapons could not only break magical effects but also prevent the target from using any spells for a certain period upon impact. But such true mage-bane weapons were extremely rare because they required "Sussur Bark," which was unique to the Underdark.

The Sussur Tree was a special plant with its own anti-magic field. Picking a Sussur Bloom would suppress all spells within a few meters. However, the Sussur Bloom would wither completely once it left the Underdark. Only by taking a small piece of the most precious bark from the tree could one bring it out of the Underdark to forge Sussur series weapons.

And in the entire Underdark, you might not find more than a few mature Sussur Trees. Only every few hundred years might a piece of Sussur Bark capable of forging anti-magic weapons grow.

Other weapons that could destroy magic worked on similar principles; materials were hard to find, and not many circulated on the continent.

Ambrose thought that even with the Elves' long history and wealth, accumulating a hundred or so anti-magic weapons over the years would be impressive. But Withered Rose said they were mass-equipping them. The material alone was the biggest problem, let alone how many alchemists could help them forge so many anti-magic weapons?

These weren't industrial products produced on an assembly line. The metal texture of every sword had subtle differences. When enchanting, the magic circle structure needed to be adjusted according to these differences; one couldn't just make a mold and stamp them out. These weren't undead skeletons, cannon fodder that even ordinary people could beat, but weapons with magical effects.

Even just adding a little sharpness, the price of an enchanted weapon could quadruple or quintuple.

Magic artisans, materials, time—these three factors strictly limited the quantity of enchanted weapons.

If there really was an unlimited supply of anti-magic arrows, Rangers would be the number one class in the world; where would Mages get off calling themselves "Masters"?

However, Withered Rose replied very definitely: [My intelligence is not wrong. The Silvermoon High Court has indeed mastered a technology for mass-producing anti-magic weapons. This is also related to their embargo on magical materials all these years. Although the specific details are unclear, it is certain that these are orders from the Elf Queen.]

Ambrose stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. After a long while, he replied: [As far as I know, that Elf Queen started as a Legendary Ranger and later multiclassed into a Mage. Lady Rose, do you think it's possible she has ascended to Legend a second time?]

[Withered Rose: Ascending to Legend a second time? The probability of such a thing is smaller than a mortal becoming a god. It's more unreal than a legend.]

Ambrose didn't refute. If he hadn't received a god's gift, he wouldn't have been able to ascend to Legend a second time either. But precisely because he had this encounter, why couldn't the Elf Queen have one too? The Elven Gods were notoriously protective, even more biased than the Lord of Dawn.

Look at the traits of the Elf race: beauty, intelligence, longevity, immunity to most mind control, almost never getting sick, natural magical affinity, natural archery specialization... Adding all these blessings together was enough to make humans envious enough to fall into hell.

As for whether the Elf Queen could become a Legendary Mage after becoming a Legendary Ranger... Ambrose felt the possibility was high. Maybe this Elf Queen had obtained some ridiculous Legendary boon, leading to the entire Elf race beginning to mass-equip anti-magic weapons.

The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Ambrose said to Withered Rose: [Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Regardless of whether this Elf Queen has ascended twice, this matter is related to her, and we must find a way to deal with it.]

When Withered Rose saw Ambrose say this, she felt a bit odd in her heart. Since when did this become "we" must find a way?

Previously, she was just doing Ambrose a favor by asking around for news. The undead of the Underdark had no conflict with the surface Elves; there was no need to use her kingdom to fight against the Elves, right?

"Did he really treat me as family? It seems so; after all, he even gave me his phylactery."

Withered Rose frowned, feeling something was wrong.

She clearly wanted to use emotions to bind Ambrose and make him come to the Underdark to work for her. How come feelings were cultivated, but she was the one constantly helping him solve problems instead?

Withered Rose hesitated for a moment and didn't reply to Ambrose immediately. Instead, she sent a message to the Bone Dragon heiress: [Let me ask you a question. When Gareth fell in love with you back then, what did he do for you?]

[Pale Little Skeleton: Oh my, Sister, why do you suddenly ask this?]

[Withered Rose: Just curious, wanted to learn a bit.]

[Pale Little Skeleton: He didn't do anything. What could a Headless Knight chased to a desperate dead end by Ryan do? I was the one who helped him shake off the pursuers, brought him back to the Dragon Tomb, helped him modify his body, helped him forge armor, helped him...]

The Bone Dragon heiress listed everything she did for Gareth as if enumerating family valuables. It sounded like Gareth was completely living off a woman, and it was entirely the Bone Dragon heiress giving.

The more Withered Rose read, the more wrong it felt. She asked her best friend: [What is the meaning of such one-sided giving?]

[Pale Little Skeleton: Feelings are meant for giving. Calculating these things isn't true love; that's what human novels say. Besides, once the other party truly cares about you, sooner or later you will feel how good he is to you.]

Withered Rose frowned again. It seemed to make some sense.

However, to fight the entire Silvermoon High Court for him, this price seemed...

While she was hesitating, Ambrose sent another message: [Lady Rose, it's best if you stop inquiring about news on the Silvermoon High Court side. I don't want the Elves to suspect you.]

[Withered Rose: But you just said we have to deal with it together.]

[Tiga Ultraman: I meant that when I have no way out, I hope you can let me hide in the Underdark for a few years. Just me alone, I can't fight the entire Silvermoon High Court. I just want to use the power of the Desert Dwarves to teach these Elves a lesson and exact some revenge for their hatred towards them. Once the Desert Dwarves can't beat those Elves, I'm definitely going to run, and you are my escape route.]

Withered Rose's finger, writing in the air, stopped mid-motion. She didn't reply for a long time.

This, was the "true care" the Bone Dragon heiress spoke of, right?

After a long silence, Withered Rose replied with a single sentence: [Okay, welcome anytime.]

Closing the *[Codex of the Undead]*, Withered Rose placed her hand on her curvaceous chest, then sighed helplessly, "Sure enough, the undead have no hearts."

But after saying that, Withered Rose said to the maid serving beside her, "Go to the library and bring me all the books related to vampires."

Withered Rose swore she would study this thoroughly. They were all undead without heartbeats; why could vampires maintain their emotions, and have emotions so intense they could go into heat even towards food?

Ambrose felt much more at ease after receiving Withered Rose's reply.

He never intended for Withered Rose to go to war with the Elves from the start. That was unrealistic and meaningless.

Ambrose was a war broker; causing some trouble for the Elves was enough. Why send his premium client to be consumed? Every bit of financial power Withered Rose lost was Ambrose's future revenue.

The Elf Queen's second ascension to Legend allowing the Elves to mass-equip anti-magic weapons wasn't a problem for Ambrose to handle; the ones who should truly worry about this were the Desert Dwarves.

Ambrose didn't hesitate and immediately sent a message to Heggie Stone: [Senior, I have a big secret about the Elf race here. For just two million gold coins, ask the Desert Dwarves if they are interested. Guaranteed to be key intelligence that can affect the outcome of the war.]

[Hates Humans: No problem. It's just two million. As long as the intel is useful, I agree right now.]

Looking at the instant reply, Ambrose frowned instead.

Something's wrong. Why did this vampire suddenly become so generous? The top-tier Gargoyles promised earlier hadn't even been delivered yet.

Ambrose's sensitivity in this regard was comparable to the Bone Dragon heiress's radar for cheating men.

Ambrose tentatively sent another message: [I said two million gold coins, and I want cash now.]

[Hates Humans: Two million is two million. You wouldn't be thinking of hiking the price at the last minute, right? Quick, tell me what the intel is; I won't short you on the gold coins.]

This vampire was very suspicious.