This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 51

Ambrose and this man weren't exactly old friends; rather, they had engaged in a heated debate about alchemy over a decade ago. It was then that Ambrose discovered that there were humans scarier than his own skeletal visage.

It wasn't that the man was ugly. On the contrary, Gustavo Flynn had regular features and was a very charismatic older gentleman.

However, he had a dark complexion and, when expressionless, carried an inherent aura of authority that commanded respect without anger. There was a terrifying rumor that he once induced a heart attack in an alchemist simply by staring at him without saying a word.

Coupled with Gustavo Flynn's strict—bordering on harsh—requirements for alchemy, many alchemists who worked under him would find their legs trembling just at the sound of his footsteps.

Many people privately whispered that Gustavo Flynn was a lich wearing a human skin suit, which was why he naturally emitted an aura of fear.

Upon hearing Ambrose quote twenty million, Gustavo Flynn decisively retorted, "Five hundred thousand."

"Eighteen million."

"Eight hundred thousand."

"Seventeen million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand."

"Now you're just being boring."

"Who's the boring one, chopping off two decimal places right from the start?"

...

The wrangling in front of the castle continued. The City of Alchemy was currently poor enough to hear the coins rattling in its empty pockets. Twenty million gold coins was indeed highway robbery on Ambrose's part, but he would absolutely not lower the price below a million. At that point, he might as well turn Alan Watson into an undead minion.

The soul of a Paladin loyal to the Lord of Dawn was quite valuable. Ambrose had previously seen someone in the Codex of the Undead chat group offering a high price for Paladin souls. If tortured until it turned into a Wraith, it would be even more valuable, selling for seven or eight hundred thousand gold coins.

"You should be well aware that right now, we cannot possibly take out tens of millions in gold to buy a single Paladin," Gustavo Flynn said, his expression remaining unchanged, though his tone grew impatient.

Ambrose countered sharply, "Then you should also be well aware that an offer of a few hundred thousand gold coins is a waste of my time."

Gustavo Flynn spoke with feigned nonchalance, "A mere Paladin, in my opinion, isn't even worth a hundred thousand. I only came today to go through the motions, just so we can say we tried during future diplomatic meetings. It makes no difference to me if we don't reach a deal."

Ambrose laughed heartily and said mercilessly, "My old friend, stop pretending. A mere Paladin means nothing to you, but the goodwill of the Ryan Empire means everything. You can't keep a lid on the things in the sewers much longer, can you?"

These words made Gustavo Flynn's face change color. He asked in a low voice, "How much do you know?"

"Not much, but I can be certain that matters have spiraled beyond your control. That is why, when the Silvermoon High Court was frantically hiking prices on magical materials, none of you could spare the time to negotiate with those High Elves. You have already decided to seek outside help, and the Ryan Empire is your partner of choice. Alan Watson, the Paladin, is the best prerequisite for that cooperation.

"My dear Master Flynn, stop trying to scam me. On the matter of money, I wouldn't loosen my jaw even if the God of Alchemy were here. Show me your sincerity."

Gustavo Flynn remained silent for a long while before sighing with resignation. "Worthy of the genius the President personally invited to join the Alchemists' Council. If only you had agreed back then, perhaps..."

Ambrose shook his head hurriedly. "No need to reminisce. Let alone the old President writing a letter, even if he came to invite me in person, I wouldn't join the Alchemists' Council. I'm not crazy, and I have zero interest in blaspheming the gods. Hurry up and quote a price, or I'll turn that Paladin into a zombie. He's nearly eaten me into bankruptcy these past few days."

Gustavo Flynn's cheek twitched. This Lich truly had no shame.

"You know very well that I haven't exaggerated the City of Alchemy's economic difficulties. We cannot give you twenty million gold coins."

Hearing the other party's tone soften, Ambrose quickly said, "I know, and I won't make things difficult for you. Ten thousand Firepower-Enhanced Automatons, valued at ten million gold coins. How about it?"

Gustavo Flynn listened and said angrily, "And let you profit ninety million gold coins for free? You certainly dare to open your mouth."

Even the lowest version of a magic automaton cost three thousand gold. The Firepower-Enhanced model was a premium product, costing at least ten thousand each. This Lich was asking for a hundred million in value while only deducting ten million from the debt. This wasn't robbery; it was looting. He wanted to dig up the very roots of the City of Alchemy.

"You said you had no money, so I can only ask for goods. Isn't the magic automaton the best-selling item in the City of Alchemy?"

Gustavo Flynn said firmly, "No matter how broke we are, we can't sell automatons as scrap metal. Don't even think about it. Besides, you have no workers to maintain the automatons; buying so many would result in nothing but large ornaments."

"Alright, for the sake of our friendship, I have a win-win suggestion. You don't have to spend a single gold coin, nor give me any physical goods, and I will still hand Alan Watson over to you."

Gustavo Flynn frowned. "You... want alchemy potion formulas?"

Ambrose gave a thumbs-up. "Smart. Isn't this a win-win? You don't pay a cent, just copy some data for me, and you get this important political bargaining chip. However, it's not just potions."

Ambrose took out a piece of parchment, drew a circle on it with his finger, and the parchment automatically folded into a small bird, flapping its wings as it flew in front of Gustavo Flynn.

Gustavo took it, unfolded it, and his frown deepened.

"Osteo-Colony Virus Prime, Magic Airship Blueprint, Living Quicksilver Solution formula, Explosive Potion formula... Do you have any idea what you've written? These formulas and blueprints combined are worth more than ten thousand automatons!"

Ambrose's list was densely packed with over thirty items.

Ambrose replied, "But you don't need to pay with physical objects for these things; you're just sharing the knowledge with me."

"Knowledge is the most valuable thing of all!"

"Relax, I won't resell these formulas and blueprints to others. We can sign a contract; I guarantee they are for my own research use only," Ambrose promised.

Gustavo Flynn sneered, "Of course you won't sell the formulas, but you will sell the finished products! Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Ambrose didn't hide it; instead, he confessed openly, "Of course I'll manufacture products to sell, but with so many laboratories in the City of Alchemy, could you possibly lose to a small workshop like mine in terms of cost advantage? We're both selling finished products; you should have confidence in a price war."

Gustavo Flynn didn't answer. For the same product, the City of Alchemy could certainly drive costs lower, but they didn't want to. Why would they want a competitor forcing them to lower prices when a monopoly could earn ten times the profit? Even if Ambrose's production output couldn't fill the market demand, handing over the formulas was like handing over the goose that laid the golden eggs.

But Gustavo Flynn couldn't find a better option. The only thing the City of Alchemy could offer right now was this knowledge accumulated over countless years.

This Lich was indeed as troublesome as ever. Back when the President personally wrote to invite Ambrose to join the Alchemists' Council, Gustavo had thought the President was praising the man too highly. Thinking about it now, if they had pulled him in regardless of the cost back then, perhaps the City of Alchemy wouldn't have fallen into its current state of internal and external crisis.

"Trading formulas is acceptable, but there are too many. From this list, you can choose at most three."

Although Gustavo Flynn relented, he slashed the price brutally. Over a hundred formulas and blueprints were cut down to three with a single sentence.

"Can you show a little sincerity? For these one hundred and thirty-two formulas, I can knock off the trailing digits. Just make it one hundred and thirty."

...

The two entered another round of back-and-forth haggling.

Finally, Ambrose sold Alan Watson to the City of Alchemy for the price of thirty formulas and blueprints, forcefully shoving The Slag and Ember bar onto Gustavo Flynn to extract two additional formulas.

Having managed to haggle one hundred and thirty-two down to thirty-two, Gustavo Flynn reluctantly agreed, even though he really didn't want that so-called Slag bar, seeing that Ambrose's stance was firm.

"Once you send over the things I want, I'll release the person immediately," Ambrose said.

At this moment, however, Gustavo Flynn shook his head. "No, not so fast. Regarding Alan Watson, I still need you to cooperate in putting on a show."