Alchemist of Forbidden Arcane

Lily was so shy she couldn't speak, unsure whether to nod or shake her head. I sprang from the bed, pulling her close and lightly kissing her small lips, even using my tongue to playfully tease hers. Though Lily's reaction was stiff, she didn't seem to resist kissing me. Perhaps she was too innocent to know how to refuse a man she didn't dislike. 

It was hard to believe she was over two hundred years old. 

Hehe... 

Just as I was enjoying kissing my little servant, some short-lived fool came knocking at the door. Lily was so startled she tried to push me away. 

"Is anyone there?" 

"No!" 

"..." 

"Lord Avanti, could you please open the door? I've brought the Great Elder to speak with you." 

"I'm busy sleeping right now. Could you come back in an hour? No, two hours?" 

When Lily heard it was her father, she finally, with the strength of an elf saintess, pushed me away and hurried to open the door, welcoming the two most powerful figures of her clan. 

"Father, Uncle." 

The Great Elder, accompanied by Sebiel, entered the room. He exchanged a look with me, then suddenly sent Sebiel and Lily away. 

"Brother?" 

"Don't worry, the Baron and I just have something private to discuss. You two don't need to worry." 

Sebiel and Lily, after all, dared not defy him. They looked at me with helpless, worried eyes, as if uneasy leaving us alone. The door closed, and the Great Elder came and sat before me. 

"Alright, Baron Radell, it's just the two of us now, so let's be frank. What was the purpose of that act you put on to lure me here?" 

As expected of an old immortal who had lived for nearly a thousand years, he was indeed sharp and wise with age. 

"You annoy me immensely." 

"Huh?" 

"Old and stubborn, self-righteous and pragmatic, with no taste in clothes, and a slight body odor. Saying I just 'dislike' you is me being merciful. The biggest problem is that you support the First Prince of my country, completely opposing my family's interests, and you have no foresight whatsoever." 

Perhaps even he hadn't expected me to launch into such a tirade immediately. The Great Elder's face went from ruddy to ashen, his fingers and lips trembling slightly, quite possibly muttering a spell to kill me with magic. 

"But for a merchant, no matter how much they dislike someone, no matter their stance, or if they have body odor, as long as a business can make money, they won't refuse." 

At the last sentence, the Great Elder's tense expression finally relaxed a little. 

"Business?" 

"Exactly, a fair trade." 

"But... our elf clan..." 

"I know, your Holy Elf Clan is famous far and wide for being penniless. Of course, I wouldn't be foolish enough to conduct a monetary transaction with you. What you urgently need now is military strength to protect your homeland, and what I'm interested in are beautiful women and power." 

At this, the Great Elder couldn't help but smile wryly. He finally understood my objective. 

"I dislike you too, Avanti. But undeniably, you do possess extraordinary intelligence and boldness. The terms you've offered are simply irresistible. However, you said you're interested in beautiful women and power, but our Elf clan is different from humans. Though we have class distinctions, elves coexist as friends, so I can't provide women for you. In fact, Lily is already the most outstanding beauty under 300 years old in our clan, so don't be too greedy." 

"Then what about power? I know your clan possesses a considerable number of rare spells, and I'm quite interested in those as well." 

"Alas, our clan indeed has many secret technologies passed down through generations, but according to clan rules, they cannot be taught to other races, especially greedy humans like you." 

"Fine, quick and direct. Then the deal's off, and I'll be heading home." 

I had my calculations, getting up from the bed with a yawn. 

"Wait! Besides not sharing our spells, we also have over ten thousand years of precious documents." 

"Documents?" 

"Precisely, documents. Our clan has a history spanning over 100,000 years, and naturally, there are extensive historical records, documenting a history far longer than your country's, even longer than the countries before yours." 

The Great Elder was right; the clan's documents were indeed priceless treasures. The most valuable among them weren't the outdated historical records, but the types of scripts they contained. 

An excellent magician would undoubtedly research ancient secret spells. Just as the Forbidden Summoning of Lewd Arts in my personal collection was written in the script of a 2,000-year-old former empire, researching magic thus requires a vast repository of scripts from different eras. That's why people often say magicians are half historians; there's a lot of truth to it. 

On this vast land, the elf's history is second only to the dragon clan, and their 100,000 years of documents are incredibly useful to me, given my passion for researching strange spells. 

However... 

"Oh Great Elder, you're offering me a pile of outdated old books and expecting help from a hundred thousand strong army in return? That seems a bit much, doesn't it?" 

"Well... I've even let you woo my daughter, so you could make a concession, consider it a discount." 

"That's too big a discount. How about this: I'm currently researching slimes. If your clan has satisfactory information on slimes, plus a few slime samples, I think that would be acceptable." 

"Slimes?" 

The Great Elder was clearly puzzled by my request. Slimes were just ordinary small creatures in the forest, even considered too weak to be summoned beasts. But since I proposed it, he probably had no reason to refuse, otherwise it would show a lack of sincerity. 

"Though I don't know what you're up to, we have a huge amount of slime information, and catching one or two is easy. Alright, deal!" 

The Great Elder seemed afraid I'd back out, eagerly extending his hand. I clasped it in an oath, completing the transaction. 

(Elf clan documents, slime samples, and slime data are mine! 

Actually, my family's army is entirely controlled by my father. Their reason for attacking is simply to weaken Dier's forces and maintain a balance of power. Of course, without the crucial military intelligence I provide, they would have no target for their operations. 

But most importantly, the military expenses for this army are not paid by me, so the biggest winner of this deal is undoubtedly me. But then again, betraying others feels so great, no wonder so many people are willing to be traitors; it might even be related to their interests. 

This is amazing! 

"Great Elder, besides the Black Dragon Cavalry, I also have another contingent of 20,000 elite troops for sale. Are you interested?" 

"Elite troops?" 

Damn, I realize I'm starting to get addicted to this game of betrayal. 

The Great Elder saw me smiling silently, and this old fox knew I wouldn't reveal my hand. Those 20,000 elite troops were literally my own private army. 12,000 of them were the elite cavalry led by Reanto in Ferbenley City. The other 10,000 were light cavalry recruited from one of the best mercenary groups in the country, the Hawk Strike Mercenary Group.