Chapter 770: Elf Treasure

Even without the Soul Eye, Lei En could read Li Fulin's thoughts; she seemed to have something important to tell him, so he smiled and said, "Madam, we can be frank with each other; if you have anything to say, speak directly."

"Very well, my lord."

Li Fulin was not originally a conflicted person; she was capable and decisive. After several encounters with Lei En, she found that this lord was actually very straightforward, had no airs, and possessed a charisma that inspired loyalty.

She organized her words and then asked, "Lord, may I know what arrangements you have for the Santara Residence?"

"Naturally, it will be merged into Gotham City."

Lei En answered as a matter of course; he saw that Li Fulin was reluctant to part with the blood‑elf camp she had managed for years and wanted to retain some autonomy, and he said gravely, "After the Santara Residence is incorporated into Gotham, it must be opened to the public; I do not want a lawless zone within my city."

The Santara Residence is outside Gotham City; to facilitate blood‑elf access, a teleportation array must be erected to the designated elf district.

If only blood elves were permitted inside, it would function like an autonomous zone and cause many problems.

Regardless of race, people tend to live with their own kind. If the privileges of the Santara Residence are not revoked, blood elves will treat it as their own ethnic territory, huddle together, and create a rift with other Gotham residents, undermining the city's cohesion.

Lei En does not aspire to turn Gotham into a great melting pot, but he also does not want Gotham to become a fragmented society.

Therefore, he must open the Santara Residence to all inhabitants.

Li Fulin, seeing Lei En's resolute attitude, sighed, "I understand, my lord. Since this is your command, I have no choice but to obey."

"Very well," Lei En said, nodding with satisfaction.

The Santara Residence was a camp Li Fulin had built single‑handedly over decades, pouring countless effort into it; a single sentence from Lei En made her abandon it, showing her loyalty to him and that she harbored no desire to command troops for herself.

Li Fulin thought for a few seconds and then said, "My people and I will relinquish this camp and relocate to Gotham City. However, I have a suggestion: please do not make the Santara Residence public. It is better to keep it closed than to allow outsiders in."

"Why?" Lei En guessed the reason vaguely.

"The Santara Residence lies deep beneath Aibolaken; it is part of the ruins of an elf city from the Third Epoch," Li Fulin explained. "The former Aibolaken was the richest city on the New Continent, possessing incalculable wealth. When the elves withdrew to Aoroan, they took only a small portion. Most of that wealth was buried underground, becoming a treasure."

"For over three thousand years, the Aibolaken ruins have scarcely been excavated."

She paused, stared at Lei En seriously, and said, "And the Santara Residence is the gateway to unlocking this treasure…"

Lei En thought to himself, "Indeed."

When Reslin and his companions first came to Aibolaken, the Holy Spear wanderer Belak kept muttering about the underground treasure here, yearning to enter the Santara Residence but unable to.

Now Li Fulin says the same, so the treasure must be real.

The Third Epoch spanned more than 5,400 years; throughout that long span, Aibolaken was the most radiant magical capital on the New Continent, like a shining pearl. The wealth accumulated over five millennia, even if only a fraction could be unearthed, would still be enormous.

Lei En suddenly had a revelation.

No wonder Regent Asqiong and the blood‑elf hierarchy were so shocked and reluctant when they learned Li Fulin intended to bring the Santara Residence into Gotham.

Besides Asqiong's personal feelings for Li Fulin, the treasure also played a role.

Blood elves are extremely wealthy, perhaps the richest race under Ai Lun E Si, treating money like dirt, yet they are unwilling to relinquish the massive treasure of Aibolaken.

It is only that the Santara Residence is Li Fulin's personal domain, giving them no reason to refuse.

Thinking of this, Lei En couldn't help but look at Li Fulin with higher regard, realizing the great price and determination she had shown to leave Yongge City.

Of course, Li Fulin is not entirely selfless; she also has her own demands.

First, her personal prospects.

Second, the future of the blood knights.

"Thank you, madam," Lei En stood and said solemnly, "I will adopt your suggestion and seal the Santara Residence. I will personally oversee the excavation of Aibolaken's treasure and invite you to assist. Of the wealth uncovered, you may take one‑third."

He is not short of money now, but he would not complain about having too much.

More money means greater power, which can accelerate Gotham's construction and be used elsewhere for tremendous effect.

The taste of monetary power is simply exquisite.

Li Fulin has spent years in Aibolaken and built the Santara Residence; no one in the world knows the elf treasure better than she does. With her guidance and his All-Seeing Eye, they will surely excavate the wealth buried underground for millennia.

In this regard, Lei En is never stingy.

After allocating the one‑third share, he further promised, "I will do everything to help you ascend to Saint Rank, with unlimited supply of Sunlight Blood. As for the treatment of the blood knight corps, my plan is to merge them with the Spearwing Knight Corps; then I will fully respect your opinion."

Sure enough, Li Fulin smiled upon hearing these promises.

"Your lordship's generosity is admirable, but I do not want the treasure," she said, surprising Lei En, who replied seriously, "I am willing to trade the treasure for a single promise from you: to treat all blood elves living in Gotham equally."

Lei En gave her a deep look.

This beautiful blood‑elf truly lives up to her lofty standing among her people, placing her clan's affairs above all, even above herself.

"I guarantee it in the name of the God of Magic."

Lei En swore without hesitation; he had never favored any race. Whether human, elf, or dwarf, they are all his subjects.

After hearing that, Li Fulin felt completely at ease.

The stunningly beautiful blood elf's aura was outstanding and pleasing, but a man and a woman sharing a room would inevitably cause outsiders to misunderstand, harming her reputation. Lei En did not wish a noble lady to be embroiled in such gossip, and he had no further intentions toward her; after concluding business, he promptly took his leave.

Instead, Countess Li Fulin seemed a bit regretful, but she made no attempt to retain him.

"Lord, I have prepared a thousand blood knights ready to deploy to Gotham at any time to serve you," Li Fulin reported as she left the sitting room.

"Then let them go with me," Lei En agreed immediately.

A moment later.

A thousand fully armed blood knights gathered in the square, forming ranks for Lei En's inspection. The Soul Eye, observing covertly, detected several blood elves with divergent thoughts; he named them on the spot and handed them over to Li Fulin.

Blood elves are not monolithic; there are noble classes and various factions.

As expected, these blood knights were nails driven into the blood knight corps by certain blood‑elf nobles, likely without great malice, merely serving as eyes and ears, but Lei En did not wish to keep them as potential risks.

Li Fulin's expression hardened instantly upon seeing these blood elves.

Lei En did not ask Li Fulin how to handle them, took the blood knights himself, and left the Santara Residence. The massive force emerged from Aibolaken's Black Forest, appearing on the opposite shore of the strait, where dwarf craftsmen at work spotted the elven army from afar.

"Blood elves!"

"What are they doing here?"

"Are these arrogant guys planning to attack Gotham? Better use the Electric Light Cannon to blast them all, so we won't be annoyed when we see them later."

The dwarves on the walls halted their work, watching the approaching blood‑elf troops, shouting and cursing, appearing rather irritable.

"Quiet!"

Kestajin appeared on the city wall and rebuked, "All of you shut up! These are blood elves who owe loyalty to the lord, and they will be Getan's residents from now on. Whoever dares to say another word, let's see whether my hammer is hard or your heads are hard."

The King of the Hills' voice boomed like thunder as he brandished his own "Rage of the Mountains."

The dwarves all tucked in their necks and continued working.

But they still kept glancing out toward the city, muttering a few complaints, or exchanging glances with the dwarves beside them.

Kestajin was actually fully aware of this, yet he made no fuss.

In fact, he also didn't like elves.

A few days earlier, when he heard Lei En say that a batch of up to 25,000 blood elves would become Getan's residents, he immediately shouted a protest, stating he was unwilling to live in the same city as the arrogant elves. However, the protest was ineffective; Lei En not only did not change his mind, but also gave him a good scolding.

Kestajin was beaten into a sour mood.

He was also forced to accept Lei En's order to pacify and restrain his own people.

If dwarves and blood elves clash, once it's determined the dwarves caused it, Kestajin would be the first to be held accountable.

Kestajin didn't dare say another word; he knew Lei En's temper well—normally gentle and affable, but anyone who dares to defy Lei En's will will instantly experience the wrath of thunder and have no good outcome. If dwarves commit offenses, he himself would indeed be held responsible.

Moreover, according to Lei En, soon another group of dark elves would also join Getan.

Zhuo Er from the Shadow Realm!

The blood elves already found it hard to accept, let alone those evil Zhuo Er… Because of this, Kestajin had been worried for several days and had already thought of many ways to restrain his people.

While pondering, the blood elves had already stepped across the ice and reached Shield Island.

Lei En and the Extreme Warrior led at the front, with over a thousand blood knights following them, entering Getan through an unfinished section of the city wall.

The blood elves also saw the dwarves.

The city wall suddenly fell silent, only the uniform footfalls of the blood elves could be heard. A tense atmosphere spread, and the blood elves' steps unknowingly slowed, their eyes locked with the dwarves', gazes like swords, sparking invisible fire.

Lei En turned around and saw the scene of two mutually loving and hating races facing each other.

"Kestajin." he called.

"Lord, I'm here." The King of the Hills quickly turned into a flash of lightning and landed before Lei En, assuming a posture awaiting orders.

The dwarves' and elves' gazes were both drawn toward them.

"You arrange their dwellings." Lei En said lightly; as soon as the words left his mouth, the blood knights stirred, and although no one dared to speak out against it, most showed displeasure, thinking Lei En was deliberately humiliating them.

"Anyone have an opinion?" Lei En snorted coldly.

His gaze swept over the blood elves; his sharp eyes met no one's, and any blood elf caught by it involuntarily lowered his head.

The watching dwarves thought Lei En favored them, and couldn't help feeling smug; some dwarves even let out a gloating laugh.

Lei En turned his head, and the dwarf who was laughing turned as if struck by lightning, his face turning pale.

"I don't care what grudges you have, or what race, or where you come from; in my eyes there's no distinction." Lei En's voice rang in everyone's ears, heavy with warning: "Since you join Getan, you have only one identity—that of Getan's residents, my subjects."

"In Getan, anyone who sparks a dispute over racial grudges, once verified, will immediately have their resident status stripped and be expelled from the city; thus the murderer repays blood debt with blood."

"Except for me, no one in Getan has privileges."

"Of course." Lei En suddenly showed a cold smile, "If anyone objects, thinks they can overturn my rule, you can try."

He didn't want to speak any grand principles.

The millennia‑long feud between elves and dwarves cannot be resolved by a few words; the old theory of racial equality is no longer heard. The only solution is to speak with fists, suppressing all this chaos.

Some people don't understand reason, so let them taste the feel of an iron‑fisted dictatorship.

Even if there is only one person, Lei En can't handle everything, but he has duplicates—Thundercast Celestial Soldier, mage duplicates, Electric Light Cannon, and the planned Arcane patrol guards; they are his eyes and ears, infiltrating the whole city, monitoring every movement.

One person's strength can easily suppress the entire city.

The elves and dwarves present were silent as cold frogs, daring not to meet Lei En's gaze.

Even Kestajin bowed his head, and when Lei En waved his hand, he immediately responded, bringing blood knights to arrange their dwellings; the blood knights dared not raise any further objections.

Lei En teleported back to Gra Morgan Castle, continuing his research.

He had already mastered several puppet, humanoid armor, and golem technologies from the Ai Lun E Si world, merging them with his past mechanical knowledge to design and forge powered armor. He has made great progress and is confident he can produce a finished product within two years.

Time slipped by unnoticed.

A week later, Lei En was still concentrating in the mechanical alchemy chamber when he suddenly looked up.

He saw his substitute in the office, and the wind‑elf steward Fabien entered with a delighted face, reporting, "Master, Lady Viola has sent word that Nuosiruier has manifested a magic soul with a lightning form!"

(End of Chapter)