Chapter 963: New Continent Campaign

"What can I get?"

Facing Lei En's question, Kestajin was not the slightest bit surprised.

This time the dwarves mobilized the whole clan to pioneer the New Continent; nominally it was to restore their ancestors' glory, but that was merely a morale‑boosting excuse. The real aim was the dwarves' grand development plan: to solve the overpopulation problem in one stroke and secure brand‑new living space.

Of course, the Dwarf Kings also knew this was a seizure of Lei En's interests.

Both sides are allies bound by a treaty; doing this is indeed dishonorable, but for the clan's survival prospects, the kings could only resort to this measure.

In fact, the kings know that the best way to pioneer the New Continent is to cooperate with Lei En, but the initiative is not in their hands, leaving them at Lei En's disposal.

Since they have abandoned the idea of letting Lei En act on his own, they have no face left to ask Lei En for help.

Since the pioneering plan was set, the dwarf leadership—including the five kings—has been holding their breath, determined to succeed and never let Lei En mock them. Consequently, even after enduring a Netifu Demon counterattack in the past few months that cost a third of their army, the kings gritted their teeth and persisted, without sending a single request for aid to Gotham City.

But now they truly can't hold on any longer!

Last night the Cesarq Wall was breached by Demonkin; the dwarves paid a huge price to eliminate the enemy and resealed the breach.

After the battle, the casualty count showed that more than twenty thousand clan members were lost in a single night.

The dwarf force participating in the pioneering plan numbered only two hundred thousand, a legion formed by five underground fortresses and essentially the elite of the entire dwarf race. In just over half a year, they lost nearly half, a blow too great for the kings.

The Demonkin army suffered even heavier losses, yet they were continuously replenished.

The balance of power between the two sides has already tipped.

The "Blood‑thirsty King" Kurgos is likely brewing an even fiercer assault, and the Cesarq City Wall will inevitably fall again.

By then, the kings will be concerned not with whether the pioneering plan succeeds, but with the very survival of the dwarf legion.

If the two‑hundred‑thousand‑strong dwarf legion is wiped out, the dwarf race is finished.

In such a perilous moment, the Dwarf Kings finally lowered their heads, caring little for face or honor, and immediately dispatched Kestajin to Gotham City to seek aid.

Kestajin is most familiar with Lei En, and their relationship is good.

He knows Lei En's temperament: Lei En doesn't fuss over trivial matters, but on big issues he is far from a saintly do‑gooder; he does good without expecting reward, so before departing he already prepared himself for a ruthless cut.

"What do you want?"

Kestajin immediately shouted back, with a posture of surrender, "Anything our dwarves have, you may take."

"Anything really?" Lei En smiled ambiguously.

"Uh..."

Kestajin hesitated for a moment.

"My principle is equal exchange; I won't exploit a fire to seize advantage or take advantage of an ally," Lei En saw through Kestajin's thoughts at a glance. "We speak plainly; what should be done is done. You needn't write blank checks to test my limits—this is the attitude between allies."

Kestajin's old face flushed, "I was too impatient, Lei En, sorry."

Lei En shook his head, unconcerned, and said again, "I can aid you; the key is what kind of outcome the Dwarf Kings desire."

"What's different?" Kestajin was momentarily at a loss.

"Obviously different," Lei En said seriously. "Do the kings want me to dispatch troops to repel the Demonkin, allowing the dwarf legion to withdraw safely; or do they want me to fully join the pioneering plan, helping the dwarves successfully seize the Dreweil Peninsula and establish a foothold?"

"These two outcomes: the former requires repelling the Demonkin just once, while the latter demands prolonged warfare and multiple repulses of the enemy."

"So the price the dwarves must pay me differs."

Kestajin instantly understood and said without hesitation, "Obviously the latter! We've already sacrificed nearly one hundred thousand lives for the Dreweil Peninsula; if we simply retreat to the Shi Jie Shan Mai, those lives would be wasted."

Lei En smiled inwardly, having anticipated this.

Sunk cost!

The dwarves have invested too much in the pioneering plan, like a gambler at the table who, after losing most of his chips, will not easily quit to cut losses.

The more they lose, the harder it is to stop.

One hundred thousand dwarf warriors' lives, twenty‑million Gold Shield teleportation fees, and the purchase of supplies costing another ten‑plus million Gold Shields—if the legion retreats to the Shi Jie Shan Mai, they must pay another ten‑plus million Gold Shield in transport costs. The massive sunk cost has cornered the dwarves.

The dwarves have already gone blood‑shot; as long as there is a sliver of a chance to turn the tide, they refuse to miss it.

"We must seize the Dreweil Peninsula!"

Kestajin said resolutely, "Lei En, for this goal the two‑hundred‑thousand dwarf legion would rather shed their very last drop of blood."

He stared firmly at Lei En, "Tell me, what do you want?"

"Two things."

Lei En extended two fingers, evidently already decided, and smiled, "One is alchemical materials and magical metal worth five hundred million Gold Shields, the other is sovereignty."

"Five hundred million..."

Kestajin's eyes widened, nearly leaping up.

"Is that a lot?" Lei En retorted.

Without waiting for Kestajin to bargain, he added, "Whether a price is high or low isn't judged by the figure itself, but by whether you can muster it. Five hundred million Gold Shields may be a sky‑high sum, but for the entire dwarf race it isn't unacceptable; you have the means to pay."

Who is the richest person in the world is a hard question to answer.

But if you ask which race is the richest in the world, it must be the dwarves.

Since their birth, dwarves have been mining countless veins in the underground world—gold, mithril, refined ore, crystal gems, various magical metals—and, like dragons, they have a collector's instinct, hoarding the wealth they extract. From the dwarves' rise to their decline spans over ten thousand years; even though they no longer enjoy former glory and now possess only five underground fortresses, during epochal shifts the dwarves have ample time to transfer their treasure back to the Shi Jie Shan Mai.

Conservative estimates suggest that even a mere one‑tenth would be an unimaginable fortune.

Having five hundred million Gold Shields alone is already generous.

Usually trying to pry treasure from these miserly hands is nearly impossible, almost as hard as demanding their lives.

Now that this once‑in‑a‑lifetime chance exists, I'll definitely squeeze out a hefty sum.

"But..."

Kestajin nodded, then quickly shook his head, inhaled and said, "Five hundred million is really too much!"

From his reaction it's clear the dwarves can indeed muster five hundred million, but they think the price is steep. Lei En smiled and said, "If the five dwarf kingdoms split it, each underground fortress only needs to give one hundred million; that's not much."

Kestajin scratched his beard, thinking that getting the Zhigao Shan Kingdom to contribute a hundred million doesn't seem hard.

No, that's wrong!

Lei En wants alchemical materials and magical metal worth one hundred million Gold Shields; many precious materials and metals cannot be bought even with money on the market, their actual value exceeds one hundred million Gold Shields.

"Can I pay with gold?" Kestajin asked.

"No."

Lei En decisively refused; he had just seized the treasure of an ancient black‑iron dragon and now possessed a massive amount of gold, more than he could ever spend.

To manufacture power armor, Star Destroyer and various weapons, the lacking is not funds but alchemical materials and magical metal; the Empire market and surrounding human realms have seen most prices rise sharply because he has been buying crazily these years, making them impossible to purchase.

The Dwarf King has stored huge quantities of materials and metal, just enough to meet his needs.

Kestajin still wanted to haggle.

But Lei En snapped him shut, refusing any price cut no matter what he said.

The Soul Eye had long seen Kestajin's bottom line; this price is acceptable to the dwarves, and of course they would not loosen their grip.

"Fine, five hundred million is five hundred million."

Kestajin lost patience; time was urgent, the Demonkin army could attack at any moment, so he had to agree, and immediately asked: "The second thing you demand, sovereignty, what does that mean?"

"Simple: the land the dwarves have opened up on the New Continent, the right to rule belongs to me." Lei En had just explained a sentence when Kestajin's face changed drastically, "Don't be hasty, hear me out. I only want nominal sovereignty, but will grant the dwarves high autonomy, no taxes, no interference in internal affairs; in practice we remain allies."

Kestajin's expression softened a bit, but still displeased, shaking his head: "The dwarves cannot accept becoming vassals of humans, even nominally."

"Moreover, with your strength…"

He did not finish the rest.

Others did not know, but Kestajin knew Lei En's inside story: Lei En's legion outmatches the entire dwarf race, and every year, month, even day it grows stronger. As long as Lei En wishes, he can turn nominal rule into reality at any time.

Lei En holds sovereignty; even if he annexes dwarf territory and directly rules all dwarves on the New Continent, no one can accuse him.

It's like placing a knife on his own neck and then handing the hilt to Lei En.

"If you don't accept, fine."

Lei En, with an indifferent look, stopped discussing sovereignty, "Then step back: I'll help you defeat the Demonkin army, escort the dwarf legion back to Gotham City. That makes the price cheap; I don't need sovereignty, nor the five hundred million Gold Shield materials and metal, just one hundred million will do."

"Wait." Kestajin didn't want to withdraw, "We can't concede on sovereignty, but we can raise the price."

"Without sovereignty, no amount of money will do." Lei En's stance was firm.

Kestajin was helpless, "Really nothing to discuss?"

Lei En spread his hands.

The whole New Continent is a prize he has had his eye on; two years ago he already set the blueprint for opening the New Continent, how to eliminate Demonkin, Heavenly Disaster Legion and Demon armies, gradually eat away enemy territory, then cleanse pollution, and later how to develop—it all has a rough plan.

This is a grand expansion plan, taking at least ten years, possibly several decades.

The invested capital and manpower are incalculable.

He will never allow others to lay claim to the New Continent; the Empire's upper echelons repeatedly probed, hoping to join the expansion and get a share, but he always refused. Later he diverted attention with the Subcontinent Trade Company's profits, temporarily blocking the Empire's various forces from coveting the New Continent.

At the start of the year he agreed to let the dwarves use the teleportation array, as they were allies, and also anticipated the dwarves would inevitably fail.

The events indeed unfolded as he had guessed.

The dwarves ultimately still demanded the top spot; seizing this chance, they must obtain sovereignty, and cannot let the dwarves establish territories on the New Continent beyond his control.

They either accept vassalage or roll back to the Shi Jie Shan Mai, no third option.

Kestajin understood from Lei En's attitude.

Then fell silent.

Seeing his emotions fluctuate wildly, clearly struggling inside, Lei En said: "I suggest the dwarves accept my terms. Though you lose sovereignty, you gain territory, giving the whole race development and survival space; the sacrifices of your people are not in vain."

Kestajin's face hesitated, yet gave no reply.

"Moreover, since sovereignty belongs to me, I naturally must delineate the dwarf territory borders." Lei En said calmly and as if obvious: "My current thought is that the entire Dreweil Peninsula belongs to the dwarves, using the Qiesak Wall as the boundary."

"The Dreweil Peninsula covers over forty‑thousand square miles, its land fertile, resources abundant, enough to sustain millions of dwarves."

"But I have always been a generous person."

"Between Gotham City and Dreweil there is a 'Kenton Peninsula', also using the river as a boundary, about fifty‑thousand square miles, the island has two excellent natural harbors, which I also allocate to the dwarves."

Kestajin's expression fluctuated.

The Kenton Peninsula's geography and environment are better than Dreweil's, and larger; however it borders the New Continent directly, with only a not‑very‑wide river separating it, making defense very difficult, which is why the dwarf kings originally did not choose to occupy Kenton Peninsula.

The two peninsulas are adjacent, together nearly one hundred‑thousand square miles.

That's equivalent to two provinces of the Empire.

Moreover, they are the most fertile and resource‑rich lands, extremely advantageous for economic development; few imperial provinces match their natural conditions. At the junction of the two peninsulas, at the mouth of the Dreweil River, a massive city was once built; during the Elf Empire era it was the fifth‑largest city on the New Continent.

Today the dwarf race numbers about 2.7 million; even if all migrated, the two peninsulas could easily accommodate them, and for the next few hundred years they will not worry about living space.

Such a vast territory and resources can easily sustain ten million dwarves!

But to become Lei En's vassal…

Kestajin was rather moved, his stance already wavering.

The Soul Eye saw his change; Lei En decided to push further, whispering: "I can reveal a piece of information: after defeating the Demonkin army, I plan to build a tower in Tixibiya, arranging a VijesCui magical torchlight rune formation."

"Is that true?"

Kestajin's eyes widened, his face both shocked and delighted.

Gotham City's rapid development and crazy population growth are due to the existence of the God of Magic; its magical brilliance shines over a three‑hundred‑mile radius, preventing evil from invading, forming a very safe domain.

Both the Dreweil Peninsula and Kenton Peninsula lie within Tixibiya's three‑hundred‑mile range.

As long as that tower is erected, the Demonkin army will be no concern.

Moreover, the tower's illumination and the God of Magic's radiance can connect, forming a safe zone along the eastern coast; the dwarf lands sit in the middle of this zone, able to settle completely, focusing on building cities and developing the economy.

Calculating this way, conceding sovereignty seems not entirely out of the question.

The dwarves give a lot, but receive even more!

"Of course it's true."

Lei En smiled calmly: "In a few days, a brand‑new Iola Core will be completed, and I have also prepared the materials for the rune formation."

VijesCui's magical torchlight is a Ten‑ring Spell that requires the Iola Core as its energy source, so it can maintain its magical radiance at all times.

Ke Si Si Jin understood this well.

He finally understood, and with a wry smile said, "Lei En, have you been waiting for us to ask for your aid all along?"

Otherwise, how could Lei En have even prepared the Iola Core?

"I said no, would you believe it?" Lei En laughed.

The core of his New Continent expansion plan is the Iola Core and VijesCui's magical torchlight; combined, they are deployed at selected spots along the New Continent's coast to create multiple safe zones, encircling the interior from three sides, gradually squeezing the enemies' living and operating space until all foes are eliminated.

Tixibiya was originally the next location he had chosen.

The dwarves also happened to covet this area.

Even without the dwarves, he would have launched an offensive on Tixibiya by early next year at the latest; the dwarves joining only moved the plan forward.

However, Kestajin obviously would not believe it.

He shook his head with a wry smile.

Lei En was indifferent to this, believing or not; he stood up and said, "I've said my piece; think it over carefully."

"That's not for me to decide," Kestajin said, seeing Lei En about to leave, anxious as an ant on a hot pan, "I need to consult the kings."

"Please, go ahead."

Lei En made a gesture.

Kestajin hurried out of the living room, where several legendary dwarf mages waited outside, helping him cast spells and negotiate with the dwarf kings on the Dreweil Peninsula.

Lei En had no interest in eavesdropping on their conversation, so he went to his daughter's bedroom, where Elizabeth had already fallen asleep under a maid's care. He sat on the edge of the small bed, watching his daughter's peaceful slumber, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

After watching for a while, he entered the study.

A moment later, Kestajin knocked and entered, hurriedly saying, "Lei En, the kings have agreed to your request."

(End of chapter)