I Became My Elf King Character In A Game-Like World
Chapter 103: Plan

Chapter 103: Plan

"You shameless old fool! You’ve been eyeing my gold for ages. Even if I die, I won’t let you take a single coin that belongs to me! Don’t even think about it!"

Varn: "..."

The Bone Dragon looked warily at Renjiro. "Your Majesty, the Elf King... you don’t want my gold coins, do you?"

Renjiro ignored the Bone Dragon.

It wasn’t the skull dragon’s small collection he wanted; he needed huge amounts of gold.

Renjiro turned back to Varn. "I need lots and lots of gold coins. You will command the undead to attack the lands of those human nobles. They are very rich."

Varn nodded slowly. "I understand, Your Majesty!"

Renjiro added lightly, "And perhaps, one day, my elf army will have to fight your undead!"

"Fight?"

Varn’s expression changed drastically.

His Majesty... maybe he wanted more than just gold. Maybe he wanted human cities too.

As for a war between the elf army and his undead... that would definitely just be for show.

When the elf army arrived, he would have to order his undead to retreat.

Then, the towns occupied by the undead would fall into the elves’ hands. At that point, it would be very hard for the Empire to get those towns back from the Elf King.

Varn took a deep breath.

Suddenly, he realized the Elf King’s plan was quite shocking.

This was the strategy Renjiro had just thought of.

Varn leads the undead to attack the cities of the Empire, gathering lots of gold coins to give to Renjiro. Then, Renjiro leads the elf army to ’drive back’ the undead, occupying the cities in the name of protecting humanity and preventing further undead attacks.

As for Varn’s undead, they would just move on to attack other cities.

This way, Renjiro could quickly take over parts of the Empire, gaining gold and land without having to fight the main imperial army directly.

Once his high-elf units grew large enough, he could then truly challenge the Empire and the Temple.

Renjiro changed the subject. "Varn, why did you come to this mountain range in the first place?"

Varn quickly answered, "Your Majesty, I was trying to capture the Dragon Root!"

Renjiro raised an eyebrow. "You were almost killed just now. What do you need a Dragon Root for?"

Varn’s face twitched.

"Your Majesty," he explained, "the Dragon Root is the final key material I need to transform into a Lich. Now that I have the Life Water, if I can just get the Dragon Root, I’ll have everything. Once my life force is boosted to its peak, I can attempt the transformation into a Lich!"

Varn’s voice filled with excitement. "Your Majesty, when I become a Lich, I will be promoted to the demigod level! I’ll become one of the top powerhouses on the entire continent!"

Hearing this, Elaria and the three elf commanders gasped softly.

They hadn’t realized this old necromancer, who they had almost killed, was so close to the legendary demigod realm – just one final step away.

Renjiro asked, "How sure are you that the transformation will succeed?"

Varn looked at the large wooden vat full of Life Water. "If Your Majesty is willing to give me all of this Life Water, I am about fifty percent sure I can fully transform into a Lich."

After saying this, he watched Renjiro nervously.

The Life Water in that vat was worth hundreds of millions of gold coins, easily. He didn’t know if Renjiro would be willing to part with it. He knew he wouldn’t be, if it were his.

However, Varn had no idea that this vat of Life Water was actually just what Renjiro planned to use for a bath. If Varn knew that, he might faint on the spot.

Renjiro frowned slightly. "A fifty percent chance is still too low! If I gave you another vat of Life Water, would the chance increase?"

Another vat?

Varn was instantly bewildered.

Was elven Life Water really measured by the bucketful?

Varn wasn’t greedy, though. He said, "Your Majesty, this amount of Life Water is more than enough to push my vitality to its peak. Any more would be useless."

He paused, then smiled wryly. "Transforming from a human into a Lich means changing my very race. It’s incredibly difficult by nature. I am already satisfied with a fifty percent chance of success."

The Bone Dragon offered some comfort. "Don’t worry, Varn!"

Varn looked surprised. "Y-you, are you... concerned about me?"

The Bone Dragon let out a sigh that sounded like dry bones scraping together. "We have been together for several hundred years, after all. When you begin your transformation, I will personally stand guard... to see you off one last time."

Varn, who had felt touched for a moment, felt his face darken instantly when he heard the last part.

He really couldn’t expect anything sincere from this cheap dragon.

Renjiro glanced at the necromancer Varn.

What did a fifty percent chance really mean?

Even thirty percent certainty suggested the chance of success was low, and failure likely meant death. As for fifty percent... that was basically saying nothing. Success and failure were equal possibilities. It was like asking a true or false question – there was no real probability involved, just an outcome.

Renjiro asked, "So, have you captured the Dragon Root yet?"

Varn shook his head. "I haven’t found it yet, but I am sure it’s not just a legend. The Dragon Root truly exists! Because deep in these mountains, there is a very strong pocket of undead energy."

The Bone Dragon nodded its skull. "Besides the necromancer’s power, I also sense the aura of a dragon. But it’s very weak, suggesting the creature isn’t powerful."

Varn continued, "You are a Bone Dragon. It’s the same race. You should be able to track it."

The Bone Dragon scoffed. "You’re right, I probably can track it. But why should I help you? Varn, you are not my master anymore!"

Varn opened his mouth, then closed it.

Right. He had no way to command this cheap dragon now.

Renjiro looked at the bone dragon. "you helped Varn catch that troublesome Dragon Soul User. I bet he’ll thank you when he finally becomes a lich."

Varn nodded stiffly.

’Yeah, right,’ he thought. ’When I become a lich, maybe I’ll only punch this annoying dragon once a day instead of twice.’

The bone dragon, gave a bony grin. "I’ll hold Your Majesty to that promise. I’m off to find that Dragon Soul User now."

Renjiro turned to Varn. "Go with him. If you run into trouble you can’t handle, get in touch."

Varn puffed out his chest proudly. "Your Majesty, please! I was a necromancer at the peak of the Divine level! Even though I’m much weaker now, dealing with one Dragon Soul User is no problem at all."

Renjiro just nodded.

He might have believed Varn more if the necromancer hadn’t coughed up a spray of blood right after slapping his chest.

"You can take the Life Water," Renjiro said, pointing to the large container. "Just, uh, leave the bucket."

Nearby, Elaria covered her mouth, hiding a giggle.

Only she knew that was the Elf King’s personal bath bucket, used just last night.

Varn didn’t seem to notice or care about the bucket’s history.

Seeing such a huge amount of the precious Life Water made him almost giddy with excitement.

He quickly gathered his magic, surrounding the shimmering liquid, and carefully stored it in his space ring. His ring was already full of containers meant for mixing undead potions, but they’d work just fine for the Life Water.

Renjiro casually took his bath bucket back.

Varn bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty, we’ll head out now. You can reach me anytime through our soul connection. No matter where I am on this continent, I will come when you call!"

He bowed deeply again, showing the respect of a servant to his master.

Maybe it was the gift of the Life Water, but Varn felt a flicker of genuine loyalty towards Renjiro starting to form in his cold heart.

"Go," Renjiro said with a slight nod.

As they left, Renjiro turned his attention back to the mountains.

He had his own reasons for coming here.

The gold mine, currently held by a Kobold tribe.

He planned to plant a Tree of Eternity, a Tree of War, and a Tree of Ancient Wisdom near the mine. This mountain would become his second base.

And from here, he would eventually launch his attack on the Orc grasslands!

....

A large elven army marched across the bare, rocky mountainside.

Their target was clear: the gold mine held by the Kobold tribe on the western slopes.

"Your Majesty," Elaria murmured, riding beside Renjiro on a snow-white unicorn. "Varn is a necromancer, and one is an undead dragon... taking them as servants... Won’t that hurt your reputation across the continent?"

"Don’t worry," Renjiro replied calmly. "No one will ever know they serve me. No one will connect them to the elves. They are simply two hidden blades I’ll use to strike against the Empire and the Temple!"

Just saying the word "Temple" made Renjiro’s face turn cold.

He didn’t personally remember Goddess Lake, but he knew it was a sacred place for the elves. Now, the Temple of the God of Light had not only taken it over but had built a huge city nearby, calling it the ’Holy Mountain of Light’. It was a complete insult to the spirits of nature.

As the Elf King, Renjiro felt the insult personally.