My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

Upon hearing Yin Xue's words, Tie Xin was taken aback: "Protection money?"

"right."

Yin Xue started counting on her fingers.

"Lin Mo risked his life to infiltrate New Tower City, barely escaping with his life to obtain those image crystals. If it weren't for him, you'd still be pawns of the Holy See. What do you call that? That's a life-saving grace! How can you repay a life-saving grace? Is it enough to just talk about it? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

The others fell silent. What kind of reason was this? How was it a life-saving favor?

This is clearly an attempt to extort money from us!

Tie Xin didn't care; he waved his hand dismissively.

"That's right! We dwarves don't take advantage of others. Lin Mo, just say the word, and we dwarves will never hesitate to offer what we can afford."

Lin Mo glanced at Tie Xin: "Aren't you dwarves capable of forging divine artifacts? Give me ten."

Upon hearing "ten divine artifacts," Tie Xin was stunned for a long time.

Then his beard bristled, and his eyes, as big as copper bells, widened in surprise.

"What?! Ten divine artifacts?! You think they're like cabbages growing in a field?!"

His voice was so loud it sounded like he was hammering iron, making the eardrums of the goblin representative next to him ring.

"Not a single one! Not a single divine artifact can be produced in the entire Iron Mountain City!"

Lin Mo didn't look at him, but turned to look at Yin Xue on his shoulder, his tone as calm as if he were asking what they were having for dinner.

"Did I ask for too much?"

Yin Xue touched her nose, a rare occurrence for her, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.

She flapped her wings and flew into the air, coughing twice.

"Well... ten divine artifacts is indeed a bit much. As far as I know, the dwarves don't have a single divine artifact right now."

Lin Mo frowned slightly: "How did you know?"

Yin Xue shrugged.

"Back when I was the Demon King, they claimed all over the continent that they had a divine artifact that could kill me. I thought, since it's so powerful, I have to go and see it. So I dug a hole and went straight into the treasure vault of Iron Mountain City, and refined all the divine artifacts inside."

Upon hearing this, Tie Xin's face instantly turned liver-colored, his lips trembled for a long time, and his finger pointing at Yin Xue shook like a leaf.

"So...it was you! Fifty years ago, the treasure vault was robbed, and all the divine artifacts disappeared overnight! My great-grandfather was so angry that he vomited blood for three days! You, you..."

"how?"

Yin Xue put his hands on his hips, raised his chin, and struck a pose that said, "I did it, so what can you do about it?"

"You yourselves are going around the world shouting that you want to kill me, so can't I strike first? That's called legitimate self-defense, understand?"

Tie Xin was so angry that his beard stood on end, but he couldn't beat him, so he could only stomp his feet in frustration.

Lin Mo wasn't interested in these old grievances and raised his hand to stop the two from arguing.

"Alright, let's not dwell on the past. Let's talk about the present. Since you don't have any divine artifacts, what can you offer?"

Tie Xin took a few deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his anger towards Yin Xue, and spoke indignantly.

"I can give you people."

As he spoke, he held up two thick fingers.

"Twenty top dwarven artisans, the best blacksmiths in my Iron Mountain City, go to your human empire. You will be responsible for their needs until a divine artifact is forged. How about that?"

Before Lin Mo could speak, Yin Xue realized what was happening.

"You old fool, you're quite the cunning one. You eat our food, use our products, and even provide materials for your craftsmen to practice with, huh?"

Tie Xin stroked his beard: "That's exactly what I think! If it weren't for you dwarves, would we even lack the materials to forge a single divine artifact?!"

Although the dwarven stockpile was looted by the Bloodlust fifty years ago.

But the dwarves are, after all, the only race on the entire continent capable of forging divine artifacts.

The biggest obstacle to creating this divine weapon so far is the issue of materials.

It goes without saying how complicated it is to find the materials needed to craft a divine artifact.

"you……"

Yin Xue was about to argue with Tie Xin again when Lin Mo sighed, "Deal, it's settled then."

Yin Xue wanted to say something more, but Lin Mo stopped her.

The current human empire should be able to afford the materials to forge divine artifacts; even if they can't, they can still rob them.

This can be considered a win-win situation for both sides.

Tie Xin breathed a sigh of relief, muttering, "That's more like it."

As he spoke, he retreated to the side of the Elf King Aize and muttered in a low voice.

"This kid has a really big appetite."

Aize remained silent, his emerald eyes calmly fixed on Lin Mo, lost in thought.

Having learned from the example of the Dwarf King, the representatives of the other races all shrank back, wishing they could hide themselves in a crack in the wall.

The goblin representative quietly moved half a step closer to the door, but was startled and froze on the spot when Lin Mo glanced at him.

But everyone's attention eventually fell on the Elf King Azer.

the reason is simple.

Of all the factions present, the Elven race had the deepest foundation.

Dwarves are renowned for their forging skills, orcs for their bravery, and vampires and goblins each have their own strengths.

In terms of its long history and the abundance of its treasures alone.

Only the elves can rival the High Tower Church.

The Dwarf King has already been fleeced, but what about the Elf King?

How much can Lin Mo take from Aize?

Aize didn't keep people waiting for long.

He stepped forward, his pristine white elven robes shimmering softly in the lingering holy light of the conference room.

Unlike Ironheart, he didn't haggle, nor did he cower like a goblin; he simply asked calmly, "What do you need?"

Lin Mo looked at him with a calm gaze.

"Three things."

Aize didn't interrupt and waited for him to continue.

"First, a bucket of the water of life."

Aize's brow twitched slightly, but he didn't react much.

The Water of Life is the most precious treasure of the Elven race. It is condensed annually by the Divine Tree, and its production is extremely limited. Every drop can heal serious injuries and prolong life.

It is a divine object that countless people on the mainland dream of.

One barrel represents roughly ten years' worth of production.

The asking price is very high, but it hasn't fluctuated at all in Azeroth.

"Can."

Lin Mo nodded to himself and continued speaking.

"Secondly, I want to see the Elven Codex of Life."

This time, Aize's expression finally changed.

His emerald green eyes narrowed slightly, and after a few breaths of silence, he slowly spoke.

"Do you know that the Codex of Life is the core heritage of my Elven race? It records the cultivation methods of the laws of life. For thousands of years, only Elven Kings of the demigod level or above have been able to read the entire book. Outsiders... have never seen it."

"Now we have it."

Lin Mo's tone remained calm and composed.

Aize stared at him for a long time.

He did consider refusing.

The Codex of Life is far more significant to the Elven race than the Water of Life.

That was the medium through which the Elven race communicated with the Divine Tree, the foundation upon which the Elven Kings of all ages comprehended the laws of life, and the very basis upon which the Elven race was founded.

Giving it to a member of another tribe to read, not to mention whether the tribe elders would object, just setting such a precedent would lead to endless troubles.

But then he thought of something else.

The Papacy used infants of various races for forbidden experiments, and elven infants were on their list.

If Lin Mo hadn't torn off the Vatican's fig leaf today, the Elven race probably wouldn't have discovered the truth until after the baby went missing.

And that's not all; he sees even more in the future.

The High Tower Church will surely launch a fierce counterattack after today, and the Elven race needs a powerful enough ally.

Although Lin Mo had a big appetite, he acted with integrity and was far more reliable than those devils in white robes from the Vatican.

"Can."

Aize finally spoke.

"But there is one condition: the Codex of Life must be read within the territory of my Elven race, and it must be under the Divine Tree. This is an unchanging rule of our race for thousands of years, without exception."

Lin Mo thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

"And the third thing?"

Aize was prepared to be asked for an exorbitant price.

However, Lin Mo did not answer immediately.

He glanced down at the black sword in his hand. A faint light flowed across the blade, and Zhou Yue, who resided within it, seemed to sense something, causing the sword to tremble slightly.

"This black sword of mine was forged by the second Demon King, Iron Crack. According to records, he also left three divine artifacts among the elves."