Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Um, this might be a bit offensive, Lyle, why should we put in both effort and money?"

Lyle smiled slightly.

"Brand effect".

“My short brothers, you need to understand, it’s not the fire elementals asking you to forge a set of equipment, it’s you asking the fire elementals to wear your equipment. Our supply and demand relationship is different.”

"To put it another way, Baron Garden is actually the face of an elemental weapon you create. Does that make sense?"

"You, you, you, and you—I'm not targeting any one person, I'm talking about everyone here..."

"They're all master blacksmiths, right?"

"Forging is a business, and businesses need brands and promotion."

"I see you all sitting together, and I estimate that your skills are about equal."

"Take you for example, you, the guy with the mohawk. Right now, the craze in Mackenbert is for the red dragon, and it will continue for the next few decades. The most popular cultural phenomenon among the Mackenbert dwarves is the red dragon. Imagine one day, a young dwarf who has just won a gladiatorial contest, while idolizing the red dragon, happens to see our Garden Baron, and then happens to see the elemental armband on the Garden Baron's arm, and then happens to see the signature of the armband's maker—that is, you. Now, this young man needs to find a workshop to repair his equipment…"

"So, will he seek the help of this master blacksmith like the followers of his goddess, or will he just seek the help of any other master blacksmith?"

"This is an obvious brand effect!"

"Let me tell you! Next, all the fire elemental creatures, the followers of the red dragon Immelt, will be equipped with dwarven-forged gear, and they'll charge for it! You can refuse to pay and refuse to provide elemental gear! Let other workshops of similar strength get publicity, customers, and fame! And you! You'll be devoured by those clever companions! Customers? That's laughable. When all the dwarves are paying attention to the equipment worn by the elemental lords, and even following suit, your marketing tactics will be utterly useless."

This is my strategy of crushing you! Tremble! Shake it!

"Elemental creatures are the best showcase for equipment."

"I call it..."

"Fiery Male Model"

Chapter 637 Flame Gathering

"I understand! Master!" A burning roar suddenly came from behind, and Lyle turned around. Beneath the slowly closing bronze palace doors, he saw the Garden Baron clench his fists, and in the elemental lord's burning eyes, sparks of inspiration or something else flickered. He was agitated, and suppressed rage rippled across his body like waves, with heat waves washing over him.

Baron Garden finally regained his composure instead of self-destructing as he had acted. At his most dangerous moment, he looked no different from an oversized grenade with the pin pulled.

Lyle was pleased that his mind and safety had been respected. The Garden Baron looked like a complete novice suddenly enlightened by twenty years of marketing expertise. Lyle was very familiar with this state; he always looked this excited whenever he upgraded his magic lock and gained a new skill.

Wanting to try it out is like a dieter who feels they've instantly lost 20 or 30 pounds rummaging through drawers looking for the scale they once loathed. The Garden Baron's desire is overflowing from his fiery face, along with the flames.

As a qualified mentor and Andrei, Lyle decided to give her all his support.

"Go, Baron Garden! Use the skills you've learned to pull off a big heist!"

"Let's...let's pull off something big?" The elemental lord, feeling somewhat reckless, discovered that this master of operations was even more reckless than himself, more eager to cause trouble than the raging fire elemental. Although he felt it was somewhat inappropriate, his fragile rationality had long been burned away by the high-level flames. Encouraged, the Garden Baron howled and roared, filled with the expectation that Lyle would fully approve, preparing to put his idea into practice.

"I want to pull off a big heist!!!"

Next, Lyle slipped away. Like a child who had lit a firecracker, he scurried out of the blast radius to avoid being frightened. The Andrei Lich had two unique skills, which Lyle had mastered perfectly, integrating them into his knowledge with unparalleled skill.

Firstly, it's about causing trouble; secondly, it's about shirking responsibility. The Garden Baron has been empowered by his own influence, making him like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Lyle decides to find a safe and quiet place to wait for the flowers to bloom.

A few days later.

Having mastered the art of fire, the forging masters, dressed in fire-resistant gear, lined up with their creations at the Great Forge.

Baron Garden leaned against his newly crafted fiery crystal pedestal, looking down at the once arrogant dwarven blacksmiths. He spread his arms, two elemental bracelets now adorning his thick, fiery arms. On his left was the Guardian of Freheimer, representing the most outstanding blacksmith among the dwarves; on his right was the Admonition of Immelt, representing the red dragon, Mackenport's most popular idol.

The Garden Baron gave a wicked smile.

"Offer your offerings to the elemental lords, masters," Baron Gardens rang out again, "and pay up!!"

The fitting session proceeded as normal.

"Are you serious? You actually 'tailor-made' a pair of Swift Boots for me?! Which eye of yours saw that I have feet?!"

"Your Excellency, you are an elemental being, so having legs shouldn't be too difficult for you."

Baron Fire, the Displeased, narrowed his eyes.

“Next, I’m not wearing shoes.” The fire elemental tossed the magical ore the blacksmith had brought back. Your offering has been rejected.

The dwarf panicked, his mind drifting back to the future Lyle had vividly described a few days earlier. Without publicity, his workshop would remain unknown, crushed into dust by the wheels of time.

"Please reconsider, Your Excellency. My shoes offer a significant bonus to fire damage!"

“I said I’m not wearing shoes.”

"How about I make a slight modification and string it into a necklace for you? These shoes are very versatile; they can also be worn around the neck!"

Baron Fire's Super Grumpy Head was so angry it felt like his head was about to split in two.

"You're the one wearing shoes around your neck! Have you ever considered the customers?! Customers are your bread and butter! Then I'm your fiery daddy! Security! Beat him up! After that, hand him over to the Life Overseer! Next time you see him bringing in any single-opening cylindrical object, beat him up! Next!!!"

After this incident, the master blacksmiths who followed finally understood the supply and demand relationship Lyle had described. They were begging the elements, and… the dwarves looked at each other, then at the elemental lord. Although the Garden Baron was large, he didn't seem to intend to change himself for the fitting, so… the equipment that could be worn by him was probably only one-fifth or one-sixth of the total number of blacksmiths. Worse still, elemental equipment couldn't be stacked; if one piece of equipment for the same slot was accepted, the next one would be rejected.

Those around him were the enemies who would one day carve up his workshop! The dwarf's gaze toward his companions grew more serious; the once united group of councilors was now divided.

"Baron! Take a look at my equipment, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!!!"

"Fire Daddy! Choose my breastplate! It even has a built-in blower and an incense boost!!!"

The councilors all turned into sweet-talking little cuties, and Baron Garden's expression relaxed considerably.

"no!"

"Too small!"

"It's grown up."

"It's not comfortable to wear."

"The pattern is not nice."

"The bonus is too weak."

"You are very ugly."

The forging master's life is painful. He never imagined that this aging dwarf, restored to youth by the power of the red dragon, would first face fierce competition reminiscent of the brutal job market for young people in the 21st century. Perhaps this, too, is a form of youth.

Some were happy, some were disappointed.

Just when everyone was being tormented by the Garden Baron's pickiness, this elemental lord, who wore three large gold chains around his neck, twenty rings on his hands, and seven or eight enchanted bracelets on his arms, easily opened the gate to the elemental plane.

He stood there, his full armor gleaming in the firelight, like an angel bringing wealth.

The sound he made was like heavenly music to the dwarves.

"Hey, is Baron Bubble there? This is Garden. Are you still stuck in your crappy volcano? Bro, I'll send you a set of top-tier elemental gear. Come to my Great Forge."

Another call.

"Baron Sponge, it's been a while since we got together. Come over to my place, there's something fun. Ah, everyone else is coming, we're just waiting for you."

Another call.

"Antenna, there's a gun, come on."

Three fiery portals were forced open by thick, burning hands, causing the flames of the great furnace to surge. Under the intense heat, countless new fiery creatures emerged from the magma.

The dwarves covered their eyes, peeking through their fingers at the blindingly bright firelight, and tears streamed down their faces—tears of joy and satisfaction.

A high-ranking elemental lord and a giant of burning fire stand side by side in the center of the great furnace.

"Let this world feel the fiery passion of us Flame Lords!"

"The flames merged into one."

The world's only four high-ranking fire lords have descended upon the Great Forge.

Baron Garden laughed heartily.

"Brothers, I want to pull off a big heist."

Chapter 638 Let's make a big splash

The existence of elemental beings is, in fact, the most direct manifestation of resource possession. Because all elemental beings feed on elemental energy, the strong devour the weak, and the more they consume, the stronger they become, resulting in a very high energy conversion rate. Due to these characteristics, the struggles between elemental beings are more direct and frequent. They often fight fiercely for energy possession, thus the essence of elements is chaos, because they only pursue power and fulfill their own nature.

Every elemental lord wants to eliminate the other, because the energy resources of the elemental plane are finite, and the number of elemental lords, as the pinnacle of this energy level, depends on the plane's power threshold. Other elemental beings are a feast, and every element thinks so.

This blatant survival of the fittest rarely occurs among the higher-ranking elements of other elements. Because they already possess the majority of resources, they fear losing them more than gaining them. Before each action, they consider plans and weigh the pros and cons. Each element possesses limited resources, but this allows for the cultivation of multiple elemental lords. Competition among multiple candidates leads to more complex planning and deliberation; they must consider eliminating their rivals while preventing others from reaping the benefits. Through this balance of power, a delicate and fragile peace is achieved among the higher-ranking elements.

But the fire element doesn't use its brain. Schemes, plots, mantis stalking cicadas—I don't want to think about any of that. I just want to kill this idiot of a fellow human in front of me. I want to fight. I want to be strong and fierce.

In the early days of chaos, the Blazing Lands remained forever in a state of turmoil.

The other elemental lords have already started thinking.

Without a second thought, the four fire barons, with perfect understanding, grabbed their weapons and went to their next-door neighbors. Therefore, the four fire lords present had all fought each other to the death.

Other elemental lords formed factions, while fire lords fought amongst themselves.

Other elemental lords conspired to betray each other in secret, while the fire lords fought amongst themselves.

Other elemental lords attempted to interfere with the fire lords' battle, and the fire lords themselves joined in the fight.

The other elemental lords gave up interfering with the group of fire madmen, and the fire lords started fighting each other.

Then, the four barons found that they could neither defeat the other nor win. The land of flames, after being ravaged by war, was full of powerful elements, and the four of them were evenly matched.

Then the Flame Fools had an epiphany. They stopped fighting each other with the intention of killing one another, and instead continued to fight for the purpose of cultivating their character and enjoying themselves. With this change in mindset, they developed a bond through their fighting. While the other elements continued their scheming and intrigue, the four Flame Lords had already become sworn brothers and were even throwing punches at each other as a side effect.

Since the creatures of the same element have almost identical personalities, the four fire lords quickly became friends.

This led to the Garden Baron contacting other elemental lords to descend upon the Great Forge together.

But the dwarven craftsmen didn't care about any of that; all they knew was that three more equipment display cases had been added.

The three newly arrived fire lords were immediately overwhelmed by the fanatical dwarves.

The four revitalized fire elements began exchanging pleasantries once again.

“If I hadn’t been given prior notice, I would have thought that I was being summoned by a money elemental or something else.” Baron Bubble shook the mithril ribbon hanging from his neck, which was originally a cloak but now looked more like a scarf.

"Are these dwarves crazy? Why are they giving away equipment and money? Garden, have you learned a new method of suppression and intimidation?"

Baron Garden didn't hold back and delivered a Ten Commandments Destruction Fist to Baron Sponge. The elemental lord's upper body was twisted into a pretzel, but the light from his magical equipment blended together, and he seemed to be unharmed.