He was still no match for Helbertron. Even when he joined forces with Gerald, he lost; the possibility of winning alone was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard one looked. If he entered a sparring match, it was obvious he would be beaten as thoroughly as dust being knocked from an empty house’s walls, so Mitchell forced a smile.
“Hehehe. Death Knights vary too, you know. Even among Paladins, there’s a difference between a greenhorn who’s just earned the title and a top-class one. Naturally, wouldn’t it be the same for Death Knights? Someone of your caliber, Lord Helbertron, is top class no matter what anyone says.”
“You and your flattery…”
Helbertron muttered bluntly, then cast his gaze toward the Death Knight standing there blankly. He was one of the ten newly accepted Death Knights, and Damon had deliberately had him spar with the members to gauge his ability. When Helbertron’s eyes shot toward him, the Death Knight flinched and backed away. From that alone, it was clear he feared Helbertron to an extreme degree.
“Go back in.”
“Y-y-yes, s-sir.”
The Death Knight bowed politely and turned around. His figure soon vanished into Increcia, which was gaping open beside Damon. Once the Death Knight had entered, Damon shook his head as if dissatisfied.
“They’re weaker than I expected. They won’t be of much help in the fight against the dragons.”
“It can’t be helped.”
Helbertron approached slowly and looked at Damon with his characteristic gaze.
“Their abilities aren’t that bad. They simply don’t have enough dark mana, so they can’t display their full power. If you were to provide them with sufficient dark mana, they would become considerably stronger. Well, even then, they’d only be about on Mitchell’s level…”
“But I can’t inject dark mana into fellows whose intentions I don’t know, can I?”
Damon did not particularly trust the newly accepted Death Knights. The fact that they had once followed Naidelhark seemed to bother him for some reason. Helbertron withdrew his gaze from Damon, who was nodding, and slowly walked toward Increcia.
“The sparring is over, so I’ll be going in now.”
“Do that.”
Damon nodded, and once Helbertron entered, he closed Increcia. Just then, the urgent sound of footsteps running toward him could be heard. When he turned his head, he saw a guard panting, his face flushed red.
“What is it?”
“Um… A guest has arrived.”
“A guest? Did I have anyone who would come looking for me? Well, I’ll know once I meet them. Bring them here.”
Damon had the guest admitted without much thought. But a short while later, when he saw the person being guided in, Damon was startled and sprang up from his seat. It was a completely unexpected guest.
“Elder Schneider? What brings you here…?”
The guest who had come was Schneider, the Grand Elder of the Luminous tribe. He smiled gently and offered his respects.
“Have you been well?”
“Well enough. Please, come in.”
Damon welcomed him with delight. Shrekheimer, who had been standing beside him, also bowed respectfully toward the Grand Elder. But following behind Grand Elder Schneider was a short, squat old man.
He was a squat old man who could only be seen as a dwarf.
Suspicion appeared in Damon’s eyes. As if perceiving it, Grand Elder Schneider carefully began to explain.
“Allow me to introduce him. His name is Bruers. He is the chieftain of the Dwarf clan.”
“A D-Dwarf?”
Damon was startled. For a Dwarf to suddenly appear together with an Elf elder… The members looked at the Dwarf chieftain who had appeared with eyes full of curiosity. Even in outward appearance, the Dwarf was by no means ordinary.
Despite his small height, barely reaching the guard’s waist, the Dwarf chieftain had an imposing build. His thick neck and waist, along with his squat body, were covered in solid muscle, and the brown eyes hidden beneath his bushy beard and eyebrows plainly showed the depth of his will. A smile appeared on Damon’s face as he stared at him.
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The words that came from Damon’s mouth were fluent Dwarven. During his time as Berchis’s Guardian, Damon had learned the languages of various races, and Dwarven had been among them. When the other party addressed him accurately in his own language, a strange light appeared in the Dwarf chieftain’s eyes.
“Astonishing. To think you know our tongue… Judging by your appearance, you don’t seem very old…”
Shrekheimer, who had been listening silently, stepped forward.
“Do not judge him by his appearance. He is an old mage who was active during the Race War five hundred years ago. Therefore, there is nothing strange about him knowing Dwarven.”
Shrekheimer, too, was speaking in clear Dwarven. The Dwarf chieftain turned his head, and an amused expression appeared on his face.
“So it was true that undead have joined the humans’ army. In any case, pleased to meet you. I was wondering whether that old Schneider would translate properly, but fortunately, you people know Dwarven…”
“You flatter us… But what brings you to us?”
At Damon’s question, the Dwarf chieftain’s expression turned serious.
“We wish to form an alliance with you.”
“Pardon?”
Damon’s eyes widened. It seemed the request for an alliance, brought up by the Dwarf chieftain who had appeared out of nowhere, was unfamiliar to him. Looking at him, the Dwarf chieftain continued his explanation with an expression full of grief and indignation.
“I mean that we wish to participate in the Race War as allied forces. In order to drive those damned Orc bastards from the continent, we Dwarves are prepared to endure any loss.”
“Have the Dwarves also suffered harm at the hands of the Orcs?”
The Dwarf chieftain nodded with a stiff expression. Soon, one by one, the hardships of the Dwarves flowed from his mouth. As the race ruling Truvania changed, the lives of the Dwarves had also changed completely. In a word, the Dwarves under Orc rule were by no means happy.
“We live in an independent society ruled by no one. No one is permitted to interfere with it. Five hundred years ago, everyone acknowledged our traditions, including the humans. But…”
A light of anger flickered in the eyes of the Dwarf chieftain as he clenched his fist tightly.
“Those stupid Orc bastards refused to acknowledge our traditions. They are frantic to capture us and use us as slaves. But that is unthinkable. We are a race that would rather choose death than live as slaves…”
The power of the Orc race, which had taken all of Truvania into its grasp, extended even to the Dwarf villages. The Orcs harshly oppressed the Dwarves who refused to submit. If they did not obey, they killed them without hesitation, and the corpses of the dead Dwarves were gruesomely devoured in front of their clansmen. They treated the Dwarves with methods of extreme severity.
Even so, the Dwarves refused to bend their stubbornness. Rather than live as slaves, they readily offered up their necks, saying they would accept death. When the situation reached that point, one should have taken a step back, but regrettably, Orcs were not beings with whom rational conversation was possible.
Under the banner of submission or death, countless Dwarves lost their lives, and the treasures of their clans were plundered without exception. The Orcs who emptied their storehouses offered all gold and jewels to the dragons, while artifacts and weapons were all carried off to their own tribes.
The Dwarves who barely escaped the Orcs’ grasp had to hide in rugged mines in order to survive. There was nowhere else beyond the Orcs’ reach. In that way, the number of Dwarves, who had once prospered in Truvania second only to humans, decreased dramatically.
They had managed to maintain their lineage only because of the Dwarves who had hidden themselves in the rugged mountains. Shrekheimer, who had been listening silently, suddenly spoke.
“Then why did the Dwarves not side with the humans five hundred years ago? If the Dwarves had helped, the humans would not have been driven back so miserably…”
“Sigh. That was because of the dragons’ threats. If not for the threats of that damned Red Dragon, we would have helped the humans without hesitation.”
Worry settled on the Dwarf chieftain’s face. In truth, his ancestors had thought the Orcs would be able to fill the empty place left by the humans. They had even judged that the Orcs, who had less greed for treasure than humans, might be better. But that had been a grave misconception on the Dwarves’ part…
Since ancient times, Dwarves had been targets of exploitation by dragons. Only the Dwarves could create treasures capable of satisfying a dragon’s desires. For that reason, dragons wishing to fill their hoards frequently visited Dwarf clans. Of course, dragons had no need to obtain treasures through conversation and compromise. Because of that, the Dwarves had no choice but to fear dragons most of all.
The fear of that had played a part in why the Dwarves, intimidated by Red Dragon Berchis’s threats, remained neutral. Letting out a sigh, the Dwarf chieftain continued speaking with a resolute expression.
“Now, dragons or whatever else no longer matter. If we must live like this, death would be better…”
“…”
“The reason we bear a grudge against the Orcs is not simply because they killed our people. As you know, we are born craftsmen. Therefore, no one can understand the attachment we have to the things we create. Five hundred years ago, the humans at least paid some price, great or small, for the things we made before taking them. But the Orc bastards were different. In order to get their hands on treasure, they massacred entire clans without the slightest hesitation… Hoo, let us stop there. In any case, this time we Dwarves have also made our decision. We will actively aid the humans and participate in the war…”
A smile appeared at the corner of Damon’s mouth as he listened silently. Whatever the circumstances, an increase in allied forces was not a bad thing. Having finished thinking, he abruptly extended his hand.
“You have made an excellent decision. I sincerely welcome the Dwarves’ participation in the war.”
A smile appeared on the chieftain’s face as well.
“Though we may not be of much help in direct combat, do not look down on us. The weapons we make are masterpieces, each one worthy of being called an artifact. We have already made a thousand longswords. Their weight was no small matter, so we left them at the Elf village. Please accept them as a gift.”
“We shall. However, there is someone else who should receive that gift.”
When Damon shook his head, the chieftain’s eyes widened.
“Then to whom?”
“Far from here, at the main camp of the expeditionary army, there is a commander who oversees all the forces. Chieftain, you should first meet him and discuss the details afterward. Of course, he will welcome your proposal with open arms.”
After finishing his words, Damon raised his hand and called a soldier. He intended to draw out a suitable number of troops and have them escort the Dwarf chieftain to Duke Perstein.
“Select five hundred soldiers and prepare them for escort duty.”
After giving the order, Damon turned his head and looked at Grand Elder Schneider.
“This time, I would like you to serve as interpreter, Grand Elder. We cannot leave this place because of the safety of the portal.”
Grand Elder Schneider readily accepted the proposal.
“Understood. I shall do so.”