Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Subduing the Dwarves, News of the Elves on the Continent’s West
A biting wind howled, whipping pellets of snow between the two opposing forces.
But when the Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr,
saw the Wood Elf Corps still advancing, he could only shout again:
"Halt, Elves! What do you want?!"
Hearing their leader’s cry, the Dwarves in the rear, nearly too weak from hunger to stand,
pushed themselves to their feet
and raised their weapons, ready to fight to the bitter end!
Thanks to an Elf Mage who had previously cast a ’Comprehend Languages’ spell on the entire Wood Elf Corps,
every mber could now understand what the Dwarves were saying.
Feiyana raised a hand, signaling for her army to halt.
Then, Feiyana took three steps forward alone and planted her sword in the snow, a gesture to show she had no hostile intent.
"We are the Wood Elf Corps, from another continent!"
Feiyana’s voice was neither servile nor overbearing, ringing out clearly in the frigid wind.
"We have co under the command of the great Elf God to aid the beleaguered Dwarf Clan!"
The Dwarf Warriors’ brows furrowed. They seed unable to believe the words spoken by the Wood Elf opposite them.
The Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr, lifted his head slightly and said, "Elves? Aid? Another continent?"
"Aren’t you the Elves who live in the west of this continent?"
"What trick are you trying to pull this ti?"
The Dwarf Leader sneered.
Clearly, faced with this fully ard contingent of Wood Elves that had suddenly appeared before them,
both the Dwarves and their leader were extrely wary.
Faced with the Dwarves’ suspicion, Feiyana did not rush to explain. Instead, she glanced back at the supply train.
A few Wood Elves understood her aning and quickly retrieved several bundles of thick wool blankets and baskets full of Baobab Fruit from a cart.
These items were placed where the Dwarves could clearly see them.
Instantly, an intensely covetous and desperate light appeared in the eyes of the Dwarf Warriors.
But because their leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr, made no move, they did not act either.
Seeing this,
Feiyana was able to deduce
that the Dwarf Leader before her held significant authority within his clan.
Otherwise, after more than ten days of starvation,
upon suddenly seeing food,
it was inconceivable that not a single one would break ranks to madly scramble for it!
As the supply team moved a wooden cart forward and lifted the wool blanket covering it,
in an instant,
the aroma of at stew wafted out!
The savory scent of at spread through the frigid air.
The Dwarves’ noses twitched involuntarily.
This wasn’t just any food, but a hot stew, full of Energy.
If revealing the Baobab Fruit had already tested the limits of the long-starving Dwarves’ endurance,
then the tempting sll of the stew now
was like placing a fish next to a cat and praying it wouldn’t pounce—
an impossible hope!
Expressions of intense longing appeared on the faces of dozens of Dwarves.
A few of the Dwarves, unable to bear their hunger any longer, caught the alluring scent of at
and unconsciously took two steps forward,
but seeing the figure of their leader in front of them, they reluctantly stepped back.
Only one Dwarf remained standing past the spot where the Dwarf Leader at the very front stood.
In truth, it wasn’t just the long-starved Dwarf Warriors;
the hands of the Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr, were also trembling slightly.
The aroma he slled was even richer and more fragrant than what the Dwarves behind him could perceive!
"We don’t need your pity!"
The Dwarf Leader forced the words out with imnse difficulty,
but his gaze remained fixed on the stew.
And that one Dwarf Warrior who had unconsciously stepped forward, past his leader’s position,
heard the Dwarf Leader’s words
and instantly froze.
He glanced at the bountiful food before him, then back at his equally famished comrades.
Then, he turned to his leader,
and dropped to his knees.
"Leader, I haven’t eaten in almost twenty days!"
"It’s not just , I have a wife and children!"
"I can bear the hunger,
but if my wife and children don’t get food soon, they’ll starve to death!"
"Leader!"
"I’m begging you!"
"Leader!"
This Dwarf suppressed his own desires; he didn’t go forward alone to enjoy the food.
But he thought of his wife and children, who couldn’t survive without it.
And so, he turned and knelt before his leader.
Watching this scene, the Dwarf Leader’s expression beca hesitant.
He knew the Wood Elves across from them wouldn’t offer such a great benefit for no reason.
’So, what’s the price?’ the Dwarf Leader thought.
But his long-empty stomach couldn’t provide enough energy for him to think clearly.
When the Dwarf Warrior knelt before the Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr,
repeatedly crying out about his hardship
and begging him to save his wife and children,
the other Dwarf Warriors behind him saw this.
Though they remained silent,
they too turned their gazes, one by one, to their leader.
They also had families. They were in the sa situation!
Unprecedented pressure settled upon the Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr.
Even when he had given the order to cast the bodies of the dead Dwarves out of the cave to prevent the spread of disease,
the pressure of making that decision had not been as great as this!
The Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr, opened his mouth several tis,
but no words ca out.
Finally, however, he managed to ask the first question.
"What do you want?"
"What do we want?" Feiyana said calmly. "We want to make a trade with you."
"A trade?" Copperbeard Ironhamr stared at her suspiciously.
"Trade for what?"
"What could we possibly have that’s worth anything to you!"
"Your forging skills!"
"And you yourselves!"
Feiyana looked him directly in the eye.
"Our Divine Realm needs Dwarves to find Ore and to use your Weapon-crafting techniques!"
"Once you agree to join us,
you—"
Elf Legion Commander Feiyana glanced around, her gaze sweeping over the frozen Dwarf corpses barely visible in the snow.
"Whether it’s the fire, food, or shelter you so desperately need right now, I can provide it all!"
"It is a very fair trade!"
"So, the price... is this?"
a Dwarf standing in the back row asked hoarsely after hearing Feiyana’s words.
"You want us Dwarves to submit to you!"
"No, no, no!"
"Not submission to , but to the great Elf God!"
"What’s the difference?"
A sallow, emaciated Dwarf, shivering uncontrollably from the cold, couldn’t help but retort at what felt like a humiliating offer from the Wood Elf.
"Of course it’s different!"
"The great Elf God is a true Divine Being who has shown us several miracles!"
"Even our arrival on this continent and our eting with you was at the command of the great Elf God!"
Hearing this, all the Dwarves looked at each other in bewildernt.
They too had a Divine Spirit they believed in, but their Dwarf God had seemingly never perford a single miracle!
Just then,
High Priest Shamiel walked forward from the rear of the ranks, her Magic Staff tapping lightly on the ground.
In an instant, a green light enveloped the area.
A warm spring breeze suddenly radiated out from her, lting the snow in a ten-ter radius.
"Join us. Beco one of us. You need only use the skills you were born with to help us find Ore and craft Weapons.
In return, we will provide you with sanctuary, and not another mber of your clan will die!"
The ice field fell terrifyingly silent!
The Dwarves stood motionless!
They were partly in fear of the imnse power High Priest Shamiel had just displayed,
and partly in shock at the "miracle" that had just unfolded before them!
Many Dwarves were deeply shaken by this scene,
and they couldn’t help but murmur:
"Spring... plants... hope... a miracle..."
But the more worldly Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr,
knew from the lore passed down through generations of Dwarf leaders what he was seeing.
It was not a miracle, but Magic!
As if growing impatient, the Wood Elf Corps in the rear began to advance in unison.
Seeing this, the Dwarves, whose minds had been battered by several shocks in the span of half a day, beca agitated.
Faced with the advancing Wood Elf Corps, their first instinct was to flee!
The Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr, saw this.
He looked at the fine Iron Equipnt of the Wood Elves, then at the tattered rags on himself and his kinsn.
They were outmatched in every regard.
But when he looked back and saw the purple lips of his people, when he recalled the faint cries of the infants in the clan,
his heavy Warhamr fell with a CLANG, sinking into the layer of snow!
The Dwarf Leader, Copperbeard Ironhamr, fell silent for a mont.
Finally, he said, "Fine!"
"I accept!"
"I agree to the terms of your trade!"
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