Chapter 175: Matter of Concern
◆Dark Knight; Kuroki
Finally, since the snake folk had begun their advance, I had to cut my training session with Kouki short and head to the conference room with Dwarf King Arberon.
The dwarves were already standing by. They were Arberon’s generals—the dwarven generals.
Accompanying me was the elven princess, Luusien. Naturally, she was here as the representative of the elves.
Luusien seemed a little downcast, likely because she’d been separated from Kouki.
Kouki, for his part, was with Rena and the other elves.
When I asked Rena if she wanted to join us, she just said, 「It’s fine, you’re here, after all, dear.」
It seemed Rena’s visit had more to do with Kouki than anything else. Not to mention, she probably had responsibilities with the Elios army too.
「Take a look, Kuroki-dono. My general will explain the situation.」
Arberon gestured toward the general, who nodded in response.「Your wish is my command. First, look at this.」
The general cast a spell, projecting an image through mirror magic. It revealed an army of goblins and orcs marching toward a target.
「It’s goblins and orcs, as far as I can see. Their target is the elven capital, Arseidia.」
「I see… With so many of them heading toward Arseidia, do you think the elves can survive this?」
I turned to Luusien, expecting her reaction.
Despite the large enemy force moving toward her homeland, she remained composed.
Was she not worried about her city?
「It won’t be a problem if it’s just goblins and orcs. Their magical power is far too weak to breach the elven labyrinth barrier.」
Luusien puffed out her chest as she spoke, clearly proud of her people’s defenses.
Though her chest was small compared to Rena’s, it was large by elven standards.
It seemed the elves had some leeway against the invaders.
Indeed, high elf magic was strong.
I had heard that the elves had erected the labyrinth barrier around the capital to keep unwanted visitors out. If the enemy was only goblins and orcs, the barrier should be more than enough to handle them.
At least, that was true if the attackers were only goblins and orcs.
「Fufufu. Elven Princess, I’m sure your people will be fine against goblins and orcs. But look here.」
Arberon chuckled as he pointed to a particular area on the map. There, mixed in with the goblins and orcs, was another race.
「I-Is that a lamia?」
Luusien’s face drained of color as she recognized the figures on the screen.
Indeed, among the orcs and goblins were lamia necromancers—snakefolk.
Lamia were known for their exceptional detection abilities. Breaking through a barrier that confused the senses was child’s play for them.
「What are you going to do in this situation? It’s only natural the lamia would follow the Serpent Prince. If this keeps up, Arseidia is in danger.」
Arberon spoke with a malicious grin.
The tension between the elves and dwarves was obvious.
「GRRRRR! Even if the barrier is destroyed, we still have our great elven knights! They will protect Arseidia!」
「Do you really think so? I’m sure you know how powerful the orcs’ boar riders are. Your elven knights will be no match for them.」
Though his tone was malicious, Arberon’s words were accurate.
The orcs were physically stronger and more suited for close combat than the elves, who excelled in magic but lacked the same physical power.
Elven archers, armed with bows, wouldn’t be able to stop the orc’s boar riders, the cavalry that would tear through anything in their path.
「Uuuuuuh…」
Luusien was silent, clearly shaken.
It was now painfully obvious that the elven forces alone wouldn’t be enough to fend off the invaders.
「Arberon-dono, knowing this, surely you’ll send Qtar’s war cavalry to Arseidia.」
I addressed the dwarf king directly.
The orcs’ boar riders might be powerful, but the iron golems of the dwarves would be able to stop them. The best move was to mobilize Qtar’s forces to assist Arseidia.
The elven queen, Tatania, had already formally requested reinforcements through a written letter entrusted to Luusien.
Though it didn’t have to be carried by Luusien, the elves likely did so out of politeness.
Still, it seemed Luusien hadn’t even read the letter.
Was it possible that the elves refused to even consider asking the dwarves for help?
The queen probably didn’t welcome the idea either. Honestly, I had no idea how things would unfold unless the god of Elios intervened.
The projection now showed the elven defense forces, followed by the dwarf iron golems and warriors.
Though the golems had their strengths, they also had weaknesses—most notably, their lack of mobility. They were slower than even the dwarven warriors.
This was where the elven knights came in.
Mounted on cerynias, the elven knights were far more mobile and could rain arrows down on the enemy with great speed.
Both the elves and dwarves had their pros and cons, but if they worked together, they could form a powerful alliance.
That said, cooperation between the two races would be difficult.
「I express my gratitude to King Arberon for that.」
Luusien spoke reluctantly, though it was clear she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the arrangement.
Arberon, on the other hand, looked absolutely delighted at receiving the princess’s thanks.
「Arberon-dono, do you truly think it’s wise to mobilize so many forces from Qtar?」
Logically speaking, the enemy might be aiming for this place as well.
If they were attacking Arseidia to reduce the forces here, our own defenses would be in jeopardy.
Many dwarf warriors and golems had already been sent out.
Given that the golems needed fine-tuning, many engineers had also left Qtar.
The defense of the dwarven village would be weakened.
「Yes, it will reduce Qtar’s defense by half, Kuroki-dono. But we have enough golems to compensate. You needn’t worry.」
Arberon gave a hearty laugh, clearly untroubled by the situation.
But the general stepped forward, looking more concerned.
「Wait a moment! We may have enough golems, but we don’t have enough engineers to maintain them!」
「I know, general. Haah… If only Ribelzar were here now…」
Arberon sighed deeply, clearly frustrated.
「Ribelzar?」
I didn’t recognize the name.
「Ah, Kuroki-dono. Ribelzar was our genius golem engineer. But he left Qtar some time ago. The golems he created are still working even now.」
「I see…」
「Ribelzar lost his limbs for a certain reason. Afterward, he used artificial arms—scissor-like ones. But after facing mental strain, he fled Qtar.」
Arberon explained, a note of sadness in his voice.
Just then, someone entered the room.
It was a female catfolk, her appearance sleek and ninja-like.
She was a member of the Night Eyes, the scout unit of the female catfolk.
The dwarves had rangers, but they weren’t especially skilled at scouting or covert operations.
That’s where the female catfolk stepped in, filling the gap.
They were the only ones capable of taking on the shadow runners—the covert operatives of the wolfmen in Qtar.
「Your Majesty, we are surrounded by wolves. What shall we do?」
The scout’s words were followed by a shift in the projection, now showing the wolfmen surrounding Qtar.
「What’s the estimated size of their force, Madam?」
「There are many, but I don’t think they have enough to breach the defenses. It seems they are simply surrounding us.」
The scout explained, but we couldn’t get a clear count of the wolfmen’s forces just from the image.
The wolfmen weren’t attacking.
They appeared to be waiting for something.
「Hmm, what a strange situation. We’ll be in a precarious position if we engage them outside. For now, we’ll need to keep watching their movements. Continue gathering information, Madam.」
「Understood, Your Majesty.」
The scout gave a mischievous laugh as she left.
If the wolfmen didn’t make a move, there was no need for the dwarves to take action.
But they might have been waiting for the dwarves to strike first.
This could become a battle of nerves.
Still, something about the enemy’s movements didn’t sit right with me.
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