Chapter 40: The Threat of Dwarves

Chapter 40: The Threat of Dwarves

After a moment of silence, Airael looked at Mork and questioned, “What on earth are you doing here?”

“It seems you admit it,” Mork replied with a grin.

“Please answer my question.”

Airael took a deep breath to steady herself.

As for Mork’s remark, she completely ignored it.

“I already said, I’m just here to confirm a few things.”

Mork shook his head, feigning a look of helplessness regarding Airael’s attitude. “What do you want to confirm?”

“I’ve already confirmed it, but it seems you all are unwilling to admit it. If you can’t even handle this, you have no right to be a king!”

He paused dramatically, casting a disappointed look at Airael.

Her pupils constricted.

She hadn’t expected Mork to know so much.

As for Mork’s opinion of her, she didn’t care at all.

Her worth didn’t require validation from others.

If that was meant to provoke her, it was simply condescending.

“However, you needn’t worry, I’m not interested in you.”

Mork shook his head and turned to leave.

Airael and the others watched him walk away, and only sighed in relief when he vanished from sight.

The three of them alone had no confidence in dealing with Mork.

If they couldn’t hold out until reinforcements arrived, their fate was already written.

Even if Mork didn’t kill them, becoming captives of the Dark Elves would be a huge disgrace for Airael, enough to haunt her like a dark history.

“Miss, let’s hurry back!”

As soon as Mork left, Celia immediately suggested.

They had intentionally found a remote place to practice, not wanting to disturb anyone else.

But they hadn’t expected Mork to seek them out.

Staying in a crowded area was clearly much safer.

If a fight broke out, help could arrive in time.

“Yes!”

Airael nodded, then rushed back to their residence with Celia and Aurora.

The three walked swiftly, nearly jogging back.

Once they returned safely, they finally let out a breath of relief.

After resting for a moment, Celia asked Airael, “Miss, what do you think Mork meant by all that?”

“You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?!”

Airael rolled her eyes.

She was just as clueless!

Despite being reprimanded, Celia pressed on: “But it seems Mork doesn’t appear to want to be our enemy?”

Airael frowned.

She had noticed that too.

But that made sense.

Though he was a Dark Elf, he was still one of their kin.

The Dark Elves were expelled for reasons well deserved.

In this world, the Elven Race was already weakened, and if they were still squabbling among themselves, then their extinction would be imminent.

After thinking for a while and still being puzzled by Mork’s intentions, Airael decided to drop it.

Better to focus on what she needed to do right now.

Those thoughts could wait for later.

With that in mind, Airael told Celia, “Let’s put Mork’s matters aside; don’t bring it up again.”

“Yes, Miss!”

Although they were still curious, since Airael had spoken, they could only comply.

That night, after Arthur returned from a meeting, Airael naturally didn’t mention Mork’s visit, instead discussing the afternoon’s meeting as usual.

After some intimate moments, the two lay in bed resting for a while, and Airael suddenly asked Arthur, “Arthur, what did you mainly discuss in this afternoon’s meeting?”

Arthur frowned, looking unhappy as he replied, “We mainly debated whether to abandon Malong Fortress.”

“Huh?! After finally capturing Malong Fortress, why would we want to let it go?”

Airael exclaimed in surprise.

That proposal was truly incomprehensible.

“Because there’s been a change in the rear.”

Arthur sighed.

“What happened in the rear?”

Airael asked curiously.

If that was the case, she could accept it, but what exactly had happened?

“They say the Dwarves have charged out from the mountains. In less than a month, the Georgia Kingdom is on the brink of collapse. If Georgia falls, then Machia will be next.”

“The Georgia Kingdom is that weak?”

Airael frowned.

That shouldn’t be!

In the last three hundred years, there have been plenty of internal conflicts among humans, leading to the current power dynamics.

The Georgia Kingdom should not be this weak to survive until now.

“It’s not that the Georgia Kingdom is weak, it’s that the Dwarves who came out are too strong. According to reports, those Dwarves possess some very powerful new-style weapons. In particular, one weapon rivals the magic you used to shatter the Malong Fortress city wall, easily capable of destroying a fortress’s walls.”

Listening to Arthur’s description, Airael’s mouth dropped open.

These Dwarves were a bit too strong, weren’t they?

Arthur sighed.

The Dwarves heading north was truly untimely.

If given a bit more time, they could have decimated the Orcs completely.

Now they were stuck here.

Going north was clearly not an option; otherwise, their home would conveniently be wiped out by the Dwarves on their way back.

Not going north would leave Malong Fortress, which they had only recently captured, in a precarious position.

It was a lonely city in the northern wilderness, and the Republic’s transport was inconvenient here.

So, wanting to defend this fortress amid the Orcs’ counterattack wouldn’t be easy.

Did they really need to expend so much for this city?

Especially while they still had to fight the Dwarves.

This question had left them puzzled all afternoon without a resolution.

No one wanted to give up the fortress they had fought so hard to capture.

After a while, Airael, who had calmed down, asked, “So, from now on, humans will focus on dealing with the Dwarves?”

“Yes!”

Arthur nodded. “The Orcs have never posed much of a threat to humans; now the power the Dwarves have shown is seriously threatening humanity.”

Airael nodded.

Based on what Arthur had just said, those new-style weapons really did seem formidable.

She just didn’t know what kind of new weapons they were—she really wanted to see them!

With that, the two fell into silence.

Since there were matters on his mind, Arthur couldn’t fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Airael didn’t think too much and quickly drifted off.

Hearing the faint snoring beside him, Arthur turned his head to look.

There was Airael sleeping sweetly.

Watching her quiet face, his heart inexplicably settled.

He nestled her closer into his embrace, and under Airael’s influence, he too slowly fell asleep.