Kadek has been feeling very depressed lately, extremely depressed.
And the reason is naturally only one - according to the news he got from Black Onyx City, Black Onyx City seems to be gathering troops now and launching an attack on Brandon Stone City.
Learning of this news made Kadek's whole person turn for the worse. As for why Hei Maren Stone City would come to trouble him, Kadek wasn't very clear, but this also didn't exceed Kadek's expectations. In the dark region, one side launching an attack on another sometimes doesn't need any reason at all - even without a reason, manufacturing one is equally effective.
Moreover, Brandon's Stronghold was not innocent either. When the Black Onyx Castle was established, Brandon's Stronghold had also sent troops to join the allied forces to confront those refugees who came from the surface. It can be said that it was the dwarves' active instigation that led to the establishment of the three-party alliance - after all, the location of the Black Onyx Castle and Brandon's Stronghold were close, and once established, its impact on Brandon's Stronghold would definitely be much greater than that of the distant Morsleebret and Brain City.
Unfortunately, the Allied Forces ultimately declared defeat, giving Black Onyx City a chance to catch its breath and successfully build their city. Since then, Kadek has been on guard, afraid that Black Onyx City would come looking for trouble. Although it's said that the other side shouldn't know about the previous battle being instigated by the Gray Dwarves, who knows? What if the Dark Elves suddenly got a brain fart and wanted to sell out their allies to Black Onyx City?
"What are you saying? Are those surface-dwelling inferior species coming for us or is this just a diversion?"
Sitting in the grand hall of the ruling council, Kardak was inwardly anxious but outwardly calm and composed. From Black Onyx City to Brandon Stone City was still a distance away, and the dwarves were experts at underground construction. It was impossible for the people from Black Onyx City to pass through Brandon Stone City's defenses without paying any price. So in the short term, Kardak could still hold his breath.
"Is it those guys who found out the truth and came for revenge?"
"It can't be... It's been so long already... Besides, this isn't a rule of the Nether Realm..."
A congressman replied with a rather unimpressed tone, saying that in the dark region, killing each other is a common occurrence. Every faction and every city has at least a century-old blood feud with one another. If they were to settle accounts like this, it's likely that all factions in the dark region would end up mutually annihilating each other until none are left.
"Who knows what those inferior surface-dwellers are thinking?"
Another senator had a different view, the dark territory and the surface were born enemies, looking down on each other. Although Black Onyx City has been in the dark territory for some years, for underground races like the Gray Dwarves, the inhabitants of Black Onyx City are still representatives of the surface. They and their opponents are like nobles and commoners, with no common language whatsoever.
For a moment, the hall was like a beehive, with the gray dwarves expressing their different views on this matter. Some thought that the Black Onyx City was coming to seek revenge and trouble, while others believed that there must be another mystery behind it. Some didn't care at all, anyway, no matter what the other party's purpose was, they were not good, and beating them back would be fine.
"Everyone, quiet! Quiet!!!! I have something to say!!!!!"
Suddenly, at this moment, a dwarf jumped onto the table and shouted loudly. This was an action that only happened when something particularly important occurred among dwarves. Seeing the dwarf who had jumped onto the table, everyone else also stopped talking and looked at him with curious eyes.
"What do you have to say, Tog?"
Looking at Tog, Kardel furrowed his brow. To be honest, he had originally thought that this time Tog would definitely not escape death. But unexpectedly, this guy with a brain harder than an iron hammer actually really completed the task and helped that undead mage flatten the earth spirit's lair. This made Kardel extremely depressed. Originally, he had planned to use this opportunity to get rid of this fool. Unexpectedly, Tog instead used this battle to re-establish his position in Brandon Stone Castle. And naturally, Kardel couldn't very well drive Tog away directly under the watchful eyes of everyone, so he could only let him return to his original post. Fortunately, after that, Tog was much quieter and didn't look for trouble again.
But what is this guy singing now?
Torg glanced at Kardak's inquiry, but did not salute. However, everyone also knew that the captain of the guard and the governor were not on good terms, and they didn't care much about it either. Torg simply turned his head and looked at the crowd before speaking up.
"I think everyone still remembers that I went with the Lich to clean up the Gnome's lair and then encountered humans, right?"
Everyone in the room, including Cadrek, nodded at this. The appearance of humans in the dark territory was a big deal, and it was even more so since they had appeared so close to Brandon's Rock Castle and attacked the dwarven troops. This was also the top priority for Brandon's Rock Castle during this period, if not for the sudden mobilization of Black Onyx Castle, people might not have put this matter down... Wait!!
"Could it be that those guys from Black Onyx City are related to humans?!!"
As soon as this statement came out, the entire council hall suddenly became like boiling water, instantly becoming noisy. Shrill cries, angry curses, and explosive roars merged into one piece. Many dwarves were furious, their faces flushed red, waving their fists and jumping up, loudly shouting to smash those hybrids in Black Onyx City into pieces. Soon, the meeting fell into chaos again, unique to the dwarves.
This time, Kardok did not stop the commotion of the crowd. Instead, he also fell into deep thought. The appearance of humans was certain, and apart from Tog's report, the scouts of Brandon Rock Castle had indeed found human tracks in the surrounding area recently. This was originally a very strange thing, but if it could be said that these humans were connected to Black Onyx Castle, then it would make sense.
It seems that the Black Onyx City was originally built by humans from the surface to be here... Are they planning to launch an attack on the Dark Territory? Is their own Brandon Stone City the first target?
Thinking of this, Kadek felt more and more headache, he stretched out his hand to support his forehead, thinking hard.
It was also because of this that Kadek did not notice that at this moment, Tog's figure had disappeared from the boiling parliament hall.
"I've done it as you said."
At this moment, in the corridor outside the council hall, Tog was standing in the shadow of a corner with a gloomy face, staring at the dark elf in front of him.
"Will this really make Kadek suffer? It's just a word..."
"Sometimes words are more useful than swords, if you want to be a ruler, don't forget this."
Upon hearing Tog's inquiry, Vilna hummed softly and then her figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.
"So, what are you going to do next? Just remember, don't get involved in things that aren't your business..."
Watching the dark elf's disappearing figure, Tog's expression changed several times, finally he stamped his foot and turned to leave.
"The matter on the dwarves' side has been settled."
Back at the Blackstone Beacon, looking at Zhan in front of her, Verna replied with a straight face. Upon hearing Verna's response, Zhan nodded his head. Through the underground city system's probe, he was still quite familiar with the current situation in Brandon Stone Castle. Of course, the underground city system didn't have any mind-reading abilities. However, it could collect some public information for Zhan to observe, such as "Recently, the residents of Brandon Stone Castle are worried about the appearance of humans, and the atmosphere is relatively tense" and other similar information, which can be known at a glance.
As for Zhan's idea, Verna also had some understanding of it. The dark elves were best at this kind of sinister trickery, using ambiguous intelligence to provoke the hostility and vigilance of both sides, inciting a fight between the two families. And once both sides formally clashed, even if they knew something was wrong, they would have no choice but to shoot the arrow that was already on the string. From this point of view, Zhan's level of playing with intrigue was among the top even among the dark elf matriarchs. Moreover, his courage was extremely great, and he dared to make any bet, sometimes even Verna was secretly shocked by Zhan's actions, finding it hard to understand why he would risk everything for a gamble. The dark elves were indeed sinister and cunning, but they would not dare to act rashly without being absolutely sure. But Zhan seemed like a gambler in a casino, eager to make big bets even with only a small amount of chips in hand.
Just like this time, he wants to drag the Black Onyx City, Brandon Stone City and the three human factions into a chaotic situation. But with Jaren's current strength, if discovered, it would be a catastrophic outcome. However, Jaren seems to enjoy playing this dangerous tightrope game, completely unaware of the danger that exists, which makes Verna feel somewhat astonished.
"So what do you plan to do next?"
Looking at Zhan's relaxed expression, Vilna furrowed her brow and asked. Upon hearing her question, Zhan glanced at the Dark Elf and then reached out to adjust his glasses.
"It's impolite not to return a visit. Since those humans have come to bother us, it's about time we let them know the terror of the dark realm..."
Although she had expected it, Vilna was still shocked by Zhan En's answer.
He really wants to play big!