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Chapter 306 A Humiliating Loss of National Rights? What's the Elf's Attitude? (Bonus Chapter Today)

I'm so tired, I've been busy all day and just got back.

I'm going to have to stay up late again tonight.

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"As allies who are simultaneously engaged in offense and defense, we have the right to know about military bases."

"But you don't have the right to follow us indefinitely."

"We didn't follow you. We just needed to check how well the corruption at the military base was being cleared. At most, we just had some conversations with some dwarves!" the elf shrugged, saying helplessly.

Le Bon's eyes widened, and he stroked his beard: "The matter we're discussing with humans is very simple, it's just the problem of Serenity Harbor."

"We need to follow, the Elf Kingdom has the right to know!" The Elf envoy who followed us gave another firm reply.

This happened half an hour after the interaction with humans ended.

After Le Bon returned to the rear, he first sent a magical communication message to the capital.

-

After taking care of all that, he spoke with the elves who had been following him from a distance, saying that he would be going to Tranquil Harbor alone to check on the situation.

This left the elves in a bind.

They sensed that the humans and these cave-dwelling half-humans must have reached some secret agreement during their pleasant conversation.

Because they could see from afar that the dwarves and humans not only communicated very well, but also had some interactions such as dancing.

Cave-dwelling half-humans are synonymous with rudeness, barbarity, foul mouth, irritability, and anger among the elves.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for the elves to be so suspicious.

The elves had not expected that the communication between humans and dwarves would be so smooth, which seriously violated the previous procedures.

Unfortunately, the elves could only swallow their anger and keep up with the situation. Besides keeping a close watch on the humans to find out how far they had progressed, they also needed to quickly relay the news back to their rear. They didn't have any good solutions for the time being.

After finishing his conversation with the elves, Le Bon returned to his cave.

To ensure their safety, dwarves would have comprehensive resistance and defense facilities within a 2-kilometer radius of mountains.

Some are open to civilian use, while others are classified and mainly used for military purposes!

Inside the cave, the stone tables and chairs, which had been cleaned and polished, were rough and heavy, carrying a coolness from deep within the mountain.

Le Bon plopped down on the hard stone chair, the sound of which was dull and muffled.

His servant Pierce immediately grabbed an oak barrel from the side, pulled out the cork, and the rich aroma of ale instantly filled the entire space.

The amber-colored liquor, accompanied by abundant white foam, was poured into a horn-shaped glass with a thud.

"Elder, those long-eared fellows don't look too good." Pierce pushed his glass towards Le Bon, a hint of worry in his eyes. "They're staring at us intently. What if they misunderstand us—"

"A misunderstanding?" Le Bon picked up his horn, blew on the foam, and took a large gulp, the froth covering his beard. "I want them to misunderstand! To make them anxious! To be in a frenzy, that's exactly what I, and the elders of the capital, want!"

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and slammed the half-empty wine glass heavily onto the stone table.

"Pierce Harrington, let me test you." Le Bon's gaze sharpened. "If you were an elf, and you knew about this ambiguous relationship between us and humans, what would you do?"

Pierce straightened up and pondered seriously.

"Elder, our High Mountain Kingdom is now beset by internal and external troubles. The corruption of the Mithril Clan has far-reaching influence, even involving the royal family and nobility; this is no secret."

"While the 'long-eared' types may not know everything about our internal situation, they do understand that we desperately need stability!"

"The humans' combat capabilities this time are terrifying. They are now very worried that we will completely side with the humans in order to prolong the survival of our race!" Pierce answered almost without thinking.

Everything is for the continuation of the community.

In the past, dwarves worked as slaves to others in order to survive.

Humanity is now so powerful that it's not impossible for us to be treated like slaves again.

It should be noted that some clans of this mountain kingdom originated from slaves who escaped from the incredibly bountiful Eastern Continent.

Le Bon nodded, his thick fingers tapping lightly on the stone table: "That's right, but too one-sided. Don't just stand from our own perspective; you have to go into the heads of those long-eared people, see with their eyes, and think with their minds."

The dwarf servant Pierce's thick eyebrows instantly furrowed into a knot.

He remained silent for a moment, his mind racing with calculations.

"Long-eared beings and humans have a very deep-seated blood feud! The current Elf Kingdom is a charlatan kingdom built by worthless prophetic magic and third-rate gods. The long-eared beings maintain their ridiculous rule by relying on ethereal memory magic and mind magic! But humans can easily use those magical bombs to destroy the long-eared beings' sacred tree network from tens of kilometers away."

Le Bon nodded: "Continue!"

"When the long-eared creatures discovered that our mountain kingdom, their steadfast ally, had been so easily conquered by humans, their first thought must have been that their kingdom was facing a life-or-death crisis."

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Pierce spoke more and more fluently, and his thoughts became increasingly clear.

"Once we complete our alliance with humans, the Elf Kingdom will immediately be caught in a pincer movement from the south, north, and east, facing a near-certain death!"

Le Bon nodded. The problem with the dwarves was the undead scourge in the north, the problem with the Devil's Sea, and the behemoth in the south—the human kingdom.

The elves also face numerous problems. In addition to the human kingdoms in the south, the undead scourge in the north has temporarily resolved the issue of the celestial convergence, but the northern humans are extremely powerful.

Besides this, to the west where it borders the elves, there is also a group of ogres with only muscles in their brains and an evil army that has been infiltrated by the sky and can never be eradicated, which is also stirring up trouble.

"By then, let alone maintaining their rule, their leaders probably won't be able to sleep at night, fearing that one day they'll wake up to find their entire race facing extermination!"

"Well said." Le Bon raised his glass again, this time taking only a small sip. "So, Pierce, what do you think they'll do?"

Pierce took a deep breath, his tone becoming certain: "They'll beat us to it and start peace negotiations with humanity! Most likely, they'll use some grand narrative like the 'Convergence of the Heavens.' To preserve their kingdom and their offspring, those arrogant long-eared people will sign any treaty of surrender!"

After Le Bon finished his drink, Pierce immediately refilled his glass.

"and then?"

"And then?" Pierce sneered. "They'll definitely take a two-pronged approach! On one hand, they'll forgive and forget about our corruption, even actively seeking to maintain their so-called strategic alliance. On the other hand—hmph, if I'm not mistaken, those long-eared guys will probably resort to their old tricks again!"

"Using the same old trick again?"

"Yes!" A hint of disdain flashed in Pierce's eyes. "Send humanity a bunch of lowly long-eared people as X-—slaves! As a so-called sacred and heavy price for peace! Just like many years ago, when they were defeated by the human kingdoms to the south!"

This was no secret among the dwarven leadership.

To this day, many human nobles in the south consider owning a beautiful elven servant a symbol of their status.

Some say that the dwarves' rune technology, steel, unique warrior potions, mushroom wine, high yields of various raw materials, and skillful artisan slaves are the hallmarks of the dwarves.

With these things, the dwarves survived in this cruel world.

Elves, besides producing extremely high levels of magical creatures, magical potions, and luxurious clothing and luxuries that are completely useless in the eyes of dwarves, as well as a range of magic related to the mind, are also a force to be reckoned with in the human trade.

Pierce couldn't understand why humans, whether from the north or south, were so enamored with the frail, deformed beauty of elves.

And those elven politicians, for the sake of the kingdom and the continuation of their own bloodline and noble rule, often did not hesitate to sell out the lives of some lowly long-eared people.

By the way, a long time ago, people with long ears also had a unique tradition of paying a blood tax.

"Your analysis makes a lot of sense." Le Bon finally smiled with satisfaction. He leaned back in his chair, watching his servant with interest. "But all your deductions exclude one crucial factor. Pierce, are you so sure those humans from the north—will accept the elves' peace?"

"They—probably?"

Pierce paused for a moment, then hesitated before analyzing, "The Northern Humans are indeed powerful, but our previous intelligence exchange with Long-Eared indicated that their population isn't large. Right, they're trying to develop agriculture here!"

At this point, Pierce laughed, "Those humans actually do agriculture! Hahahaha—"

The small celestial convergence on the Forsaken Continent is extremely chaotic. The further north one goes on the magical continent, and even into the realm of the dead, the more unstable the natural environment becomes.

When large celestial bodies converge, it can easily trigger an ecological disaster.

For example, the past few years have been normally cold, but after a few months, the temperature may rise rapidly, and then suddenly become extremely cold again before it can last for a while.

The harsh and unpredictable environment is precisely why the northern part of the God-Abandoned Continent has been a barren land for military strategists and ethnic groups since ancient times.

In contrast, the "Green Lands" of the southern human kingdoms are minimally affected by the convergence of the heavens, and their climate is so stable that it is the envy of many.

It is said that some of the most fertile lands are not even bothered by the convergence of the heavens.

Of course, this is all thanks to the great seal that the gods set up countless years ago, leading the powerful mortals and legions.

It was their great power that allowed this continent, which had been helplessly abandoned by the gods, to retain a place to breathe amidst endless calamities.

"So, our strategy is simple!" Pierce slapped his thigh, his face beaming with confidence. "Cooperate with humanity, let them mess with God! Once the celestial convergence has squandered their meager resources, we'll also deal with the corrupt ones within. At that point, perhaps a new great war will ensue—"

Halfway through his sentence, Pierce's smile suddenly froze, as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat.

He slapped his forehead hard, his voice trembling.

"Uh, elder, I—I overlooked something! Why do we assume humans will wait? What if they want to—swallow us whole right now!"

The air inside the cave instantly froze.

Le Bon sighed softly, a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the entire mountain kingdom.

"Yes, weakness is the original sin of my race."

"The human power that the Long-Eared Ones are currently seeing is perhaps just the tip of the iceberg! I am very worried about the powerful kingdoms behind them."

"I originally thought that the kingdom and we might be completely finished, and that we would have to continue to be slaves until we found a chance to escape! Until the great ancestor Gaizul appeared."

Pierce's breath caught in his throat the moment the name was uttered.

Le Bon's cloudy eyes churned with complex and unfathomable emotions: "Our great ancestor, who disappeared thousands of years ago, has reappeared on earth, only to sign an agreement with those humans of unknown origin that is almost—almost a humiliating treaty that surrenders national sovereignty!!!"

"Why----"

He paused, his voice low and deep, like the grinding of rocks underground.

Ultimately, it's because our strength is too weak!

"I didn't want to believe that my ancestor would descend like this, but now I anticipate it more than ever. And he has come to forge a deeper strategic alliance with humanity, one that we cannot comprehend!"

The dwarf civilization had a glorious past, but its historical records and technological heritage suffered severe interruptions.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the devout faith in the three main gods and the secondary gods.

The great ancestor Gazul was the benevolent yet ruthless messenger of the dead, and each of his appearances represented the extension of the will of the three main gods.

If it was indeed the ancestor Gaizur who reached the agreement with the northern humans.

Therefore, no matter how humiliating the contents of the agreement are, it means that the future of the High Mountain Kingdom still has a glimmer of hope, and everything is under the watchful eyes of the gods.

But if————

The ancestors are fake!

The thought struck Pierce like a cold bolt of lightning.

He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

If even our great ancestors can be forged, then just how terrifying are these northern humans?

What will that agreement mean?