Arc 4 Chapter 21 : Inside Republic Territory

[Raul POV]

After several hours of climbing, the unit under my command finally reached a cave that would lead us to the entrance of the labyrinth belonging to the mountain dwarves of Montana. Behind me, several men were pulling carts loaded with something concealed beneath tarpaulins.

Not long after entering the cave, I caught sight of the secret entrance to the city of Drimgot.

As I approached the door, I whispered the secret code so quietly that the soldiers following behind me would not hear it.

A moment later, the cavern trembled, making everyone present grow uneasy. The wall before us—which was, in fact, a concealed door—began to open, revealing a labyrinth filled with blue crystals that illuminated the passageways.

"Let's go in," I ordered them.

We entered the labyrinth, making our way toward the city of the Montana mountain dwarves—Drimgot.

After several minutes of navigating the labyrinth, we finally emerged and found ourselves looking down at the dwarves' city from atop a cliff. The place had not changed in the slightest since the last time I had come here.

"Hey, wait here," I ordered all the soldiers under my command. "Don't make any noise, and don't do anything stupid. Understood?"

They all nodded in response. I then called Piers and Joshua over and had them help me pull one of the carts we had brought down toward the city below.

Closer to the city, I could already hear the clang of metal against metal as the dwarves worked their forges inside their homes.

Several dwarves walking along the streets appeared to notice us. I paid them no attention. Piers and Joshua, on the other hand, kept glancing around, taking in the dwarven city they had never seen before.

Before long, we arrived at the home of Thorim—the dwarf who understood the human language and whom I had met previously.

• Knock! Knock! Knock!

I knocked on his door. Moments later, a red-bearded dwarf stepped outside, a smile spreading across his face when he saw me.

"Bonjour, Thorim! Long time no see!" I said as I shook his hand.

"Hoho~ Long time no see, you say? A few months is but a short time for dwarves, whose lifespans are twice as long as those of humans like you, Raul!" the dwarf replied. "Now, what brings you to this city with all those things?"

I then pulled back the tarpaulin covering the contents of the cart.

It was the drink Prince Ramon had previously given me as a gift after we had reached an agreement.

"Give it a try. This drink is called Rodka—the strongest alcoholic beverage I've ever tasted in this world!" I said, handing the bottle to Thorim.

Without any hesitation, he drank the entire contents of the bottle until not a single drop remained.

"Kuhhh! This is incredibly strong! What is it made from? It seems different from the wine you gave me before!" Thorim exclaimed.

"Exactly. Wine is primarily made from grapes, while this drink is made mainly from potatoes and wheat," I explained.

Thorim nodded repeatedly before reaching into the cart and taking another bottle. Piers and Joshua could only stand there in silence as the short human-looking man did whatever he pleased.

"Don't drink all of it. I intend to give some to the Council as well when we discuss our previous agreement," I warned him.

"Ahhh... There is nothing better than being able to taste drinks with so many different flavors!" Thorim exclaimed before turning toward me. "As for our previous agreement, several dwarves are ready to be sent to work as craftsmen in your territory. I've been teaching them the human language as well, at least enough for them to understand simple and basic sentences."

Excellent. With Olen Musk's creativity and the dwarves' craftsmanship, I was certain I could produce goods of the finest quality on the entire continent. My investment would soon begin to bear fruit.

"Very well. Follow me. We'll go meet the Council," Thorim said before walking ahead of us.

Piers, Joshua, and I followed behind him, pushing the cart filled with Rodka.

Since the Council Hall was not far from Thorim's house, it did not take us long to reach the meeting place.

Thorim then told us to wait in the lobby of the Council Hall while he summoned several Council members to the meeting room.

"Hey, Captain, since when have you known these dwarves?" Piers asked. "If I'm not mistaken, the last time they were seen was several hundred years ago!"

"Ah, I used to visit them quite often when we were doing our field training in the Margraviate of Cataluna," I replied.

"Oh, is that why you always disappeared in the afternoons and at night after completing your patrol duties?" Piers asked again.

No. I often disappeared because I had to carry out my duties as a member of The Masquerade.

However, I merely nodded. I couldn't tell him the truth.

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Not long afterward, Thorim returned and informed us that the Council was ready. I ordered Piers and Joshua to wait there while I followed Thorim into the meeting room.

However, after entering the room, I noticed that there seemed to be fewer Council members present than the last time I had met them here.

There were only four of them in total, including the Council Chairman.

"Thanks to the discovery of the Adamantite recipe you gave us before, many of the Council members have been too busy conducting experiments and forging at home to attend these meetings and manage the city," Thorim explained. "I could only summon four of them."

I see. Considering the nature of dwarves, I suppose this was only natural. They were endlessly hungry for knowledge and new experiences.

That was precisely why dwarves were the greatest inventors in this world.

"Raul de Garcia, bienvenue dans la ville!" a bespectacled dwarf said as he looked at me.

He was Zephyr—the Chairman of the Dwarven Council in this city, who had previously given me several artifacts as a gift after I had provided them with the recipe for creating Adamantite.

"Dites-moi, ce que vous êtes venu faire ici?"

Thorim then translated Zephyr's words for me.

He said that the dwarves were grateful to me for giving them the recipe for the metal they had been searching for all this time. Therefore, I could name whatever I needed while I was here, and they would provide it as a token of their gratitude.

"Very well. I came here because I wish to use your labyrinth to move my troops through this area," I told him. "Would that be possible?"

If this could be arranged, the two hundred soldiers I had brought would be able to enter the territory of the Republic of Venetia without the enemy knowing a thing. That would allow us to conduct an operation against the logistical supplies being sent to the main forces of the Kingdom of Draconia, which were currently stationed in the Margraviate of Cataluna.

Thorim then translated my words for Zephyr.

The bespectacled dwarf stroked his beard before saying something to me in the dwarven language.

"Troops? Is your country at war with another human nation?" Thorim asked, translating Zephyr's words.

"Exactly. The enemy is currently attacking our territory, so I must cross these mountains to deal with the forces attacking us," I replied.

After Thorim translated my answer, the four dwarven Council members present began whispering among themselves as though discussing something of great importance.

A moment later, Zephyr looked at me with a serious expression.

"Les nains n'ont jamais interféré dans les conflits entre les humains," Zephyr said, though I understood none of it. "Cependant, étant donné que vous avez tant fait pour la ville, nous autoriserons le passage de vos troupes aux conditions suivantes."

Thorim then began translating his words.

He said that the dwarves had never interfered in conflicts between humans beyond their mountains. However, because I had done so much for their city, they were willing to make an exception under certain conditions.

First, the troops I brought would be equipped with special glasses that would alter what they saw around them. This was intended to prevent too many humans from learning about the existence and condition of the dwarves' city.

I would also have to promise never to reveal the secret code used to open the hidden entrance to the labyrinth built by the dwarves living in this city.

There was a reason for this.

Humans were a greedy race, always seeking to exploit both resources and other races they considered inferior. I had witnessed proof of that myself when I discovered three elven children at a slave auction while searching for a Cursed Child.

The Council did not want their city infiltrated by disgusting humans like those.

"Very well. I agree to all the conditions you have given me."

After hearing my response translated by Thorim, Zephyr nodded.

I then returned with Piers and Joshua, accompanied by Thorim and several dwarves carrying the special glasses, to meet the rest of my troops waiting atop the cliff.

I explained to them the agreement I had reached with the dwarves that would allow us to pass through this place. Two men would also remain behind in the city as messengers in case I needed to send something to Marquis Fran during an emergency.

All the soldiers under my command began putting on the special glasses provided by the dwarves. The artifacts would make them perceive a different landscape whenever they traveled around the city of Drimgot.

After nearly an hour of traveling through the dwarves' labyrinth, we finally saw sunlight shining from ahead.

We emerged from the labyrinth and found ourselves surrounded by a dense forest stretching as far as the eye could see.

We had reached the other side of the Montana Mountains, within the territory of the Republic of Venetia.

"All right, Raul. We've reached the other side of the mountains," Thorim said as he walked beside me. "You may use this labyrinth whenever you wish, but don't bring your war into our city. Understood?"

I turned to look at Thorim and nodded in response.

"One of us will be stationed around here to keep watch," Thorim explained. "If you have a message that you wish to send to the two men who will remain in our city, say 'Commande' to the dwarf guarding this area and give him the paper containing your message."

"I understand, Thorim!"

He nodded before returning into the labyrinth with the dwarves who had just removed the special glasses worn by the soldiers under my command.

Afterward, I ordered everyone to form up and follow the mountain path.

"Everyone! Form up as we move through enemy territory!" I shouted. "From this moment onward, Special Operation 'Ghost Raid' has begun! The success of our mission to destroy the forty thousand soldiers of the Kingdom of Draconia depends on this operation! Therefore, I want every one of you to take this seriously and never falter in the face of whatever obstacles await us as we carry out this mission! Do you understand!?"

"Understood, Captain!!!!"

"Understood, Captain!!!"

Everyone shouted in response to my command.

Their morale seemed to be in good condition. I could only hope everything would proceed according to plan.

It seemed it was time to contact the spy I had planted within the Military Logistics Unit of the Republic of Venetia.

[Tyra POV]

It was nighttime on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital—Terragon. I was waiting for a spy from the Republic of Venetia to bring someone to meet me.

We were going to discuss a plan to destabilize security within the Empire, ensuring that the twenty thousand troops intended to reinforce the defenses in the Margraviate of Cataluna would be unable to leave.

If these reinforcements could not arrive, then the forty thousand soldiers of the Kingdom of Draconia would be able to seize the territories in the eastern part of the Empire, giving the Alliance an advantage in this war.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, I heard the sound of approaching hooves from somewhere ahead.

A horse-drawn carriage slowly came into view.

Two people were seated at the front—the driver and the Republic's spy whom I had met previously.

"Did you bring him?" I asked the spy.

"Of course," he replied as he climbed down from the carriage. "He's in the rear compartment."

The two of us then walked toward the carriage door.

After opening it, I saw several people inside.

Among them was one man I knew very well—one of the people responsible for the destruction of my tribe at the hands of the Imperial army.

"Yo, Tyra," the man said, looking at me with a smile. "Long time no see."

I stared back at him coldly.

My anger continued to rise as I remembered what he had done to my tribe several years ago.

But for now, I needed him if I wanted to exact my revenge against the Aragon Empire.

With the help of the Republic of Venetia, that goal would be achieved within my lifetime.

I would make this country pay for every crime they had committed against my tribe back then.