Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation - Chapter 244 : Chapter 244
Chapter 244. What is… this human…. (1)
In a stronghold deep within the Iron Mountains.
There, three dwarves were gathered in front of a giant circular table carved from stone.
And one of them spoke.
“Hey, Hadi. What are we going to do?”
“What do you mean, what are we going to do?”
“Damn it, are we just going to die like this? Or are we going to have a big fight? We need to decide!”
“Keeeeung….”
The dwarf named Hadi fell into deep thought with his short arms crossed.
Hadi, he was the head of the existing dwarven clan.
The term ‘head’ here refers to the supreme leader of the dwarves.
The dwarves are a race with no class or status, even more so than the elves.
Therefore, the leader of the race is not called a king or a chief, but a head.
It means the one who thinks about and decides the direction the clan will take.
And to assist the head, they select left and right arms, which were the two present here.
Klaus and Grot.
They were the ones in charge of the left and right arms of the dwarven clan, respectively.
These three must decide the future, with the fate of the dwarven clan at stake.
The only problem was….
“Damn it, no matter how much I think, there’s no answer. Got any good ideas?”
“If I had one, would I have asked you?”
“I don’t have one either!”
Among the three, there wasn’t a single particularly smart person.
“Damn it, I never thought they’d resort to such a petty trick.”
Klaus, the left arm of the dwarven clan, frowned and said.
A year after the war with the Harbor Kingdom broke out.
The dwarven clan was now facing a serious crisis.
When the war first broke out, the dwarves were confident in themselves.
If the elves have spirits, the dwarves have advanced technology.
And above all, they are strong in defense.
Dwarves usually build their villages underground.
And when they build a village, they create and install defensive traps on the path connecting the village to the outside.
A passage full of traps, the culmination of their technology, is no different from an extremely dangerous dungeon.
If unpermitted individuals try to pass through, even a 7-star knight would have to risk their life.
Furthermore, the Iron Mountains were filled with traps that the dwarves had created over many years of residence.
No matter how large an army the Harbor Kingdom mobilized, they were confident they could easily defend against it. And they had actually done so.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd times….
The Harbor Kingdom mobilized its army a total of three times to attack the Iron Mountains, but the results were disastrous.
The 1st expeditionary force of 50,000 was defeated, and the 2nd expeditionary force of 80,000 was also defeated.
For the 3rd expedition, the royal family issued a general mobilization order and led a large army of 130,000 into the Iron Mountains, but less than 10,000 returned alive.
The traps, a culmination of dwarven technology, and weapons using gunpowder were like a nightmare for the Harbor Kingdom.
But after experiencing three failures, the Harbor Kingdom employed a new method.
It was to surround the Iron Mountains and block it off so that not even an ant could get in.
At first, the dwarves wondered what they were doing.
But after a few months, they realized the situation was serious.
“Hadi, we’re in big trouble.”
“What is it? Did the Harbor Kingdom attack again?”
“No, we have less than half of our food supplies left.”
“What? Then we can just buy from the merchants, can’t we?”
“You stupid blockhead! The Harbor Kingdom is controlling the entire Iron Mountains!”
“…Ah!”
This meant they couldn’t buy food.
Although the weapons and works of art they made were valuable treasures to humans, if the merchants who bought those treasures and sold them food and daily necessities in return did not come….
“How much food is left?”
“If we continue eating like this, it will be gone in a month.”
“Damn it, conserve. Tell them to eat sparingly.”
“Will that be enough?”
“It’s better than nothing. Ah! And send the young ones to hunt whatever they can find near the mountains, be it rabbits or wild boars!”
“Understood.”
A rations offensive.
Having tasted bitterness from a frontal attack, the Harbor Kingdom had struck at the dwarves’ weakness.
For the past several years, the Harbor Kingdom’s economy had been supported by trade with the dwarves, but conversely, the dwarves also relied entirely on the Harbor Kingdom for their food supply.
If that food supply were cut off, it would be fatal for the hearty-eating dwarves.
Having identified the problem, the dwarves did their best to respond. They tried to conserve food and go outside the village to hunt.
But the Harbor Kingdom operated a ranger unit to thoroughly interfere with the dwarves’ hunting, and there was a limit to conserving food.
And now….
“In two days, the food will run out.”
“Damn it….”
Hadi frowned.
The dwarves, who were big eaters, had eaten as little as possible for the past few months, but they had finally reached their limit.
In two days, all the food would be gone.
“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we just go all out and fight?”
Grot, the right arm of the dwarven clan, said.
His opinion was that if they were to die either way, they might as well die fighting.
In fact, many young dwarves agreed with this opinion. But….
“If we had a chance of winning, we would have gone out to fight long ago.”
Klaus, the left arm of the dwarven clan, objected.
He stated the reality coldly.
“You know very well what happens when we go out of the mountains and fight a human army on the plains, don’t you?”
“We can win if we use gunpowder weapons well.”
“We might win once or twice, right? But does gunpowder just spring from a well? What are you going to do when the gunpowder runs out?”
“……”
In the end, it was defeat either way.
The only fate left for the dwarven clan was defeat. No, there was another way.
“Should we accept the Harbor Kingdom’s proposal?”
“Has this blockhead gone mad?”
“Do you want your head smashed, you blockhead!”
At Hadi’s words, his left and right arms vehemently objected.
The proposal from the Harbor Kingdom.
It was for the dwarves to officially become citizens of the Harbor Kingdom.
They would be given the right to freely migrate anywhere within the Harbor Kingdom, and then they could leave the Iron Mountains.
At first glance, it sounds like a good proposal.
But looking at its true nature, it was absolutely not.
The moment they become citizens of the Harbor Kingdom, a quota for making weapons or works of art is imposed on each dwarf in the name of taxes.
And any dwarf who fails to meet that quota would become a slave.
Above all, the quota imposed on each dwarf could be unilaterally set by the state.
It was obvious how miserable the future of the dwarven clan would become if they accepted this. But….
“At least we can avoid immediate destruction, can’t we?”
“I’d rather be destroyed than live like that!”
“I agree. I’d rather die fighting.”
Seeing his two friends taking a strong stance, Hadi sighed.
“We who are old as old can be may feel that way. But what about the young children and the women who have no strength to fight?”
“……”
“……”
Klaus and Grot tightly shut their mouths.
And Hadi sighed and said.
“It’s not that I want to accept it. It’s about us enduring hardship for a while for the sake of the clan’s future. If we hold on and hold on, a good opportunity will come someday.”
“Damn it….”
“Damn it all.”
Curses naturally came out of Klaus’ and Grot’s mouths. But they couldn’t vehemently oppose Hadi’s words as before.
They could at least judge what the right decision was when thinking rationally.
To protect their pride and perish?
Or to endure humiliation and choose survival?
The dwarven clan was now at a crossroads.
Just then….
“Old man Hadi!”
A dwarf came running from outside the meeting room, out of breath.
“What is it?”
“Someone… someone is trying to enter the village entrance.”
“What? Is it the Harbor Kingdom’s army?”
“I don’t know for sure. But they are breaking and destroying traps as they come. They have already passed more than half of them.”
“What did you say?”
The three dwarves shot up from their seats.
And Hadi shouted as he ran quickly.
“Get the young ones ready for battle!”
“Head! Hey, where are you going?”
“Stop, you blockhead!”
Ignoring the questions of his friends shouting from behind, Hadi quickly ran towards the village entrance.
***
“Wow… this neighborhood is really something.”
Hundreds of steel arrows flying from the front.
Judging that there was no way to dodge, Patrick swung his twin swords and deflected all the arrows.
Kakakakakang!
And just as he was about to take a step forward after deflecting all the arrows, the ground caved in, becoming a trap below.
He had sensed the change just before and ran forward, but at that moment, high-temperature flames like a dragon’s breath engulfed Patrick from both sides.
“Agh, really….”
Whiriririririk!
Patrick’s body spun at high speed, generating a sword wind that pushed back the flames.
And the moment he landed….
Kukukukukuku….
“A rock is rolling. Hehehe…. A rock is rolling.”
Seeing a rock the size of a house rolling towards him, he could only laugh.
Bboodeudeuk.
“Agh, how many is this already?!”
[ Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms: Third Form: Flashing Dragon Strike ]
Kwaaaang!
Patrick, who had transformed into a streak of light, shattered the boulder into pieces.
And Patrick continued to push forward stubbornly.
***
“Is it… not human?”
Hadi couldn’t believe the sight before him.
What was this monster that was breaking through the traps set at the village entrance one by one and approaching without hesitation?
What was this monster that had already passed almost all of them and was turning the area in front of the village entrance into a chaotic mess?
Even a 7-star knight would find it difficult to come this far alone.
But that monster was calmly walking in, smashing all the traps one by one.
“Old man Hadi. If this continues, all the traps will be destroyed.”
“Damn it, stop the traps and prepare the rifles!”
“Yes!”
The dwarven warriors, having received the head’s command, moved quickly. And when all the traps stopped….
“Ah, is it finally over?”
A smile appeared on Patrick’s lips.
He seemed to have arrived at the village entrance, as he could see dwarves glaring at him from above the tightly shut iron gate.
And then the gate opened, and a single dwarf appeared, holding an axe.
“I am the head of the dwarven clan, my name is Hadi! Intruder, state your identity!”
***
Hadi walked out holding his axe and said.
“When I give the signal, shoot. Don’t worry about me, just shoot at will. Got it?”
“Old man….”
“Do as I say! Do you think you can stop a monster like that without any sacrifices?”
Hadi, who had lived a long time even among dwarves, knew.
That was a monster.
Sometimes among humans, there are exceptional beings who transcend the boundaries of their race, and that was exactly such a monster.
‘To think such a monster would become our enemy….’
Hadi advanced to the front of the village’s boundary gate.
Chance of winning? There was none.
But he would never let that monster shed the blood of his clan with the clan’s own swords before it crossed his corpse.
That was his duty as the head of the dwarves.
“I am the head of the dwarven clan, my name is Hadi! Intruder, state your identity!”
***
To Hadi, who shouted loudly while holding a battle axe, the human opposite him spoke.
The human on the other side bowed his head and said.
“Hello. My name is Patrick Schneider.”
“Patrick Schneider…. The Double Dragon?”
Hadi was startled.
“Oh, you seem to know me.”
“It would be strange not to.”
Although they were dwarves holed up deep in the mountains, focusing only on their craft, they still knew Patrick’s name.
“Are you the one known as the continent’s worst troublemaker currently in existence?”
“Hey, there are plenty of good rumors, but you had to pick that one….”
Coming from a lunatic who would single-handedly go to war with a kingdom, such words were hardly convincing.
Watching the grumbling Patrick, Hadi thought.
He didn’t seem to be affiliated with the Harbor Kingdom. But he still couldn’t let his guard down.
In the end, he was a greedy human.
“What brings you here?”
“Well, actually, it’s nothing much. I was hoping we could have a little chat.”
“A chat….”
“We can be of benefit to each other. Won’t you please listen to what I have to say?”
At Patrick’s words, the corner of Hadi’s mouth twisted up.
‘So, it’s that, after all.’
Humans are incorrigible.
This wasn’t the first time a human had extended a hand to the dwarves whose relationship with the Harbor Kingdom had soured.
Even the Empire and the Holy Theocracy had sent people to make contact with the dwarves.
We will protect you.
So come to us.
‘And with their cunning words, they tried to put shackles on us.’
In the end, what humans want are the weapons and accessories they create.
Because the future was obvious if he joined hands with humans blinded by greed, Hadi had continuously rejected such offers. And it was the same now.
“No matter what you propose, it’s useless. Go back.”
“Huh? You should at least hear me out.”
“It will be useless even if I listen. No matter how sweet the proposal, our clan no longer wants to join hands with humans.”
“We don’t have to hold hands. Our heights don’t even match, why would we awkwardly hold hands?”
“……”
“What I want is just one thing.”
“I told you we don’t need….”
“Won’t you join me in giving the Harbor Kingdom a big, beautiful F-U?”
As he said this, the purest of smiles graced Patrick’s face.
‘What is… this human….’
Hadi, the head of the dwarven clan.
From this moment on, he would encounter a creature of the unknown, the likes of which he had never experienced in his hundreds of years of life.
