143: Cooperation 1

Led by the dwarf guards, Linn and Barton traversed the intricate metal corridors and elevators of the Holy City.

The interior of this city was even more breathtaking than its exterior!

Massive gears turned slowly, pipes of steam and magic wound along the walls, and runes engraved on every metal plate emitted a steady, faint glow.

Beyond the scent of metal and lava, the air was mixed with the smell of dwarf spirits and forging grease.

Passing through three heavy metal doors that required special rune keys to open, they finally arrived at the core area of the royal palace.

Before them lay a magnificent hall cast entirely from adamantine and black iron; the thirty-meter-high dome was embedded with thousands of glowing crystals, simulating the magnificent scene of an underground cavern.

Standing on both sides of the hall were twelve giant statues of dwarf heroes, each cast from a different metal, with real elemental energy flowing across the weapons they held.

The throne was located deep within the hall; it was not on a high platform, but was a massive crystal stone that rose naturally from the ground, shaped like an anvil.

Sitting atop the throne was a dwarf... Sorein Anvil.

Just as the intelligence reports stated, this Dwarf King stood about one meter sixty-five tall, which could be called a "giant" compared to the average height of one meter thirty for ordinary dwarves.

He did not wear ornate royal robes, but rather a simple yet rigidly lined dark gold breastplate. His bare arms had muscles knotted like the roots of an old tree, covered in fine burn scars and tattoos that shimmered with a metallic luster.

His thick, fire-red beard was braided into dozens of delicate plaits, each bound with a mithril ring and draped across his chest.

He wore a crown crafted from black iron and rubies, the design rugged yet full of power.

Most intimidating were his eyes! They were a pair of dark gold orbs like the flames in the deepest part of a smelting furnace; calm, they were as deep as an abyss, but when his gaze shifted, it was as if magma flowed within them.

The aura of an Epic powerhouse was perfectly restrained, but the majesty forged through five hundred years of time, ruling a vast kingdom, and countless times in forging and war, still shrouded the entire hall like an invisible mountain.

Linn stopped twenty steps from the throne and, following the etiquette of a human noble meeting a monarch of equal status, placed his right hand over his chest and bowed slightly: "Lord of Star Sea Territory, Lynn Star Sea, greets Your Majesty Sorein. Thank you for granting me an audience, Your Majesty."

His posture was neither humble nor arrogant, expressing both ritualistic respect and making his identity as a lord clear!

He was not an envoy here to pay tribute, but a representative of a faction engaging in a dialogue of equals.

Sorein did not respond immediately, his magma-like eyes scanning Linn up and down, as if evaluating a piece of metal raw material waiting to be forged.

There was only the low roar from the distant furnace pipes in the hall, and the atmosphere was heavy.

A moment later, the Dwarf King finally spoke slowly, his voice low and thick, carrying a texture like lava and a peculiar resonance: "Count Linn, you forcibly occupied tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in the eastern part of the Great Wilderness Forest, and now you dare to come to my royal city alone... your courage is commendable."

There was a hint of probing in these words, as well as a faint, elusive sense of threat.

Linn straightened up, his black eyes calmly meeting the Dwarf King's gaze, and a faint, indifferent smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Respected Your Majesty, strictly speaking, the Great Wilderness Forest is neither the inherent territory of the Human Race nor the legal territory of the Dwarf Kingdom. Since ancient times, that land has belonged to countless Orc tribes, beast clans, and other indigenous races."

He paused, then continued, his voice echoing clearly in the hall: "The war five years ago, where your country fought a bloody battle against the allied forces of Aulai and Fama—rather than saying it was 'fighting for Orc allies,' it would be better to say... your country did not wish to see human forces penetrate too deeply into the eastern part of the Great Wilderness Forest, threatening your southern border and mineral transport lines."

Linn took two steps forward, his gaze sweeping over the dwarf hero statues on both sides of the hall, finally landing back on King Sorein's face: "If your country had not been confronting the northern Saijia Orc Kingdom along the Gray Iron Mountain range at the time, making it difficult to pull out more main forces, I fear the two human kingdoms would not have easily taken those five hundred thousand square kilometers of land in the eastern Great Wilderness Forest. And once your country frees up its hands..."

He did not finish, but the meaning was already more than obvious.

The expressions of the several dwarf nobles and generals standing in the hall changed slightly; one old general, clad in rune-heavy armor with gray-white whiskers, even subconsciously gripped the war hammer at his waist.

Linn's words had almost exposed the most core, and most unwilling to be publicly spoken, true intention of the Dwarf Kingdom's strategy in the Great Wilderness Forest!

They were not selfless protectors of the Orcs, but viewed the Great Wilderness Forest as their own strategic buffer zone and potential direction for expansion.

A trace of an extremely subtle fluctuation flashed in King Sorein's dark gold eyes, but his face remained as calm as an ancient well. He suddenly let out a low laugh, a sound like two pieces of metal rubbing together.

"Interesting human." The Dwarf King raised his hand in a gesture, and two dwarf attendants immediately brought over two chairs carved from a single piece of black iron and covered with thick Demonic Beast hide. They also brought a tray holding three gem-encrusted metal horn cups, filled with a liquid as viscous as molten gold—this was the Dwarf race's top-tier "Earth Core Spirits," a single sip of which was enough to make an ordinary human sleep for three days.

"Sit." King Sorein picked up a cup himself, threw his head back, and took a large gulp. His Adam's apple rolled, and a few drops of liquor stained his dark gold beard, instantly evaporating into white vapor scented with alcohol. "Since you have spoken so clearly, we need not beat around the bush."

"Speak, then. Bring out the conditions that will move me!"

Linn felt the massive energy of the liquid in the crystal cup and took a small sip. A violent aura instantly enveloped his body. This wine was clearly not a mundane object and was of great benefit to those who Cultivate.

"Your Majesty! Your country clearly cannot fight on two fronts, and I, the Star Sea Territory, do not wish to be enemies with the powerful Dwarf Kingdom. Presumably, Barton has already told you about the Aulai Kingdom's conspiracy to drive the wolf to swallow the tiger this time..."

Linn first expressed that he was unwilling to oppose the Dwarf Kingdom, and that all of this was instigated by the Aulai Kingdom. At the same time, he implicitly mentioned that the Dwarf Kingdom was currently in a standoff with the even more powerful Saijia Orc Kingdom. The situation was equally grim.

Linn walked to the massive sand table in the hall and pointed with his finger. "Your Majesty, this eastern part of the Great Wilderness Forest is merely a corner of the Great Wilderness Forest; your main offensive direction is the same as the Saijia Orc Kingdom—the central region of the Great Wilderness Forest. Let us cooperate to establish a military trade partnership."

"If you go to war with the Saijia Orc Kingdom, the Aulai Kingdom will inevitably continue to move north. This time, on the surface, they want to use the Dwarf Kingdom to eliminate me, but isn't it also using me to test the waters, preparing for their next northward advancement?"