Warhammer Divine Throne

Belgar ran for more than five days, leading three thousand remnants through the Evil Land, fleeing until they reached the vicinity of Balak Haimen Pass, where the routed soldiers finally halted to camp and rest.

The Dwarf Expeditionary Army was now extremely haggard and had been without food for two days, something that only such a particularly resilient race as the dwarves could endure. Even so, by the time Belgar reached near the Sea Gate, these dwarves were at their limit. Their beards were disheveled, many carried wounds, some of which were beginning to scab or even fester.

In the distance, Sea Gate Pass appeared before the expeditionary army.

Sea Gate Pass is a unique dwarf fortress in the Old World, unlike most dwarf fortresses. This dwarf fortress is by the sea, a giant deep-water port and the station of the Dwarf Navy fleet. It is built on the cliffs of the northern coast of Black Bay, where merchants from all regions unload their cargo, which is then transported via the Skull River and overland to the Eternal Peak and traded with the Dwarf Supreme King.

Although the scale of Sea Gate Pass is inferior compared to places like the Eternal Peak and Eight Peaks Mountain, it is the second-largest trade center in the Old World after Marinburg. Besides the one hundred thousand indigenous dwarves, at least fifty thousand Imperial people reside here, with a transient population that reaches one hundred thousand. In this place, you can find Arabi spices, Brittania wines, Kislev bear furs, Nord ores, High Elf jewelry, and even various precious herbs from Lustria.

The defenses of Sea Gate Pass are astonishingly strong; no army can approach the cliff without roads under the relentless barrage of hundreds of cannons. Only by attacking the deep-water port from the sea can one approach the towers of Sea Gate Pass. However, obviously, under the joint protection of countless coastal defense batteries, the Imperial Navy, and the Dwarf Ironclad fleet, no attack has ever succeeded in approaching Sea Gate Pass.

The Angland Expeditionary Army set out from here, and now they return defeated. Belgar looked at his beard and couldn’t utter a single word.

After a long while, Harharaver the Gold Digger, the Chief Engineer of the Angland Clan, spoke: ”My King, this expedition has failed. What we need to do is gather the routed troops and consider another course of action.”

”...That’s all we can do. But where can we go now?” Once again, Belgar tasted the bitterness of defeat, but in his three hundred years of life, he had learned to be strong. The self-proclaimed King of Eight Peaks now controlled no land in Eight Peaks Mountain and didn’t even have a place to stay.

What he faces now is that he has already borrowed troops and money from every Dwarf Kingdom in the World’s Roof Mountain Range, including the Sea Gate Pass before him. The King of Sea Gate Pass is named Bernov, a resolute and tenacious person. Belgar had already borrowed two thousand troops from him, and now only five hundred have returned.

The King of Angland felt he had no face to meet his dwarf brothers who had helped him. He didn’t want to enter Sea Gate Pass: ”I don’t want to go in. Let’s continue west, Harharaver. You go in and get Komanik to bring the child out. We’re leaving immediately.”

”Yes...” Harharaver knew Belgar was in pain, and he replied softly.

Komanik is the queen of the Angland Clan and Belgar’s wife. She is waiting inside Sea Gate Pass with Belgar’s only legitimate son, waiting for news of her husband.

Dwarven marriage is quite unique because, among the total population of dwarves, females occupy only about one-tenth. Therefore, dwarven marriages are different from those of humans and elves.

Among the dwarves, generally, several brothers marry one wife, and sometimes, in poorer families, an entire family would marry one wife together.

This custom has a long tradition, with the three main gods of the dwarves, the god of mines and blacksmiths Glarni and the warrior god Grimnir being brothers, with the goddess of healing and protection Valaya as their shared wife.

Only high-born kings like Belgar could marry a single wife without sharing with other dwarves.

Belgar could not linger near Sea Gate Pass for long; he knew once Scasnik repelled the Ratmen, they would undoubtedly send troops to chase them down. While Harharaver entered Sea Gate Pass to find Komanik, Belgar disbanded all Dwarf Mercenaries, leaving only three hundred Angland Oathsworn composed of Broken Iron Warriors and Iron Hammer Warriors and a team of Dwarf Rangers. These were his most loyal followers, sworn to follow Belgar to death wherever he went.

After waiting for several hours, the Queen of the Angland Clan appeared with dozens of Oath Guards.

This female dwarf was simply dressed, standing about 1.4 meters tall, with two large brown braids. She was holding a young dwarf. This young dwarf, only in his forties, is still a minor among dwarves, and he is Belgar’s son, the last blood of King Ruan of the Angland Royal Family.

”Komanik...” seeing his wife dressed simply, Belgar almost shed tears again. His wife was high-born and brought a considerable dowry when she married him, but Belgar always regarded the recovery of Eight Peaks Mountain as his mission. After decades, Komanik’s abundant dowry had long been exhausted, and now the Queen of the Angland Clan looked like an ordinary female dwarf without much gold or jewelry.