Warhammer Divine Throne

A few enormous stone pillars towered into the sky, the entire top of Breeze Castle was made of rock, the walls divided into three layers, the gates composed of dozens of meters thick boulders, and hundreds of cannons were densely arranged; Belgar knew this was a powerful Dwarf Kingdom.

Can they be asked to help me reclaim Eight Peaks Mountain?

Naturally, Belgar immediately associated it with his lost homeland; he thought of whether he could ask King Rorrek of Breeze Castle for help in recovering Eight Peaks Mountain.

With a hint of expectation in his heart, Belgar almost instinctively wanted to return to the venue and make a request to King Rorrek, asking him to help reclaim Eight Peaks Mountain.

After taking just two steps back, a cool feeling, as if awakening with sudden realization, stopped Belgar in his tracks.

He suddenly felt as if this scene had occurred before, and not just once.

Every time he arrived at a Dwarf Kingdom, he did the same thing, and those Dwarf Kings, either for face or due to past relationships, would often choose to lend a hand.

Belgar had initiated three expeditions to Eight Peaks Mountain relying on these Dwarf Kings.

However, he had already failed three times.

Belgar, Belgar, are you going to lose your final foothold as well? Breeze Castle and Desolate Castle are the last two Dwarf Kingdoms you can turn to for help; are you going to offend them too? The King of Eight Peaks thought of the fallen Dwarves, of the grim tidings of defeat time and again, and clenched his fists tightly.

He sobered up.

Belgar looked up, the walls, statues, and giant stone pillars of Karak Breeze Castle carved with numerous Dwarf Runes, many fire pits were burning, the ancestors’ statues shining in the firelight, the flames crackling.

Having survived countless battles, Belgar was overwhelmed with emotions, a bitterness inexorably rose within, and the King of Eight Peaks Belgar Iron Hammer found himself hiding behind the statue of an ancestor, crying out loud; eighty-five years had passed, reclaiming Eight Peaks seemed an impossible task, over three hundred years, Belgar had tried every method, and over two thousand years, the Angland Clan had shed blood for this dream.

For his family, Belgar bore too much, but it was his clan’s mission, he knew he must bear it; was it the disgrace of cutting his beard and discarding his robe? Undoubtedly, it was a fate worse than death for Dwarves, yet Belgar knew he couldn’t die; otherwise, there would be no one left to avenge the clan’s great hatred.

After crying, wiping away tears, Belgar washed his face with clear water, sat in place for an hour, and after confirming he looked normal, returned to the place he stayed.

Inside the warm, tall hotel, Belgar’s wife Komanik sat on a chair in the room, weaving some crafts with ox tails, she looked up seeing Belgar return: ”Back?”

”Mm, back.” Belgar looked quite normal, pulling over a chair to sit, and sighed: ”I’ve thought for a long time, Komanik, we can’t keep borrowing troops; the mercenaries’ approach won’t work, we must figure out a way to acquire some land ourselves, we need a Dwarf City of our own, gather clansmen, engage in production, train troops.”

Komanik sighed deeply, looking at the clean, tidy room, the fireplace without fire, a large wooden table set in the room’s center, piled with many items, the Angland Clan’s queen quietly said: ”I tried to persuade you decades ago, you didn’t listen, we had several places to go then, now you finally figured it out but no place to go.”

”Rest first; let’s talk tomorrow.”

”Mm.”

The night passed quietly.

The next day, Belgar met King Rorrek of Breeze Castle again and proposed his desire to seize a castle of his own, call the scattered Angland Clan members to gather, then consider expedition to Eight Peaks Mountain.

The discussion lasted all morning.

In the afternoon, Belgar, both excited and worried, called in his subordinates to discuss matters.

”We have two places we can go.” Belgar spread the long map scroll on the table; he called his Chief Engineer Harharaver the Gold Digger and the Angland Oathsworn Guard’s leader Torrek, then affectionately stroked his sleeping son on the bed before returning to the table to continue their meeting discussing their destinations.

”King Rorrek told us there are two relatively ideal places; the first is the Eternal Dragon Rock Castle located north of Karak Breeze Castle, also known as Black Stone Fortress, there’s a rather nice citadel, abundant mineral and gold veins, though it seems there’s some undead there.”

”The second place is the Karak Copper Mountain Castle south of the Gray Mountain Range, there’s also a castle with a goblin tribe nearby, Copper Mountain Castle has a large copper vein but lacks other veins and soil for growing crops, its location is particularly unique; this castle lacks the Earth Vein Network.”

Angland Oathsworn Guard Torrek introduced: ”My King, Rorrek Your Majesty said we could attempt to seize both castles, he promised to trade with us post-seizure.”

”Seize… seize, sounds easy enough, but don’t I know what’s on Rorrek’s mind?” Belgar grumbled discontentedly: ”The Black Stone Fortress to the north has a large group of undead! My beard feels it from five hundred kilometers away! To conquer Black Stone Fortress, we’d face an Undead Army, relying on whom? Just us few hundred people?”

”And Copper Mountain Castle, it’s even more so, located south of the Gray Mountain Range, Sharp Ears to the west, Green Skin to the north, south, and east! This castle lacks the Earth Vein Network, if surrounded by Green Skin, we might not even send out a plea for help! Rorrek hopes we’d guard it!” The King of Eight Peaks puffed his beard, glared: ”But what can we do? Living under others’ roof again? Oh, Dwarves can’t stand that; I realize I absolutely need a land, only then can I revive our clan, reorganize the military, raise funds, and plan another capture of Eight Peaks.”

”Black Stone Fortress is difficult to attack but easy to defend; once we occupy it, the east holds the Empire, west is Brittania, both are human realms, the manufacturers of inferior goods (referring to humans) typically don’t trouble Long-bearded Ones, the situation at Karak Copper Mountain Castle is worse.” Harharaver the Gold Digger shook his head repeatedly at the map: ”Surrounded by Green Skin, Angland Clan never fears strong enemies, but Copper Mountain Castle can’t produce grain, nor has the Earth Vein Network, all food must be supported by Breeze Castle, truly risky.”

”Regardless of which castle we try to conquer, our current troop strength is far from enough.” Belgar perceived his situation clearly: ”We have just a few hundred people, lack sufficient funds, we certainly can’t rely on Rorrek supporting us forever!”

Several dwarves present nodded, dwarf pride does not allow long dependency on assistance; they repay kindness with gratitude, many still believe they owe a debt to humans unpaid.

”Firstly, we must find a way to gather our scattered clansmen.” Belgar stroked his beard: ”There are too few of us now, unsuccessful in whatever we attempt, hmm!”

The King of Eight Peaks stroked too hard, nearly pulling off his attached beard, discreetly reconnecting it: ”Ahem, what I mean is, we should send messages to all Dwarf Kingdoms, let our clansmen come to Breeze Castle for a gathering, concentrate more forces; only with sufficient troops can we plan the next steps, whether it’s Black Stone Fortress or Copper Mountain Castle.”

Everyone continued to discuss what to do next; suddenly, Chief Engineer Harharaver the Gold Digger recalled: ”Right, I heard King Rorrek mentioned a group of dwarves settled in Count Glamorgan’s domain in Brittania, employed by the Count, living well; their leader is none other than Dugen the Ironman, an Engineer of the Angland Clan, I remember him.”

”I remember him too! Dugen, Dugen the Ironman!”