Section 21 is roundabout

Ashrufat dropped the book in his hand.

His "study" really lived up to its name at this time. At this moment, there are books scattered on the floor and on the shelves. On the table on one side, all kinds of old and new books are even piled up into a hill. These were all books about the dwarves that he had procured from all over the world through the Silverfish Chamber of Commerce.

In fact, human beings know far more about dwarves than other races, and there are countless books about them. This is due to the fact that the trade between humans and dwarves is quite close. It's different from the elves who are locked off from the country and trapped in a civil war. Humans and dwarves are allies in a way, as both sides are fighting against the Greenskins, and in fewer cases, they will even form alliances in order to work together against the Greenskins. At the same time, since there are a small number of dwarves living in human cities, it is not necessary to run far if people want to know about the dwarves.

In a human city, especially a big city, if you meet a dwarf, it's a perfectly normal thing. In most cases, both sides will take off their hats and say "good day". The dwarves are good drinkers, and if you invite them to the tavern and pour them a cup or two, they will tell you something about their race. Because these things dwarves never thought to keep secrets. Because of the abundance of information, a large number of scholars have written a large number of books on dwarves.

"It's not a good idea at all. In her mind's eye, Carrie asserted.

There is absolutely nothing in these books that can make the dwarves forget their hatred. It seems that they are very good at living with hatred and passing it on to future generations. Blood debt is a deep-rooted concept of the dwarves, and it cannot be solved by any other means. To make matters worse, through these books, Ashruphat learns that the prince of Hoga he killed was actually the son of the High King, the noblest lineage of the dwarven gods (as they call themselves, of course).

I am afraid that this hatred will not be resolved.

"It seems that a head-on solution is completely unrealistic. Ashrufat replied in his mind. Now he knew that there was not just one book of hatred for the dwarves, but quite a few of them. The one in the High King's possession is called the "Book of Great Hatred", on which all the crimes committed against the dwarves are recorded. The other kings and patriarchs also had a book of hatred related to their own people.

In the battle over Karak-Grom, thousands of dwarves were killed. Ashrufat didn't need to think about it to know that there must be many tribes involved. Dwarves are the ones who can record hundreds of gold coins in the book of hatred when they lose a few hundred gold coins in business, and they don't ignore the death of a few clan members. Even if there really was any means to eliminate hatred with money, the price to be paid would be beyond the reach of Ashrufat.

"Well, only with a roundabout wrist. Carrie agrees. "Our goal is to drag on for a while. In fact, it only takes ten years...... If the dwarves don't choose to be hostile to us for twenty years, there will be basically no problem. She said. "However, there seems to be no viable way to delay. ”

Ashrufat picked up a book and flipped through a few pages. These pages contain a story about the Book of Hate and the Greenskin Warlords. Roughly speaking, it is how a greenskin warlord attacked and killed many dwarves many times, and his name was recorded in the Book of Hate. Several dwarven kings then banded together to defeat the greenskinned warlord in a great battle, eventually beheading him. This greenskin warlord eventually pays off his debt to the dwarves in this way.

"Wait, Carrie, I suddenly have a point of view...... There is a lot of content in the Book of Hatred, which means that the dwarves want to take revenge according to the records in the book, right?"

"Master, you're wrong. Carrie said helplessly. "The order is just for the sake of record, and when the time comes, they will do it. I'm sure that while our affairs must be lower on the Hate Book, the dwarves won't miss this opportunity once humanity asks to fight vampires together. All they have to pay is a group of engineers, plus some diggers at most, and the dwarves can pay for this cost at any time. ”

"But," Carrie paused suddenly. "Master, I suddenly had a great idea. ”

"What's the idea?"

"The book just now, just this one, you pick it up and take a look, just the middle pages"

Somewhat confused, Ashrufat picked up the book and flipped through a few pages as Carrie had instructed. This book is a hodgepodge, with a lot of space devoted to the various legends and stories of the dwarves. The pages that Ashruphat turned to tell the story of a dwarven hero.

The story is about how a dwarven hero named Pomec avenges his loved ones. The book tells how Pomecha overcame various adverse factors to avenge the tragic loss of his loved ones, led his army to pursue a stream of green-skinned bandits, and finally wiped them out. To be honest, Ashrufat doesn't see any difference in this story from other dwarven legends. The stories of the dwarves are always full of all sorts of artistic exaggerations, and this one is no different, from severing a river with an axe to slashing down a mountain with a single blow.

"Look at the back part. Carrie reminded.

At the end of the story, Pomec fulfilled his vow of revenge and returned to his hometown with honor. Some of the other kings regretted not joining the expedition because they were afraid of the hardships along the way. They can only regret to cross out the relevant records in the book of hatred, and do not get the glory of revenge.

"Is there anything special here?" Ashruphat read carefully, but still found nothing.

"The books of hatred will also conflict with each other. Carrie replied. "Did you notice that in this story, the crimes of the Greenskin Bandits are recorded in the book of hatred of multiple dwarven tribes at the same time? But the problem is that there is only one group of ...... of greenskinned bandits"

"Is there anything strange about this?" wondered Ashrufat. "Didn't every dwarven king have a book of hatred, which were books of hatred of the crimes of their respective enemies. And in the hands of the High King is the 'Book of Great Hatred,' which records all the enemies. The Greenskins have attacked several different dwarven kingdoms and tribes, and as a matter of course, they will be recorded in several books of hatred. ”

"That's right, master, you're right. Carrie replied, "You see, Pomec is glorified in the book, while the other dwarven kings are so disgraced that they have to cross out the book of hatred." It was said in the book that they were deeply ashamed...... I think this example is enough to illustrate the dwarven view of this kind of thing. There's a gap here that we can take advantage of. ”

"What gap?"

"That's the priority of revenge. Carrie replied. "Master, I already have an idea. ”

"What idea?" Ashrufat hadn't yet understood.

"You can pretend to be a dwarf and blend into their city. This is easy to do, as you have a ready-made identity, the dwarf who died in the battle of the dragon slayer, and you alone witnessed his death. Even better, he has the same name as you. ”

"Disguised as a dwarf?" Ashrufat asked. It's not a great idea, and dwarves are not the same as elves. When he disguised himself as an elf, he had no contact with the elves, and he had no grudges in the past and no hatred in the near future. It is precisely because of this as a basis that he was able to reach a secret agreement with the Jade Queen, and finally obtained the identity of the prince.

Even when Garth staged a mutiny, Ashrufat could leave unharmed once he said he had backed down. It all boiled down to because he had never had a grudge against the elves.

But now, his name is written in the book of hatred. As soon as his identity was revealed, he was sure that he would be chopped to slag on the spot by the furious dwarves.

"Well, do you remember? Ashruphat is the only survivor of the Lava Clan. Carrie said. "And it's still a secret. I don't think the other dwarves know ...... yet."

"He has an older brother. Ashruphat immediately corrected Carrie's mistake.

"Not anymore. Carrie replied.

"What's going on?" Ashrufat asked, confused, "I remember his last words very well......

"Do you remember before the attack on Karak-Grom? At that time, when you were in a meeting to make a plan, your men captured a dwarven spy, a ranger captain......"

"Oh, I remembered. At that time, you suggested that I let him go, and let him serve as a messenger, and make the last effort to surrender without a fight. Ashruphat struggled to recall.

"That's right, that one is Ashrufat's brother. Carrie replied. "Trust my judgment on that. ”

"But I have accepted your advice and let him go. ”

"I'm sure he's dead. Carrie replied. "I sent the black-clad assassins of the Essien clan to kill him. He eventually died with a black-clad assassin. However, there was more than one assassin who had assassinated him, and the others had reciprocated the result. ”

"For what?" Ashruphat faintly sensed that something was not quite right. "And you didn't tell me. ”

"Of course it's because he has to be punished. Carrie replied with a grin. "He failed to complete your mission and returned to the battlefield against you...... Well, it's just news that the black-clad assassins brought back when they assassinated the dwarven officers. Some of them recognized the dwarf as the one you had released earlier. ”

The explanation sounded plausible, and Ashrufat didn't ask any more.

"Anyway, with the equipment we have, you can easily change your physical appearance and disguise yourself as a dwarf. Of course, it's all thanks to the fact that we got that chip...... Hee-hee, otherwise it won't be easy. Once you've disguised yourself as a dwarf, you can make a claim to the Dwarven High King for priority revenge. ”

Ashruphat finally understood what Carrie meant.

Indeed, if the non-existent "Dwarf Ashrufat" can be given priority for revenge, then there will be no need to worry about the dwarves' movements for at least a few decades. By the time the dwarves figured out that this "Ashrufat" did not exist, it would have already passed. Besides, it wasn't easy for the dwarves to figure this out, as the lava tribe did "once" exist, as did the dwarf named Ashrufat, and he even had an older brother who served in the army and died in battle.

"But the question is, why does the High King want to give me priority for revenge? But if I were the High King, then I would not give anyone else such a condition lightly. In the Battle of Karak-Grom, Prince Hoga, the son of the High King, was also killed. If you want to talk about priority, then legally speaking, the supreme king should have this qualification. Why should he give it to someone else?"

"Kings are realistic. Carrie replied. "If you put forward a condition that the High King cannot refuse...... For example...... Help the Dwarves reclaim a lost piece of their homeland. This is a great achievement that the dwarves dream of, and it is also the goal of the High King's tireless pursuit. Prince Hoga died precisely for this purpose. ”