Section VI Commitments

"I am honored that you have summoned me this time, the Most High King. I am even more flattered by your commitment. But until you summoned me, I had always wanted to come and meet you. ”

"Oh. "The High King has heard the meaning of Ashrufat's words. "What do you have to do with me?"

"High King, I'm sure you've heard that my brother, Torrisen, once served you in your army. ”

"I know him. The High King replied. "It's a pity, but I have to tell you...... He fought valiantly in the battle of Karak-Grom and was eventually killed. All the survivors told me that he had behaved very heroically and worthy of the glory of the Lava Clan. ”

"I already know this. Many people have told me that he died honorably. Ashrufat said.

"That's weird!" Carrie suddenly snorted coldly in her mind, full of teasing. But Ashrufat ignored it.

"But this is a great loss to our lava tribe, and my brother is a great warrior. We can't lose him for nothing and do nothing. ”

"This hatred will be remembered forever. The High King replied. "I have recorded your brother's death in the Book of Hate, and one day, we will pay this blood debt from the vampires. ”

"The High King, vampires owe a blood debt to many of us. But there is only one vampire. And my tribe is still living in the far north. We won't be able to relocate back for a long time. I fear that the day we return will see the vampires die at the hands of the other people. This deprives us of a glorious opportunity for revenge. So I take the liberty of requesting, and I hope you will agree, to give the Lava Clan the right to revenge in the first priority. I admit that in a short period of time, we will not be able to repay this blood debt. But I'm sure that sooner or later, we'll come out stronger and travel to Sivania to destroy the evil vampires. ”

"Why do you make such a request?" the High King was genuinely surprised this time. "Many of my subjects have lost loved ones, and not only you and your tribe. Even I lost my son Hoga. ”

"The death of my brother is a great loss, a loss that surpasses all other compatriots, and I may even venture to say that it is more than you have lost Prince Hoga. I believe this and am able to prove it. With this, I believe that the Lava Tribe should have priority over revenge. ”

"If what you say is true," replied the High King, after a moment of silence. "I admit it's a reasonable request. But how do you prove it?"

"High King, I am willing to prove it by merit. Ashrufat replied. He raised his head and looked at the dwarven High King on the throne. "In your name, I am willing to lead an army to the Western Peninsula region. ”

"You want to be a general?" This time, the High King understood what Ashrufat meant.

It's really hard to predict. In the city of Karaz-Karak, there is a lot of talk about the Society of Engineers, and of course, the promoter behind it, the great wine merchant and great foundry Ashrufat, is well known. This is not an outrageous thing, as long as you are a dwarf, you have the dream and ambition to restore the glory of your ancestors and create glory again. It would be no surprise if this ambition erupted in a dwarf and translated into concrete action.

But everyone thinks that Ashrufat positions himself as a "promoter and supporter", including the High King, and no one thinks that Ashrufat has any intention of leading his own army. Anyway, although Ashrufat was a successful businessman and a great engineer, he was also a "young" dwarf anyway.

Every dwarf knows that the commander of the army should be a lord or patriarch. Although there has never been a hard and fast law on this, it is a view that all dwarves naturally take and take for granted. A dwarven general should be a seasoned old dwarf who has been fighting their enemies for centuries, so that these dwarven leaders can master the art of warfare, and make them far more experienced and learned than other ordinary commanders. This experience and knowledge can manifest itself in a very obvious way – their beards. Only an older dwarf with a long beard would be a good commander. Almost all dwarves think so.

"But what can you, as a general, prove with your exploits?"

"Yes, High King, my brother is a fine dwarf. The loss of his to our tribe has cost more than anyone else. Although he has unfortunately died, I will also prove that he is good and irreplaceable - because I am brother to him. We grew up in the same environment and had the same blood in our veins. My ability is a natural representation of his ability, and according to irrefutable facts, the older brother is always more experienced than the younger brother, so it is natural that he will be stronger in terms of ability. If I can prove my ability, it will be equivalent to proving my brother's ability. Ashrufat said. "If you agree, Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army and sweep away all the green skins on the peninsula. I believe that this is the best proof of my ability and that of my brother. ”

Ashrufat has already mentioned more than once about the Western Peninsula. In fact, the Society of Engineers does not keep this secret, and even if it does, it is meaningless.

The Western Peninsula region was once the land of the dwarves. It has long mountainous terrain, abundant mineral veins and valleys suitable for farming and grazing among the mountains. There are several outlets to the sea. In the early days of the dwarves, they built a fortress city in the heart of the peninsula and ruled over the rich land.

As with all the sad stories that are circulated by the dwarves. Many years ago, after a massive natural disaster, a stream of greenskins arrived and took advantage of the dwarves' plight to attack. The dwarves, who were no longer able to fight, were forced to retreat from the region, leaving their beautiful and rich homes to the savage greenskins. Since then, a large number of green skins have grown along the peninsula, and they continue to depart from the peninsula, posing a great threat to the territory of the dwarves. It is also known as the "Sad Peninsula" by some dwarves.

But the peninsula is indeed a good target for the dwarves who want to regain lost territory. Because of the geographical conditions here, as long as you can defeat the greenskins of the peninsula and destroy them, you can safely regain control of this area. After the victory, the dwarves can celebrate with confidence and clean up slowly, without worrying about the green skins from other places migrating again, making the war for the reconquista an endless tug-of-war. It is important to know that many times, the dwarves are not defeated on the battlefield, but the greenskins with population superiority have exhausted their strength in endless wars of attrition, and they have to choose to retreat in the end.

As long as the dwarves regain the peninsula region, there will never be such trouble. It can even be said that the peninsula area will become the rear of the dwarves. It is extremely rare for the Greenskins to have the same good fortune as in history, taking advantage of the internal division of the dwarves and the fact that they are suffering from natural disasters.

In fact, when the High King sent Prince Hoga on his expedition, the Peninsula was one of his chosen targets, but in the end he chose Karak-Grom instead of the Peninsula.

Because there are so many green skins on the peninsula. Even the most conservative estimates put the total number of green skins in the region at more than 100,000. Every once in a while, a tribe of greenskins rushes out of the peninsula and slaughters the dwarven lands. This usually means a bloody battle. Although the dwarves have successfully withstood every attack over the centuries, they have paid a great sacrifice for the sake of doing so.

The High King hesitated. He didn't want to dampen the young master's confidence, because this will and courage made him admire both. But he felt compelled to tell the master in a more tactful way that he was not fit to be a general.

"There is a lot of green skins in the peninsula area. Tell me, Master, how are you going to accomplish what you have just said, and what do you think of your future army, and of your enemies?"

"We are an army of elite fighters. Despite the fact that our enemies outnumber us, they cannot confront our army. Our armies will be armed with all sorts of new weapons, and I will use the condensation of our knowledge and wisdom – our cannons, our muskets, and our machines – to destroy them with a force that these green-skinned bandits will not and cannot comprehend. I will cherish the strength of each and every soldier under my command and place them in the most critical position. I believe that as long as it is well organized, our army is an invincible army. ”

"Well said, Master. The High King nodded. "But even then, there are too many greenskins. ”

"Exactly, High King. So, I'm going to take advantage of the chaos inside the greenskins. Now, the Greenskins of the Peninsula are divided into different tribes and fight their brutal civil wars. Taking advantage of this disunity between them, I can eliminate them one by one. While they are much more numerous than us overall, I will guarantee that in every battle, there will be no more greenskins than we can handle. We can't expect to completely defeat the Greenskins in a single battle, and we will use our engineering superiority to eliminate the Greenskins batch by batch. ”

"But......" said Ashrufat, which made the High King hesitate. He clearly felt that the young master seemed to be prepared, and it should be difficult for him to give up this idea with words alone.

"High King, I don't need too many soldiers. Ashrufat said again. "I don't need the troops that exist in Karaz, Karak, I know they are valuable and have important responsibilities. But the High King, I have heard that many of the soldiers wounded in the Karak-Grom battle have recovered. I hope they will join my army. I see it as your greatest support for this initiative of the Society of Engineers. ”

The High King looked at Ashruphat with some surprise. He knew that the number of wounded who had recovered was not very large – and it was easy to understand. Dwarves are much stronger than humans, and the lightly wounded have long since returned to their posts, and now all the seriously wounded are gradually healing and returning to the team. Even ordinary civilians who don't know anything about war know that there won't be too many seriously wounded in this miserable defeat.

Ashrufat fearlessly met the High King's gaze. Through those firm and piercing eyes, the bearded supreme king who had dragged to the ground suddenly felt a wave of enthusiasm rise in his heart, so that his brain was in a state of confusion for a moment, and he couldn't think of how to refuse the other for a moment. At the end of the day, he could only cough softly.

Hearing this hint, a hammer warrior under the throne, the High King's own soldier, stepped forward.

"Boy, if you want to be a general, then you must at least have the corresponding strength. He stroked his long beard ostentatiously and said arrogantly. "At your age, although it is a bit whimsical, it is not good when it comes to fighting. He stretched out his arms, flexing his muscles that were far thicker than humans. "Although your cannons are powerful, the greenskins will still rush up on the corpses of their comrades, and at the end of the day, don't you always rely on soldiers like me to resist them?"