The night passed quickly, unbelievably peaceful, and the Warden's tense demeanor seemed to have turned into nervous paralysis.
The scouts reported nothing unusual, and although Unas was still somewhat suspicious, he had no reason to stop the team from continuing their journey.
The squad members he abandoned last night all reappeared without incident. They encountered no more enemies and caught up smoothly.
Were the two groups of Dwarves we encountered last night just a coincidence? Or was it the Tranquility before the storm?
Unas glanced back worriedly; Luisa and Gail, disguised, were not far behind him.
Seeing him looking over, the girl even half-raised her small hand and waved it slightly to greet him.
Her adorable appearance was captivating, Unas felt even more determined to protect her.
The Canyon is hotter during the day than at night; the red earth and rocks give one the illusion of being in a furnace.
The refugees trudged along the scorching red earth, their pace slow and difficult, potentially delaying their journey to the border by several days.
Unas rode his tall and mighty King Kong, leading the way at the very front of the procession.
As time went by, he gradually lowered his guard, because he couldn't see even a petty thief, and the almost unchanging scenery was tiring.
Another long day passed peacefully, and the group, urged on by Unas, arrived at a Dark Iron Dwarves excavation site before nightfall.
This area is already on the edge of Spark Territory, and the excavation site is naturally the property of Sena-Spark.
The soldiers and workers stationed here had already received word that a human force was about to pass through.
Whether they were warm or cold, the Dwarves at least provided humans with open space for camping and Qingshui.
Unas is a high-ranking lord in the Dark Iron Kingdom, the same class as Sena-Spark.
Therefore, the leaders of the excavation site had to treat the human being with proper etiquette, even though they were not particularly fond of getting close to a human being emotionally.
Ula was led into the cleanest and tidiest Cave, where drinks and food were readily available.
"If there is anything else you need, please feel free to ask, and we will do our best to fulfill your request."
"Nothing else, just stay and drink with me."
The foreman of the excavation site, a man with a large red beard, looked troubled. "We still have to rush the work, and the master also has to travel tomorrow. Perhaps he should rest..."
"I have some fine wine here," Unas, taking out his treasured collection and deliberately spilling some, "A hundred times better than your pale fruit wines!"
The strong aroma of wine immediately filled the room, and the Dwarves were instantly immobilized.
The captain of the guard sniffed sharply, "Could this be the Golden Brew from the Grim Guzzler?"
"You're right," Unas picked up several cups and filled them one by one. "You'd be wasting your lives if you didn't drink a cup."
"A century-old golden brew! I've only ever smelled it at the banquets of gentlemen!" A foreman exclaimed, swallowing hard. He wanted to drink it but dared not say so, and just kept looking at the red-bearded steward.
Surrounded by the gazes of his subordinates, the steward helplessly uttered words he himself didn't believe, "Just one cup!"
Once Dwarf's craving for alcohol kicks in, it's not easily satisfied. Unas took out a few more bottles of wine, which were quickly emptied.
They all became somewhat tipsy, calling each other brothers and having a great time. Unas suddenly became their best friend.
He took the opportunity to gather information, asking, "Any news from the Canyon lately?"
"There's so much news, like the Spark Lord's new wife—those thick, beautiful legs, magnificent shoulders, and thick black beard are absolutely captivating!"
"Yeah, I really want to sleep with her big, fat butt in my arms, that would be so great!"
Unas imagined the scene, his stomach churned with alcohol, and he almost vomited. He quickly changed the subject, "What about the Twilight's Hammer and the rebels?"
"Those cult members have been recruiting a lot lately. One of my distant cousins was kidnapped, and we had to pay a huge ransom to get him back, but he's been brainwashed. He keeps talking about the end of the world and Old Gods all the time. His life is over!"
"What's this? My aunt's whole family of five is in this mess, and we still haven't heard from them!"
Seeing that the scene was about to turn into a gathering of Twilight's Hammer aggrieved individuals, Unas quickly asked, "Are there many cultists around here?"
"It's alright here; Lord Sena-Spark strictly forbids religious belief. But it's a different story outside Spark Territory," the guard captain said, his voice trembling even though he was drunk. "I've heard that some newly allied lords are colluding with cults."
"Ahem!" The red-bearded steward, still somewhat lucid, quickly interrupted with a dry cough, "Hanke, watch your step, don't talk nonsense!"
"What nonsense, it's exactly..."
"Alright! Stop disturbing Lord Unas's rest. You all have to work overtime tonight!"
The Dwarves immediately let out a wail, helplessly dragged and pulled out the door by the steward.
"Please get some rest, sir. We'll take our leave now."
Unas had only intended to gather some information casually, but the local tyrant was so wary that he wouldn't get anything out of him. He didn't want to force the issue, so he nodded and let the Dwarf go.
Unexpectedly, the captain of the guards returned secretly not long after, and came up with a plausible reason—to personally guard the gate for the distinguished guest.
Unas, of course, knew what he was thinking. He took out several more bottles of good wine he had bought at the Grim Guzzler and invited the Dwarf in for a hearty drink.
"Captain Hanke, does the Chief Steward know you've returned to my office?"
"He doesn't need to know, hiccup. I lied and said I went out on patrol, hahaha, that idiot!"
The Dwarf was completely drunk and started speaking recklessly about his superiors.
While Unas a toast, Unas rambled on, trying to extract information. After a round of drinks, the Dwarf, his face flushed, treated him like a brother, revealing everything about his ancestors.
Unas gleaned a very interesting piece of information from the Dwarves ' much-discussed nonsense:
The rebel groups that had been roaming the Canyon recently have changed their ways. Instead of fighting amongst themselves or looting, they have launched a large-scale manhunt for bandits in various areas, which has greatly improved the security situation in most parts of the region.
Unas thought to himself, no wonder the refugee caravan hadn't encountered any harassment along the way; someone had cleared the road for them beforehand.
But here's the question: were these Dwarf armies, unwilling to surrender to Rendaen, truly so kind?
It's important to understand that although they were both rebels, they had long since split into several warlord factions, each ruling its own territory, with no one able to command the others. So what exactly drove them to work together?
There must be a common goal.
The most obvious target in the Canyon right now is the human group escorted by Unas.
A strange sense of crisis kicked in, but he couldn't understand, no matter how hard he tried, what value did these two thousand almost destitute refugees have that warranted such a large-scale mobilization?
If the goal was to plunder humans as slaves, there would be no need to purge the bandits.
Something must have gone wrong somewhere.
Before he knew it, dawn had broken. Unas had been pondering all night, but still couldn't come up with a solution.
He immediately gathered his men, who had just gotten up, and expressed his concerns.
After some discussion, the group failed to reach a useful conclusion.
However, everyone was full of confidence, believing that with eight hundred Stormwind City soldiers, they could definitely defeat those stray dogs.
However, no one noticed the fleeting panic in the eyes of the Redbrow Stonebrow brothers.
After the meeting adjourned, the Dwarf brothers hurriedly returned to their small group— Unas had promised to take some Bronzebeard civilians home along the way, so there were about a hundred Bronzebeard Dwarves among the refugees.
Dwarves can't keep secrets. The two brothers, who had been feeling suffocated during the meeting, immediately showed their heavy hearts on their faces, whispering to each other in hushed tones, barely daring to breathe.
"How could the news have leaked? It's caused such a commotion."
"Why don't you just ask her?"
"It would be too abrupt to contact her now; let's wait until tonight."
"Should we tell the Warden the truth...?"
"Are you crazy? If you're going to do something, go all the way. If he finds out now, he'll definitely send her back immediately. Is that what you want to see?"
"But it will be exposed sooner or later."
"If we can hold out until the border, it will be a victory. Someone will definitely come to pick us up from there."
"Sigh!" Stonebrow turned around and glanced at an elderly female Dwarf not far away, then sighed heavily.
The march throughout the day was uneventful and uninspired. As soon as it got dark, the Dwarf brothers couldn't wait to find an excuse to pull the old woman into their Tent.
"You two idiots, I told you, you're not allowed to have any contact with me along the way!"
The old woman's voice was harsh and stern, clearly belonging to a younger woman in disguise.
"Your Highness, the situation is urgent, please understand."
The Dwarf brothers lowered their heads, not daring to breathe too loudly. They had all witnessed the princess's temper before; she was no less formidable than the tigress.
"Speak quickly, what is it?"
"Rebels in the Canyon"
"What rebels?! Those are warriors still loyal to the Thaurissan Empire! You need to get your positions straight. Rendaen and his scum are the rebels!"
"Yes, yes, but why would they coordinate their actions at this time? It's too much of a coincidence. Is it because you..."
"At least you guys have some brains. Of course, I secretly notified them to come and greet me."
"But... but you promised that we would secretly escort you back to Ironforge without anyone else knowing."
"Hmph! So you two are idiots. What use would it be for me to go back alone? My father might even put me under house arrest, but it's different with the Dark Iron Army in hand. At least I'll have the power to protect myself."
The Stonebrow brothers were speechless. Now that things had come to this, they felt helpless because the other party had broken their promise.
"You said those traitors from the Dark Iron only came to welcome you, and they won't harm our refugee group, will they?"
"Our forces? Hah," the old woman sneered, "Redbrow Lord, listen to this, your cousin thinks he's human!"
"I'm referring to the Argent Dawn," Stonebrow said, his face flushed. "They took in the homeless remnants of the Dwarves, and Unas Knight me and many other Dwarves from demons. We cannot be ungrateful!"
"So you're going to pledge allegiance to that human and betray the Bronzebeard Clan?!"
"That's not what I thought..."
"Then obey my orders! I am the heir of the Bronzebeard Clan, your future queen! Betraying me is treason!"
The old woman issued a forceful threat, her unwavering gaze sweeping over the two men, Stonebrow brothers with no choice but to lower their heads.
"Hmph, those humans were originally slaves we captured, all property of the Thaurissan Empire. It's perfectly legal for me to take them back, and you're not allowed to object!"