Negotiations 2

Great Chieftain Alba, Kalem, and Arroyo all frowned.

How did the humans know? Alba quickly smoothed out his brow. He had no intention of revealing even the slightest sign that this human youngster had intimidated him.

"Interesting, Your Highness Antonio. How did you learn about our dealings with the dwarves?"

"Haha." Antonio laughed unconcernedly. "We have invested far more effort in Nerodan than you imagine, including in the mountains nearby, of course."

Naturally, he would not reveal the truth—the Dwarf Prince, who yearned to reclaim his inheritance, had not merely sought out the orcs. The orcs were, in other words, one of his bargaining chips when negotiating with other factions.

"Since you already know about this, you should also know that once we reach an agreement with the dwarves, we can enter and leave the Nerodan Corridor through the valleys in the Rocky Mountains. Why would we need your help?"

Alba did not want to admit that he needed human assistance.

"Respected Great Chieftain."

Antonio smiled. "Perhaps you are used to riding swift horses across vast, boundless grasslands, but surely you do not think traveling through a massive mountain range is as easy as galloping across the plains?"

"Yes, if the dwarves are willing to cooperate with you, you can indeed send your army through their territory. I know you already have experience with this. When Aldo's human settlements began approaching the dwarves' territory, the dwarves would send small orc units through to raid human villages, thereby forcing the humans to abandon their newly established settlements. Now, perhaps you can reach a deeper agreement with one of the dwarf tribes and have them permit you to send through larger forces. But I can guarantee that even so, the army you could get across would still be far from sufficient for