Crystal Radiance of the Royal Capital.
Under the towering dome, the Council Hall was brightly lit with candles. King Rodney XVIII sat upright on the throne, holding the newly delivered military briefing, his eyes filled with barely concealed shock.
"The Northwest Legion... has subdued the Stonemason Clan?" He slowly raised his head, his voice full of disbelief. "The dwarves of the Rocky Mountains, that race that hasn't traded with outsiders for a thousand years, surrendered to Paul?"
Earl Merlin, the Minister of Intelligence, corrected the king. "Only one of the clans."
The king sighed. "Even so, it's a first in history."
The ministers in the hall began discussing it among themselves.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said incredulously, "Those are dwarves who never deal with humans! They actually bowed their heads to Marquis Greiman?"
Earl Merlin, the Minister of Intelligence, took out a map and spread it across the table. His finger slowly traced the boundary between the Rocky Mountains and the grasslands as he said in a solemn voice, "Your Majesty, everyone, this was no simple surrender. It means Marquis Greiman has already seized control of the passages through the Rocky Mountains. He now possesses a fast corridor that allows him to enter and leave the grasslands at any time. I dare say that the encirclement plan against the Orc Royal Court is already on the desk in Lakeheart Town. The marquis will soon launch a war of conquest."
The Council Hall immediately fell into complete silence.
Rodney XVIII asked somewhat doubtfully, "Paul has been fighting the orcs for so long. Does he still have enough gold coins to fund a large-scale campaign into the grasslands?"
Finance Minister Naike Scarlett had been leisurely straightening his cuffs. After hearing this, he cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, I was just