Chapter 371: Chapter 366: The Integrity of the Zor Elves Chapter 371: Chapter 366: The Integrity of the Zor Elves The dwarf king did not make any outrageous demands, but only made two simple requests that saddened Prince Mureya.

First, the price of the liquor sold to the Dwarf Kingdom should not exceed twice the local price in the Lockman Kingdom.

Second, when purchasing weapons forged by dwarves, there should be no bargaining for any reason and they must be acquired at prices that will not affect the interests of the dwarven craftsmen, not causing them to lose profits.

Mureya agreed to these simple demands on the spot. At that point, he began to wonder what exactly the merchants of the Lockman Kingdom had done to the dwarves of the Sherman Duchy.

After all, the dwarf king seemed to be a ruler who was not cruel nor difficult to reason with. Yet, he overthrew the previous king and demonstrated hostility towards the Lockman Kingdom, stationing heavy troops at the borders. What led to these actions?

Mureya did not ask the dwarf king these questions, doing so would be too awkward. He remembered that he now had control over the Scarlett family’s intelligence system and thus he could question the intelligence head about this later.

After Mureya agreed to the conditions proposed by the dwarf king, the king immediately consented to Mureya’s request to open up the borders for the merchant corps to enter and exit freely. After all, the Sherman Dwarf Principality still desperately needed supplies of water, food, and mineral resources from the human kingdom.

The king wouldn’t have expelled the humans and blockaded the borders if the human merchants hadn’t colluded to control the dwarf kingdom’s economy and taken advantage of the diligent and honest dwarf craftsmen, treating them like naive fools.

Once they have worked out the specifics of opening the borders, Mureya smiled at the Dwarf King, waiting for him to take the hint and excuse himself. He had already prepared to receive the Zor elves from the Dark Region.

However, the hulking, dwarf king – whose appearance was nowhere near human standards of beauty – did not appear to be leaving anytime soon. Instead, he seemed to be acting coy which gave Mureya a sense of discomfort.

“Your Excellency, is there something else you wish to discuss?” Since the dwarf king did not leave, Mureya was prompted to inquire.

“Duke Mureya, I wish to ask for your assistance.” The dwarf king gritted his teeth and replied formally. For the sake of his citizens, he brushed his pride aside. After all, wasn’t the purpose of his visit to ask for the help of the Golden Dragon Regent Duke?

“Please, state your request.” Upon observing the dwarf king’s demeanor, Mureya straightened his posture, his face turning serious. Dwarves are a very stubborn race, they rarely ask for help from other races. They would rather face the crisis alone.

“Three years ago, in the mines of the Yad Mountain Range, which is our primary source of minerals, a space rift linking to the Abyss appeared. Because there was a delay in both reporting and suppressing it, the demons that emerged from the rift stabilized it through a blood sacrifice.”

While speaking, the dwarf king clenched his fists, his face filled with a mix of rage and helplessness, “Over these three years, the rift has been constantly expanding, it is nearly forming a portal to the Abyss.”

“What level of legendary demon guards that space rift?” Mureya directly asked, the fact that the dwarf king was asking him for help implied that he is unable to seal the space rift on his own.

“Possibly a Legendary Fifth-Rank and above.” The dwarf king expressed with difficulty. “Three years ago, when I first received the news, I went alone into the mines to suppress the space rift. But the powerful Demon Lord that guards the other end easily repelled me with just one hand. If the Demon Lord had descended in full form, I might be dead now. Fortunately, due to its immense power, it has been unable to cross the rift for three years.

However, unless someone powerful prevents it, this Demon Lord will eventually bring a demonic legion to my country.”

“So that was your motive for expanding your legion?” Mureya asked in response. Before, when he learnt this dwarven country was stirring trouble, he initially thought the Sherman Duchy was like the Medis Kingdom, seeking an opportunity to invade the Lockman Kingdom during its time of decline.

After all, the kingdom was now a loose coalition without the Scarlet family’s unifying force. Even though their combined strength is now much greater than it was during the founding days of the kingdom, it was not nearly enough to instill fear and respect from other powers.

Yet, despite his assumptions, the expansion of the dwarven legion was for self-defence, not for aggression. That suits the behaviour of dwarves, they hardly invade other countries. They are content with their territory, the joy of their liquor and the ringing of their hammers satisfying enough.

“Yes, benevolent Duke Mureya, I plead for you to send an Ancient Dragon to help us suppress this space rift. We must ensure that the Demon Lord doesn’t descend.” At this moment, Dwarf King Magni Bronzebeard dropped his ruler’s bearing and sincere entreated Mureya.

“Who among you can spare the time to go there?” Mureya turned to the ten ancient dragons lounging around him, some of them even napping, and asked.

“Your Highness Mureya, based on the description provided by the dwarf king, the Demon Lord’s power might be a high-level legendary. A single dragon may be endangered by it. I propose that we send three ancient dragons for added assurance,” a bronze ancient dragon that had taken the form of a blond woman suggested. She seemed quite interested in the task.

Soon, after the Dwarf King Magni hinted that he would generously reward the ancient dragons who helped suppress the abyssal space rift, two other ancient dragons immediately agreed to go as well.

After finalizing the timing, Dwarf King Magni Bronzebeard, relieved of a huge burden, left. The dragons who helped him weren’t the ones he appreciated most, it was Mureya. Without Mureya, where could he find even one ancient dragon, let alone three?

…

“Greetings, Duke Mureya.” The Zor elf envoy corps from the Dark Region barely entered the room when the leading legendary Zor elf, Iris, shamelessly kneeled, receiving many sidelong glances from several ancient dragons. It was indeed rare for a legendary being to be so unprincipled.

But Iris could not be blamed for being unprincipled. She wanted to leave with the envoy corps as soon as the grand ceremony had ended, rushing back to the Dark Region to report to that despicable dark elf.

But she was intercepted by three human legends just as she was leaving the royal palace and was instructed to wait for Mureya’ summons.

“There’s no need to be nervous.” Upon seeing the white-haired, dark-skinned, voluptuous Zor elves falling to their knees with Iris, Mureya couldn’t help but chuckle. He hadn’t expected that he would now be able to make a legendary being fear him to such an extent.

“I just want you to deliver a few words for me, and some conditions to your God-blessed queen.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read