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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 258: Hammerfell (3)
***
“Ha! Do you think we’ll just follow you willingly?”
One of the dwarves shouted. It was the same dwarf who had first been captured by Damien.
“We despise dark mages like you! We’d rather die than cooperate with you!”
The other dwarves nodded in agreement at his words.
Despite the fact that a single word from Damien could mean their deaths, the dwarves’ stubbornness remained unyielding.
Among scholars, some praised this dwarven trait as noble.
‘These annoying bastards.’
Of course, from Damien’s perspective, it was just irritating.
He was pondering how to get these stubborn dwarves to obey.
“You’re all misunderstanding us.”
Dominico, who was standing next to him, spoke to the dwarves.
“We are not like the dark mages you know. We are…”
“Dominico, be quiet.”
“What? But, my lord…”
Damien whispered in Dominico’s ear.
“If you were them, would you believe we’re righteous even though we’re dark mages?”
“Well, that’s…”
Dominico’s eyes wavered. Seeing it from the other side, he realized how absurd it sounded.
“But my lord, there’s no way to persuade them.”
Damien fell into deep thought. Suddenly, his face lit up.
“Yes. That’s how we’ll do it.”
“Have you thought of something good?”
“Yeah, I was overthinking it. There’s a very simple way.”
Currently, Damien was playing the role of the infamous dark mage, Victor the Woodcutter.
This meant he had no need for hesitation. He could do anything.
No, he had to act that way. That was the only way to spread the fearsome reputation of Victor the Woodcutter even further.
“Watch closely.”
Damien approached the dwarf. The dwarf looked at Damien with a tense expression.
“You, what’s your name?”
“…I am Kilo, the leader of these people!”
“Leader? Quite a high rank for someone so weak.”
“What, what? You dare to boast after capturing me just once! Next time will be different! You won’t even know I’m there…”
“You said you wouldn’t cooperate with me?”
Damien cut off Kilo’s words. Kilo spoke with determined eyes.
“That’s right! No matter what you do, I…”
“You might think so. But do you think the others will feel the same?”
“What?”
Damien looked at the other dwarves and spoke.
“If you won’t cooperate with me, I’ll start torturing your kin. And don’t even think you can withstand it.”
He summoned dark mana into his palm.
A thick, black liquid dripped to the ground, burning the soil with a foul stench.
“Ah! No!”
“Ugh! What is that?”
The dwarves recoiled in horror. Damien had a sinister smile on his face and continued.
“I’ve developed over a hundred different torture methods specifically for dealing with creatures like you. By the time I’m done, you’ll forget even your own names.”
The dwarves’ faces turned pale. Some were trembling all over.
“My lord!”
Dominico urgently called out to Damien. Damien turned back towards him.
“What is it?”
“No matter what, torture is too much…”
Dominico looked horrified. Damien rolled his eyes.
“Are you crazy? I’m not actually going to torture them.”
“What?”
“It’s just a threat. I have no intention of actually torturing them, so relax.”
Despite Damien’s explanation, Dominico still looked doubtful.
“…Are you sure?”
“Are you questioning your lord?”
“Then the talk of a hundred torture methods…”
“Of course, it was a lie.”
Dominico let out a sigh of relief, which oddly annoyed Damien.
“If you understand, stay quiet.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Damien turned back to the dwarves.
“So, what will it be? Will you cooperate?”
Kilo looked around at his kin. They were all terrified.
But slowly, their expressions hardened. With determined faces, they all nodded.
“…You foolish human! Do you think we’ll surrender? Never! Absolutely never!”
Kilo yelled at Damien. Damien clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Then it can’t be helped. Dominico, bring that dwarf here.”
Damien pointed at one of the dwarves. Kilo’s face showed panic.
“W-Wait! Not him! He’s just a boy, barely an adult!”
“That’s why I chose him.”
Damien said coldly.
“Dominico, what are you doing? Bring him over.”
Dominico looked at Damien with a reluctant expression, as if to ask, ‘Are you serious?’
Damien’s glare was fierce, as if to say, ‘Of course I’m serious.’
Dominico sighed and walked over to the dwarf. He grabbed the young dwarf by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.
“Ah! Father! Help me!”
“Bamda! Bamda!”
“Let him go, you fiend!”
The dwarves tried to grab Dominico, but no matter how strong they were, they couldn’t overpower a Master Class.
Dominico pushed the dwarves aside and returned to Damien.
“I’ll show you exactly what happens if you don’t cooperate with me.”
Damien placed his hand on Bamda’s head. Bamda looked as if he might faint from fear.
With his hand still on Bamda, Damien glanced at the dwarves. Hesitation was clear on their faces.
‘It’ll be troublesome if they don’t give in now.’
Though he was acting as Victor the Woodcutter, Damien had no intention of actually torturing the dwarf.
If they had been dark mages or dark knights, he wouldn’t have hesitated to torture them.
But the dwarf in front of him was innocent.
‘Come on, just give in.’
As if his wish had reached them, Kilo shouted with his eyes tightly shut.
“We’ll cooperate! Just stop!”
Damien signaled to Dominico with a glance. Dominico released his grip on Bamda.
Bamda quickly ran back to the other dwarves.
“Bamda! Are you alright?”
“I was so scared!”
“You’re safe now. It’s over.”
The dwarves gathered around Bamda, comforting him.
“Phew… Trying to do something that doesn’t suit me is exhausting.”
Damien wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Not only is it hard to pretend to be a dark mage, but having to make threats as well—this is the worst.”
Dominico looked at Damien in disbelief.
“…”
“What? Do you have a problem?”
“No, my lord.”
Damien approached the dwarves. They stopped comforting Bamda and looked at him.
“Now, answer my questions honestly from here on out.”
***
The first thing Damien asked about was the current situation in the city.
“The city was taken by a Weapon Master?”
Damien asked again, his face reflecting disbelief.
Dwarven cities were renowned for being impregnable, a testament to their superior craftsmanship and defenses.
He had heard of cities being destroyed by dragons or natural disasters, but never conquered.
“…It’s true.”
“What trick did the Weapon Master use?”
“There was a traitor among our kin. He revealed all the secret passages of the city.”
“A traitor? I thought your kind was above such things.”
Dwarves were known for their stubbornness and integrity.
Hadn’t they just resisted Damien to the end?
“Ha! Do you think we’d tell you every detail?”
“Dominico, bring him back.”
“The traitor is the child of the exiled former chieftain! He held a grudge against us!”
“The former chieftain?”
“Years ago, a plague swept through the city. The former chieftain failed to manage it properly, making the outbreak worse. He was exiled for his incompetence!”
Damien recalled a story he’d heard from Malta. He never imagined it would lead to this.
“The Weapon Master used the traitor’s information to attack the city. We had no choice but to flee to avoid the Weapon Master.”
Kilo’s voice was filled with anger as he recounted the events.
“Many of our kin who couldn’t escape remain in the city. We formed a resistance to reclaim it.”
“Really? How many are in the resistance?”
Kilo pointed to the dwarves behind him. Damien couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.
“Surely, these aren’t all of them?”
“They are.”
Damien felt a slight headache coming on.
These dwarves, who nearly got wiped out by the Weapon Master’s disciple, were the resistance?
“Why didn’t you ask for outside help? The City Alliance would have gladly aided you.”
The City Alliance referred to a coalition of dwarf cities. They intervened when a single city’s strength wasn’t enough.
“Ha, what nonsense! The Weapon Master defiled our fortress and killed our families! Do you think we’d let someone else take him down?”
Kilo burst out in anger, and the other dwarves nodded in agreement.
Damien inwardly clicked his tongue.
They wanted to take down a monster like the Weapon Master with their own hands? He had never encountered such fools.
‘This is becoming troublesome.’
The Weapon Master was now hiding in the dwarf fortress.
Even the Weapon Master had used a traitor to take the fortress, not direct assault.
It would be difficult for Damien to capture the fortress by force.
‘It might be possible if I use all my resources…’
The problem was the Weapon Master waiting inside the fortress.
Facing the Weapon Master after exhausting his strength would be risky.
“How do you plan to reclaim the city?”
Damien asked Kilo.
He figured that those who had lived in the fortress might have a solution.
“Are you planning to use the secret passages as well?”
“We already tried that, but failed. They’re all blocked. They must have forced our kin left in the city to seal them.”
Kilo trembled with anger.
“So, you don’t have a solid plan either.”
“Don’t underestimate us! We’ve already devised a new plan!”
“What is it?”
“We’re building a siege engine to break through the gates! With it, we can reclaim the fortress!”
Kilo said confidently.
Damien was impressed.
If a dwarf, known for their craftsmanship, spoke with such confidence, it must be an extraordinary device.
“Then let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“You said you’re building a siege engine? I want to see it with my own eyes.”
At Damien’s words, Kilo broke into a cold sweat.
“N-No! I can’t show you!”
“Dominico, bring him.”
“It’s not like that! We haven’t even finished the framework yet!”
“What do you mean?”
Kilo began to explain. After listening to the entire explanation, Damien looked incredulous.
“…So, the emergency storage and production facilities outside the city were also taken by the Weapon Master, and you can’t build the siege engine?”
Kilo nodded, looking humiliated.
“How did you lose those? They should’ve been well hidden.”
“…The traitor revealed those too.”
Damien slapped his forehead.
“What have you been doing all this time instead of reclaiming them?”
“We haven’t been idle! It’s just that the facilities are guarded by the Weapon Master’s disciples… so we failed.”
Kilo said in a gloomy voice.
“But we haven’t given up! We gathered here today to reclaim the storage!”
“If you reclaim the storage and facilities, can you really build the siege engine?”
“Yes! With the materials and facilities, we can build it quickly!”
“Lead the way.”
Damien stood up. Kilo looked up at him with puzzled face.
“We’re going to reclaim what you’ve lost.”
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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