Chapter 129: Endgame

Sinuoli's words, filled with anger, made Iron-Head Ahetanmu shiver, yet he still did not intend to give up on the gold that might be within his grasp. To a certain extent, the Ogre Mercenaries' thirst for gold was no less than that of the Dwarfs.

"Uh, Boss, I heard that you Dwarfs are the most trustworthy race in the entire Old World! You wouldn't go back on your word, would you?" Ahetanmu's mind raced; he intended to negotiate a bit more.

"Indeed, we Sons of the Mountains keep our word!" Sinuoli replied with a smile.

"Wanting gold—do they, these shameless fellows, even deserve it?" Captain Gelunsen cursed from behind Sinuoli.

"Come, take the money!" Sinuoli remained unmoved; he took out two full money bags of gold coins and counted out five hundred, placing them in front of the Ogres.

"The final payment of two hundred and fifty coins agreed upon when hiring you, plus the extra fee I promised when I came down the mountain—let's call that two hundred and fifty as well!" Sinuoli said loudly amidst the whispering of his clansmen.

"Wahahaha, thank you, Boss! Thank you, Boss! You are truly the most generous and promise-keeping Dwarf I have ever met!" Ahetanmu beamed with joy, stretching out his two large hands, wanting to scoop the gold coins into his embrace.

"Don't be in such a hurry, my big-bellied friend!" Sinuoli stepped forward and pinned one of Ahetanmu's hands down with his Warhammer.

"My side of the account is settled, but shouldn't yours be calculated as well?" Sinuoli said with a forced smile; he did not intend to let this Ogre, who appeared simple-minded but was cunning inside, off the hook just like that.

"When the Cannon sounded, you and your men did not move immediately!"

"That, that is, I said, I was asleep and didn't hear it!"

"Oh? Is that so? Then later I will pull the Cannon closer so you can hear it properly!" Sinuoli had been too eager to use manpower to care much before, but now was the perfect time to settle the score.

"Another item: that Greenskin—you ran away the moment it waved its staff? That is not what we agreed upon!" Sinuoli was relentless; the Ogres' retreat at that time had nearly caused his efforts to fail.

"That, I, I was scared. Its ball of light was too Waaagh!" This time, even Ahetanmu could not find a good excuse; he could only lower his head.

"Oh ho! So you know how to be afraid? What, is my Warhammer not scary enough?"

"Scary, scary!" The clever Ogre decisively conceded; now he and his men were surrounded by nearly a thousand Dwarfs.

As long as Sinuoli wished, he could annihilate these big fellows—who lacked armor and relied only on their innate fighting ability—at a very small cost.

"I, I don't want the extra gold anymore!" Ahetanmu pushed half of the gold back toward Sinuoli.

"Hehe, keep dreaming! You don't think your job was done well, do you? Extra gold? I'm going to deduct some!" Sinuoli shook his hammer.

"Fine, fine! Boss, you call the shots!" Forced by the pressure of the Dwarfs, Ahetanmu pushed half of the remaining half of the gold back to Sinuoli.

"This time, let's leave it at that. Consider it a lesson learned! If there is a chance, perhaps we can cooperate again!" Sinuoli thought highly of this somewhat intelligent Ogre; he did not want to push this fellow too far.

Ahetanmu left sheepishly with even less profit than originally planned. Before they left, they made off with quite a few Goblin corpses; the reason why was self-evident, but this could be considered helping the Dwarfs clean up the battlefield, so Sinuoli did not stop them.

After sending the Ogres away, Sinuoli entered this not-too-large Dwarf citadel through the main gate under the warm welcome of the Lord of Karak-Azgalaz.

"Respected Chosen of the Goddess, thank you so much for your generous support!" In the hall of Fearless Fort, Sinuoli was once again arranged in the seat of the guest of honor.

"Please forgive the poor hospitality!" As he spoke, the Dwarf lord before him removed his helmet, and Sinuoli was surprised to find that this Dwarf was very young—not older than Brother Gelunsen, and perhaps even about the same age as Tomi.

"Please do not take offense. My father, the Steady-Walker Lord, returned to the halls of the Ancestor Gods during the wars with the Fat King at the beginning of the year. I was urgently elected by the fortress elders to take over and preside over the overall situation; I have not yet had the chance to travel to Everpeak to pay respects to your father, King Thorgrim. Furthermore, I still lack quite a bit of experience in serving as a lord."

The Dwarf before him spoke at length, partly because he saw the flash of surprise on Sinuoli's face regarding his youth, and partly to explain his previous and potential future shortcomings in hospitality.

"The Ancestor Gods protect every Son of the Mountains. My condolences!" Sinuoli recited a divine title; he understood that the burden on this young lord, who had been thrust into the role during a crisis, was not light.

While they spoke, the cooks of Fearless Fort brought out beer and cold dishes.

"Please!"

"Please!"

The two Dwarfs exchanged courtesies, and Sinuoli drained the beer in his cup in one gulp.

Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong, trying his best to control the expression on his face.

The Dwarf beer he had just tasted was not the mellow and smooth kind he had been drinking along the way; instead, the body was thin, lacked a crisp finish, and even had a bit of bitterness.

Sinuoli realized that perhaps the top-tier beer and wine he had consumed along the way had spoiled his palate. After all, he did not usually like to drink; when he did, it was for social occasions at banquets, so the quality of the wine was naturally not poor.

"Good wine, good wine!" However, Sinuoli remained calm and still praised it loudly.

"Hahaha! As long as you are used to drinking it, that is fine. This is the fine wine produced by our own Fearless Fort; I believe it is not much worse than Bergman's brews!" The young Dwarf lord smiled upon hearing Sinuoli's praise.

"I was too excited when I first saw you and forgot to introduce myself. I am Sawake; well, for the moment, I do not yet have a title worthy of the Lord of Fearless Fort. But I believe I soon will! I swear it in the name of the ancestors of Fearless Fort!" Sawake suddenly remembered and introduced himself to Sinuoli.

Halfway through the meal, a local Hammer Guard ran over; he whispered a few words into Lord Sawake's ear and then stepped aside.

"Respected Chosen of the Goddess, I am afraid I must excuse myself. There are still some remnants of the Black Dwarfs underground that I need to deal with!" Sawake bowed to Sinuoli, finished his bread in two bites, put on his helmet, and rose to leave the table.

This was not a formal victory or welcome banquet, just a big meal after the war. After Sinuoli finished eating, he was led by two Dwarfs to a guest room on the upper level of the fortress to rest.

Along the way, Sinuoli noticed that there were quite a few damaged areas on the walls of Fearless Fort that had not been repaired, many of the male clansmen were wearing bandages, and the number of shops open for business in the streets was not high. These things gave him a certain understanding of the current state of Fearless Fort.

Thanks to the Black Bear Stronghold's Bear Fatty for the monthly ticket.