Chapter 131: The Fate Twister

Regarding the predicament facing Fearless Fort, the young Lord Sawake lacked both the experience and methods to solve the problems, as well as the prestige to suppress the conflicts.

The Waaagh! of Grom the Paunch increased the influx of displaced Dwarfs, and the former king of Fearless Fort, Lord Steady-Walker, had taken in many of his kin out of moral duty, but he unfortunately perished in the subsequent battles, leaving the population pressure to his young son.

As Lord Sawake finished his opening speech, Sinuoli was invited to speak. Naturally, he once again utilized his "Eloquent Leader" trait, flawlessly praising all the local Dwarfs and caravan members present, and finally sang praises of the Mother Goddess's grace.

Although he could not see the level of corruption outside of the High King faction he was currently inhabiting within the system, Sinuoli understood that after this banquet and his speech, the cohesion of the kin in Fearless Fort had undoubtedly increased somewhat.

After winning the battle, Sinuoli immediately dispatched Rangers and a small unit to meet the merchants who were still waiting for news at the original camp.

With the help of local carriages and surplus labor, they successfully arrived at Karak-Azgalaz before the banquet, avoiding the need to spend the night in the wild while the surrounding remnants of Greenskins might not have been cleared out.

Learning that the local supply of fine wine was insufficient, Sinuoli decisively paid out of his own pocket to purchase a portion of the Bugman's Brew carried by the caravan for the gathered Dwarfs to drink to their hearts' content, which undoubtedly made many kin begin to cheer for his generosity.

Sinuoli fell into thought upon hearing these cheers; he suddenly felt that it might be nice to get himself a title related to moral character.

The moment he led his troops to slay Skarsnik, the system notified him that he had obtained the title "See Through Trickery," which also made him certain that the Night Goblin was thoroughly dead.

According to the system's introduction, this trait would increase his probability of successful ambushes and the probability of discovering ambushes, though for now, Sinuoli himself had not yet figured out how this mechanism worked.

After the banquet ended, Sinuoli and Lord Sawake agreed on a time to meet the next day and returned to his guest room.

The caravan would stay in Fearless Fort for a week; according to the original plan, there was actually no need to stay in such a small city for too long, but for the moment, Sinuoli felt it necessary to rest for a while.

This was the last Dwarf hold before reaching Kalake-Zifulin, and the closer Sinuoli got to his destination, the less anxious he felt. After all, besides protecting the caravan's safe arrival, he had two matters of his own and his elder brother's to attend to, and these were clearly things that could not be rushed.

At night, Sinuoli once again put on the fake beard he had used before at Haojiaobao, and he mingled into a tavern in Fearless Fort, wanting to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the predicament facing Fearless Fort from this traditional information exchange center of the Dwarf race.

In the long run, Fearless Fort was an important component of the Mountain Kingdom, and in the short term, Sinuoli would have to pass through here again on his return journey after the New Year, and he did not wish to fight another great battle.

Sinuoli sat from about eight o'clock in the evening until late at night; after treating the local drinkers to a few beers while playing the role of an outside merchant testing the potential market, he even figured out which girl Lord Sawake was interested in.

With a clear understanding in his mind, Sinuoli left the tavern to return and rest; at noon the next day, he was to have lunch with Lord Sawake.

Early the next morning, Sinuoli first got up to visit the wounded soldiers of the caravan; the Dwarfs who came with Sinuoli did not suffer heavy losses in the previous great battle, as the real pressure was concentrated on the Ogre and Human routes.

Buerjin prepared to lead the troops supported by Karak-Norn back today; on one hand, the Earth Vein Network leading to Huangwu Bao had been cleared once when the caravan came, and it was safest to return while no new Chaos creatures had emerged.

On the other hand, there was the war triggered by Lord Alike-Lufusen, and every Dwarf in Huangwu Bao was also worried about the safety of their homeland.

The Bretonnians would also leave today; the survivors had already received the rewards promised by Sinuoli, and many of them even spent some on the spot.

Sinuoli entrusted the pensions of the fallen to Dwarf merchants who were going to sell goods in various Knight fiefs and purchase local products, asking them to deliver the funds.

This at least ensured that the gold coins would be delivered directly into the hands of the poor families of the fallen without being exploited layer by layer, but whether they could keep this money exchanged for their loved ones' lives was something Sinuoli did not know, though that was not within his management scope anyway.

By noon, Sinuoli arrived at the lord's room in the upper level of Fearless Fort; this was a private banquet between the two.

"Ha, Prince Sinuoli, I truly envy your life!" After exchanging a few rounds of polite pleasantries, Lord Sawake opened the main topic.

"How I wish I could be like you, traveling the entire Old World, broadening my knowledge, and honing my skills!" Lord Sawake took a sip of the beer in his cup.

"But before I could put it into practice, my father returned to the halls of the Ancestor Gods. Sigh, at my age, the elders are always teaching me how to do things, and the incoming kin are..."

"Bang!"

"Never mind that!" Lord Sawake had been rambling for a long time; he drank the beer dry, slammed the cup down heavily, and used this classic phrase to bring his complaints to an end.

In the eyes of this young lord, Sinuoli was the only person he could confide in at the moment, simply because Sinuoli's status matched his own, and their ages were not far apart.

"I understand, I understand, who doesn't?" Looking at the young Dwarf in front of him who was haggard from being ravaged by internal and external troubles, Sinuoli offered words of comfort.

Having received empathy, Lord Sawake began another round of complaints; this time he spoke of external troubles again, as the Grey Mountains where Karak-Azgalaz was located were the natural boundary between Bretonnia and the Empire of Man.

Therefore, in addition to the usual Greenskin and rat troubles, whenever the Human forces on both sides of the mountains had conflicts over territory, trade, and so on, Fearless Fort was always in a difficult position caught in the middle. Her strength was not great enough, making it difficult to maintain neutrality.

"I think perhaps I can provide you with some help!" Sinuoli said, tapping the tabletop lightly. He had already thought about what he could offer last night.

"First is the population pressure! You can issue a notice, letting those kin who are willing to seek development in the World's Edge Mountains pack their luggage, and I can take them along when the caravan returns!"

This was what Sinuoli proposed first; he knew that Karaz-a-Karak once had a population of 500,000 in the Golden Age, but now it was far from that number, with many halls and chambers left vacant, and many mineral deposits having no workers to mine them.

"That would be a huge help! Cheers!" Lord Sawake poured a glass of wine for Sinuoli.

Thanks to Baozao D Mango, Chumo Weiliang, and I Am Really Just A Reader for the monthly tickets.