Chapter 212: New Directions

Sinuoli withdrew directly; this matter involved his next phase of tasks, and he needed to go back and think it over carefully. Using the pretext of praying to the Ancestor Goddess, Sinuoli sat alone in his room, slowly calculating.

Karak Eight Peaks is an important fulcrum connecting the northern and southern sections of the World's Edge Mountains, and it contains massive mineral deposits and wealth; reclaiming this is crucial to the revival of the Mountain Kingdom.

But Sinuoli did not trust the ability of Belegar Ironhammer; this rightful owner of Eight Peaks had failed at least three times in the original history, and even when Thorgrim Grudgebearer had once supervised an army of ten thousand to help him, they had only established a small foothold on the outskirts of the fortress.

Sinuoli did not believe that an army of ten thousand plus himself could bring about such a great change; even if they really managed to capture it through the protection of the Ancestor Gods or something else, how could they defend it when it was difficult to be self-sufficient and surrounded on three sides, with only Tiefengbao to the south?

In Sinuoli's view, to reclaim Eight Peaks, one must take it one step at a time; the countless failures of the Angrund Clan over thousands of years had already proven that gambling-style recklessness would not work.

Having figured this point out, Sinuoli determined his attitude toward Belegar: do not support, at least not for the time being. He himself needed manpower to reclaim Shanbao and reforge Artifacts; there were only so many Dwarfs in the world, and if all those with freedom ran off to serve under Belegar, what was he to do?

Two days later, the oracle of the Ancestor Goddess was passed down; She supported the last bloodline of the Angrund Clan in reclaiming their homeland, but hoped that Belegar would learn from the lessons of his predecessors, first find a place to recuperate, and accumulate strength before making further plans.

The attitude of the Ancestor Goddess caused many clansmen who were holding a wait-and-see attitude to temporarily abandon the idea of going to join Belegar, though there were still many clans that had once belonged to Karak Eight Peaks rushing from all directions to Belegar's command.

Belegar Ironhammer was the last direct bloodline of the Eight Peaks royal family; once he died in battle before leaving behind heirs, no one would have the corresponding charisma. At the same time, lacking the information on secret passages and treasure vaults held by the Angrund Clan, reclaiming Eight Peaks could be said to be almost impossible.

Those clans that had lost their homeland were unwilling to let go of this final opportunity, and the spirits of King Luen remaining in the Mortal World were an even stronger call. Their response gave Belegar more strength and weight.

Seeing this situation, Lord Lagos of Tongshanbao decided to increase his bet. He was the greatest sponsor of Prince Duomujia's expedition and had therefore suffered the greatest losses.

Before setting out, the two had agreed that if Duomujia succeeded, he would take Lord Lagos's second daughter as his queen. Now that Duomujia was dead, Lagos simply betrothed his daughter directly to Belegar, tying him completely to his own chariot.

In this way, after Belegar passed away, his and the Princess of Tongshanbao's children would have a strong claim to Karak Eight Peaks. With the Everpeak having little interest in his plan to reclaim his homeland due to Sinuoli's influence, Belegar had no other choice.

He took his remnants and traveled by Zuochan from Haimenguan to Tongshanbao, where he relied on the wealth extracted from his clan's treasury to recruit troops and buy horses, preparing to launch a new round of war.

In the days that followed, Sinuoli continued to keep a low profile, learning to engrave new Runes. This year, the year-end sacrifice at Karaz-a-Karak was entrusted to him to preside over, and Sinuoli took the opportunity to announce the news that he would be ordered by the Ancestor Goddess to reclaim Kalake-Zuen, that is, Gaoyuanbao.

When the Dwarfs were created by the Old Ones, they were initially placed in the Southlands. Kalake-Zuen was the fortress first built by the Ancestor Gods, and they gave birth to their first child there.

As the Dwarfs, led by the Ancestor Gods, moved north along the World's Edge Mountains, the center of the Mountain Kingdom migrated accordingly. After the great earthquake of the Dark Age, there was no more news of Gaoyuanbao, but almost all clansmen believed that there were countless, unimaginable treasures there.

Over the years, Kalake-Zuen had always been a point of interest for Dwarf explorers, but they either never returned or came back empty-handed to recount the terror of the Savage Orcs in the rainforest or the might of the Tomb Kings in the desert.

However, Sinuoli was different from his predecessors; he claimed that the Ancestor Goddess had told him the specific location of Gaoyuanbao, so this trip could be called following a map rather than an exploration.

Sinuoli calculated his progress in mastering Runes and set the departure time for three years later. He planned to set out from Haimenguan by sea, which would allow him to bypass the Badlands and avoid engaging with large groups of Greenskins.

Sinuoli issued a notice in his own name to all clansmen willing to believe in and support him: gather at the Everpeak in three years, or those nearby could go directly to Haimenguan to wait. They would go together to explore the ancestral homeland. He would share the wealth obtained with every participant.

Sinuoli's notice spread throughout the entire Mountain Kingdom and even the Old World via the Runic Telegraph system. With the endorsement of the Ancestor Goddess, all clansmen believed he could find Gaoyuanbao, and his title of "Generous One" along with his multiple identities as High Prince and Rune Master made the clansmen feel at ease about the expected returns.

Sinuoli was willing to accept every qualified Dwarf warrior to join his ranks, just as the leaders of his previous expeditions had.

But Sinuoli also allowed friends of other Order races who were trustworthy to submit applications; after his personal review and approval, they could also join the team and enjoy the same treatment and obligations as the Dwarfs.

Such behavior caused some dissatisfaction among the Longbeard elders. But after all, Sinuoli's prestige was high enough, and many stubborn clansmen also realized that introducing outside aid could make up for the lack of strength and reduce the casualties of their own people. In the end, that small voice of opposition did not stir up any waves.

In the following year, with the full support of his Clan, Sinuoli participated in the by-election for the vice-president of the Rune Smith Guild. Relying on the widespread application of the Runic Telegraph, and with Krag Master not causing much obstruction, Sinuoli's election was a matter of course.

However, he did not have the time to participate in the power struggles within the Guild; other than adding a gold rim to the badge on his chest and giving himself a new title, he had no extra gains.

As winter passed and spring came, Sinuoli suddenly realized a problem: he knew the specific location of Gaoyuanbao through the strategic map that came with the system, but he did not know how to get there, or what was on the path besides those few famous large strongholds.

The real world was not a matter of drawing a charcoal line on a map and connecting two points to go straight there; for this reason, Sinuoli issued another notice, widely seeking information related to Gaoyuanbao.