Chapter 403: Return and Meeting

"Hiss!"

Kroq-Gar's throat vibrated, emitting a low hiss. The Lizardmen soldiers marched in perfect formation toward his side, clearly preparing for extraction.

"Whoosh!"

"Ah, you, never mind, have a safe trip!"

Sinuoli watched the Lizardmen disappear into the suddenly appearing pillar of light reaching the sky. He reached out and opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately sighed and dismissed the thought.

Kroq-Gar could be called the strongest in pure melee combat in this world. As long as he could close the distance, he and the Carnosaur he rode had the ability to tear apart any opponent—regardless of which Greater Daemon it was; under the Hand of the Gods, there was only one choice: to wail and roll back to the Warp.

The Dwarf really wanted to spar with him to see the gap between himself and the top-tier combat power. But how should this challenge be conducted? He did not want his hard-won Legendary Armor to suffer any damage from those two treasures that should not have fallen into the mortal realm.

But if he asked Chakax not to use the Hand of the Gods and that Divine Spear, it was uncertain whether he would agree, and if he did agree, would he still ride Quimok? If he rode it, wouldn't he just be dueling Quimok?

And if the Carnosaur wasn't ridden and the gear wasn't used, Kroq-Gar wouldn't be the Chakax who could charge in and out of ten thousand demons. Such a challenge would become a tasteless, chicken-rib-like affair.

"Your Majesty, it is my incompetence..."

"Those cold-blooded animals appeared out of thin air, and before Little Beard and I could even form ranks, we were disarmed!"

"What a disgrace, what a..."

Once the Lizardmen left, the Southlands officials led by Balin and the original guards of the port were rescued from the surrounding buildings. Their faces were full of shame; some had already begun to fight over weapons to shave their heads.

"This cannot be blamed on you; even if I were in your shoes, I could not have done much more."

Sinuoli was broad-minded about it. Kroq-Gar, a powerhouse famous in the Warp, leading a group of elite God-Blessed Lizardmen in a surprise attack via ultra-long-distance teleportation, was simply not something mortals could stop.

"Arrange for the unloading of cargo. My clansmen who sailed with me have worked hard for a year; they need a good rest. Don't let such uncontrollable matters ruin their spirits."

"Do you intend to set off for Gaoyuanbao immediately, or will you rest here for a while longer?"

Years of service had given Balin the ability to judge Sinuoli's mood from subtle expressions and actions. He sensed that Sinuoli did not have the relaxation of returning from a long journey, but was instead heavy-hearted.

"Sigh, I will pay a visit to Lord Outelakesi before heading back."

Sinuoli let out a long sigh; another item had been added to his cluttered list of plans. The problem he faced now was similar to Master Mazida's—there were too many choices to make, and it was difficult to prioritize them.

"It has been a year, are you well?"

In the Divination Pool beneath the pyramid, Sinuoli met the master of the Bone Temple as he had hoped. It looked slightly unwell, and it was unclear whether it was an old wound left by Yin Yin that had not healed or a new one added recently.

"Indeed, thanks to you, we in the Southlands have finally made contact with the ancient generations on the other side of the Shijie zhi Chi. With their guidance, realizing the Great Plan is just around the corner."

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"Then what about our cooperation agreement?"

"Everything remains the same. I even have new projects for you. Lord Mazdamundi taught me the technology to build the Kelaxige'er Incubation Pool and generously gifted me several Forest Dragon Eggs. I need your clansmen to build nests for the beasts for me."

"No problem, as you wish."

Sinuoli nodded. It seemed Master Mazida was treating his little Slann brother quite well. There was no situation of "pacifying the interior before resisting external aggression" or settling scores with his own people.

"Hiss-woo! Hiss-woo!"

The Dwarf King bowed his hands, intending to leave, when the Skink priest serving beside Outelakesi suddenly chirped softly. Sinuoli couldn't help but frown slightly; theoretically, these little creatures hatched as servants should not have the qualification to interrupt when a Slann was receiving guests.

"By the way, I plan to send troops north in the future to completely eradicate the profane creatures that are not part of the Great Plan. If you are interested, we can cooperate deeply in military matters." Outelakesi still maintained a flat tone.

Although these Skinks looked mostly the same in appearance and ornaments, a sharp-eyed person could still distinguish that the Skink priest serving by the Divination Pool had been changed; it wore some trinkets that did not belong to the Southlands style.

"Hmm, I will consider it."

"It seems that even gifts from a big brother to a little brother come with a price, but all in all, this is not bad news."

While nodding, Sinuoli sighed inwardly. Master Mazida was using a "bright scheme" to pressure others with power, but for Sinuoli, who knew the original ending, the power it displayed gave him even more pressure.

"Pass on my order: members of the Council of Elders from each city are to come to Gaoyuanbao to report their work!" After leaving these words, Sinuoli ducked into the carriage; he needed some time to determine the focus of his next phase of activities.

"The production of the Rune Guards is going smoothly. The three that have been completed are undergoing final adjustments and can be put into use immediately."

In the conference room, Admiral Andemuge of the Western Depot was reporting. In the year he had been away, there had been no major changes in the Southlands. Rapid development and abundant opportunities were the best stabilizers for society.

"The Western Depot has destroyed two Slaanesh strongholds, killed seventeen believers, and all the filth seized has been burned."

Among the Four Gods, the faith of Slaanesh was the easiest to spread. Chaos had diversity, and to some extent, her corruption could even accelerate population growth.

"Everyone has worked hard over the past year. I brought back quite a lot of Zhendan fine wine and curios; Balin, distribute them to everyone after the meeting. But there is one problem: why is our population growth so different from that of Humans?"

After affirming his subordinates' work, Sinuoli pointed to several glaring sets of data in the report. In the past year, the number of Human newborns in the four cities of the Southlands was twenty times that of the Dwarfs, yet the population base was only five to one.

"Is this not good enough, my Majesty? It is the grace of the Mother Goddess that added more than twenty little ones to Red Cloud Mountain. Back in my youth, Everpeak didn't have that many in a year!"

"Human brats are too fertile! Their women can produce a litter in just ten months."

"I remember that encouraging childbirth was a policy you emphasized repeatedly? Only with a large population can there be good development."

"Meeting adjourned!"

This was an internal meeting of the Dwarf race; several non-Dwarf elders would report their work at a small meeting in the afternoon. Sinuoli looked around the conference room; even though he had intentionally adjusted things, elders with white beards reaching their abdomens still made up the majority.

In the eyes of the older generation, the alliance with Humans, especially the Empire, was exceptionally solid. But Sinuoli knew one thing: the background of this alliance was that the Dwarf Realms were unable to maintain control over the lowland plains as they had in the Golden Age, and thus had to gradually transfer influence to the Humans in a peaceful manner.