Chapter 555: Ascending to High King

"The Miner Guild agrees! Leading the continuous development of the techniques passed down by the Ancestor Gods requires a great sage; His Majesty Snorri is a disciple of the revered god Kelage, an honorary president of the Rune Smith Guild, and reconciling clans and guilds is a simple matter for him!"

No matter how much they are valued, the scale of the Engineer and Rune Smith Guilds remains limited; the one with the greatest influence in Dwarf society is still the Miner Guild—Father God Grungni is their patron deity.

Stepping forward was the veteran Prospector Gold Seeker, who had fought side-by-side with Snorri at Mountain Lake Fortress. With the Drazkrad Clan's influence surging, he had recently been elected as the new president of the Miner Guild.

"The Norscan Dwarf agrees! To unite the nations, one must be a person of great righteousness."

The Scarlet Lord Keluomu was only able to stand with the support of his brother-in-law Suojiade; chronic illnesses had tortured him to the point of exhaustion, and his body could not help but tremble with every word he uttered.

Besides being the leader of the Giant Country Mountains, he held another status representing the support of his kin. Although the relationship was more distant than with his eldest brother Genuomu-Suiluozhe, it carried more weight.

"Tongshanbao agrees!"

"The Haiyang Engineer Hanghui agrees!"

"The Carcassonne settlement agrees!"

As the major powers stated their positions one by one, those following naturally responded in kind. With the momentum of a unanimous vote, Thorgrim and his son arranged the abdication ceremony on the spot. Thorgrim had already summarized his work; what remained was the handover and Snorri's inaugural address.

"Thinking about it carefully, I'm actually a bit excited. Even if Gulu the Butcher were to give it his all right now, he wouldn't be able to reach me."

"That's for sure. I heard from Agelimu that you're top-tier even among Demigods! Your workload later will be much less than when I took over—though that is to your credit. If you speak a bit faster, you can still make it in time for dinner."

In the dressing room, Snorri put on a formal robe covered in gold patterns. During the campaign to retake Eight Peaks, he had briefly held the Great Book of Grudges and knew that to recite them all with a booming voice, one had to prepare a barrel of beer to lubricate the throat.

"Witnessed by the Ancestor Gods and the ancient kings! By the vote of the Council of Kings, Snorri Thorsson of the Drazkrad Clan is the new master of the Throne of Power, the scribe of Drazh-Klad!"

Thorgrim took his place first on the Throne of Power in the center of the Great Throne Room. Accompanied by melodious and majestic hymns, Snorri walked slowly from the main entrance straight to the throne. Afterward, Thorgrim stepped down from the throne and handed the Grimnir's Axe and the Great Book of Grudges, which he had been holding, into Snorri's hands.

"FOR THE HIGH KING!"

"FOR THE HIGH KING!"

After the handover was complete, Thorgrim guided Snorri with one hand and supported him with the other, seating him upon the Throne of Power. He then turned around, was the first to shout the royal title, and bowed to show his submission.

Shaking his robe and standing firm on the Throne of Power, the new High King placed the opened Great Book of Grudges on the raised bookstand. He gently rubbed the ancient pages, which had taken on a stone-like texture under the influence of runes and blood, to locate the first grudge that had yet to be settled—

This would take some time. In the age of the ancestors and the Golden Age, the Dwarfs were the masters of the Old World. There were not many grudges worth recording, and once recorded, they could be settled as soon as they were noted. Accompanied by the low, sorrowful funeral music of the orchestra, Snorri began to fulfill the traditions of the High King.

"Fellows and guests, I, Snorri Thorsson, will not dwell on my personal circumstances. History develops and eras change, but no matter which era we are in, we will never forget our warriors and friends, and we will never forgive betrayal and blood debts!"

"The Grudge of the Elf Oath-breaker: Directed at the Elf traitor Prince Malejisi! He has been conquered by corruption and betrayed the most noble deathbed oath concluded with the former High King Sinuoli-Baixu. Together with the Elves of Naggaroth, he has become a scourge to the whole world. The words of Baixu, recorded here: There is no sin greater than treachery!"

The grudge starting from Malejisi was a tradition spanning thousands of years; it was added by the White Dwarf himself after he returned to the Mortal World as a spirit, and it was the most malicious in nature among the many legendary grudges.

"The Grudge of the High Elf: The Revenge War has ended, but the atrocities suffered by our ancestors are still passed down from generation to generation, like a wound that can never heal. The Phoenix Crown in the treasury is not enough to compensate for the arrogance of the Elves, and Ulthuan should also taste the flames of war!"

The one who recorded this grudge was none other than Gaocuike-Suixingzhe. He did not believe that he had achieved victory in the Revenge War—he had merely repelled the invading enemy; who would compensate for the losses of the Dwarfs?

"The Grudge of the Wood Elf..."

"The Grudge of the minions of Chaos..."

"The Grudge of the rat-folk..."

"The Grudge of the fallen kin..."

"The Shame of the Silver Pinnacle..."

The grudges in the Great Book of Grudges were only added or deleted every fifty years, and those involving human factions could basically be coordinated and resolved when escalated to the High King's Court. Many short-lived beings even died of old age before their grudges could be escalated.

The Greenskins had been settled; what remained were the Wood Elves in Athel Loren, the Skaven, the Chaos Dwarfs, and the Vampires. After the twelve progenitors fled Nehekhara, many seized Dwarf fortresses to dwell in—far from the sunlight, easy to defend and hard to attack, and convenient for radiating influence toward the human world.

"Everyone, the Ancestor Goddess has sent down an oracle for me to lead the revival of our race, and I shall naturally devote my all to it. But at the same time, I hope to lead the Mountain Kingdom to make greater contributions to world peace and development!"

After finishing the reading and closing the Great Book of Grudges, Snorri cleared his throat and continued his inaugural address. The attendees pricked up their ears; they had all heard more or less about the new High King's greater grand ambition.

"Retaking lost mountain fortresses; recovering lost Artifacts; reviving the glory of the Mountain Kingdom. The three great vows I made before the Mother Goddess have been achieved in stages, but in the distant north, a brewing Chaos Storm threatens the hard-won fruits of victory."

"Dark powers are eyeing this world, and we have united time and again to thwart their attacks, but this is never a long-term solution. I, Snorri Thorsson, hereby swear: I will not ascend to godhood until I have leveled the Chaos Wastes!"

"My Battle Axe is ready!"

"Where the divine hammer points, the Herald follows!"

"Support the High King!"

Snorri's determination was also met with a response from the human representatives. The agreements reached with the gods of Order led their cults to vigorously promote the inevitability of the Everchosen's southward march, laying a solid foundation of public support for the northern expedition.

"I will plan and negotiate the specific matters one by one; now, let us raise our cups and finish this drink together!"

The orchestra switched tracks for the second time, and a cheerful little tune began to play. Snorri traveled through the crowd on the Throne of Power, leaning down to clink cups frequently with Valaya's Divine Cup.

"What a truly good treasure; it did not disappoint me after such a long wait."

Holding the cup in one hand, he kept his other hand firmly on the Grimnir's Axe. This was one of His many legendary battle axes, passed down through the hands of successive High Kings, and was an Artifact equivalent to the Hammer of Stumnir.