Chapter 400| But If He Chooses War, We Are Ready

?Morning arrived without the cheers of victory.

?There were no celebrations, no parades—only the lingering exhaustion etched onto the faces of everyone who had survived the night.

?The small convoy moved out, leaving the Dwarven underground city and making their way up the tunnels toward the surface. The steam-carriage they rode didn’t belong to the Dwarves. It was a vehicle seized from the retreating Iron Empire forces, its steel wheels still caked in volcanic dust, a slow trail of white vapor puffing from its smokestack.

?Two elite Dwarven guards stood by the carriage doors, overseeing the departure. They didn’t speak, simply ensuring everyone boarded without issue.

?Roland stood at the front of the carriage, staring at the gate far at the end of the tunnel. His white shirt was still grimy, the wound on his left shoulder not fully healed, yet his face showed no signs of pain.

?Rianor stood beside him, his left arm hanging limply, the Bracer completely dead.

?Riven stood behind them, his right hand resting near the hilt of the shortsword at his waist, though he didn’t draw it.

?The Dwarf King boarded the carriage first, his white-runed warhammer resting on his shoulder, his gray beard still braided with the same bronze rings.

?Grigori and Adrian were escorted in next, their hands still bound by rune-etched chains.

?There were no cheers from the citizens left in the courtyard. Only silence, and the rumble of the steam engine firing up.

?Roland had dispatched a courier to the capital a day earlier, requesting an audience.

?No reply had arrived by the time they departed. Either the courier hadn’t made it, or the response was intentionally withheld.

?He stepped into the carriage, followed by Rianor, and then Riven, who ducked slightly to avoid hitting his head on the low doorframe.

?Borch, Thorne, Naya, and Dom entered last, standing at the back of the car, keeping a watchful eye on the two prisoners without needing to be told.

?The journey to the capital would take two days.

?Two exhausting days navigating winding mountain passes and terrain littered with the ruins of last night’s battle. No one knew exactly what awaited them at the end of the line.

?The steel wheels clattered softly against the tracks before picking up speed.

?The carriage rolled forward, carrying them away from the underground city they had fought so desperately to defend, toward a place no Dwarf had ever set foot in.

?Roland sat on a wooden bench across from Grigori. Rianor sat next to him, watching in silence. In the corner of the car, Adrian sat hugging his knees, the chains on his wrists pulsing faintly whenever the carriage jolted.

?The hiss of the steam engine filled the gaps in the conversation, the only background noise keeping them company.

?Roland’s expression was flat. No smile, no accusatory tone.

?The carriage rocked gently over the uneven tracks.

?"Why did you do it?" Roland finally asked.

?"I am a soldier," Grigori replied. "I follow orders."

?"You knew it was wrong."

?"I did." Grigori’s voice remained flat. "But I did it anyway."

?Roland stared at him for a long moment before continuing. "Why didn’t you go all out? You had the firepower to level these entire mountains if you wanted to."

?"If I wasn’t the one leading this army," Grigori answered, "someone else would have come. And that someone else might not have been as lenient as I am."

?"You call yourself lenient?"

?"I have never killed civilians without reason," Grigori said. "That is the only thing I can say about myself."

?"That’s an incredibly low bar for being ’good’," Roland shot back.

?Grigori didn’t argue. He simply stared straight ahead, as if the words weren’t important enough to warrant a response.

?Rianor listened to every word, filing them away in his mind one by one, like gathering puzzle pieces that might not even form a complete picture.

?He made no comment. It wasn’t the right time.

?"Why stay?" Roland asked again. "You could have retreated, quit, retired. Why are you still on the battlefield?"

?Grigori stayed silent for a moment. "Because it is my duty," he replied. "And I don’t know any other way to live besides fulfilling my duty."

?Roland didn’t reply.

?He looked out the small, barred window, letting the words sink in. Outside, the steep mountain slopes began giving way to flatter, rocky plains.

?That afternoon, the Dwarf King sat in his own seat, saying little. His eyes scanned every corner of the carriage—its metal walls, the barred windows, the steam pipes hissing softly along the ceiling.

?He observed more than he spoke, like a man studying something up close for the very first time.

?Three hundred and twelve years leading his people, and only now was he sitting inside a machine built by the enemy he had fought for so long.

?"This is what they use to fight us?" he finally asked, turning to Rianor beside him.

?"The steam-carriages? Yes," Rianor replied. "But this isn’t the best they have."

?"Meaning?"

?"What we saw in the mountains is just a fraction of their military might," Rianor continued. "They have naval fleets. Carriers. Cannons that can level a mountain in a single shot."

?The Dwarf King fell silent for a moment. "I’ve seen their tanks. Their weapons. And you’re telling me this isn’t their best?"

?"It’s not," Rianor replied.

?"If they are that strong," the Dwarf King said quietly, "why have they never truly wiped us out?"

?Rianor paused before answering.

?"I don’t know for sure," he said. "But perhaps it’s because they still need you. The resources in these mountains, their strategic location, or something else we don’t know yet."

?The Dwarf King asked no further questions.

?He simply stared out the window, pondering those words in silence. For the first time since the war began, he started to think that surviving on their own might not be enough anymore.

?Riven sat not far from Adrian, who was still hugging his knees in the corner of the carriage.

?Riven’s right hand rested near the hilt of his sword, though he never once drew it. He just wanted Adrian to know the weapon was there, not necessarily to use it.

?"Did you know my younger sister was tortured by a Dwarf?" Riven asked, his voice low.

?Adrian looked up, his eyes still brimming with fear.

?"I-I didn’t know," he stammered quickly. "I don’t know anything about that."

?"I know you didn’t," Riven said, his tone flat but firm. "If you did, you’d be dead right now."

?Adrian gulped, not daring to talk back. The chains on his wrists pulsed faintly, as if sensing the tension in the air.

?"She was tortured by a radical Dwarf," Riven continued. "Not the entire race. Just one person, for his own reasons."

?"Why are you telling me this?" Adrian finally asked, his voice barely a whisper, too afraid to make direct eye contact.

?"No special reason," Riven replied. "I just wanted you to know."

?No one spoke again after that.

?Adrian lowered his head again, hugging his knees tighter. Riven shifted his gaze to the window, letting silence reclaim the carriage.

?Across from them, Rianor observed the brief exchange without comment, filing it away in his mind alongside all the other things he had yet to fully understand.

?The second day of the journey was almost over. By late afternoon, the carriage began to slow down.

?Roland looked out the window, studying the outline of the capital faintly appearing in the distance.

?Giant metal towers loomed amidst factory smoke that never ceased billowing, far larger than the descriptions he had heard from old reports.

?The Dwarf King turned to him. "We’re almost there."

?"Yes," Roland replied.

?"What is your plan?"

?"We speak with the Emperor," Roland said. "We explain everything. We show him that the Dwarves are not rebels meant to be exterminated. We ask him to stop."

?"You think he’ll listen?" the Dwarf King asked.

?"I don’t know," Roland answered honestly. "But we have to try. If we don’t try at all, we’ve already lost before we even begin."

?"And if he refuses to listen?"

?Roland looked the Dwarf King dead in the eye. "Then we’ll make him regret not listening."

?The Dwarf King stared at him for a long moment.

?He gave a slow nod. "I trust you."

?"Thank you, Your Majesty," Roland replied.

?In the corner of the carriage, Rianor listened to the exchange without chiming in, mentally noting how quickly the Dwarf King had come to trust his brother.

?The carriage finally ground to a halt before the gates of the Iron Empire’s capital.

?Colossal metal walls towered before them, far larger than anything they had ever seen in the Dwarven underground city. Watchtowers lined the ramparts, the muzzles of heavy cannons peeking through every embrasure.

?Roland stood up first, smoothing out his grimy shirt. Rianor slowly rose beside him. Riven stood in the back, his hand returning to the hilt of his sword.

?Borch stood in the back row, his Gauss Rifle slung across his back. Thorne was beside him, gripping his short spear casually but ready. Naya and Dom stood at the very rear.

?Grigori stood up with a deadpan expression, as if he had grown entirely accustomed to facing massive gates like these throughout his career.

?Adrian stood beside him, his footing much steadier now, though his eyes still darted nervously toward the giant wall looming ahead.

?The Dwarf King stood last, his warhammer still resting on his shoulder, staring at the gate as if looking at something he had only ever heard of in myths.

?Roland took a deep breath, then stepped toward the carriage door.

?"We speak with the Emperor," he said, glancing back at everyone behind him. "We explain everything."

?He paused for a second before continuing.

?"But if he chooses war," he added, his voice not rising a single decibel, "we are ready."

?The carriage doors swung open.

?The late afternoon light spilled in, illuminating the faces standing inside—a diplomat, warriors, captive generals, and a king who had just learned that the war he had been fighting was far larger than he had ever imagined.

?There was still no reply from the courier Roland had sent.

?There was no sign that Emperor Regulus would receive them, or even knew they had arrived at his gates.

?They could only step forward, and hope that would be enough for today.