Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 245. What is… this human…. (2)

In front of Patrick sat three dwarves.

Hadi, Klaus, and Grot.

Patrick, facing the three top leaders of the dwarven clan, explained the situation with a beaming smile.

And after hearing the entire explanation, Hadi said….

“So, to summarize…. The prince of the Harbor Kingdom came to your fief and kidnapped your mother?”

“That’s right.”

“Then he got his ass kicked by your mother, passed out, and after that, he got his ass kicked by you one more time and is now locked up in your dungeon.”

“Exactly.”

“As a result, the Harbor Kingdom is making a fuss, demanding their prince back, but you don’t want to, so you decided to give the Harbor Kingdom, what was it? A big, beautiful F-U, is that it?”

“Wow. You old dwarves are smart. That’s right. That’s exactly it.”

The three dwarves who heard Patrick’s words exchanged glances among themselves.

‘Not bad.’

‘Our interests align, and it’s good for us.’

‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so there’s nothing to lose, right?’

For them, it was something they could not have hoped for more.

The only problem was one thing.

“But you are….”

“What about me?”

“Alone?”

“Yes. I’m still unmarried.”

A moment of silence passed. And Hadi continued.

“No, not that. I meant, did you come alone to help us?”

“Aah. That? I thought you were asking something else.”

Yes, the problem was the strength of the party proposing the alliance.

Of course, they knew the Double Dragon was strong.

There was no doubt about his strength, judging from his personal achievements and his single-handed breakthrough of the gate set up by the dwarves.

But the situation changes when it comes to war.

No matter how strong the Double Dragon is, there is a limit to what a single person can do in a war.

At that, Patrick smiled slyly and said.

“Of course not. Shall we step outside for a moment?”

***

Patrick took the three dwarven leaders outside. Waiting outside were about ten magic swordsmen.

“Magic swordsmen. Right. You were also associated with the Tower of Truth.”

“Does that mean we can also get support from the mages?”

At the dwarves’ hasty questions, Patrick smiled and said.

“This isn’t all. Let’s go together for a bit.”

And the magic swordsmen personally carried the dwarves and flew up. And the place the party arrived at after flying for a while was….

“This is our military strength.”

It was the elite force Patrick had personally led from the Schneider fiefdom.

Double Dragon Knightly Order: 200 members.

Orc Warriors: 500 members.

Magic Swordsmen: 80 members.

Mages: 20 members.

Elven Warriors: 200 members.

In total, it was a force of 1,000.

When facing a nation-level force, the number 1,000 is not that large. But….

“How did you bring such a force in secret?”

No matter what, it is difficult to move a force of a thousand and infiltrate another country.

But now, Patrick had appeared inside the Harbor Kingdom with a force of 1,000. How on earth?

At Hadi’s question, Patrick shrugged his shoulders and said.

“Well, food is so scarce these days.”

“So?”

“If we disguise ourselves as a merchant guild loaded with food, we can pass through most places without inspection.”

The elves wore deep robes to cover their faces, and the knights and orc warriors disguised themselves as the merchant guild’s escorts.

And it was sufficient to have the magic swordsmen and mages move separately from afar.

Still, just in case they were spotted, the force disguised as a merchant guild was divided into five groups and moved cautiously.

“Heh… hehehe….”

“How can this be….”

“It’s beyond belief.”

The dwarves who heard Patrick’s explanation were dumbfounded.

It was a method that the straightforward dwarves could never have dreamed of.

But what was important now was not the means, but the result.

A force of 1,000.

What was important was not the number, but the quality.

The Double Dragon Knightly Order mostly consisted of powerful individuals who had achieved a level of 4-star or higher.

The orc warriors were also strong fighters selected from thousands of orc warriors.

The power of the magic swordsmen and mages needed no explanation. And above all….

“To think those pale donkeys would side with us.”

200 Elven Warriors.

This was a truly great force.

At Hadi’s words, one warrior from among the elven warriors stepped forward and spoke.

The man with a strong-looking impression frowned as he came forward and….

“Watch your mouth. Shorties.”

“What? You tall donkeys!”

Hadi frowned deeply and said.

“I am the head of the dwarven clan. How dare a mere elven warrior with no proper position speak so rudely? Do you want your head on an anvil? Huh?”

At that, the opponent said.

“If you are the head of the dwarven clan, then I am the king of the elven race.”

“What did you say?”

“The king of the elven race. Kirioth Evergreen.”

“……”

This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

Hadi, who had tried to assert dominance with his position, stammered.

“…Since when did you guys elect a king?”

“Since not long ago.”

“……”

“Why? Is there a reason we can’t elect a king?”

There isn’t. And even if there was, the dwarves, being an external force, had even less reason to say anything.

“Ahem, ahem….”

Hadi cleared his throat unnecessarily and said.

“Our relationship isn’t exactly the best…. Why have you come to help us?”

“You think I came because I wanted to?”

Kirioth also frowned deeply.

It was a face that clearly showed he was here against his will.

Elves and dwarves.

These two races do not get along.

It’s difficult even if you ask for a reason.

Because there is no reason.

If there were a reason, they could somehow resolve the problem and compromise, but there isn’t even a reason.

If I had to say, it’s just their nature.

Just facing each other and talking brings about a physiological sense of disgust.

The fact that Evergreen, the elves’ home, is located in the north of the continent, and the Iron Mountains, the dwarves’ home, is in the south, also played a part in that.

Races that find it unpleasant just to be in the same place, but….

“Enough. Kirioth, step back.”

At Patrick’s words, Kirioth erased his unpleasant expression and stepped back.

Patrick looked towards Hadi and said.

“And you too, old man, don’t try to pick a fight for no reason. What kind of manners is that to someone who came to help?”

“No, well… ahem, I was just curious.”

“Anyway, watch your mouth.”

“…I understand.”

Hadi’s tone became cautious.

The force Patrick had brought was sufficient.

A force of this size would be a great help in the war. At this rate….

“When you guys strike from behind, we will launch a simultaneous counterattack. That way, we can break this tiresome blockade.”

At Hadi’s words, Klaus and Grot, who were beside him, also smiled and nodded. But….

“Tsk tsk tsk, these old men really don’t know how to wage war.”

Patrick shook his head and said.

“Hey. Old men.”

“What is it?”

“If you break the siege blockade? What are you going to do then?”

“……”

“Didn’t you think about it? Did you just think that breaking the blockade would be the end of it?”

“……”

It seemed that was really the case.

As Patrick made a dumbfounded face, Kirioth said slyly.

“Don’t expect thinking from dwarves. Their heads are just for headbutting.”

“Keeeung….”

He knew they were a simple-minded race, but he didn’t know they were this bad.

Patrick sighed and said.

“Hey, old men. I’m only going to explain this once, so listen carefully.”

And Patrick explained the situation the dwarves were in.

“First of all, even if you break the current blockade, the situation won’t improve.”

“What? Why is that?”

“The Harbor Kingdom has already declared that any merchant guild selling food to you will be treated as national traitors. So even if you break the blockade, where are you going to get food?”

“Uh… umm… that’s….”

“If you’re thinking of raiding some private houses for plunder, I don’t know… but are you going to do that?”

“What do you take us for? We are artisans and artists, not thieves.”

Hadi firmly denied it.

Patrick nodded and continued.

“That’s right, isn’t it? Then, you’ll have to migrate outside the Harbor Kingdom to get food.”

“That’s right. Once we leave the Harbor Kingdom, won’t all our problems be solved?”

“That’s right.”

“In that case….”

“But do you think the Harbor Kingdom will just watch you do that?”

“……”

“In the first place, this war started because they blocked you from leaving, didn’t it?”

“……”

“If you try to migrate, they will naturally pursue you, and then you’ll have to fight while protecting your non-combatants. Wow… do you think you can do that?”

Hadi’s expression became serious.

If such a thing actually happened, the dwarven clan would suffer enormous damage.

Perhaps they would suffer damage close to annihilation.

“Ummm….”

Hadi made a troubled face. And he said to Patrick.

“Then, what should we do? We just want to migrate to a land with new iron veins.”

At Hadi’s naive words, Patrick let out a deep sigh and said.

“Hey, old man. The essence of war is this: when words don’t work, you use force. If you want to proceed as you wish, you have to win the war first. Only after winning can you do what you want.”

“……”

“The siege? The poor food situation? Migrating to a new land? All of that can be solved just by winning the war, right? So why are you trying to make it so complicated?”

“Winning the war… how?”

At Hadi’s question, Patrick said with a serious expression.

“The best way to win a war is, no matter what, to smash the head.”

“Me?”

“Well, in the case of the dwarven clan, yes. Then in the case of a human nation, what is the head?”

“…The king.”

“That’s right. Now we’re talking.”

Patrick’s lips curved into a smirk as he continued.

“I told you before, right? Let’s give this Harbor Kingdom a big, beautiful F-U.”

The dwarves’ heads nodded up and down.

Hearing it, it certainly made sense.

“What should we do?”

From Hadi’s mouth came the words Patrick had most wanted to hear. Patrick’s lips curved into a wicked line.

***

Derius Michael Harbor.

The current king of the Harbor Kingdom, he sat in his office and let out a deep sigh.

He re-checked the document in front of him and, pressing his hand to his throbbing forehead, said.

“What on earth did I do so wrong?”

That document meticulously recorded the trouble his son had caused in the Kingdom of Atronia.

“I’m going crazy. Why on earth is this happening during my reign?”

King Derius knew.

He was neither wiser nor more outstanding than others. He had received a high level of education as royalty and had accumulated experience by ruling the country for decades, but the essence of himself as a human being was that of an ordinary person. But still.

“Our Harbor Kingdom never needed a competent king in the first place, did it?”

That’s right. Except for the first king who became the monarch of a country from the status of a mercenary, the kings of the Harbor Kingdom were mostly ordinary figures, like water mixed with wine, or wine mixed with water.

But that was enough.

The Harbor Kingdom, with 70 percent of its territory being rugged mountainous regions, had little reason for other countries to invade, and even if they did, it was easy to defend.

On top of that, the immense profits from trade with the dwarves made its finances abundant.

About 70 percent of running a country could be solved with just a lot of money.

So the successive kings of the Harbor Kingdom did not need to be very competent.

As long as they governed within the bounds of common sense, most received praise for doing a good job. But….

“Why during my reign? Why?”

The mass migration of the dwarves.

There was truly no answer to this.

He had tried to coax them as nicely as possible and proposed various alternatives, but the dwarves’ stubbornness was firm.

Well, it was said that even a dragon couldn’t break a dwarf’s stubbornness, so what could he do?

In the end, the friendship of hundreds of years was broken, and a war with the dwarves broke out.

Of all times, during his reign.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

The poor harvest that struck the entire continent.

On top of that, the war between the Empire and the Holy Theocracy.

The movements of King Cierion, who began to be called the Hegemon King of the East, and so on.

As the entire continent was engulfed in the flames of war, food prices soared.

The Harbor Kingdom was originally a country with a food self-sufficiency rate of less than 20 percent.

They had been covering the shortfall by importing food with the immense profits from trade with the dwarves, but when the food situation became difficult and trade with the dwarves was suspended, the finances took a big hit.

For now, it was fine because of the wealth accumulated over hundreds of years, but watching the rapidly depleting national treasury, he thought he had to do something.

So he pushed for a royal marriage with the Kingdom of Atronia.

The Kingdom of Atronia, currently the country with the most abundant food on the continent.

By forming a royal marriage with them, he tried to lower food prices and reduce financial losses. But….

“Damn bastard.”

He knew he was by no means a good son.

It was said that raising children is not easy, but how easy is it to discipline the one and only prince?

King Derius was aware that his son was a scoundrel. But….

“Still, how could he cause trouble there? That damned bastard.”

He felt that if he just had one more son, he wouldn’t care if this one lived or died and would just leave him be.

The reason the Kingdom of Atronia’s food situation was good now was because of the grain pouring out from the newly cultivated plains of the Moana River basin.

But of all things, to kidnap the wife of the Schneider lord?

“Why on earth did he go there? It’s not like I asked him to do something difficult, was it? All he had to do was marry the royal princess and come back, so why?”

He could only think that misfortune was piling on top of misfortune.

The sudden departure of the dwarves.

The war and great famine spreading across the entire continent.

And the trouble caused by his scoundrel son.

“Hoo… where on earth do I even begin to unravel this?”

No matter how much he thought, this was an incident beyond his capabilities.

If it was going to be like this, he would rather quit being king and all that….

“Your Majesty, urgent news.”

A royal chamberlain entered the office with a pale face.

“What is it?”

“The dwarves are leading an army and advancing towards the capital.”

“What did you say?”