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‘I need to entrust him to Kalken and Stalla soon for some mental training.’

Even if they still had the mindset of slaves, it didn’t matter. They would be placed among their free kin. They would then adopt a sense of freedom, and the education they received from humans would become a powerful tool for these different races to gain their own freedom.

As Talkata drove his horse back to the front of the carriage for protection, Repenhardt looked at his back with anticipation. Then he turned to the dwarves and said,

“Alright, let’s start preparing to leave! We have a long journey ahead of us, don’t we?”

“Understood, savior.”

The dwarves, with Sillan at the center, were already diligently tidying up.

They gathered the bodies of the dead knights for burial, and Sillan used his healing arts on the surviving soldiers. Since the dwarves hadn’t dealt any fatal blows to the infantry, most of them had fled, leaving only a few injured. With his abundant divine power, Sillan healed the wounded to a point where they could move and even distributed grains for them to eat on their way home.

‘That guy is doing well.’

Repenhardt smiled with satisfaction.

To Sillan, it was simply a humanitarian act befitting a priest, but to the human soldiers, it meant something different. They had been utterly defeated by the dwarves, whom they considered slaves, and now they were receiving this merciful treatment. Though their ingrained perceptions prevented them from openly expressing gratitude, their attitudes toward the dwarves were noticeably changing.

Once the battle was settled, the orc warriors climbed back onto the driver’s seats and took the reins. The elf women, who had been inspecting the quantity and preservation of the grains, also prepared to depart. The dwarves donned their robes again and walked beside the carriages.

The procession of carriages loaded with grain began to rumble along the highway once more.

In the large reception room on the second floor of Baron Delphina’s estate, twenty nobles were gathered.

These nobles, who formed the core of Prince Yubel’s faction, included influential figures in Crovence Kingdom’s commerce such as Count Feonin, Baron Haron, and Count Spal. They were great merchants who controlled the kingdom’s trade, alongside nobles from historical families like Marquis Got and Duke Raide. They sat around a table, deeply engaged in discussion.

Count Feonin, the head of the largest trading company in Crovence and Prince Yubel’s maternal grandfather, stroked his white beard and began to speak.

“Duke Repenhardt, we are truly grateful for your assistance.”

In fact, Count Feonin was sincerely welcoming this huge magician before him.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have welcomed Repenhardt in this way. There was no reason to trust such a suspicious figure—an unidentified foreigner and a mage at that.

However, the situation was different now.

Currently, most of Prince Yubel’s noble supporters had lost their territories and retreated to Baron Delphina’s domain. In this war, which was as good as lost, the grain that Repenhardt brought was nothing short of a lifeline descending into their hell.

Thus, none of the nobles of Prince Yubel’s army opposed Repenhardt’s joining them. No one even objected to his condition of granting autonomy to the non-humans within the Crovence Kingdom. Yubel and Repenhardt were rather perplexed by how smoothly the negotiations proceeded, having anticipated significant difficulties.

But upon reflection, it was not strange at all.

Prince Yubel’s situation was akin to a chessboard on the brink of checkmate. There was no reason to believe Repenhardt approached them with ulterior motives. Whether they trusted him and got betrayed or didn’t trust him and drove him away, destruction was the only outcome left for Prince Yubel’s army.

Likewise, the condition regarding the autonomous territory was also reasonable. Everyone was on the brink of losing their domains and facing execution. Even if they had to give up their lands, they would have to agree while crying. To grant the enemy’s territory, which held no value to them, only if they won? There was no reason to oppose it.

Nevertheless, Count Feonin showed reluctance because of another of Repenhardt’s demands.

“However, even so, your demand is quite outrageous.”

When Repenhardt first appeared with wagons full of grain, everyone cheered. It didn’t seem odd that he brought a large number of dwarves and elves with him. For someone as wealthy as him, it was natural to have many slaves.

But when Repenhardt declared that these were not slaves but free warriors who had come to join Prince Yubel’s army, and that he interacted with them as allies, everyone was left speechless.

According to him, these were wild dwarves and elves. Interact with them? It was like saying he would interact with packs of wolves or tigers.

But to dismiss his opinion meant losing the precious grain. Desperation made them reluctantly agree, though Repenhardt didn’t seem entirely sane.

Yet, that wasn’t enough. Repenhardt now demanded in the meeting that the dwarves and elves he brought be formally recognized as military forces and contracted like human mercenaries to participate in the battles.

“Once again, I must stress that their participation is one of the conditions for my providing the grain,” Repenhardt reiterated firmly.

Count Feonin frowned as he looked at the ‘insane’ mage maintaining his resolute stance.

‘He’s a mage, so he must have used some kind of magic to tame them. But to treat those creatures like humans… Ah, the eccentricities of mages are truly incorrigible,’ he thought.

Baron Haron spoke up, trying to placate Repenhardt with a soothing tone.

“Whatever Your Grace plans within your domain, it is not our concern, so we won’t comment on it.”

A great merchant’s condition is to negotiate well. Baron Haron showed generosity by readily agreeing to the condition of the autonomous territory before immediately countering Repenhardt’s demand.

“But to launch a counterattack with slave races? That is nothing but a dream, completely detached from reality. Why are you so insistent?”

The other nobles eagerly chimed in from the sidelines.

“Indeed, Lord Repenhardt. Let’s say those creatures know how to fight a bit. What can barely a hundred of them do?”

“Exactly 126, to be precise. And the free orcs and the Blue Bear Tribe will join as well.”

“What use are wild orcs, who know nothing but savagery, in large-scale warfare?”

Everyone tried their best to appease Repenhardt, even addressing him with the title of ‘Lord,’ though he wasn’t a noble. They all knew the truth but couldn’t say it in front of Prince Yubel. With only three thousand soldiers left, securing supplies wouldn’t win them the war.

However, with that amount of grain, a prolonged siege was possible!

And that would allow them to negotiate with Carsus on favorable terms. They would lose a considerable amount of land, but they might be able to reclaim some of their territories. But such negotiations would inevitably require the head of Prince Yubel, which is why they couldn’t bring it up openly in this meeting.

For those who had already lost their lands, Repenhardt’s grain was a lifeline. Yet, his stubbornness and lack of awareness of the situation were exasperating.

The young Baron Galin spoke up in a gentle voice.

“Lord Repenhardt, how much are the dwarves and elves worth that you would send them to the battlefield? Wouldn’t it be better to sell them and hire mercenaries instead? We could fetch a significant price for that number of dwarves and elves in the Principality of Chatan. Allow me to look into the trading companies.”

In that instant, Repenhardt glared sharply. Speaking again in a firm voice, he said,

“They are not slaves but free individuals. Let me remind you once more, I am here to represent their wishes as an ally.”

Everyone sighed and began to speak.

“Meaning? What meaning could those dwarves have?”

“How can primitive wild elves possibly fight?”

“How frustrating…”

They all lamented, clutching their chests. Observing the atmosphere, Repenhardt muttered to himself.

‘I expected this much.’

He had anticipated all these reactions. Gradually, Repenhardt decided to reveal his hand.

“Do you not trust them?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“In that case, let me show you proof.”

The nobles looked at Repenhardt in curiosity. After a brief pause, Repenhardt looked around the room, his voice growing stronger.

“We will capture Sinai Fortress with our own strength.”

The expressions of all the nobles simultaneously hardened. Count Feonin, his wrinkled face frowning, muttered.

“Did you just say… Sinai Fortress?”

“That’s correct.”

Repenhardt nodded. Then others began shouting in disbelief.

“What?”

“Are you joking? Do you think Sinai Fortress is some bandit hideout?”

“Do you think defeating just Count Piterran makes you a master tactician?”

Sinai Fortress.

Located in the central region of the Crovence Kingdom, this massive fortress, built with dwarven technology, serves as a gateway to the royal capital, Crotin. Currently occupied by the Carsus army, the fortress, due to its strategic significance, housed a garrison of three thousand soldiers. The garrison alone matched the strength of Prince Yubel’s army.

Furthermore…

“You seem unaware, but Sinai Fortress is where Sir Tetsvalt, the kingdom’s strongest knight, resides.”

Baron Haron muttered in a voice tinged with fear.

Tetsvalt von Fernando.

At the age of fifty-five, this seasoned warrior had awakened to his aura abilities at forty-five and had been honing them for ten years. Alongside Hatsbergen, the Captain of the Royal Knights, he was renowned as the strongest knight in the Crovence Kingdom. His loyalty was so profound that, despite lacking Fernando’s bloodline, he was granted the Fernando name. He was Carsus’s most reliable supporter.

Now, Repenhardt had claimed he would capture a heavily fortified fortress, defended by the kingdom’s strongest aura user and a garrison of three thousand troops, with barely over a hundred soldiers, composed mainly of slave races. The others denounced him loudly.

“Foolishness…”

“Clearly, a mage knows nothing about war!”

These reactions were also anticipated. Ignoring the nobles’ attitudes, Repenhardt shifted his gaze to the head of the table, where Prince Yubel had been silently observing the meeting. Bowing respectfully, Repenhardt addressed him.

“They possess such strength. If properly treated, they will bring victory to Prince Yubel.”

Prince Yubel raised his hand, silencing the nobles. He looked around and spoke.

“I fail to see why you are all so angry. What is the issue? If we capture Sinai Fortress, it would be excellent. If not, it proves your point. Our army has nothing to lose, does it?”

Baron Galin shook his head, looking at Yubel.

“But Your Highness, we would be sending valuable slaves to their deaths for nothing.”

A hundred dwarves and elves were worth a fortune! To a merchant like Baron Galin, discarding such treasure was inconceivable.

Yet Yubel disregarded Galin’s words.

“Isn’t our current need more for provisions than slaves? Ah, Repenhardt, you are leaving the supplies behind, correct?”

Pausing, Yubel turned to Repenhardt, who nodded.

“Of course. We will move with only a week’s worth of rations.”

“Then the supplies will mostly remain here. A mere hundred men, how much can they consume? It seems to me we have nothing to lose.”