In the Dwarf Empire's palace, all the ministers were waiting for Orfgar's response. The Dwarf Empire had reached its final moment. If this continued, the main city would fall in less than two days. When that time came, there would be no turning back. The ministers hadn't slept the entire night. They were all waiting for the news.
"Your Highness, Lord Orfg is back, and His Royal Highness the Second Prince is with him," a dwarf soldier reported.
"What, Vensary is still alive?" Orli, the king of the Dwarf Empire, was a little stunned. He did not expect his son to still be alive. He thought he had died in the battle and was brought back by Orfg. In other words, he had been captured and sent back. This was good news. If the captives were released, did it mean that there was hope for peace talks?
"Quick, let them in," Orli said immediately.
Soon, Orfg and Vensary were brought in, but they did not look happy. Orfg saw Orli and bowed his head. "Your Highness, I have failed you …"
"What …" Olly felt dizzy and almost fell off his throne. "That duke doesn't want to negotiate?"
"Yes, Your Highness …" Orfg said.
"But why did he agree to send Vensary back?" Orli asked.
"This …" Orfg did not know how to answer. Was he supposed to say that the duke was going to fall anyway, and that it did not matter whether he sent Vensary back or not?
"Father, maybe we did something wrong …" Vensary suddenly said.
"What did you say? Vensary, "Orli said, puzzled.
"A country that can't even protect its people should not exist. Maybe this is our retribution. This country is going to perish soon," Vensary said.
"How can you say that!" Orli roared. "The Dwarf Empire has a history of nearly 200 years. How can it perish here? Someone, the Second Prince is in shock. He is not feeling well. Take him away to rest."
"Yes, Father. I'm going now." Vensary's face was ashen. He did not argue with Orli and left immediately.
"The other party is not willing to negotiate. What should we do?" Ollie asked again after Vensal left.
"This …" The ministers panicked. What was the point of saying anything now? The enemy was already at their doorstep. In two days, they would reach the main city. They didn't even have any troops. What else could they do?
"You bunch of trash! When you declared war, all of you shouted louder than anyone else. Now that you can't win, all of you are silent!" Ao Li roared.
"Your Highness." At this time, the Prime Minister stood up.
"What's your plan, Prime Minister?" Ao Li immediately asked.
"There's no other way," Teroben said. "For now, we can only move the capital …"
"Move … move the capital?" Ao Li was stunned.
"Yes, Molten Iron City only has less than a thousand soldiers. Once the enemy's army arrives, they will be able to breach the city in an instant. Staying here will only mean death," Teroben said.
"That's right …" All the ministers nodded. At this time, no one felt that the sturdy walls of Molten Iron City would be able to withstand the attack of Li Huailin's army. The enemy was simply too strong. Loggerland City had been destroyed in a single night.
"Move the capital? Where are we going? "Ao Li asked.
"The South …" Teroben said. "Forgive me, but moving the capital is just a nice way to put it. The truth is, we can only run to the South. If we can run there, we'll just treat it as our temporary capital …"
"But Prime Minister, we don't have any troops in the South. Moreover, the cities in the South don't have walls like Molten Iron City. Won't they still be unable to withstand the attacks of the humans and the undead?" another minister asked.
"Yes," Teroben nodded. Teroben nodded. "Now that things have come to this, all we can do is stall for a little more time. During this time, I hope that the 70,000 reinforcements from Loggerland City can make it back in time and reach an agreement with the humans. Otherwise, what awaits us is destruction."
Hearing the word "destroyed", all the ministers fell silent. This was something they thought of but didn't dare to say. Originally, they thought that this was the time for the rise of the Dwarf Empire. They didn't expect that the Dwarf Empire would be destroyed. They really couldn't accept this situation.
"If our seventy thousand soldiers can return in time, will we be able to repel the humans and the undead?" Ao Li asked.
"The Duke of Aquitaine is a famous general of the Midland Continent. Until now, not a single person has defeated him," Teroben said. "But if the seventy thousand troops return to defend, we might be able to stop their attack …"
Teroben did not have much confidence when he said this. After all, Li Huailin's performance was too terrifying. Even if the seventy thousand soldiers returned, Teroben did not think they could do much. However, as the Prime Minister, he could not say things like, "It's over. We can only wait for our deaths, especially the King. He will probably die the worst." So, he could only comfort the Prime Minister.
"Your Highness, I think the most important thing now is to negotiate with the Duke of Aquitaine. I don't think we should stop the war, because we should admit defeat …" Teroben said again.
"Does the Prime Minister mean that we should surrender to the humans?" Ao Li asked.
"Yes." Teroben nodded and said with certainty, "Now that things have come to this, it is already a fact that we have lost, so I hope that Your Highness will surrender to the humans before we suffer even greater losses. If we continue to fight, our entire race will be threatened."
"Race?" Ao Li asked.
"Yes, the Duke of Aquitaine is ruthless. Ever since he entered the Dwarf Empire, he has not stopped slaughtering. At least eight hundred thousand Dwarves have died in his hands. If we continue to anger him, when the main city is breached … I think all the Dwarves will …" Teroben did not finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he was trying to say.
"…" Auri fell silent. If he surrendered now, then he would be the one who would suffer the most. This was because he was the one who started the war. If he surrendered, then he would be the one to settle the score. He would definitely lose his throne. Moreover, he would probably be publicly executed by the Human race. However, if he didn't surrender now, then it was very likely that his race would be exterminated just like what Teroben had said. He didn't know what to do at all.
The Ministers did not speak. They only looked at Ao Li. They knew that if Ao Li surrendered, he would definitely step down from the throne. At this moment, they all hoped that Ao Li would step down. That way, they would at least have a higher chance of survival. However, no one dared to be the bad guy right now, so they did not speak.
"I … let me think about it." After a long silence, Ao Li suddenly said, "You can all go back. Let me think about it. Tomorrow at this time, I will announce my decision."
"Yes, Your Highness." All the Ministers immediately replied. They also needed to go back and think about what they should do. If Ao Li chose to surrender, what would they do? If he chose not to surrender, what would they do?
The long night quickly passed. This night, the Dwarven Nobles did not sleep well. There were too many things to think about. Ao Li also didn't sleep. He really didn't want to surrender. After all, he had already sat on the throne. Who would want to abdicate? However, the fact that he was forced to give up his throne was something that he couldn't accept.
Although he wanted to slow down time, the sun still rose. Ao Li looked at the rising sun and took a deep breath. This might be his last day as the Emperor.
Soon, the morning meeting began. All of the Ministers once again arrived at the Imperial Palace Hall. Just like yesterday, all of the Ministers had gloomy expressions. At this time, everyone was in a bad mood.
"This Emperor has thought about it for the entire night …" Ao Li looked at the Ministers and took a deep breath before saying, "It has been 14 years since I registered myself as the Emperor. My contributions to the Empire can be said to be negligible. Now that the Empire has encountered such a huge crisis, it is all due to my negligence. Therefore, as the Emperor, what I can do now is …"
"Your Highness, urgent report!" While Ao Li was speaking, a Dwarf soldier suddenly rushed in. "Your Highness, urgent report from the frontline!"
"What urgent report? Speak quickly! "Ao Li immediately asked.
"News from the frontline. The Demons suddenly changed direction and suddenly attacked the territory of the Undead." The soldier immediately reported.
"What? The Demons are attacking the territory of the Undead?" The Ministers exclaimed.
"Urgent report! Urgent report from the frontline!" While they were discussing, a soldier rushed in and said.
"What news do you have now?" Ao Li immediately asked.
"The Human Rebels suddenly gathered 40,000 troops and are advancing towards the main city of the Humans, the City of God's Blessing." The Dwarf soldier immediately reported.
"What? 40,000 troops? The Human Rebels actually have so many troops? Where did they come from? "The Ministers didn't expect such a thing to happen.
"God Kattok above, this is really God's blessing for the Dwarves!" Prime Minister Teroben suddenly said. "Your Highness, the situation has suddenly changed. This may be our only chance of survival."
"It really is God's blessing!" Ao Li immediately said. "Prime Minister, let's carry out your first plan. We will temporarily retreat from Molten Iron City and head south to avoid the flames of war. Then, send an order for the reinforcements to speed up and defend against the troops of the Humans and the Undead. Their homes are on fire. As long as we can delay them, they may be able to retreat."
"Yes, Your Highness." Teroben immediately replied.
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