The Supreme King, are you kidding me?
Laing could not understand what Solgreen meant. A hundred thousand soldiers?
The Knight King of Brittany had a period of prosperity, probably from the time when the third Knight King, "White Death" Guillaume, arrived at the Tower of Dore, to the time when the Knight King, "Righteous" Jules was born.
During this period of time, Brittany fought against the Chaos in the north, the Tomb King's fleet and the Dark Elves' fleet in the west, and the Arabi and Nicohala Deserts in the south. All the green-skinned creatures in the country were purged and kept away from Brittany for two hundred years. The farthest knight's army had even reached Luscia. It could be said that it was a model of martial virtue. However, according to the records of this period in the Culona Palace that Laing obtained from the Culona Palace, the total number of Brittany's army, including the regular army, knights, squires, and sergeants (excluding the serf soldiers), was only about a hundred thousand.
Then what about now?
After several great wars, the entire Knight King of Brittany had less than thirty thousand knights (who could afford the equipment) and squires (who were qualified to be squires). Including the sergeants (who were also free people), there were at most sixty thousand soldiers. To gather a hundred thousand soldiers, not only did they have to recruit serf soldiers on a large scale, but they also did not have to consider the defense of the country and the possibility of an invasion.
A hundred thousand soldiers? Is Solgreen serious? Is he joking, or is he ignorant?
Laing frowned and thought for a while. The Knight King felt that the Supreme King was not ignorant. Solgreen, the Resentful, was known for his wisdom and steadiness. He had also traveled the entire old world and knew a lot about the human kingdoms. The Supreme King must have an accurate number of Brittany's population. He was not that ignorant.
"I guess you must be wondering why the dwarves can afford so much money, right?" The Supreme King said calmly and rudely. He put down his knife and fork and stroked his beard. There were several silver tableware in front of him, and each of them had a different purpose. "You know nothing about the Eternity Peak, young man. I can give you a very generous price. An ordinary knight's annual income is only about a hundred gold coins, right? To the dwarves, it's only about thirty gold coins. I can pay you fifty dwarven gold coins a year. How about it? As for the rest, I can pay you twenty percent of the Empire's mercenary price. How about that? "
The price was very fair. Moreover, after seeing the treasure vault of the Eight Peaks Mountain, Leon did not doubt that the Supreme King would not be able to afford it. Leon frowned slightly. He thought for a moment and did not rush to reject the offer. He did not even admit that the Knight Kingdom could not gather 100,000 people. "I think that we don't need so many people to guard the Evil Lands.
"You don't need that many people? Hahaha ~ "Solgreen laughed coldly. He rudely interrupted Laing's words." Look at my beard, young man. Look at my beard. You don't even have a mustache. You've dealt with the Green Skins, and you're not even a hundredth of mine. What makes you think that we don't need so many people to guard the Eight Peaks Mountain? "
"After a year and dozens of battles of varying sizes, the allied army formed by us and Belega has already defeated countless green-skinned tribes along the Evil Lands. We also eliminated Skarnik and his Evil Moon tribe, destroyed the headquarters of the Skarvin ratmen Moss clan, and put Headhunter Quake on trial. After that, Belega and I even cleaned up many small green-skinned tribes near Eight Peaks Mountain. Not to mention the next few years, Eight Peaks Mountain will not face a huge WAAAGH for at least the next twenty years! That's right. " Laing's attitude was quite sincere. "Therefore, I don't think there's a need to station so many troops. The Eight Peaks Mountain is now waiting to be rebuilt, and they don't have the ability to provide so many military supplies."
The Green Skin's reproductive ability was of course a crushing advantage compared to the dwarves, but the Green Skin tribe could not produce hundreds of thousands of people in just a few months. After suffering such a huge blow, the Green Skin tribe near the Eight Peaks Mountain would need at least ten years to recover and sow more mushrooms. Then, through civil war and "chaos", they would slowly choose a Green Skin warlord until one Green Skin warlord defeated another Green Skin warlord and unified the entire tribe. This was a relatively long process. Even Skarnik himself took decades.
"I'll naturally take care of the military supplies. What does a young man like you know?" Solgreen listened to Laing's analysis and looked sideways at the immature human. He forked a fresh and juicy lamb chop and put it into his mouth. "Also, why do you think this is enough? Have you seen a real WAAAGH? Have you dealt with one? Have you seen it with your own eyes? Have you faced a real Green Skin warlord? Don't use your battle with Skarnik as an example. That Goblin Warlord is cunning, but his melee strength and military strength can only be considered above average among the Green Skin. Have you dealt with the Big Belly King Gru? Iron Claw Bard? Or Grimog- Ironhide? "
"…" Laing was silent. The Knight King thought to himself that this old thing was taking advantage of his seniority to suppress him!
However, Laing was indeed weak in this aspect. After all, he was still too young. Solgreen was already a thousand years old. The Supreme King had always been willing to invest in him, so Laing was indeed helpless.
"Let me tell you, if the green bastard God of War, Grimoggi-Ironhide, and his Black Orc army, the 'Immortals', appear at Eight Peaks Mountain, even if there are 100,000 of you, you won't be a match for Ironhide!" The Supreme King continued to use his power to suppress others. He said in a muffled voice, "100,000 people are absolutely necessary. You don't even know how powerful Grimog- Ironhide is!"
"But the last time Grimog- Ironhide appeared was in the pit of hell in the Mourning Mountains, north of Kislöw. He slaughtered tens of thousands of Skaven Ratmen and then headed to the Kurgan Grassland in the east." Laing immediately retorted, "He is tens of thousands of miles away from the Eight Peaks Mountain. We shouldn't consider this factor."
"Ironhide will get tired of killing the Kurgan people one day! I know him! He will come back, definitely. "The Supreme King interrupted Laing again." Do you know Ironhide, or do I know him? Let me tell you, in the Book of Great Hatred, there are as many as three chapters related to Ironhide! "
Then let him come! Could it be that as the Brittany Knight King, the Chosen of the Lake Fairy champion, the Gray Knight gene prototype, and the King's son, I would be afraid of the Green Skin warlord Ironhide? Come if you can!
When the Supreme King said this, Laing suddenly felt all the blood in his body rush to his head. He subconsciously wanted to blurt out these words.
But when he raised his head, he saw the Supreme King sneering. Solgreen was leisurely eating his lamb chop, as if he had expected Laing's reaction. Everything was under his control.
Yes! Since the beginning of the conversation, since the two sides met, Solgreen had controlled all the rhythm of the conversation! Laing found that he had been led by the Supreme King the whole time.
The rhythm of the conversation and Laing's emotions were all under the Supreme King's control.
Thinking of this, Knight King clenched his teeth. He forced himself to suppress all his anger. The king pretended to be thirsty and wanted to drink water. He first poured a large glass of Bargmann Stout and took a big gulp. Then he lowered his head and used his knife and fork to cut the lamb chop. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the taste of the food.
Yes, it is a little salty. The dwarves have always had strong tastes, Knight King thought.
How can I take back the initiative of the conversation? Laing chewed his food, suppressed the anger in his heart, and carefully thought of a solution.
The Supreme King did not seem to be in a hurry. He ate slowly and waited for Laing's answer.
Three minutes later, Laing finally spoke. "Your Highness, since Grimog- Ironhide is so difficult to deal with, the 100,000 humans stationed here are useless. To Ironhide, no matter how many humans there are, they are just targets to be slaughtered. I think we need to change our thinking."
"Change our thinking? What thinking? " The Supreme King's interest was piqued. He asked casually, "Young man, think carefully before you speak. You young humans, if you have a good point, where can you run to? You run even faster than those pointy-eared humans. However, the questions you ask and the opinions you give are all too superficial. Ah, sometimes they're even childish. Do you understand?"
"That's right!" To Sol's surprise, Leon openly admitted his shortcomings. The Knight King slowly recovered and said with a smile, "So I think we should let the dwarves defend Eight Peaks Mountain. After all, 'one dwarf can fight against ten green dwarves'. It's too unreliable to place too much hope in the defense system on us humans."
"Dwarves are certainly stronger than you humans, but we don't have enough people now." The Supreme King continued Laing's words. "There are only 150,000 dwarves left in Eternity Peak. It is far from the one million dwarves it had at its peak. Whether it is Riptide Pass, Butcher's Castle, or Sea Gate Pass in the north, they no longer have the energy to help Eight Peaks Mountain. Otherwise, why do you think we dwarves would abandon our own people? Why do you think I would come to you to talk about this?"
"But there are places and people!" Laing spread his hands and said seriously. "Norska, Lone Dragon City! The Norska dwarves have a large population. I heard the Belega brothers say that there are more than 20,000 adult dwarves in Lone Dragon City alone! The population of the Norska dwarves is more than 100,000. Your Majesty, the 100,000 dwarves you want are here! "
Laing was right.
In addition to the dwarven fortresses in the Roof of the World, the Grey Mountains, and the Black Mountains, there was also a large group of dwarves in the Norska Mountains and the Mourning Mountains in the north of the old world.
This group of dwarves was known as the Norska Dwarves.
This group of dwarves came from the Dwarven Ancestral Gods who tried to go to the Chaotic Wastelands in the north to close the ancient saint portal. After discovering the rich mineral veins in the Norska Mountains, they immediately decided to settle down and built many fortresses there. When the Dwarven Ancestral God Granny found out about the invasion of Chaos, he sent messengers to inform the dwarves that Chaos was about to invade the south. This gave the Norska Dwarves enough time to lock down the fortresses and prepare for defense. When the Chaos army went south, they found that the dwarves had already set up ten lines of defense and were waiting for Chaos to attack!
The siege of Lone Dragon City lasted for decades, and the army of Chaos only managed to break through the outermost three lines of defense. The demons could not enjoy the thrill of victory, nor could they taste the blood and glory. After a huge snowstorm, the army of Chaos chose to retreat and continue southward, leaving behind the Northka dwarves who had lost all contact with the outside world and their own people.
During the great Holy War, the Norska Dwarves set out from the underground river they dug to support the Empire. After thousands of years, they finally reunited with the Dwarves of the Mountain Empire.
Although they were at the frontlines, the Norska Dwarves had a large population and were very tenacious. Now, there were only four large dwarven fortresses left in Norska, namely Lone Dragon City, Thunderbolt City, Crow Nest City, and Eagle Peak City. There were also a dozen small dwarven fortresses scattered across the Norska Mountains. Lone Dragon City, with the largest population, had more than twenty thousand adult dwarves. The Norska Dwarves' population was estimated to be more than a hundred thousand.
"You think I don't want to? I've already sent out three waves of messengers, but the king of Lone Dragon City, Thorgaard Crimson, is not willing! "Thorgaard retorted subconsciously at first, but then he suddenly paused and lowered his head to eat.
Damn it, I've been led astray by this young man, the high king thought as he chewed on the lamb.
Heh, it seems like this young man isn't simple.
It wasn't that the high king didn't try to persuade the Norska Dwarves to retreat to the Mountain Kingdom, but the Norska Dwarves collectively refused. The first reason was that dwarves wouldn't abandon their homeland unless they had no other choice. Moreover, the two sides had been separated for too long, so the Norska Dwarves only had respect for the high king, not obedience.
The second reason was that the Norska Dwarves were simply too rich. The Norska Mountains had rich iron, precious metals (mainly silver), and gemstone veins, while the valleys had vast areas of amber deposits. The mountainous coast covered by pine forests was filled with all kinds of animals, while the rivers and coastal waters were rich in fish resources. The ore veins here were inexhaustible, and all of them were open veins.
Normally, an ore vein would take tens of thousands of years or even longer to form. However, for the Norska Mountains, where the winds of Chaos constantly changed, an ore vein would only take a few hundred years to form. Thus, the Norska Dwarves could always enjoy an endless supply of ore, and it was open mining.
Don't ask why, because Chaos wouldn't reason with you.
With such rich geographical conditions, the Norska Dwarves didn't want to return to the Mountain Empire at all.
"North? Those dwarves are already used to living there. They won't go to Eight Peaks Mountain, "the high king said in a muffled voice." Your idea isn't realistic. "
"But those Norska Dwarves are all alone in the north. What's the use?" Laing directly followed the high king's words. "We should establish an emergency mechanism and gather our forces. Anyway, it's a waste to leave a hundred thousand dwarves in Norska. These dwarves won't be able to stop the invasion of Chaos. Why don't we retreat as soon as possible? Am I right? Your Majesty? Didn't you say that you're rich and don't care about this little bit of commission? Then instead of asking us humans for help, why don't you just let the Norska Dwarves go south? "
The high king looked up and sized up Laing, as if he was trying to get to know him all over again. His white beard swayed back and forth. After a moment of silence, the high king stared at Laing with his unique majesty and pressure. "You're only forty years old this year. How could you know so much about Norska and Lone Dragon City? Bellegar, why am I talking to you about these irrelevant things? These Norska Dwarves won't join the Angran clan! "
"This is my own idea!" Leon paused for a moment and then said, "Aren't the dwarves carrying out a strategic retreat now?"
"Hmph! Your idea? I don't believe it! You're really being played around by that idiot! You youngsters, you must be careful. Don't 'see the wind, you get the rain'. After hearing this news, you, as the king, have to make your own judgment. If these things are completely … impossible to do, and you go and help that idiot say it, then that means … that this thing … is also your responsibility! "The Supreme King shook his head violently. He stared at Leon's face and said," So, who is it? Is it Bellegar, your regent, or your courtier? Who gave you the plan to move the Norska Dwarves?! "
"I want to hear the truth!"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
