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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The meeting with the Dragon Lord had ended. Despite knowing he was male, seeing him in a female form was a bit unsettling. Hans moved on.
The delegations were socializing in the banquet hall of Lionheart Fortress. On the surface, it was a grand diplomatic event, but in reality, it was a battlefield of subtle rivalries.
But no one could criticize them for being foolish. Hans knew that relationships between nations wouldn’t improve easily. He just hoped they wouldn’t cause any trouble.
Fortunately for Hans, the delegations had no intention of causing a scene.
After all, they were diplomats, the faces of their respective nations and races.
So, they refrained from any disrespectful behavior, maintaining a facade of decorum and dignity. They knew their actions reflected on their nations. Fights rarely broke out between delegations.
“I knew I smelled a Dwarf. So, you were here?”
“Watch your words, Elf.”
Surprisingly, this was their most refined behavior. But the Dwarves and Elves were trying their best. As proof, they hadn’t resorted to insults.
The other delegations, accustomed to such scenes, either chatted amongst themselves or watched from afar. Only Hans was on edge, observing them nervously.
But as if to alleviate his concerns, the Elf and Dwarf delegations backed off without further confrontation.
If one only observed their outward appearance, they might have mistaken them for rivals with a grudging respect for each other.
“The food is surprisingly well-prepared.”
“And the atmosphere isn’t bad either.”
‘Fortunately, the reactions are positive.’
Although the menu was modest for a formal diplomatic reception, considering their current circumstances, they had done their best. The delegations seemed satisfied.
The positive feedback boosted the unit members’ confidence. Preparing the food themselves had been a good decision. After the meal, the meeting began.
The delegations hadn’t come empty-handed. They brought crystal balls, accessible only to the leaders of the Alliance.
In other words, the representatives of the delegations were acting on behalf of their leaders.
Each representative took a seat at the round table of equality. Duke Contras, Ambassador Viral, and even the Dragon Lord were present.
“So, everyone except the Vampires is here?”
“That’s correct.”
“Vampires are so fickle, it’s impossible to know what they’re up to.”
The Vampire Lord.
She had previously given the name Lucy, but they didn’t even know if that was her real name. The Dragon Lord had done the same.
Did living for a long time make one go senile?
But they didn’t have time for a senility party. Hans stated the reason for convening the Alliance meeting.
“First, I’d like to thank everyone for coming.”
Hans opened the meeting with a formal greeting. The delegations also offered their greetings, adding to the formality of the occasion.
Then, the crystal balls began to glow.
The faces that appeared in the crystal balls were familiar to Hans. The leaders of each race had appeared, albeit through the crystal balls. They all looked relatively cheerful.
It seemed they had high expectations for this Alliance meeting.
Hans nodded.
It was a good sign that they had expectations for the meeting.
Even if it was for their own benefit, as long as the outcome benefited everyone, it was fine. Of course, most wouldn’t desire such an idealistic outcome.
But it was Commander Hans’s role to make it happen. After the leaders finished their formal greetings, the meeting finally began.
[By the way, what’s the reason for this Alliance meeting?]
[Commander Hans must have something in mind.]
[We Orcs are ready to follow our friend’s lead!]
Sharaka seemed determined to support Hans, even declaring her intention to follow his lead.
This caused the faces of the 12 Tribes delegation and Yuyeong, visible in the crystal ball, to contort, but Sharaka didn’t care.
Hans accepted Sharaka’s support but was also racking his brain. How could he best deliver this news?
After much deliberation, he arrived at a simple answer.
“If we continue like this, the world will end.”
However, the responses he received were anything but simple.
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The world will end.
It seemed like an absurd claim, but no one at the meeting dismissed Hans’s words as nonsense. He had earned their respect through his accomplishments.
Of course, trust was easier to lose than to gain, but Hans had earned a significant amount of trust. A hero with his accomplishments deserved to be heard.
The weight of those words, spoken by the Commander of the Royal Knights, was immense.
The delegations’ faces paled, and the leaders’ expressions were grim.
[The world will end? What do you mean?]
The Human King, the first to regain his composure, questioned Hans. But even he didn’t look pleased.
Hans nodded and said,
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. If we continue like this, the world is finished.”
To be precise, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
However, Hans knew from his memories what the demons were planning and how the continent would decline afterward.
Specifically, after the Royal Knights’ expedition failed, around this time, the demons would become active again.
In other words, they would have recovered from the damage inflicted by the Royal Knights.
He wasn’t speaking based on mere suspicion. During a clash with a True Demon, the True Demon had retreated after suffering heavy losses. The demons’ resurgence could have been delayed, but unfortunately, that hadn’t happened.
He had found evidence of the demons’ movements. The first piece of evidence was found in the Black Dragon Zaerkan’s nest.
Hans showed it to everyone.
“This is a document I secured after defeating the Black Dragon Zaerkan. It details the demons’ movements.”
It wasn’t a document written by Zaerkan. It seemed to be a document he had received while dealing with the demons. The document contained information about a location and instructions.
Hans continued,
“According to this document, Zaerkan had allied with the demons.”
[A dragon allied with the demons?!]
[What’s the meaning of this?! Dragon Lord!]
“I’d prefer to be called Yurenne now~.”
“…”
It wasn’t a joke.
Yurenne’s single sentence silenced everyone. They hadn’t sensed any imposing aura. They simply thought she was being childish.
But Hans thought it was typical of the Dragon Lord.
Unbound by anything, a symbol of freedom, doing as she pleased. That was the Dragon Lord.
From that perspective, they should be praising the Dragon Lord for even attending this meeting. At least she wasn’t just playing around in the name of freedom.
“As the Commander said, Zaerkan did betray us. I just visited his nest.”
“Visited? When did you go?”
“I teleported there for a bit.”
“T-teleported?! You mean that spatial magic that can only be used with scrolls?!”
Thanks to Duke Contras’ surprised outburst, Hans managed to maintain his composure.
The common belief was that teleportation could only be used with a limited number of teleport scrolls.
In fact, the Human Kingdom had designated teleport scrolls as national treasures. Although they had used three of them to rescue the Royal Knights.
The Lord chuckled and said,
“Oh~ do you need some? I can make some scrolls for you.”
“R-really?!”
“Everyone, quiet! That’s not important right now!”
Hans raised his voice to prevent the meeting from going off track. His voice, booming like thunder, silenced the delegations and leaders.
“Yurenne, could you share the information you found there?”
“Gladly. It’s quite a serious matter.”
‘A serious matter?’
Instead of answering, Yurenne snapped her fingers.
A stone wall rose from the center of the round table. Amazingly, all sides of the wall were visible to everyone equally.
Then, an image began to appear on the wall. It was the Orcs’ former territory, which Zaerkan had seized after killing the Rusted Overlord.
The Lord pointed at the image and said,
“Zaerkan allied with the demons and planned something in these mountains. He intended to collapse the mountains and flood the north with snow.”
Everyone was speechless at the scale of the plan.
Even Hans himself.
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