Chapter 179: The Arrival at Whitdale
Meanwhile, in the city of Whitdale—Eva, along with Geoffrey, Thorena, Mirea, Milia, Bhadra, Gerald, Candice, and all the citizens, both humans and dark elves—waited in front of the mine. The sound of echoing footsteps drifted from within, joined by the roar of a steam engine that sounded like a massive vehicle. Suddenly, "blam," the entire mine entrance collapsed, leaving everyone standing there scared half to death—except for Eva, who stood relaxed with her arms folded across her chest.
The roar of steam engines and the whirring of spinning propellers grew louder and louder. Several more explosions rocked the mine, causing the mountain that once housed it to cave in completely. Suddenly, an entire palace followed by a city rose to the surface with a deafening noise, forcing everyone to cover their ears. Finally, the palace—constructed of iron and shimmering stone that gleamed in the sunlight—reached the surface.
Naturally, everyone who saw the majestic palace and the city—belching steam with countless gears spinning like a giant clockwork mechanism as it rose—was struck with awe and left speechless. Even Eva looked surprised by the sight. Only Bhadra and Thorena seemed to already understand what was happening. Geoffrey turned to look at Thorena.
"So that’s how the dwarves reach the surface," Geoffrey remarked.
"Yep, that’s right. The capital of Grimgarth is one giant elevator for us to get to the surface," Thorena replied.
After the massive structure had fully ascended, its towering palace casting a shadow that blotted out the sun over Whitdale, the great gates that Eva and the others had seen underground began to grind open. Hundreds of zeppelins drifted out into the sky, accompanied by vehicles resembling wide cars with steam engines mounted on the back.
Hundreds of golems and dwarven mechs marched out alongside roughly 10,000 primary dwarven troops. Behind them, a horde of giants—standing nearly as tall as the massive exit gates—emerged, their heavy footsteps making the very ground tremble. There were about 7,000 of them.
Eva stood transfixed, a wide grin spreading across her face as she looked out at the vast army before her, which appeared ready to crush anyone standing in their way. Naturally, the citizens watching from behind, including Jolene, gasped with smiles of their own.
Afterward, Murmic, Elmer, Hardim, Vogir, Grethia, and Kresus approached Eva, Geoffrey, Thorena, Bhadra, and Gerald, who were standing at the front of the crowd. They immediately began shaking hands; Grethia pulled Geoffrey and Thorena into a joint hug before embracing Eva as well. After the greetings were finished, Vogir spoke up.
"So, first the Durnhill Kingdom... and then on to the Orthus Empire. Is that the plan?" Vogir asked.
"Exactly, Your Majesty," Eva replied.
"Alright, as promised, two kingdoms have united and stand ready to help," Murmic declared.
"Thank you once again, Your Majesty Murmic and Your Majesty Vogir," Eva replied with a bow.
"Drop it, there’s no need for thanks. We’re fighting for ourselves. If the world is at risk, so are we, right?" Vogir countered.
"Hah... for once, I actually agree with you, you bald giant," Murmic remarked.
"Hahaha... you’ve got that right, short-legs," Vogir replied, his laughter booming through the air.
Geoffrey and Gerald then stepped forward to meet the two newly arrived kings. They invited them, along with the others, to Gerald’s mansion to discuss their next move. However, since the massive Vogir couldn’t possibly fit inside, they decided to hold the meeting within the palace of Grimgarth instead.
A few moments later, inside Murmic’s study within the royal palace, Murmic, Elmer, Vogir, Geoffrey, Gerald, and Eva gathered around a conference table prepared by the servants. Meanwhile, Bhadra, Hardim, Kresus, Grethia, Mirea, Candice, and Milia directed the troops to temporarily occupy the city of Whitdale alongside the residents.
"Before we begin, let me explain the current situation," Eva said.
Eva proceeded to explain everything once more, including the dark elves joining their cause. She also detailed the conditions in the Durnhill Kingdom and Prince Nikolai’s intent to stage a rebellion. Vogir, Murmic, and Elmer appeared deep in thought. Eva then introduced Geoffrey as the third prince of the Durnhill Kingdom, who had been raised outside the realm; her words were backed by Gerald, Geoffrey’s adoptive older brother.
"Hoho... so my daughter is going to marry a prince and future king, eh? Good, good—that’ll definitely strengthen the bond between our two kingdoms on this continent," Murmic remarked, looking pleased.
"Exactly. I’m glad to hear it too," Elmer added with a wide smile.
"That’s why we need to strike the capital and seize the throne immediately, before Prince Nikolai can launch his rebellion," Gerald replied.
"Hmm... I understand. But to attack, don’t we first need to know what kind of strength the enemy has? Right now, we’re still blind when it comes to the Durnhill Kingdom. Hell, we’re still blind when it comes to the surface in general," Vogir pointed out.
"Hmm... you’re right, baldie. We can’t just move recklessly and attack blindly, even though I’m confident our strength could crush them easily," Murmic added.
"That is exactly why I have already sent spies from the dark elf tribe to investigate," Geoffrey chimed in.
"Hoo... I see. Then we just have to wait for the results," Elmer said, deep in thought.
But suddenly, Eva drew Exelion and pointed it to the side. Everyone was instantly startled as a member of the Raven Assassins appeared right next to their table. Vogir and Murmic even stood up in alarm, but Eva, recognizing the Raven soldier, calmed them both down until they sat back. She then sheathed Exelion once more.
"Forgive me, Lady Eva, but Prince Abel at the palace has requested that I deliver this to you," the Raven said.
Then the Raven handed five scrolls over to Eva along with a single letter. Once Eva had received them, she spoke.
"Thank you," Eva replied.
"Very well, I shall take my leave now, Lady Eva," the Raven said.
Before anyone could even respond, the Raven had already vanished from before their eyes, leaving Vogir, Murmic, and Elmer stunned. Elmer then turned to look at Geoffrey.
"Hey... can everyone on the surface just disappear like that?" Elmer asked.
"No, that was a member of the Raven forces from the Fredonia Kingdom. (He turned to look at Eva) What’s in there, Eva?" Geoffrey asked.
Eva stood up and unfurled the five scrolls, which, when pieced together, formed a large, complete map of the Durnhill Kingdom, detailed with every troop placement. Eva’s face immediately lit up with excitement, as did Geoffrey’s and Gerald’s upon seeing it. Meanwhile, Vogir, Murmic, and Elmer were impressed and deeply amazed; they couldn’t help but praise the Raven forces for being able to gather such detailed and accurate information in such a short amount of time.
Eva read the letter carefully, discovering it was actually from Ard, who had directly contacted Baalbel to ensure all the intel was sent to her, along with a personal message. According to the letter written by Baalbel—which Xeria had delivered to the Fredonia camp after they crossed the bridge—the Rellios forces had already entered through the eastern region of the northern continent.
Ard himself had moved into the western region and was currently organizing an assault on the port city of Tramund. He had also informed King Leonard of the Ateras Kingdom to join the strike on Tramund. At the bottom of the letter, it was noted that the main Fredonia army was already in the southern continent, ready to join forces with the two kingdoms from Le Rein Infernal to crush Durnhill and then move against the Orthus Empire.
This meant the Orthus Empire would soon be under siege from all four continents. But what truly made Eva smile was the very last section of the letter.
"Eva, after the Orthus Empire is destroyed and we’ve cast out Goddess Ophelia, I’ve decided—following the requests of many and much careful thought—that we will establish a new empire. An empire that encompasses the entire world and every creature within it. I’ve named it the Liberta Empire. If you agree, let me know later, okay," Ard said in the final lines transcribed by Baalbel as a special message for Eva.
"Liberta, huh... I guess because Liberty sounds a bit too American, haha... Typical Ard," Eva thought to herself, smiling as she ran her hand over the letter.
But right after that, Eva’s face stiffened again and immediately turned a deep shade of red with anger as she read the P.S. at the very bottom.
"Oh yeah, according to the Chief Eledar who contacted Baalbel, it turns out Beatrice and Adeline are on the battlefield along with the Rellios Kingdom forces in the east. Oh, Rosalind is with them too. So, when I run into them, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind. It was useless writing to Uncle Brutus to forbid them, but if it turns out I can’t scold them myself, please chew them out for me later. Bye for now."
Eva covered her face, which had suddenly become very weary. She peeked at the letter again from behind her fingers.
"Those two brats are too much. Why didn’t they just sneak over here and meet up with me? They know Ard won’t actually get mad at them—he’ll probably just give them some advice... grr... I’m going to handle this myself later... anyway, what is Rosalind even doing... why is she allowing something like this happened," Eva muttered furiously to herself.