In the innermost part of the walled city of Zwergin, the glamorous Dwarfen Royal Palace was ejected. a massive castle where the Dwarfen Royal Family resides.
Curtailed by octagonal walls made out of grey stone, unlike the pitch-black stones that besieged the whole city. Each edge of the walls had a tower manned by dwarf knights to observe the surroundings of the castle.
Inside the royal castle, there was a room adequately illuminated by gentle amber lights. The room was furnished with decorations such as splendid ornaments and hanging weapons.
An armor stand is ejected from one corner of the room and holds a set of dazzling, fantastic armor. a full plate armor with a cardinal red cape that remained stationary due to the absence of a gust of wind in the room.
The armor set was made of a golden metal called orichalcum with navy blue adamantite accents for additional durability and protection. By the appearance alone, anybody could tell this wasn’t your ordinary armor and would cost a fortune.
If worn on a battlefield, the wearer would be immediately recognized as the commander of the legion. Its golden radiance gives off a heroic aura that encourages the hearts of those who bask in it. Not that the armor had that kind of effect; it was just how noble the armor and the wearer were.
The set of armor is called Golden Warrior, a legacy-class item passed from generation to generation of the Dwarfen Royal Family, specifically to the kings.
The armor is currently the best man-made equipment that the dwarves have ever created. One of the few forged articles that have an auto-fitting function on it.
On top of a cushioned chair, a man with a well-built body and clad in luxurious garments sits aloft. Slicked-back Venetian red hair wore atop his middle-aged head. Beards of the same hue sprouted under his jaw.
He is Oumpha Doria, the reigning king of the Dwarfen Kingdom of Doria and the current owner of the Golden Warrior. Oumpha is known as the strongest member of the dwarfen race, surpassing his mighty predecessors.
Unlike other dwarves, whose height doesn’t exceed four feet, Oumpha is different. He is a few inches over five and has almost the build of a muscular human.
Among the dwarves out there, he is one of the few who evolve into a superior race of dwarves, a High Dwarf. Once a dwarf reaches Level 500, he will evolve into a higher lifeform that causes massive changes in the body, like the buff of height.
High Dwarves are a higher race with better stats and a better physical build compared to the shorter Dwarves. There is another benefit aside from that: a racial skill.
If High Humans have Longevity, which lengthens their naturally short lifespan, Dwarves acquired the racial skill of Weapon Master after evolution. Weapon Master is a skill that hastens the process of learning weapon-based art techniques.
For the safety of the future of the kingdom, every crown prince of the kingdom undergoes intense training and leveling to evolve into one before succeeding the throne. The king must be a High Dwarf to avoid demoralizing his citizens.
Not only the crown prince but also the other princes and princesses are voluntarily joining the training. Some of the reasons were to gain a better physical appearance or to become much stronger. That’s why many members of royalty and nobility are significantly taller than the average.
Common citizens are allowed to evolve themselves but are mostly invited to join the military to serve the royal family directly. Evidently, the knights and guards stationed at the royal palace are all High Dwarves.
On his table, Oumpha mindfully read the paper stating the kingdom’s weekly report. His sharp and cold hazel eyes focused on a report that he often read every now and then.
“Hm. Another report of our knights’ weapons being confiscated from outlaws, huh? It’s happened more frequently in recent years. It’s starting to tarnish the image of our dignified country. It might not have taken long before the other countries started to suspect us of being in cahoots with that underground organization. I—no, we have to take down this group before it causes greater damages to our country and to this continent as well.”
The king sighed helplessly after he finished his routine monologue. There was no one else in his office besides him, so he’s certain no one heard his constant, annoying behavior.
Nothing can hear his voice outside since the king has faith in the soundproofing and anti-recon enchantments on the walls of the room. He has been able to release his vented stress without minding his surroundings carelessly.
He had done this a week before and a week before that. Every time he saw a report dragging the name of his nation, he started monologuing; it became his habit.
“This happened more frequently than usual. Are the officials really doing their jobs?! Either they are being bribed or they are accomplices; the organization is now messing up inside my regime. There are even drugs being distributed throughout the cities and towns. Even with the cooperation of other countries, it was not enough to name the organization, let alone pinpoint its base of operations!”
Oumpha then slammed both his fists on the table; of course, he controlled his strength to avoid breaking the expensive Black Treant furniture. The king started talking to himself again, but at a higher volume this time.
Although he gained a longer lifespan after evolution, he felt like he was getting older from the stress. 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩
Doria has been working with other realms to assist them with syndicate matters. Dixon Empire, the Theocracy, Kingdom of Astley, Kingdom of Boulder, Beast Nation Lionoir, Elven Nation Forester, and more
Even with that level of effort, the results didn’t improve a bit within the years of investigation. Though they don’t want to admit it, the syndicate is good at keeping their things safe, probably better than some countries’ top secret squads.
The thought of an organization roaming around his nation’s underworld made Oumpha begin to throw tantrums again.
“Damn it! It’s like we are groping the void with blindfolds on! Nothing to grumble about but pure darkness! If only the heavens could give us a clue. “As if it will just fall in front of—?”
He stopped midway when he sensed something odd on the table; he heard something that was flapping. He raised his head from his dejected position and had his hazel eyes follow the falling trajectory of a white envelope that suddenly appeared from who knows where.
“Who’s there?!”
Oumpha stood and turned around to find no one and nothing unusual inside his silent office. “How on earth did this envelope appear exactly on his table?” is what he thought right now.
If someone tried to enter the room, one of the High Dwarf knights stationed along the corridor must have knocked on the door first to ask permission. He would have heard commotion from the other side of the door if the visitor was persistent, but not a footstep would have passed his enhanced auditory.
Oumpha had no idea how the envelope suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him. He only has an unsettling thought in his mind; it emerged as soon as he sought help.
Not that he doesn’t believe in the existence of something like a god, but Oumpha is certainly certain this was not the work of a divine being.
Someone from afar has been listening to his monologues, disregarding the multi-layered, impregnable enchantments that were engraved on every square inch of the walls.
That thought made the dwarf king internally shiver in fear. A sweat broke from his craggy forehead for the first time after his encounter with an SS-ranked monster a hundred years ago.
The king’s office is an important room in the royal castle, so much so that it was cloaked with all sorts of barriers and enforcement for security, protection, and privacy purposes.
The room is virtually impossible to spy on, and the king freely demonstrated his hidden side. But now, someone is currently listening to him or even watching him, and they give him an envelope as if to answer his desperation.
The king brushed off that thought and regained his usual dignified coolness and composure that he always wears in public.
If someone is really watching me, as a king, I have to act like one!
Oumpha straightened his back like a steel column and picked up the envelope on his table. The envelope didn’t have a seal, and the king immediately took out its contents. He already checked the envelope in case it was poisoned, so presumably it wasn’t an assassination attempt.
He opened the folded paper and read what was written in it. His eyes widened as he scanned the letter carefully and thoroughly. The contents were quite shocking and unbelievable; they left Oumpha wide-eyed and with a dropped jaw.
(I cannot just believe this anonymous sender so quickly.)
Oumpha noticed that the letter wasn’t the only content in the envelope. Inside, dozens of thick sheets of paper were piled; paper wasn’t enough to describe the thickness of the sheets.
Oumpha widened his eyes again, seeing what was illustrated on each of them. He inspected one by one each of the photographs he had in his hands. It shows that there is evidence to prove the authenticity of the message.
Realistically detailed images of the facilities that make drugs, the carcasses of the Crystal Hermits, the ones who actually produce the blue quartz The exact location of the facility was snapped in one of the photos.
“Ahh.”
Oumpha squealed in disbelief when the photos showed a dwarf he knew chatting with a suspicious man. The dwarf put on a wide smile as he happily received a large bag obviously full of coins.
The king gathered all the evidence and rushed to the door. He called the knight beside the opened door and gave him a royal order.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“Summon and gather the Prime Minister, Head Commander, and Intelligence Chief to the conference room immediately.”
“Right away, Your Majesty! Let’s go, men!”
The knights run at full throttle through the bright corridor quickly to fulfill their king’s demand. The king’s two personal guards left behind to escort Oumpha.
“Are you really betraying me?”
Oumpha’s furious remarks give chills to the guards as they walk their way to the conference room.