Quadruple split.

Chapter 2756 The Exile

"What!?"

Elgar, who had gone through countless internal struggles and weighed the pros and cons to the best of his ability, was completely bewildered before making the final decision. This included Batu and Asahi, who were currently in Eagle Claw Gorge, as well as the entire Skolke leadership.

The reason is simple: no matter how much he planned, he never expected that his idea would get stuck at the point of 'Pastor Black Vane's refusal'.

This is simply—

"You find it incomprehensible and unreasonable?"

Mo Tan sat back down in his chair, smiling as he met the dumbfounded Elgar's gaze. He chuckled and said, "I have absolutely no idea why I would refuse such generous terms?"

Skolk's leader, a burly lizardman with a dazed expression, stared blankly at Mo Tan for a long while before nodding with a wry smile and saying, "Yes, I... I can't understand it at all."

"It's not a big problem, buddy. After all, you're not the only one who doesn't understand this."

Sharia Ain, the adjutant of the 'Black Vane Priest' and a figure who was practically the second-in-command in Dunbua City, took a deep breath. She then cast a puzzled, indignant, and confused look at the composed former beside her, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Because I can't understand what's wrong with him either!"

Honestly, it's no wonder that Sharia, who is always shrewd and calculating with high IQ and EQ, was so angry and furious. After all, Elgar's statement was just too 'smart,' to the point that in the eyes of a normal person, even a second's hesitation would be a sign of respect for their own intelligence.

However, Mo Tan didn't hesitate; he rejected it without hesitation!
He actually refused!

He refused to become the new generation of 'Skolk,' refused to become the leader of these people, and refused to maximize his influence over Skolk, which was a golden opportunity to completely unify this camp.

Therefore, Sharia didn't understand, Elgar and the other Skork executives didn't understand, and even Jenny, who had foreseen this situation, and Itaru, who unconditionally believed that his senior was right, didn't understand.

Only Luna, who had just watched someone hold their head and sigh for hours, clearly having a terrible capacity for stress yet forced to shoulder burdens they didn't like, wishing she could throw those responsibilities that others saw as glorious into a ditch, and who fully understood the frustration in their heart, smiled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Clearly, she understood why Mo Tan had so resolutely rejected Elgar's proposal. Moreover, she could even guess that the person who clearly just didn't want to take on more responsibility would come up with a multitude of seemingly plausible but actually plausible reasons to explain why he refused to become 'Skolk'.

However, unlike many people who are good at making excuses to absolve themselves, Luna knew that the reasoning Mo Tan gave would definitely be correct and logical.

The reason is simple: in her view, if there is no reliable and justifiable reason, then no matter how unwilling someone is, they will eventually grit their teeth and agree.

So, the young alchemist, who always looked half asleep and half awake with hazy eyes, lowered her gaze, briefly used human transmutation to refresh herself, and then continued to peruse her alchemy notes, oblivious to everything else.

Then--

"Let me say something that seems to be off-topic. Given that I am actually a person with very poor mental fortitude, I have told myself countless times that running away will not solve the problem."

Mo Tan's gaze swept over Sharia, over Jenny, over the gray dwarf, the cunning merchant, and the harpy, finally settling on the lizardman who had taken on the title 'Skolk' when he had no other choice, and who had carried this burden all the way to where he was today. He said calmly, "But now, I want to give you these words, Mr. Skolk."

Elgar shook his head vigorously and said in a deep voice, "I'm not running away from anything, I just feel..."

“You just think that I am definitely more suitable to lead... or guide Skork than you. You may also think that even if I am not a ‘native’ of this land, my influence and resources within the Holy Alliance make me far more qualified as a ‘leader’ than you, a former Grey Lizard Hunter.”

Mo Tan calmly interrupted Elgar, shaking his head and saying, "Wrong, buddy, completely wrong."

"I simply made what I believed to be the right choice."

Elgar looked intently at Mo Tan and said seriously, "This is a win-win-win proposal. Whether it's Skolker, myself, or you, Pastor Black Vane, giving you this position is the ideal choice. I know your character very well, and these past few days..."

"I myself am not clear about my own character."

Mo Tan interrupted Elgar again, then waved his hand to signal the latter to sit down first. After Elgar sat back down in his chair with a troubled expression, he sighed and said slowly, "And even if we take a step back, I am indeed a person of decent character. Even if I can't be called compassionate, I wouldn't be someone who would treat Skorks as a pawn, using them as expendable resources and stepping stones. And you know me very, very well... What about others?"

Elgar's gaze sharpened: "Others too..."

"Please note, Brother Elgar."

Mo Tan interrupted the other party for the third time, and said softly, "The others I am referring to are not the core members of Skolk who have had close contact with us and have built up enough trust in me in the process, nor are they even the current members of Skolk in this village, but rather... all those on this land who may join Skolk in the future."

Elgar's expression froze, and he suddenly realized that things were indeed not as simple as he had imagined.

Also standing there, stunned, were Su Rui Blade Feather and Dagran Mordgud Thaurissan, while the human strategist named Dominic Potts shrugged, giving him a 'I knew it' look, clearly having tried to advise Elgar earlier, but the latter had probably not listened.

“I don’t mind if you depend on me, nor do I mind if the whole of Skolsk depends on me.”

Mo Tan leaned back in his chair, gave Elgar a somewhat weary smile, and said softly, "But I can tell you very clearly that only you can save yourselves. Perhaps I can point you in the right direction, but no one will carry you forward."

"Ha..." Elgar grinned, clearly having given up on shifting the responsibility to the young priest in front of him, and said with a bitter expression, "Skolk didn't need anyone to carry him. I just... hope that you can value and cherish those who may lack faith and cultivation, who may carry a shameful past, or who may be considered too vulgar in the eyes of the so-called 'civilized world'."

“I don’t have time to indulge in your sentimentality, Brother Elga. You might consider writing these sentimental things in your memoirs when you’re older and earning some royalties, but I hope you can be more pragmatic now.”

Mo Tan remained relaxed in his chair, but his tone gradually became serious as he said solemnly, "Just now, [Ye Yin] has finished compiling the battle report of [Eagle Claw Gorge]. It is estimated that in less than half a day, the battle that was not very cost-effective, but was enough to make people re-evaluate 'Skolk', will spread to at least 40% of the 'potential rebels'."

"I know."

Even before the raid on Eagle Claw Gorge began, Mo Tan had informed him of the entire plan, and he was well aware of the true purpose of that 'show.' Elgar, who had taken the lead in resolutely supporting the former, nodded vigorously and said solemnly: "After that, you will organize at least a dozen 'observation groups' within a day to personally go to the western camp of Eagle Claw Gorge, make close contact with the warriors of Dunbua City and our Skolk warriors, conduct observations in a safe area for a period of one day to a week, and then be escorted back."

"At this point, the first wave of the spark has begun to spread and expand. In addition, with that... strange man named Morning Glory, I think we will be forced to acknowledge and accept the first batch of new members within half a month, and the number will probably not be less than the current number of Skolke."

Mo Tan casually tossed a chess piece symbolizing a 'soldier' ​​across his hand, flicked his finger, and made it roll on the terrain map in front of him. He said softly, "At the same time, we must continue to cultivate new sparks and ignite the entire Blood Barbarian Region as we complete our established strategic deployment."

Elgar looked down at the chess piece that had rolled to his side, then nervously swallowed, hesitatingly asking, "Will this really go smoothly...?"

"Of course not."

Mo Tan gave a negative answer without hesitation, and sneered at the dumbfounded Elgar and the others: "At least the [Evil Eye King] who has dealt with me a few times is not an idiot. I think that as soon as the first batch of fire seeds spreads, he will see through my strategy and begin to take countermeasures."

Having once been a gray lizard hunter, Elgar had never encountered the Evil Eye King within a hundred meters before, yet he remained silent and trembling at this moment. He took a deep breath and asked in a voice filled with barely concealed fear, "So? How should we deal with His Majesty... I mean, the Evil Eye King Fyodor?"

"Unfortunately, we obviously don't have enough cards in hand to stop [Evil Eye King] from doing whatever he wants, so at least 70 percent of the area where my first round of fire seed is concentrated is under the control of [Headless Cliff]."

Mo Tan smiled and said in a light tone, "After that, we will shift our focus to the Bloodfeather Plateau and the Steelmane Tribal Kingdom for a long time. As far as I know, the dissatisfaction with their leadership style is the strongest and most intense among them. There are even some small resistance organizations similar to Skork, such as 'Wings of Liberty' and 'Heart of the Pigs'."

Elgar nodded vigorously and asked, "What about [Headless Cliff] and [Gray Plains]?"

"The situation at [Headless Cliff] is rather special. My team [Ye Yin] and [Mechanism] will continue to follow up after the first round. As for [Gray Plains], we'll need Skolke to send some people."

Mo Tan turned to Dagran, who had thought it was none of her business, and winked, saying with a smile, "After all, most of the people over there live in the underground city. It probably wouldn't be easy for us... or outsiders like Da Hua Qian Niu to go in and chat."

"Uh...that's true..."

Dagran nodded and said that first, then touched his bulbous nose with a bitter expression and said with a conflicted look, "But if it were possible, I don't think anyone would want to go back to that godforsaken place."

"Speaking of which, I really don't know much about what's going on with you gray dwarves."

Just then, Jenny Bellier, who was sitting next to Mo Tan, suddenly asked with interest, "Compared to the other three, your situation seems a bit delicate."

"probably."

Dagran didn't mince words and said straightforwardly, "Unlike the lizardmen, boarmen, and harpies who were here from the beginning, although we are called Blood Barbarians along with them, we Grey Dwarves came here later as exiles."

Jenny nodded slightly, chuckled, and continued, "Would you mind telling me more?"

"Actually, I am a little bothered, but Elgar was so 'generous' just now, so I can't be too formal, can I?"

Stroking his beard, Dagran made a sarcastic remark about the contemporary Skork who had just attempted to abdicate, then took a sip of the wine he had secretly brought in and said with somewhat hazy eyes, “Our branch of the Grey Dwarves comes from a place even further north than here, the rather famous ‘Dwarf Mountains.’ As for the reason… as I just said, we are exiles, cursed beings whose spirits are afflicted with a plague.”

Sharia, who was also hearing about this for the first time, blinked and asked curiously, "A plague hidden in the mind? Mental magic? Necromancer magic? Or is it something like a warlock's magic?"

"neither."

Dagran shook his head, his slightly cloudy eyes gradually becoming serious, and said in a deep voice, "It's a spirit, or more precisely, a corrupted, completely insane spirit that cursed the dwarves who tried to repair it, the royal family before the Great Turmoil."

"The royal family...the royal family..."

Born into an intellectual sect and arguably the most knowledgeable person present, Sharia frowned slightly, muttered something under her breath, then gently patted her forehead and exclaimed, "I remember now! About thirteen centuries ago, the Dwarf Mountains were indeed ruled by the Grey Dwarves, until a change occurred that was almost entirely kept secret, after which the Thunder Dwarves became the new leaders. Could that be...?"

“That’s right, Ms. Sharia, that’s what I was referring to as the ‘Great Upheaval’.”

"Then what you called artifact spirits and curses..."

"It was the cause and course of that great upheaval that led to our race's self-exile."

Chapter 2747: The End