Warhammer: Return of the Dragon.

North and Oliveira explained the affairs of Ulthuan and Karak Dreadnought to the Phoenix King respectively. Imrik rarely nodded and listened, without expressing any opinion from beginning to end.

This surprised Atila. Given her husband's personality, he would at least make some sarcastic remarks, no matter if it was a trick played by the Council of Nobles or a battle situation in which mistakes were made in command due to the right to speak.

The princess smiled with difficulty, as if trying to comfort her husband: "What's wrong? You seem to be worried. Is the situation very bad?"

Imrick let out a long breath, his expression becoming extremely solemn. "This is terrible, worse than I expected... Arrange a meeting between me and Thorgrin immediately, and don't let any irrelevant people know about it."

This person is not related to the emperor...

North immediately walked out of the tent to arrange matters, and Imrik spread his hands to ask the curious people to be quiet. He sat down at his desk and took advantage of this free time to deal with some of the troubles that Atila had not decided on for some time.

Two hours later, when Thorgrin heard that Imrik had returned, his embarrassed expression turned into a bit of joy. Pointy Ears must have found a solution.

The High King and the Butcher King found the Phoenix King in his tent together. Servants were supposed to serve chairs to the two kings, but as Imrik raised his finger slightly, everyone was ordered to leave, including his wife.

"Thorgrin, Agrim, we have known each other for many years and trust each other...so I won't hide something important."

Imrik's low voice made Thorgrin's expression even more serious. He didn't think that the Phoenix King would give him a surprise, but rather bad news.

"Tell me, if you have a solution, you would have already done it a long time ago."

After a long silence, Imrik moved his lips and said the words that Thorgrin least wanted to hear.

"Karak Dreadnought is about to collapse, and the entire fortress will sink into a giant cave dug by the ratmen."

For a moment, just a moment, the two dwarfs' faces turned as pale as if they had been washed with paint.

The dwarves have the best miners and scholars, and someone has told the High King that the geological structure around Karak Dreadnought Fort is extremely fragile. If load-bearing columns cannot be built at some key nodes within a short period of time, followed by long-term mountain stabilization projects, this mountain fortress with thousands of years of heritage may very well disappear forever.

Thorgrin's expression became so ferocious for the first time. He gritted his teeth as if he was possessed by the God of Butchers: "I will kill all the Skaven..."

Agrim barely managed to maintain a trace of sanity. He firmly held the trembling High King's shoulder and looked at Imrik who was silent behind the desk: "How much time do we have?"

"You have five days at most. You must convince Thuring Zarathulinson to abandon the mountain fortress and take the remaining dwarves away. No matter where you go... it's better than staying here."

Five days...which also includes the time to get through Karak Dreadnought.

"Is there any other way? Is Lord Slan powerless to do anything about this?" Agrim just wanted to grasp that little bit of hope. He had personally seen the divine power of Slan in Lustria, tearing the earth apart, the rivers roaring, and the mountains boiling. If it were them...

"The change of geological structure is not a simple logical event. It can't be reversed by force to return to the original proposition. If Lord Slann moves the mountain to fill the hole under the mountain fortress, the first place to be affected is Karak Desolate Castle... Can you be sure that there are no ratmen under the Desolate Castle?"

"Be prepared. The elves will keep their promise and help you defeat the greenskins and open up the road to Fort Dreadnought. But what will be the final result..."

Imrik walked out of the tent and patted Agrim on the shoulder, not continuing to speak. It was more painful to let the dwarves abandon the mountain fortress and watch the fortress entrusted by their ancestors become ruins than to kill them. No matter what the result was, even if Thorgrin persuaded King Thuring of the Fearless Fortress to lead the people away, it was foreseeable that many dwarves would go to Kadrin and shave their heads and take an oath at the Butcher's Shrine.

This huge change is undoubtedly the first horn of the doomsday bell...

The High King's wrath eventually turned into an unwilling look amidst his responsibility and oath.

"Do you think his words are credible?"

Agrim closed his eyes and sighed: "Your Majesty, you have already made a judgment, why ask me? No matter how low the possibility is, we cannot watch our compatriots die in our homeland..."

"Giving up the mountain fortress is easier to accept than killing Thuringer. I, I..." Thorgrim finally raised his head and sighed. He thought that the fate of the dwarves had taken a turn, but he did not expect that this summit, which would instinctively determine the foreign policy of the Mountain Kingdom for the next few decades, would end up with such a big surprise.

But he still has a chance to make amends. If the mountain fortress is gone, he can rebuild it; if the mine disappears, he can dig it again; the treasure house can be filled with magical weapons accumulated over countless years. But if the people of the Fearless Fort disappear, everything will be in vain.

Thorgrim held Aalgrim's shoulder. At this point, only this close friend who had always believed in him could gain the High King's deep trust.

"You go and talk to Imrick. No matter how much the dwarves have to pay, the elves must use all the preparatory measures in the Old World to create a safe road to Karak Dreadnought within three days!"

"Well, I'll try my best."

Agrim nodded heavily. At this point, he could only trust these pointy ears that always create miracles...

If the meteorite that destroyed the Lord of Pestilen, Modric, falls again, the greenskins will surely collapse and disintegrate in a short time, and everything will still be in time.

The High King could only drag his heavy steps to find his steadfast and reliable ally, the Emperor, and relayed the original words of the Phoenix King in fierce words, and demanded that Karl Franz not delay any longer. The dwarves did not hesitate to save humans and paid a bloody death.

But the current emperor is obsessed with a group of martyrs who are already seeking death.

"How credible is it?" Carl asked Kurt beside him in a low voice with suspicion.

If the Skaven could easily sink a mountain fortress with thousands of years of history, wouldn't it mean that the Imperial cities that lacked underground protection had already fallen under the control of the Skaven...

As long as the Demon Rat Council is willing, there will soon be several large holes in the empire's territory, and the nature of the war will change from human power to natural disasters.

"I don't recommend you ask too many questions about this matter. The High King cannot gamble on the odds. Even though this may be an excuse for the elves to end the war as quickly as possible... the Empire must agree to Thorgrin's demands."

Kurt was also skeptical. Throughout the history of the empire, there had never been such a situation.

His years of experience as a general told him that this was just an accident, but what if it was true...

If the ratmen can really make the city collapse without anyone noticing, humans and dwarves will be in danger. Except for the elves who can live on the islands to protect themselves, the ratmen will be the biggest threat to all intelligent life. (End of this chapter)