Path of Light.

Chapter 959, Section 958: The Dwarf Treasure Vault
The Poseidon's giant ship, which had landed off the coast of the Nantali Islands, saw a large number of griffin riders appearing in the distant sky. It quickly lowered a small single-sail boat and then rapidly ascended into the wind column to avoid contact with the griffin riders...

Accompanied by a group of griffin riders, Commander Kleis sailed less than twenty nautical miles in his strait sailboat before finally spotting the mine guard regiment's three-masted sailboat.

As the negotiator sent by the Northern Fleet, he was accompanied only by two trusted confidants.

The reason this gray dwarf legion commander was sent here is because he is fluent in Elvish and Imperial languages, and in his youth he was an adventurer who had a long period of contact with the elves.

The reason I came to the Nantali Islands was also to have a face-to-face meeting with the leader of the mine's guard force...

Many gray dwarves say that this half-elf mine guard leader hates gray dwarves intensely and will want to kill them whenever he sees them, no matter the occasion.

It was precisely because of the Grey Dwarves' reputation with Roy that a group of high-ranking officers from the Northern Fleet dared not come.

Corporal Klein didn't want to come either, but he was the second person in charge of the southward relocation plan. The first person in charge, Field Marshal Kane, certainly wouldn't show up, so he was the only one who had to step up.

He had a tense face, seemingly expressionless, but his heart was pounding and his palms were sweating with nervousness.

Standing on the single-sailed boat, my legs felt a little stiff...

Now that they were on the deck of the three-masted sailing ship, they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the half-elf crew members had not forcibly bound them.

After Commander Kleis explained their purpose, several griffin riders took to the sky and flew towards the Nantali Islands...

Soon the three-masted sailing ship sailed into the Nantali Islands.

From afar, a row of magical airships could be seen anchored in the harbor. The half-elf had installed numerous levitation devices on the three-masted sailing ships, creating magical airships with extremely high maneuverability. The Northern Fleet's Poseidon's behemoths dared not appear in the Mensa Strait, not only for fear of encountering griffin cavalry, but also for fear of being surrounded and attacked by these magical airships.

……

After Colonel Kleis arrived on the island, he was led by the receptionist to a wooden cabin to rest.

The half-elf brought over a plate of fruit and a pot of lemon tea, leaving Commander Kleis standing there unattended, with no elves coming to acknowledge them.

Commander Clyde had been to the Nantali Islands. Back then, there was nothing on the islands; only when storms came would nearby ships seek refuge in the harbor.

Now, a simple pier has been built in the island's harbor, and a row of warehouses and a cluster of wooden houses have been built on the island. There are also mixed-race elves everywhere, and the whole area is full of life.

The Northern Fleet originally planned to build a transit point in the Nantali Islands, but after negotiating with the Horde Orcs, they built two fortresses in Ruyun and the Gulf of Aden...

Now, because they couldn't provide the supplies the orcs needed, they were driven out by the combined forces of the tribal orcs and the mixed-blood elves before them.

Although the gray dwarves had broken their promise first, they still felt that the orcs had gone too far, wiping out all the gray dwarves in the fortress without even a word.

This led to a complete break between the grey dwarves and the orcish tribes...

In fact, it has only been in the last six months that, apart from the Villaria Valley, the eastern part of Durrag has been almost entirely occupied by the Nakhmar demons in Durrag's Knee. The last industrial city has completely fallen, which has led to the shortage of various resources for the Grey Dwarves.

For the Horde orcs, their greatest hope is that the Grey Dwarves can rally, for only if the Grey Dwarves can stop the invasion of the Nakhmar demons will the Mensa Plains be safe.

However, these grey dwarves repeatedly disappointed the orcish tribes. Even though the orcish and dwarven alliance held the eastern Great Rift Valley of Dragg's Knee, these grey dwarves never considered regrouping on the west coast to fight against this abyssal force together.

Aside from insufficient supplies, the real trigger for the conflict between the tribal orcs and the gray dwarves was the gray dwarves' strategy of non-resistance.

The southward migration route they pioneered will now transport the last group of nearly two million gray dwarves to Garo Island in the Seven Realms Sea...

The orcs were unwilling to let the gray dwarves leave so easily.

Once the Grey Dwarves have completely withdrawn from Durag's Knee, it's obvious that the Black Riders of Nakhmar will be facing the endless Black Gold Mountains, and the Orcs of the Aries tribe will be their direct adversaries.

This is also why the Aries tribe orcs hate the gray dwarves so much.

The Northern Fleet lost the Ruyun Fortress and the Gulf of Aden Fortress, and also lost control of the waters around Quetzal Island.

From the Straits of Mensa to the waters off Quel'Thalas, this region is a perilous wasteland for the Grey Dwarves...

Commander Klein sighed softly as he sat in a log armchair. Once on someone else's turf, everything was up to them to make arrangements.

There were fifteen supply warehouses on Nantali Island. While Klein was resting in a chair, the half-elf crew members kept moving supplies into the warehouses. A large number of wooden crates were moved into the warehouses by the elves, and they all looked very heavy...

"The box should contain some metal."

A grey dwarf follower said with great certainty.

In fact, Legion Commander Kleis thought so too; the elves were supplying large quantities of metal to the orc tribes, something he never expected.

Aren't the orcs and elves on the eastern continent supposed to be mortal enemies?

Aren't these mixed-race elves clearly aiding the enemy?
Commander Kleis coldly stared at the mixed-blood elves carrying supplies, fantasizing that one day the Northern Fleet would be able to reach this place, drive out all the mixed-blood elves, and then burn all the warehouses on the island to the ground.

Just as he was gazing intently at the warehouses, he suddenly heard someone call his name beside him.

"Commander Kles, Commander..."

"Um... what's wrong?"

Legion Commander Kleis noticed several half-elf officers standing behind his entourage, and in front of these officers stood a young Imperial man dressed in a magic-inlaid construct…

During the introductions, Commander Klein never expected that this seemingly very young human was actually the supreme commander of this group of half-elf warriors—Boss Roy.

He couldn't understand why this young Imperial man would be the Supreme Commander of the half-elf race.

Once everyone sat down, the mixed-race elves got straight to the point.

Roy sat amidst a group of half-elf officers, staring at the short, muscular grey dwarf officer opposite him. His first words were:

"As you all know, for many years, the gray dwarf bandits have been plundering elven ships on the west coast. I know that their backers are the Northern Fleet. Now we have finally managed to clear these gray dwarf bandits out of the west coast of the elven continent, and we also destroyed their lair—the waters off Quel's Island."

"During the time I was managing Que Island, the Northern Fleet still sent Commander Magio to attack Que Island, but it ultimately ended in failure!"

"Let's set aside these grudges for now, but a group of imperial merchants, under the instigation of the Northern Fleet and with the tacit approval of the Silvermoon Elf nobles, have been defrauding hybrid elves in various coastal port cities of the Elf Continent. These unscrupulous imperial merchants have tricked large numbers of hybrid elves onto their ships and then transported them to other countries in large quantities. This is what we cannot tolerate the most." "Your actions have already damaged the fundamental interests of the hybrid elves."

"Now they've sent representatives here, wanting to negotiate with us. Fine! Since you brought this up yourself, then tell us how we want to negotiate?"

Boss Roy's words immediately made Legion Commander Klein break out in a cold sweat.

Half-elf has always been the target of exploitation by various forces.

Now that they have suddenly risen to power, some things are destined to be settled later.

"The Dark Legion of the Abyss, the Nakhmar Dark Riders, have been plundering the Knee of Draggoth. There is no longer any place for the Grey Dwarves to live. Therefore, after discussion by the Grey Dwarves' elders, it was finally decided that all Grey Dwarves would migrate to the safer south."

"Our migration route is to sail south from Boles City to the Nantali Islands, then use them as a transit point to sail south to the Mulayaki Islands, and from there to the waters off Que Island. And this sea route is right under your control."

"I've come to meet you today to discuss how we are willing to pay a price in exchange for free passage on this sea route."

As soon as Legion Commander Klein finished speaking, he saw Boss Roy wave his hand without any hesitation.

"That's impossible!"

Roy spoke very firmly.

"I will never agree to allow the gray dwarves to travel freely on this sea route!"

Commander Klein felt a chill run down his spine, but his expression remained unchanged. He tried to force a smile, but his facial muscles were too stiff to do so...

In the end, he could only awkwardly take a sip of lemonade to hide his inner turmoil.

He would never have come to negotiate with these half-elf people if the two million grey dwarves hadn't been driven to desperation.

"Then let's buy six months' passage rights. As long as we relocate all the gray dwarfs, the Northern Fleet will never set foot in this sea again!" Commander Kleis finally revealed the purpose of his trip.

Roy thought for a moment before saying:
"Your transport ships intend to pass through the waters actually controlled by the mine guards, fine! But you must issue a public declaration announcing that the Grey Dwarves have officially relinquished the territory of Durag's Knee."

Commander Klein's mood immediately improved; he hadn't expected the other side's conditions to be so simple.
"That's fine, we're prepared to give up on Durag's Knee!"

"...Another issue is the compensation for the half-elf."

Roy continued, extending a hand towards the Kreis Legion, tucking in only his thumb and leaving four fingers sticking out:

"Compensate me with four Poseidon battleships."

Commander Klein's vision went black, and he almost collapsed onto the table.

"The Northern Fleet cannot accept this condition, Mr. Roy. You should suggest some more realistic requests!"

The Sea Emperor's behemoth is the core combat force of the Northern Army fleet, and the Grey Dwarves would never hand it over under any circumstances.

Roy waved his hand, somewhat impatiently saying:

“You don’t agree to the conditions I proposed… and you still insist that I propose them.”

"I think you should list out what you can offer. If that can persuade me, I'll let your transport ships pass. Otherwise, you can just wait in the Villaria Valley for the Black Riders of the Nakhmar to trample through the valley..."

Commander Klein suppressed his anger; he desperately wanted to flip the table and have everyone go their separate ways!
But clearly this time he was the one groveling and begging...

If this southward migration route cannot be opened up as soon as possible, the two million gray dwarves in the valley will soon be out of control, and the position of the Northern Fleet will also be in jeopardy.

"Shipyards, there are a lot of shipyards built on the coastline near Boles City. After we leave Dulag, we will give you these shipyards completely, including the remaining materials and the complete set of blueprints for building seagoing vessels."

"When I return to the Frozen Isle, you can send craftsmen with me to hand over the ship blueprints!"

Commander Klein immediately hit Roy's sore spot...

That's right. Although the mine guards have so many three-masted ships, almost all of them were stolen from the gray dwarves.

In fact, Roy didn't own a shipyard; every magical airship that went out of service was one less available...

And the magic airship is precisely the most important strategic resource for the mine guards.

Without these magical airships, the mine guards would be stuck on the Isle of Quel'Thalas and the plane of Partington.

Hearing what Commander Klein said, Roy knew that these gray dwarves had studied the mine guards very carefully and knew their weaknesses.

"After we withdraw from Dulag, the entire Villaria Valley will be handed over to your administration!"

Commander Klein then escalated the situation...

Roy shook his head again:

"After you leave, the Nachma will immediately take over the Villaria Valley. These ship cabins are on the coastline at the end of the valley. Once those Nachma take over all of Villaria, what will we get..."

Commander Klein quickly added:

"In addition, we will provide the locations of ten dwarven vaults. As grey dwarves, we have always had a habit of hiding large amounts of wealth in vaults, just like dragons. However, all ten dwarven vaults are located in the heart of Drag's Knee, which is in the territory controlled by the Nak'mar demons."

Upon hearing what Commander Klein said, Roy waved his hand again.

Has he gone mad? To dig up a few dwarven treasures, he's willing to face the Nakmar demons head-on...

“The supplies stored in each vault are enough to equip an entire legion!” Legion Commander Klein added.

Roy immediately perked up and stared at Commander Klein, saying:
"You can tell me more about the dwarven treasure vault..."

(End of this chapter)