Path of Light.

Chapter 979, Section 974: Imster's Extravagant Hope

The gray dwarf official followed behind Roy, his expression somewhat awkward. He even wanted to give some hints to the gray dwarf women, but for a moment he didn't know how to express it, so he could only nervously clasp his hands in front of his chest.

The gray dwarf women couldn't understand Roy's Elvish and looked at the gray dwarf official with some confusion. The gray dwarf official then translated Roy's question.

He spoke at least five sentences, and the gray dwarf women understood Roy's question and began to speak in dwarf language as well.

"We'll wait until the last crop of wheat on the mountain is harvested before we go with the beam transport truck."

Roy heard the gray dwarf official translate it this way.

Clearly, those gray dwarf women said more than just that; the gray dwarf official automatically filtered out many of their words.

The streets of the underground city were wide and much more orderly than those on the surface. Roy wandered around the streets and, sure enough, saw some gray dwarves who had packed their bags and were queuing up in an organized manner to leave Pristis.

Their packs were simple, with a rolled-up blanket on top of their backpacks, a water bottle, axe, pickaxe, and dagger hanging from their waists, and animal skin boots on their feet. They looked like travelers preparing for a long journey.

Roy knew that Pristis was currently lacking carriages, and the grey dwarves leaving Pristis had to rely on their own two legs to get out.

This place is about 300 kilometers away from the city of Boles. It would take the gray dwarves about five days to walk there...

Roy noticed that the morale of the grey dwarf warriors in the city was low. They had probably all received notice to prepare to evacuate Pristis, or they had seen that a large number of residents had already left the city, making it pointless for them to guard it...

Recently, the number of gray dwarf warriors killed or wounded has been decreasing. The reason is not that the demon servant army outside the city has intensified its offensive, but that the supply and logistics department here is short of medicine...

In fact, Roy didn't know that it was precisely because he had blocked the imperial merchant ships heading north from the elven world that the magical herbs carried on the ships could not be transported to Boles City. At this time, not only was the Green Empire short of magical herbs, but the same was true in the Villaria Valley of Durag. Due to the war, a large number of healing medicines had been consumed, so the price of hemostatic herbs had soared fifteen times compared to five years ago.

War is always like this, causing prices to skyrocket, especially in protracted sieges, which not only wear down the last bit of patience of the gray dwarf warriors, but also the last bit of supplies in the warehouses.

Passing by a brewery, Roy saw a large wooden goblet on the signboard above his head, and images of barrels and barley cakes on the door, but chains were hanging on the wooden door.

The grey dwarf official noticed Roy looking at the tavern and went over to explain to him:
"Most of the taverns in the city have closed down long ago, mainly to prevent these wine cabinets from using precious grains to brew alcohol. The grains produced in the valley are barely enough to make wheat cakes, let alone enough to eat, so there's simply no extra wheat to use for brewing alcohol..."

Roy had been pondering for a long time what could have prompted the incredibly powerful Northern Fleet to initiate peace talks with the half-elf mine guards...

Prior to this, Roy had even secretly joined forces with the orcs to destroy two fortresses established by the Grey Dwarves on the west coast of Mensa Plains: Luyun Fortress and the Gulf of Aden. After suffering successive defeats, they took the initiative to come to negotiate. Roy thought that the situation at Durag's Knee was tense, but he did not expect that the Grey Dwarves had major logistical problems.

They couldn't hold on any longer; they had no choice but to leave!
No wonder the grey dwarf bandits in the waters of Quel'Thalas attacked and occupied the Queen Evanni Islands several times. They probably felt that the Silvermoon Elves lacked a fleet capable of fighting at sea and wanted to occupy the Queen Evanni Islands to provide the Northern Army fleet with another foothold during its southward migration.

Even large numbers of grey dwarves could migrate to the Queen Evanni Islands...

However, the gray dwarf pirates in the waters of Que Island did not expect that the naval battle at Queen Evanni Islands would not only cause them to lose hundreds of three-masted sailing ships, but that naval battle, which lasted for several years, would also bury at least 300,000 gray dwarf pirates, leaving the waters of Que Island extremely empty for a long time afterward.

When Roy led the mine guards to capture Que Island, it was precisely when Que Island's defenses were at their weakest...

The mixed-elf mine guards have occupied Quel'Thalas, like a giant hand gripping the throat of the southward migration route.

But at that time, the grey dwarves of Durag had not yet fallen into dire straits...

What truly drove the more than two million grey dwarves of the Villaria Valley to utter despair was Roy's fleet intercepting a large number of imperial merchant ships in the Mensa Strait. As a result, many imperial merchant ships did not even dare to linger on the western coast of Dragxi, but instead plunged into the Frozen Sea and sailed westward along the boundary between the Frozen Sea and the Endless Sea.

For a long time, the two most important external supply channels for the Grey Dwarves living in Drag's Knee have been: the first is the countless Grey Dwarf bandits who go to sea to become islands, almost all of whom are secretly supported by the Northern Army fleet; the second is the Imperial merchant ships passing by the west coast of Drag's Knee. They do not do business with Grey Dwarves, but their ships carry some of the supplies that Grey Dwarves need most.

The fact that both of these paths were blocked is actually related to Roy.

Therefore, Roy dared not reveal his identity on the streets of Presidius City, lest he be pelted with rotten vegetable leaves and spat in the face by the enraged gray dwarves...

The underground city was desolate. There were no vendors in the original market, and long queues formed in front of some supply stations on the street. Not only were the people of the city receiving food, but even some gray dwarf warriors wearing chainmail were in the queue.

……

Imster stroked his beard, which was stained with some oatmeal, and pushed the plate aside. The cook beside him immediately took the plate away and poured him a glass of rum.

The amber-colored liquor flowed into the glass, and its intoxicating aroma wafted out, stimulating Imster's taste buds once again. He couldn't wait to pick up the glass and drink a third of the rum.

The fragrant wine, once it entered my mouth, surprisingly couldn't stay there; it quickly slid down into my stomach.

He smacked his lips, wanting to take another sip, but when he thought about finishing his share in three sips, he hesitated for a moment, put down his glass, picked up the water bottle next to him, and poured some water into the glass.

The glass was filled with rum again, but this time the rum flavor was noticeably weaker. Although the flavor was a bit weak, it was still quite good.

"General, you will be meeting with the leader of the half-elf mine guards this afternoon."

The chief of staff, standing to the side, said to General Imster.

Imster thought for a moment before saying:

"The elven leader who arrived in Pristis yesterday and was attacked by a meteor shower?"

The chief of staff responded:

"That's him."

General Imster gave a contemptuous smile and said with some resentment:

"Marchio, Levent, and Koster, those idiots, have all become stepping stones for this guy. This guy is really bold. Isn't he afraid that someone will go crazy and split his head open?"

Seeing the barely contained rage on General Imster's face, the chief of staff quickly spoke up to remind him:

"Well, Marshal Kane's order is still on your desk. Even if you were to detain this Mr. Roy in Pristis right now, the inspectors would probably strip you of your military and political post in Pristis immediately." General Imster slammed his wine glass down on the table, the glass groaning under its weight, its straight stem twisting into a spiral...

"What's there to be nostalgic about in this position now, just for a glass of rum every day?" General Imster roared, veins bulging on his forehead.

The chief of staff said with a wry smile:

“If you want a drink, you can go to the Kingdom of Tandon at the western end of the New Siachs Mountains. You’re staying here to give those who are reluctant to leave Pristis a way out! But don’t forget, the person who took over Pristis from you is none other than this Boss Roy.”

Then he bent down and whispered in General Imster's ear:
"According to the General Staff's analysis, if he wants to take over the city of Pristis, he needs people familiar with the situation here. Unfortunately, some people in the city were unable to leave with the main force this time, and I think you must really want to settle them down properly! The city of Pristis is now in your hands, and whatever your demands are for those elves, you should be able to negotiate. I think he also hopes to take over a complete city."

The two cooks carrying trays in the restaurant stood far apart, but the chief of staff still tried to keep his voice down.

Imster paused for a moment, then suddenly understood. He realized that he could do it this way, which would make the cleanup work during his evacuation from Presidius City easier.

A hint of praise flashed in his eyes as he looked at the chief of staff.

“That makes a lot of sense. Where is that Mr. Roy now? Take him to the wounded soldiers' camp; I'll meet him there!”

Imster wanted to see Roy at the wounded soldiers' camp because he wanted to entrust some of the seriously wounded who could not be evacuated from the city to the elves for care. Imster knew that the elves would not agree willingly, so he had to find a way to force them to agree to this.

Seeing Imst deep in thought, the chief of staff reminded him:
"Then you can set off now, it's almost time!"

Imster gave the chief of staff a strange look and said with a puzzled expression:
"Why do I have a feeling that you're plotting against me?"

The chief of staff turned his face to the side and denied it calmly:

“I didn’t. I just wanted to remind you that in the city of Presites, the decision-making power for everything has always been in your hands.”

General Imster nodded in satisfaction upon hearing the Chief of Staff's words.

He stood up from his seat and stormed out of the restaurant...

……

As Roy entered the wounded soldiers' camp in the underground city, he was immediately struck by the thick stench of blood in the air. Even though the place was well-ventilated, the combination of various strange smells still made him want to vomit.

In the hall before them lay rows of heavily wounded gray dwarves, lying side by side on blankets, many of which were soaked in blood.

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive, with only a few gray dwarf warriors emitting faint groans.

Roy had seen this kind of scene many times. If it were a wounded half-elf soldier, he might stop and help treat him.

But he had no time for that when it came to the wounded gray dwarves.

He still has over 50,000 grey dwarf artisans imprisoned in the forge on the Partington plane! Given their drinking capacity, they probably won't be able to accumulate enough points in their lifetime to redeem themselves from the forge.

The casualties suffered by the gray dwarf warriors in the siege battle, if they were ordinary injuries, would heal themselves in no time given the gray dwarves' strong physique.

Only the wounded soldiers whose bodies have been corrupted by the dark energy will have their wounds remain indefinitely...

Several gray dwarf officials surrounded a gray dwarf general dressed in a magecraft construct. The hammer hanging from his waist was almost the size of his body, his beard almost reached his feet, and his long braid looked very neat. He appeared very indifferent when he first looked at Roy.

His aura was so strong that Roy even suspected he might just pick up a hammer and smash it over his head.

Imster didn't even introduce himself, and went straight to saying:
"According to the agreement we signed, I will hand over the city of Presidius to you at the west gate of the city at the end of this month on that afternoon. Before dark, all my men will withdraw from Presidius."

He stared coldly at the young human before him, pausing briefly before adding:
"When your army enters the city, move quickly... or you'll miss your chance!"

General Imster now felt that he might have been deceived, or that those foolish grey dwarf officials simply did not understand how a young imperial man could lead the entire half-elf race.

How many years do elves live? An elf can live for at least eight hundred years!

How old can the people of the Empire live? Even a second-stage powerhouse can only live to be a little over a hundred years old at most...

However, the fact that the half-elf side allowed him to come forward and represent them fully is enough to prove that this young imperial man has some authority.

On the first meeting, you must overwhelm the other party with your presence to gain a comprehensive advantage in the subsequent negotiations. You also need to test how much power this person actually has. If they can't make any decisions, it's better to send an elven officer instead...

Roy hadn't expected General Imster to be so aggressive, and it seemed he wasn't prepared to hand over Pristis to him so easily. Roy even suspected that General Imster had chosen the west gate as the handover point because he was worried that the city would still be in chaos at that time, and the gray dwarf warriors wouldn't be able to evacuate.

"So, what the situation was like in Pristis when we took over that afternoon had nothing to do with you? It's also possible that Pristis had already been breached by the Nakma demon army and was engulfed in war?"

Roy looked at the grey dwarf official and asked him to translate for General Imster.

“That’s a possibility,” General Imster nodded in agreement.

Roy frowned. He hadn't expected the gray dwarf army, currently in such a predicament, to speak in such an arrogant tone. So he replied bluntly:

"If that's the case, don't expect me to disembark and take over a ruin."

I think you know very well that what I need is a complete Priscilla.

Even if a demon servant climbs onto the city wall when I take over, your army must drive that demon servant off the wall; otherwise, I will have my army board ships and leave the Villaria Valley.

"If I don't get Priscilla, Commander Imster, what do you think you'll lose?"

(End of this chapter)