Preparations for the Subjugation
In a situation where each side possessed exactly what the other needed, Lindur shared a meal with Ian under the assumption that their deal would be finalized, continuing to hammer out the details.
“Huh. Where in the world did you get this?”
“Don’t assume everything comes from underground.”
The meat was of unknown origin, and even the vegetables had clearly been brought in from outside. Considering the steampunk fantasy landscape of the underground kingdom, it was obvious these ingredients hadn’t come from below ground.
“Right, then. Speak plainly.”
“The ultimate goal is to resolve the Demon Realm’s problems and carve a path through it, creating a gateway to whatever lies beyond.”
“Ho! How interesting! So that’s why you need our technology.”
Constructing anything on land that had been frozen for centuries was no simple task. And in such conditions, the constant attacks from demonic beasts only made it worse. With humanity’s current level of technology, there were inevitable time constraints.
“I’m not asking you to teach us your core techniques. Just lend us equipment and pass on some of the older technologies that would be useful for pioneering the Demon Realm.”
“And the risks? They may be old techniques, but they still contain hints of our current technology. There’s no guarantee humans won’t study them and try to replicate what we have.”
“But aren’t there many areas where current technological development has stalled?”
“Hmm… How would you know that?”
After cutting off all exchanges with the outside world and achieving astonishing independent progress, the dwarf inventors had ultimately concluded they had reached their limit. Lindur himself had been pondering how to overcome that wall. So when a human who had only just arrived in the kingdom pointed it out so accurately, he couldn’t help but be slightly flustered.
“Well. Humans are in the same boat, which is why I can say it. You’ve become far too obsessed with magic.”
Every time he saw the trains created by slapping primitive engineering together with magic, he wanted to applaud their stubbornness.
“And above all! The disciple of the Magic Tower’s tower master—who is said to gather the greatest human minds—happens to be staying in our territory right now.”
“Hooo…”
“From my conversations with Sir Bardin, it seems the stories passed down among humans were wrong. You were in a mutually beneficial relationship with the dragons, correct?”
“That’s right. There are strange rumors about us being exploited, but it was always a fair trade. After the dragons disappeared, we developed our technology to fill that void.”
“Then how about combining that technology with magic now?”
“Combine them…”
“If we’re talking about what’s possible or impossible, we wouldn’t be dwarves.”
Challenge after challenge. Even when they knew failure was likely, dwarves still charged forward.
“This disciple of the tower master. Is he talented?”
“Exceptionally so. And he’s very open to new ideas.”
Geniuses appeared everywhere. But geniuses with open minds who could readily accept different perspectives were rare.
“I’ll take part in this Demon Realm pioneering project. In return, it seems we dwarves will need a place to stay in that land. Is that acceptable?”
“It is. Legally, every territory within Wintergard—including the Demon Realm—belongs to me.”
The bizarre treaties that had been necessary to pacify the mad previous grand dukes. The half-reclusive grand dukes had never made use of them, but now those agreements were finally proving their worth.
“Haha. It’s wonderful to have something to enjoy in my remaining years! We’ll be hunting that damned lizard tomorrow, yes?”
“The sooner the better for me as well. If I leave the territory empty for too long, there are quite a few people who’ll have something to say about it…”
“You’ve got it tough too! Well, that’s what being a leader is like! In that spirit, a toast!”
“Cheers!”
After the pleasant meal, Lindur departed to discuss matters with the chieftains of each tribe. Ian, guided by Bardin, headed toward the armory.
“Huh.”
“The quality must be quite different from what humans make.”
“Different doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
Setting Rubedo aside, Ian had handled his share of swords. He wasn’t particularly picky about weapon quality, but there was no denying that better weapons made things easier.
“Humans can easily balance blades using magic. But without our level of technical skill, they can’t help but use inferior materials.”
The smooth blade and the clear ring it produced when flicked. Even the longsword that ranked among the worst in the warehouse was better than anything Ian had seen before.
“Tsk. Personally, I’d love to choose a sword of this type, but not right now.”
They were going after a massive demonic beast that could devour ogres. While a longsword certainly counted as a large weapon, it felt inadequate for taking down a drake.
“This way.”
Bardin led him to the section that would likely hold anti-drake weaponry. Everything they passed was enough to make any knight drool. Yet Ian found himself more curious about what lay at the end than the treasures they were passing.
“Here we are!”
“Whoa…”
A feast of large, beautiful weapons. Battle axes, two-handed swords, halberds, and even a great bow so massive he wondered how anyone could draw it.
“Oh. Oho!”
Like a child who had found a new toy, Ian ran straight to a massive dark-iron greatsword displayed under a plaque that read Executioner. It looked crude, almost unfinished, with an edge that seemed barely sharpened, yet something about it stirred a man’s soul.
“This! This is the one!”
“Huh. What a man! Even the dwarf who forged it cursed his own height because of this sword.”
Though dwarves had made them, the space was filled with weapons difficult for dwarves to wield. Among them, the dark-iron greatsword known as Executioner was one every dwarf warrior had wanted to use, but none could due to their natural physical limits.
“Hup!”
Since crossing the wall, Ian had never felt the weight of a weapon. Yet the moment he lifted Executioner, even he had to exert real strength.
“There’s a training ground, I assume?”
“This way.”
After making such a decisive choice, he immediately headed to test the weapon. Despite carrying a massive blade that exceeded his upper body in length, Ian’s stride didn’t slow in the slightest.
When they reached the training ground, the dwarf knights who had been training quickly made space upon seeing Bardin and Ian. The moment they spotted Executioner, every dwarf’s eyes lit up with anticipation. They hated seeing another dwarf’s masterpiece left to gather dust, even if they hadn’t forged it themselves.
“Hoo.”
Ian had his own expectations. The reason swinging Rubedo had felt so good wasn’t just because it was a demonic sword, but because of the absolute certainty that it would never break.
Rubedo is one thing, but this is different.
While Ian himself wasn’t particularly obsessed with weapons, it was only natural for warriors who had crossed into superhuman realms to feel such attachment. Unlike mages, there were almost no weapons capable of withstanding the monstrous strength of those who had poured everything into physical ability.
He drew on every ounce of power in his body—refined through magic and endless training until it resembled coiled steel rebar. His fingers dug into Executioner’s integrated grip with tremendous force. The ridiculous grip strength compressed the dark iron even further, forcing it to conform perfectly to his hand.
“It has found its master.”
Bardin, watching from nearby, immediately stepped back upon confirming the sight.
The blade rose slowly. There wasn’t the slightest tremor. The upper stance remained perfectly stable, as if the weapon’s weight didn’t exist. From there, the sword dance began. Facing an imaginary enemy, Executioner’s edge danced. Whether the foe was shattered or not seemed irrelevant—the blade’s only purpose was to carve its own path, leaving nothing but dark lines in the air.
“Ha! Hahahahaha!”
Having unleashed his full power for the first time in a while, Ian couldn’t help but laugh. Setting aside adventure or anything else, the vague frustration that had lingered within him for some time simply melted away.
“Applause!”
At Bardin’s shout, the dwarf knights clapped with genuine enthusiasm. It was a brutal yet fittingly magnificent warrior’s dance.
“Does it please you?”
“I want it. Is that possible?”
“Of course. A weapon shines brightest when a warrior wields it.”
He had met the dwarves, visited their kingdom, and taken another step toward pioneering the Demon Realm, but in this moment, he was simply happy as one swordsman rather than an adventurer.
The next day, after growing accustomed to Executioner’s reach through intense training that followed the heated spar, Ian set out on the drake hunt accompanied by the War Hammer Knight Order and the dwarf artillery unit.
Before the hunting party stood a single miner who had volunteered to act as bait. Though he was missing his left arm, the fighting spirit in his eyes remained undiminished.
“Sorry about this.”
“Hmph. It’s fine. With this crippled arm, working’s hard anyway. Getting to guide once and then live easy for the rest of my life? Where else could I get a deal like that?”
The one-armed dwarf, Slock, actually seemed satisfied as he spoke to the apologetic Bardin. He would be moving at the very front alongside Ian.
“We’ll maintain some distance and follow behind.”
Though it was part of the plan, Bardin’s expression remained clouded, clearly unhappy that a non-combatant had volunteered to put himself in danger.
“I’ll take the lead, so cheer up a bit.”
“Will you be alright?”
“I’m bigger, so I probably look like more food. Makes sense for me to go first.”
Chuckling as he cracked the joke, Ian stepped in front of Slock.
“Gonna wear that?”
“Of course I am. Who but a madman would enter a mine without a hard hat?”
“Huh? Hahaha! True! Too true!”
Ian accepted the hard hat Slock offered without hesitation. Perhaps pleased by the sight, the gruff look in Slock’s eyes softened.
“Is the drake’s territory further in?”
“There’s a path the bastard uses. It’s just a path though—no one knows exactly when or where the thing will appear.”
Even dwarves who had spent their lives digging couldn’t fully predict its stealth. The only certainty was that it charged through the earth at tremendous speed, and the resulting tunnel collapses had turned countless stranded dwarves into its prey.
“But will this really work?”
“They say demonic beasts that live underground hunt using only their senses.”
Starting with Ian and Slock at the front, every member of the subjugation party had thick, cushioned leather wrapped around the soles of their boots.
“Some might detect life through heat or scent, but this one definitely relies on vibration and sound.”
“Why didn’t we ever think of this?”
“How many times have you seen the knight order fight demonic beasts?”
“Uh… never, now that you mention it.”
The military forces of Bardin and the dwarf kingdom weren’t weak. The demonic beasts living underground were few, and those without combat experience would naturally be unaware of such countermeasures.
They must have fought on the surface elsewhere, though.
The untouched lands above ground were undoubtedly another territory of the dwarf kingdom.
“Someday, I’d like to see everything this kingdom has to offer.”
“Hmph. If that day comes, I’ll be your guide.”
Whether Ian’s prediction was true or not, Slock answered while subtly gauging his reaction. But the future was the future, and the present was now. The pair moved in silence for some time until they arrived before a massive tunnel that was clearly not one of the dwarves’ own mine shafts.
“Damn, that’s huge.”
“From here on, it’s the bastard’s domain. Looks like the leather’s working. I thought we’d get attacked on the way…”
Slock marveled at the leather wrapped around their feet while Ian stood before a tunnel that felt far more enormous than the drake he had seen in his third year. Even as he registered the difference in scale, Ian didn’t hesitate to remove the leather coverings.
“You’re really going alone? I should at least—”
“If you’re that worried, just make sure the subjugation party arrives on time.”
With a light laugh, Ian leaped into the tunnel the drake had passed through.